Happy March! I just love March because it's the beginning of spring! The beginning of each season is always my favorite. And right now, the air is crisp, the veggies are ripe and the outdoors is calling my name. When I think March, I automatically start thinking DIY. I'm not a crafty or DIY type of person. At all. Ever. I don't even own a hot glue gun. But with the cheery days of spring arriving, I start watching HGTV and get inspired to do a few things around my house.
So...I thought the perfect person to co-host this March edition of Shay's Pajama Party is my sweet friend (and fabulous DIY-er) Cassie from Hi Sugarplum!
Hi, I'm Cassie, a DIY and design-obsessed Texas girl, and lover of travel, fashion, sarcasm and Mexican food. When I'm not hanging with my sweet and funny family, you can find me kicking the '80s out of our home, one budget project at a time, on my blog Hi Sugarplum!
I just love reading Cassie's blog because she's all about fresh, simple, fun and very practical DIY ideas (along with some crazy cute fashion and yummy recipes). She also has this adorable family who love traveling together...a girl after my own heart.
I mean...look at them? What J Crew catalog did they step out of? Like the prettiest family. Ever.
Cassie is just the kind of girl you want to be friends with.
So...DIY plus March equals a night in my pjs with Cassie.
We're curled up in our jammies, sipping coffee and eating her insanely delicious Peanut Butter Brownie Bars with a Cookie Crust and discussing her recent trip to Puerto Rico and her latest in DIY.
I'm telling Cassie about how I'm participating in Mel's 40 Bags in 40 Days and that it's really helping me spring clean. Then I ask her about her spring cleaning rituals.
Cassie: I’m more inspired by a new year, and I start whole-house purging and organizing. I recently tackled our Pantry, Bathroom Cabinets, Junk Drawer and Garage, and it’s been life-changing. We also created a Family Command Center and Gift Wrap Station and those have made life sooooo much smoother.
Me: So Cassie, what is your best organization tip?
Cassie: You have to start every organizing project with a clean slate….so dump it all out! Sure it’s a hot mess, but it always gets worse before it gets better! Sort everything into Keep, Toss and Donate piles…and be ruthless! Labeling is also key in helping everyone in the family know where stuff goes. Nobody wants to see mommy’s head spin around!
Me: Spring cleaning makes me think of freshening up my home with a few new decorations too. After the holiday season, where your home is full of wonderful holiday decorations, what do you do to freshen up your house for spring?
Cassie: Swap out your throw pillows and bedding for bright and colorful patterns, add cheery houseplants, and clear away the clutter that’s accumulated over long the Winter.
I love this idea! Everyone knows how much I love swapping out my family's bedding for each season (sheets and such). I love the idea of changing out the throw pillows too!
Me: What DIY projects do you have on your plate this month?
Cassie: I started on a Craft Closet, and I’m determined to finish that. And after 8 years in our house, the kids have each had two room makeovers, yet we haven’t had one (see theirs hereand here)!? Why do we always neglect our personal spaces? I’m excited to finally jump on that project. Oh yeah, and I just finished a table makeover that involves gold and snakeskin….can’t wait to share that one!!
At this point, I explain to Cassie that I am craft challenged and don't even own a glue gun or know where exactly we keep our hammer. She assures me we can still be friends.
After chatting about what a failure I am to the craft community, we move on to a topic I can really appreciate...food.
What is our favorite treat to make for our kiddos this time of year?
Me: We love making anything with lemon! For us, spring and lemon go hand in hand. My Lemon Whoopie Pies are very popular in my house this time of year.
Cassie: As soon as the weather heats up, we pull out the Cuisinart Ice Cream maker. It’s the most genius little machine ever…dump in a few ingredients, and BAM…homemade ice cream. Oh, who am I kidding…we use it year-round. We even made cinnamon ice cream to go with our pumpkin cake last Fall!
What is our favorite thing to make for supper this time of year?
Me: My Pasta with Bacon and Corn is my very favorite thing to make. Ever. And it's the perfect spring time pasta!
Cassie: Since sprucing up our back patio, we grill and eat outside a lot. And fortunately, my husband is not a meat-and-potatoes only kind of guy…he’s just thrilled I made dinner! So when the produce sections start exploding, our favorite meal is fresh corn on the cob, bruchetta with crusty French bread, and fruit salad. Don’t be fooled, we aren’t that healthy…we usually round out the meal with a berry cobbler with vanilla ice cream.
As we get our second (or maybe third) helping of Cassie's yummy brownie bars, we started chatting about what we wear during the transitional month of March.
What is the most worn item in your closet during the month of March?
Me: My light military jacket and new neutral Toms seem to be what I'm wearing the most this month.
Cassie: I’m ready to ditch the itchy sweaters and coats, and replace them with colorful, lightweight blouses and scarves. My fitted denim jacket will be in heavy rotation, too, since it looks great with almost everything, and is a great transitional piece.
Some of our favorite transitional clothes...
Colored Shorts, Flowy Top, Striped Tee
And our favorite transitional shoes too...
Leopard Flats, Perfect Wedges, Toms
Me: Now, I know your family just spent Spring Break in Puerto Rico (fabulous!). Tell me about your love of traveling.
Cassie: My husband and I are also big on taking kid-free trips, and have done so every year we’ve been together…it’s a great time to reconnect, and remember we’re more than just ‘mommy & daddy.’ In fact, traveling is why we’re so big on budget decorating and DIYing…we’d rather spend the money eating our way through Italy. Our kids sometimes wish we had a bigger house or newer cars, but we prefer to give them experiences and memories that last a lifetime. You can read about some of our favorite trips here.
Here is Cassie earlier in the week in Puerto Rico. Lucky girl!
At the end of every PJ Party, I ask my friends the same set of questions. Let's see how Cassie answers...
1.
What is your favorite cosmetic?
I’m not much on makeup, but you can bet I almost always have on mascara….Falsies by Mabeline is my favorite.
2.
What is your favorite beauty product (not makeup)?
My hair is completely bi-polar…not straight, not curly…and certainly not the perfect in-between beachy wave. So unless I plan on wearing a hat, I have to tame the beast with a curling wand.
3.
What is your favorite TV show?
I don’t watch a lot of ‘real time’ TV, instead we get hooked on past series and watch them as a marathon. We recently stayed up waaaaay to late with Breaking Bad, Dexter and Homeland. We just started House of Cards, and we’re already hooked. There was one season of the The Bachelor we watched, but I can’t remember which one. ;)
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess this season...with that Sean guy.
4.
What is your favorite vacation destination?
Every time we come home from a trip, I think to myself, ‘That was my favorite place we’ve ever been.’ But, really, I just love to go anywhere! We tend to travel to places that are so completely different from what we live everyday…so if I had to choose, I’d say Santorini, Parisand Cinque Terre.
5.
What is your favorite pair of shoes?
Shay and I are wedge-sisters…I’m on the shortie side, so I like a little more height. My favorite boots this winter were these, and I can’t wait to pull theseout for Spring. After I get a pedicure, of course, yikes! Ain’t nobody wants to see what’s been closed up in boots for 5 months!
Cassie's favorite booties for spring!
6.
What is your favorite nail polish?
I thought I liked a whole array of colors, but when I organized my polish last year, it was pretty clear I leaned towards the reddish-pinkish-coral family. Opi ‘Cajun Shrimp’ has been my go-to since high school. (So like, 5 years, in case you’re wondering.)
I tell Cassie how I'm Cajun Shrimp obsessed too! It's the perfect reddish-pink color!
7.
What is your favorite chick-flick movie?
I’m not afraid to be cliché and say, ‘The Notebook.’ When Ryan Gosling says, ‘It wasn’t over! It still isn’t over!’ then proceeds to maul Rachel McAdams…I get all short-of-breath. And let’s not forget the other Gosling scene in ‘Crazy Stupid Love’ where he does the dirty dancing lift with Emma Stone! Speaking of ‘Dirty Dancing,’ I might know every single line. Okay, I totally do.
8.
What is your favorite book?
Before blogs, I was an avid reader. Now I find myself reading about my ‘virtual friends.’ But my fave Summer reads are Laura Hillenbrand…and it’s hard to beat a good James Patterson or Nelson DeMille thriller.
9.
What is your favorite ice cream?
Haagen Daz chocolate or orchard peach sorbet. With sugar cookies on the side, of course. Everything is better with a cookie. You can knit that on a pillow if you’d like.
10.
Who would star in a movie based on your life?
I guess I’d be alright with Reese Witherspoon taking the lead. Although, my husband thinks he was able to scoop me up because the first time we met he told me I looked like Meg Ryan. Let me clarify…pre-injections Meg Ryan.
I'm laughing really hard right now. Just sayin'...
11.
What is your least favorite household chore?
Anything that involves bending over and scrubbing. And the dishwasher…why is it always full?! When my son got old enough to pitch in, don’t think that wasn’t the first chore I put on his list! Finally, a kick-back for having kids! #ikid
12.
What’s one quirky fact about yourself that most people don’t know?
I don’t really think I have any hidden quirks…they are all out there for the world to see!
And for fun, I thought I'd show you three of my favorite Hi Sugarplum DIY projects...you will love all of them!
Cassie's DIY Marble Tray looks so expensive but she made it herself!
Isn't this DIY Confetti Vase so cute?!?!
DIY Otomi Table is perfect for patios this spring and summer!
To see more of Cassie's DIY gallery, click here.
Thank you so much Cassie for coming to my pajama party! I just love you dearly! You can find more Cassie by visiting her blog Hi Sugarplum or finding her in these awesome places too...
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
And in other fun news...
Gap is having their Friends and Family sale this weekend!!
Hello?! Perfect timing for Spring and Summer essentials!! Click here to see it all and use promo code SAVE40!
And for some awesome St. Paddy's Day treats, check out my foodie blog today!
What a fun Friday!! Have a great weekend everyone!