Teenage Birthday Party

It's official: I have a teenager at my house!
This makes me both happy and sad, as I miss my little pint sized boy but am excited for the young man he is growing up to be. My blog has been quiet as we've been living life and celebrating these moments together. Turning 13 was a milestone for him and a reminder to me: I realize more and more how present I want to be in their lives, how fast it goes by and I feel full. My cup runneth over and it seems once I hit these moments I finally feel ready to write again and share some of what we've been up to and crafts I've fit in between.

So, here is a little window into how we celebrated his special day. In addition to family parties, I asked him, if he could only do one thing for his birthday, what would it be? He said he wanted to go Go Kart Racing at a nearby track. A grown up track. That went fast. I hope this isn't indicative of his future driving desires - but for this day, he got his wish. Some pictures of his day are below!

Birthdays at our house always start the night before. I decorate the table special for the birthday boy, there is a small present to unwrap and I write him a letter, just to him, about how special I think he is and the ways I have seen him grow this year. They never ask if they are getting a present in the morning, but they always ask if they are going to get their letter. It's a tradition I'm so glad they enjoy. Do you have a birthday tradition like this with your family?

 

Then it was off to Go Kart Racing!!

One of my favorite parts of the party was the cake HE picked out! It was an XBox cake with chocolate cake and caramel frosting inside. My friends at Twinfully Sweet made it for us and they exceeded our expectations!! If you're in Southern California, I HIGHLY recommend these girls for any party!! As you can see, the Xbox cake ROCKED!

I thought these cookies looked like they had tire tracks across them. The boys did too. Everything was a hit!

It's still surreal that I have a 13 year old...

{Me surprising him at school -- I take my parental job of embarrassing him VERY seriously.} ;o)

As tough as it is to please a teenager {wink}, he had a great time, great food, great friends and everyone left feeling like a winner!

Thanks for reading! Do you have a teenager at home? What activities do they enjoy? What birthday traditions do you do in your family?

Check back tomorrow as I share my first official Christmas craft of the season! {Inspired by the movie Frozen - you don't want to miss it!}

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4th of July Treat Pops. Sort of.

I love the 4th of July. It's my birthday month (woohoo), I love red, white and blue and there are so many fun crafts and food to make!

This year I'm having some friends over to watch the fireworks at our local lake. I thought to myself, "self, you should make some really awesome treats - one of those everyone will think is UH-MAZING, how-did-you-do-that sort of treat." And they should look festive.

So, when my grocery store was selling these at buy one get one free -- suddenly I had 24 cake treat pops.

Doesn't the picture make those pops look so pretty? So I immediately looked on Pinterest for inspiration (since you know there is no original idea anymore - even when I think I'm being creative and original, Pinterest Popper burst my bubble.) But I digress. :)

And I found these...

{source}

 I liked the red, white and blue - but instead of colored cake, I wanted colored frosting and white cake.

Yesterday I was at a party where I thought I'd practice these treats before the 'big show' on Thursday.

Lessons learned:

1. Mini cupcakes are not EXACTLY the same size as a push up pop.
2. If your cake is not the same size as your push pop, the frosting will "bleed."
3. Buying store bought tubes of colored frosting only kind of works. There isn't enough frosting for 12 push pops. Each tube frosts 3-4 at best.
4. Store bought frosting tubes are REALLY hard to squeeze out after a while. Especially toward the end. Your arms may hurt.
5. You will need to do more push ups and maybe lift some 5 lb. weights for a bit to prepare for your next push up treat pop adventure.
6. Smushy and messy treat pops taste just as good as perfect looking ones. True story.

So, I ask you, I am actually going to attempt this again for the 4th - any tips for success?

 

What's on your menu for the 4th of July?

Elevate Blog Conference {Recap}

Have you ever been to a blog conference? If you have, then you know why I'm so excited to share about Elevate!! It is the best Orange County conference a girl could ask for! And if you have never been to a blog conference -- I highly recommend Elevate! {After you check out all these pics, you'll see why!}

{All photos credit to Lora Knight Photography except the ones marked "Shaped by Grace."}

What I love about the Elevate Blog Conference:

1. They keep it small. They only sell a limited number of tickets so that there is plenty of time to meet and speak with everyone. (And it works!) The conference felt so intimate - I loved being at different tables and in different groups to meet and make new friends!

 

 

2. They have AMAZING speakers! Seriously! Last year I got to meet Holly at 504 Main and Ashley from Little Blue Boo and this year --- they did not disappoint! This years speakers included Sarah from Penelope Lane Boutique, Kimmie from Sugar and Dot, Erin from Living in Yellow and Ashley from Little Miss Momma. {I KNOW!! I'm getting star struck just writing this out again!}

 

{Ashley from Little Miss Momma -- and ME!! Squeal!} 

 

Do you ever wonder if a blogger is like their blog posts or a lot different? Well, these ladies are just who they are - on and off the blog. And just as wonderful. They all had a unified message -- BE YOURSELF on your blog. Find your voice and share YOUR STORY.

 

 

3. We get to have craft time! Every year (okay, there has only been 2 so far) they provide a craft for us to create. This year it was nail art where we got to hammer nails into distressed wood and create a design. I chose the outline to California and added the heart (Thanks to guidance by Nichole from Yeung Mother Hubbard) where Southern CA is because that's where I'm from. I loved the end result:

 

 

 

This sign is hanging up proudly by my front door and I know it will be part of my home for a long time. :o)

 

4. We are part of a service project. I love that each year Elevate has a service project. This year's project was for us to cut out patterns for an organization called Sole Hope that makes shoes for children in need. It's a great cause and I encourage you guys to look it up and throw your own shoe making party! It was also great chance to meet and bond with more ladies at the conference!

 

 

 

5. They have awesome food and decorations!! I will let you take in all the eye candy that was this conference. I tell you, the people I met were the best part of the day, but it's fun to meet and greet around delicious food and tons of cute decor!

 

 







 

 

6. Friendships!! I get to reunite with friends and meet new blog friends in person!! I was so excited to meet Megan from Absolute Mommy, Kristine from The Foley Fam {Unedited} pictured below

 

 

 

and hang with one of my bloggy BFF's Renee from Coffee-n-Ink -- she is always smiling and full of love and connecting people! I'm so happy every time I get to hang with her!!

 

 

 

7. We get to play games!!! (If you know me -- you know I like games!!) It's more bonding time and TONS of fun to do all the tasks!

 

 

I loved sharing in the day with each one of these beautiful ladies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of all, I have to thank these three ladies for all their hard work, dedication and time to put together this entire conference for us! We are blessed by your time and talents! Thank you!!

 

 

{From left: Jen from Delightful Deets, Summer from Made by Munchies Mama and Nichole from Yeung Mother Hubbard.}

 

If the pictures weren't enough - here is a video that Lora Knight put together that captures the essence of the event. Enjoy!!

 

Would you like to go to a blog confernece? I highly recommend Elevate! It's every year in May!! See you there! ;o)

Birthday Tea Party

I love birthdays!! I especially love that they bring friends and family together and it’s an excuse to plan and do something fun – and maybe out of the ordinary! This year I’ll actually be doing a few things for my birthday. I just went to the OC Fair with some friends to see Tenth Avenue North {one of my favorite bands} and in a couple weeks I’ll be going Zip Lining!! {I’ll definitely let you know how that goes! I’m excited and nervous for it!} And this weekend I celebrated with a tea party at a local Tea House by the beach!


Recognize this milk jug from my antique shopping day?






Those cookies above were made using the famous recipe by Jen at Delightful Deets!




I made these lemon muffins, too. They are topped with butter cream frosting and lemon and orange fruit snacks! My friend and birthday buddy, Shaina, also brought sandwiches, fresh fruit and chocolate peanut butter cupcakes! (Please add GOOD FOOD to the list of things I like about birthdays!) :)


The Lavender Lounge:





I love this sign!! I wish I could show up to work at “10ish” lol!



Here is the full table set up; the employee asked us if we could please decorate the tea lounge for her every day! ;-)




I thought the Tea Lounge had some unique décor on it’s own – which is one of the reasons my friend chose this location - that AND it's close to the beach! (I especially liked the hard wood floors, beams and that little tea cup napkin holder shown below!)






Each person’s seat had a little goodie bag with chocolate covered almonds (put together by Shaina!) and Tangerine Orange flavored tea, wrapped like a little bow (my contribution):





And then we just enjoyed each others company and catching up with some new and old friends we hadn’t seen in a while!




One of the things I love about my birthday is that it is very close to that of one of my best friends! Every year we usually try to do something together and this year, it was this Tea Party!!




The official birthday cupcake




Make a wish!




Another favorite part of the day – everyone writing us birthday notes on these signs! What a special memory to take home with us from a really fun day!!




And the icing on the cake (ha!) to make it an even MORE full day – that night we went to a concert in the park to see a Beatles cover band! {It was actually REALLY fun!!!}




And there may have been dancing…




But there was definitely good company:



Good friends creating fun memories. That’s what it’s all about. Thanks for reading about my special day! How about you? Do you like celebrating birthdays as much as I do? :)