Great Party Supplies

My mom was a school teacher for many years and loved it.  While I was a teenager she taught preschool out of our house and had an entire classroom set up in our basement.  Sometimes I would help her with set up or preparing art projects.  I remember hearing her mention Oriental Trading Company, but I had no idea what it was or how she used it for her preschool.  Right around the time my daughter turned one and I started thinking about birthday parties to throw for her, I found the Oriental Trading Company online and realized how cool it really was.

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Tags: events, parties, party supplies, school supplies, wedding
Posted in Holidays & Events, Miriam | No Comments »

A couple of months ago my husband and I were at a thrift store looking for a bike for our toddler (I buy most things at thrift stores because they’re usually in great shape and cost so much less) when we found a really cool book for one dollar.  It’s called “Out and About With Kids: The Ultimate Family Guide for Fun and Learning.”  Since we had just moved back to Portland we thought it would be a good way to find things to do as a family.  The books contains the following chapters: Exploring Downtown, Kid Culture, Parks, Outdoor Active Play, Indoor Active Play, Farms, Spectator Sports, Excursions, Season By Season and Basics (restaurants, shopping, etc.).  I looked through the book and ear tagged several that I wanted to try and have been able to check out a good number of them.  The book came in even more handy when my in-laws came to visit Portland for the first time.

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Tags: activities, books, events, kids, outdoor, trip
Posted in Babies & Kids, Miriam, Sports & Outdoor Activities | 1 Comment »

I recently became aware of a way to get cheap tickets to events online.  Maybe I was just oblivious, but whenever I wanted tickets to a concert or event, I would just always purchase them from the event itself or ticketmaster.  But, with the Houston Rodeo here this past month, and with now needing to buy 4 tickets, I wanted to find a way to save money.  Even the cheapest seats in the nosebleed section were still $21 a piece, plus all kinds of taxes and fees.  So, it would have been about $100 for us to go.  Just too much considering we knew the boys wouldn’t be able to stay awake to really even enjoy the concert anyway.

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Tags: attractions, cheap tickets, concerts, events
Posted in AmyW, Entertainment | 1 Comment »

Are you the kind of person who likes to throw a party?  Do you usually volunteer to host things for your friends?  Or are you someone who shy’s away from being the center of attention?  I think I fall into the first category most of the time and end up being the one organizing get togethers and parties.  I enjoy creating an atmosphere where people can hang out and enjoy themselves.  I also love creating events that are well organized and run smoothly to eliminate any stress that may arise.  I like to have everything planned out in advance so that during the party I can just enjoy being with friends and family.  I recently threw a birthday party for my three year old and it was so much fun.  We did a polka dot theme and had decoration, games, activities and a cake revolving around polka dots.  I spent a good deal of time beforehand making everything so that it would run smoothly and I was really happy with the results.  However, some people can use a little more help in the preparation stage to ease stress along the way.

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Tags: activities, decorations, events, holidays, parties
Posted in Holidays & Events, Miriam | No Comments »

I can just picture it now.  You’re waiting to go out for Valentine’s night and your man shows up with pre-boxed chocolates and a hallmark card.  You drive downtown and wait forever to get into a packed restaurant and enjoy your “romantic” meal with about 100 other people doing the exact same thing.  What’s wrong with this picture?  Maybe the fact that it took absolutely no creativity to plan the night.  Maybe you’re tired of doing the same thing every year, except you wear a different dress and go to a different restaurant.

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Tags: concerts, events, shows, tickets, Valentine's Day
Posted in Miriam, Valentine's Day | 1 Comment »