Small Fry

budget home: world market

One of the post requests I got earlier this week was for more budget home posts! So down to do that! I’ll just start off this series by highlighting some of my favorite places to shop and what I love from their offerings! I have World Market on the brain since I feared a space via Hej Doll that included their outdoor seating. You guys LOVED it (so do I) so here it is again for reference. World Market is so affordable and filled with on-trend decor and furniture that, I’d say with the way Target is going, around the same prices. Here’s something I love from each category on their site: budget home: world market

This velvet green couch is such a steal! I love the legs and the lines. Would be such an easy piece to work into a bigger space of have it be the focal point, too! // This 8×10 rug is less than you’ll pay at most places. // I love this combo sputnik and sea urchin style chandelier. $250, seriously? // This gold cart is on sale and I love it for my living room. Keep toys in it and the wheels make it that much easier for clean up at the end of the day. So versatile so when you get sick of it in a space you can cart it to the next room. Bathroom cart with towels and TP? Sure thing. // This is a near 3 foot brass mirror for $130. Steal. // I love this triangle shelf. I feel like I am running out of surfaces to style and I love that this one can be out of reach for small hands. Fill it up with plants and travel knick knacks. // More shelving options, I’d buy three of this mirrored brass geometric beauty and stagger slash cluster them on the wall! // I love World Market so much for their kitchen gadgets. They have so many good ones! Never thought of this but now I need – sponge holder! You could probably get use out of it in the shower as well but keep those sponges dry and easy to find! // Such a mom right now but I’d use this copper drying rack for bottles. Why can’t everything functional be this pretty! // Bought these vintage chip clips immediately. Ikea’s don’t work or at least we don’t know how to open chip bags without ruining them so these are a much better option for us!

trader joe’s everything but the bagel seasoning

I asked Insta Stories (@smallfryblog) what I should use this seasoning for and laughed pretty hard when most of the responses were “When you find out tell me, I haven’t even opened mine!” I got lots of good ones and here are the top 10! The seasoning is garlic salt, dried onion, sesame seed and other goodness and it is such a good flavor. That sesame adds a little smokiness and it truly can be swapped out anytime you’d use salt in your savory meals. Maybe even on watermelon, although I haven’t tried it yet. And yes, its bomb on mac and cheese!

lemonade bar!

As promised here is the mixology for the lemonade bar I posted yesterday! This is such a fun one to have while hostessing. Its early enough in the party that I always welcome the distraction for guests while I get last things prepared.=PEACH RASPBERRY – Screams summer doesn’t it? Just mash peach puree and raspberry puree and add a heaping teaspoon or less of each (this is for a 6 ounce cup.) BLUEBERRY MINT – Blueberry always has that minty, herby taste to it so i think these compliment each other well! Just muddle the mint by crushing the leaves to release the oils. I like leaving the blueberries whole it makes it for a fun pop of flavor.BASIL + WATERMELON. This is one of my favorite Summer combos as a side dish or in a jar of lemonade. So good!Lastly, CHERRY + LIME. I’d add grenadine for a more classic taste but lime with a stemmed cherry garnish is the cutest.Of course guests can make up their own combos and you can have loads more mix-ins but these four are so Summery and fresh and are sure to please!Also, YES to ice, it was making it hard to see the ingredients for these photos but ice is a must and ball ice is even better since its about the same size as all the ingredients I cut up for the drinks. I buy mine in bags from Sonic! Or you can get yourself a pebble ice maker. They’re $3000 usually OR I am excited to buy this Opal version for the new house at only $500, anyone have one?

how to: shower games

Sponsored by Pampers Swaddlers. All thoughts and opinions are our own!

Shower activities get a real bad rap, maybe it’s being spoon-fed baby food with a bib on that started it? Over the years we have one tried and true shower “game” and one new dark horse that we wanted to share today! We’ll never do away with shower games completely because most of the time the showers we throw have a mix of family, close friends, work friends, neighbors and it’ totally necessary to break the ice and help make people more comfortable and get to know each other. And since there is only one diaper for a new baby in our eyes (and literally all our friends, sisters and everyone we’ve ever asked), Pampers Swaddlers could be a perfect match for your baby! It helps your baby stay comfortable and clean, while also offering a handy wetness indicator to let you know when it’s time for a diaper change.

So what are these shower activities you might ask? Here’s a few easy ideas that get people out of their shell, talking and creating! First a lemonade bar! Creating their own special concoction or one of our favorites:

LEMONADE BAR

Provide lemonade and all the add-ins and let your guests create their own concoctions! It’s the perfect first activity while guests are still arriving, is easy to talk about and discuss and everyone is all smiles while they’re doing it! Here’s 4 recipes that we love to get people started:

PEACH PUREE + RASPBERRIES, CHERRY + LIME, WATERMELON + BASIL, BLUEBERRY + MINT

SECOND: Write a note on a diaper! Unwrap a package of Pampers Swaddlers and grab a felt tip pen. Let guests write words of wisdom, encouraging notes, funny thoughts, or wishes for baby and mama on the diapers. Shower Games with Pampers These messages can be hung on a clothes line at the Shower for the mama to be to take a photo with at the end of the day. Take that picture, put it in a frame and hang it in baby’s room – it will be a great way to remind mom she is doing great, even on those crazy days! Shower Games with Pampers Give them the confidence they need when they aren’t sure what to do and that they truly are the perfect parent for their new little one!

THIRD: Another creative craft we love to have for guests to work on is DIYing their own swaddles! You can buy bulk packs of muslin swaddle blankets online now and with fabric paint and some brushes they can each create their own swaddle for the mama-to-be. If she has a motif or color scheme she loves for the nursery it’s so easy to customize to fit! This tribal DIY was so easy with triangles and straight lines galore, perfect for your anti DIY guests! picnicblanket1-700x465 Here’s the end result in giant form! picnicblanket2-681x1024 You can also swap out the swaddle idea for t-shirts. FOURTH: Now for the dark horse game! Now before we get too far into this, please know I KNOW this is whackadoodle. It came to me in a dream basically and it was for a shower for my friend’s 5th baby (1st girl!) where we knew we would need ice breakers and also that she was a good sport. The shower guests laughed all night at this, it ended up being so fun. Simply get quick phone photos of all your mama-to-be’s kiddos, husband, siblings, whoever you want included. Make sure they’re taken on the same plain wall and distance away. Print enough for each guest to have each person’s portrait and then provide scissors and glue.Let them create what they think this new baby is going to look like! We told you – totally weird but it was still a blast.