Mustache Bash Baby Shower

Last Sunday was a big day at our house. 

To celebrate the coming of my oldest daughter's fifth baby, but first boy baby, we threw a 

Mustache Bash Baby Shower

A quick Google and Pinterest search brought up scores of great ideas.

Here is the invitation I made using PhotoBucket.

I simply uploaded a blank jpeg to this online photo editing program and 

had a blast using their free tools to make it pretty.

Please excuse the unattractive areas where I covered our personal info,

but you get the idea.

Games & Activities

Everyone filled out one of these I made and printed up on cardstock.

We played Name That 'Stache....

How many can you guess?

...and Pin the 'Stache on the Baby.

Besides mustaches we had cut outs of bowties and hats.

Funny how the mustaches ended up in the bowtie spot.

Decorations

Little Man Onsie Banner

I printed images found online to iron-on transfer fabric, then applied them to onsies.

They are hung on heavy yarn with clothes pins.

Bowler Hat Mobile

This plastic bowler came from U.S. Toy and cost around a buck.

Again, yarn and construction paper shapes for fun.

My son attached it to the beam using sticky tack.

Food

Okay - you're going to have to forgive me, but I had an epic blogger fail.

There are no pictures of the food! What was I thinking?

Well - I wasn't thinking. I was busy. 

Anyway...here is a description of what we ate:

 mustache-shaped sugar cookies decorated with green sugar crystals or chocolate sprinkles
mustache-shaped chocolate lollipops
popcorn tossed with crumbled chocolate chip cookies, green M & M's, 

all drizzled with melted white chocolate & allowed to cool
crackers and mustache-shaped cheese (I used the cookie cutters to cut the cheese slices)
bbq sauce soaked l'il smokies

Pictures

Of course, we took lots of pictures (just not of the food apparently).

We had props available for the photo shoot:

mustaches on stewers, funny glasses, a cane, and a couple hats.

Hope you don't mind looking at pictures of my family and friends! :-)

Here's the lovely momma-to-be, my daughter, Sarah.

I was totally excited to find this frame at Goodwill for $5!

It has a brown velvet ribbon around the center and fancy curlicues in the corners!

I feel another project coming on....

My Dad and Sarah

Sisters!

No, the party didn't get too wild. This is our bonus-daughter who stopped in on her way to work.

Baby's Grandma, Cousin and Aunt

The little ones are Sarah's three oldest girls.

Me and my friend.

My sis-in-law & my stepmom - Baby's Gigi :-)

And here are just a few of our friends...

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you enjoyed the party.

Linking to:

      

Just Because It's Pretty....

A couple mornings ago I thought it was unusually bright in the kitchen 

and realized it was coming from the sunroom.

The morning sun was brilliant and the leaves freshly fallen.

Yes, that is ribbons of ice you see....

 When I reclined on the loveseat, this is what I saw.

I hope it makes you smile like it did me.

Sunroom Project 3

I am excited to show you the next update on our sunroom. You can see earlier updates here and here.

One of the first essentials was a platform outside the screen door.

Next up...enclosing the base of the deck.

This will be painted to match the sunroom support beams.

Sorry raccoon family. You're just going to have to find a different place to sleep!

(Yes, four raccoons came nightly to finish the cat food and sleep under the deck.)

The wall we added is insulated, drywalled, mudded, and painted.

Sub-floor is installed. Electrical outlets installed and working.

Now for the tricky part.

How on earth are "we" going to make the beams connecting the sunroom to the side of the house presentable? I use the word "we" loosely. I am the brains; hubby is the brawn. 

We have loads of crown molding, so decided to try cutting it to fit around the vertical supports.

It worked!

Brian covered the gap under the molding with another narrow length of lumber.

A tidy finish, don't you think?

To finish it off, the gaps and holes will be caulked, 

smoothed over and everything will be painted to match the wall.

At the end of day we were treated with this spectacular sunset.

So many brilliant colors!

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

    The skies display his craftsmanship.

Psalm 19:1 NLT

Bruised Apples and Black Bananas = Deliciousness

Hello, Friends! 

You know how they say if you do something for 21 days in a row it turns into a habit? Well, I thought it might work that way for me with blogging, but it didn't. Funny. Guess I'm going to have to put blogging into some sort of order along with most everything else in my life. 

It's like when you draw a spatula through thick batter and the batter separates to make room for the spatula, but as soon as you remove the spatula the space fills right back up again. That's how it was with me and blogging every day in October. On November 1 the space filled right back up again!

We haven't been doing nothing over here at A House and Yard, though. Brian has been working on the sunroom and I will have an update in a day or two.

I've been collecting pieces to finish the little reading space in my room, and hope to have an update for you sometime next week.

And now for the big news! The project that has consumed a fair amount of my time recently is planning a baby shower for my oldest daughter, Sarah, who is expecting their 5th (yes, I said 5th) child. Only this time around, it's a boy!

One afternoon this summer they showed up at our house wearing these t-shirts to make their new baby announcement. Aren't they all so cute? Anyone care to guess how many pictures I took in order to get this good one? 

We are going to have an amazing party and I simply can not wait to share with you the details, but I'm saving it. So far as I know, we've been able to keep our shower theme a secret from Sarah. You will have to wait until Monday!

Are you wondering about those bruised apples and black bananas? Well, I had some Jonathans in the fridge that needed attention before they went bad and the bananas were turning into a syrupy mess on my counter. Out came my trusty old cookbook - Pillsbury Kitchens' Family Cookbook. Copyrighted in 1979, this book was a wedding gift to us in 1980. It has seen a lot of love and guided me through a lot of cooking.

The bruised apples turned into apple crisp. 

I may or may not have used extra brown sugar and cinnamon.

Oh, all right, I definitely used extra brown sugar and cinnamon!

This needed to be eaten right away.

The black bananas were perfect for banana bread.

Again, extra cinnamon....

TaDa!

No, I didn't eat this tonight. Well, okay, one small bite to make sure it was good enough.

Banana bread for breakfast on Friday!

There are few things better than apple crisp and banana bread in autumn.

Hurray for fall baking!

What is your favorite fall baking treat?

Get Out of Your Pit!

31 Days of Order - Day 31

I missed yesterday. It was in the back of my mind all day, but there was nothing new. There wasn't time or money to finish the small projects I had started. Any thoughts lead to a dead end. I hit a wall; looked at the screen and thought, "I have nothing of importance to say."

Oh well, thirty out of thirty-one isn't so bad! Right? Besides, I have something to say tonight and I hope it encourages you like it encouraged me.

Yesterday evening I was broadsided with a load of negative attitude. No rhyme or reason, just blah and phooey to the world. I suppose I could blame it on a rush of hormones or disappointment over missing a day of writing, but honestly, there was no explanation. Consequently, I started in on one of those "woe is me" prayers. Ever talk to God like that? Yeah, that's where I was. I dug a little pit and made myself comfy in the dirt. What a way to fall asleep! As a result, I was still in that pit when I woke up. It was past time to brush the dirt off my soul, so I grabbed my coffee and the Word, heading for a quiet spot.

My Bible reading this morning had me in Exodus, chapter 3 - Moses, the burning bush, and God's call. I was stopped in my tracks by verses 6 - 8. God introduces Himself to Moses in the most remarkable way. Here's the outline:

1. God. I Am...
2. I have seen...
3. I have heard...
4. I am concerned...
5. I have come...
1. ...to rescue
2. ...and to bring you out of oppression...
1. ...and into a good land.

Oh.oh.oh. These words drenched me, washing away every bit of soil. All the bad thoughts and feelings ran off into the ditch and on down the street. I was clean.

Of all the things in the whole world I could share with you, this is absolutely the most important. God is. He sees and hears you. God is concerned. And He has come to rescue you and bring you out of your pit and into a good place. Jesus, the Son of God, is the Savior of the world. Healer. Shepherd. Deliverer. Friend. Believe it.

This is the beginning of order. The schedule may be whacked. The projects may be halfway done and there may be dirty dishes in the sink. However, as long as Jesus is first in your life the stuff of life finds it's place. 

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, 

and all these things will be added to you. 

Matthew 6:33 NASB

I appreciate you, Readers, more than I can say. Thank you for checking in during the 31 Days series. I hope you have enjoyed it and will continue to hang around, joining in the conversation. You are a blessing to me. Good night and see you again soon.

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This post is part of my 31 Days of Order series. See the rest of the posts here. 

To find other bloggers also writing for 31 Days this month on a variety of topics, click here.

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Did You See the Moon?

31 Days of Order - Day 29

Tonight I took a walk in the dark.

Source

The moon was high. The sky clear and the air crisp. The scent of burning wood told me someone in the nearby neighborhood was warm and cozy in their home.

I'd like to say I took this walk on purpose, but I can't because I didn't. My car broke down and I left my cell phone at home. Sigh - I was only driving a mile to mail some letters!

Well, I'm glad I forgot my phone and I'm glad I had to walk. I'm not glad I was wearing my slippers, though. Truthfully, it was less than half a mile right down the street from my house. Yes, I did have to walk past the cemetery, but that doesn't bother me. (Not even two days before Halloween. :-)) 

The moon was amazing tonight. Did you see it? If not, that's too bad. Check again tomorrow night. You won't be sorry.

What does this have to do with order? It was a reminder to me to take a break. My day was busy. This forced breather gave me time to look at God's creation; to drink in the mellow autumn and only then realize how thirsty I had been. 

Thanks be to God for His love and for filling me again. Gently reminding me of His presence and how much I need to be in that place. My hiding place.

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This post is part of my 31 Days of Order series. See the rest of the posts here. 

To find other bloggers also writing for 31 Days this month on a variety of topics, click here.

One Formula Doesn't Fit All

31 Days of Order - Day 28

Funny thing about order. There is rarely one formula-fits-all for any given situation. Although your situation may be similar to someone else's, it is different simply because the people involved are different.

Be brave in your personal quest for order and remember to respect you and your family's individual needs. What works in my house, might not work in yours.

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This post is part of my 31 Days of Order series. See the rest of the posts here. 

To find other bloggers also writing for 31 Days this month on a variety of topics, click here.