Such Pretty Things

Target Tuesday: Votive Vases

I am so in love with these pretty mercury glass votive holders from Target...

The silvery shade is so festive and the hobnail texture makes them even more special.

And, at $3 each, they are an inexpensive addition to your holiday table or mantel.  Go ahead and use them with candles as intended...or do what I did and turn them into sweet little vases.

Try placing one at each place-setting this Thanksgiving...

That way, each and every guest can enjoy their very own bouquet. :-)

Happy Tuesday!

Jessica

(Spray Roses from Whole Foods Market)

Target Tuesday: John Derian

I found these lovely melamine plates at Target this week.  They are from renowned designer, John Derian, and they are just part of a huge collection of housewares and stationary products that he designed exclusively for Target. His botanical patterns are absolutely perfect for a Fall table.

And they are quite a bargain, too.  A set of eight sells for just $23.99 on-line or you can buy them individually in the store for just $2.99 each!  I decided to mix mine with some crisp green apples and some pretty white Hydrangeas.

Such a fast and easy way to make a casual and  beautiful everyday table setting...

Happy Tuesday!

:-)

Jessica

A Shabby Chic Picnic

The weather was perfect for a picnic this past weekend.  So, we brought some friends and some pretty desserts to the park for a shabby chic picnic...

Why use paper plates when you can use pretty china!

I kept the desserts simple...

Some pastel meringues,

some pretty candies...

and a butter-cream confection...

I always like to have fresh flowers at a picnic.

I just placed a small bunch of roses and in a lavender drinking glass.

We had such a lovely time and it was such a nice way to end the summer...

:-)

Jessica
 

Shabby Chic Picnic Prep

Well, the girls went back to school this week...wearing sundresses and shorts! It's been incredibly hot, so there's been no opportunity to wear their new Fall clothes just yet.  Yes, for now, the sweaters and boots will just have to wait while we hang on to a few more weeks of summer. The weather is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous this holiday weekend (despite the fact that a hurricane is heading our way!), so I am preparing a little shabby-chic-inspired dessert picnic.  

I've been gathering up pretty vintage china plates.

And these gorgeous meringues will be a perfect addition (Thanks, Michele!).

Loving the pastel colors.

Not sure they're going to make it to the picnic.  ;-)

I'll be back soon with all the details. Happy last days of Summer...

XOXO

Jessica

Target Tuesday: "Paper" Plates

Every year, we celebrate the 4th of July with some of our very close family friends.  It's always an evening filled with kids running and laughing, spectacular fireworks, and, of course, lots and lots of great food.  It's such fun planning the menu and thinking of fun ways to decorate for our celebration. When I saw these plates at Target recently, I knew they would have to be a part of our holiday decor...

While they look like the iconic "paper" plate, they are actually made out of melamine!

How cool is that? Plus, they come in several different colors. And at only $1.99 each, you can afford to buy a whole stack! 

I haven't quite decided yet on this year's "vision", but I am thinking that these plates look pretty cute with the Target red polka dot plates that I bought earlier this year...

Happy Tuesday!

:-)

Jessica

Vintage Paper Drinking Straws

I know, I know.  I've been a very bad blogger lately.  I always find the end of the school year rather hectic, but this year it has just been absolutely crazy!  With all the parties, graduations, and performances, I have found little time for anything else.  But, school is now officially over and summer can truly begin! And what better way to start off than with a cool, refreshing beverage!

I find that pretty summer drinks are made even prettier when accompanied by these vintage paper drinking straws.

I just love them and always try to scoop them up whenever I come across them (in unopened boxes!) at flea markets or antique shops.  You just can't beat those old, faded pastel colors.

The striped ones are my favorites...and, while they have been reproduced as of late, there is nothing like the faded elegance of the originals.

So, here's to a wonderful summer ahead - filled with family and friends, pretty picnics, homemade ice cream, fresh flowers, dinners al fresco, days at the beach...and, of course, lots of blog posts!

:-)

Jessica

The Tea Party: Part II

Today, I thought I'd show you some of the tea party crafts and a bit more of the table decor.

My daughter loves arts and crafts, so I wanted to do some party activities that reflected this.  I figured that everyone needs a fancy tea party hat, so that was first on our party agenda.  I lucked out and found a bunch of pastel hats at the dollar store!  I collected a ton of pretty flowers, rhinestones, butterflies, and even some sweet birdies to use for decoration.

The girls designed the hats the way they wanted them and then my fabulous friend, Rachel, and I hot glued-them on.  This went much quicker than I thought it would and assured that the decorations would stay on securely.  The girls did a beautiful job with their hat designs.

Out of respect for their privacy, I can't show you the girls in their hats, but I can assure you that it made for a very adorable picture...all of them in their flowery, bird-embellished hats!

For another activity, I decided that it would be fun to make "Cookie Charm Bracelets".

We've made lots of candy necklaces and bracelets over the years, but never a cookie bracelet!  I started by enlisting the help of my mom (she's a really, really nice mom!) to make HUNDREDS  of teeny, tiny sugar cookies in the shapes of flowers.

I had grand plans to intricately decorate them with royal icing, but due to a shortage of time, we ended up just coating them with a good sprinkling of pastel non pareils.  While the cookies were still warm from the oven, we used bamboo skewers to poke holes through the centers. To make it easier for the little girls to string the cookies, my older daughter tied tiny loops of ribbon through each cookie. This was truly a family affair! 

For bracelet assembly, I gathered together a bunch of ribbons and lots of pretty candy beads (I just cut these off long candy necklaces) to use as filler.

The bracelets turned out super cute...

After the girls made their bracelets, I put them in personalized jewelry boxes so they could take them home.

Now, for the tea party table settings...

I kept the table decor pretty simple, as I knew I wouldn't have much time to transition from the crafts to the tea party portion of the party.  I covered the tables with cloths in a variety of shabby floral patterns and added some small vases of pink roses.

At each place setting, I set a large round doily, plastic utensils (that looked like real silverware!), and a cloth napkin.

I made the napkins myself by just cutting some pretty floral fabric into large squares with pinking shears. Time consuming, yes.  But I thought it was a nice touch.  :-)

I also made these old-fashioned candy-filled party "crackers" to use as place cards.

These were fairly easy to make, but I would be happy to post a tutorial sometime.  Basically, they make good use of your old paper towel rolls!

Well, that's it.  I hope you enjoyed our little tea party.  I'm not sure what themes we'll do next year, but luckily, I have about eleven months to think about it!

Have a great weekend!

Jessica

The Tea Party: Part I

Well, we did it!  We survived having two birthday parties in the span of just one week. Yes, the "Tea Party" was this past weekend and I have to say that it was a great success.  My daughter had a wonderful time and I think all the party-goers (all 16 of them!) did, too.  Due to the fact that I have a ton of photos (and the fact that I am completely exhausted), I am going to show you the party details over the course of two posts.  

Today, I will be sharing the tea party buffet table and goodies.  Given that the party was scheduled for right after lunch, I focused only on sweets and decided to forgo any savory items like tea sandwiches. I've given a great many tea parties over the years and my experience has taught me that kids will always choose a cupcake over a watercress sandwich.  :-)

I made some of the desserts myself, bought some, and "embellished" some.  My pale pink petit fours were by far the biggest hit and not too, too difficult to make (I think I have finally mastered the art of poured fondant!).

I was so proud of my butter cream forget-me-nots...

There were mini vanilla cupcakes with vanilla butter cream...

I actually bought these at Whole Foods and just added some butter cream flowers.

We dipped some strawberries in chocolate...pink chocolate, of course.

These mini sprinkle cookies were quite popular (Martha's basic sugar cookie recipe)...

And a tea party isn't a tea party without piles of pastel meringues...

These were mint-chocolate chip...

I added some dishes of pretty candies...

...and my fancy sugar cubes...

And let's not forget the cake!

It was absolutely gorgeous!  The bakery, Fancy Cakes by Leslie, did a fabulous job!

Just look at colors of the beautiful butter cream flowers...and I love the touches of edible glitter!

For "tea", I served strawberry milk and pink lemonade in glass pitchers (sorry - forgot to take a picture).  As for table decor, I clearly went with a pastel, shabby chic look.  A floral-sprigged tablecloth and lots of white and pastel dishes and cake pedestals...

I bought several shades of pink roses and some Hydrangeas (because they are my favorites).

I will post Part II of "The Tea Party" later in the week and show you some more of the favors, crafts, decor, etc...

And don't forget to come back tomorrow for "Target Tuesday"...this week I will be posting on Liberty of London's new line for Target.  So unbelievably cool! You're gonna love it!

:-)

Jessica

One Down...One to Go

Hi All!  So sorry I've been MIA this past week.  We had my older daughter's birthday party this weekend and I always underestimate just how much preparation is involved.  And this was supposed to be the "easy" party!  :-) But we did it.  So, I thought I'd share a few details with you...

My daughter invited 10 close friends over for a slumber party. As you may remember, we didn't have a "theme" per se, but I was going for a vintage, 1950's vibe. We began the evening with pizza from our favorite Italian restaurant. For beverages, I stocked up on lots of vintage-looking sodas in a variety of flavors and lots of pretty colors...

With these fabulous red and white striped paper straws...

After dinner, the girls did their nails while I set up the ice cream sundae bar.  I just bought a bunch of different ice creams and tons of different toppings and let them have fun...

And just in case the girls hadn't had enough sweets, we had birthday cake, too. To save time, I had a local bakery make the cake (chocolate!) and cover it with white fondant.  Then, I decorated it myself with pink and aqua-green fondant circles...

After cake, the girls decided to watch some DVDs - Hairspray, 13 Going on 30, Brady Bunch, etc...  I set up a "concession stand" with more drinks, lots of movie-theater style boxed candies, and popcorn (of course!)...

 

After lots of loud music, talking, and giggling, the girls finally fell asleep around 3:30 am. For breakfast, I served them bagels and cereal - nothing fancy. And then it was time to send them on their way.  As party favors, the girls filled personalized treat bags...

with  a variety of sweets... 

I placed them all in little cellophane bags that I trimmed out in striped, scalloped papers...

The girls also received paper popcorn boxes filled with the "tween" fashion statement of the moment...a Sugar Lips tank top.

Despite the fact that it may take me a few days to recover from the sleep deprivation, I would say that the party was a great success.  So, one down and one to go. The Tea Party is up next and I will have lots more to show you over the next few weeks...stay tuned!

:-)

Jessica

Target Tuesday: Mirrored Holiday Mini-Bar

I am thrilled with my latest Target find!  It's a beautiful mirrored tray that's totally glamorous!

It's very well made and has a very high-end look to it.  What I love about this tray, is that you could use it for so many things - as a serving tray, to hold a pretty perfume bottle collection, or to organize papers on your desk.

With the holidays fast approaching, I thought it would be fun to turn mine into a holiday mini-bar.  I like to have a bar set up when guests come over, but I'm never really sure exactly which bottles of this and that I should include.  So, I decided to do some research on bar essentials over at Martha Stewart. Martha has a great list of must-have items and you can find it here.  Some of the items I already had, but a few I still have to get.  It will come as no surprise to you, that when picking bottles, I tend to go for the prettiest ones in my favorite colors!  :-)

After choosing my bottles, I added some crystal glasses and a silver mercury glass filled with pink roses.

All set up...

The great thing about this "min-bar" is that it's compact and portable, so you can place it on top of any table or buffet...or simply carry it from room to room.

Happy Tuesday!

Jessica