sweet shop birthday!

last week, my sweet and tiny newborn woke up a wild and happy 2 year old! so after pulling out an appropriate birthday girl outfit:

we put up the birthday banner from last year [i have to admit i love this thing. i hope she wants to put it up when she turns 40!] hard to get a good picture of it though:

and opened up her own little sweet shop for her cousins!

i have seen SOOO many amazingly cute renditions of the "sweet shop" birthday idea that i thought it would be perfect for our happy little girl. we had to plan it all right after a week-long trip to my grandparents, so it wasn't the most organized thing ever! but it was cute and fun and just right for a sweet family party. the perfect phrase for an invitation came to me while browsing ideas months ago, and i ended up "picniking" a fun photo just in time to email it out to everyone:

one of the projects i had to let go of due to limited time was that i wanted to make her a little paper banner over the candy saying "kenna's sweet shop" [similar to the merry christmas one last year]. but we did have a little sign directing our friends to help themselves to a goodie bag/party favor full of candies... mini boxes of nerds, smarties, hershey kisses, dum dums, jelly beans, and candy necklaces!

[still cute despite an almost-out-of-ink print cartridge!]
and the perfectly pink "piece of candy" cake!

even the newest member [until the baby gets here of course!] of our little clan got in on the celebratory action:

& of course, a few other party necessities. i made 2 dozen of these cupcake-sized rice krispy treats & we are still eating them!

there was just enough food, just enough playmates, lots of love and LOTS of candy. all in all, life is pretty good when you're turning 2!

happy birthday little one! & thanks for giving momma a reason to go a little crazy on the party themes!

[ps- we both wore super cute rosette hair clips that i got a few weeks ago at a local craft show. i can't for the life of me make those little rosettes to look right, so i bought us each one and love them! if you're looking for one, her shop is called 'inspired by kate' on etsy... hopefully she'll have some listed after the holidays!]

turkey day cupcakes!

this year for thanksgiving, we baked up a whole army of turkeys:
i saw this idea somewhere the first thanksgiving we were married, and made them "for the kids" for thanksgiving dinner at my in-laws. unfortunately, the only kid in the family at that point was our just-turned-2 niece. needless to say, we had to help her eat the cupcakes... poor kid couldn't be expected to eat a whole dozen by herself!
here are the details, they're very cute with not too much effort!

beak- candy corn with the yellow part cut off, glued on with icing
body- chocolate cupcake with milk chocolate frosting!
head- mint milano cookie
eyes/wattle- piped chocolate icing
feathers- archway molasses cookies cut in half
i made them again this year for the kids of our sunday school class when we got together last week. kenna was thrilled to help me make them, asking for more "bites" of chocolate icing & shouting "turtee!" and there wasn't a single one left after the party. success! my precious family is certainly what i'm most thankful for, today and always.

"so then, just as you received Jesus Christ as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." -colossians 2:6-7

happy thanksgiving!

a pretty, easy hostess gift!

i had a couple of people i wanted to bring a little something to recently as hostess gifts, so i thought i would start with a fall classic [pumpkin spice bread] & make it even fall-ier!

step 1:
make pumpkin spice bread with sarah's super easy/quick/simple recipe. i actually had everything already on hand for this! i split the recipe between these two smallish disposable loaf pans i already had too, which fit perfectly:
sidenote: enjoy your house smelling totally delicious for the next few hours during and after baking it.

step 2:
wrap the breads securely in saran wrap. if you have green or yellow saran wrap, i think that would add even more fun, but i'm cheap so all i have is clear!

step 3:
make a strip of paper that will fit somewhat tightly around the bread. i used an old book page. wrap it around & stick it down tight on the underside [or sides if it's not long enough] of the bread with double stick tape:

step 4:
pick out your favorite faux fall leaf [or a real one from your yard if you are taking it to the person the same day!] and set it in the center of the paper [i also used a little strip of double stick tape for this step]:

step 5:
wrap the whole thing right on top of the leaf with twine several times. tie it off on top of the bread with a little knot right in the center of the leaf:
presto and done! a sweet, cute little edible festive gift! you could even make several of these in one day of baking and have them on hand for a couple of days if you have multiple people to take them to... i'm planning to spend one whole day baking and make several for our neighbors for thanksgiving!
in hindsight, you could even write a cute little message on the leaf [depending on what kind of leaves they are]. i'm thinking a little something sweet & slightly cheesy like "we're thankful you're our neighbor!"

mountain cake.

today i asked my hubby M, who is turning 29 tomorrow, if he wanted sprinkles on his cake that i was planning on making him tonight. i have an entire bottle of sprinkles waiting in the kitchen cabinet just waiting, and was thinking of making a cake stencil to make a giant 'm' of sprinkles on it for him.

he proceeds to tell me he does not like sprinkles.

what? firstly, how do you not like sprinkles? secondly, how have we been married for over 5 years and i didn't know this?

so, a little while later, i asked him if instead of sprinkles he would like the cake in the shape of something [thinking again, that i might cut it into a giant 'm.' i have a one-track mind].

so he says yes.

me: "ok great! what shape would you like?"

him: "um. pilot mountain!"

me: "pilot mountain?"

he wants a cake in the shape of a mountain, one of his favorite rock-climbing spots. which i love, because it's kind of a 6-year-old type answer, which is one of my favorite things about him. and he wants it for his 29th birthday, when you have long ago realized that grown-up birthdays are really not that fun, and a little disappointing. and if i can at all help it, i don't do disappointment on birthdays.

so, a pilot mountain cake he's gonna get.

i like to bake and decorate cakes/cupcakes. i'm not going to be asked to guest star on ace of cakes or the iron chef anytime soon for my amazing skills, but i do enjoy it. however, a pilot mountain cake pretty much tops the list of anything cake-decorating-related i have ever attempted. did you not see the picture of one of the first cakes i made for him after we were married?
hopefully not my best work. and now i'm attempting one that looks like this:
[which is actually kind of fun and sweet since it's a place we've been together several times.]

so i started with this:
and had to get a little creative. ok, a lot creative. and by creative i mean completely experimental... a little frosting mixing, and a little that comes straight out of the spray can with the fancy tips [because i don't have a fancy tip kit and usually use a ziplock baggie].
i wasn't sure if i should do the cake flat like the photo or attempt something 3d [for which i had to google 'pilot mountain from above' because i couldn't remember the word topographic.] in the end, i decided flat was best. so i flipped the cake upside down onto the tray to give myself a flat surface, and carefully cut the edges off the top and moved them to the bottom. then i used an entire can of green spray frosting to make the trees and the 29 in them. even though i thought the finished result looked a little like a leprechaun hat, he was really happy with it and that's all that matters to me!
speaking of my man, i have to brag on him a little and show you a picture of him on pilot mountain in person:
he's still the coolest boy i've ever met. happy birthday to my love!

sweet valentine in pink pictures.

this year we discovered pink heart-shaped, strawberry-flavored marshmallows, and they are so good... dear Lord, please don't let these be seasonal.
morning coffee from one of my favorite mugs, pink with brown hearts.
making a heart bib, reminding me that she's getting too old for the decorative ones now since the food goes everywhere. [the onesie she wore underneath it says 'hug me' and reminds me of a conversation heart!]
a sweet little crocheted garland, made from this mini heart pattern [and an experiment in felting] and this heart pattern. so sweet just hangin' out on our mantel mirror, and probably destined for movement to the nursery when valentine's is over.
and chocolate valentine cupcakes made by a fabulous mom in my sunday school group... with the perfect shade of pink frosting. they were so delicious.
and of course, a diet coke to wash it down with [funny how all these good things are food related!]. technically, the heart is for women's heart health, but it's been extra festive for february.

happy valentine's day!

happy thanksgiving!

we hosted our first family thanksgiving at our house this year! i had lots of fun planning out the table decor (almost as much fun/of as much importance to me as the food!) and kept it pretty cheap too. i was so proud of my little tablescape:
-green placemats from target (embellished with a bit of scrap ribbon), $5ish each
-two table runners from target (used sideways as placemats, bought last minute on clearance!), $10 each
-square bamboo tray, wedding gift
-pumpkin pie plate with lid, birthday gift several years ago originally from crate & barrel
-my favorite not-quite-white dishes from target (noticing a theme?!), $30 for an 8 place setting
-fall bouquet of flowers, $25 at harris teeter
-scattered leaves, free from my in-law's yard

it all looked much more finished once we got the pretty glasses and handmade ric-rack napkins in place. (please forgive the creepy smile, you gotta love the "stand and pose with your accomplishment" picture when you are days away from turning 26, not in first grade anymore!)
as a note of irony, the shirt i'm wearing in this picture is also from target. ok, so i'm realizing my dependence on target for all things inexpensive and cute! m made a completely amazing baked turkey and three (!!!) pumpkin pies- he is definitely the cook in this family... for which i'm definitely paying the consequence according to my bathroom scale!

happy thanksgiving!

a successful party & leftover cupcakes!

our little girl's first birthday party came and left this weekend, an event i have been planning for in my head since i was pregnant with her! all day the day before i mixed four boxes of cake mix and 5 tubs of frosting into 53 cupcakes of various sizes and various pink-ness. i have to say that there's nothing quite as happy and birthday-ey as a big bowl of pink icing! we finished things off with a generous shaking of polka dot sprinkles, and this is what greeted people as they walked into the dining room:
i had to let a few things go in the name of sanity [& in the name of getting it all done!] but i did finish the one thing that was the most important to me of all the things i wanted to make for the party: the banner.
and i am so happy with how it turned out!

as is becoming my tradition, i started making it the week before the party and fell into the trap of thinking oh, i have plenty of time to finish it! then i ended up sewing the last few letters into place just 30 minutes or so before the guests walked through the door. luckily, our families are really cool, and my sister in law was the first one there- she understands the over-optimism of what we can realistically get done that strikes us ladies sometimes, and also understood my excitement at getting it done! my other sister provided the pan for the ginormous cupcake cake [by way of borrowing from another friend] and saved us the expense of buying it to likely only use it once. i'm telling you- cool families!

the mix of our immediate families plus four friends [and two children] that we count as family made for the perfect mix! perfect amount of guests. perfect conversation. perfect love for our sweet daughter.
and one perfectly happy, perfectly pink birthday girl.

it's the great pumpkin!

one of my absolute favorite things about fall is pumpkins! here are some of the reasons i'm loving pumpkins and their sweet orangey goodness:

• our nephew running around a pumpkin patch saying "orange pumpkins! orange pumpkins!" and my own little pumpkin standing in amazement:

• mellowcreme pumpkins. as in miniature. as in sugar high. can't live without these around halloween time!

• of course, there are tons of pumpkin lovelies on etsy (i think if you just search "pumpkin" something like 27,000 results show up!) here are my faves:

little stuffed pumpkin by sea pinks

tiny needle felted pumpkin kit by bear creek designs

felt toy pumpkin pie by betsy m

ribbon pumpkin hairclip by ruby ribbon

pumpkin sweater ball by handmade pretties

• and in the spirit of fall/pumpkins/thanksgiving, i have to give honorable mention to these two adorable little non-crazy-eyed turkeys!

don't eat me turkey by snazzie drawers

and gobble turkey by olive and ollie

a little sneak preview!

here's what i've been working on/thinking/doing this week...

• coming soon to a craft show near you!

• fall weather! baking pumpkin muffins... i used double the pumpkin in the recipe and overfilled them to make big muffin tops!

• starting a new day job today... looooove the discount

• cds i'm going to have to just break down and buy: missy higgins, kt tunstall (she's scottish!), and a fine frenzy

• fall colors! (and i'm wearing an apple-red sweater too, it's finally cold enough)

• and wishing i was there again... i don't think i was done vacationing yet!