what betty crocker taught me.

I was flipping through the vintage Better Crocker cookbook to find some new cookie recipes a few days ago, and came across a very interesting piece of information that I have missed up until now...

There is a cookie section dedicated to
cookies that are deemed
"beau-catchers and husband keepers"!
So that's where I've gone wrong. :)
I better get baking...
Thanks, Mrs. Crocker!
xo!

a fantastic mommyholly giveaway! :)

Want to win
all of these goodies
from my shop?!

A pack of four darling "thank you"cards...


Vintage dictionary birds,
tiny tree gift tags,
and happy flower cutouts!

Hop on over to one of my favorite blogs,
The Little Red House,
to have a chance to win!
And say hello to the lovely Sheena for me!
You will adore her and her pretty photos!
Good luck, my friends! :)
xo!

sun and spray paint.

We have been spending lots of time outside.
The sun is out, the weather is so warm, and summer is here.
I can't believe how stress-free I feel now that I am not shuttling Andrew to and from school, and all that goes with that. Summer truly is a time to relax and unwind, isn't it? :)

So I gave Andrew the hose while I got to work on my vintage desk that I needed to re-purpose and spray paint. Andrew helped out by keeping me company while I sanded down the wood. :)

Did I mention how much I love this desk!? I think the shape and simplicity of it is lovely. It took to the spray paint very well, and I love the way it turned out. I am still in the process of decorating the space it is in, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek with some pictures I took a few evenings ago.
Remember the before picture?

This is the dormer window area in my bathroom. It is like a little "dressing room" with the closet to the left, and it is such a bright and happy place to be. I have had to do this on a super budget, but also wanted it to look very put together.
Here is what I've done with it so far...

Desk: Vintage from a local thrift store, $40
{Add in some white paint & primer to make it look pretty!}
Stool: Ikea Marius, $5.99
{You heard me right, folks. Five bucks for a slammin' desk stool!}
White Curtains: Ikea Merete, $19.99
White Vase: From a local floral supply store, $6
Yellow Hydrageas: Michael's, $2.50 per stem
{i waited until they were on sale!}
Lamp: Hand-me-down from my momma! :)

I still need to finish framing and hanging artwork for the space, along with styling the desk area a bit more. But I like what I see so far and every time I walk into my bathroom, I am in love with it. :) Amazing what a just little time & money will do. More pictures to come!

And PS.
A special giveaway tomorrow!
Stay tuned!
xo! :)

dictionary love. :)

I want to share a few new things that have appeared in my shop in the past few days! I love vintage dictionary pages, and the cutouts from my shop have been so much fun to create and sell to lots of customers. :) I love that each batch I make are different from the previous grouping. I love the random words across each cutout, and I love all the things you can do with these as well.

Lately, I have been selling lots of cutouts for weddings. Scattered across the tables, added to place cards, favors, or gift tags... these cutouts make any event that much more detailed and special. :)

Here's the brand new styles available now...

vintage dictionary anchor cutouts
found here.


vintage dictionary flower cutouts
found here.

As always, contact me if you need more of these and I can set you up a custom order. :) I adore making these, and would love to make them for any special occasion you might have coming up!
Happy shopping!
xo!

a simple monogram project. :)

I wanted to give the kids in Andrew's class something special for the last day of kindergarten. I decided to make beach towels with their first initials on them as the favor for the end of the year. Simple, summery, very useful, and since learning letters has been a big part of the kindergarten year, very appropriate as well. :)

Super simple project.
Here's the low-down.

You will need:
1. A beach towel
{i bought inexpensive bath towels at WalMart}
2. Some bright colored fabric or scraps
{Make sure the scraps are big enough for the monogram you are using}
3. Wonder Under Fusible Web
4. Monogram Stencil
{I printed my letters out from this website, then enlarged them on the copier by 140%.}

Print out your stencil pattern, enlarge it so it is the size you want, then cut it out. Iron your washed fabric, and adhere the wonder-under fusible web to the back on the fabric you are using. {Remember to read the instructions for proper usage!}

Trace on your monogram pattern to the paper side of the wonder-under, once it is fused to your fabric. Cut out the monogram and peel off the backing, so you will be left with a slightly sticky back side of the letter. Place it where you'd like it on your towel {I put the initial on the lower corner!} and iron it on!
So easy-peasy!

You can also zig-zag stitch the egdes of the monogram for a more permanant hold, but in the interest of time and sanity, I left them as-is. When you are making 22 of them for a bunch of kindergartners very last-minute and late at night, the sewing part of the craft sort of goes by the wayside. :)

I am thinking of making some cute t-shirts for Andrew for the summer with extra scraps of fabric, since this was so darn easy!
Happy crafting, friends! :)
xo!

new dresses = happiness. :)

This weekend, I brought home with me two new dresses.
I'm in love!
I adore summer dresses...
so easy and fun to wear in this warm weather!
I bought this one
{love the bright colors!}
and the one pictured above.
It is fluffy and frilly and so fabulous on.
I plan on wearing it to a lovely wedding next month
and looking fantastic, hooray! :)
Any suggestions for accessories?

PS.
Play along in the Point & Shoot.
So easy, and lots of fun to share the weekend happenings via photos. :)
xo!

happy weekend!

It looks like Michael is quite happy
with the warm weather here in California.
Rest.
Relax.
Enjoy the sunshine.
Have a happy weekend!
{And see you on Monday for a fun & easy craft!}
xo!

the pirate birdies did me proud.

My pirate birdie tags were featured on the oh-so-beautiful wedding blog, Style Me Pretty. The bride, Susan, ordered the tags from me to use at her wedding and I just had to share some photos. She did everything on a budget and this wedding turned out so extremely whimsical, romantic and beautiful.

Cutest couple ever, right? I adore the wedding attire. :)


There's the pirate birdies, doing their part to ensure all the guests got to the right table! :)


Simple, classic, yet with a colorful twist tossed in as well!


And the beautiful photography was done by Kate Harrison. SO utterly gorgeous, and I feel lucky to have been a small part of this fantastic event. :)
xo!

the last day.

Today is Andrew's last day of kindergarten.
How did this year fly by so quickly??
How is this time in our lives already done?

{photo from their recent Wild Animal Park field trip}

They learned their ABC's and 123's.
They learned to read.
They learned how to write stories.
They learned the meaning of friendship.
They learned how to do things on their own.
And now it's done.
I will forever hold this year in my heart as one of the most positive experiences in my child's life and am so thankful that we had such a wonderful teacher, met life-long friends for the both of us, and created such special memories. :) Now it's off to help the teachers with the kindergarten BBQ and one last day of fun for all the kiddos!
xo!

PS.
Stay tuned Monday for the cute favors I made all the kids! :)

transition to white.

I love the look of an all-white bedroom.
Remember this post? I think the white-on-white color scheme looks and feels luxurious and crisp. So I am in a transition to make my own bedroom like this. Here are a few of my favorite inspiration photos at the moment...

{source here}

{source here}

{source here}

And here is what I am working with...

The walls are a cream color which I actually really love. It is super warm and friendly and the lighting in the room is wonderful. I've got mostly white bedding now, aside from the Pottery Barn zebra sheets that I finally need to phase out. :) The side table & lamp are both spray painted white.

So what's on my to-do list?!

Finishing up the bedding, handing curtains, making some extra pillow shams for the back of my bed, sprucing up the nightstand and artwork for behind my bed... and of course, making everything look like it's straight out of the pages of {the beloved and deceased} Domino magazine! :) Once everything is done, I will have a fun reveal here on the blog and detail out where I got everything and how it all came about!

Oh yes, and Mouse wanted to say hello, as well.

She loves to pose for the camera. :)
She thinks she is quite sassy.
xo!

shop love no. 8

Anchors away!
I am loving this nautical look lately, especially during the summer. These would all be perfect for the summertime holidays, wouldn't they?

1. Ruffle Baby Doll Dress
Made by my good friend Lynn, a super momma and a fantastic seamstress, this dress is exceptionally perfect for the Fourth of July. You'd be the best dressed at the fireworks display, for sure! :)
2. Nautical Anchor Stud Earrings
The cutest little stud earrings for a warm summer day by the water!
3. Sailor Bow Striped Bracelet
I adore this bracelet. Well, I adore bows in general, so this is no exception. :)
4. Hey Sailor Ladies Shirt
This might have to make it to my closet very soon.

Oh summer,
I am so happy you are here. :)
xo!

chocolate oatmeal no-bake cookies.

I adore cookies with oatmeal in them.
Makes any ordinary cookie so much more substantial!
That's why I love these simple, yet amazingly easy cookies.
And the best part?
No baking! :)



Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups 0ats (Quick or Old fashioned, uncooked)

In large saucepan, combine sugar, milk, margarine and cocoa. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Continue boiling 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in oats; mix well. Quickly drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper or greased cookie sheet. Let stand until set. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

That's it!
I told you they were easy, right? :)
Enjoy, xo!

happy memorial day!

Hope you all have a safe & festive
Memorial Day!
I will be cleaning up around the house, wrapping up Etsy orders, and baking in the kitchen with the little bug tomorrow.
Not baking these amazing cookies, but something much simpler. :)
But aren't they divine?!
Find out more about these cookies here.
More recipes of my own coming up this week, so stay tuned!
xo!

love = ryan star.

I am going to urge you to listen to my most favorite singer of all time.
Is he well-known and ultra-famous?
No. But he is amazing.
Ryan Star.

If you happened to watch that silly little show called Rockstar a few years ago,
you might know who he is. He didn't win the show, but he did make a huge impression on me.
I have been following him ever since, going to each show he has played in San Diego.
His voice is gorgeous, his music is emotional and beautiful, and he is so darn nice as well.
Each time I've seen him live, my sister and I have been able to go up to talk with him and take photos. He never makes you feel rushed and truly wants to make a connection with his fans.

I was driving to pick up Andrew a few days ago and heard him on the radio for the first time and FLIPPED OUT. This is someone I have listened to for years, but I have never heard him on a mainstream radio station until now. I was so giddy!!! :)

His new CD will be coming out this summer, so go to his website and listen to his songs.
Seriously, you will thank me for this. :)
He's going to be very famous one day, I predict.
Oh yeah, and he is extra sexy.
{That can't hurt, right?}


October 2006


July 2009


April 2010

{Sidenote: Don't you love how my hair color has changed just a bit over the years? :) }


Here is his new single that is on the radio! :) LOVE this video and it's message.


Here's the song that has been on my blog playlist for quite some time. Gorgeous video! :)

OK, now I hope you develop a deep love for Ryan Star like my sister and I did.
Let me know what you think. :)
Happy listening!
xo!

toss on your heels and pour a cocktail!

SEX AND THE CITY 2
is here!!!!

I am a HUGE fan of the show and the first movie and seriously cannot WAIT to see the movie tomorow night! I am putting on my heels and going to get drinks with my gorgeous gals- my sister and my friend Christina! :) And we are going to enjoy every minute of this second movie!!! The friendships, the clothing, the women.... it all makes Sex and the City truly one of a kind!







The girls at the premiere... do they look fabulous or what?! I am loving SJP's bright dress!

And if you are in the mood for a new pair of shoes a la the girls from Sex and the City, here are my top faves at the moment... {minus the price tags on a few!} :)

1. Manolo Blahnik - Feather T-Strap Sandal
2. Forever 21 - Gladiator Heels
3. Steve Madden - Caryssa Pumps
4. Christian Louboutin - Spiked Patent Pumps

Happy girls night out to all of you who are going to see the movie!!! Let me know what you think of the movie! :)
xo!