partyDECOR :: honeycomb globes

Recently I've taken to searching Pinterest for party ideas for my upcoming 30th birthday 

(less than 6 months, EEK!).

One of the decor ideas that I've come across and loved was a huge shocker to me.

HONEYCOMBS.

You know, like the old school, super cheesy paper accordion ball thingies from the early nineties!

I have NEVER looked at these with serious interest before,

but truth be told, I am now HOOKED!!

I plan on using a ton of these super fun and super cheap globes at my 30th shindig.

And you can rest assured there will be a huge variety of colors on hand.

Here are a few of my favorite decor inspiring pictures.

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So, what do you think?
Has this trend grown on you as well?

Do you have a specific party decor element you currently love that you used to dislike?

peace, love and all things sparkly.

summer 'to do' list.

To say that I'm excited about the upcoming summer would be an understatement.

As I type this my workload is slowly winding down (I have more work during the school year than in the summer months).

While my wallet is not overly thrilled with this, I can't help but be excited to have a bit more time to myself, doing things that I enjoy.

I have a really hard time just sitting back and relaxing sometimes,

especially when life is busy.

I feel like there's always something that needs to get done, or something that I'm falling behind on.

But I've decided to make a bit of a summer resolution, if you will, to enjoy myself more.

I will never be fully caught up on the laundry, or the dishes.

I have two young children and live in a two bedroom apartment; there will, inevitably, be toys scattered throughout my home.

No matter how many times I pick them up.

This is not to say that I will let everything go and become sloth-like or anything,

but some downtime involved in a tv show or reading book after book or spending more time working on my blog will be good for me.

I intend to use the extra bit of free time I have this summer to recharge, for come the Fall, things will be crazy busy again.

In order to do this I have decided to make a 'to watch' and 'to read' list for the summer.

There are countless shows on Netflix and Hulu Plus that I can't wait to watch, and while I won't be able to even make a significant dent in that list, I can definitely mark a few off.

Same goes for books.

Right now, I have picked up again on the show Parenthood (I actually started watching this a few months back, then life just got busier), and I have to tell you, all the good things you hear about this show are absolutely true.

As far as books go, I'm finishing up The Infernal Devices trilogy and I already have several books lined up to read after.

Most likely I will end up making a Summer 2013 To Read shelf on Goodreads.

That brings me around to the purpose of this post.

If you have any must watch tv shows or must read books to recommend, please do so!

I've found that some of the best of both worlds have been found by recommendation.

What are you planning on watching/reading this summer?

peace, love and all things sparkly.

spring has sprung.

With spring in full swing,

 I'm a poet and didn't know it! ;),

 and wildflowers popping up all over the place,

I've found myself being drawn to pictures of beautiful, bright colored flowers more and more.

They just make me happy.

And some way, some how these pictures help to get the creative juices flowing in my brain.

Creative juices is kind of an icky phrase, don't you think?! 

So, I thought I'd share the happiness (and quite possibly inspiration) with you.  

Enjoy!

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peace, love, and all things sparkly.

getting healthy.

Confession time, you guys.

I'm abandoning my 30 by 30 list.

As much as I didn't want to admit it, I've finally come to terms with the fact that the whole project was just not for me, at least at this point in time.

There are definitely things on that list that I would still like to (and plan to) accomplish, and who knows? 

Maybe one day I'll make another list.

I like lists.

Unfortunately, I think my reason for doing the 30 by 30 list to begin with, wasn't so much for myself, but because it's become the "thing you do" when you turn 29.

My heart just hasn't been in it.

Speaking of my heart, I've decided that instead of focusing on a list of the things that I want to do before a certain age, I should focus on me and my health.
Like that segue? ;)

Thirty can be a kind of daunting age,

not because it's "old", but because you've finally started to realize that there's no turning back the clock.

Going into the big 3-0 I will have been married for nearly 10 years and I have two gorgeous children.

They're the other thing that makes me realize that time continues to pass (sometimes too quickly).

Audrey is already 7 and Lawson will be 2 next month.

They keep aging, which means that I, no matter how much I don't want to admit it, I keep aging as well.

And while I feel that you can make great, healthy changes at ANY age, 

the fact of the matter is that the older you get, the harder it is.

 So, I have decided to dedicate the next 6 months (my birthday is in October), and beyond, to becoming more healthy.

But I have also decided that being healthy is something that I want to maintain long term.

So, there will be no "fad" diets, or starving myself, because, well, those just aren't healthy anyway.

And while weight loss is definitely a benefit of being healthy, it is not my only goal in this.

I will be "baby-stepping" my way toward good, long lasting health.

And hopefully I will be impacting the health of my family as well.

A few weeks back I watched a documentary on Netflix called Hungry for Change.

Something that was said on there has been milling about in my head ever since.

The gist of the statement was that adding in small, healthy habits to your normal routine is, in the end, more sustainable and healthier for you.

People who make drastic changes and go "all in" 100% tend to get burned out and eventually go back to their old way of doing things, but by making small, simple additions, you make it easier on yourself.

There's no deprivation and it seems much simpler.

Then, those small changes become habits that eventually affect other areas of your life and lead to other small changes and so on and so forth.

Sounds good to me!

My plan is to keep updating here about my progress, how I'm feeling, the changes I see, etc.

Every small change I make will be documented here and hopefully so will, in time, big results!

Here's to health and happiness!!

peace, love, and all things sparkly.

stop stressing!

As I'm sitting here typing this, it is 10pm on a Tuesday night and I am not so patiently waiting for a cake to cool.

That way I can demolish it, mix it with frosting, roll it into balls (let those chill), put sticks in the balls (that sounds WAY dirty in my head!), melt white chocolate chips, dip the prepared cake balls in the melted chocolate and put everything in the fridge.

Before I go to bed.

Tonight.

Tomorrow is my oldest baby's 7th birthday!

Let me tell you, it is very bittersweet to this mama.

I love that she's getting older and going through new fun (and interesting) stages,

but I also miss my baby Audrey, or my toddler Audrey.

Life is passing way too fast.

And one of the lessons I'm slowly, but surely getting rammed through my thick skull on this ever quickening journey called life, is that it's too short to stress over stupid things.

Like birthday parties.

Yes, I am that mom.

The one who deep down seems to think that my value as a parent lies in whether I can throw my children kick ass birthday parties.
I start thinking of themes MONTHS before the actual day.
I make Pinterest boards full of theme related ideas.
I dream and I plan and I dream some more.
Then time slowly (or quickly?) creeps forward and the "big day" is looming ahead of me.
I'm too busy and too tired to put forth the effort that the "gala" that took residence inside my head requires.
Also, I'm not made of money.

I always try to pull the parties off anyways.
I mean, it's for my kids right?
I'd do anything for them.
Anything to make them happy.
Except, deep down, I'm throwing the party for myself.
To prove to myself (and others) that I'm supermom.
And when people make comments about how much they liked this or that,
I shrug and act like it was nothing; it took no effort.
When really, what I ended up doing was not even a fraction of the lavish party in my head.
And I grumbled and complained (mainly internally) at least half of the time I was making the preparations.

In reality, my kids might have a fun time,
but they have a blast just hanging out with me and their dad at the park.
At almost 7 years old, Audrey rarely, if ever, talks about her past birthday parties.
And when she does, it not about the decor, or to thank me for all the planning that was involved.
Sometimes, okay MOST of the time, she doesn't even remember what we did for her last birthday
(or that it was too windy to even set out the cupcakes that took me several early morning hours to make).

I think I'm finally learning that, when it comes to my kids and their birthdays,
less really is more.
It's the fact that we're together, celebrating this amazing little life, that counts.
Honestly, it never turns out the way I want it to anyway.
And is it really worth the weeks of stress prior?
 Or my impatience with the kids because I'm already frustrated with planning a fantastic shindig to celebrate their life?
Seems a little backward, no?

So this year, we're going a bit simpler.
I even cancelled Audrey's "big" party to help with my stress levels.
And guess what?!
She's even more excited about our pared down plans.
Because, to her, big party or not, I'm still the best mom she's ever had. ;)

 Sidenote :: to keep my stress levels down even farther, I've decided not to add an photos to this post.
In a strange way, it's a bit liberating.

peace, love and all things sparkly.