Already thinking about Halloween

For those who know me, I'm a nut when it comes to Halloween.  I love it.  I love that everyone, and I mean everyone, can escape who they are for a day and become someone else or something else.  I used to love dressing up when my husband and I were dating, but when we had kids it took on a completely different turn.

I have a thing for group costumes.  I had these dreams and got to see some of them come true, thanks to my family who allows me to torture them with the costumes I make.  But when it's time to share them with the community, they thank me later.  Well, at least my husband does.

2013, Scarlett's first Halloween:  The Smores Family 

2014, Scarlett's 2nd Halloween, (Me pregnant with Simone)

The Ice Cream Family

The ice cream truck and Scarlett's portrayal of the ice cream (wo)man was amazing and everyone truly loved her costume.  It is seriously going to be really hard to top that idea.

I'm coming up with a few ideas here and there, but nothing concrete.  I need to stop setting the bar so high.  I can't keep up with myself!  I sometimes curse at myself for not just wanting to buy a store bought costume and be done with it.  It's too much fun to have people look at your costume, smile, and strike up a friendly conversation with you for a few minutes.  Plus I have to do it now before my kids grow an opinion and all they want to do is dress like a damn princess every year.  I got a couple more years, a few with Simone, before anything like that happens.

Momma's night out!

You gotta love Groupon.  They have the best deals to some good stuff I've always wanted to do.  Example:  Paint Nite!

Paint Nite is when people come together to paint the same painting and eat and drink.  Of course, I did this with my bestie, Maan.  Maan just had a baby, Aria, 2 months ago, and with me working and dealing with my girls, and Maan doing the same with Aria, we NEEDED a night out together!  We bought a Groupon for Paint Nite and found a picture we both liked.  We ended up at Brunswick XL in Algonquin, IL. $25.  SO worth it.

Before the fun began

They supply the canvas, paint, and paintbrushes.  The instructor gives us simple directions while she demonstrates, and we try our best to follow along.  

 Maan concentrating.  It's already looking good.  

This was so fun to do!

The beginning of what's to come 

BEER BREAK! 

Okay, got the background, and the ground. 

With all the laughing that we were doing at our paintings, 

we decided to take a dessert break!

Trees are taking shape...and Maan goes in for some ice cream!

Maan is a PRO at tree making.  

My tree?  Ugh..was not happy about it. but whatever. 

Making shadows.  She means business now!

We added accents to the ground and there you go!

Mine

Maan's

The final products and their artists.  

This is TOTALLY something I would do again!  

I loved tonight.  I love this girl.  

#9: Be good at making a craft - Show off board

In mid February I became the permanent substitute at a school that I have been subbing at for a long time.  I'll be helping with the brand new testing program and after Spring Break I'll be the new 5th grade long term teacher for the rest of the year!  I'm super excited and nervous, but this is exactly what I needed to keep my spirits up.

Now that I'm working, I no longer have the luxury of making crafts and doing things that I wanted to do on my list, at least at the intensity that I wanted.  I'm still getting stuff done though!  Working on #9 off my satisfaction list-Be good at making a craft.  Check it out!

I know, I know, I didn't take pictures while I made it, but it was one of those projects I just decided to do on a whim.  This is for when my girls are old enough and come home with cute little projects they do in class and have it on display as opposed to leaving it in their book bags.  

What you need:

• display board from any craft store (in the wood section)
• paint and paint brushes
• a stencil (optional)
• velcro
• clothespins
• black sharpie

Note:  My board is very different from some that are in circulation on Pinterest.  I have 2 daughters.  I was NOT about to make one board for each child due to not wanting to clutter our walls.  My daughters have designated colors; Scarlett has red (duh), and Simone has purple (themed peacock room). 

1.  I painted my board with paint that I already had lying around the house (remember, shoestring budget).  I used the pink that I painted my daughter's room with.

2.  I bought 2 small bottle paint of my desired color and a stencil.  

Tape stencil in desired spot and paint over with two coats.  I would have a tiny paintbrush on hand to fix where colors bled passed stencil.  

3.  I went on Microsoft publisher and typed out what I wanted to put on the board.  After choosing the size and font, I mirrored the lettering so it was backwards and printed.

4.  I laid the printed side on top of the board (it will look like the writing is correct), and took a paintbrush and wet the paper with water.  

Here's a tutorial on how to do that:

http://www.domestically-speaking.com/2011/11/who-knew.html?scrlybrkr=f49605aa

5.  I used the end of the sharpie pen to rub the wording into the board.  I was half expecting all the ink to be on my board, but it's only faint remnants of what was rubbed off the paper. 

6.  I then traced the faint wording that was on my board with the sharpie and colored it in.  I then wrote my daughter's names in the big birds.

7.  I painted my clothespins to match the girl's color.  Each girl will have 2 pins, but if you're doing this for one child, then you can put more pins and don't have to paint the pins at all (if you don't want to).  

7.  I cut small pieces of velcro and placed one side onto the bottom of my board and placed the other side of the velcro to the clothespins.  This way your child can remove the pin, clip it on to their art, and place the pin back on the board.  

THAT'S IT!  It's super cute and there are many ways to do this for your home.  

Inner Suzie: #7 - Learn the art of cake decorating

On my very first post I listed off the things I wanted to do in my life, at least this year.  It wasn't much and it's probably minuscule in general, but those are my desires and I have to say, I'm making good progress!

I decided to take buttercream basics at Joann Fabrics.  This

cake decorating class was a lot of fun!  There were only three students, myself included, and the other two ladies were good friends.  Needless to say that I felt like a third wheel.  Next time I'm bringing a friend to take a class with me.

Anyway, I learned a TON of stuff and made some pretty amazing things.  This was my first cake using piping gel and certain tips to create this awesome owl.  It was a Thursday night class and I had a random cake for Friday for no reason.  So I just made up some cute little saying. 

I used the guava puree and mixed it in with my buttercream recipe and MAN! Was it good!!!

My last class we were to design with roses.  I don't like the look of roses because it looks too old lady-like.  But of course I was pretty good at it.  Ask me to do a daisy?  Yeah, it would look like a horror show, but roses I can do :)  

This cake was a cream cheese frosting so it was harder to frost the thing!  Ugh!  I destroyed the first cake.  The cake you see was my second attempt.  Practice makes (almost) perfect!

But nothing beats the birthday cake I made for myself.  Lemon and strawberry cake with guava buttercream colored blue.  Not only was it beautiful, it was YUMMY!

So, now that I have this down path, I will be making desserts and little cakes for holidays to come.   I'm getting better at taking pictures while I create stuff, so I look forward to doing step by step tutorials in the future.  Stay tuned! 

Inner Suzie: guava puree

So I'm staying true to my goals and have been learning so many things.  I took a sewing class and learned the basics.  I will eventually take another class to learn the more heavy duty stuff.  

I also am taking a cake decorating class.  That class is FFFUUUNN!!  I learned how to frost cupcakes in different styles.  This coming week I'm supposed to bring a cake in and decorate it.  I can choose 2 different kinds of buttercream frosting.  

As I was shopping for groceries I noticed that guavas were for sale. Coming from Hawaii I grew up with guavas.  Needless to say I bought a box and decided that guava buttercream was to be one of my frostings.

Guava puree:

1 lb. of guavas

1 cup sugar

water

I quartered my guavas put them in a pot of water, enough for them to be a bit covered. 

After water boiled, I set it aside to cool before putting into my blender.

I then pureed the guavas in my Magic Bullet and strained out the seeds.  

I put the strained puree back in a pot and put it on medium heat.  I added the sugar slowly and stirred and tasted as I went to make sure I had the right sweetness.  

It was amazing! I refrigerated it so I could use it for future buttercream frosting endeavors!  Stay tuned!

Crafty Craziness: Monsters University

My daughter LOVES Disney's Monsters University.  She loves Monsters Inc as well (she should, I mean, she looks like Boo) and I truly don't mind watching these movies over and over again.  However, every time we do watch the movies, I feel like she's not getting much education when she watches TV. So I decided to make crafts after she watches any Disney movie.

Since she's been on a Monsters kick, we made a Mike Wazowski monster face.  Now, I'm an a shoestring budget being in between jobs at the moment so I usually take things that are laying around the house, in storage, or go to the store using coupons.

I used a paper plate and some lime green streamer paper (from past parties) and some stick on felt from a past Halloween costume.  I put liquid glue in a small cup and with a clothespin clipped a cotton ball and used it as a wand for Scarlett to put glue on the plate.  She had fun making this.  

Then I got to thinking and to satisfy my sewing I wanted to make an Oozma Kappa shirt for my cherub.  

OOZMA KAPPA SHIRT

• Blank green shirt (look online for a place to buy them..or make your own)
• 1 sheet of green and yellow felt
• oozma kappa stencil--I got the stencil from this great website.  http://www.triedandtrueblog.com/triedandtrue/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/oozmakappatee08sm.jpg

 I pinned my stencils onto the proper color.

Then started to cut.

 The final cut out.

I'm just starting to learn to sew so I tried a ton of times to sew these on to the shirt.  

After 4-5 unsuccessful attempts I put the sewing machine away and went to good old fashioned

needle and thread.  

Here's my finished product!  

My baby girl loves her new shirt and I'll make sure she's using it whenever she watches Monsters University!

#7 - Be good at making a craft - Sewing class

I had signed up for a sewing 101 class (trying to knock out the things I wanted to learn) on Saturday and was wondering how in the heck I was going to do the class with my neck.  It was a non refundable class, I had to go.

The class was fun and I learned a lot!  I even made something :)

My first project, a travel Kleenex case

Regardless of a stiff neck, I was on a roll and wanted to sew, sew, sew!  I had bought a few patterns prior to the class and decided to start on another project.  An apron for Scarlett.

Gah!  What a cute apron!  Yep, I made that! :) I have a ton of Hawaiian patterns I bought when I was home in Hawaii and finally got to use them.

The finished product on it's new owner!  She didn't care for it much.

Now she can cook away in her kitchen!

Sweet Simone sporting the apron. 

She'll eventually get one too.  

Recipe Relish

This past Christmas I got so many wonderful gifts.  One gift especially was one from my sister.  She's always so giving with my daughters, I wasn't expecting anything from her.  But I opened the present addressed to me and saw my mom's old cookbook.  I remember this cookbook from my childhood.  We used to make a bunch of recipes from it and brought back sweet memories. My mom is no longer with us so this gift meant the world to me.

Mom used to work at this hotel.  There are some great local dishes in this gem.

I even added a recipe.  This was my handwriting from (I'm guessing) 6th or 7th grade.

I remember making this recipe too. I have no idea where I got it from though.

This book is so loved!  Look at all the stains on the pages!  You can tell

what recipes we made more than once.

I was so happy to have gotten this book.  It's not just a cookbook.  It was like having my mom here with me in Illinois, and in my kitchen.  I miss her terribly.

On top of all the wonderful things I want to do that I posted on a previous blog, one of them was to cook a lot more.  Unfortunately my husband and I are complete polar opposites when it comes to food on top of the fact that he is an extremely picky eater.  No fun slaving over the stove when I'm the only one that will eat what I make.  But restrictions are no longer going to hold me back from doing what my heart desires!  I'm going to cook away!  I have two girls and in-laws that are a little more adventurous in the food department.  Plus there's always family get togethers.  Stay tuned for some recipes to come!

Beautification Beginnings

I always thought that taking care of yourself just happened.  I mean, you get up, shower, brush your teeth, brush your hair and the rest just happened.  Sure, I put on some lotion and some eyeliner every once in a while and out the door I went.  

I grew up in Hawaii, in the hot weather where putting on makeup meant it would just melt off in a half hour.  I was also an athlete.  I never really needed makeup or skin care.  My Filipino-Hawaiian heritage blessed me with smooth caramel skin.  That way of thinking seeped into my adult life.

It wasn't until I was 19 or 20 years old did I notice I needed to change. I moved to Illinois and the cold weather dried up my skin.  As a starving flight attendant I could barely afford to eat, let alone splurge on skin care or makeup.  Even 15 years later, I have a hard time spending the money necessary to maintain a healthy, beautiful look.  Being a woman is expensive!!!  The facial cremes, lotions, foot care, nail/hand care, foundation, blush, concealer, eyeshadow, makeup brushes, eyebrow maintenance, haircuts and styles, clothes...shoes!!  I mean, C'MON!!

But the fact that I'm 35 (soon to be 36) and have never learned the basic beauty tips a woman needs to know,makes me want to start taking care of myself the way I should have a couple decades ago.  I've always envied women who looked so put together.  Now it was way overdue for me to be part of those women.

I got a $50 gift card to Ulta from my mother in law.  Needless to say, $50 doesn't get you much, but at least it got me things I needed.  I purchased some foundation, concealer, eyeliner and some skin cream, which should be coming in the mail soon. Then it dawned on me that I have a ton of products that I have either bought or was given to me over the years.  These items will be a good start to the goal that I have for myself.

Look at all the nail polish I own!  Who would have known!  

Some aren't even open!

Of all the products I have, these I can use on a daily basis.

Jackpot!  I couldn't believe the things I had and haven't even touched! Shame on me!   I've been doing some research on a bunch of self care stuff and have decided to start a morning and evening routine to keep me on the right track.

Cocoa butter.  This brand is super cheap and probably won't be using again after this bottle.  It doesn't hydrate enough and I end up reapplying more often than I should.

My poor tootsies will thank me for taking care of t hem more.  True blue is a decent product.  The round container is cream for cracked heels. 

I love this product.  I bought this at a Mary Kay party a friend was having at her house.  This is satin hands.  It truly leaves my hands super soft and hydrated.

The tub is the Awaken sea salt scrub by Arbonne.  

I got this at an Arbonne party I had hosted to help out my friend who is a distributor.  I love the way this product feels after I get out of the shower.  I'm as smooth as a baby!  

The orange bottle is eye serum.  I put this on my dark circles and the outside corner of my eyes.  

I got this product at my baby shower. It's called Skinny Girl Soothing Body Oil.  It is a mixture of almond and coconut oil.  I have not used this product yet but I'm looking forward to it.  It is said that these oils can remove dark discoloration of the armpits (which I unfortunately have).  Sweet, cuz it's pretty embarrassing.

I love these Biore strips.  It's amazing how many blackheads I have in my face.  I do get great satisfaction looking at the strip at what was removed.  Kinda gross, but at least it's not in my face anymore.

I should be ashamed for not using my Maderma the way I should.  After having Scarlett my stretch marks weren't that bad.  But after Simone, the stretch marks have become more prominent.  I need to buy more.

This is a start. It's kinda sad and pathetic that I have the means to get started but continue to be lazy and content with being kind of a frump.  I've used some of these products before, but sporadically.  Don't know why not consistently.  But this is the start of something awesome! My body will thank me for sure!