obsessed. . . HGTV dream house 2012


the HGTV dream home in park city, utah is 100 percent OOC.
i just visited park city for the first time last year. {see post here}  and i am TOTES moving there when i win the house.  no, i'm not a strong skiier or particularly fond of the outdoors but i'm willing to change.  for one thing only. . .

this. house.


here are some highlights.

the great room.



oh, hello glorious kitchen. . .




this is where YOU stay when you come visit me.


the 'changing' room.  not to be confused with the mud room {that's coming. . . }

sauna in the changing room.  obvi.
 

mud room.


family room.


this is one of my fave parts.  the mini room off the family room for the kiddos.  


look at the mini-door.


adorbs!


oh yes, more laundry room lust. . . 


i don't even need riggins in this one.


because my dogs will be there . . . and more storage than i could ever imagine.


the sitting room leading to master. . .


that has another dog bed in the master sitting room.  love!





ridic.




yes, please.


you can also stay here when you visit.  but i think we will reserve this room for team G.


the outdoor family room.


yes, CBC would be very happy here. . .









 i mean. . . i just. . . can't.





the hot tub area {not to be confused with the outdoor fam room}



the backyard.



i'm even swooning over the garage.


hey HGTV, nailed it!

check out even more deets and register to win here - but know that i will cry {a lot} if you win instead of me.  or i can just move into the blue room . . . who am i kidding, i'll even sleep in the mud room . . .
good luck!

they saw mommy kissing santa claus . . .


santa was very good to me!  with some nifty giftys from my faves like elva fields, caudalie, sorel, j brand, ila handbags, and a fabulous new printer linked back to my sweet paiges of style.

now, i just need some snow, someplace to wear my purty necklace, to fit in the jeans, the eye cream to start working and the talent/know-how to start putting the printer to good use.

oh, and obvs my fave gift is the neil diamond tickies.  i heart neil!  i wanted to name george neil diamond but CBC nixed it. {the bastahd!} here's a pic of me serenading the hub with 'forever in blue jeans' at our wedding.


so i'm pumped for the concert on our anniversary eve this summer.  {CBC. . .not so much}

oh, and damages.  okay so i saw this so super sale at target and picked it up as a last minute gift.  we banged out season 1 in 4 nights.  great way to get through the winter nights. . . too bad there are a lot more than 4 of them.  womp.

what did your santa bring you?  i hope only good things!

bundle up - baby, it's cold outside . . .

C & P's 3rd Birthday

terribly sorry for being so MIA on the blog.  sickness got the best of me over the holidays but I simply cannot enter 2012 without acknowledging my fave event of 2011.  C & P's birthday bash {which was featured on amy atlas last week-- yay!}

The party was for my twin daughters and meant to reflect their individual personalities but celebrate who they are together.  Since they learned to talk this past year, a frequent conversation has been ' i like pink!' and 'i like yellow!' {I even did a post about it last summer}
So it seemed fitting to have a pink & yellow party!  


Charlotte, Phoebe and I discussed every aspect of this party at length and it was so. much. fun. to have them be part of the process and make their vision come to life.  And obvs the amazebalz meredith caught their reaction on camera.

Phoebe likes polka dots and Charlotte likes stripes so we carried that throughout, as well.
The invite was two-sided - one inviting you to phoebe's pink party and the other side to charlotte's yellow party.
The party was held at You & Me studio where mama hoot also plans other parties.  Owner Sarah Junk is awesome to loan out her fab space for soirees.  It's a blank cheerful canvas that kiddos love-love to enjoy!

I did two dessert tables with all of their favorite things.  Charlotte loves baseball hats so I made a baseball hat garland with all the guests monogrammed hats to take home. {i even painted those teeny clothespins to coordinate - very unlike this non DIYer} 

All of the food was what they really like in their favorite colors.  Charlotte likes fruit so we did pineapple in yellow cups. P loves everything sweet. . .


Phoebe loves hearts and Charlotte likes stars so we served wand cookies in hearts and stars.  Sugar on top made these as a gift- worship her!
  

C drinks apple juice and P guzzles chocolate milk.


And so on and so forth. . . you get the idea. . .
Basically Jayme Marie Designs created a blurb for the invite and all the paper goods, meant to voice their likes and favorites.  Love-love working with Jayme!  She's wonderfully pleasant and talented.
For activities, they both like play-doh so each child got pink and yellow play-doh to play with.





They also both like coloring so I ordered a custom box of Crayola crayons in pinks and yellows and each child had a bundle at their personalized place mat with a custom coloring book, featuring all pictures of pink & yellow things to color! {ducks, hearts, poodles, etc.} Both girls love stickers so I had a big bucket of stickers of their fave characters.
The custom pinata was a giant 3 in pink & yellow with custom sign.



The cakes were a "baby" yellow cake and "BIG" pink cake, per their requests.  A custom banner by nice exclaimed 'we like cake!'  Pickwick Baking co. was phenomenal at accomodating my three year olds ever-evolving requests.  Phoebe's eyes lit up when she saw her 'biiiiggggggg' flower painstakingly crafted by Ali herself.  And C was all too pleased by her baby flowers.






{case and point}
and ummmm - delish!  these were truly the yummiest cakes and cucpakes evah.


Personalized CDs were given as additional take home treats with all of their favorite songs.  Oh yeahhh, we totes jammed out to 'party in the USA'.  {hoping C & p refine their taste in music in 2012} 

and it ain't a party until baby june in the hizzy!


The girls wore custom mongrammed jumpers in their designated colors and mom couldn't help join in the fun! {yup, totes dork.} 
oh and my FAVE part if the party was the adult beverages 'mommy likes champagne!' and 'daddy likes beer!'


Endless gratitude to Meredith Nelson who not only captured the details of the party but took the pic that we used as a backdrop for the entire event! {and our Christmas card . . . would be lost without this woman in my life}

me and my birthday girls.  happiness.



Paper goods: Jayme Marie Designs
Cookies: Sugar on Top
Pinata: AbitaAchie
custom cake banner: nice

holiday gift guide : c. crowell

ok, folks.  i'm busy cranking these out - hoping to get the rest done tonight and bombard you with 3 or 4 of them tomorrow.  i'm sure miss claudia of c. crowell confections is an even busier bee in the kitchen this week whipping up her divine macarons. treat the ones you love or yourself to her yumminess whenever you can. they are as delish as they are gorgeous! {and i consider myself an expert - read about my love-affair with the macaron here.}


dad - Cozy Ugg slippers for Dad this year. I like these because they can be disguised as real shoes. My Dad wore through his first pair already - time for a replacement! 

Mom - My Mom's birthday is on Christmas Eve so she needs something extra special! The Lalbhai Hermes silk scarf would be perfect. Because my Mom deserves something luxurious and beautiful....and the green/lavender would look incredible on her. 

sister/friend - A Max and Chloe monogram necklace. My sister and I gave them to each other. They're feminine and timeless....I never take mine off! 

hostess - Molton Brown Naran ji liquid hand wash and lotion set - this scent is irresistible! And don't forget to bring a box of C. Crowell French macarons :)

colleague/boss - Pottery Barn Silver Plated Engraved Luggage Tag. I can't tell you how many times I've had to call the airlines looking for a black bag...it's truly a gift for both of us! I'll tie it onto a nice bottle of red :) 

and for the ladies, these Kate Spade airport security-friendly cosmetic cases will be perfect! When you travel as much as they do, an alternative to a zip lock bag will be such a treat!




what's the best gift you've ever gotten? 

Black patent leather Christian Louboutin Very Prive 120s from my fabulous boyfriend. Classic, sexy, iconic and will last me a lifetime...what more can you ask for??

best gift you've ever given?
Last year my sister and I bought a trip for my parents to go to the Caribbean - they still haven't used it but we're hoping they will soon take some time for a little R&R. The most selfless people in the world - they probably wouldn't know what to do with themselves just laying on a beach!

what gift are you most excited to give this year?
My sister's. She hates surprises so she's listed pretty much everything she wants on her blog barefootinboston.com. She's going to be shocked I didn't choose something from her list but I know for a fact she's going to love it! 

what's number 1 on your wishlist this year?
Cartier love bracelet...a girl can dream!

fave holiday tradition
Going to church on Christmas Eve with our whole family. It reminds me of when I was little and my mom would dress my sister and I in beautiful dresses with our matching green velvet coats with fur collars. During "Silent Night" they pass out candles and lower the lights...it's so beautiful and brings tears to my eyes every year. 


thank you, claudia, for sharing!  seems as if you not only create things that taste great - you HAVE great taste. here's hoping the coveted love bracelet graces your wrist in the near future.  merry merry xo