THE QUEEN OF QUIRK

recap: mia's 7th birthday

Mia's birthday was bittersweet this year. She would have loved nothing more than to have a big bash with all of her girlfriends, but since the move she's been on the quiet side and was disappointed when she realized that her friends wouldn't be able to join her.

We tried to make the best of it, however.

We found Halli Galli and decided to take Mia there for a day of arcading and playing. She, of course, had a wonderful time and was thoroughly distracted. 

After the climbing wall, we took a break and Mia rode the mini  carousel and every time she came around shed make a new face for me. So glad I captured these. :)

A good old-fashioned round of Whack the Mole. I thought I'd animate it for you. :)

And then we came home and had a little party for her. She got to open up her presents and we decorated the apartment as well as we could. She was thrilled, of course, and I think the sting of our recent move was lessened a bit as she realized that there would be a party and that she would still have a wonderful time.

The calm before the storm. We were loosely inspired by the movie UP with its massive amount of balloons and all the colors of the rainbow. I think it turned out really sweet. :)

Mia, eagerly anticipating her cake that we kept hidden from her.

That adorable smile on her face when she realized her cake was, in fact, a giant cupcake.

Blowing out her seven lucky candles.

Her wish?

To get her ears pierced. More on that to come. :)

recap: essen spiel

We've attended EssenSpiel (pronounced ess-en-schpeel) before and we had a lot of fun. It is, however, basically a convention center full of geeks and unwashed teens who rarely see the light of day for fear of leaving their games and actually interacting with...people. So, I was a bit apprehensive about going again. I mean, I've seen it once before, right?

In the end I caved, though, and we ended up having a great time. These are some of my favorite moments.

The best part about this convention? You get to play to your heart's content. The girls absolutely love this place and we get to test-run board games before we actually buy them. It's good because we're very picky. The games need to be good enough to hold our attention as well and they also need to be easy enough for a 3 year old to handle. That's a tall order. We did, however, find a few that went home with us.

Oh, the things he would bring home if he endless amounts of cash. Thank goodness he has his own game room now and I don't have to look at his geek stuff constantly.

I'm sure he would say the same about my crafting, though... 

;)

And then, of course, I get roped into standing next to this guy who loved the fact that my level of discomfort rose significantly when he shoved that spiked head into my face. I'm smiling but I seriously couldn't wait to get away from this dude.

A rather typical day for us, I'd say. :)

recap: halloween 09

Before 2009 is officially over, I want to recap some of the things I failed to blog since October.

Words will be minimal as I'll be letting the photos take center stage. :)

Colin and I decided to dress up this year with the kidlets. I will not embarrass myself any more than necessary so I am leaving out my photo. I will, however, show off my family. Lara and Mia were witches and Norah went as Supergirl.

Colin dressed up as a luchador. You can read more about them here. I will let his photo speak for itself though. 

Needless to say we were on the receiving end of a lot of strange looks. The girls were thrilled that we were all dressing up as a family and we had a lot of fun. Next year, though, we want to throw a proper Halloween party and get all our friends to dress up as well.

And, of course, that means that I get to plan a party and bake ridiculously cute Halloween treats. :) Yum.

just a second ago

I asked my husband what he thought about me doing project 365 next year.

His answer?

"Uh..."

To which I replied:

"Oh my gosh! I was asking you for support and you're already shooting me down!?!"

Apparently he knows me better than I thought...

Think I could prove him wrong?

:)

a merry christmas

Well, I'm never moving house in December ever again if I can help it. Between hanging light fixtures, 1 shipment from the UK and one from the US, tearing down wallpaper and the general chaos that ensues when trying to unpack over 300 boxes, we barely had time to fit in Christmas this year.
And since we were stretched so incredibly thin, we did nothing but sleep and eat for the 2 days following it. We were all completely exhausted and I think we needed a bit of a break. Colin and I found ourselves falling asleep mid-sentence all throughout the weekend. 

It was, despite our fatigue, a lovely day. We spent time with friends and our girls were showered with love and presents. We played and hung out and had a really relaxing time. It was super low key. No big dinner, no hours in the kitchen. Just fun, food and friends. 

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend. :)

Scarlett and Rhett wish you Happy Holidays as well.

my wish list

As in..."I wish I was getting this stuff." ;)

mid-century champagne glasses

eye candy photo actions

THE gucci watch

vintage cocktails

savoy cocktail book

lovely dishtowels

polka dot apron

all clad saute pan

double boiler

spirited away dress

cashmere sweater dress

hues unfolding cardigan

in the bud cardigan

graceful point cardigan

tea room cardigan

trio wrap

timing is everything

sweater collective

ahh....a girl can dream right? :)

so much more fun than unpacking!

The Songbird Avenue Dec09 kit is up and we are soooo excited about it! It is absolutely gorgeous and we got to team up with one of our past sponsors who happens to be part of our little family there now! Paislee Press and Songbird Ave have collaborated again to bring you another stunning kit!