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The Handmade Nest — A Glimpse

By KariV on September 15, 2013 in Favorite Things, Uncategorized

Have you heard about the Handmade Nest? I had the opportunity to go to the first ever GNO put on by the Handmade Nest last weekend. It was fabulous!

The Handmade Nest is an opportunity for bloggers and non-bloggers in Arizona to get together and craft! It was held at the Power Ranch Barn, and let me just say it was the PERFECT venue for this event. There was plenty of room for all the tables, and I did not feel crowded, squished, or claustrophobic at all. 🙂

It was dark when I got there (it started at 7 p.m.) so I didn’t get a picture of the outside of the barn, but take a look at a portion of the inside:

This is only about half the room; there were a number of additional tables set up to the left that aren’t pictured here. Also, I have to mention, there was a nice & big bathroom located on the east side of the room. (I know it’s funny to mention a bathroom, but when you have that many women gathered for an evening…it’s nice to have that close by!)

When I first got there, I had to check out the giveaway table:

Just look at all that loot! They had amazing sponsors like Riley Blake Fabric (love them!), Downeast Basics, My Minds Eye, The Ribbon Retreat, DecoArt, Wood Connection, Vintage Rose Wraps, Petite Party Studio, Rod Works, and so many more awesome companies! And you may not believe this, but I WON something:

A gift card to Downeast!! I was so excited…I may have screamed out loud. 🙂

Then I was drawn to an amazing display on the north side of the room….the CAKE BAR!

Petite Party Studio and Inspired Sugar have done it again…a FEAST for our eyes!! Those cakes are amazing…and I love the logo made out of fondant on the middle cake. It looks perfect! Those fondant flowers on the other cakes are so cute. And look at that amazing burlap runner with ruffles to match the theme.

I just love all the banners on the cakes, too. See the sticks used behind the cakes as a backdrop? Perfect for the “Nest” theme. They had many flavors of cakes at the party…like pumpkin chocolate chip and vanilla with raspberry filling. Yum.

When they started the evening, we got instruction and got to crafting! I chose to make the “Nest” boards. There were 4 equally amazing crafts you could pre-order to make. My husband asked what we were going to do with “Nest” boards…and I said, “imagine how cute these would be with an Easter vignette…” and he said, “Well, I guess we could re-arrange the letters to say TENS or SENT…” Yeah, I’m pretty sure they will be re-arranged every time I walk by them! 🙂

While my boards were drying, I took a break for cake. I had the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cake and it was SO good. I’ve tasted a lot of cake in my decades of living…and this one just MIGHT be in my top 10! Really…it was that good. (Thank you, Inspired Sugar) I heard the other flavors were delicious, too. In the interest of fair reporting, I just may have to taste all the flavors next time and share my findings with you. 😉

I met some fun new people. I think one of the perks of going to these types of events alone is that you are kinda forced to meet new people. Even though I am sometimes a little shy, one of my goals for the night was to meet another blogger or two.

Here’s Melanie from Reasons to Skip the Housework and Valerie from Occasionally Crafty. (Sorry, Kaitlyn, only a part of your shoulder made it in this picture!) I was lucky enough to sit by them! And they made these cute signs…which was one of my top choices for the night. (BUT since my husband was recently in a bicycle accident I decided against this one) Now that I see how cute they turned out, I’m wishing I opted for this craft as well!

Thanks to all the brilliance of the event coordinators:

Rebecca from The Crafted Sparrow

Kelli from Lolly Jane

Katie from Sweet Rose Studios

Kristy from The Diary of Dave’s Wife

All the crafts were too cute and it was so difficult to choose!

Take a look at what we got in our swag bags! A necklace from The Crafted Sparrow (fantastic Rebecca!) and a Vintage Rose Wrap (beautiful, Katie!)

If you missed it this year, think about going next year! It was completely awesome. I’ll meet you there?

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Carlsbad Farmer’s Market – A Feast for your Eyes

By KariV on August 14, 2013 in Favorite Things

Do you like fresh fruits and vegetables?! Well today I have quite a treat for you. I am taking you with me on a virtual tour of the Carlsbad Farmer’s Market in California! Ready, here we go.

I’ve been visiting San Diego since I was a kid, but I only found out about the AMAZING Farmer’s Markets they have over there just this past year. I can’t believe I’ve been missing all this goodness! Our last trip was just a few weeks ago and I really wanted to visit the San Diego farmer’s market, but we couldn’t make it on Saturday. Then I found out there are farmer’s markets all over Southern California on just about any day of the week (check out the list here). So on a beautiful Wednesday, we headed over to Carlsbad and found this little gem of an outdoor market.

Just take a look at these beautiful cherry tomatoes! There are quite a few pictures, so just take a deep breath and enjoy the amazing color and variety available here:

Radishes, Turnips and Zucchini.

I loved the variety: lots of beautiful flowers, organic eggs, mushrooms (types I’ve never seen before!), pastas, and candied almonds.

Isn’t it fun to look at piles o’ veggies? I love the produce department at the grocery store, but these organic, locally grown vegetables are just so beautiful!

There were herbs like dill, parsley, cilantro, thyme and basil. And you could even take home your very own strawberry plant!

Plums, nectarines, and peaches galore!

We found some goodies that we just couldn’t leave without. Flowers, kettle corn, strawberries, peaches, fudge, and Cheesecake in a cup (it was divine!) I know, I know, it’s all the sweet stuff…but we are on vacation here! Plus, we had already purchased our carrots, beets, celery, apples, kale and other delicious veggies to juice at the local organic market.

I hope you enjoyed this short tour of the Carlsbad Farmer’s Market. I’ve been to a lot of farmer’s markets and this just might be my favorite one to date!

Oh, and before you go…did I mention they had seafood too? Come back this week to see my absolute favorite (and simple) way to grill up market salmon. We like this preparation because it tastes as good (or better) than any salmon we’ve ever ordered at a restaurant! See you then. 🙂

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Botanical Garden at Balboa Park

By KariV on August 7, 2013 in Favorite Things, Freebies

I have a great little vacation tip for you the next time you are in San Diego. And it’s *free! I love a family-friendly-and-free place to visit while on vacation. It’s the Botanical Gardens at Balboa Park.

This amazing garden has so many varieties of plants and flowers…some I’ve never even seen before. Take a look at how amazing this atrium is, too…all made of wood. It’s actually one of the largest lath structures in the world!

It was built in 1915 and it’s an amazing historical must-see building. There are enormous trees and plants growing, like giant ferns and this elephant leaf plant (I may have named that plant just now):

G was enthralled with it. And he also loved the polka dotted plants. He asked me to take a picture especially of him sitting next to them in his “I made this plant” pose. Hey, I don’t make this stuff up…that was his instruction to me! (Love this kid!)

I do almost* believe he made that plant…with that pose there. 😉
Take a look at some of the other beautiful plants to see at the Botanical Garden.

This place just might be a little magical. It’s a perfect garden for kissing (at least G thought so).

There’s a spot near the back of the garden that is growing an “Allspice” Tree and the bark smells so good…just like Allspice!

The boys especially enjoyed the “smelling garden” that had a number of plants and herbs that you could touch and smell. There was mint and basil, lemongrass and one that smelled like cinnamon. Even a plant that my husband thought smelled like dish soap!

There’s the boys smelling and touching the “smelling garden” plants! So entertaining. We probably could have stayed there for quite some time if a *little someone* didn’t need to use the bathroom! Ah, the life of traveling with kids, right? 🙂

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of the Botanical Garden at Balboa Park. Check out the tour of the Flower Fields at Carlsbad, too.

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Back to School {free} fonts!

By KariV on August 3, 2013 in Favorite Things, Freebies

I’ve received lots of requests for the fonts I’ve used for my snack parties and back to school treats. So I thought I’d put together a post of some of my favorite Back To School fonts that you can get for free!

Just click the links below to find out where to get the fonts:

1) SchoolScriptDashed

2) Penmanship Print

3) Ostrich

4) Susie’s Hand

5) Another Typewriter

6) Cinnamon Cake

7) Varsity Regular

8) BlackJack

9) Learning Curve Pro

10) Good Dog

Love ’em! Happy Back to School season!

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Taste Test Tuesday — Chips for dipping

By KariV on June 11, 2013 in Favorite Things, Taste Test Tuesday

It’s Taste Test Tuesday! I love this day. And today I am reporting on our taste test for TORTILLA CHIPS.

Here are the Tortilla Chip Contestants:

1) Santitas
2) Food Club
3) Doritos
4) Mission
5) Tostitos

This was a “blind” taste test. I numbered the bowls for each brand of chips #1-5. Then all the judges took one (or more) of the chips in each numbered bowl.

When I first tried all the chips, I liked them all. But we had some judges who are true “chip conneseuirs” and took this taste test VERY seriously. You may be just like me and not really care about a dipping chip…but many judges INSISTED that there is a big difference in chips and that you’ll be much happier with a truly delicious chip.

In fact, my sister and brother-in-law had already done some chip research for me and told me to make sure to include a couple brands of chips in this particular taste test. (Thanks Wendi & Kevin!)

We started out just trying the chips alone, then added homemade salsa to the mix. And most of the judges agreed on the TOP TWO chips. Care to make any guesses?

Here are the WINNERS:

First, Santitas and
Second, Tostitos!

Interestingly enough, these two chips are very similar AND they are both made by Frito-Lay in Texas! I was actually happy to learn that Santitas chips are very similar to Tostitos, but they cost much less (see the bag: $2 only!)
(Note: Doritos are also made by Frito-Lay, but they are only available in a yellow corn chip; Most judges liked the white corn chips better).

I always like to include a generic brand (ie: inexpensive) for each taste test. In this case, our generic brand did not fare so well.
Last place: Food Club & Mission. Judges reported that Food Club chips were “bland” and “boring.” They reported that Mission chips were “too thick” and “too crunchy/tough.”

{A BIG thanks to all the judges for this taste test!}

So, dear readers, let me know what are YOUR favorite tortilla chips. And comment if you have any suggestions for future taste tests you’d like to see.

Until next time…

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