Getting Ready for our Under the Sea Birthday Feature!

We just wanted to give you a sneak peek of some of the FABulous goodies that will featured in our upcoming Under the Sea 8th Birthday Feature for a sweet little girl! Remember the invite here? Well, check out some more of the must-haves from the shoot below!

{1} Atutudes Under the Sea Tutu Set, $24.95

{2} Eisley Rae Mermaid Skirt, $12

{3} Seashells make the perfect centerpiece, $12 for a dozen 

{4} Lori's Place Fish Cookies, $32.99 for a dozen 

Stay tuned for the rest! 

New Sponsor! Caroline G. Bows!

Thank you to our LATEST sponsor Caroline G. Bows! It isn't just about bows with Caroline -- it is about giving back! Caroline G. is committed to giving back to organizations that empower young girls and women as 10% of the profits from each hair bow will be donated to Girls Inc.: girlsinc.org. 

So head over now because buying a bow makes a difference at Caroline G. 

Coral Glam....LOVE IT!

We don't have much to say as this outfit pretty much speaks for itself.....we are just loving Gymboree's Coral Glamour for your Little! 

Get the look HERE!

cupcakeMAG approved! Close to Famous -- A FABulous oh-so-sweet book!

"I'm just going to make the world a better place, one cupcake at a time."

"Everyone needs to feel like a kid again. This is why God made cupcakes."

Of course we simply adore anything with cupcakes so when we recently came across Close to Famous By Joan Bauer we were thrilled to share with our Littles. Yes, we did read it in just a few hours and fell in love with this feel-good tale that totally warms the heart. Going on sale Feb. 3rd from Viking Children's Books (Ages 10&Up) is the perfect oh-so-sweet treat.

Readers will discover Foster - the strong & feisty heroine who loves to bake and dreams of starring in her own cooking show. One can practically smell and taste the delicious cupcakes she bakes wafting from the pages.

"Foster's making the world a better place -- one cupcake at a time!"

cupcakeMAG approved: what we love about this book?

Foster the strong, problem-solving character has a passion just like our every day kids can relate to these days - cooking! As we all know The Food Network is very popular among children as it teachers many valuable lessons about determination, practice, ambition, and sharing happiness with family and friends, all of which Foster embodies.

Author, Joan Bauer is the bestselling author of nine previous novels for young readers. Her awards and honors include a Newberry Honor and a Christopher Award for Hope Was Here and the Los Angeles Book Prive for Rules of the Road. See just what inspired the book, her favorite part about writing the novel and your very own cupcake recipe from Foster!

Read the Q+A below and snatch up a FABulous cupcake recipe!

What inspired you to write Close to Famous?

I am fascinated by certain kids who have so many odds against them, but manage to respond to life again and again with resilience. Foster McFee in the novel is one such kid. She has a special yeast in her that keeps rising when life gets impossibly hard. When I was growing up, my mother, sisters, and I went through some very difficult times, but my mother always managed to find times of celebration in the midst of the madness. We never missed a holiday or a birthday. There was a cake, there were cookies, cupcakes. And it really helped. My mom's gift of celebration was a big inspiration for this story.

Food and cooking plays a big part in this novel..why did you make Foster a young baker who dreams of having her own cooking show?

Oh, that's my love of baking coming through - I baked when I was little, I bake now -- it's something that has always given me joy. When I was young I watched Julis Child on TV - I so wanted to go to her house and have a meal. And today's TV chefs are so wonderful to watch and learn from. There's an intimacy in a kitchen, a warmth when people are making food for others. So many young people love to bake and watch TV chefs, so it seemed like the perfect connection.

What was your favorite part about writing this novel?

Exploring baking as a survival skill for life. I thought I knew all about cupcakes when I began this story -- there's more power packed in them than I ever knew. A fine cupcake can take you places you can't imagine.

What is your favorite baked good? Favorite cupcake?

I adore coconut. If anyone hands me a large piece of coconut layer cake with an embarrassment of frosting, I'm in heaven. My all-time favorite cupcake is made with a great deal of maple syrup and pecans and it's piled so high with maple frosting it almost tips over. I actually make a praline and stick it on top. You must have a moment of silence before biting into this cupcake.

Foster's Cupcake Wisdom & Recipe

"In the cupcake world, anything is possible."

"Sometimes a cupcake just has your name on it."

"You don't know the power of a cupcake until your life depends on it...."

"There's something about a cupcake that gets inside of people and helps them be the best they can be."

The Famous Frosted Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter softened (stick)

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

1 1/2 cup coconut (for moistness)

1/2 cup milk

In one bowl, sift cake flour with baking powder and salt. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar with mixer. Beat in eggs and vanilla until creamy. Add cake flour mixture a little at a time with milk until well blended and fluffy. Fold in coconut. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Makes around 15. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Let cupcakes cook on rack. Pile on vanilla frosting. 

Vanilla Frosting

1 box confectioners sugar

1/2 cup butter softened (1 stick)

3/4 tsp milk o, if you want it extra special, instead of milk add 3 1/2 tbsp half and half

1 tsp vanilla

Combine all in a bowl, and beat with your mixer for two minutes until creamy!

ENJOY! 

Details on the book:

Close to Famous By Joan Bauer

On Sale February 3, 2011

Hardcover | Young Adult | Fiction

Ages 10up | Grades 5 up 

250 pages | $16.99

All we can say is pre-order it now. We are way over the age of 10 & we truly LOVED this sweet book. Your Little will adore it! 

Daily LOVE!

 

Ever looking for that one thing to entertain your Little on a rainy day? We found it!

Lemon Tree Studio makes the cutest ever wooden matching memory game. It is so not your average memory game! It comes in a very handy, handmade drawstring back for easy pick-up and storage. 

It is get for travel & the perfect gift too! Best of all -- it's HANDmade with LOVE!

 

Of course we are partial to the cupcakes but they also have the perfect sets for the little man in your life! 

Check out Lemon Tree Studio now! 

Sneak Peek: Under the Sea Birthday Party

As you know we are busy planning two FABulous birthday party features to share with you and we wanted to give you a sneak peek at what we are working on. 

This is one brilliant invite right? The colors are perfectly matched with the picture and the theme is just what we wanted. That is what you get with Anders Ruff Custom Designs - an invitation that really is a masterpiece. Yes, we have it framed & can't stop looking at it - if you were wondering. 

Stay tuned for the full party details & photo shoot! In the mean time visit the Anders Ruff blog, LOVE them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter & get your shop on on Etsy. 

Carousel Designs Launches Design Tool

Easy to Use Application Allows for Design and Visualization of Virtual Nursery in Minutes which allows parents to ceate the baby bedding of their dreams! 

Carousel Designs, a contemporary and trend-setting leader in the baby bedding industry for more than 22 years, announces the launch of “Version 3.0” of its popular Nursery Designer®, the company’s unique interactive design tool.  The new version will offer expectant parents more options than ever before for designing and decorating their nursery.

Carousel Designs is the only baby bedding company that allows parents to design their own crib bedding, see it online, and choose other elements of the nursery to preview the room before making a purchase.

With the Carousel Designs Nursery Designer®, customers can mix and match fabrics and component styles, change the color of the nursery walls, choose a crib finish and pick flooring to design a virtual nursery.  An expanded range of crib colors and flooring options are offered with Nursery Designer® Version 3.0, allowing for customers to experience a more accurate visualization of their nursery.

“For more than two decades, Carousel Designs has been committed to providing expectant parents with products that create a stylish and nurturing environment for their babies,” said Allan Sicat, President, Carousel Designs.  “No matter what their style or skill level, Nursery Designer® will give parents endless possibilities to make their dream nursery a reality at an affordable price.”

Highlights of Nursery Designer® and Carousel Designs Custom Baby Bedding Collection include:

-A new feature that allows customers to visualize nursery wall and trim colors online using actual Benjamin Moore® paint colors.

-No more guesswork in matching and coordinating baby bedding.  Nursery Designer® offers a blissfully simple way for anyone to begin designing their own baby bedding.  If a customer has fallen in love with one particular fabric, they can start there.  Pre-selected coordinating fabrics will be automatically loaded into Nursery Designer® to make the design process simple, easy and fun.

-Through the company’s baby registry, friends and family can view a loved one’s bedding designs to share input or to purchase items as gifts.

-Carousel Designs offers a selection of more than 300+ high quality fabrics.

-The company offers quick turnaround times with orders fulfilled in days, not weeks.

-Incredible pricing starting as low as $79 for the bumper, skirt, and comforter; and as low as $19 for a custom sheet.

-Fabric swatches can be ordered for 50 cents each, with the cost fully refunded when the order is placed.

In celebration of the Nursery Designer 3.0 launch, Carousel Designs will soon announce a Design-Your-Own-Baby Bedding (DYOBB) contest.  Contest entrants will have the opportunity to use the new Nursery Designer tool, choose from the company’s 300+ fabrics and design their “dream” crib bedding set.  The designer with the most votes will win their “dream” baby bedding. 

In addition to offering custom baby bedding, Carousel Designs offers more than 100

pre-designed crib bedding collections.  These designs range from classic themes to more modern, sophisticated designs and meet a variety of individual tastes and styles.  Mini/portable crib, cradle, toddler, twin and full/queen bedding is also available along with coordinating nursery décor including lighting, furniture, rugs, musical mobiles, pillows, diaper stackers, wall art, draperies, rocking chair pads and valances.

From its start as a small family business in 1988, Carousel Designs has grown to become an award-winning national online retailer and trusted brand of premium baby bedding, twin bedding and home décor.  Jonathan Hartley continues the family tradition of ownership as CEO with his business partner Allan Sicat, President. The two dads of young children are both graduates of the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY and are U.S. Army veterans.  Hartley and Sicat take special pride that all Carousel Designs baby bedding products are proudly made in the USA.

As they anticipated fatherhood, both Hartley and Sicat were inspired by how their wives enjoyed spending time in the design studio, playing with fabrics and creating custom bedding for their nursery.  They knew if they could create the same experience online, not only the ability to design the perfect bedding but also to visualize a nursery before making a purchase, they could offer real value to their customers and more importantly, make sure that every mom gets exactly what she wants.  With combined experience in technology, ecommerce, business operations and finance, Hartley and Sicat set out to make sure that Carousel Designs provided expectant moms with the absolute best experience in decorating baby’s first room. 

Carousel Designs products can be purchased online at www.babybedding.com.

About Carousel Designs

Georgia-based Carousel Designs, a contemporary and trend setting leader in the baby bedding industry was founded in 1988.   For more than 22 years, Carousel Designs has manufactured high quality baby bedding, toddler, twin and full/queen size bedding and nursery décor.  Carousel Designs is the only baby bedding company that allows parents to design and create their own virtual nursery online with their Nursery Designer®, a unique, interactive design tool.  The company also offers more than 100 pre-designed ready to ship crib bedding collections and more than 300 fabrics to choose from in a range of versatile styles.  For more information visit www.babybedding.com.