Valentine's Day

Sadly, Valentine's Day is coming up and I don't have anyone to share it with, but I still compiled a list of great Valentine's gifts that I would love. With this economy I made sure all items were under $25 and will last all year round (because I'm practical like that). Even though these are affordable, they don't loose any of that romantic-ness required at Valentine's Day:

Customizable Secret Poetry Stackable Ring by Delias Thompson, $19
This is my favorite!

Customizable I love you note decal by TextStyle, $12
What a great love note to wake up to each morning.

Single Stem Orchid Plant from ProFlowers, $24.99
My mom sent me a beautiful orchid last year, too bad I killed it within a month! Of course, almost any other floral arrangement or plant would be appreciated as well. Right now I'm loving miniature green mums and green spider mums.


Little Birch Jewelry Stand from UrbanOutfitters, $24
With the promise of more jewelry to put on it, right?

Other nearly free ideas:
- A mix CD, with lots of mushy-gushy songs
- Breakfast in bed, Quiche Lorraine for me, please
- Random love notes throughout the day
- A custom wallpaper/desktop background for your computer

Strung Up

I feel like I have had a long hiatus on posting, but looking back, I guess I've never been that consistent. With the recent Martin Luther King Jr. holiday off from work, I've been able to do a lot of projects around here and I have several more on the docket, I just need to get around to sharing them!

I finally made it to the library today (something that's been on my list for weeks) and renewed my fondness for ReadyMade: How to Make [Almost] Anything, the book. I checked out their website today and guess what I found on the homepage, a project explaining how to reproduce the 2002 Random Light by Bertjan Pot! I have always wanted to try my own hand at recreating this light after I saw the $1,167 price tag. I can't wait to try! ...now what to color of string?

My Grocery List

Lame? Check.
Obsessive? Check.
Efficient? Check!

Last night I created a grocery list template to print and check-the-box on what items I need for that week. I first got the idea from my parents, who had borrowed the idea from one of our family friends. I made fun of them to the end at how meticulous and lame they were, but a couple days later I was begging them to e-mail me their list so I could do the same thing!
I finally got around to making my own after I had created three grocery lists for this week alone, hopefully it will make me a little bit more efficient and only use one master list. The list is tailored to what I typically buy (notice all of the beans in the canned vegetables section... mmmm...) and the items are listed in the order they are merchandised in the grocery store.

This is such a clever idea, I think everyone should have one! (and it's fun to check the box!)

Have your cake...

Finally! After all this time, I finally got around to posting pictures of the cake I made for my grandmother's 85th birthday party over Thanksgiving. The cake is a 4 layer (the 4th layer was insisted on by my grandma) lemon cake with lemon frosting and lavender fondant flowers. It was a big hit! Also included are pictures of an apple dessert and delicious pie!

Were you naughty or nice?

Apparently I was a VERY good girl this year, judging by everything Santa brought me. That's right, no coal in my stocking! It scored lots of goods in the electronics and kitchen arena, some of my favorites are listed below:

Cake Pan & Carrying case, William Sonoma Silicon Rolling Pin, Wine Glasses, Altec Lansing iPod dock, Samsung Alias cell phone, Plantronics bluetooth headset, iPod radio remote, and probably the most fun: Apples to Apples Board Game

What goodies did you get this year?