back to school

Last night we had our traditional back to school dinner.  I had fun setting the table with mini chalkboards and pencils.  I made homemade alphabet soup and the kids made breadstick letters.  For dessert I made a very easy brownie pencil.  I think I got the whole menu from this blog!  Thanks, Anna. 

My daughter was all smiles this morning when she got on the bus. And, of course, I had to make some chocolate chip cookies for her after school snack.  I think we will both need some milk and cookies this afternoon!

that's a wrap

Tomorrow is my daughter's first day of first grade. I taught first grade for 10 years before I had her so I am having lots of different emotions this year as I send her off to school. Sigh. We decided to give her teacher the same gift we gave her kindergarten teacher.  Some adorable alphabet note cards from Tulaloo with a note introducing herself.  This year I also included a teacher questionnaire which I found helpful when purchasing gifts last year.  If you would like a copy let me know and I can email it to you. I packaged everything in these sweet paper bags that look like notebook paper.  I love them.   

pool party

We are trying to eek out every last minute of summer before school starts next week.  We have been invited to a friend's pool this afternoon so we decided to bring a treat.  We put teddy grahams in a chocolate donut inter tube and then added a beach ball and pool noodle for fun.  These were so easy to make (actually I should say assemble) that the kids did it all by themselves.  If you are looking for something even easier, I brought some gold fish crackers in a glass fish bowl to a friends pool a few days ago!  What are you doing to enjoy your last few days of summer?

that's a wrap

This was a gift we got for a little girl.  It is an adorable handbag in different shades of purple.  Inside I tucked a diary.  I finished it with some cellophane and ribbon and an initial sticker. 

getting ready for back to school

I am finding it hard to believe that my daughter starts school next week and my son the week after that! We have had such a wonderful, relaxing and fun summer!  I have been going through all of the children's clothes to see what fits and what we need to purchase.  I have also been picking up a few items when I see them for our celebratory back to school dinner.  Since the baby isn't going to school yet, I found a cute sidewalk chalk pencil holder and some yummy fruit purees (to take with us when we drop off and pick up his older brother and sister from school) that come in a box shaped like a school bus.  Both kids are getting new backpacks and lunch boxes so I just found some fun small things to put inside, like a sandwich cutter, some bubble gum crayons and an over sized pack of smarties.  I have our menu planned for our special dinner and some fun ideas for my daughters first lunch at school.  It's hard to believe that last year we had a hurricane that postponed the first day of school.  Hopefully this year will be more uneventful! 

apartment therapy: best kids parties

I was thrilled to be on Apartment Therapy again this time for my son's superhero ice cream party.  It was one of their "Best Kids Parties."  You can find it here. 

that's a wrap

Here is another gift inspired by a children's book.  The book is called Camilla, the Cupcake Fairy.  I attached a purple wand and a gift certificate to a really fun local cupcake shop.  I wrapped it in cellophane and added some coordinating lavender ribbon. 

sand castle

Last night we crossed off the last item on our summer fun list! We made our traditional ice cream sand castle.  I found some really cute ocean themed candy this year from a trip to the local candy and grocery stores and the paper flags at Marshall's!  The kids had a blast decorating it and even more fun eating it. I hope that you are enjoying your last few weeks of summer too. 

that's a wrap

We gave this gift to a little girl who turned five this summer.  She loves Fancy Nancy so we gave her a copy of  Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet.  I also gave her somes fun melissa and doug sand toys.  I wrapped it in my signature cellophane with a number "5" gift tag and some purple shred.

deck on a dime

I have been wondering what to do with our deck for a long time.  There are two parts to the deck an upper level and a lower level.  When we bought the house there was a hot tub in the upper level.  We never used it and then it broke so we decided to get rid of it.  We bought the table and chairs and grill when we were first married over eight years ago, but I never really bought anything more beyond that.  This summer I decided to jazz it up.  I found some cute galvanized lanterns and planters at Ikea.  We took a rug that used to be in our living room and moved it outside and bought some new cushions and an umbrella.  I love the new space.

The table was decorated for my husbands birthday with some colorful napkins that I got to match the new cushions.  I was approached by a company called the tablecloth factory.  Again I was offered a $25 store credit to review one of their products.  I decided to use it for napkins.  I ordered what they labeled as linen napkins.  When I got them I thought they felt more like polyester, but I love all of the different colors that they had to choose from and the prices really can't be beat!  I think I was able to get 40 napkins just using the $25 credit.  And they seem to have sales all the time.  Definitely something to check out if you need new table linens or are having a party any time soon.




Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I received a $25 store credit for the purposes of this review. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own

that's a wrap

My son was invited to a birthday party for a little girl in his class.  We gave her a Melissa and Doug coloring book and attached some poly pockets and an ice cream shaped coin purse to it.  Inside the coin purse we put a little gift certificate to our local ice cream shop!  I used stickers on the ribbon to write the recipients name.