new header or not?

so ive been wanting to update my header....just because i see it all the time and to me its getting stale.  most of my readers love my header and want it to stay.  i can understand....i like my header to, but maybe a font change? so im going to ask you to pic a font from the pic below. leave me a comment if any of them stick out to you.

i had posted this header earlier....but several people (via chats, texts, and facebook) said it was a bit much.  i can see their point....it is a bit much. 

let me know which font you like.

now playing:tuesday

i just realized today that i didnt do a now playing post last week.  sorry y'all!

this week ive been listening to a little bit of ninety's goodness and some new stuff.

first up is:

cake!!!

not only do i make cake....but i happen to really love the band.  its my cousins fault.  in high school we used to ride together and then roomed in college...it rubbed off.  i dont know how to describe cake's sound other than saying its just plain awesome.

next up is:

i have a MGMT pandora station that i listen to alot in the car and The Cure poped up on Sunday and ever since then i have been listening to it on my ipod.  Everytime i hear the cure i think of Empire Records...prolly one of my top 10 favorite movies. techincally The Cure is from the eighties and nineties...but i didnt know them til the nineties...so yea.  love it!

and finally:

this is the only new band that im posting.  they have a similar sound to MGMT and Local Natives...and other assorted "Hipster-esque" music.  i really like them! it makes for really great driving music or good background music to play around the house

thats all for this weeks now playing post.  let me know what you think....or if you have suggestions for me to check out and put in future posts!

weekend thrifty finds...and a Monday DIY

this weekend was the first, in about a month, that i didnt have a cake due or somewhere to be.  so i took most of the day to myself and went thrifting.  i usually dont go with a list, but this time i did.  i was on a mission to find candle stick holders (sturdy ones that could hold platters), vintage or pretty platters/plates, and pretty crystal/glass vases.  we dont even have a date set for the wedding but i know what i want for decorations so there is no reason i cant get started. 

i found 4 candle stick holders (3 are brass and the other is wood), a ceramic urn(?), 2 glass bud vases, set of 6 mini cognac glasses that will work great as tea light holders, set of three gold-yellow serving platters (one round and two oval), a couple of vintage floral pillowcases, and a partial set of vintage Mikasa daisy stoneware.  ill post pics of everything later, but for now i wanted to show you how i made over some of my thrift finds.

first up is the wooden candle stick holder i bought:

this poor pillar candle holder was hideous. 

 it was brown and black with silver accents, but it was all scuffed up and sad.  sorry i forgot to take a pic before i started spraying..alittle trigger happy.  i gave it a good shot with some Krylon Silver spray paint and it looks awesome!

next up is a ceramic urn.

as you can see, on the left, it was artfully "distressed" for lack of a better word...all in all it was pretty ugly.  so i did the same thing as i did with the candle holder....gave it a nice good shot of silver Krylon.  it looks a million times better....looks even better in person.

i also did the same metallic spray treatment to some empty wine bottles. 

i used different shades of metallics for some depth.  i think with taper candles and flowers in our wedding colors (oranges and greens) it will look nice as centerpieces on the tables.  i got this idea from Once Wed - Milk and Honey feature (see wedding idea post from last week)

im going to submit my before and after pics to Project Restyle (which is being put on by Elsie Flannigan and Rachel Denbow of Red Velvet Art.  You can follow their Flickr stream and see other submissions.

Feel free to try this yourself.  I would love to see your pics!

i heart elote

yesterday after church dave and i went to fiesta and got our favorite snack!!

elote

elote is basically roasted corn on the cob that has been cut off and you add butter, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, chilli pepper spice blend, and fresh lime.

its pretty much the yummiest thing you can eat on a sunday afternoon. 

dont think for one second that i wont call this guy up and see if he caters weddings.  how awesome would that be if i hired a taco and elote truck to cater my wedding.  "hey everybody...dinner is outside...form a line and get you some foods."  that would be the coolest wedding id ever been to!! :)

ill be back later with my thrifty finds and project restyle stuff from this weekend

inspirations:wedding

so far i havent put much wedding stuff on the blog yet but i thought i would share some of my current inspirations



(source)

 1. i really like the look of these glass bottles (wine and beer bottles) that have been spray painted with different metalic shades...i think that would look really preatty with tea lights and some flowers and taper candles.

(source)

2. i want a dessert table...instead of just cake.  even though i make custom cakes im not really a big cake person.  so im gunna have different displays with pie, cookies, brownies, and other pasteries.  to make the displays im going to thrift some old candle stick holders of different heights and plates and glue them together.  i think it will create a nice tablescape and a wider selection of yummy treats that just cake.....there will of course be cake



(source)

 3. the Nature Girl Halo by Mignonne on Etsy.com.  the one in the picture is the pink/nude color.  earlier in the week there was a white/ivory one....i guess it has since been sold, but i would love to wear this at my wedding.  or really anything from this shop...everything is beautiful.



(source)

4. i love this sweet engagement photo.  ive been working on a quilt for dave and i for a while.  i have embroidered a bunch of our little inside jokes on it.  i hope to finish it in time to use it in our engagement photos.

(source)

5. i am in love with this backdrop.  its not like anything ive seen on any of the hundreds of wedding blogs ive been surfing.  it would be neat to do this with different shades of our wedding colors (green and orange) in a variegated look.....maybe with cheap streamer...worth checking into.

maybe ill make a weekly wedding idea post....hmmm.  let me know if y'all liked this or if it was boring.

all work and no play....newest cakes

ive been absent for about a week.  constantly working, even on weekends, has taken a toll.  im exhausted....my eye twitch is back....and i think these dark circles have become a permanent fixture on my face.  but all my work has resulted in a couple good cakes.  its been a while since ive put some cake pics up so here ya go

this was a baby shower cake a friend of mine asked me to do.  the plate on the left is what the them was for the party....and on the right is my interpretation of the plate in cake form.  it was a vanilla cake with strawberry preserves and sweet cream filling.  i think the little palm tree hanging off the left side of the cake is cute.

next up is my twin cousin's 1st birthday cake....based off the British show Shaun the Sheep (done by the makers of Wallis and Gromet...and is available on Netflix instant)!

i think it came out pretty good!  dave's help was invaluable to me on this one.  he made Shaun and the little baby on the top, as well as the big'en aka "Shirley."  he did such a great job on making them look like they do in the show.  i dont know if you can tell from the pics but there is a #1 on top that look it was formed with two boards.  Shaun makes stuff really fast in the show so i thought it would be fun to make it look like Shaun made a number one as well as the boys names out of wood.  this cake was chocolate with chocolate filling and the top teir was organic lemon cake with lemon curd and sweet cream filling.  everyone seemed to like it....so i declare it a success.

thats all for now but ill be back later today with more entries. 

probably the cutest thing ive seen all day!!

this is a cover of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros song "Home" by Jorge and Alexa Narvaez.  so cute!!

now playing:tuesday

 i got some good feedback on last weeks edition of Now Playing:Tuesday

so im going to give you some more good stuff to look up and enjoy.

i am a huge soundtrack lover...sometimes i pay more attention to the music in whatever movie we've gone to see than the actual movie itself.  its usually one of the first critiques ill give about a movie..."the music was great...plot sucked" for example.

so first up...

1. TRON: The Legacy Soundtrack. The entire soundtrack was done by Daft Punk...and let me just tell you now ITS AWESOME! we were downloading the soundtrack before we even got to the car....thats how good it was. They even had a cameo in the movie!

2. The Gladiator Soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard.  i know what you thinking....the Gladiator...really? Yes! A friend recently gave me this soundtrack and ive been listening to it over and over again.  Its got a middle eastern/indian sound to it that i loooove.  plus, Hans Zimmer is very well known for soundtracks and is completely brilliant

3. The Swell Season: Strict Joy.  If you have ever seen the movie Once this is them.  The brilliant work of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglova.  This album came out in 2009 but i just recently got it and love it! The soundtrack for the movie Once is also amazing.  They have a very acoustic-y folk sound.  Its very calm and chill music with alot of emotion and soul put into it. Who doesnt like an Irishman with a great voice?

Thats all for today. 

As always let me know what you think should you try any of music i listed.  If you have some music you think i should try or feature on now playing:tuesdays please send it my way!!

friday DIY: Design Sponge's aunt peaches' straw cluster chandelier

this weeks DIY comes from Design Sponge .  i saw it a while back and wanted to make it myself....so i decided since i didnt have an original DIY for you this week i would pass this one on to you!

Materials:

one bolt of 24-gauge wire
120 drinking straws
1 yard of 10-gauge wire (you can also use an old wire lamp shade or heavy gauge wire coat hanger)

Cost: $2.50 + light source (depending how you configure your base, this can attach directly to an existing fixture, including an ugly, old ceiling light)
Time: 3–5 hours, depending on size and scissor skills (80% of time is spent cutting straws)


Instructions
1. Cut straws into non-uniform sections, removing any bendy parts (is there a technical term for these?)

2. Use a small pair of scissors to make vertical incisions around the straw, leaving a 1-cm band in the middle. No need for precision here, just work toward the maximum number of incisions while leaving yourself something to grip on to later.

Note: you will find that straws from restaurants and soda fountain dispensers tend to be larger, sturdier and easier to cut than the ones you buy at the grocery store.

3. Run a 10” length of the 24-gauge wire through the remaining/unsliced tube and bend in half.

4. Use your fingers to twist the wire around itself, locking in the straw at one end.

5. Make your base by shaping the heavier 10-gauge wire into a loose spiral (wrapping around a sauce pot works well). You can also skip the spiral and go for a free-form bird cage shape, or just use and an old wire lamp shade. If you are hanging a pendant light through the base, use the lighter 24-gauge wire to form a star shape at the top, as this will allow you to slip the bulb in later.

Caution: whatever shape base you choose, just make sure there is at least a 6” open radius around the light bulb (you don’t want one of your straws touching a hot bulb!)


6. Wrap the twisted wire around your lamp base and secure. Note, 70% of the straws here are secured so that they remain suspended 4” off the base; the other 30% range from 1” to 10” to give it a more non-uniform, organic feeling.

And your done!!

if you wanted different colors...like maybe a glittery metalic...you could spray paint it either before or after.  i think its pretty with or without a lightbulb.....and so cheap!!

now playing:tuesday

ive decided to do a new feature about the music that has been in heavy rotation on my pod durning the week.

first up.....

1.  Local Natives.....if you like MGMT you will like Local Natives.  They are not new to me, but they may be to you.....i love them!

2.  Ratatat....they are electronic chill (sort of)...all instrumental but have a great beat to bobb your head to

 3. Mumford and Sons.....they are sort of bluegrassy.  they are like a cross between Iron and Wine/Nickle Creek/Dave Matthew's Band.  I love it.

Feel free to give these bands a test run on iTunes.  Hope you enjoy them.
Have any good tunes you think i should know about?

starting fresh

welcome 2011....please please be a better year!!

so far ive started working on reorganizing my home environment.  last night dave helped me build a new bookcase for my bedroom.  and with the help of some nice matching storage boxes i was able to unpack some moving boxes that have been stacked in a corner for a couple years....yes years...pitiful.  tonight is my first day back to the gym and then on to tackle the closet...i have a bunch of clothes that need to be put away....and stuff that ive been hanging on to that i just need to purge.

whats on your to-do list for 2011?

tip:  make a physical written list and cross through items when you've completed it...its very satisfying to cross things off the list!!