Photos From Fall

Lots of water has passed under the bridge since the last post. The munchkin is in 4th grade now, and our schedule is busier than ever! Here are a few photo highlights.

First day of 4th grade!

We had a sleepover for the munchkin's 10th birthday party. Here they are painting fingernails.

We had a mystery-themed party, and used the Slumber Party kit from Dramatic Fanatic. I highly recommend these party kits! The directions were very easy to follow and the girls had a great time. Check out the cute cake my friend made to go with the theme!

For Halloween, we decided to continue the mystery theme. The munchkin was Shirley Holmes, girl detective, and our beagle played the role of her trusty sidekick, Watsonya. I found the pattern for the costume at the Martha Stewart site, and I found a huge cut of houndstooth polyester for less than $3 at Goodwill! Can't beat that!

 

One of the biggest highlights of recent days was Mary Beth's tennis tournament win. First place in girls 10 and under at a USTA Satellite tournament!

She won 4 matches to win the trophy. In two of the matches, she lost the first set then came back to win the second set and ultimately a tie-breaker to win the match. I suspect that it was her "never give up" attitude that won the first place price. Later, I asked her about it. "Well," she said, "some kids get all frustrated when they're losing, and it makes them not play as well. I decided that I would not let it bother me, and I wouldn't get lazy. I should just keep trying my best."

Wish I could bottle that.

First Tennis Tournament

It's been one LONG day, but it ended with the munchkin (on the left) bringing home a 2nd place trophy from her first USTA-sanctioned tournament. She played 4 back-to-back matches, beat the no. 2 seeded player, and won four out of 12 games against the no. 1 seed. Not bad for her first time out!

Battling it out for 1st place in her fourth match of the day.

More Scenes From Christmas

We spent Christmas eve and day in Florida at my husband's brother's house with them and with their parents. We always enjoy Christmas on the farm with our family and all of the animals. Our dog Bella considers it a Lowe dog family reunion! Some of these photos have already appeared here, and some are new.

Scenes from Christmas

It isn't Christmas 'til I decorate sugar cookies.

Santa brought a bulky gift early!

The reindeer are out.

Childhood flies away...

Teacher Gifts

I've been a busy bee this morning! The gift baskets are ready to go! Every year, I give gifts to the munchkin's teachers as well as to some service people who help us through the year. I struggle with the teacher gifts. I don't want to give them something lame when I know that other parents give them $50 gift cards and other expensive things. Our teachers are wonderful, and they deserve those lavish gifts, but it just isn't possible on my budget. I hope they like what they're getting this year!

I found baskets for $1 each at The Christmas Tree Shop, and last year, I found little small tins right after Christmas at Michael's 3 for $1. The baskets hold a tin of spiced cider mix and the small tin filled with Ina Garten's Rosemary Cashews. They're wonderful! I also tucked in some Ghirardelli squares. In the munchkin's main classroom teacher's basket, there are some teacherly goodies as well - pens, post-it notes, fun paper clips, and reward stickers. We have lots of teachers to remember - besides the munchkin's classroom teacher, there are lots of other teachers and staff members at school who deserve to be remembered, plus the piano teacher, the tennis coach, etc. Last year, I caught a sale at Avon on small things like purse size hand cream, lip balm, etc. and packaged those up in the smaller gift bags for the art/music/technology/Spanish/library teachers at school.

What do you give your child's teachers?

Happy 9th Birthday, Munchkin!

Her actual birthday's still 19 days away, but thanks to other weekend commitments in the coming month, the party was today. It was a beautiful day for it, and we couldn't have asked for nicer girls. They were all so polite and well-behaved. One of them even said, "Wow, Mrs. Lowe, you did a lot of work for this party!"  I just love her! The pennant banner above was easy to make using scrapbook paper, an alphabet stencil, a marker, and some ribbon. I could have bought one, but this one's more special.

The munchkin opened her present from mama and daddy early after mama and Auntie finished decorating the cake. Since the theme of the party was "An Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Social," we had some fun with the cake.

My poor photography doesn't do the cake justice. It was adorable! Tasted good, too. Again, we could have bought one, but then I we wouldn't have had the satisfaction of seeing (and tasting) something we did ourselves. Besides, sis-in-law and enjoyed making it together. I thought it looked great on my vintage milk glass cake pedestal.

I found some cute ideas on the internet using Starbucks Frappucino bottles, and adapted them for our party. It was really tough to drink all of those Frappucinos. (Ahem.) The round portion of the bottle label was free to print from the website Eat Drink Chic, and you can edit the words yourself.  I attached them to the bottles with clear packing tape. I ordered the straws here:  Pink Polka Dot Drinking Straws.

Our party started with chalk on the front drive. As the girls arrived, I had them draw their dream ice cream sundae. We had some quite interesting and large pictures to enjoy!

Next, we enjoyed an ice cream cone relay. The girls divided into two teams which they named "Ice Cream" and "Sprinkles." They took turns balancing a styrofoam ball on a waffle cone while they ran down around an obstacle and came back. We played for the best two out of three, and the winners got to be first in line for the food.

The girls really enjoyed playing a version of Duck, Duck, Goose that we renamed Banana, Banana, Banana, Split.

The girls created their own ice cream sundaes. I used some of my vintage Lu-ray pastels to hold the toppings.

All of the topping labels were found at Eat Drink Chic.

Since I'm a complete ribbon junkie, it was easy to use ribbon I had to create this ribbon topiary for the table. (Click here for instructions.)

There might have been just a little too much sugar at this party...

Of course, presents were next!

I found a bunch of ice cream cone containers of bubbles, so I let the girls take them outside and go crazy with them after the presents.

I send the girls home with gift cards from a local ice cream shop. I put each one in a glassine envelope and used a little wooden ice cream spoon as a tag. The printable tags that say "Thanks for Coming" are from Eat Drink Chic.

Labor Day Weekend Accomplishments

I did it! I accomplished enough to feel like I'm not behind, and at the same time, I had a lovely, enjoyable holiday weekend. In addition to the usual laundry, grocery shopping, and playing for church, I got a couple of clutter spots cleaned up, did some shopping for myself, caught up on some work for my piano studio, and spent most of Monday blissfully crafting in preparation for the munchkin's 9th birthday party next weekend.

We're having an ice cream-themed party for just a few girls, and I'm having a great time planning all the little details. I've found lots of inspiration on the internet. Here are a few photos that have sparked ideas:

Amy Moss at Eat Drink Chic

One Charming Party

I did a practice run on this cake last weekend. It turned out great! I'm not so good at piping that pretty edging, but my sister-in-law is, and she's coming up from Florida. Woo-hoo!

Living Locurto

A Little Loveliness

Amy Atlas at Sweet Designs

Amy Atlas at Sweet Designs

Bakerella

I'm seeing beautiful tablescapes, lots of vintage-style elements, custom labels, grosgrain ribbon, pretty paper straws, and everywhere a pennant banner. I'm incorporating all of these elements into the munchkin's party. I can't wait to share the pictures!

The Big Kitchen Reveal!

Or, I should say, the Small Kitchen Reveal because it is a small kitchen. It packs a big punch, though! We love the results of our kitchen renovation! If you want to see just how much it has changed, click here to see the before pictures. We had the ceiling scraped of its popcorn finish and redone, the overhead florescent lighting changed to cans, added new pendant lights, put in a beautiful tile backsplash, and installed new cabinets, countertop, and appliances. The only thing we left untouched was the floor.

As you can tell, I'm neither a professional photographer or designer! Apparently, not much of a housekeeper either. See the dishes left in the sink? Just keepin' it real, folks.

We're missing one knob on the base cab for the sink. We accidentally ordered one too few. No worries - it'll be done soon.

One of my very favorite things is the new microwave drawer. You press a button, and it opens like a CD drawer. Putting it here allowed us to have an actual hood over the stove which creates a great focal point for the room.

We added a little wine fridge under the bar. It's a great spot for it!

Now, credit where credit is due. The kitchen's design and installation were done by Smith Woodworks and Design of Augusta, GA. I've linked to their facebook page because it showcases their other great work. They gave me a time-frame of 3 weeks, and I laughed to myself at the impossibility that it would actually happen. Folks, they did it in 3 weeks and 2 days, in spite of Joel suffering a very bad ankle sprain in the middle of the job. He was right here, crutches, swollen ankle and all, working away. In fact, the whole family worked in my kitchen. Smith Woodworks and Design is a great family-owned company with a super work ethic and a strong commitment to doing things right. If you live in this area and you're planning to redo your kitchen, be sure to check them out. (I'm receiving no compensation whatsoever for that endorsement.)

We are very pleased with our kitchen!

Fourth of July Cupcakes

These cupcakes turned out just so darn cute I wanted to share!  It was probably a bit ambitious to make real buttercream for cupcakes that would be served at our family reunion on a 95+ degree day in Georgia. The icing will probably melt and slide right off. Even if it does, the cupcakes themselves are pretty special. There's a surprise inside!

Vanilla Three-Color Cupcakes
(Yields one dozen. Can be doubled.)

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
gel food coloring in red and blue


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk until batter is smooth. 
3. Divide batter equally into 3 bowls. Using gel food colors, tint 1/3 of the batter red and 1/3 blue.
4. You can layer the colors in any order you choose. Spoon a small amount of 1st colored batter in the cupcake liners and spread so that it covers the bottom. Spoon a small amount of the 2nd color on top, gently spreading it toward the edges. Finish with the third color. Cupcake liners should be filled about 2/3 to the top.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Buttercream Icing


1 cup butter, softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
red, white, and blue sprinkles (optional)

In a bowl combine butter, sugar and salt. Beat till blended.
Add the milk and vanilla and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until smooth and creamy.


Happy Fourth of July!