Be Mine... + A Minted Giveaway

Previous years' hand-painted(!) valentines...


And this years' model from Minted...

I'm a fan of a good homemade valentine. They're sweet and special, but sometimes they're not, well...realistic. Like say, when you're about to start a new job and have a "to do" list a mile long that you'd like to accomplish before said job begins. Or when (hypothetically of course) one of your daughters goes to a really cool elementary school where they combine the 1st and 2nd grade classes, necessitating you to create 50(!!!) valentines for her to hand out (not counting the additional 15 that you need to make for your younger daughter's class). Or, when the homemade valentines that your girlies insist on making take something like 9.5 minutes per card (not that I'm counting), which when multiplied by 65 equals a looong freakin' time to make homemade valentines. Just sayin'.

So we're going a different route this year...somewhere between bought and homemade, "homemade light" if you will. I met up with the lovely folks from Minted at Alt last month and was smitten with all their cute classmate valentines, which, upon returning, I immediately pulled up on the old interwebs to show the girlies. They were (surprisingly) 100% on board. No whining. (Frankly I think they too were daunted by the 617 minutes of homemade valentine crafting that they'd signed themselves up for...)

I let them each select a card with no input from me (well, sort of...you know of my control freak tendencies), and we picked out a photo of each of them to use as a backer to make them more personal. We're planning to write a little note on each one and attach a sucker with a bit of Japanese washi tape. Done and done.

I figured I might not be the only one in the "homemade valentine dread" boat, so we're going to do a super quick Minted giveaway (to give you plenty of time to order those valentines before heart day arrives).

Just leave a comment on this post by midnight CT tonight(!!) and I'll announce a winner of a $50 Minted credit tomorrow.

Good luck!

Jenn's Jewelry + A Giveaway!

Jenn is a dear blog friend... Her inspiring space, A Merry Mishap, is one of my favorite blogs, hands-down, and I am beyond smitten with her jewelry line of the same name, which is comprised of minimal, artful pieces that she creates using handmade faceted clay beads.

The necklace I'm wearing above from Jenn's line is one of those essential everyday pieces... It's subtle but still somehow substantial, which is sort of a magic combo when it comes to a piece of jewelry.

And because she is so lovely, Jenn has offered up one of her rings (seen below) as a little giveaway for one of my readers.


Just leave a comment on this post by end of day Wednesday, November 1st, and I'll announce a winner on Thursday. Good luck!

Embracing our "Inner Hippies" -- A Peek at The Planning

Some evidence of the obsession -- my Pinterest inspiration board for Audrey's party...


image from Australian Harpers Bazzar/jmireps via Table Tonic

In between our trip to Marfa, my work trip to Chicago and the start of the new school year, Audrey and I have busily planning for her 8th (!) birthday party next weekend…

My “obsession” with planning the girlie’s birthday parties, tends to elicit a little, well... joshing from my buddies. I get it; the whole deal can seem a little nutty for what is essentially a couple of hours of sugar-fueled kiddos raging against the machine. But I love a good birthday party, I love all the planning and dreaming up the fun details… It’s my thing, and I think it might be Audrey’s thing too, as the two of us can happily wile away the better part of an afternoon dreaming up ( in grand detail) future parties we want to throw.

But beyond the pure creative aspect, I love how the process of creating a special “event” for the girls honors their birthday in a memorable way. Birthdays are important -- I think they deserve a little pomp and circumstance and effort. For me, it’s never about material extravagance or being excessive, rather it’s about lavishing creativity and time and effort on my girlies to mark the day they entered our lives…


Audrey's invites in progress...


dreamcatcher via Creature Comforts...


the "stretch goal" cupcakes via Lori Hernadez

To that end (after much joint brainstorming), we collectively decided to celebrate her special day this year with a sweet, mellow hippie/boho themed shindig. It’ll be a “girls only” affair at a little art studio where the guests will make dream catchers and beaded necklaces while listening to Joni Mitchell… kidding about the Joni Mitchell part, sort of ;-)

We’re also planning to use our teepee and IKEA sheepskins and (stretch goal #1) some homemade streamers modeled after Casey’s to create a little photo backdrop/hang-out space for the girlies. And, since it’s an afternoon party, we’re just serving lemonade and cupcakes, so I want the cupcakes to feel especially festive, thus stretch goal #2: attempting to somewhat replicate goodies that look like the ones above…I’ll let you know how that goes. ;-)

Perfume, A Pop-up Shop and Fun Press (a.k.a The Random Bits)

First up, an update on the shopping front (specifically the "shopping while in NYC" front)... In addition to the dress mentioned yesterday and the goodies I posted over on Operation Simplicity, I also bought another lovely dress (which I'll disclose soon) and MCMC's Maui perfume oil during my trip last week.


I've had a bottle of MCMC perfume oil on my wish list for a while, based solely on the thoughtful, artisanal approach that creator Anne McClain takes in creating each scent (for example that image above is one of the inspiration photos that Anne took while in Hawaii conjuring her perfume "Maui"). There are no shops in Dallas that sell the line (!), so I've hesitated, as I really like to wear perfume a bit to see how it works with my chemistry before I commit.

So when I came across the little vials in a shop in Nolita, I took my time sampling them all. Maui was the clear winner...it's crazy lovely and interesting, unlike anything I've worn before. If you have a chance to try it out, I would highly recommend.



Next, (and I'm so excited to share this one) Christine and I have joined forces with the lovely Michelle to create a Pretty Mommy pop-up shop at Little Bean on Friday, September 9th. Michelle will be here in person and is bringing along loads of amazing things like Clare Vivier bags, Laura Lombardi necklaces, John Robshaw bedding... (it'll pretty much be her entire online shop brought to life).

Mark your calendar for 6:00-9:00 on September 9th to check out all the lovely goods and have a glass of wine and some snacks!


photograph by Mei Chun Jau for The Dallas Morning News

Ok and finally I wanted to share some fun press stuff happening of late. tinyDallas was featured in FD Luxe's August "Hot List" (that's us with our kiddos above)...We were so honored to be included!


photograph by Mei Chun Jau for The Dallas Morning News

In that same issue of FD Luxe, I was also a contributor, writing a little piece on the amazing potter (and friend) Jonathan Cross and one about creative kid's parties. The team at FD Luxe is is so smart and creative and cool; it was fantastic to work with them...


My "On Our Radar" picks for Dallas Child...


Millie's rainbow party in Dallas Child...

Last by not least, in addition to my monthly "On Our Radar" picks for Dallas Child, I also contributed a piece on packing a "foolproof" school lunch for their August issue. And as an added bonus, they featured Millie's last birthday as their "party of the month".

Whew...Sorry for the press overload, but I thought you guys might enjoy taking a peek some of the stuff happening in my "offline" world ;-)

I'm be taking a little blog break for the rest of the week to spend some concentrated time with Bryan and the girlies before the craziness of the new school year kicks-in next week! I'll be back on Monday with tales of our adventures.

Have a great rest of the week and weekend friends!

Valentines as Art...

All images by Amanda Brooks via I Love Your Style...

I am normally a pretty early riser (likely due to the fact that I go to bed at an embarrassingly early hour), but for the past couple of days (for reasons totally unbeknownst to me) I've been waking up at what can only be described as a freakish time -- otherwise known as 3:30 a.m.

Yep...I am officially 80.

It's actually kind of nice (aside from the fact that I'm exhausted beyond belief by 4:00 in the afternoon), as I have all sorts of alone-time to get stuff done. This morning I read, watched a couple of episodes of 30 Rock, did some writing, and, yes, there was also a bit of time spent perusing the interwebs (ok maybe there was a lot of time spent perusing the interwebs, but I'm not saying for sure).

During what I will now refer to as "Blogfest 2011", I happened upon Amanda Brook's fantastic blog, I Love Your Style, which is a compliment to her book of the same name. And after stumbling upon it, I may have read through her entire archive (again not saying for sure). I was particularly smitten with her post about some of the art in her home, much of it homemade, featuring several large framed homemade valentines...

I love this idea of a big, artful, framed valentine for your sweetie or your kids. So much better than a card that gets tucked away in a box. It has my wheels turning for sure. Right now I'm planning to give the girlies each a little Atsuyo et Akiko "love" totebag with some new markers and art paper + a little candy tucked inside, but now I'm thinking I need to throw a little homemade art into the mix too.

I'm curious, how do you guys celebrate Valentine's Day for your significant other and/or kiddos?

Scenes from The Weekend A Day Late (aka Millie's Party)

I have to say, Millie's festive little soiree was a pretty great way to spend the first day of 2011.

And, surprisingly, it was a pretty mellow enterprise considering the slew of sugar-fueled littles running amok... We tried to corral things with a few structured games like pin the tail on the uni-donkey (a donkey with a taped on unicorn horn, of course), clothes-pin drop and musical squares (think musical chairs with less potential for injuries).

Then there was the pinata... What it is about watching a bunch of four-year-olds trying to bust open a pinata that's so funny? Oh and it's possible (but I'm not saying for sure) that the pinata may have died at my completely overzealous hand.

Pinata smashing = major satisfaction. Just sayin.

As for the rainbow cake, all told, it turned out ok. It tasted good, and it was pretty, but man that sucker was TALL... So tall that a single slice wouldn't fit on a dessert plate, and I needed vats of frosting to hold it all together. It was pretty insane.

Let's just say we're seriously detoxing from all that sugar.

Hope you guys had a fantastic weekend! So happy to be back in the swing of things.

Scenes from The Weekend Part II -- Audrey's French Fête

So (given the contents of my recent article) I’m going to say this in a whisper.

I *might* be completely on-board with the non at-home birthday party too.

There, I said it…we can move on now so I don’t feel like the world’s biggest hypocrite. Deal?

In all seriousness, I loved throwing this party. Loved. It. It was the perfect easing into, well letting go a bit… After six consecutive (highly planned) at-home fetes, it was nice to go “off-campus” so to speak. And given that it was the day after the Little Bean party, the timing for a new approach couldn’t have been better.

Here’s how things went down on the big day. Fifteen or so of Audrey's girlfriends to joined us at f.is for frank to make their very own pewter charms and beaded bracelets. We cranked up some French tunes, and the utterly fantastic Shannah and Casey showed the girlies all their jewelry making equipment and walked them through the process of making charms. Then each guest donned their artist’s beret and carved their masterpiece out of a little slab of clay.

Afterward we noshed on some simple vanilla cake, lemon macaroons and French lemonade (+ some bubbly for the mamas of course).

Finally they all lined up for some group snaps and voilà, we were done.

It was the easiest party I’ve ever thrown, and Audrey had a blast, which is really the most important part, non?


The Details:

• Location -- f. is for frank
• Berets -- Village Hat Shop
• “Bonjour” Bunting -- Common Threads (custom order)
• Tablecloth/Fabric -- IKEA
• Postcards -- Yellow Owl Workshop
• Striped Straws -- Fort and Field
• Book -- This is Paris (gift from our friend Annie)
• Cake, Macaroons, Lemonade, Bubbly – Central Market

Seven + A Little Giveaway

This oldest girlie of mine is a pretty amazing creature -- all full of spunk and creativity and moxie. She has turned upside down every preconceived notion I've ever had about raising kids...and proved it to be so much more exciting, fantastic and interesting that I could have ever imagined.

She rocks my world. I am digging her more than ever. And tomorrow she will be seven.

Happy early birthday sweet Audrey.

And in honor of her big day, I'm doing a little giveaway with the lovely Kristina of Modern Frills. Kristina sent Audrey a couple of completely adorable shirts for her birthday, including the rockin anchor number she's sporting above. (She also sent a sweet shirt for Millie...so nice). So we thought it would be fun to give one of you a present for Audrey's birthday.

Just leave a comment on this post by next Thursday the 9th at midnight for a chance to win an anchor shirt of your very own!

Have a splendid weekend friends. I'll be back Monday with party pics and details.

A Few Random Bits (On a Rainy Friday...)

image via la in bloom

First up, this movie, which is making me want to play hooky from work this afternoon so I can go see it (sorry boss), but I won’t. It looks visually stunning and dreamy and, well, there’s just something sort of perfect about hunkering down in a movie theater on a rainy day, no?

Next, this book (via joy), which, based on its cover (yes, I realize, this is dangerous...judging a book by its cover and all) looks fantastic. That marbleized paper banner alone has me convinced there’ll be loads of goodness inside. Can’t wait to get my hands on it to find out for sure…

And finally, (and speaking of paper) these paper dolls, which were an incredibly lovely and kind gift from the talented Hannah of Lily and Thistle.

She offered to send personalized sets to the girlies, and friends, they are quite possibly the sweetest paper dolls I’ve encountered (+ the girls had a blast playing with them.) I’m planning to get these for all the little girls on our Christmas list this year. (Yes I’m already thinking about Christmas shopping {I know, I know} maybe I’ll just blame it on the rainy weather…)

Happy Friday… Have a splendid weekend friends!

p.s. don’t forget about the handmade doll giveaway…