We crossed a special milestone last week...

and I just HAD to share the moment with you...

Ella's First Day of Preschool

How can she be 4 years old already?

Attending preschool now?

What happened to this little baby doll?

Ella Scarlet 

six months old

Time sure does fly when you're havin' fun!! *wink*

KEEPiNG it REAL

My heart definitely aches knowing she's my baby...

and my baby is quickly growing up and will be caught up to her teenage sisters in no time! *sigh*

How did this happen?

Life | Thoughts about Mother's Day

I hope you all enjoyed celebrating Mother's Day over the weekend...

My day was filled with...

 Homemade Snickerdoodle Cookies from Clara

Fresh cut roses from around the house...
put in one of my favorite recycled vases and displayed alongside a surprise morning breakfast from Jason...

A lovely giftcard to HomeGoods...*wink*

And a brunch with my family...
including my mom, stepdad, aunt, uncle and cousins...
Followed by an afternoon of pool time...

I feel very blessed.
I hope you felt the same...

KEEPiNG iT REAL

#1: Jason read the blog post apparently...hence the HomeGoods score! *wink*

#2: I made the Bacon, Egg and Toast Cups from this post. (I chose to do a scrambled egg version instead of the sunny- side-up and they didn't look as pretty. They took on a strange look when they ballooned up in the oven. Thankfully as they cooled, they shrunk back down. But I would describe them as "bird-like" since the bacon slices resembled wings. They tasted good. And they were easy to make. It just turned out to be an odd presentation. The best part? My girls actually made them as part of treating me for Mother's Day. 

#3: I ate like a pig and woke up this morning determined to get back into my exercise routine. (That motivation was later followed by my consumption of 5 remaining Snickerdoodle cookies.) *blushing*

#4: That bud vase is a recycled capers jar. LOVE collecting these as bud vases.
#5: That "surprise" breakfast was ruined a bit when I came walking out to the kitchen in a panic that no one was up and we were running late for church. Jason shooed me away and I hopped back in bed until I was told to come out. oops!!

family | Happy 13th Birthday Ema

My middle daughter, Emalyn Anne...
turned 13 this past Friday.
thirTEEN...*sigh*

Where did the time go...seriously?
I remember like it was yesterday...

My ongoing efforts to convince this serious tomboy what a beautiful GIRL she was/is...

and how her silliness and laughter would warm my heart and light up any room...

She's still serious...a very deep thinker...
and she's still got the silliness and the most beautiful smile in the world.

So what did my cheesecake loving daughter request for her birthday dessert this year?
Fruit. Salad.
*sigh*

Don't get me wrong...
I'm thrilled she actually asked for something healthy.
The creative side of me was frozen though...
No baking?
What was I to do?

I enlisted the help of my awesome Facebook Fans...
and after some wonderful feedback...
I decided on creating this...

A "Fruit Cake"...









Using a watermelon as the "base" of the cake...
I then used pineapple, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples, strawberries and kiwi for the cake decor...

She had no idea what I had created...
So right before we brought it out with the candles lit...
I said, "I know you asked for fruit salad but I just HAD to make you a cake"...
(She of course rolled her eyes and was a bit disappointed at my announcement)
AND THEN...
She was pleasantly surprised to see I really did listen to her request...
And she thought it was SO awesome...
she's thinking of asking for one EVERY year! *wink*

Happy 13th Birthday my sweet, sweet Em!

KEEPiNG iT REAL

The toughest part about making the "fruit" cake was cutting the rind off of the watermelon...

and carving it into a round "cake"

But once that was done...

It all came together rather quickly.

And it was surprisingly satisfying...

I quite enjoyed it!!

Oh...

just in case you didn't know...

the two images at the beginning of the post...

those are scrapbooking layouts I did years ago -

back when I was all-things-scrapbooking.

(That's for an entirely different post). *wink*

Ema continues to beg me to start back up...

She loves looking through the albums.

That's one of the reasons I decided to include the layouts in today's post...

Family | Happy 3rd Birthday Ella

It was Ella's birthday yesterday...

my baby turned three. *sigh*

Aside from a homemade chocolate chip cake (her request)

breakfast in bed...

picking up some birthday balloons...

eating her favorite dinner (spaghetti)...

a birthday photoshoot...
and celebrating with grandma and grandpa...

We kept things pretty simple. *wink*
(the birthday party with her little friends isn't until later)

Happy Birthday Ella Pie!!

KEEPiNG iT REAL

I have no idea where the chocolate chip cake request came from?

Sunday night she'd decided on strawberry cake...(even though I was trying to push carrot cake) *wink*

and then...

Monday morning she decided to change up the cake??

I scrambled for a good recipe - ended up just using my fave white cake...adding chocolate chips...

and then adding chocolate chips to my fave cream cheese frosting recipe.

YUM!!

Best part is...

she helped me bake it.

(That is, until she got in trouble for continuing to eat the chocolate chips). *wink*

A HUGE thank you to Grandma A for making homemade spaghetti sauce!!

It. was. YUM!!

Oh...and she was pretty excited about getting her very 1st bike...

along with a Hello Kitty helmet and sunglasses!

Thanks Dad!!

find | Halloween Handsoap

Just wanted to share a little something fun...
before we all officially begin our weekend...

Adorable "Glow in the Dark" Bottles of Halloween Handsoap...

J picked these up from the grocery store last weekend and brought them home as a surprise...

(if you didn't know this, he does all of the grocery shopping every Saturday - his request believe it or not).

These are SO fun...
and such a SUPER easy, no-fuss way to add some Halloween decor around the house.
(and the bottles REALLY do glow in the dark - I tested them immediately) *wink*
If you are looking for A LOT of "glow"...the ghost version is the one you want.

Here's to a wonderful weekend everyone!!

KEEPiNG iT REAL

Two silly admissions...

FIRST ADMISSION

I've tortured my kids, (mainly Ella), by not letting anyone use the Halloween Handsoaps until October 1st. 

(We have to AT LEAST be in the same month of the holiday, right?)

SECOND ADMISSION

I'm looking forward to tackling a lot of projects while J and Ella are in Illinois. (Saturday thru Tuesday)

But the reality of missing them has been tugging at my heartstrings all week...

I've never been without my sweet Ella.

I cried myself to sleep lastnight...

I'm SUCH a baby. *wink*

life | fantastic weekend

This past weekend couldn't have turned out any better...
it was the perfect combination of productive AND relaxing:

• Quality time at home baking my favorite chocolate chip cookies...
(okay...actually it was J who was baking them as I was instructing him on the how-to). *wink*

• Lots of design work...
• A couple of movies...
• A photo shoot of the Popcorn Bar I had initially attempted at the Family Reunion the weekend before.

I LOVE the results.
I can only share a little peek because the photos are being used in an upcoming publication...
but I just HAD to share a couple...

Don't those popcorn balls look adorable on The Pastry Pedestal™!?

I'm pretty sure I squeal out loud every time I try something new with them.

Yes...I get excited over the silliest things I guess.

Like yesterday...after everything was set-up for the photoshoot...

I stepped back to take a final look before grabbing the camera...

and...

well...

I squealed outloud because it was SO cute!

I hope you find something, do something, or create something today...

that makes YOU squeal outloud with pure giddiness!!

Winning the Modern Frills giveaway should make one of you squeal outloud...

so don't forget to enter to win before Thursday!!

Here's to a fantastic week filled with lots of squeals for us all! *wink*

KEEPiNG iT REAL

Even though I waited until the end of the day to do the photo shoot...

it was still like being in a convection oven outside.

By the time it was all said and done...

I felt sick to my stomach - face beet red...maybe a little heat exhaustion?!

(But it REALLY was worth it). *wink*

AND...I could NOT have done ANY of the things I mentioned

this weekend without the tremendous help and support from J!!! xo

nothin' but family (and a little bit of popcorn)

Our family reunion officially ended yesterday...
Three days of nothin' but family!! (50+ of us)
No computer, facebook, twitter...
(I actually shutdown my computer and unplugged it from the wall - it was quite liberating) *wink*

Beach on friday...
Dinner friday night...
Canoe trip saturday...
Swimming and family slideshow Saturday night...
BBQ and family photos Sunday...

And let me tell you...
It went by way. too. fast.

Slowly getting back into the swing of things this morning...
here at home and in the studio.
I'm looking forward to looking through all of the photos and video I took from the weekend.

Today, I want to share with you a glimpse into one aspect of the popcorn bar I put together...
for us to enjoy during the family slideshow I created...

Popcorn Balls for the kids from Kernel Encore - displayed on The Pastry Pedestal™

life | it's all about family

This week I will be consumed with preparations for our upcoming Family Reunion this weekend.
I am SO very excited to spend time with people I adore, miss and love dearly!!

My life over the past two months has been filled with a lot of this:


Boxes and boxes of photos to sort through and a dining table FiLLED to the hilt with memories captured on film



I was volunteered to put together the slideshow for our family reunion this year...
It's been quite a daunting task - let me tell you.
It's been inspiring as well...
The memories and emotions conjured up as I've sifted through a 1000+  photos...
well it's been overwhelming...
and inspiring at the same time.


Downloading...
Photo Editing...
Putting things in chronological order...
Scanning...(thanks Mom)
Cropping...
and more of the same.

Of course while we are enjoying our Family Reunion "Night at the Movies" on Saturday...
I immediately I wanted to put something special together for everyone.

Thus...a peek at the makings of the Popcorn Bar I volunteered to do...



I will do my best to check in this week...
keeping you in the loop on the progress of things.
(but there are no guarantees).

I'm still busy with orders from the shoppe
as well as The Pastry Pedestal on top of all of this.
Wish me luck...*wink*

Here's to a wonderful week ahead everyone!
(and yes...I still have some parties waiting to be shared)...


KEEPiNG iT REAL
If I wasn't such a perfectionist...
and a people pleaser...
my life would be much more simple.
But you know what...
that's who I am...*wink*
Somehow I'm going to learn to embrace the chaos this week...
I hope my own family will be as willing to embrace it! *double wink*

coming up | real parties "marathon"

I'm working hard on putting together a plethora of "Real Party" features that have been submitted to me.
You are going to LOVE them all.
I can't wait to share them with you.

Since there are so many, I've decided to do a "marathon of Real Parties" starting Monday of next week.

I thought I'd give you a sneak peek of just four of the completely different parties you can expect to be inspired by...

I hope you all are enjoying your summer.
It's been a real scorcher here in Florida.
I'm really trying to take advantage of the extra time with my girls.
Clara is gone this week at a church retreat just for teens...
Then both Clara and Ema will be gone all of next week for a church girls camp.
The time is flying by too quickly!
I'm trying to make every moment count - how about you?!

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Not only is design work and The Pastry Pedestal™ keeping me busy...
I've got a family reunion coming up at the end of this month that I'm very excited about!
I've been put in charge of putting a family photo slideshow together...BIG undertaking with such a large family.
Photos dating back from the early 40's to present day. Yikes!!

life | father's day 2011

The zoo...
That's what we ended up doing for Father's Day this year...

It's something J has been wanting to do for some time now with Ella...
So it worked out good for the both of them.

Although it was a smaller zoo...
with Ella only being 2 1/2 years old...
there were plenty of things Ella had never seen before.
And J ate up the experience of being the first to share them with her.

I hope you all enjoyed celebrating Father's Day...

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Things have been so incredibly busy...
I keep wondering if I'm ever going to have a minute to get back to my regular routine of consistent blogging.
It's driving me nuts not being able to share so many things I'm just dyin' to post about.
Just breathe!! *wink*

All of you fabulous party people who have submitted parties to me...
they are coming...
I promise!!

How about you?
Is your summer relaxed or crazy-busy?

coming up | an entire list of things

Goodness.
Summer is here.
School is out.
Orders are keeping me busy.
And so is the hustle and bustle of normal life.

Today I'm attending yet another funeral (this time for a long-time family friend of my grandfather's)...
Finally mailing out all of the prizes for the Father's Day giveaway...
Helping a neighbor finalize a program and slideshow for the one-year memorial service of her husband's tragic death...
Gathering the final details of the 4th of July ideas I've been working on...

Photographing the European magazine I was recently published in so I can share/post it here... *pinch me*

Crossing off "promise ME" goals (and wishing I had time to update them here on the blog). *wink*

Preparing some super-fun party posts that have been sent in by some fabulous customers/fans...

and so much more...

I'm excited about summer...
I love summer.
I love being outside.
And I love the extra time I have to spend with my older girls with them now being out of school.

Here's something else I'm extremely excited about and haven't been able to REALLY make mention of like I want to...

There's been a tremendous response to The Pastry Pedestal™!
I can't thank you enough for:
• spreading the word
• placing your orders
• sharing your creative photos with me as to how you are using them....

(photo source: Glamorous Sweet Events) 

(photo source: The Sweet Talk Shop) 

(photo source: The Party Wagon)

and most importantly...

for being genuinely excited and enthusiastic about something I've invented!
It's a feeling I can't describe and it truly means the world to me!

I've been having fun getting creative with them too using the new Bridal Collection from David Tutera...

That's all I have time to squeeze in today...
Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!!

Here's to keeping our "to-do" lists in perspective...
and focusing on what really matters!

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Blogging is absolutely one of my very favorite things to do.
For me, I want each post to be heartfelt and certainly inspirational.
As of late, I've really been feeling a sense of loss, so-to-speak,
since life (and so many things out of my control)...
have seemed to be trying to take over every second of my day;
which has filtered over into my designated time for blogging.

Ella has been crawling out of her crib for a couple of months now...
waking up at 6 a.m.
The two naps a day is long gone...
and I'm lucky if she actually takes the one nap I insist she still needs.

There's definitely been a shift in the nice little schedule I had going for awhile.
Struggling to come up with something different that still feels productive.
Hmmm??? *wink*

home | one of life's little pleasures

Did you know I have a peach tree in my yard?
(If you saw the peach crisp I made for Memorial Day than you already knew that).

I know nothing about fruit trees.
I never even knew peach trees grew here in Florida.
The tree was here when we bought the house a little over a year ago.
And it was a pretty small tree at the time.
But the idea of it producing fruit sounded pretty cool.

Admittedly...I'm completely ignorant as to how to properly care for them - Martha would be so disappointed. *wink*
Despite my ignorance though...
and without any special doing on my part...
Nature took things into it's own hands...
and gave me my first sample of a homegrown peach last year.
We were excited to have the tree produce a handful of delicious peaches.


Completely different story this year.
With the tree having tripled in size...
I'm guessing our "crop" consisted of 50+ delicious...
beautiful...
homegrown peaches.
(Even though I STiLL had not done a single thing to the tree).
They were SO very good.
And there was SUCH an abundance of them.
There were so many in fact...
we were offering them up to neighbors and giving them to anyone who would take them.

And now...
Well, now I'm sad.
I guess the peach season has ended because there's not a single peach left in sight. *sniffle*

But I've got the pictures to prove they really did exist.
And I feel SO extraordinarily lucky to have the good fortune...
of having one of life's little pleasures growing right here in my own yard.
I can only imagine what next year's crop will hold for us.
I'd better start collecting some delicious recipes now...*wink*


Don't forget the Father's Day giveaway ends today!!
I'll be picking FOUR winners...
Each winner will receive one of Compendium's fabulous inspirational Father's Day gifts to give to that special someone in your life.



KEEPiNG iT REAL
With Ella at 2 1/2 years old now, it's nearly impossible to get ANYTHiNG work-related done these days.
One nap a day just isn't enough time to put a dent into my "to-do" list.
Mixed emotions have settled in though...
We received news that she's been accepted into the preschool we were hoping for...
starting in the Fall.
I'm completely excited for HER.
She'll make some new little friends...
and have some real educational structure.
I'm excited for ME to have some extra free-time 3 days a week to
stay on top of my design work and projects.
However...
I know all too well how quickly children grow.
(It was just yesterday my 15 year old and 12 year old were born).
Knowing she'll be starting school means the start of an entirely new phase in our lives...
her life...
my life...
and sadly...
the ending of the sweet time I've enjoyed having her home with me everyday. *sniffle*

life | a painful reminder...

My thoughts today are with a childhood friend of mine...

Her mother lost her battle to pancreatic cancer early yesterday morning.

The news brings a rush of emotions...

Remembering when my sweet grandmother lost her battle with the same devastating disease...

Remembering the same friend supporting me when my grandfather, my hero, passed away.

Remembering my friend's mom - a genuinely sweet, kind person with amazing creative talents.

Thinking of my friend's children and their loss of someone who I know was a wonderful grandmother.

And of course, thinking of my own mom...

whom I'm fortunate enough to have living close by and who's enjoying good health.

There will be even more emotions tomorrow when I attend the service...

Knowing the loss and heartache my friend is feeling/facing...

Being in the same funeral home both of my grandparents' services were held in...

Being surrounded by a sea of friends I haven't seen in a very long time.

I intentionally went out this morning and cut these roses that have been waiting on me for a couple of days.

I liken them to life...

and ultimately the people we share life with.

We're only here for a moment.

And although we are gorgeous individually...

Collectively, we're a beautiful bouquet.

I believe death is life's painful reminder to live...

Thinking of you Missy...

Will miss you SO very much Peggy.

family | happy birthday claracakes

Clara celebrated her 15th birthday over the weekend...

At her request...
no fanfare.
Just a simple pool party...
with her best friend Brittany...
her favorite cousin Kalie...
and her family.
Along with a request for an oreo cheesecake for her birthday cake...

I made mini oreo cheesecakes on Saturday... 

I still managed to find a way to sneak in a little bit of party decor by creating a pretty place for the cupcakes.

(I dressed up a styrofoam block with wrapping paper, ribbon and a tissue paper flower.

I then used my adorable cupcake stand to create a focal point.)*wink*

Sunday night we had her birthday dinner request: Hearty Bacon Potato Chowder.

My mom and stepdad showed up with this....

an absolutely delicious oreo cheesecake my mom made...YUM!!

It was a weekend filled with a lot of family time...

something I definitely enjoyed...

and needed!

Happy 15th Birthday Clara!

Love you to pieces!!

Stay tuned for that Father's Day giveaway I mentioned last week!

It's going to be great!!

KEEPiNG iT REAL

As you might imagine...

I'm disappointed Clara no longer wants "themed" parties and would rather keep things simple.

At the same time...

I'm okay with it too. (knowing I can still full focus on Ella for a long time - and possibly squeeze a few more out of Ema). *wink*

I enjoyed taking her for her annual birthday pedicure on Saturday morning.

And as you can see...I can still sneak in a little bit of creativity...

leaving BOTH her and I content with the overall results! *wink*

life | in search of...

I have found myself searching lately...
for a number of wildly different things...

the perfect macaron, for instance.

more time for crafting things like this...

(photo source: iloveswmag.com)


the perfect packaging for these...



more time for "taking time" to smell the roses around the house.
(I included a dice to show you how GI-normous these blooms are)



more baking, crafting and quality time with this peanut butter-faced little girl...



not to mention less t.v. time for Ella and a pre-school for her too...



and finally...
the answers to the heart-string tugging questions these girls posed to me lastnight at the dinner table...*sigh*

What things are you in search of lately?

What's tugging at your heart strings?

I'm looking forward to finding the answers to some of these things very soon.

I'm also content knowing that a lot of what I'm searching for has everything to do with balance...(that ever-elusive thing I'm constantly in search of).

It's all about prioritizing, right?

Happy Monday everyone!

We've got a full week to "make things happen"!!

Let's go...

KEEPiNG iT REAL

Clara and Ema's heart-string tugging questions?

• "Why do you have to work so much? Can't you close your shoppe on Saturdays?"

• "When can we go off for an entire day...just us girls...and do something FUN together. (without your camera).

• "We just want to have fun and be crazy together...what happened to the FUN Jessica from your description of your high school days?" 

I sincerely appreciate the fact that my girls are taking time to express themselves.

I also appreciate that they genuinely crave more quality time together.

I can tell you I immediately got really defensive to their questions...

feeling unappreciated for all that I do.

feeling like they just don't get it. (and I don't expect them to at their age).

feeling like they don't accept me for who I am as an indivdual with the whole "without your camera" comment - my feelings were hurt.

and then obviously feeling like a failure. *sigh*

And then later the sense of "panic" set in.

I don't want any regrets.

I don't want to "wish" I'd spent more time with them.

I don't want to "wish" we had a closer relationship...etc., etc.

And now the "reassessment" stage.

Analyzing what I need to do different.

Realizing it's an exceptionally busy time right now with the upcoming Pastry Pedestal launch...and being okay with that.
Knowing prior to the conversation, I'd already cut back to only doing four custom designs per month until the end of summer - hoping this will alleviate some of my work load.

Considering the solutions to make things better - for everyone.

Anyone out there have a book with all of the answers?

Send me the link on amazon.com quick! I need it. *wink*