Restyling for Fall

With Halloween approaching, we thought we'd restyle the bookcase at the landing of the stairs. This bookcase from Sauder is the perfect piece of furniture for easy accessory swapping. I still love the bookcase as much as I did the day I put it together. Here was the spring/summer look:

The cubicles swapped out with Halloween decor:

To easily transition the bookcase after Halloween, we'll keep the more neutral pumpkins and swap picture frames with fall photos. The bookcase is in the Barrister line. Right now I'm also really liking the the Cannery Bridge storage wall.

I added a second piece of furniture from Sauder from the Edge Water collection:

This is a tricky little corner in my living room created by the unusual shape of my sectional. I used to have a small leather folding seat placed in the corner to hold a blanket for the couch, but I relocated that piece when I moved some other furniture around and needed it as a desk seat. The shape of the space makes it tricky for a standard sized end table, but then I found this smaller end table from Sauder.

Flat-box furniture can feel intimidating to some people, but I find it to be rather empowering...like, "yeah, I built it". Here all of the pieces dumped out from the well-packaged shipping box:

Everything comes out a little dusty, so I like to vacuum it all off before assembly. After vacuuming, I lay out all of the pieces in an orderly fashion and get busy.

Elmer's glue scares me a little when it comes to building furniture, but its use in this table is pretty inconsequential- just a little more security, not for any stability. Here I am more than half-way through the assembly:

Sides go up, top goes on, feet attached. Done in less than 25 minutes...all by myself!

We rarely sit on this side of the couch, but with the lamp there now and table to set a glass of water, this is a new reading spot.

Because of the table size, it is versatile to use in other areas of the house. It's even the perfect size to play up the depth at the front door:

To see more ways to use these versatile furniture pieces and other accessory ideas, visit my Home Pinterest Board.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sauder. The opinions and text are all mine.

Frostys for Families!

Did you know that there are more than 100,000 children in foster care awaiting adoption?  Foster adoption is something I have thought about for the future- what bigger gift of ourselves could we possibly give than to open our hearts, homes and family to a very deserving child?

I have two cousins who have opened their hearts, homes and family to adoption and I'd love to share their stories:

"Four and a half years ago [husband] and I were a mini family having been married for 8 years and enjoying the PNW—engorged with our work and spending time with our dogs and sampling the phenomenal restaurants in our little city. We laid our plans to perfectly time building our family around my residency research fellowship (aka the “procreative pause” of surgical training). Months became years and pregnancy had other plans. We followed our hearts and with the support of some amazing friends and family—we started the process for infant domestic adoption.

Four and a half years ago our daughter was born to an amazing woman who chose us to parent her child. No words can describe the adoration and respect we have for our daughter’s birthmother. Seven months later- [daughter] became a big sister when her brother was born to us.

People ask us—“Did you plan it like that?!” We laugh and think to ourselves--- in our wildest dreams we never could have imagined being so blessed."

My other cousin shared with a friend just starting the adoption process: "I am in awe… More than words can express… Of the whole adoption process. It's like this amazing, very elite club that few people get to experience, because it takes very strong women, strong couples, and strong families to enter into the joy, trust & love." 

The three of us messaged back and forth last night and I truly feel honored to get to share a small part of the their experience with you. I picked up this gem from Tara: "I can say to the child who was adopted: You are wanted. You are loved. I chose you. Out of all the children in the world, I chose you."

"Worthy is the word that stands out most to me. I want all children to know how worthy they are. And for parents and birth parents to know the same. You are worthy of creating, carrying and birthing this child. You matter. Your role matters. Your child matters.

You are worthy of raising this child. You matter. Your commitment matters.

And you, precious child. You matter most. You are worthy of all things. You are worthy of being cherished. You are worthy of not just knowing, but feeling that you are loved. You are worthy of blessing others with your talents and gifts.

We are all worthy--every parent, regardless of circumstance, and every child, regardless of circumstance. Sometimes we lose sight of that, and we need to be reminded."

She also shared her letter from the judge finalizing her adoption: "Dear Mr. and Mrs. D:
It was my privilege and honor to preside over the adoption of your daughter. Adoptions are without question the most remarkable of all judicial proceedings as they highlight the generosity of spirit of the adopting families. New families are formed with legal bonds to cement the familial bond between adoptive parents and child, bonds that have been developed and nurtured long before the parties step into the courtroom.

Every child in our society deserves to grow up in a family that is loving, supportive and attending to a child's needs. All children deserve to have a sense of belonging, and adoptive parents deserve recognition for making the lifelong commitment of providing a loving and supportive home for these children. By adopting [daughter], you serve as an inspiration to those of us who work in the court system. You make us grateful for the small role that we play in creating and fostering your relationship."

Here are both girls, arm-in-arm, placed in the arms of loving supportive nurturing families:

In 1990, Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s®, accepted President George H.W. Bush’s invitation to be the spokesperson for a national adoption awareness campaign. Just two years later, Dave established The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption® as a non-profit public charity with one primary goal: to help every child in foster care find a loving, permanent family. Thanks to Wendy’s® consumers and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption®, 4,000+ children have found adoptive families.

How can you help support adoption?  It's as easy as pulling up to a Wendy's Drive Thru.  Purchase a Wendy’s® Halloween Coupon Book for $1 at participating Wendy’s to support foster care adoption.

That's right.  Share a Frosty with your family, pick up a few Halloween Coupon Books to hand out for Halloween and help make another family become whole!  Heck, go ahead and order handful of the Halloween Coupon Books.

Speaking of handful...I like my Frosty topped with a handful of M&Ms.

Visit your local Wendy’s® to purchase a Jr. Frosty™ Halloween Coupon Book* for $1, which benefits the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption®!
*Coupon book may contain coupons for 5 or 10 free Jr. Frosty™ treats. Prices and participation may vary. Ninety cents to every $1 coupon booklet sold between 9/15/14 and 10/31/14 will benefit the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption®. Coupons valid from 11/1/14 through 2/1/15. ©2014 Oldemark LLC

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Tulip Glow-in-the-Dark & Black Light Fabric Paints

This is a compensated post as part of a campaign with Blueprint Social andTulip Glow in the Dark Halloween. All opinions are my own.

These Tulip Glow-in-the-Dark and Black Light Fabric Paints couldn't have shown up at a more perfect time.  A local yoga festival hosted a Black Light Yoga class Saturday night called:  Dark Side of the Moon.  Time to GLOW with the FLOW!

Here are all of the fun paints lined up and ready to decorate a plain black pair of yoga pants.  I wasn't certain I wanted to spare a pair of pants for the yoga glowing cause, so I decided I'd create a design that I'd want to wear beyond the black lights.

Starting with two different sized plates as a template for the half circle, I followed the arch of the plate with black light dots.  The blue dots show the larger plate and the pink dots followed the arch of the smaller plate.  I found a smaller tupperware lid for the yellow dots and filled the rest of the design in with zig-zags, triangles and more dots.  The fabric paints easily flow from the bottles with sharp enough points to make detailed designs:

I woke up at 8am, had the pants made by 8:15am to go out the door for the first of 5 classes for the day starting at 8:30am.  By 8pm, we were heading out the door for the last yoga practice of the day and the best one of the festival.  Here are the pants in the light:

 Under the black light:

What made this class even more fun was the little guy lined up next to my yoga mat, my son.  He thought it was one of the best nights ever and can't wait to decorate his own Halloween apparel.

A black light yoga flow makes it difficult to capture the impact of the yoga pants, but you can see how the fabric paint really pops.  I had a friend wear them and all of my yoga friends thought they were amazing.  The glow in the dark is amplified by the black light and still shines when the black lights turn off.

This is a fun, fun, FUN product and I am soooo looking forward to decorating pumpkins and other glow-in-the-dark attire for Halloween with the paints.  For more Glow-in-the-Dark and Black Light project ideas, follow Ilovetocreate on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Buzzing Home for a Bumble Bee® Snack

 Here are the ingredients we are going to use to make a delicious tuna pasta salad into a fun bumble bee dip:

Bumble Bee® Premium Albacore Tuna in Water Pouch 5oz (you can also use Bumble Bee® light tuna), rotini pasta, Goddess dressing, diced red onion, diced black olives, salt/pepper and rice crackers.

 Start by cooking your pasta.  While the pasta is cooking, arrange your rice crackers on a platter for the bumble bee wings.

 Add your Bumble Bee tuna to the cold rinsed pasta.  I prefer using the pouches because you don't have to drain any water or oil from the packaging, but Bumble Bee tuna also comes in cans.

 Add 3-4 tablespoons of Goddess dressing to the pasta and combine:

 Add your 1/4 cup diced red onion, 2 T capers, salt & pepper to taste.  Stir to combine.

 Begin to assemble the body of the bumble bee by alternating the pasta with the diced black olives.

 Finish the bee with caper eyes and it's ready to serve!

The kids were more than happy to dig into the pasta- mostly because it was served as a bumble bee dip.  Food art is great way to sneak in an extra protein source or extra veggies they normally wouldn't eat on their own.  

After school snacking should be fun and nutritious!  Try this bumble bee tuna pasta salad food art for your hungry after-school kiddos.  Do you have any favorite tuna recipes your kids love?  Share in the comments!  Bumble Bee® has custom recipes you can find here.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Back-to-School Bus Dip

To make this fun school bus layered dip, start by prepping your fresh ingredients:

 She brushed up on her math facts as I diced the California Ripe Black Olives, tomatoes and red onion.

On a flat platter, smear the refried beans in the shape of a school bus, using a spatula:

 Next, layer your guacamole on top of the refried beans.  Our guac recipe is 2 smashed avocados, juice of one small lime, 3 shakes of Tabasco, a generous sprinkle of season salt and garlic powder.

 Then, layer the guacamole with sour cream:

 Now, add your diced California Ripe Olives for the bus windows and windshield:

 Next, start adding your shredded mild cheddar cheese around the windows and fill in the bus.  I used a small black cup to outline the wheels and filled the wheels with black beans and red onion for the chrome part of the bus (rims, bumpers & lights)

Add the diced tomatoes for the school bus stop sign and brake lights.  The platter was finished with some blue sour cream (add a few drops of blue food coloring) for the backdrop and a California Ripe Olive road.

Here are four school children who started 2nd, 6th, 5th & 1st grades this week.  The school bus layered dip was a huge hit!  Serve with tortilla chips or more fresh cut veggies.

Have you tried making any food art?  The black olives really make the yellow cheese on school bus pop with color.  It only takes a little extra effort to create a really fun snack.  With Halloween approaching, start thinking about a baby carrot and/or orange pepper jack-o-lantern with black olive face:

We served this a couple of years ago at our Halloween Party.  You can check out our bunny head fruit platter for a fresh fruit idea.  Keep a can of black olives in your pantry for your next food art project!  This is such a good-for-them, kid-friendly snack to prepare with your kids.  Now, dig in!

Join the California Ripe Olives Back-to-School Sweepstakes:

• Follow California Ripe Olives on Facebook, visit the custom tab, and enter once per day for the chance to win an Amazon Kindle Fire HDX
• Sweepstakes runs August 18 - September 12, 2014
• Link to sweepstakes: http://clvr.li/VzSkGl

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.