25th Birthday Weekend

I had such a wonderful birthday weekend! I have the best family anyone could ask for! It was so good to be home and spend time with the ones we love most... it's always also fun to get spoiled!

Miguel and I drove to Atlanta Friday night and luckily missed getting stuck in bad storms. For dinner my parents, in-laws, Miguel and I went to dinner at a new restaurant in Johns Creek, Tasca Latin Bistro. SOO yummy! I definitely recommend eating there! They have great food and lots of gluten-free options. The chef, Rogerio Martins is from Sao Paulo, Brazil and brings a fusion of latin tastes together for the menu. He is also really friendly and comes out to the restaurant floor to make sure everything is good. You could really tell he enjoys what he is doing, and that makes the experience really fun for me. They had live music, and it was a little loud, but that was my only complaint. If you live in the Atlanta area, I definitely say check out Tasca Latin Bistro! Click here to go to their website.

Saturday we spent the day with my in-laws. The day was so fun. We spent the morning trying out my birthday present, Miss Julia, and made a yummy, gluten-free breakfast. I wrote all about my gift (KitchenAid Professional 550 HD Stand Mixer) on my other blog, i want chocolate. Click here to check out the post.

Later in the afternoon we headed down to the Braves game to see them beat the Mets in a double header. Okay, we only stayed for the first game. We played corn hole and drank some beers before going in. It was sooo cold. But we managed. I packed completely wrong. Next time I'm going to pack a pair of jeans just in case. 

We forgot a bottle opener, but that didn't stop us from getting to our beer!

Going to the 755 club makes Braves games that much more fun! You get to skip the long lines and go up an elevator to get in so much faster. The views are great and the food is yummy!

We had really great seats behind home plate and Miguel got some great pictures. He got tons of them, but I am only going to show two, I had a hard time even knowing where to start sorting through them. But he got two of Chipper and my favorite player, McCan.

Saturday night we headed to my parents house. It was so fun walking in the door. My mom and dad had set all my gifts out with a gluten-free cookie cake, and I had a surprise gift from my best friend. Sarah had sent me an edible bouquet! She is sooo sweet! My parents gave me two subscriptions to Southern Living and Cook Illustrated magazines. I am very excited! This birthday was so much fun because everyone got me things that I really did want and I hadn't even told anyone what they were! After opening gifts and blowing out candles we watched one of my favorite movies, Tangled. 

Sunday morning we went to Chequers Seafood Grill near Perimeter mall for their delicious and slightly overwhelming (in the best way) Sunday brunch. Click here to go to their website. After brunch I was swearing that I wouldn't eat all week... that lasted until I got home and remembered my mom had made me an Easter basket with Reeses in it. Hey, it's my birthday... so it was okay to indulge. 

Weekends are always too short. I hate leaving my family. However, Miguel made the drive back to Savannah so much more enjoyable when he surprised me by taking me shopping and buying me new sunglasses and some workout gear I wanted. I have the most wonderful and most generous husband in the world. 

I have such wonderful friends and family! They made my 25th birthday so special! I only wish my sister could have been here too! Then it would have been perfect! 

Soooo... this birthday just keeps on getting better! UPS just knocked on my door and delivered an Air Purifier that I had asked for! I feel so spoiled! Thanks mom and daddy!

Baby Clothes are the Cutest

Miguel's cousin, Daniel, and his new baby girl.

Miguel's cousin and his wife recently had a baby girl, Megan. My mother-in-law and I decided to get them some baby gifts. The fun part was that I got to do all the shopping! My friend, Jill, and I spent the afternoon yesterday browsing Baby Gap and some local Savannah stores. Baby clothes and all baby items for that matter, are so freaking adorable! Maybe it's the bright colors and animal prints or maybe its the itsy bitzy sizes that make them so cute!

I got an outfit and an octopus shirt from one of my favorite local stores, The Paris Market and Brocante. (Check out my blog post on the store HERE) The matching shirt and bottom set is handmade and has little lace detailing and little pockets on the bottoms. The octopus shirt is soooo soft! It reminds me of a James Perse shirt. Baby Gap also had some really cute items. I finally settled on an eyelet pink top and matching pink bottoms. I also got a really soft and fluffy, stuffed elephant while I was there.

To top it all off I picked up a Boo-Bunnie Ice Pack from another local Savannah store. These are so precious. "It's a child sized, soft plush bunnie, which holds a plastic reusable ice cube in it's back. It's used to comfort small children when minor boo-boos occur."

via

I just have to make the trip to UPS and ship off the baby goodies to California. I am in no hurry to have a baby, however, I think I'm going to really enjoy dressing my little ones when they arrive! Too cute!

Isn't she darling?

Oh, and don't worry... they don't read my blog so I'm not giving away what we got them =)

Creative, Dyed Easter Eggs

No PAAS Easter egg dying kit here! This year for easter I decided to try dying Easter eggs in some creative ways. 

First, I got a large container of eggs (2 . 5 dozen) from Kroger for only $3. These are great because of the quantity and for the carton they come in. The carton is perfect for placing your eggs on while you work and for drying them later on. 

We have brown eggs in our fridge, but they're not the best for dying. Use those for your breakfast and save yourself the disappointment of mucky looking dyed eggs. 

Using Silk Ties:

You will need:

- Silk ties cut into large pieces

- rubber bands or twist ties

- raw white eggs

- 3 tbsp white vinegar

- an old, white sheet, pillow case, or table cloth

- a non-aluminum pot (glass/enamel/steel)

- paper towels

- tongs or spoon

- vegetable oil

I picked up these silk ties from Goodwill. You can also use silk boxers, scarfs, or shirts for this project.

It's important to make sure the ties or whatever garment you are using is 100% silk.

Cut the stitching on the tie and remove lining.

Cut the silk into large squares big enough to cover an egg.

Place egg in silk square with the printed side of the material facing the egg. 

Gather material around egg and secure with a twist tie, rubber band, or string. I had two silver twist ties that worked really well.. after that I tried using some that came with some trash bags and they didn't seem to work so I used rubber bands more the majority.

Next, cut a large square of material from an old, white sheet.

Wrap the sheet square around the silk tied egg and secure using a twist tie or a rubber band.

I got two to three eggs out of each tie.

Place eggs in a pot (that is not aluminum) and cover with water.

Place on stove and heat to boiling. 

Once water start to boil, turn the heat down, add 3 tablespoons of white vinegar and let simmer for 20 minutes. I've read that if you want to eat the eggs you need to cook them longer than 20 minutes. However, I would be hesitant about eating these because you don't know where those ties came from, etc. Maybe it is fine, but I'd rather not.

After the eggs have simmered for 20 minutes, use tongs or a spoon to remove the eggs from the water. I placed mine back on the egg carton.

Let the eggs cool. Then unwrap. Unwrapping the eggs from the silk is like opening a present! It was so exciting to see what each tie left on the egg. 

Some of the designs took to the egg better than others. For example, the striped tie only left the blue stripe and left the egg looking a little bare and like nothing too special. I really like the way the red and blue ones came out. 

To make the eggs shiny wipe vegetable oil on them with a paper towel.

 I really like the way these turned out. I'm going to keep an eye out for silk ties that are bright and have lots of details now. Hopefully I'll find some in more traditional easter colors.

Using Stickers and Tape:

Place eggs in a pot and fill with water. Boil, reduce heat, add 3 tablespoons of vinegar, and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove eggs from pot with tongs and let cool. I let mine cool on the egg carton for about 40 minutes.

To add designs I used masking tape. I placed a strip of tape on a cutting board and used an exacto knife and ruler to cut 1/4 inch strips. 

Then I wrapped the 1/4th inch strips equal distances around the egg. I made sure to press the tape down with my fingernails. 

To add color I boiled water and then put it in water glasses. I added 1 tbsp of vinegar and then food coloring. I placed the eggs with tape in the pink dye. 

Some of the tape came off in the water. Pout. But the effect was still nice. Take the egg out of the dye, pat with a paper towel and let dry for 10 minutes.

Next, I added horizontal tape and placed it in blue dye. 

The same type of effect can be achieved with stickers and rubber bands. 

Before:

After:

And then I stuck them back in the dye for round two.

My favorites were the plaid and the dots.