Favorite Blog Spotlight

I found some amazing blogs recently and some that i will be adding to my blog reading list this weekend.  I love getting updates from these blogs, in particular this one:

eighteen25

This is a MUST check out blog!  Seriously, i have used so many ideas from these three fab sisters that it is just too good not to share.  

Looking for amazing printables for birthday greetings, teacher/coach appreciation and party favor tags...you name it, they have it!  

Here are some of my favorites:


Thanks A Latte

Planning a Disney trip or theme.

What 10 year old would not want to bring this to school on their birthday
They were so sweet that they changed the font for me to "4" so i could use it for my daughters 4th birthday. 

Check out all of their party ideas

There is so much more.  You need to check this blog out.  What i love is that they share all the printables and instructions.  

Every week i will be spotlighting a blog.  If you visit them, please leave a comment that tortoiseoverhare sent you over.

Getting back to the swing of things

Lately i have not been feeling up for writing...i am sort of in a rut in writing and exercising (which i usually love to do).  Perhaps it has been the chaos of planning a few April gatherings we hosted, the crappy weather we have been having and a little bit of communication problems going on with my mom and I (My mom was not speaking with me for a week).

I am coming up with a whole new concept for my blog.  I need a redesign, and a new fresh new concept to get the ball rolling.  Will be sharing this soon, but for now i am just trying to get back into the swing of things.

Here are a few things i have seen recently online that have been inspirational or important reads for me. I wanted to share here in case you did not happen upon them yourselves already.

Less is more

The gift of an ordinary day

Need sleep advice for your baby?  Here is a quick summary of all the books out there

I have also found some new blogs that i am loving.  Will be sharing these with you tomorrow.

I love me some 'mom' jeans...

So i have been on the lookout for some light weight skinny jeans to wear this spring/summer.   I used to be drawn to The Gap  because you can get jeans at an affordable price (it seems like they have sales all the time- i am always getting email notifications about sales and promotion deals in the mail).
I do have some reservation about spending my money on Gap jeans though.  I find that they stretch out way too much, even when you get them super tight. They lose their shape fast, and i find i am constantly needing to buy new pairs due to it stretching out too much...to the point of no return.  Not even a blast of heat from the dryer shrinks them back down. 

I found this review from another blogger, and i really do think she is on to something about Gap.  Maybe i will post some comparison jean shots as i have a few over stretched Gap jeans i can compare to some newer purchases.
An Inconvenient Gap of Truth

Ok, so back to my skinny jean search.  I did have one odd requirement for my skinny jean.  It had to be high waisted!  AKA the 'Mom' jeans.  I wanted the waist of the jeans really high so that i could bend down and sit down without wearing a belt and there would be enough jean to not show anything underneath.

Hmmmm...where do i find these high waisted jeans?  There is a fine line between the look i want and the look i do not want.  I think i am standing on the right side of the line with my recent jean purchase.

American Apparel Easy Jean

So, when you look at the website, i find the pictures do no do it justice...they kinda look 80's jeans that give an instant pouchy look ( I don't know if pouchy is even a word, but i am using it). I find most of their ads are very retro and they style a lot of their clothes reminiscent of 80's fashion ads.  The 80's had a lot of provocative ads in which they used young looking girls and sexualized them to sell a product.  Just like some popular 80's movies like Blue Lagoon using a young Brooke Shields, companies were following suit with their advertisements.     

American Apparel ads can be a post to itself...lets get back to the jeans.

I tried them on, and for my body type they are perfect. I already love the American Apparel High Waisted Leggings and the easy jean is a jegging version of it.  They fit amazing, and the higher waist is very spanx like, instantly shaping your tummy. They also fit really nice on the butt, giving it a bit of a lift.  

Here are some pictures i found online.

On Miley Cyrus

Here are some blog threads that i think show the pants really well.  

Style Fluency

Jazzabells Diary

I like this blog because it shows how the large size of this jean fits.  I really think it is flattering on all body types.
Her Paige

Try these on the next time you are near an American Apparel store.  You may just find the 'mom' jean love too.  

Simple crafts using recyclables/ETFM

I love doing crafts with my daughter.  Last week we saved an area in our playroom to store recyclable material that will be perfect for crafts.   I love having access to cardboard and other recyclable material on hand for impromptu craft time.  Having the material on a shelf allows my daughter to get excited to create fun projects with the materials we have collected.  ETFM (easy to find materials) are a great way to encourage art, without having to make it hard for you to think of something to do.
You can always do a search on Pinterest with the material you have and you will get many results on fun arts and crafts you can do. Even better, you can create something unique using your child's imagination.

 Have you read Not a Box, Beautiful Oops or The Dot?  These are all wonderful books about how you can take something ordinary and make it extraordinary.  A box, becomes a rocket ship.  A dot on a piece of paper becomes a work of art that not only makes a girl believe she can be an artist, but inspires another child who sees her work.  A mistake that may seem to ruin a picture, in fact makes it more beautiful, or creates something new and better than what was originally imagined.  All important messages to teach our children.  The wonderful lessons that can be passed on through art!

So today's post i will leave you with a fun and simple art project to get you started.  Collect those egg cartons, paper towel rolls, cardboard boxes, containers.  Don't forget to look outside for things that can be found in nature- rocks, twigs, sticks, pinecones and leaves as they can be used too.

This one requires an egg carton.  When you look at egg cartons you can see so many things that the shape resembles.  This particular craft demonstrates just that.

Here is a closeup picture?  What do you see?

Do you notice that it looks like a bird?  
If you don't, you soon will!

This is as simple as cutting out two of the circle shapes that hold the eggs and the cone separator together.  I found the easiest way to cut out was to cut around the two circles and half of the cone together. You cut out the other half of the cone separately and attach it on afterwards for an open beak.

Don't forget to make a hole for the eyes.

I used the inside circles as a guide of where to cut a whole for the eyes.  It worked perfectly.  Just use the blade of the scissors and keeping turning around until you get the desired hole in the middle,  perfect with scissors. 

Attach the other side of the beak to create an open mouth.

Paint the bird as you wish

Add a Popsicle stick for a handle.  We decorated ours with pipe cleaners, but plain popsicle stick or painted ones are fine.

We used feathers we found at the dollar store and attached them to the middle of the head.  You can get creative here with anything you want to use to decorate your bird.

Voila- a bird mask.  We even went outside for a bird watching walk.

I got the inspiration for this craft here