All posts tagged: birthmonth

bath bombs and bon bons!

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This year for birthmonth I celebrated with a chocolate factory tour, a picnic, a mini hike, a kava bar lounge session, and a bath bombs and bon bons party! The last mostly happened because I love alliteration. And themed celebrations. And crafts. 🙂 We had bon bon treats and ’90s jams all night. I found lots of bon bon options at Trader Joe’s (and I added edible shimmer to some of them for added fancy) and at a local chocolatier. I also found the tiniest plates for all the tiny foods. My maker friend extraordinaire, Angel, hosted and taught the bath bomb part of the evening. I have the craftiest friends! Check out all these fun supplies. The scent of the different essential oils filled the room. Ahhh-roma therapy! Ready to craft! But first, a wefie to capture this Breaking Bad moment. We started with a warm up craft: body oils. We filled these cute containers with base oils (I used sweet almond oil), Vitamin E (for a preservative), a few drops of rose hips, and an …

sunnies and snacks.

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I love planning events, trying my hand at making different foods to share, and setting up activities for friends to try. For birthmonth I threw a picnic party – great friends and yummy snacks all afternoon made for a fun and relaxing day. For snacks I made tabbouleh, a green salad with tahini lemon dressing, sunomono cucumber salad, veggie wraps, and French onion dip. I also gathered shortbread cookies, nuts, mandarins, blackberries, chips, and black sesame crackers. My new fave (accidentally made) snack: what I’m dubbing “tabbouleh nachos” topped with Greek yogurt French onion dip. I can’t wait to make it again! I set up some crafty play stations – origami and photo decorating. Plus park friendly activities – bubbles, lawn bowling, dominos, and sportsballs (Hubby taught me how to properly throw a football!). My niece also brought the Bean Boozled jelly bean game. Gross fun! And party favors because that’s how I roll: everyone got a pair of sunnies. More picnics please! What are some of your go-to picnic foods and activities? Do share!

fat head.

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When you wake up on your birthday and see a giant you. O_o My fantastically creative Hubby decided THIS is what I needed for my birthday this year, and he was all the correct! He even made the “Happy Birthday” garland! 🙂 So, I know what’s you’re thinking — what do you do with a giant face? You let the people dance with it, of course! Throughout the course of birthmonth, as I celebrated with friends and family, the brave and the silly danced and jumped around for what turned out to be the best birthday gift ever. Turn the volume up! ​Unfortunately, my fat head got left behind at the park, but these memories will live on!!! Thank you all for celebrating my Jesus birthday with me this year!! My birthday wish is that you all take time out of your busy schedules to act a little silly and dance around. xoxo ​

dinner al fresco: live oak park.

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Being a craft lady has the extra perk of having all these tables and chairs to use for things like pop-up dinner parties in the park! I’ve been wanting to throw a pop-up dinner party (aka fancy picnic) for a while now. I don’t have a backyard so a park is the next best thing! For my first of, hopefully, many dinners al fresco to come, I set up at Live Oak Park in Berkeley. I particularly enjoy this park because there’s a lot of grassy areas, a lot of parking, and it is also the park where Hubs and I got married. The most difficult part of the whole event was finding a flat patch of land that wasn’t too muddy. Once we found a decent location we set up two tables, place settings for 12, and all the yummies. The Menu I wanted to serve foods that were not only packed with fresh ingredients and flavors, but that also sat well (outside) and could be made the night before (with little day-of prep). I …

tea time.

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One of my new favorite tea spots is Blue Willow Tea in Berkeley. As part of birthmonth, I invited some friends to join me here for an afternoon of tea and good company. It was going to be my first time at the tea lounge, so I called ahead. The owner Ali was super friendly and sweet, and I was so excited that she could section off a part of the tea room for my gathering. The tea lounge is a bit hidden; you have to know it’s there to find it, but once you do, you are welcomed with a wall of teas and these beauties. On a normal visit, I would probably enjoy one type of tea, but since it was a party we enjoyed three! We tried an oolong, the bourbon vanilla black tea, and a green tea. Our cups were warmed and each tea was served in region-specific serve ware. One of my life goals is to be become a tea expert so here is my attempt at learning the lingo… The oolong …

birthmonth.

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I have the most wonderful friends and family in the world! And they all spoil me. Best of all, they support this whole birthmonth concept I started back in 2008. Last year, since I turned the big 3-0, I obviously had a website. This year, to much dismay, I didn’t go all out and plan a lot of activities. Well, I did, and then I changed my mind. I kind of wanted celebrations to happen organically instead, but let’s face it – April was a busy time in my life (which is great!) and I didn’t want to plan more activities and burn myself out. It’s all about balance, right? But let’s back track just a tad. You might be thinking, what is this birthmonth thing anyway? As I define it — Birthmonth is a celebration of birth all month long, a reason to hang out with friends near and far, and a time to party er’day.   Friends and family just thought it was a fun idea, but for me, it was a necessity. As …

gift local.

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Last month was my sister’s birthmonth! Every year I wish I could celebrate with my big sis in person, but since we live hundreds of miles apart, I send birthday care packages instead. This year I put together items from some of my favorite local artisans, plus some handmade goodies. This pouch is by Flowie. It’s pyramid shaped! I’ve never seen a pouch quite like it before. They are made to order — hand-silkscreened on heavy weight cotton canvas with original designs. I love Flowie’s color combinations. I couldn’t resist; I had to get one for myself as well. This hand-bound journal is by my crafty lady friend Anna of Pickypockets Press. I love the woodgrain and the camera image she used. Clean lines and awesome design, plus all of Anna’s journals are made with at least 75% recycled or repurposed materials. Yay for you and yay for Earth! I love making little packages for my loved ones, especially with some local finds. You know, so they can be reminded that so much awesome comes out of the Bay …