From John Deere Room to Play Room

Finally the reveal of our John Deere Room turned Playroom!
Unfortunately for my husband this means no green tractor in his immediate future, but I think this room is better used for corralling toys and art supplies. When we moved into our new house the John Deere Room had been turned into a home gym by the previous owners.  Lucky for us they had already added an epoxy coating to the concrete floor and finished the majority of the walls; all we had to do was add a little paint and some storage solutions.

The colors of the room were inspired by Dr. Suess's "Oh The Places You'll Go."

The Before Photos

The After Photos

Cozy nook for playing games, reading books, and tickle wars.

Arts and Crafts Corner, Complete with Chalkboard Wall

Dress Up and Dance...Or Go Shopping

Great Storage Solutions from Target and Land of Nod

When Your Kids Aren't Old Enough to Read, Use Photo Labels

Little Bins Hold Markers, Crayons, and Stickers

Inspirational Dr. Seuss Quotes are Scattered Along the Walls

Book Corner.  Big Books Go In the Book Rack.

Small Board Books Go In Bins

Huge Mirrors...Great for Dancing and Making Silly Faces
(I see a ballet barre in our future)

The Best Thing...The Room's Double Doors Open to the Backyard

We Tack Our Paintings to the Wall in an Art Corner

Making Art. 

Coming Soon...

There's one update to this room I'm desperate to do but it didn't fit into the playroom make-over budget just yet.  Eventually I'd like to replace the storm doors with these great dutch doors. Dreaming...

Edible Cupcake Invitations

Printed invitations are expensive! And what's sweeter than an invitation you can eat?  For Maggie's 2nd birthday we're doing a simple Cake and Ice Cream party. Most of her friends are neighbors so we delivered cupcakes to invite them to the party.

First we made vanilla cupcakes with vanilla icing.  And added little toppers with the party details.

Then Maggie and I delivered the cupcakes to our neighborhood friends.  Maggie had a hard time not tasting each one.

And when we were all done we enjoyed a little treat ourselves.

For the family members not close enough to get a cupcake we sent photos of the treats and Maggie in an email with party details.

This was a lot of fun and a very inexpensive way to create invitations.

Easy Potluck Party

It's 8:15pm on a Saturday and I'm sitting in my PJs watching college football, nicely snuggled in for the night.  My house is clean and my daughter's sleeping.  But just an hour ago my house was full with families dining, mingling and celebrating fall.  This is bliss for a lady who likes to entertain.

Easy Potluck Party

My Mom's Group wanted to have a fall party to get our families together so I offered to host a potluck.  We settled on 4:00pm to start since that's after the kids nap times and gets everyone home in time for bedtime.  As the hosts my husband and I provided the main course, a smoked brisket, and a dessert, pumpkin cupcakes (recipe below).  Everyone else brought a side, dessert or drink.  This is the easiest kind of party and the variety of dishes easily provides conversation topics.  Since our kids are too young for organized crafts or games, we simply blew up some balloons and put them on the floor. They were a big hit with the wee ones.  

Since our house was already decorated for fall and Halloween, we didn't do much to get ready for the party.  I just sat out plates, cups and flatware and cleared counter space for everyone's yummy dishes.  Then we relaxed and enjoyed visiting with our friends. 

When all the guests were gone we just had to put away leftovers and take out the trash.  It's like getting two Saturday nights in one -- we hosted a party and had the rest of the evening to relax at home.  I love easy potluck parties!

I love this caddy.  It's perfect for displaying cups, straws, napkins, or cutlery.
Keep a couple sharpies in a caddy so you always have a way to mark cups.

Little signs throughout directed guests to the playroom or the powder rooms.

For additional outside seating provide a basket of picnic blankets.

Bells on the door are fun and let me know when a new guest has arrived.

Yum! Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramel

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramel
When hosting a party for large groups I'm all about keeping it simple.  Baking or cooking anything too complicated would only stress me out.  These cupcakes are very easy and only partly homemade.

Start with Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Cupcakes (makes 24).  After the cupcakes have completely cooled pipe cream cheese frosting on to cakes and drizzle with caramel sauce. 

Pumpkin Cupcakes by Martha Stewart
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 can pumpkin puree

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Kids Birthday Party: Thing 1 and Thing 2

My daughter is spoiled.  She's only one but she's already loved by so many.  We have a rather large extended family and so over the weekend they threw a family birthday party for Maggie and her cousin, Brayden, who just turned two.  My sister-in-law came up with the idea of doing a Dr. Seuss themed party "Thing 1 and Thing 2" since we had a one-year-old and a two-year-old.  It was perfect.

This is a great theme for a dual birthday party, a baby shower for twins, or for any kid that loves Dr. Seuss.  And who doesn't love Dr. Seuss?

The party was held out on "The Farm," residence of my in-laws on the most perfect early fall evening.   Everything you see here is the work of my creative sister-in-law. I only provided the birthday girl and the cupcakes.  She did a great job.  I hope you enjoy it!

Thing 1 and Thing 2
Tutu from Just Samantha on Etsy.com
You'll see this again.  Maggie will be Thing 1 for Halloween as well.

Extra Large Cupcakes for the Birthday Kids
The Messy Blue Icing is Intended to Represent the Things Messy Blue Hair

   

Red Fish, Blue Fish, One Fish, Two Fish
Goldfish and Swedish Fish in Fish Bowls for Snacks

 

Seuss Juice:
Juice Boxes and Water for the Kiddos

Green Eggs (No Ham)

Child's Birthday Party: Cupcakes in the Garden

Over the weekend we hosted a first birthday party for my daughter, and a bunch of her little friends.  The theme was "Cupcakes in the Garden" but with nearly 100 degree temperatures outside, we brought the garden inside.  Here's how we did it. 

Before you do anything, think about the best time to have a party.  Mostly adults? Anytime will do.  Mostly kids? Try to pick a time you think most will be up from their nap and ready for a snack.

Decorations

We hung twenty-five tissue pom flowers from the ceiling of the great room.  You can buy kits for poms from Martha Stewart or on Etsy.  But if you want to make them yourself it's very easy.  Click here for a link to directions.  

A wreath made of poms and an 'M' in the center welcomed guests at the front door, while flower pots were filled with colorful pinwheels.  A laundry line hung above the snack table with photos of Maggie from newborn to one year.  

Food

Cupakes, of course! These silicone flower cupcake liners were perfect for a garden party (Hobby Lobby) and I used the famous vanilla cake and icing recipe from Magnolia Bakery.  Since the party was during most kids' snack time we also provided healthy garden-themed snacks.

Menu

Sweet Pea Skewers

Carrot Snack Sticks

Sweet Potato Fries

Vegie Sticks

Flower-shaped PB&J

Activities

Wee ones need entertainment.  We cleared away the coffee table and rug and put down a picnic blanket and rubber balls.   Small pinwheels and ladybugs that crawl and flip were enough to get the kids on the floor playing.  A pail with bubble wands and bunny snacks was set out for party favors, each with a little thank you note from Maggie.

It was a lot of fun putting together Maggie's first birthday party and really exciting to see all her friends playing and having cupcakes in our indoor hanging flower garden.