Crafty friend showcase

I consider myself a very lucky gal to know so many craft-lovin' peops. Take my friend Rachel for instance. She has the most amazing taste in fabrics. She is able to throw patterns and colors together and create magic! She has a baby on the way and she recently made the cutest little bibs. I love all the fabrics she chose and I know one day she will be having to teach me her sewing tricks so I too can have incredibly cute bibs at my disposal. That is, unless she starts selling them. In which case I would just buy a million from her. Check out the cuteness she made with this little stack of fun:new at the newmans: gettin' crafty

Happy Friday

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My dear friend Emily is here visiting this weekend!
We're taking a "One Yard Wonder" sewing class tonight at Bon Bon. Should be fun!
Tomorrow is my 2nd annual cookie party. Should be a jam-packed-with-fun-weekend as usual when Emily is involved.

Gnomes Galore!

I have a thing for gnomes. My friend Katie and I have been talking about throwing a gnome themed party for some time now. We get so excited talking about it and overwhelmed with all the details we want to include: full gnome costumes, gnome size treats, a photo taking area, costume props for people, etc. Ran across a blog called xoelle where the writer and her family all dressed as gnomes for Halloween. They all look amazing! I love the shot of them in their garden:) You can read about the whole project here. What great Halloween costumes!

Katie, if you are reading this, I think the gnome party planning needs to officially begin.

Glee Love

A few months back, I purchased the "Message-in-a-cookie cutters" from William Sonoma. I didn't have a specific occasion in mind for which I planned to use them but they were just too stinking cool to not buy and just have on hand. Surely and occasion would come. And that it did. I am a recent addition to the "Glee" fanbase after watching all of season 1 on dvd over a week long period. Let's just say I was a liiiiiiiiittle excited about the season 2 premiere. I made some special cookies for the watching party at my friend Aaron's. They were delicious and perfectly perfect for the occasion. Thank you Mr. Sonoma.

Fantastic Fair!

This year was another great time at the Iowa State Fair. We made our usual stops: the birthing barn to see baby animals, the FFA projects, the 4H projects, the tractor exhibit, and the food carts. After lunch I am always in the mood for some fair sweets and this year it was harder than ever to choose! Right after we'd downed ice cream at the dairy barn, I came across a new booth where they were selling "Fair Squares" which were essentially rice krispy treats on a stick. I appreciated the cute booth design and the unique idea. Maybe next year I'll save room for one.While I am a fan of the fair sweets, Donavan is a fan of the fair meat.

A Rainbow Cake Dream Come True

I did it! I made a rainbow cake! Finally! I used the occasion of my friend Shawn's birthday to try out the recipe I wrote about so long ago. It took me about 4 hours to make but it was totally worth it to see the look on people's faces at Shawn's birthday lunch when I cut into the unassuming white frosted cake. You see, I wanted it to be a surprise for everyone so as far as anyone knew it was just a regular 'ol cake. It was so pretty to eat and it tasted good to boot! A rainbow cake dream come true indeed for this sugar pants gal. Behold:
1. Some color inspiration to start with.
2. 5 bowls of beautiful batter.3. The layer that didn't quite make it to the final cake. So sad. 4. The birthday boy's life slogan decorated the unassuming cake:)

5. Ta Dah! Color! So easy to make and so many smiles.

New York State of Mind

In a little over a month, I'm heading to NYC with some friends to celebrate my birthday. I am putting together some special surprises for my travel companions so I have been keeping my eyes peeled for anything NYC related. Saw these amazing pics on one of my favorite blogs, designworklife. These paper sculptures are the coolest. When you look at them from above they look like an iconic NYC image yet when you see them from the side, they are a bunch of tiny buildings of differing heights. Check out more pics here.

Orla Kiely on One Kings Lane today!!!

Beth told me about One King's Lane a while back. I have seen some cute stuff on there from time to time but today, I gasped with delight when I saw the Orla Kiely stationary they are selling at half price. Check it out: share

A Pirate's Life for Me?

No way jose but these little Crocs are just too darn cute.

I bet my nephew would look suuuuuuuuuper cute in them. I am normally not a Croc fan but just this once, I have to say that these are pretty adorable.

Cool Caravans

Oh my goodness. When I found out about this book My Cool Caravan by Jane Field-Lewis & Chris Haddon over here I nearly fell out of my seat. You see, ever since I saw these pics in my mother's 1996 Neiman Marcus Christmas Book I have dreamed of owning a tiny airstream trailer that I could customize the interior for. It pretty much the same sort of dream I have always had for on of those retro VW vans. In recent years I have seen pics on blogs and in magazines where people got an airstream to put in their backyard to use as an office/guest quarters.
Take a peek at some other work by the photographer, Hilary Walker, here. I seriously think I could live in any of these pics.

Lindsay in wedges?

I certainly am not one for heels but I am strangely attracted to these. I saw them in navy stripes on someone's blog the other day and it was really the first time I think I could say, "Man, those Tom's shoes are cuuuuuute!" They are always great because they are for such a good cause but I have never particularly liked the way they looked before. Way to go Tom's- being all trendy and whatnot.

I have a thing for cute play houses

When I was little, I always dreamed of living in the A-frame play house we had in our backyard. I had it all planned out. All I needed really was a really long phone cord to reach out there so I could stay in touch with my friends. You know, since 6 year olds have such active social lives. No need for a fridge or a bathroom. Just a phone- that's all I needed. I ran across this picture (and many other wonderful shots) here and was flooded with memories and inspiration. Just thought I'd share:)

And the rainbow madness continues...

Whoa. Check out these pancakes Laura just sent me the recipe to:

Alice In Wonderland=PURE SWEETNESS!

I just got back from seeing the new "Alice in Wonderland" in 3D. It was so worth the $13 ticket! One of my favorite things about the movie was the costume design. The were all so thoughtfully done and honestly blew my mind. Apparently they were inspired by some of the original illustrations accompanying early editions of the Lewis Carroll 1865 classic. Here are some costume sketches for a couple of Alice's looks in the movie this WWD Lifestyle article.

The sketch above was my favorite Alice dress.

Being that one of my favorite memories of the Disney animated "Alice In Wonderland" was the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, when Elissa sent me the link to these wonderful Wonderland inspired treats from The Bakelab I was overwhelmed with the desire to nibble on every single thing. I wish I could have had the whole box on my lap as I watched the movie. I still may order them just to quench my curiosity of what a "Cheshire Cat Macaroon with Earl Grey Tea Filling" tastes like! Perhaps I could have people over and host my own little Mad Hatter's Tea Party. Gee, I wonder who I could get to be the Mad Hatter himself...Thanks for sharing Elissa!

Rainbow Cake Recipe!

After seeing my earlier post about the rainbow cake, a good friend (thanks Rachel!) sent me a link to this lovely cake complete with recipe! I am so going to attempt making one of these. Perhaps for Donavan's b-day? He is a St. Pat's baby and leprechauns love rainbows so it seems quite appropriate if you ask me:)

The most wonderful birthday cake ever!

I have always had 2 favorites parts when it comes to birthday parties- the unwrapping of the gifts and the cake. I was always the kid who wanted to stand right next to the birthday girl (or boy) while they opened all of their gifts so I could get the first glimpse. I loved getting to hold them, carefully inspect them, and read the packaging to learn all about how it worked, etc. Odd? Maybe but it's just what I like to do. Perhaps this is why my life path led me to party and gift presentation at Hallmark? Hmmm.

Moving on. My other favorite part of a birthday party has always been the cake. Oh my yes. As you get older, some birthday parties don't always involve gifts but, I'm sorry, it is just NOT a party without a cake or cupcakes. My good pal Elissa sent me a link to this cake today and it just took me right back to being 5 and the start of my love of birthday parties. I am in awe of the care and detail that went into creating this. The subtle change in color from one layer to the next is fantastic! I hope whoever this cake was made for felt EXTRA special.

The 8 layer citrus cake at Succotash (below) is one of my faves. Next time I should just buy 3 slices and stack them on top of each other. Mmmmm.

Fresher Than Fresh= Pure Deliciousness

I finally made it out to the Fresher Than Fresh snow cone trailer this past Saturday while my good friend Jen was in town. It was as amazing as I had always dreamed it would be! I had a sampler plate where I was able to try 5 different flavors (including Ginger Rose, Lime Mint, and Watermelon Basil) while Jen enjoyed "Green Tea Pear." It was a lovely afternoon and we really has a great time.

Lovin' This: Yee-Haw!

I am LOVING these new prints from Yee-Haw Industries! I will be ordering them to hang in my kitchen!