Wednesday, February 26, 2014

End of the Roaring 20s: 1920s Speakeasy Birthday Party Printables

For those that missed my previous post here, this past weekend my hubs and I hosted an End of the Roaring 20s Birthday party to celebrate both our upcoming birthdays. (today is my 28th birthday, and my hubs birthday is in March). At the party there was much fun to be had. I had a hell of a time finding printables for the party, so I created my own after getting tired of searching high and low for some. Here are a few free printables I made that you too can have for your next 1920s party!

Note: Just right click the image to download (hopefully I can figure out to have a download location for pdfs of them later).

Speakeasy sign


Cupcake toppers

Closed for prohibition violations sign for doors

Happy Birthday with 29 circle banner
Happy Birthday with 28 circle banner
1920s slang listing

We also made these labels (and 3 other variations) for labels to our home-brewed juice drinks

Even though most people won't want our version of the prison photo sign, as it was geared towards our party, location and date- maybe this will give you an idea of what to make for yourself- very easy!

I also had downloaded some great Gatsby-esque printable photo booth props by Little Bit Heart. They are absolutely adorable and worked great with our theme and photo booth!

Have a great day all! I'll be busy celebrating my birthday with friends tonight. ;)
-M

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

End of the Roaring 20s: 1920s Speakeasy Birthday Party

This past weekend we celebrated the End of the Roaring 20s for my hubs and I, with a 1920s Speakeasy Birthday Party. My hubs turns 29 in March and I turn 28 tomorrow, so we thought it would be a fitting theme.

End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party
The party was surprisingly easy to plan, even if it had me stumped at first. We lit candles all over the house and changed some of the lights to red party light bulbs. This set the mood perfectly.

End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor

End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor
We started a facebook group inviting friends, where we told guests the secret knock and password they had to say before they entered the speakeasy. We also shared some 1920s slang words, songs, and other fun stuff to prep out guests before the big party.

End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party- 1920s slang

At the entrance to our house we put boxes with "imported gin" "whiskey" and other crates, with a sign I made for the house to be closed for prohibition violations (my friends loved this).
End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor

Once inside, we had wanted posters of my hubs and I that I created with a wanted poster generator.
End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor

I also made round printable banners I hung around the house in classic Gatsby-era style, along with other printables (cupcake toppers, drink labels, etc- all of which you can download in an upcoming post.)

End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor and food
Can you catch my typo on my chalkboard wall? lol.
End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor

We put all the beverages in paper bags (with "medical use" tags added to all of them, with what drinks they were).
End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor

Because this speakeasy has plenty of underground criminals (haha) we made a photobooth-esque wall that was a prison lineup (along with a printable I made for the lineup sign- using the date and our location). I made the lineup wall from a white shower curtain and black electrical tape (because we are classy like that, haha). My friends had plenty of fun taking their 1920s prison photos. ;)

End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party photo booth
Hubs and I take a very "bonnie & clyde-esque" photo

End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party photo booth

End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party photo booth

The food was pretty straight forward- lots of finger foods, such as deviled eggs, mini sandwiches, cheese/meats/crackers, and these super easy pecan+cream cheese+dried apricot things that my friend's sister-in-law made for her bridal shower and I just had to try making them. SOOOO easy!

End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor and food
Our menu
End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor and food
the food setup (in all my typo glory)
End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor and food
left side of food setup
End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor and food
right side of food setup
End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor and food
We setup a rack that helped save space elsewhere- candle lighting (top), jello shots (second shelf) taffy and take-home treat bags of taffy (middle shelf) cups/plates/bowls/napkins/utensils (second from bottom) and more decor (bottom).
End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor and food
Drunk fruit
End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor and food
Taffy treats and take home bags of taffy (got these cute little bags at the dollar store-10 for $1!)
End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor and food
Pecan/cream cheese/dried apricot things!
I also picked up some cute cupcakes from our local Giant Supermarket (normally we'd make our own, but our day was pretty packed beforehand, so we didn't have the time).
 The hubs also made some Spike-Your-Juice homebrewed juices, which we put in these brown beer bottles with little tags I made for them.

End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor and food


We setup our round dining room table up for poker...

End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor

and put on some 1920s tunes (found some a cool playlist here).

End of the Roaring 20s Speakeasy Birthday Party decor with cat
Wendy wants to play poker!
We had a marvelous time! It was a blast, and my friends all commented how much fun they had. You too can have a Speakeasy party- it isn't that hard!
You can download the printables I made for the 1920s party here!
Have a great day!
-M

Friday, February 21, 2014

Favorites Friday: Beating the Winter Blues

Happy Friday all! I am so happy for this upcoming weekend, as I have lots planned. Can't wait to get through the day to the weekend!
This Favorites Friday is all about beating the winter blues. The weather has been absolutely horrible here, so we've been cooking at home a lot more, as well as binge watching tv shows, such as SyFy's Haven- which I blew through the first 3 season on Netflix and then season 4 online, all in the matter of the past week. Haha
Here are some of my favorites this week:



1. Waterlogue App: Normally I don't pay money for apps, but I've been seeing such cool things done with this app, I just had to have it. It makes such lovely photos, such as a watercolor version of our house and fun watercolor portraits. So cool!

2. Villa Alena Moscato Wine (from Trader Joe's): Last week on Valentine's Day the hubs and I stopped at Trader Joe's in New Jersey on the way home and picked this wine up- mostly because we loved the bottle. It was a pleasant surprise and tasted great. If you see it anywhere, pick it up!

3. McCormick/Lawry's Caribbean Jerk Marinade Sauce: My hubs loves trying new marinades for chicken and whatnot, so we had to try this one, being its one of my favorite flavors at Buffalo Wild Wings. This is FANTASTIC tasting- great on chicken, over rice. So much flavor and it packs a spicy punch. Love it!

4. Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Straws with Sea Salt: I have been trying to get back into being healthier and they had bags of these on sale at Walmart. I was surprised at how tasty these were- I've had the original ones and they are so-so, but the sea salt gives it much more flavor. It is only 130 calories for 38 straws, so it is a good snack to have when you're craving chips.

5. SyFy's Haven: Due to the weather I've been binge watching a lot of tv shows, this being one of them. I watched the first 3 seasons on Netflix, then caught the latest season (4) online. It's right up my ally- sometimes very campy, other times serious science fiction investigation. It also includes many SyFy regulars- such as Colin Feruson (from Eureka- one of my favorite shows that has since ended). It's nice to see a strong female leading character, who still can rely on the love of her life to help her out. I also find the Duke character (played by Eric Balfour) to be my absolute favorite. If you like science fiction investigation type shows, you'll like this. Once you get past the first few episodes, it gets a lot better. Fun stuff!

So what are your favorites these days to beat the winter blues? Any new recipes or shows you've been watching?
I hope you all have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend! I can't wait to show you all the fun stuff I've been planning for this weekend, so stay tuned for some fun party stuff!
Laters!
-M

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Belated Valentine's Day: DIY 101 Date Ideas Card Deck Book

 Ok, so I know Valentine's Day was last week, but I'm a little behind in posting. One of the items I made for my hubs this Valentine's Day was a little deck of cards (string bound) with 101 date ideas on it. Our mission is to complete all 101 dates by either next Valentine's Day, or at least 2 Valentine's Days from now (so 2016). haha


I got the idea from a mix of many Pinterest posts (such as this 52 things I love about you) and a 101 Creative Date Ideas from Thinking Closet.
I tweeked some of the date ideas to be a little more catered to my hubs and I, as there was some ideas that we just couldn't foresee us ever doing or affording to do (we're kind of cheap).
So far we've already done one of the items (#19 karaoke duet), and I hope to get those little gold star stickers (the ones you used to get at school for being good) and star up each date we complete.

This was a pretty easy present to make and would be super easy to do for an anniversary as well.

101 Date Ideas Card Deck Book
Supplies:
  • 1 deck of cards
  • hole punch
  • string
  • printout of 101 date ideas
  • glue/adhesive
All you have to do is punch 2 holes in each card (I used my big chomper punch and did about 6-10 cards at a time). Tie string through each to bind the cards together. Cut out each date idea and adhere to each side of the cards. I left the cover card and the back cover card empty, with a few blank cards at the end if we wanted to add anything or add notes or whatnot.


This project is super easy and cheap to make and now we have a fun little book to go through and pick out a date to complete when we are stumped on what to do over the weekends or on a free evening. ;)

Here are the 101 date ideas I used:



1.      Have a trilogy movie marathon.  

2.      We draw each other’s portraits… with your non-dominant!  Laugh at the results.  Then we can frame ‘em!

3.      Sit down together and write postcards to a few of our favorite people.

4.      Go tubing- either in snow or down the river.


5.      Visit a pet store and play with the puppies and kittens!  (Beware, we might bring one home- or will have to force ourselves to leave without an animal in hand.)

6.      Food Crawl: enjoy an appetizer at one place, the main course at another, and the dessert at a third place!

7.      Visit one your favorite childhood places.

8.      YouTube video marathon; we share some of our favorites with each other.

9.      Hit up the bowling alley…lowest score wins! 

10.  Create a marriage bucket list together, and set a date for our first item.

11.  DIY Duo: find a home project we’re BOTH excited to work on.  Then, execute!

12.  Go to a local orchard or farm and load up some bushels of fruit to bring home!

13.  Visit a local winery or brewery and bring a bottle of their drink home.


14.  Paint something together- whether it is furniture or an actual painting.

15.  Have a wine and cheese picnic together as we watch the sunset.

16.  Get up early to watch the sunrise; then, make a hot breakfast together and eat it in bed.

17.  Go to a book signing and meet an author.  (Check what our local Barnes & Noble has to offer.)

18.  Take a trip to the park, walk and enjoy the outdoors.

19.  Go to a Karaoke bar, be brave and sing a duet TOGETHER.

20.  Make homemade pizzas with wild toppings.

21.  Build a fire in the firepit and roast s’mores. 

22.  Re-write the first chapter to a favorite book- starring your significant other.

23.  Take a free factory tour.

24.  Put on your bathing suits and have a water balloon fight.  Why not?

25.  Prepare and enjoy a special fondue dinner together…followed by fondue dessert!

26.  Game Night!  Enjoy a tourney with some of your favorite board games. 

27.  Create an audio recording podcast. Do episode 1.
 

28.  Do a fitness class or exercise together.

29.  Bust out a deck of cards and play a game!  Poker, Go Fish…you get the picture.

30.  Go Geo-Caching!  

31.  Go for a bike ride.


32.  Fill out those long silly questionnaire quizzes that you might of filled out as a teen- see what each others answers are. 

33.  On a rainy day, go outside and play in the rain/mud- best not to do this during the winter though.

34.  In the autumn, carve pumpkins together.

35.  Journey through a corn-maze together.

36.  Create a couples Halloween costume together!

37.  Fresh snowfall?  Go sledding; then, sip hot cocoa together by the fire.

38.  Build a snowman and snow-woman, followed by snow-ice cream

39.  Decorate a live tree- if we don’t want one inside, decorate one of the live trees outside with lights and bird-friendly ornaments.


40.  Around the holidays, drive around and look at lights while playing Christmas music in the car.

41.  Visit the dollar store together, and put together a shoebox full of goodies for each other.

42.  Make brunch, followed by playing a video game together.


43.  Play the Game “Two Truths and a Lie!” to get to know each other better…no matter how long we’ve been together.

44.  Go camping!  Roast hot dogs over a fire for dinner, and completely unplug from technology.  Even if it just for a night.  Even if in our own backyard!

45.  Hop in the car together and hit the open road for a memorable day trip.
 

46.  Visit your local frozen yogurt spot, and go topping crazy.

47.  Childhood movie night!  Watch each of your favorite childhood movies while snacking on popcorn.

48.  Mini-golf never gets old.  Especially Glow-Golf.

49.  Recreate a memorable meal together from a special event or past anniversary.

50.  Go to a thrift store together, set a budget, and choose outfits for each other!

51.  Get up early on a Saturday and hit the garage sales together early for some new finds! 

52.  Go to a park and throw a ball around.

53.  Take an evening stroll together around your neighborhood.

54.  Choose a new TV series to dive into together!  Watch way more episodes in a row than you probably should.

55.  Create a scavenger hunt for yourselves.

56.  Create an ice cream sundae bar at home for kicks.

57.  Go to the nearest jungle-gym and swing on the swings like you did in days of old.  It’ll keep you young.  

58.  Spa Night!  Give each other massages and exfoliate with face masques.

59.  Research and then visit some of your town’s historic sites!

60.  Play “Remember when…” as you recollect some of your favorite memories together.  Jot them down, so you remember them for always.

61.  Write a wish list of all the places you still want to visit.

62.  Pack dinner and enjoy an outdoor movie…even if it’s on a laptop in your backyard! But a drive in movie is ideal.

63.  Make a time capsule, and bury it with plans to dig it up in 10 years.

64.  Watch the first movie you saw together for nostalgia’s sake.

65.  Choose a meal you’ve never made before, go on a grocery run, and then cook dinner together back at home.

66.  Ask a friend to do a special photo shoot of the two of you!  Capture a moment in time.

67.  Make a dish that is traditionally from your heritage. Have a full meal of eclectic food.

68.  Visit your local library or bookstore together, find some good books, and then cozy up in a corner reading side by side.

69.  Have a cookie bake-off!

70.  Dye eggs together.  

71.  Go paddle-boating.

72.  Go for an evening swim at a local pool or own pool. If you can, bring glow sticks!

73.  Browse Craigslist together for some amazing local deals.

74.  Pick up some water-guns at your local toy store, and have a water-gun fight!  You can even invite neighborhood friends in on the date.

75.  Toss around a frisbee in the backyard.

76.  Take the train to Philly and go somewhere!

77.  Go to the Aquarium.

78.  Support the arts!  Go to an art museum or art gallery.

79.  10 Things I Love About You: set a timer for 10 minutes and each write a list of 10 things you love about the other person…then read them to each other.  Prepare for plenty of “Awwww” moments.

80.  Attend a local sports game.

81.  Explore a state park by car, by foot, or by canoe. Take photos of the landscape.

82.  Stroll through a farmer’s market together.  Buy fresh ingredients for your next few meals.

83.  Visit the zoo or a petting farm on discount / free days!

84.  Fun in the sun: hang out at the beach for the day.

85.  Create a “specialty drink” that represents each of you. And enjoy the night sipping your special drinks.

86.  Watch old videos you have taken in the past, and then video something new!


87.  Find statues in your area and take funny photos with them.


88.  Build a fort out of blankets in the living room, and cuddle up to watch a movie together.

89.  Learn a new sport together!  Croquet, badminton, tennis…heck, you can even invent a sport together.

90.  Take a class together: dancing, painting, cooking….

91.  Go to an arcade!

92.  Get a Groupon for a special night out on the town together.  You can usually nab some pretty sweet deals!

93.  Visit your local science center, planetarium, conservatory, or botanical gardens.

94.  On a windy day, fly a kite together at the park.  

95.  Get in the car and just drive to get lost.  It’ll be an adventure!  (Just make sure you have plenty of gas, so it doesn’t turn into a misadventure.)

96.  Pick out one outfit from your spouse’s closet- then they have to wear that outfit sometime in the week.

97.  Visit a local festival together.  Many of them are free!  Just check out your town’s website for their calendar of events.

98.  Bring your own lawn chairs for an evening of outdoor theatre or music.

99.  Spend a night looking through old memorabilia: love letters, photographs….

100.          Make homemade pasta together and enjoy.

101.          Write letters to each other that you’ll open 20 years from now. 



Hubs and I had a lovely day out for Valentine's Day (we both had off) at the Cheesecake Factory and then an evening at home.





So have a great day everyone and happy belated Valentine's Day! Why not celebrate love everyday, not just on Feb. 14th!
-M

Monday, February 10, 2014

Pinspiration Monday: Dreaming of Spring and updating the backyard

Happy Monday all! It's Pinspiration Monday time.  ;)


With all the crummy weather going on over here in Pennsylvania, I've been dreaming of working on outdoor projects and fixing up our backyard. The hubs is determined to fix up our shed to be his new man cave, where as I want the fix up the deck to have a better "chill" space. If you missed my previous post, we've been trying to clean up the storage in our house and downsize the clutter, to make the shed into a "man cave" bar that my hubs has been dreaming about. We swung by Home Depot yesterday and priced out the materials to turn the shed into his dream bar on a budget. We are planning on stopping by the Habitat for Humanity's ReStore hopefully sometime this month to see if they have any materials on the cheap as well.
This is my hubs' plan for the "man cave" shed.

Towards the back (the tan area above the bar) is a lofted area, which we hope to make into a pillow/fabric/comfort spot- so I can chill and read a book (or play on my ipad) while the boys hang below. lol. Here is our shed:

However, first on the list is fixing up this rust bucket, before we can even start on the man cave:
It is a small side shed that we also have. We hope to put a new floor (I kind of fell through the rotting wood base when trying to clean it out), repaint, and add new doors (trying to figure out how we will do that with a metal base). If the cost to do all of that is less than buying a whole new mini shed- it is worth it. It will hold our bikes, lawn mower and garden supplies, so the big shed can be used for the bar. We also hope to be able to put the holiday decor in the attic- now that I've cleared a better path to it (the attic door is above my closet).

So, with all of that mind, here are some pins I've found on Pinterest that really have inspired me recently in these future projects!
 Pinspirations for the Deck:
Lena Sekine's Cinderblock Benches
http://lenasekine.blogspot.com/2013/08/diy-outdoor-seating.html
Source: http://lenasekine.blogspot.com/2013/08/diy-outdoor-seating.html
Steven Liu's Tire Table with Glass Top
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenliu/5464434538/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenliu/5464434538/in/photostream/
Martha Stewart's Sun Shade
http://www.marthastewart.com/265948/a-slice-of-shade-creating-canopies
Source: http://www.marthastewart.com/265948/a-slice-of-shade-creating-canopies

Pinspirations for the Shed/Man Cave:
 Reader Shed's (actual submitter unknown) The Dog House Shed
http://www.readersheds.co.uk/share.cfm?SHARESHED=4546
Source: http://www.readersheds.co.uk/share.cfm?SHARESHED=4546
Liz Caan Interiors' Reading Nook
http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=110614&designerId=544&currentPage=1&index=11
Source: http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=110614&designerId=544&currentPage=1&index=11



Feel free to follow me on Pinterest (though be forewarned- I pin a LOT!)- that being the case, feel free to follow my Pinspirations board where I pin all of these pins for easy re-pinning!

Have a wonderful Monday everyone!
*fingers crossed* for Spring to get here soon!
-M