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    Happy Fridays Holiday Gift Guide: Part 1!

    December 2, 2011 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    December is upon us and the holiday countdown has officially begun! Over the next few weeks we will be running a few special Happy Friday posts to feature gifts for all the important people in your life. One for the hims, one for the hers, and one for the little ones too! Hopefully they will help make your holiday shopping for 2011 a total breeze :)

    1 – For the photographer, these super cool camera lens traveling mugs from photojojo.com
    2 – Very hip Beats by Dre headphones with advanced speaker design, powered amplification, and active noise canceling
    3 -  Modern yet vintage – have it both ways with these fun knit ties
    4 – A Swiss Army Flash Drive for the techy outdoors-man
    5 – Who needs a tiny Bluetooth headset when you can use one of these awesome POP Phones to answer your phone calls
    6 – For the musician, a handy punch to make guitar picks from old credit cards, gift cards, hotel keys, and more!
    7 – Help him keep track of his favorite concerts and sporting events with this handy Ticket Stub Diary
    8 – Trouble waking up in the morning? This ingenious alarm clock will run away if you hit the snooze button!

    Happy Friday everyone!

    Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Happy Fridays: Labor Day Party Tips!

    September 2, 2011 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    I hope everyone is looking forward to a relaxing Labor Day weekend. The end of summer has arrived so soak up the rays while you can and enjoy the last of these wonderful long days. I’m sure many of you are putting together final preparations for Labor Day festivities and stressing over the details. The last thing you need during a holiday weekend is added stress from hosting duties. Fear not – I have some helpful tips below to make your Labor Day party easy breezy!

    Decorations

    Labor day is a great time for using those leftover decorations from Fourth of July parties, so don’t ever throw those out! The above options are all quick and easy crafts that can be done at home and for cheap. Labor Day is typically more about the food and drinks anyways, so keep the decor simple but festive. (clockwise from top left: pinwheels, star medallions, layered candles, firework bursts)

    The Menu

    Labor Day food is almost always some form of hamburgers, hot dogs and a side of potato salad. No need to ditch these staples, but maybe do something a little different to spruce them up. It’s also always nice to include a vegetarian option for friends not interested in a double stack cheeseburger but still looking for a full meal. Snack foods are essential so don’t forget to include a variety tasty options. (clockwise from top left: Asian Rotisserie Chicken Salad, Roasted Garlic Guacamole Dip, Perfect Veggie Burgers, Chicago-Style Hot Dog)

    Helpful Tips

    The wonderful Martha Stewart put together an entire list of helpful tips to save the day! The gallery includes some great ideas, a few of which I have highlighted above. The first is a method for quickly chilling a bottle of room temperature wine. The second is a simple caddy used to carry around grilling and party essentials so they don’t get lost and can stay in one place. The third are these adorable flower pots used to cover plates of food to keep them warm. And lastly, a way to windproof your table cloth to prevent guests from having to hold it down. Thanks Martha!

    Wishing everyone a very Happy Labor Day weekend…and a very happy Friday!

    Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Happy Fridays: Best Things About Summer!

    June 24, 2011 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    Summer is upon us! I know at times it may be unbearably hot, but it is still one of my favorite times of the year. In the spirit of summer, I have put together a “best of” list to help you soak in the season :)

    1 – Lazy days by the pool – Pick up a few popular reads at the bookstore to keep you busy.

    2 – Flirty feet – go crazy with some fun summer nail polish and new wedge sandals!

    3 – Beachy getaways – Gorgeous modern beach bag from Monsoon!

    4 – The bright colors – I love this adorable little romper from DKNY kids, plus a sweet summer dress for mom.

    5 – Delicious drinks – Recipes for Tropical Ginger Punch and Hibiscus Honey Iced Tea from Martha!

    6 – Tasty treats -Yummy fruity popsicles that can be tasty and healthy.

    7 – Afternoon sun showers – carry one of these adorable umbrellas to outsmart those occasional afternoon showers, or to keep cool and out of the sun on a hot day.

    8 – Family fun -  with longer days, stay up a little later to battle it out with a game of Catchphrase or Cranium!

    Happy Friday everyone!

    Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Happy Fridays: Ice cream party!

    June 2, 2011 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    Well summer is certainly here! How do I know? Something about the 95 degree temperatures tends to give it away I think. If you are like me and looking to find a fun way to cool down this summer, I have a great share for you! I recently stumbled across a very old post from Eat.Drink.Chic, one of my absolute favorite blogs. It was all about this super cute idea for a make your own sundae/ice cream bar themed party. As soon as I saw it I remembered all the weekend ice cream socials I went to as a kid, and how much fun they were! What a great idea for your next little one’s birthday party, or a fun activity for friends and family on a hot summer day. Amy Moss, the fabulous woman behind Eat.Drink.Chic, provided a very in depth post describing all of her extra custom accessories and easy ways to make them. She even provided down-loadable templates for the adorable custom container labels! See the full post here!

    And if you are feeling extra adventurous, maybe have a go at making your own ice cream for the party! This is something I have been dieing to try myself recently and have been doing a little snooping for the best methods. I found these very simple to follow and kid friendly instructions and ingredients here! Good luck…and Happy Friday everyone :)

    Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Happy Fridays: Blogs We Love – The Pioneer Woman!

    March 4, 2011 | Posted by Kristen the designer

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    So if you haven’t stumbled across this blog yet, you definitely need to now! The Pioneer Woman is a wonderful little blog that covers just about everything you could hope for. Featuring topics in cooking, photography, confessions, home and garden, as well as many others. Ree Drummond, the creator of this wonderful blog, is so creative with her posts and I find myself with a huge smile while reading each one. Her Confessions section is definitely my favorite. The stories of her adorable Bassett hound Charlie are the best :)

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    The photography section is a great place for inspiration and gorgeous photos. Threads are started with certain themes and then readers submit photos that Ree sorts through and posts from. I love the range of images…some old, some new, color, black and white…and you definitely don’t have to be a professional to submit. Ree also has a section called “High Res Downloads” where she contributes images of her own for download. To top it off, there is a “Photoshop” and  “Photoshop Actions” category perfect for new ideas and techniques.

    Head on over to the cooking section for delicious recipes and yummy treats. One of her most recent recipes was for a dessert snack called a “Devil Dog.” I had never heard of them before, but after examining the mouthwatering photos I knew I would make some soon :) You can not go wrong with chocolate cake and whip cream…yum yum!

    So go ahead and check it out for yourself…I promise you won’t be disappointed! Happy Fridays!


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