We had so much fun going to the Pumpkin Patch!
Every year we go to a true pumpkin farm and pick pumpkins from the fields. There are so many fields that you truly can get away from crowds. Last year we went just prior to our little guy beginning to walk so he sort of propped on pumpkins.
Now we run and laugh making the pumpkin patch so much fun!
Rescue is the word that I wasn’t intending on needing until we got our house painted this year and noticed that the front door needed to be a priority so that we didn’t lose it!
Really….lose it?
Really!!!
It was a stained door that is west facing and through the years has taken a beating from the sun!
Although we decided to have the exterior of the house painted by professionals, I decided that I would rescue the front door.
I am really bad about remembering the BEFORE picture so this was taken after I sanded the door and began prepping it .
There was a decision to be made stain or paint.
Paint, won!
My general thinking after rescuing the door was that paint would give a little more protection from the elements going forward.
So after some deliberation over what color works best with the house….here is the finished door.
Pumpkins and all, Happy Fall!
It has been busy lately getting ready for our first real birthday party. Last year our little guy’s first birthday was celebrated with mommy, daddy, grandparents (via Skype), and a large cupcake!
This year was going to be a small event!
I knew it was going to be a Mickey Mouse themed party and began searching for ideas because I knew it was going to be homemade as opposed to the limited commercial products available. So here it is!
The centerpiece was one of those inspiration pieces that I found here at Shay Bocks. I decided to take the general idea, but adapted the technique to something that worked best for me. Tutorial to come soon….
The entry was decorated to greet our guests with balloons and a sign that I made with paper and a spray painted dollar tree frame.
The sign said….
My little guy loves to say things are “big, big” . 
The other great inspiration that I found…..
The cupcake stands were from Bee in Our Bonnet.
The chocolate cupcake and vanilla cupcake recipes were found at Our Happy Medium. Thank goodness I found these recipes that were delicious and perfectly adjusted to work at altitude!
Paper straws in milk bottles was a great idea that I had seen somewhere in the past. I had to improvise, and decided that Frappuccino bottles were perfectly within budget. The bigger kids actually loved the straws and drinking from the bottles.
The candy coated cake ball cupcakes were adapted to color coordinate from Bakerella's Cupcake Bites.
A birthday banner made on my computer.
Script was a free download “Walt Disney Script v4.1”
What do you do with a light fixture. Well, that is a craft fail story….I originally tried to cover it with a drum type shade that I made, but without some more reinforcement to keep it’s shape, I could not make it work. I would have been better off trying to cover each shade, but I was out of time so the next best option….
I had extra cupcake toppers and a pom ball, so improvise with some coordinating ribbon to hang from the light fixture to incorporate it, but not hide it.
Great last minute solution.
As favors for our guests I put together a bag of little goodies.
I kept it simple with white lunch bags, blue ribbon, and red tissue paper.
Inside the bags….
A bottle of homemade bubble solution for “Big, Big, Fun”
A Mickey Mouse bubble wand made from a black pipe cleaner
Extra pipe cleaners for some wand creations
A bag of animal crackers with a Mickey Mouse topper
Mickey Mouse stickers
A Mickey Mouse coloring sheet with a Thank You for coming to Matthew’s Party
Mickey Mouse crayons (markers for the older children)
And to share why this celebration means so much to us…
Our little blue eyed charmer is now “2”!!!
A celebration like this deserves more partying, so…you can find me here:
Skip to My Lou Made By You Monday
The Frugal Girl's Chic and Crafty Party
Sugar Bee Crafts' Take-A-Look Tuesday
Night Owl Crafting's Hoo’s Got Talent
Blue Cricket Design's Show and Tell
The Shabby Creek Cottage's Transformation Thursday
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating's Flaunt it Friday
My Re-Purposed Life's Catch as Catch Can
The Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday
Fingerprints on the Fridge's Feature Yourself Friday
Tater Tot and Jello's Weekend Wrap-up
Bear Rabbit Bear's Things I Done Thursday
Lolly Jane's Whatcha Got Weekend
Be Different Act Normal's Show and Tell Saturday
Sew Many Ways' Sew Darn Crafty Party
Living Life Intentionally's TGIF Party
I’ve been featured here:
Our garden was abundant with acorn squash this year.
Fortunate for us our little guy likes this as well as we do.
I used to prepare my squash (acorn, butternut, spaghetti…) by cutting in half and removing seeds. Then I would place it in a glass dish face down with a little water and cook in the oven.
It changed my life once I read that you can cook any of these squash by piercing with a knife and baking them whole.
Now, I line a cookie sheet with foil and bake all my squash at once whole!
Once they are done, I split them and scrap my seeds.
Our favorite way to enjoy acorn squash with our little guy is smooshed with butter and cinnamon.
I can’t wait to make the next batch. I think they will be halved and filled with maple granola and drizzled with honey!
