« May 2008 | Main | July 2008 »
:: an after dinner trip to our local strawberry patch :: what a treat living only a few miles from so many wonderful farms ::
:: testing out the Hoods :: oh so good! ::
:: Baby J sat in this spot for a long time ::
:: and throwing out the stems ::
:: visiting the goats ::
:: freshly picked strawberries for breakfast :: yum ::
:: what Baby J calls the stack of mouse + pads on my worktable ::
:: hair + clips ::
:: hair + ties ::
:: in the shoppe :: and spoon + fork sets for sale at the tag sale ::
Baby J turned three years old a few weeks ago. And yes, I should probably be referring to him as Little J, but I don't think I'm quite ready to give up "Baby J". Anyways, we had family in town on Baby J's birthday so we celebrated with cake + ice cream. I thought we would save the big birthday party for next year, but apparently Big J's dinosaur birthday party was a success because Baby J told me numerous times after the party that he wanted a dinosaur birthday party. So we're having a party for him next month since every weekend in June is filled with some activity or event. Plus it seems like we just had Big J's party not too long ago and I liked the idea of spacing it out a bit.
I was secretly hoping Baby J would change his mind about the dinosaur party because although I had a lot of fun planning Big J's party, I was hoping to do something different for Baby J's birthday party. I suggested robots, he nixed that idea. I suggested race cars, he nixed that idea. And then I found these cute popcorn containers in the dollar bins at Target and suggested a carnival birthday party and he liked the idea! Of course Baby J has never been to a real carnival, just the small carnival at Big J's school, but he's
just excited that he's having a party. As I started preparing for the
party my ideas began to move away from a true carnival
party like this [which I think would be really fun to do when the kids are a few years older] into a carnival/picnic/summer hybrid.
After I finished the invitations, I realized that they looked really similar to Baby J's first birthday party invitations. Yup, very similar. Instead of re-doing the invitations, which was my first instinct, I decided to embrace the fact that my style is consistent. Very consistent. [And I'm pretty sure I'll be revisiting the pinwheel idea again.]
I always like to make thank you cards with the invitations so I have no excuse not to send them out right after the party. Oh, and I'm excited to use our new Eames stamps!
For the party decorations I'm trying to use things from my craft + fabric stash. I'll be making some simple bunting [similar to what I made for Big J's third birthday party] to coordinate with the red + white + blue color scheme of the party. And I'm thinking about some pencil + cups with fresh flowers scattered around the house.The one thing I want to purchase is some tattoo paper so I can make some custom tattoos for our guests. Has anyone had any experience using tattoo paper before? Any advice?
As far as food goes we'll have a simple menu of mini burgers, hotdogs and homemade french fries [we tested the fries out last night and they were so good!]. I'm contemplating nixing cupcakes and serving homemade ice cream sandwiches or fruit popsicles since I noticed most of our little friends prefer ice cream over cake. I also love these push up pop molds that Sarah posted about a few weeks ago. And then for favors I'm planning to fill the popcorn containers with homemade caramel corn. [If you're interested in a non-plastic version, check these out.]
I'll be updating the shoppe tomorrow [Thursday, 6.26.08] at 10am.
:: appliqued t-shirt + book for our 2-year old cousin ::
:: another appliqued t-shirt + book for Big J's classmate ::
:: the birthday boy seemed to like the gift even though it was one of the only non-Star Wars gifts received :: oh, and Big J was thrilled to have received a "Dark Bader" lego figurine [I tried to tell him it was "Darth Vader", but he didn't believe me, despite the fact I've seen Star Wars and he has not ::
:: now on to some belated birthday gifts :: Appah picked up several sets of our favorite Japanese spoons + forks so we'll be including some sets in a couple birthday packages :: I'm saving a few sets for Big J since he'll be bringing lunch to school two times/week starting this fall :: I have some extra sets that I'll be selling over here later this week ::
I'm finding that the new Typepad interface is a bit finicky and posting is becoming a bit more cumbersome. I'm hoping things will get easier or else I might have to jump ship. Any recommendations for good blog hosting?
:: birthday presents for a few of our little friends ::
:: wrapped up ::
:: a few appliqued shirts for a new big sis ::
:: white boxes always come in handy ::
:: onesie + skirt for little sis ::
:: matching gifts ::
:: another appliqued shirt + skirt ::
:: for our princess + butterfly lovin' cousin ::
Sorry for the jumbo size photographs. All the new changes at Typepad have messed up the quality of the photographs and I'm too lazy to go do the whole html thing at the moment.
Last week I received Martha's invitation to join her s t i l l week over at flickr but the days flew by and I missed out. The good news is she's keeping the group open so I just added my first photograph this week. There are some really beautiful photographs in the group, take a look!
Oh, and did you know:
+ Sweet Ez of Creature Comforts is having a wonderful 1st Birthday Giveaway Extravaganza? There are some really wonderful goodies up for grabs, including some shim + sons' personalized + flats.
+ If you register at Michaels.com you will receive your weekly 40% coupon via email. No more rummaging through the newspaper, or if you do then you'll have two coupons!
+ If you own a business you can sign up at your local JoAnn to receive a free additional 10% card which you can use over and over again [you'll just need to bring in a copy of your business license]. For local folks, you can also receive a similar card [for a small annual fee] at Mill End.
+ My plan is to update the shoppe every week throughout the summer. I'm excited about some new designs that I'm working on. Oh, and a big thank you to everyone who placed an order this week!
:: sister-in-law's family visiting from Chicago :: trip to Multnomah Falls :: lunch at Best Baguette :: Appah's yummy spicy crab for dinner ::
:: playing at Ponzi Vineyards while the adults are wine tasting :: enjoying the beautiful scenery + weather ::
:: running around a tree is always fun ::
:: strawberry picking at our local farm ::
:: we're going back this week ::
:: wishing they lived closer to their cousins ::
:: the perfect weekend ::
:: new mouse + pads ::
:: hair + clips ::
:: hair + ties ::
:: two years have come and gone ::
:: can't imagine our lives without Baby J :: funny + strong -willed + sweet ::
:: and no, we still haven't cut his hair :: despite all the people who have mistaken him for a girl ::
:: three is going to be good ::
:: grey + white gingham dresses [from Target] :: not nearly as cute as this one though ::
:: little button details ::
:: my 2nd Green Olives Design dress ::
:: everything in the Wiksten shop :: this magazine [via fine little day] :: and this online magazine [via Ohdeedoh] :: this sweater dress :: this shift dress :: this Grecian dress :: this printable paper site :: these sandals :: this summer vase collection :: these clips :: and these clips ::