by invitation only...

I've been deep in the throes of planning for Violet's first birthday party (already???), so I thought I would share the invites and any other "craftiness" I get into during the preparation. I knew I wanted to include fabric somehow, since I've used so many in her weekly photos. So I came up with a design, printed it out on card stock from Paper Source, then added the little fabric banner at the top with my sewing machine. The insert accompanying the invite asks guests to bring an item for a time capsule for Violet to open on her 18th birthday. (An idea that I really liked that I found here.)

The color scheme for the party is inspired by some coasters and cupcake wrappers that I picked up at Joann's from the Martha Stewart craft line. Next up, a fabric banner.

brooklyn, brooklyn take me in...

We had such a fantastic time at Renegade Brooklyn! Although hauling all my stuff there was a little stressful at times, and our little girl had some troubles on the plane ride, and it rained the first day, it ended up being a fantastic weekend. We stayed within walking distance of McCarren Park, where the fair is located, so we got to explore a lot around Williamsburg. We then moved into Manhattan after the fair for a few days to do a little sightseeing and show our girl the big city (which she loved).

Here are a few of the places we went in Williamsburg, which I would highly recommend:
Dumont for a nice dinner. I consider myself a mac and cheese expert, and this one did not disappoint.
Kellogg's Diner for an easy dinner. And it's right on the Lorimer L train stop (the train into Manhattan), so there is great people watching to be had.
Urban Rustic for morning coffee and tea, and yummy sandwiches at lunch.
Sunac for groceries. Since we stayed in an apartment, we had a kitchen, which was so convenient.

And in Manhattan, we've been many times before and done most of the tourist things, so we mostly just ate and walked around! Here are some of the places we went:
Shake Shack in Madison Square Park for burgers and shakes and outdoor seating.
Bouchon Bakery near Central Park for a nice but not too nice dinner (we were after all kicking it with an 11-month-old who sometimes throws her food on the ground.)
Moomah in Tribeca for a kid-friendly lunch.
Shoofly in Tribeca for Violet's first pair of shoes! Fantastic customer service!

And coming home, Little V slept the whole way, so it was awesome. We're always sad to leave NY, but were happy to be home.

PS: I didn't even mention my celebrity customer! I hope he's happy with his L+L purchases! :-)

i'll take brooklyn...

I haven't even had time to update this blog on the Renegade Austin show, and already it's time for us to head to Brooklyn!

Details here.

Off to sew...