Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Virtual Bake Sale!




For all of you who love homemade bake goods, the Team EEAT (Etsy's Edible Arts Team) is having a virtual bake sale in the Etsy labs tomorrow, October 1st at 8 pm Eastern Time.
Come meet the fabulous bakers of Etsy and see all their luscious treats! Many will be offering great discounts and free give-away items!

I will be offering 15% off my baked goods! Come check it out!

Prints from Corid



I love these unusual prints on vintage paper from Corid! I would buy her whole shop if I could!

Friday, September 26, 2008

More Treasuries!


I never thought I could love a little collage of pictures so much, but I LOVE the Etsy treasuries. It's so fun to look through them and see so many talented artists featured. Plus, I love the color combinations and the original theme of each treasury.

It's also really fun and exciting when someone features you in their treasury.

Yesterday, Peanutbutter and Ella featured me in one of her treasuries - thanks Peanut!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The Pebble Collection



I love the fun, girly jewelry from The Pebble Collection! The pictures above are two of my favorites, but be sure to check out the entire collection!

Treasury Love!



I stumbled upon two Etsy Treasuries yesterday featuring my baked goods! The first Treasury pictured here was even featured on Etsy's front page last night around 7:30 pm. So exciting!!
Thanks to the curators for featuring me in your beautiful Treasuries!

Also, thanks to the Etsy Edible Arts Team for featuring my shop on their blog

Monday, September 22, 2008

Here Comes the Bride




I love flowers and in my spare time I do a little flower arranging for weddings. I am not a seasoned professional by any means, but I really enjoy it. This weekend I did a few bouquets and arrangements for a wedding. The couple was really sweet and their wedding was beautiful. These are just a few of the first photos. I hope to post more in a few days!

*Photography provided by Gresham Photography

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Rick and Bubba, Rick and Bubba



If you aren't familiar with the "Two Sexiest Fat Men Alive" (also known as Rick and Bubba) you are missing out! My carpool buddy, Whitney, and I listen to their morning radio show on our long commute to work everyday. I honestly don't know if we could survive the commute without them!

Lucky for us, their show is taped right here in Birmingham! Friday we took a day off work to visit them. We had a great time watching them in action (even if it was through double-paned glass)!
You can hear their show on radio stations all over the country, so find them in your area and start listening! You can check out their website here

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Organic Lemon Pound Cake with Citrus Lemon Glaze




My newest pound cake addition to my Etsy Shop. If you love lemon desserts this is the cake for you!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Dali Decals



I stumbled upon these decals a few weeks ago from Dali Decals and I am in love with them!!! What a great idea! I can't wait to order one!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Organic Chocolate Pound Cake





My newest addition to my Etsy shop is this luscious chocolate pound cake!
Everyone who tries this cakes asks "how do you make it so moist?" I can't give away my secrets, but I can tell you that if you love chocolate (and who doesn't), you won't be disappointed by this delicious cake!


Sunday, September 14, 2008

Valentina Design




Bright and modern, a print from Valentina Design is sure to brighten up any room in your house! I can't wait to give these as gifts this holiday season!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Little Brown Pen



It's still pretty warm here in Alabama, but Fall is just around the corner! The adorable new stationary templates from Little Brown Pen will make you wish it was here sooner! At only $4 per template, Little Brown Pen makes it affordable to always have the cutest stationary right on hand. And don't forget to check her Etsy Shop often, as she is constantly creating new, mod designs!


*Thanks to Pfeiffer Photos for mentioning me on their blog - you can check it out at http://pfeifferphotos.blogspot.com/2008/09/blogging-low-cost-high-return-business_10.html

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

PAPER + FABRIC


Another day, another great Etsy find! These cute cards are from Lockette and are made by fusing fabric to paper. She has so many unique designs, but my personal favorites are the "Boo Yah" Halloween Stationary Set (I love Halloween!) and the "Round" Stationary Set.

*Also, thanks to Little Brown Pen for mentioning me on her blog! You can check out the post here: Forget Flowers

Monday, September 8, 2008

Studio Mela



I love being apart of Etsy! I have found so many talented artists and so many things that I can't wait to purchase. A few weeks ago I found a great Etsy shop with adorable art! I purchased "Sweet Security" and "My Little Family" (pictures above). They arrived last week and I can't wait to frame and hang them in my house! You can purchase these and other great pieces
She also has a great blog. Check it out! Studio Mela

Sunday, September 7, 2008

WAR EAGLE!!!






I LOVE LOVE LOVE football season! Is it weird that a girl who loves to bake, shop and read celebrity gossip magazines also likes football more than some men do? Unless you like football too, you should stay away from our house during football season because it dominates our lives (and our television) 24/7 ! I do make a few exceptions, regarding the television, for The Hills and Gray's Anatomy. Although, I usually end up watching them on the Internet after they've aired because they usually interfere with a football game.

Our football schedule for this week:

Friday 9/5 Sylacauga High School vs Wilcox County (my husband coaches for Sylacauga so I try to be at every game. We won 41-20! Go Aggies!

Saturday 9/6 Auburn vs Southern Mississippi (pictures above) - although we both graduated from University of Alabama at Birmingham, we are both Auburn fans!!! We had a great time at the game yesterday. It was hot and we are sunburned, but that's a small price to play for a good win! Final Score 27-13! WAR EAGLE!

Sunday 9/7 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New Orleans Saints. I am watching this game on TV, as I blog (I grew up in Tampa Bay and I am a HUGE fan)! Currently the score is 10-7 Tampa!

Tuesday 9/9 - Nichols Lawson Middle School vs Childersburg (My husband also coaches the middle school football team in Sylacauga)

Did you think I was kidding about football 24/7?? :) With all the football excitement this weekend, I didn't have much time to bake! But it was a great weekend!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

What's In A Name?

For as long as I can remember my parents have called me "bean." I'm not sure how old I was when the nickname started. I must have been pretty young because I have very few memories of being called by my first name, unless we were having a serious discussion (probably because I did something I shouldn't have). By the way, my first name is Alima. Pronounced Aleema. You can probably see why "bean" was an obvious nickname. The spelling leads a lot of people to pronounce my name A-LIMA, like the bean. So Lima-bean became Leema-bean, Leemie-Bean and then, most commonly, just bean.

I am almost 27 years old now and my parents, along with quite a few other relatives still call me bean. A little silly, I know, but it just stuck and it seems there's no stopping it! It used to bother me when I was a kid because I felt embarrassed in front of my friends by my silly nickname. Looking back now, I see that all kids are embarrassed by their parents, nickname or not!

Turns out my family members aren't the only ones who love nicknames! Before my husband and I even dated 2 weeks he had already given me my first nickname. 7 years later, we could fill a large book with all the nicknames he's given me over the years - each one with their own little story on how they originated! The current nickname is "nugget" in case you are curious :)

When I started my bake shop I pondered on the name for several weeks. Naturally, my husband suggested I use one of my nicknames. I wasn't sold on that idea until he mentioned "vanilla bean." I immediately loved it! Vanilla is delicious, everyone loves it and I use it in almost everything I bake. The fact that vanilla comes from a vanilla bean, which allowed me to incorporate my nickname, was just too good to be true!

And that was it - Vanilla Bean was born!