Highlighted Links (Project Ideas)

Hello, hello! If you're here to link up to Weekend Bloggy Reading, it's open for new links until 10 pm (ET) tonight. Please share your best post of the week with us...crafts, recipes, home decor, book reviews--all kinds of posts are welcome.

On Sundays, I like to share fabulous projects from the link party with my readers. I add many of these Features to my Pinterest page as well as Facebook, so be sure to link back in your post!

Here are a few links from Weekend Bloggy Reading that caught my eye:

~Toddler Boys' Room via a Lo and behold life

~Cars Birthday Party via The Scrap Shoppe

~Spring Flowering Branches via An Extraordinary Day

Share Your Best Post of the Week!

Happy Saturday! What are you up to today? Please pop in to link up YOUR best post of the week at my Weekend Bloggy Reading link party. Today's the day to link up because I'm busy rounding up more Features for tomorrow! I'd love to know which ones caught your eye.

All kinds of posts are welcome here: We have recipes, party ideas, room makeovers, crafts, printables, tips and tricks, home decor, DIY, fashion advice, and more! The code for the button is near the end of this post, or you can add a text link back to me within your post.

This is just a quick "sneak peek" snapshot of all the awesome projects that have been shared at the party this week. You can click the party link above to check them out and share your own project! I'd love to Feature you in tomorrow's post!

If you haven't linked up yet, hop on over! Be sure to browse some of the amazing projects that have been shared.

If you missed this week's posts at Serenity Now, here are some links for you:

• Inspired Links
• Simple Baby Shower Brunch
• Ticket for One, Please
• State of the Spring Break Address

So, what did you have up your sleeve this week? Come by and share it with us here! Be sure to check out some of the other bloggers' work too. Here's the button in case you'd rather use that than a text link back.

<a href=" http://www.serenitynow4amanda.blogspot.com/ " target="_blank"><img src="http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae332/Amanda_SerenityNow/Blog%20Party%20Buttons/WeekendBloggyReading.png" border="0" alt="Weekend Bloggy Reading"></a>

More Features coming tomorrow!

* If you are a Pinterest user, Pin from the original source so that each blogger gets credit for his/her work.*

If I've featured you, feel free to snag a button for your blog here.

::Weekend Bloggy Reading:: Link Up!

Welcome to my Weekend Bloggy Reading link party. This is the day of the week where other bloggers stop by to link up their best post of the week, and readers get to browse tons of fun project ideas. If you're new here, don't forget to "Follow" or subscribe so you don't miss future parties and projects! Please be sure to read my guidelines before you add a link.

This party is a great place to showcase your very best post of the week (home decor, crafts, party ideas, recipes, DIY, tips and tricks, etc.) and to see what else is out there.

Here are a few of my faves I spotted around the web this week:

sources listed below

~Vertical Pot Rack via Decorate with a Little Bit

~Craft and Sewing Closet via DIY by Design

~Felted Wool Rings via Dans le Townhouse

~DIY Gift Wrap Holder via Cleverly Inspired

***Update: BIG announcement over at Centsational Girl today. I'll share more about it next week, but this is super exciting...all that hard work paying off!***

~And Me? I'd love it if you have a moment to click over. This week featured:

• Inspired Links
• Simple Baby Shower Brunch
• Ticket for One, Please
• State of the Spring Break Address

Time to link up your best post of the week!

State of the Spring Break Address

To say that Spring Break isn't turning out as I had planned would be a mild understatement. I planned to take the girls to the park, to play with their cousin, to the library, to the courthouse (yeah, really, Emma needed a new dog license), have them clean their room, get the ironing finished, get the taxes ready, and complete some work projects. But as they say, "Life is what happens to you while you are planning to do something else." Life totally happened this week.

It rained and was Arctic-cold on Easter Sunday. I thought about maybe wearing long underwear under my Easter dress. No egg hunt. We fit in a quick road trip to Richmond on Monday, which I'll tell you about another day. And then the weird tummy ache bug that has afflicted our area of Virginia descended upon our house and chose Michaela Byrd as its victim. 

So I spent all day Tuesday and most of Wednesday glued to the leather couch. Offering alternating doses of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, refilling a water bottle, and carefully tuning to the pre-selected channels of Nick Jr. and Disney Jr. We watched a lot of Nick and Disney, people. I feel like I am friends with Peter Rabbit, Doc McStuffins, and that family from Good Luck Charlie. I can sing many theme songs now. Yo Ho, let's go! 

We're keeping my sister's dog this week, so I was lucky to have a back-up nurse around.

On the bright side, lots of couch time meant that I was able to log some hours for a work project that's in full swing. I guess I just wanted you all to know why the posting hasn't been exactly my best material here lately. Lots of family stuff and work fun too. I'm hoping that once the taxes are in and the project is ready to go, I can get back to posting some creative and homey stuff. I know there's a great recipe in my drafts folder, waiting to have photos added.

Anyone else have their Spring Break hijacked by unexpected events?

We're off to the American Girl Store in Tyson's Corner (DC) today with a few friends. The link party is on as usual for tomorrow morning! Bring your best post of the week to share! 

Ticket for One, Please

It's Spring Break here. I'm balancing some work stuff with keeping up with the house and finding some fun things for the girls to do...and one sick kid. When it rains, it pours, right? So, indulge me and let's pretend we're hopping on this Barbie jet and going somewhere fabulous, okay?

Where do you want to go?

A Simple Baby Shower Brunch

Once we knew my sister was coming in to town for a little visit, my sister-in-law and I decided to put together a very last-minute, casual baby shower brunch. My sis (Alison) is expecting her second child in May, and didn't want a big fuss. Sis-in-law (SuSu) and I wanted to do something special for her, so we compromised with a very small gathering at my house this past Saturday. I thought I'd share a few quick pics with you today.

I almost didn't put this post together, until I realized that some of you may find it inspiring in that we didn't spend a ton of money or buy lots of decorations or favors. Yet somehow it was a perfectly pleasant and enjoyable morning!

Decorations consisted of a cute banner and matching napkins from The Dollar Tree, a table runner made from wrapping paper, grocery store flowers, and favor boxes from The Dollar Tree. We used the china plates and silverware I got from my Nannie and the Waterford crystal glasses from T's grandmother.

My helper:

The menu was simple, and mostly (no shame!) store-bought. SuSu brought some homemade things, but with the exception of my apple dumplings, I splurged and picked up some grocery appetizers because I had some other stuff going on last week.

Menu:
Coffee
Peppermint Patty Creamer (!!)
Water
OJ
Fruit Salad (homemade-SuSu)
Homemade Quiche (SuSu)
Apple Dumplings (homemade-me)
Cheese Stuffed Pretzels
Mini "crescent" dogs
Toasted Wraps
Mini cinnamon buns
Bakery Cupcakes

We didn't play games or do any activities. Just good conversation and opening gifts. My niece and the girls played quietly (for the most part) in the other room and in the backyard.

It was a real pleasure to host something so stress-free. I honestly don't feel like the morning was at all diminished by the lack of a styled, staged "photo shoot" layout. As much fun as those are to do, we didn't have a whole lot to spend, and the goal was simplicity!

Have you put together any last-minute gatherings lately? How do you keep things simple?

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments.

Some Inspiring Highlighted Links for You!

Hello, hello! How was your Easter Sunday? We're heading down to Richmond today and I gave myself the day off yesterday, so I wanted to go ahead and share some of the amazing projects and links that were shared at the link party over the weekend. You're gonna want to get your "Pinning" fingers ready this morning!

Our Easter was filled with family fun, lots of chocolate, and a special moment where my seven year old walked down the aisle at church to say she wants to be baptized. It was a really cool moment for us, and so cool because she braved a "packed house" with hundreds of people in the congregation and went forward anyways.

Here are a few links from Weekend Bloggy Reading that caught my eye:

~Dresser Makeover via DIY on the Cheap

~Game Table Makeover via Decorate with a Little Bit

~Baked Chicken Chimichangas via Eliorah