Last Day of the Giveaway & OOTD

Hi everyone…I just wanted to remind you that I am giving away a $25.00 Anthropologie Gift Card to one lucky reader. Simply follow the rules here, and you will be entered to win!  Today is the last day to enter the contest. 

Shirt: Anthropologie Gust of Grey Blouse 

Pants: Banana Republic Suiting Pants (old)

Shoes: Shoes: Gianni Bini High Road Heels

OXOX Natasha

DIY: Diaper Cake

Hi everyone…I hope that you are having a great week so far.  I mentioned earlier this week that I would post some instructions on how to make a diaper cake.  Unfortunately, I don’t have step by step pictures, but hopefully you'll find these instructions to be informative.  Below is a list of all of the ingredients that you will need to create a diaper cake.  

Ingredients:

• 60 Diapers: (depends on how big the cake is) I used one package of stage 2 diapers (the smaller the diaper, the more diapers you will need for the cake). You can use either white or patterned diapers.
• Ribbons: ½ or 1 inch wide and ¼ inch wide (any width is fine), patterned to fit the baby shower theme i.e. pastel blue or pink.
• 36-60 Small Rubber Bands (depending on how you want to “build” the cake)
• 1 Package of Large Rubber Bands

• 1 Roll of Double Sided Tape

• Scissors
• 2 Baby Bottles (8-oz.)
• A Large Piece of Cardboard or A Large Plastic Cake Platter
• Cake Decorations: artificial flowers, pacifiers, wash cloths, baby hygiene products, toys or any baby items that could fit on the cake. 

Instructions:

Step One: Roll Up Diapers

Take all of the diapers out of the package and roll each diaper up tightly, tucking in the tab design.  After you roll a diaper, then place a rubber band in the center. When finished, each diaper should look like a rolled up diploma.

Step Two: Prepare the Base

Cut out a circle or a rectangle from a cardboard box.  The cut out should be large enough to place your baby diaper cake on. Wrap it with paper or tin foil.  Or you can use a plastic cake platter or serving platter.  Securely tape both of the baby bottles together placing one on top of the other and remove the bottle cover and nipple.  Then secure the bottom bottle to the middle of the cardboard box or cake plate. 

Step Three:  Assemble the Bottom Layer of the Cake

Take a large rubber band around the baby bottle and gather a few of the rolled up diapers and stand up long ways, going around the baby bottle.  Gather more diapers and assemble the diapers around the first ring and secure the ring with a large rubber band.  This completes the second ring.  For the outer ring, gather a few more diapers and go around one last time and secure with a large rubber band.  This completes the third ring and the bottom layer of the cake.  Take the ribbon and go all the way around the entire layer.  Make sure the ribbon covers the rubber bands. Cut ribbon long enough to go around the bottom layer of the cake.  I used two types of ribbons because I couldn’t find a ribbon that said it’s a boy.

Step Four: Assemble the Top Layer of the Cake

To assemble the top layer place the diapers on top of the bottom layer.  For the first ring of the top layer, gather a few diapers and place them around the baby bottle.  Secure the first ring with a large rubber band. For the second ring, gather a few diapers around the first ring.  Secure the second with a large rubber band.  The top layer has only two rings. Gather ribbon around the entire top layer, making sure to cover the rubber bands. Cut the ribbon long enough to go around the top layer of the cake.

Step Five: Decorate Cake

 
Tuck flowers, pacifiers, wash cloths, baby hygiene products, and toys between the layers.  Secure the items with double sided tape.  Place some flowers inside the opening of the baby bottle and cover any spaces of the bottle with flowers.

Here are some pictures of two diaper cakes that I made recently: 

I hope that was helpful.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

OXOX Natasha

  

Fitness: Gate River Run 2011 Recap

I forgot to post my review of the Gate River Run 15k race that I ran a couple weeks ago, so here it is.

The morning of March 12, 2011 didn’t go exactly like I had planned.  My running partner and I decided to meet at 6:45am to head over to Jacksonville Fairgrounds to line up near the starting line.  I was little anxious the night before the race and didn’t get enough sleep. Unfortunately, my lack of sleep caused me to wake up a little late.  Okay…I was more than a little late.   I was so late that I didn’t have any time to eat breakfast.  Big mistake… this will never happen again. I’m not one of those runners who can run on an empty stomach.  Anyways since I was pressed for time, I headed to our agreed meeting point with hopes that I would find some food.   But, there wasn’t any food anywhere.  As the race started, I just hoped that I would make it through the 9.3 mile race without passing out. 

I ran the first 3.1 miles with no problems, but the lack of food started to effect me greatly.  I lost my running buddy after 3.25miles, because I had to stop and try to restore some of my energy.  I tried to grab every type of food and drink I could get my hands on along the race course, but there wasn’t much food left.  I tried to maintain my speed and I motivated myself to keep running.  Besides running low on fuel, the most difficult part of the race was the last mile over the Hart Bridge.  The incline to the top of the bridge took a lot out of me, but once I got to the top I only had a half mile left mostly downhill.  The race course throughout San Marco was beautiful and the weather wasn’t too hot to run in the morning.  There were amazing local residents that handed out some food and drinks for the runners and local bands played music throughout the race.  Overall, the race was an enjoyable experience despite my rookie mistake.

I finished the Gate River Run with pretty good stats for my first time!  I finished in 1 hour and 45 minutes. I placed 499 out of 1072 in my age group and I placed 3234 overall.   I like to think that I would have done better if I ate some food in the morning, but I’m super happy with my results!  Here are some more stats about the race: there were 7377 male finishers, 7602 female finishers and 14979 total finishers. 

Here are some of my do’s based on my rookie mistakes for this year’s race:

DO eat a breakfast at least 2 hours before the race. 

DO sync your iPod and pick a playlist at least one day before the race. 

DO get to the stadium at least 30 minutes before the gun goes off.

DO stop at each water/Gatorade station or carry your own water with you. 

DO wear sunscreen/sunblock or wear a sun visor/baseball cap to block the sun.  

DO the Gate River Run again next year.

OXOX Natasha

*photo credit: Florida Times Union



miscellany monday

happy monday everyone – i’ve added my random ramblings to carissa’s miscellany monday party!  check out carissa’s blog here and join in on the fun. 

{one} superman.  i'm watching superman iii right now and i haven’t seen it in years.  this is the one where superman turns mean, gets drunk and tries to kill his alter ego, kent.  i’ve always loved the superman series and in my opinion, christopher reeves is the one and only superman.   

{two} britney spears.  i have to admit, i’ve been a britney spears fan for some time now.   i don’t know about this new cd, but i can’t wait to hear it.  tomorrow, march 29th, britney will be performing in a special concert on good morning america in san francisco.  her album, femme fatale is set for release tomorrow!

*photo credit: ny daily news

{three} diaper cake.  a few weeks ago, my office hosted a surprise baby shower for one of my co-workers.   she was completely surprised.  i decided to make a diaper cake for her and i think it came out pretty okay.  have you ever made a diaper cake before?  if you are interested, i plan to add step by step instructions on how to make this cake under the diy section of my page later this week.

OXOX Natasha