When we did our recent bathroom remodel, we ran into a small hazard. After installing the new toilet paper holder onto the side of the cabinet, I noticed that the screws came through the cabinet. So when you would open the cabinet to get a towel out, you could potentially cut your hand on the screw. This was not the case with our previous toilet paper holder. We needed to come up with a solution to this so that we didn't end up with scarred hands!
One other "craft" I was in charge of for my cousin's couples shower in Memphis was the invitations. My mother-in-law knows I love doing things like this, so it made sense. At the time, our theme was Hometown Memphis. Both the bride and groom are from Memphis but currently live in Ft. Lauderdale. Since the shower was being held in Memphis, it made sense to make the them Memphis based.
Sausage and cheese seems like an easy enough recipe that a recipe really isn't necessary, right? Well it probably isn't, but this is one I have only made twice, and I love it. I was introduced to this about 4 or 5 years ago at a restaurant called Champy's. It is back in Muscle Shoals, AL, and my family all went there for dinner one night. We ordered a smoked sausage, cheese, and pickle plate. It was so good, my mom would recreate it on occasion for holiday gatherings or just as a snack. Huey's in Memphis also has a similar appetizer. It is just called a cheese and sausage plate there, but it contains similar items as Champy's...sausage, cheese, pickles, pepperoncini pepper, crackers, and dipping sauce. Well one weekend when we smoked ribs, we wanted a light lunch. We decided to make this as a snack that day. See how we made it below!
For Father's Day, I wanted to do something special for Brad from Melody. I wanted to incorporate her footprint in some sort of way. I saw online where someone made superhero cape from a baby's foot.
Our house contains two bathrooms, a master bathroom and a guest bathroom. Our guest bathroom did not necessarily have a theme. We had a lot of red and gold throughout the bathroom. The walls were beige, and we do not use a shower curtain because we have a shower door instead. After having Melody, we decided we wanted to revamp the bathroom to make it kid-friendly. We started looking into decorations and paint colors late February, and we began work at the end of March. While this wasn't a full remodel, we did repaint and redecorate.
I have discussed making napkin rings numbers times [baby shower and baptism], but I liked to share different napkins rings that I do for various events. I was in charges of the napkins for the couples shower I helped host. I wanted to do something cute that tied into the theme very well. Check out what I did below!
For Melody's First Birthday Party, I really struggled with what food to have at her party. We knew we would have cake and an ice cream sundae buffet, but I wasn't really sure what to do about other food or if I should even have other food. We planned to have about 30 people or so, and we opted for a party at 2 pm. So we knew we would not need heavy food, but I wanted some sort of appetizers for everyone to snack on. I contemplated continuing with the ice cream theme, but I wasn't exactly sure how to do that. So we opted for some various finger foods. I also was sure to include a few things I knew Melody and some of the other kids could have.
Melody's twelve month schedule isn't very different from her eleven month schedule. I suspect this will be her schedule for awhile. Melody is still taking a bottle, and we plan to transition her from the bottle to a sippy cup at around 14 months old. We want to transition her to all milk first and not make a bunch of changes all at once. When we do that, we will probably try and transition out the nighttime bottle. Our pediatrician recommend this be completed by 15 months, so we will see how that goes! We are also attempting to transition to one nap a day, but each day is different on what Melody wants. So I will note the naps below too! I probably won't update her schedule monthly anymore now that she is officially a toddler. I will probably just post about the changes as they occur!
Brad LOVES Shoney's Hot Fudge Cake. We don't have a decent Shoney's nearby, so he rarely gets it. One day, I decided to surprise him and try to recreate it. I found some sample recipes online, and I went with the easiest. It's a great dessert to freeze and eat on for a while too! Check it out below!
For Father's Day, we decided to give Brad's dad some sort of foot print picture from Melody. He loves to golf, so what better than a foot print that looks like a hole on the golf course. Check out what we did below!
Melody's first birthday party was an ice cream themed party. I wanted to do some cute favors to go along with the theme. I found all kinds of things I considered doing. I went back and forth on which type of favors to do. Do I do fun favors? Do I do edible favors? Do I do favors I can make weeks in advance? Do I do favors I have to make the day before? So many decisions. In the end I decided I wanted what was going to be the cutest!
My FAVORITE school lunch was crispitos! I loved to cover them in cheese, and their crispy, meaty goodness was amazing! Even after I graduated, we had a Chevron station that still served them. Well then my parents moved from my childhood home to another city, so I never went back to that Chevron. (It actually turns out that Chevron switched ownership and their menu!) Well I have had zero luck in finding these at other gas stations or even Mexican restaurants. The other day I decided to attempt making my own. We had some leftover taco meat and fajita shells, so why not?!? Check out my attempt below.
A few weekends ago, I helped host a shower with some of Brad's family for one of his cousins who is getting married later this summer. They live in South Florida, but both his cousin and his fiancé are from Memphis. My mother in law came up with a "hometown" theme. Memphis is know for their BBQ, so that was a must. Then we decided to incorporate both Elvis and the Memphis skyline. The shower was a team effort. Below is the final product of that effort. I am going to do a few posts later about the crafts I did specifically though.
For Father's Day, I thought it would be cute to make my dad a fish picture out of Melody's foot. I saw different versions online, so I did what I could with the footprint I got.
Melody's first birthday party was an ice cream themed party. Because of this theme, I knew I would need to incorporate ice cream into the party. Traditionally, people include ice cream to simply go along with the cake, but I wanted something more. So I decided to come up with a way to have an ice cream buffet!
Melody's first birthday party was an ice cream themed party. I designed an ice cream cone in the Silhouette software then I used that as a staple throughout the party. One of the things I did was create banners using it. Check them out below.
For Melody's First Birthday, I wanted a simple guestbook. I contemplated whether a guestbook was even necessary, but I really wanted something to document everyone there. I came up with many ideas, but they all were becoming either way to complicated OR I had no clue what I would do with the guestbook when the party was over. So I opted for simplicity.
Melody turned one May 25! She celebrated with a party earlier that week, but on her actual birthday we were able to celebrate with her just the three of us. Here is how her day went!
Not long ago, we had hamburgers for dinner, and Brad wanted the shoe string french fries. I am not a huge fan of those, so I decided to come up with another side for me. We had some chips laying around, so I googled until I found an easy cheese dip recipe. I actually cut this recipe in half, and it was still too much. Mine wasn't as runny as theirs, but that was ok. Check out how I made it below!
Sunday was Brad's second Father's Day as a daddy. He is such an amazing dad to Melody. It is true what they say. You do see a completely different side of your husband when he becomes a dad. And you fall in love with him all over again, but for completely different reasons. I knew he would be an amazing dad. He is truly a kid at heart. But seeing him with Melody has been more than I ever expected. Melody and I love you Brad!
