Jefferson General Store 2019

On our way to Memphis, Tennessee for our Spring Break this year, we made a small detour to Jefferson, Texas. I should declare that leaving Texas is always half the trip to wherever you're going because this state is just monstrous.  

The lovely little town of Jefferson is your typical small town in Texas: blocks of businesses, many antiques and museums, a small courthouse, tiny little traffic lights, and cute little planters on street corners. But Jefferson definitely had a New Orleans vibe to it. Iron wrought balconies with just the right hues of downtown NOLA. Archways, brick, and courtyards were also noticed. It was strange to see in Texas, but entertaining nonetheless.

We stopped at 113 E. Austin St. and parked in front of this building with an old Ford truck and some Red White and Blue pleated fan flags out front. The vintage hand-painted signs were just eye-candy fabulous. The window displays were super cool, too. 

YES. This store was the exact detour I love. I knew I was going to blow my Spring Break money before I even left Texas. Dang it.
Straight through those squeaky, wooden doors, was a man making home made pralines which tasted like 'jamoncillo' from Mexico they always sell at checkouts in grocery stores, but better because it was F R E S H!

Halfway through, we all simultaneously needed to find a bathroom and it was amazing.

Kinda reminded me of the Dublin Bottling Works bathroom with its chalkboard wall 😃

And look here, we even saw a very short John Wayne! 

The place was absolutely cluttered with novelties and merchandise in every nook and cranny. Everything was old, vintage, antique, modge-podged, grimey, and cool. We grabbed a few things, candies, and made sure to get some of their Bluebell Ice Cream before we hit the road again.

If you're ever passing through that way, make sure to stop by Jefferson General Store. The entire town has lots of other attractions too! Next time we head to Memphis, let's stay a little while longer okay babe?! 

Here's the link to visit their website: https://visitjeffersontexas.com/attractions

Next up, posting pictures of our adventures in Memphis. Stay tuned! 

Handmade Teacher Gifts

Teacher gifts have become a special time mainly because I want to give these wonderful people something meaningful for their efforts in being my children's educator.

In previous years, I had Gary cut out a small wood board and I painted a little saying, "It takes a BIG heart to teach LITTLE minds" and they loved it.

This year, I took the time to individualize their Christmas gifts. I know they will cherish them since all of the teachers sent me personal thank yous. I had fun making them now that I don't really paint and sit down and spend time in the studio anymore. 

I made 5 gifts, but honestly needed to make many more. These were for my sons' homeroom teachers but admin and other elective teachers deserve a small thank you too. 

Obviously there was a floral theme 😀. One of the teachers mentioned their favorite flower was an orchid and I have never painted one, so I was a bit overwhelmed. Painting on the wood plank was very forgiving and easy, I didn't even prime it because I wanted the grain to show through. 

All of them were painted with acrylics. I especially loved the floral Christmas ornaments because of the freestyle I used. I also used some 'inspiration' from Marisol Ortega floral lettering for Jonah's teacher. 

I ended up finding the awesome white shadow frames from Hobby Lobby and removed the glass. They were perfect. 

Pretty soon, Teacher Appreciation Week will be here and I like to give little plants to them. Not as personal to each teacher, but it gives me an excuse to go plant shopping 😉

LOL Surprise Doll Birthday 🎂

We're kinda going back and forth in time, through pictures, but bear with me. Gotta log her birthday into the archives before it turns to June.

So we celebrated my daughter's 5th birthday. We had both sides of family in our 4 bedroom home for the weekend and she was absolutely loved by all. 

We woke her up with a gigantic cupcake and a LOL Doll. And then we had her LOL Birthday Party where she got many many more little dolls. 

She had been waiting for this moment for a good 3 months, always talking about her piñata and cake. She was over the moon with her brand new dress, her white heels, and her curled locks. I loved doing everything for her and for the family and friends that joined us. This is my specialty, ya know? A good kid party! 

So now, enjoy the photo dump 

Sweet little girl received a goody basket of sweets in the mail -- super special and delicious! 

So, of course I made her cake. I didn't plan it, I just winged it and looking back at the colors --- I can't believe I actually pulled it off! Ha!
My mom made her macaroons again, and they were all gone by the time the party ended.

I had a good game of BINGO planned out and a giant coloring page of an LOL Doll (Crystal Queen). I actually sourced the BINGO game from here, it was totally free and I made some adjustments to her file. The dropbox files for downloading the giant coloring page is here.

My lovely sister-in-law helped a bunch with applying LOL Suprise doll nails to the girls. What a fun experience! 

It was time to go beat a piñata. I made it of course, and instead of a bunch of candies, I also put snacks like gummies, bubbles, slap bracelets, silly putty and small things that won't break when they fall to the ground. 

Her logo on the piñata is custom as well. It was fun making it! I got the bow tutorial for it from Oh Happy Day!

Daddy always likes to smash his kid's faces to their birthday cakes, but she didn't him want to! He settled for smearing some icing on her instead.

The whole time she couldn't wait to get into her presents. It was a lengthy and chaotic process! 💖We appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts 💖

Her Nana made her this very special LOL Surprise Doll sleeping case for her dolls. We didn't know whether she would have enough dolls for it, but it ended up being just right. It was truly a perfect day for the birthday girl. 

Now she talks about her next birthday but I'm like, NUH UH 😁

Thanks for scrolling and coming to her birthday party! We love y'all!