Sprinkles Of Charm

New Moon Party

I had some girlfriends over to celebrate the Twilight saga - "New Moon" release.  I've been wanting to do a Twilight party since the last movie came out so I had a good year to think about it.  I invited everyone to wear black onyx and blood red to the Cullen's home for dinner and dessert.  My favorite was working on the decorations and it came together to be a super fun party!

The front door. The red cellophane claw marks were a subtle reminder that Jacob was near :)

The table. I lucked out with the black chair covers. I bought cheap black pillowcases and sewed them a bit smaller and they worked perfectly on my chairs. I sewed the chair sashes and figured they can be used again and again with almost any holiday. I found the idea to use "forks" as place-cards on line - loved it! I tried to have some symbolism from each book on the table - chess pieces, red/white tulip, red ribbon and apples.

Drink Bar. I found the cute drink labels on the Hostess with the Mostess blog. The rest was just plenty of candles, flower petals and framed quotes from the books.

 

Other decorations. I already had all those fun feathers from another event so I HAD to use them :)

Dinner. I made Italiano. Fresh mushroom ravioli to start (from the local Whole Foods) drizzled with butter, basil, pine nuts and fresh Parmesan. The main dish was currant salad and Chicken Picatta.  I thought it was pretty tasty and very filling.

 
 
The Dessert Bar. This was the most fun to do.  I made most the desserts the day before the party. Chocolate covered Oreos, carmel and chocolate dipped pretzel rods, mini-chocolate cups with fresh raspberries, red velvet cupcakes and some other fun store bought goodies. This is a fun way to make dessert last all night long.

 
  The girls. My sweet friends who have ALL read the Twilight books.   We had so much fun eating, giggling and getting excited about the movie. My brother in law made these darling charm necklaces for me to give the girls. They all had Twilight themed pictures with their first initials. So cute. I love these women!

 

Twilight Jeopardy Game and The Forest. The game was a hoot. It lasted at least an hour and it was hilarious to see how well some girls knew their Twilight books!  There were prizes and plenty of laughs.  The party wouldn't' have been complete without the feel of the Forks Forest. I borrowed lots of trees, plants and had some fog going here and there.  It was pretty fun.

 

  

 
 

There's "P" in my Bathroom!

Quick post about the decorating of my little powder bathroom downstairs.  I had never done a thing with this until now.  Once the family room was done, that little bathroom seemed so drab.  My initial thoughts were to go crazy with it and paint it bright peacock blue or chartreusse.  But, in the end, a calmer, more mellow color prevailed (Silver Sage from Restoration Hardware).

Nobody can say I don't have a sense of humor.  My collection of P's seemed very appropriate in this room.  I hung them in old vintage frames ("vintage" meaning thrift store cheapo's) and even repainted a few of them to fit the theme a little better.  It's hard to tell in the pictures, but the P above the toilet is that peacock blue that I love.

The shelf is made from a junk yard shutter (repainted and rusticated of course) and iron brackets. The window is an old $3 find at the junk yard. 

I LOVE the colorful rug and my favorite is the mirror!  I hung the "P" towel holder and realized it was too tall for Hadley to reach so she picked out an iron crown (that I painted white and stained).  She gets her very own towel and thinks she's very important.

Once again, I enjoyed every minute of this.  I've painted a few little nooks in my house and done some little projects, but I think this was the last decorating re-do for awhile.  Here are the pics!

BEFORE

AFTER

   

 

 
 

 
 
 

Halloween 2009 - A Night at the Movies

We had such a great time on Halloween.  The girls all choose movie characters to be this year.  We've got a little High School Musical, a little Harry Potter and a little Twilight.  Madison has read all 7 Harry Potter books in the last 5 weeks - so she had to be Hermoine.  She makes a pretty good one if you ask me.

We have our very own darling Gabriella ready for the prom.

And with all the glitz, glam and PINK that comes with Hadley as Sharpay (minus the greedy attitude).  She insisted on carrying the flashy purse complete with pink microphone, pink cell phone and sparkly lipgloss. She kept telling people her hair was just a wig (in case we were confused by the platinum blonde do).

 

And, last but no least, my very own Edward - just finishing his last "drink".
 

A show down between Sharpay and Gabriella:

The whole crew together ready for a fun Halloween party at a friend's house.

 

It's a tradition for dad to take them Trick or Treating while mom stays at home to pass out candy.  Here's a picture of my favorite ring at the doorbell.

I don't think we got a great picture of all our carved pumpkins, but Madison's was amazing so I had to post it.  Can you tell what it is?

Here we come Halloween 2010!  The kids are already planning what to be next year!
 

Car accident, More Projects, Sawyer's Wig and Snow Day!

Schools are closed today for a snow day!  Kiddos are thrilled to have a cozy day at home with movies, hot chocolate and snuggling.  I'm not sure how much snow we got but it fell for 24 hours straight.  I got in my first weather related accident Tuesday night.  I was coming home at about 6:00 on the back dirt roads.  Only, they were starting to get muddy because the storm was coming in right around that time.  I was going about 40 mph and went to hit my brakes for a stop sign, only I couldn't stop.  I must have had caked on mud because the brakes were doing absolutely nothing.  It was the scariest moment with 3 kids in my car, going 40, unable to stop and there was a HUGE barricade I was about to hit.  It was either the barricade or the ditch - I chose barricade.  It was slow motion, barreling through that 6 foot barricade full speed.  We finally came to a stop after some screams from all of us.  I completely shattered the barricade and there was tons of fluid leaking from my car and some body damage (to the car that is).  I barely made it home - I could feel the car slowly dying (as the fluid was leaking out).  By the time Nolan got home it wouldn't move.  He jacked up my car to remove the 4 foot orange barrel I had crushed to smithereens.  We had it towed yesterday and so far the engine damage is $1300 - we haven't taken it to a body shop yet.  Yuck!  Nolan and I went back to the crash seen and he couldn't help but smirk, take a picture and say it must have been like dukes of hazards barreling through that huge "Road Closed" sign.  Car problems are like dental work - they stink but it's just part of life.  He took pictures with his phone, I'll have to post those later.  We are all fine, except my muscles are sore from tensing up.  Thank goodness.

Nolan bought this Halloween wig and Sawyer thinks it's pretty cool.  It is hysterical that he will just leave it on and crawl around the house doing his thing.  We've had a lot of laughs out of this one!

So, we painted the kitchen the same as the family room except I did a lighter yellow in the kitchen nook.  I made a cute curtain from a tablecloth and have started an old bottle collection on top of my black shelf.  I'm looking forward to buying one here and there in hopes that each has a story.  I found some really neat bottles at all the flea markets I've been going to.

 
The branches.  The idea started with me wanting to make a simple curtain rod out of a branch.  My plan was to make curtains for the rod.  First of all, the picture of Nolan hauling the dead tree we found home out the car window was hilarious.  The girls were laughing so hard as we were driving down the road with a tree hanging out our window.  I'm sure our neighbors thought we were smoking something fierce.  Well, one thing led to another and before I knew it I was screwing various branches into my wall above the kitchen sink.  It really looks neat in person - I could NOT get a good picture with the right lighting.  I decided it was a window treatment in itself - no curtains necessary.  And free - who can beat that!

I also covered $1.50 chipboard letters with batting and fabric to make "EAT" somewhat charming.  It was a fun project.

I've had this last project in my mind for a long time.  I bought an open back fancy frame and a chalkboard at Hobby Lobby (1/2 off of course)!  We cut the chalkboard down to size and whala- gorgeous chalkboard.  I've had a ball writing cute messages to the girls or inspirational quotes.  Today it says "Let it Snow".  It hangs in the kitchen and I love the way it turned out!

 

Decorating Part 1

As mentioned before I had such a great time making this room come together.  It was really nice to have a project to direct my creative energy to.  It's amazing how much happier I am when I can make things - turn things into something different than they were.  I just love it - it's a passion of mine.  Here is the room!

     

Here are my stories about this room.

I've decided more color would be a great, new thing for our home.  The fabrics were so fun and cheerful and I had such a ball turning them into pillows.  I tried putting a few zipper in those pillows.  I finally figured out how to do it with a tutorial on-line, but decided that the envelope style pillows were much more practical to sew.  Plus, you can still remove them to wash.  I also used dishtowels and cloth napkins from Anthropologie to make unique pillows.  Take a look.

 
 
Next, my glorious chair!  I've always wanted a great big slip-covered chair from Pottery Barn.  Well, they are SO darn expensive.  And then I found that good ole' JC Penny store!  We had ordered some look-alike Pottery Barn Bedroom Furniture for Madison's room a few years ago and have loved it.  Granted, it's probably not as good of quality as Pottery Barn, but we don't need top of the line. So, JC Penny had these darling chairs for 1/3 the price and we went for it.  I picked the butter color and love how it compliments the golden walls but is still neutral enough to work if we ever change our color scheme.  A few pillows and a clearance Pottery Barn chocolate brown throw - so cozy for reading and snuggling!

The jars. The jars. The jars, the jars, the jars.  I have always HATED this alcove above our mantel.  I just wanted a nice thick mantel I could put pictures or mirrors or candles on - with a plain, flat wall behind it.  I had never found anything that worked in there.  In fact, Nolan and I had many conversations about getting it patched and covered so it wouldn't give me anxiety anymore.  WELL, I fixed it!  I love the over-sized jars in there.  I decided to try to embrace the big hole, and I thought about how to make a statement.  It took about 10 trips back and forth from Marshalls and Ross, but eventually all the right jars became a family:)

We painted the high alcove a chocolate brown and I repainted my red stars cream to pop against the chocolate.  The wreath is okay up there, but I think I need something orange or turquoise - any ideas?  The basket liners were fun to put together.  I thought it added some nice color up high.

 

The lamp shades were an adventure.  I ordered an Anthropologie shade off Ebay (the bee and flower one on the sofa table).  I covered the other floral shade with some leftover pillow fabric and trim - I think it turned out really cute.  The white lamp I found in the clearance section of Anthropologie - it was cracked a bit - but not enough to bother me!

The little side table on the far side of the couch was found at a flea market.  It's super rustic with a barn wood top and banged up legs.  It came out of a backwoods cabin in Oklahoma.  I love keeping those rustic touches in the room to add character.

The curtains were fun and probably took the longest to figure out.  I couldn't decide how much pattern I wanted and if I wanted a lot color in them (in case I even wanted to switch color schemes).  I had pinned 12 different ideas up on the wall and nothing felt quite right.  I had seen burlap used on curtains a few times and had that in the back of my head.  Then one day walking through Target I saw a shower curtain that I loved!  I bought a few, cut them up, added some pom pom trim and neutral burlap to the bottom and ta da!  After I hung them it took me a few days to decide I really loved them.  It's just enough pattern to create visual interest, but not too crazy that it distracts from the pillows.  I also couldn't believe the $1000 rug from Anthropologie matched so perfectly.  Of course, you know I would NEVER pay that.  I got lucky one day (again in the sale room at Anthro).  A designer had ordered the rug for a room and decided she didn't like it.  She brought it back to the store and they just needed to get rid of it for $198!! Steal.
   
 
I've done some fun things in the kitchen and powder bathroom as well.  I better save that for another post since I've got to get myself and 4 kiddos ready for church in an hour!   Happy decorating...

New Decor - Sneak Peek!!

I recently (mostly) finished decorating my family room.  There are still some pieces here and there that I need to add as I find special things I like.  I have had this idea in my head for a good 8-10 months and have been working the last 3 months to bring everything together.  I've always done very traditional decorating with many rustic touches (which I still adore).  But, this time I wanted to go with something completely different and fun.  I've been thinking of orange and green for a few years and I decided to go for it!  Well, in the process I ended up adding a ton of blue as well.  I started with fabrics that made me smile and had lots of energy (some from Amy Butler, others are random finds at cute stores).  I also started with the great orange tin "P"  I found in Arizona.  It was my inspiration to begin.  My recommendation when starting a room is to ALWAYS have one piece that inspires you and motivates you.  The "P" was mine.  There are stories behind everything in the room.  We started with trying about 15 different paint colors before deciding on this cozy and warm golden tan.  I LOVE it!  I'm starting with a sneak peak of a few things and will post details of all my projects over the next few days.  Enjoy!!

The Witching Hour

Oh yes.  It was an amazing party.  My dear friend threw a witch's party last night.  Her invitations came a few weeks ago as a very plain black witch's hat with the inviation to decorate it!  Never ask a McMeen girl to decorate something unless you really mean it.  I decided on lots of glitter and glam - I think the sparkly skeleton head added just the right amount of Halloween.  The cape started as one piece of black fabric and turned into layers and layers and layers with trim - I just couldn't stop.  The broom was fun and I just used leftovers from the hat supplies.  I may have turned into a bit of a circus witch, but color is fun, right? For once I'll actually dress up for Halloween this year - the kids are excited! (side note - I've never in my life posted this many pictures of myself but I know mom and sisters NEED the details:)

 


The party was completely hysterical.  Everyone did such different things with their hats and outfits. There were four winners - Best Witch, Most Creative, Scariest and Prettiest.  We all voted on our favs and I was HONORED to take home a darling prize for most creative.

The decorations were charming with witch's brooms, a million candles, spider webs and a witch's cauldron on the drink table.  We dipped carmel apples and talked into the wee hours of the night (or morning I should say). She had miniature cauldrons at each of our places with Bath and Body's Twilight lotion. She served delicious homemade soups, salad, and fresh rolls.  Warm apple crisp and ice cream for dessert.  Thanks for a wonderful evening sweet friend!

 
 
 
 
 

Missed a Day....Oops!

Ugh!  I broke my chain of posts on hump day!  I had a busy day yesterday taking care of sick kiddos and preparing for a talk I gave the youth last night.  I spoke to 40 teenagers about planning fun parties, group dates and socials.  We also talked about being a good hostess and a well mannered guest.  They were a really fun group and could you think of a more fun topic?  I taught for about 45 minutes.  Part of that time the kids broke off in groups and I had them plan a party based on everything we talked about.  I gave each group an envelope with play money - that was their budget.  They were also given a bag of 3 props (plastic fish, toy gun, tiara) and they had to plan their party theme around one of those objects.  They did an amazing job and it was such a fun night!  Those teens sure have a lot of energy - good for me to be around!

Here are a few pictures of our kids playing outside.  A month or so ago one of these teenagers took these pictures for a school project.

In other news, we got the proofs back of our BIG family photo shoot we did a few weeks ago.  I really hate, hate, hate getting my picture taken which is why we only get a family photo every 6 or so years.  I think they turned out pretty cute though.  The pictures of the kids are more than darling and I hope I can scrounge one up of the family that we can get blown up big for our main wall in the new family room ;)

Polson Ranch

There's almost nothing the kids like more than visiting Grandpa and Grandma Polson at their ranch in Sedelia, Colorado.  They instantly become country girls riding on tractors, four wheeling, finding snakes, playing catch with the dog, picking wildflowers and getting really dirty.  Grandma always cooks delicious food and Grandpa spoils us in everyway.  We usuallly come in contact with various sorts of creatures - snakes, mice, coyotes, cows, deer, and elk but it all adds to the true country experience.

 
Today will be a quiet one around here.  Hadley and Bella are home sick with the flu - which is spreading like wild fire through our school and neighborhood.  I'm just praying little buddy doesn't get it.  I know the babies get hit really hard.

I'm also anxiously awaiting the birth of my little sister's sweet baby girl.  She's due any second!!   
 

Flashback to First Day of 5th, 2nd and Preschool

Sometimes it's hard to believe I have a 5th grader who is almost 11!  She is so big and responsible and becoming such a pretty young woman.  She's had her face buried in Harry Potter books for about 5 days now.  This is the first time she's read them and I do believe she's head over heels.  Of course she wants to be Hermoine for Halloween. She looked cute on her first day with crimped hair and a new outfit picked out on her own. She's queen of the school this year before heading off to middle school next year!  I told her to enjoy every minute of it - including getting to rule and reign on the back of the bus!

Bella, the 2nd grade fashion queen.  I love her choice of outfits and she always knows what she wants to wear. Her year started out great with getting the teacher she wanted and rough because her best friend isn't there with her.  She's been doing so well, especially excelling in reading like her big sister.  Nolan and I have often wondered what we did right to get two such advanced readers.  I'm not really sure other than reading to them every night before bed.  It's amazing how those simple routines can add up to such important life skills.

By little Hadley, off to Preschool a few weeks after the girls started.  This is her second preschool year with Ms. Sara's Montessori.  She is in heaven at Ms. Sara's class and is only one of six students. She's busy practicing her letters and numbers.  She looks forward to the monthly field trip and adventure.  Next week we're off to the pumpkin patch with her classmates!  She and I still enjoy our afternoons together - with the additon of baby Sawyer of course.  She enjoys this time to be the one and only big sister to our sweet little man.

And, as mentioned in my last post, I've been super busy decorating and sewing.  Here's a sneak peek at a few pillows I made.

And, I couldn't leave without posting a picture of Sawyer. He's acquired many nicknames; Chewy, Chewbacca, Snoopy, Buddy, SoyBoy...We love him! And, as you probably guessed, his choice of onesie provided by his Daddy!  I think all these females wear him out...a man's just got to escape.