Table Settings {Alameda County Fair}

My entry in the Alameda County Fair!
Table Setting theme La Vie En Rose
{French movie about Edith Piaf}

Last year when Dave and I went to the Alameda County Fair I saw Table Settings as a competition.  Immediately I was drawn to them!  Table Settings are like throwing a themed party for one!  I love to decorate for parties!  I made a vow to give it a shot next year.. and so... here it is... next year and I entered the county fair!

Zombie / The Walking Dead Birthday Party!

This post is a little late.... but last month was my husband's birthday and he's a huge fan of The Walking Dead.  Like never misses it.  Two years ago I attempted to make a zombie cake and it totally fell flat.  The "zombie fingers" I tried to make with cookie dough ended up baking wide and flat.  Not exactly finger-like.  So... the zombie thing got scrapped.  Until this year.

Autumn & Dias de los Muertos

 

I love Autumn; it is one of my favorite times of the year!  I love the leaves falling, the crisp air in the evening, the jewel tone sweaters, but most of all the Mexican tradition of Dias de los Muertos has always captured my heart.  It is so vibrant and reflective - I particularly love to see the altars that people create for their loved ones.

A Coastal California Birthday

 

 

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago.. I'm a little late with this post.  Last year, my birthday fell on a Wednesday - which also happened to be the first night of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's Free Movies on the Beach.  The first night, every year, is The Lost Boys.  If you've seen The Lost Boys, you might know that it was filmed / based in Santa Cruz. It's an incredibly fun movie to watch there.  We had such a great time last year, that we decided to spend my birthday in Santa Cruz again this year!

Happy Birthday America!

Bohemian Repurposed American Flags

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I love the Fourth of July!  Maybe it's the summer weather... or the fresh fruits galore... or memories of spending them lakeside when I was a child with family, friends, and fireworks.  Whatever it is, it's one of my favorite holidays.  As my husband and I feverishly create a beautiful outdoor space in our new {to us} cottage's backyard... I can't help but daydream of Fourth of July gatherings to come!

Here are some of my favorite inspirations around the web right now!

Shake, Rattle and Roll! A 1950s Birthday Party.

 

 

For my Mom's 75th birthday our family decided to throw a surprise party.  And a surprise it was!  She was incredibly shocked - something I didn't think our family could pull off because we're awful at keeping secrets!  It was such a beautiful event to share with our friends and family.  Even her local senator came and presented my Mom with a citation for her service to her state on behalf of The US Senate.  Her state governor also sent a letter of congratulations and thanks.  It was particularly special for me, as the party was held in the same place my husband and I got married, and we hadn't been back there since.  So we stole away for a few minutes to the gazebo we had our ceremony in and reconfirmed our vows to each other.

A Summer Solstice Gathering

We've moved into our new/old cottage and I can't wait to have friends over for a backyard soirée. I'm daydreaming of celebrating our new home with a Summer Solstice Gathering. I'm not sure if I will actually have the day off from work yet, but if I do... here are some ideas that I hope to put to good use.

{I've also recently learned that Summer Solstice is also called Litha - an interesting informational can be found here.}

All White Decor

White Twine Orbs in the Trees

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White Lanterns in the Trees

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White Lights in the Trees

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Dress to Impress

Floral Crowns

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White, Flowing Dresses....

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Create Together

Create a God's Eye

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..or Create a Sun

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...or Other Activities

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Gather To Eat

Fruits and Nuts

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...and Cheeses

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....and Summer Salads.

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Vintage Birthday

A last minute theme for my husband's birthday.... vintage.  Here's a cute bunting I threw together and his cake - his initial "D".

Pumpkin Pie!

I baked my first pumpkin pie!  I used the recipe here that I actually didn't get from there, but from the back label of Libby's pumpkin can.  Same recipe though.  It was yummy.  I'll definitely make it again sometime.

Happy Christmas everyone!

...and a Happy Christmas to all!

Here's a little glimpse into the awesomeness that our Christmas has been so far!

We have a couple of cats... that I "married into".  We hadn't had a Christmas tree yet, because we were worried about the cats' behavior around it.  Well, no need to worry!  We put up our first Christmas tree this year and they've been fine!  With the exception of a couple lower hung ornaments M.I.A., I think we have gotten pretty lucky.

 We got this ornament our very first Christmas together!  After knowing each other just a few weeks... we decided to go camping in the Redwoods in Northern CA together for Christmas!  It was a magical trip.  I felt like I was falling in love, but I loved traveling so much that I had to be sure that Dave was the best fit for me.  The test?  Travel together!  We really had such an amazing time... it's no surprise we were engaged just a couple weeks later.  

 I made this ornament with our wedding invitation.  ♥

Mmm.. Mummies!

A little sneak peak at my Halloween plans...  Zombie decorations and candy Mummies!

Vintage Photography Themed 50th Birthday Party

My sister celebrates her 50th birthday later this month, so to surprise her we held a 50th birthday party last weekend.  When she walked in the door, she had NO IDEA!  It was truly amazing how much our family and her friends were able to pull off.  Below are some photos of the dessert table that I designed.  I also did some other projects that I will post about another time.

The theme?  Vintage Photography.

The Dessert Table

 

I LOVE this table.  =D

The garland along the front is book pages sewn

together all ruffle-y.

Cupcake Tier and Candies.

I love the jars and vintage glass filled with treats.

Giant Pink Gumballs, Peanut M&Ms and Pocky Sticks.

Chocolate Skeleton Keys

After I made the keys I placed them in snack size ziplock

bags then sewed kraft card stock and book pages to the top.

The Birthday Cake

Let me tell you... this cake took 10 hours to decorate!

My niece Jessica is an amazing cake decorator.

She was able to print my sister's photographs onto

sugar paper and place them on the white fondant.

It's just a stunning cake!

50 Candles

I'll post more on this later, but I took basic number

candles and painted, glittered and blinged

them to perfection!

Cupcakes

An extra book from the centerpieces was a perfect platform

for some extra cupcakes.  I made the little flags on top.

Photo Cupcakes

With the extra photos from the cake, my niece adhered them

to fondant and cut them into circles.  Perfect little cupcake toppers!

The cupcake platform I made with extra fabric and trim

from scrap wood my neighbor had tossed the week before!

50 Chocolate Pops

I made the chocolate pops in a 50 mold then stood

them in sturdy foam in the bottom of this cute

little suitcase.  The shredded book pages helped camoflauge

the foam support underneath.

Centerpieces

I know I said this was about the Dessert Table, but I

had to show you the centerpieces!  The framed

camera print was printed onto book pages.  The vintage

books covered with either brown kraft paper or

newsprint wrapping paper (depending on the table you're

looking at).  Then wrapped in ribbon and topped with

one of my sister's photographs.  The upside-down wine glass

acts as a terrarium for a gerbera daisy bloom.  And the crystal

bowl is just some snackies. I also sewed the fabric for the tablecloths.

50 Photographs

Lastly, I made these posterboards with my sister's 

photographs in the shape of a 50!

My Husband's Birthday

Today is my husband Dave's birthday, but I am at work.  Working a 12 hour shift.  My tenth in a row.  Needless-to-say, I haven't had the time to make a birthday cake for my man.  Fortunately, I am off work tomorrow and look forward to making him a kick ass cake!  What kind of kick ass cake?  That's a secret.  You'll have to come back to see!

Until then, here's his birthday cake from last year, a cat autopsy!  It's basically 2 round cakes that I cut up to make the body with tons and tons of frosting for the fur and intestines!

Follow Up:  Well, I attempted to make a zombie cake.  With fingers made from cookies coming out of the "dirt" of crushed oreos on top.  It didn't quite work out.  The finger cookies went all flat.  = (  Oh well, next time!

Candy Corn Cupcakes.

My attempt to gently layer orange cake batter on top of yellow batter seemed to work out quite well while filling the cupcake wrappers. However, from the photo below, it is quite obvious the yellow batter had other plans once in the oven. They don't quite look like candy corns, but they're yummy!

Happy Pumpkins.

Our super awesome pumpkins... drilled!