Katie's Getting Married!

this shower was so fun to plan! katie has such a fun personality and style, so we (Sandy Mom, Becky, Jessi and I) had fun incorporating things that reflect katie (kites, flowers and fun fabrics)! Enjoy!

Gina+Baby Girl Sherbet Colored Shower

it was an absolute blast planning the baby shower for gina+aaron's little girl. this is such a fun, loving family, and their daughter is gonna be too cute for words!

brynne and deett designed these amazingly cute invites, and then brynne letterpressed them. cutest invites to date.

oh, bows!

feeling antsy+crafy=katie looking on craft blogs for a big chunk of the day.

i bookmark website after website, but hardly ever get around to making anything.

well, yesterday, that all changed. i was finally inspired and made something: felt bows, from sew gorgeous.

here is my final product:
they were so easy to make! i can't wait to make more colors, sizes and add little special touches to each one!

want one? tell me size and color!

xoxo

long beach breakfast tour no. 7

this grand day, was alex's birthday, and surprising was her week choice of where to eat. because it was her birthday, she chose to go back to her favorite place: the coffee cup cafe. :) i definitely liked it better this second time of eating here--mostly because i got something i liked. :)

something else that stood out about this restaurant was that we had a guest with us! daniel!
so that made it fun!

all i can say is:
-it was fun to celebrate alex's birthday here.
-i liked the restaurant this second time :)

long beach breakfast tour no. 6

feeling like staying close to home today, we went to schooner or later in the alamitos marina. (you just gotta look at the great animation on their website). it was fun because we got to ride bikes to breakfast. despite the flat tire on the bike alex rode, we got there in a quick fashion.
what i liked about this place was the view/atmosphere. i just really enjoyed sitting outside and enjoying the view of the marina and the boats. :)
the food was good too! I got an omelette :) or is that alex's plate? i don't really know...can't remember.
things i liked:
-view
-good food
-beautiful day
-bike ride distance

long beach breakfast tour no. 5

this day was dreary, gray and cold. but nonetheless, alex and i, the loyal breakfast eaters that we are, went to find a new place to experience. it was her choice, and she chose Kafe Neo at 4th and Temple. i had eaten here before for lunch, and i liked it, so i was open to seeing what their breakfast was. honestly, i didn't know greeks ate breakfast.

the decor was pretty modern, it wasn't that busy, just a few other patrons, so the service was great. alex said the interior reminded her of an airport. not quite sure if that's a good thing or not.

the menu was good, pretty standard, but with a greek twist--Feta Cheese, Pita Bread, etc.

i chose to go with Greek French Toast, that ended up being just regular french toast. that's not very creative of them. alex chose the breakfast plate, with sausage and eggs. the sausage was good--with a maple-y taste! Yum!


i would go here again, so that's a two thumbs up for this place!

long beach breakfast tour no. 4

this whole tour thing is fun. it's fun eating. it's fun chatting. and it's fun learning about a friend. this breakfast opened my eyes to a couple things-1. i may be lactose intolerant. 2. the devil does not like me, he's out to hurt me, and my relationships, and my faith. (this was discovered through my conversation with alex-and her wisdom in inner healing, and why i feel the way i feel sometimes). needless to say, this restaurant stood out to me for a few reasons, but the food wasn't one of them.
i'm gonna be straightforward with you-i didn't love this place, but it was better than the potholder. ha.
the fourth restaurant we visited was "the coffee cup cafe" in long beach, at grand and 4th. when you think "diner" this place may or may not pop-up in your head. pleasant decor, comfortable seating.
i don't have a yummy drink to report from this place, because 90% of the time, i get a water. but alex says their coffee is drink-able. :) their menu has the standard breakfast choices, with an array of omelettes.
i ordered a scramble/omelette of sorts. it was the "vegetarian" choice. it had a lot of veggies (yum!) and a LOT of cheese (not so yum.) But it also came with good potato side and an english muffin. i liked it, it had flavor. alex got a scramble too-all i know is her's had sausage in it. most scrambles are pretty similar though, aren't they :)

in that picture, my plate (closest) looks like a big, black pit of calories. and i'm not gonna deny it, it probably was. but it doesn't count if i don't eat the whole portion given.

if you're in the area, go stop by. alex loves this place. :)

long beach breakfast tour no. 3

mmm mmm mmm. did i tell you i'm a breakfast lover? if not, here it goes, for the record: i'm a breakfast lover! and boy oh boy, did i like our third breakfast stop! it's called aroma di roma, and it's located in the beautiful area known as belmont shore, in long beach.
a quaint, cute cafe, on a bustling street, aromi di roma, wouldn't have been a place i would normally choose to stop and eat, but that's what this adventure is all about, right? trying places i normally wouldn't. alex frequents this cafe, so it wasn't a new place for her, but she was excited to share it with me, and i gladly accepted!

highly recommended, i ordered the omelette, on a slice of focaccia bread--DIVINE! and alex ordered the same, minus the bread.
i don't know if i told you this or not, but i am also a connoisseur of spiced chai tea latte's. wow, i'm revealing a lot about myself to you, but that's ok :) anyways, aroma di roma, knows what they're doing in with this drink--it is good to the last drop. i was a little hesitant, by my risk stood worthy, and i was very happy with my drink!


to sum it up, i give this restuarant a 9 out of 10. only because their tables weren't wiped down when we sat down. but on the real, it was a place i would recommend to anyone who takes the time to read my blog.

until next week!

long beach breakfast tour no. 2

welcome back!
after our delicious breakfast last week--alex and i stood loyal in continuing this yummy adventure. we received a few comments from friends, and we listened to one of alex's friends recommendation to go to The Potholder Cafe, located at Broadway and Euclid, in Long Beach.
This cafe was nestled in a neighborhood, too--but i'm not gonna lie, alex and i were less than pleased with the place as a whole.
we arrived, and were directed to sit "anywhere" but the only suitable tables for 2 that were unoccupied were in a dark room of the restuarant. confused, we proceeded to sit at a table that could sit 10. with elvis behind me, and an indian man next to alex, we opened the menu, and scoured for our meal choice.
the menu had 2 options for breakfast ordering, and 1 page for lunch/dinner. the feisty waitress came over twice to ask if were ready, when we clearly weren't. i settled for the bacon, egg and french toast combo plate-alex ordered the scramble, with a side of corn tortillas.

as you can tell by the picture, there wasn't much love put into our meal. the scramble was lacking flavor, and my combo plate was lacking yumminess. the potholder's also need to work on their coffee making skills--on the other list of things i would change about this diner. it was 50% harbor house decor+50% random. the food was a 3 on a scale to 10.

not to be critical or anything (ha!) but i wouldn't eat there again--or recommend it.

sorry potholder cafe, but i choose starling diner so far.

long beach breakfast tour no. 1

it can't get better than having good conversation over a plate of yummy food, with a dear friend. right? right! well, alex agrees with me, and we have decided to embark on an adventure, of sorts. for the next six months, one day a week, we are staying committed to this adventure, which means learning/talking more about each other and God's plan in our lives, touring long beach, california, and eating good food.

our first stop (of many) for the next six months (until alex leaves for africa) was at the starling diner. i had been here before with my husband, and it definitely left an impression. and alex had heard about it from multiple people. so we decided to make it our first tour stop.

the diner is located at: 4114 e. 3rd street, long beach. it rests in a residential community, you would miss it, if you aren't paying attention. it has limited outdoor seating, but has a handful of tables inside. the wall decor is cute and shabby on one wall, while the alternate wall has art from local artists, that is available for purchase.

the menu offers breakfast and lunch options, all that look great! i definitely have my lunch choice chosen in the back of my mind (chicken salad sandwich!). for this particular morning, i went with the basic eggs+bacon+roasted potatoes plate, off of their specials list, and got a great meal for a great price! alex chose to go with the apple sausage+eggs+roasted potatoes plate. all of it tasted delectable!



the service was good, the atmosphere was fun and the food tasted good! i would definitely recommend this diner to anyone looking for a good breakfast with a friend!

sandy mom's birthday.

celebrating birthdays are a wonderful thing. and that is exactly what we (daniel and i) did this weekend. we celebrated mrs. sandy chesnut. she is a dear, through and through.
the birthday celebration started friday afternoon with a fif-tea birthday tea party with her sisters, friends + family. becky and i had so much fun preparing all of the little touches for the tea, and adding all of the touches sandy would have done for us. the tea was a blast with yummy treats, soothing tea and lots of laughs.
the party continued on saturday afternoon with a family party at the house. it involved josh's game creation "mom charades-inary"--the Special 50th birthday edition. the two teams came up with sayings or actions that describe mom. a fun time. we also presented a book that we created for her with notes from everyone--expressing our love and adoration of her. she found the gift to be really touching. i actually created the felt book cover and provided pictures below.
it was an overall great celebration for a great person. :) happy birthday sandy mom!

wishing and hoping.

one of my favorite things to look at online is furniture. if i could have all of the thnings i dream about...our apartment would be on the verge of being considered for the "hoarders" show (one of our favorites--that we feel guilty watching and enjoying). but regardless, a girl can dream can't she?



this restoration hardware desk has me drooling. can you believe that it is actually one of their "child desks"? and half the price of their "adult desks"? awesome!

this bed is from restoration hardware, too. i just know that our bedding would look amazing on this bed. not to mention we need to upgrade to a queen size bed. :)

this chair caught the eye of my husband about 1year+ ago. and he's been talking about it ever since! of course, it's close to 2K, otherwise we would probably have 1, no 7, of them around the house. we get to thank anthropologie for this one :)

i think two of these chairs would suit our dining room table perfectly. intermixed with the two wooden chairs we have--i think it captures the flea market feel we like to embrace. just waiting for these puppies to go on the sale tab of crate and barrel.

it's fun thinking about decorating your home. funner when you can afford the "nicer pieces" that you want to accent with. :)