Many of you know, if you’ve been following me for a while, that we have been trying for a long time to get pregnant. We didn’t have any problems with the boys and so we figured once we wanted another one…no big deal. How wrong we were! We tried for just over 5 years for another smoosh only to be disappointed each month. Then along the way we got pregnant…four times and lost the baby four times. I can’t describe the heartache and confusion that ensued.
I remember the day very clearly that I found out I was pregnant again. Kev and I laughed, a lot, and then reality kicked in. I cried and cried telling him that I just couldn’t spiritually, emotionally or physically go through another loss and that I was scared. I made an appointment that DAY to go in and see a doctor and try to better our odds of keeping this baby. They were very kind to send me home with tons of information and some meds.
I think it was at month 4 that I looked at my husband and said, “I think I might be pregnant.” It was sinking in that this might actually happen…we were going to have a baby!!!
Excitement heightened when we learned that our little rainbow baby was going to be a girl, a GIRL!!!! I was going to have a daughter, the boys would have a sister…these were such foreign words in our house full of boys. I cried and cried and had many conversations with my belly lol. When it was time for Sophie to finally come into this world we were still a little nervous that something would go wrong and we would somehow lose her. I think my mind got very jaded during all the years of hoping and of loss. There were a few hiccups but she was strong and healthy! I’ll be sharing her birth story later =). I opted for her to stay in our room the whole hospital stay and to have her sleep in our room when we got home. I didn’t do either of those things with the boys but I was strangely protective over this miracle from Heaven. Rewind to an event I was invited to put on by Ergo Baby about a month before giving birth. It was a beautiful breakfast filled with vendors and an amazing panel with doctors and specialists. I met the team from Owlet Baby Care and learned about their product to help keep baby safe.
They showed me how this little sock, when placed on the baby, can monitor her heart rate and her oxygen levels…what the WHAT??? Anytime your baby’s oxygen or heart rate drops, an alarm is designed to sound and you can run to their aid. This was an answer to a prayer. Owlet was kind enough to send me their product to review and BOY do I have words for all of you with babies…..this product is worth every single penny!!!! We spent one week with Sophie not having the sock and were able to see, feel and taste the difference. I would jump at any noise before, and not sleep at all wondering if she was breathing. When we placed it on her for the first night I slept…I actually slept WELL knowing I would be notified if anything was wrong. It was like being back in the hospital where nurses would monitor and check on her every so often while I slept. It was the most peace I had felt in a long time.
Here is sweet Sophie wearing her sock. It’s soft and comfy and she doesn’t mind it at all. It comes with a right and left sock to alternate in the newborn size and then a larger sock for when she is a bit older. Look at her….I can’t stop staring I love her so much and I feel so safe and secure knowing her Owlet sock is on her when she sleeps.
This last weekend was an absolute dream. About a month ago I joined the fabulous world known as Periscope and have been so astonished at the community I have found on there. Women building each other up, sharing thoughts on everything from food photography to hair tutorials to advice on children and motherhood. One of these amazing gals, Jenna from the Hello Fab Blog (to my left, or your right) invited a few of us bloggers to do a Magic Kingdom Meet Up at Disneyland. We would meet followers and give away fabulous prizes. I was SO excited…I mean, my favorite place, with amazing girls and my sweet mom would even be flying down to be with me. The time came to choose my sponsor and there was one shop that stood out in my mind.
I have known Courtney Brown (neon top/white skirt), the CEO of Cents Of Style, now for a year having done her makeup multiple times and have grown to admire her and I consider her a wonderful friend. Her mission with her company is to empower women to lead bold and full lives. To feel that they are capable of anything and should be able to do it while looking great! The feelings I have gotten from these amazing women on Periscope and the goal of Cents Of Style…it was a perfect fit!
Their tribe bracelets have my heart…and my wrist. I love that there are SO many sayings that you can combine countless thoughts and motivators for yourself each day. I’ve had times where I want to really work on being a better mom so I wear the combo “Be the Good” to remind myself to be patient and kind, and “Be Here Now” so that I can remember to not be looking at any type of screen when my time with them is so precious. I love the “Get It Girl”, “Be Brave” & “Be Bold” for when I am walking into a situation I want to ROCK! They are great to mix and match and come in rose gold, silver and gold. LOVE them and I knew one lucky winner would love them too. Because it was a giveaway at Disneyland I chose “Believe” and “Be The Good” for our winner. How perfect??? Not only that, but they received a $50 gift card to get whatever else their little heart desired! I have soooo many shirts from their site, skirts, bows, jewelry. I really am obsessed!
Now how about some rides??? Being 6 1/2 months preggo I stuck with a lot of the kiddie rides and I wasn’t sad about it at all! Here we are, Jen Squared at Disneyland…because her name is Jen too…oh you got that already? You guys are so smart! ; D
Love these blogger babes! Sweet Jacque from Looks For Lovelies came up to visit us from San Diego and Jen’s partner in crime Summer came to tag along too! It was so great seeing them again and having them meet my cute mom.
Here’s one of our lucky winners with her darling brother. Congrats Heather!!! You seriously need to check out this babe’s story on IG (find it here). She’s kind of my hero right now!
Another Scope Sister, Abbey from the Butter Half blog. Her food, photography and puns are just too much! Love her!!!
Thank you Hello Fab for pulling this together and for Cents Of Style for being a sponsor for this wonderful event!
Who else gets down right GIDDY and can’t contain a smile when they see pictures from Disneyland??? It is my happy place, it is my favorite place to go, I miss it like crazy and GUESS WHAT????? I am heading there soon to meet all of YOU!!!!! This is just a teaser to let you know some BIG things are coming and some amazing giveaways can be yours!!!! If you are in Southern California…or you don’t mind taking a drive to the Happiest Place On EARTH then set your calendars for March 11th. More details to come….but are you salivating yet?????? I may be jumping up and down….baby bump included….and clapping my hands. Stay close, and don’t forget to follow me on all social media platforms so you don’t miss any details!!! MUAH!
I can’t tell you how nervous I was for this night. There are times that I just like being a total spotlight hog and have been since I was a kid. I love making people laugh and was always the class clown…HOWEVER, there have been a few moments in my life where I wish that NO one was looking at me and that I could just blend into the walls. One, was when I opened my LDS mission call to go out and preach the gospel. There seems to be a lot of hype of going foreign over state side and I felt very uncomfortable with people judging my reaction. I was happy to be sent anywhere but my initial reaction to reading where that would be…I just wanted it to be private. Didn’t happen btw. My mom hid it so that we could get the whole family together….sigh. The next moment was THIS one!!! I wanted to cut open a small cake just me and my boys and THEN share it with everyone else at the reveal. Kevin reeeaaaalllly didn’t want to do it that way and so we compromised. If he would leave all the colors and decor up to me for the party….then I would wait to see what we were having. He agreed so aaaaallllll thoughts of pastel blue and pink went OUT the window (thank heavens) and all the neutral deliciousness of tans, browns, whites and cream came into play. Since that will basically be the nursery, I felt good about making and buying things that I would still be able to use. Here is the inspiration pic that I found on good old Pinterest:
And this is what I came up with:
I was so in love with my husband for letting me take full creative control because I seriously was dreaming about these neutrals and wanted so badly not to use pastels. Here’s a breakdown of what I used and what I did to make it happen. I loved the banner idea so much but instead of spending a ton, I got a coupon from Michael’s and bought the banner ready made. I have made burlap banners a ton and just wanted the ease of a ready made. Super cheap with the 50% off coupon! Then I made the flowers on either end by using brown and cream coffee filters and ripped up paper from a book I frequently tear pages from lol. Got it at a second hand store and it’s been wonderful for so many projects! Instead of buying a stencil for the lettering I just made my own. I picked a font on the computer, made it large enough, then cut out the center and stipple painted onto the burlap material. It turned out great and will be hung in her room now. We framed one of her last ultrasound profile pics and had one of the boys as well. Almost everything on the table are items from around the house that just happened to fit the color scheme. We served chocolate milk and regular milk in Ikea old fashined milk jugs. I just took some doilies I had from Walmart and taped them to the front for a more delicate detail. The cookies were from Costco and the Chicken salad craisin sandwiches are from this pinned recipe (to die for!!!). The only difference is that I had run out of pecans so I used walnuts and it was still amazing! We also had white Lindt chocolate truffles and bon bons. It ws heavenly =).
I took jute twine that I already had and tied each end to the curtain rods above the windows. I then used my little boys’ blessing outfit (complete with bonnet), went out and bought little ruffle buns (kept the tag on just in case lol), socks and a onsie. Because it was winter, I felt the snowflakes were perfect and just took them from my Christmas decor and hung them. My dear friend and I have been drooling over all white nurseries and she insisted on getting me the softest stuffed animal she could find. This lil rabbit has my heart….I may keep it ha! =) This same dear friend partnered up with another gal to make these fantastic tissue poms. I am hopeless at trying to make them and they were so giving and kind to help me out!
As for the cake, there was NO one I wanted to have make it more than my darling friend Mandy from Favorite Cake Place (you can find her under that same name on IG). We talked about a ton of different options and then when the color scheme changed we just looked at the cake from the Pinterest pic. We had no idea what was really on it so we improvised. I made the topper so it would look like what I already had strung above (just drew the blessing outfit on paper) and I made the pretty lace ribbon bows using dental floss to hold them together. We pinned them in and now I will pin them to a board I have up in Sophie’s room. Soon enough, the bows and pins will hold up important reminders, like a pic of her first foot and hand prints, a lock of her hair in a baggie from her first hair cut etc. I seriously wanted to use all of these things again =). It was THE most mouth watering vanilla buttercream cake with a buttercream filling. I am dying just thinking about it!!!
And then the moment this happened. I cannot stress enough how important it is to get someone to take pictures at your gender reveal for you and to video the moment when it happened. My wonderful friend Jordan from Jordan Bree Photography (also find her on IG under that name) came and captured absolutely priceless moments. This picture is my favorite because it so perfect;y represented each of our family member’s emotions right when we found out. The boys were SO pro girl that I was trying to advocate for boys just so they wouldn’t be disappointed. But when they saw that pink frosting??? It was an explosion of excitement! As you’ll see in the video…B only wanted cake. He had been sick the whole week leading up to the party and I’m kind of a sugar beast when that happens. I ban all sugar (the little they do eat) and bust out the oils to make them better. He was so worried he wouldn’t be allowed to eat the cake that it consumed his thoughts day and night….believe me, he asked constantly so it plagued me too! It tales all of 10 seconds for him to clap politely, then take the cake from Dad’s unassuming hand to devour it before I could consent. SO funny, especially when you know the back story.
It’s a GIRL!!!!!!! I still can’t even fathom the fact that we are having another baby, let alone we will have a daughter. It just sounds so exciting and strange at the same time. We had guests pin on mustaches or bows for their pick of what they thought the gender would be. Kevin and I were both wearing mustaches!!! We couldn’t have been more wrong lol. In the video I thought we were going to cut the piece of cake all the way down the the base tier then lift but Kev apparently only wanted to make a small cut…..hence me being confused in the video as to what he was doing =D.
We were so excited and in shock. I just wanted to gobble him up at this point and smother him with hugs and kisses……too many witnesses ; D.
Needless to say we are SO happy to be welcoming another lil smoosh into the Springer clan and to have the new adventure of having another girl in the house. I was getting way too outnumbered =). I can’t wait to share with you all of the clothes I have already purchased and accessories she’ll wear. Oh my word it’s a girl!!!!!! Hope you enjoy the video. I think I’ve watched it 5,000 times and still cry.
Some of you have been followers for a long time. I feel that I have shared all my thoughts and feels about the last few years and how we’ve been trying to have a lil angel come down to out family. It took us about 5 years and four losses to get to where we are now and I feel like shouting for joy!!!!! I have kept it a secret for so long because I was scared of having another loss but GUYS….I am like 5 months now, 20 weeks and a day and I can’t hold it in (literally lol) anymore!!!
I’m pregnant!!!!!
We are going to have a smooshie….and not just any smooshie. We are having a GIRL!!!!! I still am in shock and can’t quite believe the blessings we are being given. The boys are just thrilled and can’t wait to have a baby sister. We have chosen the name Sophie Rene Springer. Isn’t that the sweetest name? I am so in love with her already an talk to her often. We didn’t find out with either boy what we were having so this is all so amazing and new to know who is in there and to have girly conversations lol!
Watch, she’ll totally be a tomboy that wants nothing to do with bows, skirts or makeup….what will I have to offer her LOL??? Growing up with all boys I mostly played with all boy things. I have this darling picture of my family seated around the table for my third birthday. We are all eating cake and I am wearing my birthday present around my waist. My perfect new gun holster and pistols BUT I am sporting the cutest lil 80’s dress ha ha ha!!! I was NEVER out of a dress…in the mud, in the bedroom playing with HeMan and She-Ra (the only acceptable Barbie doll for me) and racing around the house. I sure hope she likes dressing up as much as me…..cuz her closet might already be stocked and I’m already speaking to a bow boutique to get her started on all things large in your hair LOL!!!
Guys, I am just so excited to be in this stage of life. Thanks to Dave Ramsey, we are debt free, we live in a beautiful neighborhood filled with people we love, our boys are self sufficient and becoming darling gentlemen everyday. This will be a wonderful time to welcome a newborn babe straight from Heaven. I am a little nervous seeing as how it will be about a 9 year gap between Soph and my youngest, I get really bad postpartum depression and I’m totally starting over after being out of the game so long. Have you guys ever been through any of these things? What are your thoughts? Have you tried anything that worked wonders for you with depression after a baby? Do you have a big gap with any of your kids? Pros? Cons? I need your input!!!! I love you all and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your emails and well wishes. I feel your support and it makes me truly humble and grateful!
Tell me you don’t remember these from your mother. I seriously think my mom had a million patterns to make some of (what I thought at the time) cutest most fashionable clothing. I figured they would look just like the skinny minnie model wearing them.
From an early age I knew two things:
A: I was TOTALLY born in the wrong era for my fashion tastes (give me the 30-40’s ANY day!)
B: I wanted to sew my own clothes to make exactly what I wanted no matter what the current style dictated.
Well, sewing was cancelled out early on as I haven’t the patience nor the talent to do it, but BOY can I dream up the silhouettes I want and the textures to combine. When darling Kara contacted me from While Camden Sleeps I was super excited…albeit a bit hesitant to say yes. Anyone that knows me knows that I am only comfortable in front of the camera for candids. For silliness and laughing at the world. When you ask me to pose or be coy, serious, ANYthing involving holding still and trying to act carbon based…I freeze and look constipated (sorry TMI). Am I really alone in this??? Anyway, she is an absolutely amazing human being and is SO talented. Check out her Instagram feed to see what I mean. She can pick out the NASTIEST looking piece of clothing from a second hand store and transform it into pure perfection. I am seriously amazed at what she can do! This time, Kara’s mind had been working on a 1960’s glam idea. Of taking a few bloggers and having each of us transform into a modern Madmen dream. I was so excited to “decade hop” that I forgot all worries of posing. Ready???
Let me introduce you to my fellow Stepford wives ; ). From left to right we have Kara, Sierra, Dani, Mackenzie and me. Our darling, spunky and all around entertaining photographer DeAnna whisked us away to the amazingly picturesque Memory Grove Park. If you live in Utah and are looking for a gorgeous place to take your next family pictures, I highly recommend it. A word of caution though…every other person on the planet will also be there. There were groups everywhere getting photos done. Bloggers, families, seniors, weddings, it was nuts but very worth it!
So in love with the jewel tones of these dresses.
Looking fierce…unless you didn’t get the memo and decided to smile.
This dress is everything. Want to know the funny story behind it? My niece bought it for her homecoming dress and then another just like it in ice blue. I was so gaga over both that I asked pretty please to borrow it. Just behind me in this quaint cottage, a darling wedding was taking place. Seriously, this place was hoppin!
Planning my outfit, makeup and hair was such a fun escape that I totally want to do more eras. My good friend Aubrey was kind enough to stay after a party we threw together, to help me rat the junk out of my hair and create this awesome side ponytail. We ratted for forever then clipped the top section in the back. That way the ponytail wouldn’t weigh it down. Then I pulled hair over to the side, did a simple ponytail and wrapped hair around that. For makeup I went super classic. Black winged eyeliner and ruby red lips thanks to MAC’s Ruby Woo.
Now for some fun “behind the scenes” tidbits:
– My dress was too big so we pinned it like crazy in the back.
– Kara’s dress arrived hours before the shoot.
– For the pic above we had to wait for another group to get sone then RUN to snag it next…in heels.
– I am SO lucky, I get car sick a lot (so dumb). It got so bad that on the way Kara stopped on the side of the road and let me drive!
-It took three days and a LOT of deep conditioner to get my hair back to normal.
-This pic below was an afterthought after showing them the coat and glasses I brought…just in case HA!
I seriously loved meeting and working with all of these fantastic ladies and I want you to check them all out too! You’re welcome ; ).
(our costumes were from Archive Costumes at Hale Theatre in Orem UT)
HOW can I even begin to put down in electrical ink here the amount of blood sweat and tears that went into my first hosting event for book club? I just…can’t even. But also how fun and rewarding it was to have everyone there having a good time? AMAZING!!! I think I shall put it out in two parts and this will be the first. How I decorated the house. What pieces I chose, what things I steered clear of etc.
First things first. I loooove to read. I got my love of reading from my sweet dad and I will thank him every day for it. I love getting lost in a story and feeling engulfed by it. It becomes an experience. I’ve decided that’s why I love Disneyland so much. It’s made from the whispers of stories. It was a larger than life idea. You get swept away in it because it surrounds you with every detail necessary to make it that experience you came for. Everything you see, hear, smell, encounter is meant to transport you away to a different place.
Month after month in this book club is a new adventure, a new story, a new event and I can’t even tell you how blessed I feel having met all the members. They have become true friends and blessings in my life. Even so, I was veeeeeery nervous to host. Being who I am and loving Mr. Disney for who he was, I wanted to create an experience that would do, in some small way, what Disneyland does by sweeping you away. I decided since my month was October, my book was the wonderful Agatha Christie’s “Murder On the Orient Express”, that I would do a murder mystery and that my house would become a true haunted mansion (as Disney style as I could). It took a good two months to write it and to transform our home. First on the list was the general story of the home and mystery. The home was old, fallen into repair and the last know living occupants lived centuries ago. Family photos would be in a home so it was decided that we needed some family pictures. I went to the AMAZING Kris at Hale Theatre Archive Costumes and told her my idea. Her and her staff was incredible at coming up with THE most perfect costumes for us!!! It was so wonderful for all involved that no one had to smile or open their eyes more etc. It was THE easiest family photo EvEr!!!! =D
My Darlings
Love the use of the local cemetery.
Doesn’t he look dapper….and yet melancholy all at the same time? lol
Now ONTO decor!!!!!
Next Kevin and I had to talk budget for the upcoming soiree. Gotta be Dave Ramsey about it right? RIGHT! We decided to split it up between two paychecks. I first went around the house and thought of what Mr. Disney would do or did do when he was creating his mansion. I wrote, I sketched, I talked to myself. Then I went out and priced out and hunted for everything I had in my head or had seen on Pinterest.
Skeletons, potion bottles, pictures, clocks, rats, candelabras, vintage looking platters and dishes, candles and LOTS of webbing!!! What I wanted to steer clear from was anything that actually said “Happy Halloween” or any type of Halloween greeting. That was hard because there are so many cute things out there (and I own a ton) but I couldn’t use them. If it doesn’t have that kind of stuff in Walt’s mansion, then it wouldn’t be here in the Springer Manor lol.
I had Kevin add hooks the either side of the front door and we hung these amazing lanterns (battery operated) from Michaels.
I set up “scenes” everywhere in the house and after I felt they were just perfect, I cobwebbed the JUNK out of them! I called many neighbors and asked to use their flameless candles. That saved me a LOT of money and they were given back in a great amount of time for them to still use them for their own Halloween decorating.
You can find soooooooo many things at second hand stores! Some of my absolute favs came from there including this old book and clock. I also found some amazing dishes which are further down in the post. I already owned black feathers and I divided them up and put them in already established flower arrangements. Remember the whole point is to take what you already have and spookify it a bit. I wanted my mansion to have been from a long time ago so investing in a few candelabras was a must…..just don’t mind the electric lamp in the same pic LOL! This candelabra was purchased at Hobby Lobby.
This old sconce was another second hand store find. I polished it up, had the hubs mount it on a wall and I purchased these candles from the dollar store (two for $1). I just made sure to light them beforehand and create all the wax drippings before putting them in. Although there were candles lit everywhere the night of the party, these bad boys could have been bumped so easily so I left them unlit (plus there were cobwebs everywhere). The fly came in a pack at the dollar store with ants and beetles =).
More second hand finds (love Savers!!!) I took a bag of clothes to this store and it got me a percentage off of my whole purchase. These platters were divine (want to go and find more) the tiered candy holder was only $3 and my FAV of the bunch was this food warmer. It was raised up and had a spot for a candle to go underneath to keep the food warm. We put mashed potatoes in it and this is now going to be a staple for Halloween, Thanksgiving AND Christmas time!!!
Can I please tell you how much I love this old fashioned phone? AND the fact that it was $14.99 at Walmart!!!!! Sure anytime you touch it, there is a cheesy haunting voice threatening you but hey…just don’t touch!!! =)
This guy, named Skully by the boys, was purchased at Walmart and promptly the hubs made an amazing noose and hun from the chandelier. We also bought flicker bulbs for this light piece as well as any other light fixture in the house. It totally created amazing ambiance. Side note….I had decided to paint the whole interior of the house a different color, can you tell? No more of the glazed faux finish but now it is a grey with taupe undertones. I am bidding out the ceilings being painted cream so that’s why the walls and ceiling clash….badly LOL!
These goblets were purchased a few years ago from the dollar store. I had wanted to make single serving trifles for another party I had done. I was serving dinner for about 26 this time so I went on down to the dollar store to buy more. These bad boys are awesome and have now become our normal drinking glasses. VERY durable and a great shape! I went to my local drugstore and asked to buy the baby syringes. Was able to get the for 10 cents a piece and bought the Skinny’s brand of Italian syrup flavoring at a local store since it was $2 cheaper than the Torani brand. I filled each syringe, put it in a half cup of Sprite and placed jugs of orange juice around the tables to complete the “Bloody Mary” drink. I had four long tables to decorate and set. I used white table cloths on some and white sheets on the others, purchased black cheesecloth, spider rings, doilies, and fake bugs from the dollar store, porcelain bones from Kneaders bakery and purple chargers from Michael’s.
I already had 8 chargers to start with and they were having a huge sale so I cleaned them out of all the purple they had! I ripped up white cheese cloth and used them for napkins so it looked a bit more spooky, cut the spider rings in the back and attached them like so. I bought these black petals at Walmart and had some ravens from last Halloween plus a few from friends.
I took various jars (mason, spaghetti, vases) and filled them with black beans and some with navy beans, added moss from the dollar store then a candle. There were two candle setting per table and they looked SO amazing in the dark all lit up. I will say though…dollar store candles really do have short lives so if your party will be a few hours, I suggest investing in more expensive ones……one may have gotten down to the moss and caught on fire….just a little bit. No houses, or tablescapes were harmed during the party. The guests were okay too ;). Also to add to the ambiance, I played the spooky organ music you hear in the haunted mansion at Diz plus many other eerie organ music pieces from our speakers above the kitchen cabinetry. It filled the whole house and was perfect!
Believe it or not but these spooky characters came from the dollar store as well! They were the kind that looked normal and then when you passed, turned into something else. How much more Disney Haunted Mansion can you get??? We already had pictures in these pretty frames so we just borrowed them and put these two on the side wall of the stairs. Now that we have, we are totally wanting to make a picture collage on that slanted wall. I’m so excited!
This was mine and Kev’s favorite family picture that we had taken in the cemetery so he did a little Photoshop magic on it and I took it to my friends at Costco. They were able to blow this bad boy up to a 24×36 poster for only $15.99!!!! This frame usually has a large painting in it so we also “borrowed” it and this whole thing came to be 3x4ft. We decided…since it was kind of hard to get it in there that we would keep this up till the end of Christmas time. It looks like a Christmas Carol too right? RIGHT? lol
The food setup was wonderful and everyone brought the yummiest things ever! For a menu and recipes, you can go this my Pinterest board. The kitchen countertops were filled with yummies and people were able to grab their plates, start on the left, walk all the way around the outer countertops then ended grabbing things on the island then back to their seats. I was very happy with the flow, especially because most people came in rented costumes which meant large ballgowns.
Like I said, the real candles looked amazing all lit at night. The flameless were handy but nothing compared to the real thing.
This was the apothecary I created above our microwave. The “spider legs” in the jar (black licorice) is about 7 years old…I know. I keep using it for decor then storing it away on a plastic bag for next year. With that many preservatives, you can. I always add moss to the bottom of the jar before I put them in then a sprinkling over it all for texture. The black speckled jars are from Michaels, the owl is a friends but I loved it so much I went to Gordman’s and bought my own. The various poisons and bottles were made using upcycled medicine, soda and syrup bottles. The skin lotion was purchased at Kneader’s Bakery, the skull is Walmart.
Never want to neglect the top of the cabinetry. I already had quite a few skulls (Walgreens, Michael’s and Walmart) but wanted to get a few more to fill more jars since I would be decorating the whole house. This other glass container I had already purchased from Tuesday Morning and put a dollar store rat inside. These candle sticks and large apothecary jar came from a store (Robert’s) closing down so the candlesticks were each a dime, the jar was $10. I put some extra black cheese cloth over the lamp when it was time so it didn’t glow so bright. I lit these candles just for the pic. I would neeeeever suggest having them lit for too long so close to your clashing paint ceiling lol.
These cups I bought at Walmart for water, used a sharpie for the eyes and just taped the junk out of them. Afterward, I had no fingerprints…
This idea I saw on Pinterest and was truly a nod to Walt’s Haunted Mansion (I tried like crazy to get the portraits that stretch but no luck). This is an actual picture off the internet of Madame Leota, put in a craft bowl upside down with black tulle behind her. I wanted to stick an ipod in there and have her speaking but she was right next to my youngest who had a speaking part =).
Here he is in all his glory. He was our haunted bellhop LOL! He stood in front of my husband’s office, which we turned into an elevator, and said,”Going up? Going down? Oh, I’m sorry, the car is full…you’ll have to wait for another.” He was perfect as all the ladies entered!!! We taped white dollar store tableclothes to the back of the french doors, made a dial to go above and laid a low lamp behind the doors on the floor to look like a car had just started going down. I used a tupperware dish for his had, ribbon and an old Jedi costume. I spray painted large buttons I had in gold and sewed them on…don’t look too closely, I’m NOT a seamstress!!!
My husband was a genius to make this but then I got a hold of it…..and totally made the numbers uneven ha! I was in such a rush that I just needed to get it up. He hung his head in his hands and just shook his head. Hee hee!!!
Outside we had to fashion a murder scene so it was the dollar store AGAIN for the win with these keep out streamers and my handsome oldest being our deputy. He was good enough to work the crowd control and usher everyone in the house. My husband was kind enough to chalk outline where the body was….he was so impressed with his skill, I didn’t have the heart to tell him it was supposed to be a girl LOL!!!
Now this is the photobooth I made for the book we read, “Murder On the Orient Express” by Agatha Christie. The haunted elevator was opened at the end of our discussion to allow everyone to get their photo taken. I adorned the shelves with things from the book. A button, a call rope, a train, a clock set to the time of death, a monogrammed handkerchief etc. The bookshelves are very close together so I decided to put these green striped curtains on a shower rod and just place the rod on top of the two bookshelves. It was perfect and the fabric jut hung to the floor. I bought a black sheet and draped it over my husbands office chair and voila! Instant photobooth. I canNOT tell you how great all these gals were and how in character they were. So excited to share how I put the whole murder mystery together and the characters I made up. Hope you enjoyed this and if you have any questions, please ask! =) Happy Haunting! And ps, since I already had someone text me asking. I spent a total of $260 on everything including the food I prepared for the event.
Welcome friends! Are you ready to read a novel? Oh, I’m so glad! It’s a tale of heartache, intrigue….cloooothing!!! It begins with an introduction to a new company…..
I was very quick to discount poor Agnes & Dora when they first stepped onto the scene. Everyone was having parties left and right and I was way less than enthused. Why you may ask? WELL, when one is a pear shape and a few lbs over what I’d like my thought process was this,”My legs are large…but would you like to see them in an even BIGGER size???”
HEEEECK to the no. The patterns of these and other popular leggings (mostly worn by themselves) were loud, sometimes obnoxious and very bold (look at me look at ME!). I didn’t WANT anyone looking at my thighs and butt any more than anyone had to! I went to one party and felt self conscious at the idea of not getting a clingy skirt past my knees in the hostesses bathroom (another story in and of itself) and the leggings that I didn’t dare touch because of what I saw them do to other people’s legs. In a word? Traumatized. I had been traumatized by this new fad.
Insert a year ago when I was asked to teach makeup for a bloggers overnighter up in Oakley, Utah. I was so honored to be asked and excited to be stepping into the blogger scene that is pretty rockin here in Utah. Imagine my absolute horror to hear that we would all need to wear a certain color shirt because we would be taking pics in our jammies……sponsored by Agnes and Dora. How absolutely kind of them, but WHAT????? Please don’t make me wear aztec and do I have time to do a few more squats? Those were the phrases, among maybe a few curses running through my head.
The night went well, I got the girls to giggle and open up about makeup concerns and fears. I may have shimmied a few more times than one should but it. was. wonderful. Made some amazing friends and had a blast!
When it came time to choose our leggings (gulp) I walked timidly to the table to see what was left. Aztec…no! Hearts, cute. Snowflakes…..hmmm, those are darling. They’re dark so that’s thinning, the print was smaller, I didn’t know they made those! Ladies, when I touched the fabric on these leggings, it was as if I had died and gone to soft material heaven. I was no longer told that only babies get the coziest and fuzziest fabric…IIIIIIII, Jen, an adULT was allowed to wear something so soft I could have died!!!!! It happens quite often and it happened again, I was wrong. I put them on and felt my butt. I did! It was so soft and smooth (the fabric ha!). I made sure to wear my high wedges for the pic to make the legs look longer lol!
I still have never worn them on their own unless it’s to bed but I have worn them SO often under skirts and dresses and have several pair now!
Love the leggings as a detail under solids!
Nooooooow fast forward to me meeting this beautiful woman. This is Kaylynn, THE Agnes and Dora ambassador! (like seriously)
This girl has my heart. She is loving, hilarious, outspoken, full of fire (the good kind), driven and so talented. We were meant to be friends. We met on Instagram, decided to room together at Snap Conference in SLC Utah and the first time I meet her in real life, she brought me a Subway sandwich……I mean RIGHT????? Throughout our stay at good ole Snap, Kaylynn was rocking her leggings, sure, but she had some of the cutest skirts and tops and I was FLOORED to learn they were from Agnes and Dora….say WHAT??? They have tops? Dresses? She then went on to tell me they even have plain colored leggings.
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!!!!
If someone would have told me that, I would have dropped all the cheapy leggings I was carrying in my Forever 21 bag and RAN to my computer or the next party and demanded my goodies!!! I think everyone was so crazy for the other leggings that the parties I went to only had those items. I immediately told her I wanted to collaborate with her to tell ALL other women that had my same experience the liberating truth!
Speaking of darling tops they offer, THIS Peter Pan collared dream is a MUST! The fabric, the fit, the scalloped collar…I die!
Don’t you love it when your hubby is so kind to take a million pictures for you only to realize your phone was in your pocket the whole time? (insert rolling eyes emoji here) LOL
Moral of the story, sometimes (more often than not) I’m wrong. I was wrong about Agnes AND Dora ha! and I can’t wait to make up for lost time now and buy up everything I see that screams ME on their site!!!!!
I’m coming to the realization that I may be cheap……that I may be a lil white trash err now and then, according to the fashion world standard, and I’m okay with it. I shop for clothes rarely, I’m all about Forever 21, I have clothes still from back in high school, I refuse to accept certain trends and I happen to like Walmart….I SAID IT!!!!!! My name is Jen and I AM CHEAP!!!!!!!!!! I feel better, wow….I feel a lot better!
I follow quite a few fashion gals on Instagram and I think they are top notch! They look stunning and they piece things together so beautifully. They all seem to have a link set up to where you can double tap on their picture and an email is sent to you to tell you where to purchase each piece. I DIE when I get an email saying that the skirt is oooooonly $600. ONLY? That’s about how much it is to take my family to Disneyland for a few days! Only indeed…bah!
Well, imagine my complete surprise when I see the darling Annie from Stylish Petite wearing this amazing lacy bow top.
Perfection right??? My finger started twitching….I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist so I threw caution to the wind and double tapped!!!! I was almost scared to check my email but somehow raced there as quick as quick could be. My jaw hit the FLOOR when I read that this top was $14.59…..ladies…..this top is
$14.59!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Needless to say I put in an order ASAP and I am SO glad I did! I wish I would have known better to order a size up but I think after losing a few needed lbs this will do just nicely.
The bow can sometimes throw me for a loop (no pun intended) but it is just so stunning on on trend right now that it’s worth the extra hassle. I need to figure out how to tac it once I get it just right. Any thoughts on how?
I was also way proud of myself, not being a hair person, for making this happen. I put my hair in a low ponytail and then did many braids off of that. I then wrapped each one around, pinning as I went. This was the exact do I did for my Jane Austen party as well.
