Birthday Goodies

I've wanted to post about my birthday gifts because they've inspired so much creativity! Of course you would rather see pictures of all the cute odds and ends I've been sewing and baking and grilling... but it was easier to take one quick pic of all the inspiration.

Things I've made and the gifts that made them possible:
1. Gorgeously decorated cupcakes for new neighbors- Cupcake goodies from bakeitpretty.com. Not only does my sister know me well, but she reads my blog :). I got oodles of pretty cupcake liners, tops (including the Magical Forest Sampler, Vintage Village Cupcake kit, and ballerinas for Eden's 1st birthday), and an icing decorating kit. I have tried out the icing tips and they are fabulous! It makes the cupcakes look professional and I'm such a sucker for that in my baked goods (plus it uses twice as much icing, yuuuummmm)!

2. Chicken Curry with Greens, Mushrooms Scented with Cardamom, and Sweet Lassi- The cookbook Indian Home Cooking . This was written by a New York chef who teaches classes introducing Americans to ethnic cuisines and is meant to simplify basic Indian recipes. Thomas took me to an Indian Grocer in Austin during our little birthday weekend and I picked up about a dozen basic spices that will allow me to cook almost anything in this book.

3. Grilled Steak with Summer herbs and Potatoes- The Williams Sonoma Grilling cookbook. Not only does this have some pretty tasty looking recipes but it also has a helpful chapter on cooking with a grill that's already upped my game considerably.

4. Headband/Scarf looking thingy- Weekend Sewing. Ok, I'm really just to lazy right now to get up and look in the Weekend Sewing book to see what this thing is called. All you need to know is it was way cute, I had all the supplies on hand, and it only took about 30 minutes. Too bad I got my haircut today and it now looks goofy :(. Luckily there are 39 other projects in the book that look just as fun.

5. Tag Blanket for Eden- Simple Sewing. This has dozens of cute, easy projects and I want to make them all for Eden. I made a tag blanket from the book for Eden's future cousin Sophie Rose (don't you love the name!?) and then changed the pattern up a bit (used vintage hankies instead of cotton fabric) and made one for Eden.

6. Scrubs, Supernatural, and I-Tunes gift card- all of this crafting and cooking had to have some background noise, right? I'll take some recommendations on music!!

7. Fantastic Homemade Bread -Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day- ahhhh... yeah... that actually hasn't happened yet. I got this book because the technique sounds fascinating! Oddly enough it should be the quickest thing to make and it's the one I just can't seem to fit in. When I try it out I'll let you fine folks know how it works and IF it works :).



In baby news- we're onto solids! Well--- if by solids you mean vegetables that have been cooked longer than any adult would ever prefer and then blended with a lot of water--- then yes, we are onto solids. Eden really likes squash, breaks out with peas, and LOOOOVVVEEESS her sippy cup. This little girl is getting big too! She is in the 94% for height and 85% for weight. She is 6.5 months old and crawls but does not sit up- goofy kid :). It's hard work to get her to giggle out loud but it's ok because her silent laugh is hysterical! She smiles, opens her mouth wide, and throws her head back like she's in the middle of a big belly laugh--- but there is NO sound- HILLARIOUS. She got really upset last night because bathtime was shorter than she expected and she was not ready to say goodnight to ducky. Oh- and she loves all living small things- kids, babies, dogs, cats- I'd get a hamster but she eats EVERYTHING.