The unofficial start to summer is almost upon us!   In chatting with a friend of mine about Memorial Day plans, I realized that I hadn't outlined any menu plans either, so at some point in the next day or two I'll be elbowing my way through the grocery store with the rest of the masses and searching for inspiration. 

One thing I'll definitely be serving?  My amazingly easy sweet potato fries.  These are one of my absolute favorite side dishes and, frankly, I can't believe I haven't shared them already. 

They're incredibly easy to make, and because they're baked, they're actually pretty good for you (do they still count as "fries" if they're not fried? Eh, whatever. They're delicious.)  Does life get any better?  I submit that it does not.



EG's Baked Sweet Potato Fries 

3-4 sweet potatoes, peeled
1/4 c. vegetable oil (if you like them crisper, use 1 Tbsp)
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Slice potatoes into strips (think steak fry size; about 1/2 inch thick and 1/4 inch wide)
3. Toss potato strips with vegetable oil and Parmesan cheese til well coated.
4. Spread potato strips in a single layer on a greased baking sheet.  Sprinkle with cracked pepper.
5. Bake fries for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned, turning every 10

Note: I haven't tried this yet, but I'm thinking that hitting these with cayenne pepper might be really yummy as well.  The combo of heat and sweet almost always makes for good eats.

I can't tell you how amazing these are.  Because of the sugar content in the sweet potato, it caramelizes and tastes as much like a dessert as it does a side dish.  But, because sweet potatoes are one of the superfoods, (they're super high in vitamins A and C, are a great source of fiber and have a lower starch content than white potatoes) you can actually feel really good about eating them.  Considering we're cannonballing right into swimsuit season, I need all the happy feels I can get!

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!



 Happy Saturday, guys!

This week seems to have flown by.  Last Friday was my baby's first birthday, and we've had friends and family staying with up until today.  Whew!  I really enjoy hosting people but I always feel like lose contact with the outside world when I do.  Maybe that's just the sign of a good visit. :)

The Bean's first birthday was...eventful.  We had far fewer people than we anticipated, so we had
LOTS of food.  We also had planned to have it outdoors at a nearby lake, and I had all of these games, decorations and plans for the tables and two marquees.  What I didn't expect was gale force winds when we got there - lol.  The best laid plans of mice and moms...

The truth is, I've never had an event that has gone exactly the way I wanted it to.  Food has burned or fallen; weather hasn't cooperated; decorations, outfits, arrangements, crafts haven't turned out properly and had to be scrapped last minute, my loving husband has put a stake through his foot the day of... basically, anything that could go wrong, has.  So, when something goes pear-shaped, what's a girl to do?

EG's 6 Tips for Dealing with Event Fails

1. Give yourself a minute to be frustrated, then regroup and move on.  Although I'm not in most things, I'm very type A when it comes to entertaining.  I put a lot of thought and effort into preparations and I want everything to be perfect.   But, when the proverbial poo does hit the fan (thankfully that has yet to be an actual problem at one of my events), I take a minute to let myself get frustrated or annoyed, I vent about it to someone that I'm close to (yay, good friends!) and then I do my best to let it go and work with the circumstances. 

2.  Prioritize - truthfully and practically.  Yeah, sure, you can say "that everyone has a great time" is the top priority.  But practically speaking, what do you feel brings about those results?  Is it a killer decor?  Lots of food?  Really impressive food?  Music?  Games?  A good space to sit and chat?  Once you've figured that out, focus on making those top pieces happen and let the others go.

For the Bee's party, the wind was the major issue.  It meant that I couldn't put up the marquees or the decorations.  This was tremendously frustrating as I'd spent time on them.  But the truth was, they weren't really important.  Instead, feeding the guests was far more essential to me.  So, the main task became trying to get the food out and anchored. 

3.  Recruit backup.  I tend to be a flying-solo kinda gal when it comes to planning and executing a party (at least for the big stuff).  But even I know my limits.  Forget your pride and obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and grab a friend to help you get things back on track.

After about an hour at A's birthday party, the wind was, if anything, worse.  I absolutely hated to do it, but I finally made the call to pack everything up and move the party back to my apartment.  My amazing best friend, husband and family cheerfully hauled platters of sandwiches, presents and unused decorations to their cars for transport.  And when we got home?  They just as cheerfully bustled around with me making my apartment pink and froofy for the birthday girl (who thought the whole day was just grand!).


4.  Remember that most guests won't know the difference.  So, you painstakingly made a gorgeous cake sure to wow the masses and then proceeded to drop it on the floor twenty minutes before the party.  After a few creative expletives, have a friend grab some store bought cupcakes and do your best to forget it.  The guests can't miss what they didn't know was coming.

5. Work with it.  Some of the best event details I've seen have come from people making the most of something gone wrong.

When a special effect intended for our bathroom didn't come together well one Halloween, I scrapped it last minute.  Instead, I anchored two black lights, threw a highlighter in the tank of my toilet, and added left over glow sticks to every surface.  I was super bummed at my half-hearted decor, but it wound up being the hit of the party and people had a blast getting pictures in there all night  (because, who DOESN'T want a picture in the loo...?). 

One of the cutest wedding shoots I've seen occurred when it happened to pour on the big day and the bride and groom grabbed an umbrella, borrowed some sneakers and went for a jaunt in the puddles. 

Girl scout cookies out of girl scouts, my friends.

6.   Laugh about it.  Sometimes there's just no way around it - things just bombed.  But epic fails make great stories and life is far too ridiculous not to laugh at.  

The Bee's birthday didn't quite turn out the way I'd dreamt, but it certainly was memorable.  And, hey, on the upside, the bar for her second birthday has been set comfortably low!



I'd love to hear from you!  Do you have any amazing party failures?  How did you handle it at the time?  Is there anything you wish you'd done differently or advice that you can offer? 

Have a fab week guys!  Happy planning!

Party Tip #317: as long as a party includes cupcakes, it's a success.



I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but...my Baby Girl is turning ONE this week!  How did it happen so quickly?!  I find myself having a case of the feels several times a day as we approach the milestone, which is mildly annoying as I have to then reapply mascara regularly (waterproof, shmaterproof.) 

In the spirit of growth and nostalgia, I started looking back at what I was doing this time last year (other than harboring a bona fide fear of developing my own orbit).  I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the nursery then and now - what I loved, what I hated and all the other practical changes that have happened in a year. 

Last you saw the nursery, it looked like this...


...and for the most part, it hasn't changed tremendously.  Now, it looks more like this:


A lot of it is very much the same, and it still is my favorite room in the house (amazing, as it was my least favorite back in the office days). 

What I Love
 
I am still incredibly glad I chose a lot of pieces that weren't too baby-ish.  The dresser is elegant and sophisticated and, if the Scrunchkin grows to dislike the style somewhere down the road, it can be repurposed in almost any room in the house. 



Likewise, the crib (which is convertible, as many are nowadays) won't look too little girl-y when it becomes a head and footboard.   The framed pictures over the crib will also stick around much longer than smaller baby-themed ones as her room continues to change. 


Another project that I'm still in love with is the fabric covered storage bins under the bed.  They have held up really well, and have maximized the use of that space.  They also, evidently, make excellent cat beds, as the things that are stored under there tend to emerge slightly flattened and with quite a bit of fur covering them.  King of the house, he is. 

 

I am oh-so-glad I skipped the diaper stacker/organizer/caddy that is recommended by every registry ever and instead went with a tiered basket wall shelf.  It's such a cute piece that I will be commandeering as soon as we're through diaper-dom.  In addition, keeping them in sight and in reach means I always know when I need to restock or reorder and they're always close at hand when my Baby Boogaloo starts a-wigglin' (usually about .02 seconds into the change).  And speaking of changing the baby... 


Skipping the changing table?  Best. Call. Ever.  The changing pad is really all I need, and, despite a few creative changing-table-hacks I've seen, a piece of furniture that takes up room and has offers very little in the way of storage would have annoyed the snot out of me.  THAT, however, takes us to...

What I Hate

Okay "hate" is a strong word.  I don't think there's anything that I truly hated.  

But one thing that didn't work out nearly as well as I imagined was having the changing pad on top of the dresser.  Don't get me wrong - it was safe (screwed to the dresser) and functioned the way it was meant to.  But Baby Girl has NEVER been one to lay still for a diaper change, and I found myself changing her on a towel on the floor more often than not (she does manage to escape now and then, but at least it's more of an army crawl and naked foot chase rather than a barrel roll and BASE jump sans parachute.).  I'm embarrassed to say that it took me months to actually move the changing pad to the floor (as you can see, this was another cat-claimed territory).  But now that it's there, it works perfectly.  The pad stays under the dresser when not in use and slides out for quick changes. 

Senor Toddlesworth does not see a problem...except, perhaps, the camera in his face...

The camera for monitoring the baby has also moved.  Initially, I wanted to keep it on the shelves by the glider.  This was partially for aesthetics, but mostly because our apartment has the absolute worst outlet locations and supply.  But that locale had two major drawbacks: 1. It shot across a window which affected the light sensor and made it very difficult to focus, and 2. You could barely see the baby from that angle.  (Evidently, that's important when you're monitoring the baby)

So, the camera got mounted to the wall directly above the crib.  It certainly solved the other two problems, but I actually still hate it.  As I mentioned, the apartment sucks for outlets and, in this case, there's only one in the room.  As it's nowhere near the camera or crib, we have wires draped across the wall and window (yes, they are out of reach of the Little One.) which looks horrible and has created other hazards by the need for extension cords and power strips.  Outstanding. 


 Other Changes

 I loved the layered drape of the sheers in the baby's room, but I knew from the beginning that at some point I would have to change it so that she couldn't reach them from her crib.  Being the overachiever that she is, that happened far earlier than I anticipated.  Now the curtains are swagged to the side furthest from the crib, and the ribbons have been shortened so that they're still out of her reach.  At some point they'll have to go too, I'm sure! 

 
Before the munchkin made her late-but-great appearance, I had this lovely little idea of keeping all of the diaper changing essentials in the top drawer of the dresser, right under the changing pad.  Once the diva entered the scene, I quickly realized that was plan was well-intentioned, but misguided.  I am usually using all four appendages and a borrowed paw or two from the cat to swap out diapers in the Baby Rodeo.  There is absolutely no way to pull open the drawer, sort through supplies and identify and grab what's needed.  And once the rodeo has come to its conclusion and the wild horse is streaking through the house half-naked and giggling there is zero chance of me putting things back neatly.  

I needed something that would allow me to just grab (or dump) and go.  I went through several variations of solution, but ultimately I wound up with this adorable little caddy from the dollar section at Target.  It's cute enough that I don't mind it being out all the time and the handle makes it easy to tote it around when necessary.  At some point I really want to doctor it up a bit, but for the meantime, I added a pretty little tag and called it a day.


Another update to that same area is a small basket of toys.  When Wild-Hearts-Can't-Be-Broken starts to do some baby break dancing on the pad, I grab something out of the tote to distract her.  I'm told a baby tranq dart is probably illegal.  


I added a ribbon and a wire hook to the side of the wall mount storage baskets to display the baby's hair accessories.  It took about two seconds and looks so cute.  Besides, as my wonderfully strong willed daughter refuses to wear them, this may be the only way anyone gets to oooo and ahh over how cute they are.  :)




I have to say, I'm probably prouder of this room than any other I've put together before.  I love that it has a mix of practical and pretty; that it's tailored to her current age but with sights on her future room too, and, mostly, that it is so personal.   I certainly wanted it to be beautiful, but, more than that, I wanted it to have meaning.  I wanted it to be a love letter to the tiny little imp who has taught me what sunshine really is.   

I imagine it will go through many more variations, and I look forward to the changes.  But right now, I'm appreciating where it is, where I am, and, of course, my beautiful little one year old (who is completely oblivious to all of these things). :)  

Have a fantastic week friends!














Powered by Blogger.

Subscribe

Popular Posts

About the Author

My photo
Hey guys! My name's Emily-Grace and I'm so glad you've found my blog! E.G. is all about decor, entertaining, laughter and finding joy in the everyday. The meaning of the name is threefold: 1. "Entertaining" in the sense of providing for guests. ("Hey, come on over for dinner and I'll break out the good mason jars and moonshine...") 2. "Entertaining" is also meant to indicate my love of laughter ("That Emily-Grace. She's hilarious. And she should quite possibly be medicated.") 3. And finally, "Entertaining GRACE" is about the idea of granting each other a certain amount of kindness, mercy, and tenderness. This world can be a tough old bird and the truth is, we're all in it together. When we take the time to celebrate the bright moments we magnify that light to the people around us and, hopefully, add some hope and joy to their lives (as well as our own!).

Facebook