And this is me

just saying a blurry hello to all of my Darlybird friends. HELLO! (I think I need a few wispy bangs?)

And this is her . . .

two seconds after the first picture (below. I always forget to post in reverse chronology, so get used to it!) She's throwing a fit because she doesn't want to wear the darling dress to our dinner party. I wish I could fit it!

This is the dress

that I made out of a vintage twin-sized sheet. (I bought it at a thrift store last weekend . . . let's not think about the person who slept on it years ago.) So I didn't have a pattern, and I only had an hour, but I had an idea. And I wanted to do the minimal amount of work possible. Ladies, if you believe it, you can achieve it!! Isn't she so cute in this lovely little number? If you're interested in instructions, I might be able to explain them. But really, it's so easy!

Fabric Art

Not like this is some revolutionary idea, but I just thought I'd show one of my favorite new home decor items. I actually have many fabric-covered canvases throughout my house; this is just the newest addition to the collection. I have an immense love for color (if you didn't already know) and pattern, too. This Amy Butler fabric is one of my faves. I really didn't know what I wanted to do for my vast green wall----it has had just a weird/cool clear-red acrylic clock on it for 1.5 years. And a few weekends ago, I crossed the street, borrowed a staple gun from some neighbors, and went to work. Fifteen minutes later, my wall was transormed. Now, every time I look at it, I'm thrilled. (I never know what time it is anymore, but hey---what's time anyway, right?)

Scale is pretty huge: It's probably in the 25-40" range.

Darlybird Giveaway

Yep, I'm doing another Darlybird giveaway! This time it's on the new cool-mom/cool-kid inspired blog, Tangled and True: Life in the Nest

Just enter a comment, and you could win Clementine, Rings Dining Set, and Vintage Bluette Bobby!

Oh yeah, and if you make an order between now and the end of May, just enter "I want a bobby" (I always accidentally type "I want a booby" instead! YIKES!) or "I want a tag" and you'll get a free bobby/booby or a tag in your package!

And would someone please tell me how to take the darn underline off of my links! I used to be able to do it, but I've lost my touch and I think the underline looks gross.

Good luck!!

Here's one hot Righteous Mama in Darlyaccessories:

Orange Florita Bonita Earrings


Orange Vintage Bakelite Disk Ring

Yummy Corn Salad

Usher in summer prematurely with one of my favorite (and most simple) salads:

Frozen corn
Fresh tomatoes
Purple Onion
Fresh Basil
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Place frozen corn (you decide the amount depending on the number of people you're serving) in a colander. Run warm water over corn for about a minute, or until corn is no longer frozen. The corn is not supposed to be hot---or even warm for that matter. Chop tomatoes into large chunks. Garden fresh are best; I never make this salad in the winter because tomatoes aren't tomatoes in the winter. Slice purple onion into very thin strips---not too much or the flavor will overwhelm. Julienne several large basil leaves. Mix everything together and add about 3 TBS balsamic vinegar (totally a guess---I just kind of splash it in) and about 1 TBS olive oil. Sprinkle on kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve with a crusty loaf of bread, or a yummy pizza, or basically anything. Sometimes this is our main-ish dish, alongside a delicioso fruit salad.

Pleased as Punch to Present . . .

These amazing pillows (and a few others) are making their way onto the Darlybird scene. Just ask me how lovely they are! Their awesomeness makes me almost hyperventilate. Yep, I'm a spazz.

Products in Action!

Amazonite Briolette Drops



Amazing Flip Hook


And, last but not least, Calv-o in his Oceans. Definitely a trend-setting toddler!


****Lovely Phoebe from Portland sent in these pictures of her Darlyloot in action. (She's definitely made the frequent shoppers club, especially since she had a lot of earrings to choose from for this first photo!) Thanks, Ph!!

Technical difficulties erased this from the prior post. So here it is!

Speaking of Birthday Parties . . .

This was the invite (scanned, so it's a bit rough with weird lines, etc ...) to Leah's 4th birthday carnival party. It was slightly over the top for a four-year old in my opinion, but I just didn't know where to stop, and I wanted it to be super fun for her. We had a BBQ for parents and kids, booths with tons of prizes, our trampoline was a stand-in bounce house, we rented an industrial sno-cone machine, had a huge roll of tickets that the kids used to buy food and play the games. I lucked out and hit Target's 75% off of the $1 aisle right before the party and scored lots of great prizes for $.25 each. Their prizes were their favors that they took home in these awesomely random IKEA bright plastic ziploc-but-cooler plastic bags. There were other random details, like the apron I borrowed from a friend's mom that had a ton of pockets sewn on, with prizes in each pocket. Kids could hand me a ticket (I was the ring-master, of course) and they could reach in and pick out a prize. All-in-all it was a great success, but now I'm left with one big fat question: WHAT AM I GOING TO DO THIS YEAR? Oh well, at least I know what favor I'm giving.

What Am I Going to Use These For?

This cute set of 4 Lizzy Flowers little books are going to be separated and used at Leah's Birthday Party as favors (for the girls). It's a little bit genius because the set is only $7.00, so that equals $1.75/book. A little more about them: 44 pages, 2 title page stickers per book---8 total per set, saying, "The Little Book of ____________ BY _______________." One side of each page is blank for illustrations, while the other side is lined for the story. Add a cute pen or a cheap-o set of colored pencils and you've got a high-quality, educational, and sassy party favor. There are also Japanese Flowers little books. Delightful, if you ask me!

P.S. The label seen on the first book is just a little paper tag. The books do not have any writing on the covers . . . just the beautiful prints.

R&D

Today's project: Jadite faceted glass beads with vintage-y cameo set in sterling-plated bezel. Arriving on Darlybird soon. Thanks be to Emily who found me this amazing blouse for .50 at the ghetto thrift store this weekend. It screams my name and I am forever indebted.

As Seen In . . .

*The new issue (May/June) of Blueprint Magazine features a Darlybird ad in the Marketplace section. Although I had to pay for this press, it's still pretty exciting. And an issue was sent to my home on Friday so I could see it in print and the new mag is filled with fabulous ideas, recipes, pictures. I love it!

*Figure Magazine approached me because they wanted to feature the Vintage Ethel Ring in one of their "What's Hot For Spring" photo shoots. I FedExed the ring a few months ago, and now---Voila!---Figure (a magazine for full-figured women) arrived in my mailbox this morning. Kind of cool to see the Vintage Ethel in a professional photo shoot. (FYI: She looks better in real life!)

A Few Recipes

Frozen Key Lime Pie

This recipe from Ina Garten is the perfect ending to the Panzanella. Sweet, yet very tart, it has the freshest taste on the planet and man, oh man, I love it! Click on title for link to recipe on Ina's site.

Panzanella
via Barefoot Contessa PARTIES!
3 TBS olive oil
1 small French bread, cut into 1-inch pieces (~6 cups)
1 tsp kosher salt
2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and diced 1/2 inch thick
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1" cubes
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1" cubes
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
3 TBS capers, drained (optional)

Vinaigrette
1 tsp finely minced garlic
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
3 TBS vinegar
1/2 c olive oil (I use lots less, and generally add more vinegar!)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the ingredients.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cukes, peppers, onion, basil and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.

This salad is truly delish. And unusual. And fresh. And pretty healthy.

Leah Loves Clementine!

Estie with Bubbles the Mini Kitty

Introducing Darlyblog

Darlyblog's Purpose:

*Introduce favorite lovely new products from the Darlybird collection.
*Live the Darlylife: share recipes, party ideas, home fun, kid stuff.
*Showcase Darlypeople, i.e. photos of kids with their Darlybird products, lovely ladies with Darlybird accessories, food on Darlybird platters . . . you get the picture. And I hope you take the pictures because that part's gonna be up to you.

Darlyblog is going to start very small. Who knows if it will ever be anything but small. There will be occasional Darlybird giveaways. Totally random. Totally awesome.