File these under "someday, perhaps after I win that jackpot, prolly never" but I am head over heels in love with these tiny earrings. Since the babes were born, wearing dangly earrings became a dangerous habit, and now it just feels weird so I've stuck to studs mainly. But a good little earring is hard to find! Love that these would look just like diamonds and gold from a casual glance. Subtly subversive. love love love...

Spider earrings by Iwona Ludyga (find them here)

P.S. My four year old just walked up as I was previewing this post and said,

"Are those spiders?!" I said, "Yeah, spider earrings!" "Oh Mom, you gotta get dos!" he replied. Now I really really want them!! :)

From the Desk of A.J. - Hostess With The Mostess (.com)

* A 'B' themed Baby Shower! Tooo cute!

I know…don’t hate me…but I HAD to blog about this site…and yes…it has to do with party throwing. Don’t worry…I promise we are not turning into a 24/7 entertaining party throwing blog…but when you visit Hostess With The Mostess…you’ll understand the reason for my madness.

OK…now that little dude’s party is behind us…and I think I’m finally settling into him turning 1 (ok…giving up bottles, which means less Boppy feedings/cuddle time, which means intro-ing milk, forward facing car seat…and buying his first pair of big boy shoes…all within 2 weeks is waaaaaay too much to ask of a mama…I mean he’s alright with all of the changes…but the Hubster and I, that’s a different story). Anyway…babbling again…sorry…what I meant to say is…I’m on to the next party!!!

A cousin of mine just recently got engaged and my party partner in crime (hey sister) and I are helping out with the engagement party… of course. Searching high and low through the net I stumbled upon (don’t you love how much I stumble upon things?) Hostess With The Mostess, an online party resource. Here we go…

Created by a design guru in San Diego and queen of all parties….she has put together an incredible party site choc full of ideas, recipes, themes, you name it…its in there. The site is super simple to navigate…unlike a lot of other party sites I have been to. HWTM tags them as Entertaining 101 (simple basics tips for hostessing a party), Fab finds (great guide for party décor), Fab gifts (self explanatory), Recipe box, Yummy reads (great guide for cookbooks), Entertaining Reads (great book guide, well, for entertaining:). HWTM also features “in the spotlight” parties which has all 5 steps featured in pics and tips…sooooo inspiring!!! Intro, tabletop, party décor, on the menu, and favors. Unbelievable how beautiful and fun these parties are…and what’s great is you can go all out as in the pics..or scale it down to fit your needs and or budget. A lot of d.i.y. easy crafts too…we love that…makes it so much more personal & unique:)

Check it out and I promise, you will thank your lucky stars you have signed up to be a follower of our PSD blog…which just so happens to be written by some themed party lovin’ mamas:)

Check out Hostess with The Mostess here! So much lovely eye candy!

Clothkits

I saw designer Jane Foster's daughters' room on Ohdeedoh (so cute!) and followed the link to her website and just loved her work. On her site there is a link to the designs she did for a company called Clothkits and I totally fell in love with the stuff on there. Clothkits was a company that started in the seventies, and was just recently resurrected with all new designs. They sell kits to make clothes and toys for kids, and also some bags and accessories for adults. I love the vibrant, somewhat retro look to it all, and the more modern graphics (like on the dress above). And I love how super easy everything is, simply cut out the fabric (already printed in the shape of what you're making) and sew! Perfect for someone like me with limited sewing skills. It would also be a great gift/project for a older kiddo who is just getting started sewing.

Find Clothkits here and Jane Foster's site here.

Happy Weekend!

The weekend is finally here!! Isn't it amazing how some weeks fly by and other's seem to drrrraaag. I think it was the heat, but it felt like Friday might never come this week for me. I just can't function. :)

I do have a very important, super serious decision that I need your help with though! Our fridge is b-o-r-i-n-g me to death with its blah whiteness. Yes thats right, I expect more from my fridge than just safely housing my veggies. Why am I bored with my fridge? Because I saw this:

*From Daily Danny

Bah! I love! But then someone came up with whiteboard paint! And now I'm torn. Do I cover my fridge with chalkboard paint? Or whiteboard paint? Both have inherent messes to deal with, but with a family of doodlers, I know we'll all love it when its said and done. What's the lesser evil you think, chalk or whiteboard markers?? I think I like the look of the chalkboard paint (I'm leaning towards old school black) but I am unnaturally in love with my whiteboard calendar (really I'm obsessed) because it is so easy to change/update. Decisions decisions! Be a dear and throw your opinion out there. Have any of you used either of these paints?

A Cuter Disney Shirt

So here's a shocker for you: My kid's love Disneyland. Disney movies, yeah, they'll watch them. But their true love is Disneyland itself, the rides, the characters, everything about it. And since we're lucky enough to live very close, and be season pass holders, we go a lot. A LOT. My son eats lives and breathes it. So anything they can find that relate to good 'ol Disneyland gets them all in a tizzy. And, of course, you can find just about everything with a Mickey on it. Finding, cute, quality stuff? Not so easy. Which is why I love the Disney Couture line. Most of the shirts have a vintage feel, with a more modern cut (which suits my skinny minnys much better), and the graphics tend to be a little more sophisticated. I also love that they have shirts dedicated to Disneyland rides, versus only characters or movies. Admittedly, they are pricier than the eight dollar shirt you could get at the Disney store, but the quality is much higher. We have shirts that have been worn by both kiddos, and are still holding up well enough to be passed on again.

Disney Couture is sold all over the place (I've found it at Nordstroms too) but you can find a nice collection here.

From the Desk of A.J. - Decor by Color Blogs

So I don’t know about you…but sometimes I get obsessed with trying to find something that perfectly matches. By sometimes…I really mean all of the time.

It’s been a character flaw? Bonus? Whatev…of mine since I can remember. Poor mom had to have my sleeves cut off of my 8th grade graduation dress…and have them re-done just the way I wanted…because I saw it in Seventeen mag or something. I had to have mom…now Grandma spray paint the blue and white BIG numero uno piñata a few weeks ago camouflage (which btw…she did an AWESOME job) because it had to match the camo theme of little dude’s party. Anyway…I’m still and forever will be that girl that needs to find the “perfect match/detail”. Thanks heavens I got the mom that I did:)

Lo and behold…Décor by Color. Found it looking for…now I can’t even remember…but fell in love with it. Basically…it’s a blog about shopping (of course)…but BY COLOR!!!! So…if you're decorating…or trying to find that perfect gift for the friend that loves all things black and white…or pink and brown…or blue and green…or RED… or many other colors…this is the blog for you my friend.

You can look up or sign up for each individual blog…and they post their findings everyday. It’s a pretty broad range to boot…from house décor…to purses and appliances and more. Its super fun to cruise through and you can get some great ideas as well.

So…when I’m looking for that perfect little something for my house…or to wrap up…my perfect little bonus flaw will be oh so happy…color me happy:)

Find the blogs here.

The New Children's Museum in San Diego

*My pictures really don't do justice to how vibrant this place really is, but just the same, the top picture is of the shadow puppet area, bottom is the large tree that inhabits all three stories of the museum

The fam and I just got back from our weekend in San Diego and it was awesome, to say the least. We were only there three days, but we packed in a lot of fun (without it being totally overwhelming). Our second day there we visited the brand new (and aptly named) New Children's Museum in downtown. I was drawn to this museum for the kids because its not just a kid's space or an art space, its this fantastic combo of the two. Each exhibit is created by an artist with the kids in mind. So, for example, they had an exhibit by artist Felipe Duizaides called "What is essential is invisible to the eyes" and it is essentially a bounce house for the kids, in the shape of an anatomical heart. The kids climb in through an aorta and bounce around inside to their hearts content and from the exterior the heart seems to pulsate and pump like a real heart. Other exhibits include a real VW the kids can paint to their heart's content, a shadow puppet theater, a large room with dolphin videos projected onto the walls the kids could "swim" in, and so many more. They had workshops going on all day, including a race car derby, superhero workshop and a clay workshop. We only made it to one, "Tent City" where the kids climb up through a maze, on to a platform where they can create a "city" out of tarps and pipes. Our four year old loved that. (oh, and the workshops are all included with admission) My husband and I love going to art museums but have not had the chance to take the kids as much as we like (its hard to juggle nap times and driving times and anyone who has a toddler knows they need to be well fed and rested to muster the manners needed for a real art museum) and this was such an amazing place for all of us. We were given a membership by my mother-in-law (thanks again Nanny!) so we'll for sure be going back! If you are in San Diego I highly highly recommend it! Its my new favorite place.

Find directions and info on the New Children's Museum here.