Anthropologie Birthday Party

I was so excited when I received an email from Anthropologie that they were throwing a birthday party for ME.  Ok, not really for me but for anyone with a March birthday.  Any avid Anthro shopper knows that if you sign up for an Anthro membership card, you get a birthday coupon to use during your birthday month.  I don't know about you but, invariably, I forget to go to an Anthro store or wait until the last day of the month and am unable to find anything that I like.  So I thought that throwing a party was a really clever idea to entice shoppers into their store and use the coupon.  And as the party was just two days past my actual birthday, I was still in a celebratory mood.  There was a pretty table with yummy treats such as mini cupcakes and cake pops.

There was even a sweets section with plastic bags that you could fill up.  After all, what's a birthday party without a candy station and goody bags?  Refreshments included a delicious strawberry lemonade with mint.  I will have to ask next time I'm in the store whether the lemonade was bottled or made to order because it was so refreshing.

It is always so much fun visiting Anthro not just for the fashion but the fun and interesting store props and housewares.  I have heard of crafters searching for old Reader's Digest books with pretty covers and then repurposing them, have you?  Here is a display of books that have been cut into letters.  Have you tried cutting up old books?  As a former English Lit major, I am a bit leery of cutting up old books but it does make an eyecatching display.

I thought the hanging display of citrus slices was a very Spring and Summery touch.  I think this is something that could be replicated at home.

Do you notice the giant vintage hen planter at the back?  I think that it is actually from a carousel ride.  I would love to have something like that in a garden, wouldn't you?  Of course, it isn't possible to resist checking out the fashions in an Anthro store.  I fell hard for this Moulinette Soeurs dress.

The skirt is much more citrus lime in real life.  I think that it provides such a fresh contrast against the crisp navy and white lines on top.

via Anthropologie.com

I really like how the back is as interesting as the front.

No birthday cake at Anthro but, yes, I did get a birthday cake on my actual birthday.  That day was one of those agonizing work days that went on and on.  You know the kind.  I felt bad because I knew Monsieur was planning a special birthday dinner.  In fact, we didn't sit down to dinner until 9 pm by which time I was dead on my feet.  But what he did while I was tearing my hair out certainly brought me back to life.  He had decorated our home with millions of balloons, streamers and banners.  Then he cooked a lovely dinner of bavette and mashed potatoes.  I was just so thrilled and touched, all at once.  You see he had recently found out that I had never had a birthday party when I was a child.  So he was determined to throw a "First Birthday Party"  hence all the balloons and streamers.  After dinner came another surprise, a wonderful birthday cake made of red velvet and strawberry shortcake layers.

On top was written "Bonne Fete" (Happy Birthday) on a chocolate disc and a special message written around it, of which one of the most important words is "Love", which you can see. You can also see some balloons reflected in the table top.  I have to admit that I was shocked at all the little details that Monsieur put into my surprise "First Birthday Party."  Most of the time I am convinced that there is a built in filter in his brain that is labelled in capital letters "FOOTBALL" which automatically filters out anything that I tell him.  And then he pulls something like this that shows me that he does listen to me.  I think the best present of all is knowing that I have someone in my life who understands me, who just gets me.  To have someone who just understands and tries to replace sadness with happiness is, as a well known cc company would say, priceless.

I am linking up with My Romantic Home, A Stroll Thru Life, The Charm of Home, and Green Willow Pond.

Valentine's Day In the Park with Pink Pyrex and Pink Shoes - Fashion Meets Housewares #2

Do you think that there is an age when pink is no longer appropriate?  I grew up with a bedroom decorated in pink as my mother thought that it was suitable for a girl.  Then, typically, I rebelled and cast aside pink for many a long year.  I longed for Ikea furnishings, loud music with tortured lyrics and black leather.  With Valentine's Day fast approaching I realized that pink has been steathily creeping back in to my life.  First, in the form of vintage pink Pyrex.  After all, who can resist vintage flamingo pink Pyrex?  And then, as luck would have it, I was out and about shopping with my mother when I spied these amazing Rupert Sanderson shoes in pink!  My mother was so very gracious as to give them to me as a gift. I suspect that she still believes that pink is suitable for a daughter, no matter that said daughter is a little girl in her eyes only.



Rupert Sanderson Shoes, Pink Daisy Pyrex Casserole Dish

It's not possible to get enough of vintage pink Pyrex mixing bowls especially when heaped with hydrangeas.  


Rupert Sanderson Shoes, Pink Gooseberry Pyrex

Even if you are many years beyond the age of five but are still young at heart, there is always a place in one's life for pink shoes.  And there is nothing saccharine or infantile about these shoes with the high slender heel and top stitching. 

And new shoes mean scrambling through my vintage dresser for that perfect outfit.  Yes, my taste has swung back from the new and the modern to the tried and the true, especially if it comes with Art Deco styling and old pulls that have that instantly recognizable, impossible to duplicate patina.

But, with the weather still inclement, what to do for Valentine's Day, especially something that involves pink shoes and when one is on a budget?  Nothing for it but to have a little picnic in the park at home.

Of course the wondrous shoes get kicked off but still kept close to hand so that they can be suitably admired by oneself and one's beloved.



And future outings are planned over a celebratory glass or two, all of which involve the wearing of pink shoes.

As the saying goes, I'm in the pink!

I've heard that Google Friend Connect will be disappearing soon for those who aren't on Blogger.  If you are on a different platform besides Blogger, you can still follow me through Networked Blogs.  The simplest route may be to suscribe through email.    More than anything, I want to remain in contact with all the lovely people I've met through L'Heure Bleue At Home so have finally caved and am on Facebook as well.

I'm linking up with A Stroll Thru Life, Knick of Time, Cozy Home Scenes, French Country Cottage, My Romantic Home and  Type A Decorating,

Green Is The Colour Of My Love a.k.a Fashion Meets Housewares #1

Do you have a favourite "something" that has tiptoed into your life unbeknownst to you?  For years, I thought my favourite colour was blue with lots of white and silver thrown in for good measure.  Then, one day, I realized that green had crept into the mix and that I was continually drawn to that colour when out and about searching for thrifty treasures.  It all started with these Salisbury, made in England, bone china pieces of 1 salad plate, 4 bread plates and 2 teacups picked up at a yard sale, all for $1.25:

I loved the apple green band with gold cherries dancing across it.  And my favourite flower of the moment is the green hydrangea.  However, I noticed that one of the teacups was a bit more used than the other.  I had visions of Miss Havisham in her tattered wedding gown drowning her sorrows in her solitary cup of tea.  Now that won't do at all!  So I dashed to my closet whereupon I discovered more green.

 All of which leads me to my first Fashion Meets Housewares post.  There is something so uplifting and alluring about the colour green.  But not just any green, I prefer a Granny Smith apple green with a blue undertone.  It reminds me of Spring, of eternal hope. 

So please let me know that your favourites in your home have spilled over into other areas of your life and that I am not the only one!

Linking up to Southern Hospitality, Coastal Charm, A Beach Cottage, Tales from Bloggeritaville, The Thrifty Groove.