Small Things Are Big Things

August 12, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Favors Rule and a Favorite Things Printable

I hosted a Pinterest party a few weeks ago. It was soooooo much fun. The stress of having uber creative people in my undecorated house was a bit unnerving, but I think everyone had as much fun as I did! There was a lot of talent going on and I’m gonna show off for them a bit…by sharing their hostess gifts!

Bev from Flamingo Toes bought this dish towel from Anthropologie… oh wait… no she didn’t. SHE MADE IT. Embroidered free hand with her machine. A detailed bicycle. With lil’ flowers in the basket. I die. It’s truly a work of art and I’m going to put it on a shelf (I have yet to make) by my kitchen window. Those funky pom poms in the pic are an awesome homemade pom pom bunting from my friend Amanda. The only thing on my kitchen walls to date. Those gerber daisies? Grown from a seed by Aimee from Fancy Little Things. (J/K Not homemade but I love them.)

Richelle and Stephanie brought these mason jars (mason jar + spray paint + ripped fabric and bakers twine = awesome) with fresh flowers and 4 beautiful coasters (which I’ll use as kitchen décor on my future shelves as well!) with original artwork, designed by Richelle. Don’t you think she should have a shop? I want to enlarge some of her other designs for the kitchen.

Elizabeth from Sew Chatty made this pleated clutch. Which is just the right size for a kindle… which means I need a kindle to go with my clutch. Right?

Elizabeth also wrapped it really cute. Sooooo cute, I may have carefully taken out the clutch and saved the wrapping in hopes it will fit a future gift I give someone. Unless you think that’s weird, then I totally didn’t do that. Lame. (Or awesome? You be the judge.) Photobomb from our first pinterest party.

And Drew from Drew B Photography gave me this lil’ lovely. How the hay do they get such strong smells in such a lil candle? So so so yummy. And the perfect scent for summer.

Thank you friends!!

Now I understand it’s kinda mean for me to brag about all the presents I was spoiled with at the party. So I made this printable for you. (Inspired by a birthday gift Kyla brought me.) Print, then attach it to the front of a gift bag (extra points if you use a brown paper package tied up with string) filled with a few of your favorite things. Kyla gave me, cinnamon bears, new sharpies, milk duds, journal, gum, lip gloss, glow sticks, nail polish… Loved it. What a special gift!

You wouldn’t think for a minute I let all the guests leave the party empty handed. Thanks to some great companies, here’s what I put together…

RoseArt supplied us with TONS of back to school goodies. (Giveaway coming soon!)

FarFaira with 100s of kids books, via our iPad. (Giveaway coming soon!)

Juice it Up and Burke Williams with coupons for us moms.

Pretend City, Discovery Science Center and the OC Zoo with tickets for some end of Summer FUN!

And I can’t forget the main crafty awesomeness from The Decal Lab and The Board Dudes.

I made reusable chalkboard tags and bought bins from the Dollar Tree so guests could easily take home all their crafts. (Click here for the chalkboard tag tutorial over at OC Family. Along with a giveaway to win some of your own.)

Fun right?

More posts about the actual party coming soon along with tutorials for the crafts!

August 6, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Top 10 Tips for the OC Fair

I thought I would share my Top 10 Tips for those of you going to the OC Fair (or any local fair) because I’m super mom.

Now presenting…

Top 10 Tips for the OC Fair from a Super Mom… (me)

OC Fair Tip #1: Forget your sunglasses.
There is nothing better than squinting your way through the crowds while your two-year-old bolts to the nearest shiny attraction.

OC Fair Tip #2: Don’t bring sunscreen.
You’ll thank me later when your husband’s head looks like a tomato and you have a kick a&$ farmer’s tan. All that skin “cancer is caused by sunburn” research is bogus anyway.

OC Fair Tip #3: Be sure to go to the OC Fair at the hottest part of the day.
When your knees are sweating, you know you got it right. (This will really heighten the impact of tips #1 & #2)

OC Fair Tip #4: The OC Fair is great for little kids.
Especially if they are under 36”. They won’t mind at all if they can’t go on any rides. NOT ONE RIDE!

OC Fair Tip #5: Play the fishing game in Kid Land.
Even if you lose, your kiddo will get a light saber. And we all know a three foot light saber is the perfect toy for a crowded place, especially in the hands of a two year old. And it’s only 10 freakin’ tickets. (He has mad skillz, right?)

OC Fair Tip #6: Bring water and snacks.
Unless spending $50 on water and animal legs is your thang.

OC Fair Tip #7: Try to have a minimum of two bathroom trips per child.
The first trip is just a teaser for the second trip, which includes #2 (if ya know what I mean), a potty that doesn’t flush and roughly 4 squares of toilet paper.

OC Fair Tip #8: Stand next to the balloon pop game.
The balloons popping pierce your ears like a gun shot and your 4-year-old might even find a chew toy… from the ground.

OC Fair Tip #9: Do the petting zoo near the green gate.
Seriously. It’s free. They have refreshing water misters to keep the animals cool and your lil’ animals will get to learn first hand how goats poop. (This really is fun and is always a huge highlight for us and they have the cutest baby pigs right now)

OC Fair Tip #10: You can’t take tickets home, so give them away.
No matter how you plan it, you will always have a few tickets left on your card. Not quite enough for a ride or a game. Head on over to a ticket line and let your kids pick another kid to bless. We had a great conversation with our kiddos about giving and prayed for the kiddo who would receive our tickets. They picked a kid wearing a giant cowboy hat and it was SO MUCH fun to watch the excitement Eli and Cora Jane had about blessing another friend.

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This post is a bit silly, but we actually had an awesome time. REALLY! We love love love the OC Fair. Check out this OC Fair post from 2009 about the awesomeness. (I’m going to try to post some pix from last year soon!)

AND…

I got an email today about a FREE movie at the OC Zoo. We already have plans that night, but I wish we were going! Here are the details…

Event: Zookeeper at the OC Zoo
Location: OC Zoo, 1 Irvine Park Road, Orange, CA 92869
Date Friday, August 10
Time: 5 to 10 p.m. (movie starts at dusk, 7:45ish)
Cost: Free
Parking: $3

Clip from the movie…

August 4, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Pageant night

Every Summer we look forward to going to Pageant of the Masters. We’ve gone every year since we started dating in 2004. It’s fun. If you live in OC you should go. It’s a great excuse to get dressed up, hang with your friends, and see some amazing art (and make fun of the really strange “art” too).

2008 & 2009…

2010 & 2011

Part of our tradition is to go to Taco Loco in Laguna Beach. It’s a glorified taco stand with vegan food. (Warning: I think smoking pot and dreadlocks are a prerequisite for working there.) So yummy. If When you go, get the Blackened Mushroom and Tofu burger. It won’t disappoint!

We went last night and since I’m writing this post ahead of time I’m assuming we had a blast, as usual.

Last year we took the tram back to the car and the driver started group singalongs.

It was like a musical come to life.

Which was like a dream come true for me.

REALLY.

We caught the tale end on video…

We always buy our tickets in January, right after they go on sale, but I just got an email saying they are 50% off right now! So if you have a spare night this month you should check it out!

I’m not sure why, but this picture from last year makes me smile…

Happy Saturday!

August 2, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

The Double Boob and 3 Tips for the Perfect Fitting Bra

I’m fat. But not as fat as I was after Tess was born. That leaves me in between sizes.

Bra sizes. (Can I get a “what-what” fellow nursing moms!?!?!?")

My before-Tess bras are too small and my right-after-Tess bras are too big.

I have a double boob.

You know the double boob. It fits me right after I nurse, then my gals fill up and try to bust out.

I was lamenting about this recently and came across this video I took after Cy was born – almost exactly two years ago. (7/16/2010)

Cy was about 3 weeks old and I was invited to the opening of the new {intimacy} store in South Coast Plaza. I was professionally fitted by the founder, Susan. Did you know every time you put on your bra, you are supposed to lean forward and let the “ladies” fall into their cups? I didn’t.

I took this video in the car right after the fitting. It was the first time I had taken my three kiddos out by myself (I was so proud to have three kids!). They were wild in the store and I remember being flustered when I was trying to shoot this video. I think I did a pretty good job considering I had to set up the shot with my canon and all three kiddos were in meltdown mode. The whole first part I’m talking to my kids about the video then I “turn on” for my segment. I had intended to cut the first part out for the blog but never got around to it. I’m glad I didn’t. I love getting a glimpse into my parenting style. Now you can too. And you can get the three bra fitting tips I learned as well.

July 30, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

a hundred stars

I turned 32 last week. I’ve never been one of those folks who gets hot and bothered with getting older. I’ve looked 30 since jr high so it’s pretty satisfying for my looks to finally match my age. Unless I look 50 now – and if that’s the case, please don’t tell me. I had a bit of a reflection on my 29th birthday (and continued the story on my 30th) and I feel the same way. I’m happy and comfortable with the way my life has turned out. Maybe a little too comfortable.

My birthday was perfection. One of my favorite type of days – productive and playful. My hubby had to work, but got up while the house was sleeping, to make me chocolate chip waffles and left 10 love notes hidden around the house. I liked it. A lot. The children and I ate waffles in bed and chatted about my birthday. They were excited to help me find the notes and had no concept of my age. I asked them if they had unlimited resources, what would they would get me for my birthday. Eli said he would get me “an expensive LEGO set.” Shocker. Cora Jane said she would get me 100 stars. One hundred stars?? “Oh yes, Mommy! I would fly into space and capture you 100 stars.” That girl. She oozes awesome.

She thinks big.

The kids and I did loads of errands and I was able to do all sorts of prep for an epic pinterest party I threw last weekend. (I can’t wait to share about it!!! You will flip. Flip!) I treated myself to Golden Spoon for lunch and the kiddos to Jack in the Box mini pancakes. They love those mini circles of fluff and it’s only a buck for 8… or is it 6? Doesn’t matter. They’re good. We ate in the backyard under the shade tree. Sigh. The good life.

With full bellies, we were enjoying our time together in the sunshine. I love to use these moments to talk with my kids. Really talk with them, not “at” them or “to” them, “with” them. This moment we talked about birthday presents. We talked about getting a gift the birthday person would like, not something you like (ahem “expensive LEGO set” above). We talked about gifts that you don’t have to buy. Some people (like me) love the gift of a love note, a dinner out or something handmade from the heart, more than something that costs a lot of money. We talked about our favorite shows (I said Shaun the Sheep) and about the things the kids were learning in VBS (no matter what, you can trust God).

At some point Eli disappeared inside to play with LEGO bricks, while the rest of us were lounging. He came back outside a little later with a sheep he made from his imagination. A gift for me, for my birthday. He understood from our conversation that I probably didn’t want a LEGO set for my birthday, so he had asked me my favorite show so he could make me something from the heart. I liked it. A lot.

We took the big kids to VBS then my hubby took me to sushi dinner with the littlest littles. A perfect day. The kind of day that gives you some perspective.

I have a good life. Nope, a GREAT life. I’m comfortable. I could live like this forever. I could. But knowing what I know (what we all know) about the world out there, what should my life look like? We have full hearts, full bellies and a full home. But I want to think big. I’m trying to think big, like Cora Jane.

I’m switching things up at Eli’s Lids. (I still can’t tell you everything yet because I’m a jerk like that.)

This blog is a business blog but I’ve always been pretty personal. Now, I’m officially turning it into a personal blog.

So what’s going to change?

Nothing really. I’ll probably be more opinioned.

I’ll be launching an exclusively business blog soon. But since Eli’s Lids is such a huge part of our life, you’ll get all that here as well.

Happy Monday!

July 24, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Rainbow Puppy Birthday Party

I have a little girl.

She dances to the beat of her own little drum.

A drum that’s orange, covered in rainbow sparkles with puppies, and flamingos jumping out.

She picks out her own clothes.

She’s scared to get her ears pierced.

She might really think she’s Rapunzel.

She likes what she likes.

From the depth of her pretty little brain she came up with a rainbow puppy party.

Here’s how it went…

We remembered to do a family picture before the party, in hopes of getting a good shot before the party sugar set in…

Um… that went well.

I made Cora Jane’s skirt out of Dollar Tree tee shirts. (It came out really cute and I hope to share how it’s done soon!)

Favors: All from Oriental Trading company. Rainbow stamps, tattoos and candy bundled up in rainbow bandanas. They added so much color outside.

I cut each large bandana into 4 squares for the bundles. And I couldn’t believe Oriental Trading Company had rainbow colored “dog bones” (I think they are meant to be skeleton bones for Halloween) and bright paw print stamps. Total score. Double sided stamps and rainbow tattoos finished off the favors. Total cost was about $1.25!

Menu: Pizza, a rainbow of fruit and veggies, chips and every color of Gatorade.

Big Mama pizzas from our favorite, Rosa’s Pizza. Each pizza has 45 slices. The fruit was set out in rainbow order – red apples, watermelon, strawberries, sliced oranges, carrots, yellow tomatoes, yellow raspberries, bananas, snap peas, cucumbers, blueberries and purple grapes. (This was the first party we ran kinda low on the main dish. It was pretty rad to NOT have leftovers, but we should have gotten another smaller pizza to add to the bunch.)

Décor: Rainbow and puppies. (hehehehe)

I covered our unfinished counters with bright table clothes and used the leftover bandanas as runners. I used paper plates to camouflage the unfinished backsplash (pictured above with the fruit). We didn’t fool anyone, but it looked festive. I made a rainbow-puppy-paw-print fabric strip banner for behind the cake and my talented friend Jill created a rainbow puppy graphic for me to print, and I hung it up all over the place. We found some great rainbow flower windmill things at the Dollar Tree and placed them around the yard. But my favorite favorite favorite part were rainbow the colored lanterns we hung in our kick a$& tree. I LOVE THEM! I’ve kept them up and every time I look in my yard they make me smile. I think I’ll go look at them now… (sigh)… happy heart.

Cake: I love custom cakes but there is just something special (to me) about making my kiddo’s birthday cakes. That being said, when you can get a cake for $10 at Sam’s Club and 30 cupcakes for $13… I let “the club” do the baking and background frosting and I just spice it up a bit! (I do this for almost all our parties.) For Cora Jane’s cake I added a rainbow banner, a puppy candle (had to get a dozen at Oriental Trading and only used one, so if you want some just shoot me an email and I’ll bless you with some happy puppy mail!), the rainbow dog bones (from the favors), and rainbow sour belts. Each cupcake got a rainbow puppy, a rainbow, and dog bones of their own. It was cute.

Cora Jane loved it…

Then we beat the heck out of a rainbow. I’m not sure why, but I’m a huge fan of pinatas. I feel like a party without a pinata is just hanging out… I’m strange.

Group shots are another of my party MUSTS…

Cora Jane wants a rainbow puppy room. Because, of course she does.

But that’s awesome because I can use the banner and extra bandanas as room décor. I also found this awesome rainbow fabric for curtains. She hated it. Oh wait… the opposite of that…

House stuff is slowly moving along now and I can’t wait to share pix!

Happy Day Friends!

July 17, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Invisible Work

Moving is a lot of work. Most everything is unpacked but there are quite a few things that don’t have places yet.

I just don’t have enough hours in the day. Can you feel me?

All my invisible work gets in the way.

What’s invisible work you ask?

It’s work that has to be done and takes a lot of time but no one notices… unless it doesn’t get done.

Let me explain. Laundry.

You start with a nice tidy room. You remove the laundry basket, wash, dry and fold (maybe even iron) the laundry, then tuck each clean item back into it’s home in the room. You have worked for about 3 hours and you end up right where you started – with a nice tidy room.

The same can be said for dishes, cooking a meal and paying the bills.

If you do all your invisible work, then the well oiled machine that is your life just keeps chugging along. If you don’t do your invisible work then you have 6 clean loads of laundry in your bedroom waiting to be folded (ahem), a sink piled high with dirty dishes (ahem), and your electricity goes out (thank God for bill pay on my smart phone or that wouldn’t get done either!).

So I guess what I’m saying is, I’m working so much on my invisible work, the “extra” things like hanging pictures on the wall or setting up my office aren’t getting done.

Flustering.

But that’s part of the job.

A job I chose.

A job that some women (and men) would kill for.

When I’m in the midst of my invisible work I kinda hate it. But after I’m done, I’m proud.

I don’t care if that sounds lame.

I’m proud when my house is clean… um… replace clean with tidy… um replace tidy with comfortable.

Yeah. I’m proud my house is comfortable.

This mom thing is work. A lot of work. A funny duality of difficulty and honor.

I GET to be a mom. Not everyone does and I’m thankful.

In fact, I love it.

Last week we had some hot summer rain. After putting the little kids down for naps, Eli and I had some precious alone time. We lounged in our backyard under our tree on our big picnic quilt talking. He’s five now so we can really talk about things. I asked him about his dreams. He told me he wanted to buy all the expensive lego sets. I listened. I wanted to know what was on his mind. He told me he is nervous about starting Kindergarten this September. I listened. I asked him if he had any neat plans I could help with. He wants to plant a garden. A garden in our yard for lots of fruits and vegetables. His plan is to put a sign in the garden that says ‘free food’ and if anyone is hungry or homeless they can have the food from our garden. Wow.

Being a mom means being a part of something big. Bigger than we can ever imagine. Maybe bigger than we’ll ever know.

Invisible work. What a small price to pay for the privilege of being, mom.

Now I’m going to fold some laundry.

July 9, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

So we were on the KTLA 5 Morning show…

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! (I’ve been doing a lot of squeeeeing lately haven’t I?)

Did you catch the KTLA 5 Morning news yesterday morning at 7:15am?

Neither did we.

We don’t have that channel.

Maybe we are a little Dugger-like when it comes to TV. Don’t get me wrong. We have a TV… just no antenna. So we don’t get any shows on it. We have Netflix streaming for $8 a month (I should do a post on it someday) and we can do DVDs AND I make my friend Kyla record Big Fat Gypsy Wedding for me. Then we have ~~eating nights~~ craft nights and watch the shows. That’s very un Duggar-like.

What-evs.

Here is the clip from the show… (Mom, We are at 2min & 10 seconds, after the commercial.)

I’m so honored we were picked to be on the show. There were other great products featured as well and you can see them all in this post.

How funny is it that the hosts wore our Fedorables for the second half of the segment? RAD!

I wish they would have mentioned how we donate to Surfers Healing and to great adoptive families! (like Henry’s family!)

But I guess it’s OK. 😉

I’m going to use this post as a cliff notes version of the month I didn’t post…

Eli finished school Pre K and I wasn’t sad. It’s crazy to think we are about to start the Elementary school years with our kids. Time is a bandit. Stealth. Overnight the children grow like crazy in mind body and spirit. Then when you look at them and realize they have hit/passed another milestone you cry like a baby and eat 3-5 skinny cow wafer bars.

Oh, that’s just me…

Awkward.

We had a celebratory lunch at Rosa’s Pizza. If you live in North County you have to try it. Yummy.

They have mustaches in the quarter machines.

And the next day we moved.

Since moving day I’ve been doing move-y things. Like putting in contact paper, getting gifties from friends and killing backyard gophers.

I like my girls.

Tess is growing up. Lame.

Cora Jane is growing up. Lame. She also loves to wear her headbands like Axl Rose.

She is her own girl. Not lame.

My hubby and I had a date day at the beach together. Just us. No kids. So I read and slept and it was awesome. Awesome.

The hubs went body boarding and came in from the waves with a ring he made out of seaweed while waiting for a set.

Can someone travel back in time and tell my jr high self that all my dreams will come true.

Don’t mention the getting fat part though.

And I’m kinda switching things up a little. I’m separating my business and life on Instagram and Twitter. So be sure to follow my new accounts as well! (@elislids on both)

Happy Monday!

July 7, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

KTLA. 7am. Tomorrow. You.

(YAY!)