Fat Tuesday, Pancake Day, whatever you call it – I hope you enjoy your day today.

One of my favorite things that I brought back with me from living in the UK – aside from my hubby – is Pancake Day.  Being a cook, I liked the way everyone emptied the contents of their fridge into their pancake batter, had parties and just generally ate, drank and were merry.  It seemed such an indulgent way to get ready for the fasting during Lent.

Of course, it’s not very different from Fat Tuesday celebrations here,  but the celebrations here seemed more Mardi Gras themed (as they would being from East Texas) and less “clean out your fridge and create a new recipe” so maybe that’s why I grew to love the UK celebration of Pancake Day abit more.

No matter what you call it – no matter how you choose to celebrate it – have a super happy Pancake Day this Fat Tuesday.

(photo from mydeco.com)

Peace – Tammy

~bon bon~

p.s. – what will you be giving up for Lent?  I’m giving up potatoes. . . yes, you heard me right, POTATOES.  Chips, mashed, fried, hashed – the whole lot.  In previous years I’ve always given up something that wasn’t really that hard for me to do without —  which, I think, was defeating the whole purpose. So, this year I’m going whole hog and giving up one of my loves – potatoes.  Send positive thoughts my way so that I can stick to it.  J  And good luck to you, too!

and let  them eat cake!

have a little king’s cake!

bite size cupcakes that are colorful and celebrate Mardi Gras!

 who will get the prize?

you’ll have to wait and see!!

thanks to

Frog Prince Paperie

for this sweet idea!

weekend ramblings of a serial stylist

always changing. that’s me. i love one thing one day and move on the next.

i’m  sure you have noticed my new look. it’s evolving too. i still need to fix a few things. add this here and there.

but i love my new look. fresh, crisp and clean.

that’s how i like it. im a neat freak.

i laugh at myself becasue as i think back to how my company has evolved, i think of my business cards and how drastically they have changed. from a fun and playful bold polka dot to a more streamlined dot to now a change up of more muted colors. my little company has grown up. i started selling “goodies” to a local coffee shop. yea, i did parties too, but for free. everyone wanted to pick my brain about details. now as I have moved on to more clients and bigger events, i felt my look needed to grow up as well. even splitting into two to offer different services.

who knows what next year will bring. looks like i’m on a roll to change about once a year. my business card collection is like baseball trading cards. they should be numbered and dated! im sure someone out there has a collection (my mom) and one day i’ll look  over them and say they each fit my mood at the time.

if you are looking to have a facelift, i suggest you do it. it makes you feel better. just like a new haircut or new wardrobe. its a fresh start.

now, im ready to take on bigger challenges and new experiences. 

my image says so!

thanks to the always there for me helping me  change for the better

Harper Grey.

When my family and I travel, I take photos not only of our family activities but also of the architecture and the events happening around us.  I sometimes even go off on my own for a “photo walk”, if for nothing else, to spare my family the boredom of following me around while I photograph the interesting details I see! 

New Orleans is one of my favorite cities to photograph.  It is such a colorful city and is so rich in architecture and history!  So, in the spirit of paying homage to Mardi Gras, I’m sharing some of my favorite images from the beautiful Crescent City.

My mom, sister, and I traveled to New Orleans last February for a long “Girls’ Weekend”.   Even though we visited a couple of weeks prior to the big Mardi Gras weekend, the city was already busy with visitors and parades, and the French Quarter decked out and ready to party! 

We spent most of our weekend walking, shopping, and eating our way through the French Quarter area, but before we left, I was determined to see the historic Garden District.  On our last morning, I found a self-guided walking tour online, hopped on a street car, and headed that way.  Beautiful homes, architecture, gardens, (and cool old cemeteries) abound in the Garden District, and it was fun to even see some homes of famous people, like author, Anne Rice, and the childhood home of Peyton and Eli Manning!

Take a walk with your camera – you will probably discover you aren’t the only one out there!  You can do a photo walk anywhere – a cool old neighborhood or downtown area in your own community, an old church, or other building with beautiful architectural details.  Photograph what you think is interesting and shoot it from many different angles – you never know what you might end up with. 

Online resources (like Frommer’s) are so wonderful, and when you accompany that with your smart phone and camera, you’ve got all you need!  Once you’re home, find your best photographs to print and hang in your home.  They will serve as not only a great memory, but will be beautiful art as well!

Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Pagette

Pagette Callender Photography

image source 

I have to admit, I love baby showers. 

I love celebrating for a friend who is expecting, I love shopping from a registry, I love gathering with friends and strangers and sharing experiences about child rearing, I find I learn a lot.  I love the cute decorations, the yummy food and I love hearing the mom-to-be talk about her hopes and dreams for her family.  All of the baby showers that I have attended in my life have been for healthy, typically developing pregnancies, until recently.

A dear friend delivered her son 2 months early through an emergency C-section due to a heart condition detected in the baby.  I had received the shower invitation a couple of weeks prior to that and was then notified that the shower was still on.  Another email followed that stated the purpose of the shower was to celebrate the birth of this baby, honor my friend for becoming a mother and for her to feel loved and supported…so please focus on those things and leave the medical talk for another time.

As I read over her registry, I thought to myself, “she won’t need this stuff for a long, long time” and I searched for what I thought would be an appropriate gift.  The answer did not come easily.  For days, I tried to think about what a mother of a child in the NICU would find helpful and/or what could this precious baby use now?  It was a few days before the shower and I still did not have a gift.  Then it hit me…the most appropriate gift was the ones that the mom had asked for, what she registered for, what she has dreamed about having for her son for months.   That and preemie clothes.  Who was I to think that I knew better? 

I learned a lot at this shower.  My friend had the opportunity that every pregnant woman deserves.  To be honored by friends and family for a life changing event.  The fact that her baby was in the NICU made her no less a mother, in fact it made her more of a mother.  She had learned more in those first couple of weeks and had advocated harder for her child than most moms I know. 

One universal truth was shared at this shower.  Being a mom is all about being in the moment.  In that moment, at that shower, my friend was so excited to receive the items she registered for and spoke about how she planned on using the item once the baby was home.  In some cases, she had already figured out how to modify the item to fit her sons’ needs at the present time.

I realized at this shower that it doesn’t matter what kind of mom you think you’re going to be.  It matters how you adapt to what kind of baby you have.   That is the true mark of a wonderful mom. 

  Janel Perez, M.S.-L.P.C.

these  streamers are making us so happy!!

they come in a variety of colors any color combination your desire!! two color or three.

they can be used in so many ways!

here’s a sneak peek from last weekend’s party !!

check out the shop for details!

Nonpareils are great!  They are an easy way to add interest, texture & color to your baked goods.  There are a couple of problems with them, however.  I find it very hard to find the exact right color that I’m looking for most of the time.  Unless I’m needing a primary color, nonpareils of other shades are almost impossible to find.  Second, they are expensive!  Aside from the white nonpareils, colored versions are quite expensive and hard to find in large quantities.  So it was time to try and color some in my own DIY experiment.  What I found was a very easy, inexpensive way to make any color nonpareil that your heart desires… Here goes:
1.  Starting with some readily available, inexpensive white nonpareils… put your desired amount into a small bowl.  I’d start with a batch no larger than 1/4 cup.  Place a drop of food coloring GEL (of your chosen color) on top of the nonpareils.  With a food-safe  artist’s paintbrush, start stirring.  Stir until your nonpareils have a consistent coat of the desired color.  Below is a photo after about 2 minutes of stirring in a dark teal.  We’re about halfway to where I want to be.  Note:  Darker colors will take longer stirring to achieve uniform coloring.  Just keep stirring… trust me, it will eventually happen. 

2.  Pour your newly colored nonpareils onto a paper towel and let dry for 15-20 minutes. 

3.  Sprinkle until your heart’s content & dazzle your friends with the amazing colors you can create in your nonpareils!
Here are some I just finished for my daughter’s peacock party coming up this weekend.  All of these colors were made from a single bottle of Wilton’s white nonpareils that I found at my local grocery store for $1.29. 

Stay tuned where next week I’ll show you some great ways to used colored nonpareils in your party treats.  And please check me out on Facebook – www.facebook.com/CookieCraft – where we’re constantly uploading new projects, photos & products that can make your parties perfectly amazing!

Mika

CookieCraft

{weekend ramblings of a serial stylist}

Recently I styled a shoot for 20 Best Twenty

our first holiday collaboration was Valentine’s Day!

thanks to Harper Grey for framing our shots!

I wanted to go more mod, metallic and glimmery! I am addicted to tassels currently so they had to be a part of my vision. Thank you

Pom Flair!

The perfect backdrop was found at my friend’s flower shop, BlumenMeisters, with this amazing curtain from IKEA. I totally rearranged her shop  to get the best shot, she didn’t mind!  Thanks, Sheri!!

 With help from my right hand Mika of CookieCraft we draped tassels, garlands,  metallic curtains and blew up balloons.

My neice Lindsay came as our model. I knew she had the LOOK to be in the shoot. She had a ball and is gorgeous don’t you say????

The cakepops and macaroons were just what I wanted thank you Tammy from bon~bon.

And the cake, eat your heart out!  It is the most fun thing! Thank you to 2tarts bakery.

and the chevron iced cookies too!

and chocolate cupcakes!

We had more fun with this balloon I used vinyl lettering from Ten23 Designs.

and of course thanks to Pagette Callender Photography. We could not have done this without her!!

]]> http://www.ohgoodiedesigns.com/2012/02/the-look-of-love.html/feed 0 http://www.ohgoodiedesigns.com/2012/02/1143.html http://www.ohgoodiedesigns.com/2012/02/1143.html#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:13:36 +0000 jo anne http://www.ohgoodiedesigns.com/?p=1143 Our Oh Goodie Designs Valentine’s photo shoot was so much fun!  Lots of glitter and bling!!  JoAnne’s styling was impeccable as always and our model, Lindsay, was fantastic!

 The ladies of 2tarts bakery and bon~bon~ provided the amazing sweet treats, and Blumen Meisters Flower Shop provided the perfect location!

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Pagette Callender

{weheartit.com}

I recently came across some information which placed the cost of an average wedding between $24,000 to $40,000.
What surprised me most about this was that per-marital counseling was not listed as an expense.    I know, I know…no one wants to go to counseling…especially in the midst of planning such a fun and special event. 
Heres the deal, though.  Your wedding is the beginning, not the end.  Many folks treat the wedding like its the period to a relationship sentence when actually, it’s the beginning of a new phase of your relationship.  Regardless of the length of time you have been together with your partner, marriage can (and most of the time) will be different and premarital counseling can assist in identifying areas that need attention and coping strategies to deal with the issues. 
Most of the time, premarital counseling is a short term endeavor.  It can be preformed by Counselors, Social Workers or clergy.  Many clergy require counseling or premarital classes prior to the wedding.  Any of the above works.  The point is to explore strengths and weaknesses of the relationships, blind spots and conflict resolution strategies.
Sometimes while planning the wedding, it’s easy to forget about the marriage.  Per marital counseling can offer time and space in the midst of planning for you and your partner to come together focus on what is most important as you build your life together. 
Janel Perez, M.S.-L.P.C.