It's Gift Giving Time Again

1. J Crew Cashmere Wash by The Laundress New York®
2. Coasters by Sea bags- made from recycled sails, made in Maine
3. Bracelet made from marine ropes by The Ropes (I wear mine all the time)
4. The Lipper hand-made natural chapstick
5. Tocca Candle- Cleopatra Candelina is one of my favorites
6. If you know me, you know I am a sucker for Lilly Pulitzer- especially this Murfee Scarf
7. WEWOOD Watch (how cool is that watch!) from a great shop, Minka Home
8. A favorite, Spaces Kennebunkport and the John Robshaw Dob Kit (I think it is fine for girls too, just sayin')
9. And for the acquired taste buds, Maine Mead Works- Honeymaker Lavender Mead. It is very sweet, but good for an after dinner wine

*Note, there are hyperlinks above (just hover over), I am working on how to make them a different color once published.

Gift giving is one of my favorite times of year. There is something about finding that perfect gift- no matter how big or small...

On another note, I have tried this new tactic of pasting several photos on one page, and uploading one (see above), not sure how it is going to look. I got the idea from Pinterest (obviously!). It is kind of the DIY way to throw some pics into one. I found a good tutorial here from a great blog in Switzerland.

Happy gift giving...

Volume 2

Welcome to Volume 2 (better late than never) of Why Didn't I Think of That! There are sooo many good ideas all over the place, especially now with Pinterest, so it is hard to find a few favorites. Needless to say...here are a few goodies I have been saving.


1. Feeling cold outside? Well start planning your summer soirees. How awesome is this picnic table idea. Such a great way to keep wines cool in the hot summer sun. We have not tried this yet, but my husband said it looks 'easy', which is good news for me!


style-files.com

2. OK, this seems extremely easy. Just bake cookie dough over the back side of a detailed cupcake tin/ mini bunt pan. Pop them off when done, add ice cream or another fun treat, and you have an instant edible bowl.


thedailybuzz.com.au

3. I dont know about you, but I really dove right into the Mason Jar craze. I now have about a million of them around my house. While the craze might be dying down, I think this is a great way to still use them without over-doing it.


theblissfullycontentlife.blogspot.com

4. Happy Holidays! I love getting Holiday cards in the mail, LOVE IT. This is a great way to show them without the trusty old refrigerator display (although that works too!)


marthastewart.com

Well, I hope you liked some of these Why Didn't I Think of That ideas and inspiration. Thank you to all of the blogs and influences above. Enjoy!

Camera Time

So my husband outdid himself and got me a Canon EOS Rebel T3 with a Canon 75-300 MM zoom lens. Very cool, and very intimidating. So we just played around with it...and here is what I came up with. Note: many are of my dog, who I affectionately call The Nugget or The Puppy. Just FYI. - Crazy how different setting effect the photos...



- This was taken with the basic lens in the portrait setting.



- No flash, much warmer photos. More of the look I was going for



- The Nugget



- Posing with the tree



- Soft light- zoom is great for ornament on the tree...



- When using the 'Flower' setting, flash is on, things look brighter/sharper



- Mini-Matt playing Lacrosse



- Hi to my west coast friends...





So, the camera is amazing, and I am one lucky girl. This is a fun camera I will use all the time. If you have any tips or tricks for better picture taking, let me know!

Wicked Easy Holiday Swag

Real quick, easy way to give a little holiday touch, with out any money*. You can put this swag on your mailbox post (like I did), on your bedroom door (like I did)- it is a nice way to be festive without wreaths all over your house :) Remember, less is more...

- *OK, so I had the ribbon, boxwood and have a great big pine tree in my yard that I can cut from.



- Anyways, this is super easy- just take 4-5 sprigs of pine, then lay 2-3 sprigs of boxwood on top. Add a sprig or two of red berries and tie them all together at the top with twine. Use ribbon to tie a bow on top of twine.



- Waaaaahlaaa, wicked quick easy way to make some swag.

Prelude Baby

Just a quick post about how excited I am for Prelude in Kennebunkport, Maine (my hometown) this weekend. Kennebunkport was rated the second best holiday town in the United States by HGTV (see here).

So, I am about to go into the Port and see old friends I have not seen in a while and celebrate. The town goes all out decorating, shops are open, restaurants glowing, hot chocoloate flowing (I just rhymed there didn't I?) Anyways- as my sister said last night, "The port looks like Whoville from The Grinch". Hopefully I will get a picture or two to show you just how beautiful it is.

Oh- and it is my birthday tomorrow, which makes it extra special. Yes, I am a Prelude Baby!

No matter what you are celebrating, enjoy this festive time of year.


Image Credits

Miss Lucy's First Stocking

My sister asked me to help her with a Christmas stocking for her daughter (my beautiful niece) Lucy. I happily agreed to help, and this is what we came up with. I cannot wait to see it year after year. Katie and I had a great time making it together, and a lot of laughs.

- We lined it with green polka-dot fabric I just happened to have. It was an easy hem since we used the zigzag sewing machine stitch.




- Katie wanted it to be fun, romantic and girly. We decided to use pink ribbons that I had across the top. We went back and forth about doing the entire stocking- I think we made the right choice.



- Using the zigzag stitch I sewed on (before I sewed the stocking front and back together!) a tree Katie cut out using a cookie cutter as a guide. The fabric matches Lucy's bedroom curtains and another project which involved a pillow her Uncle Matt did which I will blog about soon.



- I think adding the tree really ties the stocking together. To hang it, I used a piece of leftover ribbon and looped and sewed it into the corner.



Merry Christmas Miss Lucy- I cannot wait to celebrate many Christmases to come and hope Santa fills your stocking very well each year!

Oh- and because she is so cute...I can't not post a picture of her.

And Sprinkles Makes...

Embroidery inspired cake! I found this great idea on Pinterest and thought it would make a great anniversary cake for my mom and step-dad. I found the design on this wonderful blog, Polka & Bloom. I enlarged the design I liked- which she calls the Spring Bird and I call 'The Love Birds'. I printed on a colored printer, and just followed the patter by looking back and forth. I loved making this for them. I went with colored cake on the inside, green, yellow and pink layered. It was as fun making it, as it was eating it on Thanksgiving night.

- I found great sprinkles in several colors at Michael's Crafts.

- And a lot of white frosting. I cheated and used store bought fluffy white frosting. I put the cake in the refrigerator for about an hour prior to decorating, to have it soft enough to have the sprinkles stick, but hard enough so it was easy to work with.

- I used tweezers (new!) to place each sprinkle on, while looking back at the large print out I did on a colored printer of the pattern. I did use the tip of the tweezers a few times to trace out a pattern to follow.

- And some love. I added some pine from outside of my house to give it a more festive look and texture.

I did not win our Thanksgiving Day contest for best dessert, but I feel like I sure did 'take the cake'.