Are you as in love with these personalized travel bags as I am? I don’t mean to pat myself on the back, but I’m really excited with how they turned out. My crafts have a 50/50 chance of coming out great or failing miserably. And I embrace it. But I really like these. And I am super happy to announce that I am doing a little blogging over at King’s Hawaiian Bread. Head on over there to see my travel tips for keeping kids entertained and what to pack in these personalized bags for that long car ride.
I’m sure you are looking at these and thinking, “where are the names? You said this was personalized.” Great observation. But I have been on long car trips before and I know that some sketchy humans can be found in rest stops and tiny coffee shops in the middle of nowhere. I’d prefer that they don’t know my kid’s names. Instead, I chose to personalize them with images that go along with words that we associate with each kid. My oldest son said the word “bicycle” very early in his talking life and has remained a fact that the family talks about. My youngest son said “banana” a lot. Maybe not quite as advanced as “bicycle” but still super cute.
All you need is a blank canvas tote from your local craft store. I bought a 3-pack for about $10 and I’m sure you can find a coupon to use to get them even cheaper.
First start out by painting a pattern on the bag. For the polka dots I simply used a pencil eraser and paint.
For the other bag I decided to tape off a geometric pattern and color each area a different color.
Once the paint is dry, you will need to prepare your iron on transfers. Just follow the directions on the iron on transfer package. But remember, if you are using any words, print the reverse image so that the words come out correctly. I always print out two in case something happens to the first one. And I really hate having to stop in the middle of a project to go print another one. I know my skills and weaknesses, you may not have to print two. And for that I am super jealous. Cut out around the image.
And then iron them on. Again, follow the directions on the transfer paper. If you iron on the paint, it may melt a bit and then smear on the canvas bag. Not that that happened (do NOT look closely at the polka dot bag…). Let it cool and then peel off the backing.
There you have it. Personalized travel bags for your kids.
Head over to the King’s Hawaiian blog to see what I packed in the bags and tips for making your road trip enjoyable.
If you had to pick an image to represent your kids, what would it be?
*This post was not sponsored by Kings Hawaiian Bread. The sponsored content that I am doing for them will only be found on their blog. The DIY portion of the post was created for my readers. Isn’t getting a DIY post so much better than me just putting up a link to go read my blog post over there though?
I love visiting new places. Usually before I go somewhere I have scoped out what restaurants would be cool to try and where the cool shops are. I didn’t have to do that this time thanks to 
We checked the map and saw what our close dining options were and then we went on-line to do some research before making out decision. We decided on 
We were seated at the Chef’s counter where we could watch the kitchen staff prepare all the food. I LOVE that sort of thing. It was really fun to watch. I didn’t get any pictures of our dinner! So bummed but it was phenomenal. We decided to share a bunch of things so we could taste a bunch and it turned out to be such a good idea. We started with these ridiculous fried potatoes, Patatas Bravas, that were coated in smokey paprika and served with a spicy aioli. SO GOOD. We ordered the Wagyu Beef Stroganoff to split which was beautiful. It had these huge homemade pappardelle noodles you wanted to slurp up in a very unladylike kinda way and chunks of beef that were tender and delicious. They have a bunch of sides to choose from and we tried their Brussels Sprouts (tossed with garlic and lemon and Warm Mushrooms. I’m not a huge mushroom fan but these sounded amazing. And they were! They were tossed in a chimichurri sauce (tons of fresh herbs) and were heaven in my mouth. I have never said that about a mushroom before. Never.
So the only fitting thing to do to finish the meal was order 3 desserts. We tried the Chocolate Pudding that was served with a drizzle of olive oil and sea salt. Whoa. The olive oil was unexpected and crazy tasty. I had been craving pie so I had to get the pecan. It did not disappoint. We also got the Bread Pudding with Cardamom and ricotta.
It is one of those places that makes you super happy and super sad at the same time. We had a great time, the staff was friendly, the atmosphere was amazing (great music!) and the food was exceptional. So I’m very sad that we don’t have it at home. Tear.
Next we walked over to 
The inside of the bar was dark, as most are, but there were some great touches that made it totally cool. To start, it was SUPER clean. The doorman was totally friendly (we chatted, he was from Orange County originally) as were the bartenders. And oh yeah, they were playing black and white movies on the TVs, well until some Neanderthal came in and asked to watch sports on one of them. Gross.
This photo does not do the set up behind the bar justice. The lighting in this bar was simple but had such a great effect. They had yellowish backlights, which made all the bottles this amazing amber color from the liquid inside. And every once in a while there was a green bottle that added a nice touch of visual interest. SO well done but totally laid back. You got the feeling that they were like, hey, this would look cool and did it. I had to lighten up this photo a bunch to share the crock pot they keep of wassail (usually made with wine, fruit juice and sometimes brandy – not sure what is in theirs). I just think that is so great. So perfect for the bar, town and weather. We decided to try out something with whiskey and the bartender really worked with our tastes to create something for us. I loved it! They use good liqueur and use fresh juices to make classic cocktails in a modern and delicious way. And the bartender had a bow tie. The staff was super friendly. I love this place.
And as I was looking up to see if their site mentioned what was in their wassail, I came to find out that this is actually owned by 
Since we are totally old and started out our night at the early bird dinner time we still wanted to hang out more after our drink at Bar X. So we headed back to the Grand American for a night-cap. I wonder if all these prints made anyone dizzy?
As we walked in (Oh my gosh I find myself getting all excited about this band just writing this!) I heard live music. We headed first to the restroom and half way there I realized what I was hearing. It was Regulators by Warren G done instrumentally. What!?! It sounded amazing. So we grabbed the couch that was open by the band and listened to the 
And then I realized they sell CD’s and promptly bought one. There is some original music on there but also some MIA and 99 Problems (It’s your boy!). Why can’t they be in Orange County?!
And if you are ever in SLC you have to go by the 
As you walk in there is an entire wall of framed video screens. Each one has a different monster in it and they all move and talk and it is mesmerizing. There are other interactive areas of the store that kids would love and it is worth checking out just for the kids to see it.
My pictures do not do this store justice. I don’t know who does the buying but it is insane. Unique toys, gifts, candy – stuff you don’t see everywhere.
I wished I had room to fit this water gun pillow in my suitcase to bring it home to my boys. I love it. This would be the store I would always go to if I needed to buy a kid’s gift. They also had a fantastic book area and right away I spotted our faves by 
If you saw my post from yesterday you know that 
Cyd and Jenny were speakers on panels at Alt. My roommates were pretty much rock stars. Not sure how I ended up with that group but so glad I did. Jenny was also responsible for decorating 2(!) of the Wednesday night brand dinners (the 
Then Lauren and I headed off to dinner hosted by 
It was a great night until we learned that because the entire town was crazy busy with conferences the taxis were next to impossible to come by. The restaurant suggested we walk across the street to the mall valet where we might have better luck. So we did. And just about froze to death. I’m not sure I have ever been that cold. We didn’t think we were ever going to get home. We huddled up in the Cheesecake Factory and remembered that the hotel had a car service. They came and got us and we were finally able to thaw out. Have you heard? I’m from California. I don’t really own socks and the cold pretty much just laughed at my jacket. Side note, how cute is Lauren’s phone case?
Day one of the panels was amazing. Jenny spoke about shooting great DIYs along with 
This is what lunch time looks like at a table of bloggers. I promise they were not rude and we actually did have a great time.
And then it was time to party. Night one is one big hosted party. This year 
I had such an awesome time with 
Day 2 I made sure to visit all the lounges. I had seen some 
Night 2 brought a bunch of mini parties. This is such a fun idea and I kind of want to do this for my next kid’s party. Each room is so different and it is another chance to hang out with all your new friends and the brands who are hosting.
And there was a 
But if I had gotten nothing else out of Alt, finally meeting my boo, 
