be gifted

moving

2010-01-07T12:11:00.000-08:00

so, we got a new computer and it is a mac and i could not figure out what blog software to use

or how to upload to blogger since i have been using a pc, so being the kind of girl i am, i just moved on over to one that would work. it is definitely still a work in progress, but check it out here http://begifted.wordpress.com/ and please change whatever it is that you use to remind you to look at my blog to this address. . .and if you do, i promise to be better about posting. i have so many fun things i want to post about, just need to do it. here is to a new year with lots of positive change. xoxo

LOVEmikana

2009-12-11T08:55:00.001-08:00

There is a new blog in town and I am LOVING it. Which by the name is exactly what they thought I would do. . .I get an email every morning that tells me what is great and fun around my town. You must check it out and subscribe. You will LOVE it.
(oh and by the way, they featured someone really cool this morning. . .) hee hee
visit LOVEmikana

2009-12-06T09:11:00.000-08:00

I think these cards are my most favorite holiday items we have in the store this year. Lazaro Design, a local company, created these works of art using inspiration from her favorite carols. They are absolutely gorgeous and you have to see them in person to appreciate her amazing details-glitter, snow and color. Her packages of cards include little bird tie-ons for your gifts. And the price per card is amazing for the amount of work that goes into each one. Come on down to the shop at 1223 State Street to take a look.

advent 2009

2009-11-30T21:55:00.001-08:00

i LOVE this new iphone app!! the content and content are amazing and it is free. you must put it on your iphone today! and oh my goodness, there are some gift giving tips from ME in there. seriously. i made it on an iphone app. how fun is that? but for real, it is really cool. put it on your phone today. merry christmas!

get it here

thanks

2009-11-27T22:25:00.001-08:00

our thanksgiving was amazing. so much fun and so wonderful to spend time with family. i was in charge of the appetizers. i am working like crazy and therefore did not have time to sort through recipes for hours like i would normally want to. so, as i was quickly browsing through my november issue of real simple, i came upon a page of beautiful apps. i decided to make a few. one of these was the most amazing combinations of flavors that i have ever discovered. the recipe is available at realsimple.com, but actually is REAL SIMPLE. here goes.

we used turkish apricots, black forest bacon, sage leaves and real maple syrup. put a sage leaf on the apricot, wrap it in the bacon and then brush them with maple syrup. put them on a baking sheet seam side down, kept together with toothpicks at 350 degrees until your bacon is crispy. serve them and watch people enjoy. they will be nodding their heads and saying “yum” and then count to 15. at 15, the sage leaf will hit them and they will be in a glorious epicurean heaven and will not know what hit them. it put all of my other crudites to shame. the poor cheese, fruit and nut platter which usually takes center stage was an afterthought. sad. except for the amazing raspberry habanero jelly from santa barbara preserves. it is up there with the bacon.

fall is lovely

2009-11-22T17:09:00.001-08:00

can’t believe it is thanksgiving already. that is absolutely nuts. i thought this was a beautiful idea for a centerpiece. sometimes it is hard to always have to be a season ahead in the retail world. i have to try really hard to appreciate the current season. this helped.

how to instructions here from design sponge

photo by studio choo

little bug

2009-11-11T08:42:00.001-08:00

happy 5th birthday buggie.

these five years have been the most amazing years of my life. never would i have imagined how much a heart could be filled up with one little girl’s love. your spirit is a gift. since you were a tiny baby, you have made even the grumpiest of people smile. lately you have befriended a woman who walks past the shop everyday a couple of times. she has always seemed sad and i have often wondered her story. i have smiled at her before, but have never said hello or asked her how she was. you gave her candy on halloween and now whenever you see her, you run up to her and say hello with a huge smile and without hesitation. i have noticed she now has a slight bounce in her step and holds her head a bit higher when she walks past. you have also begun carrying around a brite orange paper bag for the past two weeks that is filled with shells we have collected over the years. you give one to everyone you come across, you call them your friends and they now are. you are the epitome of unconditional love. you seem to see through the exterior and look straight through to the heart and soul of people. what a blessing. thank you for being an example to me. and oh my goodness, do you make me laugh. your vocabulary has been amazing since you were 1 year old. . . always shocking us with the words that come out of your mouth and your seeming ability to know exactly the proper time to use them. your sensitivity is a beautiful gift, as well. . . i love that i will hear a whimper in the back seat of the car and when i ask what is wrong, you tell me that the song that is on is so beautiful that it is making you cry. or when i look in the mirror and see a reflection of you with your eyes closed just listening. and when you dance, you dance from your spirit. . .i LOVE the mad face you make when you dance hip hop. you are filled with grace, emotion, joy and beauty that just is. you don’t even have to try to be. i hope and pray that your strength and confidence in the way you know yourself never leaves you because you touch people’s lives just by being you. you have changed me forever and i will eternally be grateful to the Father for giving me the opportunity to be your mama. happy birthday to my baby girl.

love always, mommy

dancing queen, young & sweet

2009-11-05T07:34:00.001-08:00

what little girl doesn’t love to dance on her daddy’s toes. . .these are too sweet for words. i can just see a pair sticking out of madeira & sam’s stockings on christmas morning.

found on design mom via kirtsy via handmade charlotte

give at company

jana alayra concert

2009-10-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

on friday, november 13th, madeira's lifelong dream is going to be made reality. THE jana alayra is going to be appear live in concert at her school. she is SO excited. our red ipod has been bumping the jana beats for months and she is ready-with every word, key change, volume change for emphasis memorized. . . it is going to be a very fun concert, hopefully i can take my eyes of madeira and watch. probably not. please join us if you have any jana fans in your family, or if you want to make some.

info about jana and source for photo

trinity preschool
1002 cieneguitas road, santa barbara, ca 93105
friday, november 13th at 6.oopm
dinner by spencer mackenzie's fish co. prior to show at 5.oo

for tickets contact brittney at 805.687.4988 or brittney@trinity-preschool.org

the pumpkins are back!

2009-10-23T08:17:00.001-07:00

the lynne bonnell pumpkins are back for fall again this year. . .and she added burlap!! LOVE. you can see the glitter and black pumpkins that madeira and i made in the back too. i am obsessed with fall. made caramel apples last nite too. just ignoring the 80 degree weather and the sweat dripping down my head while i sip hot cider in my uggs. ;)

call the shop if you see a pumpkin you like, we ship!

santa barbara gift baskets @ 805.965.1245

off to paris

2009-10-09T16:56:00.001-07:00

kind of. . . sam and i would LOVE to travel to paris, italy, spain, portugal etc etc, but for now and for various reasons, it is not the right time. . . this weekend we are up in the sonoma/napa area for a wedding. such a beautiful part of california. for some reason, sam and i have dubbed it our french trip (i think a lot of it has to do with my new hair do, i think it looks french. . .), so we have been speaking with a french accent (although mine tends to go between persian and spanish more than french), we have been trying to find patisseries & boulangeries, enjoyed the amazing movie, chocolat with a bottle of cotes du i forget where, but it was good and had an adorable hen on the label, visited a gorgeous sidewalk flower stand and enjoyed a leisurely lunch at k&l bistro today. it has been so much fun to have our own little secret theme, and seriously, hearing sam say patisserie in a cute accent with his sweater vest is just too much.

the meadows flower market in oakland on college avenue

la farine bakery in oakland (try the morning buns or the ham and cheese pastry, OMG)

k & l bistro (amazing lamb and favra bean pot pie was the lunchtime special of the day, YUM)

more to come. . .

project pumpkin

2009-10-04T10:02:00.001-07:00

i have come across some super cute pumpkin crafts the last couple of weeks. . .wanted to share. i am feeling a craft nite coming on, who is with me?

glitter and black pumpkins how to here thanks to frenchie and flea

gourd garland how to thanks to martha

jack o lantern towers thanks to martha

loving the vintage packaging

2009-09-25T10:25:00.001-07:00

look at this pudding. do you die? i do. i don't even like pudding, but i bought two packs. that is some good packaging. i want to do a retro gift basket with stuff like this. . .i would buy that. (but you probably have gotten the idea that i would buy most anything)

image taken by me and retrofied with the iphone app camera bag
pudding available at trader joes

savor santa barbara

2009-09-12T13:08:00.001-07:00

Please come and meet the faces behind Santa Barbara's finest gourmet foods as part of the month to savor santa barbara program, Epicure SB. Lovely locals from companies such as Jessica Foster Confections, Savvy Wine Foods, Santa Barbara Preserves, Sugar Bliss Sweets, the amazing Friday Evening cookbook and more will be there and will bring treats. A basket filled with local goodies will be raffled off to benefit Share Our Strength's mission to end hunger in America. Please join us!

Tuesday, October 13th from 3.oo until 7.oopm at Santa Barbara Gift Baskets, 1221 State Street #13, Santa Barbara, California

epicure.sb: a month to savor santa barbara. The 31-day, community-wide culinary extravaganza features food and drink festivals, cooking classes, winemaker dinners, seasonal menus, book signings, epicurean-inspired art exhibits and many other tasty opportunities to sip and savor the bounty of The American Riviera®!

Click here for more information on this event and here for more information about epicure sb

great american dine out

2009-09-11T09:05:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately, hunger is a reality for almost 12 million children in OUR country. I can not imagine how it would feel to be the mama sending her child hungry to school or the poor child trying to focus and learn with a hungry belly. Share Our Strength is the leading organization trying to ensure that no child in America grows up hungry. They say, “poverty is complex, feeding a child is not”. And I agree. They have created this great program and we are lucky enough to have local restaurants participating. When you dine out at any of these restaurants on September 20th to 26th, you will be helping to end childhood hunger.

I have decided to participate, as well and have decided to donate a percentage of our internet sales to the organization during this week, as well. Shop online at www.sbgiftbaskets.com.

Participating Santa Barbara Restaurants as of today are:

Bouchon, Seagrass, Elephant Bar, Woodstock’s Pizza

Visit Share Our Strength’s Website Here

growing up

2009-09-10T10:37:00.001-07:00

wow. i love this growth chart. maybe this will make the fact that she is growing up so fast a little bit easier. . .absolutely adorable

created by miss natalie
give it here

nothing against starbucks

2009-09-04T18:32:00.001-07:00

but, i LOVE this packaging. i seriously get so awkward every time i go to starbucks and have to close my eyes and do the formula in my head small=tall (by the way i am “small” by height standards (5 foot 2) and where i come from that is not TALL) , medium=grande (again i would describe certain parts of me as grande yet certainly NOT medium) and large=venti. the barista is always looking at me like HELLO? and i am secretly having a mild panic attack inside about the conversion, and what i want and if i should go for nonfat or soy and what the calorie content of each is. . .sugar or sweetener-which will make me sicker and fatter, why am i spending 5 dollars on something i can make at home. . . you get the picture. i like this packaging.

brooklyn fare link here (oh i wish they would deliver to santa barbara)

found via shelterrific

things were much simpler

2009-09-04T09:29:00.001-07:00

so, while in sacramento at target for about the fourth time in two days, i discovered the super secret “specialty toy” aisle. it was a feast for the eyes and i was definitely more excited than madeira ,who was pulling me toward the pink explosion aisle of princesses, baby dolls, tiaras and glittery make up for toddlers. but this aisle brought me back to days when things were much simpler and i could stare at a little plastic tv with four revolving still pictures and two songs which only worked if i wound it up with my own two hands. now, i am all for technological advances and never wanted to be “that mom” who is always talking about the good old days, but things were much simpler and less LOUD back then. i want our kids to understand how fun a phone with happy eyes can be when you pull it around the house and it makes a little quiet jingle jangle once in a while.

we bought our nephew the hall of fame pack above and as mentioned in a previous post, the slinky was quite a hit. and seriously, those crayons are in a real metal tin, absolutely gorgeous. anyways, i am so glad that duncan and fisher price have brought these toys back. now maybe i can get madeira to stop talking about this hannah montana person and asking me what it means to “break up with a boyfriend”. yuck, so not ready for that, the dating age has been officially moved to 21 in our home.

all of these toys were available at the target in sacramento, also saw them online in various toy shops

special nite

2009-09-02T15:51:00.001-07:00

so, we had our special back to school fancy dinner (inspired by nie nie). it was so much fun and madeira has never been happier. she kept saying “i really love this dinner, but i especially love my crown”. the whole day was delightful with madeira and i doing preparations-making the crown, deciding what to eat, setting the table, grocery shopping and cooking. on the menu was maryland crab cakes, mixed greens with heirloom tomatoes (lettuce and tomatoes came from a friend’s garden) with drizzled walnut oil and balsamic and garlic and parmesan cous cous. dessert was soy ice cream, raspberries and drizzled chocolate sauce. dinner discussion centered on the theme for the year which is “be kind and respectful”. madeira’s example of being kind was all about sharing a slinky. . .she just spent a few days with her cousins and the slinky was VERY POPULAR. respectful was a tougher one for her (see saucy photo above). after dinner madeira modeled her first day of school outfit (thank you target for your oh so adorable clothes!) what a sweet nite.

back to school

2009-08-23T10:17:00.001-07:00

we are not sending madeira to kindergarten this year, she is going to do preK to the second degree. lots of reasons, but the biggest one being that it will be one extra year before she goes away to college. although, she has told us that she will be marrying sam & i and living with us forever, i get this feeling that our independent girl will be more than happy to leave off to school one day. so, i am delaying it. but lots of her friends are going off to super cool kindergarten this year. so thinking of all those mamas and papas whose kids are leaving off to their first day of school in one way or another, i made a couple of comfort baskets-one for a grade schooler with comp books, number two pencils, goldfish and the like and the other for a college age kid, chips, chocolates, sunscreen, focus gatorade... haven’t figured out who will be more comforted, though, the parents giving it or the kids receiving it. speaking of first day of school, please take a look at this most amazing way one family celebrates the first day of school everyday. i plan to have one of these dinners in the next week or so, so sweet.

give the baskets here and here

please don’t leave us yet

2009-08-21T11:53:00.001-07:00

i don’t want to say goodbye to summer. it has been too much fun. i want MORE. . .

bike rides, pool days, blended drinks, sandy bed sheets, green hair, popsicles, melon, late nites, picnics at the mission, wet bathing suits ALL over the house, open windows all day long, warm sun, cool breeze, lunches at padaro, walks to harry’s, concerts at the bowl, bbqs with friends, AND most of all those little butt cheeks in her red and white polka dot bathing suit.

back to school lunches

2009-08-18T19:15:00.001-07:00

so it is back to school time again. . . look how adorable these lunch boxes, sandwich containers and water containers are. and if you go to their website, there is a cool thing where you use a dime to scratch off a discount on your computer. not a real dime because that would damage your screen, but a virtual dime. it is fun. super coolness. and much better for our little earth-y poo than sandwich bags, brown bags and plastic water bottles.

found via tot snob

really love your peaches

2009-07-31T10:41:00.001-07:00

the other day i was looking for a bible verse that talked about summer. . .interestingly enough, the bible only references summer in a negative way-hot, dry, angry etc. (please correct me if i am wrong, i am in NO WAY a bible scholar, seriously i BARELY passed my westmont religion courses. what i lack in book smarts, i make up in character, right?? ) anyways, back to summer, i think that anything that leads to fruits as gorgeous as peaches deserves some positive attention. we visited buttonwood farm in solvang last weekend –it just happened to be their peach festival, so we came home with some super yummy peaches and recipes. i made cobbler which was delish (thanks paula deen) and am looking forward to trying out some of the other recipes that we sampled. our shop will have the peach products very soon! happy summer.

Just Peachy Roasted Vegetable Couscous

Heat 1 TBS olive oil in large pan. Add 1 chopped onion and saute until soft. Mix in 1 TBS curry powder. Stir 1 minute. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a large pot. Add 2 cups plain couscous and stir until couscous is toasted, about 3 minutes. Mix in hot curry water and turn off heat. Cover pot and let stand until couscous is tender and water is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Mix in 1/2 cup salted cashew pieces, 1/2 cup dried cherries, 1/2 cup dried currants or raisins, roasted vegetables. Mound on a platter and serve warm or cold with cilantro yogurt and buttonwood farm peach chutney. (let me know if you want to order the chutney!)

serves 6-8

Cilantro Yogurt

Combine 3 cups cilantro leaves, 1 TBS fresh lime juice and 3/4 TSP salt in blender and puree. Transfer to medium bowl and add 1/2 cup plain yogurt and 1/2 cup sour cream. Cover and chill.

Roasted Veggies

Preheat oven to 4oo. Spray two large baking sheets with non stick spray. Cube 2 pounds of unpeeled eggplant and 1 1/2 pounds unpeeled zucchini and place separately on baking sheets. Drizzle olive oil on veggies, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat, then spread evenly on baking sheet. Bake until golden and tender, turning occasionally with spatula, about 25 minutes for zucchini and 50 minutes for eggplant. Meanwhile roast 3 large red bell peppers over and open flame, charring the skins. Place in large paper bag and let stand for 10 minutes. Peel and seed. Cut into 1 inch pieces and combine in bowl with other vegetables.

recipe courtesy of buttonwood farm

Picking Berries. . .

2009-07-27T11:57:00.001-07:00

If you live nearby, you MUST make a trip to Morrell Nut & Berry Farm in Solvang (right down the street from Buttonwood Winery & Farm, that post is coming soon!). We went this weekend and picked the most amazing blackberries and raspberries. It is the sweetest farm and absolutely gorgeous scenery. We filled up a large plastic container and it was less than $7. Madeira had the best time picking the berries and we loved helping her. Oh my goodness and did I mention how absolutely yummy the berries are. . .

More info here

sunday reminder

2009-07-26T09:54:00.001-07:00

photo by samuel thomas

summer gifts

2009-07-24T08:19:00.001-07:00

backyard swings, brightly colored buckets, dancing in the sand, waves, pool days, “laying out”, ocean breeze, warm sun, popsicles, bbqs, tug-o-wars (gone wrong, sorry papa), watermelon, good friends, cousins. . .these have been our summer gifts. how about you?

Viva la Rehearsal Dinner

2009-07-16T07:59:00.001-07:00

This amazingly gorgeous rehearsal dinner was held at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. I love love love the vibrant colors. What a wonderful venue right in our backyards. Let’s have a party, who’s in? Check out more photos at Style Me Pretty here and here, which by the way, is the most wonderful wedding/event planning site.

Photos by Aaron Delesie and design by Lisa Vorce.

when life hands you lemons. . .and blueberries

2009-07-14T21:25:00.001-07:00

gorgeous new blog. . .short stories

how delicious does that sound?

found via Oh Joy

we have a winner

2009-07-13T19:05:00.001-07:00

tyler, madeira picked you. your summer read and an extra little treat will be arriving shortly. thanks for playing and enjoy-would love to hear your thoughts about the book when you finish. also, if anyone has some good summer reading suggestions, i would love you if you sent them my way. . . i need a good book! this morning, the smell of the sunshine warmed breeze that came through my kitchen window brought me back to lazy summer days when all i did was read judy blume books in my backyard and rollerblade with a streamer wand to lionel richie’s dancing on the ceiling album. .. come on you know you did it too! unfortunately, the roller blades no longer fit, but i can still read!!

gorg image via flickr

feathers, girls & vino

2009-07-10T11:03:00.001-07:00

last nite was craft nite with the girls-we got all crazy with ribbons, buttons and feathers (with a little wine and snacks mixed in). we made adorable kid’s barrettes and feather headbands. i made madeira a very special purple and pink band. she LOVED it and wore it all morning with her jammies. but for reals, these headbands sell for $50 to $100 in stores-i spent about $4 on materials for each one-i am sure they are not as fancy as the real deals, but they work for us. . . thanks ladies for the super fun nite. let’s do it again real soon.

absolutely succulent

2009-07-07T09:42:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine asked me if I could come up with some succulent gifts for her for Mother’s Day. She is so super cool and always has the best ideas-so I of course said yes! The trifle dish and teapot made fun planters. I think they turned out so great and I especially love that they are so easy to take care of. The perfect plant to keep you company at your workspace or in your home without requiring too much TLC (unlike my poor tomato plant which has collapsed on my porch due to lack of attention). There are so many different varieties of succulents. . .the miniature gardens come out so colorful and diverse. I bought the succulents and special dirt at Island View Nursery (it is the most amazing nursery I have ever been to, completely peaceful and gorgeous, you have to visit sometime!)

cold tangerines giveaway

2009-07-06T10:12:00.001-07:00

A year or so ago, I posted about a college friend who is an author and has written a beautiful book entitled “Cold Tangerines” which reminds us to celebrate every day. It is a great summer read and she has so kindly sent me a few signed copies. I would love to give one away. Leave me a comment and on Friday of this week, I will put your names in a hat and have Madeira pick someone out to send one to. I hope there are still some people out there reading this blog, even though I got way caught up in summertime outdoors fun and ignored this little blog for a whole month!! sorry my little blog.

more about cold tangerines and shauna niequist

childrens books

2009-07-06T10:03:00.001-07:00

I think that books are my most favorite gift to give kids (and adults too). I collected children’s books before I ever thought of having a child. We have had to install shelves in Madeira’s room to hold them all. Check out this link to the NY Times Book Review of Children’s Best Sellers. I want to take a trip to the library to pick a few of these up!

Thanks to the Chronicle Books Blog for the link. . .

freedom

2009-07-03T19:23:00.001-07:00

i am grateful today for our freedoms. freedom that is given to us with great costs. costs that we might not agree with. but today i am thankful for the good of our country. and the goodness of my life. and the fact that my daughter can be whoever she wants to be. it is my hope that all might experience the freedoms and goodness that i have been blessed with in my life. happy 4th. let’s celebrate what is good today.

natural living

2009-06-02T18:36:00.001-07:00

The past few years I have been on the hunt for natural cleaning products-for quite a few reasons.

1. Why would I use something in my home that they recommend I don’t use when I am pregnant? Why can I (and my husband and child) inhale the fumes of cleansers when no one is living in my belly? Weird.

2. The smell gives me a headache, anything that smells strong enough to give me a headache can’t be good.

3. Kids are curious, especially with liquids in bottles, I feel much better about not having poisonous cleaners in my cabinets.

According to the U.S Poison Control Centers, "A child is accidentally poisoned every 30 seconds and more than 50% of all poisonings occur at home with children under 5 years of age."

4. Cancer (especially children’s cancer), infertility, allergies, asthma, & ADD are on the rise. In the past 40 years, over 70,000 new chemicals have been released into the environment by products and foods.

5. Our Earth, when we use toxic cleansers, they run down our drains and into the sewer and eventually back into our water supply which we drink, bathe in and use to grow our food.

So, why is it that I still have toxic cleaners under my cabinets? I have decided that I will not any longer. I have been using all natural cleaners about 85% of the time over the past few years and I am making the decision to change that to 100%. Serendipitously, I came across a company called Watkins on a blog not long ago. . .I went to their website and absolutely fell in love with their packaging and decided to try their products. Not only do they sell home cleaning products, but they sell personal products and cooking products. They have been in business since 1886. They promise that 95% of every product is all natural. They are one of very few companies that have never had a recall on any product. They are committed to business practices that are completely environmentally responsible. So, I am sold and not only that, but I decided I was going to become an associate for the company! I am having my first Watkins party to share the super great products with my friends (let me know if you want the details). So excited to make my home a safer place for my family and our Earth. Oh, and did I mention how super cute the packaging was. . .I mean seriously, look at that laundry detergent box. :)

Check out their products or shop online here

bunco babes bakery

2009-05-19T19:38:00.001-07:00

i helped my mom with a fundraiser she did for the american cancer society, her bunco group put on a bake sale at their local farmer’s market and it was a bake sale like i have never seen before! i told her that instead of baking or crafting anything, i would do all of the packaging and we could make it like a little bakery. . . it turned out super fun and they sold every single baked good! and they raised a great amount of money, too.

more photos here

support american cancer society here

support the 3/50 project (its fun, i promise)

2009-05-05T10:03:00.001-07:00

i am all for supporting local business-and enjoying doing so often. and obviously, would love if everyone else did, too, especially if they did it here. . . wink wink. but for real, this is a great project. all you have to do is spend $50 at in local shops every month. you get to shop, support local business and meet new people by actually getting out and about! this mother’s day,try and buy your mama something from a local shop.

read the details

please somebody. . .

2009-05-04T09:15:00.001-07:00

open up one of these on our side of the country. sipping a glass of champagne while the tots munch down on chicken fingers. . . brightly colored balloons floating alongside gorgeous chandeliers. yes PLEASE.

visit sweetiepie restaurant's website

found via tot snob and photo by sweetipie

farmers market menu

2009-04-28T08:52:00.001-07:00

had a group of girls from our college days staying with me this past weekend-our initial itinerary was jam packed with different activities, but once we all got talking and reminiscing it was hard to stop. friday nite, we just stayed in and i cooked dinner from a sunset magazine cut out that i had been saving for a long time (um, yeah, just checked the date, it was from the sunset, september 2000 issue). it was so yummy and perfect for a group of girls. got us all energized and ready to head out for karaoke and oh yes, i sang three songs, two of which were 80s rock. seriously, i was unstoppable.

the meal consisted of gouda and chevre, rustic breads, bruschetta toppings and then just a bunch of fresh veggies, lettuce, oils, balsamics, some grilled corn, chicken and salmon which were made to individual taste into delicious salads. and the most fun part is you could pick up the whole meal (less the chicken and salmon) from one of the santa barbara’s farmers markets and other great little local shops, like santa barbara gift baskets and cest cheese.

Roasted Grapes and Onions

(put this directly on the bread or put a layer of the chevre on first if you are into that sort of delightful thing)

Makes: About 1 1/2 cups

1. Rinse and drain 3 cups stemmed red seedless grapes (about 1lb). In a 9x13 inch pan, mix grapes, with 1 cup sliced red onion and 1 tablespoon olive oil.

2. Bake in a 450 degree oven, stirring once after 2o minutes, until grapes are browned and begin to collapse, 40 to 45 minutes total (35 minutes in a convection oven). Stir in 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and salt (to taste). Scrape into bowl and serve warm or at room temperature.

Sautéed Mushroom Mélange

(never like to admit, but I really can not coerce myself into loving mushrooms, I try and try, but this smelled amazing and all the other mushroom lovers raved about it)

Makes: About 1 1/2 cups

1. Trim and discard discolored stem ends or tough stems and any bits of debris and bruised spots from 1 pound mushrooms (chanterelle, common portabella, oyster or shitake; choose 1 or an assortment) Rinse the mushrooms well and drain; slice about 1/4 inch thick.

2. In a 10 to 12 inch frying pan over high heat, stir mushrooms, 1/3 cup chopped shallots, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme until liquid is evaporated and mushrooms are well browned, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper (to taste).

3. Pour sautéed mushrooms into a bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature. Shortly before serving, sprinkle mushrooms with 1 tablespoon chopped parsley.

mom

2009-04-23T20:53:00.001-07:00

every time the sun shines a little stronger- warming up the air, i feel the need to plant something. . .in fact, i just planted some strawberries, tomatoes, rosemary and lavender. . .my dream is to one day have a yard where we can grow lots of fruits, herbs and veggies. so since, i am a mama and the day that we celebrate mamas is coming up, i thought i would put together a fun new gift for all the mamas who like to get dirty, like me.

favor pedestal

2009-04-21T10:24:00.001-07:00

my sister in law makes wonderful cake pedestals from vintage plates, candleholders, dessert cups, etc and she made me a tower of them to take to a recent wedding fair to display my favor packaging. . . well, it ended up looking so very pretty that we started to think it would be a fun way to have an assortment of little somethings for people to take away from any event. i like the idea of people getting to choose from a little piece of chocolate, lavender buds, small candle, teas wrapped as gifts . . .and you are then left with a beautiful assortment of one of a kind cake pedestals,which could be given to the party’s hosts, the mother of the bride, groom, grandma to be, or quickly stashed in your own car, so you can enjoy them all to yourself!!

so, it has been named the favor pedestal and can be made in any size, color, theme. . .available at santa barbara gift baskets, all are custom.

book worm

2009-04-15T07:25:00.001-07:00

this is just one of the best invite ideas i have ever seen. . .and i already have visions of a wonderful book worm party. . .or you could use these for a book club gathering. jordan ferney from oh happy day came up with this amazing diy idea and i have to say i love it. and if it makes you uncomfortable to cut into an old classic, just make sure that you buy one from a thrift store that has tears or is missing pages or has marks or whatever. . .but i think it is just a great idea and way to share a love of reading. . .

make it here

photos by oh happy day

2009-04-14T09:40:00.001-07:00

Hope Easter was great for you and your family! I will be back to regular posting very soon. . .taxes, weddings, legoland, easter, and way too beautiful of weather has kept me off the computer, but i am ready to buckle down, although the pool does look nice.

the anything towel

2009-04-01T20:13:00.001-07:00

featured today on delight.com –these are just so gorgeous. . .i love that it can be used for the bath, pool, beach or picnic, the perfect summer item. super absorbent and lightweight, which i think is great because i hate having to wrap a big bulky towel around me in the balmy summer months. these are handmade in swaziland and designed in ethiopia by a company that promotes equitable trading practices and supports women’s economic independence. how could you not treat yourself to one of these, i’m thinking mother’s day!!

give it here

gorgonzola & pears

2009-03-30T22:12:00.001-07:00

last week, madeira and i tried to go to the farmers market. after circling all of the way to the top of the parking garage, taking a cool photo of the building next door (i had never noticed it before) climbing the stairs down to the street and stopping by the first booth to take a photo of some very spring like carrots we headed back up the stairs and circled back down the parking garage empty handed-after a few rounds of “up-y, up-y, my legs are tired, hold me, i want a snack, i have to go potty”. i knew it was not going to work. tomorrow, we will try again. and i HOPE it is successful because i would love to get these ingredients fresh and take them home to cook up this flatbread and a great big salad. . .i have tried a version of this before, but this sounds very fresh and delightful!

Gorgonzola Pear Flatbread (from melt by amr)

pizza dough (trader joes has a yummy one)

shredded white cheese (havarti, gouda, or mozarella)

thinly sliced pears

caramelized walnuts

crumbled gorgonzola cheese

fresh sage leaves

brush olive oil on rolled out dough. layer ingredients in above order. bake on bottom rack at 500 degrees for about 8 minutes. serve bubbly hot.

choo, choo, look who’s 2. . .

2009-03-28T08:22:00.001-07:00

fun little train party that i helped out with for a sweet little 2 year old. . . the cake was made out of loaf cakes that we cut to form into the train cars, i loved the little red caboose. it kind of bugged me that we had to leave it on the foil covered baking sheets, but i was convinced by the grandma that this was a portuguese tradition and being a quarter portuguese, myself, i just rolled with it. we did little “knapsacks” filled with bubbles, train whistles and other goodies for the favors, and gave out train caps for the kids to wear. the birthday boy’s favorite gift was a wooden train, of course!

not just any diaper cake. . .

2009-03-27T22:09:00.001-07:00

we have just partnered with santa barbara tiny cakes and are now exclusively featuring their diaper cakes in our shop. not only are they completely tasteful and gorgeous, but they are made with pampers swaddlers, the softest and best diapers for newborns. they can be made to fit any color scheme or shower theme to be used as a centerpiece or can just be the perfect gift for the new parents. . .one hundred percent useful and beautiful. so excited to be working with another outstanding santa barbara MOM! aren’t they just gorg-a-rama????????

give them here, here, and here

not a mohawk, but a mawok. . .

2009-03-26T00:32:00.001-07:00

doesn't this just seem like a great transition from womb to world? what a cozy & soothing baby bed. created in sweden, but doesn’t seem to be sold in usa yet, but maybe soon? . . .seems like a great bassinette and swing alternative and it is one less piece of baby equipment to clutter the floor. pretty cute, too.

find out more here

kids art

2009-03-24T23:01:00.001-07:00

aren’t these so sweet? can you guess how they are made?

they are kid’s finger paintings! so your children can be free as litle birds to paint away and then you can oh so cleverly shape them into fun animals or shapes. this idea was found on the amazing sarah jane studios, where she has kindly posted a few templates for those of us who do NOT draw. (me!)

create them here

monday in the cucina

2009-03-23T17:28:00.001-07:00

today’s recipe is very simple.

buy

fill with water

drink

i want this. i love it.

it sold out on delight.com really fast.

too slow joe.

maybe it will be back.

try to give it here

weekends are wild (on monday)

2009-03-23T14:34:00.001-07:00

which means, i can post about whatever is currently floating my boat. and since i am a newly discovered “cat person” (oh my gosh, did i seriously just say that?) – i thought this was one of the cutest (or maybe the only cute) cat accessory i have ever seen. i want to do this. i did see a great gucci suitcase at the closet (great secondhand store in santa barbara) the other day. can you imagine if my cat slept in a gucci? thinking about it, though, i can’t imagine piper boy really appreciating it. . .we’ll have to get a girl cat. then she and i can alternate nites sleeping in it.

spotted on poppytalk and made by vintage renaissance

friday party on monday

2009-03-23T13:59:00.001-07:00

i have been wanting to share this party for a while now. it was featured on creature comforts earlier this month. and if i am remembering correctly, it was a party that someone planned for herself on her 21st birthday-love it! so much better than shots of tequila in a dingy bar. i think the colors are so fun and the look could work for a multitude of parties. the bunting garland she made is absolutely adorable. i’m thinking a summertime make your own ice cream party!

see more photos here at a field journal

thursday on monday. . .

2009-03-23T13:28:00.001-07:00

i got way behind with my posting. mr. sam was out of town for a few days because his sweet grandpa passed away. so, i was taking care of the home and my sad little bug (she ADORES her great grandpa).

i have decided to dedicate thursdays to the ladies. i think there is something so sacred about us women and our roles in the lives of those around us. most of us feel pulled in many directions and i think it is so important to remember what makes us special, and for me, i would like to remember to be softer. we run our homes, we teach our children by leading, many times we do our finances, run our businesses, schedule our lives, meals, activities etc etc. so, when i find myself getting to a certain place of craziness, i like to just remind myself to soften. and part of softening for me is to put on an apron, some nice music and cook something from scratch with buggie helping on her stool-without looking at my blackberry once no matter how many times the chime chimes.

this beautiful line of textiles at the etsy shop jewelweeds is so wonderfully delicate and so very soft. i would love to treat myself to this apron and a few of the tea towels, which were featured on cool mom picks this morning.

give them here

hope you can come. . .

2009-03-18T15:00:00.001-07:00

crafty little wednesday

2009-03-18T10:54:00.001-07:00

today’s project is one i just finished, this second, which worked out nicely. it is similar to the crafty kit, i posted about a couple of weeks ago, but it is filled with baking goodies instead. i used the same lunchbox style container and tin favor containers from the craft store. and then filled them up with different sprinkles, baker’s twine, cupcake liners (i used the patterned martha stewart ones from michaels, so cute!), clown cupcake toppers and flower fondant/mini cookie cutters. i used some left over buttons from my previous button project and think it turned out super cute. i created the recipe cards in illustrator. very fun, quick and inexpensive project.

tuesday's for the tots

2009-03-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

my bug is a strong little one who does not like to be told to do ANYTHING. examples- she was really great at writing her name in pre-school, but once she got to the big bad Pre-K and was asked to write her name, she could no longer do it-"the R is just too hard mom". or when sam and i use the infamous spelling trick, she can miracously sound out "boy, do i need a cocktail", but when she is asked what sounds the letters D O G make when you put them together, she has no idea.

THAT is why i love this toy. it tricks her into learning. perfect. my chosen parenting method is now trickery.

give it here

monday in the cucina

2009-03-16T09:42:00.001-07:00

these lavender oatmeal squares sound absolutely delish and what a great treat to surprise someone with or bring into the office. and don’t they look so cute wrapped in twine? i am going to give these a try.

Breakfast Oatmeal Squares:
Makes 9, 3-inch squares
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup oats
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1 tsp edible lavender buds
1 egg
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine the flour, oats, almonds and lavender and set aside. In a smaller bowl whisk together the egg, yogurt, honey and vanilla extract. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir together with a large spoon or your hands until the dough comes together.
Pat the dough into a squares directly on the parchment paper, cut through with a sharp knife into 9 pieces and bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake or you will end up with rocks under your teeth. Let cool and break the squares apart. Feel free to use a scoop and make drop cookies instead.

recipe and photo from tartelette via jubella

editorial calendar

2009-03-13T20:12:00.001-07:00

ok, this is a fancy phrase that means i am going to get organized ( or try). i have been having so much fun with this little blog and have finally started to post regularly. so, it is time to try to schedule myself. much like the every three hours, feed, play, sleep mantra i practiced when my little bug was new. here is what i am thinking for categories, diy, foodie, babies and kids, giving back, party and favors, adult gifts (no not those kind, sorry!), and the shop. . .this is going to be a challenge and i think i am up for it. i will surprise you as far as what day will be what, but i promise i will try to be consistent. let’s see how it goes. . .you with me??? anyone? what do you think? am i missing anything? would love suggestions. . . i should do some giveaways too. that would be really fun! there is no photo at the top of this blog as of right now and i just can not let that happen, so i will put one in of some yummy stuffed tomatoes we made at thanksgiving. makes perfect sense right?

i heart buttons

2009-03-13T19:28:00.001-07:00

so as we all know retail is a little on the slow side. . .which stinks, EXCEPT for that i have much more time for projects. i saw a photo in the pottery barn catalog of a print with a butterfly made out of buttons, not real buttons, but painted button like things. and i thought it was a SUPER CUTE idea. so, i decided to make one with real buttons. i went to the craft store and bought a white canvas, an assortment of buttons and green and pink paint. painted the canvas and then drew the outline of the bird and butterfly. hot glued on the buttons and i loved the results. i thought they were so fun, that i put them in the shop. they made themselves at home, although i hope not for long. would love to have a reason to make more.

give it here or here

creativity is a gift

2009-03-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

this project and creativity voyage concept is beautiful and one i do not remember often enough. . i believe we were made in the image of our creator and he definitely created. therefore, were were made to create-beautiful babies and beautiful ideas. wow. what a sweet garland of tags. . .i think i will do this for one of madeira's easter basket gifts. thanks to freshly found for the reminder and the photos.

make it and give it here

sweet cherry pie

2009-03-11T09:51:00.001-07:00

i love this crafty craft featured on martha stewart today. what a fun project and what a sweet gift. . .i want to go pick madeira up from preschool and make it NOW NOW NOW. but i won’t because that would be crazy. just like the other day when i heard on the radio there was a whale in the harbor and i wanted to drive directly to school to get her and then directly down to the waterfront. but again i restrained. life would be so much more fun without restraint. . . i have had a lot of coffee today, hence the rambling. back to the subject, this little felt pie would be the perfect gift for any little girl or boy who loves to play “cooking”.

craft it to give here

rain rain don’t go away. . .

2009-03-09T10:15:00.001-07:00

with gray clouds in the sky again today, these rain boots from trumpette featured on cool mom picks were on my mind. aren’t they the cutest. . . i would LOVE to have a pair in my size.

give them here

feed bags

2009-03-08T19:22:00.001-07:00

my mom gave me this bag for Christmas and I meant to write about it because I thought it was so cool. but i forgot. i was just reminded when i saw it in lucky magazine-they are giving away two of them here. there are four different styles and each bag goes to feed children in a different part of the world. the one that i have is the white cotton bag above. . .it folds into the burlap case that fits anywhere each of these bags will provide 100 school meals to children in Rwanda through the UN World Food Program. You can buy the bags at Whole Foods Markets nationwide or at the FEED shop online. super functional, earth friendly and feeding children. sounds good to me.

learn where to give it here

gifted bro

2009-03-07T19:50:00.001-08:00

my brother is really good at videos. super super good. anyways, just was in the mood to praise him tonite and share my favorite video. if you know someone getting married, they should definitely check him out.

(the photo is of his two boys and my girl, he has one more boy coming very soon! cute, huh?)

his site is here

kirtsy, please

2009-03-05T19:35:00.001-08:00

not too long ago, my wonderful cousin in law, jordan, introduced me to the crazy world of blogging and google reader. now, i was not completely out of it, i had been keeping a blog with photos of madeira and little stories that family and friends could read, but i seriously had NO IDEA what was going on beyond that. it is absolutely amazing how many super talented, creative and inspirational women and men there are out there who blog everyday multiple times!!!. . . i have found unbelievable ideas, inspiration and just pure beauty to gaze upon on these blogs and find new great sites everyday. today was a super fun day because the amazingly wonderful design mom (read her blog everyday and LOVE) added my craft kit post to kirtsy –thank you very much! now, i had heard of kirtsy lots and was very curious, but had never taken the time to explore-today became that day. what a fun place. people send great finds there-kind of alike a one stop blog posting shop. this absolutely amazing idea was posted there today and i wanted to share it because i know you will love it. who wants to come over and make one? so thanks to design mom and thanks to party perfect (another one of my favorites) for this great word book idea.

make it here.

photo by party perfect

crafty kits

2009-02-28T13:00:00.001-08:00

madeira was invited to a “big girl” birthday party, so being that we are mainly in the “little girl” party circle, we were not sure what to get. . .the theme of the party is arts & crafts, so we thought it would be fun to go to the craft store and pick out some little trinkets that can be used to make cards, collages, maybe even a little wall art. it was super cute to see madeira run around to pick the items that she wanted to give, she got into it big time. she is definitely a shopper (wherever did she pick that up?) we got little ribbons ($1 bin), stickers, mini pom poms, decorative brads, glitter beads, googlie eyes, colored mini shells, flowers, buttons and other little trinkets. picked up a pail, some fun ribbon and a sticker and voila, we had made our first crafty kit. we hope she likes it!

give it here

bake it pretty giveaways. . .

2009-02-25T19:41:00.001-08:00

i discovered the website and blog, bake it pretty a few weeks ago and just love all of the vintage baking supplies they have in their super cute online shop. i found them too late for all of the recent baby showers, but would have loved to used one of their baby toppers. and you HAVE to check out their vintage button molds, so sweet-makes me want to throw a “button party”, maybe i can talk madeira into that one next year. their cupcake kit above is just too much, as well and would make a very fun birthday gift, especially if you threw in a vintage apron from one of the great etsy shops, like Gagie Pagie Pudding Pie . . .my aim is true AND fresh vintage are both hosting gift certificate giveaways to bake it pretty. . . check out their blogs to enter and good luck!

photo by bake it pretty and Gagie Pagie Puding Pie

give it here and here

cool food

2009-02-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

the naked chef, jamie oliver, is just such a likeable guy, for so many reasons and NOW look at this amazing packaging for his food line. absolutely love it! i love the simplicity of it all and the handwritten script is perfect. oh- and you know what is inside of that packaging is going to be scrumptious coming from the man who says, "eating should always be a pleasure." check out his whole line on his website and his biog is a super sweet read, too (especially the part about getting out to the country on the weekends with his girls-jools, poppy & daisy (just stop now)).

check it out here ( i dont think it is available for purchase in the us yet, but let me know if i am wrong, would love to see it in person)

all photos from official jamie oliver site

hippity hoppity. . .

2009-02-20T08:36:00.001-08:00

i love changing over the seasons in the shop. it is so refreshing and renewing. i am loving the bright colors and all of the birds. my favorite spring item is the two tier serving tray. oh my, so beautiful and graceful and the perfect gift to start off the new season. . .

give it here

baby love

2009-02-16T09:58:00.001-08:00

on sunday, we hosted a baby shower for our lovely friend, lisa. we decided to just run with the whole “day after valentine’s day” and do a BABY LOVE theme. i think everything turned out super fun, the colors were great. i had been finding so many great ideas online lately and used lots of them. links are below. we did the funnest game too, that my friend isabel shared with us. everyone gets into teams and cuts up photos in magazines and creates a collage of what the baby is going to look like.-the mama to be selects the one she likes the best. it was hilarious, especially watching the grandmas in action and a shower game that i did not cringe at having to play. very fun.
inspiration:

all of the paper supplies: target

baby shower wishes and blessing bracelets: twoplums paper products

gift tub: santa barbara gift baskets

favors and color scheme: inchmark via kids and cocktails “i heart all of this post”

baby love garland: darlingdexter.com

feeling the love from head to toe

2009-02-14T08:41:00.001-08:00

happy valentine’s day to you. . .hope you are feeling the love today. we are sending it your way. xoxox

cheeky love

2009-02-13T12:06:00.000-08:00

thanks to kate spade for putting these most amazing valentines on her website. so much fun. loving the 'stach and make out ones the most! send one today and make someone smile or even better laugh out loud.

give it here.

love hearts

2009-02-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

madeira and i made her valentines and sent them out yesterday. they turned out very cute! we borrowed the idea from one of my favorite creative blogs to peruse, inchmark. she makes them with fabrics, which is so cute, we just used patterned paper, but i think they turned out pretty fun. we had gone to the store and bought bags of candy to use, but when i re-read the notice from school, it said NO CANDY. so, back out we ran to pick up some stickers and band-aids (weird, but 4 year olds love them, right?!) so, the grandparents and cousins are getting lots of candy this year. madeira lasted for about 4 of them and i finished them. i would like to say she had more fun than me, but that would be a lie. in fact, her teacher told me that madeira announced, "i thought making valentines was going to be A LOT more fun. but it was not, it was really hard!" ok, so next year, i guess i will let her choose what we do.

ps. sorry about the photo image quality, i forgot my camera when i came into the shop and had to use my phone so i could get them sent out to family on time.

for the apple of your eye

2009-02-09T13:57:00.001-08:00

this is one of the cutest diy projects i have ever seen. . .sam would LOVE this for valentine’s day more than anything else i can think of (especially because baking is not something that happens a lot in our house). and the box is adorable. thanks to twig and thistle for sharing all of the details on how to create this perfect sweet something.

photo by twig and thistle

give it here

pink blooms

2009-02-08T17:34:00.001-08:00

these blown glass vases were a big hit at my girlfriend’s shower today, they come with the little tag and tag holder for your own personal message or name. . . we were celebrating baby number three and its a girl. she wanted simple and ‘not showery’, so these made the perfect favor/decor combination. throw in some cupcakes from crushcakes and a beautiful cake plate from flings in aprons (available at santa barbara gift baskets) and we had ourselves a NON SHOWER. lunch was at stella mare’s, great service, food and a beautiful view. i think it is my favorite place in santa barbara for a group celebration. oh my goodness, one of the gifts was the most amazing diaper cake i have ever seen! very simple and elegant (not the typical). i will post photos of that soon.

mariebelle favors

2009-02-06T14:36:00.000-08:00

just finished the favors for my friend’s baby boy shower tomorrow. . . the shower is all in blue and brown and since it is rainy and (kind of ) cold, i thought the excellent mariebelle cocoa would be a fun treat for all of the ladies. . .i put them in cello bags and then added the cardstock and ribbon at the top. the “warm thanks” tags were made by candia flynn photography (she did the invites, too and they were gorgeous!) there are about 30 women coming and all together the cocoa favors look so festive and pretty. now i am on to sunday’s shower. . . i will share those later.

blue birds are singing on this rainy day

2009-02-05T11:26:00.001-08:00

LOOK at this absolutely adorable mobile! I love Bla Bla Kids. They have all of their products made in Peru by local artisans from all hand-picked cotton and all of their products pass the highest safety regulations. Their stuff is so unique and seriously some of the cutest baby items out there! LOVE. . .

give it here.

gobble-gobble, quack! hee-haw. moo-moo

2009-02-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

we just got the greatest book from grandma and grandpa thomas. i love giving books as birthday gifts, so i love when we discover a new one. the energy of this book is so much fun, that you can't help but pull out the included audio cd and dance around like crazy. (at least we did) it also inspired madeira to pull the pink tutu out of her dress up box. i am told the author keeps a pair of conga drums near his desk which explains the very fun rhythm of his story. the illustrations are excellent also. . .very engaging and exciting story about imagination and reaching for and actually getting to the stars!

give it here.

written by: matthew gollub
illustrated (and book cover shown by): judy love

cute little plant

2009-02-01T21:16:00.000-08:00

succulent plants are so lovely to have in an office or a home and even better, so easy to keep alive. . . my sister in law's birthday was on friday and since she has a studio apartment, i thought it was the perfect little something to decorate her home. and then i liked it so much, i decided to put it up on the online shop at santa barbara gift baskets. i think that it is such a fun little gift for so many occasions!

Sales make us smile. . .

2009-01-30T10:25:00.000-08:00

20% OFF
Santa Barbara Gift Baskets'
Semi Annual Sale
It is time for Santa Barbara Gift Baskets' Semi Annual Sale and we are offering 20% off everything in the store and on our website for one week only (*excludes shipping costs). Mention this coupon at our downtown Santa Barbara retail shop or order online to receive the discount.

We really appreciate your business, and hope you will remember us for all of your gifting needs. (event favors, corporate gifts, anniversary, birthday, wedding, new baby, housewarming and more!)

Be Gifted.

Have you shopped online with us? Visit http://www.sbgiftbaskets.com/ to browse our great selection and brighten someone's day today with one of our custom gifts.
Online Promo Code: TWENTY
Offer Expires February 6, 2009

mommy, when do my teeth fall out?

2009-01-27T12:32:00.000-08:00

so, discussion of this happening borders on the fence of kind of scary and kind of cool for madeira. when i really stop to think about it, it is a pretty funny thing. . .until you are around 6 years old and very soon after losing teeth is a pretty rotten thing (no pun intended). but those magical few grade school years the whole string attached to the doorknob event is quite exciting. especially if you have parents cool enough to buy this super neat tooth fairy kit that i discovered when browsing oh happy day. . .now i am just excited as madeira (and a little scared if i have to be the one to attach the string) for her first tooth loss!

sweets for a sweetie

2009-01-21T09:44:00.000-08:00

this discovery that i made this morning via my favorite things is absolutely delightful. sold on etsy, these great kits are made by purpose design. i love this cupcake and cookie decorating kit, such a cute valentines or anyday gift! it holds 15 containers of the usual decorating suspects, as well as some more unique choices. . .and it is all wrapped up in gorgeous, yet functional tin (i love tin). very fun.

2009-01-12T16:57:00.000-08:00

today while i was working on the computer, madeira was happily playing in her room. it was quiet for a while and normally that means she is coming up with some sort of pink princess outfit to come out and dance ballet to. but today, it was quite a suprise. she decided that that she wanted to dress up "crazy". it was awesome, still pink, but awesome. my favorite part was that she had somewhere found those plastic black spiders that hang out at halloween and used them as hair accessories. i have to admit i have never been so proud.

enjoy the video above. it was taken with my new flip hd video. i LOVE it. our other video camera decided that it would be a good time to just stop working upon arrival at the gates to disneyland on our first visit. i have been so irritated that we have just not taken any video other than short clips from the digital camera. but this thing is the size of a cell phone and takes great video. and it was only in the $200 range. . . (my brother has one and he is a total video camera snob with his floating camera and such, so i knew it would be just fine for me)

i think it would be a great gift item for a new parent or just marrieds your just retired parents who are going to begin traveling the world.

just stop it now. . .

2009-01-09T08:11:00.000-08:00

this is just too much cuteness for one little package. in fact, it is kind of making me want get the sewing machine out for the first time since i made doll clothes in the girl scouts about twenty years ago. . .these great muslin pouches were filled with snowflake marshmallows and hot cocoa packets and placed in wedding guest's hotel rooms. i absolutely love this! such a personal and cozy gift for a winter wedding. . .instructions are here on one of my favorite blogs style me pretty and you can get these great muslin bags here which i think are a wonderful gift bag alternative! they have super fun jute bags too. . .

reminiscing

2009-01-05T15:26:00.000-08:00

it is so hard to take down christmas, both at home and at the shop. . .so, just to linger a bit, here are some photos of the shop during december. . .our theme this year was natural and homeade. madeira, sam and i made a lot of the items we used in the store windows. and we won most creative windows from the Santa Barbara Downtown Organization. fun! the photos of the windows aren't the best because of glare, but it gives you the idea. . .we made cool trees out of wrapping paper and cardboard from an idea we found on design sponge ,decoupaged snowflakes with our local weekly paper, The Independent. it was a lot of fun. . . now i just need to come up with an idea to replace them with. its already january 5th, aacck!!

homemade gift no. 1

2009-01-05T15:08:00.000-08:00

so, here is the first of the homemade gifts. . .my mom and dad came up with this idea. i actually really like it! it is hanging in the kitchen and holds invites, photos and such that would normally be plastered all over the fridge. they went to antique stores to find frames and then strung twine across and put on clothespins. . . works great and looks so cute. good job mom and dad. i am proud of you for getting all crafty, especially you dad.

gifted giving

2008-12-30T19:26:00.000-08:00

well, i missed the entire month of december, but i have a great excuse! i was MAKING GIFTS, in fact that is all i did for 25 days straight. it was an interesting holiday season. . . people were thinking much more about the money they were spending and seemed to be making gift giving a bit more simple and genuine, really thinking about what the person might like and not just buying everything in sight. i have to say, i had a MAJOR internal struggle going on this december. obviously, i need people to buy gifts and lots of them in order for our business to survive and thrive, but i also am an advocate of simplicity and living with less. in fact my family participated in the advent conspiracy this year. we made one another gifts (photos soon to come!) and donated the money we did not spend to charity. we chose to donate to the unity shoppe of santa barbara this year. . . great organization, in fact i saw miss oprah, herself, walk past our shop (oh how i was willing her in the doors!) on her way to the unity shoppe to match their annual donations, so our donation was doubled-thanks oprah! anyways, i think that gift giving, when done in a cheerful, genuine and thoughtful manner is wonderful. i do not think we should feel pressure to spend more than we are able to please another, but when it is within our means, gift away. and for goodness sakes, wrap it cute. i don't care if you are wrapping up a rock. it's all about the packaging (re-usable of course). so, on to one of my favorite gifts that i received this christmas. . . the trader joes cookbook!! since i do about 90% of my grocery shopping there, my mother in law chose the PERFECT gift for me! madeira and i cooked up our first recipe out of the book tonite, italian wedding soup. (did you know that it is called wedding soup not because it is served at weddings, but because of the delightful "marriage" of flavors in the soup??) it was really yummy and so cozy to cook with her tonite. we served it with the olive foccacia bread from trader joes. lovely.

happy thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T09:50:00.000-08:00

i wanted to take a quick break from the kitchen to say happy thanksgiving!! the turkey is stuffed and the pie is made, the parade is on and i have enjoyed my first bellini. yum yum. i hope that this holiday is one filled with much love and gratitude for the multitude of blessings we can all find in our own lives. even in these times that can be scary and uncertain, i hope that each one of us can find the simple joys of life around us. our family will be especially thinking of all of those this holiday who have lost much in the recent fires. we hope you will find peace and restoration in time.

starting tomorrow, our shop, santa barbara gift baskets, is participating in a "buy local" campaign over the next four days. we are offering a 30% discount in the store and online with the code "localshops" as a thank you to all of our loyal clients who support our local business and the local farmers, artisans and vendors who create the wonderful products we love to sell. visit www.shopjaneshop.com/shops for more details about all of the small local shops participating nationwide.

blessings and love to you all. . .

advent treat

2008-11-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

This advent calendar is just such a great idea from dsharp (photo credited to her, as well). .I am going to stay up all nite one nite to make this, I can already tell. Design Sponge has great photos of her amazing workspace and detailed instructions on how to make the calendar here. . .with fun little ideas for treats to slip inside. . . ie "make a candy encrusted graham cracker house". if that does not get you into the holiday spirit, i just don't know what will.

drowning in apples

2008-11-12T20:16:00.000-08:00

ok, so you all know i had the apple party. . .loved every part of it except the pressure for us to eat like 10 apples a day with the leftover decor. so i searched for a recipe for applesauce and found some, this is what i tried. i think it was delightful and oh so yummy:

peel, core and cut into 1 inch chunks- 4 lbs of apples (about 12 apples-i left the skin on one apple on accident, but i kind of liked the way it turned out)

put them in a big pot on the stove

add 1 and a half cups of water

add 1 cup of organic raw sugar (kind of naughty, but seriously, yummy, if you just can't do it, put a bit of honey in instead)

squeeze 2 lemons' juices into the pot

add a tiny tiny pinch of salt

add a grande pinch of cinnamon (an herbalist i know said that my daughter should be eating cinnamon everyday, so here is the way how)

put the stove on medium high, stir and mush every once in a while.

when most of the mix looks "applesaucy", but there are still a few chunks, turn off stove.

enjoy! so yummy. put it in mason jars and share. simple and sweet gift. attach the recipe so the gift can continue.

shes the apple of my eye photos

2008-11-09T18:27:00.001-08:00

shes the apple of my eye

2008-11-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

madeira turns 4 on tuesday. so we had a party for her and a few of her girlfriends this saturday. she asked for a hello kitty theme, but being the kind of mom i am, i very subtly talked her into an apple party. it's fall afterall and how do i get crafty with plastic hello kitty stuff??? she had a great time and i did too. . .just wanted to share the photos with you. the girls made caramel apples and apple stamped goodie bags, we had yummy macaroni and cheese, hummus and veggies sticks, caramel popcorn, pita chips and apple chips, a great apple lemonade concoction (pear juice, lemonade and apple juice) that i discovered on party perfect's blog featuring a very inspiring green apple party and finally apple cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (see links for recipes!) martha inspired the happy birthday sign and floating apple votives. . .thanks to madeira for letting me live out my fall apple party fantasy. . . daddy and i love you so much and can not believe you have been in our life for only four years. you bring us more joy than we ever thought possible and inspire us to be better with your free spirit and unconditional love for all people. we are blessed to be your parents. . . oh and just so you all know, i did buy hello kitty gear for the dinner we had at my parents house-i'm not a complete meanie.

2008-10-26T08:18:00.000-07:00

as i have said before i love pumpkin. but seriously, this treat puts the whoopie in the pie. . .so yummy, fluffy and it just tastes like fall (and when the weather is still HOT outside, i will take any bit of fall i can get). it was so easy to make and everyone loved them! if you can't make it down to the shop to pick up a box for yourself, rachael ray has a recipe on her site for you to try. . .

tis (almost) the season

2008-10-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

since i love hang tags, red baker's twine, muslin and fun labels, when i came upon this wonderful etsy shop via kids and cocktails (how great is that name?), i was instantly enamored. add a roll of kraft paper and your holiday wrap is done. i think it is going to be my chosen gift wrap uniform for this year. i think that the wrap is almost more fun than the gift. you could wrap up an old stinky sock in this combo and i would be happy. (note to brothers: don't even think about it) check out simple song designs etsy shop for more fun ideas

lucky me

2008-10-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

i woke up this morning to the sound of my daughter saying, "mommy, it is 745." for those of you without 3 year olds, that is truly an amazing hour to be still cozy in bed. i took a quick shower and headed to the grocery store to buy some goodies for today's picnic with the ladies that work in my shop. . .the sky was a beautiful blue and it was sunny, but still cool enough to wear my "cozy" pants and uggs. the grocery mart was empty and freshly stocked and straightened, LOVE. i picked out all of my items and spent under $100, that does not happen often, so i decided to treat myself and the ladies to some gorgeous $8 napkins, frivolous and silly, but very pretty! when i arrived home, my husband had done the dishes and was applying labels to my holiday open house postcards for the shop. (it was about now that i wondered what i had done to deserve this loveliness that was being bestowed upon me) i then proceeded to prepare the picnic in the kitchen while missy higgins, coldplay and sarah mclachlan serenaded me. i made a caprese salad, pecan crusted chicken skewers, a platter of pears, pistachios, two cheeses and mission figs stuffed with humboldt fog cheese, croccantini with los olivos tapenade, baguette with olio e limone olive oil and balsamic and a crazy chocolate brownie cakelike treat that's story deserves a blog of its own. basically everything that could go wrong in baking did, BUT, to keep with the theme of the day, it turned out absolutely delightful. boy, this is such a long blog, but the day was just so great. i proceeded to my shop to pick up the ladies who were able to join me and we ventured into the valley. gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. we visited buttonwood farm for a picnic (where we get yummy jams, chutneys and wines that we sell in the shop), clairmont farms, where we get wonderful lavendar products, and some great shops in los olivos. . .in los olivos we did an olive oil tasting and i met a delightful woman who makes all sorts of lovely organic oils, spreads and mustards. we finished off the day at a little coffee shop where we sat outside and enjoyed the chocolate treat. i came home to a happy husband and daughter and am now just thinking about the day and how lucky i feel to have a great family, beautiful place to live, and wonderful people to spend my days at work with. . .lucky me.

i heart pumpkins

2008-10-12T08:40:00.000-07:00

a whole new approach to pumpkin carving. . .these photos from country living are really inspiring a trip to the pumpkin patch. how beautiful are they? very delightful hostess gift or carve a bunch of small pumpkins for the perfect party favor. fall is just my favorite. it is so cozy and makes me just want to snuggle under a blanket with my family and drink hot apple cider. . . the weather has even started to agree a bit with these yummy little plans. it is only going to be 70 today! i even have my cardy uggs on! and madeira is in her pnk "cozies". it does not get any better.

give pink

2008-10-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

when i was at the gift show a couple of months ago, i saw a man wearing a pink shirt that said "save the ta ta's." i was of course intrigued and went over to find out more. well, turns out he is the creator of "boob lube", a lotion that women can use for the monthly check. i thought it was a very creative way to remind women of the responsibility we all have. october is national breast cancer awareness month. and i am so glad it is. not only is it great that an entire month is devoted to raising awareness and support for the cause, but it reminds all of us women that it is something we should be on top of. . .we have a really fun tub of girly goodness that we created about a year ago. every time someone gifts one to someone else, a donation is made to a breast cancer resource center. so, remember to check yourselves (with or without "boob lube") and give gifts that keep giving. . . .

fall upon us

2008-09-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

fall is my favorite. pumpkin anything is my favorite. and these are my favorites of the favorites. i found these wonderful velvet pumpkins posted on the blissful living blog. they are handmade by lynne bonnell in arizona and they are absolutely gorgeous. i REALLY wanted them for my shop because i thought that they would fit in with all of the other pumpkins so nicely. so i posted on the blog and THE wonderfully gracious lynne bonnell wrote me back and was so kind to hand select a great assortment for me. . .i have already had to part with a few because it seems our customers agree that they are quite charming. i have had to hold myself back from taking them all home at the end of each day. LOVE FALL.

sweet sweetness

2008-09-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

i am not a huge fan of sweets, but this gorgeous display makes me really want to be. BUT if you are and ever want one of these at a party here on the west coast, call me, it would fill me with sweet joy to create one of these for someone. . .idea and photo courtesy of amy atlas events

kids say the darndest (cutest) things

2008-09-12T09:07:00.001-07:00

i love this idea from the great blog inchmark. it is precious. and just imagine putting a bow on it and handing it to your child's future spouse on their wedding day. . .that is if you could bear to part with it.