Princess Party

My Stella is not a baby anymore. She is now four. A young little girl. We always say that four is the age you start acting like a big kid for example washing your body, wiping your behind (ahem), making your bed--just to name a few. Well, this year Stella was in on the action for planning her birthday party. And she wanted it to be just like her cousin Nora's recent birthday party--all princess. She even wanted her princess birthday cake to be holding candles just like Nora's cake. And for all the guest to come dressed in princess (prince) attire. Well, her party was a huge success, eventhough it ended up being held inside instead of the original plan of being outside. Rain was the cause of the minor change. I just made sure to set rules and keep a tight ship with 14 kids running around my house.

Invitations mailed out with a look-alike Stella princess on the front.

Decorations--I got purple and pink balloons and picked up one of Martha Stewart's paper flower kits to hang from the chandelier. All the paper products were purple and pink. Each princess received a tiara and wand when they entered the "palace". And each prince received a crown and sword.

Food--I served pizza and strawberries (Stella's favorite fruit) along with pink lemonade and fruit punch in plastic champagne glasses.

Favors--all things princesses for the girls in little pink organza bags along with rock-pop rings. The boys got to take home a knight-helmet piggy bank that I found in the dollar section of Target.

Stella's Snow White birthday cake. It came out so beautiful! I picked it up a day in advance and the cake lady told me to put it in the freezer and take it out a couple of hours before the party. Bad idea. The frosting started to melt. Refriderate next time.

Activities--all the princesses made necklaces with sparkly beads. And the princes decorated paper shields. But the girls were more into the shields than the boys. Opening the gifts, of course, were part of the party.

Toward the end of the party a famous princess made a surprise visit--Miss Cinderella. She was quite the center of attention and had all the children participate in a mini ball. The children danced to the story of Cinderella pretending to be the birds, the mice, the pumpkin, the stepsisters, etc. After the dancing, each child got to have their picture taken with her.

Well, I know it's a success when my daughter tells me it was the best birthday party ever. The end.

Peony Print Laptop

We are on the hunt for a new computer, and I want to get a laptop so I can do a little multitasking. You know, work while watching my kids. Perhaps I'll wait until next year when this laptop gets released. It's an HP computer with a print designed by Vivienne Tam.

{via Coveiter}

Birthday Ideas

Tip Junkie has a list of great ideas for the next birthday party you have to plan.

Message Bean

My sister mailed me one of those planting jars that comes with seeds. You add a little water and in a week a plant starts to grow. Well, this little plant came with a message. And when we saw it pop it's little head out, we all marveled and were quite surprised. You can gets yours here. They have lots of other messages.

Little Girl Dresses

Tea Collection has really cute fall dresses for little girls.

Birthday Fondue Pampering Party

This past weekend I got to celebrate my 30th birthday with a few of my girlfriends with fondue and a pampering party. It was a blast and a great way to "ease" myself into an older age bracket. My girlfriend Ashley hosted the party at her house. The cheese fondue was delish. The chocolate fondue hit the spot. The dippers were all so yummy. A professional masseuse came and gave everyone back massages and little pampering goodies. Definitely the highlight of the party. Manicure and pedicure tables were set up so everyone could beautify their nails and toes. Both equipped with soaks, oils, scrubs and lotions. There was a mini spa bar. The evening was very delightful and a perfect way to ring in my thirties. Thank you to everyone who came out and celebrated with me!

Before and Afters

I love checking out the before and after of home renovation projects. Design*Sponge has a dedicated section. The results can be so amazing and inspiring. I really like Alischa of Bespoke Press's before and afters and the little details around the door frames.

Pink Lily

Pink Lily has colorful personal stationary that are just darling.

My Flower

Stella is my little flower and this butterfly at the Bronx Zoo seems to agree with me and was very interested her scent. It was fluttering around her for some time. The Butterfly Garden at the zoo is quite enchanting.

Fall Shoes

I'm loving all the shoes for Fall this year. Especially the riding boots and oxford shoes. As far as Fall clothes, I'm currently in that non-shopping mood since I'm at the tale end of the pregnancy and then it's the funky time of getting back down to your normal weight.

{all shoes via Piperlime}

Botanical Classes

The New York Botanical Garden is offering free mini-classes (or I should say a little taste of their main classes) this Saturday from 10:30-3:30 p.m. All the classes look really good like the floral design, gardening and landscape design. I really want to take the landscape design class so I can get an idea of how to landscape our backyard next spring.

Country Wedding

Remember this wedding I posted about a few days ago? Well, I had to share some of the pictures because the special event came out so beautiful, and I love all the little country-style details that went into it. Sarah wore cowboy boots under her tulle-tiered dress. The wedding party arrived in a horse carriage. All the guests received a jar of local Idaho honey. Homemade pies adorn the dessert bar. Invitations, menu and thank you notes were printed on recycled paper. And everything was done with an environmentally-conscious mind. I had the honor of designing all the jewelry for the bride and bridemaids. And is Sarah not one hot bride? Seriously I could marry her myself.

All the beautiful photos taken by Dev Khalsa Photography

Eggplant Salad

Seth brought home the other day an eggplant and chile peppers from a co-worker's garden. So tonight for dinner I made our favorite eggplant salad. This dish makes my mouth water. It's so yummy, fresh and easy to make. Grilled vegetables work best so it's ideal for summer or the winding-down warm evenings.

Grilled Eggplant Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing

Dressing:1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce

1 tablespoon minced seeded Thai, hot red, or serrano chile

2 garlic cloves, minced


Salad:12 cherry tomatoes, quartered

12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices eggplant (about 2 pounds)

1/4 teaspoon salt, divided

Cooking spray

6 (1/2-inch-thick) slices red onion

1/4 cup torn mint leaves

1/4 cup torn basil leaves

To prepare dressing, combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl; stir well with a whisk.
Prepare grill or broiler.
To prepare salad, combine tomatoes and dressing, and set aside. Sprinkle eggplant with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Place eggplant on a grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray; cook 5 minutes on each side or until eggplant is done. Remove eggplant from grill rack or pan; set aside. Sprinkle onion with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Place onion on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray; cook for 5 minutes on each side or until onion is tender.
Arrange eggplant and onion slices on 6 plates. Top with tomato mixture; sprinkle with mint and basil.

Hello 30!

It was my 30th birthday this past weekend. And I spent the day laid up in bed recovering from another bout of extreme pregnancy pain that I endured the whole night before. My luck of course. So, our original plans to the city were cancelled. I slept all day. By evening I felt much better to at least head out for a dinner date with my honey and to finally stop by Chocopologie.

While I was recovering, Seth took the kiddies to pick up a birthday cake. It was too cute--when they got home the kids raced into my room, pulled me out of bed, found all the remaining candles in the house (and there were only 12), put them on the cake, sang happy birthday, watched me blow out the candles and then devouted the cake. It was quite amusing watching them get so excited over a little cake.

Scandinavian Style

I've always been so inspired but a little intimated by Scandinavian decorating. Always clean lines, bold colors and patterned fabric.

{seen via Apartment Therapy}

State Map Postcards

When I'm exploring a new town, I like to pick up those maps with all the illustrations. Well, these US state map postcards are a similar idea and are very appealing.

{via Free People}

Retro Appliances

I really like retro or vintage kitchen appliances. Something a little different from the usual stainless steel and adds a punch of color. And what is cool is these old-looking appliances have modern features like ice makers and energy star ratings.

{via Coveiter}