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!