custom invitations :: bennett's camping party

baby shower :: gender neutral

I co-hosted a shower for one of my dear friends. It is the first time that I have ever had to do a gender neutral baby shower, since the baby mama did not find out the sex of her baby. We wanted it to be very personal to the mom.

She LOVES to read, especially loves Walt Whitman, loves burlap and succulents, and craved pie during her pregnancy. So we decided to make a circle garland out of pages from old books to hang above the table along with some natural colored lanterns from World Market

For the party favor, each guest took home a little succulent with a Walt Whitman quote stuck in it. We found these succulents at {Home Depot} for about $1 a piece which makes for a pretty inexpensive favor. We then placed them in kraft paper sacks, cut them with pinking shears, and wrapped with twine {which was also purchased at Home Depot}

For the food, we dined on delicious homemade pie, salads, and bread. The burlap on the tables was from a wedding that the baby mama did the floral arrangements. They were actually old burlap bags that we cut open and placed on the table

The baby mama is also a talented floral designer who often uses mason jars in her work, so we wanted to use them as mugs for the guests. We bought the jars for a great price at Smart & Final. The sparkling Raspberry Lemonade was a hit and so simple to make.

We decided to forgo any games, but did a little advice table where the guests wrote words of wisdom on little baby onesies and clipped them on a clothes line. We cute the onesies out of white cardstock, and kraft paper and hung on the twine with baby clothespins that we bought at Michael's

I made the banner and the little felt circle garland is a leftover Anthropologie Christmas gift wrap from a few years ago

The party was a success, and the lighting was really dark so these pictures do not do it justice.

candles :: an obsession

I LOVE yummy smelling candles, especially those from Anthropologie. Lucky for me, I get a discount there, otherwise I might go broke. My go to candle has always been the Capri Blue Volcano scent, especially love it in the new mercury glass jar. Recently, I discovered two new scents that I am obsessed with. The first is Voluspa Ambre Lumiere and the second is Capri Blue African Jasmine. I am not a floral girl, I prefer musk and fruit scents. Although the African Jasmine is a little on the floral side, I am actually really liking it. Not only does is smell delicious, but how cute is that coral pink jar?

custom party :: shark boy

the invitation

My nephew loves Shark Boy & Lava Girl, so my sister-in-law decided throw him a Shark Boy 5th Birthday Party. She didn't want it to be cheesy, so she stuck with the idea of doing a cute shark silhouette. She asked me to help her with the invitation, happy birthday banner and water bottle labels. She also wanted a little design that she could put on t-shirts for the kids. No detail went unnoticed. Her sister Lauren made the cutest shark and life preserver cupcakes out of twinkies and mini powdered donuts. They had a shark pinata, and lot's of shark party favors like bubbles, etc. There was also pin the fin on the shark and fun water games for the kids. All in all, it was a definite success.

the treat table

the treats :: the water bottles

the darling cupcakes

the cute t-shirts :: my cute boy

**see more pics of the party here**

desktop calendar :: november (plus a bonus)

This month's desktop calendar is designed by the awesome duo behind robandbobstudio. They have also designed a coordinating coloring page for your little aspiring artists. Don't you just love those little fall critters? Make sure to visit their blog as they are offering another desktop calendar design and coloring page over there (so this month you have two options). Isn't that generous? You know the drill. Become a follower if you aren't already, then leave a comment or send an email for your copy of the calendar & coloring page!

giveaway :: sprinkles on top baby

Head on over to sprinklesontop for a fabulous giveaway. My girl Scarlett does not leave the house without one of Julie's darling clips. My absolute favorites are the samantha bows.

custom party :: scarlett turns 2

For Scarlett's 2nd birthday party, I decided to do a little fiesta. My husband speaks spanish to our kids, so I thought it would be fun to incorporate that into her party. Yes it is October, and yes it was cloudy and about to storm during her party, but it was still a great time! We had mini bean and cheese burritos and mini taquitos from one of our fav restaurants, homemade salsa by Papa Phil, cupcakes made by yours truly, and an awesome pinata filled with candy straight from Mexico (my brother in law just so happened to be in Mexico earlier in the week where he picked up a pinata and a bag of candy for the party.) We are so lucky to have such great friends and family who came to celebrate our crazy little two year olds special day. I am especially grateful to have a talented photog friend to take all of our pics. Check out Tiffany's work here. These pics are straight out of the camera and haven't been edited, and they are still beautiful. I will share pictures of her darling invitations tomorrow.

**Thanks again to Tiffany Garfield for taking these pictures!**

desktop calendar :: october

WOW! What happened to this month? I can't believe it is almost half way over? We have been busy with weekend travels and planning Miss Scarlett James' 2nd Birthday. We are having a fiesta (yes in October) and I can't wait to share the pictures with you.

This month's desktop calendar is a little special. I joined forces with Rob and Bob of the awesome robandbobstudio. They designed the artwork on this month's calendar. Check out their blog for more of their designs, and stay tuned for some amazing and fun collaborations!

*Remember to become a follower and leave a comment or email for this month's calendar.*