Party Like It's 1965

Our version of the 'Swanky 60's'

For Darin's 50th birthday, we decided to do a throwback theme.  I tried to include the iconic drinks, food, and decorations from the time period, as well as dressing the part!

I'll ty to put in as much detail as I can as to decorations and how to's.  For all the printables, rather than individual links, they are all saved on my Pinterest board 'Darin's 50th Bday' check them out there!

  

Musical themed cake - the decorations are all made from chocolate

Table decorations - the small jar is filled with Jolly Rancher Fire Candies and reads '50 and still hot!'  The tall jar is filled with Hershey's kisses and reads 'Kiss your 40's Goodbye!'  

I found this 16th Century replica of an Italian globe bar at the Goodwill for $25!!!  It fit perfectly!!!

Also at the Goodwill was this magazine from February 1965!

The bottle was supposed to look like it had had many candles burnt in it....  I guess 7 and 10 year old girls have no idea what dripping was would look like!!!

These recipes all came from a 1965 'How to entertain' article

One thing I did was add pictures of Darin throughout his life.  It provided a great source of entertainment and conversation to all of our guests.

The old record player and 45's belonged to my grandparent and was passed to me after they passed on.

The spiky balls are just styrofoam with skewers poked in them and then painted gold.

Two of my favorite pictures!  He is on the far left.

Another super Goodwill find was the fondue pot.  We also had sweet and sour meatballs.

We tried to make a blacklight photobooth since that was just starting to come onto the scene, but were unable to get the blacklights bright enough to fill the space.  Oh well, we did have glowlight fans.... ;)

Darin and a few of the boys around the bonfire!

Shannon and Sheila - the hippy and the greaser

And the party aftermath with the candy cigarettes and the big pink curlers that were in the bathroom!!

 Let me know what you think!!  Overall, I think we captured the spirit of the 60's and we all had a great time drinking Manhattans, Old Fashioned's and SoCo Sours and jiving to music played on a phonograph with all the snaps and crackles that accompany old records.  It was a great party!!

Valentines Surprise

So, the children were plotting this morning.  I wasn't allowed in the kitchen, the dining room, or outside.  In fact, I kind of felt like a bit of a prisoner in my own house!!  They were being all secretive and clandestine.  When I left to go get Darin from work, they assured me that all would be ready when we returned.

Upon our arrival, we were led, blindfolded, to the back yard to find our early "Valentines Surprise Party"!

Streamers, paper hearts, wine, cheese crackers, and of course popsicles to top it off! They really can be amazing when they choose to be!!

The Diva's 10th Birthday

Overall, the Diva Party was a HUGE Success!!!  The girls had a grand time getting their make-overs and then walking the catwalk to show off their amazing styles.  I am SO grateful to the slew of teenage girls that helped with the stations - as well as a couple teenagers at heart!!  And the immortal words that every mother wants to hear at the end of the day from the birthday girl, "Wow, Mom!  That was the best party ever!!"

Yay, ME!!!  {HAPPY DANCE, HAPPY DANCE} Just imagine it in your head!!

The Cake

The Make Up Station - Thank You, Tori!

The Nail Station - Thank You, Sam!!

The "Make Your Own Lip Gloss" Station - Thank You, Shannon!

The Hair Station - Thank You, Sierra!

Short video of the glamour session.  Taylor Swift, Blank Space - playing in the background.

The Diva herself

Strike a pose!

The Presents

The Toast

The FUN!!!

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment!!  If you have any questions about the decorations or stations, please ask, I'd be happy to share my recipe for hair chalk, lip gloss, or any other part of the party!!

12 Weeks till Spring ....

I mean, 12 weeks until spring break is over.  At which time my house will be deep-cleaned and organized.  Let me share my plan:

Week One:

The bedroom should be an area of sanctuary in the home.  It should be the one place that everything is at peace and the rest of the world can be shut out.  Those reasons are why I chose to focus on my bedroom first.

Week Two:

My biggest challenge, hands down, is keeping up with the laundry.  I have tried the load-a-day system, the all-in-one-day system, the each person does their own system - fails, every single one!  I HATE laundry, so the thought of doing it every day is awful (I really tried to think of a more colorful way to say that but it just flippin' sucks!).  Doing 10 loads in a day inevitably leads to a load left in the washer, a load left in the dryer, a couple unfolded loads on the cedar chest (where I put them after I moved them from the bed so I could go to bed....), a tub of unmatched socks, stack of clothes that haven't yet been put away and maybe five loads completely put away.  I don't even want to tell you how the 'everyone do your own' thing didn't work out - suffice to say it was an epic fail.  So, in addition to deep cleaning and reorganizing my laundry room, I will also come up with some kind of laundry system.

Weeks Three and Four:

My second biggest challenge is keeping up with the paperwork.  My 'office' consists of stacks of papers, randomly placed craft drawers, bins of magazines, etc.  I cannot see my desk top and haven't been able to for a couple of months now.  I gave myself two weeks for this project because it is going to require purging and filing and sorting and.....

Week Five:

My bathroom

Week Six:

The Living Room

Week Seven:

The Dining Room

Week Eight:

The Upstairs Bathroom

Week Nine:

The Kitchen - I'll have to kick Darin out or do it while he is at work since I will be invading his territory!!

Week Ten:

The Shed - It's a small shed, meant to hold gardening supplies and yard equipment.  Unfortunately it leaks - something we didn't know until we had stored cardboard boxes in there.

Weeks Eleven and Twelve:

By far, the largest project is The Music Room.  It is a 10 X 14 metal shed that has become a storage place for whatever we couldn't find a place for in the house, including everything that came from my classroom - I accumulated a lot in 2 years!  Unfortunately, while storing things, order was not the first thing on my mind.  It is chaos - there isn't even a path from one door to the other - it's horrible!  The two weeks that I have slated for that project are the two weeks of spring break.  Darin is taking one of those weeks off; I think we can get it accomplished.

Each week I will post pictures of the before and after of each room and describe how I did what I did.  Please comment and make suggestions, I can use all the help I can get!!

Planning, Preparing, and Producing

I have been looking for the perfect planner to help me get and remain organized.  I do believe that I have found it!!  I have been able to adapt it to fit my lifestyle and needs.  The problem with a planner is that it doesn't maintain itself, therefore, it will required discipline and dedication.  The question is, how badly do I want the goal of being organized and prepared and ahead of the game rather than always chasing after.


The planner that I am using is called "The Passion Planner".  It is amazing!!  A few things that I love about this planner:

1.

It starts out with a 'Passion Plan'.  It is basically a 5 minute brainstorm that they then give steps to break down into smaller goals and these in turn translate into weekly and daily focuses.  Goal planning at its best!

 2.

It has the general monthly page but it adds places for goal planning, due dates, priorities and has small reminders to step back and make sure you are on track.  I don't have it all completed yet, I've only had it a couple of days!

 3.

It has a two page layout of the week with the times small enough to accommodate for what I need - like working the graveyard shift! - plus it ties into the goal setting and breaking down the focus into small, daily tasks.  It has separate to do lists for personal and work.  It has a blank space for jotting notes or doodling or whatever AND, one of the coolest things, it has a spot to list the good things that happen that week - I love the focus on the positive!

4.

At the end of each month, it has a built in journal reflection - how amazing is that!?!  It fits so perfectly with my need to see where I've been, where I am, and where I am going.  It serves as a way to get back on track if I have wandered a bit, which I will!

This planner has a lot more features that I am excited to explore and adapt. to my needs.  If you are looking for a way to help get yourself organized, check it out!

Check back on Saturday for my new series - Spring Cleaning in 12 Weeks!