Thursday, August 30, 2012

summer days

Joyce took some great photos of the kids as they played at their beach in July.  The timelessness, innocence and joy was captured beautifully.
















Monday, August 27, 2012

Labor Day?

Wait a second! Wasn't last weekend Memorial Day Weekend?  And now*poof* September 1st is SATURDAY?  We are surely going to miss long afternoons on the beach, warm nights by the water and flip flop weather.

Then again, Gold+Bee has a lot to look forward this fall, with 3 huge parties coming up, and tons of new recipes, decorating and crafting ideas in store for all our readers! Plus, who doesn't love sweater weather?

For now though, let's take a quick look back at some Gold+Bee highlights of Summer 2012....










Tuesday, August 21, 2012

getting crafty!

ooh how we love making things... edible and otherwise.

Recently there have been a few gifts that I've been working on to thank some friends on the west coast for their hospitality during our recent vacation.

In addition Bee was quite crafty with the kids last week preparing for the lovely birthday party!

We have some fun events on the G+B calendar in September and October... including a Halloween party!  What fun!!!  Stay tuned for more crafting photos in the next month but for now I will share some of my recent projects.

 As tempting as it is to buy more crafting materials, I also find it gratifying to use stuff that I already have...

An old halter top from Vineyard Vines (that looked quite hideous on me) repurposed into a dapper tie sewn onto an American Apparel onesie for my cute little friend and newborn Theo...

washi tape is my new obsession by the way



above is a t-shirt that I made for Rowan a white back... Julia Rothman is the artist who designed this iron-on bow tie (check out this awesome book).  When we were in Portland with Roopal and Jonathan, they really dug his t-shirt... and so now...tah-dah!...  Jonathan and Rowan will be twins!  I enjoyed wrapping it (below) with some left over fabric and adding a simple but rockstar card.

 Above is a woven bracelet for my friend Roopal.  I tried adding silver beads and silver thread to a simple friendship bracelet stitch and so far it looks pretty good (although it was challenging to photograph).


Lastly, I am working on a wedding gift for Apu and Mary (see here for their adorable engagement photo).  I have only completed their heads... although I obsessed over it because I really wanted it to resemble them... and next I will add a mountain in the background since they were married near Mount Hood, OR.


our henna decorated hands!


Until next time... Happy Crafting!

xoxo Sonal

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Gold's Birthday!


What is better than a birthday? A double birthday, of course!


Yesterday while the birthday twins, Sonal and Sejal, were busy working at the hospital, Sonal's kids and I were busy bees, planning a sweet little surprise party for them.

We started the preparations with what else, but decorations!  Amiya made a whimsical paper bunting that read "Happy Birthday" that she fancied up with her signature rainbow swirls and polka dots.  Rowan, who is learning to write so fast, made signs for both Mom and Masi (that's what they call Sejal).  Balloons and tissue pom-poms completed the look!

Forever 21 was the perfect shop to get gifts, and the kids were able to pick out their own gifts (which they were psyched about) Kids love to shop when they are the ones with buying power!  Sonal got 2 beautiful bracelets and Sejal got a Wonder Woman t-shirt and some rockin' socks.  We wrapped them all up in tissues and recycled ribbons, and set them out.


Since no birthday is complete without CAKE, each birthday girl got her own cake, Sonal's was chocolate and strawberry, Sejal's was chocolate marshmallow. I think the birthday girls enjoyed the party as much as we enjoyed planning it :)
Cheers and Happy Sonal!
xoxo Melissa


Monday, August 13, 2012

Bit-O-Honey



I was so inspired by my one of my oldest and dearest friends Roopal and her adorable partner Jonathan while staying at their bungalow home in Portland, Oregon last weekend.  They have created a life together that exemplifies love, fun, adventure, mutual admiration and respect... it is so obvious to anyone in their presence.  When we were together I found myself thinking about how people find one another in life... about growing together and individually, and about living a life with a partner in a loving and harmonious way.

Jonathan builds steel frame bicycles in his garage workshop.  I checked a few of them out.  They are beautiful, sturdy and fully customized.  The attention to detail is apparent even to a novice like me.  I loved the cute personal touches that he added to Roopals bikes (see pictures 3 and 4 below).




Their adorable dog Arlo has been with them since the relationship's beginning over 10 years ago. The kids were so taken with him that they immediately requested a dog of their own!





Cheers!

Sonal 

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Seriously Scrumdiddleyuptious Cookies

Now, it's been said that the art of baking is an exact science...with precise measurments, process order etc. My mother is a number and science person, and a GREAT baker. However, I spent most of my life following my father around a kitchen, where he taught me to cook with my senses instead of recipes.  If you want to change something, you use your instincts and your tastebuds.  Needless to say, my creative impulses have ruined many a baked good in my day. Luckily, the only disaster with today's adventure in baking was how many calories I consumed! These cookies were awesome.

I took a standard recipe for chocolate chip cookies that I have used religiously for years and added to it with reckless abandon.  I put them into the oven and held my breath. 13 minutes later, I took out some seriously rockin' cookies (or as Sonal's kids would say"scrumdiddleyuptious").  The recipe takes about 25 minutes to make and yields about 40 cookies (though tonight half the dough was frozen for future baking!).

INGREDIENTS
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract (for nut-free households, you can use vanilla here)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups of chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup of shredded coconut



In a bowl on the side, mix all dry ingredients. In a kitchen mixer, beat the eggs, and butter  and extract together until they turn a creamy and airy texture. Add the dry ingredients while the mixer is turning, little by little until everything is evenly mixed. Spoon drop the cookies onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and put into a 350 degree oven for 10-13 minutes (when you notice they are lightly on the peaks, take them out!)

Enjoy and happy baking!
Cheers,
Melissa + Sonal

Monday, August 6, 2012

Adelle's Summery Art Party!


This past Saturday, as temperatures rose well into the 90's, Gold+Bee had the pleasure of helping out the family of  sweet little Adelle with her summer art party. The birthday girl was joined by 20 of her friends at Arsenal park, under the shady trees. There were tons of activities for the crowd to enjoy, including a built in sprinkler, playground, sidewalk chalk and jump ropes. The big activity of the day though, was the sand art station. Guests got to choose from 4 different bottle shapes, in which they created some seriously colorful art.





During the early planning stages for the party, Adelle's mom, Sally and I searched for the perfect art activity for the 3-5 age group, that was inexpensive, easy to manage and not too messy. The sand art project was the perfect fit!  By using an array of different size and shaped glass jars, we made the station look great too!


At the end of the party, each tiny guest took their sand art in a goody bag and stopped by the candy bar to fill up on penny candy treats before leaving. Thank you Sally for having Gold+Bee be a part of such a sweet and relaxing celebration!


Cheers and happy planning!!!
Melissa and Sonal

P.S...Do you have any fun and simple craft ideas that works well for the pre-school age group? If so, share them with us and our readers in the comment section below!