Month: May 2010

by Allison 5 • 31 • 2010

beautiful thrifted set of vintage dessert glasses.

It’s been too long since my last thrift store haul trip, and I’m going through withdrawals. I don’t need any more stuff. In fact, I’m tossing things out of my house as fast as my little hands can go, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want new stuff.

I forgot entirely about these glasses though, until I started putting glasses back on shelves last week, after our massive kitchen nightmare renovation. Aren’t they beautiful?

I picked them up and put them back at least a half dozen times before they finally ended up coming home with me. They were only .99 cents, but I had a hard time justifying them. What do I need with 6 vintage dessert glasses? I don’t host dinner parties very often ever, and I think they’d be wasted on my children.

I couldn’t resist though. And for the low, low price of $6 I have a set of beautiful glasses in which to serve: jell-o with a little whip cream on top, mini pieces of pie, individual trifles {cute!}, and any other combination of dessert loveliness I can dream up.

What do you think? Steal, or fail?… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison 5 • 31 • 2010

easy way to volunteer in your community.

I’ve looked for ways to volunteer with my kids in our community for years. It’s a really difficult prospect logistically because kids are a liability frankly, you can’t take them with you if you’re building a house for Habitat For Humanity. It’s something that has really bothered me, this dearth of volunteering opportunities with children, because I’m anxious to teach my kids about service, selflessness, give them a chance to look outside their own luxurious lives for a minute and help someone else.

I haven’t had any luck really finding volunteer opportunities up to this point, and when I wanted to volunteer at our closest local food bank {which is an hour away} as part of my ConAgra Feeding America campaign, I was told the cutoff for the family volunteer day is 6 years old. Charming is 5.

However, there was a loophole. Of sorts. When the Food Bank delivers food to elderly and house bound families it’s delivered in a brown cardboard box. The Food Bank allows volunteer groups to decorate the boxes so when they’re delivered there’s a little extra cheer added to the equation.

It was the perfect solution. I drove to Salt Lake City, picked up … >> find out more…

Allison

by Allison 5 • 31 • 2010

what to wear to the pool.

As you’re preparing to go to the pool this summer, think about taking your swimwear to the next level. I mean, obviously it’s critical to have a really great swimsuit, but I like to knock it out of the ballpark with cute shoes and accessories

What are you wearing on your way to the pool or the beach? What are you wearing when you’re not in the water? These are critical questions. Life or death critical. Almost.

Luckily really adorable swimsuit cover-ups are popping up all over the place. Gone are the days of wearing your favorite long white t-shirt over your swimsuit in hopes of staying a little more, uh, covered. There are literally hundreds of flattering cover-ups for you to choose from, and a lot of them are inexpensive, so grab a couple and rock ‘em all summer long.

To sass yourself up another notch, wear cute shoes to the pool. High heels or wedges give your tush a little boost and make you walk a little taller, both of which make you look foxy.

The first time I wore heels with my swimsuit I felt like an idiot, but it didn’t take long for me to … >> find out more…

Allison

by Allison 5 • 28 • 2010

Child Hunger Ends Here part 3

You know how I’ve been talking about my partnership with ConAgra Foods on the Child Hunger Ends Here Neighborhood Rally campaign? It’s almost over. And I want to know if you got involved somehow in your own neighborhood. Today I received a plastic bag in the mail to donate canned food through the post office. That’s a start.

Some of my fellow blogging friends have been hosting rallies of their own across the country, raising money one party at a time to donate to their communities. There’s still time if you want to get involved!

About this time of year I start having garage sales, one after the other, to clean out all the accumulated Winter clutter. If you were to do the same and donate the proceeds {or part of the proceeds} to Child Hunger Ends Here, we could put a small dent in the hunger problem in our local communities.

My favorite part about the whole campaign is that all the money raised locally and donated online stays in your community. So the kids in your neighborhood could theoretically be benefiting from your yard sale, lemonade stand, or bake sale. Do it. Do it with your kids, … >> find out more…

Allison

by Allison 5 • 26 • 2010

Aaaaaaand……we’re back!

Remember how I said the re-design process was a rocky, rough, tricky, painful, nightmare-ish road?

I didn’t say all those things? I should have.

But, the good news is, I’m back! And better than ever. We’re just going to jump back in and pretend nothing happened. It will be better for all of us if we just brush that little incident under the carpet. A thing of the past.

However, if you were a subscriber, would you do me a favor and re-subscribe? I lost all my subscribers in the transition. See what I mean about painful/nightmare/bumps & bruises?

If you weren’t a subscriber to start with, now’s your chance! The subscribe button is in the top right-hand corner by the search bar. See it? Click on it. I’ll wait.

Now we can be forever friends, you and I.

Thanks for being patient everyone. Welcome to the new and improved Petit Elefant.… >> find out more…

Allison

by Allison 5 • 24 • 2010

Petit Elefant Blog Redesign.

Well, sorta.

We pulled the trigger and it’s happening baby, Petit Elefant has a new look and feel. The new layout has been in the works for a little over 6 months and is finally suitable for public consumption. It’s been a rocky road getting here, and it’s not over yet. If you click on something and it doesn’t work, let me know so I can fix it, will you? We’re working through all the bugs one category at a time, but it’s going to take a while to get the whole thing running smoothly.

What do you think of the new digs though, huh? I’m in love with the header Alma Loveland designed for me, and I’m really keen on the photo subcategories on the side. Poor Viktor was tasked with the whole thing and has been pulling his hair out for the better part of the year trying to get it up and running.

Good job Viktor, my hat’s off to you.… >> find out more…

Allison

by Allison 5 • 21 • 2010

Cirque du Soleil.

A few nights ago we went as a family to see Cirque du Soleil in Salt Lake City. I had some hazy expectations of little gymnast girls in hoops, people flinging themselves across the stage in acrobatic fashion, someone hanging from the ceiling at some point. I told the kids as we left the house it would be something like the circus, cool and exciting and somewhat entertaining.

I’m not sure what I was thinking. Nothing, apparently.

I can’t tell you the last time I watched something quite so remarkable. Breathtaking. Heart stopping.

I spent the whole of the show shaking my head “No, that’s impossible, how do they do that?”.

My advice to you is thussly: if you ever have the chance to see Cirque du Soleil run, don’t walk, to get yourself some tickets. Take the kids, take your friends, go alone and eat some cotton candy all by yourself *ahem*.