Garden Party

Jordan taught me that if you're looking for pretty party ideas, wedding magazines are one of the best resources. She's brilliant like that. In the current issue of Wedding Style Guide there is a story on a Garden Party Bridal Shower that made my heart go pitty pat. I'd love to throw the same party — not as a bridal shower — but just as an excuse for the ladies to lunch.




I love the tagged canning jars ready to host fresh flowers that the guests arrange themselves. I love the hearty sandwiches served on sheets of brown paper. Lots of lovely details. Bonus: you can even get free downloads for the party stationery — invitations, hang tags and signs — so that you can throw a party just as pretty as theirs.

And if you're not subscribing to this Australia-based magazine, you might want to do so. Wedding Style Guide is a treasure. Full of gorgeous photography and brilliant party and entertaining ideas.

Moxie Kids

The Moxie Iris Dress by Ses Petites Mains. 18 mos. to 8 years. Available only at Moxie Kids. Perfection.

Goodies from Beehive Bazaar

Knowing how bummed out I was about missing another Beehive Bazaar, the lovely organizers sent me a box filled with goodies so I could experience some of the BB wonder here in New York. Lucky me!

Beautiful and functional (my favorite combo), hand-painted garden tools. The cutest little reversible apron you ever did see. And a cheery wool-sphere necklace — that I have been totally coveting. The package absolutely made my day. Thank you Steph and Molly and Noelle!

Man Stationery

The best thing about today is that it's one day away from Ben getting home. He's been on a business trip since Monday night and I've been trying to pace my Motherhood Patience so that I'm not completely worn out before he gets back. But alas, my patience is running on fumes today and I've been offering up incessant prayers that my children be especially charming today so that my only desire is to hug and kiss them and buy them yellow balloons.

Because my mind is on manly Ben, I remembered this fantastic line of stationery I spotted on kirtsy. They're called Man Notes and you can find them (and their silly names) on Pretty Bitter.

Ask Design Mom Week Starts Monday!

Do you remember the last Ask Design Mom Week? Well it's awesome. And it's back. And it starts on Monday.

Here's the story: every so often I realize I have become a serious slacker about answering Ask-Design-Mom Questions. So. I take a week and post as many as I can. Then I answer some. And you, the clever reader, answer some as well.

A new twist for next week: I'm hosting 5 different excellent Giveaways — one a day, Monday through Friday — to thank you for your help in answering all those worthy questions. So meet me here on Monday for good questions, good ideas and good prizes. I can't wait!

More Refurbished Plate 411

I've received a few emails asking for more information on the plates I posted about last Friday — the plates we made at the Method Party. And happily, I've rounded up a few great photos so you can get a better idea of how it works. By the way, the photo at the top is from Danny Seo's home. He made a whole series of plates and displayed them in his workshop — aren't they fabulous? And don't you want to move right in to his workshop?

Here's how you can make a wall of plates for yourself:


Come up with a silhouette. You can draw it from scratch or trace an existing one. Or maybe just do a bunch of circles or stars. Whatever you envision, it needs to be outlined on a sheet of computer sticker paper.


Cut out the silhouette.


Pull off the adhesive backing and place the sticker on your plate. We used old plates that had been picked up at Salvation Army. A great way to reuse!


Choose a color (I still can't remember the name of the paint. Anyone else?), and cover the entire plate surface with paint. You may need a few coats to achieve the color and coverage you're looking for.


When the paint is dry, use a pair of scissors to carefully tug/scrape the sticker away from the surrounding paint toward the center of the sticker. You will want to work carefully or the paint edges can come up. Don't panic if they do — you can touch them up with a small paint brush.


When the sticker is removed, bake the plate at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. (No word yet on how durable this ultimately makes the plate.)

And that's it. Now. Why not host a plate party and make your own collection? Like the idea, but not up for making your own? Check out the work of Sarah Chiat. Refurbished plates with all sorts of good-looking, sometimes edgy silhouettes.

One last note about the party. We were lucky enough to be joined by Amanda from Goody Blog. She is darling and friendly and I loved the post she wrote up about the event. Many of these great photos were taken by her — thanks Amanda!

Emma & Avery

If you have a wedding or other special event this summer and you need something just right for your daughter to wear, find a dozen drool worthy options at Emma & Avery.

Emma & Avery is also perfect for anyone with a daughter that insists on dressing like European royalty.

Porridge Home

Fun to see that Porridge is expanding their great clothing line to include bedding! Looks gorgeous.

Random Links

Since the power in my neighborhood has been randomly turning off on this completely storm-less day, I will embrace the randomness and give a list of unrelated, but interesting links that have been on my mind.



Sugar City Journal
An excellent blog. Written by two sister-in-laws on the opposites sides of the country. Very inspiring. Lots of ideas and projects — like the pretty detailing on these stairs.

Xerpi
This is a site to organize all your favorites sites. It's like bookmarking on steroids. With the ability to do things like visually group related links and add notes. I've been using del.icio.us for my bookmarks for the last 18 months or so. I use it to keep track of sites I've posted about and sites I want to post about. But I'm thinking about switching to Xerpi. It looks like it has a ton more features to help me track things more efficiently.



White Trash Mom Handbook
Don't you love it when one of our own (bloggers, I mean) makes good? Hooray for Michelle of the infamous White Trash Mom blog, who just had her first book published! It's filled with lots of funny anecdotes and practical advice on not letting the pretentious aspects of Modern Parenting get you down.



Tollipop
Another fantastic blog by a talented and interesting illustrator.

$1 Summer Movies
AMC is hosting dollar shows all summer long to benefit charity. Lots of recent kid hits like Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, Alvin & The Chipmunks and Shrek The Third. I love matinee movies in the summer! You can't beat an air conditioned spot and a box of milk duds when getting to the pool sounds like too much work.



Memorial Day Quilt
Look at this beautiful quilt Scribbit posted about. Made by friends to commemorate the death of her young nephew. For materials, the friends used sections of his blankets and clothes and pajamas — even including tags occasionally as reminders of his ages and stages. What a gift!

Collapsible Reusable Grocery Bags

Part of being a Mother in 2008 means not being able to meet friends at the park without some discussion, minor or major, about reusable grocery bags. And I'm not even exaggerating at all. Grocery bags are a big topic. Huge.

So of course, my eyes are constantly peeled for the best bags to recommend. And it's true, I've already linked to several different types in previous posts. But today, I'm going to introduce two different versions that focus on the ability-to-become-small as one of their chief aspects.




First Baggu. It's a great website with great photography. So you should probably check it out just for that. The bags are sturdy, generously proportioned (they hold the equivalent of 2-3 grocery bags), they sit flat when they are filled, and they come in great colors.





Next, meet Flip & Tumble. Featuring another smart site with a little video that shows you how fast it is to collapse these bags — easy as balling a pair of socks.

Flip & Tumble bags are so small that it's a cinch to keep one with you all the time. And in a pinch, the ball will double as entertainment for your toddler.

Beaba

In one week, I heard about this little appliance from three of my best sources — leading me to understand the Beaba is one hot little number. All three mentioned that it was French. That is has been all the rage in Europe. And that it's just now available in the US. You know how I get that longing look in my eye for anything Euro-chic. . .

Why all the fuss? Because the Beaba is a multi-tasker. It steams. It blends. It warms. It defrosts. All in the same compartment. And it does it under 15 minutes. Enabling you to make healthy, fresh meals for baby without much trouble or mess.



I'm thinking this will make a perfect baby gift — especially for my friends who've already had a baby and still own all the traditional gear. Especially cute paired with this wholesome baby cookbook.

Laviva Home

Oh my. I'm pretty darn excited about this find — sent in by DM Reader Catherine C. It's called Laviva Home and it's a website started by the talented Laura Aviva who was formerly the Director of Creative Projects at Travel & Leisure. (Sidenote: doesn't that sound like a terrific title? I'm thinking it was probably a hard one to give up.)

She left the magazine about a year ago, and has used her knowledge of world travel to put together "curated, online trunk shows" of really beautiful items from around the world. The first show (the one that's currently on her site) is called "Textile." The next two are tentatively scheduled as "Object" and "Collective."



Laura is both the curator of these trunk shows and owner of the website. Her goal as she puts together the collection is to make sure each item “tells a story, reveals a history, and evokes a sense of place.” The first one features seven different kinds of beautiful textiles from a number of far-flung locales. Items like Turkish hammam towels (I can't guess how absorbent or practical these are, but they are gorgeous and I'm coveting them) and Mexican bedspreads (my sister Jordan has been craving one of these beauties for ages).



The website is simple and easy to peruse. The items are beautiful and reek of quality, purpose and exotic places. I think it would be wonderful to create a home where items like these would fit right in. A really delightful collection to browse and day dream about. I can't wait to see the next trunk show.

Memorial Day Weekend

Is it really truly already Wednesday? This week is going so fast, it's like a pretend week. Before it's done and gone, here's a quick report on our busy, happy weekend.

Friday night was a Father and Daughter Campout. Ben and Maude and Olive drove about an hour North to a lovely little campground at Whaley Lake. Betty will be old enough to join them next year. Campfire, s'mores, tents and canoes. A good time was had by all.

On Saturday, we met Ben and the girls at Benton Brook Farm. Twice a year the Darger Family (Benton Brook's proprietors) hosts pretty much everyone they know at their incredible farm in Massachusetts. It's an all day event with games and food and dancing and loveliness. This year, they added a charming little green tractor which spent hour after hour circling the farm and offering rides to the wee ones. A great day!



The great picture of Oscar at the farm was taken by Laura B. Speaking of Laura, my family didn't do anything formal to mark Memorial Day this year, but I loved reading about what Laura B did with her family.

Growing up, her family would spend this holiday bringing flowers to the graves of loved ones — not necessarily military people — just anyone they wanted to remember. Laura lives far from home now but wanted to give her children some of the same feelings she had on Memorial Day. The solution? Her husband looked up the gravesites of all sorts of famous people buried in the driveable New York area and they spent the day wandering through four different graveyards and leaving flowers in their wake.



Just a few of the graves they visited: Herman Melville, Miles Davis, Joseph Pulitzer, Rachmaninoff, Babe Ruth and Duke Ellington.

Wasn't that a fantastic idea? What a great excuse to get to know some out-of-the-way places. I fully intend to copy this idea next May — if I can wait that long.

Little Architecture

Andrea, a-former-West-Elm-designer-turned-jeweler, sent me the link to her Pico shop. The name of her line, Little Architecture, caught my eye. I checked it out and wasn't disappointed. Beautiful pieces — with clear architectural inspiration. I especially loved the bracelets. (I am all about bracelets these days.)

Apple Shift Dress

I would put Betty in a simple dress every single day of the summer. Like this cute little shift dress from Little Season's etsy shop. Apple-y delicious. A steal at $20.

Zeichen Press

The cards from Zeichen Press are smart and funny. The CD/DVD covers are beautiful. Apparently intelligence and beauty are not mutually exclusive. Letterpressed. Of course.

Winners — Method Cleaning Products

Another great Giveaway from another great sponsor. Congratulations to the 3 big winners:

-Shiloe who said, "This will help me with my belated Spring Cleaning."
-Kathryn who said, "Just even looking at the products makes me excited to see how they could brighten every room of my house!"
-Angela who said, "I luv Method!"

Happy Day to you lucky ladies! And thank you to the generous sponsor, Method Home.

Random Giveaway — Method Cleaning Products

Oh how I love pretty packaging. And pretty packaging of products designed to make your home prettier (and cleaner) are the loveliest of all. If you feel the same way, you'll be delighted to know that this Giveaway is an opportunity for Three Lucky Ladies to win huge, overflowing giftbags from Method Home!!

What's in the bag? I'll tell you. But first I have to tell you about the bag itself. It is awesome. The Method Reusable Market Tote. Silkscreened on the outside. Plain blue on the inside. And the whole things stuffs into its own inside pocket. Making for a tiny little pouch you can keep in your handbag. Plus, it's filled with even more swag than the partygoers received last night. Take a look:


Squeaky Green Book
Reusable Market Tote


Sea Minerals Hand Wash
Cucumber Dish Soap
French Lavender All Surface Cleaner


Lil' Bowl Blue Toilet Cleaner
Omop Wood Floor Care Kit


Method Kid Squeaky Green 3-in-1 Shampoo
Method Kid Squeaky Green Body Wash

Plus coupons. So you can try out more items from their so-much-more-extensive-than-I'd-imagined product line.

That's quite a bag full. If I say so myself. And really, it's yes sir, yes sir, three bags full. Because three of you will win identical enormous Method Goody Bags!! Here's how all the loot looks hanging out on my kitchen table:



These yummy products are bound to make a particularly dreary task bright and happy. Hooray for non-toxic products that are beautiful and smell good! Hooray for shiny clean houses! Happy commenting.

Thank you Method!

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight PST on Monday, May 26th to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced Tuesday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.