Monday Musings-Olympics Edition

We are completely obsessed with the Olympics right now. I'm trying not to go online too much and get spoilers, but I can't help it. So, instead of watching the US men gymnasts lose it, I'm going to share a few thoughts:

From the Opening Ceremonies. Woo!-yay parachuting queen and 007, huh-WTF-Harry Potter-scary huge bobblehead thingies-weird-BECKHAM, more Beckham. Ok, then. Athletes. Sir Paul. And, scene. Well, that was completely odd.

The US team had the worst opening ceremony outfits. Maybe not the worst, but pretty bad. Especially the berets. The French didn't even wear berets. For an awesome Opening ceremony summary, go here-it's hilarious.

We are watching every swimming event we can. While we scream for all the US Swimmers, our big favorites this year (besides the obvious Lochte and Phelps)-Missy Franklin, Brendan Hansen, and Dana Vollmer.

I really hope that my girls do not want to pursue gymnastics. I would not be able to take it. Every time they release and catch, I lose my breath. The falls sound really painful too.

I really hate the NBC "sportscasters" who interview the athletes after the events. I'm giving you the side eye Andrea Mitchell and Andrea Kremer-- "You just got fourth, how do you feel?" How do you think he feels? Or, interviewing poor Jordyn Wieber after she found out she didn't make the all-around competition. Not cool, NBC. Not cool.

I love watching Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor play beach volleyball. They are such bad a**es. I'd really like to find out how Kerri Walsh has those abs after two kids...besides being an Olympic beach volleyball player. I think it is kind of hilarious that the beach volleyball players can't wear their normal bikinis because it is so cold!

Synchronized diving-that looks crazy hard. We kept hoping one pair would just run for the end and yell "Cannonball!"

Friday Favorites-Spectator/Cap Toe Pumps

I'm sort of obsessed with the new round of cap toe heels out this Fall Season. I think they are so versatile. I love classic work shoes that have a bit of interest and flair. I'm trying to resist buying a pair until it actually feels like Fall. I just can't think Fall when it is 100 degrees outside! With this eye candy, it is proving difficult to resist. See a few of my faves below.

Via John Lewis

LK Bennett Bruton. (LOVE their shoes, and the Princess does too!)

Via John Lewis

Another cute LK Bennett, the Bunty, Lord & Taylor has one pair left in a 9.5 for a steal! (Not my size, so someone ese should get the pretty.)

via J Crew

J Crew Mona Tassel Pumps.

Via J Crew

J Crew Mona Colorblock Pumps (I Love the camel and neon color, so fun!). FYI- the J Crew Mona Trellis Pumps also have a cap toe, but they fit weird in the toe. Or, at least fit weird on me.

Cute cap toe pumps-My Friday Favorite.

Barbie Party Decor

I love planning birthday parties for my girls. I really love setting the scene. This party (NOT my choice of themes! ahem), was actually really fun to decorate. For weeks our house resembled "Steel Magnolias," -My colors are blush and bashful. Our colors were pink and pink...and glitter! I decided to stick with black, white, and pink and concentrate on the Barbie silhouette. *Be prepared for pink, poufy, and pink-you've been warned*

Tally- 42 poufs, 20 paper lanterns, about a gazillion yards of tulle, and roughly 10 yards of crepe paper, and enough glitter to still be around today! I had a lot of the decorations already-tulle, lanterns, etc all saved from past parties. It's a sickness. I had a little help from this etsy seller; she was amazing. (I bought her Barbie box set too, which I'll have to get better pictures of for the blog since all mine have little girls having a blast inside!) I made all the larger silhouettes, which I am really proud of. I think it was all worth it.

I used wrapping paper and made a Barbie silhouette to decorate above the mantel. Kind of overboard. Oh well, if I'm going to decorate, I'm going to DECORATE. I also want credit for making the garland and pink poufs (the small white poufs are Martha Stewart from Michael's).

 Refreshments- also known as "Barbie Bites"

I can't stay away from ribbon hanging from the chandelier. Or poufs, or paper lanterns, apparently...

 "Pin the Bow on Barbie" more accurately-Pin the Bow somewhere near Barbie. Too funny.

This decoration was really easy. I used some of the cut-outs I bought and stuck them on pink doilies. Voila-Instant decor.

The front door. We had to go with Plan B due to the rain. The girls had these cardboard cut-out Barbies from Christmas. Santa knew mommy didn't like Barbie dolls, so he brought the girls these instead. Since we had them already, I simply traced the dolls and let each girl decorate her own dress. I think they looked fabulous!


Ok, I think that's enough pink and poufy for one day. 

Friday Favorite-Cookie Monster Call Me

My girls (and I) love to sing the Carly Rae Jepsen "Call Me" song. I'm sure you've seen several different parodies. But, have you seen Cookie Monster singing "Share It Maybe"? Well, now you have.




Cookie Monster-My Friday Favorite!

Barbie Party-Activities

We've set the scene with a great invitation, next up decor (oh, the decor). Say you invite 9 little girls (plus our 2) to a birthday party and they all accept, you better find something to occupy their time. One of the moms remarked that our birthday parties always have such fun activities. Oh, the pressure! Here's what we did, which kept all our little dolls entertained and happy.

1. Barbie Design Studio

Intended to be an actual Barbie dress decorating station. You go ahead and Google "Easy to Sew Barbie Dress" because I did. But, you now what? Those websites LIE. Sewing a Barbie dress is a huge PIA. Let's just say that sewing Barbie dresses for 11 dolls was not going to happen. Enter Plan B. We had an awesome invitation that included paper dolls. I decided to print out a bunch and have the girls glue, color, sequin, marker the dresses. WIN!

2. Pin the Bow on Barbie
Hi-larious. No photos because I was too busy laughing!

3. Barbie Beauty Salon

Make-up, mess, great fun. Word of advice, if a 5 year old offers to give you a "Make-over", I suggest politely declining. Their make-up jobs were...interesting. The ponytail holders were part of their goody bags.

4. Barbie Story & Pass the Present

I got each girl a Barbie and wrapped them identically to pass around the circle. The two with ribbons were the ones my girls selected ahead of time; being the birthday girl (and her sister) should have some benefits. Each time the story said "Barbie," they passed the gift. At the end of the story, each girl got a doll. Which was all very! exciting!! Little secret- since my girls had no Barbie dolls prior to this party, I had no idea how much Barbie costs these days. I thought each doll was around $3. HAHAHAHAHA! Basically I spent every night for several weeks scouring eBay and the city of Houston for the cheapest Barbie dolls I could find. Oh, the irony of the mother who wouldn't buy Barbie dolls out buying 11! Anyhow, they LOVED the game.

5. Bash Barbie-just kidding pinata time

At the request of the birthday girl. Self explanatory. NO, I did not make the pinata.

6. Barbie Blow-Out
We had to scrap the Silly String. It was just too wet. It rained on and off all weekend. Heck, it's been raining for months now. (Not complaining, we are still recovering from last year). Rain and silly string doesn't match up really well.

7. Pictures and Playtime
I was thisclose to turning on a Barbie movie when I realized, "Hey, the kids are playing. Quietly. Let them play Barbies." And, it was good.

Friday Favorite-Barbie Party Invitation

How do you kick off a Vintage or Retro Barbie party?

via BessiePooh

You find these invitations. The Seller was a doll. (Hahahaha-pun TOTALLY intentional.) I found the invitations on her blog after an embarassingly long time of internet searching and she put them on etsy for me. They basically saved me. They were perfect. The invites come with a paper doll and dress that the guests can cut and dress up. Genius. Plus, they formed the basis of a great party activity I'll share later.

So, BessiePooh-she totally rocks. You should buy your party invites and party masks there. No, she didn't pay me, I am just really pleased with her products. I'm only ticked I didn't find her last year when I hosted the Wonder Woman/Superhero party (though I loved those invitations too!)

These vintage/retro Barbie Dress Up Doll invites are my Friday Favorites.

Target's Newest Collaborations!

We've established that I love Target and I love their designer collaborations even more. I was excited about the soon to be released Nate Berkus collection until I saw this story about Target and Neiman Marcus collaborating on a HUGE designer collection this December. From the story, the pieces will range from $7.99 to $499.99 (let's hope what I like is on the $7.99 side) and includes  Alice + Olivia, Altuzarra, Band of Outsiders, Brian Atwood, Carolina Herrera, Derek Lam, Diane von Furstenberg, Eddie Borgo, Jason Wu, Judith Leiber, Lela Rose, Marchesa, Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta, Philip Crangi, Prabal Gurung, Proenza Schouler, Rag & Bone, Robert Rodriguez, Rodarte, Skaist-Taylor, Thom Browne, Tory Burch and Tracy Reese. My favorites from that list- Diana Von Furstenberg and Oscar. I can not wait. Only 143 days until the collections go live. I may even take December 1st off so I can get first access to the collections. Ok, let's be honest, I will. Go Target! 

Party Time-Barbie version

It's no secret that Barbie is not my favorite toy. Prior to Sunday, my girls didn't even have any Barbie dolls (they had Disney Princess dress-up dolls, but I don't count those). Of course this meant that M was obsessed with Barbies. OBSESSED. For the past year, she's wanted nothing but Barbie stickers, books, and the holy grail-a Barbie doll. I held her off as long as possible. Until it was time for her to pick her birthday party theme.

Of course M wanted a Barbie theme. It's her party, so she got what she wanted. Well, if we were going to have a Barbie party, it was going to be a retro Barbie. I found this doll on Gilt and made that the jumping off point for the whole party. I have to say that the party was a lot of fun to plan, decorate, and watch. There are lots of great Barbie parties on the internet-hooray for good ideas. I'll compile the hits of our party over the next several days for the next party planner looking to host a classic Barbie party!

Yes, I made the cake. At least my cake decorating skills have improved!

Happy 4th of July!

I'm getting ready for a day full of American pride, celebration, and probably a little BBQ too. I remember spending a number of Independence Days in other countries. Probably the most interesting would have to be the years we spent in Britain. "Woo-hoo, let's going to celebrate our independence from tyranny. Oh...wait, that was you." Ha! At least we could see fireworks at the base. Enjoy the day if you are American. If you're not, then happy Wednesday!