One Crazie Lady

#14~Create and launch a website for the business

2011-01-23T13:29:00.004-05:00

I actually managed to complete and launch this towards the end of December, I just haven't been able to post about it until now. I've been a happy blogger and definitely believe a blog is an important thing to have for any small business. I realized a few months ago how much a website was needed for *Snickety Snacks*. I'm all about a clean and sharp way to find the information I need, and a blog wasn't the way to go for me. Thanks to the d.i.y. website Wix.com, I was able to put together my website all by myself. It was like putting together a PowerPoint presentation! I loved it! What do you think? If you have a minute to check it out, please do, and let me know what you think!(click on the picture)

Changing things around on the site is super easy, so please let me know if you have any suggestions for improving it. I'm so happy that my little biz is growing!

It's Battle Time

2011-01-10T11:35:00.004-05:00

My evil nemesis has returned...

Flat Surface Clutterer Dude

{or something like that}

After a week of this, I'm done. Today I'm fighting back!

I'm sure for most people this is nothing, but I've failed to do my 'Reset' drill each night, so I'm dealing with little piles everywhere as a consequence. Flat surfaces all over our place aren't safe. It gets worse in my bedroom. I don't function well with spaces like this, so I'm taking some time to fix it once I get the little man on the bus.

It's Reset Time!

All For One Page

2011-01-02T20:32:00.003-05:00

Usually I end up buying a decorating type magazine after flipping through it and finding a bunch of pages/colors that I like. I beat my own personal record a few days ago. I bought the latest edition of Country Living because of one page. I'm so happy that I took a few seconds to flip through this magazine(despite not liking the cover at all!). After starting my own little business I have been able to meet so many amazing women who started right where I did and have created successful careers based on their dreams.

Greta and Kristen from Layer Cake Shop are officially a part of my 'Inspiration Women' list. If you've ever looked online for cute baking supplies to add some extra oomph to your treats, you've probably come across their shop. As much as I love what the shop has to offer, hearing the back story behind the creation of their business was better. Long story short, Greta started things off with a small Etsy shop, snagged her retail experienced friend Kristen to help things grow, and with an 8% increase each month and salaries for the both of them, growth hasn't been a problem. The best part to me? They do it all out of Kristen's home! If that's not inspiring, what is? So this little one page article has been nicely slicked out of the magazine and stands with the rest of the women I'm inspired by. Who knows, maybe some day I'll be able to inspire someone else!

A Fresh & Clean New Year!

2010-12-31T09:29:00.003-05:00

So I stroll into our local Borders the other day and after about 3 seconds in the store I let out a huge gasp and start to blush. The cause for this?That's right! The latest issue of the wonderful Storage magazine!

Seriously, BHG needs to make this a monthly thing that I could subscribe to, not just a specialty publication.

If you think that the dork level couldn't rise any higher, let me prove you wrong. I spent an hour in that store looking at everything but that magazine, because in my mind it's the 'dessert' that needed to be taken home and read by myself while my boys were sleeping. I'm a little loopy about this magazine. I can't help it though! I don't look at design magazines when I'm in the mood to change up our place or when I need the motivation to work on a specific project. I just break out all 30+ Storage mags and get the oomph I need based on all the clean surfaces on each page :o) Here are some of my favorites from this issue.{I'd love a more macho version of this for my sons room. We're still working on getting his room pulled together. All I have is a mattress right now. I'm a bad mom, but I'm working on fixing it!}

{Ok, now doesn't every kitchen look better with a KitchenAid mixer and a stack of Cupcakes? I see this all the time and I love it!}

{Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that we have a washer/dryer in our little apartment, but I'm still dreaming of the day when I can get a set of these babies!}

Alright, I've off to rearrange some closets! Hopefully I'll get some new pictures up of our place. It's changed around a bit, thanks to my Mom adding her touch to things!

Snickety Snacks Giveaway

2010-12-22T12:49:00.002-05:00

Just in case you didn't know, one of my fun friends, Marian from Miss Mustard Seed is hosting a *Snickety Snacks* Giveaway! If you're up for some free goodies hop over there and enter-It's good for anyone in the U.S., not just my local buddies!

http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/2010/12/snickety-snacks-giveaway.html

Someday....

2010-12-01T10:11:00.005-05:00

I hope to be this good someday.
{Before}

{The Amazing After}Yes please. I'd like some of this.

Viv, the creative brains behind ish and chi is one of my design hero. Fun colors, great patterns, and all done for just under $900. Pretty amazing consider the huge changes. Can she come do my place?

{Click here for more info on Viv and her studio}

#8~See The Trans-Siberian Orchestra Again

2010-11-29T12:55:00.005-05:00

My husband has really gotten on board with this whole list thing, and thanks to him I was able to cross off #8. A short back story, I've always loved the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Andrew and I were able to see them 5 or 6 years ago in California and it totally blew us away. The laser light show and pyrotechnics were a total surprise, and since that year we've always said we wanted to go back. After throwing it on my list, Andrew bought the tickets within a few days. Yea!

We had some super far away seats, but with a straight on view of the stage, I was thrilled! Here are some of the pictures of the concert I snagged.

This last picture sums them up for me. I love TSO!

My favorite song they play is Wizards in Winter, and I managed to grab the last minute of the song, just to give you a better idea of the kind of show they put on. They're the little blips running around on stage, and playing guitars/violins! And the images running across the displays are just pictures from their current album. If you like a little electric guitar mixed in with your Christmas or classical music, these guys are for you!

(Turn down your speakers)

#4~Meet Bakerella

2010-11-29T12:23:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago I was able to cross one of the goals off my 26 Before Twenty-Six list, and honestly it should have been #1 on my list based on my anticipation level. I got to meet Bakerella! Now for anyone who doesn't know much about my life right now, I started a small baking business about a year ago that has grown substantially(thank goodness!). We're thinking all kinds of expansion ideas because of it, and it all started with Bakerella. A little over a year ago I started baking anything and everything that sounded good or came with a great picture. I stumbled on Bakerella's site and was instantly inspired to make everything! The big thing she's known for are Cake Pops, starting with the Cupcake Pop. I attempted a non-stick version of this for my first Cupcake of the Month installment and they were a huge hit. Long story short, I played with her 'recipe' for a few months, started selling those babies, and now I'm running to catch up with orders for these and other treats. Yea! So anywho, Bakerella ended up publishing a how-to book and going on a signing tour. Typically D.C. attracts book signings pretty well, but the closest she was coming to this area was King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. 3 hours away, but a day after getting back from our California vacation, we started the road trip.

As always, we got lost along the way(thank you, Wonderful Husband, for being my real life gps!). I've gotta say though, K.o.P. knows how to make a shopping mall. That sucker was full of every kind of place I love to window shop at :o)

Williams-Sonoma hosted the signing and I was thrilled to hear they had the place set up for a demonstration. There was a big hole in the planning of this though. It seemed like all the tall people were at the front of the signing line, making them first to get front row standing space. I was about 3 or 4 'rows' back on my tip toes. See?

Yeah, you probably can't see it, but as I was scrolling through the slideshow she puts after each signing, my first thought was 'Who's that tall dork by the tree? Oh yeah, that's me.'

After the demonstration and questions, it was back out to the line. Now here's where 'Dork Brittanie' really set in. I was so zoned out after seeing her that I just stood in line with a huge grin on my face, completely blocking out my Mom as she talked up my business to other Bakerella fans. She was doing such a phenomenal job of this that she insisted on showing people my blogsite on my Blackberry and giving out my cards. Hilarious huh? I need to hire her.

So, skip about an hour and we're almost to the front of the line. My Mom looks at me and says, 'So what are you gonna say to her?'. No joke, I went totally white and almost passed out. Nutty me, I completely forgot that I'd actually have to say something to her. I don't know why I thought sitting next to her with my mouth open in awe would be ok. I'm just gonna glaze over my lack of conversational skills once I actually sat down and just say that she was super sweet and it took a lot to resist hugging her. As she started signing 5 books(gifts for some lucky ladies in our family!) I listened as my Mom talked to Bakerella's Mom about how much of an inspiration her daughter had been to me and she actually gave her a business card too. Crazy! The 4 of us took a picture together and right after her Mom kinda half hugged me and said she was so proud of me! It was completely surreal. I said 'Thank You' to the both of them 3 or 4 times and then skipped over to get our books and freebie buttons. I floated out of that store grinning and giggling like a nuthead.

It was quite an amazing day, and every day since I've looked at her book amidst my other cookbooks and thought how incredible it is that a little piece of her lives in my dining room. She's been a huge inspiration and I'm so grateful to women like her who make me want to try new things!

Crown & Crumpet-Part 2

2010-11-14T11:36:00.006-05:00

So if you've read through my blog, you saw this post where I showed you some pictures from the tea shop Crown & Crumpet that is in San Francisco. Talk about an amazing twist of fate this past week. We ended up in California for a family wedding and ended up staying for a whole week. Tuesday was dedicated to San Francisco, and a trip to Ghirardelli Square made my day. I'm moseying along, staring at all the over-priced shops that I'd be afraid to walk into, and then Whammo! It hit me.

Ta-Daaaa! Talk about awesome. I actually stopped in my tracks and let out the biggest gasps ever. What a dork moment. I felt like a 6 year old that had just been given a pink pony. After I started breathing again I looked at Andrew and said 'It's gonna be a while'. My Friend Courtney and I both walked into that place as if the floor was made of glass. We started off the in 'shop' area.

I'm gonna have to post some of the pictures Courtney took because I was too awe-struck to take pictures. Seriously, I feel like such a dork even thinking about the place again. I'm sure it looks like overkill, but if the things in this area had been separated or done up in any way other than being slammed together, it would have taken away from the overall feel. I'm not a huge fan of red, but mixed with pinks, teals, greens, greys and white, it was perfect. The lady that worked in this section was super patient with me. I don't know how often people just come in and stare at the place, but she seemed amused by us.

On to the tea section. Now I'm not a tea drinker at all, but this place makes me wish they had something other than tea and coffee they could serve me in those adorable tea cups. I would've paid for some warm water if it meant I could stay in there and really take it all in. I settled for lots of giggling and picture taking instead.

I fell in love with these chairs. They were all the same base, but the cushions were all done in different bright colors, the kinds I'd be too afraid to try but absolutely love when someone else does it.

The same goes for this couch. I never would've been awesome enough to actually make this happen, but I couldn't stop staring at it.

I gotta say, it was pretty cool to look at the pictures in this corner and actually recognize some of them. This Tea For Two print by Black Apple of Etsy first caught my attention. And those polka dotted chairs were so comfy!This corner of the shop really caught my attention. In a room full of so many bright colors, this heavy dark brown table was a beautiful weight. The women at the table are the owners(I believe) and had the cutest setup. The table was covered in colored fabrics, tea cups, storage containers, and of course teapots. I had to snap a quick picture while they weren't looking, but I wish I could have taken more, but after some quick research, it looks like this is the best shot of this corner online anyway. Oh well, it's good enough for me! I let Andrew know that someday I was planning to have something similar. Poor guy. I'll have to mellow out the pink I think. Maybe.

On my way out I passed by a display full of cute marshmallows. These Magic Mushrooms and the Pink Acorns were my favorite.
So in case you couldn't tell, I love, love, loved this place! It made me want to go home and get brave with colors. That has yet to happen, but I'm working on it slowly. I'm ready for my next trip to Ghirardelli Square. Anyone want to come with me?

26 Before Twenty-Six!

2010-10-21T18:57:00.008-04:00

Today is my birthday! Wahooo!

I had a fantastic pre-birthday dinner last night with family and a wonderful friend, and today has been ideal. The weather has changed resulting in gorgeous trees (I inherited the tree obsession from my Mom. You should hear her scream when the leaves start changing). I took a long drive to deliver an order today and was in awe of all the beautiful colors. I've taken that drive many times before, but Fall finally hit me today and I loved it!

Anyone seen the tv show The Buried Life? Long story short, it's a group of 4 guys who got out of college and decided to make a collective Bucket List. I found the show once it was into it's second season, but the intro caught my attention.

"If you had one day left to live what would you do? Ride a bull? Throw a legendary party for everyone you love? Vegas? Now if you had your whole life to live, would you lose that drive, or would your list just keep getting longer?"

If you haven't heard of it, look it up. I think everyone but me has seen the movie The Bucket List, or at least understands the concept, but me being a bit behind everyone else, this MTV show is what got me thinking.

Instead of wasting time putting together a list of life altering experiences that will probably never happen, I've shortened the process. I'm making the next year a jam packed one full of fun ideas, new challenges, and of course a bunch of memory-making events. Here's my 26 Before Twenty-Six:

1. Take Dylan on a horse and carriage ride
2. Pay off all debt
3. Read all of Jane Austen’s books
4. Meet Bakerella
5. Go to a taping of the Martha Stewart Show
6. Take Andrew to see a Red Sox game at Fenway
7. Get my 'work' published on a baking blog/website

8. See the Trans-Siberian Orchestra again
9. Have new business branding launched by January 2011
10. Have quarterly Girl’s Weekend with Mom
11. Take professional family pictures
12. Successfully make Macarons

13. Move out of this apartment
14. Create and launch a website for the business
15. Make Hi-Hat Cupcakes
16. Feel calm and peaceful in my bedroom
17. Get into single digit jeans
18. Write every day in a journal starting in Jan 2011

19. Go on a new D.C. cupcake tour
20. Complete all painting projects
21. Make a family of snow angels with my dudes
22. Donate blood
23. Host a Surprise Party
24. Complete a sewing project from start to finish by myself
25. Decorate a cake Ribbon/Ruffle style

26. Go on a real honeymoon with my husband

The best part is that everything is 100% attainable. No insanely priced plane tickets or obvious chances of being arrested. I've got some in the works already(#8-Tickets already bought for Nov. 18th-Wahooo!), but most of them step outside of my daily routine. In an effort to make sure I do all of these, I'm planning to post each time I am able to cross a number off the list. It should be fun! Let me know if you have any questions! What things are on your short or long term Bucket List?

Another Cupcake Saturday!

2010-09-06T23:05:00.005-04:00

A few weeks ago my Mom, sister and I headed out to crowded ol' D.C. for a Girl's weekend. We didn't want something super structured, and with all the times we got lost, it's a good thing we weren't on a strict time schedule! Time getting lost #1-on the way to the hotel near National Harbor. Once we finally got there, we snapped this picture before heading out. (Technically, I took 5 pictures, but this one was the best of them all, despite my finger covering the flash.)

At least it's something! We ended up taking one of those open top double decker bus tours through D.C. and ended up in Georgetown. Now, I wanted to be one of those crazy cupcake people who was willing to stand in line at Georgetown Cupcake, but after staying in this line for 10 minutes, I was done.

The reason I was so willing to get out of there was because of a bakery a few streets down that I heard was a 'you can't ditch this place' kind of place. Now I know that Georgetown Cupcake has a huge fan base, but with two bakeries closing at 9, I was happy to go to Baked & Wired instead. I've heard amazing things about this place, and I can honestly say there is no way some little rinky-dink fluffy cupcake with butter cream frosting could hold a candle to the dense, incredible and gigantic cupcakes that Baked & Wired has to offer. This is all that was left by the time my Mom was able to remember to grab the camera out of my bag and snap a quick picture.That's what was left of the Chocolate Cupcake of Doom(love the name!) I split that one with my sis, and then we each snagged a different kind to have later back at the hotel. She picked Red Velvet with Cream Cheese, and I went with my favorite kind of cake, Carrot!Without a doubt, my all time favorite Carrot Cake. No raisins, pecans(of which I'm not usually a fan), and delectable cream cheese frosting! I think I'm going to buy my own Carrot Cake birthday cake from them :o) After this stop, it was Time To Get Lost #2. Finding the nearest Metro stop was a nightmare. I think we ended up walking for almost an hour before we finally got to one. I was thrilled to lay down in a comfy bed after that. Nawnie was a bit wired after the second sugar rush.Next day, National Harbor! Along with the awesome view, they've got some really great shops. We stopped in a few, walked through a market where I grabbed a Sugar Cookie from the girls at Sweet Cheeks Bakery, and oooh'ed and ahhh'ed our way through an art gallery. For lunch we stopped at Potbelly's and then went to CakeLove. Now, I've seen the owner of this bakery team up with Duff from Charm City Cakes a.k.a. the Ace of Cakes team, so I figured it had to be good. They actually keep their cupcakes refrigerated which I think helps keep the cupcake thick. I'm over the fluffy air kind. We went with the Chocolate Fuzzy Wuzzy, and while the base was nice, I'm against the butter cream, so one bite and I was over it. I was happy to be distracted by our next stop, the Peeps Store!My Momma is too cute!

Me and my cute Peeps!

Just outside that place was an incredible iron/metal horse creation. Nawnie is a huge fan of horses, so I just had to grab a picture of her in front of it.Wow, huh?

Alexandria was next! I used to work there, so we headed to Old Town and ran right into another Cupcakery. I wasn't even looking for it, but I'm glad my Mom spotted it! It was a tiny little place, and before even trying a cupcake I fell in love with something else in their shop. Brown bakery boxes!Ok, so I knew before we headed into this weekend that I wanted to try a coconut cupcake at some point. Alexandria Cupcake uses butter cream frosting on all of their cupcakes, so I was a bit up in the air about what to try until I saw this.Coconut Baby! This was such a perfect cupcake. Moist, sweet, tasty, but way too small! I wish I'd bought a dozen. I'm definitely motivated to come up with a Coconut Bite now for my little biz! Next we hit a great little candy shop called Candi's Candies that specializes in lesser-known candies and especially water taffy! Barrels and barrels of it.

These are my personal favorite. I found this flavor in California in Old Sac and Candi's is the only place on this side of the country near me that has it too. It's yummy purple-y goodness!

We headed out of there, stopped by a bunch of other little shops, and then rounded out the day at another great place, Ikea! I picked up a few things that I'd seen in the catalog and managed to score a pink sofa cover for $20!!! I love it when they discontinue colors!

So, I had a fantastic weekend with the girls, can you tell? Here's my sum-up/lessons learned:

1. Ditch Georgetown Cupcake's stupid line and run as fast as you can to Baked&Wired!

2. Avoid D.C. on the day before or the day of a ralley, unless you actually want to fo to the ralley. Traffic sucks.

3. Really get to know D.C. ahead of time, or be prepared to get lost a few times. Any time my Mom and I are together in an unfamiliar area, we expect to have to ask for directions many times!

4. Support local small bakeries! The Sweet Cheeks girls were super fun, and I know what it's like to man a booth and hope and pray for people to buy my stuff.

5. Don't wear flip flops to D.C.-I'm such a dork.

6. Plan a tour of some kind where you live! I'm happy I had a chance to try other peoples' creations. It's got me moving forward with ideas for my little business!

Anyone up for Round 2 of the D.C. Cupcake Tour?

Have A Sweet Day!

Happy Mail!

2010-08-09T13:50:00.004-04:00

Guess what wonderful little surprise was waiting for me a few days ago in our mailbox. The new Ikea Catalog!

I'm a sucker for Ikea. I used to drag Andrew hours away to San Francisco mostly because I knew on the way back we'd stop off at the awesome gigantic blue store. Thank goodness our closest one now is only 25 minutes away! Honestly, the best thing about the place is all the displays. I'd love to live in the local version of about the 200 square foot space! Their catalog is awesome because it's setup after setup. Here are some of my favorite things.

So simple, but I'm snagging up a few of these White Frames
I get my love of baskets from my Mom. I love that these ones are flexible.

Ok, I just had to throw this in here. The other half of the page had the 'Mom' washing dishes. I'm one of those o.c.d. Moms that couldn't leave my little dude with free reign over sprinkles and icing. That picture almost gave me a panic attack :o)
I'm all about the little details. I really hope Ikea sells that gigantic heart over the bed. If not, I think it should be a rule that they only use Ikea items in their catalog.
Cupcakes make any tray look better (even when the cupcakes aren't too fantastic looking)

I don't want anything on here, I just love that her hair is hot pink!
I LOVE these candlesticks. They seem totally out of the norm for Ikea, but I'm all for it!

So, who wants to come with me to Ikea?

Cupcake Time!

2010-07-29T13:40:00.004-04:00

I received this awesome gift from my Mom last year for my birthday and fell in love with it right away.

Well almost completely. It seemed a bit dark for such a fun item, so I finally fixed it. My Mom is the great motivator, and a few days ago she came over to my place to get me going. Primed and painted, I think the Giant Cupcake fits in much better. What do you think?

Ahhh, shiny pinkness. Along with that I had to condense and reorganize all my business junk. I'd been using a small dresser for a bunch of supplies but after selling that I've slammed everything into the awesome cabinet. Tadaaa!

It may not seem like much, but short of the pans and ingredients, everything else I need is in here. It's fantastic! Cookie cutters, boxes, labels, chocolate, bags, icing colors and a couple of other things all managed to fit. Yea for being organized! Onto the next project. I'm making those stripes happen on the awkward wall this week!

Little Black Book~Part 2

2010-07-29T12:39:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite constant projects is adding to my Little Black Book. It's full of all my favorite room inspirations and ideas and is more than 2/3 full. It's the best push when I need to clean/organize and I love how it's turned out so far. Here are some of the newest additions!

I've come to really appreciate white, can ya tell? In going through my Black Book, I've been able to see the main color scheme I'm in love with. White, brown, and pops of green, blue, pink and purple. It's made decorating our place much easier-no impulse buys just beacuse I think something is shiny. I think that's part of the fun with decorating a place. It's never finished!

Adding The Personal Touch

2010-07-22T14:22:00.004-04:00

I've had some down time lately and with that I've been able to go through old boxes, sell off unused furniture, and make plans for happy changes to the way this place looks. Thanks to some of the wonderful blogs that I stalk, I have some new inspirations!

Jen at Made By Girl posted about an incredible site called Deco My Place, a site full of random peoples' home pictures. It's great because you can search based on room, style and a bunch of other things.

I love the layered look in this little nook.

I'm a sucker for an 'R'! Plus I just saw those tall white cups over at Ikea a few days ago, and I'm loving how they're used here.

This kitchen over at The Yvestown Blog has me wishing we were out of apartment living. I'm all about the butcher block counters and the huge farmhouse style sink!

I was a bit late to catch onto the Young House Love craze, but after a few articles in some of my favorite magazines, I'm a big fan of the incredible work Sherry and John have put into their first home. They recently celebrated a wedding anniversary and did a post about different kinds of momentos/reminders of their love that they have throughout their home. I've been wanting to personalize our place with things other than just pictures, so this post was perfect. I especially love the initials they have above their bed, with I Love You in sign language in the middle. Cute, thoughtful, and super easy to make! You'll have to check out their site and see their amazing home. It's gone through a great makeover.

I'm always on the lookout for fun treat ideas, and after seeing this one yesterday, I knew I had to share it. I love me some S'mores, even the homemade ones with the help of a microwave :o) I'm a firm believer that some things just taste better on a stick, and these babies back that up. These S'mores Pops were featured over at Gimme Some Oven! and are too easy to pass up. Gigantic marshmallows, melted chocolate, crunched graham crackers and a stick! Now go make some and tell me how fantastic they taste!

With a mellow weekend coming up, I'll be grabbing my Mom for some help. I've got a couple of painting projects lined up for this weekend, along with some fun rearranging. Here's hoping I'll have the fantastic results up soon. Have a sweet week!

It's Nice To Breathe Normally Again!

2010-07-11T20:04:00.007-04:00

You can tell from the date of my last post that I haven't kept up with this blog very well. Lots of things have happened in the last few months and after exhausting myself completely I've decided to change a bunch of things in my life.

First, I'm trying to get healthy. I was sick of waking up with aches and then running all day to try to catch up with Dylan. Things in this area have been great and I'm still motivated to continue, which is a great sign!

Second, I'm trying to take more time with the little man. He's getting so big and I can't believe he'll be 3 in a few months. After almost a year of speech work, he hadn't really improved much until a few days ago. He's been mimicking sounds he hears on tv, a dinosaur's 'Roar' being one of them. Since that started, he's actually jabbering in the mornings. That has led to 'Momma', 'Yeah', 'Bowowow'(dog sounds) and a few others. It's been incredible to hear his voice all through the day now. Progress finally! Here's hoping it continues.

Also, after a few months 'practicing' how to stretch myself to the limits, I'm slowing down my little business. The lack of sleep most nights leads to a not-so-happy wife and mother, and so I'm working on making my own physical and mental needs a priority. I am very happy to say though that the biz is growing! Aside from the orders, it's officially taken over the dining room area in our home, and I can easily say that I spend more working time in the kitchen than Andrew. I'm sure he'd be thrilled with that if only I learned how to cook better!

Speaking of Andrew, he and I are doing well and planning for a fun bunch of events in the second part of the year. Birthdays, vacations and holidays will definitely have us running across the country, but I can't wait!

One other small thing I've been trying to fix is the amount of posts for Our Little Reed Family. We seem to have forgotten we had a camera in the last bunch of months, so pictures and stories have been kept to ourselves for too long. For more info about us as a fam, check it out here.

And now, since this blog is more about my own ramblings and found inspirations, I thought I'd share some I've found recently. I've been in the need for a change here at home, so I've been on the lookout for new fun ideas to get me moving.

I don't know why, but every time I think of inspiring images, this cutesy little cabinet comes to mind. Something about all the pale colors combined with the knowledge that those pillows just have to be super comfy keeps me looking at this over and over. I've been on the lookout for fun dishes, so that could be another factor. Love me some polka dots!

After a few years of rearranging furniture and painting walls, I've finally caught on that the warmth that comes from a home is more important. Something about this picture makes me think that the family is just outside the shot waiting with a game of monopoly and some popcorn. I want people to feel that kind of warmth as soon as they come to our home.

Now I know this is a baby's room and one way too girly to get away with for the little dude, but I'm all about the colors. Greens, pinks and a brown paper bag shade of paint just have me smiling. And it just so happens that I have a cabinet and dresser that are both in need of a fresh coat of paint!

You know me, I couldn't leave a picture of a fantastic kitchen out of this inspiration bunch. Plenty of light, great appliances, a flea market touch, and that kids school desk have me wishing this kitchen's owner was me! Or my Mom. She'd love that too.

Well here's hoping I can keep a better record of the fun things I find. I'm nixing *Cupcake Saturdays* in favor of the freedom to post fun treats, crafty ideas and home inspirations whenever I'd like to. Hopefully that will make the process more appealing. Have a fun week!

Cupcake Saturday

2010-04-24T21:13:00.004-04:00

Today I was at a Spring Boutique selling Bites and Sugar Cookies, and while there I realized I had quite the little attention getter.

This little mini cupcake is a great placecard holder, but even better for my little *Snickety Snacks* signs. Jenni is creative talent behind Jenni B Originals and her work looks good enough to eat! Here are a few other little cupcakes she's done that I love!

I'll be heading back to Bella Villa in Virginia to snag some more!

Have a sweet weekend!

Lovely Things

2010-04-20T13:39:00.005-04:00

3 weeks and 2 missed Cupcake posts later, I'm finally posting about something fun! This past weekend I sampled out at Chartreuse and I actually remembered to snap some pictures of the place. With the place being nearly sold out each weekend they open, the overall look is constantly changing, but I thought I'd show you some of my favorites.

{Robin's To-Die-For Lamp Shades}

{Can I sleep here pleeeeease?}

{Some of my favorite colors}

{This was one of my Mom's *Large Gasp* items}

{Incredible hand-made signs-I love the vintage bell-hop bell toys!}

{Super squishy and gorgeous pillows}

{Brilliant Bookmark idea with book spines}

{Those little boxes are too cute!}

{I'd love this table for my computer!}

{Donna's beautiful washer necklaces, one of which I am a proud owner of-Mine says Queen of Cake}

And now for some seriously fantastic news....I'm joining the Chartreuse Gang! I'll be officially selling Cake Bites & Sugar Cookies there starting next month! You wouldn't believe how thrilled I am about this. I can still remember going to Chartreuse for the first time last October and wishing that some day I could be a part of something that fun, and now it's happening! Here's a little shot of the space I'll be taking over. Keep in mind, it hasn't been Brittanie-fied yet, but it's ideal in so many ways!

Right under the stairs, across from the a.c. and right next to a fridge....It's Perfect! I hope you can come out and see me next month on the 7th & 8th!

Cupcake Saturday

2010-04-03T23:20:00.004-04:00

I had another Girl's Night In this week at my place and "What's New, Cupcake" was the inspiration! We decided to tackle these yummy creations.

I think ours turned about beautifully for a first try!

Thanks girls for the fun night~I'm so jazzed to snag another idea from the book!

What fun Cupcake Creations have you tried? Any great books you've worked with? Let me know!

I Love My Husband's Job

2010-04-02T17:08:00.004-04:00

Actually, I just love the perks. Remember when I posted about my 'R' collection? Well this is how it looked in the middle of last year.

Since then, Mr. Scrap Yard Man that I'm married to has been dutifully on the hunt for more R's, along with many friends and family members. Needless to say, my collection has grown quite a bit and includes many one of a kind objects. After an hour of rearranging, a lost battle with a hammer, and plenty of times saying 'Give it back to me dude', I'm happy to say the R's are up!

Can you guess where the main piece came from? I love my husband. He found that sucker at work and absolutely made my day. I plan to paint it white sometime soon, just to help quiet it down a bit. I've been dying to get it up along with the many other additions and am now thrilled with it. Let me know if you find any fun and creative R's! I'm always on the lookout for more!

Cupcake Saturday

2010-03-27T20:20:00.003-04:00

My little family headed out to Pennsylvania recently to see all that the wonderful Hershey's Factory had to offer(for the 7th time). The drive takes forever(4 hours roundtrip), and I wasn't sure if it was worth the 45 minutes that we actually spend there, until I saw these.....

Holy Junk! Insane huh? There's more.

I thought that these were the 'Mini Cakes' that were advertised, but they're the standard Jumbo Size Cupcake. Pretty insane that these are sold for $3.50ish and bakeries in the area sell a basic sized Cupcake for the same amount. Something is wrong with this. Oh well, I'll take the KitKat one!

I just had to throw in this picture of the little man. Anyone who's been to our home has seen the gigantic picture of Einstein I have with him sticking his tongue out that I'm in love with. I've got to hand it to Target for finally making a seriously awesome shirt.

Wahoooo! I'm going back next week to get it in bigger sizes. He'll be wearing it through this year and next. *Our little manzie is growing so quickly!*

The Truth Behind Closet Doors

2010-03-23T12:15:00.007-04:00

You know what makes me happy? Before & After pictures.

What makes me really happy? When they're improvements in my own home.

Scary Before:

The Not-So-Scary After:

Yea!

I'm Not A Professional.....

2010-03-20T23:22:00.003-04:00

....nor do I claim to be, but come on man. Why can't Oreo cookies be easier to cut? I got together with a friend this week and we decided to tackle these Owls from the Hello! Cupcake book.

We modified a few little things like using M&M's instead of crazy banana Runts for beaks and M&M's for eyes instead of gigantic Junior Mints. I think ours turned our pretty darn cute if I do say so myself.

That's George on the left and his Evil buddy Stanley. Using the M&M's for eyes kinda made it look like they were wearing huge glasses, but I love them. Thank goodness for my baking partner in crime! Laughing hysterically made it much easier to deal with all the broken owl ear pieces. It's on to the next Cupcake now!

Ok, little side note. I just went and checked out the Hello! Cupcake site and saw that they have a new book! I'm heading to the store next week and snatching it up! Get ready for more baking play dates Nicole!

Cupcake Saturday

2010-03-13T15:16:00.007-05:00

I have a very important date tonight, with this Lady...It finally hit that after months of waiting, I get to see this movie tonight. Anyone who really knows me knows that I'm a huge Tim Burton fan{thanks Dad for introducing me to Nightmare!}. In the spirit of Alice, I went looking for Cupcakes inspired by the movie. Now I found a ton based off of the Disney version that were beautiful, but not something I would want. However, Three Baking Sheets on Flickr knocked my green argyle socks off!

Quirky and unique always make me happy!

I absolutely love the Tweedle Dee~Tweedle Dum ones! Maybe some day I'll be brave enough to work with fondant. For now, I'll just oogle these ingenious creations along with you!

Have a fantastic Saturday!

Sites I Stalk~Part 2

2010-03-12T00:24:00.008-05:00

With a bunch of new inspirational blogs added to my list, I thought I'd share some of my most recent favorites. Hopefully you find one or two you'd like to stalk too!

{i am baker}

Amanda's baking blog is incredible. Great tutorials, a wonderful sense of humor and the pictures are to die for!

{Vintage Simple}

Maria's home is what really caught my attention. The soft colors used in her home are a constant flow through her posts, and I can't get enough of it! The perfect blog to read with a cozy blanket and hot apple cider!

{Polka Dot Prints}

Jordan, the brains behind Polka Dot Prints, is a new favorite and rightly so. The Ice Cream Sundae Baby Shower is the perfect example of her wonderful talent!

{lovelydesign}

Sharilyn is a imaginative Mom who seems to do it all. A beautiful home, a shop filled with adorable items, and a super cute family!

{Linda Crispell}

I found Linda through Flea Market Style Magazine, and I'm so happy I did! She pulls of the vintage style flawlessly and I can't get enough. I'd love to go shopping in her home!

Enjoy!

A Much Better Day

2010-03-11T17:35:00.007-05:00

After the terror of yesterday, I'm so grateful that today started out a thousand times better. My husband was home sick, but having him here to play 'protector' while the little dude slept gave me plenty of time to do some much needed errand hopping. I spent way too long in Target enjoying the quiet that a mid afternoon trip without a 2 year old brought me. You know those trips where you end up going up and down aisles multiple times and back and forth across the store because something randomly popped into your head that you needed, and then when you go to check out you find 3 or 4 things in your cart and can't remember how they got there? It was wonderful! I also had to stop off at both of my candy supply stores, and at the first place it really hit home how much *Snickety Snacks* has grown. Let me give you a little idea.

That right there is 40 lbs. of chocolate. When I first started, I used maybe 1 lb. of chocolate a week. These will probably be gone before the end of the month. Incredible huh? I'm just thrilled for a place that sells chocolate in 10 lb. bags!

The happy perk about going to baking supply places so often is that I can keep up with the new things that come in on a weekly basis. The smaller of the two shops is more of a specialty place, and that is where I found these little cuties. Carrots! I snatched up a couple of bags of these and I think I may just have to go back for more. Holidays bring out the best sprinkles! I'm not so into the eggs or bunny faces, but these just made me smile. Love 'em!

Being without the little man gave me the opportunity to stop in at a larger Dutch Market than the one close to where I live. I quickly bypassed all the regular food and went straight for the candy area. I don't know what it is about those Dutch geniuses, but they somehow find the coolest candies. Case in point, Fried Egg Gummies!

I love, love, love these! They're about the size of a thumb print and I wish I'd gotten more. They make my mouth happy, and they're little dude approved!

All in all, it's been a nice makeup-for-yesterday kind of day. Now it's time to prep for weekend orders! I hope you're having a fun week!

Cupcake Saturday

2010-03-06T14:45:00.000-05:00

I wrapped up my last delivery for Cupcake of the Month earlier this week and have decided not to continue doing it. It's a total trip to look back and think of how much one box of chocolate cake mix has changed my life. In case you don't know the *Snickety Snacks* story, I'll give you the semi-short version.

After a not so fun first half of 2009, one day out of the blue I was in a baking mood. I made up some cupcakes and gave them all away(I was in a baking mood, not an eating mood). Seeing friends happy about the random goodies along with a small new collection of baking books gave me the fun idea to do a Cupcake of the Month group. Officially starting in September, I did a new Cupcake at the beginning of each month for a small group of friends. I can't really decide which was my favorite, but I still get orders for the Hamburger Cupcakes, so I'm guessing those are pretty popular. The best 'reviewed' from the group were my Homemade Hostess Cupcakes for February that I sadly never remembered to take a picture of. Guess I'm just gonna have to make some more! Anyway, somewhere in the early stages I tried out new non-cupcake recipes along with doing some of my own experimenting. A hop, skip and a bunch of months later, *Snickety Snacks* is keeping me busy and growing like crazy!

So Thank You! to all of my friends who snacked on my crazie creations, who gave encouraging comments, and who have supported my desire to try something new!

I love, love, love you!

2010 Lovely Package Exchange

2010-03-01T15:23:00.003-05:00

I'm so jazzed about this! Danni over at 'oh, hello friend' has started up a second round of the Lovely Package Exchange. Last year it involved hundreds of people being paired up and sending each other small gifts wrapped in a variety of lovely ways. Unfortunately I missed out on it, but I was able to see a bunch of the great packages sent through the Flickr group and they're incredible! Danni just started sign ups for the next group, so if you're interested go and check it out. There are a few ground rules, but it seems like a really fun thing to participate in. I know all of you creative ladies would be perfect for this, so hurry and look! She's only accepting 350 people, and based on my last check, the count is at 135. Here are a couple of the pictures taken from the last round, just to give you an idea of what could be headed your way.

Let me know if you sign up! I'd love to know!

{Here's Danni's official post}

Cupcake Saturday

2010-02-27T18:37:00.002-05:00

Originally I was planning to post some pictures of a rather large Cupcake order I did this week, but of course being the Crazie Lady that I am, I completely spaced on grabbing the camera at any point. Instead, I'm going with a more high end focus. Couture Cupcakes! These beauties were styled by Lisa Edsalv and photographed by Therese Aldgard and absolutely took my breath away! They were inspired by Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Christian Louboutin and Betsey Johnson. I saved the best(in my opinion) for last.

I think I'm going to have to recreate the Betsey Johnson ones soon!

Chain Reaction

2010-02-22T15:48:00.007-05:00

Craigslist--->Chartreuse & Co.--->Donna with Livingston Decor--->Flea Market Style Magazine--->Linda Crispell

It's incredible to think of just this one example of how my regular Craigslist visits helped me find a new love. Linda Crispell is that new love! I found a feature in the Flea Market Style Magazine about her, and the picture shown was similar to this one...

The vintage gumball machines are what hooked me. Hours later after going through her entire blog twice, I've got inspiration coming out of my ears! She has so many collections that you're sure to find at least one that makes you rush out to the nearest Flea Market. I'm especially loving her kitchen collections.

{Vintage Lifesaver Candy Display turned Cupcake Decoration Display}

{Jars filled with Pez dispensers, Ribbon Candy, Jawbreakers and More!}

I'm constantly playing around with all of my candy decorating supplies, so seeing this just gets the ideas flowing. I've finally hunkered down and snagged myself a wonderful cabinet this past weekend at Chartreuse & Co. One of my favorite vendors put this beauty on sale back in December I think, and I've been thinking about it since. It was a pretty stinkin' good deal, $198 down to $98, and I couldn't resist. This is what I've been using.....

This little cabinet has been wonderful, but I've been wanting something a bit bigger to hold my baking pans too. Our little kitchen is crowded enough, so the more I can move out, the better. Crazy to think that at one point I only had this little kitchen cabinet for all my chocolates/sprinkles/etc. So anyway, here's the wonderful new cabinet...

I know what you're thinking. 'An old wardrobe? There's not enough storage!' Well, at the moment there isn't. I'll be adding shelves to the right side, along with repainting the whole thing. I'm thinking a white coat on the outside and then a fun spring green on the inside. Hmmm, maybe green and white stripes inside. Who knows. I'd love some kind of 'Wow' affect. It's definitely going to take a few weeks to make this happen, so for now I'm kind of using both cabinets. I'm loving the new find though! It makes me happy every time I walk to the kitchen!

Have a wonderful week!

Cupcake Saturday

2010-02-20T16:02:00.003-05:00

I'm finally posting about something I did! I put these little Kits together for girls in my Primary class after having to cancel a Valentine's party{so sorry again about that!}. I love how they turned out!

{Cupcakes~Chocolate & Cream Cheese Frosting~4 Kinds of Sprinkles}

{Chocolate Crunchies~White Non-Pareils~Pink Hearts~Red Sanding Sugar}

I think they turned out pretty well considering it was a first attempt! Hopefully the girls like it too! After doing these I picked up some supplies that way next time I make some of these up they'll be even tighter looking. So many fun options in the future for these Cupcake Kits! Have a fun weekend!

Cupcake Saturday

2010-02-13T22:04:00.004-05:00

I was hoping to be able to throw some pictures up of some fun Cupcake things I did this week, but still no luck. Instead I thought I'd share some incredible Cupcake paintings I found a few months ago that I've been in love with. I just wish I had the extra bucks to buy a couple of them!

I love the darker look to these Cupcakes. Colors so bright you can almost taste the sugar is fun most of the time, but these are incredible!

{All art can be found on Etsy at the RozArt Shop}

*Bloomingville

2010-02-08T17:34:00.004-05:00

It's been so long since I've posted something 'real' on here, and I've finally figured out why. It all really comes down to the storage bins in our apartment. Before the creation of *Snickety Snacks* I would go through all of the storage boxes and bins in our home at least 4 times a year, reorganizing things to keep, purging what we don't need, and finding happy homes for the things we love but never use. I've learned that the best way for me to stay up on the deep clean is by keeping it in a rotation. I usually start with the Kitchen, move to the Bathroom, then the Dude's room, random closets, and I leave the best/worst for last. Our bedroom is a constant thorn, and the closet is the worst, but the end result is always beautiful and leaves me happy and ready to focus on new tasks. As grateful as I've been for the constant stream of orders and the increasing popularity, it's left me no extra time to get back to my purging routine, which has been totally depressing for me. The last few weeks have been horrible on a personal level because no matter what I do, I visualize going through everything and can't shake the need to get to it. It's the o.c.d. Brittanie inside screaming at me to FOCUS & CLEAN!

Thankfully, our corner of the world was hit with about 2 1/2 feet of snow this past weekend, keeping my husband at home and leaving me with plenty of uninterrupted time to hit the main problems. I'll be posting the huge changes once I can get my camera hooked up to my pc, but for now I'll just say that it's incredible how much better I feel. I guess getting rid of 3 bags of trash/junk, 5 bags of donation items and two 30 gallon bins of baby clothes will definitely change a mood. Now I'm able to see the creative ideas and inspirational images again without feeling lost. I love it!

Decor8 has perfect timing! On the day when I'm ready and open for happy thoughts, she posts all about *Bloomingville, a Danish brand that can be found in Germany(of course, all the good ones involve crossing an ocean). The colors are bright and comfy, and the flowers everywhere just make me want to hug my computer screen. See what I mean?

That last image hit pretty hard in a great way. I can't see all of what's written on it, but I'm pretty sure it's "The great thing about working from home is that you can fashion your surrounding to suit your way of life." I never really looked at all my various jobs as working from home. I'm trying now to keep better control over my surroundings and to appreciate how flexible I've made things(wow, that was a total contradiction. yikes). I love that I can rearrange furniture at a moment's notice without things being too weird. I love that our couches aren't off limits for our little dude, which leads to pillow fights, forts, and homemade slides. I'm trying to let the little things slide, like the brown, pink, white, orange and yellow colored chocolate melts that have been smeared across our couches(just smile if you come over and see them). I'm doing what I can to not let outside things affect me too much, even though 2 1/2/ feet of snow knocked out some things I was looking forward too. I'm still in a mental place where I'm starting 3 or 4 sentences at once, but I think that with my surroundings better taken care of, I'm really taking care of myself. I'm back!

kinda

Cupcake Saturday

2010-02-06T16:39:00.005-05:00

Now I'm the kind of person who hates having to take a Cupcake out of it's wrapper in order to eat it, and the idea of putting one more layer in front of that first bite just sounds ridiculous.....unless it looks like this!

Paper Orchid claims to be the first to come up with the Cupcake Wrapper, and they certainly did it right! These laser-cut beauties are made for all kinds of events, from year-round Holidays to Girl's Night Out. The colors are perfect and the details are jaw-dropping. A bit pricey at $13.00 or more per dozen, but they defintiely have the 'Wow' factor!

Now another company doing an incredible job with these is Cupcake Wrapture. With a focus more on color and design and less on the suer-fancy, these Cupcake Wraps are less expensive and can be used for any occasion. Lisa's colors are totally cute, and I love the little polka dot addition to these...

She also has a blog with some incredible pictures. You've got to check it out. I love the Cupcakes with a Sock Monkey Theme!

I recently ordered a bunch of Jumbo and Regular Brown Baking Cups from Bake It Pretty(which were fantastic by the way), and while looking around I found their Cupcake Wrappers too! They're following more of a Carousel color theme, and I love it! You'll have to take some time to check them out. Hopefully you'll get inspired to start baking!

Cupcake Saturday

2010-01-30T15:55:00.004-05:00

Today's post is dedicated to the snow. We're getting gobs of it, and after seeing this little creation, I'm ready to head outside and make my own!

{Robinson300 via DeviantArt}

Cupcake Saturday

2010-01-23T13:16:00.000-05:00

Every Saturday it's the same thing. I'm a total slacker, but I'm sticking with this blog anyway! While it's still hanging with the rest of the magazines at your local bookstore, go and grab this magazine.....

My Mom was awesome enough to get this for me a bunch of months ago and I keep going back to it. These Cupcakes are tiny and cute and I love, love, love em. The recipes are awesome, the baking tips are fantastic and the decorating ideas are absolutely inspiring. I've used a couple in the last little bit and they're super easy. Just another fun thing to add to your collection of cookbooks!

Cupcake Saturday

2010-01-16T17:31:00.003-05:00

I've officially coughed my brain out. There's nothing left. This has resulted in a delirious Brittanie, which made my Mom laugh constantly during our outing today. Bring Cake Bites to Chartreuse was a total success! 8 dozen Bites gone in less than an hour. The best part? My business cards went too! Yea! Now, onto the Cupcake goodness. I went searching through the Target website for Cupcakes and I found something cute I'd love to have. You know the book, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie"? This is even better!

The next time I'm out and about, I'm looking this up! It looks to cute to resist!

Have a wonderful weekend! With any luck, I'll get some much needed sleep and be fresh and shiny for the new week :o)

Cupcake Saturday

2010-01-10T00:07:00.001-05:00

Hello All! Instead of focusing on Cupcakes today I'm talking all about my awesome connection with the Antique Boutique/Barn setup that is 'On A Whim'. I strolled in there a few weeks ago and met up with the owner Donna who is all behind my bigger launch of *Snickety Snacks*. Now her Saturday shoppers have something yummy to snack on!
I love how the tier turned out! It was a wonderful Christmas gift from my Dad, and after some late night painting and paper cutting, Voila!, pink & white striped cuteness! It definitely fits in perfectly with the overall look of the place. Than you Donna!

{You can find more info about *Snickety Snacks* here}

Cupcake Saturday

2010-01-02T18:46:00.003-05:00

Man I'm way behind. At least I've managed to keep up with the Cupcake posts! Today was the delivery day for the January Cupcake and despite almost being knocked over by the crazy freezing wind, things went really well. I grabbed another idea out of the Hello! Cupcake book that only worked because Target still had the perfect containers. Yea for Popcorn!
Vanilla Cupcakes, Vanilla Frosting and Marshmallows! Does it get any better? This was the easiest thing to put together. All you need are marshmallows, clean scissors, frosting and a tiny bit of patience. Definitely a successful 'recipe'! Have a fun weekend!

Cupcake Saturday

2009-12-26T10:12:00.004-05:00

To say I'm under the weather would be quite the understatement, so I'm sad to say I have lost my brains. The only original idea I could come up with this post involves hardly any work on my part. I took a Cupcake Quiz! Talk about simple. Just a handful or questions and Whammo!, I got these results.
I don't know how I did it, but I managed to get the coolest and yummiest looking Cupcake! I've never seen anything like this so I went in search of the recipe. Biiiig mistake. 10 minutes later I had nothing but other people in the world who had the same results. Blah. Way too much work to sift through that. So if anyone knows of a Cupcake recipe that turns out semi-close to this, please let me know! I'm thinking of creating one that is all pineapple. Yum! Have a wonderful weekend!

A Whopping 49

2009-12-22T19:04:00.005-05:00

I signed into my Google Reader at midnight last night and was hit with that number. Normally it would mean taking some time to myself to go through all of the creative blogs that I regularly stalk which is always a wonderful thing. Except for last night. I still had hours worth of baking work to do and was completely exhausted, but after cleaning the doctor's office, I decided I needed to take those few minutes to breathe and relax. Here are some of the gorgeous and inspiring pictures that caught my eye, along with the blog they came from. Enjoy!

{Another fantastic Color Me Pretty featured on decor8}

{Great ideas for a White Elephant Part on Just Lovely}

{Some day I will wrap gifts like Whitney at Whisker Graphics}

{Fun Cupcakes & Stands over at Making It Lovely}

{Another Sweet Design by Amy Atlas}

{I love carnations. So simple and happy like these at Casapinka}

So that was last night. I just checked it again. 42 unread posts. Wow. I might be doing another post like this in a few hours.

Cupcake Saturday

2009-12-19T23:51:00.003-05:00

A fun Cupcake order for Friday was the perfect opportunity to try out a new toy. What's better than a cute little Red & Green Vanilla Cupcake?

How about a Jumbo Red & Green Vanilla Cupcake!

I love the Jumbo Cupcakes! As if that wasn't a fun enough pan to add to my collection, I also picked up the KingSize Muffin pan, and it's a beauty! I made some a few weeks ago and promptly gave them out to satisfy the chocolate cravings of some of my friends.

Today was quite the snow day, so by about 7 p.m. I was a bit stir crazy. Time to put my family to work! They decorated the leftover Cupcakes and my wonderful Man braved the foot and a half of snow to take them over to our friends that live in the building next to us. Nawnie and the Little Dude even helped! I'll admit, Dylan ate more sprinkles than he actually put on his Cupcake, but I think it turned out pretty cute. That little one in the middle with gold balls, blue bears and orange goldfishes has his name written all over it. Crazie colors, cream cheese frosting and Chocolate/Vanilla Cupcakes make for a fun activity. The one with pink sugar was tasty too!

Cupcake Saturday

2009-12-12T22:26:00.004-05:00

Ok, I can admit it. I went a little overboard with the subject of this post, but I just couldn't help it. There are way too many cute Cupcake Cookie Jars out there, and I had to get as many in as possible for you to see. I know that not everyone is into Cupcakes, but cookies are a different story, and they definitely need a fun home!

After looking through a bunch of these I realized something. I've never actually had a cupcake with a cherry on top. Cherries are reserved for sundaes in my mind. Oh well, they look cute! Lots of styles and sizes and now I'm loving the idea of adding a gigantic cookie jar like this to my Cupcake collection.

{Check the numbered links for prices and all the color options}

Share The Love!

2009-12-08T22:44:00.008-05:00

After gathering all kinds of cute gift ideas all through the year, I've got a bunch that would make for wonderful neighbor/friend surprises. They're all relatively simple and can be modified based on your creative juice level. Maybe you'll get some good ideas!

{S’mores Kits}

I just had to throw this one in first. I love it! I'm havin' a hard time finding boxes though. Once I do, I'm giving these babies out just for fun!

{Snowy Balloon Ornaments}
I think these would be cute for a knock and run situation, just hanging on a neighbor's doorknob with a fun note.

{Pop Top Cans}
These are all about your personal creativity. Make 'em shine with whatever fun little ribbons/bows/whatever you've got.

{A Slice On The Go}
This is meant more as a nice way to send guests home from a party with leftover desserts, but I think it's perfect as a Neighbor Gift. Come on, who doesn't love pie?

{Last Minute Hot Chocolate}
My idea of Hot Chocolate thrown together at the last minute is no where as thoughtful as this. Hearts cut out of the marshmallows, doilies and baker's twine? Gorgeous!

{Glitter Ornaments}
Another one of those projects that would be so fun with a handmade card. I'm all for making the full line of these for my tree!

{Rustic Cookie Bags-4 Ways!}
I just love anything in a brown bag or box. Something about it just gives off a warm fuzzy feeling. Lolly came up with 4 great ways to show off those tasty cookie recipes that I know you all have. She even made up these little tags that you can print up and use. Perfect for people like me!

Hopefully you've found something you like. To my friends and family, don't be surprised if you find one of these on your doorstep soon. Keep having a fantastic week!

Cupcake Saturday

2009-12-05T20:45:00.005-05:00

I'm losing my brains. You'd think with all the baking I'm been doing that I would remember to snap some pictures along the way. Nope. Not me. I'm a crazie head. Oh well. Today I went to a friend's baby shower and of course brought some Cupcakes. They were done up all blue and pink(she's having twins) and it was tons of fun. I've got sprinkles for days so I loved being able to use all the different kinds. Jimmies, sanding sugar and chocolate crunchies were chosen and they were perfect! I love that my sprinkle collection has grown to the point that I'm ready for just about any kind of occasion. And when I have open options, I resort to the awesome moo cows.They even have little udders! Anyway, there's no shortage of sprinkles, but I was kind of sad when I realized the only baking cups I could use were my blah white ones. I went on a mini baking cup hunt(through Etsy of course) and came out with a few others I'd love to have. They'd be perfect for most situations.

I love those Green Striped ones! I'll take a hundred please. See, sprinkles aren't the only fun part. Plain white or tin foil cups are wonderful to have, but I love all the fun colors and styles you can get if you look around a bit. Thanks for coming to my little corner of the world. I hope you're having a great weekend!

Cupcake of the Month Club

2009-12-02T12:52:00.003-05:00

I just wrapped up the December Cupcakes and I'm happy to say that I'm getting better at this! I decided to do a Vanilla Cupcake with a White Chocolate Cheesecake topping, and then I sprinkled some peppermint pieces on some and added a little White Chocolate 'Gingerbread Man'.

I really love this recipe. The only note that I had to make was about the frosting/topping. A single batch is only supposed to cover a dozen, but a double batch actually covered 80 Cupcakes. It was beautiful! The only glitch is that I now have a ton of cream cheese in my fridge. I'm sure I'll find something else wonderful to make with that!

I had to throw in a picture of my favorite part of the process. I don't know why, but I love putting the batter in the baking cups. That whole process is fun to me. Pulling the cups apart, sticking them in the pan, and then filling them up. They're too cute! I'm a nutter, I know.

So there's the latest Cupcake. I'm off to find next month's. I'm thinking of a Cupcake with some kind of filling. What do you think? What are some of your favorite flavors?

Cupcake Saturday

2009-11-28T14:07:00.005-05:00

For once in a very long bunch of years, I'm really jazzed about Christmas. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun time and all, but most years I'm sick of the hype before December even hits. Not this year though. I was listening to the all-holiday-music station a week before Thanksgiving. I'm already scoping out great gifts to give to neighbors and friends and I'm gearing up to string twinkle lights all through my apartment. Because this is my fun Cupcake post, I just couldn't resist in sharing some fun decorating ideas!

{Martha Stewart Snowman Cupcakes~Nice and simple for kids!}

{Winter Cranberry Cupcakes shown on Cherrapeno}

{Holiday Penguin Cupcakes by Blue Cupcake~Too cute to eat!}

{Holiday Ornaments from the Hello! Cupcake Book~Beautiful and fun as always!}

And last but not least, the ultimate Christmas Cupcakes, at least in my mind. I'm in love with all things Nightmare Before Christmas related, and thanks to "death by cupcake" over on Flickr, I have some yummy and pretty to oogle. Her Cupcakes are incredible. Andrew was more into the Simpson collection she did. They're all phenomenal. Have a wonderful weekend! Get baking!

Remember Me?

2009-11-25T15:03:00.009-05:00

It's been weeks and weeks since I last posted anything outside of my normal *Cupcake Saturday* posts, and I'm feeling a bit detached. I blame it all on myself though, and for good reason. Most of you know, but for those who don't, I've started my own business! It's called *Snickety Snacks* and it's been an amazing ride so far. I feel like I'm always running to catch up with the weekly orders, but I'm loving it! I'd be so happy if you could take some time to check out the blog site I have for it and let me know what you think. If you know of any fun ways I can get myself out there a little more, please let me know! I'll be happy to bring some treats your way! And here's a special little offer just for you few wonderful people who actually take the time to read my blog During November and December, when you order at least 1 dozen Cake Bites, I'll give you 6 more Bites just for fun! They're perfect for any party, as a gift, or of course to keep to yourself!

Now, onto the meat of my post. I've had a difficult time lately finding anything that really stands out in an inspirational way and it's been a nightmare. It seems like my focus has been on everything kitchen related, which is fun, but a bit selective. After searching magazines, websites and my beautiful Little Black Book, I have found something that makes me smile. The Holidays! Generic huh? Ok, but the part I really love is all of the family and friends visiting. Now, my parents and sister are close, and I doubt we're going to be having any random visitors, but I still think all the little details are important. Making sure that your guests can feel at home in your home is ideal. Leave it to Martha to hit every little area. Here are some of her suggestions.

{Essentials}
With the addition of a few niceties, your spare bedroom will be as inviting to visitors as a fine hotel room. Set out essentials such as towels and an alarm clock, then provide little luxuries as well: bottles of water, foil-wrapped chocolates, and a few cut blooms in a vase.

{Outfit the Bed}
Make up a double bed with four ample sleeping pillows -- two medium or firm, and two soft -- as well as two smaller pillows to prop up the head when reading. Provide both light and heavy blankets, as well as a lightweight throw for afternoon naps.

{Closets and Drawers}
Make sure there is adequate closet and drawer space. Supply a variety of hangers -- at least a dozen good wooden or metal ones -- that will hold trousers and jackets, flimsy dresses, and heavy coats. And make certain there is a full-length mirror.

{Bulk Up on Supplies}
Store a season's worth of toilet paper and other necessities in your bathroom, so guests never have to make an awkward request for more.

{Color-Coded Guest Towels}
Sew loops of colorful twill tape (in a variety of shades) onto the corners of a look-alike batch of bathroom or beach towels to help guests distinguish theirs from everyone else's. That way, when your house fills up with visitors, everyone can keep track of his or her own -- and no one will have to get up close and personal with someone else's dirty laundry.

Of course these are wonderful tips if you have a spare room and can really make it a home away from home for your guests. Even if you're pulling out an inflatable mattress or opening up the couch, I'm sure your friends and family will still be thrilled! Enjoy your time together! I'll be posting next about fun gifts that can be given to guests, neighbors, as host/hostess gifts, or just for fun to whoever you want. Have a wonderful day and a great Thanksgiving!

Cupcake Saturday

2009-11-21T02:23:00.006-05:00

Another week has come and gone and I'm once again loving that I made a commitment to post on Saturdays. I've been super busy keeping up with some very fun and large Cake Bite orders this week, so I've only been losing myself in the awesome projects and ideas of others instead of making my own. Then again, the crazy hippie themed Cake Bites were quite an interesting project. Thank goodness for my assistant Nawnie! Anywho, I had to take a few minutes and figure out what I wanted to focus on for this. The first real thought on my mind besides the ideas of repeating past posts was Martha! Miss Stewart definitely has a whole load of cupcakes I'm dying to try out, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite most tasty looking ones. Enjoy!

{Pistachio Cupcakes with Raspberries}

{Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting}

{One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes}

{Lemon Meringue Cupcakes}

{Hi-Hat Cupcakes}

{Candy Bow Tie Cupcakes}

{Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes}

~I promise Andrew, I'll make these soon!~

So those are just a few of the fun ideas from Martha's website that I'm dying to try out. Hopefully some of these inspire you to get baking. Have a great weekend!

Cupcake Saturday

2009-11-14T00:12:00.005-05:00

I'm being good this week and getting the posting in a few minutes after midnight instead of a few minutes before midnight at the end of the day. Yea me! It's been an absolutely crazy bunch of weeks so I'm happy to take some time and breathe. I had a fantastic night with a bunch of friends so I'm awake and jazzed and thinking about Cupcakes! I decided to go 'looking' in my general area for some of the higher rated Cupcake bakeries and these are the lucky few I selected.......

{Cake Dreams}

This place isn't open until December, but I drove past it a month ago and the name caught my eye. I'll have to try them out when they open.

{hello cupcake}

I'm a sucker for a cute site with a ton of fun pictures and these guess definitely have that. Great flavors too! They even have a vegan and gluten-free Cupcake choice everyday.

{Delleicious Desserts}

Despite the funky name, this is my first choice to try out. Their Strawberry Cake flavor screams my name!

{Georgetown Cupcake}

The next time I'm lost in Georgetown I'll have to try to find this place. I'm usually don't like such a polished looking cupcake, but these look really yummy.

Have a fantastic weekend! I'll be baking up a storm as usual!

The Old Lucketts Store & More

2009-11-09T22:50:00.006-05:00

About 15 minutes away from the lovely Chartreuse are a few more hidden gems. They are The Old Lucketts Store, The Design House and BeeKeeper's Cottage. These are the kinds of places that you probably need to go through two or three times at least to make sure you get to see everything. Here are some things in Old Lucketts I'd love to get in my apartment!

{This reminds me of the wardrobe lady from Beauty & the Beast. This would just need a very bright paint job}

{I know I'm getting in a winter mood when I start trying to find ways to organize blankets while making them easy to grab. This bin would be sweet to have}

{My jaw dropped when I saw this. If he hadn't been on a table I probably would have hugged him}

{Another one of those things I'd love to have, but don't know what I'd do with it. I'd find something good!}

{This was like the last minute pocket change stuff you find at the register that is difficult to resist. It was full of hooks and knobulars and made me want to get a junk dresser I could fix up, all so that I could buy some of the beautiful glass knobs. I'm a crazie one}

Next was the Design House. I love, love, loved the house itself, but the rooms weren't really thrilling for me. If you're into oodles of glitter and softy materials and very refined furnishings then this is the place for you. I did like that all of the rooms were set up with purposes, including a crazie mannequin lady in a bath tub full of large ornaments! Check out the Design House's website here to get lost in their eye candy.

Last was the BeeKeeper's Cottage. It was a pink cotton candy heaven! I didn't get any pictures with my camera, but their website is full of great gifts and comfy things for your home. They had a beautiful patchwork quilt there on one of the beds that I couldn't let go of. Some days I really wish I could sew.

So those were some more of the very fun home-ish stores I saw over the weekend. I can't wait to see what they have on a regular basis when the Holidays aren't in full swing. Thanks for stopping by my 'place'!

Chartreuse Again!

2009-11-09T21:45:00.009-05:00

This past weekend I was completely thrilled to go on out to Chartreuse again for their Holiday party and re-opening. The place is decked out in Christmas stuff! It's awesome. I forgot about my camera once again, so I only managed to get a few shots from there.

{I'd love to use this for Cake Bites. So fun!}

{I'm a sucker for an awesome shabby lookin' cabinet}

{All kinds of hooks and knobs-The display was the best}

{Looks like a bunch of shopping carts huh? I can just imagine my blankets in it!}

{I snagged two of these stars and I'm so happy about it! They look like giant sugar cookies}

Ok, so maybe I got a little more than just a few pictures. It was too fun though. I ended up going Thursday night, Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Obsessive huh? Well luckily I've gotten in good enough with the owner Virginia and she referred us over to see a few more stores in the area. Those awesome pictures will be in my next post coming soon! If you're intrigued by Chartreuse and want to check it out, let me know! I'd love another reason to go back!

Cupcake Saturday

2009-11-07T23:44:00.003-05:00

It's been an absolutely crazy two weeks, hence the silence on my blog. I've had an awesome day despite being a bit sick, and now with 15 minutes left in Saturday, I'm posting about Cupcakes! But not just any Cupcakes. These are my latest experiment for my little Cupcake of the Month Club. November's theme was Spaghetti & Meatballs. Yum!
Happily this went much smoother than October's Hamburger setup. I found the Spaghetti idea in the Hello, Cupcake! book and only modified it slightly. Instead of using the Ferrero Rocher chocolates I used small Cake Bites rolled in nuts. Oh, and I learned that the 'Squeezable' jam idea isn't really all that easy. It's kinda hard to get jam through a think horizontal slit when you've got giant strawberry chunks in the bottle. Great for sandwiches and toast, not so fantastic for these babies. Sad to say, it took me a while to figure out a solution. Duh Brit, unscrew cap and then squeeze. It was like magic. I had strawberry jam all over the place. Anyway, I think it worked out relatively well. Hopefully everyone thought they were yummy! Thanks so much to all my Taste Testers/Club Members!

Cupcake Saturday

2009-10-31T21:43:00.003-04:00

I've become somewhat of a sprinkle collector, and I love it! The only downside is that I didn't have a uniform way to organize them, and given all the different containers, it was something that irked me big time. Thank you Michael's for the solution! In their scrap booking section I found the perfect sized plastic containers that have solved my problem. Take a look-see.

The two different sizes are ideal. Smaller ones are mostly for the solid colors, which makes sorting the varying styles easy, and the large jars work for those times when I just have to get a bunch of one type. The two large ones are the right are my favorites right now. Pink pigs with yellow jimmies and then black, brown and white cows. Too cute! I couldn't resist getting them.

So that's a little bit of what I've got going on. This little doorless cabinet also holds some of my ceramic cupcakes, baking cups, and standing on top are some pictures are the perfect color inspiration. How do you organize your sprinkles and such?

Beautiful Germany

2009-10-30T16:34:00.006-04:00

Ok, well I don't exactly know how beautiful Germany is, but the site Car-moebel is gorgeous to me. After looking through every aspect of their site I have a long wish list, or at least a long To-Make/Create list. I also realized that I could live very happily in a home filled completely with their products and designs. Here's what I'm thinkin.....

So, for the entry way, It's gotta be super functional, inviting and cute. This cubby look for shoes and such just makes me smile. The Hotel sign is a nice touch too.

Now that you're in my place, come sit in the comfy cozy living room! I'm hoping to get back to coffee table living soon, but for now I can just picture the little man climbing on it and river-dancing.

A standard sofa/love seat is a must have, but after seeing these armchairs lined up, I'm really liking this kind of look. There's something movie theater-ish about it that's tons of fun.

Seeing as how my living room also holds the 'office, that's next on my list. I'd love to have the computer hidden away, so this sucker is ideal for keeping the cords outta site.

Can I have this too? Just for the extra things on my desk that need a cute home.

It's kitchen time! I need lots and lots of prep space for my little baking business. This looks good to me.

And of course while I'm baking I love company. Anyone mind sitting at this cute little table and chatting up a storm with me?

With a growing collection of display plates and such, not to mention the awesome plate and bowl set that my guy got for me last Christmas, I think using a buffet as storage is a brilliant idea.

Thank goodness I have an amazing husband who loves to cook. I'd love to have more of a formal dining room like this, with a bunch of windows and super tall ceilings, to enjoy family meals in.

B & B's now. I think this bathroom would be perfect in a master bedroom. It's such a calming setup, but it has that feeling like you just grabbed random pieces of furniture from other rooms and put it all together with a sink. Yea!

Our little man is quite the rambunctious one, so I can absolutely see him in a room like this a few years from now. I think a little less white would be a good thing.

And now, for the master bedroom. Seeing as how we still have a bedroom that is also playing the part of storage room, I love this look. White to black, very crisp looking, but still so comfy. I just want to snuggle up in that bed.

Being the organizational nut that I am sometimes, I'd love two of these. His & Hers cabinets would make it really easy for me to ignore how messy His would get.

So that's my little wannabe house tour. Seriously though, take some time to check out their site. It's full of beautiful colors, everyday accessories and incredible furniture. And the best part is that it all has a totally lived in feel. So fun!

A New Look

2009-10-24T22:01:00.002-04:00

You know how you get that feeling that you need a haircut? You realize you've been throwing your hair up in a ponytail every day and then a couple times a day when you see a mirror you either say 'Whoa' or 'Ugghh'. Yeah, I'm at that point, but not just in a hair sense(though I totally do need a haircut). I keep avoiding my blog from more than a behind-the-scenes point of view so I figured it was time for a change. I've been through hundreds of backgrounds and finally found one that kind of matches my mood right now. Coincidentally, it matches my entry way too, or at least what it will look like by tomorrow night when it's all pretty again. Anywho, along with the new color digs, I added more of the blogs that I stalk, so if you're ever in a bored mood, just clickety-click away over there. Chances are if you like my 'style', which you must or you wouldn't be here(thank you!), then you'll like most of those. Speaking of which, who are you? Do I know-know you? Are we friends already or have you found my blog in some random way? Please let me know! It's nice to know I'm not talking to myself, and I'd love to find out more about you and what you like. I'm here to help cater to your creative needs too! I hope you're having a wonderful day!

Cupcake Saturday

2009-10-24T18:56:00.005-04:00

Trips to Michael's have become a pretty regular thing for me lately, and today I strolled past the stamps and stopped to take a second look. I found a couple rubber stamps with the standard birthday cupcake, lit candle included. I don't know if it's just me, but I like my cupcakes simple, so of course I'm gonna like my cupcake stamps that way too. Here are some fun ones I found on Etsy.

{Nicollie's Shop}

{Nicollie's Shop-I love that the top is a fabric button!}

{drumchick99's Shop}

{Corrabelle's Shop}

{outoftheblue's Shop}

{TriciaTharp's Shop}

Ok so that last one is a little over the top, but come on, who doesn't love a baking elephant in a polka-dot skirt apron? I know I do! Have a fantabulous weekend!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

2009-10-21T22:39:00.004-04:00

Oh it totally was. I'm learning how much fun it can be when you just have a mellow laid back birthday. I'm all for making a bigger hoopla out of everyone else's birthdays, but give me a basic dinner, the movie Coraline and some incredible gifts and I'm all set. Here are some of the things I have now, thanks to my loving family who know me too well.....

{Adorable Porcelain Plate Set}

{Another Cupcake Picture To Add To My Collection Along With Some 'So Yummy I Could Eat Them' Candle Holders}

{This Set Makes Me Want To Throw Some Milk In The Pitcher Just So I Could Pour It Over 1/4 Cup of Cereal In A Cute Polka Dot Or Striped Bowl}

{I Really Think This Measuring Spoon Set Is Too Cute To Use. Good Thing Andrew Got Me Another Usable Set Of M. Spoons And Cups!}

{I Posted About Some Cupcake Holder Like This That I Found At The Chartreuse Tag Sale, But This One Trumps All. It's The Length Of My Arm, Made Of Glass, And Can Hold 3 Or 4 Cupcakes. Perfection}

Ok, this next thing absolutely took my breath away. The few people who have been to our apartment might have seen the still growing Cupcake collection I have, and I think I finally have one to center it all around. Behold.....The Giant Cupcake......

Yeah, that's my hand holding it on the left. This thing is ginormous. We might be painting it a different color, but even if we don't it will still be phenomenal. Along with these I have much needed wooden spoons, another mixing bowl w/ lid, the movie Coraline, 2 pairs of argyle socks, a great sign from Nicole that says 'The Ghostess With The Mostess'(freakin' awesome), and a candy card from Molly and her daughter that almost made me cry. Totally cute. It has been a wonderful day. I'm so grateful for friends and family that have taken even just a few minutes to let me know I matter to them. Thank you so much Mom and Dad! I loved that I was borned!

I'm In Love, Love, Love with Chartreuse!

2009-10-19T14:51:00.000-04:00

Ok, not the color, but Chatreuse & Co. They are my new happy thought. Here's why. So I'm crusin' through craigslist trying to find something interesting and there's nothing to be found. Out of boredom I click on a post that says "Vintage Tag Sale". Now, the ad wasn't exactly spectacular, but luckily they had a Shutterfly account with additional pictures. The part that sealed the deal with that the pictures had prices. Ever see amazing things online but once you get to the store they end up wanting $675 for a tiny side table? Yeah, I hate that. So to sum up a bit, I talked my sister and Mom into going and after a 25 minute rainy drive, we find the place. We all walked in the front door and our jaws dropped. This place is incredible. The "Oh my goodness, I love this!" comments started right away and continued for an hour and we walked through the huge 2 level barn type setup. Along with furniture(which is amazing) the place in covered in every kind of home accessory you could want. Vibrant colors, rustic wood finds, shabby chic style, shiny glamorous, and of course Halloween. My face hurts from all the smiling. Here are some of the things I loved. I couldn't take a ton of pictures because I didn't remember until the last 10 minutes that I had my camera. Even still, here's a nice large chunk of pictures.

{Glass Cupcake Holders-If I'd known the cupcake candle was a part of the price I'd have snatched one up}

{The lamp is cute, but I really love the chair}

{The owner Virginia giving a class on decorating a table in a bunch of different ways. My Mom grabbed three of the candle stick holders she used as soon as the class was over. Awesome}

{I can definitely see myself having Sweet Dreams in this setup}

{"Fright Night" was in a section mostly dedicated to the more classic Halloween decor. Yea glitter!}

{The day I make my own pastries is the day I get this for my place. I love signage}

{Even more glitter associated with Halloween. Loved these little skull @ $3 each}

{Yes, I would love to have this too-You starting to see how fun this place is yet?}

{All kinds of mirrors-The place was full of them}

Now, for the loot that I got. I actually bought the least out of the three of us. Weird.

So, another 'R' to go in my collection, a green shelf thing($18) that originally was going to hold my ceramic cupcakes, but that has been replaces by the lighter green shelf thing on the left(an early b-day gift from my momma). I think I'm gonna paint both a bright white. Hmmm, choices. I also got two vintage plates($6 each) which I think will be perfect for displaying cupcakes and such. I love the muted colors. Any this beautiful thing isn't officially mine yet, but it will be in a few days. THANKS NAWNIE!This little phrase is the reason I started my cupcake collection, and I'm so thrilled to have it. I especially love the color!

So, that's what I did over the weekend. Fun huh? They're opening back up on the weekend of Nov. 6th. Anyone want to come? I'll be going back for sure. I can't wait to see all the new things they'll have!

{You can find more info about Chartreuse & Co. on their website}

Cupcake Saturday

2009-10-17T13:42:00.005-04:00

So you've found a perfect recipe, baked up some yummy smelling cupcakes and then decorated them to the point of 'Wow!'. Now what? Well you can't just hand them over to willing taste testers! I've had a love for cake stands and now of course have fallen for cupcake stands. They're just the best way to display all your hard work. Here are some of my favorites. I'll take one of each please!

{Bird Cupcake Stand}

{Cake Stand by Clara French}

{Red Ceramic 3 Tier}

{Ruffled Cake Stand}

{Spotty Cake Stands-Set of 2}

{Cupcake Stand With Bird Bell Jar}

I can't believe there was a time where I thought these were pointless. Of course they're not a necessity, but I love the presentation. I really love the Ruffled Cake Stand. Too cute! Have a great weekend!

"Nightmare"

2009-10-15T23:18:00.002-04:00

Do you see that incredibly fantastic man right there? He's wearing glasses and a black tie while rockin' the semi crazy hairdo. He's so beautiful to me. No, not Mr. Depp. The other one! Ahhhh, Tim Burton. Genius. Wacko. Eccentric. Inspiring. Quirky. Amazing. Don't worry, my husband knows about my love for the man behind movies like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd, and many others including my absolute favorite, The Nightmare Before Christmas. I have to say Thank You, Thank You to amazing parents who introduced me to this movie. I fell in love with it so much that it has become a tradition to watch it every year for either my birthday or Halloween. The detail, the colors, the characters and all the time involved leave me speechless. Just imagine me on the other side of this blog staring at the computer screen and keyboard trying to figure out what to say. This is a movie for anyone who ever looked at Christmas and said, 'Why does Christmas get all the good movies? What about Halloween? That's my favorite holiday! I won't stand for it being left out anymore!'. Take the hour and a half or so out of one of your hectic days and enjoy this perfect movie! Here are some movie shots to catch your interest.

Mr. Jack Skellington himself

"Halloween's Finest Trick-or-Treaters"~Lock, Shock & Barrel

Jack Trying To Understand Christmas

A few years ago my family was incredible enough to take me an hour away to the one movie theater in our area that was playing the 3-D version of The Nightmare Before Christmas. It.Was.Fantastic. Hopefully I didn't overwhelm you with this movie. I'm slightly obsessed, can't you tell? October just gets to me in a wonderful way. Have a fun day!

Fairy Lights

2009-10-13T11:46:00.000-04:00

When Andrew and I lived in our little bottom level apartment 2 years ago we desperately needed extra lighting to give the extra oomph to the place. Thank goodness for the tons and tons of Christmas/fairy lights I lined the inside rooms with, the ones that ended up staying for a good 5 or more months. I know what you're thinking, it sounds very 'college dorm room'-ish, but we loved it. I've been debating throwing them back up in this apartment, and seeing these pictures just pushed me over to the 'Yes' side.

Now I'm planning on going a bit more extreme with what I do, but the beauty of it is that if I don't like the outcome, I can just take them down. Knowing me, I'll have to have it perfect and straight and finished looking. I love the simple little touches of lights around the chalkboard and mirror. It's perfect. I think my main push to do this again is that I can remember nights where we only had the fairy lights on, and it gave off this amazingly comfy and inviting feeling. *big sigh* Just in case you like the look too, but not on a huge level, there is a tutorial on how to make the Glittering Lightscape in the last picture for your own home! For the instructions, click here. I actually might try it out. That could be really fun in the little man's bedroom. Hmmm, too many ideas. Have an amazing day!

{1-2-3-4-5-6}

Cupcake Saturday

2009-10-10T20:41:00.004-04:00

It's finally October and I can't hold back any longer. I just had to post about Halloween themed Cupcakes! I've been on the hunt for some cute ones for our little dude's birthday party at the end of the month, and along the way I've found some real winners. They all look like fun to make!

Send me pictures if you try any of these out. I'd love to see them! Have an amazing weekend!

Lovely Package Exchange

2009-10-08T23:55:00.003-04:00

I just barely caught on to the loveliness that is oh, hello friend as they were closing the sign ups for the Lovely Package Exchange, and I'm kicking myself for it. You can find more info about it on Danni's site, but here's the short version is this....A bunch of strangers sign up and are paired off. They send a package to each other containing all kinds of cute little gifts like stationary, stamps, journals, jewelry, and other little kitchy things. There is an understanding that these things will all be beautifully wrapped and sent with lots of love and care. It's a brilliant idea! Imagine getting some basic details about someone you don't know, going out and finding little gifts for them, creating a fun and unique way to package it, and then shipping it off. Just look at some of the beautiful pictures. I'd love to get any of these in the mail!
You can find more pictures of the packages sent and received on their Flickr site *here*. I'm definitely signing up for this next time. Hopefully Danni doesn't wait to long to make it happen. It would even be fun to do on a local level. There are so many ladies in my ward that I'm dying to get to know better, and I think this could be the perfect way to break the ice. What do you think? To those few that are fantastic enough to read my blog, would you be interested in doing this with me? I'd love to make this happen, so let me know!

I Want Some!

2009-10-07T10:45:00.008-04:00

I saw this picture today on design is mine and ended up just staring at it for about 3 minutes. I don't know if it was all of the different styles/colors of cups & glasses combined or how incredibly creative it all looks, but I love this.

I've always loved the rustic 'you might get some splinters from this if you sit on it' look, and these milk & apples crates don't disappoint. As long as it's done right, it looks crafty and inspiring instead of cluttered.

There's a little bit of everything for ya. If you're liking these as much as me, you might appreciate this little tutorial from Ohdeedoh on how to make it happen in your home. I really like the contrast with the bright white in that last one. Enjoy!

{1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8}

Cute Little Cherries

2009-10-06T23:12:00.005-04:00

I saw this purse on the Martha Stewart website and have wanted to try making it. Thanks Katie for having a birthday!

Now to be honest, I hired my Dad to do the official sewing, but I picked out the fabric, made huge copies of the template(very hard with a little dude running around Kinko's), cut out the shapes and pinned them together :o) I need to take an official lesson from my Dad on working the infamous sewing machine, but right now I'm still too chicken. Hilarious huh? I think it turned out super cute.

They called it a subway bag, because you loop one arm through the other like so.....

....and now no one can reach into your bag and steal your lip gloss! There's also a little pocket area inside of it because I know how frantic I can get when my phone is ringing and I have to go finger fishing to find it. I'm hoping it gets a ton of use. Happy Birthday Lady!

{you can find the instructions on how to make this bag here, or just steal Katie's}

I Kinda Like Mondays

2009-10-06T00:31:00.004-04:00

This was an awesome end to a crazy Monday. A little before midnight I finally got online and into Reader, just to be hit with the beautiful number 50. This made my night.

I absolutely love Google Reader and check it multiple times a day hoping that one of the blogs I stalk will have something new for me to drool over. Weekends are usually pretty slow, but once Monday gets here, there are tons of new posts. I just spent the last 30 minutes going through everything. Thank goodness Reader keeps it all neat and tidy for me. It's like my extra brain. Keeping sites in my Favorites wasn't working. I currently have 333 sites bookmarked and 40 folders to keep them 'organized'. I need all the help I can get. Thanks Katie for the tip!

Think Pink!

2009-10-04T11:06:00.006-04:00

As you can tell from some of my earlier posts, I'm really starting to like pink. With it being Breast Caner Awareness Month, pink is slapped on just about anything. While I think that some companies are really pushing it a bit too much, I'm loving KitchenAid's products, especially because their Cook For The Cure selection has been around for more than just October. Here are some of my favorites that aren't too gaudy, but have just enough oomph for any kitchen.Baker's Suite Gift Set Set of 3 Mixing Bowls

Power Stand Mixer

Now that I've appealed to the baking side of me, here are some of my favorite rooms and such with touches of pink.

{1~2~3~4~5~6?}

Cupcake Saturday

2009-10-03T00:06:00.005-04:00

You know what I've noticed? The majority of the bloggers that I stalk don't post on the weekend. Kinda sad huh? Well at least I'm here to squash that. I'm totally cheating this weekend and just posting about October's Cupcake of the Month. Here's a bit of info on what I learned and love about the Burgers & Fries.

A bunch of different people have done the hamburger cupcake, and I was dying to try it out. Pretty simple idea for it, just basic yellow cupcakes cut in half, a brownie circle as a patty and then 3 different frosting colors for lettuce, mustard and ketchup. Squish it all together and add some sesame seeds on top. Doing that last part really made the difference. Then we did some sugar cookie fries with a 'ketchup' drizzle. I think they turned out really cute. Here are some pictures two friends of mine took of theirs.

I finally got to taste one of the leftovers today and I can say that they taste as good as they look. Yum! A few things I learned....I need a different sugar cookie recipe for the fries. These ones puffed up a bit too much, but they still worked overall. Also, let your frosting harden a bit. We didn't stick our in the fridge or anything, so it kind of started to slide down some of the sides once the top was put back on. Also, don't do 120 on your first try! Yikes. Thank goodness for my amazing parents, sister and husband. I really used and abused them for a good 2 hours there. I promised them that next month I'm all on my own, so they're off the hook. I'll definitely be going more for a 'taste' than 'looks' cupcake. Hopefully they'll be just as impressive in their own way. These would be so much fun to do again with a group of people, so if you're interested in making some with me, let me know! I'd love to put that together. Thanks so much to my Club members for being my taste testers!

Yea For Baby Showers!

2009-09-29T22:07:00.005-04:00

I've spent the last few days trying to figure out how to put together gifts that I wanted to give to a friend at her baby shower, and after many long nights, I think things came together quite nicely. Ahhh, crazy times without a sewing machine. That's right, the soft blocks and fabric puzzle pieces were all sewn by my shaking fingers. Yeaaa! I think they turned out really cute though.

I also threw in some white chocolate covered pretzels, just for some extra oomph. I think I'm getting a bit better with my packaging. Kinda. Mr. Hippo Guy guarded them wonderfully. I found out that Lauren really likes white chocolate pretzels, so that was my amazing psychic ability at work. Hopefully her little one enjoys the other things. I learned so much after doing both of these projects for the first time, so if I ever want to do them again I'll be a pro. Getting a sewing machine might really help the process, don't ya think?

On another note, my mom came over earlier in the day with her gift for the shower and a certain little dude fell in love with the stuffed animal she brought. This little zebra had the manzie so focused it was hilarious. He held it out as if he was dancing with it. This is another one of those times where I'm so lucky I snapped a picture at just the right time.Awwwww. I might just have to run over to Target and get one for him. Yes please, I'll take more moments like this!

Cupcake Saturday

2009-09-26T22:54:00.004-04:00

It's just been one of those days that was jam packed with a bunch of last minute things, so now here it is, the last hour of the day, and I just remembered that it's *Cupcake Saturday*. Picture me scrambling around, searching through my hundreds of online 'Favorites' to find just the right topic for today. Well, I have found it.One of the people who's brain I'd love to pick is Pink, over at CasaPinka. She was one of the hidden gems I found while combing through the blog rolls of some of my other favorites, and I'm so happy I stumbled onto her site. She is another one of those people I want to be like 'when I grow up'. Her posts are full of gorgeous colors(pink included of course), gotta-have-it crafty creations, and my absolute favorite, her realistic experiences with being a mom. We can't have it together all of the time and I love her honesty. I laughed so hard the night I stayed up until 5 in the morning reading through every single post she'd stuck up. It was a sleepless night very well spent. Well now that I've sung my praises to her, I'll get to the Cupcake portion. Pink recently started what she is calling a Cupcake Sociology Project and it has me energized for some reason. You've really just have to read about her experiences so far, especially what got it all started. Seriously, just go read this.

This is the sum-up of her plans. She's brilliant.

"I've decided to embark on a month long study where I will make gorgeous and delicious cupcakes and offer them to random people, noting why they decline my treats if they tell me, and seeing what sort of conversations come from sharing something gorgeous and edible with a stranger. I'll blog about my baking process, try to take some nice photos and then we'll see what happens as I try to pawn them off on friends and strangers."

Now this got me thinking. I would love to try this out in D.C. right in the middle of the Mall! You know where, tons of grass, walking/running path all around. I'd want to jump on this soon because it's starting to get colder, but I definitely don't want to do it alone. How would you feel about baking a dozen or so cupcakes, whatever style you want, and then taking the Metro with me out there on a Saturday to give Cupcakes to strangers? Sounds bizarre, and of course there's the chance that we'd get shot down by a bunch of people, but I think the odds of oodles of smiling faces outweighs that in a great way. Plus, there's strength in numbers. Me by myself would be awkward, but me + 4 or 5 friends = and incredible day making a slight difference in the lives of strangers. So come on, be brave and tell me you'd love to join me! It'll be the East Coast chapter of Pink's project to "reach out to people in a world that seems so anxious right now. "

{the amazing cupcakes were made by Pink. wow huh? find more from her on her blog and in her Etsy shop}

Awkward Wall

2009-09-23T13:52:00.006-04:00

After tons time mentally flip-flopping, I think I finally have a solution for my 'Awkward Wall'. I painted it a bright white a while ago and have gone back and forth on what to put on it. I'm going with painted stripes! I've got the paint color and I know I want thick stripes instead of a bunch of skinny ones, so now it's just a matter of choosing between horizontal or vertical. What do you think?

Horizontal......

Or Vertical......

Blah. I can't decide. I think I'm leaning more towards horizontal. I'm gonna get totally fed up with it all I'm sure and just do this instead.

I found this Paint Chip Sample Wall and I absolutely LOVE it! Wouldn't you just walk into my home and say 'WOW'? I'd go with some different colors, but I think this is incredible. It's the perfect way to get all the colors you like :o)

{sources:: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8}

A Place For Reading.....

2009-09-22T00:05:00.004-04:00

Andrew got me the new Dan Brown book about a week ago and as much as I'm dying to get through it, I'm stuck on page 47. I can't read the same way I used to. Too many distractions running through my head. I think one of these fun reading nooks would help!

Those pillows look super squishy and comfy! This has a shabby-beachy feel that I love.

I really like the idea of slapping some wallpaper up just on the wall in this little area. It really sets it aside.

I'd like the house to go along with this nook. You know it's just gotta be amazing.

Ok, now the stenciling isn't my favorite, but the chair and dresser are ideal. They make me happy!

I'm currently working on creating my own little nook in our place, which isn't exactly easy with our completely open floor plan. I've got the oober comfy couch and softy pillow, now I just need to sink into it and open my awesome book!

Adorable Argyle

2009-09-20T19:45:00.004-04:00

After spending about a week trying to find something inspiring, I landed on this picture which brought my love of argyle patterns all flooding back.

I love the mismatch of patterns, but the argyle is my favorite. Thank you Apartment Therapy! I've done some searching for more fun everyday items with this awesome pattern. Enjoy!

I love the base of the Oopsy Daisy lamp, along with the shade of course.Martha Stewart has step by step instructions on how to put the cute little piggy together and even says "This petite argyle pig is so cuddly, you'll want to produce a whole pen's worth." Hmmm, we'll see about that. Anyone wanna try making it with me?

Journey's is absolutely my favorite shoe store, mostly because it has the style of shoe I like and in a size I can actually wear. And what's better than having a shiny new pair of shoes than getting some super soft and comfy argyle footies to wear? Just the thought has me smiling. I wore down the last set I got to the point where only 4 socks are left, and all in different styles. Extra fun to wear!

I'd love to have these argyle drink coasters, but I'm afraid they'd end up in the same place our last set of coasters did, with the little dude's toys. No clue why he loves them so much, but I know why I love these!

Pottery Barn has these argyle pillow shams with throws to match. I like them because they've got much more of the classic color combination. I could just imagine a crafty lady stealing her man's sweater to create these. If you like these ones though, run and get them. They're on big time sale!

I think this 'modern' argyle pillow is much more my taste. Simple, mellow colors, and has the 'made by me' look without actually being made by me. That might go on my birthday wishlist. Better yet, can anyone teach me how to make these? I need some new pillows and I'd love to be able to say I made the covers!

Yeaaa for argyle! Seriously though, if anyone wants to make that stuffed pig, let me know. I think it'd be so cute in a bunch of different styles. Have an incredible day!

Cupcake Saturday

2009-09-19T10:45:00.006-04:00

I woke up this morning feeling completely *blah*, so searching for a topic for today's C.S. was a welcome task. Now I want to bake like a crazie person. I've noticed a bunch of different cupcake kits lately, so I'm putting together a little collection for you to oogle. Who knows, they might inspire you too!

::cupcake kit:: seems to be the most well known one out there. With those cute liner colors and the simple name, I'm not surprised. Anything polka dot and I'm hooked.

While some of these kits can be justified, I don't think I could talk myself into actually buying the 'Juicy Couture & Dylan's Candy Bar Cupcake Kit'. I just love that it comes with measuring spoons! Plus anything from Dylan's Candy Bar makes me smile.

Normally I stick with the basics like chocolate and vanilla when it comes to cupcakes, but this Lemon & Coconut Kit from Donna Hay looks too tasty to pass up. To the Chocolate and Vanilla lovers, she's got you covered too.

For you lucky ones who have fantastic scratch recipes but just need the extra oomph, Meri Meri is lookin' out for you with these colorful decorating sets. You know me, I couldn't pass up a chance to show something Pirate themed. Yeaa skulls! They've got a bunch more like these too. I'm loving the Open If you Dare kit.

This is the ultimate cupcake kit. Saint Cupcake has the perfect setup. You point and click, picking 3 cupcakes, 3 types of frosting, and 3 kinds of sprinkles. Then they package it up beautifully and send it your way. Sound like fun? Wanna get it for free? One of my favorite sites, 'oh, hello friend' is giving one of these Signature Kits away! Just clickety-click over to her site and enter. If you win, please tell me how yummy the cupcakes are!

A Happier Kitchen

2009-09-15T00:16:00.006-04:00

After months and months of stepping over a baby gate to get into our kitchen I now love sliding back and forth over the invisible line between the un-dining room and my new favorite room in our home. Here's the kitchen setup we had before, when we were minus two cabinets thanks to all of the kitty stuff.

To make things worse, next to the litter box cabinet we had a giant kitty tree that I couldn't stand. Not exactly the best bunch of things to have in the kitchen of all places, but with a little dude wandering around, none of these things could be accessible to him. Well, this baking kick has inspired a change. Getting rid of the cats isn't an option(unless anyone wants to take them, pleeeease?) so I asked my wise-as-a-smarty-owl Momma what she would do. Her advice was to throw it all in the bathroom. Well that wasn't an option in my mind, but I got me thinking about other rooms. After hours of baby-proofing the kitchen, scrubbing and disinfecting cabinets, and confusing the cats, all of the kitty junk is situated in the hallway closet. Yeaaaa! It left a bunch of room for some awesome reorganizing. Let me introduce you to 'my' cabinet.....

It's oh so pretty in my mind. I like being able to see everything. Moving things around also reminded me that I have the Giant Cupcake Pan from Wilton, and thanks to my aunt's incredible brains, I've got a new solution to making the end result look edible instead of slathered in frosting. Perfect timing to get some extra room. My sprinkles and such cabinet is getting a bit full. I blame it on Little Bits for having too many awesome sprinkles. Along with my strong like for that place, I ventured out today with my Momma and Katie to a new place called Cakes Plus. Thank goodness I took a second look at the store reviews online because I didn't realize they were more than a bakery. That place made me so happy! I loaded up on goodies.

So many Merckens chocolates at the bottom there. And if these sprinkles here don't make you smile, please look at them again. I love the name for them too(my favorite Charlie Brown character).

Little Pigs!! No clue what I'm gonna use them for, but they were too cute to pass up. Plus Katie talked me into getting them :) Right before checking out, my two road trip buddies saw these....I snagged the green and pink one, and I know it'll fit perfectly in my growing cupcake collection. I've got to stop procrastinating and get that up. Hmmmm, that could be a perfect project for my next Cupcake Saturday post. Thanks for checking out my craziness! Have an amazing day!

Cupcake Saturday

2009-09-12T01:37:00.002-04:00

Today it's all about Having Your Cupcake & Wearing It Too! I skipped around my favorite go-to website, Etsy, and found some pretty interesting cupcake images that range from cute and sweet right up to zombie-ish. Now I know you won't love them all, but I do! Most are on t-shirts and a few are on kids' clothing, but with some sucking up you might be able to get the creators to put the images on all kinds of wearable items. Enjoy!Dog Bone Art rocks. They'll slap the Pirate Cupcake image on shirts, bags, buttons, bumper stickers, whatever.I love the Pink Skull & Cupcake Shirt from the Cupcaity shop(cute name). The detail is incredible. It's also the kind of shirt that would get me a sideways look from my Momma :o) On any given day I feel at least 3 of these. An 'Off the wall' creation from Jason at KillTaupe. These are two that I'm definitely keeping on my wishlist. Both of these Rocky The Zombie images are hand painted, and you can choose the size/style of shirt. Black~White Speaking of hand painted awesomeness, here is the Elephant Who Never Forgets To Eat Cupcake. Too cute.Little Frankencake here was slapped on the front of a baby onesie, and the best part is the rear view. Just look, it's adorable. Doesn't the Motherhood tee just sum it all up? Making cupcake bites with some ladies the other night I heard the funniest thing...."Do you think if I do them in pink the boys won't eat them?" I'm just happy that I can keep mine out of the reach of my little dude, for now at least.

Sites I Stalk

2009-09-09T12:46:00.006-04:00

As my list of blogs/sites I'm loving keeps growing, I thought it'd be fun to share a handful of them, along with the reasons they rock. Here goes.....

Making It Lovely

Nicole is the blogger behind Making It Lovely, and she lives up to the name. She's working on transforming her family's so-so bungalow into a cute home, and the pictures of her place are incredible. She does the things I would love to do in my place, but when I try it never comes out as fabulous. She also is the owner/creator of Pink Loves Brown, an online stationary shop full of cute cards, bookplates and tons more.

Decorology

I don't remember where found Decorology, but it was one of my first 5 finds, and I've been through her entire blog multiple times. Ashley pulls from magazine websites, artists, photographers and who knows where else. Her overall taste matches mine so wonderfully that I'm always running back for more!

Hostess With The Mostess

Finding this site a few months ago has made for some awesome nights up late cruising through other peoples' parties. The pictures are gorgeous and I'm dying to host a baby shower or two to try some themes out!

oh, hello friend

oh, hello friend speaks to the softer side of me. There are regular giveaways, daily postings, and many links to all kinds of art, jewelry, clothing and more. The best part? She has usually has multiple posts each day :)

Blah to Tada!

Claire is the perfect example of good things coming into your life when you least expect it. I have no clue where she found me, but a random comment from her had me instantly hooked on her site. blah to Tada! is full of Claire's ingenious ways to recycle or improve on the everyday things that we all have. She combines a bunch of 'blah' items and Tada!-you're left with a beautiful picture of something you're dying to go do yourself. She must bottle up all of her creativity in all of her little honey bear jars. I have no idea how she's able to post with new ideas each day, but I'm loving it!

Made By Girl

I first found Jennifer's blog through her Etsy shop, and I'm so happy I did. It was like getting a present on an already awesome day. She also has another online shop full of cards and posters including her too-cute-for-words ABC posters.

Twig & Thistle

If you're always on the lookout for fantastic crafty ideas and Do-It-Yourself freebies, this is the site for you. I'm loving the Ice Cream Dream post and the DIY Freebie: Lunch Bag Notes.

Bakerella

There really aren't words to sum up how fantastic I think Bakerella is. Her recipes are so yummy and what makes her extra wonderful to me is that she walks you through everything! Mouth watering pictures go hand in hand with detailed instructions, so there's really no messing it up. I'm thinking of having a Bakerella inspired party, anyone wanna come?

Centsational Girl

If there was ever someone I'd want as a neighbor to guide me through all of my projects, it would be Kate from Centsational Girl. She transforms some of the most awkward looking things into "gotta-have-it" items. I love what she says...."I'm on a quest for diamond style on a dime, and I'm out to make my world fabulous, for less, one DIY project at a time." She's not kidding at all. Check out her Staircase transformation. Wowza!

Cake Wrecks

I must be the last person to jump on the Cake Wrecks bandwagon, but I think I'm the one who lucked out. It's like watching a tv series on dvd. You get to skip all the pesky commercials. Well I got an overdose of cake in a matter of days. I laughed, giggled, shared with people around me, and many times said, "Blah. What were they thinking?!?!", all because of this awesome blog. Throughout the week Jen posts horrifying cakes, awkward typos, and just plain scary creations that Wreckerators slap together. At least she makes up for it on Sunday with Sunday Sweets, the complete 180 degree opposite of the Wrecks. Just look. You'll understand.

Now go check out all the amazingness that these sites have to offer!

Oh Happy Day!

2009-09-09T12:14:00.001-04:00

So after a rather difficult day yesterday, you wouldn't believe my reaction as I walked down the Target magazine aisle and saw those beautiful words....Storage. I actually said, "Oh thank goodness". After months and months of waiting, it's finally here! I like all kinds of decorating magazines, but Storage is my absolute favorite. It combines everything I love. Gorgeous colors, extremely neat rooms/closets, and the idea that 'I too can have a home that looks like this!' I just wish BHG would do it more than 4 times a year. Sometimes they throw in an extra 'Best Of' one, and you should see the happy dance I do then. Last night was crazy and I was exhausted, so I ended up looking through it about an hour ago and I just had to snap some pictures to share. Oooh, I've love to have that setup for my growing collection of fancy papers, scissors and pens.

I really like the idea of customizing plain old glass jars. No clue why I've never thought about it before. I'm crazie.

Ok, if you liked these, go find the real mag. It's full of more awesome goodies!

Crazie For Wire & Kristine Mays

2009-09-08T10:08:00.000-04:00

I've noticed during my online window shopping lately that wire objects are really getting an extra push. Using wire to make jewelry can result in a beautiful creation, but seeing as how I don't wear a ton of jewelry, I'd like for my wire to be a bit more useful.

Milk Crate

Basket w/ Handles

And if you wire objects can't be brought into my home to help me keep things organized in a cute way, you at least need to be amusing to the little dude. He'd probably just try to stick all of his toys in these West Elm Spheres.

I can't talk about wire anything without raving about Kristine Mays. Almost 2 years ago when I decided to start my "R" collection, I found this quirky little R in Kristine's Etsy shop.

Well I snatched that baby right up and have loved it ever since. This little "R" could be made with all of the talent/creativity she has in one pinkie finger. Her work is jaw dropping. Before I show you some pictures, here's a little bit of info that she gives about herself.

"The products found here are a result of inspired amusement, creative exploration, and experimentation. I hope you find something you love as much as I loved creating it. My work with wire began about 12 or more years ago as I was inspired by the idea of transforming a straight line into something of volume. My main creative focus involves creating large-scale sculptures of the human form."

Large scale is right. If you think that "R" is impressive, check these out.... Shoe with Blue Bow

Little Blue Dress

Dress with Brown Bow

Kristine also has some of her art work on display near the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco which would be incredible to see up close. Too bad there are thousands of miles between me and those. At least I can stare at my own little hand-crafted piece art by K.M. You can too! Her Etsy shop is full of things.

Numbers......

Symbols.....

Letters.....I think spelling out my whole name would be too much. Or would it? Maybe a smaller word like LOVE would work.

'Oh, for me? You're too kind!'

I saw these twinkle stars on Kristine's blog, and I'm about a heartbeat away from asking her to make me one, or two, or seventeen :o)

{You can find more info about Kristine Mays and buy some of her creations through her Etsy Shop and her Blog}

Amy Atlas.....'Nuff Said

2009-09-07T10:35:00.000-04:00

I know that I'm a bit late to jump on the Amy Atlas bandwagon, but I've found a new appreciation for her. The first I heard of her was on decor8, and just seeing those first images had me hooked. A little bit about her first before I hit you with her amazing tables. Amy Atlas is the owner and creator of Amy Atlas Events, based in New York City. Despite having no design background(she's an attorney), she is an extremely sought after event planner and the beauty/brains behind some extraordinary dessert buffets. Just take a look~Sorry there are so many. I couldn't resist!I'm absolutely green with envy! My husband would love this.
This was made for a young girl's party, but it would also fit wonderfully for a Valentine's Day get-together.
A gorgeous Bridal Party done in all-white. I love the lemonade with "Best Wishes" straws.
Have you guessed yet what my favorite holiday is? Halloween is perfect to me. I think I was brainwashed as a kid from so many viewings of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Tim Burton is my happy thought.
I posted the carnival shot once before, but it deserves a second time in the spotlight. Her colors combinations make me smile. I'd like a house to match please :)

Well if that isn't a literal version of 'eye candy', I don't know what would be. Her story is so inspirational and her creations make my mouth water while my mind runs crazy with ideas. Hopefully I'll get to try out something similar to her Halloween dessert table for the little dude's upcoming birthday!

{All images and tons more can be found on Amy Atlas' website and blog}

So Much For A Relaxing Retreat

2009-09-06T23:37:00.000-04:00

After spending way too much time in bed today(horrible sick day), I've decided I really need to change things up in my bedroom. It's pretty functional, but is strongly lacking a 'wow' factor. It's just a bed, dresser and two bookcases full of our DVDs and books. Blah, blah, blah. So after waking up around noon, I'd had enough. I went out, grabbed my Little Black Book, and started leafing through trying to find something to inspire me. I guess subconsciously I can't stand bedrooms because I had a whopping 3 pictures out of about a hundred and fifty that featured them. That's all! Usually people have tons of pictures of bedrooms, right? My bedroom has always been the catch-all and is neglected no matter where we've lived. I'm hardly even in it during the day, and I think it's because I just don't feel at home. I need to change that around a.s.a.p.! I've got to add to my bedroom image collection. At least the few I have now can somewhat stand on their own.

This is the frou-frou girl in me. You know those 'turn and outfit into a room' magazine spreads? Yeah, kinda like that, but not really. This is all about my inner 6 year old.

I think this is one I could pass off on Andrew, no problem. Just enough brown combined with fun stripe patterns and I think he'd be good.

This is what I like to call my Ideal Bedroom. In both my online and Black Book collections of images I have my Ideals. The end all be all of a room that I would just love, love, loooove to have. The nice thing about this brown/pink/green/antique white combination is that it would actually go really well with the rest of my apartment. It would be an awesome project to take on. I've got the boring blah 'Before' and this could be my 'After'. What do you think?

Well these three are awesome and all, especially the last one, but I needed to add some more in, if for nothing else than the days where I need the extra push to clean and beautify this place. This is what I found....

I've become a definite fan of natural light, and being up on the third floor here is perfect. I love how this bedroom has a great mix of earth and air, or at least it does to me. The browns and blues with the cream in between just gives off an organic feel.

Because so many things end up in our room, I love seeing all of the extra storage in this room. Boxes under the bed, bags, and that awesome tall dresser would be very happy additions to our bedroom. We don't even have nightstands. Blah.

As much as I love things all cleaned up and contained, there is something so fresh about the idea of getting out of bed after reading a book, turning around, and snapping a quick picture. I've become very aware of the kinds of fabrics I like snuggling up with, and that white comforter topped with the silky smooth purple bit looks wonderful to me! Not so sure about those heels though. Ouchie.

That was my little collection of bedroom inspirations. What do you do to make your bedroom a fantastic place to be? What kind of inspirations did you use to get your bedroom together? Magazines? Advice from friends? Did you just grab a comforter at the store and kind of make it work? Seeing that brown/pink/green combo has me motivated!

{top 3-BHG magazines~bottom 3-House to Home-cream, white, purple}

Cupcake Saturday

2009-09-05T05:11:00.000-04:00

Seeing as how I'm in a 'I want more sprinkles!!!' mood, I thought posting about an awesome online bakery supply store would help sooth my inner child. Completely opposite effect. Oh well. This is all about Bake It Pretty. I just found them yesterday, but sadly they were closed down for and inventory check so I couldn't buy tons of beautifully colored things like....

Polka Dot, Vintage Damask, & of course the Skull Baking Cups

Silver & Pastel Pearlized Jimmies

Pastel Magic Candles~The oldest cake 'trick', and in beautiful colors too!

The Cupcakes 101 kit, all wrapped up in an adorable little suitcase.

The completely random Cupcake Bandages, no Owie necessary.

Bake It Pretty is back up and running, so go get lost in all of the pretty colors and patterns :o)

It's going to be a happy baking weekend for me, and maybe these pictures inspire you to do some of your own. Have a great Holiday Weekend!

An Apple A Day....

2009-09-04T23:30:00.001-04:00

Williams-Sonoma is my happy place. These Pocket Pie Molds are officially gone from my wishlist and in our kitchen now!

We couldn't wait to test one out so we went the quick way and picked up some ready-made pie crust and canned pie filling on our way home. They're advertised as being really easy to use, but wow. Sooo simple. Here's the prepped-for-oven look.

After about 30 minutes of prep work and 15 minutes baking, sweet apple-ness was ours!

You can tell that a dessert is really incredible when you try to plan a get-together around it. I can just imagine fall and winter parties including these. So home-ish and yummy!

Hide and Seek

2009-09-02T17:57:00.000-04:00

I've been so into baking lately that I've forgotten my decorating/organizing roots. I went looking through my collection of magazines and started to notice a reoccurring theme. Armoires/cabinets are everywhere, and being used to hide more than just televisions, clothes and computer junk. This isn't new of course, but I love seeing all the different placements. Lookie lookie....

I would love to be able to fit something like this in our kitchen. I'm always wishing I had more cabinet space, and this would fix it right up. Too bad I can't get rid of our 3 cats. I'd have oodles more room. Anyone want to adopt them for me? Pretty please?

Another one of those times where I wish we had more room in the bathroom. Gimme a claw foot tub and a chocolate brown cabinet filled with fluffy white towels and I'm in relaxation heaven.

I love the smooth split screen look on that one.

This one I absolutely love. Throwing a big semi-clunky looking wardrobe in a dining room might normally look strange, but it brings the perfect balance to the clean and almost delicate look of everything else. I want it!
Of course I had to add in this one. Even though I've successfully rearranged the kitchen a bit to accommodate what I've got now, I can totally see myself having one of these in a year or so. I'm such a nutter that I've already mentally rearranged the furniture near the kitchen so that I can make this a possibility down the line. These cabinets are like the perfect present. Cute on the outside, but what's inside is so much better!

{All pictures from Better Homes & Gardens magazines. They might be on the BHG site}

Cupcake of the Month Club

2009-09-01T22:28:00.000-04:00

It's the first of the month, I've delivered the goodies, and so far I'm getting rave reviews. Now of course I can't claim any real credit for these, as they are from the incredible mind of Bakerella. Her Cupcake Bites are adorable and I thought they would be the perfect kick off for the C.o.t.M. This whole idea is about trying out new recipes and techniques after all! I did what I could, what do you think?Cute huh? I actually got to taste one and it was pretty good. If you look here you can see the recipe/instructions that Bakerella has for them. I followed it totally, even though finding the right flower cookie cutter shape proved to be a bit difficult. I split the process up into two days instead of trying it all at once. I baked the cakes, mixed in the frosting, rolled the balls, and stuck them in the fridge last night. Early this afternoon I went to mold the shapes and realized that I'd made the balls too big. Thank goodness they don't harden in the fridge. I ripped chunks right out of those babies and kept on going. Once they had their bases molded I dipped the bottoms in Merckens milk chocolate melts, turned them upside down and let them dry. I went for pink and green melts for the tops, along with sprinkles of course. Andrew couldn't resist biting into one of the two leftovers I had and thankfully he remembered to snap a quick picture.

I packaged them up in these cute little bags and thanks to my Mom, I was able to get fun little tags on them without being killed by all of my alphabet stamps. Her writing is just like a font, no printer needed!

Now for what I learned. First, don't try to make 70 on your first try. Not enough time and I wished I'd had more to practice on. Second, have a helper, or two, or seven. This would be tons of fun as a party or rainy day activity with kids. Thankfully, my guy was a huge help to me today. I'd dip the tops and he throw the M&M and sprinkles on and he kept them all lined up for me. Wonderful man appealing to my o.c.d. tendencies. I also won't be buying the purple Merckens melts any more. I tried a couple different ways to melt them and they'd always end up clumpy. Too bad because I love the color. As far as the club goes, I learned that I need to get more notice out. I sent out a heads up on Facebook yesterday I think and had 8 families interested. Much more than my crap practice run last month where I was practically begging for people to join up. The list is growing too which I absolutely love! It's a total thrill to deliver these to everyone. Also, something that most of the Members suggested was maybe having some kind of a monthly fee for this. Of course it would just be to cover cost as I'm not looking to turn it into a business or anything, but I don't want to turn people off from wanting to be a part of this. What do you think is fair? Any amount ideas per month? Is it even a good idea to have a fee? I'd hate to exchange cupcakes for any money when I drop them off because it makes it less personal. I'm doing this for my friends and I want it to be fun! I'm 90% stuck with the idea that this was my choice to make and I'm doing it more for myself than anyone else. You all have no idea how much I love the entire process, especially delivery time! Hmmm, still thinking through it all.

A little bit of info for anyone who hasn't heard about this yet. Each month I will be trying out a new Cupcake recipe. Some months I'll be focusing on the taste factor, and other months it'll be all about the overall look of the Cupcake. There are so many options! I've got a growing list of families who are official Members and I'd love to know about more people who are interested. I'll be doing all the baking and then delivering the yummy creations on the first of each month. The best part? You don't have to do anything except give me some feedback. I'm learning from the behind-the-scenes point of view, but I'm all for getting comments and pointers on the taste and look of the Cupcakes. I'll post about the baking/decorating process and what I learn, along with the recipes and their creators. I'd also love some suggestions on what to do next. Needing something fruity? A serious chocolate attack? Just let me know. I think it's going to be so much fun!

Now I'm taking some time to breath after a busy couple of days. I'm sitting here listening to the Weepies while eating chips and salsa, and guess what I'm already thinking about? Next month's Cupcake! It's all picked out and everything. It's going to be another Bakerella twist, and I'm jazzed to do it. I'm just happy that it won't require dipping anything! You wanna know the really crazie part? I've got another cake baking right now. I'm making Cake Balls tonight! Yeaaa for Midnight Baking!

Crown & Crumpet

2009-08-31T15:39:00.000-04:00

If you do not have even the tiniest bit of 'girly-girl' in you, this is probably going to hit you hard. I just couldn't resist posting about Crown & Crumpet in San Francisco. I'm not a tea drinker, but that doesn't stop me from loving this place for how it looks. If it was closer I'd walk in just to say Wow. I'll start this off easy and work up to the Wow level. Take a deep breath......See what I mean about Wow? I would have loved to be there before they opened shop to see this all come together. I know it's a bit much to look at just once, so scroll back through at least once more. You'll start to notice little things like the wonderful polka dot lamps that I'd love to have, and the stuffed mushrooms guarding the fireplace. My little dude would be all over those. I love all of the little collections and the mix of patterns on the furniture. It's all my place looking empty. I've got a great semi-blank slate, but it's time to fill it up, and Crown & Crumpet is wonderful motivation. What do you think? What do you see that you'd love to have?

Making Some Room For Sprinkles

2009-08-31T00:15:00.000-04:00

Well my organizational skills are being put to work. How do you completely rearrange an already stuffed kitchen to make a separate area for all your cute baking supplies? Well, this is what I did. I moved tupperware, put some Dylan-proof tabs on drawers(well really Andrew did that), transferred random utensils to the silverware drawer, scrunched everything together in their respective cabinet/drawer and tried to not drive myself insane along the way. It all paid off though. Ta-daaa!Ok, I know, it's not as if I have a ton of stuff that really needs it's own area, but trust me, this little collection is growing. All of that is from just two trips to Little Bits Shop, and one side trip to another place(never going back there). So I've got all of my Merckens candy melts, baking cups in the pink bowls next to them, sprinkles up next, with specialty ones in the Stuff jar, and up top in that awesome striped box are my cookie cutters, pop sticks, food coloring, and other such junk. I think I'm gonna throw the stick in that blue jar though. I love it, but it serves no purpose right now. I'll fix that!

Doing the wish list post got me thinking. I'd love all of those incredible things, but they won't exactly fit on these little shelves. So now I have a kitchen wish list. Of course none of these are in any way realistic given the apartment living, but some day maybe. For now I'll dream. Here are some alternative options to the cabinet setup. Imagine all of the dishes replaced with polka dot baking cups and oodles of brightly colored sprinkles.

My only fear with shelving right now is that the cats with jump on it. That last one seems like a good option, I'd just love to find a wall mounted version, KitchenAid mixer included of course :o) Now this could solve all of my space problems......

Doesn't look like much right? Well this would just be my side of the kitchen! I know, 'Keep Dreaming' but I think it's perfect. I can have this side for the baking madness, and my guy can have his own macho manly side for the cooking, stocked full of shiny knives and such. I'm good with my own little sink, and an area for Dylan or random others to sit and watch me get eggs all over the counter/floor. It's now my official ideal situation. Until that magical setup is mine, I'm still mulling over colors and styles. Here are some other cute kitchens I've got in my collection.

{Purple & Pink, Blue & White, Pastel Cups, Cubby Storage, My Ideal, Yellow Tulips, White & Green, White & White, Green & Green. Sorry for the photos without sources. Can't remember where I found them. Please let me know if you recognize them!}

Cupcake Saturday

2009-08-29T22:30:00.000-04:00

There's nothing better than showing actual cupcakes on Cupcake Saturday, so try not to let your mouth water as you stare at these babies....

I love the color combinations! I think it makes them extra yummy.

Ok, I just had to post about these sprinkles. I don't know how well you can see them, but those little orange ones are goldfish! I think they rock. I've found a cake/candy supply place that's nearby that I absolutely love. It's call Little Bits Shop and it's crammed full of awesome things, including these goldfish. They've got all kinds of other sprinkles too. Dinosaurs, tree leaves, dog bones, blue bears(I bought those yesterday), holiday themes, plus the basic everyday kinds. It's cupcake heaven in there. They've got tons of other supplies, so if anyone wants to go with me next time I head out there, let me know! I'll be running back soon for more sprinkles!

Birthday Wish List

2009-08-28T12:21:00.000-04:00

This always happens. I have a birthday, anniversary, or gift giving holiday coming up and I'm told to 'make a list'. Movies, sure. Music, meh. New shoes, usually a yes as long as their my DC/Etnies/skater type(good luck finding them in my size). What ends up happening is a list full of fall-back items I'd like for our home. I've gotten picture frames, dishes, furniture and other things like that. I now have a new catogory to add. Bakeware of course! I've developed a new love for Williams-Sonoma. I used to go in there with my man all the time because he loved the pans and knives and other shiny cookware. I could usually find things in the kid section I liked, and sometimes I snatch them up. I'm so happy I got their ice cream sandwich molds years ago. They turn out super cute. See?So I now wander into the Bakeware section with fresh eyes. I want to try everything! There are a few basics that I'd love to get, along with things I'd like to consider basics so that I can justify getting them all today. Here are my basic basics....

The simple yet beautiful white Melamine Nesting Bowls. Perfection.

I love the Collapsible Measuring Cups & Spoons Set. I'm all for saving space. If I'm aiming more for the cute factor though, I'd have to go for these.Ganz Cupcake Measuring Spoons. Yea!!! I think I'd just display them though. They're too cute to use. Maybe not.

I honestly believe that this is little doohickey is heaven to anyone addicted to baking. The KitchenAid Mixer represents everything easy-breezy about being in the kitchen, and in cute colors too!

Now for some fun stuff!

No, that is not a tiny Oreo on a mini cake stand. That is the ginormous Goldtouch™ Sandwich Cookie Cake. I'm dying to make one. I need to find a really good reason to get it though. Any Oreo fanatics out there who really like chocolate cake with the frosting in the middle?

Ok, now this is seriously something that I'd love to have. Who doesn't love pie? And who wouldn't love their own personal mini pie? Come on. The Apple and Pumpkin Pocket Pie Molds make it look so easy! They also have a couple of other shapes. With the fall and winter months coming up, these would be a snap to whip up just for fun.

I am a definite fan of pancakes, and these take all the effort out of making them cute. Mickey Mouse ears are amateur level compared to these babies. The Jungle Pancake Molds will be the start of my pancake mold collection I think. I'm waiting for October to get closer to see if W.S. will come out with their Halloween themed ones again.

They've also got a Garden Creatures set right now. Breakfast for dinner sounds good right now!

So those are on my birthday wish list. Chances are I won't be able to resist getting a few before then though, especially those pie and pancake molds. I love Williams-Sonoma.

*One Crazie Lady*

#14~Create and launch a website for the business

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Someday....

#8~See The Trans-Siberian Orchestra Again

#4~Meet Bakerella

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