summer party

We decided to throw a party to celebrate the hot summer days with a menu consisting of all cold bites and chilly treats.  The cold food concept was based on a friend's idea a few years back.  Guests brought different cold appetizers, salads, fruit and vegetable dishes.  We made homemade roasted peach caramel popsicles (using Fat Toad Farm's incredible caramel) and ice cream Biscoff truffles--well, sort of homemade.  The recipes will be posted shortly.  Our last chilly treats of the afternoon were a trio of pints of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams--Brambleberry Crisp, Goat Cheese with Red Cherries and The Milkiest Chocolate in the World.  All of them were pretty amazing.

We had salt water taffy by Salty Road for guests to enjoy and take home as favors because salt water taffy is such the quintessential summer treat.  Salty Road's flavors were beautiful with a crunchy salt finish--salty caramel apple, peppermint, bergamot, sea salt caramel and vanilla.

These garlands from The Land of Nod added a colorful and festive note and Minted's cake stand and Little Explorer party decor were lovely finishing touches to the party.  Everything was easy to put together and assemble.  The wooden spoons were from Fort and Field.

Thanks to The Land of Nod for providing garlands, to Minted for providing party decor and to Salty Road for sending us taffy to make our summer celebration complete.  It wouldn't have been a summer-y party without all of you!  Thanks everyone, for bringing delicious cold bites to share and for making it a wonderful party!

This event is the second in our Noshing with Friends series.  Check out the first, a honey and cheese party, here.

wee alphas

Wee Alphas is an interactive learning iPad app for children and their parents who appreciate good design and opportunities for practicing letter recognition and naming.  It introduces a group of memorable animal friends and hidden letters that can be found in each scene.  We love the playful animation and special surprises each animal has in store.  At the end, there's an opportunity to practice writing your special letter.  This is definitely one good-looking and engaging app that every parent of a toddler or preschooler should own!  Wee Society thinks so, too, because Wee Alphas is free to download  in the iTunes App Store from August 2-8 to celebrate their first birthday!  Thank you, Wee Society and happy birthday!!!  Be sure to hop over to Wee Society's website to download instructions for their new DIY Wee Wishing Crowns and while you're there, take a look at the other beautiful things they make in their online shop: prints for your wall, blocks and another fun iPad app.

popville

Popville was one of Avery's gifts this past Christmas.  From the minute I opened it, I was intrigued by its clever and modern design and execution and knew that Avery would be, too.  It is a pop-up book that shows how a small town evolves from a solitary farmhouse to a bustling, urban city complete with towering power lines.  Popville is Anouck Boisrobert and Louis Rigaud's first book and you can find more information about a more recent book of theirs, Tip Tap, on their publisher's site, Helium Editions, or on Fine Fine Books.  You can see their newest book, Océano, in action here.