My Favorite Little Cards

A handful of years ago while I was perusing the card section at Target, I happened upon an eye-catching, adorable birthday card. I honestly can't remember which of the cards I bought first from this card line, but I'm sure it looked something like this:

Yes, that's right. Papyrus cards. The totally chic, totally artistic, and totally wonderful card line. I can't get enough of them!

I always feel so many store-brand cards are too cookie-cutter/generic looking, but that so many handmade cards are super crafty looking. I tend to like cards that are in between. Unique and artistic enough to be special, almost look handmade, but more sophisticated looking than your usual glue/Cricut cutter/etc. looking card. Sorry, crafters! I'm sure what I just said is sacrilege in the crafting world. 

Papyrus cards have a wonderful, artistic flair and are ALWAYS tré chic! They are a bit pricier than your 99 cent card, but when you want to get a truly special card, I highly recommend them!

[An example of one of their Christmas cards. Note the attached charm with a snowflake and heart.]

Every card and every detail is just so special.

[For the to-be mother who doesn't want to be a mom blob, but remain FAB!]

[Papyrus tapped a well-known illustrator for this glam line of cards.]

Every Papyrus card comes with this little gold sticker that contains a hummingbird. Not only is it beautiful, but so is the meaning of a hummingbird which Papyrus includes with the card:

"Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration.  The hummingbird's delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life's sweetest creation."

How beautiful is that?

My husband recently went on a work trip to Minneapolis and was able to visit the Papyrus store at the Mall of America. I was super jealous, but he did bring me back some lovely thank you cards to add to my greeting card repertoire. 

One day, I will make it to this Mecca:

Don't skimp on that special someone! 

I always feel special when I receive one of these cards and it always comes from an artistic, fabulous friend. (K Élle, I'm talking to YOU!) 

The next time you're out and about, pause for a moment near the Papyrus card section. I'm sure you will find something lovely that extends the greeting you wish to make in the most elegant of ways. 

Cheers,

Samara

I Pinned it, I (wish I) Pinned it not...

Pinterest is fun and has a bazillion cool ideas. But how many of them actually "work" and how many of them do we actually try? 

I started a board on Pinterest (evangelinesview is my handle) to try and keep a handle on what I've tried. My captions for these pins give my take on how these wonderful-in-theory pins turned out. My goal was to try and help other pinners out. 

I haven't pinned a ton yet, but I plan on growing that board! Here are just a few of these pins on my board "From Pinterest to Real Life":

1. Raspberries with white chocolate chips inside of them. Very easy, no fuss or mess. The only thing I'd change is next time I would serve them with champagne!! The little bit of white chocolate is almost a tease, like you'd rather have it melted and drizzled over some other dessert, but that's what makes it so delectable. It's just a little bit of sweet. And champagne. Need champagne. 

Pinned from www.demilked.com

2. This pin tells you to put vanilla extract in a coffee cup and put it in your oven. The first time I used vanilla extract and it smelled so-so. I thought OK, next time I'm going to use REAL vanilla and it will make a WORLD of difference. Not so much. It smelled...meh. I mean, it's something, but I honestly get a better smell out of throwing cloves and cinnamon on the stovetop and the pot is not a nightmare to clean out the way this cup of vanilla extract is. See for yourself, though. You may disagree with me.

Pinned from www.lifehacker.com

3. This beautiful, beaded dream-of-a-wedding bolero jacket. Going into my wedding planning, I never thought I'd find any of my wedding accessories on Pinterest, but could not resist this jacket. A little pricey, but oh so worth EVERY stinking penny. The jacket is even more breathtaking in person. It was so beautiful when it arrived to my house that I promptly ordered my wedding clutch from this company.  I received so many compliments on this jacket and it was perfection on our big day. Thank you so much, BHLDN!

Pinned from www.bhldn.com

4. Spaghetti for a candle lighter. In a pinch? If you have some spaghetti and a stove, you're good to go in your candle-lighting efforts. It does work, but the flame is weak and burns out quickly.

Pinned from diyhshp.blogspot.com

5. Beer Cheese Dip. Umm, YUM. Follow the recipe that's posted online and you have a very easy to make, delicious (and fatty, nom nom nom) dip to add to your holiday, don't-forget-to-bring-a-little-something-to-pass repertoire. 

I made some of this at my brother's "End of the World" party last year (a Christmas party) and everyone gobbled it up.

Pinned from tipjunkie.com

What have you pinned? Any keepers or I wish I would have pinned it nots? Do tell, darlings!

Cheers,

Samara

Christmas On Ma' Mind

So, it may seem odd to bring Christmas up in the summer. I can't even say, "Oh hey, Christmas in July" because, well....it's August. When I was searching through some photos on my computer the other day though, I couldn't help but stop at the Christmas photos.

Christmas is such a warm, happy time of year filled with color, visiting, laughs and fun with family and friends.

I thought I'd share what is only a very few of a huge collection of wonderful pictures that put me in a happy mood as I eagerly anticipate the holidays!

Enjoy!

 [Absolutely love the smell of both autumn and winter stovetop potpourri]

[Starbucks changes its cups for the holidays season!]

 [Pretty ornaments]

 [Adorable, festive stamps]

[Beautiful smelling, REAL wreaths]

[Santa Clause! Here he is with my brother and I...]

 [Baking cookies for friends, family and SANTA!]

[More cookies. Yum.]

[The ability to take cutsie pictures without fear of criticism. Because, well...it's Christmas!]

[Fun, festive wrapping. On every present. Even if it takes literally hours to complete!]

[Yankee Candles--holiday edition!]

[Goofy pictures at holiday parties]

["Holiday wine" in festive, holiday wine glasses]

[Homemade Chex Mix. And making new traditions!]

[Holiday parades, lighting of trees and tons of fun activities in downtown areas]

 [Loads of coffee and delicious treats being eaten leisurely, guilt free, and in adorable Christmas mugs]

[Cute kids in their cute clothes posing by all their gifts! Pictured here is my adorable niece, Audrey.]

 [Stockings hung by the chimney with care]

[Family time. Here I am with my Grandma, Mary Jo] 

 [Fifty pictures of your tree]

[From every angle]

 [And every vantage point]

 

[Delicious food and treats at every gathering]

 [Throwback ornaments. Yes, that's me. In my tap uniform. It was ma' FAVE!!]

[Fun holiday cocktails]

[Christmas music. Even better when live and when created with family.]

 [Christmas lights! Here is my brother's amazing light display that gets grander every year and that he's made an event out of. Kudos to him!]

How many days until Christmas?!? :)

Cheers,

Samara

Summer Sundae Bar

I've said it before and I'll say it again--I am so happy we are not experiencing the scorcher summer of 2012. 

We have had gorgeous, comfortable weather and several days with loads of sunshine. One exception exists and this was a few weeks or so ago when we were in the mid 90s and the heat index was right around 100. Uck. 

Thinking positively though, I took this opportunity to whip up a sundae bar for my three adorable nieces to enjoy. (It was a dual benefit as we were able to enjoy our new deck!) There seriously could not have been a better day for it, either. 

We picked up a couple of boxes of vanilla ice cream and loads of fun toppings for the girls to make their own sundae concoctions.

Knowing that nearly 1, 3 and 5 year olds can be messy, we picked up these fun waffle bowls. (We also stuck the waffle bowls inside paper bowls to be on the safe side.)

Amazingly, some of the sweetest toppings were depleted in record-speed fashion (maraschino cherries, Hershey's Cookies n' Creme pieces, etc.). :) 

No worries, though. My eldest, perfectionist niece Ava promptly alerted me to the missing toppings so I'd replace them.

We discovered the culprit of the quickly-disappearing Hershey's bits! (Who needs ice cream when you can go straight to the really, really good stuff, right?)

As we get closer to the winding down of summer, this is a great event for family or even as a neighborhood get together! My husband and I were thinking it would be fun to host a larger sundae bar event, supply the ice cream and have each person bring a topping of their own. Great way to celebrate the last leg of summer.

Happy Friday, friends!

Cheers,
Samara