Happy birthday princess!

This weekend we celebrated our princess' 4th birthday. At her request, she had a castle cake and an ocean theme.

I have a lot of respect for cake chefs... I worked my butt off but the cake was a disaster! I used this fondant recipe and this buttermilk frosting. It turned out delicious and I got lots of compliments on the taste, but all I could see were the mistakes I made.

But all that matters in the end is that she loved it.

He's quite a catch

Another reason why I love my husband:

He made me strawberry cheesecake for my birthday!

What about you? What are some reasons you love your S.O.?

Birthday party }{ Mini tutorial

She's 3. I can't believe it, but she's 3 years old. Oh my.

This weekend we had her birthday party, and in her request the theme was cherry blossoms (sakura), the official flower of Japan.

Between my husband and I, we did all the decorations, food and drinks, party favors, etc. We did rent a bounce house for the little ones. We had quite a few of her friends over, and they all seemed to thouroughly enjoy their time over.

Unfortunately I don't have many good pictures, since I was too busy running around. I managed to get a picture of the cake and of her blowing the candle. (by the way, my husband made that cake....)

And here's a mini-tutorial for the cherry blossoms vase:

1. Using upcycled glass bottles and jars, I spray painted them using the palette of the birthday theme (white, pink, lilac). I got this idea from Creative Jewish Mom.
2. I bought some twigs and dried branches at the local Joann.
3. Using pink tissue paper, I cut a bunch of circles. Adding a little glue in the middle, I scrunched the tissue into a sort of cone, bringing all the edges together.
4. I glued two or three flowers into each twig and put them in the vases.

That's it! Super easy and cute. They're actually still up in our bookcases, and I think I might leave them up for a while.

Does your husband have a secret talent? How did you find out about it?

Mini drawstring bags

We had such an eventful weekend over here. It was my husband's birthday and he was home, so we celebrated it with a small party. It was so much fun - friends, good food, and lots of playing. I made some shrimp dip for the crackers, and chocolate cake with brigadeiro frosting and raspberry preserves for the filling.

We also had further proof that our little one is quite the sensitive child - we went to a live entertainment show and she was terrified of the dark lights and loud speakers.

I've also been continuing to work on things for the shop. I finished making some mini drawstring bags, complete with crochet flowers attached. I know some of you were wondering what I'm planning to sell. Well, to be honest, a bit of everything just like on the blog. I just like all the different crafts too much! So,  the shop will have small items of sewing, photography, watercolor, drawing/sketching, crochet and knitting... It's a hodge podge of crafts.

It's been such a busy month already and it will only get busier. I say, bring on the challenges, summer. I love it!

How has your summer been so far?