1+1=4

1+1=4

What do you mean my math doesn't add up? 

***** 

It does if you're having TWINS....

Hal and Diane are expecting twins after a very long wait and they couldn't be more excited!

And seriously- could they be any more beautiful?

These babies are going to gorgeous!!!

Stay tuned for a sneak-peek of Maisie and Benjamin very, very soon...

Sqeeeeeeee!

*****

Thanks for playing in all kinds of crazy places with me guys!

xoxo Didi V.

Cousin Love

The K family had relatives in town, who were visiting from all corners of the globe this winter and asked me to swing in and catch the cousins playing and loving on each other since they don't get to see each other very often.  

{Daphne's sister and brother-in-law live overseas and her dad back East here in the U.S.}

We were hoping for sunshine or snow but instead.... got upside down rain- so we were forced to stay inside.  These huge window seats are like magnets for small children- they can't stay out of them- so that is where we played....

These three girls all just knock my socks off with their exotic looks... so beautiful! 

 {poor baby Scott.. he's not typically a fan of the camera yet... 

and couldn't get a word in edge-wise even if he tried with this group!

Thanks for having me over Daphne & Brett!

XOXO  Didi V.

Chinese New Year

Oni wanted something different this year for her birthday party- something not "little girl" .....no theme.....she really just wanted to have a couple friends over, order Chinese food and watch movies.... 

Of course I found a way to parlay that into a theme- Chinese New Year fell on 1.31.14 this year and her party was going to be on the 1st- so we called it a New Year celebration- and it was good!

Paper lanterns and twinkle lights, candles, fortune cookies and oranges on everything that stood still long enough!  The "to-go" boxes were filled with gold candies, fortune cookies, a fan and a bottle of red nail lacquer.

Her Cake was a 6 layer Ombre cake using boxed mixes of Red Velvet, Strawberry and white cake... in other words Neapolitan Cake, with scratch cream cheese frosting.

I made several dishes and ordered take out on  the ones that were above my cooking pay grade for a lovely combo of flavors.  She had a chill  time with friends watching movies and talking.... which is what she asked for in the beginning... before I began decorating.....

Hula Hula!

So I can't seem to throw a party without a theme... like... EVER...

  

I L.O.V.E. to decorate for parties- I love to create a magical/extraordinary feel out of ordinary things.  I Challenge myself to up-cycle what I already own or can pick up on the cheap/chic second hand or with some thrifty shopping.

{This is where places like Oriental trading, Ebay, Dollar stores, 

Buy/sell/trade sites and 2nd hand places come into play.}

Gabbi wanted a Luau/Hawaiian theme for her birthday party this year- so I went big on color... 

without going big on the pocket book....

I made our cupcakes and used come crazy colors and flavors {Blue velvet cake with  green Key Lime frosting & blue sanding sugar and Vanilla cake with Orange cream frosting with pink sanding sugar.  Add some polished rocks to the bottom of the bowl and nestle three cake plates that I already owned and added  some tropical silk flowers that we pulled off their stems... created the center piece on the kitchen island.  I scored on the mini sand buckets that we filled with a variety of candies to go on the ice cream sundaes later.

Candles and twinkle lights, and paper lanterns turn even a snowy evening- into a warm party feel- 

so we sprinkled them everywhere!

The bad ass Tiki God centerpiece???  Two flat wall hangings that I glued together, nestled into a banana basket from the studio, filled with oranges and candles and more hibiscus blooms.

The treat bags we gave to her friends at the beginning of the party so they could wear their leis, hibiscus hair pretties, shades, temporary tattoos, tropical colored fans and neon nail polish all night long. 

I like to do a little display somewhere in the party area of a then and now of the girls so that their friends can see what their school chum looked like as a baby- it's always fun to look back!

The girls munched on pizza and went swimming at the pool for a couple of hours and then came home and ate more pizza,  opened gifts and dove into the volcano of cupcakes and ice cream sundaes.

Gabbi was so lucky to spend the evening with friends!

Thanks to those who joined her!

Amazing Anni

Anni and her handsome hubby are dear friends of ours and I was totally honored when she asked me to help update her web driven corporate presence.  

Anni needed photos that could be the opening page to her professional web presence that gave her a crisp, polished, fashion forward look- without being stiff and boring.  

She wanted to keep her fun and eclectic style in tune with the beat of her local Seattle flavor.

We used her Lake Union neighborhood as our playground and landed some INCREDIBLE  light on a warm sunny day in January!

******

Thanks for allowing me on this journey with you Miss Anni!

xoxo Didi V.

 

Birthday Wishes

On the eve of her birth I sing.......Happy birthday to you.... happy birthday to me...... Happy birthday to us...... Happy birthday dear Gabbi.... Happy birthday to you!So here I am again-  two weeks later- wishing my youngest daughter a happy 12th birthday!!!  It's super cool that my girls'  birthdays are so close together- and so ridiculous that they are so close together... what WERE we thinking???  It's cool because I'm in party planning mode for two birthdays and the Super Bowl all in the same week... to that end- I'm insane and totally exhausted!I know that everyone says that they can't believe that their kids are growing up so fast... but it's really the truth.  I see her underfoot everyday as we dash to school and sports, and scrap over chores and responsibilities... and then I look across the island and wonder who the beautiful woman in my kitchen is  who's cooking dinner!  Gabs is funny and creative- athletically gifted, kind and smart- with stunning looks years beyond real age.We're so proud to be her parents and are so grateful that we were chosen to be her parents!  

{ Here's a movie I made her a couple of years ago if you want to see some OLD photos...}

http://didi-mycrazycrazylife.blogspot.com/2011/02/brithday-baby.html