I'm having a party...

... no, it's not a birthday party. It's not a holiday party or a special occasion party or anything like that. It's a "let's just have a good time for the sake of having a good time" party. It's a "come one, come all, the more the merrier" kind of party. It's a "let's stuff our faces" party.

It's a cupcake tasting party.

I've been wanting to host a cupcake tasting party for a VERY long time but I just never got around to organizing it. Well, the time has finally come and the date is set for late February. I plan on baking at least 5 different kinds of cupcakes from scratch, having little voting cards where my guests can vote for their favorite and cute little take-out boxes to send them off with a cupcake or two to enjoy later. This afternoon, I did a some online shopping and purchased these goodies for my party from The Cupcake Social store on Etsy -

Zebra-print cupcake liners

Red paper straws

Black damask cupcake liners

Choosing cute liners to bake my cupcakes in was easy. Actually choosing the recipes I'll be baking isn't quite as simple. Root beer cupcakes and red velvet cupcakes are a must. Chocolate and vanilla are always popular choices, but they're kind of boring. Lemon cupcakes could be cute. Peppermint? Peanut butter? Coconut? Cherry, cookies 'n cream, lime, fudge, caramel, Irish cream? I've got a headache just thinking about it. Thank goodness I've got a month to narrow it down!

What kind of themed party would you like to host someday?

xo

Some Etsy Eye Candy

I know I haven't been very good at keeping up with my blog ... I've just been so busy lately, trying to get all my school work done. The end of semester is quickly approaching and I have lots of papers to write and assignments to complete before December 1st.

This morning I spent some time browsing around Etsy for the first time in months and I found *tons* of great things! The following items have officially made my Christmas list --

5 Strawberry Sundae Dishes, available here.

Hot Pink Blooming Blossom pillow, available here.

Bathroom sign decor, available here.

*happy sigh*
I just love shopping. :o)

Etsy Share

OK, so I'll be honest: I'm a selfish Etsy shopper. I rarely tell people about great Etsy shops that I find because I'm paranoid that if I tell people about them all the goodies will sell out before I have a chance to order everything for myself. I know, I know ... doesn't make much sense, does it? However, this Etsy shop is sooooo lovely I couldn't help but post about it.

It's called Lilla Lotta and she specializes in beautiful handmade ribbon with really unique and whimsical designs. I ordered some last week and they arrived today in a cute little package from Paris and they are soooooo wonderful. I can't wait to play with them!

Have a wonderful weekend & happy shopping! xox

10 Things I ♥ Tuesday

... Scrapbook Edition !!

I thought, in honor of my scrappin' mojo having returned in full force, I would dedicate today's "10 Things I Love" list to some of my favorite things in the scrap world. Fun, eh?! So let's get started. They may not be essential to every scrapbooker, but if this was all I had to work with I'd be fine from here on out ~

1. Stamps: rubber or acrylic, I love 'em both.
2. Riff Raff Designs chipboard shapes. They're fantastic.

3. 8.5 x 11 is officially my new favorite size to work with.

4. My handwriting. I used to hate it and found it too messy, but now I include it on every layout.

5. Inks, all colors. I love inking the edges of my papers.

6. Love 3-D foam squares ... they add dimension to my layouts.

7. American Crafts. Hands down, my favorite manufacturer.

8. Kraft cardstock. I have dozens of colors of cardstock, but I always seem to reach for kraft no matter what kind of layout I'm working on.
9. Journaling tags. I usually include at least one on each layout.

10. Cute embellishments. {Especially cupcakes & ice-cream cones}

... speaking of cute embellishments, this heart pin is available in Natalie's etsy shop, aka Paper Trail Studio. How adorable does it look on my layout?!

xOxOx

my feet hurt :o(

Wow. What a week! I have fallen asleep at 8pm two nights in a row, and I STILL feel utterly exhausted. I need a vacation. I need a beach, a good book and a sangria. And I need it now.

I've been eyeing that *adorable* canvas in Jenny's Baker Shop etsy store, and am tempted to buy it for myself as an end-of-semester treat. What do you think? It's a little pricey, but I looooove it.

-xox-

today, I treated myself

I splurged and bought these super duper cute stickers from Michelle's etsy shop. I couldn't help myself, I have a weakness for ice-cream. I have no idea where or how I'll use them, but I knew I had to have them anyway.

Life's been pretty busy over here ... I have a bunch of reading to get done for school, lots of homework and research papers to tend to. BORING. I've also been busy scrapbooking, which is much more entertaining than doing school work.

xOxOx