lil hoot: July 2011

more ruffles - love-love or not so much?

this time a slightly more sophisticated use of the ruffle. i wonder if ralph was inspired by rufflebutts?

seriously tho, i'm pretty smitten by this gown, and i wor-ship the fact that it was a gift from father to daughter. {ralph lauren for daughter dylan}

amazebalz.

pick up the august issue of vogue for the deets.

and while we are at it let's just take a peek at dylan's candy-themed bridal shower planned by martha's right hand, darcy miller.

it is. . . OOC.

caviar "rings". obvs.

i die.

edible necklace. forreals.

please please do yourself a favor and drool over more swoontastic images of this adorbs shower at martha stewart.

anyhoot, do you love-love the dress or not so much?

rufflebutts

adorbs!

girlie newborn gifts are on the mind {ahum, june}

and rufflebutts, is on zulily today.

they also come in toddler sizes. but i prob should not draw attention to the fact that my girlies are still in diapers . . . or do i take advantage of their last summer where it's totes appropes to be carelessly sashaying around topless {while cr*pping their pants}?

hmmmmm. . .

they do come in pink AND yellow.

if you don't know about zulily yet join here.

yes, capiz. . .

so i'm not an over-the-top "nautical theme" gal. i think it's awesome if you live on the water, otherwise it sort of bugs me. {or perhaps i'm just salty that i don't live on the water?}

i do live in a costal town, however, so i do feel entitled to a few seaside treasures in my home.

i like shells. i think they are pretty and delicate and girly. which i love. {obvs}

i wallpapered nursery #1 {long story} with this thibaut stripe.

if i had to describe the color it would most definitely be "shell."

i also love-loved that my girls were old enough to collect shells at the beach this year on vacay. and hey, can't beat a free souveneir with sentimental meaning.

i adore this idea from- guess who?- martha.

read the how-to here.

the candles aren't so appropes for the nursery, but i do have the west elm capiz shell chandelier in there.

i thought this was somewhat of an original idea at the time i decorated but now they seem to be available everywhere. i actually sort of like the colored ones at pb teen.

and love-loving these venus pendant lamps at layla grace.

combining shells and flowers! swoon.

oh and hello again pb teen!

i think we'll be seeing you, rose shell pendant in our big girl room!

and while i'm getting carried away. . .

i wouldn't mind this number in my home on the water, that is.

i guess this beauty casts quite the glow to passersby. read about it in coastal living.

image via the diversion project

also good to know this bad boy is versatile and will work in my farmhouse someday, too.

image via better homes & gardens

image via pinterest

swoon.
so yes, capiz i think is a great way to add a touch of the seaside motif in your home without overdoing it, no matter where your home might be. i mean who doesn't love the sea, right?

love this etsy shoppe located right here in boston, near me! and the sea.

hope you all are logging some serious seashell collecting hours this summer.

i want. . .

a large glass of this.

Ingredients

2 (750- ml) bottles your favorite rose wine
1 (750-ml) bottle sparkling water or club soda
3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup diced strawberries
1 cup diced nectarines or peaches
2 blood oranges or navel/seville oranges, juiced
1 lemon, juiced

Directions

In a large 1-gallon pitcher, combine all ingredients and stir well to combine and dissolve the sugar. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

will totes be serving this refreshing pinkalicious cocktail at princess june's sip & see. i wonder how many times i'll have to experiment with the recipe before august 7th rolls around. . .

you should try it, too and lmk what you think!

or ummmm, look at these blackberry prosecco popsicles . . .from the bakers royale

can you say amazebalz?

yes, please, thank you!

stay cool, lil hoot'ers!

happy birthday, june

one week ago today, my very first niece graced this world.

welcome to the family, june elizabeth!

we are having such big fun shopping for this lil angel and also planning a special sip & see. stay tuned for much much more.

and i'm sure supermom lc has a fabulous nursery in the works {obvi}, so maybe we'll get a sneak peek at that, too.

coincidence that layla grace introduced jonathan adler on june's one week birthday? i think not.

swoooon.

hey june- i

forevah.

{poster available here}

the horribles

so every fourth of july there is a tradition in marblehead called the horribles parade.

this tradition is pretty much a form of child abuse.

it is always the hottest day of the year and it's a costume contest.

but anyone who knows me, knows i wor-ship dressing up.

halloween? bring it on. theme parties? yes, please!

so when i heard about this "tradition" on july 4th eve after a "few" cocktails 2 years ago, i had to work very fast to not only come up with an idea but also recruit some peeps to take part in the abuse with me.

{btw, this is also torture for the parents. ever pulled your kids in a parade hungover? totes not fun}

anyhoot, year one was sort of a bust.

but we did it!

for some reason i decided this was the year for animal cruelty as well and made george and looloo participate. and my theme was 'george & kate plus 8'. this was pre-gosselin break-up and a super-hot topic. current events is one of the categories they vote on.

i'm ready to admit this was a really lame choice and the guetto computer paper signs i whipped up 15 minutes before go-time were not cutting it.

year 2.

a lil more age appropopes - crayons!

when my friend ag suggested this idea the first year i mocked her. but look how cute they are AND {drumroll please} we won the coveted toushy dodge award this year! that's right 50 big ones. woo-hoo!

this year we realized the odds were against us.

95 degree weather. check.

hundreds of people yelling and throwing candy at us. check.

14 kids under 6. check.

so we kept it simple.

a birthday party for america. genius. ha. okay, so not that exciting but it made sense. lil hoot and sugar on top's wee ones were part of team happy birthday america.

sugar on top made the delish cake pops to keep the kiddos "content" and j ayme marie designs designed the adorbs banners and party hats.

add a ton of balloons and presents and voila!

we clinched the helen st. pierre award.

cross it off the list folks. we nailed it.

by the way, we were up against some stiff competition. check out this beiber float in which the participants belted out justin beiber songs the entire parade.