8 months

My little munchkin is 8 months old already. I am in disbelief. He is huge (wearing 12 month clothes!) and he crawls everywhere, pulls himself up on everything, and says mama, dada, baba, gaga and a lot of babbling that sounds like he is speaking in a different language. He goes to Gymboree and absolutely loves it. I recommend it to anyone with a baby! I originally thought that maybe you just put babies on equipment that in reality they are too small to use and watch them barely do anything haha! But that is so far from the truth, they sing songs, teach them different activities and show them how to use age appropriate equipment that help them develop motor skills. It's really a great thing! He is our little ray of sunshine we love him so much!

French Macarons

This is a post I've been meaning to do for quite some time. I actually have let life take over and been terrible about posting! A few months ago my mother and I attempted to make our own french macarons. The first attempt was a huge failure. From what I've read on other blogs this is quite common considering there is so much that can go wrong when trying to make the perfect french macaron. I read all that I could find online and on our second attempt they came out just right! I love how they look and taste. We were planning on making them as favors for my future wedding but now I think that would cause too much stress before the big day so maybe we will just make some for dessert in addition to the cake to look pretty on the table! These were aqua with a lemon buttercream in the middle.

Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the $25 dollar CSN gift card using random.org is....

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There were 32 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

Anash 

 

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Thanks for everybody who entered this giveaway!!!

Cutest Video of little french girl

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.
I remember watching this video when it was first very popular and I found it again and I absolutely love it. This little girl reminds me of myself when I was little when my imagination was so wonderful I could tell neverending stories that just came out of nowhere. I especially love hearing her french it's even more adorable!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway below!

Giveaway: $25 giftcard to CSN stores!!

Giveaway for a $25 gift card to CSN stores.

See how to enter below.

CSN stores has generously offered to host another giveaway with Fab but this time for a $25 gift card. Their stores have almost every household item you can imagine so there truly is something for everyone! Like last time I chose a few of my favorite finds to showcase a little bit of what they carry....adjustable bar stools, Le Creuset stock pot, whimsical children's rugs, and cool wall art...

And so much more!! Visit their home site to find a list of all their stores and items.

All you have to do to enter is:

1. Become a follower of Fab

2. Leave a comment below

For additional entries:

• Follow me on twitter (1 additional entry)
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Giveaway ends on March 18th when a winner will be randomly selected.

Fab Artist: Grzegorz Wrobel

I have always loved watercolor. I like the way it makes everything look softer and sometimes more surreal. However, I am always impressed when artists take watercolor to another level. It takes incredible talent to make watercolor look realistic. Polish artist, Grzegorz Wrobel does just that and more. His paintings make cityscapes and architecture look even better than in real life. I wish I could just step right into one of his paintings. I discovered the work of Grzegorz Wrobel through this link on mymodernmet.com and was instantly in love. I went to the artist's website to see more of his beautiful work and fell even more in love with some of his nature landscapes (though his buildings and city-work are amazing as well).

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine Making Party

I hosted a Valentine-making party the other night. It was super fun! We ate goat cheese and heart-shaped beet crostini, pea pesto crostini (that I blogged about here), cupcakes, heart-shaped cookies, and drank champagne while we made valentines! I had different colored papers, stickers, scissors, markers, colored pencils, doilies, little baggies, candies, etc. for everyone to use.

Linzer cut-out cookies with seedless raspberry jam

goat cheese and beet crostini (I boiled the beets and then sliced them and then free-hand cut them into heart shapes)

We used some cut-outs from vintage children's books for some of our valentines.

I found these vintage images by just searching through google images for 'vintage valentines' then doctored them up on cards with glitter and stickers.

It was great to get together and craft with friends, I might have to make this a tradition!

Let Amy Butler inspire you...

Thanks to sfgirlbybay I was introduced to Amy Butler's inspiration page. The photos are so colorful and beautiful they are sure to inspire you to be artistic or at least introduce some color into your life! They remind me of summer and beach houses. Visit Amy Butler's shop for sewing patterns, fabric, books, stationary and more.

25 weeks

Us in the snow--we have like 3 feet here!

Baby V is 25 weeks old! Time flies when you have a baby. Today he rolled from back to belly for the first time. He rolled from belly to back when he was only about 2 1/2 months old but the other way took forever! We offered him his first rice cereal a couple weeks ago. I wanted to wait until he was 6 months but he was nursing so frequently because he's HUGE and I read up on the signs of when to start and he had all of them. I got the organic brown rice cereal and he loves it! He grabs the spoon and tries to get more. We are still only doing one feeding a day of that and only at night hoping he'll sleep a little longer through the night. It will be fun (and messy) once he starts to eat other solids. I have a little food grinder and I'll use my food processor too to make him food. He's SO close to crawling. He gets up on all fours and for a while he would just rock and get momentum and then lunge forward to grab a toy. However, now he actually lifts his legs up and will move his legs in the right motion he just hasn't gotten the motion of the hands and arms down yet. I run to break out the Flip cam every time he looks like he's going to do something so his dad won't miss it! We are in our new place and I love it! I'm still working on his nursery, looking at lots of websites and blogs for inspiration! I want to mix all his new furniture with vintage decor so I've been scouring antique stores and thrift shops for stuff for his room but I haven't found anything great yet! I'll post pictures once it is all done.

Valentine Making Party

I'm hosting a Valentine making party at my place on the 11th. I'm super excited to get together with my cousin and my girlfriends and make valentine's, eat pink cupcakes and heart shaped cookies, and sip on champagne sans baby for a night! I made a polyvore for inspiration.

 
Tiered Strapless Dress, $120
Leg Avenue Princess Shoes in Pink, 45 GBP
Heart Lock & Key Charm Necklace, $315
Lab Created Heart Shaped Ruby Ring with Simulated Diamond in 10K White..., $73
Betsey Johnson Pink Rose Stud Earrings, $30
Love To Bake Measuring Set, $12
Glenna Jean Isabella Rosebud Heart Wreath - Glenna Jean - Wall..., $99
Light Pink with Hearts Matte Balloons, $2.49
edited cupcake by me :] use
Pink Cupcake Infant Bodysuit - CafePress
Valentines Day | Shareapic.net

Fab Artists: Ma + Chr; Mathilde Aubier & Christine Delaquaize

I found these funny animal collage prints through the blog sfgirlbybay. I love making collages and these ones are artful but simple: an animal photograph with human eyes pasted on. They are slightly creepy but also cute and definitely intriguing. Some of the animal photos look vintage and remind me of books I used to find as a kid at library book sales and yard sales of kittens and puppies. I think I got rid of them all but now I wish I kept them! Ma + Chr is an art and design studio based out of Paris co-owned and operated by Mathilde Aubier and Christine Delaquaize. Much of their art involves collage and combining photographs with colored papers and other unique images. Check out more of their Petits Chiens or some of their other artwork.

A Few of My Favorite Things...02.02.2011

 Making paper flowers...this was Martha Stewart's tissue paper flower making kit I bought a looong time ago and finally made them! I love them now and they are in a vase in my living room.

This is a tray that I decoupaged over the original image with magazine clippings I had saved and a quote I liked. I love collages and decoupaging and I hadn't done it in quite some time so this was really fun!

These squishy blocks from Target. I bought them for Baby V for Christmas and I didn't know if he would even really play with them but they are great. I can stack them up and he knocks them over and they can't hurt him and he squeezes them and chews on them. Plus they look cute.

And lastly, these pictures of Baby V. He is getting enormous!! My mom bought him this funny hat at a children's consignment store and then Daddy is holding him up to see the crazy amounts of snow we have been getting lately!

Fab Food on a Snowy Day 02.01.2011

picture via

• I cannot rave enough about Giada's pea pesto crostini. The pea puree is so delicious I have used it in omelettes and on sandwiches as well and everyone loves it. This recipe is a simple and healthy appetizer that you will make again and again.

• Why not make this beautiful pink ruffle cake for Valentine's Day?

•  Mmm...healthy smoothies are an easy breakfast anyday...although where I live right now we have so much snow I don't know who's in the mood for anything cold!

• Roasted beets with goat cheese are one of my favorite treats! Just cut the ends off of beets, throw them in the oven on a baking sheet drizzled with olive oil at 400 degrees for about an hour (check on them and depending on their size see when they are easily sliced through). Let cool slightly and peel the skins off, chop as desired and sprinkle with salt and pepper and crumbled goat cheese. Enjoy!

• Drool over the gorgoues pictures (as always) of food at Cannelle et Vanille. Then try to make the Chocolate and Raspberry Financiers.

• Start to dip into all your preserves. We get jellies from a man my Dad works with every year and are lucky enough to nearly never have to buy store bought jams or jelly. Check out these gourmet jams. 

• Heart shaped scones to warm you up on a chilly morning.

• I love this vintage cake icing set!  

• 20 Ways to Roast & Warm Up

Little House in a Hill

, whimI've always been partial to thatched roofs. I've fantasized about living in a little house carved into a hill since I saw an illustration of one on the cover of one of the Little House on the Prairie books when I was little. So when I came across an old article on ohdeedoh about a family who built an eco-friendly version of my dream home I was ecstatic if not very jealous! It is incredible, beautiful, rustic, fairy-tale like, and good for the environment! Visit the couple's website to see more about their home, and their other projects.

These are some similar buildings featured on their website: