a swanky cincinnati dinner party

As many of you know we are in the process of moving back to CIncinnati.  Along with that we have been very busy the past two months going back and forth between VA and OH trying to decipher job opportunities and land opportunities and housing opportunities.  We have had an absolute CRAZY two months, but one thing is for sure they have been filled with blessing after blessing.

Last week while we were in Cincinnati we closed on a piece of land that our family is really excited about.  It is just what we were looking for with just enough land, in a great neighborhood and we could use any builder we wanted.  So of course, we needed to throw our first official dinner party!

We had both sets of parents out for dinner at "our house" and had a standard swanky dinner party.  At least as swanky as you can make a one stop dinner party shop to your local Walmart.

Everyone dined on fried chicken, sweet tea and an assortment of sides.  Charlotte really enjoyed the chicken and Oliver really enjoyed the view from his blanket.

We wanted to make sure that we were the first to break ground on our new land, so Jay and Charlotte did the honors!

Many more dinner parties to come at our new place and maybe next time we will have a place to invite people in!

Hope to see you at our new place real soon, maybe we will serve you something better than a Walmart dinner!

-melissa

barnyard bash for a two year old!

We had a great weekend!  On Friday Charlotte turned two and we spent the day getting ready for her birthday party and having a chilly picnic at the park. On Saturday we headed to Maymont had a barnyard bash for our little sheep lover.  All of her favorite people were there and she seemed to have a great time!  She got to play with her friends, feed the animals, run around and eat ranch dip and go on a hay ride...who wouldn't want to spend their birthday like that!  Here is a recap of her big day!

Thanks to everyone who made Charlotte's big day so special!  It was great having so many friends to celebrate her big day.  There is no better sound than hearing the squeal of a bunch of kids as they feed goats, a big group of your favorite people singing happy birthday to your little girl or the shouts and cries as they fly along a hayride hanging on for dear life!

-melissa

and that's a wrap!

I know that Charlotte's birthday is over.  It is just so hard to believe.  I have been thinking, planning and scheming for this girl to turn one for months and now...she is!  I know that most of you are thinking, enough already.  But for those dear to our hearts that could not experience our fun bash, here are a couple of last photos.

Crazy how time flies!  Charlotte really did have a great time with all of her friends.  I think everyone had a great time- that is what happens when you get a bunch of great families in one tiny house!

Hmmmm...I wonder what theme she wants when she turns two?  Is it too early to start planning!?

-melissa

a very hungry craft round up...part 3

I have seen many different types of bunting floating around blog land and pinterest for months now.  Bunting and banners are by no means new to the craft world, but they are new to me!  I thought I would share the banners that were made for the party this past week and how I put my version of this classic party decor together. I made two different banners.  One that followed the hungry caterpillar theme to display her month pictures.  For the other I wanted to make something a little more nostalgic that can be used year after year.  First, the hungry caterpillar bunting.  (sorry for the SUPER crummy picture!)

I made two different banners out of the supplies I had below. I used the butterfly and the fabric to make a banner that draped in front of her cake.  I used everything but the butterfly to make a monthly banner to display all those month pictures we have been taking. (sniff, sniff, only one more month picture left!)

To begin I took all of the dot scrap fabric that I had left over from her dress.  There was a ton of pieces that were all short and I needed to create one long, thin piece.  To do this I used my homemade quilt binding skills.  This is the same technique that I use to create binding for quilts.  I lay one piece facing up and another piece perpendicular facing down and sew horizontally.  When unfolded and pressed it will create a discreet connection between the two fabrics.

Once I had all the pieces sewn together to form one very long strand of fabric, I attached them to a piece of rope.  To attach the fabric to the rope I wrapped the fabric around the rope and then sewed right down the middle, permanently attaching all pieces together.

I then sewed on fabric triangles and attached her pictures with  miniature clothes pins.  This project took roughly one hour to complete and I think it displayed her pictures in a fun way!

The banner that I made for the front porch is one that I hope to have at Charlotte's birthday year after year.  This year it was hanging on our front porch, in future years it might take up residence in many different spots.  I enjoyed making this project.  The level of sewing needed is very minimal.  You only have to be able to sew a straight line.  This was more of a fun cutting project.  This is how I made it.

The supplies you need for this project include: scissors, two thick fabrics (I used outdoor fabric) and of course, my best friend, heat n' bond.

Trace all the triangles you will need (letters and spaces) onto the top fabric that has been covered with the heat n' bond.

Cut out all of the triangles and trace each needed letter backwards onto the triangles.

Cut out the letter, remove the paper backing of the heat n' bond and then pin to the solid color backing.  Next, sew all the fronts to the backs.

To create the long strand I attached all the letters. I used the same binding technique that I referred to previously.

I hope to use this banner for many years to come!  Isn't that one of the benefits of crafting- making family heirlooms that will be cherished for years to come! Hope you are enjoying our craft round up.  Tomorrow we are pushing the pause button on the crafting to celebrate our little girls true first birthday.  We have a fun and relaxing day planned.  I am sure the camera will be in tow and if we still have any energy left at the end of the day we may post some pics of our fabulous spring day!

-melissa