Shh! It’s a Surprise!!

I am normally really bad at surprising my husband. Seriously. Really bad.

He, on the other hand, is awesome at surprising me. Surprise baby showers, surprise date nights, surprising me on him taking a day off for my birthday, and surprise out of town visitors for the weekend. It’s embarrassing how little I’ve done for him.

But this year I am attempting to make that change! We moved into our new home a week before Easter and less than a month later is my husband’s birthday. I figure I could either use that as an excuse to not do something or use it as a decoy to get him off my trail. So I’m surprising him!

It was a football theme, somewhat. I feel silly giving a themed birthday to a grown man, but he loves his Dallas Cowboys and heck, why not give the man a party he would like? Nothing crazy, but if you have to ask yes, I do have a secret Pinterest board for his party. I invited lots of our new friends here and it was a great turnout.

I am naturally an introvert, he is an extravert. He thrives off of big groups of people and talking and networking, I like to read or go thrifting with one, maybe two friends. I am getting out of my comfort zone and invited plenty more people than I initially would’ve, but this was HIS party and I wanted him to love it.

For decorations I got some Dallas Cowboys paper plates from Party City, a bright green table cloth that will be the “field” for the food. Some large blue bowls and football shaped bowls for chips and fruit salads. I considered these fun football shaped lanterns which I would then relocate to my son’s room but I was worried it’d be too kiddish so I played it safe. I was going to get some balloons but time got cut short and I forgot all about it.

I also pinned football shaped party foods (brownies, cookies, cupcake designs, and cake pops) but again, they seemed kiddish. So I made cupcakes with football cupcake liners and blue sprinkles (Dallas colors).

A friend of his took him to see the second Captain America movie while I set up the food and everyone showed up. He was going to pick me up so we could “meet some people for lunch,” but that was fake, and “those people” we were “meeting” were already at the party. Ha!

He showed up, was surprised, and loved it. I only got a few photos as I was not only busy hosting the party but I was also busy keeping my 1 year old from being trampled by the older kids running around. 

The day was a big success and lots of fun but boy am I glad it’s over! I’m a bad liar and am so happy he had no idea!

She approved of the cupcakes!

Heat Packs on a Warm Day?

Ah, what a beautiful day here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest! It is a gorgeous 81 degrees and I have all my windows open and shorts and a tank top on. I can’t even tell you how much I’m loving it.

After I put my kids down to nap I was unpacking a box of sewing supplies I found some fabric scraps. As I was looking through to see what I had (isn’t it funny how easy it is to forget what’s in your scrap collection?) I found some half-completed projects! And since I do not yet have a sewing table/desk/anything set up I was quite pleased to already have had the sewing completed!

If only I took pictures as I started this project almost a year ago- oh the joys of having our belongings in storage for 11 months- but what I found were fabric rectangles folded in half long ways (or if you think like me, folded “hot dog” style) so that they look like long tubes with a small 1-2 inch opening on one corner. After I flipped them inside out they measured 4inches wide by 18 inches long, but you can adjust the size for whomever you are making this gift. I had used a fat quarter or other miscellaneous fabric scraps I had on hand, just basic 100% cotton, but I’ve also used flannel and fleece in the past and I prefer the soft fuzziness of flannel just a tad more.

To finish this project all you need to do is funnel some rice into the fabric tube and either hand-stitch or carefully use your machine to sew shut the opening. I measured the amount of rice I poured inside by touch. It ended up being approximately two cups of white rice. I like my heat packs a little heavier and fuller, but that choice is up to you! Due to my lack-of-sewing-machine-set-up I opted to hand stitch it shut.

Voila! You’re done! You can either toss this rice bag into the freezer or nuke it in the microwave and you have a hot- or cold- pack!

Here’s some other ways you can customize your heat packs:

• Fabric- Cotton, flannel, fleece, etc. 
• Shape- Long and narrow (like I did),  curved to fit shoulders, a shorter and fatter rectangle, smaller (2x2in.) squares for pockets, heart shapes, circles, etc. Also, you can sew addition lines across the bag after you’ve added some of your filler to keep the filling dispersed evenly and it won’t pile up on the ends and be lop-sided.
• Different fillers- beans, rice, flax seeds, lentils, etc.
• Scented- Add dried lavender or other herbs to add some aroma therapy scents. 
• More…? If you have any other things you’ve tried to make your heat packs let me know!

Here’s a link to another tutorial with great photos to help you through, and she even suggested adding loose leaf tea for their scent.

As I grow my blog I will improve my tutorials with photos and more specific instructions, so bear with me!

Thank you for stopping by!

Welcome to LimeTreeCo

Hello, hello!

A little about me:

My name is Audrey and I live in the Pacific Northwest, about an hour south of Seattle. I’m a NW native (Oregon), met my husband in Arizona, and we’ve moved our family to Washington in 2013. He is a Pastor, I am currently working toward real estate in some capacity. We have two children, a daughter and a son. They are only 13 months apart and they are best buddies.

If you want to know about me I want to be real with you, so ask away!

What this blog is about:

My hopes for this blog is so I can try to share with you different tips, tricks, decorating ideas & projects, home staging, and (hopefully!) some real estate tips in the future!

These days there seem to be a bazillion blogs about DIY and “mommy blogs,” and though I enjoy those I want to add the twist of real estate. I would love for you to show me your homes and I can give home-staging tips to help with selling and curb appeal tips. Or, if you are currently not moving any time soon, I’d love to explore decorating with you! I’ll want YOUR help for my new home, too. Oh, and the best part, on a budget! The best part about decorating (for me, besides having a beautiful room) is achieving the look without spending a fortune. My husband says I’m too cheap, but that’s the part of the fun for me.

If you live in the vicinity of Tacoma/Puyallup/Federal Way/etc maybe I can come to your home and give in-person help and you can be a special feature post. Eh? Ehh? Sounds fun to me. 😉

Tell me about yourself:

Tell me what YOU want in a blog. I don’t want to be here squawking about nothing’s, I want to help you achieve a beautiful home and lifestyle on a budget.