Fresh&Vintage

Birthday Bliss

Pass the kleenex...my baby's turned 6!

Saturday was such a fun day for us. I started it off the night before, staying up until 3 am wrapping gifts and making these pretty little mini-bundts. Since I had to work Saturday morning before the party, I got everything ready and put into place before Chloe and the boys woke up. I told my husband that his mission for the morning was to make sure that Sean and Bradford didn't destroy the cakes or mess up the house---definitely a tall order here!

This is where being married to the oldest of 7 boys (& 1 girl)comes in handy. My husband quickly went right to his task of protecting the cakes and before I'd left the house for work, here is what he'd left in the middle of the kitchen island:

You gotta love a man who can speak the language of squirrelly, sugar-sniffing boys and actually get results. I'm happy to report that I came home to little cakes intact, a clean house, and a little girl beaming with excitement for her guests to arrive. We went simple this year and just invited 3 close friends.

Check out Chloe sizing up how Nicholas is doing on making his homemade pizza. The look on her face tells me she's thinking..."how can boys be so messy with the sauce."

Her favorite moment was opening gifts. She tackled Abby with a gushing thank-you hug and screamed and jumped on big brother Sean when she opened his gift~a box of play food for her new play kitchen. I have often been touched by Chloe's ability to be thankful for the things she receives and her willingness to express her gratitude.

Happy Birthday sweet girl-thank you for giving Daddy, "the brothers" (her nickname for Sean & Brad) and me so much joy over the past 6 years!

A Holiday Favorite Worth Sharing

Sometimes a cookie recipe is just so darn yummy, you simply must share. The first time I made these, I was hostessing a small Christmas party in South Carolina. I still remember my friend being somewhat annoyed with me that by the party's end, he was certain, he'd eaten 15 of the pretty yummers. Thank goodness for him, I'd made the small bite-sized rounds with these lovely fluted round cutters--smaller does equal less calories, right?! :) Since that party, these angels have flown their way right into the hearts of my family and I've been making them in different variations ever since.

Yesterday was the beginning of holiday baking in my house and I ended up with about 16 dozen of these-most of which are now wrapped tightly and hidden away from the kids in the freezer. They'll be making their way to a church Christmas party tomorrow night. This red tray is empty now-just a few bits of sugar left behind by my crew who screamed with delight when they got off the school bus yesterday-they're so used to my giving the cookies
AWAY-they could hardly believe I'd
saved so many just for them.

Now, does that sound like my childhood memories or what?! I'd always be so thrilled when Mom's homemade holidays fares weren't all given away to neighborhood friends and the bosses at work. I guess some traditions are just well worth keeping. ENJOY!

 

Oh Where Oh Where did my November go...

...or where or where could it be? Are you hearing the tune in your head? Sheesh-- I barely close my eyes and the month went woosh right on by with the speed of an Alberta Clipper. Alberta stopped by for a visit at our house late last night and brought with her the first snow of the season. A 2 hour delay on the  boys' schoolday and morning Kindergarten being canceled for Chloe, gave plenty of time for a morning neighborhood snowball fight. The snow was the perfect kind for making lovely snowballs that pack tightly but sting when they hit your bare skin. We had a blast. Once the boys headed off on the bus, Chloe and I loved every minute of fashioning Alberta's 4 inch blankie into our own little snowlady-"JACKIE SNOW."

Like the former first lady/fashion icon, our little snow gal has plenty of boutique savvy, don'tcha think?! Had I yet received my newly placed order for Heather Bailey's new "trash ties" we would have sculptured her some hair and done up a nice snow-do. Instead, we opted for a funky corduroy newsboy I made and a vintage pink, silky scarf I picked up at an estate sale.
Jackie-Snow required no air-brushing or other touch-ups for her close-ups---oh to be as young as fresh new snow again :) 

 

I am happy to say that I am finally finished sewing my customs for 2007, and hope to have some time for regular blogging over the next few weeks. It's sad really--I've taken so many "photos to blog" but rarely find the time to sit down and create a post.I keep thinking it's good thing that the month of December is made for recounting the year's events right before breaking into "auld lang syne." I'll use the next few weeks to catch up on some of the fun things we've done this year that have never made it to the blog because of the craziness of my life while sewing a literal mountain of customs.

 

I'll start by sharing a bit of our Thanksgiving. I played hostess to my in-laws for the weekend. It was a lovely holiday. I sewed a pretty new table runner with some Tracy Porter and Amy Butler fabrics and we ate an amazing Harvest Salad inside my favorite vintage glass apple bowls.

Grandpa's birthday was on Thanksgiving day this year and I was happy to comply with his request for a homemade triple-berry pie.

We finished the weekend with a trip to see Scuba Santa at the Newport Aquarium followed up by snuggling up on the couch to watch 4 episodes of Planet Earth.Grandpa fell in love with the series--we know what to buy for him this year. If you haven't seen these dvd's, they'd make a great early Christmas present to give to the kids (or in our case to Granddad) the day school gets out this year for the holidays--watching them together is sure to make the season a little more memorable!