~Handmade Soaps~

I always have loved handmade soaps,

especially using fresh ingredients.

I made these glycerin soaps as a gift for my girlfriends, for giving me my birthday party.

My friend, Linda, had made beautiful soaps also for gifts to exchange that day.

Great minds think a like!

I had found this iron pan at a Flea Market and thought it would be a great mold for the soap.

I saw these other ideas for using fruit, herbs and flowers and had to try them all.

Great gifts for birthdays and special occasions.

This one is Strawberry & Goat's Milk.

~Pumpkin Cinnamon Goat's Milk~

~Borage & Chamomile Goat's Milk~

~Rose Petal Glycerin Soap~

~Basil Glycerin Soap~

~Lavender Glycerin Soap~

~Oatmeal Honey & Vanilla Goat's Milk~

~Lemon Glycerin Soap~

Using different tin molds, milk cartons and recycle plastic containers makes the project a lot of fun!

I got the basic soap from Michael's and just added things I love.

Wrap them up in clear cellophane bags with a pretty ribbon and it makes a wonderful gift for friends.

Enjoy!

~Woodland Birthday Party and Simple & Sweet Fridays #82~

I wanted to share with you photos of my birthday party

 that my girlfriends gave me.

The theme was a "Woodland Garden Party".

They know I love to garden.

 Linda Harding hosted the party at her beautiful home.

The appetizers were served on a 

beautiful burlap garden print tablecloth.

Virginia made the cutest place setting name tags.

She used pails with chalkboard tags and added flowers and birds on top, so creative!!

The appetizers were:

~Strawberries stuffed with Cream Cheese, Rosemary, Honey & Pistachios~

~Garden Dip (Artichokes, Garden Peas, Mint and Feta Cheese)

served with a Fresh Baguette~

~Roasted Beets stacked with Goat Cheese, Cinnamon Apple & Spinach~

So Delicious!!

We ate lunch outside on her patio, the table was set so pretty. My chair was decorated with a beautiful red sash, hydrangeas and bow.

A burlap tablecloth, ornate candlesticks and grapevines

 were used as the centerpiece.

 Just Gorgeous!!

Mark, Tami's husband, cut all the wood to make chargers for the table. Linda placed flowers in between the clear plates.

It looked so pretty!

Virginia, Mary, Me, Tami, Yuri and Linda.

The Birthday Garden Wreath was made by Virginia.

For lunch Linda made

~Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Garam Masala and Garnished with Pepitas~

~Asian Spice Chicken 

with a Blackberry Gastrique~

~Quinoa with Parsley Butter and Dried Blueberries~

~Arugula Salad with Blueberries and Nasturtium on top.~

Drinks were:

~Prosecco with Chamboard~

&

~Rosemary Lemon Drops~

It was a Fantastic Meal!!

Mary made a "Tree Stump" cake. It was a Chocolate Nutella Cake decorated with Wafer Paper Butterflies and Meringue Mushrooms.

Spectacular and oh so good!!!

If you'd like to see more photos go check out Mary's blog,

La Bella Vita Design & Inspiration.

Linda also made Miniature Lemon Cheese Cakes

Just the right sweet bite!!

After lunch, we all decorated birdhouses.

We painted them and then added

 pebbles, moss, corks, 

and other goodies.

It was a very fun project!

I received so many wonderful gifts.

I love them all!

A little surprise visitor, in the photo, Dougal.

Thanks girlfriends for throwing the best birthday party ever!

Cheers to You!!

Let's see what you've created this week!

Last weeks Features:

Fabby's Living - Fabby Remembering Fall 2012

Bernideen's Tea Time Blog - More Sewing With Vintage Linens

Penny's Vintage Home - The Softer Side of Fall

Martinel - Aged Books

What We Keep - Fall Fairy

Debbie Dabble - Tea in the Garden

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~A Romantic Birthday~

My birthday was yesterday, Sunday, September 23.

We just go back from a Surprise trip visiting our kids, Carly and Scott in Santa Cruz.

We had such a good time shopping in Carmel,

 riding bikes on the beach and of course, eating at the most wonderful restaurants.

We stopped at Specialty Produce on the way home from the airport

 and I picked out some beautiful cheddar and purple cauliflower and avocados for a salad.

Stan made chicken piccata and artichokes too. 

Some champangne to toast!

It was a wonderful Romantic weekend.

Here are some of the photos from our trip!

This is the Bed & Breakfast we stayed at in Santa Cruz.

The gardens were beautiful.

Loved the names of the rooms.

Redwood trees everywhere!

This was our room.

They had a stained glass door to the bathroom, very pretty!

We overlooked the water wheel from our deck.

I haven't riden a bike in 25 years.

It was so much fun.

Stan is going to buy one for me for my birthday!

It was a wonderful trip and loved seeing the kids too!

I'll be sharing more photos this week.

Also, some of my close friends gave me a wonderful birthday party last friday.

Wait to you see those photos!

Birthdays are so much FUN!!