The Roaring 20's

I have always loved planning parties and get-togethers. Big or Small, for friends, neighbors, or strangers - I enjoy getting groups of people together.

Lately, it seems as though the blogosphere is buzzing with talk of the 1920's. Flappers, the Prohibition, Jazz, the Charleston... I have read about this era on several blogs, thought I would tell you about a 1920's themed Murder Mystery Party that I hosted.

...........

I rented out a 1920's house in Hollywood from a bizarre lady who was stuck in a 1920's time-lock, so her home was perfect for the party. It was already decorated in a gorgeous art-deco style, so I didn't need to spend any money adding 1920's decorations. It had a library, and even a secret staircase - I was so excited when I found it.

There were 30 guests coming to the dinner party, and they each had been prepped a month ahead of time with information on their characters. I bought a Murder Mystery game for 20 people from here, and then just wrote in 10 extra characters. The invitations came with instructions on how to do The Charleston, and also a list of 1920's vocabulary, so when everyone came, they were the perfect picture of someone from that era. The game even supplied play-money, so people could blackmail one another, or pay others for information. Unlike other Murder Mystery games I had played, this one gave you full freedom to roam around the house and discover clues, and meet new people. It took about 6 hours to play.




It was such a fun time. Everyone really got into their characters. There were several murders. Apart from the first main murder, Eric's character was conspired against, and killed on the staircase. Heather poisoned my dear Brian, whose death was mourned greatly. And in the end Ashley won best costume.




So if you love unique ways to get together with friends, or enjoy the 1920's era - I highly recommend throwing a 20's theme Murder Mystery Party.

What is the most unique themed party that you've ever been to?

Minding My Money and a Giveaway

Money can be such a touchy subject.

Talking to people about how much they make is kind of uncharted territory. Some people are perfectly fine telling people what their salaries are, while others prefer to keep it to themselves. I personally think it's rude to ask people what they make. I am always surprised when people in the middle of a conversation ask Brian how much he makes. To me, it's a very personal question - it's like asking someone "how much can you afford in life?".

We as a society never really seem to have enough of it, do we? No matter how much we make, we always wish we made more. But the funny thing is that something that holds such importance to us, is really just a piece of paper or a copper disk. In Australia, they have 50 cent coins - and at one stage there was a shortage of them. It turns out that 50 cent coins used to be made of 80 cents worth of silver, so some guy was stealing and hoarding them all in a safe and then melting them all down to sell them. After that, Australia changed the 50 cent coin to be made of materials of a lesser value.

I've never had a safe. But a purse is kind of like a portable safe. We keep all our credit cards, cash and personal information inside, and if we ever lose our purses, it's such a worry!


Amy from IMH Designs creates the most gorgeous "portable safes" ever! Her lovely clutches are sewn beautifully, and lined with Dupioni Silk. Amy's love for sewing transpired into a business, and now lucky Amy gets to create beautiful purses to share with us! If I had one of her purses and lost it, not only would I be worried about my money and personal items inside, I'd be worried about missing such a gorgeous accessory! Each clutch is inspired by Amy's love for fabrics and capturing beauty. Outside of sewing, Amy loves photography, and also a mean Oreo Icecream Pie!



Amy is so generously giving one reader the clutch of their choice from her store. To enter this giveaway, comment here letting me know which clutch from her collection is your favorite, and what you would put in it if you won. I will announce the winner on Sunday.

(PS. I am guest-blogging at La Mia Vita today here if you wanna check it out!)
*Photos taken by IMH Designs

I am Jealous

I am jealous of those people who grow their own fruits and vegetables.

Don't you just love the idea of grabbing your herbs from your own garden? It would be like having your own mini Farmer's Market in your back yard! Fresh juicy tomatoes straight off the vine. Fresh dill for the perfect potato salad. Apples and peaches for a pie you want to bake.

One of my old coworkers grew a lot of his own veggies, and he would bring to work any that came out to be a weird shape or color like it was a science project. He was so proud of his produce, it was cute. I would always tease him about his father-like pride towards his vegetables. But growing your own food really is a thing of beauty.




One day when I have my own garden, I am going to grow basil, plums, parsley, tomatoes and lots of yummy berries.



What about you? What food grows in your garden? And if you are gardenless like me - what are you growing in your make-believe garden?

(PS. The winner of the Sweet William Givewaway is SK. Hooray!)

The Book of Me

There are lots of things I have shared with you on here, and then there are things that I realized that I haven't talked about at all.

Carol from Everday Delights posted on her blog ten things about her, and tagged me to play along. I tried to come up with a list of things that I haven't told you about, so here are few quick notes from some of the pages of The Book of Me:

1. I don't know how to whistle. I have tried and tried and tried - to no avail. All I do is sputter and spit all over the place whenever I try.

2. It's no secret that I enjoy coffee. But coffee to me is not a stimulant. I treat it like a dessert. Lots of creamer/milk. But despite my love for coffee, I was able to stay off it for a whole year! Even from iced coffee (which I don't think feels the same as regular hot coffee, because it's even more dessert-ish, so therefore harder to avoid).

3. I have been a Big Sister for the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization for five years now. It's such a rewarding experience.

4. My Grandfather was an uber-famous actor in the Philippines. He always played the villains, haha.

5. This would be my most shameful note on this list - I first started having strong feelings for Brian when I was dating someone else!!! (but no, i was a good girl - i didn't do anything about it - i didn't date Brian until after 6 months of me being broken up with the other person. And no, I didn't dump the other person for Brian - I didn't even think I had a chance with Brian).

6. I love grocery shopping. I could spend hours exploring each aisle.

7. I used to be into poetry - a number of my poems have been published in books and newspapers.

8. I've done a fair bit of traveling in my life. I've been to Australia (duh, that's where I was born), the U.S. (duh, that's where I live!), Canada, Switzerland, Greece, Singapore, Japan, Germany, the Philippines, Austria, Malaysia, and then two other countries that don't really count (because I only saw the inside of their airports) are France and New Zealand.

9. My clothes-shopping expeditions only involve buying clothes that DON'T require ironing. I can't stand ironing, it's the worst of all chores.

10. Two other professions that I would love to take up some day would be a Pastry Chef and a Wedding Planner.



I would love to know a few tid-bits about you all! But I want to know things you haven't blogged about. You could tell me ten things, you could tell me two - I don't mind. So now it's your turn to spill!!!

(PS - My new favorite blog is Missed Connections. Tracy, when I saw this, I thought of you!)
(And Pixelhazard - I have been trying to comment on your posts twice now, but your word verification thing won't work for me! And I can't even email you to tell you, because I don't see your email address on your blog. I hope you see this!)

Daily Sweets & a Giveaway

We all have our Daily Sweets - those little things that make our day that little bit sweeter.

My two happen first thing in the morning.
Brian gets up at 5am every weekday to go to the gym, and then he gets back at about 6.30ish to get ready for work. Then when he's ready, he wakes me up so we can pray together before he heads off - he's my alarm clock. But in the last few weeks, he's been getting up a little earlier than 5am, so that he can just lie with me in bed and cuddle me. Sometimes I wake up, and sometimes I don't. But when I do wake up, it really sweetens my day.



My other Daily Sweet is my morning coffee. After I have a shower, I make myself a lovely coffee and settle down to check out the blogosphere. Blogs and coffee make such a perfect little treat!

And speaking of Daily Sweets, let me introduce you to a lovely little shop that would certainly sweeten anyone's day - Sweet William. South-African born Sisters Shelley, Paula and Jeanine have teamed up to bring us a wonderland of lovely illustrations, dolls, brooches, and other delights. Paula is the illustrator in the family, while Shelley and Jeanine collaborate together to incorporate Paula's illustrations into their sweet sewn products.



Little Daily Sweets inspire this trio of artists - trips to the market, motherhood, music, old children's books and vintage fabrics. They love to collect vintage remnants to transform into new works of art, anything from buttons to old games - they pull from a diverse range of findings.

Outside of Sweet William, these close sisters love to explore. Paula and Jeanine who live in Australia (my home country - woo!), love to go running; and Shelley who lives in New Zealand, enjoys taking road trips around her gorgeous country. And to give you a peek at their sweet tooth - they love anything that involves chocolate, syrup or meringue (lethally delicious!). They also keep up a cute little bloglet here.

These lovely sisters are graciously giving away one of their prints to one lucky reader. The winner will have their choice of any of the illustration prints in the store. To enter to win, just leave a comment telling me what your Daily Sweets are. I will announce the winner using random.org on Sunday.

*Photos taken by Sweet William

Kid At Heart

Two things:

Lego and Carousels.

These two things bring out the kid in me.

This weekend Brian and I were thinking of something cool to do with my brother on a stormy day. We were at the mall and spotted the Lego Store. We couldn't resist coming out with a Lego Kit. We LOVE Lego. Every time I am in a Lego Store I spend waaaay too much time building things. I remember one time I was there with 3 other friends, and we all laughed noticing that only adults were playing with the lego sets.

Now they have these adorable cafe sets that are just about the cutest thing, but for $139.99, it's not the best impulse buy. We ended up with a cute yellow beach house kit and spent the weekend making all the different houses.

And as I said earlier - carousels bring me back to being a little kid again too. I am not sure if it's the pink, the gold, the music, or what - but I love them.

------

What brings you back to being a kid again?

(PS. The winner of the Dewdrop Handmade giveaway is Amanda Nicole from The Read Barron. Yay!).

Fifteen Cupcakes

I have a secret that I am going to share with you...

I had FIFTEEN cupcakes within an hour last night.

Fifteen of my Tablespoon Cupcakes. Tiny, adorable little cupcakes. I found a bunch of tiny little paper cups for chocolates when I was cleaning out the pantry, so I decided to bake some tiny little cupcakes. Each little cupcake is just one tablespoon of cake batter. Aren't they cute?




Wouldn't these look great for a wedding reception or baby shower, perched on lovely vintage spoons?

----------

(if you haven't yet, you still have time to enter my Dewdrop Handmade giveaway here).

Underwater Treasure Giveaway

Did you ever go on Treasure Hunts when you were little?

I used to dream of finding treasure under the sea. A heavy wooden chest, bolted tight, filled with a bounty of gold and jewels. I would imagine that I was the only person in the world that had the key to open it.



I would push aside all the barnacles and crawling seaweed, and miraculously my little metal diary key would open the old chest from centuries ago. I also imagined that I was really strong, because I was able to hoist it onto my back and swim up to the surface of the ocean, where a fishing vessel was waiting for me to take me back home with chest full of golden crowns and diamond shoes.

Another lovely treasure are these journals from Dewdrop Handmade. Gillian's store is full of lovely handmade journals with silk screened images of gorgeous aquatic life, much like the ones I would encounter in my treasure chest dreams. When I see Gillian's journals I am immediately taken back to my beautiful dreamland under the sea. I love how intricate and delicate her depictions of sea life are, and how beautifully put together each book is.


Her stunning journals are inspired by nature along the coast, and she loves mixing different types of materials together and putting a new spin on an old item. As well as creating these bound works of art, Gillian likes to spend her time reading, and enjoys photography and design. She also enjoys a good serving of Banana Pudding! You should also check out her lovely blog "Ticklish from a Distance". It's full of inspiring images and a little peeklet into her life.

Gillian is generously giving away a Pink Stargazer journal from her store. To enter this giveaway, leave a comment here telling me what you would like to find in a treasure chest under the ocean. I will announce the winner on Sunday.

*Photos taken by Dewdrop Handmade

Calm

I read into everything.

Yes, I am one of those people who analyze every word of a conversation, looking for meaning in the probably meaningless. I am one of those people that replay things over and over in my head, making things way bigger than they really are.

I am saying all this not because I am stressed or worried or anything like that right now - I just thought of it because this week I was reminded how calming water is to me. Whenever I am in situations that bring stress, if I am near water - it seems to lull everything. I was at a nursery this week, and I walked out to one of their patios, and it was filled with endless fountains. Fountain after fountain after fountain. The sound of the water trickling in some, gushing in others - the feel if it on my fingertips... what is it about water that has that calming effect?



Is it the sound it makes? Is it because it conforms to our every move to make room for us? I'm not sure. All I know is that paired with a good cup of coffee and a brick of dark chocolate - water can calm everything!

.......

What do you do to relieve stress?

(PS. The Winner of The Cupcake Girls' Felt Birdie Bookmark is Lily G. Hooray!)
(PPS. Tomorrow is the last day to enter Nicole's giveaway here!)

Food Confusion

I took a year off after high school before going to college, and went to Europe with my sister and cousin. I remember on the plane from Switzerland to Germany, my cousin unwrapped his block of butter and bit into it. He had mistaken it for cheese.

I blogged here about the time that my husbo Brian cut a huge slice of what he thought was cheesecake for himself, but once he bit into it - he realized it was decorated brie cheese.

Both those times it was an unpleasant surprise because they were expecting something better, but the other day I experimented with another type of "food confusion" and it turned out DELICIOUSLY!


I found an awesome recipe for Fruit Sushi over at La Tartine Gourmande. I think this is perfect for a summer dessert. The recipe is for the sushi on the left, and I had some leftover mango skin, so I tried to make a sushi roll out of it, and the results of that are on the right. I love finding the time to experiment with food. Sometimes it can be long and tedious to try out new recipes, but this one was so fast! I promise that you don't need a lot of time on your hands to prepare this - you should try it!
----------------

Other food confusions that I enjoy are things like Ice Cream Pizza, and these lime and jello watermelons. What about you? Have you experienced any good or bad food confusion?

(if you haven't yet, you still have time to enter my latest giveaway here.)

Friends, Books and a Giveaway

Who says you need to be a kid to like children's books?

I have blogged here before about how I collect Children's books. I could spend hours in the Children's section of the book store or the library, eating up all the lovely illustrations and exploring all the different tales. My latest favorite is the "No, David!" series by David Shannon. It's a series of books about this endearing little boy who is constantly getting himself into trouble. I fell in love with the quirky, childlike illustrations.




When Brian and I are ready to have children, our kids are going to have the cutest book collection ever! And how cute would this book mark look in a lovely little book?





Isn't it adorable? It is a Felt Birdie bookmark by the talented Lillian over at The Cupcake Girls. And it could be yours!

The Cupcake Girls is a whimsical little store, filled with goodies that you would expect to find in a lovely children's book - cute felt owls, sewing pins topped with gorgeous little flowers, and so many charming little pieces. Lillian has set up a dreamland of a store, and I can't even tell you how cute it is, it's something you need to see for yourself. She is inspired by anything out there that catches her eye, whether it be a unique color combo, or a baby bunny she sees on the side of the road. All of it inspires her when creating the little bits and pieces that I have fallen in love with in her store. And like me, she likes lovely stationery, and a good dessert - her favorite would be a good old vanilla milkshake with a slice of apple pie.

For your chance to win this darling little bookmark, leave a comment here telling me what was your favorite book as a child. I will announce the winner at the end of the week.

And one more thing - I am guest blogging over at The Stationery Place today. Like Lillian and myself, Lyndsey loves stationery. So much that she has a blog dedicated to showing all her stationery finds. I met her face-to-face over coffee last month when I was in California, and had a lovely time getting to know her better. Then we shopped together at Paper Source - and we all know that friends that shop together stay together! So please stop on by my post over at The Stationery Place and leave some comment love!


*Bookmark Photos taken by Cupcake Girls

Feats and Phobias

This is strange to me.

My goofy husband can design space craft, knows how to fly a plane and do crazy loop-de-loops, is more articulate than anyone I know, and yet he can't swim. Until now.

He has had hydrophobia from when he was a little boy. He nearly drowned at the beach, so ever since then he has been scared to go into deep water. But this weekend he finally learned how to swim! First he learned to dog-paddle, which was such a big feat for him that it made me teary-eyed. I know it sounds funny, because little 2-year-olds can even do it - but I was so proud of him. And now he is learning how to swim freestyle. He's got the arm-strokes down pat, but just needs to learn how to kick properly. It's so cute - when he kicks, he stirs up a huge splash, like little kids do when they're learning how to swim with a kickboard.


(He would sooo hate that I put these photos up, don't tell him!)
I really don't have any phobias. The closest thing that I have to that kind of thing is my fear of being stung by a bee or a wasp. And my fear of throwing up. I haven't thrown up since I was thirteen years old, so I have built it up in my head to be this huge ordeal. Ridiculous, I know!



Is there anything that you are scared of, even though you know it's silly?

(the two winners of the Goody Bag Giveaway generated by random.org are Hilary and Nicole - Congrats!)
(one more side note: thanks to Sel, I found this adorably cute blog. PLEASE don't miss it)

Peachy Keen

My sweet tooth seems to get bigger and bigger as I get older. I am hoping that my stomach doesn't grow at the same rate.

I am trying to teach my little brother how to cook and bake. He is staying with us for a little over a month, so I figure he may as well learn something while he's here with us. Yesterday we baked Peach Creme Caramels, which are pretty much one of the most blissful desserts one can experience on this earth.

The recipe called to make the caramel base first, so after making that, we made come yummy candy-strawberries (we had no apples) with the excess caramel we had. Have you ever had Candy Strawberries before? If not, you must try it!




Don't these look divine? I found the recipe on Canelle et Vanille, one of my favorite food blogs. Go here for the specifics. I hate to sound corny, but this Peach Creme Caramel recipe is BEYOND just peachy keen!



And something else that is beyond just Peachy Keen is a good giveaway. Lindsey is hosting one over here to celebrate her 100th post! I will see you guys over there!