Monday, August 29, 2011

Rainy day fun


On the tail of Hurricane Irene, which luckily in our neck of the woods turned out to be no more than little bit of rain and wind, I thought it appropriate to blog about some fun things to do indoors with the kids when you are stuck inside all day. 

Cookies!
On a rainy day like yesterday, my vote would be the classic chocolate chip—nothing cures rainy day blues like a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies! Digging into those gooey chocolate chips is bound to turn your little one’s frown upside down (and yours for that matter too!)

Movie Reel
Set up your living room like a real movie theatre, complete with popcorn and candy.  Choose a fun classic like Annie and watch your kids fall in love with the magic just like you did as a child. 

Tea Time
Dress up in your fancy duds and put out the good china.  Cut tea sandwiches with cookie cutters—egg salad or pb&j—whatever your pleasure.  And remember, only the most posh manners allowed at teatime.

Spa Day
Set up a mini spa complete with manicure, pedicure, and facial.  Make your own mask with oatmeal, yogurt and honey.  Don’t forget to give those eyes some rest and rejuvenation with cucumber slices.  And play some soft music to set the mood.  You might all even get to catch a little snooze at the spa!

“Bored” Games
Break out the old school favorites—Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders are a few of our favorites.  If you don’t have these on hand or are feeling particularly creative, try making your own game—a grandmother inspired matching game made with copies of family photos is a regular go to in our house. 

Living Room Camp Out
Pop out the tent and camping gear for an indoor camp out.  Have hot dogs for dinner and break out the s'mores around a pretend campfire.  Turn out all the lights and tell silly ghost stories.  Invite kids to each tell their own silly or scary story. 

Do you have any tried and true rainy day fun activities?  Do share.  

Monday, August 22, 2011

To share or not to share?

I came across this month’s Vogue interview with Sarah Jessica Parker this weekend and fell in love with this little castle bunk bed.  I wonder where they got it, or more importantly, I wonder if we could DIY a little castle bunk for our girls? 
Because more and more, I have been thinking that I would like my girls to share a room.  The main reason being that our home is fairly small at just over 1500 square feet.  But I also just really like the idea of kids sharing a room and I think it could be really fun for them—especially if they got a castle bed out of the deal!

But here are a few other super cute shared spaces for the time being while we’re waiting for our castle bed to be built or found and until our youngest daughter gets just a little bit older. 
 
What are your thoughts on shared spaces?  Do your kiddos share or is it best for all at your house to have their own room?  Did you share as a kid and if so, are your memories fond or not so much?  

Monday, August 15, 2011

Give it a twirl...

We are grateful if you have managed to set aside the time to check out our blog each week. With Facebook, Twitter, internet shopping, emails, news and a little thing called work, we know how easy it is to get sucked in to the world wide web. I often look at the clock at the top of my screen and think "oh dear, that's one hour of my life I'll never get back!"

This week we wanted to feature a website that we think is a super way to spend three of your precious Internet minutes. The website is www.digitwirl.com and it's founder, Carley Knobloch, posts a video each week to show you how to use technology to make your life easier.  Carley's videos are short, funny, informative, and are designed to save you time and money.  Sound like a paid advertisement?  It's not, it's just that we LOVE this site!

Check out this weeks video and when you have time, try the archives, my personal favorite is the Nike Personal Trainer...if only Digitwirl could magic away that last bit of baby weight (ok, so technically it's toddler weight, but you get the point).

Monday, August 8, 2011

Fun in the sun!

I always start with the best intentions to get out and about all summer and do fun things with the kids.  But between work and a major kitchen renovation at our house this summer, we are already well into August without too much summer fun to show for ourselves.  I've decided to compile a list of fun things to do with the munchkins to try to squeeze in some much needed summer fun over the next month.


• Beach Day
• Blueberry Picking
• The Zoo
• Make Popsicles
• Explore a Local Farm
• Picnic on the Beach
• Day out in the City
• Concert in the Park
• Backyard Movie
• Eat More Ice Cream

What about you?  Do you have a list of fun things to do with your kids in the summer?  Tell us what we're missing!

Monday, August 1, 2011

What is your design style?

All this card designing has got us thinking about stationery and personal style.  I started searching and found all kinds of quizzes that tell you your design style.  I have to say, I think your home design style and your stationery style are related.  Maybe not siblings, but definitely first cousins!

Check out the Ethan Allen what's your signature quiz.  I particularly like this one because it was quick... took me all of 30 seconds to complete.  And because it uses photos instead of questions to find your signature style.

Sona's results...
Not really surprising that my results are 'vintage' since most of my furniture consists of pieces that are picked up at various flea markets or are DIY.  I love the old barn door, the country quilt, the neutral beige tons and the blue in gray-blue walls with the white accents in the dining room.

Elizabeth's results...
Which is spot on since I would have guessed Elizabeth was a 'classic' girl, but this is even better.  "It is the essence of timeless sophistication.  A seamless composition of quintessentially classic design elements..."

So what is your design style?  Here’s that link again to take Ethan Allen's what's your signature quiz.  Give us a shout to let us know your style and whether or not you think the results were accurate.  Happy quizzing!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Thank you for being a friend

I know, I'm singing the Golden Girls theme tune in my head now too...sorry about that!

We just wanted to let everyone know that August 7th is Friendship day, and no, I haven't celebrated it before launching a Personalized Stationery business either, but thought it was a great excuse to say thank you to friends and family or even write a quick note to someone you haven't heard from in a while.  If you are reading this blog, let me say thank you for all the support so far since we have launched.  To celebrate friendship day, we are offering 20% off our thank you cards!  Just use the Code LALFR at checkout.

Here are a couple of my favorite designs which are folded cards that are blank inside for your own message.  You could also put a little message and photo on the back:

Confetti Girl Thank You can be personalized with either your name, your initials, or as a Thank You card.

Anyone who has ever bought my kids anything knows I love this card!  I bought big bunches of pink and blue for the kids because I find I'm much quicker getting my thank you notes out when I don't have to go out and by them...excuses, excuses, I know.
 I Heart You More Than Ice Cream was only featured a couple of weeks ago, but why not really tell your friends how much they mean with this card.  I gather most of our blog readers will be personalizing this card with "wine" instead of "ice cream"!
Remember to use your code LALFR at checkout before this offer ends on August 15th!

Monday, July 18, 2011

FUN-draising

A few years back, I ran the Boston Marathon.  When I ran my first (and at the time I thought only) marathon two years before Boston, I did not have a qualifying time to run Boston.  But when a good friend decided to run Boston raising money for Children's Hospital, I thought, what a great cause... I can do this again!  And after 4+ months of training, more hours than I can count of FUNdraising, and on a very HOT day in April, we did run and finish the Boston Marathon.  And we did reach our fundraising goal for Children's Hospital.  Since I had run one marathon before this experience, I knew the hours that would go into training leading up to the race.  But I wasn't really prepared for how much time and effort would go into fundraising in order to meet my donation goal.  Don't get me wrong... we had a lot of fun with various bake sales, games and fundraising events.  But in a sense, raising all that money was just as challenging as doing all the training for race day.  And in the end, it was just as rewarding.  Knowing that the money we raised would go to Children's Hospital and help to change the lives of many children and families was even more rewarding than having finished the 26.2.  My own friends and family were so kind and I was and am so grateful for their generosity.

In this summer season of charitable races and events, what better way to say thank you to those who so generously donated to your cause, than with a fun and personal thank you postcard like the one we created below?

[Pennant Thank You Postcard Front]

[Pennant Thank You Postcard Back]
And how cute is our good friend Janie depicted on the back?    

So... what are you doing or have you done in the past to raise money for your favorite charity?  Let us know!  And order our Love and Life thank you postcard to send to those who have been generous to your cause.  Be sure to order a few extras for yourself to have a keepsake of your event.  If all this isn't enough, for the rest of July 2011, Love and Life Cards will donate 10% of your order to your charity!