New at the Shop: Baby's Breath Stationery

Good morning, my dears!  How was your weekend?  Mine was wonderful.  Learning to give eye drops to a three year old was a little bit stressful at first, but thankfully we've got it all figured out now (thanks to spur-of-the-moment stories he actually enjoys it now...go figure) and we're back to normal again.  We were able to spend a lot of time just doing things together, which is always nice.

Plus, I went through all the photos on my computer and organized them.  There were so many!  I find that we have more digital files of photos than actual printed ones these days.  Is it the same for you, too?  I was forced to clean them out to make room for new photos of stationery for the shop.

The Baby's Breath stationery is one of my favorites.  I started designing it a few months ago with a friend's expected baby girl in mind.  She'd been recently diagnosed with a condition similar to, but more severe than, my Lily's.  As I was thinking about it I sat down to draw, which led to my sketching this spray of baby's breath.  It's name, fragility and delicate nature just seemed perfect for such a precious baby girl.  Lastly, as I was adding color, I decided to go with a blushing pink for the blossoms instead of the standard white because pink is the color of life.  

"You're My Favorite" Game Night + Printable Invitations

For Friday's birthday party I wanted to do something that was really simple and casual.  But I still needed to have some type of theme; I feel that they help party plans come together more easily and cohesively.  I decided to have the invitations say, "since he's our favorite, we're throwing him a party" and go from there.  He loves to play games, so we did a game night.  The menu was a compilation of some his favorite foods: Philly cheesesteaks, root beer, artichoke dip and brownies.

A gathering of favorites equals a guaranteed good time.  Added bonus: it was low maintenance.  I love how easily and quickly game nights can be thrown together.  I put together this fill-in variation of our invitations for you to print out and use for your next get together.  Grab a couple of your favorite drinks, some finger foods and pass these out to your neighbors or friends.  Then let the good times begin!

Baking Day: German Chocolate Cake

When it comes to birthdays I am a die-hard fan of the birthday cake.  It's tradition and we have to make one from scratch for every birthday (they're so good).  My husband, Craig, is a big fan of coconut so when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted this year I wasn't at all surprised when he said German Chocolate Cake.  After the craziest Tuesday, and a Wednesday that took a close second, I finally was able to finish his cake on Thursday, two days after his birthday.  So sad, right?  I felt awful.  Thankfully, it was worth the wait. 

We tried this version from the Bridge Street Bakery in Vermont.  Instead of three layers I opted for two just to make things a little bit simpler.  I think it still has a stunning presentation.

Here's an interesting bit of information about German Chocolate Cake: it's not actually German.  In 1852 an employee of Baker's Chocolate Company, Sam German, created a new type of dark baking chocolate.  The company named the chocolate "German's Sweet Chocolate" in his honor.  Then, in 1957, a Texan housewife sent the recipe for a chocolate cake she had made using this chocolate in to a local newspaper, calling it "German's Chocolate Cake."  It was an instant success.  Since then, the possessive has been dropped but it's still a popular recipe today.

It's really rich and decadent and Craig loved it.  I think it'll be on the menu again next November.  Personally, I always choose carrot cake for my birthdays.  What's your favorite?

Happy 29!

Today is my love's 29th birthday.  Happy birthday, honey!  Would you all wish him a lovely day here in the comments?  Thank you, thank you!

Our boy and I love him quite a bit.  Can you tell?