Friday Favorite: Party Perfect

Since this week’s posts were all about birthday parties, I decided to stick with the theme for today’ Friday Favorite. This is perfect, in fact, it’s Party Perfect, a blog I’ve read since it first began.


Written by Sara Hicks Malone, former art director for Martha Stewart Baby and Kids magazines and now designer of Hicks Paper Goods, Party Perfect is a treasure trove of inspiration for big and little celebrations for all occasions. We share a love of garlands (or, in her words “hang-y things"), cupcakes and homemade parties.

You won’t find many Cinderella or Spiderman kids parties, and if you do, you can bet they’re done with style and class. Sara’s modern, yet simple aesthetic shines through in her well-edited posts. Expect to find awesome links to theme parties based on books, colors or animals. She also finds super vintage entertaining books and unique party accessories, as well as shares photos and tips from her own hip soirees.

I have looked through this site many, many times for party themes, decorating tips and gift ideas. If you're looking for a specific party idea, go ahead and skip the search function. Just browse through the archives instead. There is so much good stuff here, you don’t want to miss any of it.

Do you like planning parties? What is your favorite part?

Friday Favorite: Green Your Decor

While studying for my interior design degree (circa 2000, yikes!) talk of environmentally-friendly design was just heating up and no one had heard of a blog. But, if things had been different, I would have loved a blog like Green Your Décor, which is the favorite blog for this Earth Day-week.



Written by a designer learning and sharing her process to creating greener homes, Green Your Décor shows products, design ideas and decorating advice that fit within the existing style of most homes and that don’t require an out-of-this world budget. The site itself is pretty, easy to navigate and fun to read.

So, what do I like best about Green Your Décor? The way the blog makes finding eco-friendly products a natural and accessible part of decorating. Here are a few ways that happens.

• Green Room in a Box series If you like inspiration boards, which I do (big surprise!), you have to check out this series. From nurseries to bonus rooms, this is a stylish collection of completely put together rooms covering everything from floor to ceiling.
• Green Steals of the Week Sometimes going green is more expensive, but these posts directs you to eco-friendly finds at the best price.
• DIY projects If you like to make things and/or hate to throw away perfectly good stuff, this list provides inspiration five easy-to-do projects.
  

Friday Favorite: Simple Mom

What could be simpler than reading books and creating organization, the two things talked about here this week? This week's favorite blog is all about making things simple from managing your home to taking care of yourself. It's Simple Mom written by Tsh Oxenreider.


I found Simple Mom several months ago while doing a mad search for ways to organize and manage my days as a stay-at-home mom who also needed to work a little on the side. The resources I found here have been invaluable since then. With two kids (one only a few months younger than my daughter), Simple Mom seemed to have their life in order and loved it.

Here are some of the things I've learned from reading Simple Mom. They have made my life easier, more productive and, I must admit, a little saner.

• Daily Docket While I'm not nearly as structured with my daily routine, I do plan my days using an adapted version of the daily docket.
• menu planning I'd never actually thought about menu planning until I read this blog. That's right. Now, I don't know if I could survive without it.
  
• Jesse Tree Last Christmas is the first time I've done the Jesse Tree, inspired by this post. It's a great way to spend time with your family remembering the reason for the holiday season.
• spring cleaning Okay, this hasn't happened yet, but just thinking about makes me feel more accomplished. Simple Mom is hosting a spring cleaning party and everyone is invited. I can't wait to what tips she offers up.
  

In addition to home and life managing tips, you'll also find a book club, regular giveaways and five columnists who post on various topics.

Friday Favorite: One Pretty Thing

Rain and crummy weather is in the forecast, and today's favorite blog is perfect for when you're stuck inside. One Pretty Thing is a catalog of craftiness. So whenever you're feeling the need to create, click on over. There is bound to something you just have to make.


The author posts round-ups everyday (Daily DIY) of projects culled from various other blogs. That's not all. There are also round-ups for holidays, crafty businesses, kids and gift guides to name a few.

Whenever I wonder, "where did read the instructions for that project?"I look to One Pretty Thing. Even if I didn't see the craft there, I'm probably find a link to it and about 10 other things I just have to try creating.

Friday Favorite: No Time for Flashcards

We have been feeling crafty here lately. (Okay, I have. My daughter just goes along with what I do!) Maybe it's the spring weather or the Easter coming up that makes me want to create and have fun. I don't know, but many of our projects have been holiday related. We've decorated foam Easter eggs which turned into garland, made tissue paper flowers and colored countless pictures.

A lot of my inspiration and motivation for getting started on all these projects (including an Easter egg matching game to help learn colors) comes from today's favorite blog: No Time for Flashcards.


I recently came across this blog and have been amazed at all the art, craft and activities that my 19 month old and I can do. The author is a former preschool teacher and she graciously shares all of her wonderful ideas.

For months, I have longed for age-appropriate crafts, etc. I never realized how many there were, probably because I'm not a teacher and my brain just doesn't think that way. It doesn't matter, because now all I have to do is just click over to No Time for Flashcards and I know I'll find something.

(images from No Time for Flashcards)

Some fun ideas include:

• letter of the week: Fun art projects to help with letter recognition.
  
• beginner activities: These are my favorite right now because they are just right for the age my little girl is.
• food activities: These are great because they provide entertainment and a snack all at the same time.

In addition to all the activities, the author often provides songs and book lists to go along with them. It's a great way to reinforce the lesson being taught. Must be one of those teacher things I have no clue about.

FYI: We do use flashcards at our house. My daughter usually begs for them, actually. But thanks to No Time for Flashcards, we have so many more ways to spend our time. She has had so much fun with the crafts and activities we've done, and I love watching her learn and get excited. This is one blog I'll continue to visit over and over again.

Friday Favorite: decor8

Today's Friday Favorite was actually intended for last week. However, I was stuck in bed with a stomach bug, so I saved it. Turns out, this worked out great because the blog I chose fits perfectly with this week's spring theme.

Each time I click over to decor8, a three-year-old design blog written by Holly Becker, it feels like a spring day with the bright colors, clean design and always inspiring posts. From round ups to home and store tours to product reviews, decor8 always has something to stir the creative juices.

above: part of a recent wreath roundup on decor8

With so many blogs to read, I often come across the same topics over and over again. I count on decor8 for inspiration on all things design, decorating and crafty. There is always something I've not seen before or a link to a great new find. Even if a post is going around the blogosphere, Holly covers it with new perspective whether it's through the image she shows or the words she writes.

Here's a rundown of some ongoing series regularly posted on decor8:

Etsy Take 5 Tuesday: Check out Holly's favorite Etsy finds for the week. Be prepared to love more than one.

Get Real Thursday: Holly poses a topic whether it's fun, unusual or insightful, shares her thoughts and then asks for readers opinions.

How much for this room?: I love getting a glimpse into other people's houses, don't you? This fun series gives you the why, where from and how much.

Friday Favorite: m.writes

I have read marta.writes for several months now. I think I found it during a search for mommy blogs and came across a post the author, Marta, wrote shortly after the birth of her son. Having struggled with adapting to life with a newborn, I was blown away by her passionate account of joy and excitement. I’ve been hooked ever since. She writes beautifully; it is sincere, insightful, thoughtful, descriptive and, of course, inspiring. I get caught up in her words.

In addition to chronicling life with baby, other frequent topics on marta.writes include crafts, recipes, writing and list making. She is also a graphic designer with a shop full of customized stationary and handmade goodies.

Lists show up fairly often on marta.writes. In homage to that, here is a list of my favorite things I find on this favorite Friday blog.

• the little things

“yesterday i bought milk with my due date stamped on it's plastic carton. now if that's not a thrilling moment, i don't know what is.”

I love that Marta noticed the date on the carton was her due date. I so did that.

• the sweet things

Marta posts about cooking and eating pretty often…and she gives the recipes for yummy baked treats.

• the polka-dot things

Polka-dots make me happy; they just do. Apparently, Marta loves them just as much as I do.

Introducing Friday Favorites And Snippet & Ink

Like most people, I am addicted to reading blogs. There are so many good ones out there and I am often amazed at the creativity and knowledge the authors share through them. It is hard, impossible really, to choose my favorites, but I am forcing myself to do that.

Starting today and continuing each Friday, I plan to highlight one blog that I click on over and over for inspiration. A few of them I’ve read for a long time, while a couple are brand spanking new on my daily reading list. However, all of them are go-to blogs for everything from writing to meal planning to throwing a party. The blog I'm starting with is total eye-candy.

There is one thing that gets me about the wedding planning blog, Snippet & Ink: the inspiration boards. Although they are intended for weddings (and I’ve been married for six years), these boards translate beautifully into any party. The author, Kathryn, chooses a theme such as Backyard Picnic and labels them by mood and color. So thorough, so unique, so inspirational – I could spend hours browsing. She also posts real-life weddings and other planning related bits that are fun to look at even if you’re not getting married.

A few of my favorite inspiration boards and parties they can inspire...

• Board #13 Curious George Use this for toddler birthday party inspiration.
  

• Board #156 School Days Use this to create a special back-to-school soiree.

• Board #318 Retro Whimsy Use this if you're going to be hosting a bridal shower.