Darling Darleen

Designing + Creating

2012-01-27T17:25:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been in the process of designing and creating, designing and creating. I've got a lot of new jewelry pieces that I want/need to get up on my site, but we are relaunching my website in a couple of months--completely revamped with a new platform and everything. I can not wait. I've been wanting to update it for a long time. I'm excited that it will be more compatible with browsers, computer screens, navigation,etc. And one of the reason why my old site is not updated with new pieces is because I have to reload all products on the new site so that's where Ive been putting it or you can go to my etsy shop to buy new items. Anyway, here are a few pieces that are waiting to be priced, photographed, categorized, etc. Happy Weekend!

Handmade Valentines...

2012-01-25T19:03:00.002-05:00

...are the truly the best and make giving Valentines more heartfelt. Get together your crafting friends, spread out all your Valentine supplies on the table and throw a little crafting party. Here are a few of my favorite paper supply sites for your handmade Valentines:

Paper Source
Martha Stewart Crafts
Paper Jade
AI Friedman
D. Blumchen
Paper Mojo

image via ingalls photography

Colored Pants

2012-01-23T23:38:00.005-05:00

I've been really enjoying my $20 colored Mossimo skinny pants I bought at Target. Yep...I bought one in every color--blue,green, red. Good alternative from denim jeans. And good news! It looks like colored pants will still be a must this spring.

J.Crew

La Petite Fashionista

Casual Glamorous

How Does She--she is wearing a mutze hat!

Samantha Perry David in Tory Burch

Kate Spade

RHBH

2012-01-23T14:12:00.001-05:00

I admit. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is my guilty pleasure and I'm so excited for the finale tonight! My favorite housewife is the lovely Kyle Richards, and I'm obessed with her new French-countryside home. Her style is beautiful but non fussing. I love the white furniture against the dark hardwood floors and freshly cut flowers bring in color to the home. You can see her house tour here.

Robot Party

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Before all the holiday craziness, my little Jackson turned three and we celebrated by throwing him a robot party. I'm not quite sure why I chose that theme since Jackson told me numerous times before the party that he wanted a Cars 2 birthday and NOT a robot party, but the plans were already in progress and by the end of his birthday he liked robots.

Usually I stick with home parties to keep cost down, but this time I decided to hold the party off base. Thinking of a bunch of little three-year-olds running around my house made me dizzy. But having a party at a location can get really costly, so what I did was hold the party at our local children's museum on the day and time when the musuem offered free admissions to locals. This worked out perfect because the parents could bring other children . You'd be surprise how many local venues have a free admission day.

Since the party was held at a children's museums, robots became a perfect theme because there are a lot of things to build and science projects to discover. Here are the invitations:

The party favors:

Since the party was at a public place, I wanted the guests to wear something
similar so I made a robot design, printed it on iron-on transfer paper.

The food: For food I gave each family a picnic in a box filled with sandwiches, drinks, chips and robot cupcakes. When the guests arrived at the museum the first thing we did was eat then play so we had enough tables and chairs for everyone. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of the boxes. The day before the party, I poured water all over my computer and destroyed it! My computer was non-functional for almost a week but did get it up and running. I had really cute labels, sandwich and drink wrappers for the boxes but couldn't use them. Oh well!

Party Resources:

invitations--me

party labels and tags--me

envelopes--AI Friedman

robot lollipops--Oriental trading company

little toy robots--Oriental trading company

Long sleeves t-shirts--Old Navy

Iron-on transfer sheets--Michaels

Robot design for t-shirts--me

cupcake toppers--cakes and kids

cupcake wrappers--domestic charm

Did You Know...

2012-01-17T15:04:00.001-05:00

...Valentine's Day is less than a month away?? We are moving along quite quickly into 2012. It's time to get a jump on gifts for someone you love. Here are a few beauties:

Hey Yo Yo

2012-01-17T14:54:00.000-05:00

Really cute party supplies and vintage cupcake toppers and novelty party favors can be found at Hey Yo Yo. I remember getting those tiny telephones at birthday parties as a child and pretend to talk on them!

Staycation

2012-01-17T07:41:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite week in the year is the one right between Christmas and New Years. The kids are off of school and the hubby takes the week off and we make it a staycation every year. Why go anywhere when we live close to one of the greatest city? We go and play in NYC almost everyday. It's a madhouse and many people are there for New Years but it's so much fun and the feeling of holiday is still in the air. We head to all the museums, play in Central Park, stop by our favorite cupcake shop and take at least one cab ride and subway ride (the kids love that stuff). Here are a few pictures from my iphone--i had some more pictures but they are lost on my computer.

New Baby Shoes

2012-01-12T13:57:00.000-05:00

You'd think I'd get excited to receive a package of new heels in the mail, but these days it's all about the kids. So I was very excited to open up a package of Joyfolie shoes that I had order a while ago from Gilt. They are THE cutest baby shoes and also came with a matching hair clip. Even better! I've been wanting to buy a pair of Joyfolie shoes for so long and they were always sold out, but now they are manufacturing some of their styles. Love them! Can't wait to get them on little Miss.

New Year's Family Pictures

2012-01-10T15:17:00.000-05:00

I've learned this year that next holiday season I need to mail out Christmas cards in November and not to attempt it in December. This year we sent out New Year's cards because I was flooded with orders and was pulling late nights every night in December. I like to design our cards but decided because of lack of time to order from Minted which has a great selection of cards and supports a community of artists. Anyway, I ordered the cards on December 24th but then received it two weeks later. Bummer! I missed all the New Year's hoopla. And here I am this week mailing out New Year's cards that probably won't even adorn people's refridgator doors because everyone is SO over all the holidays and will just end up in the trash. Oh well! Here are a few family pictures that were used for our cards.

Loving Urban

2012-01-09T17:41:00.001-05:00

Urban has extended their apartment line and I've got my eye on a number of pieces. Their furniture is pretty well priced although I'm not quite sure how the quality is.

Madeline Chair

Brass Pendant

Patterned Nails

2012-01-06T17:07:00.000-05:00

One of my new year's resolution is to paint my fingernails more often. It keeps my haggard nails looking feminine. I'm loving all the nail wraps that are available now. They stay on longer than polish, and they come in fun patterns. ncla has a lot of fun nail options like this ikat pattern.

The Best of 2011

2012-01-04T23:00:00.000-05:00

Here are few of my favorites from the past year. It's fun to look back and see what you did. I started the year with a newborn and ended it with a walking one year old. Time flies. We were very blessed this past year eventhough I feel like 2011 was kind of a funky year for me. I'm excited for a new beginning.

Melting Crayons

Chocolate on a Stick Invites

Chocolate Party

Couple Photobooth

May Day Baskets

Homemade Strawberry Jam

Christmas Recap

2012-01-03T18:14:00.001-05:00

Christmas is done and gone and packed away at our house, but here's a glimpse of what the last month looked like at our house. I know I should of posted this in the month of December, but I was missing in action. We did have a great holiday though. I made sure all the normal holiday traditions were done, which added to the craziness but a good sacrifice in my opinion. We did do an advent calendar and the kids made sure we did something Christmas-y every day. We ate a lot of baked holiday goods and made sure to put on some holiday pounds. By the smiles on my kids' faces it looked like Santa brought them everything on their wish list.

paper circle garland

wreaths on every window and every door

stockings were hung

little evergreen tree were decorated all around the house

Happy New Year 2012!

2012-01-02T13:26:00.003-05:00

We set off confetti for the new year. It was fun! And we made sure to clean up our mess since it was set off in a public place. So glad for a new year. I'm going to make this one a really great one. And I'm back to blogging this week.

Last Call

2011-12-16T22:05:00.002-05:00

Sorry I've been silent recently...I've been breathing in jewelry. Which is has been great but keeping me really busy. Thank you everyone who has ordered! Or has spread the word. You guys are the best!

So, this is the last weekend to place your orders for Christmas delivery. Monday is the cut off. Of course you can keep placing orders, but they just won't get there before Christmas.

Okay...I promise next week I won't talk about jewelry...at least for a little while. :)

Snowglobes

2011-12-14T17:28:00.001-05:00

If you've been to Anthropologie recently, chances are you've seen their homemade snowglobes. I knew we had to make a craft of it. So the other day for our advent calendar we made mason jar snowglobes. This is a really easy winter craft for children. My kids had so much fun that they made one for each windowsill in our sunroom.

All you need is:
mason jars
miniature trees (michaels)
other miniature winter items (snowman, reindeer, glitter jingle bells are from michaels)
spray adhesive glue
glitter
glue gun
fake snow

1. Spray adhesive glue on your trees then sprinkle glitter. Let it dry

Then arrange your glittered miniatures on the inside cap of the mason jar. Use the glue gun to attach.

Add fake snow to your jars. Once the glue dries on the cap, turn it upside down and screw the top back on to the jar. Then turn right side up (or upside down) and enjoy!

Ribbon Garland

2011-12-14T14:52:00.002-05:00

I love the look of a simple 4" width satin ribbon used as holiday garland. Easy and a perfect holiday look like this image in the new West Elm catalog. Drape satin ribbon over your mantle and add ornaments--that's it. No time at all. You can get 4"wide satin ribbon at Paper Mart.

A West Elm store just opened up in my neighborhood. I'm definitely going to be hitting up that store after Christmas for some holiday decor discounts. I love all the modern Christmas decorations.

Last Week

2011-12-12T17:13:00.000-05:00

This is the last week to place your holiday jewelry orders. Orders placed up to December 19th (next Monday) are guaranteed Christmas delivery. Most orders are being shipped out in 2-3 business days. You can place your orders here or here.

Favorite Things

2011-12-07T15:26:00.001-05:00

A few of my favorite things...

1. Fleece-lined leggings
2.L'Occtaine Hand cream--I have one in my car, purse and at home.
Good for winter!
3. Sorel Joan of Arctic--early-Christmas present to myself.
Can't wait to wear them. Today it's 60 degrees!
4. Zara leather-edging coat--cute, tailored coat
5. myface cosmetic foundation--the BEST foundation.
Light-weight on face and stays on all day, but doesn't cake on.

Dwell

2011-12-06T22:32:00.001-05:00

Have you checked out Dwell Studio lately? They have a lot of new products that I'm loving. I want to buy the whole store.

1st Birthday

2011-12-05T17:21:00.001-05:00

Now that I have a December baby, I simply cannot decorate for Christmas until after her birthday. Luckily her date lands right at the beginning of December. So this past weekend we celebrated Miss Chloe's 1st Birthday. It was simple, sweet, just family and...she had NO idea what was going on. Except that she had a huge sugar high from eating her first cake. I went to my party box in my storage room and pulled out birthday decorations. The older kids decorated party hats. I had a bag of unfrosted cupcakes from Jackson's 3rd birthday party (more on that later) that I pulled out and let the kids decorate. The little party was mostly for her siblings but she seemed to enjoy all the focus that was on her. But really the most important thing that happened was that she took 4 baby steps on her birthday. We were all excited for her big accomplishment.

Pumpkin Puree

2011-11-30T23:46:00.002-05:00

Don't throw out your sugar pumpkins (the smaller-sized pumpkins) now that Halloween and Thanksgiving are over. What I like to do is make pumpkin pie puree and freeze it to be used for future pumpkin pie recipes. All you do is cut open and seed the pumpkin. Cut in quarters and place in a large pot with a little bit of water. Steam until the pumpkin is very soft. Then scape the pumpkin off of its skin and place in a strainer to remove any clumps. Then measure about 2 cups of pumpkin and about one cup of evaporated milk. Blend until thick. Then pour in mason jars to freeze. Make sure to write down on a label your favorite pumpkin pie recipe and stick to jars so your recipe is right there when you are ready to use. For thanksgiving I made pumpkin pie and used some of my frozen pumpkin puree that I made last year.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T23:05:00.001-05:00

Since it's the last day of November, I better get Thanksgiving up. This week is whizzing by with black friday orders and two birthdays. I can't believe December is tomorrow. We spent Thanksgiving with dear friends, who are pretty much family. All of our family live afar so it's nice to have each other to celebrate those familiar traditions we all grew up on. My girlfriend Natalie opened up her beautiful home and decorated a table for 30 people! We all helped pitch in on the food. There was so much food.

Black Friday Sale

2011-11-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

Darleen Meier Jewelry is participating in Black Friday this year. Everything in the shop is 25% off--Friday only. So jump at the opportunity to get some new jewels or jewels for others. You can shop here or here. My etsy shop has newer items. The coupon code is BLACKFRIDAY11. And these orders will ship in time for Christmas.

Girl Next Door Show

2011-11-23T16:43:00.000-05:00

Hello my fellow Las Vegas friends! Darleen Meier Jewelry will be at the Girl Next Door Show in Las Vegas for your holiday shopping. The show is this upcoming Tuesday, November 29th from 7-9 p.m. I will have a few styles that aren't in my shop and a door prize so come and shop!

Thanksgiving Tree

2011-11-22T15:02:00.000-05:00

Already with all the craziness of the holidays, I haven't been able to reflect on the many things I'm thankful for. We all have SOMETHING to be thankful for even if life might not be going the way we want it to go. So it's nice to stop and think and reflect on the many blessings. We made this Thanksgiving tree with notes of thanks and I plan to keep all those little leaves since every year brings new blessings. The flowers are Japanese orange lantern.

Happy Weekend

2011-11-18T15:22:00.000-05:00

I am dreaming of eating an ice cream cone on a hot sunny day. But in my neck of the woods it's feeling a lot like winter. I've already broken out my coat, my uggs and moisturing hand-lotion for my dry, cracked hands. Hope you have a good weekend and are getting ready for Turkey day! Wow! This month is going by so fast.

11 Months

2011-11-16T23:00:00.000-05:00

Really?! Are we almost to the one year mark? So soon? Oh my baby. My LAST baby. Must.savor.every.minute.

Last weekend we took an impromtu, completely last-minute family pictures for our holiday cards--right before the colorful fall leaves fell. Perfect timing but it was so cold and windy. Cold plus windy don't mix with kids. It was kind of disaster--runny noses, lots of crying and complaining. I hope we got just ONE good family picture.

But I did get these really darling pictures of my Chloe in a vintage baby buggy. She was so confused as to why I put her in this buggy--you can see it all over her face. But oh how I love her confused expression. The kids really thought it was a hoot pushing her in that buggy.

Kids' Thanksgiving Table Ideas

2011-11-14T23:19:00.000-05:00

Don't forget the children this Thanksgiving. They often end up at a kid's table and these ideas can help serve as a snack and activity center for the little ones while you slave away in the kitchen.

1. Hip Hip Hooray
2. One Charming Party
3. Martha Stewart
4. Martha Stewart
5. Fiskars
6. Country Living

Floral Straws

2011-11-14T22:32:00.000-05:00

Oh the joys of cupcake liners! Here another cute idea for your next party--floral straws!

House Featured

2011-11-11T15:37:00.000-05:00

Head over to 6th Street Design School today. Kirsten featured my friend Katie's house that I posted a few weeks ago. There are a lot of fun home design ideas over at 6th Street.

Shop Update: New Pieces and Silver Jewelry Coming

2011-11-10T23:22:00.001-05:00

Tis the season to be busy! End of October, November and the first two weeks of December is when holiday orders are in. If you are thinking about making a purchase, the earlier the better! I have a few new pieces that will be added to my shop over the weekend, along with silver jewelry. Yippee! Also, all jewelry ordered during the season will be gift wrapped with a gift tag.

The Fergie bracelet is my fav...will be added to the shop soon!

Wigs and Photobooth

2011-11-08T23:58:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I helped plan my girlfriend's 30th surprise birthday party. One of the fun things we did was gather wigs so party guests could wear them and add to the surprise when the birthday girl walked in. Since Halloween was the previous week, it was not hard to find wigs and many stores had wigs discounted half off. Perfect timing! We also used the wigs for a photobooth because photobooths are just funny and bring the silly side out of people.

For the photobooth's backdrop, I asked the birthday girl's mom to send me a picture of her daughter as a child. I then scanned the picture to get a digital copy. I took it to kinkos and they blew it up to 47" and printed it on their large printer. The size was 4' by 6' but I think you can even have them print it bigger. Anyway, it made the party more personal and put the focus on the birthday girl.

Zig Zag Streamers

2011-11-08T23:29:00.001-05:00

I made these paper zig zag streamers for my friend's surprise birthday party. They were seriously SO easy to make. I cut them while watching my favorite reality show. All you need is colored paper cut as a rectangle and scissors. That's it! You can find the step-by-step instructions here.

Our weekend in Photos

2011-11-07T20:44:00.000-05:00

Surprise Party for my girlfriend

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

Headless Horseman Bridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

The Great Jack o' Lantern Blaze

Teaching Stella how to handstitch doll clothes

House Tour: Libby Lovely Las Vegas Home

2011-11-03T21:53:00.001-04:00

You know the excitement of furnishing your first apartment or home? Once you get your OWN space, the blank palatte is your opportunity to express your personal style. Or to some, it's more of being able to turn an empty space into an inviting home. Well, my girlfriend Libby just recently bought her first home, and I think she's done a really good job decorating it. She's expressed some of her personal style while matching it with functional furniture pieces. And if you've ever been in a Las Vegas home, many are a cookie cutter adobe style home. Libby has brought character to hers. Some of my favorite things about her home: the big windows, high ceilings and natural light.

Resources:
Cow Rug is from Ikea
Silhouette pictures: Etsy
Rosette Bedding: Anthropologie
Deer Head: Z Gallerie
Vintage surf & car pictures: Elgarboart
Knitted Lion: Mutze

To see more house tours, click here.

Mutze Boutiques

2011-11-02T14:45:00.001-04:00

Mutze Hats just released their winter event's schedules for your holiday shopping. And the first one is coming up next weekend in Idaho. I got a glimpse of some of the knitted hats and new pieces that are heading to the holiday boutiques and they are all so beautiful and well made. I placed an ordered for two little boy flap jack hats, the baby girl flower headbands, knitted lion soft toys and that really pretty cream multi-functional scarf with the big wooden button. Can't wait to show you when I get them!

My little Witch

2011-11-02T14:22:00.000-04:00

This Halloween was kind of a washout for us. I didn't get ANY good pictures because I took them on Halloween night. I was out of town for most of my children's Halloween festivities during the week and missed out on all the fun. Their costumes were kind of thrown together, and I wasn't able to put a lot of time into them. I was a little disappointed but hey...there is always next year right!

After my Stella saw a picture of me as a child when I was a witch with a green face, she wanted to be a witch too. But she's got a little more creative juice in her and said that for her costume she must have ratty hair, a black mole, a black bird perched on her witch hat and little black spiders crawling up her legs. But NO green face. Wish I got a good picture of her costume.

Party List

2011-10-27T23:41:00.001-04:00

I just added on the left-side of my blog a Party List for adult dinners, children birthdays and baby showers (located right below the store links). These are parties that I have thrown or have attended in the past. Check it out!

Bread & Butter

2011-10-27T23:30:00.000-04:00

The last few days I've been in Las Vegas, sans children, and had the opportunity to try out the new cafe Bread & Butter with my girl Ashley. The former head pastry chef of Bouchon just recently opened up the gourmet restaurant. Seriously, the food is divine and serves some of the best homemade food. We ordered the ham & cheese pretzel sandwich because we heard how yummy it was and oh boy! It was quite a naughty little sandwich that had me practically licking the crumbs off the plate. So good. The strawberry kale salad was scrumptious! And they were kind enough to load up a box of mouth-watering pastries--pumpkin pie, banana nutella pie, apple tart, chocolate cupcakes, cranberry muffin, cinnamon roll, pretzel buns.

Hand-drawn Maps

2011-10-25T13:07:00.000-04:00

You might have noticed her map illustration in Elle Decor or Purlsoho and now Lena Corwin has released a book call Maps, a collection of hand-drawn maps she's done. Her maps are whimsy, and she captures the spirit of the city. I need to pick up a copy and would love to frame my favorite map.

Century 21 Upper West Side

2011-10-25T12:19:00.003-04:00

For those who live local or planning to visit NYC, the store Century 21 (the TJmax to high-end designer wear apparel) just opened their second Manhattan store on the upper west side near Lincoln center. If you have ever shop their downtown location near ground zero, their store is a madhouse every time I've gone and I always leave on the verge. But I hear their upper west side location is easier to navigate within the store and they actually have real dressing rooms!

Spa Party: The Party

2011-10-20T20:29:00.003-04:00

I'm finally sharing with you Stella's 7th birthday party that we celebrated last month. Honestly I was trying hard not to throw a birthday party for her this year. Being gone all the month of August, then jumping right into school and her birthday being only two weeks away--I just didn't have the time or energy. I offered instead a day in the City at the American Girl Doll store, but she tearfully told me she really, really, REALLY wanted a birthday party. Yup, I think I've turned my children into birthday party monsters.

We decided to do a spa theme with a small group of girls--pedicures, manicures, facials. Sounds easy and I had most of the supplies on hand. After we decided on the theme, a few days later One Charming Party posted their Spa-aah Party ideas and printables so it was perfect! And it saved me a ton of time, not having to do much of anything except printing and gathering supplies. The girls loved it!

I hired two high school girls to come over and do the manicures and pedicures. And my girlfriend had one of those pedicure at-home spa baths and let me borrow it. The party guests rotated between pedicures, manicures and do-it-yourself facials. I turned on pandora's top hits radio station, and those who had to wait were singing and dancing. They were all so cute and energetic!

Spa Water

Homemade Salt Scrub for party favors

Homemade Lavendar Bath Salts for party favors

The cupcakes

Strawberry Smoothies

Dessert and Party favors table

Spa Table

When the girls first arrived they received a white hooded robe
and a pair of spa flip flops.
These items were apart of their party favors

Birthday Girl

Party Resources
spa printables: One Charming Party
paper accordian decorations: pearl river mart in soho
gingham tablecloth: sewn by me, fabric from Fabric.com
mini glass jars for salt scrub: michaels
clear tubs for bath salt: In the Clear
white polka dot blue serving trays: Ikea
Cupcakes and cake: Nibble
Spa fondants for cupcakes and cake: Eat Something Cute
Small mirrors: HomeGoods
Nail polish: esse and o.p.i
small clear bowls and smoothie cups: Ikea
white hooded children's robe: cotton age
flip flops: old navy (i hot glued little white flowers onto them that I got from michaels)

Spa Party: Invitations

2011-10-20T18:54:00.002-04:00

I'm excited to finally share with you details of Stella's spa birthday party. I love sending out physical invitations because the children get so excited for the party, and it set the stage of the party. And these invitations were the perfect excitement buster, especially for a group of 7 year olds.

I so wish I could take credit for designing these darling paper sleeping masks. But because of lack of time and Stella's birthday right around the corner, I found instead these printable masks on One Charming Party and customized it to our party date. It saved me a ton of time!

Click to see more of the Spa Party

Shop Update: New Pretties

2011-10-18T22:14:00.005-04:00

I added some new ghoulish jewelry pieces to my shop. Just in time for Halloween! Okay...well maybe they aren't THAT scary, but they do have a little more of an edge compared to some of my other pieces. I'm lovin' the silver pyrite stones that I used in the Irene necklace and Pippa earrings.

Irene necklace

Betty earrings

Pippa earrings

Skull necklace

Fall Finds

2011-10-17T19:30:00.002-04:00

Fall is here and it gets me excited for warmer clothes. I've got a list of favorites that I'm wishing to purchase, but the hubby has put me on a spending diet...until January! It's all good and actually I encourage you to do the same. It's healthy! If not, make one of these purchases and let me know how it goes.

1. Faux fur vest
2. Supercalifraglipstick
3. Tulip Sweater
4. Minnetonka boots
5. Marc Jacobs bag
6. Rosie Lee
7. Atwood earrings
8. Cowlneck sweater
9. Embellished top

10 months

2011-10-13T11:20:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted any recent updates on my little baby. Because we were traveling I missed her 9-month mark and now she is 10 months. Boo-hoo! That means she is ALMOST one, and my baby will soon be a toddler. Because of lack of space, the hubby has been making me get rid of some of my baby gear...bouncy chair, baby swing, baby jumper. I thought it would be easy to give away, but when I had a moment of a tearful breakdown I realized how attached I'd become to these items and how they are SO MUCH more than an object to keep a baby occupied. Giving them away has definitely made it final that the baby-making chapter in my life has ended and my babies are not-so-much babies anymore. Sigh.

My Chloe is in a really fun stage now. She is talking using two-syllable words like "mama", "dada", "baba", "uh-oh". She crawls really fast. Opening cupboards and pulling everything out is one of your favorite things to do. And if books are on the book shelf, she makes it a priority to pull them all off--no questions asked. She turns her noses up on baby food--she wants only the goods. And she has just enough hair for me to put in a hair elastic. Adorable!

Chloe is wearing Gap ruffled tank oneies and scalloped cardigan and Missoni for Target sweater leggings

Apple Season + Free Download

2011-10-06T15:04:00.001-04:00

The apples are ready to harvest! Fall is one of my favorite time of year, and it all begins with apple season. The last two weekends we've been busy picking apples at the orchard and then processing them.

Homemade apple sauce is SO much better than store bought. You can find my applesauce recipe here.

And in addition to the applesauce, I made four apple pies to freeze and cook at a later date. I did this last year and it was so nice to have a supply of homemade apple pies to give away or use at Thanksgiving or as a dessert when guests come over.

So here is the apple pie recipe that I use and that can be frozen. It's really easy to make and easy to double or triple the recipe.

1 pie crust recipe
6 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Line pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate. Toss together apple and lemon juice in a large bowl. Combine brown sugar and next 4 ingredients; sprinkle over apple mixture, and toss to coat. Spoon into prepared pie crust. Place remaining pie crust over filling. Fold edges under, and crimp; cut slits in top for steam to escape. Bak at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake 35 minutes.

And if you'd like to freeze the pies, you can see my previous post on where I get the white boxes and how to store. And I am now including the pie label as a FREE download so you can make your homemade apple pie cute and personal.

Healthy Oil

2011-10-05T23:53:00.000-04:00

My last healthy advice I'd like to share that I incorporate in my daily regimen is taking good fats. Fat is your friend...as long as it's the good kind of fat. Essential fatty acids help with building healthy cells and crucial in hormone production. It helps increase your energy and stamina. Improves brain function. Produces beautiful hair, skin and nails. I like to use Udo's Oil, which you can get at any health food store. Udo's has a combination of omega 3 and 6 and many other oils. I like to drizzle it on my salads or put it in my morning shakes. Or I just drink 2 tbsps a day to make sure I get my daily intake.

Coconut oil is one of those really good oils that you can use in your foods. But I also love to use it topically. After taking a shower, I rub coconut oil on my body. Let it soak in before putting on clothes. It makes my skin feel so soft and it helps get rid of those dry spots on the back of my arms. Better than any expensive spa lotion.

Favorite Thing: Yellow Flower

2011-10-05T23:04:00.000-04:00

Since we have had guests staying with us, I picked up some fall flowers for the house. And this lovely, funky flower with long thin petals is what I brought home. I can't remember the name of it. Anyone know?

Apple Cider Vinegar Tonic

2011-09-29T23:45:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I posted about my nightly routine of taking a shot of a garlic shooter. My road to healthy restorative continues with my morning routine of an apple cider vinegar tonic. Apple Cider Vinegar acts as a body cleanser. When taken internally it detoxifies, brings mental clarity, helps with premature aging, skin health, hair loss, blood purificiation...and much more!

So I take two teaspoons of raw apple cider vinegar (must be raw & organic) and pour in eight ounces of purified water. Add a little bit of raw honey to taste and 1/8-1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper (organic--must be 40,000 heat units). Stir and drink. It definitely wakes me up!

Favorite Things: Nail Polish Strips

2011-09-29T23:00:00.002-04:00

Not the greatest image, but on my way out to pick up my kids from school I had to take a picture of my Day 6 nail polish strips. Still going strong with all the abuse they've been getting. They are Sally Hansen Salon Effects and I absolutely love them! Wish they had a little more basic colors, but you know I will definitely be trying out the Misbehaved next.

Garlic Shooters

2011-09-28T13:02:00.000-04:00

I've been on a crazy health kick lately. Well, honestly I'm always doing something that is a little usual when it comes to dealing with my body and health...but always in a good way. I recently just finished nursing my baby (sniff, sniff) and have been trying to get my body back on a healthy track--regular periods, replacement of lost vitamins,etc. When I nurse I lose my hair...I have brittle nails...my hormones are always a little whacked...I break out. You get the idea. Only for a good cause. So, I'm going to share some of these health routines I do this week that seem to be doing the trick.

The first one is garlic shooters. Every night right before bed, I take a garlic shooter (yes, stinky breath that my hubby doesn't like...sorry babe). Garlic is one of earth's healers. It prevents cancer, blood cleanser, healthy digestive tract, increases energy and strength throughout the body, strengthens metabolism and immune system. I use fresh garlic whenever my children are sick and have been able to fight ear infections and colds. And that's just the tip of the iceberg of garlic's health benefits. Anyway, here's the recipe for garlic shooter which is from Gilroy Garlic Festival Cook Book.

Fresh squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon (1-2 tablespoon)
1-2 tablespoon water
1 clove garlic, crushed

Put lemon juice and water into a cup. Add freshly crushed garlic clove. Immediately swirl cup to achieve a circling motion and drink in one gulp. The 'shooter' experience may be followed by an immediate feeling of rejuvenation called the 'shooter rush'.

My Girl

2011-09-26T23:50:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to my baby! My wish is for you to stop growing, never leave my nest, continue to stay sweet and innocent and so full of your contagious happy attitude.

Stella at her birthday party this weekend

Wedding in the Garden

2011-09-26T23:45:00.000-04:00

It was a perfect day to have a wedding in the garden. Not just any garden, but the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden which is known for the famous sculpture of a cherry and a spoon. We were so excited that my brother-in-law Eric and Anita finally tied the knot. The ceremony was sweet and personal. I've come to accept that it's a given that I'll shed a tear or two at weddings. They had the biggest smiles on their faces the whole entire night. I'm so excited to have Anita be apart of the family. She was so sweet to my kids, and at HER wedding she offered to watch Jackson for me so I could change Chloe's diaper. Only knowing her for a few hours, I knew right then and there why Eric was so head over heels for her. No I didn't take her up on her offer, but I could tell she's always thinking of others before herself. Stella was the flower girl and Lucas the ring bearer. They were really excited to participate and felt really special.

Favorite Things

2011-09-21T23:00:00.000-04:00

These candle tins have the best scent and will fill any room with sweet fragrance.

Fembot on the Red Carpet

2011-09-19T17:23:00.000-04:00

I feel honored that the beautiful and most-inspirational Amy Purdy wore my Idalis necklace on the red carpet. Amy is a double leg amputee who continues to excel at everything she does. She is a competitive snowboarder, spokesperson, skater, wakeboarder, actress, model. She started Adaptive Action Sports and just won her 3rd world cup gold medal in snowboarding.

Gifts in a Jar

2011-09-19T14:41:00.000-04:00

These days, the classic Mason jars aren't only used for bottling up fruit, jam or grandma's favorite soup. I've seen them used at weddings, birthday parties, restaurants and for many different homemade gift ideas. Here are a few of my favorite gifts in a jar:

cupcakes in a jar with wooden spoon

Sewing kit in a jar

Ice cream kit in a jar

Memories in a jar

Flowers in a jar

Homemade granola in a jar

Cosmopolitan Hotel

2011-09-15T23:02:00.001-04:00

The uber-haute Cosmopolitan Hotel, located right in the center of the Las Vegas strip, is not your typical Vegas hotel. Not overly large, the interior style is modern but elegantly chic with numerous chandelier crystal swags hanging from high ceilings. The hotel attracts a much younger crowd; so instead of being greeted with slot machines right when you enter the doors, you are greeted with a party-hopping nightclub. Their lineup of concerts are pretty good--Adele and Death Cub for Cutie were both playing to sold-out shows the weekend I was there in Vegas. Anyway, I had to check out the hotel since I heard so much rave about it. My girlfriend Ashley and I had fun with a mini-photoshoot. Ashley was my beautiful model.

Frye

2011-09-15T15:20:00.001-04:00

This season I want to get me some Frye boots. They've been on my "want" list for quite some time and I just haven't been able to scrape together enough money to buy a pair. I love how their boots have a weathered vintage look with antique brass trimmings. Here are a few I have my eyes set on:

Billy

Taylor

Melissa

Woo Hoo

2011-09-14T15:22:00.000-04:00

Owl fever is still going strong in my opinion. In the last week, I've seen three different owl motifs that I've wanted to snatch up and have in my home. Are owls a seasonal thing? Perhaps it just the upcoming fall season that has owls popping up.

1. Pallas Necklace

2. Owl butter dish

3. Owl wallpaper

4. Owl measuring cups

5.Girls' cool Owl tee

6.Wise 'ol owl print

7.Sleepy Hollow pencil cup

8.Stuffed Owl pillow

9. Victor the Owl print

Playing Catch Up

2011-09-09T00:32:00.003-04:00

Today I've been playing catch up on my life and have been doing all the not-so-fun things you have to do when you get home from a trip--bills, laundry, putting away luggage. I've also been also catching up on orders placed while I was away, which reminded me of my newest sister-in-law who ordered the Tamsin necklace for her bridesmaids. We tweaked the style a bit and she wanted it in silver. I think the necklaces were a lovely compliment to the dusty rose bridesmaid's dresses.

Summer Travels

2011-09-02T17:40:00.001-04:00

I've been missing from my computer for most of last month. We have been traveling all around the West Coast. Seven hotels, two rental cars, three airplane flights, one sick baby and three wired off-scheduled children--we have gone to Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Yellowstone back to Salt Lake City and now Minneapolis. And during my absence my house got hit by a minor earthquake and a hurricane. Niiice. But all is well! I hope to be able to share some of my pictures when I fully get home. My shop will re-open the Tuesday after Labor Day and I hope to be back to blogging sometime next week (after first day of school and one of my besties coming into town!).

Here we are after hiking up Mt. Washburn in Yellowstone. Such a beautiful view!

Allsaints Spitalfields

2011-08-23T02:57:00.000-04:00

I think I found a new favorite clothing store while visiting Vegas--the British fashion brand Allsaints Spitalfields. Their window display of vintage Singer sewing machines caught my eye and the clothing was quite impressive with beaded dresses and tops and beautiful leather boots and jackets. I did a lot of drooling. Wish I took more pictures of the British rocker meets bohemian hippie clothes.

Wooden Signs

2011-08-23T01:50:00.000-04:00

lovely handpainted and custom designed wooden wedding & baby signs from Chocolate Butterbean...

English Wedding

2011-08-18T21:41:00.000-04:00

Have you seen pictures of Kate Moss's romantic wedding? Very old English and traditional. And I love little group of flower girls. So cute!

House Tour: Katie's Stylish Abode Part 2

2011-08-16T23:45:00.000-04:00

Hello my dears...I've been traveling with my brood and have been away from the computer. I was brave enough to take them on a six-hour flight across the country. Just me alone with four children. Surprisingly everything went well, except when Chloe whacked hot tea on the nice gentlemen's lap who was sitting next to us and then spit orange baby food on his white dress shoes. Talk about being so embarassed and profusely apologizing! But he said he completely understood and not to worry about it. Such a gentlemen!

Before I left I wanted to post the second part of Katie's home. Here are pictures of her upstairs where her taste of style continues to flow through. The nursery is modern and boyish with colors of charcoal gray and dusty blue. The crib, dresser and shelf are from Bloom and the light-up letter "C" is from Design Solutions.

Her daughter's room is the perfect combinations of the color pink and ready for the transition from toddler to big girl.

Master Bedroom--upholstered nailhead bed is from Restoration Hardware. Wood grain dresser from ABC carpet.

Thanks Katie for letting us get a peek into your home!

Click to see more house tours .

Kale Chips

2011-08-09T23:50:00.000-04:00

I have four large bushes of kale growing in my garden. It took a while to my liking but I love kale. I put it in shakes, salads, sauces...or just eat it raw. And now I make kale chips! So yummy. Easy to make and they really taste like potato chips...we'll kind of. But they are so good and of course healthy. Below is the recipe I use, but check out Smitten Kitchen for more details.

Kale Chips
6 stocks of kale--rinsed, dried with stem and center stem removed
Olive Oil in a spray--I use Pam olive oil
Sea Salt
Italian Seasoning or fresh herbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut kale in large pieces. Spread out on a baking sheet. Spray olive oil on it. Sprinkle with salt and herbs. Cook for 10 mins or until crispy. Serve with grilled food.

Garden

2011-08-09T23:45:00.000-04:00

If you stop by my house in the later afternoon, don't bother knocking on the door. Come around back. You'll find me in my vegetable garden--picking food for dinner. I've learned quite a few things about the garden this summer. It's still a science project to me. A project that I am learning but also screwing up on. This year I was more aware of my seeds. I tried to find organic, non-GMO's or heirloom seeds. It was quite hard. My lettuce came out really bitter this year so I learned my soil was too acidic and needed to be more alkaline. And tomatoes actually need a lot of babying. Who knew. But somehow vegetables are growing and it's been quite gratifying.

Got any gardening secrets?

Shop Update: Summer Break

2011-08-08T10:09:00.000-04:00

I'm closing my shop end of today for summer break and will reopen September 6th after Labor Day weekend. If you want to order something, get it in today! All orders will be filled by the end of the week. My website will still be open to order, but orders will not be filled until after September 6th. I have a lot of fun new pieces and new stones that will be added in September. This summer has been really busy with wedding orders. Many brides have been buying the Personalized necklace and Single Initial necklace for bridesmaid's gifts. And I do offer custom orders.

House Tour: Katie's Stylish Abode

2011-08-05T06:00:00.001-04:00

Everytime I go to my friend Katie's house I always peek into each room and take mental notes of the placement of each furniture piece, artwork on the wall and personal treasure that make it a home. The stylish elements are right up my alley and I love everything she did to the house. I was so happy when she agreed to let me photograph her home. It's too cute not to share!

How great is this funky navy blue/grey sofa? It's the main accent piece in the living room. But she keeps the room calm and peaceful with neutral arm chairs and chaise lounge. Some of the other things I like are her Madeline Weinrib rugs. And if you notice in the pictures many of her rooms have Madeline Weinrib rugs. I also like how she added a little part of her kids to the living space.

The dining room is tucked behind a window-pane door. How great is that chandelier and pink rug!

The Bloom highchair goes perfect with the white kitchen.

One of my favorite rooms--the playroom! The wallpaper is the best!

Next week I'll post pictures of her upstairs.

To see more house tours click here.

8 Months!

2011-08-02T23:30:00.002-04:00

CHLOE...
is crawling
is pulling herself up
still points her toes like a ballerina
is stubborn
has two dimples
loves avocado, banana, cantalope, cheerios
got two teeth and two more coming in
says "dada"
can be crying then laughing then crying then back to laughing (drama queen)
cries when her mom leaves the room
gets beat up once a day by her 2.5-year-old brother
loves her siblings and tries to keep up with them
sleeps in a port-a crib (poor baby)
knows how to sign "more" in sign language
loves to play in the water
is a happy baby

Lego Party

2011-07-28T22:58:00.008-04:00

I'm so glad to finally share the actual Lego party! Putting it together was lot of fun. I reused previous party items--polkadot tablecloths, green fabric for flag bunting garland and happy birthday lego sign (friend's). Lego blocks were used for party decorations. All the party guests were kept entertained throughout the party. And most importantly Lucas had an "awesome" time!

I will list resources at the bottom of the post. Sorry for the many pictures. It was hard to narrow down.

Dessert Table

Lucas's name and the number 5 in Lego blocks. Lego mats used for food platters

Lego Cupcakes

Lego Cake

Lego Party Table--I like this idea I did last year for the Tea Party decorations--hanging garland or streamers over the party table. The kids love it because it makes the party more intimate and squares off the table from other party activities. I used tall wooden garden sticks and crepe paper to hang over the eating table.

Lego napkin rings, legos in containers, milk jars with barber striped straws

Lego Building table--the kids were asked to build different legos cars for one of their games. The kids also played a lego relay and lego hunt. Pinata too!

Party Resources

happy birthday lego banner--borrowed from a friend

polkadot fabric green, red & black (sewed into tablecloths)--ikea (discounted)

LEGOS--our playroom & Lego store

green flag banner--made it from fabric scraps

paper square plates, forks and napkins--oriental trading

Lego fondants for cupcakes and cake--Eat Something Cute

Cupcakes and cake--Nibble

Lego cake pops (forgot to take a picture)--Entirely Sweet

Barber Striped Straws--ModernLola

children's table and chairs--Smith Party Rental

garden stakes--home depot (spray painted)

crepe paper--party city

large red balloons--bargain balloons

glass bottles--recycled from other drinks

Lego Party: Party Favors

2011-07-25T23:49:00.002-04:00

The lego party favors were kept simple since we had a pinata and a mini candy bar for the kids at the party. I bought treat boxes from oriental trading. Similar to the party invitations, I punched three 1.5" diameter circles out of similar colored paper and affixed with foam sticker to the box for the lego block look.

We took a trip to the Lego store (which is really cool) for party favor ideas and found the minifigure packets. I found the lego sweet tart candy on amazon. You can actually build with them!

The party favor boxes lined up at the party. Too fun!

See more of the lego party.

Lego Party Invitations

2011-07-25T23:02:00.001-04:00

I'm excited to finally get around to posting Lucas's birthday party. We had such a great time. He is really into legos right now so I was happy when he told me he wanted to have a lego party. A couple of years ago I bookmarked this lego party and used it as my launching pad for Lucas's birthday.

I was really limited on time because his party was the day after school got out, and I started planning two weeks prior. So I keep his invitations simple and they were easy to make. I designed the card with lego blocks and party info printed on white paper. I configured the digital lego blocks to make the number five on one side of the card. On the opposite side of the card, I punched out four 1.5" diameter circles and attached to the orange card with double-sided foam circle stickers to create a 3-D effect. The lego blocks were used throughout the party for the food labels, mailing and party favors.

It was good to see that the kids immediately knew it was a lego party from just looking at the card.

Summer Sales

2011-07-22T18:25:00.008-04:00

The last few weeks I've been saving my money for a local sidewalk sale that some of my favorite stores participate in...Kate,Tory, j.crew to name a few. I snatched up a few items that i'm excited to use and excited that I got a good price on. Now is the time to get the good summer deals and still be able to use it before the season ends. Right now J.crew and Banana Republic are have their 40 percent off summer sale. Here are the few items I picked up at the sidewalk sale.

1. Tory Burch dipped tote--I plan to use as my beach and pool bag. But lately my summer bag as become my purse, diaper bag, snack bag...and anything else. So the large size is perfect.
2. J.Crew leopard iPhone cover--super chic and affordable. And doesn't the blue nails from Brooklyn Blonde look so good with it! I wonder if a mother of four can get away with that...
3. Kate Spade finds--patent leather wallet, makeup case, printed dress

Avocado Shake

2011-07-20T12:53:00.001-04:00

If I'm not running out the door in the morning, I like to make an avocado shake for breakfast. When I drink one in the morning it gets me on the right track for eating healthy the rest of the day. I've change the recipe around to what I like. You can really put whatever fruit or vegetable in it if you have the basic recipe. Right now I've been adding kale to the recipe since I have quite a bit in my garden. Sometimes I'll add blueberries or apples. Or a handful of almonds. The shake is sweet, not bitter. And very refreshing from the lemons and limes.

Basic Avocado Shake
12 ounces of coconut water or coconut milk watered down to make 12 ounces
Half of an avocado
4 inches of an English cucumber, cut into chunks
Handful of spinach
Juice from one half lemon
Juice from one half lime
1 packet of stevia
Ice

Put everything in a blender (like Vitamix or Blendtec) and blend to desired consistency. Enjoy!

Car Wash!

2011-07-20T12:35:00.002-04:00

My older two children have been hounding me to earn money this summer. I love their enthusiasm to work! So I've been giving them simple tasks to do around and outside the house like weed and water the garden, scrub the baseboards, wash down the walls, clean the windows. It's been great! And it's teaching them about work, negotiation and money. Anyway, their job the other day was to wash the car. What a better way to get wet when it's 90 degrees outside. Car washing task took about two hours. I think they were having more fun than working.

Olive & Cocoa

2011-07-19T18:03:00.000-04:00

Cute stuff over at Olive & Cocoa for birthday, baby, his, her...

Shop Update: New Personalized Necklaces

2011-07-18T12:59:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday! I added two new personalized necklaces to my shop. I love them so much I made one for me.

The first one is the i heart u necklace. One of my customers asked me to make this necklace for his wife for their anniversary, and I loved it so much I decided to sell them. It's so sweet and perfect for a newlywed or anniversary or just to express your love for your honey.

The second one is the Lucky charm necklace. Do you remember the tv show Laverne & Shirley? Remember Laverne always worn her initial in a curly curvise L on everything? This necklace remembers me of that. Sweet and youthful.

Snacking On

2011-07-12T23:09:00.000-04:00

We are staying cool with homemade ice cream. I bought an ice cream maker the beginning of summer and we have finally pulled it out to make homemade ice cream with the strawberries we picked a few weeks ago. The kids are convinced that we don't ever have to buy ice cream from the store again and have been thinking up a variety of ice cream concoction we can make.

Strawberry Ice Cream
2 cups of frozen strawberries
Juice from half of lemon
1 cup of sugar, divided
1 cup of whole milk
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 tsp of pure vanilla

In bowl, combine strawberries, lemon and 1/3 sugar. Let strawberries thaw out and macerate with the lemon juice on counter. After, put in blender (Vita mix or Blendtec) and blend until smooth.

In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to combine milk and remaining sugar and mix until sugar dissolves. Then stir in heavy cream, strawberry mixture and vanilla. Pour into ice cream machine and follow directions.

Teacups for Jewelry

2011-07-12T18:27:00.000-04:00

Using antique teacups to hold your jewelry is a great way to spruce up the top of a dresser. I love the look so much that I used the idea one year for my website jewelry promotion.

Live Creating Yourself added antique tea cups for her jewels and sunglasses. Simply lovely.

And Martha Stewart always comes up with fun ways of organizing jewelry.

I like how Paige color coordinated her jewelry with the teacup. And the lined drawer is a nice touch.

How do you organize your jewelry?

What to Bring to Cape Cod

2011-07-08T17:40:00.000-04:00

Cape Cod and the surrounding islands (Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket) is where you will find the definition of beach prep. You'll see women in stripe tank tops with white cotton skirts and men in pink button-down shirts with khaki shorts. Both looking fashionably laid back. Here are a few things to take if you head there this summer.

1. White Gauzy dress
2. Oliver Peoples Daddy B. sunglasses
3. Anthro white cotton hoodie
4.Tory Burch flip flops
5.Beach cruiser
6.Striped jumper
7.Polka dot bathing suit
8. Cape Cod by Henry David Thoreau
9.Canvas Beach Bag
10. Fedora hat
11. Beach chair backpack

Cape Cod 2011

2011-07-08T17:04:00.002-04:00

I have a love affair with Cape Cod. I'm completely swoon when I'm there. It's not just a beach town but it's a national seashore, which means much of the coastline is preserved and marine life flourishes. So, no large mansions are built up to the beach, but instead cottages are tucked behind green vegetation. There are biking and hiking trails. Lighthouses and large windmills. Salt ponds and sand dunes. And each town is the epitome of New England charm. We ate lobster and salt water taffy, played in the ocean, learned how to skimboard and built sandcastles.

4th of July

2011-07-05T17:19:00.000-04:00

Hello. Seems like I've been away for awhile. We've been really busy soaking up the sun and celebrating my 5-year-old's birthday (which I'll post soon). It gets to be a lot of work sitting poolside everyday. The kind of work that I don't want to end.

Anyway, hope you had as much fun as I did this past holiday. The weekend was spent in one of my favorite places to be: Cape Cod. The 4th of July started with a long 8-mile run, a parade, then playing at the beach and learning how to skimboard, eating lobster, hopping back in the car and driving home to catch our local fireworks. We packed our day with a smile on our face.

Baby Love

2011-06-24T16:36:00.001-04:00

Thank goodness it's Friday and schools out! Yippee! I'm SO looking forward to no schedule and lazy summer days. I still can't believe next week is the 4th....and summer for us has already began with rainy days. Please sun...come out and STAY! Enjoy your weekend. We are busy with birthdays. Two of my boys birthdays are this weekend. And we begin next week with a birthday party for Lucas. Remember his superhero birthday party from last year? Well, I'm incorporating a lot of the superhero party decorations for his 5th birthday party. Saves time and money. Here are a few pictures of my baby and the constant attention she gets. Too cute. Love that girl.

Also...have you seen Lady Gaga's new album cover! Crazy and bizarre!
And are you planning to see this movie this weekend? We've been waiting for two years for it's release so we are SO excited for it.
And one last thing...are you watching the Bachelorette? Please someone shoot me if Ashley says Bentley one last time. What does it take for a girl to get over it?

Strawberry Jam + Free Labels

2011-06-21T23:45:00.001-04:00

Last week I made 18 jars of strawberry jam. Anyone want to buy one? Seriously...it's a lot of jam. But they are best gifts to give away. So, you can make your own strawberry jam! It's really easy and we are right in the heart of the strawberry season. When making strawberries into jam I like to use a freezer jam recipe because it preserves the vibrant redish pink color of the strawberries. If you do a cooked jam recipe, the strawberries change to a dark red. Not as pretty. So here's my Mom's yummy freezer jam recipe.

Freezer Strawberry Jam

6 3/4 cups crushed strawberries (I like to blend mine)
1/2 cup frozen white grape juice concentrate
1/2 cup water
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 cups sugar
1-1.5 cups ultra gel

Before I go on into the instructions, I want to give you a briefing on ultra gel. This product can be bought through Carnet Foods. It's a food thickener that is really easy to use and remains stable. You can actually double your recipe and it will thicken, unlike pectin. And you don't have to wait until it sets; it thickens right there. You slowly stir the gel in until desired consistency.

Instructions
Combine crushed strawberries, juice concentrate, water, lemon juice and sugar until it dissolves. Gradually stir in ultra gel (1 tablespoon at a time). Allow to stand 10 minutes to thicken. Add more if desired. Pour into containers, label and freeze.

And here is the FREE DOWNLOAD STRAWBERRY JAM LABELS to make your jars look pretty and ready to give away. Enjoy!

School's Out for Summer...Almost

2011-06-21T23:45:00.000-04:00

We are almost done with June and my oldest is still in school. Can you believe it? Next week is 4th of July weekend. I always think of 4th as the middle of summer, but for my kids it's the beginning of summer. The reason is because we are making up snow days from the brutal winter we had out on the East Coast. It's not been fun especially when all you want to do on the hot days is go swimming instead of being bound to a school schedule. So I'm finishing up a jam-packed school week of end-of-the year parties. And we are all looking forward to hanging up the backpacks until next year.

Last-Minute Father's Day

2011-06-17T14:27:00.000-04:00

Father's Day is Sunday and here are some last-minute, do-it-at home ideas. I'm going to have each of my kids fill out an "All About My Dad" questionaire. I was hoping to have it completed to show you, but I'm kind-of a last minute gal. But it should be pretty funny; I love hearing kids' answers about things like that.

1.Dad's favorite food labels
2.Picture of child with a list of his favorites to give to Dad
3.Hand-colored Father's Day Card
4.Father's Day food flags
5.Folded Shirt Card
6. Snack Mix Label

Strawberry Picking

2011-06-16T23:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the perfect day to go strawberry picking. Temperature was in the low 80's with a cool breeze. School in our neck of the woods is still in session so the crowd was minimal. And the strawberries were a perfect red, and taste like candy. I must admit that picking strawberries is not my favorite amongst berry picking. You've got to get down on your knees. The ground is wet and muddy, and with a 6 month old in tow...there was a lot of crying. But in about an hour we picked 16lbs of strawberries! I've got my work load of jamming and freezing and baking. But it's so worth it.

Strawberry shortcakes--an after dinner treat

Baby Food

2011-06-13T23:30:00.003-04:00

Baby food was introduced to Chloe's diet last week. I like to hold off until six months and then keep it bland for a while. Since she hangs out with us at the table during dinner, she's been interested in food for a while. So it wasn't surprising that she picked up on it quickly. To keep cost down, my goal is to make my own baby food for the most part. And with my vegetable garden growing, I'm hoping it won't be too hard. Here's what's on the menu.

all images by me

Six Months

2011-06-13T23:00:00.001-04:00

six months old my baby of mine...

She makes my heart leap every time I get to snuggle her and breathe her sweet baby smell. Having a baby girl around has been quite fun since having two boys back to back. Six months is when all the really cute clothes come out especially the summer dresses. It's been fun pulling out old baby clothes I dressed Stella in and reminiscing when she was a baby.

Chloe has been a complete delight in our family and we can't imagine life without her. She's the cherry on top. Her personality is coming out with babbles and giggles and lots of curiosity of the world around her. And she said "mama" the other day...but I'm thinking it was just her sounds. She loves her siblings and wants to be around them all the time. Rolling and rolling around the floor is her favorite past time. Not quite sitting up but getting there. And she's got her first tooth coming in.

Chloe is wearing Hartstring vintage sailor

Challenging Yourself

2011-06-09T18:57:00.000-04:00

To strengthen my body and get back the muscle mass that I lost when I was pregnant, I've been trying to challenge my body by doing exercises that I've never done before. I've still got those stubborn 10 lbs to lose, and I'm hoping that doing something new will shake my body up. So I signed up for some classes at my gym and weekly I've been going to Pilates Reformer and TRX Suspension. Pilates has been great because the moves make you focus on the "inner" stomach muscles while keeping your tailbone in and back a line. It helps stabilize those deep muscle tissues that you didn't know exist. Perfect for post pregnancy. TRX Suspension has been a great way to strengthen and tone without bulking up. You use suspensions to work against your own body weight. It's tough. One of the things I like is it helps with balance, which always gets out of whack when I get pregnant. Hopefully I'll start seeing results.

Via Shape

Summer List

2011-06-07T21:54:00.000-04:00

Have you made your summer list yet? Schools almost out and it means keeping my kiddos occupied, while having fun of course. This summer list from Whatever pretty much sums up what we'll be doing this summer. I'd like to add to the list: beach, shell hunting, yard sale, making sand castles, pool, learn tennis, midnight walks, music in the park, garden, fruit picking, Brooklyn flea market, early morning runs...just to name a few. What's on your summer list?

via say yes via whatever

Steal the Look

2011-06-07T18:05:00.000-04:00

I don't know how she does it, but Jen Ainston always looks so beautiful with minimal effort. A little makeup, simple dress, sunkissed hair and everyday jewelry like the wishbone necklace she is wearing. You can steal her look with my Wishbone necklace--satin finish 24K gold vermeil or sterling silver. Only $22.

Savage Beauty

2011-06-06T06:15:00.002-04:00

For date night, we went to Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty exhibit at the MET (The Metropolitan Museum of Arts). If you happen to be in NYC during the summer, the exhibit is a must see and more than just fashion. It's theatrical art and you get a glimpse of his creative dark mind where he would get his inspiration. The pieces are breathtaking, yet his aesthetic is very dark theming around death and tragedy. His tailoring is impressive and the material his uses are completely unusual--clam shells, horsehair, duck feathers, medical slides, aluminium. Each of his collections tells a story. I like what Sarah Jessica Parker calls his clothes "ugly-beautiful".

all images by The Met

Our Weekend

2011-06-06T06:00:00.004-04:00

Lillian August Tent Sale

Bronx Zoo

Date Night in the City with my some of my favorites

Kids making homemade movies

Chocolate covered treats

Memorial Weekend

2011-06-06T06:00:00.000-04:00

Finally I'm getting around to posting about our Memorial Weekend. We spent the weekend up in the Berkshires, which is located in the western part of Massachusetts. The Berkshires is made up of picturesque towns with outdoor recreation and nestled in the Appalachian mountains. A little escape from 'burb living. We stayed at Jiminy Peak Resort, which has all the fun summertime mountain activities like alpine slide, mountain coaster and aerial adventure. My kids are getting older so big kid activities are more of an attraction than just a year ago. Lots of fun. My favorite part was getting up early and hiking up the ski resort's mountain. So peaceful and calm.

On the way home we stopped by the Massachusetts Veteran Memorial Tower and paid a little tribute to our veterans. The tower is located on Mount Greylock--the highest point in Mass. The view is expansive with lots of rolling green hills.

(Did you notice Stella's bandage on her forehead? She and her little brother decided to jump off stairs from complete boredom as we were packing up the car to head out. She jumped a few stairs then whacked her head on one of our radiators. Not a pretty sight and got nine stitches. Good times. Four hours later we were able to leave for our trip and she was right back to normal.)

Organic Baby Products

2011-06-02T22:18:00.007-04:00

Here are a few of my favorite organic baby products. With my baby number 4, I'm trying to be more aware of what I put on her and feed her. I'm always checking the labels and doing research. And some products say they are organic but not completely, so it's always smart to double check the resource. What are some of your favorite organic baby products?
1.Nature Babycare Diapers. You can read the research I did on diapers here. We also use the GroVia Cloth diapers when we are at home.
2.Erba Organic Body Wash
3.Bloom Crib. I so want to get this since baby is still in a bassinett and our bedrooms are small. This crib is sized for urban living and can fold to store.
4.Micralite Stroller
5.Aden + Anais organic swaddle blanket
6. Sophie the Giraffe made with natural rubber and non toxic paint
7.Ella's Kitchen baby food
8.Baby's Only Organic Formula
9.Kate Quinn Organic bodysuits