time to start thinking about halloween!!!

so i am starting to 


get ready for

halloween...


what a creepy, creepy way to do your eyes...
these are fly lashes...

if they were not real, they would be very cool!

unfortunately...

these were created by  british artist jessica harrison

who dismembers flies and uses

there legs to make fake eyelashes...

creepy creepy indeed!!!

you can see more of jessica's work here...

Dinner Party beneath the Golden Gate Bridge...

 i just adore this idea..

and i have been in the mood to have a party

and this is very inspiring...

this would be perfect beneath the ravenel bridge...

post originally found here...

"Dinner Party beneath the Golden Gate Bridge
Last month I reserved the day spot for Kirby Cove below the Golden Gate Bridge. So yesterday we hauled a bunch of stuff down to the beach and set up a dinner party. The trickiest part was figuring out the lighting since there are no plugs anywhere. We built a 'T' from a wooden pole and then strung battery operated Christmas lights overhead. The tea lights were also LEDs. We had a four course meal including Parsnip Soup, Salad, Risotto, Asparagus, and ice cream sundaes. We heated the food up on a burner at the day site and then brought the pots down to serve the food right before.

All the guests arrived at dusk and we watched as the sky got darker and the city lights got brighter. I don't think you could have asked for better scenery (or better company.)"

i love the big red napkins...

i always think large napkins are nice...

her color scheme

 is so nice and matches the scenery...

white chairs = water

beige tablecloth = sand

napkins = bridge

what a dream like setting 

for a dinner party...

photos by Paul Ferney for Oh Happy Day

sweet animal...

the Whale… 
If you read a recent front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth. A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

the perfect solution!

this cocktail looks 

like the perfect solution to these 

 hot summer days!!

Pink Panther 



2 750 ml bottles pink Champagne
1 qt club soda
1 cup white dinner wine
1 qt raspberry sherbert
4 oz cherry liqueur
6 oz frozen pink lemonade concentrate
2 cups raspberries
ice block
fresh mint


combine wine, sherbert, liqueur and lemonade concentrate (thawed) in a large pitcher or bowl. stir. add ice, add raspberries and club soda. Stir gently. 

garnish with fresh mint...

OR

Pink Sweet



5 oz pink grapefruit juice
10 oz grapefruit vodka
750 ml chilled sparkling wine

Put the grape-fruit juice and vodka in a 

glass and then add sparkling wine.

AND OF COURSE ADD HOMEMADE

SPRINKLES TO THE RIM...

the perfect midnight dinner!

baked chicken with olive oil, fresh herbs,

lemon zest and chili flake...

i baked this in the oven on 450

a large amount of spinach...

 local radish...

 my plants watching me cook...

 lucy always near by...

all tossed together with some blue cheese,

red wine vinegar

and evo....

yum!

 a healthy midnight dinner!

quinn's first birthday.....

now quinn's first birthday is six months

away so some might think this is premature...

but.....

i love giving parties

i love planning 

and 

i love planning months in advance...

to me, dreaming up all the ideas

is half the fun....

lexie saw a cake she just fell in love with,

and i did too...

now i haven't askes lexie (my sister)

but i am hoping she will let me bake the cake,

or maybe lexie, quinn and 

i can make it togeather...

how cute is this cake?

i want to make it 100% from scratch....

i just found a recipe for homemade

sprinkles and they look so fun!!!

8 ounces powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg white

1 tsp vanilla, or other extract

for flavor

assorted food colorings

as many piping bags as you have colors, 

fitted with a small, plain tip

Mix the first four ingredients until a semi-thick paste forms.

Divide the paste into as many portions as you have colors, tinting each batch with the color of your choice.

now there are two ways to make these

sprinkles...

1st...

bright sprinkle dots...

piping dots onto wax paper

let dry a full 24 hours and

voila...

sprinkles...

2nd...

soft pink "jimmies"

piping icing in long rows onto

wax paper, also letting dry for a full 

24 hours. once dry, chop into pieces...

always red carpet flawless...

j low is no longer jenny from the block...

every red carpet 

i can't wait to see what she wears...

and sure enough 

always flawless....

the perfect dress for the  grammy's ...

she takes risk's never does the same
old thing... and always looks amazing!

this amazing red dress is gucci

and each flower is hand painted...

she wore this to cannes 2011...

high neck and long sleeves is the perfect

balance for

showing this much leg...

ahhh

flawless in chanel...

(above and below picture...)

what a fun party...

sunday afternoon

my friend threw the most fun party...

we had amazing food

 fun friends

and fantastic wine!

( my strawberry and kiwi sangria )

my adorable niece quinn...

what a great time!