Free to be Me

Morning!

Sometimes there is nothing I love more than a beautiful fall-September day where the sun is shining and the temperature is perfect for just a long sleeved shirt and jeans. It was nice to get out of the dungeon at the Alliance Conference today to make some phone calls and say Happy Birthday to my friend Matt (aka Harry Potter) who is, ahem, "living it up" in DC ; ) I hope you get to have a SUPER relaxing day today! I cant wait to see a picture of you in your sweet tie ; )

As my internship over at Rebuild comes to an end, so does my Monday/Wednesday lunch breaks over at the Starbucks on Snelling : ( Although it is sad, it does mean that I get to start getting paid over at The Family Partnership which is always exciting! Anyway, last Wednesday on my last lunch trip I wandered over to another cute little boutique across the street called Patina. This store is SUPER cute, they have so many fun things from candles and lights, to cook books and accessories and everything in between! It was really fun looking around, and I highly recommend them for any decorating/accessorizing/gift giving needs!

One thing that really drew my eye were the fun lighting fixtures they had hanging from the ceiling. Lighting is an essential part to any event, and having the right kind of fixtures both in a decorative and functional sense is really important. Although the summer wedding season is coming to an end, I really like big white tent receptions with funky lights like these that are sparks of color where you might not expect it. Doing things like simple white or a neutral color linens with bright flowers or centerpieces (candles, fruit, etc) can really make a statement at your event. Long live bright, fun colors!

The other really fun thing I saw at Patina were these cupcake books! I love baking, and cupcakes are one of my favorite things to make for birthdays, get well soon treats, or really any occasion. I would really like to take some kind of cupcake/cake decorating class so if anyone knows of any out there let me know! In the mean time I think I might pick up one of these books, which give you step by step directions to make the funnest little cupcakes or even these cakepops, which I havent even heard of before! A big trend at weddings lately is to to cupcake or something like petite fours instead of a big cake. I really like this idea, not only could it cut down on some of your serving and cake cutting costs, but you can also do a lot more in terms of flavors, colors, and designs! So I think I am definitely going to buy one of these books the next time I am by Patina; I'll try and post pictures of my new creations!

The song of the day today is "Free to be Me" by Francesca Battiselli because it is just a gorgeous day outside today and I am feeling really good about everything that is going on in my life right now! " Got a couple dents in my fender, got a couple rips in my jeans. Trying to fit the pieces together, but perfection is my enemy. On my own I'm so clumsy, but on your shoulders I can see, I'm free to be ME " : )


Another maybe not daily, but regular blog tradition I would like to start is to showcase some sort of delicious beverage : ) The first one I would like to start with is a delicious beer from local Surly brewery. I am a big fan of local brews and micro breweries and when I went out with my lovely sister the other week at Stub and Herbs on campus, it was the first time I had ever tried this wonderful beer. Surly offers a wide variety of flavors, and this delicious brew is the delightfully hoppy Furious. YUM!