technical difficulties


seriously.
beyond irritated that i have royally effed up my computer figuration {does that even make sense?}
probably no shock to anyone that i am not what one would call 'tech savvy'. about to chuck my beloved mac out the window while waiting for customer support to call me back within 24-32 minutes.

anyhoot, i have such BIG. FUN. things in store for you. an amazebalz gift guide with lots of adorbs gift ideas, personal stories, and traditions shared by some of my fave lil hoot followers!

cannot wait to share!

also have two fabulous parties in the works for this saturday -
an elephant themed sip & see and a sophisticated holiday soiree,
and last but most definitely NOT least, getting beyond excited for a trip to my happy place this weekend.

so mr. maccy, you are one lucky SOB that i have some things to look forward to or i would let georgey use you for a chew toy.

wish me luck with the adobe gods! and please, please stay tuned.

one happy turkey


image via kerrys kronicles

happy thanksgiving!
{p.s. i'm thankful for youuuuuuuuuuuuu}

not fair what blair gets to wear {SPOILER ALERT}

totes obsessed with blair's dress last night on GG. and she looked radiant! must be the faux baby bump that is giving her that glow. { i- for one- would have looked a lot more radiant when pregnant if the growing tumtum was fake}

for those of you who deprive themselves of the joy of gossip girl - a.) WHY? and b.) here is a pic of blair sporting her christian dior dress last night.


this does not begin to do it justice. STUNNING.
anyone over at dior feel free to send me the dress so i can post some proper images of it.

btw, have you seen gossipgirlfashion?
fab blog telling you not only what/who the characters are actually wearing but more 'realistic' options. love-love.

anyhoot, is the baby louis' or chuck's? no comprende!

SPOILER ALERT!!

here is a pic of blair in her WEDDING gown . . . i. die.


this is a special treat for miss E and the J girls who are going wedding dress shopping on friday. E, you will be more of a knock-out than any fictional bride but thought you'd enjoy this article from the huff. happy shopping, ladies!

frenchie friday: sweater weather

bundle up . . .


and enjoy a wonderful fall weekend!

image via H&M {yup, just when i thought i couldn't love the folks at h & m more.}

magic kingdom madness

i posted this youtube video on my fb page when i first saw it. wor-ship.
i might be jumping the gun a bit but i'm hoping to do something similar for c & p from santa! {without anything they can actually 'wear' because given the opportunity i'm sure they would live in cinderella and mickey mouse t-shirts instead of the new papo dresses.}



and btw, lily - you rock, sister.

help!

so i totes need your help. the holidays are fast upon us and i want to know what would best serve my readers in terms of gift ideas.
would you rather see categories? {mom, brother, dog, etc}
once a week gift posts? once a day? twice a day?
guides or individual ideas?
or individual 'wishists' like our mother's day gift guides? {click here, here and here for examples}

OR . . .here's an idea - you could e-mail me a specific gift question and i could attack it on the blog.

can. not. focus.


guidance pretty please. thank you.

papo, don't preach

so if i had my way, my little angels would be skipping around town in papo d'anjo duds 24/7. but somehow they wind up in target leggings and carter's tops 90 percent of the time. womp.
anyhoot, big thanks to LG for tipping me off on papa's HUGE sale. i am grateful. wallet. . . not so much.
i die for these portuguese made {hollah!} goodies. and the loverly liberty prints. swooooon. . .
these classics are perf for the holidays.
head over there now and enjoy!









confessions of junior aid society slacker

a very belated request to all my local gals - please attend this year's teddy bear tea sponsored by the junior aid society. it's a fun event for you and the wee ones - added bonus - julie o will be modeling again this year . . . and champers is readily available. done and done.
i'm honored to be a part of junior aid. {even though i never make it to meetings and always pay my dues late!} even so, this organization does so much for local charities, with some great events, to boot! {pun intended- see adorbs invite}


buy your tickies here!

junior aid society introduced me to local charity, girls, inc. such an inspiring group and this year we decided we would encourage our "G" party guests to donate to them {starts with G, Get it?}
check out their mission statement-

At Girls Inc. of Lynn we inspire all girls
to be strong, smart and bold.

love-love it!

anyhoot, we raised over 1500 dollars! so happy. BIG thanks to our Generous Guests.
and thank you junior aid society for accomplishing such great things {and for being so tolerant of my tardiness/non-existance at meetings - i promise to make it up to you on the dance floor at the queen of hearts ball.}

which leads me to my next question . . .
queen of hearts gown - the crimson lace dress from BHLDN . . .


love-love or not so much? don't worry there will be plenty more options between now and february.

a sip & see on cloud 9


when I was approached by my lovely friend/client, Ms. V., about planning a sip & see for a baby born during Hurricane Irene, my wheels started spinning. What a wonderful thing to happen on such a tumultuous day! Something truly to be celebrated.
The song 'you are my sunshine' was my inspiration - in particular the line 'you make me happy, when skies are gray'. we chose a sunny orange and aqua color scheme {lil hoot colors- yay!}
I contacted Jayme Marie Designs about designing a unique sun and cloud graphic for the paper goods. Baby jasper's parents - they are under-stated, fun, and just flat-out "cool". So we wanted something a bit funky and not so much preppy and cutesy. i knew jayme wouldn't let me down.
We started with the invite explaining that the family 'weathered the storm and landed on Cloud 9'. {had to get plenty of puns involved. obvs} I also wanted to create a keepsake for the family so Jayme designed a poster to serve as the backdrop for the dessert table, which also served as a gift for Jasper's family from their gracious hosts.
We used a glitter banner that said' shine on, jasper' for an extra eye-catching detail.


Sugar on Top created 'cloud 9' cookies with clouds mimicking the invite and the number 9. adorbs.


Pickwick Baking Co. made darling and delicious mint meringue "clouds", chocolate drop mini cupcakes and the yellow baby cake. The cake had a custom fondant sun and raindrops, also mimicking the invite. Pickwick Baking Company also created savory bites in sun-shaped little tarts which matched our color scheme, a harvest butternut squash and maple glazed carrots with spiced crème fresh. Also on the menu stacked caramelized onion, baked apple and camembert napoleons.




Dark & Stormys were served as the signature drink {this was Ms. V's brainchild}, as well as 'Clear & Sunnys' {champagne and orange juice} in 'cloudy' highball glasses and aqua champagne flutes.. . {i heart ikea}. coincidence that veuve has an orange label- i think not.





Delicate sun and cloud garlands were hung throughout the space.


Inside, multiple grey and aqua lanterns with ribbon were hung to simulate rain clouds and then one giant yellow lantern to represent the sun.



It was an unseasonably warm day {jasper = extreme weather baby!} so guests mingled outside and enjoyed the sunshine & cocktails among orange and aqua lanterns.


The name Jasper means 'treasurer' and is also 'a semi-precious stone', so guests were prompted to write a message for Jasper on wishing stones to treasure in the family garden.



my fave part of the entire event was when host with most, mr. v, wrote an excerpt from the following poem on japser's wishing stone. it's one of the proud papa's faves. this spoke to me on many levels, mainly the depth of the friendship the hosts have with jasper's parents. jasper is lucky to be born to such a special family and friends.

Stone
BY CHARLES SIMIC
Go inside a stone
That would be my way.
Let somebody else become a dove
Or gnash with a tiger's tooth.
I am happy to be a stone.

From the outside the stone is a riddle:
No one knows how to answer it.
Yet within, it must be cool and quiet
Even though a cow steps on it full weight,
Even though a child throws it in a river;
The stone sinks, slow, unperturbed
To the river bottom
Where the fishes come to knock on it
And listen.

I have seen sparks fly out
When two stones are rubbed,
So perhaps it is not dark inside after all;
Perhaps there is a moon shining
From somewhere, as though behind a hill—
Just enough light to make out
The strange writings, the star-charts
On the inner walls.


a true party with heart.
And how fortunate that White Loft Studio was there to capture the details on film. If I had to describe working with Heidi in one word - effortless. She's brilliant in every way possible.

Thank you, mr. and ms. V. for allowing me be a part of such a momentous occasion and shine on, baby jasper!



vendor love -

Photography - White Loft Studio head on over to ms. whiteloft's stunning website if you are in the mood for some serious eye-candy.
Paper Goods - Jayme Marie Designs
Cake, Meringue, cupcakes and savory bites - Pickwick Baking Co.
Cloud 9 Cookies - Sugar On Top
Glitter banner - unicorn parade
Garlands - Art's Delight
Fondant toppers - Sweet Thing Topper Shop

Uber- Emo Alert!

dear phoebe loomis and charlotte breckenridge,

there is something you should know about the day you were born. it was not the happiest day of my life. in fact, it was one of the worst days of my life. i was overwhelmed with worry, exhausted and scared - worried about how little you were, exhausted from 3 months of bed rest and delivering you while on magnesium sulfate {womp womp}, and scared that i didn't know how to take care of you . . . so. very. worried. about all of us.



Three years later and 'us' is doing just fine.

so much potential for babble today so i'm totes stealing one of my fave mama's tribute to her kiddos on their birthdays. { a HUGE thank you to meredith nelson for letting me rip off your idea!} oh, and by the way, we have miss meredith to thank for multiple priceless images of you munkies!
{like the ones you are about to see}

a little about phoebe -


1. You love pink and princesses and all things girly.
2. You have spent about 50% of the last year wearing a tutu.
3. You also spent about half the year speaking with a scottish brogue. "I'm scarred" = i'm scared and "that's may charrr" = that's my chair. obvi.
4. We love to talk about your 'crazy hair' that has only been cut once {a team effort by mommy and daddy.}
5. You're tall and skinny and strong. Just like when we brought you home from the hospital weighing 4 lbs. 7 ounces.
6. You skip the tater tots and head right for the veggies, and then onto DESSERT, your fave.
7. You live in your own little world and we are so happy you let us be a part of it.
8. You pronounce about 17 different words - 'cock'. rock, sparkles, chalk, popsicle, clock, black, and so on and so forth. I'm pretty sure you do this to torture your father.
9. Every night you want us to 'hold you like a baby' after your bath. We gladly oblige.

and miss charlotte -


1. Nothing on this planet beats a Charlotte hug. You hug like you mean it.
2. After much discussion, it's official : Yellow is your favorite color.
3. You ask A LOT of questions and you take the answers to heart.
4. You look exactly like I did when I was your age.
5. You are borderline obsessed with Kai-lan.
6. You laugh hysterically whenever you attempt to throw a tantrum.
7. You've spent about 70 percent of the last year with a baseball cap on.
8. You are a homebody. you're genuine 'i wanna go home' melts me every time.
9. You have a indescribable vulnerability about you that draws people in . .. and then there's also that smile of yours.

and the two of you together - well, i mean. . .


1. You talk and laugh for hours at naptime and bedtime. I'm already jeally of your bond.
2. You are by far the worst 'dancers' in your ballet class and I just can't get enough of it.
3. You like to tell people what kind of pizza your sister likes - pepperoni for charlotte, 'olibbs' for phoebe.
4. You worship your grandma. rightfully so.
5. You have played a very active role in planning your birthday party this year and lil hoot is very excited to give you a party with heart.
6. You think we live in marblehead AND on nantucket and I'm pretty sure daddy is not going to buy us a house there before you're old enough to figure it out.
7. You adore your new cousin , a.k.a. "baby june".
8. You love to "hide" on daddy when he comes home from work. This entails you running towards him screaming 'I'm hiding!'
9. You're both painfully shy around other people. You are starting to grow out of it but we don't mind keeping you to ourselves for the time being.
10. You've consumed enough fruit in the past year to ward off scurvy for life.
11. You are so good to your doggies George and LooLoo. you are nothing but loving and gentle towards them. this is something i truly believe i taught you well. {c'mon people, you knew i couldn't write this post without mentioning the pups}
11. YOU sing to US at bedtime now, and I am brought to tears- every. single. time.

I love you, sweet girls. no amount of corny blog posts could ever sum that up.

happy birthday, c & p. TODAY is the happiest day of my life. so far.

love,
mommy

i'm a very busy bee . . .

thinking and talking about everything i need to do today.