And How Long Have You Been 17?

on march 22, my darling friend kate turned 26. {shh, she's not telling}. last year turning 25 was a big deal for kate ... and leaving 25 behind was almost more than she could bear. i told her that she was just too special to not celebrate, though, and she and nick put together a fun twilight-themed birthday party for the saturday before her birthday. i had been dying {no pun intended!} to have a twilight-party and was more than thrilled to hear she had decided to do it for hers.
i designed her invitation for the event along with coordinating signs with quotes from the books/movies.

the day of her birthday we got snow! not that oklahoma has never seen snow in march before, but we had the most beautiful spring weather in the days leading up to the party. one by one party-goers started sending their regrets. i was a little nervous to drive from muskogee to tulsa without travis, but the roads didn't seem too bad, so i loaded up my car and away i went. i couldn't miss her special day.

the party was held in the movie theater room in the clubhouse of the apartment in which she and nick live. kate's favorite food is hors d'oeuvres/appetizers, so we had platters stocked full of yummy goodness, several bottles of wine, and supplies for chocolate martinis. getting everything from their third story apartment to the clubhouse, in the snow, was a little challenging {and it wasn't without casualties ... i broke the lid to an apothecary jar and felt horrible! and nick broke a wine glass special to him and kate on the trek back}. once we were indoors however, we set to work placing the candle hurricanes and the platters of food. roxie and i had arrived early to help set up ... and aside from nick's sister we were the only guests able to make the event.

{excuse my pictures. i had only brought my phone along, and as it was a theater room, the lighting was pretty dim. i'll try to post more pictures of the quotes later.}

the party was perfect though. the three of us were able to snuggle up under blankets, sip our wine, and snack on our treats while kate explained different aspects of each of the twilight movies to us while we sat back and enjoyed the shows. even though it was much smaller than we had planned, it couldn't have been a better party. kate with her best girls and her man, and an evening filled with her favorites.

THS Class Reunion

I thought I would give you a sneak peek at the collateral I'm working on for the Tahlequah High School Class of 2000's 10 Year Reunion. {Trying saying that 5 times fast}.

I have already had such a fun time on this project. When Tracie first contacted me, my heart skipped a beat ... or two ... has it really been 10 years since 2000? Someone press the slow-mo button please.

If you're part of the THS Class of '00, mark your calendars! The date has been set! Your Reunion will be July 23rd-July25th. And I hear you're in for a good time in the 'Quah.

I'm also an alum of THS so this project is near and dear to my heart. It's fun to pull out the old Tiger print and corny phrases we used in high school. I feel like I'm preparing a sign for the big game ... you know the ones you hang all around the school cheering on the team of the season?

Since some of the pieces are tickets for admission, I can't show the project in its entirety at this time. But just you wait. I'll showcase everything again this summer so you can see the whole she-bang.

Did you go to your high school reunion{s}? I've already heard mixed reviews. Some who will go. Some who won't. Others who are on the fence. So tell me all about your experience. I can't wait to hear. =)

For now, I MUST go to bed. Today was a non-stop kind of day {yay!} but now a little rest is in order. Sweet dreams!

TAHLEQUAH TIGERS! {Clap. Clap. Clap-Clap-Clap}

Clara French Cake Stands.

I am in love!

How very, very precious are these cake stands by Clara French? I ran across them by {happy} accident and immediately fell for them. With the rise in popularity of Dessert Buffets these little beuts should have no problems finding a new home ... right next to the Rosanna cupcake stands in my china cabinet.

Would You Like More Tea?

During the Fourteen Days of Love I shared photos from my mom's surprise birthday tea. Sitting next to the tulips was her invitation, but it was a little hard to see. Check it out below, along with the recipe card that was included for each guest to fill out and bring to the party.

(c) 2010 notably noted

(c) 2010 notably noted

fourteen days of love. 14.

My mom is a Valentine's Day baby. She is so thoughtful and always going out of her way to do kind things for others, so this year we decided to do something a little different from the traditional afternoon family lunch and gifts.The birthday girl collects tea pots and tea cups so an afternoon tea was right up her ally. We started with the invitation {you can see it below next to the vase of flowers ... I'll try to post a picture of just the invitation later} and went from there. The colors were inspired by the pink, white, red, and yellow found in spring tulips + my mom's love of paisley.
lemon cupcakes with toppers reading "happy birthday," "deniese," & "d"

lovely spring tulips {+ the invitation}

the spread

another shot of the spread: raisin scones . lemon cupcakes . red velvet cake balls . brownie pops . asparagus + ham + honey mustard + cream cheese on whole wheat . cucumber + cream cheese & mint on whole wheat . tuna sald on rye . chicken sald on whole grain rounds . tomato + basil quiche . spinach + mushroom + strawberry + almonds salad . made by yours truly + lindsay leach + justin leach

the birthday banner {but certainly not the greatest shot of it}

I didn't have the best camera in the world, so please excuse the pictures.

fourteen days of love. day 13.

13. gift wrapped presents

image found on the globe and mail website

I love wrapped packages! Absolutely love them. Gift bags get cuter all the time, but there is nothing like a beautifully wrapped present. Many wrapping paper companies are becoming more environmentally responsible as well. Some of the gift wrap we use at notably noted is 100% recycled, contains 30% post-consumer content and comes from mills that practice sustainable forestry.

What about you? Do you use gift bags or gift wrap?

fourteen days of love. day 12.

12. coordinated children's partywear

When my friend Jen's little boy turned one, she had the cutest bib and party hat for the {lil} man of the hour. I believe that presentation is everything and I love for events to coordinate just so. Your little guy or girl will feel like the star in these {precious} pieces.

These particular pieces can be found at goldenshop on etsy.

fourteen days of love. day 11.

11. spring

One of my loves earlier this week was snow. It's snowing again today, and I am thrilled, but the flakes are tiny, and it probably won't stick. Since snows are few and far between in Oklahoma {usually}, I am getting tired of the cold days that don't have the lovely snow and am happily anticipating spring. Which brings me to my love for the day.

Summer is my favorite season, by far, but I right now, I'm loving spring. Who doesn't like spring? New beginnings. Budding trees. Birds chirping again.

I am especially excited about these fun garden totes we'll have in time for Mother's Day!
Now, I personally am not a gardener. I love the look of flower beds and flower gardens, but I don't even keep potted plants around. These precious gardening totes may be enough to inspire me, though! =)

fourteen days of love. day 10.

10. cupcake toppers

We're closing in on the last few days of love. I've mentioned the obsession with cupcakes ... and just when you thought cupcakes couldn't get any better, someone invented cupcake toppers!

image & design found at the tom kat studio

I had hoped to post pictures of the precious topppers Jen Collier used for Hudson's first birthday, but I wasn't able to get a close up shot. May I just say, so. cute.

I was in the middle of working on a set of these for an upcoming tea party when I got a phone call from another client requesting some for a graduation party. As shown above the Tom Kat Studio has created some for Valentine's Day. So let's see: tea party. graduation. Valentine's Day. bridal showers. baby showers. engagement parties. These tiny little pieces pack a big punch and are even better than the icing on the cupcake! Who thought that could be possible?

fourteen days of love. day 09.

09. Brownie Bites

I'm finally back on track with my fourteen days of love, so you will only see one note from me today. Aren't you thrilled? =)

image courtesy of the inspired bride

Cake balls and cupcakes are all the rage lately. I love them both, so it makes sense that when I stumbled across these Brownie Pops, my heart melted like the candy coated icing on these bad boys. After reading the directions, I realized that they are actually brownie balls, but Pops just sounds so much cuter, doesn't it? It's, of course, the sticks that make them "pops." Guess what ... I love those, too.