Movie Night: Cars 3

Confession... my husband and I love the Disney Cars movies more than we should as fully grown adults.  We just completely dork out over them.  My husband is a "car guy" through and through which means we are a "car family" (an excellent hobby for kids) and these movies are just so cute, nostalgic and fun to us.  That's why we not only saw Cars 3 in the theater, we did a movie night now that it's on DVD.  It's coming to Netflix on January 31st so start planning your movie night!

The tablecloth is from my son's first birthday. (sniff) The great thing about Disney movies is all the merch.  I mixed in generic car stuff we had on hand with the Disney stuff.  I bought both sizes of plates and the napkins, but ended up saving the dinner plates.  We used them up throughout the weekend which meant less dishes for me to wash.  Bless.

The combination of black plates and silver chargers made me think of tires.  We gave out Cars ring pops at Halloween and I stashed six of them away for this movie night.  They were either Cruz Ramirez or Lightening McQueen.  I thought having a couple of extra would give me a good mix.  Well, all six were Cruz!  I used them as napkin rings, which delighted the kids to no end.

I also couldn't resist a little swag.  I found Jackson Storm and Cruz fidget spinners on Zulily.  I put the little rubber bracelets on our glasses.  The mini racers I threw in my grocery cart one day... too cute to resist!

I used a red runner to break up the busy tablecloth.

In my flurry of new year's organizing I discovered these cupcake liners and picks in my stash... so I made funfetti cupcakes in them.

One of these days I will be patient enough to ice cupcakes properly!

I found this darling banner and put it up behind the table.  It's going to my son's room next.

Dinner was really leftovers in disguise... Mississippi roast, macaroni and cheese and salad.  Nobody cared that we ate leftover roast with all this hoopla.  I also got out my awesome Arthur Court Route 66 chip-and-dip. 

I used it for bread and spreadable butter and it worked rather well.

This movie night came at the end of a busy week, and it left us in great spirits to start the weekend.  Both little kids and big kids like us will enjoy it!  I'll leave you with some fun Cars items to plan your movie night... KA-CHOW!

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Happy Birthday Elvis

Yesterday was Elvis Presley's birthday, so naturally we celebrated.  Didn't you?  Ha.  Let me back up...

Two years ago, my son decided to have an Elvis-themed birthday party.  As random as that sounds, it turned out to be a super cute theme and it was SO MUCH FUN.  It was a family party and we all really got in the spirit.  We've also done several movie nights with Elvis movies.  So, we have some Elvis "stuff" on hand.  Yesterday was the start of the kids' first full week back to school, so it was a perfect night to surprise them with a little themed dinner in honor of the king of rock 'n roll.

Fun fact... Elvis died just a few weeks before I was born.  My mom said it made her so sad thinking her baby would never know who Elvis Presley was... little did she know!

I had the little plates from a movie night.  I pulled it together with pink chargers, black plates  and gingham napkins.  We had some Elvis buttons left over from the party, so I used those on the napkins.

Elvis ornaments hung from the chandelier and we listened to Elvis Radio on Pandora.

The menu was of course... the famous Elvis sandwich:   fried peanut butter and banana.  A quick Pinterest search showed that many people include bacon.  So obviously we added bacon.  I'm here to report they were delicious! 

I'm all about finding random things to celebrate and get things all shook up, if you will. (Ha)  See also... Groundhog Day, Texas Independence Day, Cinco de Mayo... you get the idea.  Adding a little fun to the mix is always the cure for an otherwise boring Monday!

Some Treats to Beat the January Blues

Hello friends and Happy New Year!  I intentionally stayed away from my computer to soak up time with my family over the holidays.  It's been glorious, and we've slipped into full-on frat house mode:  staying up late, sleeping in, lots of junk food and too much TV!  I really don't want it to end, but we are gearing up to re-enter society this week.  We only have one of day of school, so surely we can do it, right?!

I want to share a few fun things that are bringing me joy and fighting the post-Christmas blues. (Some contain affiliate links, a free way to for you to support my little blog.)  Hopefully they will brighten up your January... or should I say, Janu-Arie.

First up, Sisters First.  I DEVOURED this book in less than 24 hours.  As a Texas girl, I've always had love for the Bush twins and I think Jenna is delightful on The Today Show.  (I also have a large scar on my foot from the day I interviewed Laura Bush, but that's a story for another day!)

This book is charming, sweet, sad at times, meaningful and deliciously entertaining.  If you have not read this, pick it up.  

Remember the Christmas cereal bowls?  Well, y'all, Target has the Valentine's version out now.  I grabbed 4 matching ones and I'm just tickled about them.

Next up, my tea towel display.  I saw this idea on Totally Tikaa's instagram and immediately thought, "well I need to borrow this and I know just where to do it!"  I had a ball with all my Christmas tea towels and now it's "neutral" for January.  Next up, Valentine's, then birthday season for my kids.  It brings me such joy.  And no, I didn't need to run out and buy tons of tea towels.  Sometimes it pays to be a hoarder.

If you're like me, you binge-watched The Crown last month and are still a little bitter than Downton Abbey is over.  My husband and I watched Victoria and Abdul and it fills that void (at least for a couple of hours.)  

My mother-in-law gifted me a Happy Everything plate for Christmas.  I wanted one forever and true to form, I'm now obsessed and want all the fun attachments.  Along with the tea towels, I look forward to changing this up all year long.

Ok, last but far from least, did y'all see Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon covering the Rose Parade?  My dad gave us a heads up that it was on Amazon Prime.

I laughed until I cried!  It's exactly how I want to start off 2018.

I'll be back next week posting regularly with movie nights, parties and plenty of fun!