Wouldn’t you just love to be the party goers that get to walk up this path? I recently got to “meet”, via this wonderful blog world of ours, Kate Todd, the voice of the Party Resources blog. Kate is the daughter of renowned party planner Ann Perry Todd, a.k.a. “Dixie”.

As luck would have it, Kate invited me to be a guest on her blog and throw out a few of my favorite party ideas. I was very flattered and more than happy to oblige! I hope you have a chance to hop over and take a peek! Kate has been quite busy collecting great party ideas for all of us to try out ourselves. AND while you are at it….you will want to take a look at Dixie Todd’s website. So many spectacular parties! As we all know, it is no small feat to put together a party as beautifully as those shown on Party Resources. My party hat is off to Dixie and Kate!!!

Creme Brullee

Chocolate Covered Truffle Loaf Bundt Cakes and Cream Cheese Brownies

Cakes ready for Take Home

After I realized surrender was really the only option, I relaxed and enjoyed the clean and contemporary surroundings punctuated with an Asian flair. The restaurant had a relaxed feel, but I still felt like I was in a place where I would be pampered.

So….are you curious as to what we picked? Tim had huge self control and only ordered the Kiwi Lemonade (made with crushed Kiwi fruit….there were many other flavors as well….yum!).

That control seemed to fizzle as soon as my, and my daughter’s, desserts were brought to the table. My daughter had the chocolate croissant bread pudding.

I had the Nectarine Crostata. (I am a sucker for fruit desserts of any kind.) Tim dove across the table like it was his last meal. I literally had to move my plate out of reach before it was completely devoured. My poor daughter had to fend for herself at that point. Nothing comes between me and my dessert.

I can never get enough of gorgeous outdoor inspirations - especially when

there’s a gorgeous garden and greenery to go with it.  Isn’t the backyard

above just gorgeous?

The white curtains in the background are so romantic in the summer breeze.

The lavender fabric is also a perfect color to complement the surrounding

greenery.

Indoor lamps really make this gorgeous garden setting look polished and chic.

Chips and salsa on a barrel…

Colored glass vases make this garden pop.  At night, all you

need are some tea lights in the vases for it to give a soft

magical glow with color.

The fabric makes this dining area so cozy.  Candles really

top it off.  I can just imagine what this would look like at

dusk.

What a great difference just a pink runner an pink flowers can make!

Love the pillows on the hammock - it really creates

a pop of color and gives the scene an exotic look.

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Last week the Denham family was gone for a break in sunny San Diego and we took full advantage, packing a lot into a 7 day trip! It is a long drive to San Diego from Sacramento….it can take 8 hours on a good day. To break up the drive, we like to stop in San Juan Capistrano for a leg stretch and some dinner. On this trip, we tried a restaurant I had seen last time we were in town…..and right next door, I found THIS cute shop:

How lucky was that?! Studio Pink is an off-shoot of Whim Design and is all about the “pink”. Unfortunately for me, the shop was closed by the time we rolled into town (one less bathroom stop and we would have made it!), but I had fun peeking in the windows! And the storefront is adorable.

I did run across more info about Whim on the Fabulous Finds Gal blog, so hop on over for a look!! The pillows, the shell mirror, the pink gourd lamp, all so fun and flirty with the Pink walls as a backdrop.

I am peering through the windows taking pictures and when I am done……Tim had disappeared. I suppose pink is just not his color. More likely, he is just starving….so the girls and I hunt him down next door:

Diamond Baratta Design is a fantastic interior design

firm based in New York City.  This post shows selections

of their work in New York City from the magazine New 

York Spaces.  For those of you Turquoise, Teal or Blue

lovers, this is a great post for you.

Such a gorgeous rug and carpet!

Beautiful blues.

Pattern on Pattern.

Perfect way to match wall art to hardware 

(in this case the pendant light fixture.)

A pop of turquoise with brown.  Not a color combinaton

one would normally think of but it definitely works.

I’m a big fan of using photography as wall art.

This could have been such a drab space but 

Diamond and Baratta did no neglect it - 

instead they really dressed it up with glass

panel walls in blue.

If you like the aesthetics of Diamond Baratta designs,

you’ll really enjoy this book that has great samples of

their work.

So what was your favorite item or room?

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Yesterday, I promised to tell you what I received from my girlfriends on the trip to Lake Tahoe. One of the gifts was finding out that my friend Diane (the Master Gardener friend) is starting up a brand new company of hand blended herbs and spices!

Diane has a spectacular garden, which I have blogged about before HERE. She has been collecting rocks in the shape of hearts ever since moving to the lake…..so it was only natural that the name for her new company would be Heart Rock Herb and Spice Co.

Diane surprised us with a little herb and spice blending party of our own! We are all big “foodies” and cook a big dinner whenever we visit, so this was right up our alley. We got to recreate some of her recipes for ourselves! SO cool! Diane let us choose the blends, so we picked her Moroccan blend, her Herbs de Provence blend, the Malaysian blend and we had to try the Tahoe blend, of course.

Diane has sourced herbs and spices specifically for their freshness and is blending the spices per order right before they are shipped so that they are at their peak of fragrant flavor.

Fresh Herbs and Spices

It was so much fun getting to play with all of the ingredients….like the rose petals and lavender, which we used in the Moroccan blend, and the lemon grass and dill we used in the Tahoe blend.

There is so much information on Diane’s website HERE about all of the herbs and spices, and about how you can take advantage of all of the goodness yourselves! Diane not only has an array of cooking herbs and spices, but she has put together a delicious collection of room fragrance blends as well. (Part of our gift was a blend of the month club…..yes…..that means we are getting a new blend every month!!! Lucky or what?!)

Diane is donating 10% of her profits to two non-profit organizations she is passionate about:

Bread and Broth, a food program for the hungry of South Lake Tahoe where Diane is the Director, donating her cooking talents and direction, and also to the Thunderbird Gardens, where Diane is the Master Gardener/Garden Coordinator. Yes….Diane is one busy woman. She puts me to shame…..while at the same time inspiring me to do even more.

Diane I “heart” you too! You are my favorite Spice Girl!!!

A heart rock we found on our picnic at Thunderbird Lodge. Our Girl’s Weekend could not have held any more wonderful and coincidental little surprises!