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.

westport

josh, the girlies and i met my parents, my brother and his girlfriend for a summer getaway at a little cottage in westport, ma. we have stayed at this cottage before and nothing ever changes. that's what is so cool about it. we celebrated my parents' 40th wedding anniversary there. despite having rainy weather for 4 days straight we enjoyed spending time together and connecting without a tv or internet connection. i slept better than i have in a long time there. we had a lobster dinner on saturday night. on sunday my uncle rob, aunt joannie, and cousins max and laura lu came for the day. dark and stormies at noon. dinner at bayside restaurant. during the week we ate lots of seafood, headed to the haskell nursery, building 19 to find some deals, explored tiverton 4 corners, and went for a hike at allens pond wildlife sanctuary.

anniversary cupcakes

made these ina garten coconut cupcakes for my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. i halved the frosting recipe and still had lots left over. josh took a photo from my parents' wedding, scanned it, and worked his magic on adobe illustrator. he cropped the original picture. turned it to black and white and added the number 40. i really need to take a class in adobe illustrator so i can do this stuff my self. got the flat pieces of wood sticks at michaels and glued the card stock picture on with martha stewart's glue pen from michaels. you could use this idea for birthdays or any other celebrations.

40 years

my parents' celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary last month. 40 years. thank you for teaching me how to love. my husband. my children. and the little things in life like good coffee in the morning. popcorn. house sales. entertaining. the weather no matter what it's doing. the ocean. collections. nature. being organized. thank you for teaching me graciousness. inclusiveness instead of exclusiveness. how to be open minded. always looking to the future instead of dwelling on the past. i love you both so much. as a couple and as wonderful individuals. you are beautiful inside and out. cheers to 40 years.