The Thrill of Thrift

 I am still reeling over my thrift store find this morning - a gorgeous smocked baby bonnet! It appears to be unworn and brand new. One of the ribbon ties needs reinforcement, but otherwise it is flawless.

Wanna guess how much I paid for this beauty?!

Nope, not $50...not $5 or even 50 cents. It was half-price day and I landed this gem for A QUARTER!!!

When baby #2 was in the works, I came across this post over at Prudent Baby. My heart melted when I saw the Janie and Jack bonnet, so I added their tutorial to my project list. I've also had my eye out for something special like it and had no idea I'd land it for such a steal!

  

My mother hand smocked many a dress for me back in the day, and I have been obsessed with the craft ever since. I've taken classes (pre-babies if you can believe!), and can't wait to share the stash my mom has saved. But first my girl will wear this darling baby bonnet this summer - perfection!

 

What treasures have you found thrifting lately? Don't you find it thrilling?!

Decorated Sugar Cookies

Last week was Spring Break around here, so making Easter cookies was high on my list of fun activities. Big brother loves cooking, so we whipped up a fantastic sugar cookie recipe. It's delicious, easy and instantly ready to roll out if you have an impatient baker as do I! It even held up nicely in the fridge between cutting sessions...someone lost his steam once we got to the cut outs and wasn't the most gentle. Even so, I think our final shapes turned out nicely!

I let the cookies cool and packed them in airtight containers overnight. Soon we were ready to decorate! 

After having such success with my cupcake frosting, I was excited to make my first batch of Royal Icing. Once again, I turned to Prudent Baby's wisdom to get started.  I made a large batch of white icing and then divided it into small bowls for coloring. Once the color was mixed, I spooned the frosting into my handy squirt bottles. I kept things basic by starting with outlines, and then filling them in for big brother to happily sprinkle.

I've got a long ways to go to match some of the gorgeous cookies I've seen in blogland, but our first go at it was fun! Figuring out the correct consistency of the icing is key, and having a little helper always produces homegrown results. And that's what makes them extra special!

As you can see, the cookies were well loved, shared excitedly and eaten quickly.

Here's to the next batch and I hope everyone's Easter was great!

M-i-c-k-e-y M-o-u-s-e!

For those that don't know, I have a fondness for all things Disney and Mickey Mouse. I was fortunate enough to work and perform at Walt Disney World during most of my twenties. Needless to say, I can't wait to take big brother and little sister to mommie's ol' stompin' grounds someday soon. But until then, we were lucky enough to meet Mickey this past week here in Charlotte!

Late last year my best friend informed me she would be working in Charlotte this spring with a Disney Live show. I was super excited, not only to spend time with my bestie, but to have the opportunity to share the Disney entertainment world with big boy. With our calendar marked, I browsed the spring consignment sales for blank t-shirts and found this pristine blue one for under $1 - score!

I found the Mickey applique via Etsy and the Disney font here. Both stitched out beautifully! I had the black fabric and thread colors already in my stash, so it was a quick and affordable project. My creative past and present officially melded!

The show was lots of fun, but the best part was meeting the gang afterwards (thanks Jessica!!). Minnie Mouse loved his shirt and made quite a fuss over it. Mommie swooned!

It's hard to put into words how great it was to experience Disney magic again, and as a mother. My performing family is just that - family. I miss them dearly and reminisce of special memories often. It was really rewarding to be on the other side as a guest, and to see my own child enjoy the fun of it all. Here's to many more Disney memories...and of course personalized mommie-made outfits to highlight the experiences!

Playful Playdoh

  

We've had a rainy, chilly week but are expecting Spring's return this weekend. Hoorah! Since we were stuck indoors, big boy and I had fun making April's preschool classroom batch of purple playdoh yesterday...and giving it a test run too!

Find my trusty recipe here.

Apologies for the dull photos. I snapped these in front of an open window, but this was as good as it got due to the gray day. Luckily the sun has poked back out today - aahhhh!

And a big welcome to many new followers both here in blog-land and on Facebook! I'm honored and excited to share my creations with you! Thank you for stopping by!