Everytime I visit Wholefoods lately, all I want to do is purchase and eat (by the dozen) their snickerdoodle cookies from the bakery.  So I was very pleased indeed when I went over to Smitten Kitchen today to see what to make for dinner to see a recipe for Snickerdoodles as the first post.  Sugar cookies with the right amount of cinnamon go perfect with a tall glass of milk or a hot cup of tea… or maybe tonight they might just replace dinner!

Snickerdoodle Cookies

{image shown belongs to Smitten Kitchen}

This morning while reading SouleMama, I started noticing a trend…  In many of the photos of Amanda’s daughter Adelaide, there is usually the house cat, Banjo, either nearby or in her lap.  So I went over to Amanda’s Flickr and low and behold, there’s a set called “A Girl and A Cat,” filled with photos of the two.  As a fellow a cat lady, this set truly melts my heart.  I love how children and animals can become fast friends, and it brings back memories of me and my cat Ernie and our special bond when I was growing up.  Kitties make such good friends, and I love how close these two are and have been ever since Adelaide was a babe.

{images shown belong to SouleMama}

There’s something that makes me giddy when I see objects grouped by pattern or color.  I don’t know if this is my “design brain” that enjoys it, or perhaps the Type A and organizational part of my brain (which maybe is the same part).  So this Flickr set created by salbug00, called Grouped by Color (found via Oh Happy Day), really speaks to me.  Some are from an old calendar he found, others he created.  They’re all great in my book… and makes me want to go color coordinate some of my bureau drawers…

{images shown belong to salbug00}

My Labor Day weekend was filled with lots of time with family, lots of relaxing, and a tiny bit of baking.  One of the delicious recipes I tried was Blueberry Cake from Simply Recipes (my favorite food blog).  It was such a simple recipe: not too many ingredients, easy to follow, and in the oven in no time.  I used frozen organic wild blueberries (the tiny ones) since it was a small cake (only 2-2.5 inches high) I wanted to use a smaller berry.  Even though the berries weren’t fresh, I’ve noticed that you can’t really tell the difference between fresh or frozen after their baked.  I served the cake at a Labor Day family cookout and it was well received.  Definitely a recipe I’ll be using again!

Blueberry Cake

{for more of my baking images, check out my Flickr}

I recently had the pleasure of designing custom notecards for my fantastic sister-in-law for her birthday.  She chose a design that consisted of a simple line illustration of flowers with a beautiful handwritten typeface, both in a brillant emerald green ink.  To add more interest without compromising the writing space, I blind letterpressed tiny rosebuds across the open white space.  I really enjoyed working with such a lovely client (wink, wink) and really loved that emerald green ink.  That’s definitely a color I’d like to use more of!

{for more of my letterpress work, check out my Flickr}

Yes, this is yet another post about how I’m sad that summer is leaving.  I’m trying to take it in stride and be excited for fall, but I can’t help but think, “Didn’t August just start last week?”  We had an awfully wacky summer in New England, with the real warm weather showing up in late July and August.  As much as I’m protesting it, as I walked through my garden today many of the plants are giving little hints that it’s almost time to wrap up for the year (at least the summer flowering ones) and put on a good show for their last hurrah.  The bleeding heart is just starting to turn yellow, many of the sedums are flowering in corals, hot pink or flaming reds, and the daisies which kept reflowering all summer (despite the wet climate) are starting to look tired.  Even the brillantly colored hydrangeas are mellowing to faded steely blue or a warm golden pink.  I’m glad I decided to start photographing the garden this year, since these little signs are so slight that I almost walked right past them.  At least in their final few weeks I can enjoy the last of the blooms before autumn truly sets in.

{for more of my in the garden photos, check out my Flickr}

This morning I’m google-eyed over some really gorgeous images from photographer Ben Blood of Hollin & Eric’s Treehouse Wedding.  Definitely check out Ben’s site to see more images.  It was a very hip, cool, and well designed wedding.  How neat is this soiree idea!

{images shown via Ben Blood}

This past weekend was very special.  My dear friend hosted my husband and I as guests with her membership to a lovely nature reservation on a hot, humid, afternoon.  I finally got to do something I’ve been dying to do all summer: go for a swim.  Summer just isn’t summer without swimming to me.  The lapping of the gentle waves, the splashing and laughing of children jumping in the water, the sunshine dappling as a lone hawk flew overhead.  Who knew a simple 10 minute swim could be so refreshing, physically and emotionally?  Then afterwards, to be able to see my friend’s baby girl get to splash in her parents arms and experience the same joy of the water made it even sweeter.  To spend an afternoon on the lake with close friends was perfect indeed.

So how was it possible to top of such a great afternoon?  To go to the hospital where my sister had her first child and meet my third nephew.  Such tiny hands, such little eyes, but so much excitement and love for this new life.  Regardless of all the everyday to-do’s and worries, having a weekend with close friends, a simple swim, and the experience to be present for my new family member’s entry to the world makes me realize how perfect, rich, and full my life truly is.

Congrats to my sister and brother-in-law!  Good thing the baby shower was LAST weekend, and not this past one!

{for more of my outings & experiences photos, check out my Flickr}

Today is my last post on the details on my sister’s baby shower.  With the color scheme, theme, invitation, and menu already shared, all that’s left is showing you the decorations, table settings, and favors.  When I was searching for inspiration on decorating, I turned to the very talented Chelsea Fuss and fell in love with her Orchard Wedding Table.  We decided to have the “picnic” tables on the back porch that would allow the red, white, and green colors to pop as well as add to the summery outdoorsy feeling.  I hung cherry red and green apple paper lanterns from red and white striped bakery string near the ceiling and covered the tables with white tablecloths.  I found a perfect red and white pin-striped fabric and made the table runners for each table.

I loved Chelsea’s use of bottles, so I found vintage milk bottles on Etsy and eBay to act as vases and filled each with white, red, and light green flowers.  I wanted the flowers to emphasize the picnic setting, looking simple and relaxed, like I had the milk bottles on hand and cut the flowers fresh from the garden.

On every table I scattered several Richard Scarry characters driving in cars and vehicles, as well as baby and childhood photos of the parents-to-be.  I also was inspired by Chelsea’s use of fruit as centerpieces and places several bowls of Bing and Rainier cherries on each table to add to the late summer atmosphere (as well as adding more red to the color scheme).

The favors were also inspired by the Orchard Wedding Table design, but instead of apple butter, assorted jams (blueberry, cherry, apricot, and plum) were topped with green apple gingham fabric, tied with red and white bakery string, and finished with a tag (with of course, a Richard Scarry character).

It was a lovely day and we were truly lucky to have absolutely perfect weather.  Sunny and warm, but cool enough to leave the glass porch doors open for a soft breeze to flow through the room.  Absolutely perfect summertime picnic weather.  I had so much fun planning this event with my Mom for my sister and wanted to make this event as special as she is.  I am so excited for her to be a Mom and can’t wait to meet baby James!

{for more of my perfect parties photos, check out my Flickr}

Yesterday I began showing you details about my sister’s Richard Scarry Summertime Picnic baby shower, and today I’m sharing with you the menu for the event.  To stick with our theme, we served everything we could think of for picnic food: an assortment of sandwiches (chicken salad, egg salad, and seafood salad), tiny chicken wings, a mixed greens salad, fruit salad, and lots of sides (potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw, and pickles).

For beverages we served homemade raspberry ice tea, fresh lemonade, sparkling juices and several Italian sodas.  I also found three Richard Scarry toys on eBay to keep the refreshments company.

The menu was capped off by a fresh strawberry shortcake, assorted cookies, and vanilla cupcakes.  I created a simple and inexpensive cupcake tier (or as my Dad called it, a cupcake pyramid) using gift boxes of different sizes wrapped in brown kraft paper.  To bring the shower design elements to the desserts, I bought striped cupcake paper cups and designed Richard Scarry flags for the tops.  The entire day was full of yummy and delicious food (that also left plenty of leftovers for midnight snacks!).

Tomorrow, I’ll wrap up the posts on the shower with the details on my favorite part, the decorations, table settings, and favors.

{for more of my perfect parties images, check out my Flickr}