happy birthday zuzu!

 If you hadn't caught on by now, zuzu girl handmade was inspired by and named for our darling daughter, Zuzu when she was two and a half years old.  My how time flies.  This weekend we celebrated Zuzu's fourth birthday with several parties.  

On Thursday there was a "school party" which involved only some colorful marshmallow pops and some silly band favors tied up with pretty little tags & bows.  Fairly easy.  

Then there was the "family party" on Saturday which was a lovely gathering of nearly two dozen close friends and family, a pool, sports, lots of yummy bbq food, banners, balloons and presents.  

Lots and lots of presents.

And Sunday, well Sunday was the "nail salon party" chosen by and designed mostly by the birthday girl herself.  Ten four year old girls decorated flip flops, beaded bracelets and necklaces, got their fingers and toes painted, danced and sang to Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus (scary, they know ALL the words!), and yes, ate more marshmallows and cupcakes.  It was a lovely, lovely day.  

I hope you enjoy the photos.  It was a fairly simple affair but the girls will remember it forever.  Or at least until next year.  Here are some of the meager resources we used to pull it off...

gerber daisy headbands & princess wands designed by Zuzu and handmade by zuzu girl 

pipe cleaner rings inspired by Martha and made by Grandma

wooden painted fans by Oriental Trading

bead & flip flop & tote bag project supplies from both Michael's & Jo-Ann's Crafts

marshmallow pops inspired by The Decorated Cookie and made by Mom

mini cupcakes by Sweet Things

craft project suitcases, favor baskets & containers all came from home

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pretty ditty

I've never worn an apron in my life.  And I don't cook which pretty much explains it.  (Well, my kids might tell you otherwise but fortunately their standards are fairly low.  I'm not sure any sane adult has ever witnessed a "real meal" come out of my kitchen... that didn't arrive in a vehicle.)  

Needless to say, I have recently acquired a small obsession with aprons.  Not sure why.  Maybe it's my recent focus on simplifying.  Or my vintage obsession.  Or, maybe both since they seem to be quite one in the same at times.  Doesn't really matter.  But what does is that Pretty Ditty makes some pretty awesome aprons.  You can find them here.  And here.  

Oh.  And she makes pretty dresses too...

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glorious treats

 Now,  we have some pretty fabulous hydrangea bushes in our backyard but I've never seen anything like these cupcakes from Glorious Treats in all my life.  Unreal.  But real.  Or not.  Which is it?

I honestly don't think I'd ever dare attempt to make these myself.  (Is that totally lame?)  But if you would like to you can find complete instructions here.  And then you can send me some.

Thanks must go to Lil Boo & Co. as well for the introduction to Glorious Treats lovely & creative blog.  We are most grateful... and envious!

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feeling inspired.

Working on some inspiration boards. Cause we all need a little inspiring.  And this assortment, my friends, truly inspires me.  Some of these products and artists you've seen here before.  Others you haven't.  

But don't they look oh so lovely tied up neatly together?  

If you'd like to find any of them, this is where you start...

1.dream spun kids 2.fatboy 3.miss mosh 4.rocket and bear 5.wee waldorf 6.nellystella 7.les pom poms de violette 8.goose grease 9.familles summerbelle 10.ivory and moss 11.imagine and make designs 12.jennifer ramos 13.rocket and bear 14.pretty lil things 15.cate and levi 16.joy thigpen

Happy weekend and here's hoping for some warm sunshiny weather to further inspire!

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leah rosenberg

She makes cake.  

She makes art.  

She has impeccable style.  

And she lives in San Francisco.  

My day is now complete.  

Meet artist Leah Rosenberg.  I found her here. 

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spooning

Do you not want to go and make some of these painted spoons for your kitchen RIGHT NOW or what? I just adore the simple whimsy created by Fine Little Day.  Thanks go to say YES! to hoboken for the introduction.  Now I just wish I had few more wooden spoons here. Anyone have some they want to unload?

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i {heart} etsy

Don't have time to sit around looking for the best shops & the most fabulous items out of the hundreds of thousands of talented artists on Etsy? Nah, neither do I... but somehow I do manage to find a few hidden treasures. Or at least hidden to me. So, I figured I'd share. But only because I don't have the money or space to buy them all myself. And they all deserve to be bought. Isn't that generous of me? For links to the shops and items pictured above you'll need to navigate to the favorites section of my Etsy shop here.

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remember when?

 I've been going through a lot of reflection this past year and I often find myself thinking that I just wish things were easier.  Now, if you follow my blog regularly you know that I clearly like "stuff" but sometimes I truly wish it would all just go away.  And life could just be simple again. And then I stop and ponder exactly when it all got so complicated. And why. 

I also want one of these.  And I want to use it.  I want to take the time to look up a number or even memorize one (gasp). And I want to take the time to dial it.  And then I want to take the time to talk.  Like we used to.  Remember when?

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cupcake pops. yup. you read it right.

Stop the presses!  

This post is from April of 2008? And I missed it?

Oh. My. Cupcake. Goodness.

It's a damn good thing I don't have all the ingredients to make these right now or there would be one seriously yummy midnight cupcake party going on here.  Party of one.  But still.  More for me.  Tomorrow, my friends, is another day...

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tea time

 

I am seriously in love with this teapot. But I already have a teapot that I seriously love. It's orange enamelware with a wooden handle.  It's so lovely (and old) that I'm humbly hesitant to use it.  It just sits proudly on the stove top looking pretty.  As it should. Then, when I do have tea, which is all too infrequently to own fancy vintage teapots, I pull out the trusty stainless steel number from the bottom cabinet to boil the water. While the fabulous orange vintage pot watches. To make things even more interesting, only three of the four burners on our stove work. So if I'm making tea, you see, we're down to one.  

You'd think I would have talked myself out of buying this fabulous blue teapot with all this mindless stove top banter now, wouldn't you? Hah! You don't know me all that well at all now do you....

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big fat SALE!!!

You know what they say. (especially in retail!)

Out with the old. In with the new.  

As of today, last season's zuzu girl ribbon headbands are a steal at $6.00 each. 

Same great quality. Once in a lifetime price.  

While supplies last...

zuzu girl handmade

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charming

Zuzu girl.  Oh, and a few charming blooms headbands too.  

And to think, I used to have to bribe her to pose!

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we've been spotted!

As luck would have it, one of our dear friends unintentionally snuck her zuzu girl handmade headband into a Mom magazine photo shoot.  And low and behold the stylist loved it!  Yippee for us!!  

Kalen, on the left, is sporting one of our petite ribbon headbands.  And we couldn't thank her enough for the gesture.  You can pick up your copy of Mom at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders Bookstores today...

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you spin me right round, baby right round...

Loving these cheerful pinwheels at Once Around.  Originally inspired by Martha, the crafty folks at Once Around used two sided paper rather than gluing two different pieces together.  Easy peasy. They are perfect for summer birthday party decorations, jazzing up your child's bedroom for the season or just a simple craft project for the whole family! 

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feeling blue? this one's for you...

Hope you're having a particularly lovely weekend that is not quite blue at all. And thanks to these particularly lovely Etsy shops for their beautiful blue inspirations...

1.1 crown 3 tiaras  2.janish jewels  3.la native

4.la marquise des anges  5.the wheatfield  6.old new again

7.dream spun kids  8.amye123  9.plum pretty sugar

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lemonade & sunshine

These photos from the recent lemonade & sunshine party hosted by pen n' paper flowers are making me a little envious that we're having Zuzu's 4th birthday party at a nail salon. Alas, I'm just going to have to find a way to sweeten up the joint without the proprietor thinking I'm a crazy lady. Which, admittedly, I am.

I love the dainty wildflowers throughout the party, and especially on the back of the sweet metal chairs. I was already planning on doing a little lollipop patch and this one is certainly a lovely inspiration. And I bet you can't guess what Zuzu's all time favorite beverage is... Yup, lemonade. Pink, yellow, strawberry or plain. As long as it is sweet... she's happy!

Thanks must also go to Celebrate Today for the introduction to this lovely party!

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girl friday

So it appears that I've only been posting on Fridays lately.
Well that's not good!
In all fairness, we have been to the pediatrician three times in the last six days and tomorrow will mark the second trip to my doctor. Not much of a summer vacation so far I tell you.

But we did have a lovely Father's Day. That's dear daughter at Father's Day lunch pictured above. She's sporting a new zuzu girl handmade charming blooms headband while sucking down a yummy apple cider. I just couldn't resist the photo op.

In our down time at home, and clearly instead of blogging, we've been watching lots of this...

And I've been doing a little on line shopping here...
(beware, it's almost as addictive as Etsy!)

I ordered the most fabulous Haven Girl sequin dress for Zuzu's birthday party at more than 50% off the original retail. It was still stupid expensive but you only turn 4 once. Right? It looks like this... but (and I mean no disrespect to this lovely model) it will look far cuter on Zuzu...

Sequins are absolutely essential for birthday party #4.
Of that I am convinced!

And so, I say adieu to Thursday.... for tomorrow is Friday yet again.

Here's to a healthier week for us all and a few more blog posts to boot.

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flickr friday

Phew.  What a week!  We finished up the school year here in Northern California this week and it's truly been a whirlwind.  Two days into summer vacation and we've already been to the pediatrician and picked up our first (and hopefully last) batch of antibiotics.  None the less, I'm convinced this is going to be the best summer yet!

These are just a few of the lovely little things that inspired me this week on flickr.  

Credit goes to these fantastic folks:

1. the "cupcookie" by chic cookie kits

2. vintage 1972 Kenner Blythe doll by candy pop

3. gracie girl needle book by bari j

4. butterflies by cassia

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two + two is fabulous

 We have a Melissa & Doug abacus perched on the family room bookshelf that no one has used in years.  It currently serves the purpose of valiant book end and I've always found it too darn cool to pack up with the old toys.  Then today, I saw this.  Now this abacus is cool.  CB2 is marketing it as "wall decor" which it most certainly is but I personally think the product shot does it an injustice.  Now close your eyes and picture this three foot long abacus, low on the wall in a little boy's retro bedroom.  Right next to the Eames replica chair & a set of well loved vintage wooden blocks. Sweet, right?

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it's the little things...

 It took a year but I finally did it.  Two weeks ago I entered our garage on a mission.  I stood tall on a ladder and located the sewing machine that I purchased on sale at Target in April. Of 2009.  I removed it from its now dusty, and still unopened box on the top shelf.  

And I haven't slept since (slight exaggeration).  

Really I've just been playing around a bit, getting to know my new friend and her 100 or so stitches.  I've definitely got some grand ideas. But the hard reality is that I may never accomplish most of them due to lack of time, skill or a combination of both.  But for now I'm proud to share my first two simple projects.  

Meet the dainty bloom coffee cozy.  Go green. Stay cute.  

 And some lovely fabric bracelets for my most stylish & crafty friends.  

I do have to say, I think my glue gun is getting quite jealous.

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