Science Themed Birthday Party

So, here's how we celebrated my son Dylan hitting the double digits.  For his 10th birthday, our little geek wanted a Science Themed Birthday Party. This was a proud day for his nerdy, Biology teacher dad.  All those years of brain washing final paid off and science is cool.  

I shared some of my science party decor sources last week.  I'm so pleased with how all of this came together.  The yellow and teal color scheme was bright and cheery and played well with the blackboard details and vintage frog dissection chart. 

For the dessert/treat table I had fun making white chocolate Lab Rats, Atomic Pops (oreo truffles), Flask Cookies (that my mom skillfully decorated), candy filled test tubes, and Petri Dish Delights.

And I sewed fun treat bags with the fabulous sciency fabric I had found and filled them with fun nerdy notions.  

This was one of the easiest parties I've thrown in a while.  We didn't have to organize games or keep the kids entertained and out of trouble.  My husband simply kept the kids busy with fun, interactive science experiments.  He had them look at the cheek cells under a microscope, they played "guess the magnified object" under the microscope, they made a classic soda and vinegar volcano, they made their own borax goo, and they even got to participate in a dissection.  

And what's a party without a cake. I like to make my kids classic piped buttercream themed cakes. This year's was super simple, I just made a big flask cake.

And these are my two favorite geeks in the whole world. 

A Science Party Bunting and a Cricut Giveaway

All my Cricut friends, this giveaway is for you!  If you're not using Cricut Craft Room yet, you NEED to be. It allows you to have access to all your digital cartridges and you can mix and match them together on your computer and then cut everything all at once. You can also play with designs and then save then for later.  I only started using Cricut Craft Room this year, but there is no going back.  Often times I work on my laptop in front of the TV in the evening and lay out everything I want to cut.  Then later I just open up my saved designs and cut away.

I recently threw my son a Science Themed Birthday Party (you may have seem some of it on Instagram). I'll be sharing more of the party tomorrow, but I wanted to share this custom Science bunting I made with my cricut machine.  Who wants to buy pre-made party decorations, when you can make beautiful ones to go with whatever theme or color scheme you choose?  I made cute little beakers and flasks to go perfectly with all my party decorations.

I'm hosting a great giveaway today!  I'm giveaway the Cricut Chalkboard Fonts Cartridge to one lucky winner.  This new on-trend digital cartridge gives invitations, cards, and signs a hand-lettered look.  There are three fonts included in this cartridge and bonus letters and flourishes for all the fonts.

It's super easy to enter, just leave a comment below sharing how you'd use this fun new cartridge.  Just check this fun custom cell phone cover using vinyl, I really like this idea.  Thanks Cricut for this fun giveaway.

Love Cell Phone

Giveaway ends Friday, June 7th at 12 midnight.  Winner will be announced on Saturday June 8th.

Land of Nod Grand Opening

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Land of Nod, but all my opinions are my own. #PMedia #NODinCA   http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

I am one lucky girl.  Last week I got to attend the Land of Nod VIP Grand Opening party in Costa Mesa. What I fun evening.  There was food and shopping and HGTV celebs and my best friend was by my side - seriously, what could be better?  You may have seen some of the fun on my Instagram and there's even more on Nod's Instagram.

So, can I start by saying, I love the Nod staff. Seriously, they are the sweetest, most down to earth, fun loving, and creative group of folks. Can I somehow work for The Land of Nod? DREAM JOB friends! Everything about this company fits so well with my taste and aspirations. I'm just putting that out there.  

The brand new store is amazing!  I wish I could have brought one of everything home with me.  I know, from personal experience, that their products are absolutely adorable and of great quality, because I used a lot of Nod touches in my girl's shared bedroom.  But, it was so much fun to touch and see everything up close and personal.  Yes, I do love flipping through the pages of their catalogue and their online store is fabulous.   But, being able walk through rooms of their totally stylish, yet quirky and eclectic products is the BEST!

Every surface had been thoughtfully arranged and styled.  The Land of Nod does such a great job of pairing vintage finds with modern and practical pieces.

Oh my, the OCD in me was so pleased with this wall of rainbow storage.  Can you image your child's room organized with some of these fabulous bins and baskets?  My clean freak heart be still. 

My little nerdy son would totally dig this robot bedding.  I am highly tempted to order theses fabulous gears sheets pictured here.  

And who doesn't need a set of mini suitcases for storing all of life's little treasures?

They do have amazing furniture pieces, but really any space can be totally spiced up with just a few tiny details.  Details like this triangle garland and these hot air balloons give a room a playful and fun vibe. 

And my favorite furniture piece of the evening, this fabulous retro style rocker.  Oh my, when can I own you my precious.  I'll rock you and love you, well you'll rock me, but either way, it will be divine.

I did buy a couple really fun items.  I brought home the little squirrel nightlight, it's going to find it's home in Riley, my vintage trailer.  And I also bought this gorgeous gold lamp, it's coming in a couple weeks.  And when it arrives, I will share a whole post about how much a love this lamp, just you wait and see. It's going to be a part of my new living room, I'm going to be using Nod pieces in a grown up space.

So, all my SoCal friends the store is now open at the South Coast Plaza (3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626). And if you can't make it to the store, be sure to check out their online store or if you just need a good dose of inspiration, I love following Nod on pinterest.  

New York City - here we come!

You guys, I don't even know what to do with myself, I'm just sooooo excited.  This Friday, Lon and I are headed to New York City for FIVE days, by ourselves!  This summer is our 15th anniversary, and we're celebrating with this trip.

We've been planning out what we'd like to do, see and eat while we are there.  To be honest, I may be most excited about the food.  After years of faithfully watching Martha Stewart and the food network, now I can visit all those amazing places that they talked about.  We plan to walk a tone, so I figure I can eat anything.

But, we would love some suggestions of what is a must-see, must -do, or must-eat while in NYC.  I'd love to know where your favorite shops are or your favorite hole-in-the-wall pizza or coffee spot.  Help me out! We want to pack it in and see as much of the city as possible.  Please leave a comment with your favorite suggestions.

Stuffed Turkish Apricots

Earlier this week I shared pictures from the Modern Orange and Grey Baby Shower I threw. I promised to share a few of the treat recipes with you. So, here's the Stuffed Turkish Apricots.

This is my version of a yummy dessert I ate at a fantastic Turkish restaurant in London about 9 years ago.  Then when I went back to London about 5 years ago I had to eat them again. It was such a simple and dare I say healthy dessert. It's the perfect combination of sweet, salty and creamy. I believe the original ones were stuffed with clotted cream, but that's a little hard to come by here in the states. I think cream cheese is a good substitute.

Stuffed Turkish Apricots
2 dozen good quality Turkish Apricots
2 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
1 tsp. honey
1/4 cup chopped pistachios

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and honey until it is a smooth consistency.  Find the hole in the apricots, where the pit has been removed, and insert your thumb to open up the apricot.  Then using knife fill each apricot with about 1/2 - 1 tsp. of the cream cheese mixture.  Then roll the top of the apricot, where the cream cheese is, in the chopped pistachios.  And ta-da, you're done!  Store these in the refrigerator.

House Plants

Well, I have to admit, I'm not the best with house plants.  Truthfully, I haven't invested in any that are very big, because I'm afraid they just won't last.  But, I really like plants and would love to have some in our living room or dining room.  I've been doing a little research and I've found a few that I really like in the homes of some of my favorite bloggers and designers.

photo source: Making it Lovely

This first one is a Bird's Nest Fern in Nichole's (of Making it Lovely) living room.  It's a nice size and I like that it's not terribly tall.  It could be nice on a table or bench against a wall. 

photo source: Making it Lovely

This tall, handsome plant is a Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree also in Nicole's home.  I'd love one of these beside the windows in my dining room.

photo source: Emily Henderson

And this last group of well styled plants is in the home of Bri Emery (of Design Love Fest).  Emily Henderson recently teamed up with Bri to makeover her living room.  It is a fabulous space with beautiful splashes of color.  But, I think it's the plants that brought the room to life.

Are you a house plant kind of person?  Can you recommend any plants that are easy to care for and look beautiful all year long?

I'll be going to my favorite local nursery this afternoon, and I better be on the look out for some stylish pots as well.

Modern Grey and Orange Baby Shower

I had the pleasure of throwing my sweet friend a baby shower recently (you may have seen bit and pieces of it on instagram). I was a really fun party to put together, and the whole day turned out to be really lovely. It was one of those very relaxed, easy going parties, where everyone seemed comfortable.

Before Baby Reuben arrives we needed to have a little celebration for his Mama. I took the color inspiration from the nursery colors. I sent out Minted's Urban Baby Invitations , nothing sets the mood for a party like a beautiful invite. These invites a clean, crisp and elegantly modern.  Decorating for this party was a piece of cake, I simply used Minted's Urban Baby Party Decor as well. With the customizable buntings, I was able to make one to welcome Baby Reuben (and how much fun will this be in his nursery later?).

You've probably heard me say it before, but I really believe great parties are all in the details. And these party decorations have the perfect details. I not only used the straws and flags for the drinks, but I also cut them in half and used with as cupcake toppers and I also used them in my party favors (which I will share soon).

Minted also sells beautiful party serving pieces. I use my large and small modern white cake plates from there all the time. Varying heights of treats on a party table adds interest and movement.

I was really smart with this party and when friends offered to help, I gladly delegated. I love the decorating and treat making part of parties, so I gratefully gave over the task of organizing games to a friend. She did a great job, and it was one big weight off my shoulders. And I also gave another fantastic friend the job of making the savory treats (the REAL food). She is a fabulous cook, so I could trust that she would make something yummy and elegant.  That left me with the fun stuff.  I kept my treats in the orange and grey color scheme.  Here's what I served:

The Menu
Iced Coffee
Cucumber Orange Water
Blood Orange Sodas

Veggies and Hummus
Curried Chicken and Egg Salad Sandwiches

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes
Honied Apricot Marshmallows
Turkish Apricots
London Fog Shortbread Cookies

And a mini treat bar with Cutie Oranges, Hershey Kisses and Junior mints.

The Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes were a Vanilla Bean Cupcake, filled with Orange Curd and then topped with Orange Butter Cream Frosting (I'll share the recipe soon). I love serving unique homemade marshmallows at parties, I got the Honeyed Apricot recipe from this cook book.  And the Turkish Apricots are a copy cat of a dessert I had in London at a Turkish restaurant years ago (I'll share that recipe soon as well).