Category Archives: Entertaining
Brynnley Turns 2!
Somehow, my tiny little baby is now two years old! Brynnley Alyse celebrated her second birthday on Friday, February 23rd and we had such a fun family day.
This little girl is one Chatty Cathy. She always impresses me with her vocabulary and memory! She has been able to spell her eight-letter name and recite the alphabet (plus or minus a few letters haha) since she was 18-months old.
For the past couple of months, she’s been narrating our day. “Mommy make coffee,” “Brynnley read a book,” “Puppy so cute.” She’s recently starting asking “What’s that?” and “Whatcha doin’, Mommy?” She loves to talk and talk, and becomes a little performer when she’s in the bathtub, making up her own songs and melodies. She keeps me entertained constantly!
Brynnley has also grown quite a collection of stuffed animals that she’s attached to. We can usually persuade her to leave most of them at home, but she can take a quick inventory and spot a missing turtle or bunny within seconds of being in her crib. It’s like Brynnley’s bedtime roll call, making sure all her furry friends are accounted for before hitting the pillow!
Earlier in the month, we went on a family vacation to San Diego (which will be recapped in my next blog post!) and had a very toddler-friendly and Brynnley-focused itinerary. She got to explore Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, the beach, Birch Aquarium, and some parks. After all of that excitement, we decided to skip a big birthday party and just have a family day celebrating together on her actual birthday.
My parents always had the house decorated for all of our birthdays, and I want to do the same for my kids. After she went to sleep last Thursday night, Zeb and I stayed up to hang balloons and decorate our dining room with some “party animals.” I found adorable miniature party hats with adjustable straps on Amazon, perfect for all of her stuffed animals. I also made Brynnley a pink strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting and used a “2” cookie cutter as a stencil to pour sprinkles into. It was simple but Brynnley loved it! Well, mostly the sprinkles. I think I could have skipped the cake entirely and just gave her a bowl of sprinkles.
On her birthday morning, Zeb and I took Brynnley to the Children’s Museum in Meridian, Idaho for the first time. I think it is PERFECT for her age. I would say 2-4 years old would be about the sweet spot for this interactive play place. It has a variety of rooms, themed with different occupations and lots of hands-on props for the kids to play with. There’s a farm, where they can fish with a magnetic pole. They can even milk the large cow.
Another section had a doctor’s office with an X-Ray machine and a life-size game of operation, complete with scrubs for the little kids to wear. There was an airplane with a cockpit full of buttons, a pizzeria, and even a Trader Joe’s full shopping experience. They could be a customer or a cashier, which of course included a Hawaiian shirt.
There was even some outdoor exhibits, like a car mechanic garage and a garden. Brynnley had a blast and it was a great concept for little ones with big imaginations! We came home to have our usual smoothie lunch and get in Brynnley’s regular 1-3pm nap.
Brynnley Girl is still a ball of infectious joy and energy! She’s got “happy feet” that she can’t control when she’s excited, like a dog wagging their tail. She’s obsessed with most forms of potatoes, puzzles, and her current favorite show Not Quite Narwhal. She also loves getting to spend time with her Gigi & Pop Pop who she has wrapped around her finger.
The last two years with Brynnley have shown me how quickly her little mind grows and changes, and how much she’s absorbing all the time!
Happy Birthday, baby girl!
Favorite Things Parties + 50 Favorite Things Gift Ideas!
Have you been invited to a Favorite Things party? The first time I heard of them was about 4 years ago, and I have hosted my own every year since! I love the concept, and it’s always so fun to see the random and unique items everyone brings.
I’ll explain what exactly a Favorite Things party is, and then I’ve created a list of dozens of ideas if you need a little inspiration. There are a few Favorite Things gift guides out there that I peeked at before my very first Favorite Things party, but they have all seemed so boring and generic. I was able to come up with some different clever and unique options that I can’t use all of them myself, so hopefully they are helpful to you!
What is a Favorite Things party?
The concept is that you have a girls get together, with a gift exchange activity. Everyone is going to bring 3 of something that is one of their current favorite things – could be something for the kitchen, self-care, a gadget, food or beverage….anything! But you’ll want to set a price limit per item. I’ve gone to a party with a $5 per item limit, and that was a little too limiting. I feel like $15 is the sweet spot, but of course it’s totally up to the group you’re with!
1. Each girl brings her 3 items (all the same thing, but fine if they are in different colors or patterns).
2. When the gift exchange begins, everyone is assigned a number starting with 1.
3. Use small pieces of paper to write out each person’s number three times onto separate papers, and put them all into a hat or box. (So if you have 10 girls, you will have 30 pieces of paper – three separate papers for each number.)
4. Choose someone to start! They will explain their gift and why it’s their “favorite thing.” Then they will pull out three pieces of paper from the hat or box, and the ladies assigned to those numbers get to take that item home! You can’t pull the same number twice for the same item, and obviously you don’t want to pull your own number.
5. After everyone has shared and gifted their favorite things, every girl there will be going home with three totally different gifts!
Make sense? Feel free to leave a comment and I can clarify, or share any of your own tips if you’ve done this type of gift exchange before!
I have been to a birthday party that had a Favorite Things theme, which was fun because the birthday girl didn’t necessarily want everyone to bring her a present so it really was a gift for everyone. My annual Favorite Things parties have become a Christmastime tradition! For three years now, I set up a hot chocolate bar, a dessert charcuterie board, some appetizers and wine, and my girlfriends over. It’s always such a different mix of favorite things and gifts and always so fun to come away with new things to try!
Here are some ideas for every price point if you’re hosting or attending your own Favorite Things party:
$5 per Item
- Artsy bookmarks: if your group has readers in it, I always love cutesy or unique bookmarks and they make so many different styles now! Like these magnetic ones, which you could break out into three separate gifts.
- Garden seed packets: flower seeds are inexpensive enough that you could group a few together in a little bundle as a gift, or find a cute (inexpensive!) pair of garden gloves to pair with them.
- Makeup removing towelettes: This is what I brought to my first-ever Favorite Things party, a pack of Burt’s Bees make-up removing wipes. They are great to keep in your nightstand should you ever have a night where you feel too lazy to get up and properly wash your face…it’s better than nothing!
- Olipop sodas/kombuchas: here’s a great excuse to get your friends to try a healthier fun drink that they might not otherwise splurge on! These better-for-you soda and sparkling drinks are priced so that you can give two per person if you’re in the $5 gift range, like this root beer alternative!
- Spa headband: It’s just more fun to wash your face with a huge terrycloth bow on your head! You could even pair it with an inexpensive face mask pack.
- Silicone muffin pan liners: kitchen gadgets are always a fun Favorite Things item, and these are on the more inexpensive side.
- Diamond-painting kit: this was my Favorite Things gift for my 2023 party! They come with everything you need for a simple at-home craft/project that’s easy to do while binging a show or listening to a podcast and they range in price from $5-15. The two linked here are $5.
- Disposable air fryer liners: Everyone has an air fryer nowadays, right?! We LOVE our air fryer but don’t want to clean it every time I put in some tater tots. I like using these large disposable liners for easy clean-up. (They are quite thin, so I usually use 2-3 at a time.)
- Mini-bottle cocktail kit: This can be a cute little gift – find a cocktail glass at the Dollar Tree, and add a mini bottle of liquor plus a mix-in for a cocktail kit! You can do a mini vodka, a can of ginger beer & a lime for a mojito. Or a mini Bailey’s and hot cocoa packets in a coffee mug!
- Spa socks: I don’t think I’ve ever been to a favorite things party where fuzzy socks weren’t involved. They are a universally loved item, especially good if you don’t know the group too well and aren’t sure about their specific interests! Everyone likes socks!
$10 per Item:
- Pretty Pastel Highlighters: These highlighters are so beautiful and come in packs of 16 colors that aren’t obnoxious! I would love to receive these!
- Silicone Air Fryer Liner: In my previous category, I included some disposable air fryer liners for easy cleanup. This is slightly higher cost but a reusable version of the product that still cuts down on clean-up time if you’re a frequent air fryer user like I am!
- Lightsaber Chopsticks: this is a fun novelty item that your friends surely don’t already have!
- At-Home Manicure: This was one of the favorite things I received at my 2022 party. Press-on nails have come a long way, and these look as good as a salon manicure!
- Belt Bag: These have become trendy this year, and this $11 version looks just as good as LuluLemon!
- Burt’s Bees Moisturizing Kit: This $10 pack comes with 5 different products – lotion, chapstick, cleansing cream, foot cream, and hand salve. Perfect for wintertime!
- Scarf: Since you don’t know who exactly will be receiving your gifts, this is a great one-size-fits-all accessory item. I purchased this scarf for some girlfriends this year :)
- Kitchen Gadgets: There are so many fun unique gadgets in this price range: a pineapple cutter/corer, olive oil spray mister, ground meat masher, clip-on strainer for pots, and a heat sealer for plastic bags!
- Candles: a classic gift. For gifts, I like the make sure the fragrances are pretty neutral and clean smelling rather than strong food or floral scents. This is a good one!
- Diamond painting kit: I had some cheaper options in the previous $5 category, but here are two that I really like that are $10 – mountainscape & succulants.
$15-$20 per Item
- Cookbooks: At my 2022 Favorite Things party, I gifted Half Baked Harvest cookbooks because I LOVE her recipes and food photography. But I also (of course) love this Gilmore Girls official cookbook, and another beautiful option is Graze, a small bites and charcuterie cookbook!
- Cookbook holder: I love these kitchen counter cookbook-holders that keep your page open to whatever recipe you’re working on!
- Corkcicle Wine Chiller: I’m a white wine girl, and sometimes you don’t have enough time to get a bottle to chill for company! Here’s a cute wine chiller that I have bought for gifts for hostess friends.
- Veggie Chopper: this is an awesome time-saving kitchen gadget for dicing veggies!
- Board Games: My current FAVORITE is called Chik-a-Pig!
- Lumify Eye Drops: these went viral on social media, because they noticeable brighten and whiten your eyes instantly!
- Pepper Spray/Personal Safety Alarm: I always carry a pepper spray in my diaper bag and stroller, and a personal alarm on my car keys. Better to have them and not need them!
- A Year of Cozy hardcover book: I love this beautiful coffee table book full of great reminders!
- Super Food Powders: I have both these superfood reds and superfood greens powders that I add to smoothies every day for some extra vitamins and nutrients!
- Cactus Spa Tealight Candles: these are adorable tealights that would add a spa-quality to your bathtub or nightstand!
- Bathtub Headrest: speaking of spa, I’ve never been a big bath-taker because I don’t find it particularly comfy! I feel like when I lean back, I slink down too far otherwise I have to sit straight up. Then I discovered this cushion that suctions to the bathtub and it’s a game-changer!
- Deep-tissue Massage Gun: These little guys are just around $20 bucks now, and come in pink and black!
I haven’t seen a Favorite Things party set a price limit above $20, but if you are looking for items in a higher category then let me know in the comments and I’ll put together another list with some great options!
I’m excited to hear if you picked any of these items for your own Favorite Things party, or what other clever ideas you’ve seen!
This year I had nine of my girlfriends over to my house. Some are fellow pilot wives, some are in my book club, a couple from my neighborhood and a couple from previous jobs. It’s so fun to get all of your friends together at your house, and we all left our babies and toddlers with our husbands for a true Mom’s Night Off. :)
P.S. I love keeping my blog ad-free so that you can enjoy a clutter-free reading experience! If you’d like to support my blog, please consider grabbing a Strong Like My Coffee mug from my small online boutique. Each mug is handmade by me in Idaho, includes the wooden topper & gold spoon, and ships within 5 business days. :)
SHOP HERE
XOXO Kenz
Tiny Toast
Happy Spring!
We experienced the nicest day in Idaho in over 180 days on Easter. The Boise area actually broke a record from the 1800s about most consecutive days under 60 degrees. Even when it did start to creep into the upper 50s, intense wind always made it less pleasant to spend time in! You don’t know how APPRECIATED that sunshine was! Brynnley and I celebrated Easter with a beautiful brunch at my parents’ house and then spent as much time outside as we could.
On Saturday I had a girlfriend come over for a little brunch together while we watched the newest episodes of Love is Blind. I have to say, I am not a reality TV junkie. My TV is typically always just rewatching Friends and Gilmore Girls episodes on repeat. But there is something about the (totally ridiculous) Netflix show Love is Blind that always hooks me. My friend Nicole and I bond over our mutual love/hate relationship with the cringy show that we can’t look away from.
I’ve had a wheel of French Brie cheese in my fridge from Costco for a bit and I needed to find a use for it. Obviously I took to Pinterest and searched “brunch recipe with brie.” I found some really pretty crostinis with melted brie, apple butter and honey. Then I remembered a recent photo I’d seen from a restaurant that used shredded hard boiled egg on top of avocado toast and I immediately wanted to recreate that as well. I decided to just make both, using crostini as my base for a few different tiny toast varieties.
French baguettes are less than $2 at the grocery store. You can slice them into whatever thickness you want your toast, and lay them out on a lined baking sheet. I sprayed them with olive oil and popped in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes. Even if they don’t have quite as much of a golden glow as you’d like, I wouldn’t cook them longer than 10 minutes. They really crunch up. A few of mine were overcooked and we joked that we needed subtitles on our show because we couldn’t hear the words over the sound of our chewing!
For our tiny toast toppings, we had mashed avocado, sliced cherry tomatoes, shredded hard boiled eggs, thinly sliced apple, cherry jam, brie cheese, honey, balsamic vinegar, and everything but the bagel seasoning. I made one of each variety and went back for seconds! You have to try this brunch idea for your next girls get together. They were SO CUTE and tasty and it really wasn’t much effort to throw together.
I’m currently in the middle of two intriguing books. April is my turn to host book club, and I picked Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes. I loved Me Before You, which is a movie now if you aren’t interested in reading the book. As you know, I’m always in the middle of an audiobook and a physical book at the same time. Somone Else’s Shoes is my audiobook right now, which I usually listen to on 1.3x speed to get through it a little faster. Sometimes they just talk so slow! But the narrator is British and one of the characters has a THICK cockney accent which I already can’t understand so I have to put it back to normal speed. It’s so funny that she is speaking English, my native language, and it is still so difficult to grasp what she’s saying. Sometimes I’m listening in my car and I just giggle because it truly sounds like someone speaking a foreign language haha.
The physical book I’m reading right now is The Younger Wife, which my friend Rebecca sent to me in her birthday present for Brynnley which was so sweet! The next episodes of Love is Blind don’t come out until Friday so I should be able to get in a few more chapters tonight and tomorrow ;)
It’s almost time to pick out my seeds and plant my vegetable garden again! This will be my third spring/summer growing a little veggie patch in my backyard garden box and I’m excited for Brynnley to be old enough to come water it with me and watch everything grow. She will at least be able to share some fresh picked blackberries with me! Those are my mini updates for this spring so far, and I will leave you with some Easter cuteness until my next post. :)
