Teeny Ramblers

A Blog celebrating the Teeny Ramblers of the world & and all the things that make it work

Kids Halloween Party Invitations + A Pajama Pumpkin Soiree

It's that time of year again when the holidays kick into high gear!!  I feel like it takes most of my energy just accomplishing day to day work and mom tasks and I'm such a last minute planner.  However, this year I teamed up with (and was sponsored) by the AMAZING company, Basic Invite, in an attempt to get our Pumpkin Party invites out early this year!  As far as selection goes, they offer the best holiday cards--I'm in love with all of them.

 **Please note that all the thoughts in this post are mine and I would never promote something I didn’t believe in or love.



We set out picking six different kids Halloween party invitations that would really stand out. My love of design and type made me especially excited to create custom samples that catered to our needs.  Basic Invite is unique in that they allow you to order a printed sample of the actual invitation.  It was a load off to recieve the actual invite and see the quality before going all in on an order.  Plus, their website is SUPER user friendly and, you guys, they have so many opportunities to customize and then view an instant preview!

Jordan had a blast picking them all out with me, she especially loved customizing the colors (over 180 options to be exact!) As soon as all of the kids got their invites in the mail, parents kept texting me how cute they were!

It was honestly the BEST weeeknd for a party and although we had a lot of kiddos come down with a bug that were unable to make it (hey, it happens!), we were super excited to get crafty and eat donuts all morning.






And I know that Halloween hasn't even arrived yet but I'm already thinking of all the creative Christmas cards I can send this year!!  I'm serioulsy thinking of renting an old Chevy or station wagon to haul our tree on this year (can't wait!) and am excited to order my Christmas cards. 

Head on over and use the coupon code: holi30 for 30% off your order!!! 

Also give them a follow on: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram

Happy Shopping Friends!

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne

(Thank you for supporting the brands that support this blog!)

When Leaves Fall, Gnoming, and other random thoughts

It has been quite the week over here.  I caught a nasty stomach flu and so I've been riding the struggle bus between work and being a mom so the blog has taken a back seat but....we are back!

Last weekend we went on the most epic morning picnic ever.  There's this nearby park we frequent that has the most beautiful row of fall foliage you have ever seen.  Although it isn't the woods or part of a field, there was a perfect spot to put down a blanket and just enjoy the gorgeous fall morning.  We were the only ones there and it felt magical.  We left early to grab donuts at our favorite (Top Pot for your Seattlites) and then drove across the street.  The kids LOVED it and didn't even seem to mind the cold.





Like I said, this week has been just one of those weeks but we did get a special surprise on our lawn the other day, a creepy (like intensely creepy) skeleton gnome!!  I wondered when I saw it, is 'gnoming' a thing during Halloween?!  Am I super out of the loop!?  (apparently, yes).  The kids thought that it was the best thing ever and I immediately went texting our neighbors trying to solve the mystery of the gnoming.  Turns out the story is just as interesting.  I guess one night last week, a bunch of my neighbors got tipsy by a craft store and thought it would be hilarious to buy a bunch of these gnomes and go around the neigborhood 'gnoming' everyone (well played ladies, well played).  It's a tradition I think we will stick with.  That afternoon we 'gnomed' two more houses!  Since I've never seen it done anywhere else, I feel like it's a NEW tradition that I can share with all of you and would be SO fun for your littles.



This weekend, we host our annual pajama pumpkin party so we are all in and excited for that.  We are set to get some great weather again and are taking full advantage before the rain comes.

Have a great weekend!

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne

**P.S. Anthro Perks is having 25% off of EVERYTHING today, and I know it's not even Halloween yet but I have a bunch of stuff in my cart for Christmas!!! (Fa la la la la la la ka-ching!)          

Halloween Home Tour 2018 + Friday Favorites

Although I LOVE the holiday, we don't usually go too overboard with decorating for Halloween Our decorations usually consist primarily of bats (they honestly class everything up) and are super super cheap decor.  We also LOVE buying those witches brooms that they sell in grocery stores.  The kids play with them the whole season and they smell like cinnamon-a win win.  Although they might be a bit overplayed, I always enjoy using our Letterfolk letterboard from season to season to switch up the vibe.  A favorite quote of ours is always, "It's just a bunch of Hocus Pocus"--honestly, is there anything better than that movie??

Over the next two weeks or so we will be busy prepping for our little pajama pumpkin party (think Krispy Kreme Halloween donuts) and pulling our costumes together.  Does anyone have a good trick to get a two year old into a costume?  I thought I picked the perfect costume for young Lucas but it turned out he hates it and now I'm trying to get him to love it!









And now for some Friday faves:

**These pajamas are SO good (& this for boys) as well as these ones for baby, why are buying pajamas for littles so addicting?

**I just got this blanket from Arhaus--and am loving the pom trend--soooo cozy

**My blackout cupcakes were a hit with the neighborhood!  Pin the link here -you won't be disappointed!!

Lastly, follow along with us on instagram (@jaimrichards) to see what adventures we are up to this weekend!! P.S. The hubby got me photography classes for my birthday and I'm SO excited to find my own style & to update the blog a bit!

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne

DIY Foam Pumpkin Tutorial

As promised, I'm here today for a short tutorial on how to carve a foam pumpkin.  Not sure about everyone else but we literally wait EVERY year until the day before Halloween to carve our pumpkins so they don't rot.  I know that there are different products you can use to prolong the life of a pumpkin and I'm all for carving and gut scooping but I wanted to have a BUNCH of pumpkins to put out for the entire season!






Michaels right now is having 50% off pretty much all their Halloween decor and products.  I scooped up a bunch of foam pumpkins on the cheap but it's something I would NEVER spend full price on-wait until you see those sales!

There are two methods that I've seen used.  One is carving out your design with a dremel.  If you have one handy, then I suggest going this route.  I was already at Michaels so I purchased a Versa tool-which is typically used for woodburning, soldering, stamping, etc.  You can change out the point to suit your particular project (the tip just unscrews-super easy).

Next, grab your pumpkin stencil.  I got mine from Pinterest but any will do.  Just make sure that your stencil doesn't have very thin lines-this can make it prone to breakage as you are carving out the design-just like a real pumpkin!

I just tape the design on the pumpkin and use one of those puncturing tools (the one they sell with those kits at the store) and poke holes around the design.  After you take off the paper, it should be super clear where to start carving.

Then, you simply plug it in, and set it to the hottest setting (it has a dial-set it to red).  Now be very careful as the tool is HOT.  I used a protective mask as well because of the possible fumes and carved in a well ventilated area (but this is up to you).

When using the Versa tool, slower is better, let the tool guide but it should cut through like butter!  The BEST part of this project is you can add to it yearly.  I drew my inspiration from this instagram account, they have hand carved a BUNCH of these babies and decorate yearly with them, #goals.

 I sure hope this helps  and you find some inspiration!  So get out there and get carving!

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne

Fall Finds For The Home



Happy Tuesday Friends!  I'll keep this brief today, all this cold and rainy weather has me eager to switch everything out in favor of some fun fall finds (say that three times fast)!  Whether you are decorating for halloween, entertaining, or just want to feel cozy, I've rounded up five finds that should satisfy all the above!  All items are linked at the bottom.  

one // two // three // four // five

As always, thank you so much for following along!!

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne

Blackout Cupcake Recipe & More Fall fun

Since Fall is in full swing, this weekend we decided on (another) Fall festival and trying out a new cupcake recipe.  The hardest part was finding black frosting to top them with, so we made it easy and settled on black icing.  It maaay have stained our teeth just a bit but I sort of feel that it MADE the cupcakes, that and candy eyes on top ;)



We used this recipe by Kara's Couture Cakes (I pinned the recipe here too) It was SO good.  The recipe called for dark cocoa powder as well as hot coffee (speaking my language).  It was a little involved but Jordan has been the best helper and very eager to bake with me so it was totally doable with a four year old.

Ingredients
  • 2 cups Sugar
  • 1.75 cups All purpose flour
  • 1 cup Milk
  • .5 Lime fresh squeezed
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1.5 teaspoons      Baking soda
  • 1.5 teaspoons      Baking powder
  • .5 cup Vegetable oil
  • .75 cup Cocoa Noir Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 1 cup                    Coffeehot, fresh brewed
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or line 28 to 30 muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups.
  2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
  3. Combine milk and lime juice in a bowl and allow to sit for 5 minutes to thicken. Then add eggs and vanilla and whisk together.
  4. Add milk mixture and oil to the dry mix in the mixer and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
  5. Sowly pour the coffee down the side of the bowl with the mixer set to it's lowest setting. The batter will be thin. Pour batter into prepared cups. 2/3 full for large liners or cups, 1/2 full for all other cup or liner sizes.
  6. Bake 22 to 25 minutes for cupcakes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
And now cue Fall picture overload ;)





And in case I needed a reminder about how little my babies were last year.....ugh, where does the time go!?


As always, enjoy the season, it will be gone before we know it!!

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne

Ordinary Magic + Friday Favorites

Congratulations, we all made it to Friday!!

image source

This week was a longer week than most, full of work & kids & life.  But, even in the ordinary, there is magic to be found.  We celebrated Lukie man turning 2 and even though we got hit with some Seattle rain, that didn't stop us from having a blast and celebrating him and all his favorite things!

Jordan and I also started getting out more of the Halloween decorations, normally we wait until a little later in the season to get out the real spooky stuff but why wait!?  Most kids have a blast putting up spider webs and paper bats so I say, screw it!, go for all the creepy things.

Now, onto a few of our Friday favorites for you:

* Who says Uggs are dead? Planning on repeating these ones they are SO good.

*Zara has THE cutest clothes for kids at reasonable prices.  This corduroy skirt is so adorable &  I love jogging pants for little boys, especially these star printed ones.

*Is anyone looking for cold weather gear yet?  We plan to sign Jordan up for ski/snowboarding lessons this year and she will need good sturdy gear.  Still looking into that but how cute are these for the little dinosaur loving boy in your life!?

*I found the cutest print on Etsy for Halloween, proof that witches have been around for ages!

*We are planning on busting out some tasty Halloween cupcakes this weekend.  I can't wait to try these black out cupcakes with homemade natural black food coloring .  Obviously they will be topped with eyeballs & all things Halloweenie.

*Last but not least we are gearing up for our annual Pajama Pumpkin Carving Party!! I'm thinking of making it more of a night deal because just LOOK at this scene created by Elizabeth Reilly and Karin Lidbeck for Country Gardens magazine, wow.

Tonight we are putting together Ikea dressers....our old ones were recalled & Ikea reimbursed us & I have picked out this one & am super exited to add hardware and put it up!!  I am shamelessly stealing the idea from Harlowe James, who styled these to perfection!!!


We are huge fans of the IKEA Billy series and have used them in our built-ins downstairs and also in Jordan's room.

Now go out there & Enjoy your Fall!! Tag me on instagram (@jaimrichards) if you purchase anything, I'd love to see it!

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne










Half Bath Inspiration


One // Two // Three // Four // Five 

Our half bath has been the bane of my existence since we moved here.  We've started it and then stopped this project SO.MANY.TIMES.  Things move slow around here but the unfinished nature of the space has me really wanting to have it finished by the holidays.  We painted the walls a dark green (Benjamin Moore Salamander) that reads so beautiful-even on our textured walls.  I wanted to go dark with this room since it's so small and I felt that we needed a room downstairs that really popped. Our plan is to lay down white (matte) penny tile on the floors.  We currently have horrible looking linoleum from the early 90's and it's got to go.  In our laundry room update, we also used penny tile and it was super easy to work with and cut so we figured that it was the best option for this space as well.  

For the wall, we plan on installing ship-lap that extends all the way up the wall where the vanity and toilet sit.  I'm also thinking of painting the baseboard trim the same green as the walls so that the floors really stand out.  We aren't planning getting rid of the current vanity but I DO want to switch out the fixture on the sink.  I'm a little nervous about incorporating multiple metals (matte black and brass) but I think once the light fixture and mirror are installed, it will all pull together nicely.  Here are some inspiration pictures I pulled that I will be relying on heavily as we finish this space!

Source
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So, here's our to-do list as it stands now:

Paint the bathroom
Lay down tile
Cut, Paint, and Install Shiplap
Change out light and sink fixtures
Hang mirror & Art
Install baseboard trim and floor vent
Replace builder grade door and update with matte black hardware

This will be my focus over the coming weeks and I can't wait to show it to you!!

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne

Luke turns T W O with a Mickey Party!

Happy Monday!!

We had the BEST  weekend celebrating Lukie turning 2!!  I've tried this year to keep both the kids parties low key.  1. Because this time of year is crazy and both Luke and my birthdays are a day apart & 2. Because who needs an elaborate party when you're two and four!?










Can't hang ;)

We thought that Luke might like a Mickey inspired party seeing how he is obsessed with all things Mickey related.  We were right, it was a hit!  We took him to this local farm where they had a fall festival and it made for the most perfect day.  There was spooky music, animals, s'mores, pumpkins... pretty much everything you could hope for when you have a Fall birthday.  After we got back, our sweet neighbors (along with my mama who was in town) came over to sing Happy Birthday, open presents and eat some cake!  Two is such a hard age because kids don't really have friends yet but it can be hard without a lot of family in town.  I think overall he was SUPER happy and felt like it was the best day.   We splurged on a yummy cake, with some mickey inspired decor.  The best part for him honestly was the balloons (such a two year old thing).

Today is his actual birthday so we will celebrate it with a trip on an old train and some treats (always).  My sweet baby.  Mama's guy.  Mickey lover.  You always keep us on our toes, entertained, and have completely stolen our hearts.  Happy Birthday Lukie Bookie!!

Sources: Jordan's dress // Mickey Straws // Vinyl Decals // Luke's shirt & jeans (zara) // Jordan's boots // Luke's shoes // My Mickey shirt // Sunglasses //

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne