Now that they are over, I plan on getting back to blogging (no, really this time!).  This is the last of my busy weeks, but in the meantime, I wanted to share pictures from some of our boutiques and the link to our Etsy shop: J&A’s Handmade Lovelies. Check it out if you feel so inclined :).

Jordan and I at the Bella Boutique

Our Setup for the Holiday Gifts and Goodies Boutique

For those of you who aren’t familiar with PicMonkey, it is an online photo editing program.  A lot of the program is free, and for a small fee you can use the rest of the awesome amenities it has to offer.  I use this program for all of my photo editing and have been really happy with it.  It is so easy to use!  I’m not affiliated with them at all, I just really really like it!

I made this printable today while making a tutorial for you to follow on how to make your own.  Go ahead and download this free version, or if time permits, make one yourself!  This printable is 5″x 7″.  Click on the link below to download.

Christmas Subway Printable

Now for the tutorial:

1. Go to PicMonkey.com and at the top of the screen scroll over Design.  A bar will pop up with different size canvases for you to choose from.  The one I used above is 5″ x 7″.  Click on the size you would like.

2.  The next screen will prompt you to select a color for your canvas.  I chose white, but you can choose any color you’d like.  Once you’ve selected a color, click the green “Apply” button.

3.  On the left side of the screen you will see a toolbar with all of the design elements.  I start with the text.  The button for that looks like “Tt”.  Once you select that, a bar with fonts will pop up.  Select the font you want and click the “Add Text” at the top of the screen.  Note: any font or element with a small crown next to it is part of the paid membership.  Fortunately, most of the elements are free :).

4.  When you click “Add Text”, a text area will appear on your canvas.  Type in your desired text.  A toolbar will pop up on the right side of the screen where you can edit your text size and color.  Repeat this for the rest of the text you want in your printable.

5.  To move text around, simply click on the phrase and drag.

6.  If you wish to add any graphics to your Subway printable, the butterfly icon on the left toolbar has tons of graphic design elements to use.  Also, currently there is a snowflake icon that includes seasonal themes and graphics.  I found the header and snowflake footer in the Winterland theme.  Those two in particular are part of my paid membership, but there are others that are free.

7.  Once you have everything in its place, click “Save”.  It will give you the option to choose the file size and quality you want.  I chose “Sean” for my printable, which is the highest quality and file size (1.5 MB).  Choose your file size then click the green “Save to my Computer”.

8.  There you have it!  Print, frame, and display!

If you happen to be in the Orange County Area, you know that the Tustin Marketplace is huge.  There are so many different groupings of stores and it gets a lot of customers, especially during the holidays.  That is one of the reasons that See’s is opening this first ever large concept store in this location.  You know how long those lines get in the tiny shops at the mall, well See’s at Tustin is the largest See’s there is, which makes it perfect for Holiday shopping.

We had a great time tasting the samples of chocolate and learning from Domaine Somm about the wines from to pair them with.  Brent’s favorite pairing was the Dark Raspberry Cream paired with the 2012 Muscat.

We even got to go behind the scenes/counter and see how they house all of the delicious confections!  My personal favorites are the Milk Chocolate Butter, Milk Patties, and Milk Almonds.  Yum!  I found out that associates that work at See’s get to eat ANYTHING they want!  I so should have worked there!  Oh, and you know the black and white tiles in every store?  They are a nod to Mary See’s (Creator of See’s Candies) own kitchen.

After eating more See’s Candies in one sitting that I ever have before (a pregnant girl’s dream!) we went home and I got the best sleep I have had in a long while!  I swear it was all of that chocolate!

Thank you See’s Candies and Domaine Somm for such a fun event!

My best friend, Jordan, and her mom, Kristen, hosted my shower on January 18th, which was a beautiful and surprisingly hot winter day in sunny So Cal.  The theme was “Tutu Cute” for my love of dance and for my tiny dancer Henley.  The decor was perfect!  Jordan made an adorable ribbon banner backdrop to feature Baby Henley’s name, had little tutus on a clothesline, and beautiful pink roses everywhere.

For food, we snacked on yummy veggies, dip, and my favorite, a mimosa bar featuring different juices, fruit, and champagne (alcoholic and non) to experiment with. My favorite was a mix of pink lemonade, Fré non-alcoholic champagne, and strawberries.  Lunch was catered by Wood Ranch (my favorite, of course), with baby back ribs, cheeseburger sliders, cole slaw, salad, and yummy garlic rolls.  Everything was delicious!

My absolute favorite part of the decor and food was the dessert table.  Highlighted by the beautiful ribbon banner, we had red velvet cake pops iced in pink and gray, ballet shoe sugar cookies, and a beautiful vanilla cake with pink ruffled icing.  All desserts were from Sweet and Saucy Shoppe and they were all delicious!

For activities, we played the game where you guess how big my belly is with twine and did a baby themed word scramble. My favorite activity though, was the headband making station, put together by another one of my best friends, Nicolette.  It was absolutely perfect!  She had a variety of flowers, bows, and elastic for guests to make their own headband for Henley.  The guests even wrote little notes to Henley on tags, which is so special to look at each time I use a new headband now. She is stocked up on headbands for the next year!

I could not have imagined a more perfect shower.  It was such a special day I will never forget.  Thank you to my friends who made it happen and to everyone who came! I love you all!

The Bouqs’ main collection of flowers is the “Volcano Collection”.  These flowers are grown in South America on a volcano, literally.  This collection takes a week or so for delivery, and is where I chose my bouquet from.  They also have the “California Collection”, which is a little more expensive and subject to taxes, but offers next day delivery. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the youthful, modern design of the site and happy that it was extremely easy to navigate.  You get a clear, concise view of what each bouquet looks like, and can select each one in three different sizes: Original (around a dozen stems, $40-50), Deluxe (two dozen, $50-60), or Grand (three dozen, $70).  Shipping is free, so you don’t have to deal with crazy delivery fees.

The Bouq that I chose was “Dawn” in the “Volcano Collection”.  I picked it because I loved the fiery orange color and thought it would be perfect for a Thanksgiving arrangement.  When it arrived, I was so excited!  The packaging was simple, yet cute.  The bouquet comes boxed and wrapped in brown paper.  The box has directions for unwrapping, arranging, and caring for your flowers.

I unwrapped the flowers and they were gorgeous!  Despite being boxed and wrapped, they were fresh and unharmed, minus a couple of petals that were a little bent.  These roses were better than ones at the store by far, and just as beautiful, if not more so, than from a florist.

I removed them from the packaging and followed their directions, which were basically how I always care for my flowers.  Look at how beautiful the colors of these roses are!  Perfect for fall!

To compliment the colors in the bouquet, I took  square of burlap and wrapped it around the vase I had.  Then, I secured it with a rubber band and tied a burlap and orange chevron ribbon around it.  Perfect for my Thanksgiving table!

I received my Bouq on November 20th.  It is now December 4th and the roses just started wilting .  I changed the water out twice and they lasted me this long!  I have to say that I am very impressed with the quality of my bouquet.  I definitely recommend you check out The Bouqs for the next time you order flowers!