(Sense)ational

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Whether it's a fashion blog that makes you want to wear what she is wearing, a home decor blog that make you want to curl up on that couch, a travel blog that makes you want to lounge on that spot of the earth, I'm convinced that there are a few bloggers out there that make you want to jump inside your screen and experience what they are experiencing....


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Sunday Suppers is one such blog. Whether it is the artful photography of Karen Mordechai, the gorgeous elements on the tabletops or the amazing food itself, it's complete sensory overload in the best possible way. I could spend hours on this blog and pour over every little detail.
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I can almost hear the laughter in the air and smell the aroma of the meals they are preparing. The room seems so alive and yet so at ease. To me, this blog is sheer perfection....
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What blog inspires you and is your special little spot on the interweb in which to daydream?

City Soiree

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Wish you could take onnnnne last trip this summer but don't have the time? Looking for a new idea for a dinner party/birthday party/bachelorette party/engagement party? Why not take a trip to the city without ever leaving the house?

When I saw this shower curtain from CB2 I knew it either needed to be turned into curtains for a fun city/yellow checker cab kid's room or a backdrop or table cover for a party. And the skyscraper decor? Love! It was like when you see a brownie and don't even need to take a bite to tell it's delicious. Sometimes you just know.

Let your imagination take you on a trip with this one!

• Luggage tags would make great napkin rings (and then favors) when tied around linen napkins.
• These Plum Party Taxi Cabs could be made into placecard holders with a little cardstock, imagination and a dab of glue on their roofs. Use them as I just decided nature intended or to hold postcards or photos of the city you're channeling.
• Invitations can be simple skyline backdrops or postcards. You can buy them here or make your own with some paper, images found online and scissors.
• The luggage favor boxes from Beau Coup are perfection. The labels are optional so feel free to customize your own.

Keep the party an overall Big City feel or pick a city to base your theme on:

• New York calls for fun and street vendor fare. A hot dog and pretzel bar anyone?
• San Franciso - I'd be very tempted to serve Rice a Roni in small shot glasses with appetizer spoons for one.
• Boston - A Chowdah and Seafood bar.
• Chicago - Make your own deep dish pizza stations.
• Dallas - if you don't serve beef then those Oprah people might come after you.

Of course you don't have to spend a fortune to pull this look off, but if you don't want a little wow factor, you can find items like these fun backdrops and border online. Skyline gift bags for party favor bags are another fun touch to send guests off with for the long trek home....across town.

Who wants to make a trip to the City of St. Louis to come play with me?

Tiny Prints.Tiny Prices. Big Style.

I'll say it again, I love Tiny Prints. They really do have one of the best collections of invitations and assorted paper goodness for every occasion. Clever little monkeys, they are.

How clever, you ask? Clever enough to add budget-friendly invitations to their selection. (Although their original lines are already priced so nice!)

But, fear not Party Recessionistas, their new Studio Basics lines of Baby Shower and Children's Birthday Party invitations will not have you sacrificing style in the name of saving money. With prices starting as low as 59 Cents each, and a special $3 shipping offer, I suggest you go peruse the collections yourself!

So Sweet Of You

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Thank you Paper Source for the email today. It's almost like you knew two of my favorite things are vintage goods and baked goods. That makes this Cavallini Sweet Treats Calendar the perfect inspiration for a simple excuse to get together.

• Set the table fun mix & match vintage tea cups and saucers. (Second hand stores are a gold mine.)
• Pop a few flowers in some unused teapots and place in the center of the table.
• Visit your local bakery for a selection of sweets and display them on a side table with framed copies of the pages from this calendar.
• Brew some tea.
• Invite the girls over for a sit and a (gos)sip.

Simple and sweet! That's an afternoon bash I'd like to crash!

Amy Says Relax

(For the sake of this post let's pretend you don't have a full-time job or that you take a vacation day to treat yourself to a day with your best gals!)

SO, you've either got the kids back off to school or are about to soon. You know what that means? It's time to treat you and your girlfriends to an afternoon of "me" time!

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Six Chicks Designs has some fabulous new inspiration on their Facebook page for an in-home spa party. These girls are SO good at paying attention to all the little details and making you want to jump into your computer screen and be a guest at their parties. I'm a little more relaxed just looking at the photo gallery!

Wizard of Ahhs

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When Ginger from Junebug Entertaining Reads sent me pictures of this adorable Wizard of Oz baby shower she did, she probably had no idea the poor child would be 18 by the time they got posted. In the interest of not losing every one of you and giving Ginger her well-deserved kudos I just can't wait for the template fix.

I can't hold back any longer....this is just too cute!

From the yellow brick road, to perfect use of Dorothy-approved blue and white gingham to the sunflower seed packet favors (State Flower of Kansas!), this Wizard of Oz shower makes it clear that we're not in cookie cutter baby shower land anymore!

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Be sure and go peep the rest of the pictures and details over at Ginger's blog.

Seriously, Crayons Would Work Better

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I have had these photos saved in my draft folder just waiting that blessed day when this blog template isn't such a hot mess. That day hasn't come. In the meantime I know you've probably seen these all over the place but I still adore them.

Re: the blog...you can clearly see that now all the stuff on the side is now on the bottom. And, no, they will not move. We've tried all the usual methods to get the layout back. See post below...I'm calling in a pro and buying a new template.


In the meantime I hope you can stick around to see what's going on around here in spite of the funkdified template issues. At this point I really think drawing posts in crayon and scanning them in and emailing them to all of you would be more pleasant.

Or, more pleasant still, just sitting around and eating buckets full of these adorable pretzel crayons from Parties by Hardie. You must pop over and see the new printable Back To School collection while you are it. Instatheme party time!

Guess What?

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I'm over this whole template thing. We've tried all the tricks we know and nothing is working. I think this is a long overdue sign to buy a new template and overhaul this blog. Not sure how long that will take but in the meantime I'll get some of this nasty bright blue posts up for your viewing pleasure.

Soon we'll all have something pretty to see on here though! Yaaaaaaaaaaay!

xoxo -
ames

Lauren - I may contact you in the meantime for some help from your programmer. Miss you...let's chat this week!

Testing...1...2....3...

Yep, still messed up.

Seriously. Is anyone still even checking this blog? This is getting ridiculous. The Mr. was out of town this week so I will ply him with cookies and perhaps head/scalp "skritches" to see if he can fix this nonsense this weekend.

Have a good one!