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Oh My Gosh, the Wait is Over!!!!

October 23, 2012

It is not often that I am excited about yet another store coming to Surf City.  We have strip mall after strip mall after…You get the idea.   We have A LOT of shopping opportunities here.  I am a woman who likes to throw fab parties and decorate, so obviously I like to shop. But many of the shops seem to carry what the other shops already carry.

I think I have been pretty honest with my “obsession” with Pinterest.  Funny, I don’t know why I feel the need to put “obsession” in quotes.  I may have a problem I need to look deeper into.  But not now (= denial)…Pinterest is really, for me the greatest thing since sliced bread, Mr. Clean’s Magic Eraser and spray paint, all rolled into one.  The pics are beautiful, inspiring and frustrating!

Wait, what????  Frustrating? For me, yes.  You see I have been following blogs for quite some time and have been on Pinterest for almost two years and the common thread that I have found to be so frustrating?

(I have heard “they” have an amazing assortment of knobs.)

Each time I would find a fabulous craft that I just had to make, I would scour the supply list to see over and over (and over…) one name.  Not Michael’s and not Jo Anns, my two local craft stores. But…

There I said it.  Hobby Lobby has practically taunted me over the years.  “Ooohhhh, look what I have to make X, Y and Z!  Oh, but wait, sorry YOU can’t shop here!”  It was just plain mean!  Ok, maybe I am being a tad dramatic (I think Buddy is rubbing off on me as he is in rehearsal for two plays right now). But still, it was so maddening!

Alas, dreams do come true!!!  This past Friday, the much-anticipated store opened (Soft opening?  WHAT is that anyway?!?) and I am heading there later this morning.  I feel like I am headed to Craft Mecca (too dramatic again?  sorry…).

From their add in the local paper (Thanks for telling me about it Sachi!) they have everything. I did not know they even carried furniture!  Since I am heading there to shop, err, I mean browse today; I sure hope I haven’t been too excited about Hobby Lobby and they end up having the same stuff as everyone else. That would be truly, seriously disappointing (I know. Too dramatic.  Again.).

Baby Girl is also very excited to go.  But I think it is best that I go on a Reconnaissance Mission without her first.  It will be safer for the both of us (and my wallet).

I better get going so that I can finish my morning chores and then off to Hobby Lobby to shop, I mean BROWSE without any guilt of dishes in the sink, beds unmade, dog unfed…  My life is SOO glamorous!

Until next time,

Butterscotch Lady

Filed Under: Crafts, Uncategorized

A “Glamping” We Will Go!

October 15, 2012

The BIG 1-0!!!

 Baby Girl has turned double digits!

Come on in!  Your invited to celebrate us!

To celebrate this momentous occasion, we decided to have a Glamping sleepover.  What is Glamping you ask?  “Glamour Camping”!  Sure girls can rough it, but why not “rough” it in style?  For the first time ever, we were allowing a slumber party in the playhouse!

As with any party for Baby Girl, we started with her color scheme.  This year we found clearance invitations from Michael’s that had a fun teal blue pennant tied across the invite.  The 30 invitation kit (I only needed 8) was $9 and came with everything we needed.  We then headed to Jo-Ann‘s to search for scrapbook paper that we could make pennants from (matching the teal blue theme).  Instead of finding what we were looking for, we found something that she liked even better…

Slate blue with brown polka dots, red apples and straw scrapbook paper.  Yay!  Looks like I finally get to use fall colors for a party!  Since we were throwing her party 2 weeks after her birthday (mid September- technically still summertime), it was going to be the last weekend of September- Officially Autumn!

But since I had already found a great bargain with the invites, I was still going to use them even though they were a tad “summery“.

If you follow me on Pinterst, you may have noticed my Board “Baby Girl’s 10th Birthday”.  I pinned all sorts of great ideas; many that did not fall into my budget or Baby Girl’s final “vision”.  I have found that Pinterst is a great place to start when planning a party and looking for ideas.  Don’t be intimidated by the “perfect” parties!!!  (Seriously, how much are some of those fab parties?) I have found that those pics can often make me feel inadequate and frankly they can stress me out!  So pin away, but go easy on yourselves with the expectations! No matter what you do, enjoy the process!!!

Welcome to “SNR Glamp“!

The Glampers “sleeping tent”.

Cabin #10

I love to use pictures for an inexpensive, yet fabulous decoration. Print pics on your home computer and sprinkle around the party.

Our little pirate

Homemade shredded beef tacos, caesar salad and pink lemonade. Bon Appetite!

Dessert Bar

S’mores Mix: Golden Grahams cereal, mini marshmallows and mini chocolate chips.

The Glampers from Cabin #10

We have a tradition during the gift opening that makes everyone feel special.  Whomever’s gift is being opened, they sit with Baby Girl.  What I love is that I always have at least one picture of Baby Girl and each of her guests.  Plus, we have a visual gift list to help with thank you notes.

One of my favorites things that Baby Girl did was when it came time to give her glampers their Glamping survival goody bags, she called each girl up and told everyone what she loved about her friend.  It was so sweet to hear how each girl was special to her for different reasons.  We all need to embrace our differences!  (I hope they remember that as they head into the teen years!)

A new tradition was born last year at Baby Girl’s birthday slumber party~ Ding Dong Ditching!  Of course I could not just let them run loose, disturbing our quiet neighborhood without leaving a little treat!  Ding Dongs wrapped in cellophane bags and tied with ribbon.

All set to ring some door bells!

If you have been reading my blog, then you know we love to have Drive-In movie nights and Baby Girl’s party was no different.  They bundled up and laughed their way through a family favorite “RV” with Robin Williams.

As we all know, you can’t go camping without roasting marshmallows!

For some reason they all wanted their marshmallows seriously burnt!

Before the girls were sent to bed in “Cabin #10” they closed out the party singing Karaoke.  Unfortunately,I was forbidden from taking pics during the show.  However, Baby Girl’s rendition of Green Day’s “21 Guns” was epic!

After a few hours of sleep (literally!), the glampers awoke to a breakfast of homemade waffles and bacon (Baby Girl’s favorite!).

Thanks for coming to Baby Girl’s 10th Birthday Glamping Party!

Hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as this great group of girls did!

My purchases for the party were as follows:

{Michael’s}Invites $9,Fall garland (4) $8 a piece,8 Brown Chargers $8,8 Spa socks $4 (50% off!),8 Sleep masks $4 (50% off!),8 tissues packages $4 (50% off!),4 Nail File kits $4,Notecards $2,Cupcake liners $2. {Jo-Ann’s}Scrapbook paper $6. {Home Goods}8 Dinner plates $3.99 each. {Smart & Final} Mason jars $9 for 12. Desserts $12. {Dolly’s Sweet Dreams Cotton Candy} 10 containers for $20. {Shinoda}$67 total-Ribbon (brown gingham, brown and blue stripped, red),Twig Ribbon,Fall Leaves,Brown Market, Bags, Cellophane Bags,Artificial apples,2 small artificial tress. {Feed Barn}4 Bales of Hay $60. {IKEA}Chandelier $40,Mirror $40,8 Blankets $3.99 each,5 red frames $1 each. {Wal-Mart}Small bales of hay $4 each,Door swag $20. {Donated}10 jar candles. {Market}$40 for chuck roast, tomatoes, onions, tortillas, romaine lettuce, Caesar dressing, croutons

Mr. Cabana had a sheet of plywood that I used to paint the glamp signs.

Party total (approximately)-$440

Now, I don’t want you to think that I spend $440 on Baby Girl’s birthday parties normally.  I don’t.  (Remember, her Valentine party was less than $40.)  But…Since it was her 10th birthday (and I now have a Blog!), I justified the extra money.  You only turn double digits once, right?  Some of my purchases (the chandelier and mirror) will be re-used over and over (and over and over…).  See? I am REALLY good at justifying the extra expense.

Was this a “perfect” party?  Yes!  Because Baby Girl and her friends thought so and they are the discerning of clients!  But do these pictures look like the ones I drool over on Pinterest?  Nope.  And I am actually ok with that!  As I have been more than forthcoming about my lack of photography skills (I am trying to take more and better pictures!), I would love to have had a professional take the pictures of the Glamp.  Ahhh, maybe someday…

Buddy and his best friend, Branden. They were such good sports and took the glampers “ding dong’ ditching.

Until next time,

Butterscotch Lady

Filed Under: Birthday Parties, Uncategorized

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