Fun | A Joyful Riot

OUR FIRST VIDEO! DIY Balloon Animal Soft Toys | A Joyful Riot on Youtube, Crafting (or at Least Trying to) with Our Kids

October 15, 2018 ·

Our first foray into YouTube is silly, frustrating, and very mommy-relatable! Make DIY Balloon Animal Soft Toys with your kids (tugging at you) and our easy-to-follow Spoonflower designs!

We did it!! After the Party Starters videos we shot last year for food.com we had the desire to get into making our own videos. But, like everything else this last year, it’s been really hard to get done! We’ve had a hard enough time just completing our blog posts, let alone learn a whole new medium and website!

I finally had the idea to try and incorporate my kids into the videos because heaven knows that it would be near impossible not to! I also thought this would just be fun! As moms, our kids are always right around wanting our attention and to “help” with projects.

I think there is a tendency to see things online and wonder if that mom has a lot of help. Maybe the kids go to daycare? Is here a nanny? Could she be so lucky that her kids play by themselves? The truth is, those things are the case for many blogging mommies out there. I’ve heard stories of bloggers who send their kids to daycare all day, and bring them back just to pose for pictures. But that’s certainly not the case for me. While it would be so nice to have even a couple hours a day, it’s not something we’re able to do.

Introducing A Little Riot! Handmade Vintage Hairbows for Littles

July 31, 2018 ·

We are thrilled to introduce you to our handmade one-of-a-kind limited release Etsy shop, A Little Riot. Soft and high-quality handmade vintage hairbows made from repurposed handkerchiefs. Perfect for girls of all ages and all occasions.

A little over 3 years ago, I grabbed one of my cutest vintage handkerchiefs, folded it up, slid it into a headband and popped it on my 1 year old daughter. It made the cutest bow ever! I was absolutely in love with the colors, design, flounce! I embarked on a journey then to create a line of adorable handmade vintage hairbows.

That’s right, its been over 3 years since I first dreamed up A Little Riot, the baby goods store that would house these unique handmade vintage hairbows! And I’m just now getting around to opening it’s doors! I’m disappointed by how long it’s taken me to bring these handmade vintage hairbows to the world. But, honestly, I feel like the last couple years were just out of my hands! I did my best and that’s what matters. And, now, it’s time to introduce you to A Little Riot! *Confetti blasts everywhere!*/

She Believed She Could–Supporting Equal Education Opportunities for Young Women

August 25, 2017 ·

Well I started my next semester of school this week! I am still working on my bachelors degree. I graduated high school 10 years ago so that’s about how long this has taken me so far. I’m not doing anything special and I’m not even a real big advocate for college in general (Malissa will shudder when she reads that, we’ve always disagreed here haha) but I’ve just been so far along in it for so many years now that I definitely want to finish!

For some reason, I thought it was smart to go the slow route. Continue in a part time job and with the rest of life and just do what I could on the side. Looking back, I don’t think this is smart financially. But, it has served me pretty well and even regretting it, it’s still what I continue to do. Just one to three classes here and there. Now, with two kids, I really don’t have any other choice. I can’t just go 15 credit hours a semester, so I’m doing what I can.

Regardless of how long it’s taken me, I am continually grateful that I have the choice. The choice to go slow, the choice to go part time, the choice to take a semester here or there off, just the choice to go at all! And its really not much harder than that. I decide, “hey, this semester looks good!” and then I sign up for classes, make some arrangements for my kids, and then go. That’s basically it.

Unfortunately that is a lucky way to get to live. It wasn’t that long ago when many people simply didn’t have the choice. And it was even more recent when women didn’t have the choice at all. Even sadder still, there are still places in the world where women don’t have that choice or opportunity.

I am eternally grateful for all the women who came before me who helped to blaze the path of equality, especially for education. Whether I believe college is the one true path to success or not, I do believe it was the path to many, many women’s success and it levels the playing field in ways nothing else has or ever could. In order to pass on that gratitude just a little bit, we actively look for ways to continue blazing that path for those who aren’t so fortunate yet. So when we saw this She Believed She Could Bangle we were happy to nab one for ourselves and share their message.

A portion of the proceeds goes to help provide young girls in developing countries with the basic right to an education. The people behind this cute little bracelet believe that education is central to ending global poverty and we couldn’t agree more! Because we do believe that education is a fundamental right, and that it is an essential part of creating a better world, we love this bangle project.

It comes in silver or gold, and it features a delicate style that goes with basically everything and rests comfortably on your wrist. For me, comfort is paramount with bracelets. I cannot stand when a bracelet interferes with my day at all! When I’m typing, or crafting, or changing a diaper (lol), I need my jewelry to stay out of my way. And this bangle is light enough that I don’t even notice it going about my tasks but lovely enough that I feel good wearing it. Plus, who doesn’t love this quote?

So if equality is your thing (it should be!), or you just like cute bracelets (who doesn’t?), or this quote inspires you (it inspires me!) then this bracelet is for you! You can get your own right here and feel good about this little purchase.

We received this bangle for free in exchange for helping to pass along the message of education equality. All opinions expressed here are my own! Thanks!

Introducing: Party Starters! Videos to Help You Throw the Best Themed Nights Ever!

July 31, 2017 ·

We are so excited to introduce to you a series of videos we hosted in collaboration with Food.com! A few months ago, we had the opportunity to feature four amazing DIY parties and show how to create tons of party crafts, decorations, favors, and recipes!

Malissa and I spent a couple months putting together these parties and really poured our heart and soul into each! Along with our creative directors at Food.com, we came up with four fun themes and 12 DIY elements for you to follow along with! Each party has its own video, and each DIY element has been broken down into its own short segment for you to watch as well.

Among The Ruins in Athens | #ajoyfuladventure

May 23, 2016 ·

I am so behind in posting about our travels but I wanted to share a few photographs from our brief time in Athens (with a bonus layover in Amsterdam)! This was all the way back in February and I wanted to do one post of the entire trip but as soon as I took a look at our photos I knew that I needed more editing time. So this will be part I (part II will feature the gorgeous lands of Tuscany).

Despite it being one of the coldest months in Athens, our few days in February actually turned out quite lovely weather-wise. It ended up being in the low 70’s and with all the walking we did that temperature was perfect. But given that almost everything on the islands was shut down we skipped Santorini and Crete to stay in and around Athens – with the compromise that we would definitely someday soon make a trip to those gorgeous islands.

Our hotel was right next to Acropolis hill so we woke up a wonderful view. The above is actually taken from the top of Mount Lycabettus which offered a remarkable view of the city. Of course the very first thing we did in Athens was eat some delicious pita and tzatziki (delicious) and then the next morning we walked up to the Acropolis. I am sure most of you know this but the Acropolis refers to the actual settlement on the hill, not any of the buildings and includes multiple ruins, most notably the Parthenon.

Stairs leading up to the Propylaea – the gateway/entrance.

Above is the Temple of Athena Nike – built around 426-421 BC to honor Athena Nike, the goddess of victory.

Erechtheion- 421-206 BC and dedicated to Athena and Poseidon. On the side there you can see six Ionic columns, and on the south, the famous “Porch of the Maidens”, with six draped female figures (caryatids). Those are actually replicas and 5 of the original caryatids and now in the Acropolis Museum at the base of the site. However, one remaining caryatid is at the British Museum in London, yet to be returned from when Lord Elgin stole it in the 1800s. Which, don’t get me started on that. Everything that they took should be returned to the Acropolis Museum so that anyone who travels all the way to Athens can see the columns and friezes.