Baby Shower Games-Simple and Hilarious

Shower games are always hard.  You don't want to be lame or cheesy or make anyone feel weird (or be forced to eat baby food) so it can get tough depending on who is attending the shower and what the mother-to-be likes.

Mrs. Curly J aka the Brayer was in charge of games for the shower.  She decided to go simple and hilarious.

Our simple game involved guessing how many bookworms (to go with the Book Theme) were in a jar.  Curly T, below, actually tied as one of the winners.  She won the bookworms.  The other winner got a Target gift card.  (PS-Hobie did not grow by 20 billion times.  That is my friend's dog Barkley, Hobie's Wise Old Man friend)

The second game was Baby Shower Bingo that we played while Beezus5 was opening her presents.  Each person filled out a Bingo card with baby related items that we thought B5 would get.  When she opened one of the items, we got to mark them off our card until someone got Bingo.  It was fun/hard to come up with 25 baby items if you are not used to babies.  My mom had no idea of the plethora of breast feeding supplies that are out there today.

The hilarious part came courtesy of the free space on the card.  We decided that although this was a girls only event, the Dad should be present in some way.  So Mr. Curly J did some photo shopping (or something) to create a baby version of the Dad to be, E.

I died laughing when J first emailed me the 'free space' pictures.   Fortunately, I don't think E reads my blog and therefore won't see that I posted this pic on the interweb.

Luckily, I think most people found this funny and not totally disturbing. 

Good job on games, Brayer!

What do you guys think?

Wordless Wednesday-Fall Themed Mantel Decor

As part of my 31 for 31 goal, I have decided to decorate my mantel for each season.  Here is my weak attempt at Fall.  Considering I will probalby decorate for Christmas next week, I didn't go all out on this one.

Amazing, right?

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Baby Shower Craft Hour-Alphabet Book

This weekend, my friends and I had a baby shower for Beezus5 who is having a baby in January-ish.  I think that the most important thing about party planning is trying to make it personalized to the individual.  Beezus5 likes reading so we had a book themed baby shower (with some owls and Harry Potter and Fall stuff thrown in there too).

I kind of like making stuff, so I thought it would be fun to force people to make a craft at the baby shower.  We made an alphabet book for B5 and her baby that also doubled as a guest book so one day mini B5 will know who came to her mom's baby shower.

I bought a photo album and made a page for each letter of the alphabet (by adding alphabet sticker).  Then we had each person draw or color a page and sign the back.  I was concerned that some people would not want to draw (or think they were not good enough at drawing) so I found some alphabet pictures at the Dollar Tree that people could just color if they did not want to draw.

Shanzie and my mom were so excited to be getting their craft on...

This ended up working much better than I thought it would.  I have come to realize recently that not everyone loves crafting or making stuff as much as me, but everyone at the shower willingly participated in this craft.   Some of the drawings were realllllly awesome (not my drawing of a jar of jam per se)...

Have you ever been to a baby shower where you had to make a craft?

Don't you wish you had your own ABC book?

Wordless Friday...

My craft room/spare bedroom looks like this now.....

My dining room table looks worse.
But next week you will get tons of exciting baby shower posts!

31 for 31-A New List for a New Year

Well I turned 31 last week so here is my new list of goals/things to do for age 31...

JM's 31 for 31 List....
Let's start with things from last year that I didn't quite get done but still want to do....

1-Make a classic/fancy meal from scratch like Beef Bourgogne (and learn how to spell that word)
2-Teach Hobie how to catch something that I throw at him (not just hit him in the face and fall off). I believe in him!
3-Make a pie from scratch
4-Paint the wood panelling in the basement
5-Watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
6-And instead of a full 48 hours off of the Internet, how about I only check my email one time in a 24 hour period? (sad but true, I'm addicted to the Internet)

And some new stuff...

7-Figure out a really good birthday present for B
8-Reach 100 sales on Etsy (I am at 99 so hopefully this will happen)
9-Learn how to babysit a newborn on my own without adult supervision and without causing harm to myself or the newborn. Also make the newborn love me and want to be just like me when she grows up.
10-Convince Beezus5 to name her baby after me. Teach Beezus5's baby how to catch something in her mouth that I throw at her. Teach Beezus5's baby my name as her first word. Be a good role model for Beezus5's baby.
11-Sew a skirt out of t-shirts or make something awesome out of t-shirt from my book about making things out of t-shirts
12-Keep track of my expenses/income/sales/profits on Etsy
13-Plan a trip to California or Maine
14-Get my fitness back on by....doing some light weightlifting 3 times a week for at least a month
15-Get my fitness back on part deux by....running/jogging on the treadmill or outside at least 3 times a week for at least a month
16-Make a really awesome (perhaps Pinterest inspired) piece of wall art for the den
17-Become an expert at baby shower planning
18-Organize my craft room and keep it clean
19-Turn an old piece of furniture into a new piece of furniture
20-Read 12 books
21-Run/Jog 2 5k's
22-Have another Movie Night (somewhere)
23-Try harder with makeup and hair
24-Make ice cream
25-Make cd's I've been meaning to make
26-Make a jewelry organizer
27-Watch Casablanca
28-Re-read To Kill a Mockingbird
29-Decorate the mantle for each season/holiday
30-Make a nice surprise for someone out of the blue
31-Be awesome/nice as much as possible on most, if not all days

Well I have already achieved #8 since I started writing this list, so I might have to change that one.  But yay, go me!

I think last year's list encouraged me to do some things I wouldn't have normally done (ie:buying a groupon for a ski day trip, watching Shrek, making people birthday presents, etc) so we will see what happens this year.

Any changes I should make?

My Italian Food Birthday....

My birthday got of to a good start.  On my birthday I found it acceptable to have dessert for breakfast.  So B and I headed to a local bakery, Ollie's, and I selected this raspberry tart as my breakfast.  We also picked up 2 giant loaves of Italian Country bread....

because later that evening some of my friends (and parent friends) came over for an Italian feast.  Here's our appetizer meat and cheese platter (including some fig chutney we got in Italy).

I made bruschetta that was similar to how we had it in Italy...
Bruschetta with Capers Recipe
-1 pint cherry tomatoes (quartered)
-1 to 2 garlic cloves minced
-2-3 tablespoons of capers
-some good quality olive oil (probably just a couple tablespoons)
Mix together and serve with toasted bread.

My mom got me some Italian spices to mix with oil and dip bread in.  It was awesome.  We had four types of spices and used our olive oil from Italy.  This was a big hit.

The pregnant girl made a fig and ricotta tart.

And my husband made some tiramisu.  (He also bought a backup tiramisu in case his failed.  They were all awesome.)

There was also a lasagna in there somewhere.
Obligatory girl photo.

Obligatory girl photo where I awkwardly touch baby.

It was an excellent birthday party!

30 for 30 update-Part 2

Here is the conclusion of my 30 for 30 list.  I managed to turn 31 over the weekend so I will have to make an updated list soon.

16-Get my car detailed (or pro-cleaned on the inside, whatever that is called)-Well my car managed to get detailed but it was because B had to borrow my car one day and was sneezing due to the dust build up.  So he got it cleaned for me.  For my safety.  I have done a really good job of keeping it clean since then though!
17-Watch Shrek-Check.  A lovely film.  Now I understand that Shrek ride I went on at Universal Studios.
18-Do something annoying that I've been procrastinating (like I usually do) I realized this one would be hard to do or at least describe so I'm changing it to....Make my friends homemade birthday presents.-Now I don't know if my friends liked this but I did manage to make mostly all homemade presents this year for my girl friends.  They got a random assortment of earrings, scarves and even coasters.  Shanzie got a hand sewn camera case because her birthday was in February and that was before I knew just how hard sewing was.
19-Paint the wood panelling in the basement-We still want to do this, maybe over Christmas break.
20-Dye my hair dark brown. I am changing this one to...Do something daring with my hair.-I cut a billion inches of my hair off so I think this definitely counts.  I'm back to ponytail length though but I like the new shortness of my hair and will probably get it cut again in a few months.
21-Attempt a fashion trend that I have been previously scared of (we're talking skinny jeans here or boots or tights with skirts) or just try to become more fashionable in general-Well I now have 2 pairs of skinny jeans and 2 pairs of boots.  Plus I wore a semi short (for me) dress in Las Vegas.  Does this count?
22-Get my passport renewed-Check.  I'm pretty sure those Italian people wouldn't have let me in their country if I hadn't done this.  Also the photo is from the day after I got my hair cut.  So I'll be able to have a reminder of my insanely short hair for the next 10 years
23-Watch Anchorman-Check, good stuff.  Although I realized I had already actually watched most of it.
24-Redecorate my office/craft room/spare bedroom.-Yes.  We painted it and pulled up the carpet.  I added in my grandmother's old writing desk and made a photo collage for the wall.  It is currently slightly disorganized and cluttered but I will fix that soon.
25-Take a full day off from doing any chores/crafts/exercise/work/baking/cooking etc. And just chillax.-Hmm.  I think one day when I was sick I watched like 3 Red Box movies in my bed.  Does that count?
26-Take a full 48 hours off from any Internet.-I'm addicted to the Internet.  Especially now that I have an iPad.  I would still one day like to attempt this but I might have to be on an un wi-fi island somewhere for it to happen.
27-Watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia-I think I watched 3 more episodes.  I like this show, I just always figure out something I want to watch more.  So this is still a goal.
28-Read more books (I need suggestions)-I did ok at this.  I read the Hunger Games Trilogy, the Tina Fey book and several other random things.  I like reading.  I just have to be in the mood for it.  I'm currently reading Mindy Kaling's new book.  Awesome.
29-Buy/Make birthday cards for B's family members and remember to send them.- I think I was mostly successful at this.  Some of the cards were a little late though.  I will try harder.
30-Be awesome everyday-OK, I won't lie, I think there were a couple minutes (hours?, days?) in there where I wasn't awesome but for the most part I was extremely awesome.

So how did I do?

I've Got a Lot To Do in the Next 2 Days aka an Update On My 30 for 30 List-Part 1

Last year around this time I decided to make a list of things I wanted to do while I was 30.  Well my 31st birthday is on Saturday so let's see how I've been doing.....

Here is the first half of the list with my comments.....



1-Take a sewing class-check!  I took a class last year where we learned to sew a skirt....for more on that see below.  In the class, I learned that sewing is really hard.  I haven't done it in awhile but I have a few projects I want to try.

2-Make a classic/fancy meal from scratch like Beef Bourgogne (and learn how to spell that word)-Well I did not make the Beef B yet.  I still want to.  And I have made a lot of meals this year so I'll give myself half credit on this.

3-Plan a trip to Europe or California or both-Italy is in Europe right?  Check.  I went to Italy and it was awesome and I ate a lot.  California is still on my future travel plan list.

4-Teach Hobie how to catch something that I throw at him (not just hit him in the face and fall off)-I have yet to accomplish this but I really blame Hobie for this.  I have tried with many different object.....socks, goldfish, squeaky toys, tennis balls, rope bones.  He gives me nothing.  He either ducks or lets it hit him in the face and then picks it up.  I even attempted to get him to leap off the couch and catch something mid-air.  It was a no-go.  He's still cute though.

5-Sew an apron-I sewed myself a nice Christmas apron and I look forward to pulling it out again in a few weeks.  Again I would like to apologize to anyone who I may have yelled at during the process.  It was only like the hardest thing ever.

6-Run/Jog a 5K without stopping-Check.  And I'm very proud of this one as I'm not much of a runner but always hoped to be.  I did 4 5ks this year.  Two of them I ran the whole time.  The Komen Race for the Cure was impossible to run due to the thousands of people surrounding me for the first mile but I finished up the last two miles at a slow and steady jog and I think they raised a lot of money so win win.  The last 5k I did a few weeks ago ended with a GIANT hill so that put a cramp in my body and my plan to run the whole time.  Although I think that one ended up being my best time even with the small amount of walking I did.

7-Go on the One Tree Hill Set tour in Wilmington. (why? because I'm obsessed with TV and my parents have a beach house that's an hour away from Wilmington)-My  mom and I thoroughly enjoyed this tour although it was a shock to learn that none of the food in Brooke's refrigerator is real!

8-Host another dinner party that is eaten at the dining room table-Check, check, and check.  My birthday party last year was a big dinner party and we had several more throughout the year.

9-Sew an article of clothing-I technically sewed myself a skirt in my sewing class although I don't know how to measure myself and made it way to big.  So maybe my new goal will be to sew an article of clothing that I actually wear.

10-Make up something awesome to sell on Etsy-So as it turns out, some people actually like my customized wine charms on Etsy, especially Brides.  I had over 60 orders this year, including multiple orders of over 100 charms.  Yeah, go me.  Wedding season got a little rough but I managed and I was able to pay for our food tour in Italy as well as some hot new boots for myself with some of my earnings.

11-Make the photo shelf wall in the guest bedroom-Well there is now a shelf in the guest bedroom but I wouldn't really call it a photo shelf wall.  In other news I made a cool Young House Love inspired wall photo collage in my craft room.  And I plan to make more soon.

12-Make a lasagna from scratch (not from scratch pasta noodles but besides that)-Well I ate a lasagna this year.  Does that count?

13-Go skiing (where I actually have to get on a ski lift to get to where I will ski down from)-My body only hurt for three solid days after my first ski adventure.  I also didn't fall out of the ski lift as I had feared.  Next time I'm going to attempt to learn how to stop without hurling myself into the snow. 

14-Make a pie from scratch-Beezus5 made us a skillet apple pie last Friday.  Does that count?  Maybe over the holidays this year, I will attempt a pie. 

15-Learn how to work the downstairs DVR-Why would I need to learn how to use this when I watch all my TV upstairs except for things I watch with my husband?  And when I watch with my husband, he is there and knows how to work the DVR.  It would just be a waste of my brain space to learn this.  Plus upstairs TIVO and I are bff and I don't want him to be jealous of downstairs DVR.

Not too shabby.  I will be back tomorrow with more details on the rest of the list unless I'm too busy trying to make beef bourgogne or a pie from scratch while also sewing myself a dress to go with my new boots and tossing things at Hobie's face*.

PS-If you go ahead and send me my birthday present today, there is still a chance it will get here by Saturday.

*PPS-No dogs were harmed while trying to teach Hobie to catch stuff.

Wordless Wednesday-Halloween Baking

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars from What's Gaby Cooking...

Cast Iron Skillet Apple pie by Beezus5...

Both were delightful.

Did you do any Halloween baking?