Happy Day

Today is the first day of spring and my birthday.  Happy day!

Photo taken this past weekend at The Carneros Inn

Pretty Paper

I am loving everything by Rifle Paper Co.!  I recently received these Botanical Notebooks as a gift and I adore the pop of color and gorgeous design.

Botanticals Notebook Collection by Chronicle Books 

Now, I've got my eye on this elegant and sophisticated wrapping paper for my gifts this holiday season. So pretty!

Midnight Floral Wrapping Sheets by Rifle Paper Co. 

And how insanely cute is this family portrait of my friend Joy's family?!  Adorable.  Maybe next year??

Oh Joy!'s Family Portrait

There is something so lovely about beautifully printed paper products.  I think an order should be in the works!

Mmmmm.... Pie

I had an impromptu lunch date with my hubby yesterday at Green Chile Kitchen which was magnificent.  I recommend the Carne Adovada Burrito, which was deliciously slow cooked and had the slightest hint of cinnamon.  Yum.  But a visit to GCK wouldn't have been complete without a trip to it's pie shop around the corner.  It's the perfect place for a date and is divinely decadent!

Carne Adovada Burrito

Glorious Pie!

Insta-Stickers!

I just came across the most awesome thing via Oh Joy, Stickygrams!  You connect your Instagram profile with the page, select nine of your favorite images and hit order.  The whole thing literally took two minutes to do (and buy!) and now I have a perfect personalized present for my hubby for his Christmas stocking.  Brilliant!

Last weekend in Lake Tahoe

Photo Happy

A few weeks ago, we had a family photo shoot in preparation for this year's holiday cards with the fabulous Liz Lovi.  I am so pleased with how the session turned out and Liz couldn't be more talented.  Highly recommend!

My little family

Getting Crafty

I've recently started getting together with two of my most creative and amazing friends, Coquette and Belle Epoque, for regular craft days.  These two ladies are insanely crafty and if there is anything I'd like to learn, they can (and are!) my personal tutors.  

With Halloween right around the corner I decided that it was time to get started on making costumes for the littles.  My mom was always good at making me costumes so I thought that I would give it a go as well.  For some unknown reason, I decided the theme this year would be popcorn.  With encouragement from my crafty friends, I set out to make my very first costume(s).

I didn't have a pattern but had a clear visual in my head on how I wanted them to turn out.  With a quick trip to Jo Anne's, I had all the supplies including wooden letters for me to trace, felt and foam.  I unearthed my sewing machine which has been waiting patiently in my storage and got to work.  

Getting started with the sewing machine!

Not only did I manage to make two (!) homemade costumes, I had the them finished in time for our annual twin club Spooktacular event this past weekend!  I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the results!

Ta-da!  My little bag of buttered popcorn!

Proud mama

Our Poor Sweetie

A couple of years ago my hubby and I wrote a book for Chronicle Books.  It's not quite as impressive as it sounds as (a) I was working there at the time, (b) I happened to be in the meeting where we conceived of the idea, and (c) it's a little gift item, not really a book book.  But still, we were authors, complete with a listing on Amazon, placement in fabulous stores like Paper Source and we had our very own ISBN.  But last week I got the sad email from my editor, our book was going to be remaindered and sent to the big pile of paper in the sky.  I just placed a big order to have on hand but if you have ever wondered, "what is my husband's neck size?", "what was his first pet named?" or "what anniversary gift is for 10 years?", you should buy one too.

Sweetie Stats by Ryan and Nancy Deane