adacky withdrawal

no tv. no internet. just a big ol' lake in the adirondack mountains + the comradery of family and friends. this past weekend the girlies, josh, my bro + his girlfriend briana (who i love!!) , my parents, josh's parents and our favorite friends (chris + gay) headed to blue mountain lake in the adirondacks and stayed at the hedges. it's like a camp for adults. we ate, we drank, we laughed and we paddled kayaks and canoes until our arms were ready to fall off. each time we head there i remind myself how refreshing it is to be immersed in nature during the fall. i'm still thinking about the silvery white birch trees, gigantic waffles with real syrup, and watching the girls' faces when they saw their first real life fox from the front porch of our cabin. hopefully we will go back next year, but until then i'll close my eyes, take a deep breath and picture that beautiful lake in the mountains so pristine and so perfect.

miles of light

i know it is the first day of fall, but i had to give one last shout out to summer with these crisp and intricate photographs by romina bacci. you can see all of her work for sale at her etsy site, miles of light.

via automatism.

please pass the salt and pepper

how cute are these salt and pepper cellars by rae dunn on etsy. love the clever writing on them that give them a graphic edge. so adorable.

via remodelista.

hip hip hooray

have you discovered the fantastical children's party blog, hip hip hooray? what a feast for party planning eyes. if you are in a salty mood, just take a look at the birthday party ideas and you will be lifted into a state of party bliss. memories of roller skating, eating twizzlers and holding the hand of that one special boy came back to me. cupcakes, stripes, bright colors oh my! how delightful. this is a great resource that i will be coming back to again and again.

the pictures above are straight from hip hip hooray and feature an art gallery party for a 9 year old girl. creative. fun. and can you believe all the details. lalalove it!

via design mom.

rock, paper, scissors

photo from domestic construction. oh my goodness! all from paper. how absolutely gorgeous!

watercolor thank you notes

got the idea for r+k to make their own watercolor thank you notes here. bought strathmore watercolor post cards here and then had them go to town with the dollar store watercolor sets. they love to paint and are asking to do it a couple of times a day. why not have them be part of the process and then they feel like they are 'big girls' by making their own thank you notes.

anthology magazine

what??!? a new shelter and lifestyle magazine in print. say it isn't so?!? anthology magazine has hit the market and you can get a preview of the first issue here. it's a quarterly magazine that will have a dose of home décor, travel, design, entertaining, and culture. yiipppeeee! can't wait to get my hands on the first issue. get a subscription here.

via design sponge.

2nd birthday party in goldfish style

the pics above are from karoline + rory's 2nd birthday goldfish party. the most important thing is the girls had fun. they loved eating the cupcakes, playing with their friends, and having a dance party with john paul, uncle matt, and briana. they woke up the next day saying "partay". for details on decorations see this post. the cupcakes were from it's my party bakery. amanda is the baker. she is a dear and i will be ordering from her soon!

goldfish party

so karoline + rory turned 2 years old this past weekend. i did not throw them a big blowout bash for their first birthday and have thought about a 2nd birthday party ever since. i decided i need a cathartic moment instead of a low key celebration to fully feel satisfied. i know, i know the girls are only 2 years old and probably won't remember anything about the party when they get older. but as a mom of twins i have realized that you need to do things that make you happy. and this made me happy. planning the decorations, invitations, food, and favors was a creative process and i need this stuff to stay stimulated as a stay at homie. so here's some of the things that i bought and created before the party to get inspired for the day. and here are the pictures from our party right here.

the invitation. done by josh. he's a whiz on adobe illustrator. i really must take a class so i don't have to rely on him for all the invitations.

orange striped favor bags from fort and field on etsy. filled these with bubbles, crayons, assorted colored swedish fish, and orange lollipops for the kids to take home.

36" round balloons from balloons fast. used 3 of these to mark the entrance of the party.

japanese washi masking tape from pretty tape on etsy. used this tape and toothpicks to make flags for the cupcakes.

blue and white striped paper straws from cupcake confessional on etsy. served with clementine izze and orange v8 splash for the kids and beer and wine for the adults.

make your own paper party banner idea from momtastic. used this idea to make an orange party banner.

vitaminer rand children's fabric from ikea. i do not sew so i used the entire piece of fabric as a table cloth for the food table and it worked out great.

and of course live goldfish from petco that i put in a large apothecary round jar for the centerpiece on the food table.

house tour

via automatism. images from hus & hem. love the white painted floors of this house. it looks so serene, but warm. can picture lots of friends and family filling the openness.