~the best pound cake you'll ever have~

You want to know one of my favorite words?

Brunch.

I love it.

It's such a happy word.

Say it out loud.

Brunch.

 

My girlfriends and I take turns each month

hosting a brunch. It's something I look

forward to each month. A perfect excuse

to get out and do nothing but eat, drink and

be merry with some of my favorite gal pals.

We can talk and talk and talk and talk.

Let's just say we can put

"Hot Topics" on The View to shame! 

Lynsie had brunch at her house this month

and made the MOST delicious pound cake.

I have to share the recipe.

Trust me.....you will thank me later.

Recipe for Pound Cake

1 Cup butter

1/2 cup shortening 

3 Cups Sugar

-Cream the butter, shortening and sugar together.

Add

5 eggs (1 at a time)

3 Cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 Cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

Beat until smooth.

Grease and flour bundt pan and pour

your batter into it. Bake at 300 degrees for 

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.

Top with strawberries and whipped cream

or NOTHING AT ALL!

Your mouth with thank you.

Your thighs and butt will NOT!

~Raw Couture-fashion show~

If you live in the Salt Lake area and love fashion,

check out Raw Couture.

SLCC Fashion Institute's annual fashion show

and it's TONIGHT!

It's always fun to see what the young, up and coming

designers will showcase each year. 

It seems like just yesterday that I was a student, 

featuring designs in the fashion show.

I should dig out my pictures, scan them and 

post them on here. Those were the days

before everything was digital.

It's come a long way since then.

This years theme is "Speed-Fashions That Move You" .

Tickets are $25 (cheaper if you have a student I.D.)

You can purchase them here.

~DIY bridal shower gifts~

 Need a good idea for a bridal shower or wedding gift?

I made all this for my cousin's bridal shower for $25.

Some of the supplies I had on hand, which is why 

it was so cheap but even if you had to purchase them,

it would still be inexpensive. 

The theme of the bridal shower was

"let's help them fill the rooms of their house"

My room assignment was the living room.

I browsed thru their online registry at Target and Walmart

to give myself an idea of what their decorating colors 

and style will be. 

They are registered for shelves so I decided to 

give them things they could decorate their shelves with.

This is what I came up with:

 Photos printed onto tissue paper and mod-podged onto

canvas. SO EASY! I used some of their engagement pics.

If you want to learn how to do this check out the

tutorial at Sarah's Never-Ending Projects.

(click here to be directed to tutorial)

This one is a 5x7. I used the flat canvas because I wanted

to frame them. You can also use the wrapped canvas frames

if you prefer. The flat ones are cheaper. I got a

package of three for $3 at Michael's.

 This one is 11x14.

I was worried at first when my tissue paper wasn't

going on smooth but in the end I like the way it 

looks being a little wrinkled.

 Initially I tried to do it with red tissue paper

because I didn't have any plain white and I didn't 

want to go buy any but it didn't look good on the 

bigger canvas's. So-with the red picture I had already printed,

I mod-podged onto a wooden "N" I got at

Michael's for $1.50. It looks better in real life.

The photo is very subtle and the red gives it a 

a nice pop of color.

 Another shot of the items they can put on their shelves.

I got the ivy plant at Walmart and put it in a small red

mug so it will fit on a small shelf. I paid $4.50 for the

plant and the mug combined. Also-the subway

art was purchased as Walmart for $3.50.

I almost didn't give it to her because I want

to keep it for my house. Maybe I'll go back and get one.

 This throw pillow was made with fabric scraps

I had on hand. To get the "N" monogrammed on the

pillow I used tape to mark off an "N" and then

lightly spray painted the fabric. Once the paint

was dry I pulled the tape off and voila...

I had an "N". I was going to use piping for

the edges but didn't want to go back to the 

store to get any so I just used red fabric I had

here to make a ruffled edge.

 I like to give newlywed couples

an ornament for their first Christmas.

That's what was in this package:

The package is an empty container of baby snack puffs

wrapped in tissue paper and ribbon.

I put some tissue paper in it and nestled the 

ornament right in the middle of it.

It was PERFECT!

Again, I used one of their engagement photos

to fill the bulb, some feathers and a saying about love. 

I had all these on hand.

If you want more info about making the

ornaments, you can click here . 

I was so happy with how everything turned out and I think

she did too. If you like the look of pictures

on canvas but don't want to spend a ton of

money doing it, this is the way to go!

I'm going to do some for my house next.

I can't wait!

linking up with kojo designs

~wonder mom~

 

Are you laughing as hard as I am?

 

~good mascara~

Most women have a make-up item they

CANNOT live without.

Mine is mascara.

And let me tell ya....

I've tried a lot of them out there. 

Mascara is tricky for me because

 it needs to go on thick,

last all day and not smudge under my

eyes. That last part is a bit tricky because

I have to wear lots of concealer nowadays

to cover up those gawd-awful bags

under my eyes. 

Here's my current mascara:

 benefit's

"they're Real!"

Goes on thick.

Stays on all day.

The end of the applicator took some getting 

used to for me. The first couple times I used it

I poked myself in the eye....

that resulted in a great raccoon look!

I have had problems with it smudging

but it doesn't happen each time.

Weird.

It DOESN'T smudge more often

than it DOES smudge....if that 

accounts for anything???

It will cost you about $25.

A price I'm willing to pay if it 

does all I need it to do and wears

throughout the day with no smudging. 

Next I'm going to try DIOR mascara.

I've heard that's good.

Have any of you tried it?

What is your favorite mascara?

(and if you tell me the $6 Maybeline Great Lash

I'm going to scream-I've tried it and it

doesn't work for me. It seems to be a 

favorite for a lot of women.) 

By the way.....

I always keep this mascara as a back up:

 Mary Kay's

"Lash Love"

It's in the $12 range and actually

works so good that I don't know why

I keep trying new mascaras. 

What's in your make-up bag?

And if you believed my statement about mascara

being the one make-up item I can't live without,

you give me too much credit.

In reality.....

...THIS is all the stuff I can't live without :)

 Ok-not really but sort of.

 

~featured~

Remember The Birthday Blog I was telling

you about last week?

Check it out......

She featured my pirate party (click here)

and cupcake toppers (click here).

If you have a birthday party in the near future

and need some ideas-check out this blog.

Thank you Stacy for featuring me!

I love your blog!

 

~baby shower brunch~

Last Saturday I had a little get-together 

for a good friend who's 

pregnant with her 2nd baby.

Because it's her 2nd baby and another boy,

she didn't want another baby shower.

However, I was able to talk her into an

intimate little brunch, celebrating her 

and her soon to arrive baby :)

At first I was thinking I would do fancy and

pretty. I had all sorts of great ideas but as

the time got closer, I decided to go with

a bright, cheery and youthful decor instead.

 A good friend of ours made these cute place
setting cards with her new Silhouette machine....
JEALOUS! Aren't they adorable?
I made the holder with a couple blocks
from my kids' toy stash. I just glued them together
and attached a clothes pin to the back with
a dab of hot glue.

 I made these jars filled with goodies 
for each lady to take home with her. 
A small mason jar adorned with fabric scraps
and a baby's safety pin. I found the 
cute safety pins at the dollar store.
They were filled with brownie bites and 
chocolate dipped macaroons. 

 I used all my plain white plates for the
settings and I realized once I got the table
set up that I didn't have any more for the 
3-tiered tray I was going to put the food on.
I had to do a little improv....
I took some colored tissue paper I had on 
hand and covered the plates (that didn't match)
before placing the food on them. It ended up 
looking alright once I got the food on the trays.

I can't believe I forgot to take pics of the food!
I served quiche, hash-brown casserole, croissants,
carrot cake-cream cheese filled muffins and fruit. 

For the table decorations I used bright colored
toys from my kids :) cheap and easy. 

 

I made these fabric scrap covered styrofoam balls

and attached them to a dowel to put in with 

the flowers. I liked the simplistic statement 

they made incorporated with the white tulips. 

 I used my plain white table ware for the settings

and topped each plate off with an individual little 

fruit cup. I used fabric scraps I had on hand

for ALL of these things.

 I got this book and had each guest sign it
with a personalized message. LOVED this idea
instead of signing a guest book.

 

For the finishing touches on the window behind

the table I put these ADORABLE medallions

made by my friend and her famous 

Silhouette machine. Have I mentioned how

badly I want to get my hands on one of them? 

 To make the bunting strung across the window,
I went to the dollar store and got a colorful kids book.
The book was Dumbo. I used
the pages to make the bunting and I didn't feel
so badly about ripping up a perfectly good book
because it was only a dollar. The illustrations
and colors were exactly what I had in mind 
when I envisioned the project initially.

 It ended up being exactly what we
intended when we planned it.....
small, intimate, laid back and celebratory. 
We missed you ladies who couldn't be with us
(you know who you are).
Megan-thank you so much for your help with 
the decorations.....they were PERFECT!

Congrats Adrianne and Dom!
We can't wait to meet the little fella. 

Linking up with Kojo Designs
and
Positively Splendid