What have C&B been up to?!

Disney World!!
And Did you know that Disney World is the best?!! It really and truly is!! At least, we think so :)

We had the MOST FUN family vacation a couple of weeks back in Florida. The weather was cool and nice (except for rain a few days) and the lines weren't too long. The food was good everywhere we went and the gift shops abounded. We got to see so many fun Disney characters and shows! We rode the old classic rides as well as some brand new ones! Violet got to dance with the Beast (just like Belle) and Weston hugged and loved on Winnie the Pooh many times!! We had an unexpected amount of energy to go-go-go! And all four of us loved it and can't wait until we can go back! My friend Shay at Mix and Match Travel helped us immensely with recommendations and booking. She secured all of our character meals far enough out that we got to do every single thing we wanted to do. It was so great and very seamless!!

It seemed like almost every day, every moment is magical at Disney World. I, in turn, became extremely snap happy!! Uh oh, 1500 pictures later!! But I have LOVED sorting through them and I narrowed it down to my favorite 200 and will be posting probably too many from that group :)
 So get ready to see entirely too many photos of my kids with lots of characters!! (they loved meeting them all)

My princess and prince on the Prince Charming Regal Carousel!!

On the lovely Main Street USA!!

I love making little videos now and then and this one pretty much sums the trip up!

 We ate breakfast with the Winnie the Pooh characters and Weston was in heaven!! They are by far his favorite!

 

LOVE these two!!

Tinkerbell was so sweet!! I loved how all the characters took so much time to talk with the kids and really stay in character. It was really special!

 
Meeting Jasmine was huge for this girl! Aladdin and Jasmine were so friendly!

Riding Jasmine's magic carpet ride

 Meeting Ariel in her Grotto!

Dinner with Cinderella + stepsisters and mean old mother!!




These two live wires running back to our room after a long day!!

And our messy wonderful nightly family campout!!

We had breakfast with Chef Mickey and all of his pals the next morning! Super cute!!

When Pluto put the autograph book on his nose to sign Weston was cracking up!!

 

Then we spent the day at Epcot seeing the world (and lots more characters!!)

 Super sweet!! First Violet helping Weston towards Daisy..

 and then Weston giving her one of his best hugs!!

These two locos in Mexico!!

Violet and Weston taking a photo in the same spot where I have one from long ago with Jenn!!

Love his expression and his little toes :)

We ran into Sleeping Beauty just as our very own sleeping beauty decided to take his nap :)

So while he slept Violet put on a little show for us and we took a breather :)

And as we were walking around we practically bumped into Mary Poppins!! She let my sweetie hold her umbrella and I think that just about made her year!!!


(Daddy really loved seeing her too, really :)

Keeping busy on the bus ride!

We took a picture of our kids every morning as a safety precaution, but they ended up being some cute pics too!

Off to Hollywood Studios!!

We had a blast at a Disney Jr Live show and then ran into several characters...

Loved the Toy Story ride in 3D!!

Had an awesome time in Honey I Shrunk the Kids... but I was more worried about it becoming honey I lost the kids, so we were quick to get out!!

And after we watched a Beauty and the Beast show we ran into a green army man!


That night we had dinner back at Magic Kingdom at Be Our Guest, the Beauty and the Beast restaurant. It was fabulous!!

My princess dancing with the Beast after dinner!!

And afterwards went to Belle's Storytime Show where the kids get to act out the Beauty and the Beast story for Belle.

Any chance we got we stayed late in Magic Kingdom and rode Small World and Peter Pan a few last times when there were no lines :)

 The next day started off at Animal Kingdom with the Lion King show and a Safari...

And Bubs went crazy on the drums any chance he got!

The Finding Nemo musical was amazing!!

And yes, that evening was more princesses back in Epcot!!

And Alice found her white rabbit :)

And we ran into Pooh in England which was a huge treat!!

It's love!!

 The next morning we had a special makeover at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique!
She decided to wear her Belle dress. They did hair, makeup, nails, glitter... anything and everything the a princess could need!

 It was a bit rainy, so naturally Disney has hair protection for princesses!!

We ate in Cinderella's castle that afternoon and yes, more princesses!!

We found Merida and Weston happily went right up to her!! Although Merida was the only princess Violet was not sure about meeting...

And that same day finally found Rapunzel and Weston wouldn't even look at her!! It was SO CUTE!! He was so shy... Carter said he has a special place in his heart for Rapunzel :)


And made it over to Tomorrowland...

And rode the Carousel of Progress :)

Our last day we spent doing our favorite things from the week and that meant staying in Magic Kingdom and having a ball!!

These two couldn't get enough of the big mouse!! :)

One of the faves :)

More faves :)

Watching a circus clown!!

This girl is a big helper when it comes to fast passes!!

And we saw the MOST GORGEOUS RAINBOW!! God has a special way of reminding us who really makes the magic happen :)

My sweetie was Mrs Potts again in Storytime with Belle!!

I wanted to remember HOW STINKIN CUTE these two were in their rain ponchos. I love the tops of their sweet little heads :)

And lots and lots of It's a Small World on the last day!!
(Peter Pan, too, but it's impossible to take a picture in there...)

The next morning getting ready to head home we were SO sad to go (Bubs trying to climb out of his stroller so he could stay!!) It was such a special vacation, special family time together, special memories made!! We can't wait to go back sometime and experience it ALL over again!!


Stay tuned for my upcoming blog post :: a custom mosaic mirror!!
The colors my client chose are simply gorgeous!! I can't wait to show you- I'm so thrilled :)
Also, our gardening is going well, well, it's growing!! I will post a few updated pictures of it soon!
xo!!

Gardening!!

So yall know that besides my family and friends there is nothing I like more than a project!! So with Spring abounding I decided that we were going to try our hand at gardening :) And it just so happens that our neighborhood began a community garden this year, so we (well, I) was eager to join in :) And by gosh, by golly my kids are going to join in too!

We got our seeds going (a little late, but it was still fun)

And seriously in 3 days this is what we had!!!! I'm not about to claim a green thumb yet, but WOW!! it works! haha 

IN JUST 6 DAYS this is what we had!!! Ok, about ready to paint my thumbs green...

About a week later we went to our grand opening at the community garden and Violet picked out plot #4 for us :) I love even numbers!!! Way to go sweet girl!

They love it, really they do.... even though "it's so boring at the garden"...  they will learn to love it. I will instill this :)

About a week later it was a nice day to plant, so we (well, I) went down to plant our seedlings. We've got tomatos (which I already replaced with bigger plants bc the seeds were sad... I started them too late really), watermelon, lettuce seeds, peppers, peas, zucchini, green beans and carrot seeds!! All here in this tiny plot!

I'm sure I will be thinning it out (that is IF it grows!!) oh, and corn too, which is right there on the left... but a few stalks of it already decided to break off, so.... and the black beans have pretty much shriveled up and gone off to black bean heaven, so...... 

WE SHALL SEE..... for the most part I'm just trying to show Violet how UN-BORING it is :)

xo!!

linen curtains {my home}

 

hi there!!

these kinds of projects [around my own home] is the reason i started sewing in the first place.

i can make my own curtains, bed skirts, slipcovers, etc- around the house for a fraction of the cost. yey!! and i also get to pick my own fabrics and make custom lengths!! bonus!!

so i needed curtains in our living room, but i wasn't in any hurry. i had almost gotten used to having none... and then i got the serena & lily catalog and fell in love with these linen panels...

but hello! i wasn't about to pay what they were asking for something so simple... that i could make.

after finding the perfect linen fabric and using an extra sweet coupon i ended up getting enough fabric for all four panels for less that ONE would have cost in the catalog!!

and i just finished and hung them this weekend!

i am so happy with the way they hang and really love seeing the sunlight through the linen fabric grain.

i decided to leave the top and bottom edges raw like the ones i saw in the catalog and finish off the sides. i like it so far but might run the machine over it later if the strings start to bother me. for now i like the casual linen look with the strings and wrinkles :)

i chose a nice cast-iron rod and i also decided to sew on cast-iron rings as well. i have come to realize that i completely love curtain rings. they make it SOO much easier to slide the curtain on a daily basis and they gather the material so much closer on the side as well.

oh and did i mention i had the world's most wonderful assistant?!!

xo!!

calligraphy

I have had the pleasure of working on the calligraphy for some party invitations lately! 

 Calligraphy really boils down to desire to do it and practice. So the more the better!! I absolutely love sitting down with pen and ink and writing away! 

It's very calming in a yoga-like sense. It takes skill and you have to work at it to get it just right but it really is a rewarding stress relief. I began working on it when I was married almost 9 years ago and have practiced on and off since. 

 You may have noticed that I love lots of different artistic mediums. Good for me because it keeps things interesting around here... and lucky for you because well, I guess you get to read of it :)

 

If you ever are in need of this service don't hesitate to contact me! 

xo!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!! 

i was just sitting here working on a little bit of calligraphy and realized i needed to update a bit... get up to speed on the blog :)

i had two custom napmats ordered over the holiday and it was SO much fun working with a mommy and a mimsy (a grandmother... isn't that the cutest name!! AND she has the most creative, precious and truly unique dolls for sale on etsy) 

i really REALLY love working on custom orders, so if you're looking for something specific please let me know and we can get it put together! 

i am now able to offer monogramming on the napmats for $15. YEY!! your choice of font! exciting times people :)

i also realized i never posted about the Merry Marketplace back in December. it was such a great experience! i was able to take some ornaments and banners with the napmats, mosaic mirrors and flower pots. super fun meeting new friends and of course seeing old ones!!

i hope your new year is starting out just wonderful... relaxed, peaceful, and full of love. 

i am SO excited about this new year and all the new things brewing. i don't really make resolutions, but i have lots of fun ideas!! and lots of inspiration to work from :)

i am planning for lots of mosaic time, more dresses for those lil gals and dusting off that calligraphy pen! i will keep this blog posted of course.

thanks for checking in on cakey & bubs! they appreciate it ;)
and i'll leave you with a favorite tune of the moment!!

xo