Friday, October 23, 2009

Fiesta Friday- Fast Times




Last month my girl Christy had a totally tubular birthday roller skating party. Talk about a blast from the past! I had not been in a roller rink since high school (for a "retro" roller skating party) and I was rushed back like Martie McFly to Izod shirts, Vanderbilt jeans, grosgrain ribbon belts and penny loafers! Wow. The look of the concession stand, the smell of the old carpet, the sound of wheels on the rink, the hokey pokey totally brought me back. The only difference was this time, the keeper of the skates asked "roller or inline?" I suppose not many kids use roller skates anymore, because they were, like, practically brand new! I was totally relieved because I was not at all interested in putting my foot in some nasty 30 year-old skates. Gag me with a spoon!


We had soooo much fun. I wasn't brave enough to get on the rink, actually I was smart enough to stay off the rink. Note the picture of Diane in the middle-- she started with roller skates, but quickly figured out that she was safest on inlines. I wonder if in roller skating you are liable for pile-ups that you have caused accidentally like in snow skiing. Anyway, back to the party...

I was amazed at the number of wicked partiers who took to the wood like they slept with skates on. Then there was one poor guy who could barely stand up and kept falling over and over and over again. But, the dude was determined to "shake it all about!"


I helped Christy out by making the invitations and party favors. I looked all over for some roller skating party invitation ideas, but came up without a one. So, I found a photo of some rollers skates online and used that as a template to make a pattern. I added some legwarmers with different neon papers and a cute pom. I probably would have gone with a bigger one, but the invitation still had to fit into the padded envelope. Remember the giant poms that had a jingle bell in them? Those were totally kickin'.

We saved money by using some of my decorations from my 80s prom party. We created a photo booth with balloons and mylar curtains from the party. (Note to self, blog about 80s prom party.)


Christy wanted to give out a party cd with rad tunes to all her guests, so the hubster made them for her and used a scan of the invite for the cd sleeve. I was super excited to find these pencil pouches at Target in tubular colors and knew I had to have them for the cds. Then, I saw the pencils and the candy and before I knew it, we had wicked party favors!


The roller rink referee/dj played the greatest big hair and new wave hits and everyone looked so fine in their 80s gear. It was a regular Breakfast Club: the prep, the stud, the valley girl, the Square Pegs and the Jersey girl (direct from New Jersey in all her rad Lita Fordness!) I put together an outfit complete with slouchy black suede-ish ankle boots, white leather studded belt, black legwarmers and fingerless lace gloves. I bought everything but the lace gloves, not in a thrift store, but at Target, on the shelf, brand new in 2009. That's scary. I also found some really cute Betsey Johnson jewelry and narrowed the choices down to the animal print cross necklace and animal print heart and bow dangle earrings. I had a pair of earrings very similar to those when I was in jr. high.

It was a laaaate night, well past curfew, but Christy pumped us up with Mountain Dew, Capri Sun, Fruit Rollups, Sushi (calling Molly Ringwald!), giant pickles in a jar (a la roller rink concession) and tons of delicious candy and snack cakes! I personally enjoyed a PB&J Uncrustable, a pickle, some California rolls, Capri Sun, a Mountain Dew and some Pop Rocks. Let's just say I ate like a bird the next day!


Happy 35th, Christy! You're like totally rad and 2 cute 2 be 4 gotten! LYLAS!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

The Good Chocolate



Brought to you by my daily indulgence of Dove Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate Promises.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Pretty in Pink Tops

Remember my post about shopping smart when you buy pink products? Well, I thought I would share a couple really cute ones that really do make a difference.




This top is just adorable. I saw this one live in person at an Ann Taylor store and almost got it, but I was on a timely mission to find an outfit for a gala at the eleventh hour. Isn’t it cute? The price is a bit high at $50, but 70% of it goes to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I think if you’re going to buy a pink top, buy this one and know that you just donated $35 to fight breast cancer!



On the other hand, Lacoste also has some awesome pink items, but these only offer 10% of your donation to BCRF. Still, they are super cute. Just consider that this pink croc polo, while totally awesome, is $85. That means only $8.50 of your purchase goes to breast cancer research. But, how cute would this be with jeans, flats and a string of pearls?

So, frilly and girly or classic and sporty? I think they’re both fabulous and are dying to be in my closet!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Silly Bee's Chickadees is Fab!




Exciting news! I have been featured in Fabulous Friday on the cutie patootie blog, The Fabulous Finds! Fabulous Friday highlights one or two female entrepreneurs and this week it's me!



In honor of the awesomosity of the occasion, I am also having a Sweet Spoonful (the very one in the picture above) giveaway on TFF! Just scoot on over to Heather's blog and follow her giveaway rules:

Add the TFF button widget to your blog.
Leave a comment on today's Fabulous Friday post and list any of the following that you have done to share the love and you will get extra entries:

1. Sign up as a subscriber. (2 entries)
2. Become a Fab Friend. (2 entries)
3. Purchase something from Silly Bee's Chickadees (10 entries) (my personal favorite)
4. Spread the word (8 entries)

Please keep Silly Bee's Chickadees in mind the next time you need a little pressie.  Remember, Christmas is just around the corner!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The Good Chocolate



So. There is a candy basket that sits on the corner of my officle (that's an office cubicle) and it's a free-for-all. Everyone in our department pitches in and we provide the yummies for the entire building. Generally, we fill it up with Kiddie Mix and keep the "good chocolate" for ourselves. Lucky for me, I am the gate keeper and key master of the good chocolate. It lives in the bottom of my 2-drawer file. As you can imagine, it takes every ounce of will to keep me from dipping my fingers in there every 2 minutes. But, I do allow myself one piece of Dove Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate Promises a day. They are heavenly. Since I can't send it to you over the internet like Willie Wonka, I thought I would share some Promises Messages with you. Most of them are really nice, though every now and then, they sneak in something a la Christmas Story's "drink more Ovaltine".  I'll weed those out and share the "good chocolate".

Anyhoo, don't forget to steal 5 minutes for yourself and have a chickadee day!

Monday, October 12, 2009

More Masquerade Madness!

Fun news! I got 2 free tickets to a masquerade ball benefit for a nonprofit arts organization that works with young people called The Museum of Cultural Arts Houston (MOCAH). It's really an awesome group. They do amazing work with kids in the community. I worked with them on a project a couple years ago and have really grown to appreciate what they do for Houston.

Back to the ball...We haven't dressed up for a costume party in years! So, I'm pretty excited about this one. I decided to do a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) theme which is a holiday in Mexico celebrated on the 1st and 2nd of November, coinciding with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. I thought it would be a fun way to honor my culture and create a couple really cool costumes. So, that means it's mask time again! Sooooo fun!

This is what Dia de los Muertos folk art looks like. It's generally very colorful with flowers and skulls and sometimes butterflies and birds. I think they are rather beautiful:






Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Blog, you look marvelous!

Updating your wardrobe from summer to fall? Dressing your home for autumn? Don’t leave your blog out! There’s nothing sadder than an Easter blog design in the middle of October! OK, there are plenty of sadder things, but when you are reading blogs and come across a poorly dressed one, well it’s just sad.

I’m always on the lookout for cute free blog designs and I’ve spent hours scouring the web. There are thousands of layout sites, but most have no alibi. They’re U-G-L-Y. A lot of them have freaky “fantasy art” or “fan art” or whatever. Some of them even have yucky site names and I certainly don't want to advertise them! So, I thought I would share the cutiest design sites so you don’t have to go digging around for them. Most of these designers also do custom work at very reasonable prices, so when you are ready for your very own look, give them a try!

Here are my faves in no particular order. Have fun with your blog makeover and share a link with us so we can see your new duds.












P.S. If you would like a personalized blog title banner or some sidebar title art, just let me know and I can whip something up for you for just a few beans.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Godiva Love




I LOVE Godiva. I love the chocolate, the stores, the little boxes, the chocolate dipped strawberries in the window. I even love the cute little old lady at The Galleria store who can't run the register. I love her not only because she has the sweetest voice, but also because she signed me up for my new Godiva Rewards card!




If you like chocolate and haven't signed up for the Godiva Rewards card, you are missing out! It's awesome! All you have to do is sign up. There is no fee and there are no purchase obligations to get FREE chocolate! Once you are a rewards member, you can walk in to any Godiva store and get a free piece of chocolaty velvety goodness once a month. Since I only go to The Galleria about once a month, that means that I get to reward myself for finding rock star mall parking each time I go! You too can delight in your own little piece of heaven. Just click on the ad above to sign up.



Did you know that Godiva has recipes on its website? They have recipes for everything from drinks and cheesecakes to breads and ice cream! Click on the scrumptious picture above (Chocolate Ciao Cake) to go directly to their recipe book.



My favorite Godiva goody is the original dark chocolate truffle rolled in cocoa powder but lately I've been on a dark chocolate coconut macaroon kick. I just can't resist those chocolate capped mounds! What's your favorite?

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Shop Smart When You Shop Pink!


October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's an important time to stop and consider the effects of breast cancer on families and how we can all support those affected by it. My life has been touched by many amazing women afflicted with breast cancer. Many are survivors-- others fought bravely until their passing. I honor those who have battled breast cancer and pray that researchers will soon find a cure.  I'm sure you do, too, because my chickadees are good people!

October is also, unofficially, Pink Month! Pink ribbon gifts are everywhere, so when you're buying, make sure the vendor is actually supporting a major breast cancer nonprofit organization. Lots of companies capitalize on the pink ribbon craze and sell pink stuff claiming to support breast cancer research when they really don't. Your best defense against these meanies is to buy products directly from nonprofit organizations who are committed to fighting breast cancer such as Komen and American Cancer Society.

Now, THIS is an awesome find!
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation has a listing of companies like Sephora and Ann Taylor who sell pink items or have pink promotions and shows how much of their proceeds are actually donated to BCRF.  Their Shop Pink Guilt-Free Shopping list is divided into categories like beauty and electronics and also includes web links so you can find the products online or in storesClick on the catalog cover below to see the list. Think smart when you think pink!