Notes from A Cottage Industry

Tiny Dancer.

Be still my Gramma heart.

Did you know that my one and only Grand daughter, the adorable and beautiful Miss Isabelle, is a dancer?

She's got the music in her.

She's been working hard, practicing like a pro....
...and this past weekend she was in her first dnce recital. She was as cool as a cucumber as she waited for the show to begin, shown here getting a last minute pep talk from her manager. Some of us had a little trouble keeping the theater seats in the "down" position due to height and weight challenges...
Finally, it was showtime. (Que "Dancing Queen, young and sweet....")
There was twirling.

And prancing.

And fluttering.

Truly an Award winning peformance by Miss Isabelle, and the entire dance troope.
Isabelle Marie Buxton. Remember the name. This girl's going places.

 

 

The older you get, the fast time flies.

We're in the Biggest Little City for the holiday weekend, and that means that I get to visit with my son and daughter-in-law, and my two grand babes! After landing yesterday, we got to spend some time with this little guy and his big sister.

He's so stinkin' cute, all tuckered out in his Sheriff Woody pajammies that I just want to squeeze the stuffin's outta him.

He'll be two in another week.

Two.

Tomorrow we're going to her first ever dance recital. (Prepare yourself for lots and lots of photos, 'coz I am pretty certain there is nothing cuter than a dozen or so three year old ballerinas, especially when one of them is my one and only grand daughter!)

Why does time have to move so fast?

 

A lil' Birthday scavenger hunt.

My Rock n' Roll Buddy is not one to make a big deal about birthdays, and Christmas and such. (so not-at-all like me, who likes to put a bow and party hat on every little thing.) Today is his birthday, and I decided the most low-key-not-too-over-the-top thing to do would be to have him wake up extra early ('coz I leave the house for work before he rolls outta bed typically.) and have him go on a lil' all-over-the-house scavenger hunt. (Too much hoopla? I didn't think so.)

I decided to go with a Beatles theme for my hunt ('coz every good scavenger hunt needs to have a theme, don'tcha think?) and I used Beatles song lyrics. (of course.)

You see, the birthday present I got him this year is a fabulous Beatles Poster by Max Dalton, titled Ten Great Years, since he is a huge Beatles fan. (He first discovered his love of music,right there in front of the TV watching Ed Sullivan when the Beatles first hit the US, way back in the day.)The great thing about the framed poster is that, besides bringing back such good music memories for both of us, it has the perfect "look" with our decor...kinda vintage-feeling, with the right colors, and so much personality.

He already has Max Dalton's other way-too-cool-for-school poster, Guitar Lessons, which I stmbled upon last fall, and wrote Max himself to find out if and when he might be doing a re-release of the poster. He answered right away, (I was Gobsmacked!!) and we snagged a copy of the print last December. That's when we discovered the Ten Great Years Poster as well, but sadly,they were all sold out.

After the holidays, I ended up scoring the Max Dalton Beatles Print on good ol' ebay and put it away until now. I am a bit surprised at myself, that I was able to keep a secret for this long (I got the poster way back in late January...!)

Anyway.

(Okay, I'm not sure how ((or why)) I got all side tracked there, but I did.)

As I was saying, a scavenger hunt is what I created.

I looked up lyrics to different Beatles songs to use as clues for the next clue's location, and then googled up some photos to coordinate with them.
For instance, the lyrics for strawberry Fields and the photo of Ringo eating an apple were meant to get him to look in the fridge (where we keep strawberries, and strawberry lemonade..) and the picture of Paul with the lyrics to "While my Guitar Gently Weeps" would lead him to his Guitar storage Room. Honestly I could have gone on and on since there are so many great song lyrics and some pretty amazing pictures from so many years with each of the Beatles...)
This same idea could work the same with a favorite movie, or actor.

Fun, right?

Yeah, I thought so. And so low key. (okay, maybe not for him, but for me, you've gotta admit it wasn't too ridiculous-in-your-face-party-like-you-mean-it-and-make-a-real-big-deal-about-it, right?)

Well, maybe.

Just a little bit.

What can I say? I can't help myself.

It was a lot of fun, and he was thrilled with his present and the scavenger hunt!

Easter decor details...and an egg-citing surprise!

I wanted to share a bit of my my Easter decor, even if it is after the fact. (You know I meant to share all of this before the holiday, but time wasn't my friend.)

(I am guessing by now you are used to this, coming from me.)

So...Easter was our first real foray into semi-formal entertaining in our home for my Rock n' Roll Buddy and I. We jumped in with both feet, hosting not one, but two different meals this past weekend. Both events were relaxed, and a lot of fun.

We had his family over for an early supper on Saturday, and my family arrived for brunch Sunday morning.

So much fun!

I was in June Cleaver heaven.

(Seriously.)

Ralph had a pretty great time as well.

(I have to say it again. So much fun!)

I started off with a darling lil' idea I found through a friend, who shared a link of a party one of her friends did that made it to the fabulous Amy Atlas blog. (Thank you so much Sarah, for sharing that!! It was my most favorite part of the decorating!) Simple little pom-poms tied to the backs of each dining chair to create bunny tails. (I tied them to the stools at the kitchen counter as well, and I will have to add those pictures tonight!)....a word of advice: I used a furry-ish white yarn (Sorry, I don't knit or crochet, so I can't tell you exatly what it is called, but I got it at WalMart, and I thought it would look the most like a real bunny tail. Anyway, the yarn looks great, but...man, oh man. It sheds! I had little yarn hairs every where...on the table, on the floor...so consider this when selecting your yarn if you decide to try this idea yourself.
The table was done up pretty simply, with a square table topper I have had for a few years (made for me by the Sewing Queen, of course, complete with coordinating cloth napkins.) and a thrifted basket filled with silk ferns and a faux chocolate bunny and plastic Easter eggs. Our Easter dinner was pretty much traditional, with a honey glazed ham, roasted asperagus, potatoe salad, ambrosia salad, dinner rolls and sme yummy deviled eggs. Desssert was carrot cake and some dipped strawberries.

Easter Brunch the following morning was hearty, with eggs, ham, bacon, hashbrowns, fruit and creme' brulee French toast.....mmmmmmm. so good!

We did have one extra-fun surprise here during our Easter brunch! Carter gave everyone a plastic Easter egg and we all opened then up to find little yellow "Peeps" in them....
...except one of us. GiGi (The Sewing Queen) had a little blue Peep in her egg....looks like Carter and Coen are having a new baby brother at the end of summer!Check out some of the reactions here!)

 

I'm sharing this on the following Blog Parties...

Metamorphasis Monday

Meet my Dad.

I had every intention to get this post up early.

This morning.

It's 8:35 p.m. now.

Time got away from me and I hadn't gotten to edit and crop my photos....well, better late than never!
That's my Dad, there in the picture above. Today is a special day. It's his big eight-oh....all day. 

(He looks pretty danged great, doesn't he?)

(In his new Ray Ban glasses, looking all GQ.)

(80 is clearly the new 65.)

I have not a clue why, but I didn't get a single picture of us together. Actually, I didn't get any posed shots of anyone at the party.

(Next visit, Dad.)

(Here. In Portland.)

(Soon.)

Anyway...I got to fly to California this past weekend and surprise my Dad for a family dinner in his honor. (and you know how I love surprises!)
While it has been a stretch of time since we were together in person, my Dad and I talk, very nearly every Sunday morning, by telephone, at pretty much exactly 8:30 a.m, (like clock-work, as they say) but....It had been a while...far too long a while, since we had the opportunity to sit in the same room to visit. Schedules, distance..life gets busy, and before you know it, it has been three years.

I cannot tell you just how special my visit was with my Dad, because I cannot find big enough words.

The words that tell precisely how it feels when you see complete,total astonishment, and surprise, and joy, and love, on the face of someone you have loved your whole entire 55 years of life...and to realize that you alone made that look appear upon their face, just by you being there. There was not a dry eye in the house.

Happy, happy, happy, Birthday, Dad. I love you.

 

One, two, three, four..five and six!

Grandbabies, that is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've had a lil' secret brewing...er...maybe I should say growing... not one, but two more Grand babes are on their way! Both of my daughter's are expecting!They both announced it on their own blogs yesterday, so it's finally safe for me to share our happy news at last as well! (It's been killing me to not be able to share this happiest news item for all these past weeks!!!)

Grandbaby number five (Carter and Coen's new baby brother or sister!) will be arriving some time around Labor Day, and the sixth lil' peanut should make a grand entrance at Mr. and Mrs. big Dog's home in mid October.

Now, how's that for exciting news?!

And on another note...out of the mouths of babes....I must share a teeny-tiny-oh-so-precious story about Carter, and the pure and perfect thought process children have....my girls were discussing the new babies in front of Carter, and he informed his Auntie that he knew where babies came from.

"Really? Where do they come from?" his Auntie asked.

"From Ghana!" he replied matter of fact-ly.

(Apparently since his little brother Coen arrived via airplane, he thinks we all pick up our babies at the airport!)

 

Catching up.

Well. 

It's been another long stretch without a post. I know. Try as I may, life has been ca-razy busy, and, well...

Let's catch up, shall we?

Far too much has been going on to cover it all in one lil' blog post, so I'll just cover a couple of the highest points.

Let's see. Where do I start?

Work has been busy, with me prepping for a project I have been working on, which included quite a few evenings at home tweaking handouts, and creating props. (And you know how I love a project like that!)

We got the Sewing Queen all semi-settled in up here and she is in the middle of unpacking moving boxes and trying to find some of her sewing accessories as I type this. We are thrilled to have her here!

Then, I spent this past weekend with my two daughters, celebrating a milestone birthday for Carter and Coen's Mama. (How can she be 30 when I am only 42?!) We had a fabulous Girl's Weekend, complete with an overnight trip to the Allison Resort and Spa for some much appreciated foofifying and relaxing, laughing our heads off, as well as a marathon shopping expedition, and eating way too much.

On the home remodel front, our projects are getting buttoned down and things are looking aaaaah-mazing! 

Let me interupt myself here to say that my Rock n' Roll Buddy deserves a shout out here. He has been the driving force behind making this fabulous make over happen in record time, not to mention being the ultimate egg-McMuffin of bargain shopping, swinging some of the most eye popping price deals I have ever seen. Now, this is extra hard to picture if you know him, as the house has been in the exact same state as when he first moved in, back in the 80's. (We are not talking about a guy that typically embraces change here, people.)It's truly been a fun time and we are both pretty thrilled with the outcome.

Now, back to my post...

I have been waiting to share pictures because the plantation shutters took three weeks to be made. Since we were having them installed in every room,(pinch me!!!) there was no way to really capture any room without it looking undone due to a window without anything on it. (Unless you count the sheet we swagged across the living room window to shield us from the sun while we watched the Superbowl.)

Anyway.

The exciting installation was yesterday, and so I am gearing up to share our grand reveal. (Doesn't that sound dramatic? Trust me, the change is incredible and we both keep saying how it feels like we live in a brand new house.)

Here's a lil' peek at the installation process in the family room. The sliding doors got "Slide-By" shutters and my-oh-my! I adore them! The look of plantation shutters with the ease of sliding them open to go in and out the door, or let cool air in in the summer time!......

We're down to the accessorizing stage now, and I must say, that is my most favorite part of decorating. You know, adding touches that reflect our personalities really warms up a room. I can't wait to show you everything...room..by room..by room!

Men at work!

I have so much to share after being without internet service for two weeks, that it's tough to figure out what to share when.

I realized after beginning my home re-no tour that I had skipped sharing one of my little Grand's Birthday party...so here it is!

The party theme was construction, so my daughter began at the front door....

 

....and continued all through the downstairs. The treats were construction themed as well...

...and everyone was given a tool apron and a hard hat!

More pictures from Coen's party are over on the birthday boy's Mommy's blog!

 

On another note, I won't be posting for a couple of days, as I am flying with Mrs. Big Dog to the Biggest Little City today and driving back up to the Pacific Northwest tomorrow...why? The Sewing Queen of Northern Nevada is relocating up here to live!

One last lil peek at Christmas....

I wanted to share a few more pictures of Carter and Coen's home from Christmas eve...

 Their stockings were hung....

 The tree was trimmed, and waiting for Santa...

The table was beautiful....

It was a wonderful Christmas...and a wonderful year, as I look back on it!

Christmas at Mr. and Mrs. Big Dog's home.

While I was at the newlywed's home yesterday doing some marathon gift wrapping, I remembered my camera and got a few pictures to share with you of some of their wonderful holiday decorating...

When you first enter through the front door, you are greeted by not one, but two beautiful, real, fresh cut trees within eye range. One in the living room, and one in the corner of the dining room.

There are plenty of eye candy details all around...in the living room...

 

 

the dinging room...

 ...in the kitchen too...

A live potted tree in the master...they plan on getting a live one each year to plant in their huge yard.

....And even the guest room boasts a tree, and lots of lil' sweet details....

You can't help but feel the Christmas spirit here...Merry Christmas eve, everyone! Hope you are having a wonderful holiday, shared with the people you love.

Oh, how I LOVE a surprise!

Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!!!! I..we... had the most fabulous surprise this weekend!

I shared a while back that my first born daughter had gotten engaged. Well....since then, no date for the wedding had been set, and all kinds of ideas had been tossed around; a destination wedding, a quiet trip to the courthouse with a party afterwards, a planned elopement...but no date set and no progress on the plans. Trust me, I threw out all sorts of suggestions, and themes (a Christmas wedding? New Years Eve? How about something in a barn? A fabulous dinner after watching them burst out of the courthouse?) and even began gathering pictures for ideas on my Pinterest board...(you know how I love a project, right?)

Anyway.

We were invited to Multnomah Falls Lodge for a dinner to meet my daughter's future in-laws, who are visiting for the holiday's from out of town.

I had seen an idea on Pinterest for little cards for the table to use as an ice-breaker of sorts...you know, a conversation starter. I ran the idea by the happy couple and then whipped them up. I popped the cards in my purse and we headed to the falls.

Little did we know, but once inside the charming room upstairs in the Lodge, the dinner was not just a dinner...it was a surprise wedding! Not a detail was forgotten, with both of my girls planning and plotting and organizing....Old silver pitchers and canning jars from home filled with white roses adorned the tables in the banquet room. There were favors of mittens and scarves for everyone to wear as we were escorted outside to a spot near the falls. We were given cups of hot cider and cocoa along for the chilly walk.

The happy couple were decked out in their wedding attire, and my daughter had the most incredible overcoat (from Anthropologie!) that was cut slightly higher in the front, and showed off the bottom of her vintage reproduction dress....breathtaking!

We took our seats and witnessed their vows...(The little men were entertained with raisins...)

...then we all returned to the upstairs room in the Lodge for a wonderful wedding dinner and cake. My pictures came out terrible due to some screw-ball adjustments I made to the shutter speed or something or other. (Sheesh...) Thank goodness the professional shots should be here within a week or so and I can share more then.

I am still smiling as I remember the complete and total surprise upon realizing we'd all been tricked (some were told it was a charity event, others a dinner, and who knows what all else!) and what a spectacular day it was.

edited at 4:00 PM to add: here's a link of just some of the pictures from the photographer!

Here comes good ol' Santa Claus....

I don't recall sharing anything about my co-worker friend Clarence. 

Clarence is 80 years young and proud of it. For most of the year, he's our sweet lil' mailroom guy, but come December things start to change. He grows his beard a bit longer and fuller, and he gets out his nice red suit.

Mmm hmmm, he's our very own in-house Santa! Last Thursday and Friday he and Mrs. Claus (another good sport-co-worker friend) sat and listened to countess wish lists from kids (and Grand-kids!) of employees...(Have I mentioned that I love where I work?)

Carter was a little shy this year, but managed to sit on Santa's lap and have a lil' chit-chat, but Coen wanted no part of Old St. Nick. Now, Mrs. Claus was another story....(I'm telling you, this little guy is totally a ladies man!)

 

...Hard to believe Christmas will be here in just one more week!

All in the family.

For my birthday last week, (Good Gawd, I am "double nickels" as my friend Dona says...no denying it now. I have to say "mid-fifties"...)my kids gave me something I will treasure always...they had a photo shoot arranged last time my son, daughter-in-law, and other grand babies were up visiting from the biggest little city!

There are some darling shots of the grands together....

 

...and some alone...

...and some wonderful pictures of my entire brood as it is now...

I couldn't have hoped for a better present from all of them!

Foofy-and-oh-so-fancy gift wrap ideas.

So....I want to share a few pictures from the Gift Wrap Party my daughter had at her home last Sunday....
It was a perfect Autumn day here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and there was plenty of hot cider, cocoa with all the fixings, and lots of yummy baked goods, including some delicious pumpkin bread, and cookies made from cake mix. (Have you had them? I will have to get the recipe from my daughter and share it...so good!)

We even got to dip apples in warm caramel sauce, and then each guest was given a can to take home as a party favor!

I like to wrap my gifts for the most part in brown paper, but I had lots of glittery boxes, bags, ribbons, and doo-dads to sparkle things up.  The deep silver glitter has such a vintage feel to me. It reminds me of the old German Glass Glitter, you know? 

By adding a simple adornment like an inexpensive Christmas decoration, a gift goes from ordinary to fabulous. I shared my favorite trick for wrapping wine bottles...simply wrap it by gathering up mylar tissue paper with a length of ribbon, add a little ornament, and then spray the top area of the gathered mylar with spray glue, and sprinkle mylar confetti (pearlecent or silver glitter confetti work nicely also!)See? It looks like it was meant for a party.

The same technique works well on the little take-out style boxes sold at craft stores...(so great for concealing a gift card!)

A bit of tulle, some snippets of ribbon, and a little mylar shred make all the difference..

(I have to admit that I quite enjoy wrapping presents far more than I like shopping for them, fighting the crowds, and trying to find that elusive perfect present.)

Everyone had a wonderful time at the party and I think they all were more than a little inspired to get home and start assembling their wrapping supplies.

I am thankful for time spent with friends, laughing and sharing ideas...and I guess I have to say that I am thankful for glitter.

Four times the love.

Be still my heart. 

These shots are the only ones (out of several dozen) that came out even close to clear from the lil' cousins visit last week. (I'm not sure why it seems each time I get a picture sweet Mr. Coen there has his shirt off.) Can you tell it was after dinner and they were all engrossed in a Mickey Mouse episode on TV?

It's very nearly impossible to photograph four little Grands all under the age of three!(More sweet pictures here!)

The boys.

Yes, yes, it's another shameless Gramma brag post. 

But you had to know that would coming.

I attempted to do a mini photo shoot of the two lil' local grand-boys this past weekend. It was a bit like herding kittens, but oh! so fun.

They were climbing all over one another, and wanting to play.

I wanted to get some shots to show the size difference between them, but that proved to be a challenge.  

 

Coen has such a mature little face that when I shot him alone, he looks so much older (to me anyway) than the 19 months he really is...

In the end I got a few cute shots and we let the boys go on with their day, wrestling,running,squealing,and giggling together. 

Oh,that sound is music to my ears.
.

And then there were four.

He's here. 

At last.

Meet Coen Kwasi Roberts, my newest grandson! All the way from Ghana, Africa!

He is nineteen months old. (Just thirteen months younger than his brother, Carter.) 

 We gathered at the airport to meet them upon arrival, and there were happy tears all around.
 Celebratory delivery pizza at home followed, and the family began the happy task of settling into a routine of bath and bedtime, and ...ooooooooooooooooooh! 

It was one of those far-too-few-moments in life where you just kinda sigh and think, "Every little thing is gonna be all right."
.

I heart Cupcake fondue....big-time.

Can you say "Yummy"? This was our dessert at a little family gathering last night to celebrate my daughter and her adorable future husband's engagement.

Such a fun lil' dessert idea! (I can't claim it, I found it here.) I baked babycakes without using cupcake liners (I just sprayed a teeny bit of Pam into the pans instead.) and made my always-fabulously-dee-lish buttercream frosting, but added a bit of extra milk to make it more fondue-like. Bowls filled with little yummies to sprinkle on top of the freshly dipped...er...frosted cupcake, and... vioila'!

Dessert.

Family ties.

Aaaah, look. (I love a spontaneous group hug.)

I took this little series of snapshots of my Rock n' Roll buddy with one of his cousins and her hubbs last weekend while at a big outdoor wedding-before-hand-followed-by-a-BBQ-potluck-bring-your-band-and-let's-jam-until-the-sun-goes-down party(hmmm, maybe that sounds a bit confusing, but trust me, it was a blast.)out in the eensy weensy town of Onalaska, Washington.(...and you know how much I love small town America, right?)

The barbeque was very good(topped off with a slice of dense white wedding cake with rich raspberry filling...so yummy!)and the company was even better. Babies, old folks and every age in between. Lots of family and friends, a smiling bride and a guitar playin' groom.

I had a delightful visit with my Buddy's nearly-90 year old uncle, (who is quite a good dancer, by the way..)and sat in the fabulously warm sun enjoying music and chatting it up with some of his cousins.(I mean my Buddy's cousins, not his uncle's...)

It was a real kick to watch the band change things up by playing with other musicians. At one point I think there were about eight of them (including a girl drummer!)in the covered barn all playing some blues together(with a guy that was pretty slick on the harmonica...)and some bluegrass,

and then some old rock n' roll,of course.

Throughout the entire day I listened as various family members recanted their own versions of the same story about my Rock n' Roll Buddy's obsession with music from his early childhood days. It seemed that every relative had their own slightly different recollection, and all of the tales were hilarious,each shared with undeniable fondness and affection.

The basic gist of the story goes something like this: After seeing the Beatles on television, he began to corral anyone and everyone to listen to him sing and wail on his guitar, along with an old school pedestal stand ashtray he drug around with him, which he fancied as a wanna-be microphone. (One cousin even reported that he was held as a "captive audience" as he was too young to get away...)The rest, as they say, is history.

It made me feel all warm and fuzzy to get to be a part of this special day, where time apart clearly doesn't actually hold any sort of value on a timeline, and good natured teasing (and poking and pinching)picks up right where it left off from the last visit. 


I am a firm believer that if you've got family and friends who love you, you're rich beyond measure,so......if, after some 50 or so years, you're still laughing and comparing memories about your "cuz" doing his best Paul McCartney way back at the ripe old age of seven?

Yeah, I'd say that you're pretty danged rich.

Why is it that when you wash your car, it always rains?

**Yeah, yeah... It is what you think it is...another shameles Gramma Bragging Post.**

We've had nothing but rain, rain, clouds, and more rain this summer. (yes, I know many of you are feeling toasted in heatwaves around the country, but that is so not the case here in the Pacific Northwest this year.) This past weekend we were very blessed to have had not one, but two full days of sweltering heat and sunshine. 

Aaah, life is good. 

Perfect weather for barbequing, and picnics, and parties and...washing your car. So, that's what I did.

Actually, let me correct myself. I didn't wash my car. No, I got my car washed this past weekend by the cutest little car-washer evah. 

Mmmm hmm.

I stopped by to pick his Mama up to go to his Auntie's house (a kitchen-nook decorating summit. Very important stuff...) and Carter and his Daddy were out washing the truck. They generously offered to wash my little Beetle while they were at it.

"Thank you!" I said and my lil' pint sized Casanova began soaping things up as soon as his Daddy finished hitting my Bug with the hose.

 

Faaaabulous!

(The only thing better than having a cute lil' convertible, is having a cute lil' clean convertible, you know.)

Then...........

I woke up Monday morning to thunder rolling and raindrops drizzling.

*sigh* It was so nice while it lasted.

How Grand are these babies?!

I know you were expecting this. (Yes, it's another shameless Gramma Brag post)

I didn't get to take near as many pictures as I would have liked, due to the time being short for our visit, but here are a few shots of my sweet lil' grand daughter., who I caught in a pensive moment, and my youngest grand son (he will be one next week!)

Oh, they are so precious that I could just squeeze the stuffin's out of them!

Goodie Bag.

I know.

It's kinda ridiculous, but...I couldn't help myself.

I like to make silly lil' prezzies for my favorite people for pretty much any reason I can think of. This one was a good bag for the plane ride to the Biggest Little City.

What was in it?

Oh, some chex party mix ('coz those bags of peanuts are just too danged tiny) and some coconut jelly-bellies....one of his favorite flavors. Oh...and drink coupons I have had since...well,  forever...in case we wanted to have a cold adult beverage to make it even more of a party.

Happy Mothers Day

...another home made card using a copy of an old photo of my Mom and me. I was lucky enough to get to visit with my Mom this past week..Happy Mothers Day to all of the Mamas out there!

A lil' Pre-Easter cupcake fun for a really good cause.

The favorite Auntie is fund-raising for Leukemia, (and gearing up for a race this June!) and we are baking some Easter love and selling it to friends as part of the fund-raising efforts.

Mmmm hmm. It turns out that my babycakes are just the perfect size to fit onto these adorable pink and periwinkle blue pastel egg cartons that we found online! This first batch was a prototype, and I do think I'll tone down my colors just a teensy bit, but over all, I am loving the idea..what do you think?

Out of Africa, continued.

..ehem...Yes, I slipped a blatant Gramma Brag Photo into this post....but now I will get back to the details of the party!

So, in my last post I shared the buffet table for the party and today I'd like to share with you a peek at the rest of the party.

Let me begin at the beginning. The purpose of the party was a combination "Baby shower", announcing the upcoming arrival of the newest member to Carter's family, and fund-raising event for UjimaCare Foundation, a non profit organization committed to helping improve lives in Ghana- most currently by building an orphanage.

The e-vites went out to family and friends, and guests were asked, in lieu of gifts, to please bring a silent auction item to help raise funds. The party theme was vintage travel, and so all the decorations reflected this, with old suitcases, maps, globes, and...well, you get the point.

When guests arrived, they were directed into the home office to drop off their silent auction items...
...and get their "Boarding Pass". Carter's Mama made them to look like plane tickets (she found the template online, but you may recall, when Carter's parents were engaged, I made something very similar for the Save-the-Date cards.) Each boarding pass had a seat assignment, which served as the guest's bidding number for the auction.
The auction items were all creative and fabulous! Items ranged from a homemade apple pie, complete with pie dish and recipe (priceless!) to a financial revue package, wine baskets, dog walking or dog sitting, (donated by one of the children of a guest!) to tea for four at a wonderful garden setting tea room. It was really a lot of fun!

Throughout the party, there were ways to earn "Baggage Claim Tickets"...by donating an auction item, winning an item, registering for the UjimaCare on-line Newsletter, etc. There was even a "Baby Pool" to put in each guest's best guess at the number of babies being adopted by Carter's family, the sex, birth year and birth month. The winners of the pool were given additional baggage claim tickets.

Later, a baggage claim number was called and a pretty nice raffle prize was given to the winner.
We all watched a video Carter's Mama had created from her recent trip to Ghana, and heard more about what good things UjimaCare does. (and at the end of the video, everyone got to meet the newest little family member!!)

As guests departed the party they were given a custom made CD of music made by Carter's Auntie to have as a memento.
Everyone seemed to have a great time, and I am sure UjimaCare will be able to make some tremendous progress with the donations!

 

 

Out of Africa.

Okay, they are actually out of my oven, but I am spreading a little Africa love all the same. You see, Saturday Carter's Mama and Daddy hosted a wonderful party...to introduce pictures of the newest lil' family member with family and friends (They passed their court appointment just this past Thursday, so hopefully they will be going back to Africa soon for one final trip to pick up their precious cargo!)...and the party was also a fundraiser for UimaCare's latest project of building an orphanage in Ghana. (For more information, click here.)

I was thrilled to be making cookies and cupcakes for the dessert bar. In case you are wondering, Carter's Mama had a real challenge finding an Africa shaped cookie cutter, and finally located one on etsy! The lil' heart on the cookie represents Ghana...how sweet is that?!

As you can see, I did color coordinated cupcakes as well...
and there was a chocolate fountain to round things out, dessert wise (along with pinwheel sandwhiches from Costco)

We went with a vintage travel theme. So easy, cheap, and fun! We used old vintage suitcases we already had, along with a globe, some maps and a banner we made on map paper...

and a sign in a vintage sign holder that I whipped up on the computer...

Well, now hopefully you can see and understand why I have been MIA for a few days (Dear God, was it a week?!) from blogging...I have been one busy Gramma!

More party pictures coming up next post!

No shoes, no shirt, but apparently if you're REALLY cute...you still get service.

Okay, being shirtless in a restaurant ('coz you spilled your water all over yourself while trying to impress your Auntie with your ability to manouver a straw) is probably a whole lot easier to get away with at the age of two.

It doesn't hurt that he's just so danged cute.

Happy Valentines Day, twenty-eleven.

Sorry about the headless shot of my model here, but I wanted to share the oh-too-danged-sweet wording on this shirt. I got the lil Mr. C this shirt last year for Valentine's Day, and it finally fits him this year....pretty cute, huh?

Here are just a few more shots of my handsome cute-enough-to-be-a-GAP-Kids-model working it for the Gramma-camera...

I hope you're spending time with someone sweet today, or, at the very least, treating yourself to something out of the ordinary and extra special!

Discerning taste.

Aaaah, I had so forgotten about this stage.

You know, when little people begin to make their own choices about which clothes, or toys, or foods they like (or don't like)... and how they make their definite opinions known....in this case, the sudden aversion to a formerly popular dinner food....(You can just read his thoughts by looking at his body language here, can't you?) He's very clearly saying...

"Gramma Cupcake, are you serious here? I ordered some animal cookies and a vente' cuppa cocoa, not this orange noodle stuff."

"Okay, I'll humor you. Let me read the fine print."

 

"What is it exactly? Hmmm, Kraft Mac N' Cheese....it doesn't list any chocolate in the ingredients list..."

 

"Cheese, noodles...nope. No chocolate. Say it ain't so!"

 

"I'll say it again. You can't be serious." 


"Take a good look, Gramma Cupcake. Do I look like I was born yesterday?"

 

"Um ya, I didn't think so. I'd like to send this back to the kitchen please."

 

"No, really, this milk is all I want right now. Unless you've got something with some chocolate in it."

Hmmm, come to think of it, his Mama was just about his age when she decided that she wasn't going to have any milk touching her Cheerios. (or any other cereal for that matter) Ever.

 

If life were fair, we'd all look like Ali MacGraw.

(Ali MacGraw this past winter, near her home outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. Photograph by Annie Leibovitz)

I have to share something that has been on my mind for several days now.

First off, let me say that all of you people out there under the age of..oh, let's say 30, probably have no concept of who Ali MacGraw even is. (She was in a little 70's film called "Love story" with Ryan Oneal among other things...) I guess this post is pretty much geared for those gals in my own peer group and older, but you younger girls just wait. You will be able to identify at some point in time.

Life isn't fair.

Nope. Not at all.

See, its all about the gene pool. Here's how I know. Let's look at two celebrities... Ali MacGraw and Betty White.
Betty is 88, Ali is 72. Yes, I did say seventy two.

Here, let me say that one. More. Time.

Seventy. Two.

Now, both of these celebs have had the same opportunities for all of the plastic surgeries and botox and whatever in life, (And Ali shared on Oprah that she hadn't done any surery other than her neck years ago...) so this is why I say it's at least partially about genetics.

I love dear Betty as much as the rest of America, but, she looks like she's a gal in her 80's. (I mean that in a really, really good way, and it's part of what makes Betty so endearing to us all.) She looks like a sweet lil' Nana, right? And Ali..well, Ali looks like she isn't old enough to be getting her first letter from AARP yet, which happens, for those of you too young to know...at the age of 49.

That's how I know that it has to be the gene pool.

Earlier this month I was home from the bank on a totally random day and time, and I turned on my television. I caught the Oprah show in progress. I was on the phone at the time with one of my besties from the biggest little city.

We both had the show on and began critiquing Ms. McGraw's appearance like completely catty women will do. (Oh come on, you know you've done this before, right? Mercilessly critiqued a celeb like you're the head of the Fashion Police?) I pointed out that while she was still a beauty, she needed to soften up the harsh straight lines of her hairdo (apparently I consider myself some sort of a hair-do officienado...) and my friend whole hearted-ly agreed, pointing out that some curls around her face would be a nice look that would add some youthfulness to Ali's looks. (Oh ya, another hair-do expert heard from..) Bla-bla-bla. Yada yada yada. We went on and on and on and...

"Oh my gosh!", my friend suddenly shrieked into the phone."Did you catch that?!"

"No."

"Ali McGraw is 72."

Un. Be. Lievable.

I gasped. I was only being catty about her hair 'coz I thought she was...I don't know...like, maybe 51, and could use some hair-style tips.(God knows why I thought this, but I did, I truly did.) There was a very long silence on the phone as we both took in and processed exactly what this meant.

Ali was very nearly our mothers ages, yet she looked younger than..us. It has to be that danged gene pool.

We all seem to get our traits and features (And I don't mean just our looks, but our mannerisms and temperaments as well...) from our relatives, and I can tell you exactly where...er...who I got the bulk of mine from. My Grandma on my Dad's side.

Mmmm hmmm. My adorable, kind of Opie-Taylor's-Aunt-Bea-like grandma Bernice, who always went by Bernie, except for my Grandfather, Harold, who fondly called her "Mama" .

Did I get the gene for Grandma Bernie's impeccable flair for neatness, and keeping a house so clean you could eat off the floor, or her ability to control herself in the dishware department by only having only eight place settings of Fiesta-ware in her kitchen?

Noooooooo.

You might think I am exaggerating, but I will tell you that what I did get was Grandma's ample bootie, her soft upper arms, her rather saggy chin and neck, and her bigger-than-life-itself-ever-growing earlobes.

Trust me here, you'll never see me sporting an impish super short hair cut, nor will you see me with my hair pulled up away from my face. My earlobes are safely hiden under my do, and you'll just have to believe me when I tell you that they are each as large as a tostito chip. (Okay, maybe not quite that large, but close enough that I could potentially be on the pages of National Geographic.)

Yup, that's what the gene pool doled out to me in the womb. Now, don't get me wrong, I am okay with my appearance, such as it is. (I do the best I can with what I've got..) I don't think I need counseling for a bad body image or anything like that, I'm just sayin'.

It bears repeating...if life were fair, we'd all look like Ali MacGraw.

Two years old.

**Gramma brag post**

It's been a while, December 24th is not only Christmas eve in my family, but also my first born grandson's birthday. (Oh. My. Gawd. Wasn't it just three weeks or so ago that we had his first birthday party?) He turned two this past Friday and we celebrated with a Handy Manny themed celebration.

Carter's Mama outdid herself on the cupcakes and the adorable Handy Manny cookies!!!!!

What?! You want to see a few more pictures of the birthday boy? Well, if you insist....

Where does the time go?! I could have sworn his Mama was wee small just a couple of years ago.