90's Party & Weekend Recap

FAB FRIDAY
Cheers to a great weekend!! Here's how ours started, celebrating 90's style for my best friend's birthday! We had so much fun, the costumes were hilarious and the playlist was amazing! It's all in the details…check out the prop table for the "photobooth" she made. For the backdrop she used white paper and put neon streamers and cassette tapes as the background.
From left to right: (Front) Kelly Kapowski from Saved by the Bell, Dumb & Dumber (Middle) Ace Ventura, Lisa Frank, 90's mom, Brenda from 90210, Garth, Kevin Richardson (Back) Pulp Fiction John Travolta & Uma Thurman, Eminem, Cher from Clueless, Wayne

 I just love the photobooth idea, its key to any party I host from here out because its a fun way to capture the moment! I also love the hashtag because you can see everyone's pictures from the event ;) 

SATURDAY PROJECT

…stay tuned to see whats in the works!! 

SUNDAY FUNDAY

My mom & I took Reagan to Maymont Park. It's so gorgeous this time of year and Reagan loved seeing all the animals! If you haven't been, you should put it on your to-do list! Nothing beats seeing that little face so happy & excited to see things for the first time. It was a great end to a perfect weekend :)

DIY: How to build a Terrarium

Terrariums have been quite the craze lately. Although they were popular decades ago they have surely made a comeback! I've always thought they were so pretty and love the way they add life to your home. What better way to honor Earth Day than to make a beautiful live terrarium?! I have to admit, I don't have a green thumb and I always forget to water my plants! The beauty of terrariums is that they require minimum amounts of water :)
Here's what you need:

First you will need to select a container. It can be an open air container or something bottle-like to create a closed environment terrarium. Either way, I like to use glass to see the entire terrarium. I chose to do a succulent & cactus terrarium, so you will need cactus potting soil. Pebbles, sand or rocks, activated charcoal and sphagnum moss. 

1. A layer of course sand, pebbles, or stones (like I used above)

2. Activated charcoal (thin layer)

3. Add a layer of sphagnum moss

4. Add soil. If using cactus, get cactus potting soil which can be mixed with regular potting soil. 

6. Add plants or seeds. Be creative, switch them around until it looks like the perfect little paradise!

Terrariums are so fun to make and they are the perfect gift for just about anyone! It's also a great activity to do with kids or even your mom ;) Have a great Wednesday! 

Happy Easter!

It wouldn't be Easter with out the Easter bunny!! After waiting in line for 2 hours on Friday, Reagan was not too thrilled about the Easter Bunny! They snapped this one right before she started screaming & crying. 

Three years ago right before Easter, I found out I was pregnant. I invited my parents over for dinner to tell them the big news! We sat them down and gave them little Easter baskets with an egg in each. In the egg was a bib, one saying "Grandma gives the best hugs" & the other saying "I love my grandpa". They immediately burst into tears of joy and its one of the most wonderful memories I have.

This is Reagan's second Easter, and I have to admit I love to celebrate this sentimental holiday with family & lots of peeps ;) Family is everything and I'm so fortunate to have them! So fortunate in fact, they all participated in helping us build a swing set this weekend for little miss Reagan ;) Here are before & after pics!

She had so much fun playing on her new swing set & loved having grandaddy push her!

So great spending Easter Sunday with family! 

I hope you & your family had a great Easter weekend too!

Monogram Makeover & 2 FREE GIVEAWAYS!

Monograms are a great way to make your house feel like a home! It's a personalized touch that adds character and charm. Makeover your house with monogram accessories, because there's nothing better than a fabulous home :) Find out how to win a free monogram letter below!

Lets talk Monograms! For those of you who don't know what a monogram is, it's the initials of your name or the combined initials of you & your spouse. The first letter of your last name makes up the middle letter, usually the largest. The letter to the left of that is the first initial of your first name. Then, the letter to the right, is your middle initial or either your spouses initial (if married). Depending on what you are monograming would determine which initials to use. If it's something for the home, I like to do my initials with my husbands initials. If its a necklace or something personal, I will do my initials.  These days you can just about monogram whatever your little heart desires! Jewelry, towels, wooden front door letters, garden flag, bumper sticker, all types of glasses: wine, high-ball, pitcher, etc. Dining room chargers & plates, iPhone case, wine cooler, napkins, totes, pillows…you get the picture!!

  My go-to place in Richmond for monogram home decor, accessories & gifts, is a little gem called Tweed. It's a boutique in Short Pump (across from Short Pump Town Center) that is cute as can be! If you're ever in the area you need to stop by, you will be so glad you did! The prices are very reasonable and the employees are friendly & helpful. I love it because it's a one-stop shop when it comes to finding gifts! No matter the occasion, I can always find something! They do such a beautiful job on the free gift wrapping they offer. There are all different colors of tissue paper & ribbon to choose from! Below is their signature gift wrap.

I had the pleasure of meeting with the store manager, Kate and she gave me the full tour of Tweed! She took me in the back where all the monograming happens and they are fully equipped with embroidery machines and all! She's such a genuine and down to earth person, it makes supporting her small business (that I happen to be obsessed with) surely a delight.  Here's a look around…

Scout

Baby/Toddler                        Lilly Pulitzer & Vera Bradley                       Holiday: Easter

            
A few of my favorite things…

Virginia Pillow

Monogram Plates

Southern is a State of Mind Pillow Enter to win a FREE wooden monogram letter of your choice (black, white, pink or green) & a FREE $25 gift certificate to Tweed! There will be 2 winners for this giveaway so don't forget to vote every day for your chance to win these amazing giveaways from Tweed!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Organic Mom

Spring is here, and that means clean eating is in order because bathing suit season is only a month away! Get ready to spruce up your kitchen with some fresh fruits & veggies! I've got some healthy & delicious recipes to help you along the way!

Eating healthy coupled with the beautiful weather here in RVA, staying active is a must! I've been going on daily walks with my daughter around our entire neighborhood which is 2.7 miles total walking distance. When my husband gets home from work we bike around the neighborhood and a little extra down the street. It's a great way to catch up after a long day of work & enjoy the outdoors together! He likes to pull Reagan behind him, because he claims to be a better biker than me ;)

After our biking routine, I whip together a protein & veggie dinner. Definitely not as fun cooking healthy, but I can't tell you how great I've felt these past few days that I have. Last night we had Turkey Taco Salads. They were so delicious!! I have a new obsession with ground turkey, I like it even better than ground beef and its so much healthier!

Taco Salad with Turkey

Ingredients:

Mixed lettuce, 2 cups

Ground turkey, 1 lb.

Taco Seasoning packet

Colby & Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Taco Sauce, 1 tbsp

Greek Yogurt, 1 tbsp

Directions: In large frying pan, heat ground turkey on med-high heat until done. Drain. Return turkey to pan and add taco seasoning + water. On bed of mixed lettuce, place turkey, cheese, taco sauce, and greek yogurt. **Add tomatoes, guacamole, or onion if you desire**

You are what you eat! Ever since Reagan was born, I've become rather fanatic about the quality of foods I cook and keep at home. Once she started eating solid foods, our pediatrician told us the importance of giving her Organic food. She recommended that we watch a couple of documentaries on Netflix (Food Matters & Hungry for Change) and I'm telling you they changed me!

Prior to our pediatrician telling us about the importance of organic food, I had already anticipated starting Reagan an all organic diet. These two documentaries really solidified all the questions I had about organic food and why it was so important. I'll spare you all the detail (so you can watch for yourself), but like our pediatrician asked, "Would you want your daughter running in a freshly sprayed field of pesticides?" I answered, "Of course not!" She said, "Then why would you want her eating & ingesting fruits and vegetables that were sprayed by those chemicals?" We were in total agreement. I went to Whole Foods that day and stocked up! Ever since then everything I cook is organic. So I always say, eat organic whenever possible!

DIY: From SHAB to CHIC & FREE giveaway!!

Up-cycling with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

This old armoire was given to me, its a really nice piece of furniture (other than the stain I can't stand) I've converted it into a liquor cabinet and a place to store large appliances for the kitchen. There are two drawers below, one of which I use for storing grilling devices and the other I use for place mats, table cloths, and plastic utensils. It's in our morning room off the kitchen near our kitchen table.

Here's what you need to get this look:

From left to right: Sand paper, paint brushes (thin bristles), Sander Deglosser, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (graphite), Annie Sloan Soft Wax (dark), Rust-Oleum Metallic (Satin Nickel)

1. Clean furniture with warm rag to remove any dust that may be lingering.

2. Remove hardware 

3. Sand off any rough edges or uneven surfaces.

4. Use Sander Deglosser on the entire piece of furniture with clean rag. Be generous, and really scrub to remove dirt. Dries pretty fast.

5. Once the piece of furniture is clean, sanded and dried, coat the furniture with the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. If you want your color to be darker, use 2 coats. I always use 2 coats! I like using a small, medium, and large paint brush. Use the small brush when painting in intricate spaces and the large when painting large flat areas.

 6. Spray paint hardware with Rust-Oleum Metallic (Satin Nickel)

7. Once furniture is completely dry (I usually let set 24 hrs) apply the Annie Sloan soft wax with cheese cloth or either a rag that doesn't shed, in small areas with small amounts of wax. You want to use circular motions and literally keep rubbing until wax is off the furniture. This basically is just a "stain" you put on top of the chalk. It makes the surface smooth and shiny. The dark wax enhances the color of the graphite too. 

8. Put the hardware back on & ENJOY ;)

Where to buy Annie Sloan Chalk Paint?

                                         

Thrill of the Hunt is one of my favorite Up-Cycled shops in town, and they are also an Annie Sloan stockist! They have such fab finds, and also offer the Annie Sloan chalk paint classes. I'm so excited to have Thrill of the Hunt participate in my first giveaway as a blogger! They will be giving a free 4 oz can of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, so make sure to enter your name below for a chance to win this amazing paint!! Also, stop by Thrill of the Hunt in Ashland, VA and be sure to mention The House of Holly blog while you're there!


a Rafflecopter giveaway