A simple and pretty birthday for Noa's first

This blog has been sorely neglected since I mostly post on Instagram these days, but I wanted to record all the details of Noa's first birthday, and this still seems like the best place. My goal was always to have just one big birthday party for each kid where I have coordinating invites, decor, and favors. I've recorded both the boys parties on here so I thought I should follow suit with the last baby!

For Noa I've been really drawn towards delicate floral patterns and neutrals with subtle splashes of pale pink. This is mostly what I've been sticking to with her clothing and it just made sense for a first birthday party for a little girl. I wanted it to be girly but in a more subtle and sophisticated way, so I kept the front of her invite super simple (probably too simple for most people's tastes!) with just text, and designed a floral pattern for the back of the invite.

For the decor I made a simple bunting using some linen and Liberty fabric that I already had, and covered a table with natural linen fabric. I found some delicate pink and white flowers with various greens to fill some vases and also make a flower crown for Noa. I used the pattern from her invitation to make cupcake flags and also wrappers for the favors, which were just filled with little toys for the kids. I also couldn't resist making a small layered cake with the layers exposed and used the same flowers and greens to decorate it. It all ended up being quite a bit of work but I'm really happy with how everything turned out!

Gymboree + Eric Carle

The lovely folks at Gymboree sent me some PJs from their new Eric Carle line and they're just fabulous! We're huge fans of Eric Carle books, so I was pretty excited to put them on the boys. Oscar keeps asking to wear them even when it's not bedtime and Ian got a kick out of seeing the same bear on his book and PJ pants. He kept pointing at the pants and the book while exclaiming "Same! Same!" I swear I didn't tell them to hold up the books in that first photo - they just thought it was so fun to have PJs to go with the books that they were just hamming it up for me. The cotton on these is so soft and plush. We have another older pair of Gymboree PJs and they're seriously the only ones that have held up through both boys!

The collection will be released next Tuesday, 9/2, and there will be a special Eric Carle event at all Gymboree store locations on Friday, 9/5, from 10am to noon. There'll be an Eric-Carle-themed craft and story time reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Be sure to check it out!

a colorful birthday party for Ian

We never had proper celebration when Ian turned one since we were in Paris at the time, so of course we had to throw him a real party for his second birthday. Since Ian loves to eat, and is really a happy little guy, I loosely based the party off of a little piggy I drew and a fun and bright color palette. We held it at a park and couldn't have asked for better weather. I made a garland of half-blown-up balloons and made tiny floral centerpieces for the picnic tables. For the kid favors I sewed small felt totes and glued felt letters for the first initial of each kid. The adult favors were chocolate bars repackaged in patterned paper I designed and printed. We were having so much fun that I forgot to have Ian wear the birthday hat I made him until the party was practically over!


Photos by me and Traci Yau of 45wall Design

Oscar's valentines

Oscar's been pretty interested in crafts lately, and loves to tape, cut, fold, draw, and write. With this being his first year in pre-school, I was inspired to think up some valentines for him to help me put together to give to his classmates. I know this is sort of last minute for this year's Valentine's Day, but hopefully some of you can keep this bookmarked for next year.

Just download the template here, and cut and fold along the guides provided. Carve out the hearts with an Exacto knife - it's a bit tricky I know, but it gets easier with practice. Then I had Oscar write his classmates' names and his name in the space provided. I packaged up little fruit gummies in some flat clear cellophane bags I had, and stapled it to the edge of the bottom flap (Oscar was able to help me staple a few, but it was tough for him). Fold up the back flap, apply double-stick tape to the small top flap, and press down tightly over the back. Enjoy!

new things in the shop

I've been adding lots of new things in the shop over the last few weeks but keep on forgetting to mention it here! The 2014 wall calendar and planners are up now, as well as birch trays and cutting boards, and some new tea towels and zipper pouches too. I've been really wanting to move more into textiles, but am realizing that it takes a lot of time to roll out a new product - I'm making mistakes left and right and learning a lot along the way. Plus, I still really love working on the planners and wall calendar, and they seem to do pretty well every year.

I also pulled together a new and very simple website, but for now Etsy will probably still be my main shop.

a day in the city

These are some photos from a day in San Francisco I spent with some friends earlier in the summer. I can't wait 'til the boys are a little older so that we can venture into the city more on weekends. There's seriously so much more good food up there. On this particular trip we hit up a couple of good old stand-bys - Pizzeria Delphina, Tartine (they ran out morning buns just before we got to the front of the very long line!) and Bi-rite Creamery. We also (finally!) got to visit Heath Ceramics, which was as stunning as I had expected. I've been really enjoying taking photographs in non-pressure situations, and find that I'm most interested in capturing a mood, or scenes that aren't set up or people who aren't posing.

slow summer days

I've been really enjoying the boys lately. I find myself looking at them and wanting to capture and remember forever this moment or that feeling. Things feel a bit slower, less chaotic. Maybe because I've found a good rhythm, maybe because the boys have been going through a good phase, or maybe because Oscar is in pre-school a couple mornings a week now. Probably all of the above.

an afternoon at the beach

Some shots from an afternoon at the beach a couple of weekends ago. Oscar had been wanting to go and had a great time playing in the sand and with all the sand crabs Irving caught. The beaches here tend to be on the colder side (by California standards) in the summers, but the weather was pretty perfect that day. I've been trying to let the boys spend more time outside, which I confess isn't natural for me, being a homebody who is sort of afraid of messes and maybe even the heat and the cold. They just seem happier and calmer outside though, and I know it helps me to slow down too.