Sweet Treat Giveaway - WINNER!

We have a winner! We have a winner! I am doing the Sweet Treat Giveaway winner dance over here! It was a lot of work going over all the entries but, I made it! Before I announce the winner, I thought I would give you a quick run-down on the winning cupcake flavors! The top 3 never wavered throughout! I did think Red Velvet might take the lead over Chocolate but, it never did! 

• Chocolate
• Red Velvet
• Carrot Cake

So, now that you know the top three flavors I will give you another hint about the winner of the Sweet Treat Giveaway: She picked Carrot Cake Cupcakes as her favorite flavor! 

Please send me an email with your mailing information so we can get all your Sweet Treats to you! And, thank you to EVERYONE who entered! Stick around, we host monthly giveaways on things we find and love...you might be the next winner!

My Royal Wedding Recap

I will admit that leading up to the big day I wasn't that excited about the Royal Wedding. But, as the time got closer, I found myself tuning in - live feeds on the internet going (from two different sites) and the big screen TV turned on! I think, for me, the thing that I didn't like about it was that I knew the day wouldn't be "theirs". I am pretty sure that every aspect of the wedding had to be approved by the Queen. I mean really? Talk about your MIL being overly involved in the wedding plans!! After thinking about it, though, I get it and I am sure the bride and groom did as well. Everything about your wedding, if you are having a Royal Wedding, has to withstand one thing - time. This means every aspect of the wedding must be elegant, flawless and perfect. And, it was just that. Inevitably, in most weddings, no matter how much you plan, there is something that goes wrong. At a Royal Wedding, however, I just don't think that is an option. So, here are my thoughts on the big day - the things I loved and the things I thought could have been better:

Picture source: BBC Live stream still

Westminster Abbey was pretty much undecorated, other than the dozen or so 20-foot tall field maple trees arranged on either side of the main aisle. I had read the couple chose the florist for the wedding based on his ideas of sustainability and that everything used for the wedding would be replanted. Symbolically, I guess it's a nice gesture but, I personally love flowers and would have liked to have seen a little more.

Finally, we get a good look at the dress! I loved the top half of her dress! The lace is gorgeous (I do love lace although wouldn't pick it myself). There was so much speculation about what kind of dress she would wear - but, really? Was there any doubt it would be anything but a ball gown skirt? The dress was typical for a Royal Wedding and perfect for a future Queen. I am sure if she was just a typical bride getting married, her own taste wouldn't have dictated such a matronly type of dress but, marrying a Prince (who will eventually be King) it was perfect! Also, the venue you marry in, sort of, dictates the type of dress you wear and that long walk down the aisle requires a long train (maybe not as long as Princess Diana!). My immediate thought, like most other people, was that the gown was very similar in style to Princess Grace of Monaco. The lace bodice design was hand-made using a technique that originated in Ireland in the 1820s called Carrickmacross, which involved cutting out the detailings of roses, thistles, daffodils and shamrocks and applying them to the ivory silk tulle individually. Just having the lace hand-made is pretty awesome (lace today is done by machine). Ok, so here is my 2nd complaint and you might have guessed, based on the pictures above, that it is again...the flowers! Her bouquet is so TINY! The dress, the church, everything about this wedding is HUGE and then she has this little button bouquet! *Dislike*

 

Photograph: Ian West/AFP/Getty Images

Since I do like to be neutral on most things, though, I will say that I like the meaning behind all the flowers. Her bouquet contained myrtle, Lily of the Valley, Sweet William and hyacinth. 

• Lily of the valley means "trustworthy"
• Myrtle "hope and love"
• Sweet William - well duh! right? but it's meaning is "gallantry"
• Hyacinth means "constancy of love"

The one thing I absolutely ADORED about the wedding though, and it is a part that I think was totally them, was the get-a-way car! So cute, so young and just fun! So, the big day is behind all of us and I am sure, like any bride, Kate will have the same feelings: glad it's over but totally missing the planning and lead up! My hope for the couple, and to every bride and groom, is that I hope they remember this day and everything that led up to it and hopefully it will carry them through all the rough patches because, marriage isn't a fairytale - it's a lot of hard work - even if you do have the title of "princess".

 Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

Last day to enter our Sweet Treat Giveaway!

It's been a pretty exciting couple of days! Today, the Royal Wedding and tomorrow our Sweet Treat Giveaway ends! You only have until 5:00pm PST to enter tomorrow and a winner will be chosen....and I am even giddy about picking the winner! Clearly, my readers LOVE sweets...I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has entered so far! The response, actually, has really touched me, especially since I host and pay for my own giveaways, and by your responses it makes me feel like I have done a good job....so thank you to all who entered! If you are just coming here for the first time (good timing on your part!) you have just a few more hours to enter to win an amazing Sweet Treat giveaway package! You can win:

 Click here to enter now! Entries close 04/30/2011 at 05:00 PST!

Ian Stuart: Stylish wedding gowns with color

Today, I want to showcase a designer that I love: Ian Stuart. This British designer describes his bridal line as "quirky and theatrical". I think his bridal line is luxurious and stylish! There is always something different, always gorgeous fabrics, his style is definitely unique and usually you can find beautiful colors, that other designers shy away from. That is probably why I like his line so much! I've blogged about him before (here and here), discussing his amazing red gown that started the trend. This gown came out about 8 or 9 years ago but you wouldn't know it - it set the trend for colored wedding gowns and pick-up skirts, which are still popular with today's bride.

You will find his gowns available in just a few, select stores in the US, which is a shame! It would be nice to see him gain a more popular following here! He has won numerous awards in the UK, including designer of the year an amazing 5 times! 

Beautiful Bridal Hair Pieces

There is no escaping bridal frenzy this week as the Royal Wedding approaches! I am finally getting excited about it myself. I have been finding all kinds of amazing designers from England - from wedding gowns to gorgeous hair pieces and jewels (well not those jewels!) When I saw this flower fascinator I had to share - it's gorgeous!

Delivery on this beautiful Hair piece from order date 2/3 weeks or sooner. This piece will be packaged in a beautiful Alan Hannah branded gift box and dispatched by next day courier when ready to send. The item number is ME5001. I also converted the price to US dollars so the price to the US is 131.81! 

Sweet Treat Giveaway - 1 week left!

We have only 1 week left until we announce the winner of the Sweet Treat Giveaway! I have enjoyed reading all the different flavors you all love. Chocolate is still in the lead as your favorite flavor and Red Velvet is still in second place!  My daughter had a Spring Party at her preschool, which was a perfect excuse to pull out my cupcake maker and get to creating some delicious treats! I actually used two baking methods: my mini-cupcake pan (because it makes 30 at a time) and my electric mini cupcake maker (which is part of this giveaway but, it only makes 7 at a time!). I cheated and used a box cake mix and I got 72 mini cupcakes! I used my husband as a taste tester - to see if he could tell which cupcake was baked in the oven or the electric maker (seeing them unfrosted you can tell the difference. The one baked in the oven is definitely more brown!). Both passed the taste challenge! He couldn't tell the difference. So here are my Easter cupcakes!

I took some coconut and used a few drops of green food coloring and then I fastened each jellybean on with a little extra frosting. Voila!  These cupcakes are about 2 bites - perfect to get your cupcake fix and because they are mini you get SO MANY!! I hope whoever wins will share her photos with me of the creations she comes up with! Happy Easter everyone....and if you are just coming to the blog for the first time - make sure you enter the Sweet Treat Giveaway!! 

1930s Marital Rating Scale category

I saw this in my google reader and was intrigued! So...how far have we REALLY come in 81 years? I got a kick out of reading these and wanted to pass along...thank you to Blush Ink for posting this and giving me some late night chuckles!

According to this...my demerits are pretty high! (sigh)

• I am a night owl so I am always the last one in bed: **ding** 
• I can not sew on a button **ding** and I don't know what "darn socks" so it must be something I don't do **dink** 
• Soiled dresses/aprons around the house - well if they get soiled from cooking, cleaning, I do not go change so, **ding**. 
• I do wear red polish: **ding**. 
• I am completely guilty of putting my cold feet on this super warm legs! **ding** Back seat driver....hmmm let's just say: **ding**

And now it's the husband's turn:

These surveys prove that the thoughts/actions between men and women will always vary (greatly). Only 2 out of the 12 merits, on the husbands side have to do with interacting with his wife but, on the womans survey 11 out of 12 were about personal interactions with the husband! The husband also had the opportunity for 5 points on 5 questions (25 pts) whereas the wife had only 15 for her merits. On the demerit side the wife had 20 points she could potentially add to that column, while the man only had 15 additional demerits on his side! HMMMM!!