brightsides: 2015

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

French Lemon Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Mmmm. French lemon cupcakes are my new favorite.

I recently came up with this recipe by accident when making these for a party.

They turned out so moist + delicious... they are so simple to make, it's sad.

Gotta love mistakes sometimes ;)

So yummy for summertime parties! Thought I'd share!

French Lemon Cupcakes

1 box lemon cake mix

1 small box french vanilla pudding

Just add the vanilla pudding packet to the cake mix and prepare with cake box directions.

Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter, softened

3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

mix together until smooth!

Save one for me!

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Jeep Wagoneers + Pearls

Today I stumbled upon two new people through Pottery Barn who share my love for jeep wagoneers and pearls.

I'm obsessed.

Go check out all their eye candy and fashion at Classy Girls Wear Pearls + Kiel James Patrick

love love love this gingham bracelet (above)

all images via Classy Girls Wear Pearls + Kiel James Patrick

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Teen Girl Bunco Birthday Party

Last weekend we threw together a simple Bunco Birthday Party for our 13-year-old daughter, and it was SO fun!

Have you played this game before? It's very easy, interactive and inexpensive. Here is how to play it.

The game recommends you play with 12 people, so we invited 11 of Olivia's friends from school, and then later, some boys in the neighborhood came and "crashed" the party and played too :)

Everyone seemed to have a great time!

These invitations that I made up are available in my Etsy shop and can be found here to customize and print anywhere you wish. I printed these up as 5x7" photos at Costco, then mounted them on some white card stock. To finish them off, I tied them with baker's twine.

We made each girl a little party favor with these "teen" faves inside.

1. brush set 2. hand sanitizer 3. tin pail $1 Target 4. mint m&m's and orbit gum

I picked up the above Bunco prizes at Target. Prices ranged from $3-$15.

These pink peonies from my garden just happened to be the right pink to match the party :)

Happy Party Planning!

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Praiseworthy

Is it snowing where you are? It's dumping on us today here in SLC :/ Cheer up today with a free new poster!

If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Made for our family room//love this reminder

words from the 13th article of faith

Praiseworthy free printable here

formatted to print as a 5x7" or 20x30"

frame found here
**I printed this one shown at FedEx Kinko's for less than $4! Be sure to specify that you want it printed as a black and white- when you print in color, the price jumps dramatically.

Enjoy!

ps, I would love to see how you use this print! Please tag me in your pics :)

Monday, April 13, 2015

Laurel King Canopy Bed Makeover

We updated a few things in our master bedroom a little bit ago, and have been meaning to blog about our canopy bed makeover.

After searching store after store, I came across the Laurel Canopy Bed from Overstock! I was ecstatic, because it was way super less than any others- by a long shot, and it got great reviews. Not thrilled with the headboard, I ordered it with some "tweaking" plans in mind.

The bed arrived (free shipping) and the assembly was really easy! Sam and I put it together quickly... I'd say in 30-40 minutes.

Knowing that the headboard was a tan microfiber when purchasing, I bought some white Dwell geometric upholstery fabric from JoAnn's to recover it with.

The headboard unscrews from the frame my friends! I simply wrapped the new fabric over the original fabric, stretched and stapled in on tight, and then screwed it back on to the frame. So simple- and such a quick transformation.

I absolutely love that I can change the fabric out any time! All you need is a power drill and staple gun.

I was able to achieve the look I wanted, and saved hundreds of dollars! I'd buy this bed again in a heartbeat! And no, this is not a paid review :0

I've also dream't of a white bed for quite a while now. They're so pretty, aren't they? My sister has always had one, and if she has four boys and manages to keep it clean, I should be able to do the same, right? Turns out, it hasn't been near as hard as I thought it would be to keep it clean.

I was told that whites are dyed white, so to keep the color, wash them in cold water. It seems to work :)

I saw this fun fabric at Hobby Lobby the other day- how cute would this be for the headboard in a girl's room? I love how bright and cheerful it is + I'm really into this green right now.

Sam built these nightstands (above) and gave them to me our first married Christmas. I loved them then, and I still love them now. Their french-country style and distressed finish give warmth and charm to the room. I love mixing classic pieces with modern elements. And wood tones + white = yummy!

duvet cover / ruffled quilt set / pillows & lamps / area rug / bench / dresser / desk / mr & mrs print

I would love to see your canopy bed hack if you buy one! Take a pic and tag me!

Have a great week!

xo

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Serendipity

Like a moth to a flame- this Serendipity area rug caught my blue adoring eyes.

She inspired this preppy + rustic design board.

And new to the shop- Teach Them to Fly

Created for my family room, these are some of my favorite Dave Matthew's Band You and Me lyrics .

Happy Thursday people!

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Watercolor Eggs

We began hard boiling our eggs with this life changing method

Once all the eggs were chilled, we pulled out our non-toxic watercolor sets, lots of paper towels, and brushes. We were ready then to let the kids go to town painting the eggs!

They had a blast and were entertained for over an hour! We're cooped-up inside sick with all kinds of junk this weekend- so it was a great activity to keep them entertained!

I loved watching them experiment and create designs & creative techniques. It was super easy, fun for all ages, and the clean up was a breeze! I have a feeling we'll color our eggs this way from now on :)