Words to Live By

Party Planner in Training

So I may not have been busy blogging all summer, but I somehow managed to stay extremely busy with a million other things. Lucky for me a lot of the busyness involved being creative and helping party plan! I got to help my friend Meredith throw a bridal / lingerie shower for her sweet friend Anna. I can't take any credit for the idea, but Meredith had seen cookies made to look like lingerie at another party, so we decided to try it out!

We whipped up a delicious sugar cookie recipe, courtesy of Mere, and cut out various sized hearts; even the hearts with scalloped-edges worked well.We then cut the pointed tips off of each heart to give us the shapes we were going for. From there we mixed up yummy butter-cream frosting, courtesy of my mom's Christmas cookie recipe, and split it out into bowls to add color. This was the first time I had seen gel food coloring used and I was really impressed with the richness of the colors. We did a vibrant hot pink, bright red, and a dark black to match the party decorations.

We then divvied out the colored icing into piping bags, or in my case Ziploc bags! (Side note: I am a big fan of how easy and versatile Ziploc bags are in the kitchen. I am notorious in my family for making deviled eggs every holiday and piping the filling into the eggs with a Ziploc. The way I see it, you can control the size of your tip and you don't have to clean out the bags afterward - it's a WIN WIN!)

For the cookies, I enlisted the help of my old roomie, Laura, and Meredith enlisted the help of her friend, Amy, who I understood to like decorating merely as a hobby, only to find out later that she is ridiculously good at it! Check out more pictures of our cookies on her blog and then check out the rest of her amazing work: Indulge With Me

Lastly, I found these great little pearlized candy accents to use on the cookies. For seasoned decorators, I'm sure this is a no-brainer, but I was amazed at how much these little accents added to the cookies.

So here are a few of the finished products - pretty great for a 2 AM decorating session if you ask me. I think it's a really clever idea that could be fun for a summer pool-themed party too.  

I'm currently working on talking Amy into needing a decorating assistant!

Anyone need a party planner . . . . . .   :)

Design on the Mind

Lately, I have found little to no time to indulge in what really drives me . . . design; hence the last post dated over 3 months ago! That's not to say I haven't continued to love checking in on my favorite blogs and websites though. Here are the sites that have kept me entertained and inspired over the last few months:


Little Green Notebook - I love following how Jenny balances an interior design business, great DIY projects around her own home, and still makes time for her family.

Haven and Home - I got hooked on Marianne's website after seeing her featured in Birmingham Magazine. There is something fascinating to me about finding people in my own community that are creative and pursuing something that I am passionate about. As an added bonus, she shares her personal devotionals on Sundays - something that makes her seem so approachable and also reminds me why I love the South.

Belle Decor - Speaking of the South, I find myself going back to Garden&Gun's interior design blog more and more lately.

Pinterest - If you've talked to me in the last month, there's a 100% chance that I've brought up something I found on Pinterest in our conversation.

The Daybook Blog - Okay, so this one isn't interior design related, but I am so inspired by her sense of fashion, photography style, and all around genuine-ness in her posts.

Jones Design Company - Lastly, my sister-in-law has caught the blog fever and has me hooked on this site! One of the first posts I read, here, was so insightful and made me want to keep coming back.

It's safe to say if a blog is interior-design related, faith-based, or all about the South - I'll be hooked.

It's been a busy summer, so I have lots of projects, ideas, recipes, and just life in general to catch you up on - not to mention, I have a sister-in-law's blog to keep up with these days, so be sure to keep checking back for what I hope will not be another 3 month hiatus!

Words to Live By . . .

"I  would rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck." 

Emma Goldman