All's Quiet on the Blog-Front

Because things are loud as hell on the homefront! As in hammering, sawing, sanding, etc... We have been all tied up lately managing the reno of our STUDIO as it gets up and running, here's a little peak at what's been going on...

But that doesn't mean we haven't been busy on the creative side as well... I've got a wedding invite that I have been DYING to show off, another adorable kid's birthday party invite, and a delicious letterpress save the date, all waiting in the wings to be photographed and blogged about... Very soon, I promise!

Saving the Day!

Bad blogger! I had this little diddy sitting in my drafts from before the trip and I never published it! Well, here you go... show some Buffalove!

We are leaving for vacation on Friday, and a minor panic set in when I realized, *GASP* how can I travel across the world with a naked BRAND SPANKIN' NEW iPhone!? [Which comes with a free case, but I soon learned that case would take 2 weeks to come to me... that's 14 unprotected days in the hands of the most accident-prone clutz I know... ME!]

After I voiced this deep dark concern on Facebook, a childhood friend rushed to my rescue! Andrea said she could make me one! Now on the West Coast, Andrea has started Andrea Lynn Handmade, making GORG bags, clutches, and cases. 

I mosied on over to her Etsy shop... and oh-my-goodness – I was smitten!!

I mean, seriously, don't you L.O.V.E.?

Buy this here.

Amy Butler fabric? Eco-friendly?  SWOON!

Some other favs of mine:

iPad case? Yes please!

So not 2 days later, my own little lovely showed up in the mail, and can I just say – life.saver.

Gorgeous, no?

So check out Andrea Lynn Handmade on her blog and on Etsy! And  just to be clear, I will be taking some Flat-Stanley-esque photos of my new fav accessory on my travels, as I leave you all to jetset to faraway lands. Many photos and souvenirs for you darlings when I return. MUAH!

If Only All Of Our Clients Were This Easy To Please!

Show a kid who loves dinosaurs a birthday invitation shaped like a dinosaur and he is as happy as a pig in mud!

Please forgive (as always) my horrendous photos... a DSLR may be in my future...

These were drawn with ink and painted in watercolor, then printed on real watercolor paper. 

These Lovelies Are Off...

Full reveal after they reach their destinations :)

(LOVE those envelopes!!)

FT Job Distraction... err... I mean, Social Media...

Love me some social media. And now that I'm trying to get better at it it was awesome to go to #smdayBuf - Buffalo's social media networking event at Templeton Landing's rooftop patio last Tuesday.

Ironic that it took me almost a week to blog about it, and that this it the only picture I have of the event, but Meg and I had a great time, met some great Buffalonians, and we're excited for the next one!

Surround Yourself With Talent

I think I've said it before but I'm a lucky lady. Today, I'm telling you how lucky I am to have amazingly talented friends. One of whom has decided to collaborate with RBL on some greeting card and invitation illustrations. I'd like to introduce Monique D'Urso, incredibly talented artist, with illustrations that will just melt your little heart. This is her latest independent project, an engagement party postcard for her sister...

 (who is almost a full foot shorter than her fiance!)

Little lovebird, big lovebird!

If you'd like something with a little "mo love" - just drop us a line. And look for more Mo in our Etsy shop with a whole line of birthday, baby, and greeting cards for every occasion, coming this Fall. 

Sneak Peak

Autumnal wedding invite...

So excited for this one! I can't wait for the unveiling... but we must wait, as always, until they have reached their pretty little destinations...

Daring Month Three

Okay, maybe I'm a Negative Nancy, but to be entirely honest, I haven't really LOVED any the recipes I've been making with Daring Kitchen. (You can find how this mess adventure started here...) Until now, that is – I really really liked this one! Even though it's more what I consider to be Pammy-Food, I definitely liked – AND as an added bonus – the husband actually liked!!

The mandatories:

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

Ok, so maybe I'm the dumb kid, but I never really thought of making your own peanut butter being this easy! I started  up a small tin of salted, roasted peanuts, threw in the food processor for 2-3 minutes, after which it was still a little dry.

SO I added a tad of Canola oil.

Mmmm much better...

Taste-tester approved.

Really, really approved... (he kinda LOVES peanut butter...)

After washing my hands we get to making the sauce...

...tons and tons of garlic...

... my fav: vinegar...

... soy sauce, ginger, chili oil (instead of sesame oil, oh well), sugar, some water and in good Buffalo style, a healthy dose of Franks...

And because I'm a glutton for punishment and/or just overambitious...

we have chicken aaaaand...

ugh... I hate, hate, hate peeling and depooping uncooked shrimp... but I have a flashback, at the grocery store, when I'm about to buy them, of being in my mom's kitchen a few years ago... 

me: why are the shrimp grey?

mom: because they aren't cooked, Al...

me: oh... so why didn't you just buy the pink ones?

She pulls one out of the chicken broth she's boiling them in and gives it to me.

The taste is amazing.

me: ..... oooh

So half an hour later... here we are...

Some more slicing and dicing and we have:

bean thread noodles (oh yeah, already cooked those, forgot...), english cucumber, red pepper, flat leaf parsley (instead of basil, because I didn't have any, but it was from the CSA and the most fragrant, delicious parsley I've ever had)...

[a beer], cabbage and green onion (both also from the CSA, mmmmm)..

Add the peanut sauce, mix it all together, top with shrimp and/or chicken aaaaaaand:

Voila! With some lime... and it's amazing. I so heart. And definitely recommend. You can find the real recipe here.

Picky Eater Variation Note: For kids (or a husband with very picky tastes!) you can make linguine instead of bean thread noodles and keep all the accoutrements separate for them to decide which to add. Then toss in a bowl with the sauce and top with chicken and/or shrimp just the same. 

Hooray Daring Kitchen, you've got me hooked for another month!

Monday Happiness

Possibly the most adorable wedding favor I've seen in a long time. Although donations as favors are my favorite, my feeling on favors is usually – if I can't eat it or drink it, I don't really want it... but this may be the exception...

From Unveiled Bridal via one of, if not the best, wedding blogs on the interweb, Style Me Pretty. 

Smitten!

Seriously, Thank You

For those who don't know me that well, the house my husband and I bought last year is a bit of a fixer-upper. To say the least. We spent most of the winter tearing the place apart, and we have had immense amounts of help from friends, family, and neighbors. So to express my immense gratitude, I sent out little thank you notes designed by moi.

And, as per usual, they were extremely late... but better late than never, right?

We are lucky little ducks.