Seahawks Superbowl Party

Most of the bloggers out there plan way ahead and will give you recipes, crafts, decorations, and tips for an upcoming event. I give major kudos to those ladies. I, however, am not one of those bloggers. Not by a long shot. I am usually a week to a month late on posting about my holiday creations. Or hey...maybe I AM the ultimate planner and I'm getting you ready for next year. ;) No? Okay, well anyways, even if it doesn't help you prepare for your events, at least you can see what's been going on for me lately. And years from now, I can also look back and pat myself on the back for still doing the baking, crafting, decorating, party hosting, etc. even though I wasn't the ultimate blogger. :)

All that to say...here is what Superbowl Sunday looked like around here!

Starting with my paint chip dry erase calendar:

Thank you to Jacquelyn at Style Me Pretty for these free Superbowl Commercial Bingo printables.

Our guests had a really fun time with this game. Everyone got into it and we would debate about if something counted or not. Unfortunately we didn't think the commercials were that great this year and none of us got a black out but it still made for a friendly competition when we weren't focused on the game.

Here's the table decor. The megaphone and pom-poms were from the Dollar Store a couple years ago for the March Madness championship game and the tablecloth was less than a dollar at WalMart.

I made the footballs using my Silhouette and the ribbon I use as a belt/sash for one of my dresses. I love finding things around my home to use rather than buying or making new things all the time.

In case the crayons and colors on the table didn't give it away, we were cheering for the Seahawks!

I used my Silhouette sketch pens to draw the outlines of the letters and then cut the pennants and footballs with it as well. I used Sharpies to color in the letters. The twine and clothespins were already up from Christmas decor--this is where I displayed Christmas cards we received.

I had to get put away all my Christmas decorations so instead of having a bare dresser, I pulled anything blue and green that I had. (You can also see part of the awesome gift my hubby got for Christmas there on the left...he loves that bean bag and was so surprised!)

I didn't have any football printables or time to get one printed so I grabbed a chalkboard and drew something instead. I knew to use X's and O's and that yardage lines but hubby had to help me with the play.

So maybe candles, vases, and fake flowers have NOTHING to do with a Superbowl, but hey, they were the right colors!

Moving to the food and decorations there. And don't forgot the Skittles!

I used the negative space from my footballs and attached them to mason jars with a zig pen. I got the idea for the jars from Bev at Flamingo Toes. Yes, I know the stitches are white but I already had these brown ones that were just going to be thrown away so I decided to just go for it. (I am realizing I need to figure out a trick for taking pictures of glass jars...these didn't turn out so great. Also, can you see me in the spoons?)

When I saw this Seahawks silhouette design on Pinterest, I knew right away I would be using it! Thanks so much to Lisa at Sweet Benana & Sam for creating and sharing this free Seahawks SVG file! When I grabbed this design, I decided to create my own printable. I added the words and used my Silhouette sketch pens to draw it.

A couple weeks before the big game, during a quick trip to the grocery store for a couple items, I saw the plates and napkins and threw them in my basket. At that point, we hadn't even confirmed we were having a party but somehow Seahawks plates and napkins was all I needed as motivation. :)

Blue and Green Sweets!

I decorated two different kinds of cupcakes. Thanks to the class I took at JoAnn's I had a lot of fun practicing my frosting skills making these.

Sprinkles for the 12th man!

And a Skittle atop the swirl

Seattle Seahawks Cupcakes

And for the sweet 'n salty taste, I made three different kinds of pretzel rods: chocolate with heath, white chocolate with M&M's and sprinkles, and chocolate with a white chocolate football stitch decoration. I just couldn't resist using my blue mason jars from Target as the finishing touch.

In addition to the desserts, I made BBQ pulled pork for sliders and we had potato salad and veggies. My husband also made his own recently-created guacamole recipe which is delicious! Our friends brought several other yummy dishes. As is necessary for any Superbowl Party, we had lots (so many leftovers) of food, cheering, and fun! It made it so much better when our team won dominated the game!

So maybe you can use some of these ideas next year for any Seahawks game! :)

Have I Ever Mentioned...

...that I LOVE Pinterest???
So many great ideas, so many freebies, so many possibilities! Two of my Christmas presents (which I am going to blog about tomorrow) have opened a whole new door to Pinterest potentials! I love finding freebie downloads and have started making a great collection. Can't wait to start using some things very soon and move the Pins into my new board called "Pinned It, Did It!"
 
...that I love buying things on sale???
Mmm, makes me feel so much less guilty for spending money. :)
My mom and I went after-Christmas clearance shopping today. We hit "Bath and Body Works" for their semi-annual sale to stock up on a soap and added a few more fun and wonderful smelling items to our bag. But hey, we got everything on sale and got $10 off! We sniffed so many scents that we both started to get headaches and knew it was time to move to another store. We also went to Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's getting a few more things that were either on sale or purchased with a coupon! Gotta love it.

...that I miss my girlfriends from Seattle?
One of my college roommates was back in the area and I got to go out to lunch and catch up with her today. I hadn't seen her since August and it was so nice to have some girl time and talk about our lives lately. Definitely made me want to try and make a trip over there soon.

...that my husband is wonderful???
He is. :) When I came home from my day of fun shopping, I could tell that he had worked hard around the house to get it cleaned/organized. He tackled several different projects in various places. It is so nice to have his help around the house. This evening he helped me to finish our upstairs so that it is ready for the in-laws. Yes, I still have boxes in various nooks and corners that need to be sorted through eventually. But, it is presentable and nice looking now. Those boxes can wait for later this week, a rainy day, ...or maybe until we move!

A Weekend in the Emerald City

Last weekend, I went back to Seattle for a shower for my roommate Esther. It was nice to be back "living" with my roommates and enjoying Seattle life. The weather was SO nice while I was there and I was able to soak in the sun in many ways.

A walk to Fremont with Esther and Emily for Starbucks Frappucino Happy Hour!

So nice to be able to read what I want now--no more college required reading.

 I love being able to wear my Rainbows again!

Laying by the canal enjoying the nice weather and warmth.

Dislike Seattle gridlock traffic...but at least I could have my sunroof open and window down while I'm sitting on the city streets bumper to bumper.

Time Flies when...

...you are falling in love, at the beach, student teaching, getting engaged, graduating from college, and planning a wedding. Yep, all that has happened since my last post OVER A YEAR ago! But as you can see, slacking on my blog has been for several good reasons.

I had a very exciting, fun, and life-changing year. I met Nate (my now fiance) on March 26, 2011 at a volleyball tournament, which we returned to and won this year. We got to know each other long distance through letters, texts, phone calls, and visits every few weeks. After school ended in June, I returned to Cannon Beach for my second year. This summer I lived with my 3 great friends from the first summer: Jill, Katie, and Olivia. Being roommates with all of them was amazing and one of the best things about the summer. I was the supervisor teacher for the 4 and 5 year-olds, which came with a lot of challenges and joys. The kids were so precious and I enjoyed it a lot. In September, I got to spend 3 weeks at home before school started again. It was so nice to be close to Nate for longer than a weekend. We took a road trip to Montana to visit his parents and my brother as well as other fun hangouts in our neck of the woods such as boating and a demolition derby. Heading back to Seattle was hard to leave him but I had 3 amazing roommates awaiting me, which made it better. I was SO SO blessed to be able to live with Emily, Esther, and Janelle my last two quarters of college. Those girls are so beautiful, fun, loving, encouraging, and great to live with. We got along very well, and definitely the worst part about graduating a quarter early was cutting my time living with them short. Over Christmas break, both Esther and I got engaged. Very exciting to be sure! Winter quarter included lots of wedding plans, bridal magazines, and pinterest squeezed into my incredibly busy teaching schedule. I did my student teaching in a Kindergarten classroom with an amazing mentor teacher and 25 sweet students. I learned so much and survived the brand new Teacher's Performance Assessment (it took over 30 hours to complete!) I am going to be visiting the classroom this Friday and it will be a surprise for the students. I can't wait to see them!

So now I am living back at home. I have been exercising 6 days a week since mid-March (getting in wedding/honeymoon/bikini shape). Jillian Michaels exercises are great! She definitely kicks your butt and doesn't care one bit. I have also been working on wedding plans little by little including calling and meeting with vendors, making my invitations, and marriage counseling. I also applied to three different school districts for a teaching position for the fall. Praying that something opens up and I can find a good job.

The sun has finally come around and made it look like spring here in North Idaho. Nate and I had our engagement pictures taken on Sunday. It was so much fun. Our photographer is really great. I can't wait to see all of the pictures. Today I ate my lunch outside...so maybe 30 minutes...and I got burned! I seriously have the most pathetic skin ever.

Anyways, now that I am out of school and won't have a job until late August, I have lots of free time that I need to fill. Yes there is wedding stuff to do now, but it doesn't take all my time, and I need something for the month after our wedding when Nate is still working and I'm not. So...I want to start blogging more. I think it will be fun to write about my adventures as a new wife. I want to do a lot of cooking. I have probably over 20 Rachel Ray magazines plus dozens of pins on pinterest. I want to make an organized and categorized recipe book and then start trying out the delicious meals. I love food and would love to become more confident cooking and comfortable in the kitchen. I want to do more reading. I read the Hunger Games series recently in preparation of seeing the movie (SO GOOD) and it reminded me how much I used to love reading (before it was assigned in a syllabus and I had to write a paper on it). So I need to make a list, get some recommendations, and find them for my kindle or go to the library! I also want to try and be more crafty. I have so many cute ideas for the home and decor that are on my pinterest and I think I could do them if I just tried. I know once I start teaching I will get very busy again--I'm nervous about my first year and just getting everything established and organized--but this is a new chapter in my life, mmmm more like the next book in the series as its too many life-changing events for just a new chapter. Anyways, its a new part of my life and I want to try new things, find things I enjoy, find things that Nate and I enjoy, and figure out who I am as a wife and career woman. I can't believe I'm all grown up and done with school. Wow, time flies...

well it LOOKS like spring

I haven't written in awhile. Spring break was really good, very relaxing and low-key which is what I needed. Now I'm back at school for my last spring quarter! This quarter has a lot of new things in store for me. I started a nannying job that is two days a week picking up a 2nd grader from school and then his two older brothers come on the bus. I get them snacks, start homework with them and just hang out for a bit until their mom gets home. I really like it and it's a good break from my classes and studying. I am also taking my Methods quarter which is the first of 3 student teaching quarters here at SPU. I will be in a 3rd grade classroom every Thursday observing and helping the teacher. I'm so excited to start in a couple of days. Today I had my first day of 4 Methods classes. Being in class from 8-6 is really long but I liked all of my classes a lot and the workload doesn't seem that it's going to be too hard. Actually, today gave me a good feeling about being a teacher again, which I haven't felt in a long time.

So in regards to my title...it is almost 7:30 but still very light outside. The sun is shining, and birds are singing! I love it! Unfortunately, once you step outside to enjoy it, it's all a joke as it is windy and cold so still feels like winter. I just bought Rainbow sandals and my mom is making me a dress, so now the weather just needs to cooperate!

Four months later...

It is a wonderful fall day, cold and overcast but I love it. I am wearing wool socks, a sweater, and sipping warm tea while I work on a creative essay for my writing class. Today is 10-10-10 and four months ago today I was just recently finished with Sophomore year and driving down to Cannon Beach for what I hoped would be an amazing summer. On the flipside, I can answer that yes it was an amazing summer. I often look back through my pictures from all our hangouts, beach days, and fun adventures and smile at the memories and laughter we shared. I got to know and work with some really amazing people. It was so refreshing to be in an environment with other college-age kids who were on fire for God and passionate about living for Him and serving others. God used many of them to change my life. God grew me so much over the past four months, filling me with His love and a peace for my unknown future that I have longed for. I am so grateful for that opportunity and would love to return next summer if that works out.

But here I sit, in my new apartment in Seattle, two weeks into Junior year. It's been good so far. My classes are not too demanding which is nice because it allows me time to hang out with friends and have more relaxing time to myself whether I work out, sleep, or have God time. I really appreciate living off-campus. The quieter and more private atmosphere is just what I needed. I feel less stressed, less distracted and like I have more time. I am still working at mailing services which I love. New this year is my involvement in an group for upperclassmen women called Falconettes and no we're not the cheerleaders. :) We are a group focused on leadership, fellowship, and service. We just got back a few hours ago from our retreat at Camp Casey where we bonded, got soaking wet on an adventure walk, and brainstormed about ideas for service and fun that we can do this year. I'm really excited for what we will do. This group is an answer to prayer for a way to feel useful and be serving after a summer filled with that.

The quarter/year has only begun and I am excited to see what God has in store for me.