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I come from a long line of hostesses - I like to entertain, it's in my blood.
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When I cook for people, it's my way of giving a gift to them. I sort of see it like I am celebrating our friendship, so when I invite people over, I spend a lot of time creating food that I hope not only tastes good, but looks lovely also. I guess it's the artist in me - it pokes its head out in every aspect of my life.
One of my friends gave me a lovely gift the other day. A whimsical Kate Spade cup that reminded her of me. I like to wear flowers in my hair, and I love to bake pretty desserts. Isn't it perfect?
As I am writing this post, I am sipping coffee from my new cup and munching on some Lamingtons that I made in celebration of Australia Day. If you've never made lamingtons before, you must be made aware - Lamington batter is DELICIOUS. So if you taste some of the batter before you bake it, be careful, you'll be tempted to eat it all before its even reached the oven!
Belated Happy Australia Day to all my friends back home!
I knew a girl once whose mother had lost her sense of taste.
I wonder if she had known ahead of time that she was going to lose her taste, what she would want the last foods she tasted to be?
Taste to me is such a decadent gift. All of our senses are, really, but taste to me is very indulgent. All of our senses (aside from taste and smell) are more needs than wants, so taste is such a luxurious thing to have.
As most of you know, I love to cook and bake a lot - and the more I think about it, the more I am thankful that God gives us not only things that we NEED, but things that really enhance our way of life.
What would you want for your last taste to be? Would it be some perfectly seasoned savory dinner? A whimsical breakfast, perhaps? A rich dessert? Do you have a particular dish in mind?
Brian and I live in a lovely but small apartment in Houston.
We've added our personality to the place with accessories and furniture. I had originally wanted to paint a few of the walls, but the thought of having to paint it back to it's original color when we eventually move out doesn't appeal to either of us. Such are the woes of apartment life.
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That's where wall decals come along and save my boring apartment walls from being ignored. It's great that they can easily be removed without damaging any walls when it's time for Brian and I to graduate from apartment life. But something tells me that when we finally have a house, we'll be using wall decals there too. Have you guys ever checked the selection at Cherry Walls?
Veronica is the lovely owner of Cherry Walls, a gorgeous store filled with great wall decor solutions that will add personality and pop to any bland wall. I love the size and range of options available - from an urban forest to a quiet flower field. Her inspiration comes from everywhere; Veronica thinks it's important to have an open mind and be ready for new ideas, that's why her inspirations are so broad. Reading magazines, taking walks in the park, scenes from movies, eating with her family over dinner - these are just a few of the things that set her creative mind into gear.
By looking at her decals, you can see that Mrs Cherry Walls really enjoys the outdoors. She loves going mountain biking, running and hiking with her husband and daughter, and bringing the outside indoors through these wall decals is such a lovely way to bring that love and passion for nature into any home. Like me, Veronica is a foodie. She loves trying out new restaurants, and collecting recipes to cook at home - so even when she isn't outside, she can still feel connected with nature while cooking her favorite meals.
Veronica is generously giving away a wall decal to a lucky reader! For your chance to win, leave a comment here telling me which of the last two decals pictured that you'd want if you win, and what lucky room would be the recipient of this new face-lift (or should I say "wall-lift?). I will announce the winner next week.
(PS. the winner of the Sweet Designs giveaway is ManaRose).
I've mentioned this on here before, but Brian and I don't have a TV.
But if we did, I would want to hoist it up on an easle, just like this:
(photographs from Design Lines & Craziest Gadgets)
We have a whiteboard at home that I never erase.
Since moving to Houston, we've had lots of visitors come see us from our previous homes of California and Australia, and many of our guests noticed our whiteboard and scrawled lovely messages of encouragement and thanks on it. I love them so much that I can't bring myself to erase them and use the board for what it's actually for - to-do lists. But I would much rather words of encouragement on my wall any day. :)
That's why I was excited to see Candi Winkler's store - Sweet Designs. Her store has lovely wooden wall art, and among them are encouraging quotes and uplifting messages. I love the idea of positive art. Something that not only pretties up an empty wall, but reminds those who see it that life really is marvelous.
Candi is inspired by magazines, fabric, ribbon and patterned paper, and most of all her children. I can definitely see how children can bring a positive influence to art - they are so innocent and carefree. Much like the way we all want to be. Among Candi's favorite colors are chartreuse, followed by shades of green, red and purple. 
Candi is generously giving away one of her Family Rules subway-style signs to one lucky reader. To enter, leave a comment here telling me what the best positive quote you've ever heard is. I will announce the winner next week.
(PS. The winners of the Goody Bag Giveaway are Joana and Jaime. Congrats!)
Have you ever seen something that was accidentally lovely?
I don't mean days where you had no time to do your hair, so you just threw it up into a messy up-do that ended up getting fifteen compliments at work. I mean things like seeing a little boy give up his seat on the bus for an old lady, an erupted fire hydrant on a scorching day on the poor side of town... moments of loveliness that are unplanned or unrealized by the people in it.
I was making cupcakes for Brian once, and was trying to multi-task and drink my morning coffee at the same time. I ended up spilling my coffee into the cake batter, and ended up with a lovely, unexpected batch of coffee cupcakes. I know this is a less meaningful example than my previous two, but it accurately depicts that lovely things can happen, and oftentimes when we don't force it or intentionally create it.
Here are some "accidentally lovely" photos that I took recently. Shots where I had the focus wrong, or not the lighting I had intended. I love that we can be accidentally lovely. That loveliness doesn't have to be intentional. It just happens.
What's something "accidentally lovely" that you've seen recently?
There's a huge difference between a house and a home, don't you think?
A home to me is where you feel like you can be 100% yourself. Where you feel loved and supported and safe. A house doesn't necessarily encompass that - it's just a shell. I have always been so blessed to find a home no matter where I live. From Australia, to California, to Texas - I have always found a place I can call home.
While I am not a big "resolutions" gal - I would like to strive to make 2011 a year where I help people feel at home. Be a friend to them, be there when they need me. Make them feel at home. I generally like to consider myself a friendly person - but I want to go beyond being "friendly" to new people. I want to be intuitive to them, and genuinely treat them the way that Christ treats me.
Speaking of home, my lovely Brian bought me a gorgeous Library Card Catalog to house all my ramekins, teacups and kitchen doodads. It fits perfectly with our apartment. What do you think?
Goody Bags.
In my previous post, I told you about the SoCal New Year's Blogger's Bee that I hosted the other week. It was so much fun, and as always some very talented, generous Etsians made the whole thing happen, with sellers donating lovely items for each guest's Goody Bag. Here is what was in their stash.
You probably saw the lovely bunting from A Fabulous Fete in my last post. Well Lauren designed some lovely little drawstring bags and inside was a little bunting strand for each blogger, along with some ADORABLE little cupcake flags. Aren't you just in love?!
Mates & Rubbish also were bringing their A-game packaging. They contributed the cutest little wooden magnets, each one looked different, and I love the way they packaged them. One of the bloggers that came - Ashley - has lovely red hair, and coincidentally, her magnet featured a girl with red hair!
Another store that had darling packaging was Kallia's Wonderland. She donated gorgeous silver ring pendants, and each pendant came in a cute matchbox. Everyone oohed and aahed over it.
Each blogger also received a lovely set of soap and lip balm from Belle Terre. The soap smelled LOVELY, and the lip balm was perfect for the cold winter weather. Such a great little set. I love that they're all-natural. And another one of the goodies that the bloggers got was a darling rose hair clip from Coco Rose Couture. The colors were absolutely perfect - bright and fun to chase away any winter blues. And they were nice and light, so it didn't feel like your head was being weighed down like you get with some other hair accessories.
Twirlie Whirlies provided each blogger with whimsical pinwheels in two different sizes. They looked so cute peeking out from each goody bag. And the three little children that were there were mesmerized by their colored spinning. They made such a lovely party favor.
Greece-based photographer Steph Mel provided an assortment of stunning photography prints. I was excited to see the lovely still-life shots and imagining what they would look like framed when I got home. And then there were the beautiful textile brooches from Hey Miemie. They were so delicate and soft and well-crafted. Many of the girls immediately clipped theirs on that day. They seem like something you'd see in Anthropologie, but dare I say better? Yes, BETTER!
And what's a Goody Bag without something sweet? The amazing I Heart Tart provided delightful cake balls for each guest. They were truly delicious, and adorable to look at. They also mailed really well, and were the perfect sweet addition to the bags. In fact, I am craving some right now! And then for the boys, we had Zombie Pops. The perfect un-girly treat for the nice husbands who agreed to tag along with their wives. Starling Skies had such a great idea with these - I think they're hilarious. A fun, unexpected treat.
Being a Blogger's social, everyone there likes to write, so I thought that the gorgeous photography note cards from Shannon Blue Photography were perfect! I love the style and imagery she uses. My favorite is this heart tape ribbon one. Isn't it perfect for a Valentine's Day card?
The last prizes were for the Door Prize, and the lucky winner was Tracy. She scored some fun retro-themed kitchen towels from Kitch Towels (don't you love the patterns on them?), a great store for kitchen linens, totes, all with that cute retro vibe. Along with that, she won a charming necklace from Le Petit Foyer, a beautiful store with a great range of lovely treasures.
So as you can see we had some terrific sponsors this year! A big thanks to all our great contributors. And you'll be thanking them too because I have two spare Goody Bags to give away. For your chance to score one of these beauties, leave a comment here telling me how you spent your first day of 2011 (not New Year's Eve, but New Year's day). I will announce the winners next week.
(PS. The winners of the Holiday Gift Guide giveaway are Junebug, Oh My Darling, Cars on the Freeway, and Kelly J.R. The winner of the C.C. Creations Giveaway is Shealennon. You have two weeks to claim your prize.)
I'm baaaack!
I had the best time in California. It was a jam-packed few weeks, but it was full of fun, great memories and lots of delicious food. One of the great things I got to do while I was away was host my third SoCal Blogger's get-together.
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It was a blast! In attendance were ten bloggers, four husbands, two babies, one toddler and one dog. It was at the ever-darling Aroma Cafe in Studio City.
Our decor sponsors this year were fantastic. Such creative people! The silverware place markers are from Jessica N Designs. She personalized each piece with the person's name, and I just popped them into some little pots and filled them with rocks and topped them with moss. They were such a lovely touch to the table. Everyone loved them. She did such a great job with them! Thanks, Jessica! She also has a great blog here - go check it out!
The lovely flower arrangements were conceptualized and arranged by the truly awesome Christina from Flores Del Sol. You might remember the custom arrangement she did for me here. Well after that, I knew she would be the perfect person to approach to sponsor the arrangement for this year's blogger's bee - and luckily for us she said yes! Stop by her shop and check out her gorgeous arrangements, and also say hi over at her blog.
And isn't this "Celebrate" bunting adorable? It's from the awesome Lauren from A Fabulous Fete. Her shop is such a great shop for pretty party bits and pieces, and you can read more about her goodies and fun DIY crafts at the Fabulous Fete blog. I will be blogging soon about the goody bags that each blogger received, and included in their loot were their own little bunting strands like this.
The bloggers that came along to my little New Year's Day gathering were: Ashley, Carissa, Danni, Heather, Kira, Lindsey, Lyndsey, Maggi, Tracy, and me. It was great getting together with them all and I can't wait to do it again next year!
My next post will be about the awesome goody bags filled with items donated by fabulous Etsy sponsors. Keep your eyes out for that, and for your chance to win a goody bag! I will also be announcing the winners of the two giveaways that were running while I was away in that post.
