She's About to "Pop" Baby Shower via Celebrations at Home

Isn't everything about this Baby Shower seen on Celebrations at Home ADORABLE?

Yes, those are PAPER plates above the dessert table.  Colorful.  Cute.  Cheap!



I can't get enough!  Head over to Celebrations at Home to check out the details!

{Sweet Inspiration} Easter Gatherings

Adorable place-settings

I.LOVE.NESTS.

Love these "Happy Easter" hanging Easter eggs.

{Find all of the above goodies at Pottery Barn.}

{find it at Crate & Barrel}



Author Janice Cole's "Memoir of Suburban Homesteading" shares the adventure of the booming backyard chicken revolution, from choosing a coop to the miracle of the first perfect egg. Charming stories and personal anecdotes are joined by 125 recipes starring the chicken and the egg, making it a great read for would-be homesteaders or simply fans of the farmyard favorites.

This book looks and sounds adorable!  Wouldn't it make the perfect Easter gift?

{Sweet Inspiration} One Thousand Gifts



I needed to hear this.  Maybe it will strike a chord with you, too.

So thankful for the MOMENTS God gives us every day.

{Hand-Painted} Uganda-Inspired Cross

My good friend Sally has a true servant heart.  She and her husband Tim have gone on many mission trips ~ but I think it's safe to say that Africa holds a special place in their hearts.

Sally and Tim recently bought a house in our neighborhood {exciting!}.  I thought for her birthday I would paint her a cross inspired by Ugandan fabrics and images to hang in their new HOME.

The inspiration...

The finished product...

I totally forgot to take good pictures with my Canon {so sad}.  These were the best I could do with my phone.  {And yes, these pictures were taken on a student's desk in my classroom - hence the lovely faux wood background}

Can't wait for our new neighbors to move in!

Girls Night!

My husband has been out of town since Wednesday.  I thought...perfect time to have a girls night! Plus, he won't be home until Monday night {tear}.  I need some socialization!

Just a low-key night with some of my close girls friends.  I'm setting up some snacks, and the girls are going to each bring their favorite bottle of wine for a little wine-tasting!

{Image via The Inspired Gourmet}

Good friends, good wine, good food...good for the soul.

Happy Weekend!

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes!

I love lemon...all things lemon! {Maybe it's a Greek thing?}

I sampled this delicious Pink Lemonade Layer Cake by Paula Deen last week and had I had an A-ha! moment.  I love lemon...why have I never tried this before?  How have I never seen or heard of this before?

{image via Deen Bros}

I decided to give the recipe a go with cupcakes...and voila!

YUM!

If you're a lemon lover like myself, you must give this recipe a try.  And be sure to make the frosting that goes with it - it makes the cake! 

{The frosting has a really pretty muted pink hue to it which I really love.  However, I wanted these cupcakes to be a little more fun so I added a touch of Wilton Icing Coloring in Rose. Both ways were equally delicious!}

I Love L.A. ~ We Love It!

I've mentioned once or twice before that I love L.A.  From cute old towns like Pasadena ...to Beverly Hills...to Downtown L.A...I love it all. 

Last night my husband and I went to the Laker game.  Now remember, my husband is a HUGE Laker fan ~ as evident in this Lakers sign he had me paint for our door last playoff season. 

Downtown is just a 30-40 minute drive from where we live, but we really don't visit all that often.  So we decided to make a day of it.

We did a little research online for a great place to eat.  We found this cool German restaurant in the Art district of downtown.  You know how we love our German food!

Amazing bratwurst and fries!  We highly recommend it ~ such a cool vibe!

Then we headed to Staples Center!

We sat down for warm-ups and spotted lots of celebrities including Maria Shriver, Bruce Willis, Antonio Banderas, and of course, Jack Nicholson.  I was keeping my eye out for David Beckham...but no such luck. {darn!} Our seats were great for people watching!

The Lakers won, and it was an amazing game! 

We are so thankful to my husband's basketball team who surprised us with these tickets for his birthday.  He was one happy guy!

{Tutorial} Creative Spring Cupcakes!

If you've been hit with the fever...Spring Fever...check this out!

These adorable Spring Flower Cupcakes from Karen Tack of What’s New, Cupcake? were developed for Jelly Belly.

She even has a video tutorial showing you how to create them! 

This project would be perfect for showers, birthday parties, Easter...the possibilities are endless.  Make them by yourself, with your girlfriends, or with your kids!

Skinnygirl Margarita!

I think I love Bethenny Frankel just as much as I love Giada.  You may not know this about me...but I am an avid watcher of all of the "Real Housewives" shows.  Bethenny was my favorite on the New York series, so of course I had to follow her along to Bethenny Getting Married and now Bethenny Ever After. 

 {Yes, I am aware of how ridiculous I sound}

I love her sense of humor, wit, honesty, and work ethic.  When I heard that she came out with The Skinnygirl Margarita I had to get my hands on it.  After much searching and waiting, I finally found it in stock at my local Bevmo. 

I picked up the bottle before heading to my womens' Bible study on Monday night {we drink wine at our Bible study...who doesn't?} and it got rave reviews!  It's definitely not as sweet or tart as your typical bottled margarita, but it's clean and fresh.  It doesn't leave your mouth feeling like you just sucked on 10 cubes of sugar, which we all really loved.

At $14.99 a bottle, this is quite the splurge for me {even though I got mine on sale for $12.99}.  However, at 100 calories and 1 carb per serving, the splurge on price once in a while is worth it!

Head over to Bethenny's website to read all about the Skinnygirl margarita.  She even posts ideas and recipes for a Skinnygirl Night In ~ love her!

Cheers to the weekend!

Happy {Sweet} St. Patrick's Day!

I'm not too into St. Patrick's Day...but I love any excuse to make {or eat} some sweet cupcakes! 

My favorite one ~ simple, classy, and CHOCOLATE!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Rainbow Cupcake Tutorial!

These bad boys bring a whole new meaning to, "Taste the rainbow..."

{image via Family Fun}

I was browsing around the web for some St. Patrick's Day cupcake inspiration.  I can't get enough of these Rainbow Cupcakes! 

Here's a seemingly easy-to-follow tutorial from Skip to my Lou. 

Happy Almost-St. Patrick's Day!

I'm the Proud Owner of...

FINALLY!

I know...I know...I need to get with the times.  I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money on something like this for myself.

A parent of one of my former students surprised me with this and a sweet card ~ I love them and I LOVE my new book!  I will treasure it forever...and that's no exaggeration.

I can't wait to start experimenting with some of these adorable cake pops.  I see big messes, failures, yumminess, and fun in my future!

{image via Bakerella}

The Bachelor...Who Will it Be???

Emily....

...or Chantal???

MY FINGERS ARE CROSSED FOR EMILY!!!

We will see.....

Who's your favorite?

{Spring Forward} Lovely Sunday Bike-Ride

My husband and I live right along the Santa Ana River Trail in Orange, County.  I run along it every-so-often, but we really love taking our beach cruisers along the path when we can.  This morning we rode about 3 miles to The Orange Circle for breakfast and back.

My love affair with "The Circle" is no secret.  The fact that it is so close to us just adds to its awesomeness.

We pulled over for a quick photo ~ that's the Honda Center {a.k.a. The Pond} to the right, and Angels Stadium in the distance.



In about a half an hour or so, we made it to the Orange Circle.  Much of it hasn't been updated over the last one hundred years.  Love it!

We headed down the street to The Filling Station for breakfast.

I tried the french toast ~ unbelievable! 

Then we did some riding around all of the cute streets...picking out our next "dream home."

After cruising through Chapman University, it was time to head back home.

Go out and explore your city once in a while ~ it will give you a brand new appreciation for the wonderful place you live!