Most Fave Blogs

I try and make time every day or two to check out my most favourite blogs, so I thought I would share a few of them with you. Maybe one will become a favourite of yours too!

Daffodil Design

Mon Petit Amour

The Storque {Etsy's Blog}

How About Orange

Hostess with the Mostess

Everyday Celebrating

So You Think You Can Dance For A Really Long Time ~ YouTube Video!

I seem to be posting a little out of order lately... but even though it's Mother Monday I just had to share this video that our friends at The Mustard Seed made to help promote the event my sister and I are planning!

Check it out by clicking here!

Thanks!

I need to pluck my eyebrows!

I have been torn this week about my decision to work part-time as a contract event planner for a local event company. I am more stressed out than usual, and I have less time for my family and taking care of myself and my home. Even my eyebrows have been neglected to the point that I looked in the mirror yesterday and nearly started to cry at the site of all the "stray" hairs.

But, I enjoy event planning, and when I took the job I felt like this experience would really help me on my path to becoming a qualified and respected events professional. How do you ever know what the right decision is? I am one of those people who asks "what if..." a million times a day. I analyze every possible outcome and event after I make a decision I obsess about whether it was the right one.

I guess at least I only have a 6-month contract to fullfil and then I can decide what the best future for me {and my family} will be. I am so impressed by all the other moms out there who seem to have it all together and balance everything.

*** On a lighter note, a shout out to my little brother who had his quarter century birthday on Wednesday! He commented that I had never blogged about him, so now he can't say that anymore! ;) Love you "Uncle Reggie" from B! ***

So You Think You Can Dance For A Really Long Time

Registration for the event that my sister and I are planning, a dance-a-thon fundraiser in support of the Mustard Seed in Calgary called So You Think You Can Dance For A Really Long Time, is now up and running!

Who: We invite all Calgary and area youth {or the young at heart} to sign-up to be a competitor by clicking the link above. Then download the pledge form {from the same website} and start collecting cash and cheque donations and bring them with you to the event.

What: Come prepared to dance the day away with your friends to great music, enjoy cool entertainment, and have a chance to win fantastic prizes!

Where: Eau Claire Market {Centre Court}

When: Saturday, May 15, 2010; 11:00am - 6:00pm

Why: This event will involve the entire community in a fun and competitive way while raising money for a great cause.

You can also send an email to dance@theseed.ca of you have any questions or find So You Think You Can Dance For A Really Long Time on Facebook!

So little time...

Sorry for the impromptu interruption in blog posts! I was so busy with the dance-a-thon event planning and finishing up a course for school that I couldn't find time to be on here. Such is life I guess!

I am super excited that registration for our event is finally supposed to be up and running starting on Monday! We will be able to start actively looking for event contestants... yay!

We also sent out a ton of sponsorship requests this week, so cross your fingers that some of those come through for us. We need a bit of money to pull this thing off. So far though we have been delighted to hear back from Coke and Hershey that they will donate some product for the event contestants and volunteers! Gotta make sure that we keep our dancers energized and hydrated!

As I mentioned, I also finished up my sixth of seven courses for my Event Management Certificate. It was a tough five weeks this semester with everything else that is going on but I still managed to pull of my 'A' thanks to the support of my hubby, mom and sister!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Event Planning Fun & Stressful Too

Everything for our fundraising event is {slowly} coming together. It seems like every deadline I set for myself seems to come and go without me completing the task. It's a little frustrating, but I guess that's to be expected when it is your first real event and you are volunteering your time. Other things on the TO DO list just seem to take priority sometimes! I will try not to be too hard on myself, and hopefully these last three months or so until event day things start going a little smoother.

The website for the event is up and running. Registration is not available yet, but if you want to check out the event details so far click here. We are also working on a facebook page, and our poster is being designed by the lovely and talented Sarah of Daffodil Design {who is also volunteering her time for this project}. The next top priorities are getting the sponsorship requests sent out!

If you are interesting in participating in or volunteering with the event please send me an email to threemes@gmail.com, and I will be sure to update you when registration is working, or put you on a list to contact later for volunteer opportunities!

Easy to Get {Joyfully} Lost on Etsy!

I have spent a lot of time perusing the wonderful world of Etsy lately. It is so neat to see what the creative minds out there have come up with.

Some of my favourite things to search for lately have been custom photo cards {I wanted to do some thank you cards from my son's birthday, but I have been procrastinating and now I am almost past what might be considered proper etiquette for thank you cards}, party kits and printables, purses, recipe organizers, and contact cards.

The only thing I have actually ordered so far is the contact cards. I figured I could use them dual purpose, as mommy contact cards when we meet some new potential playdate friends, and also as a business card when I am dealing with suppliers and vendors while planning the dance-a-thon event.

I used Etsy seller IcingsPrints, and owner, Ais, was a joy to work with. Super pleasant, and quick to respond. I am looking forward to receiving my finished product. I chose a flexible package that IcingsPrints offers that includes 30 printed copies of the contact card, plus the digital file to print more later myself if I run out. Perfect for me. Plus, I was able to get two different designs {one standard business card rectangle, and the other a funky square shape}. Thanks IcingsPrints!

Working Wednesdays

I think "Wife Wednesdays" might have to be re-categorized as "Working Wednesdays." My sister and I have been busily working on our event that we are planning in support of the Mustard Seed. We officially have a date and location now, so it so much more real!

So You Think You Can Dance For A Really Long Time, a dance-a-thon aimed at Calgary and area teens, will take place on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at Eau Claire Market. I am excited by the group of people that we have working to make everything happen so far. Generous, kind, wonderful people that are a joy to be around. And I look forward to even more people joining the team as things progress!

I will also be working in the true sense of the word soon since I have been offered a contract position with a local event management company! Lots of exciting things seem to be happening all at once.

Week in Review

My goodness life has been busy lately! Between the event that I am planning, school, and being a mommy I have barely had time to breathe these days! Sorry I missed Monday and Wednesday's posts, to make up for it, today's post will be all three posts in one!

Mother Monday
I have been taking Toddler B to classes three mornings a week. Mondays we are at Petite Beats for a Totally Tots class, Tuesdays is Sportball, and Thursdays we are at Gymtastics. I have discovered that three classes a week is way too many, but I can't decide which class to cut out of our schedule next session since we are enjoying all of them so much! Plus, we did enjoy Gym & Swim at the Shawnessy YMCA and I would consider going back to that as well. It's been good to be busy this winter though... nothing worse than a stir-crazy toddler!

Wife Wednesday
Yesterday when hubby got home from work and went to start the barbeque we discovered that there wasn't any propane left. Since there wasn't any other meal option in site, and the potatoes were already in the oven, we decided to pull out the indoor grill we have had for probably five years, but have never actually used before. It did the job, but wasn't ideal of course. Anyone else use indoor grills in their homes and have any tips? Maybe we should be using it more?

Female Friday
Anyone else in major need of a shopping fix? I haven't stepped foot in a mall or store since before Christmas, and I am going crazy! I do a lot of my shopping online, but there is something to be said about getting out with a bunch of rude, hurried shoppers and desperately trying to find what you are looking for. Hopefully an opportunity will come along soon where I can get my shopping on! I'd even be willing to head out to CrossIron Mills. Anyone been there and have recommendations of stores to hit up?

Sweet Valentine

Sorry about my absence on the blog... something came up that prevented me from being on here for a little while.

Today, I wanted to share with you a site that I found {via another site I love called Everyday Celebrating} that has some really neat ideas for Valentine's Day.

Skip to My Lou is a very cute little corner of the blog world with many crafty ideas that look easy enough for a beginner like myself.

Head on over to see the sweet candy cane lollipop tutorial that Cindy from Skip to My Lou has shared! If you poke around some more there are some adorable printable Valentines too!

Thanks Cindy for sharing!

We Are Calgary's Next Top Event Planners!

My sister and I had our first meeting with the Mustard Seed about our event today {from the Calgary's Next Top Event Planner contest we won}, and we are ready to get started! Stay tuned in the coming weeks as I will share with you whatever I can about the event and the planning process!

I'll try to get back on track with the Mother Monday, Wife Wednesday and Female Friday plan soon! Sometimes life doesn't fit into a blogging schedule I guess!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! Looking forward to what 2010 has in store...

Sorry that I have been away from the blog for a little longer than I had expected. Toddler B is going through a difficult stage right now, so we have been devoting more time to him. Hopefully it doesn't last too much longer. I need sleep!

We had a wonderful Christmas in Mexico with my family, and I hope everyone also had an enjoyable holiday. It wasn't quite the same being on the beach to open presents, but I'm certainly not complaining since it was a welcome reprieve from cold Calgary.

Just before Christmas my sister and I found out that we won that contest we entered looking for Calgary's Next Top Event Planner. We have our first meeting this week, so we will see what's in store for us in the coming months. I'll keep you posted!

Capturing the Moment

Yesterday we had Baby B's 2nd Birthday Party... it went really well. Lots of good memories with good friends, and most importantly, Baby B {or should I call him "Toddler B" now?} enjoyed himself!

My one regret? There are not nearly enough pictures!!! We took some pics before the party of the cake, table set-up, and decorations, which I will be sure to share in a post in the coming weeks, but we do not have enough pictures of the party itself.

It's on days such as birthday parties that I wish I had a photographer that followed us around everywhere capturing memories for my family. Of course, it's hard to expect that my husband and I will be able to find time between being a good host and hostess to ensure that a picture is taken of every guest, though we did manage to get all the major moments covered {Baby B blowing out candles, wearing a party hat, opening presents, etc.}. But, the pictures {especially the ones I took} certainly aren't professional looking.

These thoughts, which I was already contemplating this morning when I woke up, tie in nicely with the blog post I read on Simple Mom today entitled "Five Simple Techniques for Enhancing Your Images With Children." It is a guide to taking better pictures of your family written by a guest blogger who is also a professional photographer. Some great tips that will hopefully help me improve my photo taking skills in the future!

Elmo & Cookie Monster Birthday Invitations

I wanted to wait until all of the guests had a chance to receive their invitations before I posted a picture of them on here... the party is a week away now! My sister helped me make these invitations using construction paper/cardstock, glue dots, and a bunch of various circle cutters and punches. They were lots of fun and pretty easy! The original idea is from a blog post by Couture Parties.

I plan to visit Canuck Amusements and a few dollar stores this week to pick up the decor and goodie bag stuff.

My mom helped me bake letter B and number 2 cookies today {this Sesame Street birthday party is brought to you by...}. My oh so helpful sister has offered to make the Elmo cake for me since I likely won't have the time {and don't have the skill either}. The rest of the menu will likely consist of platters from the grocery store since I want to enjoy the party rather than spend it in the kitchen!

Calgary's Next Top Event Planner

This will be a short post again today... my beautiful sister and I just discovered yesterday that there is a contest going on in Calgary called Calgary's Next Top Event Planner, so we are going to be focusing on a submission this weekend since the deadline is Monday!

Wish us luck!

Oh, and there are only 4 weeks left until Christmas today... just in case you wanted to add a little stress to your weekend as well! ;)

Spotted at Hostess with the Mostess

It's no secret that I love planning parties, but truly Jenn Sbranti, founder of Hostess with the Mostess, is in a league of her own. I will forever aspire to catch up with her amazing ideas and trendy designs.

I love that Jenn writes about everything to do with entertaining, from menu planning to decorations. And she is uber talented ~ if you read her bio she has a graphic design background, which is probably why her site looks so fabulous!

Some of my favourite categories on the HWTM Blog are:

Real Parties {where Jenn highlights a real party that a real person like you and me planned}
Free Printables {where Jenn shares her incredible graphic design talents with her readers}***Check out the Free New Moon Printables {for the Twilight obsessed}
DIY {where Jenn gives tips and tutorials for the do-it-yourself fan}

Of course, you can't miss the Party Themes section of the wesbite either, where you will find some of the most creative, fun ideas I have ever seen. The Bedtime Story Baby Shower is adorable, and the Santa Baby Christmas party almost makes me wish it was my turn to host Christmas this year! I could get lost on this site for hours {if I had the time}!

Warning: You may become as addicted as I am to Hostess with the Mostess - don't say I didn't warn you! ;)

Baby B's 2nd Birthday Party

I have been collecting images and ideas from all over the internet whilst planning my son's 2nd Birthday Party, which is less than a month away now {sigh and a sniffle}. I found a simple {read: easy enough for a beginner like me} tool called Mosaic Maker for displaying the images in a collage, or what I have come to discover is known as an "inspiration board."

The theme for the party is "Sesame Street" because my son is obsessed with the show and characters right now. Unbeknownst to me until recently, it also coincides with the 40th anniversary of the beloved children's show {the Google homepages have been so cute this week, right?}!

I thought I would share my inspiration board with you today... and in the coming weeks I will try and share images of the stuff that I gather/make for the party as well. My wonderful sister spent her Saturday afternoon helping me put together the Elmo and Cookie Monster invitations and they are almost finished!

I am new to all of this stuff, and I now realize that I should have recorded where each image that I collected was from so that I could properly credit the site or individual who created it. My apologies for not doing so. If you know where one of these images is from please email me! I know that I found some of them on Hostess with the Mostess, Everyday Celebrating, Etsy, and Couture Parties, but that may not necessarily be where they originated.

More Inspiring Blogs

I am going to be taking next week off from blogging, so while I am on hiatus, here are some blogs I am totally inspired by these days for you to peek at if you are interested:

The Creative Party Place

The Creative Crate

Love. Obsess. Inspire.

How About Orange

Hostess with the Mostess

I'll be back again next Monday (October 26th)!

Celebrating Each and Every Day

When I first started my blog, about a month ago now, I had read a handful of blogs before and was following a couple. Now I find myself enthralled with the vast numbers of creatively cool women that are out there blogging about things they love. I discover a new, exciting blog almost everyday. Topics range from DIY projects, home decor, and renovating, to motherhood, online shopping, and crafting.

While I don’t have the ability to follow each and every blog I find, I do make time for my new favourite site that I have subscribed to which is all about a topic that is very near and dear to my heart... events! {I love event planning and I am currently going to school one evening a week to get my Event Management Certificate from Mount Royal.} Michelle Stepp is the fabulous female behind “Everyday Celebrating,” and is an event planner in the Nashville, Tennesee area. I, quite simply, love reading her blog. I am fascinated by the stuff that she both finds and creates, and the events that she features.

I was super pumped when, after emailing Michelle to ask her about her fun blog header {which I love and hope to be able to emulate with my own one day when I have the skills}, and she got back to me – that very day! I am amazed that not only are the blogging women I find talented, but they are gracious and sweet too... and Michelle is no exception. When I emailed her back again to ask if it was okay that I feature her on here today, she was kind enough to say yes.

If you are as passionate about events as I am, or even if you just need some fresh new ideas for an upcoming family shin-dig, please check out Everyday Celebrating. I am positive you will be as hooked as I am after viewing the cute kabob invites Michelle found, or the fun Halloween ideas she’s rounding up. As Michelle’s concept implies, we should all celebrate each and every day... whether there’s an official reason to or not! Cheers!