Friday, April 30, 2010

Party Planning I

Next month I have another niece who will be born and now that I live nearby I can throw a baby shower!!! We are going to do the shower after she is born, then everyone gets to meet her too (BONUS)!
This is their second girl, but the first stained a lot of her dresses... so I decided a great theme for the party would be Clothes! For the invitation I think I will make it look like a paper doll and invite everyone to bring some cute girlie clothes to dress the baby as their gift! And as part of the decorations I will have a string hanging (like a clothes line) with clothes pins attached. That way after the gifts are opened we will hang the clothes up to add to the decorations!
For decorations I am also planning on making some of these Hanging Pom-Poms in pink and some other color, I haven't decided what color scheme to have yet!
Pom-Poms and Luminarias
And check out this cake:
Baby Shower Cake Ideas
I think I might try to do something kind of similar... it doesn't look too hard... and I already have some fondant made!
A couple things I would LOVE to have, but I have to check how expensive it would make things.
I would love to have some Organza fabric to drape around the food table, like this:

And don't you just LOVE how it looks with the lace table cloth? Another item I would LOVE to have!
I have this new love of orchids lately... and I would love to have two potted orchids to have on each end of the table. And champagne style flutes would be fun too. We will definitely have to see what all I can pull together!
Since I do photography I was thinking I would try to get some super cute newborn pictures and have at least one up on display.
Aside from decorations... there are always the fun games to play! There are SO many games out there that this is something I am going to have to think about. But one thing I think I will do is fill a baby bottle with candy and have people guess how many pieces are inside.
Any of you have a favorite baby shower game?

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Swagbucks Update

I know I mentioned this site back in November, but I just wanted to give an update as to how I am feeling about it now that it's been almost seven months that I have been using it. I absolutely LOVE winning prizes for doing searches online!

I do a LOT of searching for things online... so it is totally worth it to me! One thing I have noticed is google is still the best search engine, especially if you aren't quite sure of what exactly you're looking for. But if you're just looking for general information or new recipes to try I personally have used swagbucks a LOT! I have used it so much in fact that I have been able to get $30 in Amazon.com gift cards! That's enough to get someone a decent gift (Mother's Day, Birthday, Father's Day, etc.). I am hoping that by July maybe I will have enough gift cards accumulated to be able to get my son a bike for his 3rd birthday! (SHHHH don't tell him!) I am about a quarter of the way to get another gift card. But even without that I have gotten close to $5 a month just for doing searches! (Those gift cards don't include the ones my husband has received!)

Anyways, if you too are interested in getting prizes for something you already do... then I HIGHLY recommend you sign up for a swagbucks account and start getting money for it! You won't regret it... in fact you might find yourself just doing random searches just for the fun of seeing what comes up and if you'll get a prize!

Search & Win

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Wishful Wednesday

I have been lousy at keeping up with this blog! We are still living with my mom... we think we found the apartment we're going to move into, but who knows we may still change our mind! Along with moving I have found myself planning more than ever as to what I would love to have our home look like! Our big concerns are the living room and dining room... we don't really have anything for those rooms! So, I think I have found as close as I can to my dream dining table set here:

The only things I would change with this set for it to be absolutely PERFECT is I wish the table and chairs just had straight legs (like the back legs on the chairs) and I would LOVE it if there was a leaf for the table. Definitely not a necessary feature especially if I have the open counter in the kitchen that I want, I just like the option to make the table longer if needed. I do love the X-back chairs, the light color microfiber seat, and the black finish.

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Update 5/10/2010
I think I found a set, the Raymond 9 Piece Counter Height Dining Set, that is even closer to the one I dream of than the one above!
This one is from directsourcefurniture.com
It has the beautiful legs that I like (they won't collect dust the way the one above will)!
It still has the X-Back chairs and is counter height.
However I don't know if the chairs are upholstered with the microfiber like the one above. AND this one is NOT the right color... it comes in either a Cappuccino finish (which is better than the maple finish I have seen).
But, I really LOVE the black finish of the one above.
Old world style comes alive in this Counter Height Cappuccino Dining Table Set.  Also included is one 18 inch butterfly leaf. Four squared legs support the table and subtle arches run underneath each side.  The table measures 54 inches square and sits 36 inches high.  This set includes 8 chairs.
This one has the 18 inch butterfly leaf, which I really like the idea of being able to change the size as to the needed occasion. This table is 54 inches square and 36 inches high.