A Tutu for T

I love having friends that have kids!  It's really the best, you get to play with them and squeeze their cheeks and tickle their baby bellies and then hand them back over when it's time for a diaper change or a feeding.  Who could ask for a better situation?  Luckily for me, June brought a friend of mine's daughter's first birthday (we'll call her T).  I think a first birthday is a fantastic occasion to get a custom made tutu, don't you?  Enter sparkly hot and light pink tulle, and just to make it a bit more special and extra girly, some delicate pink roses.  Ta-da!  A tutu for T was born. 

Not one to skimp on the wrappings, I found this fun ribbon to tie it all up with at JoAnn's for $1, cute right?  And of course, one of my favorite heroines, Angelina Ballerina, had to make an appearance on T's birthday card.  I wish her many more fun ballerina birthdays to come and hope my fabulous friends with kids won't get too tired of me making tutus for their little ones.  One can never have enough tutus....right?

A Party For My Favorite Ballerina

I recently had the pleasure of putting together a little work party for Janice, and had so much fun putting together a few yummy and pretty things for one of my favorite ballerinas.  With the help of my fellow co-workers Kristina, Kim and Angie, we were able to pretty up our normal office spaces and treat Janice to some sweet treats.  Of course, a party for Janice wouldn't be complete without the fabulous goodies from Kara's Cupcakes in Walnut Creek and Sweet Tart. Thanks especially to my Mom for her baking expertise and making some delicious cake pops and for sharing her beautiful flowers!

Flowers compliments of my Mom's garden

Pretty little mini's from Kara's Cupcakes

More mini's!  From Sweet Tart

Cake Pops by Mom

Sprinkled Pretty!

Lucky Bow

Who doesn't love a good bow?  Bows bring to mind images of girls in white dresses (I know that's with blue satin sashes, but I'm assuming there has to be a big fabulous bow on that satin sash), shoelaces, fondant encrusted cake toppers, and best of all wrappings and presents!  I've always been a fan of bows (except for maybe in my hair when I was little), but bows just have a certain way of dressing every little thing up and adding charm to whatever they're placed on.

My friend and co-worker Kim has created these fantastic bow rings, complete with a lucky penny to decorate your favorite ring finger and bring you luck!  They are just too cute, and I feel so fancy wearing mine (almost like I myself am a present)!

I can only imagine what a hit these would be at a Ballerina Birthday, for the kids or the grown ups!  Check out Kim and her cute creations at www.luckybow.com!

National Dance Week

To celebrate National Dance Week last month, I had my CYC students decorate their old pairs of ballet shoes to display around the center and to pretty up our lobby space when we performed at Del Valle Theatre for our Spring Showcase.  Their creativity never ceases to amaze me, there were several entries that sparkled and shined and I wanted to share some of them with you!

Jewels and Sparkles and Ribbons, oh my!

My own creation

A few more creations

One of the winning pairs

This is such a cute idea for a craft for a party.  The kids could really go to town with some really basic supplies (puff paint, jewels, ribbons), and guests have a party favor that they can take home and admire for months to come!  If you're wondering where to find a cheap pair of ballet slippers that you can try your own creations out on, Payless has girls pink, white, and black shoes for not too much.  Target also carries a more slipper version (think soft fabric rather than traditional leather).  Happy creating!

Jolie Miette

A few weekends ago my mom and I took a jaunt to the San Francisco Ferry Building and it proved to be both a beautiful and delicious adventure.  I think I've mentioned before that my mom is a fantastic cook and baker, and her latest interest is macaroons.  And what's not to be interested in?  These delicate tasty delights are enjoyed universally, and there are many variations on them from country to country.  North Americans usually associate macaroons with a flour-less coconut cookie (the original recipe was adapted by Italian Jews since it has no flour or leavening and can be eaten during Passover), but my favorites are the French version, which are like mini sandwhiches and so so delicious!  For some more interesting history on macaroons, check out The Nibble.  

So, back to the story.  My Mom had read about a bakery called Miette (which means crumb, or little sweet thing in French) in the Ferry Building famous for their macaroons (click here for their website), so we jetted off to San Francisco one sunny Saturday morning via ferry to seek out some sweets.  And oh, did we find sweets!

Miette's pretty displays of goodies

So Mom and I get to the register and order our macaroons (vanilla, chocolate, almond, and strawberry), but of course our eyes were caught by their beautiful cupcakes and some delicious looking ice cream sandwhiches.

Even the bag was pretty!  So off Mom and I went to enjoy our sweets and the rest of the sights and sounds of the Ferry Building.  I can't help but think what fabulous goodies these macaroons would be for a ballerina birthday!  They are so kid friendly (not too big and relatively mess free) but don't skimp on flavor at all.  They are just perfect in so many ways, and I can't wait to plan a party with some marvelous macaroons!