kansas city!

just wanted to share with you out-of-towners how awesome kansas city really is... i don't always feel this way, but we're way cooler than a lot of places. (me clearing my throat- kate).  design*sponge is a pretty sweet blog that i follow, and pretty much everyone in the design world knows what it is, so it doesn't need much explanation.  they do a city guide every week and i don't usually pay much attention, but this updated guide to KC caught my eye...  it's not just 'somewhere in the middle of the US'.

it was a good day

 homemade peanut butter cups for my sweetie

and to make it obvious what day it was, 

a sugar cookie made by my lovely neighbor

the guys enjoying their valentine's day treats

(man, could these two be cuter?!)

 that's what i get when i ask for a smile...

i guess it's better than his open-mouthed deer-in-the-headlights look

we got for the first year and a half of his life.

we delivered the remaining pb cups to various neighbors and friends - i had planned to give them all to my valentine, but they were HUGE, and we're still working on the sour cream fudge cake my mom made last night.  yeah, we're kind of big dessert people in this family.  we also visited bryan at work, and only stayed for a bit because apparently there were a lot of lonely sick people today that needed some love.  and tomorrow, for part of my present, i get to sleep in.  i'm so excited i can hardly stand it!


hope you had a lovely day.

in complete and total love.

one of my christmas presents to myself was a new return address stamp.  most people don't really think this is that big of a deal, but as a designer and lover of calligraphy (and wannabe totally awesome kick-ass calligrapher someday), it's a big deal.  i was all ready to take pictures of the stamp in action, but then realized i probably didn't want to put my address on the world wide web.  so i borrowed a photo from their etsy site.  i mean, seriously, how cool is this calligraphy?!  their name is primele and it's three sisters, one of whom does the lettering and the other two help with the business aspect of things.  that would really be great, if my sisters would quit the nursing profession and handle my business.  yeah, right. :)

i used her calligraphy for a wedding invite i'm currently working on and i basically want to be her.  it's that simple.  someday...

winter wonderland...

in a cookie jar, a la martha stewart - who else?

this was super easy, i can finally say i started and completed something during naptime.  my only issue was all the stickiness...  i'm not completely OCD like a certain sister i have, but i have a few things:  i don't like christmas lights that blink, i prefer for two light switches on a switch-plate to be going the same direction when turned off, and i don't like my hands to be sticky.  what i'm about to tell you may cause you to judge me just a bit, but that's ok:  i used to hold raisins in my hands and smoosh them all around, just so i could wash my hands.  yeah, i told you it was bad.  go ahead, judge.  so for this project, i kept a wet washcloth close by for emergencies.  however, it caused all the jimmies and sprinkles to lose their color.  ergo, i had to deal.  with all the gumdrop sticky.  

i survived.

p.s. i'm pretty sure there are a lot more things to add to that 'i'm not OCD, but here's my list' list, but i didn't want to wander.  i'm pretty good at that.

if i had a list of favorite things...

this would most definitely be on it.  i don't have a list because i'm impulsive and impatient, two things that don't really go together when shopping.  especially online shopping!  i do have a bit of common sense, though, so it all balances out. (my husband might beg to differ).  i spotted this orla kiely silk scarf in my latest garnet hill catalog, another fave of mine.  i think the reason it's still on my list and not on its way to my house is because i saw it in a catalog - if i wanted it, then i have to get up from bed, get my wallet, go to the computer, and order it.  did i mention i'm also a bit lazy?  so, no scarf and i'm still drooling over it.  i know i'm a bit behind the times that i don't really know who this orla kiely girl is, but i think i'm in love with her.

new shoes!

i want to wear these all day, every day.  this isn't a good picture with the under thing on the sole, but these super cute ballet flats go with every single outfit i need to jazz up - which means, every single outfit that i wear.  i almost didn't get them, because i have a hard time spending more than $20 on such a small shoe, but i had a gift certificate so i justified the purchase.  never have i owned metallic shoes, and i'm in love. LOVE.  i want a pair in every color.

serious goosebumps.

and who knew mikhail baryshnikov could tap dance?

via making it lovely's honor roll

i like

i actually LOVE this.. so freaking cute.  you all know i have a slight, though serious obsession with birds/owls/etc... so it doesn't get much better than this, made by marian of sweetopia, posted by bake at 350.  now if i could only curb the baking blog obsession...

i like

these new juice glasses from crate and barrel.  only 2.95 each! which you can see at the bottom of the picture, because i didn't want to to take the time to crop it! incorporating letters into my morning OJ is so my style.  and i don't really have style.