a place for all things pretty...

on monday, i shared some blinkin' love buttons that i'd found, in the spirit of valentine's day. today,  i was surfing for party ideas for ilaika's third birthday and i came across this absolutely lovely site: The TomKat Studio, a place for all things pretty.

kim, the blogger, has a serious passion for parties and designs really really pretty stuff. check out her valentine printables:

 

 

- even the names of her collections, sweet love & french kiss, shout out romance -

you may purchase these at her shop or check out her latest post on how to get these free*  ;)

*psst - it's as easy as 1-2-3....

1) click on the link to her blog

2) copy & paste her button to your blog

3) email her the link...

told ya it was simple! don't forget to indicate which collection you like. 

i had a hard time deciding cos they're both so cute 

but i went with sweet love 

so i can bake some of my sweet stuff munchies 

to give to my own valentine ;) 

ok - so i've done 1, 2 and 3 so now i just have to wait for her to reply. yay!

whilst you're at her blog and shop, also check out these great party/invite d-i-y ideas...

 

 

- yummy lollipop collection -

- vintage surf collection -

 

  

- little ladybug collection -

true to her tagline, her blog is really a place for all things pretty!

a lil revamp but it's still work in progress...

i couldn't sleep last night so i decided to toy around with this blog design, yet again...any thoughts on this?

 

* background by shabbyblogs. check it out. it's free!

i like the overall pink and brown theme with bits of greyish blue and greenish turquoise...am also loving the sweet scallops on the side. i forgot how to adjust the size of the header so i had to google it!  it's actually really simple and i'll share this how-to in a future post.

i'm still such an IT bimbo and there's so much to learn so it's still work in progress...please stick around...perhaps we could learn a thing or two from each other ;)

xxx
izreen

blinkin' love buttons...

 

- by shabby blogs -

with valentine's day just a few days away, i thought i'd share with you some lovely buttons and blinkies i found online. some are pretty and the others are just too darn cute ;) and best of all, they're free!

 

 - by shabby blogs -

- by the cutest blog on the block -

- by the cutest blog on the block -

- by the cutest blog on the block -

 

- by my style backgrounds (this is actually a header but it's too cute, i couldn't resist adding it) -

i also found this shabby love letters freebie on shabby blogs' blog by megan. i just LOVE old school typewriters...they're classic and to me, kinda poetic...this one especially has such a romantic vintage feel to it with the discoloured paper and its crumpled edges. and  the single red flower makes it perfect for a hopeless romantic like me ;)

you can use an editing software to add in a message or note on the paper but i just used powerpoint and added it to the sidebar on the right. i think i shall use this as a permanent feature of this blog...thank you, megan.

and in case i get too busy to blog this weekend, happy valentine's day to you, you and you...mwuahs ;x

xxx
izreen

ps - my dad had a similar typewriter when i was a kid. and i used to spend endless hours just playing around with it!

almost three going on thirty...

i first used a lilypie ticker when i was expecting ilaika. it was exciting to keep track of the pregnancy  and the lil quotes indicating development stages were fun to read. i remember eagerly looking forward to each weekly quote (or was it daily? i can't quite recall now...) and counting down to the day when our little angel would bless our lives. 

a few years on and i'm still using lilypie as a milestone of our daughter's life. however, it's been sometime since i actually took notice of it...until this morning, when i briefly glanced at it and realised how quickly the days and months have gone by...

my baby is 2 years, 11 months and a day old...which means she'll be three in less than a month!

- look at how "grown up" my baby looks here -

oh dear. 

oh dearie me indeed. i have less than a month to plan her birthday party. somehow, she's already talking about it and yet, i haven't gotten around to planning anything. so i thought...no problem - just choose a theme and then i can go about with the invites etc. as simple as that...

on the contrary, it was far from simple as i couldn't even come up with a theme. so i started putting together a list of things she loves which led to this post. here's some sharing on ilaika's recent and current obsessions...

- her picture phone...inherited when mummy dearest upgraded to the 3GS -

- her battered crocs -

* picture courtesy of sandra.

 

- dora...the "flavour of the day" changes between dora, princesses, hi-five, barney & hello kitty -

* picture courtesy of sandra.

- her daddy's xbox guitar...inherited when mummy bought daddy a logitech guitar for xmas -

* picture courtesy of sandra.

- her mini drum set...my musically inclined baby takes after daddy & also loves singing & dancing -

* picture courtesy of sandra.

- bubbles -

* picture courtesy of sandra.

 

- more bubbles! and of course, swimming in our lovely pool...or any pool for that matter -

* picture courtesy of sandra.

 - jungle gym -

- play-doh -

- biscuits & baking with mummy -

when i asked her what theme she wanted for her birthday, she said dora.

and then the day after that, it was princess.

and then fairies.

and then swimming.

and then dora-turns-princess-goes-swimming!

oh-em-gee...help...!

as i'm editing this post, i realise how very lucky we are to be a part of ilaika's life. of course at times, she may be a spoilt annoying monster and lil cheeky monkey but she's also a very good girl, who's loving, chirpy, hilarious and  smart. i'm proud of the milestones she has reached thus far and even though i think of her as my baby, there are times i forget that she's barely three...for she's very independent and just cannot stop talking...her nanny commented just the other day that ilaika's three going on 30 ;)

- her love for princesses, balloons & anything pink -