The Unofficial Portion of My Time in Chicago

This year there was so much chattering about private, outboard, etc. etc. parties that I decided it'd probably be best for me to share my photos from those events here! I'm going in reverse chronological order starting with Saturday night!

 

#DeliveryManChicago

 

 

This was the Disney after party following the pre-screening of Delivery Man, the upcoming film featuring Vince Vaughn. It was such a good movie, you can definitely expect to hear more about it closer to the release date in October! Earlier in the day Saturday I attended the Sweets and Treats party, unfortunately I didn't get any pictures while I was there.

 

#EcoFab50

 

 

I ended Friday night at the #EcoFab50 party, hosted by First Time Mom and Cloth Diaper Geek! There were only four sponsors in attendance (along with a henna artist) but the swag bag was teeming with such great eco-friendly baby products. I really hope I'm able to share more about these great companies with you in the future!

 

 

 

@CouponCabin

 

 

 

These are just a couple of the awesome shots I got from the 92nd floor of the John Hancock Observatory during the CouponCabin Happy Hour. Now don't get me wrong, the pizza was cold and hard and there wasn't anything fancy going on during the party, but these views made it worth the trip up the two very scary elevators. Thankfully Anne Hogan was with me...p.s. she was one of the lucky $12,000 winners the night before at the #AwesomeChi party. When we left we also received these personally autographed cookbooks!

 

 

 

@LifetimeLounge

 

 

Attending the Lifetime Primp ‘n Pamper Lounge was a last minute decision that I'm glad I made! I got another massage, had my fortune read ("You're going to be creating a lot in January" tell me something I don't already know!), and my nails painted.

 

#YogawithYasso

 

 

 

Friday morning started at Millinium Park for a little Yoga with Yasso. I've never gone to a yoga class let alone one that was outside. It was misting that morning and the mats were wet so I ended up doing my downward dogs in the grass. If you're a yoga kinda gal, I highly recommend taking it outside!

 

 

As we left we received gift bags, the yoga mat we'd be using, a Yasso bar and a juice. Mine was Cayenne Lemon Agave...yes, it tasted as unappetizing as it sounds. Thankfully I can't remember the brand.

 

 

#SweetSuite13

 

 

Thursday night was wrapped up at the Sweet Suite hosted by The Big Toy Book. I'm ashamed to say I only took pictures of this Legends of Chima Lego toy but rest assured, I also was attacked by a flying fairy, met Marty a finalist from last year's Food Network Star competition, and made so many awesome connections I cannot wait to share it all with you! It's going to be good! Swag is being shipped but I did pick up some little goodies from Fashion Angel and a couple of other brands.

 

 

 

#AwesomeCHI

 

The Awesome Party, sponsored by Yappem,  was held in a nice location, The Crystal Gardens at the Navy Pier. I enjoyed the food, cotton candy, and candy bar. I met Amanda from Saving for Five there and she was a friendly face at many of the other events throughout the weekend! Here she is getting a lashes and lip gloss during the event. 

 

 

 

#Socialluxe

 

Is it horrible that the only thing I got a picture of during the Socialluxe Lounge was a plate of macaroons, my henna tattoo, and most of the swag? I did have a good time and got my first massage of the weekend.

 

 

Here’s a pic of the swag…minus a bottle of liquor and a PS3 game.

 

 

 

#TBLBabyShower

 

The first unofficial party I headed out to was The Baby Ladies "Save Babies Blogger Baby Shower"; it was held on the skyline terrace of the Inn of Chicago. What I loved about this event was that it wasn't just about the products it was also about raising awareness to help save babies. But don't get me wrong the products were cool too. I mean, it's been a while since I had a stroller and my goodness have they changed! I watched the Contours stroller presentation in awe of how easy it was to operate and use.

 

 

 

Wednesday night, just a few hours after arriving in Chicago I got the chance to head out on the water and watch fireworks aboard a SeaDog Cruise. I'm truly not a firework's person and planned on attending just for my roommate (who ended up being banned from anything unofficial and therefore unable to join me) but wow. It was awesome! We got a quick tour and learned about the buildings that make up the Chicago Skyline. Plus, I won a Beatrix Girls doll for Esther! Double score!

 

 

I can honestly say had it not been for the many friendly faces, sponsors, hosts, etc. of all these 'unofficial' parties my time in Chicago would have been one giant suckfest! (I'm really not kidding either.) I'm so grateful to have been invited to take part in such amazing events. Here's to next year!

Personalized Scrap Paper Artwork

Guess what? We’re adding on to our house (you’ll be hearing more about this later) which means the two little ones will be getting their own rooms. How exciting right? I know the first time I had a room to myself I couldn’t wait to start decorating the walls! Not much has changed, the ground hasn’t even been broken and I’m already daydreaming décor ideas. When the package of Apple Barrel paintand Mod Podge Washout showed up at our door I couldn’t wait to get busy on the first project on my list – Personalized Scrap Paper Artwork!

The Apple Barrel Paints matched up perfectly to some scrap scrapbook paper I had wanted to clean out of my supply closet and the Mod Podge Washout is made with kids in mind. As its name implies it washes out easier but that’s not what grabbed my kid’s attention, after watching me use the Gloss and Matte formulas on so many projects they were happy to see a formula (and bottle) made for them. P.S. I’m not allowed to use it unless they say it’s okay. Seriously, they have control issues…I blame it on their father.



Supplies

• Apple Barrel Paints
• Mod Podge Washout
• Scrap pieces of scrapbook paper
• canvases
• stencils
• Spouncer sponge stencil brushes

Directions

Because these pieces are made by, and for, the kids I let them pick out their favorite pieces of scrapbook paper, then we started ripping it up. Warning: Don’t walk away for a minute to grab your camera or you’ll end up with pieces too small to use! When you let kids rip something up, they’ll really rip it up.

This is my favorite part, lay the pieces of paper onto your canvas in a pattern that pleases you. Remind you little ones to overlap as little as possible.


Once you get a layout everyone can live with start Mod Podging your pieces down. If you haven’t noticed we recycled some older canvases. 


Once the canvas was covered we let everything dry and then Mommy stepped it. I went ahead and trimmed the paper off the sides and put on the final coats of Mod Podge. Now the pictures were ready for stenciling.

We’ve used stencils before so the kids knew the importance of holding them as still as possible. As you can see in the picture below, I held down a corner for my daughter and ended up with green fingers! No worries, like the Podge the paint washed off both the kids and I easily with soap and water.
This ended up being such a fun project I foresee many more like it in my future!


I want to note, my daughter used heavier two-sided paper so she had virtually NO bubbling. My son on the other hand not only used thinner paper but also got a bit ahead of himself, while I helped his sister. I completely understand his impatience, it’s hard for me to wait for someone to tell me what to do sometimes too.

This post was written as part of a campaign with The Blueprint Social. All opinions are my own.

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