Such Pretty Things

Happy Weekend!

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday weekend!

XOXO

Jessica

Mother's Day Breakfast in Bed

Why not make a special breakfast-in-bed for your mom (or wife) this Mother's Day? With just a few items, you can make her something lovely - without breaking out all the pots and pans or spending a small fortune.

Start with a pretty tray. I love this vintage floral one, but you can find many different varieties (at great prices) at your local flea market. It's practical and makes for a very nice gift.

Add a small bouquet of flowers.  These can come from the garden or the the grocery store...just put them in a little vase, glass, or tea cup.

It's nice to bake something from scratch, but you can also just pick up a yummy pastry (or two), like this almond croissant, from your local bakery.  Serve it on a pretty vintage china plate.

Then add a glass of orange juice and some fruit (like fresh berries or a pink grapefruit) and some coffee or tea. And don't forget the napkin! This one is cinched with a millinery rose pin from H & M!

So pretty, simple and inexpensive...and your mom will love it!

XOXO

Jessica

Spring Break Break

I want to wish you all a very Happy Easter and Passover!

I am taking a little time off to spend the spring break with my family and friends.

But, I'll be back soon and I'll have LOTS to share with you!

XOXO

Jessica

 

The Ice Cream Social Birthday Party

Hello All!  I do apologize for being MIA all last week.  It was not my intention, but Mini-mini-me's Ice Cream Social Birthday party ended up requiring my full attention! So, I thought I would show you some of the party today.  If you recall, the party was a sleep-over for Mini-mini and eight of her closest girlfriends. Since it took place primarily during the evening hours, I don't have well-lit pictures from the party itself.  But, I can show you lots of the little details. For starters, I kept the decorations really easy and simple - just hung up a bunch of pom-pom garlands and ordered a ton of pastel colored balloons...

The girls arrived and promptly changed into their PJs and set up their sleeping bags.  I had covered my family room sofas and rugs with lots of floral quilts - this served to protect my furniture (especially my white shabby chic sofas!) and made the whole room look like one big comfy bed!  For dinner we served pizza (from our favorite local pizza place) and veggies (not too popular).  After dinner, the girls decorated their very own evening bags.  I bought real, adult evening bags (collected from places like Target, TJ Maxx, etc...) that were very simple and gave the girls lots of millinery flowers, rhinestones, feathers, etc...to embellish them.  They did such an incredible job with them - I wish I had photos. :-(  After craft-time, it was time for the big event: Dessert!  We had to have birthday cake (a yummy, butter-cream rose covered one), but the main attraction was the ICE CREAM buffet!  I provided all the sundae basics (ice cream, hot fudge, pastel marshmallows, whipped cream, cherries, etc..)...and a "sprinkle bar"!

I put all the different types of sprinkles in cute little plastic bowls from Target (see, I've managed to fit in a Target Tuesday today, too!). They were only $1.99 for a set of four and just the perfect size...

I buy my sprinkles anywhere I can find them (grocery stores, cake-decorating shops, over-seas, etc..).  These pretty pastel non-pareils were from the Easter section at Target...

After dessert, the girls danced to music (Adele was very popular - LOVE her!) and watched movies. And just in case they weren't on enough of a sugar high, I set up a concession stand with boxes of movie-style candies and popcorn in cute little boxes. After much pillow-fighting and giggling, the girls finally went to sleep around midnight. We had some early risers (6 am) in the morning. For breakfast, I just served a variety of cereals, donuts, and bagels.  I had originally planned to make pancakes, but then I thought better of it.  :-)  When it was time to go, the girls all received a personalized "ice cream" tubs...

...filled with (yes!) more candy.

I ordered the ice cream tubs from Amazon and then made my own labels with scrapbook paper.

Each girl also received a delicious Ice-cream cone cookie from another one of our favorite local shops, Bundles of Cookies.

It was a really fabulous party and Mini-mini-me had such a wonderful time with all her friends. And hey, I even survived the experience.  Now, I think I just need to take a little nap...

:-)

Jessica

Heart Cookies

The girls and I made some heart-shaped sugar cookies this morning.

Pale pink icing with colorful sugar crystals...

And a cold glass of milk, of course.

Yummy practice for Valentine's Day!

XOXO

Jessica

The Ice Cream Social: Invites

Hi! Thought I'd just pop-in and share the invites for Mini-mini-me's upcoming "Ice Cream Social" birthday party...

Aren't they adorable!  I was thinking of making some myself, but when I saw these from Meri Meri, I couldn't resist! I just love the tiny "sprinkle" beads and buttons and the pretty mint-colored envelopes!

More party details in the weeks to come!

Have a happy day!

:-)

Jessica

Pretty Packed Lunch

With the girls going back to school this week, I am once again faced with the dreaded task of packing lunches every day.  Both of my girls are good eaters, but they are also picky and, therefore, do not love the lunches that the school has to offer.  And, since they have such a long day at school, I really want them to eat! So, I find myself making packed lunches...day after day after day.  Not my favorite activity. Can you relate?

To make this rather mundane chore a bit more palatable, I have learned a few tricks along the way.  So, today I thought I'd share a few tips with you: 

1. Lunch Box: Yes, this is obvious, but shop around.  There are so many cute options out here. My girls always pick out their own lunch boxes and I am happy to say that, after many, many years, we have finally graduated from the "princess" lunch box phase!  This year we found some adorable, floral versions at Cath Kidston. 

2. Storage Containers: You will need a bunch of little storage containers for sandwiches, snacks, etc... While I must admit that I do resort to using the occasional plastic bag, I do try to use storage containers whenever possible. HomeGoods, Pottery Barn Kids, Target and the Container Store are all good places to find cute storage options. I found these at PBK, Borders Bookstore, and Cath Kidston...

3. Ice Packs: These are obviously necessary for keeping lunch fresh if it won't be refrigerated. I look for ones with pretty, colorful designs. These are from Target  - collected over the years.

4. The Details: My favorite part - adding in all the pretty, little details. Colorful napkins are a must.  I buy these whenever I find them on sale.  HomeGoods has an especially wonderful selection and the prices are always great.

Pretty straws make drinking your milk so much more fun!

And a handi-wipe can't hurt for those sticky fruit leathers and sweet treats!

5. A sweet note: I also always like to include a little note - just something as simple as "I love you" or "eat your veggies" lets the girls know that I am thinking about them...

6. A little Something Special: For special occasions such as birthdays or the first week of school, I like to include a special little treat - just a small trinket - like some stickers, a piece of candy, or a Squinkie (Mini-mini-me's fav at the moment)...

I know this may all sound like a lot of extra work, but it honestly only adds about one or two extra minutes to my lunch-packing process.  I just stock up on pretty, fun things when I see them. You can even write out a bunch of notes all in one sitting. Packing a "pretty" lunch makes making lunch so much more enjoyable for me... and I know my kiddies really love all the special touches. :-)

Happy Back-to-school!

XOXO

Jessica

P.S. Yes, we did survive Irene. Thank you so much to everyone who so kindly wrote and expressed their concern for our safety.  We were very lucky around here and managed to come out of the whole thing without any injuries to ourselves or damage to our home. Sadly, many others along the East Coast have not been as fortunate and my heart goes out to everyone whose lives have been forever changed...

Waiting...

Well, it's about 5:30 pm and we are waiting.

Waiting for Irene and waiting to see what she will do.

We are not that close to the coast, but we are supposed to get hit with a lot of rain and high winds later this evening.  Like many others, we've spent the last few days preparing - getting groceries, batteries, and ice. We've got the cell phones charged, the snacks and board games at the ready. And now we are just waiting.

The girls are actually a bit excited about the whole thing. Me - I am a bit uneasy. I don't like the waiting, so I am trying to keep busy. Mini-mini-me and I picked these pretty Zinnias earlier in the week, so I thought I better run outside (too dark inside today) and photograph them before the rain began.

Hoping that you and your families stay safe and dry this weekend...

XOXO

Jessica

Homemade Pop-tarts

School starts up again next week, so we are enjoying these last days of summer vacation.  Mini-me is off on a little trip with her grandparents, so Mini-mini-me is home with me and we are enjoying some special mommy-daughter time together. I found a recipe from King Arthur Flour for home-made Pop-tarts a while back and thought today seemed like the perfect day to try it out.

We followed the recipe pretty closely, but we just rolled out the dough and cut out a bunch of 3" x 5" rectangles.  We also substituted three different fillings (raspberry jam, chocolate chips, and Nutella), as you can really use almost anything. These were Mini-mini's favorites - the chocolate chip version...

I prefer the raspberry jam...

Oh, and if you use jam, make sure to really seal your edges tightly or it might leak out during baking and make a big, gooey mess in your oven. We also chose to ice ours with a little pastel frosting (confectioner's sugar mixed with a little milk and food coloring).

....and some pretty sprinkles!

Mini-mini and I are very proud of how our "pop-tarts" turned out. They were really delicious and quite easy to make (you could even use store-bought pie dough in a pinch). I think they would make the perfect "back-to-school" treat, don't you?

XOXO

Jessica

Definition of a Good Husband

If I were to advise a friend (or one of my own daughters someday) on what qualities to look for in a good husband, the list would undoubtedly include loyalty, honestly, kindness, a sense of humor, intelligence, and good looks (always a plus).  But, if one finds a man who travels far away on business, is busy all day with a million exhausting meetings, is suffering from severe jet lag and is coming down with a cold, but still waits in line for an hour just to bring you home these...

...then I say, "Marry him!"

Lucky for me, I did.

:-)

Jessica

(Macaroons by laduree, Paris)