A Baby Shower

I recently threw a baby shower for my good friend and she is expecting another baby girl! I came up with a French country theme for the party. Rustic paper bags, accented with doilies. I stuffed mini brown paper bags with pink and white taffies that I found at Trader Joe's. Instead of stopping all the chatting and eating to play games I just set up a game station where the ladies could go to write their answers when they were ready.

 Simple craft twine with doilies folded and glued. Pink pom poms of course.

 I decided on a mini dessert buffet. Petite fours, lemon meringue bars, chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate almond macaroons, and mini madeleine.

 I used Martha Stewart's Lemon Meringue bars recipe but made a cooked meringue instead of a raw one and torched the top with a mini torch.

This madeleine recipe was perfect! I love how it came together. I found mini madeleine pans at Sur La Table.

 These petite fours were so much fun to make!!! I used a petite four recipe from Martha Stewart. These are made from a dense yet moist pound cake and the poured fondant was so easy to make! I topped them off with royal icing decorations. I tinted the pink ones a little too much for my liking but they turned out pretty cute for my first time making petite fours. I plan on making petite fours and French macaroons for Amelia's 4th birthday in July instead of cupcakes. I'm so excited!

 I used yet another Martha Stewart recipe for these amazing chocolate almond macaroons. I'm guilty of being a huge fan and having the childhood nickname of "Little Miss Martha". hehehe

The macaroons are crispy on the outside and perfectly chewy on the inside. Gluten free too! I sandwiched them with seedless French raspberry jam instead of melted chocolate. One recipe make a lot of small ones.

 A sweet friend from church gave this beautiful hand crocheted tablecloth to me. Such a wonderful gift. I layered it over a cream colored tablecloth.

 Chocolate covered strawberries are always easy and delicious.

 I made all of the pedestals for the buffet. I will post a tutorial about them tomorrow.

Dreaming of Autumn

I have been so giddy about Autumn lately! I know summer isn't over yet but I adore the Fall season.  The smells and colors are so vivid and hold so many memories for me. I stopped in to The Yankee Candle store to check out their new fall scents.  Talk about intoxicating! There candle scents are so strong and accurate! It amazes me every time I step foot into their store. They make a lot of people happy.

The smell of the "Macintosh Apple" candle transports me straight to an apple barn in the mountains of Virginia. Seriously I can relive my childhood just by smelling the Yankee Candle selections. Their spicy fall scents are so cozy. The "Fall Leaves" scent smells so much like the pile of fall leaves we would jump into as children! I love the "Harvest" scent. It's like everything Fall wrapped up in one candle. I prefer the tarts because I don't have to worry about an open flame. Mrs Paranoid here.

(These pictures are from last year so they aren't that great. I'm working on taking better pictures with our new camera.)

When I was visiting family in Virgina I went to a Micheal's craft store and they had the biggest display of Halloween and Fall decorations in the middle of June! The great thing about Micheal's are the sales! They put seasonal things on sale quickly so that I can buy the decorations I want at 40%n off and still enjoy them for the season is over.  Yay for Micheal's!

A harvest cornucopia I made last year. Looks better is person I promise. :-/

Autumn Fun That I'm Excited About

Fall decorations  

Fall leaves 

Orange and black flowers

Dehydrating oranges and apples

Drinking mulled apple cider

Visiting an apple orchard 

Pumpkin patch

Craft Shows

Renaissance Faire

Cooking with winter squash 

Soups, soups and more soups

Pumpkin spice and lots of it!

Sweaters

Boots

Scarves

Wool Cloche hats

Crochet hats and slippers 

The crochet ripple afghan I'm working on!

Black pansies called Halloween II 

Baskets full of yarns. Trying to use these up so I can buy some real wool and cotton yarns! Husband's orders.

I love wrought iron details. Especially with the warmth of fall colors. Wrought iron reminds me of primitive New England.  Ohhh and that's a dream of mine.  To tour New England in the Fall!!!! I am giddy just thinking about it. Saltbox houses, swirling red and orange leaves on the ground, New England clam chowder, visiting Stars Hallow....wait that's not real.

My house plant looks sad. It looks way better now!

I love these primitive flickering black candles that are dipped in real wax! Found these at a Boutique in Amelia, Va. They have the prettiest collection of primitive inspired furniture, wrought iron pieces and decor.

I can't believe how much Amelia has changed since last fall! She looks like a baby here.

She dressed as a little baker for Halloween last year. It was a last minute costume for sure. This year I plan on making a nice costume.  I'm thinking Little Red Riding Hood or she can go as Snow White since she bought the gorgeous Snow White costume from the Disney store with her birthday money.

Me and Miss Amelia last Halloween before I went red. :-)

Party Inspiration

While researching birthday party ideas I came across some very useful websites.  Catch My Party and The Sweetest Occasion have unlimited amount of ideas when it comes to decorating and planning a party. There is so much to look at that I'm sure it will take me awhile to go through each party. 

Catch My Party categorizes the parties my theme which is very helpful since they have tons of parties to go through.  I can't help but to notice many of my ideas which I thought were original being displayed on Catch My Party and The Sweetest Occasion.  It is so weird to see the ideas you have dreamed up on other people's websites. I ask myself, "How in the world?!"

{Fairy House by Enchanted Gardens}

For Amelia's Fairytale birthday party I want rustic and "realistic" looking fairy decorations instead of the commercial looking party decorations I see for fairy/fairytale themes. Real or silk flowers and natural materials. My local Micheal's craft store has most of their Spring flowers and greenery on sale for 50% off! I had to take this opportunity to buy as many as I could so that I will have them for Amelia's party decorations and for making fairy crowns and clips. So far I see my color scheme being dark blue, yellow, purple, greens and pinks. I may add in some teal.  I spotted a moss table runner and place mats which will add a nice texture to the tables but I'm holding off on those for right now. I seem to always add butterflies to every party I throw. My wedding, Amelia's 1st and 2nd birthday parties. I adore butterflies!

  Since I love adding lots of elements to my parties I have to be on the look out for bargains. I was so pleased to come across a website properly named, Save On Crafts. So many awesome things at great prices. Oriental Trading is always full of fun stuff too.

{$2.99 each! Save on Crafts}

{Moss Sticks $2.99 by Save on Crafts!}

{Roll of Moss $24 by Save on Crafts! Cheaper than Micheal's)

{These are so FUN! There are wild flower seeds in the natural paper! I want to fill these with small party favors and then after they are emptied the guest can plant them in the ground or flower pot and watch them grow.  I am so excited about this!! By Save on Crafts}

{Or I can fill these Jute bags with favors!}

{Or these burlap bags!}

Ideas, Ideas! My head is spinning right now.  I am most definitely leaving my backyard and patio decorated with the Fairytale theme when Amelia's party is over. Kill two birds with one stone.  

I do enjoy going to the Renaissance Faire when it comes to town. One particular decoration that I noticed everywhere were the fabric and ribbon garlands. So beautiful. I want to pull a little from the different whimsical elements that can be found at a Renaissance Faire.  It has that Pixie Hallow feel to it especially when the music is playing. I think I'm going to buy inexpensive muslin fabric and dye it different colors, then cut them into strips. I can then tie the strips onto jute twine and hang them all over the backyard and patio to give the party a whimsical feel that I love.

I better come back to reality for now! lol I could go on and on for hours about all of my ideas.  I have to save something for the actual reveal which won't be until July!

Vintage Charm For Little Girls

I love the colors that can be found in vintage handkerchiefs.  I knew I wanted to decorate my daughter's room with vintage handkerchiefs when I was pregnant.  It took me until she was 2 years old to decide on what to do with all of the handkerchiefs I had been collecting.  I found music album frames at Micheal's and spray painted them a buttery yellow.  After ironing out all of the wrinkles I framed the handkerchief up. 

(I need to take down the crib now that Amelia is in the big bed now)

You can also see the amazing quilt I found at an antique shop in Amelia, Va.  It was neatly laid on an antique bed.  I squealed with delight when I saw it and after further inspection I noticed it was in perfect vintage condition.  All it needed was a good soak in the washing machine.  It has some fun pattern which I believe start around the early 60's.

All of the colors in the quilt pull together the colors in the vintage handkerchiefs I think.  I love how her room has come together.  I settled for plain white Target shams and curtains by Shabby Chic.

Va in December

We spent a month in my home town of Amelia, Va.  It was great being back home for Christmas.  It snowed twice! I love snow at Christmas time.  I tried several times to blog I promise but I stayed busy cooking or watching children.  I can't complain.  I loved every minute of it.  One of my New Year's resolutions is to be a consistent blogger.  

I want to recap the month of December so I can share with you a little of my decorating, baking, and snow!

My sweet little tree.  It consist of a crochet garland I made last year, vintage glass ornaments that belonged to my Grandmother, Amelia's annual ornaments, my childhood ornaments and ornaments we have collected on our travels. We had our own Christmas morning the Saturday before we left for Va.  It was so fun because Amelia was old enough to understand the excitement.

I bought this wreath at The Pottery in Williamsburg, Va.  My mom gave me the three little houses. I crocheted our stockings this year! I was so proud of myself for being able to pull it together.

We bought this table on sale from World Market as a Christmas present to each other.  We bought two benches instead of chairs. I bought the place mats and napkins from TJ Maxx. I love setting a table.  There are limitless possibilities!. We had our best friends over on our special Christmas morning to have a country breakfast with us. All the classics that we avoid most of the year; biscuits, milk gravy, bacon, chicken sausage, fried eggs, and some yogurt with fresh blueberries and granola to even everything out. lol

I found these charming salt and pepper shakers at an antique shop in Ventura, Ca over the Thanksgiving break.  I was shocked when I saw them and got really excited when I saw they were only $9!!!!

Making homemade biscuits to go with my homemade milk gravy. YUM! I recently learned from Gluten-Free Girl that rice flour is a great substitute for wheat flour when I need to thicken a gravy so next time I will try to make gluten-free milk gravy.  We will see.

I invited my best friend and her son over for coffee and gingerbread making day.  It was so fun.  The kids did really well.  They kept sneaking little pieces of candy in between decorating.

I mixed up, cut out and baked the gingerbread house pieces before they arrived so that we could decorate them right away.  Again, the kids ate waaay too much candy. 

Amelia was so meticulous when it came to putting the candy in the right places.  Ok, Ok, I did help but once I told her how to do something she went for it and did a really good job.  We saved the gingerbread house for our Christmas morning which was the Saturday before we left for Va.

Me and my beautiful baby niece Isabella.

This is the farmhouse my dad grew up in and now my sister and her family lives here.  It's so cozy when it's dark outside and the window candles are glowing. You can't tell but it is still snowing here and we ended up with 5-6 inches.

My papa got a kick out of my hair and red lips! He thinks it is so funny that I love vintage looks.  Granted I'm not as authentic as most enthusiast but I am learning and building up my courage.

I hope to get a post up soon about our trip to my beloved Colonial Williamsburg! Lots of pictures and lots of snow.  I also want to share my recipe for candied popcorn.  One of my papa Hastings' favorites!