Karen Smallbone

Are you looking for a perfect gift for your Bridesmaids that will be something they will love and actually use? I’ve put together a small list of pink tech items your girls will love. I know that I would love any of these items! (Much much more than jewellery!)

Skullcandy headphones in pink with a cool little bird. Too cute! Notice the bird’s eye is a skull?

Pink iPod nano who wouldn’t love to receive one of these along with an itunes card.

Agent18 iPod case- Pretty flowered case, available in pink and brown and blue. Love it!

Pretty and Practicle, this pink leather wallet will protect your iPod when you throw it in your purse or laptop bag.

Perfect for the girl who loves to play games, Nintendo DS Lite in Coral Pink

Recently my oldest son has been a bit obsessed with shoes. (I honestly have no idea where he gets that from.) He was interested in a pair of old school Converse shoes which have come back in style again. I had a pair of pink low tops in high school. I was looking around on the Converse site and found out that you can design your own shoes! How cool is that? Of course I made mine so that they were pink and brown. Not only can you pick the colours or patterns you like, you can personalize them either on the back or the side.

If you want a really cool look for the groomsmen at your wedding, co-ordinating Converse would be awesome! I want to get married again just so that I can do that!

Check it out here and give it a try. Unfortunately, they will only ship the custom design shoes in the U.S. (boooo) but if you have a friend who lives there you could always ship them there and have them ship them to you. Prices started at about $60.00 US for the custom shoes.

My little baby turned 5 today. Again I am reminded of how fast my boys are growing up. It seems like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital, but now he is a big kid.
We celebrated Ronan’s big day with a family birthday party.

Here is Ronan enjoying his volcano cake. (maybe not one of my most creative cake designs but who doesn’t love chocolate rocks, cherry lava and Oreo dirt?)
Happy Birthday Ronan!

Maybe you’ve noticed the birthday hat that I force my kids to wear every year. In a moment of pure brilliance when my first son was approaching his first birthday, I decided to make a hat that they would wear at every birthday. Now when I look back at pictures I can tell how old they were by the number on the hat. I plan on making them wear it until they are at least 20.

Happy Birthday to my little baby. I guess he isn’t a baby anymore. Somehow he’s grown into a really cool 8 year old without us even realizing it.

Hope you have a great day Aidan! We love you lots.

This is a recent picture of Aidan. I can’t believe how much he has changed in just a year.

Here is Aidan on his birthday last year. I hope you are ready to wear the hat again. I know how much you love it!

You might remember Julia & Joey from a previous post- “Julie’s Perfect Pink Shower”. Julie was kind enough to send me some of the professional pictures from her wedding. All of these gorgeous photos were taken by Mimmo+Naz.

Julie & Joey had their reception at The Eglington Grand , a beautiful art deco style movie theatre that has been revamped into a gorgeous venue for weddings and other special occasions.

In keeping with the movie theatre theme, Julia and Joey gave fun old fashioned popcorn boxes filled with popcorn as a favour to their guests. The favours also served as placecards. Instead of using numbers, each table was named after one of the couples favourite movies. A label with the guests names, and table was used to close the bag of popcorn. We created the labels to go with the design from the invitation.

I’m sure you will agree that Julie & Joey make a stunning couple!
Congratulations to Julie & Joey! May your lives be filled with much love and happiness! It was a pleasure working with you.

I have a family picnic this weekend and I’m going to make some cupcakes to take. I was looking around for some ideas for decorating my cupcakes and I found these gorgeous cupcake wrappers on one of my favourite blogs, Cupcakes take the cake.

They would make stunning wedding cupcakes. They are available in tons of designs like princess crowns and dinosaurs – perfect for a kids birthday party. They are available from Paper Orchid Stationery.
Now I’m looking for an excuse to make cupcakes and use these beautiful wrappers.

While surfing the web recently I came across a great site www.finestationery.com that specializes in stationery. They carry the usual stationery items but what caught my eye was the cool stuff that you can get personalized.

Who wouldn’t love a set of plates with their name on it. I love the one that reminds the kids to “put the napkin on their lap”.
These plates would make a great gift for the couple who has everything.

Another one of my favorites is this giftwrap featuring a photo of your little one. How cute is that? It would make a nice keepsake in addition to whatever the gift was you wrapped it in.

If you are looking for a unique and personal gift to give for any occasion, check out these pretty paperweights. They would make a great gift for your bridesmaids. There are tons of cute designs to choose from.

Julie’s wedding shower is what I dream of. Full of pink and brown… and lots of delicious sweets!

She was kind enough to send me some photos.

As you can see, Julie stayed true to her pink and brown theme! This gorgeous cake was made by Irresistible Cakes.

The orchid centerpieces were made by Primavera Flowers.

This sweet table is to die for. As I was typing this I could almost smell it. I think I need to go and find some chocolate!

Julie said her Maid of Honour made the pretzel sticks which are dipped in caramel, then chocolate and then drizzled with more chocolate. A family friend made the pink and brown chocolates shown at the top right hand of the picture.

Yummy!

Here is a photo of Julie and her fiance. The story is so cute. I think he’s a keeper!

Congratulations Julie. Thank you for sharing your photos with us. You have tons of great ideas!

I can’t wait to see what you do for your wedding.

Being a woman with a few curves, I know how hard it can be to find a wedding dress or a bridesmaid dress that is flattering. I ended up having my dress made because trying on a size 8 in the bridal shops just wasn’t doing it for me. You really can’t tell what the dress will look like if you can’t even fit into it.

I received an email from one of my favorite stores, Torrid, today saying that they were now carrying Bridal fashions. Torrid is a store in the US that carries fashionable clothes in plus sizes. They have an online store and also brick and mortar locations throughout the US. I often make a trip over to Buffalo just to shop there. The wedding dresses are only available on line. They also have a nice selection of bridesmaids dresses, wedding lingerie, and accessories.

These dresses would be perfect for a destination wedding, or if you are planning something more casual.

Vixen White Satin Mermaid- $180.00

Divine white lace halter – $220.00

Doll Face white Strapless – $170.00

Pink Taffeta and Sequin Foldover Dress -$120.00 (on sale now for $100.00)

Ok maybe not the best but a pretty good one. I don’t know about you, but I never have time to paint my nails. I usually end up doing it in the car on my way to whatever it is I’m going to. It’s pretty hard to balance that little bottle on your knee while in a moving car (especially with my husband’s crazy driving. Just kidding, you are wonderful in all ways). So I was tickled pink when I found this at my local Shoppers Drug Mart.

The Nic’s Sticks by OPI. It’s a nail polish stick. There is a brush on the end and the polish is inside. Pure genius. Why didn’t I think of that. There are lots of colours to choose from and it dries really fast.
Well worth the $9.99. It would be perfect to tuck into your bag on your wedding day for any touchups.