Hair Curlers...the height of fashion

Sometimes I think hair curlers/rollers are something of the past. Like Marilyn Monroe days when she was all done up sitting there waiting for her hair to 'set'. 

Well, come to find out according to vogue "hair curlers are the height of fashion". I don't know why that would surprise me... nothing gets your hair more voluminous than good old velcro rollers. 

Anyways, I read this article and it made me laugh. Realizing that indeed it's totally okay, even considered fashionista-ish, to go amongst the masses with a head full of pink velcro rollers the size of coke cans!

Here are a few of my faves:
***zebra pack
***conair hot rollers
***mega self holding rollers

Another Shower...

I feel like when it rains it POURS...at least when it comes to wedding and baby showers!
Tis the season and I absolutely love it!

My sweet friend Barb and I decided to put on a shower for Kelly who is just the best of the best! We went with corals and greys with pops of yellows...arranging the flowers is my favorite part. It's almost therapeutic for me---

We went with an icecream bar (complete with way to many toppings) because icecream is Kelly's favorite dessert. You really can't go wrong with cold creamy goodness with fudge, caramel, strawberries, brownie bites and whipped cream on top!?

Anyways she was showered with love and congrats and it was great fun to be apart of such a special occasion!

^^^peonies are officially my favorite flower^^^

^^^the before and after...

 ^^^Barb tied small pieces of tule along a strand of white wired lights and we hung them from the island...it added the perfect touch of magic. So glad she took the time to make that!

 ^^^made this out of fabric...the dumb "A" and "I" kept moving...but you get the point right?!^^^

^^^These draperies were made similarly to the wedding backdrop my sister made last year
(found HERE)

 The future bride (middle) with Barb and I ^^^ and her sis and mama below

Best Bridal Shower For The Best Girl...

As many of you know, I come from a family of five girls...I am the second oldest. When my oldest sister Whitney got married I had so many different emotions. I was sad that life was never going to be the same...once you get hitched it really is never how life was before you were married. I guess that is the whole point, but as a Senior in highschool (since all I was thinking about was myself haha) I didn't like change too much. Actually, what am I saying, I still don't like change!

Well, crazy that the night of Whitney and Spencers wedding dinner I met Joshua; who is Spencer's cousin. Three-ish years later Josh and I got married. Talk about meant to be right?! Anyways, than last year my youngest sister, Sadie, got married to a wonderful guy...and now, in about three weeks, my other sister Rachael is getting married to Sadie's husbands brother! 

I know, I know... say what?! Trust me, this is all legal! :-) So to celebrate such a wonderful occasion my middle sister Paige threw a beautiful (and by beautiful I mean so many small details went into everything) shower. 

We played this game MASH, where everyone filled out a fake future life, and at the end Whitney read three of them. It was pretty hilarious what some of the ladies answers were...like who would you marry "paul newman"...really?! Oh wowza.

I loved the colors, the food, the guests, the table runners, the flowers. It was so perfect for our one and only blonde sister...and I couldn't be happier for her! 

now for the party favors...I order these mini soaps from Elaeis Spa Co. they smelt so good!

Triple Layer Lemon Strawberry Cake that'll make your mouth "wat-ah"

I am more of a chocolatey, peanut buttery, caramel lovin' type of girl. However, every once in a while when I stumble upon a "to good to be true" fruity dessert...well I make the leap and bake it. 

This cake is a moist, triple layered, strawberry & lemon infused dessert of delectability (can ya feel me here?!). No joke, the whole reason I wanted to make it was because of how pretty I imagined it could be. Then, oh then, I had a piece...and it made me fall in love with lemon flavoring all over again. 

Now, lets talk about the frosting...because it really is what takes this cake to the next level. It's light, fluffy and easy to manage. This sort of balances out the pound cake texture of the layers. I could've slathered this light, fluffy creamy bit of heaven all over the floor, and would have gladly licked it clean. 

So, with that said this cake is worth making. I mean think about all the praise and admiration you'll get as you waltz into a party with this thing in tote. whoa.

 ^^^now starts the fun part...the frosting and decorating***happy fingers^^^

^^^My sisters goldendoodle, Renzi. The biggest beggar of all. 

CAKE:

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, separated

3 cups flour

1 TBS. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1 cup milk

1 TBS. lemon zest

1 TBS. fresh lemon juice

strawberry-lemonade jam (we used strawberry-pineapple instead)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

2. Stir together flour and next 2 ingredients; add butter mix alternately with flour mix. Beat low until blended. Add zest and juice.

3. Beat egg whites in large bowl until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into batter. Spoon batter into three greased (and floured) 9 inch pans.

4. Bake at 350 for about 17 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire racks.

5. Place layer on cake stand, spread a nice layer of jam on top. Repeat with second layer.

STRAWBERRY FROSTING:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup sugar, divided

2/3 cup chopped fresh strawberries

1 drop pink food coloring

1 1/2 cups heavy whip cream

3 TBS. fresh lemon juice

1. Beat cream cheese and 1/3 cup sugar with electric mixer until smooth; add strawberries and food coloring; beat until well blended.

2. Beat whipping cream and juice at medium speed until foamy; slowly add remaining 1/3 cup of sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Immediately spread onto cake layers

***When I make this next time, I think instead of the jam...I'll use the frosting in between the layers. I just think it would be that much better.***

Party Table Color Schemes

My one and only blondie sister is getting hitched in May...so my other sister is taking the reigns on the bridal shower and we are trying to conjur up a few color palette ideas. Here are some of my favorites...thought I'd throw it out there for you to give your opinion. I tend to go more for corals and pinks...with yellows and greens. It's crazy how much you can do with a few good group of colors, aint it?! :-)

photo cred:  pic1   ////    pic2    ////     pic3     ////     pic4      ////     pic5