Hey peeps.  So. I'm sad to tell you my hard drive has to be replaced.  I have been without my laptop for over a week.  This must be what hell feels like.  Argh.  Well it could be worse. At least I back up all my files on a regular basis.  Oh wait.  I don't do that.  I haven't backed up since before summer started.  So yeah, I just might lose our entire summer pictured in thousands of photos.  I'm not crying. Yet.  There's still a chance.  You prayed for good weather for Nadia's party and it came to pass....so please pray I don't lose EVERYTHING.  And if I do, lesson learned: Back up regularly.  The end.

My point in telling you all of that is to explain why, after Nadia's party, when I should be sharing party planning goodness with you, I've been eerily silent.  Now you know I wasn't mad at you.  I've borrowed my husband's laptop a few times this week to get some work for Tall Clothing Mall done and to complete a guest post over on Live the Fancy Life.  I'm psyched about this post.  It was an idea I've had for awhile but never took the time to execute.  Expect to see a similar post on Taste{Full} this week.

Check out the full post here! I miss you!  Hope to be back at it soon (new hard drive should arrive tomorrow). Ciao!

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'll be a regular contributor on Live the Fancy Life over the next several months!  Today I'm discussing stylish workout wear (preview below).  You can see the full post from today here.

I also contribute regularly to Tall Snob and Tall Clothing Mall (as mentioned here), as well as write a weekly newsletter highlighting trends, creating looks/outfits, and notifying our readers of sales and discounts.  Even if you're not tall, there's plenty of inspiration + most styles featured come in regular sizes.  Click here or here to subscribe!

I was beyond thrilled to get an email from a PopSugar Contributing Editor asking to feature Nadia's Circus Party.  Just like HWTM was the first party planning blog I followed, the PopSugar blogs were the first blogs I frequented at all.  This is what Oprah calls a full circle moment people. ;)  Check out the full feature here and special thanks to Jordan of Captured nh for her amazing photography and to Kate Stahl of POPSUGAR Moms for choosing Nadia's party!

If you know me in real life you know how much I heart tulle.  Love it.  Can't get enough. Well today I'm over on Tall Snob with my interpretation of this awesome pin:

I've mentioned Live the Fancy Life too many times to count.  Jessica and I have become the best of e-friends and I had the pleasure and honor of being interviewed by her for her "Fancy Mama" series.  I was honored to be in the company of some amazing ladies for this series.  Let me tell you it's scary putting yourself out there!  I was nervous to be honest but Jessica was super encouraging and said to be myself.  And myself I was. ;)  Swing by to hear me talk about marriage, parenting, my biggest parenting struggle, and my mama toolbox. And while you're there browse for awesome party inspiration, 'live fancy' tools and tricks, cool and modern finds, and more.

It doesn't get much easier or cheaper than this wreath folks!  I'm attempting to make one craft per month/holiday, and this month I wanted to do another wreath (you can see my Christmas wreath here).  I scoured my DIY and Holidays Pinterest boards and came across this one and a few other Valentine themed wreaths.  When I priced them out though this one won hands down! Not to mention I just love felt lately and love the look of this charming wreath.

I wanted to tell you two things today.  Actually three.  One. I love peanut butter icing and it's super easy to make from scratch.  Two. I love free stuff. Three. There are two (probably many more but these two are my faves) amazing sets of free Valentine's Day printables available in the blogosphere and you need to know about them.

I'm not gonna lie; I'm pretty proud of this post over on Tall Snob today.  I know I sound like a stalker but it was totally inspired by her.  Check out the full post here.

Linking with Hey! That's Pin-tastic:

1. Ornament wreath.  Every year I feel overwhelmed with the thought of Christmas decorating and crafts.  I am not great at decorating for the holidays!  Add Pinterest and the feelings of inadequacy get a little crazy!  So this year I decided to choose just ONE craft, shell out the cash on supplies, and take an after-bedtime-block (or two) to get it done! Ever since I painted my front door yellow, the traditional green and red just didn't work.  I had a hard time getting my wreath to be perfectly round and my hanger is showing a bit but overall I LOVE it and definitely want to make another next year! In case you're interested, I used this tutorial.
2. My little girls in their Christmas PJs.  One of a few photoshoots I tried.  If you have kids you know how hard it is to get those perfect pictures in the moment!  Last Easter was the first time I actually had a little dress rehearsal and took photos of them beforehand and I wondered why I hadn't done that before!  They had lots of "Christmas attire," but I tried to stick to a few outfits and get some cute pictures without the pressure of an event or bedtime, looming.
3. Just a little glimpse into why I'm AWOL.  I'm having fun in the snow.  My mom and I did a winter-y photo shoot. It was so fun and I was totally being inspired by her.  I'll have to share some more of these photos with you because I'm quite proud of the end result.  I got some really great shots of my mama!
4. My napkin wring of a jingle bells ornament and a blue glittery ornament.  I loved and was inspired by this post over on Live the Fancy Life.
5. I love the idea of using all white wrapping with fun embellishments. I had leftover tulle from this project and ribbon from a couple of years ago. So pretty!
6. This modern chevron paper was only $1 at Target!  I got the ribbon for 75% off at Michael's after Christmas last year. And though I had tons of gorgeous free printable gift tags my $@%& printer isn't working (yes I am fake cursing because I'm mad) so I got these pretty snowflake tags from Target.

I'm SO excited to be a guest over on Live the Fancy Life today.  I've mentioned Jessica many, many times on Taste{full}.  She is an amazing writer, event planner (you MUST check out her son's little man 1st birthday and her client's Curious George themed party.  like now.  wait, finish reading my post first.  then GO.), and photographer.  I love getting inspiration from Jessica on home design, mama stuff, and  parties, of course!  For my guest post I had way too much fun curating a little girl's gift guide.

To read the post, see the sources, and no doubt get sucked into perusing her blog, go here.

Six months ago I pinned this.  Six months prior to that, I decided Genevieve would be a peacock this year after my mom scored an adorable teal shimmery tutu at Wal-Mart for 75% off.  So I revisited the tutorial I pinned a week ago and made my own version of the costume.  Here it is:


I followed the instructions for the peacock "feathers" to a T.  I sort of free handed the shapes onto the felt.  I attached them to blue ribbon with pins and tied the ribbon to the tutu.  I like that it's not permanent because she loves this tutu and after tomorrow I can take the feathers off and she can wear it for dress up, which tends to happen on Sundays during Patriots games.  Don't ask me why.

quick tulle cutting technique.

Speaking of the tutu, I wanted something more frilly than the one Shauna over on Shwin & Shwin made.  Believe it or not I've never made one of the no-sew tutus.  I know--check my pulse. Am I alive?!  So I checked out the tutorial Shauna referenced here.  I loved the illustration of how to tie the knots in that post but wanted something a bit more detailed so I did a quick search and landed on this tutorial by Treasures for Tots. I like how full hers are and her quick tulle cutting technique.  I actually used that technique a couple of years ago for the tulle poms I made for Genevieve's birthday, but I probably wouldn't have thought to do the same thing for the tutu. Anyway, I followed her instructions using a full spool of brown tulle (25 yards) and half a spool (about 3 yards each) of glitter cobalt blue, gold, and teal.  The spools of tulle were 50% off at Hobby Lobby, which was awesome. How many times have you reasoned that making something yourself would be cheaper than buying it only to spend more on materials and supplies than a store bought item would have cost?!  anyone?  I also made Genevieve's tutu about an inch longer than the one she was making for the tutorial.



For my first tutu, I'd say it came out pretty great!  I love it and so does Genevieve.  Here are a few more photos:






Sources:
In case you're wondering, the T-shirt came from Wal-Mart. I added a leftover strip of cobalt blue tulle to the front of it.  The wings are from Dollar General (which became obvious by the way they wouldn't stay upright!), the felt was from Micheal's and Hobby Lobby (cheaper at H.L.), and the peacock feathers were from Hobby Lobby.  I've had the feather-y headband forever.

Have you seen these beautiful printables over on The Tomkat Studio?  I am SUCH a fan of their work and have mentioned them tons on the blog.  But it's been a while.  Well while going through my email I came across the TomKat blog post offering this beautiful collection for FREE!  While I don't host Thanksgiving, I'm considering printing out the banner and the 5*7 print for my mantle.  And those classy cupcake toppers may even prompt me to bring cupcakes to my in-laws' JUST so I can use them! :)

I'll start by saying that Nadia's circus party was a success! It came together just as I had hoped (ok, well there were a few mishaps that I'm sure I won't be able to resist telling you eventually!) and was so fun!  It was also a ton of work...and there's still work that remains to be done, which is why I haven't posted anything just yet.  But I couldn't go another day without sharing just a tiny teaser of that awesome day!  

Photography by the awesome Jordan Smelser of "The Smelly Life."

When researching inexpensive pouf options for Nadia's nursery (can't remember if it was before or after I gave up the dream of a Moroccan Pouf), I came across this one on Living with Punks.  At the time I didn't have a sewing machine and hadn't sewn in nearly 10 years...and something told me it would be a tad more complex than my specialty back then--hair scrunchies. I didn't end up having time to make it but I saved it with the hopes of making it one day.  Well then Pinterest came along (or I should say I finally came to my senses and created a Pinterest account) and I pinned it.  And then, as so often is the case, forgot about it.

Enter Colleen Hamilton.  [As a side note I mentioned Colleen in the post about our adventures in homemade baby food.  And Meg mentioned her here.  And I mentioned her again here].  Anyway, from what I can gather, Colleen is one of those people who actually attempts what she pins.  Imagine that!  So she FB'd me to share her result.  And I'm so glad she did! I was suddenly re-inspired to try one myself! I'm slowly but surely working on Genevieve's big girl room and thought this would be a nice addition to it.  This project wasn't easy for a beginner seamstress.  And it certainly wasn't fast.  But I have to say I am super proud of myself for the final result (regardless of how novice-y it is upon close inspection!).  PS- I know adding a dash and a Y after a word doesn't make it a real word, but I can't help myself.

I love that this project only requires 1 yard of fabric!

batting and piping are required also but still not a bad total price (see end for breakdown).

final product

because I'm all about keepin it real- the toughest part for me- the blind stitch! Some things I wish I'd known/Did: How to measure and cut a perfect circle.  (seriously. any suggestions?). Plan out all the "finishing" parts and put them all in the same place- in other words, seams on the sides, and where the piping comes together.   Have a clear "front" and "back," "top," and "bottom"- I sorta did but next time I will make sure to plan all that out. Cost for this project: piping: $2  Fabric: $6 (on sale from here) Polyfill: $4.50 for 2 bags  Total: $12.50  and I have leftovers of everything which I always feel makes a project even cheaper... Um I think that's it.  I will say that I'm pretty sure this is one of those projects that is toughest the first time around. I imagine next time it will be much easier.  And my cute friend Colleen has already made her 2nd one!!  Wasn't this my idea?!  ;)