Twinkle, Twinkle

The other day we had a few people over to the house for brunch. And by a few, I mean 50. If you're gonna make breakfast, you might as well make enough for a crowd, right?

There was a very popular Bloody Mary bar...

And yogurt and bacon and cookies...

 

...And did I mention Bloody Marys?

And then we had a baby shower and a gender reveal! That's right! My baby's having a baby! And it's going to be a...

Happy dance! Happy dance!

My fabulous daughter-in-law, Ashley, has wonderful friends and sisters who served as hostesses. They came in a couple of hours before the shower began to cook and decorate.

The theme was Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and it started with these cute invites.

So we decorated with stars everywhere.

But wait what's that on top of the book shelf? Right next to the baby pictures of the new mom and dad and the sonogram?

Yes, that thing!

Why it's a folded book by Reading With Scissors, of course! What shower would be complete with one? (Duh!)

But, Stephanie, you ask, what's with the 28?

Well, dear reader, Ashley is also a reader, and when it came to taking those cute baby bump pictures that everyone's doing these days, she didn't want to do the standard "Baby is the size of a cauliflower" pictures. She wanted to do something with books. (I told you she was fabulous.)

So a few weeks ago, I decoupaged this cool Chapter sign and we've been using RDCBs to mark the weeks. We started at 20 weeks and she's been taking a picture every month since. Here's the first one we did:

...and the next

And now we are at week 28!

Wait...Week 28? That means the baby will be here before we know it! Happy dance! Happy dance!

April Showers Bring May Flowers and October Showers Bring Cheeseball Bats

Don't you hate bloggers who make excuses for being so tardy between posts?

Don't be a hater. All of my excuses are excellent.

It's not that I haven't been folding. In fact the opposite is true. In the last few weeks it has been non-stop. Twenty-six orders and I'm only about half way through the list! I've had to put some people on a wait list just in case I find time to do a few more before the holidays.

And I'd love to show you some pictures, but most of them are Christmas presents and I don't want to spoil any surprises. (Wait until January--pictures galore!)

But before October is over, I want to show you a Halloween project.

Wait, what? It's mid-November already? DANG! I should be folding.
But here's a quick look at my Halloween project instead.

You all remember, Barb, right? That's her on the right. And that's her best friend, Sharon on the left. When I moved into my neighborhood 18 years ago, Sharon and Barb were the first two people I met.



The adorable baby is Barb's granddaughter, but Sharon is holding her because she's practicing to be a grandmother, too. And she doesn't have long to practice because her daughter, Kelli, is due in only a couple of months.

And new babies call for showers, so Barb,her daughter Mandi, and I threw one for Kelli.

Let me give you a piece of advice. If you ever have a party thrown for you, make sure Barb is in charge. Remember how I told you that Barb is the reason God invented Pinterest? Well, here is more proof. Check out this spread--and don't miss the homemade diaper cake in the middle.

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Those little glass ramekins near the cake pops were full of cinnamon apples with this struesel to die for. Holy cow they were good!

And on the other end of the table was this big bowl of candied popcorn that Mandi made. When I die, someone be sure to tell Mandi to fill my casket full of this before they lower me in the ground and I promise never to leave and haunt anyone.

Here were my contributions. First up goblin guts, Fritos, and monster eyeballs. Also known as Texas caviar and meatballs.

 

And cheeseball bats. (Barb is not the only one with a Pinterest account.)

Here is the crowd enjoying all the goodies.

And speaking of goodies, here's the pretty mom-to-be opening her presents.

As I've mentioned before, despite appearances to the contrary, this is not a cooking blog. So here was the contribution from Reading With Scissors--sparkly pillow box owl party favors...

with dictionary page eyes...

 ...and candy corn and white chocolate M&M filler (not pictured because they went from my hand to my face too fast).

I wish I could say that I am crafty enough to have designed these myself. I am not. But I am smart enough to buy the pattern for my Silhouette machine and let it do all the work--which leaves me more time for consuming the filler. And folding.

Yikes! What time is it? A week until Thanksgiving?? Got to get back to folding.

When Life Gives You Ground Delays, Giggle!

So the other day I made a mad dash through the Phoenix airport to catch a plane. My first flight had landed just a few minutes before, and the late landing and a connecting flight in the next terminal meant this was not going to be an easy task.

I rounded the corner just as they called my group to get on and out of breath, I handed my boarding pass to the gate agent and took my seat.

The airplane gods were being good to me that day, or at least that's what I thought. I had an exit seat with a lot of room. Well, a lot of room relatively speaking. The flight attendants quickly went through their spiel, and with my seatbelt securely fastened across my lap and my backpack situated underneath the seat in front of me, I felt the plane lurch backward...and then stop.

"Uh..." said a voice from the cockpit, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've just received word that there are major thunderstorms in Texas and they've called a ground delay in Houston, so we're going to have to sit here for an hour. Please feel free to get out your phones and computers."

Phones and computers, are you kidding me? I thought as I reached into my backpack and grabbed an RDCB. This is the perfect time to fold a book! So I did.

I had gotten just this far...

...when the voice from the cockpit returned.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we just got word from the dispatcher that we're free to go. Please restow all your personal belongings. We'll be on our way shortly."

A collective sigh of relief came from the passengers as the flight attendants made sure we were buckled in and tray tables were stowed. The plane began backing up again, pivoted, and began its way to the runway...and then...

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry, but even though the dispatcher told us it was OK to go apparently he hadn't checked with Houston and there is still a ground delay. We're going to have to wait another hour. The flight attendants are going to go through the cabin with a beverage service."

The collective sigh of less than a minute before now turned into a collective groan, but not from me. I reached down and grabbed my RDCB and started folding away. I made it as far as... 

...before the pilot came back on one last time to tell us that the ground delay had been lifted and we had been cleared for take off. By the time the flight was over, the book was finished...

just in time to give it to this lovely mom-to-be for her baby's nursery.

Because let's face it--whether you're sitting on a plane for a two-hour delay or sitting up at two o'clock in the morning waiting for a baby to burp, sometimes the best thing you can do is just giggle.

Saturday Reading With Scissors Style

This is Babette.

If Barb is my spiritual advisor on all things decorative, then Babette is my advisor on all things to do with running a small business. And she should know, she runs three, including Print Me Prim who was responsible for all the invitations, programs, and seating chart and other sundries when my baby got married, and Kraft Outlet, where you can get some of the coolest crafting supplies ever.

Babette is a fellow Oklahoman, has the best stories, and always keeps me in stitches. She also is a great bird dog for RDCBs, which is how I ended up at Marilyn's estate yesterday carting out a couple of boxes of the coveted books.

I'm loving these pink and blue lovelies...

...and especially these blue beauties...

and these neutrals with a bright red accents.

And then something new. Reader's Digest Condensed Books of Murder and Suspense, with this cool spider web motif...

...and this black volume with an embossed Sherlock Holmes on the cover.

And here's a mystery for you. RDCBs normally always have 576 pages--no matter what the year or story, but these Mystery and Suspense books both have more than 600. What gives? Ah who cares? It's room for another letter or two!

So after I left Marilyn's, I went over to Barb's for a wedding shower.

And look at Barb! She's folding flowers, too! She decorated her luncheon tables with these cute purple and orange flower and matching RDCBs from the Reading With Scissors collection.

She got rave reviews from everyone!

And here is the beaver that always stands in Barb's foyer wearing her wedding veil and giant diamond ring. 

Just because.

May Showers Bring Brand New Flowers

You have already met my friend and personal Svengali for all things decorative, Barb. 

Guess what. She's gonna be a grandma! And today I went to a lovely shower and brunch for her daughter, Mandi. 

Festivities were at our friend, Sharon's. Sharon does not need a decorating Svengali. She has the same gene that Barb has. And a Pinterest account. Here was the gorgeous setting for the very tasty brunch.

And here is the bouquet I made for Mandi's nursery.

It came with zinnias...

(that's pink China from the Rand McNally Atlas)

...and mums (maybe part of the Sahara?)...

and some bright allium...

(courtesy of the Atlas and an RDCB)

All thrown together in an an English garden kind of way...

...if English gardens grew inside RDCBs.

Here is Mandi receiving her bouquet (and a chance to check out more of Sharon's decorations)...

...and here she is getting ready to take them home.

What a beautiful mama! Lucky kid!

October Showers Bring November Weddings

Seasons of life.

A few years ago I couldn't go to the mailbox without getting at least one graduation announcement. Now it's weddings and showers. My kids are of that age and so are all my friends', it seems.

That's fine by me. I love weddings and I love showers. Weddings and showers mean lots of presents, lots of smiles and best of all...

CAKE!

So in honor of all those beautiful brides and handsome grooms out there, this one's for you.

And speaking of love, here is how I blog these days.

That's Rudy, the dauschund, with her head hanging over the edge of the couch and Oreo, the cat, spooning my arm. 

They love me, and I love them. Love is grand. So is cake.