S'mores are a Summer Staple around here. Ever since our kids were old enough to hold a skewer they have been roasting marshmallows with friends and family around our firepits. I cannot imagine a summer or fall without them. We purposely built our firepit on the edge of our patio so that you could either sit or stand around to easily roast marshmallows. I love that there really isn't a wrong time of year to eat them. 

S'mores always feel like the perfect compliment to celebrating Independence day. Maybe it's because I've watched The Sandlot one too many times, or maybe its because some of the greatest friendships of my life were formed around a firepit. 

When my oldest was about 8 he even came up with a plan to create his own S'mores food truck! We helped him draft different recipes and started using them at our own parties. This weekend I put together a tray of goodies to help make some of our favorite combinations. I got everything I need at our local Hy-Vee grocery store! I especially love that their marshmallows are dye-free (yes, most marshmallows have blue food dye in them! who knew!?)

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A post shared by Erica | Life at the Clubhouse (@lifeattheclubhouse)

Of course everyone loves the OG S'more with Honey Maid graham crackers and Hershey's chocolate, but have you ever had a "Monkey Mallow" S'more?! Those are my absolute favorite. I use cinnamon graham crackers, banana slices, dark chocolate and a well toasted marshmallow. It is the right amount of sweetness without feeling like you're eating pure sugar. 

Of course, I ended up not using any bananas this weekend because my people ate them all before I could use them for S'mores! Go figure. I had to settle for one with just dark chocolate instead. My husband loves using Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for his. Now the real debate is toasted marshmallow vs burnt mallow. I will always go for a golden mallow over a burnt one! 

If you want your own printable version you can download it here: S'mores Printable

Our tray version of a S'mores bar worked so well Saturday night that I even took some along to use at my sisters house on Sunday.

We had so much fun helping the kids make their own S'mores, even my Dad got involved! It was a great night of fireworks, family, and friends. 

I hope you all had a safe and happy 4th of July! 

Hady in ONE-derland

Once upon a time, the sweetest girl named Hady, turned 1 years old! ....and she lived happily ever after! Ha!

This weekend we had a celebration for my youngest nieces 1st birthday. My sister and I have been calling it our swan song. It was the last first birthday for our kids. Its crazy to think that its been nearly 15 years since I threw my first 1st birthday party for my own son! His wasn't nearly this elaborate, but then again I was 23 and Jeremy was deployed to Iraq. The sentiment was the same though...enjoy this baby who has brought so much joy to our lives during a difficult season.

Near the start of the year, my sister came to me with the idea of having a ONE-derland (Wonderland) themed party for Hady. My mind immediately went to photos that a friends wedding venue had shared of a garden themed, tea party style, event. Everything was dripping with greens and muted colors. There were tiny sweets and fun drinks. I knew this would be the basis for her party. Then we found the cutest tiny plates at Michaels with little pink and blue flowers. There it was. The perfect color scheme for her celebration. 

Over the last few months, I collected pieces together as I shopped to use for her party. I also started setting aside or making notes to bring pieces of my own. This included some tiny spoons that I inherited from my Great-Grandmother and flowers I use in my own decor. My sister even managed to find a vintage highchair at a garage sale for $10! 

The plan was to have it outside, under one of my sisters Magnolia trees. Well, mother nature had other plans. It stormed and rained all weekend. On Friday, we knew that we would have to move the party inside. Even if it was dry during her party, the yard was going to be a muddy mess after 3 days of rain. Mud + young kids + pretty decor = a monstrous mess. So, we crafted a plan of how we could switch around her furniture to accommodate the extra leaves in her beautiful table, and still leave room for people to easily sit or mingle. Swapping the table with a loveseat & ottoman was the only way we could make it happen inside. It worked so well that my brother-in-law was trying to figure out how in the world to keep it without sacrificing having a TV on the main level! 

This was definitely a labor of love, but it was so worth it. 

Isn't it dreamy?

Some of my favorite items that we found were the foil edge plates from Michaels, the banner from Party City and of course the cutest favors ever by Becca by the Book. How cute are these bookmarks!? They perfectly matched the images on the banner and really sealed the vintage vibe for the whole look. Her bookmarks inspired me to create the tags on the bottles & mini cake stands.

Mother Nature may have tried to throw us for a loop by forcing us inside, but it turned into a great day. I am so happy with the way this turned out and I hope you find inspiration here to create your own little Wonderland.

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Wonderland Banner  -  Teapot Cake Stands  -  Mini Cake Stands

5oz Bottles  -  Bookmarks  -  Mini Foil Plate  -  Pink Foil Plates  -  Blue Foil Plate

Hope Anyway

My good friend Emily said these words during one of the hardest parts of her story last year. I am clinging to them now.

We are in an unprecedented crisis in our country. Our world has literally been turned upside down. For me, and many other military spouses, this feels all too familiar. The uncertainty, the lack of information, the constantly changing guidelines, and immediate major change of plans are all things that our military is used to.  Our family's life has been uprooted before, however, we had immediate resources available to us at that time with clear structure on how to proceed. The uncertainty and heartache surrounding this current crisis is devastating to say the least. 

Yesterday, I watched my son process his world being shattered for the second time in his life. Everything that he loves... sports, his friends, his community, school... gone for the immediate future. Our Governor closed school for the remainder of the 2019-2020 year. Our district is now scrambling to find ways to meet the needs of students using distance learning opportunities. Our teachers and administration are amazing! They are working their tails off to try and do their absolute best for the students in our district. They are as heartbroken as we are. Our kids became their kids. They know and love them for all that they are, and all they can be. They see potential in them that we may tend to miss. 

One of the pieces that makes this hurt so differently, is that it was a decision that our Governor made; this wasn't an act of God such as a tornado or hurricane. I applaud her for doing all in her power to try and keep our kids and communities safe, but dang this still hurts. Some of you may be reading this thinking, but you're so blessed! That's another reason why I cried last night. The ramifications of this crisis are going to be devastating for so many families in more ways than one. Our children have known heartache, but have led a very privileged life overall. We are fully aware of how incredibly blessed we are, but being blessed does not mean that we don't feel pain, sadness, or grief when things we love suddenly disappear.

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A few weeks ago, I cried when I realized how few years we had left with our kids at home. This was our final year in elementary. I cried because I felt like I've failed. I felt like I hadn't done enough and there just wasn't enough time to fix it. I lamented that my children didn't know the Bible the way that I did by their age, that we spent so much time going to practices, games, and events, we would rarely see each other on certain days. I hated that I felt like I had missed out on entire seasons, years even, with my kids thanks to my anxiety & depression. I had spent so much time trying to numb my own life, I was missing theirs. 

And now, here we are...smack dab in the middle of the biggest pandemic facing our country in the last 100 years. We are home. We have no where to be but together. We have meals, we are safe, have steady incomes, are able to help our friends and neighbors, and we are currently healthy. I can see hope springing up.

I fully believe that in the midst of grief, anxiety, despair, uncertainty, and desperation hope can be found. We can find it in new life circumstances, trying new things, in serving those around us, and finding what we thought was lost forever. 

There is hope in this. 

Last night I made a list of all the things I want to teach my children during this season and some things I want to learn. I added doing their own laundry (they know how, but we need a better routine), and learning note taking/study skills, but I also added things like the story of King David, a regular yoga practice and learning to paint with watercolors. I asked both kids to make me a list of 5 things they each want to learn about. I said "it can be anything: a city, a point in history, an experiment, a person, how to make something, a language, whatever you are interested in learning more about". I want them to know that I value what they are interested in during this stage of their life. This has not always been something I am good at. And for the first time, we truly have the time to devote to this. I have not gotten a response yet but I'm interested to see what they come up with. "Homeschooling" my kids was never something I wanted to do, and this is coming from someone who grew wanting to be a teacher! I am so grateful I will not be doing this alone. I need the instruction and plans their amazing teachers will be providing. I also know that I need to be truly intentional with this time with them and make the most of this opportunity. 

So today, I will choose hope. I will choose to be grateful for the resources we have been given, the opportunities we have, and how God is going to move in and through this time together. No matter how out of control this situation seems, there is hope and we are not alone in this. While we can't all go grab a cup of coffee together (how good does that sound right now?!) we can still be there for each other. Please reach out if you need help. And if you can be a help to others, do that...

...and wash your freaking hands. xoxo

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PS: My friend Emily, makes the most amazing handmade soaps. You can find her www.livesimplesoap.com . Seriously, best soap ever.