Friday, January 29, 2010

party prep

More party planning pics...

I think that one of the greatest inventions since microwave popcorn has got to be Google Image Search. You can find just about anything for including on your party tags, labels and invitations from the image search. Grabbed this classic Mickey image from a Google search and used it for making the thank-you tags for these goodie bags.

I've got half of my sugar cookies iced. The other half will be red. I LOVE the combination of this light blue with red. (notice the ribbons on the goodie bags?) I found some great polka dot napkins in light blue and in red from Target for the party. Aside from Mickey, my theme is polka dots (think about Minney's dress) and the colors light blue and red. I like putting my cookies in this big glass jar. Everyone can help themselves to a cookie during the party and I don't have to worry about the little ones getting into them. Next up... the cake. Everything is baked and now it's all about assembly and decoration.

The husband comes home every night and hesitantly asks, "So how's the party prep coming along?" He knows how wrapped up I get in it all. It consumes my life for the week prior - and, I LOVE it. Love having these kinds of projects. Once they're over, I actually feel kind of sad. (But, no worries... I've got the next BIG project brewing up my sleeve, so stay tuned.) The party prep is right on track. True, I am a bit behind on my to-do list... but I'm feeling ambitious this afternoon and am confident that I can catch up. Time to hit the yard and tackle the mowing, weeding and gardening. It's a perfect day to be outside. So, time to put on my gardening hat and iPod and get my hands dirty!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

if you've got ears, say cheers!

My late night project: Mickey Mouse ears. We're gearing up for another birthday party! My BIG 3-year old (as of yesterday) will have his birthday celebration this weekend and it's all about Mickey. At least 30 of us will be all ears!

I was so pleased to find stiffened, black felt at JoAnn's. And it's Eco-Fi (made from recycled plastic bottles) to boot! I wasn't sure how I was going to get black felt ears to stand up... and fortunately I didn't have to. This felt, sold by the sheet, worked PERFECTLY. I simply sewed a sleeve to slide over a plastic headband, catching the ears in the seam. These will be so much cuter than the paper ears we saw at the party supply store and a whole lot cheaper than the $5.99 fabric ears I found online. I have this vision of a whole crowd of ears at the party. They'd better wear them! I'll be the honorary ears police making sure they do.

And now I'm off to do more party prep. The yard work will have to wait until last night's rain dries up. (Yes, MORE rain! Am I in Washington state?) There are Mickey sugar cookies to be iced, a cake to be designed and baked, toy clutter to attempt to manage and goodie bags to be stuffed. God I love throwing birthday parties! Can't even imagine life before the kids and all the birthday party fun.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

sand and snow

I will always be a California girl. I LOVE being 10 minutes away from sand and 60 minutes away from snow. A couple hours from LaLa Land and a very short drive to Mexico.

Last week's storm brought a sufficient amount of snow to Palomar Mountain. The boys and I have a good snow trip routine that involves snowballs, snowmen and sledding followed by hot chocolate and comfy, cozy blankets for the ride back down the mountain. Of course this is followed by religiously checking the Palomar Mountain Web Cam for any signs of snow!

Friday, January 22, 2010

tweet tweet

I think I prefer short and quick peeks into people's lives. You can get just enough detail to be able to compose for yourself the whole picture. I like Twitter. I love Facebook Status Updates. I am addicted.

So I think I'll make this blog more like that. I might come back here more if I knew a post could be just a small thought or comment about the day's activities. But this would be cooler because I could include a snapshot and I wouldn't spend half my time trying to trim down my "bite-sized" update to 140 characters. Really, I waste a lot of time editing my updates! And, yes, I DO have far better things to do with my time but for some reason I'm convinced that the world simply pauses while I'm completely absorbed in Twitter or Facebook or, I hate to admit it, FarmVille. Yes, the world just stops and, so, this means that I have not wasted time at all.

So now I'll find a way to make myself waste more time on Blogger.

Why not?

So little Superman, here, and his fierce watchdog, Ringo, are securing the perimeter following a week of stormy weather. It's just not natural for little boys to be cooped up inside! Thank goodness the clouds parted so they could play off some energy and I could take advantage of the soft, rain-soaked soil to do some weeding in the garden.

Friday, January 01, 2010

a toast

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A toast to Twenty-Ten... a wonderful year to come!
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Started the first day of the New Year properly- behind the sewing machine, getting quite a lot done before breakfast. I've got BIG goals for the shop this year. Aiming high. So I'm hoping this is a sign of good production and creativity to come. I'm happy to be having friends for lunch tomorrow. I'll be making Bellinis. Yum! In the new year, I hope to be better about photographing everything. So hopefully I'll have a lovely photo spread to share. We'll see.