old fashioned ice cream party

my baby boy's 2nd birthday was on saturday and we had a party to celebrate! i was going for old fashioned ice cream shop party. the colors were orange and teal. homemade food and homemade decorations and lots of friends set the scene!

homemade sliders and mac and cheese; homemade vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream, accompanied by tons of toppings in mason jars; orange slices and cheese balls in glass jars on each table; homemade bunting hanging from the ceiling; playful balloons; photo garland of noah's 2nd year; lights above the yard; kids with ice cream faces and wet heads from swimming; and loving grandparents, all equal a really special and memorable birthday party. 

i still can't believe i have a two year old!

baby girl shower

friend, kristin is having a baby girl in october, so we had a little shower for her last weekend. I hung pink poms poms from the ceiling, set out my pretty china tea cups and made several pink little treats to munch. we had a lovely time and kristin received a lot of girlie gifts!

peach creamsicles

after finding these adorable popsicle molds at ikea this summer, i committed to making noah lots of frozen treats. i've made various forms of berry and banana concoctions and a watermelon and lime mix (given to me by friend sandra), and just last night, i came across an orange creamsicle recipe.  i felt an immediate impulse to make them because they sounded so delicious; but i didn't have any oranges or orange extract (which is apparently necessary).  what i did have though, were lots and lots of peaches, so i decided to substitute. i blended together ripe peaches, milk, vanilla yogurt and honey. 

i love how easy popsicles are to throw together. whenever we run out, i look in the fridg, see what i have and go with it. i especially love that noah thinks he's getting a real treat, and i know that i could actually serve them for breakfast!

Sewing Room

has it really been since june that i last posted something?! good gracious, i'm a slacker! i'm going to try to be "back!"

in june, i took a trip with some girlfriends to ikea in chicago, and bought these new shelves, along with a few other organizational type things to help get all of my sewing gear in order. i feel so much better about the room now. a simple change, but it has helped so much!

duke charm

i was telling friend shanna that my sis-in-law, marsa` did a fabulous job decorating for my brother's graduation party. she made the comment that all marsa` had to do was breathe on whatever she was doing, and it would come out great! i agreed.  

the duke colors are white and royal blue, which would have initially posed a bit of difficulty for me, but marsa` tackled it with charm. she made royal blue pom poms and royal blue bunting and combined them with beautiful flowers and candles. wa-lah, it was gorgeous.

the happy couple.

UPDATE:  go here for a tutorial on making pom poms and here for a tutorial on making bunting.

sweet tooth

why do i keep finding these delicious recipes while i'm in the depths of project skinny??? surely there's a reason i can come up with to cheat and make these dishes!

these are congo bars. a combination of a chocolate chip cookie and a brownie!
(photo credit: bakerella)

this is my granny's chocolate cobbler. well, not my granny, but somebody's.  really, whose granny it is, is so beside the point though, because look at that ridiculous amount of gooey chocolaty goodness.  don't you just want to jump through the screen and stick your finger in that? looks so delicious!
(photo credit: tasty kitchen)

table-scape

i need to have a party so that i can set up a table like this:

 

amazing!

(photo credit: once wed)

fabric blog finds

i have discovered (through friends and random searches) some killer fabric and sewing blogs. thought i should share the love!

true up. don't you just love the banner?! this blog is such a gift. the author gives so many great ideas and tips on finding good fabric. one of my favorite posts is sale alert sunday.

grosgrain.  this author's profile snippet was enough to hook me!  she says she's, "an artsy craftsy, penny pinching, party planning, playdating, fashion finding, sci-fi loving, stay at home mommy who always keeps her sewing machine plugged in and loves all things charming." love her already!
i also really like several of her detailed tutorials, including this one on how to make a poppy boutonniere.

sew, mama, sew.  this blog/shop has a little bit of everything. you can shop for fabric, patterns, and notions, you can learn from tons of tutorials, you can enter for giveaways, and so much more. 

leila & ben.  isn't the name enough? so cute! this blog is great...many inspiring posts! and i really love their store. they have patterns like this adorable little bolero jacket and this sweet cap.

katie did.  i've been a fan of this blog for quite some time now. she mixes great ideas with the everyday happenings of her family. she's also a fantastic photographer so the pictures are amazing. i like the sewing section.  really interesting, unique creations.

ok, that's all for now.  thanks to these bloggers for posting such great stuff! i appreciate all of your hard work and am constantly inspired by your creations!

how did i not know about this?

ikea has fabric!

 and it's really cute.

and it's really affordable.

and if only we had one in saint louis.

(thanks to new friend, gevay, for enlightening me.)

need a serving tray?

it is no secret that i love picture frames, and i've just come across a brilliant idea!  i've actually been looking for a large serving tray to use when i carry our dinner and drinks outside, but haven't been able to find one i like.  i saw this idea to turn a picture frame into a serving tray while looking through my grandma's sumter county newspaper.  brilliant! basically, you just add a handle to each end of your frame.  so easy!  i did actually find some step-by-step instructions here.

i'm so doing this when i get home!

i want to make...

this sexy hexy love quilt from amy butler.  go here for a free pattern.

these felted stuffed animals from martha stewart.  go here for a free pattern.

this lunch bag from martha stewart. go here for a free pattern.

this animal hat from martha stewart. go here for a free pattern.

if only there were more hours in the day!

frames are up

i hung my frames! they look a little...void.  hmmmmmm...what to do, what to do.

tale of two dresses

i can sew a pillow or a burp cloth or a blanket or something else that is either shaped like a square or rectangle, but up until recently, i haven't know how to sew much else.

however, since my wonderful sewing tutor, meg, has come into my life, i have begun to broaden my scope! she taught me how to follow a pattern, and all of a sudden possibilities came a' flowin'! hello world of sewing!

this is the first dress i've tackled.  i've learned a lot while making this garment, and i have to say, i'm proud of it.  i still need to finish the closures on the straps and a few seams on the inside, but overall, this is it.  speaking of closures, does anyone know where i can find cool, funky buttons? i'm having trouble.  my usual suspects aren't delivering (aka, hobby lobby and michaels).

project number two is this preppy little number.  this is a martha stewart idea that meg brought to me.  i love it, and although this first baby will definitely fall into the preppy category, i plan to make some funkier versions in the future. i grabbed one of matt's old dress shirts, traced the pattern, and cut.

it was so simple, which was perfect for a novice like me!

i sewed up the sides, arms and shoulders, and i still need to finish the neck line, arm holes and hem.  wish me luck!  this will be my first go at using bias tape!

i heart garage sales

i just love going to garage sales, and this weekend friend jenn and i did it up!  2 starbucks stops and 6 hours later, we both went home with some serious bargains.  the last hour or so was even in the rain.  jenn told one of the sellers that we were committed, and i think that said it all. we were all in, rain or shine. here is some of what i got:

heavy duty bunt pan: free

books for noah: $0.10-$0.50 each

homemade rolling bin (for noah's toys in the garage)came with two soccer balls: $5

xylophone: $0.25

antique silver collection: two tea pots, sugar and cream cups, soap dish, and several platters: $4

antique dresser: $20

five old frames (actually from the previous weekend's garage sale): $2

ornate picture frame: $2

candelabra (also from previous week's garage sale): $2

so many new projects to work on now!

what would you do with some of these items? i'm always looking for new ideas.