Ethen's 1st Birthday Bash

Today is a huge milestone in our family...Ethen turned 1!!! We can't believe a whole year has already passed in this little man's life, but we have absolutely loved every second of it and wanted to do him justice in throwing him a fun birthday bash (although we knew he wouldn't remember).

Anne decided the theme was going to be all things fish. Our first idea was to go to our local party store and see what kind of goodies we could get there. we were able to find plastic table cloths and plates with napkins that suited the theme very well. From there we took it into our crafty hands and designed it to be our own.

The dollar store played a big help in our execution as well. We needed containers to hold a variety of items but we did not want to spend a ton of money. We found colored cups, serving bowls, and dishes that helped keep the same color palette throughout the room. We filled them with various types of goldfish (we had no idea how many there actually were) so guests could munch on our friendly fish before the barbecue that was to happen later in the day.

Along with our original table cloths we bought basic colored ones as well. This allowed for us to double layer on the extra tables to give some variety and cut shapes with the excess ones we had to keep our underwater theme afloat. Fishes, octopuses, sandollars, starfish, and seaweed displayed in a variety of colors were cut and stuck on with the help of our trusty friend spray glue.

We have seen many pins on people doing photo booth photos for parties and weddings and thought it could be a fun memorabilia for our guests to be able to do this as well. We pinned a table cloth to one of our walls that displayed our sprayed on fishes. We also included some blow up toys (which were also used later when we went swimming), leis and giant sunglasses that people could hold or wear during their photo session.

The outside we put sticky fishes on the windows for some decoration to be displayed to be seen both inside and out. On our gate in our backyard we thought it could be fun to put a net with some treasures tangled through it. This kept our theme going no matter where are guests were located.

One of our favorite things about the party was seeing Ethen get messy with his cake. His ocean themed cake was actually made with cupcakes. This made it very easy for our guests because instead of waiting for a slice they were able to pull off a cupcake from underneath the frosting and eat them straight away.

As the children were leaving the party we were able to give them little party favors to help them remember the day. Little jars were decorated with stickers and filled with nerds and swedish fish filled them to look like tiny aquariums. We also thought bubbles would be appropriate to have because fish blow bubbles and the kids could as well. Anne also made special jello cups with blue jello to be the water and yellow and blue jello that she had formed to look like fish thanks to some ice cube trays that we had found.

All in all we had a blast celebrating Ethen's first birthday and look forward to celebrating many more! We are glad we were able to post about his special day and hope it gives you some party ideas for your little ones.

DIY Shoulder Cutout Shirt

We are opening our blog once again after what seems like a long hiatus and displaying our adventures to the public once again. We traveled up north to visit friends and family, taking the time to truly appreciate our loved ones, but now we are back and ready to remain on track, attempting to maintain constant blogs and various crafty creations.

Cutouts have become a hot trend for all seasons, being shown on both dresses and blouses of different shapes, sizes, and variety. Anne and I have decided that we would join the trend and make one for our own.

Shoulder cutouts have been popular lately and so we decided this would be our way of showing some skin. Inspired by Lily Melrose's shirt that she had bought from Forever 21 I decided to take one of my thrift shop shirts and change it to a similar fashion.

 As women, most of us are indecisive. We never know what we like. When it comes to clothes projects the most helpful advice that I have to share is start off smaller then what you intend when making a cut. That way you can decide if you like it or if it needs to be bigger. Cutting off too much at once is only going to cause an unworn shirt and an unhappy seamstress. We went ahead and put this polka dot shirt on myself, deciding what kind of cutout I wanted for my shirt while Anne went ahead and made the incision.

Then, once I had decided I liked the amount that was taken off of the sleeves I tried the shirt back on. We noticed that because of the cuts that were made it made the remaining pieces of fabric that rested on my shoulders too loose, making them look unflattering. Anne pinned the sleeves to fit my body, making them tight enough to lay on my arms without looking awkward.

She used the sewing machine to tighten the remaining arm fabric to secure the sides. Once they remained firmly on my upper arms it was time to hem the areas where the cuts had been made. This allows the shirt to look as though it had been boughten with cutout sleeves, giving it a flawless, even finish.

Cutout shirts are very versatile, adding lots of jewelry and accessories to create the perfect day time outfit, or pairing it with some heels and transforming it into the perfect night out attire. Either way I will be living in this shirt throughout the seasons, keeping this trend as a staple in my growing attire.

Shopping and Clothing and Shoes Oh My!

It has come to both of our attention that we are shopping addicts. We like not only to shop for ourselves, but to encourage the other to get items that both flatter and enhance our already growing closets. This trip to our California mall was no exception.

We intended only to go to get inspiration, but sometimes when you get inspired, you tend to want to get those pieces that are just too good to resist. For Anne, this came in the form of shoes. She had been looking for flats for a while, but had never really found any that she liked, or were willing to pay for. It was in our first store (Sears) though that she found some that she really liked. Not being too expensive, because knowing us we always look for good deals, she decided this purchase was well worth it.

We then ventured into Famous Footwear to have a good look around the sales rack. There she discovered some black wedges. These are classy enough to wear to work, yet sleek enough for a girls night out. Also a good steal she found were some string textured flats, bearing multiple colors to wear with versatile outfits. This trip had us venturing into stores that we normally do not browse through, but I encourage you do the same. It allowed Anne to find shoes that she lacked in her staple attire that will be used for multiple occasions.

It was then my turn to do some damage as well. At first I had looked through some stores and had not really found anything that had really caught my eye. We were just about to leave to mall when a shirt on one of the mannequins had caught my eye. I had fallen victim to American Eagle and their 40% off sale that they were featuring in there store, but be warned, even though the clothes are cheaper then the usual retail price you need to know that it can cause you to be sucked into a deep hole, causing you to spend more money then you imagined you would.

Even though I ended up going a little over budget, I was able to find some good pieces that are going to help enhance my wardrobe. The first being the oversized purple shirt. This garment helps to hide my unflattering areas while accentuating my assets. It was the first thing I saw and although it does not look pleasant on the hanger it look fantastic on my figure. I then followed the purple theme and found this gorgeous lace bodycon skirt, that although I do not have the smallest waist, does a good job of averting from my trouble areas by giving it texture and depth with the detailing of the skirt. I liked tucking in the grey tunic I found and having the perfect day to night time outfit.

Our best advice to give a thrifty shopper is to go straight to the sale racks. It is easy to get lost in the new designs and products that appear in one of your favorite stores, but the best details always need to be sifted through to find. Another idea is to try something different, go to a new or rarely shopped at store and explore! It may surprise you the great deals and styles you may find. Finally it is important to try things on, things that look dull and plain on the hanger can look amazing and flattering on your body. So find your favorite shopping buddy and hit the sales ladies, you might be surprised at what you find!

Packing With Fashion

Vacations! This three syllable word can trigger a person's eagerness for what is to come. Once you get to your destination it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy yourself. Unfortunately the part before that is not so glamorous. Anne, the baby, and I decided to take a long vacation out to California to visit our family, but first we needed to pack.

Unsure of how long we are going to stay we packed for a fair amount of time, however, only having a limited amount of space we needed to prioritize what we were to bring but not losing our fashion trends in the process.

Anne loves to accessorize. It helps her take a dull outfit and add pieces here and there to make it interesting. She likes to have a detailed outline of everything she is going to bring with her and which accessories and clothing attire will piece together the best. All in all she was able to create 12 outfits in total, decked out from head to toe, in a suitcase small enough to be considered a carry on for an airport. She focused on re-using her shorts and jewelry, while at the same time still being able to take all the bits and bobs here and there that she finds key necessities to being 'put together'.

I on the other hand tend to find my clothes to be the focal points of my outfits. Necklaces, bracelets, etc. are added to give some emphasis but are not necessarily required. Therefore, in not knowing how much time I was actually going to stay, I tried to utilize as much recycling of my clothing as possible. I found shirts and bottoms that could easily be mixed and matched within one another, allowing myself to create as many outfit options as possible without them looking repeated. Even though I was going to be staying longer I was still able to fit it all in a small enough bag that would be able to fit in the storage compartments of an airplane as well.

Everyone is different when it comes to packing. Just like everything else one does in this world there are multiple methods to do this tedious task. But you don't have to choose between space or fashion. By coordinating, and choosing your outfits ahead of time you are able to figure out what will suit your vacation needs the best. Happy travels!