Weekend Roundup

Love these photos of famous women with their children (Mia Farrow above)

Momtastic posts this week:
DIY Making a Toddler Drawstring Backpack,
and
Inspiration for a Circus Party

Free download: Vintage-inspired handkerchief invites, plus a DIY to make the real thing

Maggie's San Francisco must-see list. I should make one of these sometime

Soft pink color inspiration

She's really done her research on making the best fresh tomato sauce. Mmmm.

Could you wear this in your hair? Love it!

Cute, modern children's animal chairs

Totally genius play mat

Gabby aka Design Mom totally deserves it

Some fun behind the scenes shots from Mad Men by Rolling Stone

I've always wanted to visit Arcadia, here's a must-see list

I want to hang these all over our house

DIY Ice Cream Pinata!

DIY: Personalized Toddler Drawstring Backpack

Hank just started a cooperative preschool this week. Oh. Let me tell you, it is the best thing in the world! A little structure to our schedule, some free time for me to run errands and do projects solo. It's awesome, and he's loving it of course.
I made these mini toddler backpacks last week for him and his other preschool buddies to take to school and am sharing a tutorial here on Momtastic how to make one. Come check it out. Preschoolers love any accessory that feels like big kid school.
.

Katherine Sandoz

Kind of been obsessed with Katherine Sandoz's art, especially the Waterway Series. There's something so peaceful about all of those soft shapes and colors. It's exactly the kind of calming painting that would be perfect for a bedroom.
{Seen on Stephmodo}

Let Them Eat Cake

Aren't these Magpies Cakes amazing I spotted on Lushlee? So delicate and well designed, beautiful little works of art. I don't think I could ever cut into one (you do it, no you do it!).

Speaking of cakes, I can't wait for Jordan and Paul's show this weekend. These mini paintings look amazing! Extra Credit: Come and try a slice of a special cake I'm baking for the occasion!

Hello Sponsors: Best Loved Child

We have a great new sponsor on board today, the beautiful handcrafted wooden toys of Best Loved Child. My favorite is the Noah's Ark set. It comes with three pairs of animals (everything is impeccably hand painted I might add), and a fantastic well crafted ship. The animals all fit inside for easy storage. Isn't it fun? Plus there are dozens of animals to choose from. Check them all out here.
Look at this Goldilocks and the Three Bears house below. Isn't it amazing? What an incredibly special gift this would be.
What child wouldn't spend hours playing with these! They are really wonderful heirloom kind of toys and each piece is a lovely unique work of art. Check out Best Loved Child here for the whole collection.

Interested in sponsorship at Say Yes to Hoboken? Email me at lizstan (at) gmail.com for current rates

Coney Island

I can only think of two occasions we ventured down to Coney Island when we lived in Manhattan and then Hoboken (the train ride is forever long from either one): freak shows-really really freaky, and the Mermaid Festival-which was really more like a huge nudie parade.

Both excursions included Nathan's famous and subsequent near-puking on the Wonder Wheel of course.
Ahhh, the charming Coney Island!
{Very fun photos of Coney Island seen at the photography blog From Me to You seen via the lovely blog Exquisite Banana}

Eggplant Parm

Eggplants are in season. Have you ever made eggplant parm? It's sooo good; but you have to be careful to get the eggplants nice and crispy. I like the Americas Test Kitchen recipe here. Although sometimes ATK makes you do ridiculous things like brining, yes brining the eggplant for 40 minutes before breading. Sometimes I think they're playing a practical joke on me, peering in through the windows and laughing at how gullible I am, "She's brining the eggplant! She's really doing it!". I did. I brined the eggplant first.
You don't pan fry them either. You oven fry them. They get so crispy and delicious. I could have gobbled them up right then and there. Then you layer them with sauce and parm. Bake a little longer. It's a bit involved (with all that brining and all), but it's worth it. The texture is crispy and it has got huge taste compared to the chicken parm version.Although, Hank prefers his spaghetti plain with butter, parm and a dash of ridiculousness

H&M Fall

Love the basic khaki/denim/brown leather belt look of the new H&M Fall Collection

Glow Cones

Don't these glowing snow cones seem like the perfect way to spend a starry night saying farewell to summer?

Printspace Giveaway Winner

Congrats Rachel Jan! Hope you love your three prints. Email me at lizstan (at) gmail.com.
Big thanks to Printspace!

Weekend Roundup

Zooey! I love her. Photos by Ellen Von Unwerth. Mwah!

Shoutout Section:

My Momtastic posts this week: Creative Japanese Masking Tape Projects, and Decorating with Stripes

Great shadow puppet theatre diy project

Don't forget to enter the Printspace Giveaway by tonight!

Cliqueshop. Awesome group deals for Designmom peeps

Speaking of Designmom, I'm fairly certain I was still wearing guess sweatpant suits in Middle School but my nieces and nephews are considerably more fashion forward

Maggie is giving away my favorite swag from BlogHer: An Epiphanie camera bag and photojojo instant camera

Jordan and Paul have a great artistic collaboration going on: Let them Eat Cake Show

Swoon Section:

Pretty ribbon jars organized by color

Adorable save the date cards

Love this flag throw from Urban

A fun drawing matching game

Colorful wooden top party favors

Nope. Still not over stripes!

Paperboy Wallpaper

Love this graphic wallpaper for a boy's room from Paperboy
Do you think the bold print would overwhelm a whole room though?

Heatwave

It's been really hot the last few days here

Been eating lots of fruit (below is a stand we stopped at in Sonoma last week) and wearing minimal clothing. Pretty sure those shorts above are size 9 mo.My hair hasn't been this curly in years thanks to no ACHitting the beach daily ( At Crissy Field and below down towards Half Moon Bay).

I think it's slowly wearing on Hank. He is constantly complaining about it being too hot and bright.
After yesterday's beach outing he spoke his longest sentence so far:

"All done beach. Stay home. Eat wallerlermelon". Done and done. It's cold and cloudy again today.

Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Pieces

Cheery serving pieces spotted at Ladies and Gentlemen.

DIY: Pillowcase Apron

I scored some really cute vintage floral pillowcases a couple weeks back thrifting, and this might be what they are destined to become. Super simple pillowcase apron instructions here at Betz White via Jack and Izzy.

Hello Sponsors: Printspace Giveaway

I'm excited to have a great giveaway today from one of our long-standing sponsors, the beautiful work from one of my favorite etsy shops, Printspace. Her giclee work is perfect for a child's room. So colorful and really love the animal and whimsical themes. Plus they are super affordable.
And if you love her prints like I do, today is your lucky day because she is giving away not one but three 8 x 10 prints to a one lucky reader.
My favorites include the Little Ones Umbrella Print, Bird Stack, Hello Coco, and Fishing with Dad.
You have until this Friday night, August 27th 10pm PST to enter. Winner will be announced Monday.

Good luck!

A couple reminders:
-Make a comment on this post, only one comment please, to enter the giveaway
-Add me to your reader so you don't miss out on the results
-Include your email in your comment if it's not linked to your name please

Interested in sponsorship at Say Yes to Hoboken? Email me at lizstan (at) gmail.com for current rates

DIY: Fresh Fruit Layered Popsicles

Just got home from our trip to Salt Lake and wowzers, it is hot here in San Francisco!! Summer must have followed me back home. Just in time for my latest DIY post up on Momtastic: Making Fresh Fruit Layered Popsicles. I think I still have some of these the freezer. They sound so perfect right now. See my step by step instructions here.

(Early) Weekend Roundup

We just arrived last night to Salt Lake City for a good friend's wedding we're attending this weekend, so I'm signing off a bit early this week. I'm so excited for our last little summer trip. Lucky for us, it's just starting to get warm here in San Francisco and we'll be enjoying summerish weather from now until about November. Here are some links for you to explore. Have a great one!

My favorite wedding I've seen in a while: Max and Margaux seen on Once Wed (photo above). Love the vintage elements and those heart pillows are so perfect for the photos.

We have a long narrow hallway so I loved looking all this hallway decorating inspiration collected on Desire to Inspire

Jordan posted about my favorite part of the Martha Stewart party-the New York City recommendation stamps.

Pretty cloud coasters and bow studs at this adorable etsy shop, Joanna Rutter.

DIY flower embellishments for your shoes

I want to make a peplum skirt

Aren't these rattles beautiful?

This scratch map Joanna at Cup of Jo posted about is so clever. Such a fun way to document your travels

Very sweet homemade anniversary gift by Brooke at Inchmark

This ambitious girl is refashioning one dress a day for 365 days. Impressive!

DIY: Bow Hair Clip

My newest DIY post is up on Momtastic Home and Living with instructions to make an easy bow hair clip from ribbon (bonus: no sewing required!). Check out all the instructions here.


Sidenote: Isn't the ribbon pretty? I got it from this cute etsy shop, Carmelos.

BlogHer Art Auction

(pic)
Woo hoo! The first section of the BlogHer Art Auction is up today! Go here. The auction for these art pieces in the Life category will last for 10 days and then a new batch will be up next week. This will continue for four weeks so you'll have to move fast and bid on one if you're interested in it. All proceeds will go to help Gulf cleanup via the Nature Conservancy . All of the works of art were based off the Voices of the Year nominated posts here. It was such a great collaboration. Kind of genius-right?

While I'm at it, here are some fun pictures from BlogHer via the fabulous photographer, Justin Hackworth
body art


Photobooth pictures. These were taken in black and white instant film, but I can't find the ones I have! Here are all of us that were involved in putting together this fun event.Typewriter poets. You walk up, give them a sentence or two about yourself and they create a little poem.

I love this image (from my phone) of my mom having a poem written about her by the one and only Jenny, The Bloggess.

More pictures from BlogHer by Justin here on his blog

Be sure to check out the auction items for this week!

Sundance Catalog Sale

The Sundance Catalog has a great August Sale going on right now (thanks for the heads up, Heather!). I'm really loving their stuff. Here are a few of my favorites:

Argento Tote bag
Mezzo Tablecloth
Wildflower bikini bottoms and top
Summer Oxfords

Canning Peaches

I had to force myself into a productive weekend to makeup for last week. Canning is pretty much the definition of productive in my book. It was my first time canning peaches solo and I'm happy to report that they all sealed! Have you canned? I'm thinking of tackling tomatoes next.

Weekend Roundup

Where did this week go? I can't believe it's Friday already. I haven't given a single report from BlogHer, have barely started on laundry, have done zero of my freelance writing, the house is a mess- it feels like I have little to show for this week. Hoping to get a bunch of projects done this weekend while the husband is away on a quick trip to New York. Any fun things on your agenda?

Adorable lemonade stand shots (above).

My posts on Momtastic this week:
Nautical themed decorating
My favorite picks for Inexpensive Kids' Art
Tips for Artful Toy Organization

I just bought this perfect striped dress on etsy and can't wear to wear it!

This baby bed/dresser/etc Rachel posted is amazing. My ovaries hurt just looking at it.

Aren't Jordan's flag sculptures amazing?

I can't believe this world map is Rubyellen's first quilt. Beautiful!

Doesn't this corn look fantastic? I love the colors.

Something tells me I need to make this cherry pie. Asap. (also, kind of a sidenote but my friend and I were talking about how we haven't had one good peach yet this summer. I think I might be heading to the farmer's market on Saturday).

All the journals in this etsy shop are just beautiful. I want one of each.

Some great gifts for the bicycle enthusiast

A few BlogHer reports to browse while I still get my lazy butt into gear: Designmom, Martha Stewart Party pics, Arts and Dafts

Hello Sponsors: Sweet Estelle Baking Supplies

So happy to be introducing a new sponsor to you this Friday. I'm just in love with everything in Sweet Estelle's shop. I just might spend the whole weekend dreaming up all the parties I'd throw with these great baking, decorative and packaging supplies. Favorites include the woodland cookie cutters and the tulip cupcake liners (so perfect!). But really that's just the very tip of the iceberg. Ninety-nine cupcake liner styles to choose from, everything from polka dot to gingham to rainbow striped, and in every color and style imaginable. They're all adorable, what a great selection.
Plus don't forget a great assortment of toppers, full cupcake kits and packaging supplies.
So many fun ideas for your next party, be sure to check out Sweet Estelle's Baking Supplies shop!

Interested in sponsorship at Say Yes to Hoboken? Email me at lizstan (at) gmail.com for current rates