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christmastime in the city

is it a rule in your casa that the christmas décor MUST go up the day after thanksgiving, and not come down until after new years (or mid-February, sometimes?!)? well, the workshop is taking a brief (very brief) break this morning to throw up the décor (i wish i could keep up year-round), and the elves and i needed some music to get us goin'.

i know you, my three readers, wait all year for this day! yippee. but, in full disclosure mode - i caved and started listening to some carols on tuesday night while I was making mashed taters for turkey day.

now, i'm ALWAYS looking for new holiday music. i tend to stick to my tried and trues, so if you know of new stuff that the cool kids are putting out, do tell. my list needs more than 67 songs, dont'cha think?!

a nostalgic nineties november

so, baby sister texts me the other day and says 'you should do a nostalgic November playlist, and put oldies on it like humpty dance and i'm too sexy.' well, good idea, but oldies?? oldies?? ok, technically, it is true that i graduated 20 years ago (say what now?!), which means the 90s were 20 years ago, but man, i'm not sure i've ever felt so old. although i was proud that she actually knew those songs.

not a difficult task at all to pack my faves from the 90s(ish) on here. i coulda kept going, but i cut myself off at 30.

did i get all the best? leave off any of your faves? mmmm, walks down memory lane are fun!

also, happy early birthday to mr man. not sure what i'd do without that guy. wanna read about past fiestas? you're welcome.
36 things i'm thankful for about him
we rock the party
husband of the year

octaves of october

october first? is that calendar right? sheesh, 3 more months of the year, and that's it. and, i really feel like i blinked and september was over. you too? we're also getting some unfortunate weather that has forced me to embrace boots and rain coats. a leeetle early, i might add. well, i guess it was bound to happen eventually, right?!

ok - on to the music. what's tickling your ears lately? heard any oh-so-awesome music that you can't get outta your head? do tell! do tell!

li'l punkin autumn baby shower

last fall, a few girlfriends and i hosted a baby shower for our dear friend. since it was going to be in the fall, i thought li'l punkin would be an adorable theme, and ran with it. anytime i host a party, i feel the need to make the invitation as time intensive as possible. it's my thing. plus, i get to show off all the fun things you can do with invites. no invite's complete without a matching envelope!

i knew i wanted punkins on the invite, and then thought a tree with sparse leaves on it would be super cute. i dug thru my ridiculous stacks of scrapbook paper and found some adorable prints that just screamed 'it's fall, y'all'. then, set to work with my cricut to cut out leaves and punkins for 30+ invites! (thanks for being my assistant, mamacita!)

guests were welcomed with punkins (what else?!).

inside, we adorned the tables with punkins and gourds and apples. i got the wild hair to put some fabric that'd been taking up space in the basement to use and make fall buntings. (the night before the party!) a diaper cake adds some whimsy to the gift table (cleverly deemed the punkin patch)

since the party was a sit down brunch, we served a build your own mimosa bar, along with coffee and cream. hosting parties gives me the chance to break out all my nana's silver and china.

there's no way to have an autumn brunch without something punkin. this coffee cake was ah-may-zing! seriously, so delish! i put my gluten-free tendencies to the side when things like this are served! we also had monkey bread, an egg casserole and fruit salad.

we sent all the guests home with their own li'l punkins. we wrapped candy corns and candy punkins up in orange tissue paper, and tied them with floral tape so they looked like punkins. then finished them with a gift tag.

it was a great party, and so fun to see all the loot! baby noah is a cutie pie, and it's hard to believe he's already 10 months old!

hosting a baby shower? how 'bout an autumn theme? the sky's the ding dang limit with all the colors and gourd-y options! let's chat!

art of the barter

sometimes i want things that just don't fit in my budget. ok, a lot more than sometimes. but, sometimes i'm fortunate enough to be able to work out something in the form of a trade. it's like a real life version of settlers of catan, but with art and things like yoga, instead of wheat and sheep.

this piece was born out of the art of the barter. my addiction to yoga, with this particular teacher, must be fed. so, art for her cutie cute baby girl's room equals my yoga addiction fed.

the piece started here (pardon the horrid basement lighting):

and morphed into this (that's a butterfly pun right there!). her room is lovely tones of pastel blues and pinks and sage greens, and she loves butterflies.

big butterfly gets a blue eye to match baby girl's, and a bob dylan lyric rounds out the art, since he's her namesake.

wanna chat about a possible trade? have a service i might be interested in? say hair cutting, massage, cutie cute jewelry? call me.

grab your sombrero rehearsal dinner invites

we're rounding out the designs for baby sister's wedding. debuting the rehearsal dinner invites before the big invite reveal (of which i still need to photograph).

we tied in all the colors and fonts of the other designs, and added in the next element - kraft paper.

i always say, a fiesta is a perfect time to break out the sewing machine. ok, i don't always say that, but it is. especially when you want the invites to look like they have fun mexican flavored banners along the top.

how 'bout we get a little close-up of my perfect sewing lines? perfectly imperfect. just like me!

no design is complete without a matching envelope. you knew that already, right?

hosting a party soon? rehearsal dinner? wedding? let's have a little chat. i've got just the thing!

september sing along

and, just like that...it's september! the return of football, pumpkin everything, crisp days, falling leaves, the change of seasons. here in the good ol' pac nw, september is really part of our summer. we don't usually experience the amazement that has been this summer - with june all wonderful and nice. so, i'm not ready just yet for knee high boots and fluffy coats. i'm still good with my sandals and tube tops.

on to the music. still using other people's blogs and tv shows as my main source of music knowledge. sometimes baby sister sends me a pic of her shazam. as always, what are you listenin' to? anything noteworthy. i was gonna put katy perry's roar on here, if i hadn't heard it 4 times on the car radio in less than an hour yesterday!

a decade of memories

today is our 10 year anniversary. yep, mr man and i - married 10 years! in some ways it feels like it's been forever, and in other ways - say what now? 10 years?

and, what wonderful years full of ups and downs they've been. 2012 and parts of 2013 have kicked my ass. and mr man? always - ALWAYS - there to reach down and pick me up. full on carry me along if he has to. if i ever doubted his love was unconditional, i need only to look back and see that he's been my rock solid kick stand, never once complaining, and always with a smile on his face.

we meant what we said - in sickness and in health, in good times and bad. how 'bout we take a walk down memory lane, hmmm?

in 2004, we celebrated our first anniversary in vegas with friends. the girls spent all day at the pool, while the boys slept in to recover from staying up all night gambling. everyone says the first year is the hardest, but i loved our first year. after so many years of 'playing house', we were finally an old married couple!

2005 was a big year. i turned 30, and we celebrated with a dreamy trip to mexico. we bought our first house, celebrating our 2nd anniversary eating off paper plates in the new dining room, and dealt with all the fun that brings with it! our friends started having babies, making us the cool auntie and uncle we always wanted to be. and sadly, will's grandma died, and my parents got divorced after 30 years together. big year, indeed!

in 2006, we celebrated our anniversary with our first trip to portland. the seahawks made the super bowl. and, will turned 30. i wanted it to be one to remember, so we packed up and headed to notre dame for the first of many, many 'football trips'. i might've created a monster, y'all.

2007 took us on a tour of the south for the football trip. we finished up at LSU, where baby sister was starting her freshman year. mr man had to get this beauty for every halloween/new year/costume party. hell, he's been known to sport it on a random tuesday. we spent a whirlwind weekend updating our guest room so our numerous visitors felt right at home and wouldn't want to leave. it didn't work.

in 2008, we took our first wine tasting trip, and decided to make it annual after the first sip. we celebrated our 5th anniversary in san fran. i experienced the joy (not) of being laid off, but luckily got another job quickly. middle sissy got married, and we spent the holidays in NYC and on a cruise to the bahamas.

2009 made us an actual auntie and uncle when sweet p came along. we took a trip to puerto rico, and the football trip became trips. i got to enjoy another layoff, but created rosita designs as a result. and, i joined some gals on the 3-day walk, which is easily the hardest thing i've ever done - for a wonderful cause!

we celebrated 10 years in seattle in 2010. i turned 35 and whooped it up with a rockin' 80s party and a girl's trip with the fam to hilton head. instead of 1 or 2 football trips, we amped it up to 3 or 4. and, tragically, we experienced the sadness that comes with miscarriage.

we gained a nephew and a godson when coogie was born in 2011. baby sister came to visit for a month and whipped me into organization shape. we had friends join us on our annual wine trip, and beg them to come every year now. will's 35th birthday meant a band in the basement. (wife of the year!) will's grandpa passed away, and we experienced the painful loss of baby #2.

2012 - the year of the sucker punch - had so many bright spots, too. we spent the entire year traveling - dallas, grand cayman, LA, boston, NYC for thanksgiving, college station. baby sister got married, and i decided i needed to try pink hair! the football obsession grew to epic proportions - mr man saw 17(!) games live. in a seat. like, not on tv. epic.

this year has had its ups and downs too. we've had visits from my entire family, and mr man's baby sister. we convinced our friends to join us on our wine trip again. but, sadly, we lost my sweet, sweet paw paw in may. it still doesn't seem real. and, football widowdom began last night, and the first trip is next weekend.

wow! what an amazing 10 years it's been. i love that man more today than yesterday, and more today than the day we were married. our wedding was so beautiful, full of love and joy, but our marriage blows the wedding away. i love you mr man. thank you for the last 10 (+6) years. i'm so excited to see what the next 10 years have in store for us.

i think ol' pablo said it best

   I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
   or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
   I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
   in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

   I love you as the plant that never blooms
   but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
   thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
   risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

   I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
   I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
   so I love you because I know no other way

   than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
   so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
   so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

last fling before the ring - custom bachelorette invites

when it came time to plan for baby sister's bachelorette party, we knew we wanted it to be fun, fun, fun. she's not much for being the center of attention, but we had to play videos of her younger days as a power ranger! we rented a 15 passenger van to cart all the girlies around, and made middle sissy, who doesn't drink much, drive. ummmmm. poor valet guys!

for the invite, on top of fun, i wanted it to be different. gotta say - pretty proud o' myself when the idea of a big diamond ring came to me. and, then more pride, when i cut around the diamond making a pocket for the info...

have a little look

i wanted to be tongue-in-cheek with the invite, so did fun strike-thrus. i also took some of the cute things her hubby wrote on their wedding website, and added them to the back. when you pulled the info out, it said 'let the fun begin'. and, no bachelorette invitation is complete without a little bling!!

we hosted the party at my mama's house, so people from out of town could get ready there, and we could have a lingerie shower without a bunch of looky-loos. we had to hide baby sister so she didn't see the prep - that was fun!

we set up the desserts and drinks (take the plunge punch) in the dining room, along with the favors.

the girls got a ring pop and candy necklace with a cd in an ice cream bowl, complete with every bachelorette must-have - the penis straw. for the cd, we had each girl send the song that reminds them of baby sister. and, that jumbo van was rockin' all night long!

and, the last of the decor - the banners and all her gifts

it was a super fun time, and you wouldn't know that baby sister is younger than middle sissy and i by 9 and 14 years respectively. ahem. in fact, this is the face we got every time we told her what we were doin' next.

at least she's got her penis straw.

bachelorette party coming up soon? check out these other designs, too. let's chat.

that's font-tastic - custom bridal shower invitations

wowza, has this been a long time comin'! it's time to show you, my three readers, all of baby sister's goodies. starting with her bridal shower. here's a little memory refresher of where we left off - save the date and the bridesmaid invites. de nada

{digression alert}
so, we've got these super dear friends - we're all practically sisters, and no question - mama mary was gonna host a shower for baby sister. now, mama mary's daughter has this ah.may.zing design business and it never crossed my mind that she wouldn't design the invites. so when mama mary called to tell me 'you know the style, you've done everything else, you're doing the invites to this', i hopped to it. she's not called 'sarge' for nothin'!

still with me? how 'bout we see the finished product?

if you recall, her colors were pool blue and coral. she wanted a fun design with lots of fonts - i think the trendsetters are calling these circus style. i don't really get it, but what do i know? so, fun, fonts, and fabulous? i'd say!

gotta have that matching envelope. let me just say - i don't think a design is complete without somethin' on the envelope. either printed or label, i don't care, but it just adds so much to the overall product, doncha think?

and, you know she needed thank you notes for all those prezzies. she actually used these for most of their gifts since the fonts and colors tied everything together.

what do you think? bachelorette party's coming up next. get excited!!

have a shower coming up? we totally need to chat.

howdy pardner - surprise 40th birthday invitation

it seems like it's all about the kiddos around here most of the time. so, when i get an order for an adult party, i get super excited. especially fun, theme-y parties!

the request for this design was beer and bbq. how'd i do?

it was a surprise, and she wanted to make sure people knew it was adults only. she had quite a bit of information she wanted to include, which makes my double-sided designs perfect. no need to cram all your info on the front.

envelopes to match finished off the invitation - nothin' like a little excitement in the mailbox amid all the junk and bills!

have a birthday coming up? a different kind of party? let's have a little chat!

yeehaw!

august acoustics

i swear it was just july 1st. swear it. i wanna put my foot down and stop the earth a'spinning. how's it august? how'm i this old? how do i stop the break neck pace?!

ah, there you are, digression, my bff. ahem. here are the tunes for august. a little of this, a little of that. i stumbled on a blog of playlists, and stole a bunch of those songs. some of them are pretty whiney, but i do love me a whiney band. seriously. ask my mama. she of her vampire weekend and dancy beats.

my best gal, carrie, got the newest jt the other day, so i barried it from her, and...smitten. hands down. i've never been that much of a jt fan, but lately? his jams are doing somethin' to me. blush. i maybe might be his latest girlie fan. i took a few songs from the 'what to expect...' soundtrack. if you haven't seen that movie, and you're a girl, and you've maybe had a plan of how your pregnancies or lack thereof were gonna go, you should watch it. some cringe-worthy scenes, but man, they hit the emotion on the head!

ok, whatchoo lisnin' to? do tell - do you love whiney as much as i do?

extra, extra

i thought it'd be fun to showcase a few ways you can make your party special with different fun add ons. i know you've seen a few in the past, but some of the favor ideas here are super clever.

baby shower cupcake toppers

rehearsal dinner placecards, with the dinner choice noted with a little graphic fish, cow, or chicken

wine party place cards (wish she'd come take my pictures!)

birthday banners

and thank you cards aplenty

but, how about water bottle labels?

or gatorade (sk8rade) bottle labels? cute, or what?! check out the party invites.

remember our travel theme bridal shower? well, the favors there were luggage tags! the girls filled them out, and then they were laminated for them before they left. creee-ay-tive!

these favors go with the cupcake toppers above - so clever - tictacs to match the party theme!

and our little tiger from last week gave his friends "party animals" (animal crackers)

i'm sure you're just as clever, right? take a little look see around the ol' blog for some more inspiration. if you can dream it...

party time, excellent

i thought we'd continue the kids birfday theme to round out this week. stay tuned next week for the extras that you can add on to your design orders. some cute ideas there!

i'm starting with what i think is the ding dang cutest idea, and i think one of my personal faves. i keep trying to get middle sissy to do it for her kiddos, since she is married to a farmer!

this little munchkin can't get enough of princesses. she loves them so much, she wanted a princess party two years in a row! check out the designs...

i do love a rock star theme, and designing more "grungy, alternative" invites, so this was right up my alley! a rockin' birthday, indeed!!

a pool party with a girly twist - does the middle design resemble a pool to you? how 'bout the beach ball masquerading as an "O"! splish splash...

this family never fails to amaze me with their creativity. how cute is that little rhyme? i love the tiger costume, the rhyme, and the born to be wild theme! roar!

every once in a while, i'll do some designs that clients can print themselves. so, that's what these next designs are. kaeden loves trains, so choo choo it was.

and, sweet p only invited two little girly girls to her cupcake and tea party, so middle sissy asked me to put together a design she could email to the mamas. not my best effort, but still cute!

is it birthday time in your house? let's have a little chat.

take a peek at some past designs in case you need some inspiration.