Long Time, No See

O.K., so I took a little unannounced leave of absence from writing this blog. Who am I kidding? It was a rather long leave of absence. Life simply got in the way for a while. Do you forgive me?

So much has happened over the last few months. I have been making some progress in decorating my house. And my twins turned one year old a few weeks ago! I want to share it all with you, my friends.

So without further adieu, here are some photos from my twins’ first party, which had a duck theme.

The party favors were sugar cookies in the shape of ducks. I used my mom’s favorite butter icing recipe, which is so very yummy, but it makes a thick icing that is very hard to smooth out. Midway through, I realized the error of my ways and regretted that I had not followed the cookie and icing tutorials on the Pink Martinis and Pearls Blog. (If you have not seen Pink Martini’s gorgeous creations, you really must head over there right now.) Next time, I will know better!

A Fun Third Birthday

The last few weeks of summer were a whirlwind of preparations for preschool (which began today), having portraits taken of the twins, and party planning, as well as catching up with friends I haven’t seen in a while.  It's been fun, but I'm happy to finally have a moment to update you on everything that's been happening.  In the time that I've been absent, I've come across a lot of fabulous items that I can't wait to share!

Today I thought you might enjoy seeing some photos of the setup at my tot’s third birthday party, which we held just over a week ago. Like many boys his age, he is more than a little obsessed with Thomas the Train, so naturally we celebrated with a Thomas the Train party. (Although I personally don’t adore character-driven themes, I would do anything for my little boy!)

I wish I could claim that the door sign in the top photo was an original idea, but admittedly I “borrowed” more than a little inspiration from this party that was featured on the Hostess with the Mostess Blog.  I saw this less than two days before our celebration, so I created my own version in Adobe Photoshop. If I had more lead time, I could have ordered the exact sign she used, and other adorable items directly from WH Hostess.

All of our young guests had a wonderful time, although I’m sure their parents will be paying me back for the whistles I included in the goody bags!

Sources:
Cake and Balloons: HEB
Clear Goody Bags and Curling Ribbon: Michaels
Red Table Cover: Hobby Lobby
Thomas the Train Plates, Napkins and Stickers, Birthday Penant Banner, Whistles: Target
Door Sign: Made in Adobe Photoshop, but a similar one is available from WH Hostess

Planning for the Big Three

A certain tot’s third birthday is just around the corner (read: less than a month away) and it’s high time I turned my attention to selecting the perfect party invitation. I’m starting my search with Tiny Prints (an advertiser on this blog) because I have ordered from them many times in the past and we’ve always been thrilled with the result. (In fact, the Christmas Cards I sent last year were such a hit that several of my husband’s ultra stylish, supremely selective family members declared they would order from Tiny Prints next time.)


Here are a few contenders for this year's invite. (Like many boys his age, he’s a little obsessed with trains at the moment.)

Traveling Train Invitation

Birthday Stripes: Siren Invitation

Birthday Locomotive Invitation

















I would be remiss if I didn’t also share with you the adorable invitation we ordered for his second birthday party last year, which was held at The Little Gym.

The Monkey Bars Invitation in Persimmon

















What do you think of these choices?

Another Year Come and Gone...

Today is my birthday, but my big celebration was last weekend. On Sunday, my husband and I left the children with a babysitter and went to Wildfish, which is a fabulous restaurant. You must visit if you happen to find yourself in San Antonio. We started with their famous calamari (in an asian-inspired sauce) and for the main course I ordered salmon served with a pineapple salsa that was heavenly. And don’t even get me started on the stuffed potato. It was the size of a football! (No kidding. I should have taken a photo to share with you. Maybe next time.)

The night before, my boys gave me a Lilly Pulitzer gift card, which my husband encouraged me to spend right away. I’m sure you’ll be surprised by what I got, because it’s not an item I’ve mentioned before.

It’s the Iris Skort in Hotty Pink Full Sun, which is a great gift from my children since I can wear it with a cute T-shirt or tank during the day. (It also looks adorable with the sweater shown above, but let’s face it – sweater weather is a distant memory here in San Antonio.) Technically, this skort was intended for golfing, but as a mom I love skorts for everyday wear because they look like skirts, but have shorts underneath to give me a little discretion as I bend, reach and run after my kids. I have a number of Prussia Skorts from previous years that are among my go-to items.

In addition to the Lilly gift card, my husband gave me something else I’ve been wanting for a while – an Amazon Kindle. (He actually gave this to me a few weeks ago. He has a really tough time keeping a secret.) I am thrilled with the Kindle, as is my husband, because now when we travel I can tuck it into my handbag and not have to lug a stack of books with me. (Yes, I am one of THOSE PEOPLE. I always want to make sure I have all the reading material I could possibly want when I travel, so I take tons of books. And I usually end up stopping at the airport bookstore and buying something anyway. My husband finds these habits maddening!) The Kindle makes this drama unnecessary because I can keep all of my books right at my fingertips and I can order new books and newspapers at the moment I want them and they are delivered wirelessly to the device.

For those of you who are dying to know what’s on my Kindle, here you go:

The very first book I ordered was Social Climbers by the lovely Mrs. Beth Dunn. What a fun read! If you have not read it yet, I have one question for you: What are you waiting for? And if you have not yet checked out Beth Dunn's adorable blog, make sure you pay her a visit. One thing I know for sure is that this girl LOVES fashion and she has a to-die-for wardrobe to prove it.

Well that is all I have for you right now. My children are napping, so I think it is time for me to go curl up with my Kindle and enjoy the rest of my birthday!