Happy Birthday, Alissa!

So normally you only get a birthday post if your birthday happens to fall on a weekday, but sometimes exceptions need to be made --- I could not let such an important day pass by unrecognized. 

Alissa Guin Lively turned 30-something on Saturday! 

(I know! Two big birthdays in one week! May is a doozer.)

Even though I don't know her as well or hang out with her as much as I would like, I can say with full confidence that she is a wonderful person with a truly lovely light inside of her. She is a fantastic mom with beautifully-named and -behaved children. An awesome cook whom I have poached multiple recipes from and passed off as my own. A keen-eyed crafter whose creativity always inspires me. (I will be attempting a mobile myself this week!) And OH so much more! 

Hope you had a wonderful day positively bursting with love and fun. 

xoxo, Cathleen 

Happy Birthday, Colonel Tapioca!

My dear ol dad is turning the big 7-0 today (I hope he doesn't mind me outing him on national internet like this) so I wanted to wish him a very happy birthday on the ol blog!

Unfortunately, I won't be able to celebrate with him in person this year, as much as I would have really loved to make that happen. And what do you get the man who could pretty much get anything he wants for himself anyway? Well, after thinking HARD for quite awhile, I decided to have a sentimental photo framed (that was delayed at the framers...GRRR!) and I sent him a card with the promise of an experience: we have pledged to take him to the Lantern, a local multi-award-winning restaurant in Chapel Hill, NC, the next time he gets down to our neck of the woods. We're going to get a babysitter for the occasion and everything! He's mentioned wanting to try it before, and I once read somewhere that experiences are the best gifts because they enrich your life and your memories more than any physical thing usually does. I wanted to make this birthday especially special because of it's nice round number significance, but also because he has always been so generous with me---with everyone I know---and he deserves to be treated for a change. I hope he likes it. And doesn't sneakily try to pay the bill before the end of dinner. And doesn't think that the "gift of spending time with me" is actually really lame. 

Happy Birthday, Colonel Tapioca! 

You are the best father I could have ever asked for, and an even greater man who means so much to so many people. I look forward to reminding you of that fact (because you forget it way too often) and celebrating your life with you for many more years to come. 

Love, 

Cathleen

Happy Birthday, Brian Searby!

Happy Birthday, Brian Searby! 

I am so glad you joined the Swings and Arrows team! Your posts are always fresh and insightful --- I love the piping hot cups of man-flavored inspiration you bring to the table each week. 

I hope you have a great day full of hearty breakfasts, smart flannel shirts, and rugged outdoor living.

Because I know you love photography, boxing, wood, and camping, I somehow found this incredible synthesis of all four in one vintage postcard circa 1910. If we bought gifts for each other, this is what I would give you today!  

(If anyone actually wants to purchase this snapshot, 

it is available from NiepceGallery on Etsy.)

- Cathleen 

Party of One

Last Saturday we hosted a little get-together at our place in honor of two very special guys: our baby Graham was turning the big 1 and his cousin Colt was turning 11. Needless to say, we had to commemorate these very auspicious occasions with three big number 1 balloons and personal cakes for each birthday boy. As promised, I thought I'd share some of the photos I took before the party was in full swing, i.e. before my beautiful cakes were demolished by little fingers. 

This was the garland I was most proud of. I loooved the icy blue, turquoise, and gray strung up together on baker's twine. Maybe we'll keep it up all year?

And the snowflakes! I had never made six-pointed snowflakes before, so the party was a great excuse to cut it up. I trimmed them from a bunch of coffee filters and pale blue tissue paper. The blue streamers were twisted from a simple tutorial I found here. 

Mini cakes! Such a cute and easy way to make a special occasion even special-er!

I followed the recipe on the back of the chocolate cake mix box and baked them in three (empty and clean) 28-oz tin cans according to the time and temperature I found here. P.S. Maybe it was our oven, but the cakes took about 10-15 minutes longer to cook than they said. Oh! And you'll need more than one can of icing to make these look nice and frosty. 

For Graham's first birthday cake, I wanted to go light on the sugar, so I followed the recipe for a homemade banana apple cake I found here. The icing was a little runny and the cake itself turned out a bit gummy, but he ate almost half of it! The chocolate chip cookies were from a recipe I found here. (Which I later discovered is the very same famous NYTimes recipe.) I've made them for a couple of parties now, and while they are a bit more labor intensive than the ol' dependable Tollhouse, everyone raves over them. 

The number 1 balloons were a big hit with the little guy. I think mostly because he can see his own reflection in them and loves to kiss himself in the mirror these days. Seriously, those two really need to get a room. 

All in all, I think the party was super fun! And even though he won't remember any of it, I think Graham did too. Happy birthday, buddy! 

- Cathleen 

Birthday Books!

This week we have two big birthdays to celebrate! Both of my blog cohorts—that's right, Grace AND Alissa—are turning one year older on Thursday and Friday respectively, so I thought I'd do a literary version of my birthday post from last year for the two of them. So without further ado, here are the books I would gift to you guys if we actually gave gifts to each other!

For Grace: 

With everything you juggle, from raising two awesome kids to teaching art to going for your masters while selling things that you find/make online all while pursuing your own unique interests, you prove again and again that moms can do it all. 

Because of your entrepreneurial spirit (I am always amazed at your successful money making schemes) and boundless creativity, I thought you might enjoy Mom Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco and Cat Seto. It's a practical guide to doing what you love while working from home. 

For Alissa: 

Though I haven't known you as long as I've known Grace, I do know that you're ultra creative and passionate about slowing down and appreciating the beauty in life —something I have always admired about you. 

Because I know you love to cook (you made some seriously delicious Rice Krispie treats when I saw you last) and spend quality time with your sweet family, I thought you might like Dinner: A Love Story. This cookbook was written by Jenny Rosenstrach

and along with featuring delicious recipes, the book emphasizes the importance of coming together to share a meal and strengthen those all-important family bonds.

Happy birthday, you guys!! I'm really happy to have friends like you in my life!

Love, Cathleen

[glitter birthday banner via Confetti Design Shop on Etsy]

Best Present Ever

Sorry, friends, family, and loved ones. I hate to break it to you, but Micky's done it. He's officially given me the best present ever. An illustration created from a photo of us by Sadie Solomon (who has such a great name, right?) of EmmieBean. I was taken by complete surprise when he told me to close my eyes and hold out my hands (his patented method for wrapping gifts) on my birthday last week and presented me with the most thoughtful, wonderful gift I've ever received, evidenced by the fact that I burst into tears immediately upon seeing it. I miiight have been a little hormonal at the time, but I'm pretty sure it had more to do with the fact that he's just the best husband ever. I really am the luckiest (and braggiest) girl in the world. Sadie can compose a portrait from pretty much any photograph (check out her website for more examples of her work), making it the perfect gift for anyone you want to make cry on their special day.

We've been framed! 

- Cathleen 

Happy Birthday Best Friend!

This Sunday is Cathleen's birthday! Yay!! Happy Birthday Besty! I'm not as talented as Catie is when it comes to picking out gifts so instead of a sampling of gifts that would be perfect for her I am going to count down all the reasons I think Catie is one of the best humans on the planet.

1. Catie is the most generous person I know.When I go to visit her in NYC she takes me EVERYWHERE I want to go. When she comes to DC to see me she goes EVERYWHERE I want to go. She also has really cool clothes and really cool jewelry and she always lets me borrow anything I want. 

2. Catie is always up for trying something new. She did that flying trapeze class in NYC which I doubt I'd have the guts to do.

3. Catie has great jokes. I have always loved Catie's jokes. I sometimes think back to jokes she told in like 1996 and I still laugh.

4. Catie is an optimist and a romantic. There is no better person to be friends with than an optimist. There is also no better person to be friends with than a romantic. She sees the joy and beauty in even the most mundane things.

5. Catie is interesting and has interesting taste. Her house is beautifully curated and I can spend hours just looking at all the things she's spent her time gathering and displaying.

However, whoever painted the molding on this wall needs to be taken out back and shot. Catie will not divulge if it was her or Micky. 

6. She is a talented artist. Catie works hard at her craft. She wants her work to be great and memorable and never stops learning new things.

Eggcellent painting by Catie.

7. Catie is a hardworker. When we were in high school she would stay up until all hours of the night making sure her math homework was just right.

8. Catie always has cash lying around. I know this, we've been friends for 19 years. When we were in high school she would open the top drawer to her dresser and hundreds of dollars would haphazardly fly out.

9. Catie likes to play games and is super competitive but is still light-hearted about the game.

10. Catie has healing hands and she is generous with her powers.

11. Catie has great stories. The trouble Catie gets into is worthy of a novel. Her stories from college are stories I tell to people I barely know because they are just so great!

Me listening to a story about the time Catie went to a store named Garbage and she thought they would have eye glitter but they didn't. 

"I already heard you Catie, they ended up not having the glitter." 

"Omg did you hear, they didn't have the glitter?" 

12. Catie still pretends she didn't hit the back of her mom's car into a pole at a McDonalds in Tenlytown DC in 1999 but I know the truth.

"I remember what you did in 1999."- McDonalds in Tenelytown

13. Catie uses lots of exclamation points for the sake of the reader. Catie always wants to make sure that whomever she is writing to is happy and comfortable and she uses exclamation points to help convey her joy in speaking with them.

We look hideous here. 

14. Catie is forgiving. We've gotten into some MEGA fights and Catie has always graciously accepted my apologies. Her ability to forgive is humbling and has made me strive to be a better person. 

15. Catie is patient. 

Catie taking me somewhere I want to go and letting me shamelessly copy her sunglasses. 

16. Catie is driven. Junior year in high school she was not voted onto the prom committee. She knew she'd be the best at the job, senior year she ran again, won, and created a memorable prom with every detail in place.

17. Catie has a great name to make nicknames out of. In high school we called her Cueto and due to a misprint in the yearbook we also called her Cuero. Can I just state that that was the best yearbook misprint EVER! In college her very good friend made up a series of nicknames which I still call her, including but not limited to: Wrathleen and Smashleen. These can be used on various occasions when the moment is ripe. 

Behold: Catie Cuero.

2002 in Boston when I experienced really cold weather for the first time.

18. I am pretty damn sure Mathleen coined the term Besty (Bestie is the incorrect spelling, I would know I was the one who received the maiden voyage of the term). I know this term is EVERYWHERE. But Catie called me it in an email like 12 years ago and neither of us had EVER heard it before. 

New Year's 2001.

19. Catie loves Benjamin Franklin. Once she confided in me that she wanted to always be her best so she used Ben Franklin's daily self scoring rubic to score herself. 

"Waste not, want not Wrathleen!" - Says Poor Richard

20. You might not know this about Catie, but she had blond hair in high school (and black eyebrows).

Whoops, I forgot to get my eyebrows dyed too. 

21. Catie has a shirt she bought from Gap Kids in 1993 that the girl wore in Jurassic Park and sometimes she still wears the shirt!

Unfortunately, Catie does not own the purple cap that goes with the shirt perfectly. 

So that concludes my countdown. There are a million more amazing things about Wrathyesaurus that I just can't think of right now, but trust me I am very lucky to know Catie and if you know her too, you are lucky as well.

1998,  when I could eat a Milky Way at lunch and not have it manifest itself as fat on my ass 2 hours later. 

Happy Birthday Breast Friend! I'm glad we've now officially been friends for 20 years. I hope we are friends for 20 x 3 more years! If I'm alive after 60 more years, please someone put me out of  my misery.

Be back here Monday for Wrathleen's Monday scoop!

- Grace