Little Red Wagon

I tried a couple of new things this week! I've been wanting to try the Trader Joe's yellow cake mix and white frosting for a 9" cake pan I bought at Joann's about a month ago - finally I baked it on Sunday! The frosting was super easy to make and I pulled out my recent creations and snapped a few pics before we gave the cake a try! My husband refuses to think that I need to purchase a baker's spatula to spread the frosting around. Instead he picked up a venetian plaster spatula from Home Depot and I have to admit...it did the job!! I'm not a baker by nature and all I really wanted was to easily spread the delicious frosting on my cake - thanks sweetie for the handy idea! So among new things I'm trying to create more decorations for boys. I just love the little red wagon theme I've been seeing on vintage shops. So now available is my take on the adorable boy red wagon cake topper available on my etsy shop. I look forward to creating more boy theme party decor so if you have any suggestions for me - let me know! Not too far out from my comfort zone I created a mermaid cake topper with lots of little details that include an aqua pearl! I used pearlized cardstock for the little mermaid as well as the age number...I think I like it!

Weekend at the Hollywood Bowl

So far a sweet 10 year tradition with my sweetie is the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. It was Saturday June 16th 2001- our official first date! We showed up with a 6" Subway sub and 2 bottles of water for an entire 9 hour jazz show under the sun! There was jazz, laughter, hand holding and at the end of a fabulous day - a kiss. We had no idea the Hollywood bowl would become so dear to our hearts year after year. It's an event we prepare for weeks - from the time we camp outside of the bowl after midnight (this year we showed up at 10pm!) to purchase our tickets to the weekend it's happening! It's grown to a full blown caravan of coolers, picnic basket, wine totes, and so much fun. This year I decided to use my Hollywood Bowl picnic under the stars cook book for a cold salmon and dill/cucumber sauce recipe that is super tasty! I paired it with a fresh butter lettuce, shrimp and caramelized walnut salad - it was amazing! Jorge chose a Traminer from Mosby winery straight out of our cellar that brought out the flavors of the salmon so well! The weekend was a blast, we met lots of nice people that were there to party and enjoy the day just like us.

Post Birthday Summer Wishes

Every year after my birthday I feel like summer has officially begun :) So as of last Friday my summer is here!! It's my favorite season full of outdoor activities, music, wine, sun tans and lots of romantic evenings with my sweetie. I've been thinking that for our 4 year anniversary this year I want to plan a gorgeous picnic! Since it's only 2 weeks away I got a little help from Etsy to get my creative juices started!! I have the perfect park in mind - El Dorado Regional Park...next is finding delicious summer picnic recipes!!

Check out my Etsy treasury:

'Romantic Summer Picnic ' by EMTsweeetie

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Clutch Handmade Checked Red ... ADGCORNERSHOP $26.00	5 x 7 Fine Art Giclee Print ... BlueTrike $14.00
red Heart Bobby pins - set o... minetteheartsy... $3.50	Little Heart Pie Bites -- He... OldTimeFavorit... $24.00
Picnic invitation akimbodesign $8.00	Fruit Memo Pads (pear, water... CMLDesigns $5.25
Sweet 100s Luxury Glycerin S... paintboxsoapwo... $6.00	Shopper's Tote Basket - ... joannascollect... $52.00
NIB Picnic Table Server RoomServiceVin... $	Summer Evening, 8x10 fine ar... aVeryStory $20.00
Picnic and Beach Blanket - r... rubiyat $120.00	Custom fully lined ruffled c... Ananya $60.00
Button Earrings amberike $6.75	DIY Mason Jars Lanterns Wire... treasureagain $18.00
The Forest Princess Flats - ... sorala $38.95	Pucker Polish flavored with ... GetLathered $3.50

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Ahoy!! Belay yer carousin' and haul on over me matey!!

I love pirates and of course they're way cooler than ninjas!! Even though its not "talk-like-a-pirate day" yet...why not use a few AAaarrr's in the middle of a conversation just for fun. My best friend and I thought that for some reason on St. Patricks day we should say AAAarrrr! I think we share a pirate gland somewhere in our brains! Recently I've been working on a pirate birthday package that will include a pirate ship centerpiece, invitation, food labels and goodie favor tags! It's going to be an addition to my current vintage style pirate banner and cupcake toppers so I'll be sharing those items as soon as I get them photographed. Also if you want to learn to speak pirate head on over to Mango Languages they are now offering a free on line course til June 30th!! Impress your fellow 'swashbucklers' Aaaarrr!!!

Mermaid Real Party

It's a mellow rainy morning in Los Angeles today but that was not the case a few weeks ago for Elle's 4th birthday fun in the sea Mermaid theme party! This was no ordinary party - Anokhi contacted me at the beginning of the year with ideas about a party for her daughter and only a few months later we teamed up to create a version of my mermaid banner to fit her color scheme and match what she envisioned for the day. Anokhi sent along a picture for inspiration and when I opened my email there was this darling skirt which Elle would wear on her special day. I knew then that I would have to create something unique and special for her. I included her name at the end of the banner and created over 30 sea creature cupcake toppers among little mermaids that matched her banner. There were fish, crab, sea stars and sea horses! The details for this party are amazing. I LOVE how she incorporated the colors and the details of ocean life right on her backyard! Lots of sea stars among coral and even a seagull resting on a dock!! I know one day Elle will look back at these pictures and remember the sweetest day.

Crazy Mailing + Gorgeous Stamps

Lately I've been spending a lot of time at the post office! I think I've been going just about every other day for the past 3 months!! It's either me or my sweetie that graciously volunteers to drop off my packages :) The post office on La Palma Ave. in Buena Park is amazing! They have sweet staff, great hours - they close at 6pm and that's just perfect for me because I usually make it after a good hour of traffic. Just when I thought that people were using the post office less and less...it's beginning to prove more of a myth! I always see lines of patrons with boxes, letters, and lots of odd shaped things and sorts. The clerks behind their desks do an awesome job!

While standing in line yesterday I saw the coolest poster of their Garden of Love stamp debuting May 19th! I thought one of those stamps would be a gorgeous complement on a floral summer party invite or garden wedding envelopes. Check it out! I think I will buy a few for inspiration. I purchased the Jazz stamps last month because my husband and I love jazz and I think I will use them to embellish some of our photos and ticket stubs we will be gathering from this summer upcoming shows. Go buy a few and send some snail mail love.

Ladybug Real Party

I've been wanting to share this little cutie's 1st birthday party for a really long time! Alexa's ladybug party decorations were so much fun to create and her mom was super fantastic to work with. She contacted me thru my Etsy shop and we quickly got excited about planning for her daughter's 1st. She was so creative in all the little details she envisioned for her party and truly motivated me to create something special for her daughter. I created a jumbo version of my Ladybug birthday banner, Alexa's name banner, centerpieces that were inserted in candy jars, napkin holders, ladybugs that rested on her water goblets and leaf shaped seating cards! Her party was fun yet upscale with lots of candle light, roses and gorgeous lavender accents - major eye candy!!

Contest on facebook!

Just a quick post to spread the word of a super cool contest going on right now at Love Takes Flight facebook page! It is a destination elopement service for couples wanting to elope! Jill a super talented photographer has asked me to participate and I just loved the idea. If you leave a comment on her wall telling her who would you like to photograph with a stach...you may win 12 of my 'staches of fun! Go post and then go picture crazy!
Good luck!

Staches of Fun to come!

I'm excited about the new year! I had a great break and the holidays were lots of fun but I'm relieved that they're gone and I don't have to think about Christmas for another 11 months!! Every January I get really motivated and excited about what's yet to come and how the year is going to pan out...but I think that lately I've been thinking a lot of what I'm thankful for. I've been reflecting how on a day to day basis we touch the lives of other people and the impact we cause whether we think its minimal or grand. Year after year I thank God for having a wonderful and supportive husband and I can't be thankful enough for our love and our home. I want to make sure that I show those I love how they have touched my life and how very thankful I am of that! I don't want to call it a new year's resolution because it's not something I want to cross off a list...it's something I truly feel inside.

And since part of the new year has been about starting up something new and feeling creative I want to share some fun new crafts that we had lots of fun over the holidays with!! The mustaches on a stick!! I'm going to have an awesome time scrapbooking all the fun pictures we took! Take a look at the new designs!

Happy New Year!