Party like it's 1981

My brother-in-law Rob turned 30 last week and we decided that warranted an above-awesome party. And since he was born in 1981, that meant it was 80s themed!



From the playlist (Cyndi Lauper, Tiffany, Michael Jackson, and Madonna anyone?) to the food (pizza and buffalo wings) to the snacks (grape soda, chips, Pop Rocks) to the ThunderCats cake, it was incredible. We really outdid ourselves, especially with the costumes. It was surprisingly easy to come up with 80s-looking clothes; I even had the ankle-high boots, minus the fringe (the boots I had when I was six had fringe and rhinestones, don't even worry about it)

The rest can be told in pictures, starting with the amazing ThunderCats cake Tim whipped up:

The whole party, with the original Mario Brothers game on the TV

Chelsea and her adorable daughter Addison with the Pop Rocks

Colin, Christian, and Jen

Grace playing with the cool sunglasses

Paul and Bekah

Rob the Birthday Boy and Valerie

Me and Tim

It was a great party and to be totally honest, made me like the 80s a little more than I ever have before!

Even more crafty-ness, can you handle it?

My crafty talents know no limits. That's not even true, but I had a lot of fun putting together this project and I love how it turned out!


Tim made me the jewelry box in the corner of the picture (yes, he MADE it from scratch, completely on his own - amazing!) but I have a couple of necklaces that either get tangled in the box or are just too big, so I went in search of something that would be an easy DIY necklace hanger project. I had this general idea in mind, but I found this project with the cork and the fabric here and that's what I followed.

To make: I measured out two pieces of cork to fit inside my frame, then covered them with spray adhesive and placed my fabric on them. (Recognize this fabric?) I wrapped the ends of the fabric around the back of the cork and let it all dry overnight. I sprayed my frame with blue paint (it look three layers to cover the original black), let it dry, and put the cork inside the frame. Done! Then I got to play with the placement of the pins and necklaces, which is almost the best part.


As a side note, I recently joined Pinterest, and I'll be honest, I didn't really get the appeal right at first. Then I started looking at people's boards and searching for projects and about four hours later, I understood the appeal. I have to be careful not to spend too much time on it or I never get off!

The birthday weekend that kept on going...

So I lied. Yesterday's birthday post was incomplete - the last (and best) surprise was still to come!

Monday night, I asked Tim to find out what his parents' plans were so we could see them before they left for California. Tim told me that they were having dinner at a park - he was very unspecific. I came home a little early from work (via the store because Tim said we needed to take chips and cups to dinner), got ready to go, and was a little surprised at how quickly Tim volunteered to drive us to the park.

We chatted as we drove through the pouring rain, got to the park, and that's when I noticed my grandparents' truck in the parking lot. Then I noticed a ton of people I recognized (some all dressed up) sitting on the benches under the pavilion and I realized that it was a surprise party. For me! I've never had a surprise party before, and Tim planned one for me with my friend Jen for after my birthday so I would have no idea. And I didn't - I was in complete shock. (But the good kind.)

The party was fantastic! Lots of my friends my high school were there, plus most of my Herrick family and friends, and my grandparents and brother. Tim had prepared a ton of food (totally without me knowing - apparently he got done making it exactly two minutes before I got home from work) and possibly best of all, it was a regency-themed surprise party (think Jane Austen). My sister-in-law Chelsea and her sister Crystal made me a dress and a matching hat so I would be able to dress up too. I couldn't believe it! It was beautiful. And so many things started making sense - like Jen asking for my dress size (I thought she was trying to find me a birthday gift) or Tim wanting to know who I'd invite if we were having a big birthday party, or Tim suggesting I stay a little later at work so I could get caught up. They were so sneaky.

Since I was completely unprepared for the party, I didn't take any photos, but I grabbed a couple from Crystal's blog and Crystal is an amazing photographer. I can't believe how beautifully they came out!





Thank you, thank you, thank you Tim and Jen for an amazing birthday party, and thank you to everyone who came. I felt so loved and remembered on my 25th birthday. You are all amazing, and I am so lucky to have you all in my life.

Birthday weekend

I fail at taking pictures, but I had an awesome birthday weekend. It extended from my actual birthday on Thursday all the way until Sunday night at my parents' house. Even though this birthday was kind of a big one, I wasn't in the mood to try to put something huge together. Maybe that's a sign of getting old. Plus it started to get really stressful trying to decide when to do things, because my parents-in-law came into town for my niece's birthday (who shares a birthday with me, how fun is that?) and we weren't sure of their plans and there were just several things to be juggled. So, I opted for smaller and simpler.

On my actual birthday, I worked for just half a day and then came home to the best surprise ever - Tim had cleaned the house! He totally tricked me into thinking he was at work too but actually he was home, sweeping and mopping (my least favorite chore), taking down the curtains and washing them, washing the windows, vacuuming, scrubbing the bathroom, and pretty much just making it the best birthday ever. Then we went to Tucanos for lunch, saw a movie, went to Borders, got ice cream, and finished the night with Gilmore Girls. It was perfect.

Then on Friday we had a party in our backyard for family and friends who count as family. We were going to attempt dinner but it felt like too much work so cake and ice cream won the day. I had fun decorating with my pom pom garlands and all the candles we own. I took just a few pictures, but I had a lot of fun!






Then Saturday was the party for my niece Grace who turned one. It was also a ton of fun and I did a much better job taking pictures:






And then Sunday night was a birthday dinner and presents at my parents' house. My family completely spoiled me. It was a great end to several days of partying.


You know, even though I am now 25 and in my mid-twenties instead of early twenties, I don't feel old. It was a milestone birthday, but not in a bad way. I feel pretty good about 25, so happy birthday to me!

Crafty-ness, again

The more I work with crafts, the more I've realized that learning how to make beautiful things is within my reach. Tim and I have been working on a quilt together, but I've taken some time to make other projects too. Keep in mind that I only make easy projects, I only make practical projects, and I am paid to write instructions for how to make things like these, so forgive the instructions if you didn't want to know.

First, magnets! I made these a while ago, and I have another batch waiting to be made, but here are some easy magnets I made for myself and gave to my sister as a birthday gift:


How to make: Trace an clear acrylic rock (you can find them in all sizes at craft stores) onto pretty patterned paper, cut out the shape, and hot glue it to the back of the rock. Hot glue a magnet to the back of the paper, trim any excess paper from around the edges of the rock, and done! The hot glue does show through the acrylic though, so I've been looking for an equally strong adhesive that will work better.

Next up, baby blocks! I got this idea from our Create: For for the Home book, which is probably my very favorite magazine of any that we've published since I started working at Northridge. It took me two failed attempts to get these right, but I really like how they turned out. They're just fabric blocks that babies can throw, eat, and handle without anyone or anything getting damaged:


How to make: Cut out six equal squares of fabric and sew four of them side by side in a row. (Remember to sew with the right sides together so the seams are on the inside.) Sew one side of the fifth square along the top of the first block in the row; when you reach the end of the side, leave the needle in the fabric and rotate the row so the next side of the fifth square is lined up with the top of the second square. Do that for all four sides of the fifth square, then repeat with the sixth square on the bottom of the row. On the last side, leave a gap. Turn the block right side out, fill with stuffing (I used leftover quilt batting and then I started pulling stuffing from an old pillow we didn't use), and hand stitch the gap closed.

This next project is the one I think I'm most proud of: crayon holders that roll up (can't think of a more succinct name). They have little pockets for 12 crayons and then roll up neatly, perfect for little kids who need something to do at church. Again, these came straight from Create: For for the Home, and the best part was that I followed the instructions I wrote for the magazine exactly and they worked! I think that is a sign of true success, if you can follow your own step-by-steps and get the results you wanted.



How to make: If you want the full instructions, let me know, but essentially you place a folded piece of fabric along the bottom of a long strip and sew lines every 1" to make the pockets. Sew a hair tie to one end, then place your outside piece of fabric over the pockets, stitch around the edges (leaving a little gap), and turn it right side out. Hand stitch the gap closed and add a button to the outside for the hair tie to go over. (I messed up the button on the first one I tried, so I took it off and just used the hair tie to hold the roll-up closed.) And there you go! I can't wait to have nieces (and nephews, eventually) that are old enough to use these and not just eat the crayons.

Then, feeling cocky about my crayon success, I attempted a bag made out of old jeans. I've written instructions for a couple of bags for the magazines and though they are a little trickier that other projects, I saw that it was possible. I guess that's all I need, just a little possibility. I came up with the design for this bag myself and it didn't turn out at all like I originally planned, but for a first attempt, it wasn't too bad. I am most proud that the handles are A) the same length, and B) in the same place on each side of the bag.


How to make: First you cut out two pieces for the outside of the bag and two pieces for the lining inside the bag. You sew the inside pieces together, then the outside, then you sew them together around the top (inserting handles as you do), turn the bag right side out, and hand stitch the opening closed. Done. Okay, there's actually a little more to it than that, but that's the basic idea. And then, if you want, you can cut out three flowers, layer them, add a button to the center, and attach it to the bag.

Finally, for Rachel's graduation party during our weekend at Snowbird, I made some pom pom garlands out of yarn to make things a little more festive. The idea came from our November issue of Simply Handmade and they were SUPER easy:


How to make: Wrap yarn around your fingers about a hundred times. Tie yarn of the same color around the middle of the wrapped yarn and cut open the loops on either end. Trim the ends so they are more even and fluff to make a pom pom. String all the finished pom poms onto a length of yarn (the yarn is thick enough the pom poms will stay in place - I tried thread first but they just slid up and down), hang up your garlands, and enjoy!

So there you go: that's what crafy-ness looks like at my house lately. I think I'm getting better and more adventurous. And I'm also having a lot of fun, which is definitely the best part.

Survivors at the Summit

For four years, my family has attended the annual Survivors at the Summit event hosted at the Snowbird resort by the Cancer Wellness House. It's a fundraiser for the CWH with a pancake breakfast and then an incredibly arduous hike to the Hidden Summit, where they have a ceremony each year at the top. Whether we've hiked or ridden the tram to the top, it's been a a wonderful way for us to come together as a family and show our support for my dad and feel the support and love of other families who also deal with cancer.

This year, my mom had shirts made for us so we could look a little more like a unified team. On the front, they had a little Survivor's at the Summit logo, and on the back they said, "Love is stronger than cancer." I have to admit, I struggled a little with that phrase. I knew what it meant but I couldn't quite wrap it around my perspective on cancer.

My perspective shifted a little though, and I was able to understand better what that phrase means. If we give in to the fear and uncertainty and grief of cancer, we give power to cancer. But if we choose love and life and hope and family, in spite of the daily struggles and trials and set backs, love is stronger than cancer, and as a family, we become stronger than it too. It's a powerful message, and we actually had several people ask us where they could get one. Who knows, maybe next year they CWH will make their own.

This year, we stayed both Friday and Saturday night at a condo at Snowbird, which was absolutely lovely. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful or secluded location. Here's a recap of the weekend in pictures:

First we celebrated the fact that my sister Rachel is done with school and graduated!!! Her husband Jase made her an awesome cap (out of file folders, no less) and we had ourselves a little party. I am so proud of her!


Instead of hiking, my dad and Tim and I volunteered to help with the event in the morning. Honestly, we didn't do much, but we were real helpful when there was anything to do, like putting up signs.


Dad with two of my aunts who came to support him. They both hiked the mountain - go Auntie Robin and Auntie Annie!


My mom's best friend Maureen came with her husband and her daughter Madelyn, Madelyn's husband Mike, and their adorable little girl Marina. Madelyn lived in Pittsburgh while I was there, and I hadn't seen her since I moved back. I was so excited when I found out they were coming - it was great to catch up!


The whole group, there to support my dad...


...minus me and Tim because we were manning one of the booths at the time.


The yellow flags at the top of the mountain are like prayer flags, and each one has a message to someone who has or had cancer. It's incredible to see all the flags flapping (sometimes almost flying away) in the wind.



Here are some examples of flags written for my dad:



And of course, we love being in such a beautiful place. The view never gets old from the top of the summit.


Here are our shirts from the back. I really, really love this picture. I love that we're together, unified by our shirts, yes, but really unified in what it means. I means a lot to me that we go every year to this event.