More Baby Shower Crafts!

On Saturday, I was lucky enough to be a part of Jennifer Shrier’s Baby Shower! I volunteered to make the favors, and we decided on making a CD. The theme of the baby shower was a Mama Bird/Baby Bird, “nesting” theme, so all of the tracks on the CD had to do with birds in some way. Here’s a few shots of how the favors turned out:


As usual, I also knew I wanted to make a diaper cake. Ever since I found out Jen was pregnant, I knew I wanted to buy her these kitty Mary Janes for the top of her cake! This is how it turned out:

Close-up of the shoes (available in grownup sizes, too!)

And of course, the amazing Joni Newman made the cake and the cupcakes. This was her first time using fondant, and I think she did an outstanding job! Joni can do anything she puts her mind to, and I am very proud to know her! Here’s a shot of her cake and cupcakes – all vegan and delicious!

Overall, it was a fantastic day. We all even got to make our own onesies at the shower! Our host Elizabeth Arzate had the great idea and she rounded up tons of fabric swatches, felt, stamps, paints, and ribbon for us all to make our own creation.

I stuck with my kitty theme:

And here are a bunch of others!

Our hostess with the mostess Elizabeth, along with the Mommy-to-be-Jennifer!

Congrats to Jen & Laurence – we love you guys & know you will be amazing parents!

Sunday Funday with the 4Foodies

This post is a little belated, but word on the street is that we’ve got a few readers asking why we haven’t been posting any of our culinary adventures lately. Well, the truth is, we’ve been busy – and kinda broke! But whenever we get together with our friends Brittany & Wade, we become the 4Foodies, and we always end up with a crazy food-related day! We spent the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend bouncing from one food quest to another!

crabpot This picture accurately depicts our happiness in discovering that The Crab Pot features $3 mimosas and bloody mary’s from 11-4 every Saturday & Sunday! We can’t recommend sitting out on that sunny, scenic patio and sipping cheap beverages enough! (By the way, The Crab Pot is fully endorsed by Ed, who says it is probably his favorite restaurant in Long Beach. He can’t get enough of “The Feast”) We sampled a crab cocktail, and it was alright – but those $3 drinks induced a huge craving for something else. So, after we’d had our fill of champagne and crab, it was off to the next location that offered something with Brittany & Wade’s “HIGH CRAVEABILITY RATING” …. “THE SPECIAL” at Joe Jost’s!

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Apologies for the dark iPhone photo, but The Special is a hot dog that’s split down the middle with a pickle in it, resting in a cozy bed of rye bread, cheese and mustard. Brittany says YUM!

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Even more legendary than The Special, Ed and Wade are showing off Joe’s famous pickled eggs! Apparently, you gotta get an egg when you go to Joe Jost’s. Wade insists for a good pickled egg experience, you must chase your bite with a peperoncini. So, I even tried one – and as I represent the “sometimes-finicky” segment of the 4Foodies team, I have to admit that after getting over the initial shock value, they weren’t as bad as they sounded! :)

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Amongst all the drinks, specials and eggs, we decided nothing could be more fun than to rent a Duffy boat and cruise around Naples for an hour.  So we gathered two more couples and hit the open sea! We had lots of yummy wine and our favorite pita and hummus from the best Farmer’s Market ever – the Long Beach Southeast Farmer’s Market at the Long Beach Marina, that we scored earlier that day. This is why we live in Southern California!

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Man Overboard! Wade couldn’t contain himself – he had to jump in.

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An awesome 70’s style silhouette pic of Ed & I – so cheesy!

After our escapade on the boat, we went back home to prepare for dinner! Wade swears by “the fish guy” at the Farmer’s Market – and he always scores amazing seafood from him. You see him cut it right in front of you! He’s always got fresh, sushi-grade fish, and Wade always ends up with a masterpiece! He bought swordfish and he made homemade pesto and pasta to go along with it – so there was much to prepare! Wish we would’ve gotten some pics of Wade’s fantastic dinner – but we’ll have to take more next time. Consider it a reason to come back and check up on us!

The verdict is in – and Labor Day Weekend, although gluttonous, was the best ever!

Discovery Science Center with Ethan and Mikayla

After our wonderful museum day with Kendall and Jordan, it was time to spend some quality time with Mikayla and Ethan. After an evening with 102 Dalmatians, we started off the day in much the same way as the prior night with Kendall and Jordan…no Facey kids’ weekend at our house is complete without some Guitar Hero! Here’s Mikayla rockin’ out.

Ethan learned how much Sophia loves to be treated gently! Look at her paws – that’s her way of saying, “I really like you!”

So then it was off to the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana. We took Kendall and Jordan here a couple years back and now that Mikayla and Ethan are a little older, we thought they’d enjoy it too! This kids’ museum is full of all kinds of neat interactive exhibits that are both entertaining and educational.

Some highlights:


Ed and the kids at the pin wall; you push yourself into the pins from behind and a three dimensional image forms from behind!


Here, Ethan learns how tornadoes work!


A lesson in water erosion!


Ever wonder what it feels like to be in a hurricane? Step inside!


Mikayla LOVED the rock wall! She did it at least five times.


Carrie reminds us that only YOU can prevent forest fires.


Just before the “4D” movie about sea turtles and being respectful to the environment.


Mikayla and Ethan both got to make “jitterbug” robots!


“Camping” in the Discovery Science Center!


Mikayla the Zamboni driver!


Afterwards, it being the warm day it was, we had to finish it all off by introducing the kids to Golden Spoon!

What a great day we had! Check out even more pics by clicking below.

We miss you, Facey kids!

Mikayla and Ethan visit – August 2009