Summer Farewell Party Ideas

It's always bittersweet saying farewell to summer and hello to fall, but these 5 amazing and breath taking party ideas are sure to soften the blow! 

Classy Dinner Party via Your Homebased Mom

Backyard Movie Night via Design Sponge

Fancy Shmancy Smores Party via Cookie Creatives by Jennifer

Somewhere Over the Rainbow Party via Kara's Party Ideas 

Endless Summer Fruity Bash via One Sweet Party

One Year Ago Today... (+ a giveaway!!)

One year ago today, Jen and I launched eat.sleep.make.  Within our first post we instilled a long list of dreams and hopes, expectations, and a lot of fear and insecurity.  We had no idea how this would turn out.  We weren't sure if we'd be able to keep coming up with things to create, to motivate and inspire.  We didn't know if anyone would read it or share it.

All we knew is it was something we wanted.  So we did it.

And we are SO glad we did!

This past year has been challenging to say the least. We've both had our individual struggles.  Fortunately, blogging together is what has made this all possible.  If one of us has a rough week, the other steps in, no questions asked.  Her success is my success.  We inspire each other.  We encourage each other.  And because of all that, this little world of ours called eat.sleep.make. has become a success! 

Of course, it's all because of our readers.  YOU guys are the reason we do this.  We love the excitement we feel when we see a project that inspires us on another blog, and we wanted to be able to instill that same excitement in others.  There's no doubt in our minds that we are succeeding because in the last year we've made some incredible friends via eat.sleep.make.  Your unconditional love of ESM pushes us to keep creating.  THANK YOU for making us what we are today.  We love you all so much!

We wanted to share with you our personal faves from ESM over the past year.  These projects aren't  picked based on hits and popularity, but on what we loved doing the most.

DIY Wood Matting

Welcome Little Deer Baby Sprinkle

Vintage Dollhouse Spice Rack

High - Low Racerback Tunic

Two-Sided Leggings

Micro-Dino Taxidermy

Grilled Peaches & Cream

DIY Kitty City

American Apparel Inspired Wired Head Scarf

Kid's Arrow Flutter Tee

So to celebrate one year since the birth of eat.sleep.make. we want to give you the chance to win some of the goodies we've made over the past year!  Enter our little giveaway and one winner will get a surprise package from us!  It will contain 2 projects from each of us that we've done in the last year. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FOOD: Portabello Sliders & Crispy Garlic Brussel Sprouts

One of my favorite meaty foods as a vegetarian is mushrooms.  I love me some fungi!  This portabello slider is such a quick and easy meal... and it's DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:  

Portabello caps

EVOO

Balsamic Vinegar

Garlic

Asiago Cheese

Tomato Slices

Alfalfa Sprouts

Multi grain bread (I used multi grain ciabatta.. yummy!)

First, get the dirt of your bellos.  If the stems are still attached, cut them out, hollowing out the center.  

Next, drizzle some EVOO and balsamic vinegar in a frying pan on medium heat.  Place the bello in the pan and let cook for a few minutes on each side (top and bottom) flipping with tongs.  When you notice liquid starting to bubble up in the center when the hollow part is facing you, it's most likely cooked all the way through.  Now add your yummy stuffing!

I sliced garlic finely, then filled the rest of the cap with shredded asiago cheese.  Cover the caps with a lid to trap the heat and allow the cheese to melt.  

Once the cheese has melted, you are good to go!  

I chose some fresh brussel sprouts to accompany my sliders.  Just cut them in half and put in a big sauce pan with EVOO, salt, pepper and granulated garlic.  Sear them until the granulated garlic has turned crispy and almost caramelized on the sprouts.  

Now eat and let the chorus of mmmmmms and yummmmms and oh my's ring!

Check out our Link Party Page to see where we link up each week!

CRAFT: A Coral Flutter Tee + Bloopers

I made another one of these shirts. They're just so comfy, and perfect for any season really when you add a cardi or jacket. This Flutter Tee was made out of a fussier knit than the interlock I used last time. I found juuuuust enough in the remnant bin at JoAnn's and loved it right away, but my machine did not. I pretty much felt like I was fighting with the fabric the entire time because the edges kept curling up on me, but it was completely worth it.

Jess offered a really helpful hint awhile ago to use spray starch for any super curly edges when working with knits. It may be a no-brainer for everyone else, but I was like, "why didn't I think of that??" This time I just left the edges raw since I like the look of the curled edges and, hey, it's knit and I can dangit. But also I'm lazy like that.

By the end of a project, many times I just don't feel like hemming, you know? There needs to be a group for lazy sewers like me. We'd all sit around and eat cookies and pick stitches that got all wonky because we didn't take time to iron properly. I'd join for the cookies alone.

Anyways back to the shirt. Rather than making and adding hem tape around the neck like in the original tutorial, I simply folded down the neck and armholes 1/4 inch then ironed and folded down another 1/4 inch and sewed. It makes for a quicker sew and still looks great.

I'm sure everyone's noticed I've been working a LOT with knits lately. There are just so many different colors and fun prints to choose from that I've gotten hooked! I'm sure it's also pretty evident that I like to dig through the remnant bin. Guilty. I just can't pass up that extra 10% off.

In other news, my modeling poses are still not America's Top Model-quality, but hopefully they're getting better. I've been trying to make myself a few more things lately to force myself out of my comfort zone. I think I've mastered the "stare down at shirt" technique.

For fun, I thought I'd share some of the not-so-awesome pictures that didn't make the cut (please pardon the overexposure. Part of the reason they didn't make the cut, along with the awesome facial expressions of course.)

Feel free to add your own caption to this last one and make me laugh :)

We Are Loving Right Now - Volume 13 - S'mores Edition

Did you know that tomorrow is National S'mores Day? If you've been reading for any amount of time, you know that I'm slightly extremely addicted to s'mores. Any get together is an opportunity to make them and, if there isn't a fire available, I'm more than happy to make them over the stove. That's the mark of a true obsession, friends!

With the summer winding down, I decided to round up 15 delicious s'mores recipes, including everything from s'mores cupcakes to ice cream floats and pancakes. Because if s'mores are in breakfast form, they must be healthy.  Right? Right.

S'mores Ice Cream Sandwiches via Eat. Sleep. Make.

Brownie S'mores on a Stick via Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

Ooey Gooey S'mores Brownie Bars via The Comfort of Cooking

Chocolate S'mores Cupcakes via Authentic Suburban Gourmet

Simple Dipped S'mores via Love From the Oven for Tipjunkie

 No-Bake S'mores Bars via The Domestic Rebel

Reeses Peanut Butter Cup S'mores via The Recipe Critic

S'more Babies via The Cooking Dish

 S'mores Ice Cream via Spache the Spatula

 S'mores Floats via In Katrina's Kitchen

 S'mores Fudge Pops via Itsy Bitsy Foodies

 S'mores Ice Cream Cake via Annie's Eats

S'mores Pancakes via Spoonful

 Grilled Chocolate Banana Melts via Tablespoon

S'mores Cake in a Jar via How Sweet It Is

Have a great weekend everyone!



MAKE: Revived Vintage Screen Garden Wall

This project was inspired by what my family thought was a very odd purchase at an estate sale for $2.  An old mesh screen framed in old wood.  It was love at first sight to me.  As soon as I saw it a hundred ideas flooded my imagination of what could be made with it. 

After a couple weeks of pondering, I settled on the idea of a garden wall.  My aloe plant (that had a bunch of babies last year) was ready to give birth yet again.  Check out my post about separating your aloe plants here.  This little wall piece was going to give me the perfect place to display my new potted baby aloe plants. 

I had seen these little white aluminum pots at Ikea months ago and knew they'd be perfect for this!  A tiny S-hook would fit perfectly in the little holes around the top.  They'll also be great to pull off this wall during the colder months and bring the plants inside where it is safe and warm. 

I love this project because it can be made appropriate for any and all seasons and holidays! 

Check out our Link Party Page to see where we link up each week!

Want to Sponsor Eat. Sleep. Make?

Shannon and I have been pouring out our creative hearts on this little blog of ours for almost a year now, and it's been SO incredibly rewarding. We've learned new techniques, met some amazing people, and received lots of wonderful emails from our fabulous readers who have made or shared our projects.

We're happy to say that ESM has matured to a point where we will be opening our blog up for sponsors! We feel like we have a lot to offer, and we'd also like to introduce our readers to some of the fantastic shops that we know and love out there (like Southern Fabric!)

We've actually been accepting sponsors for several months now, but it's about time we officially announced it, right? At this time, we offer sidebar advertisement in two ad sizes which rotate throughout the month.

You can check out our Advertising Page HERE for details, or feel free to contact us at ESM@eatsleepmake.com for stats and more info.

Interested in giveaways or product reviews?

If you would like to host a giveaway, if you have a small business or product that you would like to promote, we would love to work with you if we feel that it is appropriate for our readers. Please email us at ESM@eatsleepmake.com and we'd be happy to discuss.