Affiliate links appear in this post. Any purchases made using these links will earn Taz + Belly a small commission. You can read more about our affiliate relationships here. I have no idea how I managed to devour six books last month, given how crazy the month of May always is, but Josh made sure I spent plenty of time resting and I had a huge stack of books at the ready. We're headed to the beach very soon and I'm hoping to read even more books in June than I did in May. My stack is a little atypical of my normal summer reading, but I have several that I'm really excited to tackle. I'm sure there will be at least one bookstore run during our two week stay, so if there is something amazing you've read in the last few weeks, please let me know in the comments! 15. EXPECTING ...
book
22 Questions for All Bookworms (+ My Answers)
I've been in a blogging rut lately and it isn't that I don't want to be here, I just have so much going on in my head that I can't seem to find the mental space to write. It shouldn't surprise you that I'm constantly being inspired by my friend Rachel, so when she shared this book quiz on Monday, I knew I needed to jump on her bandwagon. The original list can be found here. Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? The answer to this question completely depends on the book. I do love a good hard cover book with a pretty jacket, so as long as they will display beautifully on my shelves I'm all for the original covers (hello, Book of the Month club!). If the dust cover is ugly or shiny, let's just skip right ahead to the trade paperback instead. I generally avoid all mass ...
Collaboreads | Final Girls
Disclosure: Affiliate links appear in this post. Any purchases made using these links will earn Taz + Belly a small commission. You can read more about our affiliate relationships here. I was a bit of a procrastinator this month and relied on the "I can read a book in a day" mantra to get something read before our post went life. This month's prompt was to tackle a summer read and to me, that means a fast-paced page turner, preferably in the suspense or thriller category. I've read plenty of those this summer and they almost never disappoint. I had one more reserved for our trip next week, but I decided to pull it off the shelf early and dive in for our link up today. That means I'll be hitting up the bookstore later this week for the perfect airport read. Any ...
First Fete: The Photos
The table was filled with yummy goodies, all just the right size for tiny little fingers. We hung a wall of photos from each of her twelve months. I haven't been able to take them down! I made tissue poms, bunting and paper garlands to hang above the table. Sophie loved this and would point every time we asked where her party was. The beautiful smash cake was courtesy of Sweet Magnolia Bakery in Birmingham. She did such a great job matching the party invitations! The cupcakes were handmade by my Aunt Lane. Gran made yummy homemade buttercream icing and we topped them with dumdum suckers. All paper cups and liners were from Hey YoYo. Don't you just love strawberry sugar wafers? Ella had never tried them before! Nana made tons of peanut butter fudge and rice crispy ...
First Fete: A Recap
I know that it's been more than a week since our little celebration, but we've all needed time to recover. Let's be honest... I needed time to process. I am in awe that she is old enough for a birthday party. Although it seems so long ago that I was waiting for her arrival, at the same time it's so hard to wrap my mind around the fact that she's actually a whole year old. Just yesterday she was a tiny baby, twirling my necklace while I rocked her to sleep. It seems like she's grown up overnight. Her sweet little baby face now looks like a big girl! Her hair is long in the back and she says things. Her walking has gotten so much better and she has these facial expressions that really showcase her sense of humor. Y'all, she is a spitfire. She packs more personality into her tiny little ...
First Fete: The Paper Products
It all started with the paper products I wanted to use. I ran in Party City one afternoon to pick up taper candles for her cake and solid white plates since I'm not a fan of "themed" party goods. At the suggestion of my best friend I found a pack of three white tissue poms for under $10 and picked up two rolls of light pink crepe paper streamers to braid and hang from the chandelier in our dining room. I also found two packs of dinner napkins that would help establish a color scheme and overall look for the party. I grabbed one pack of green and white lattice print napkins and one pack of pink and white polka dotted ones. I had some paper straws left over from Ella's party that were supposed to be red. In all actuality they are more hot pink, so I picked up some lighter pink ones and ...
First Fete: The Idea
I cannot believe I'm planning a birthday for this little girl already. How has it been eleven and a half months? We took her one year old photographs this morning and are knee-deep in birthday preparations. There is much to share over the next three weeks as we close in on our celebrations, but I thought I'd start by sharing my party theme, decoration ideas and invitation suite. {bookmark front} {bookmark back} I am so lucky that my girls are both book obsessed and decided to use that as inspiration for a first birthday fete. We don't really need toys at this house, so a book party was perfect. I opted for long, skinny invitations that mimic the shape of a bookmark and that people can reuse long after the party. I had them UV coated and added ribbon tassels to complete the ...