brunch in honor of Hillary

Last month I hosted a bridal shower for my friend Hillary who got married on February 5th.  It was an intimate affair that took place in my parents' living room which we converted into a little cafe.  We used nearly every dining room chair in their house and borrowed a couple of tables to make it work.

My mom sewed napkins to match the decor of the room and we used my grandmother's Irish linens as table coverings.  Flowers were simple arrangements in, what else, mason jars.  

Brunch was served at 11:30 to a crowd of twelve ladies plus Matt who was on the couch in another room with Ezra sleeping on his chest and my brother who woke up as our guests were leaving. 

More mason jars served as drinking glasses for water or orange juice.

Giada's chocolate chip biscotti

My mom's cranberry orange scones

My aunt's baked French toast with apples

Paula Deen's creamy hash brown casserole - definitely worth the calories.

The bride-to-be and matron of honor, one of the few photos of people at the shower!  I have a problem - I always forget to take pictures when the event starts so my photo collections are always big on details and lacking in the attendee department.  Thanks to my mom for snapping this shot.  Hillary & Dave are now married and happily using all their new appliances at their apartment in Massachusetts.  

happy weekend

(image via design*sponge)

Be still my beating heart.  Our beloved anthropologie opens today in Rhode Island.  It's only 2.8 miles from my house.  Six minutes away.  

Ezra and I are going as soon as he wakes up from his morning nap.  Who's with me?  If you can't join us, enjoy these posts from around the web this week - 

- DIY photobooth inspiration for your next party

- this week's healthy change

- the funniest baby shower I've seen

- a way to give back

- a sweet burger... or is it?

- what I'll serve for dessert at my next dinner party

- wordy wall art for your home

- a sweet party for a father-in-law

- everyone's favorite notebook introduces a journal for baby

- must try these asap

- I forgot about unicorns

- more fondue!  I know what I want for my birthday...

- dreaming of a map we can display to document our travels

Have a great weekend!

bon appetit

This looks like a great entertaining resource.  Anyone have it?

from Chronicle Books

my quilt for Ezra

I'm finally showing off a quilt that I made for my own child instead of quilts made for the children of friends.  Ezra's quilt is the only quilt I've ever made without using a pattern and since I finished it I've been delving into the world of pattern design.

I wanted the squares to be dispersed throughout the quilt starting from the bottom right corner and gradually fading up and out.  If I were to tackle this design again I would definitely concentrate the squares more in the corner because I think it just turned out uneven looking.

Ezra demonstrating the asymmetrical tonic neck reflex.

 Ezra demonstrating his adorable lopsided smile.

It was so weird to write 'mom' on the label instead of 'Tara Celeste' like I usually do.

And finally, Ezra demonstrating the incredible cuteness of his tiny baby feet.

one year

Hip hip hooray!  It's my one year blog anniversary, also known as a blogiversary, but Matt made fun of me when I said that the other night.  We'll stick with blog anniversary.  

To celebrate I'm giving away this pink polka dot garland (inspired by this one by the purl bee).  It's 15 inches long, perfect for adding some cheer to a craft room, nursery, or anywhere in the house!  One use I discovered while taking these shots - decorate the chair of your guest of honor at your next party!

There are three ways to enter the giveaway and you can do one, two, or all three to improve your chances of winning.  

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite thing about the  tiny hummingbird, or if you're new here, your favorite thing about another blog.  I'm looking for ways to improve my connection with readers!

2. Become a follower of the tiny hummingbird and tell me in a separate comment.  

3. Mention my giveaway on your blog, facebook page, or twitter and link back to this post to spread the word! Leave a separate comment with the link.

Best of luck to you all!

Giveaway Guidelines

- You have 4 days to enter this giveaway (closes Friday, February 25th at midnight)

- anonymous comments will be ignored so make sure I know who you are and how to contact you!

- the winner will be chosen randomly and announced in this post Monday, February 28th

- winner must respond within three days to secure the prize or an alternate winner will be randomly selected


The winner is Keri who said, "Happy Blogiversary!  The banner would look cute in AJ's room!"  Watch the mail, Keri, the banner is on its way to your sweet Amelia.  

Three Months!

Once again this is a super late post as Ezra is closer to being 4 months old than he is to being 3 months old.  Must improve photo to laptop transfer rate!

I must admit I'm already tired of doing the photo shoot in Ezra's room.  I thought I would like to see him in the same places each month so I can see how he's growing but it's so boring!  Blue chair, crib, orange storage cube... over and over again.  Next month we may venture into other parts of the house.  

As you can see he wasn't too excited on the morning these were taken.  I think I scheduled our shoot a little too close to wake up time.

I still like the shots next to his menagerie and I think I'll still do these each month.  It's funny to see him grow in comparison to the stuffed animals.  Happy Three Months, Ezra!

happy weekend

(image via Dine and Dish)

I already know what my favorite part about this upcoming weekend will be... doughboys for breakfast tomorrow morning!  Plate-sized dough rounds covered in sugar.  I can't think of a better breakfast food.  Granulated or powdered sugar, with cinnamon or without - what's your preference?

And now for the link love.

- these prints would look great in a nursery

- it's been circulating for weeks, but I love this cake

- yet another garland. I love them so.

- the prettiest cupcake liners

- bring the barn indoors with this sliding door tutorial

- note to self: throw a cake and cute shoes party

- a quilt with gnomes!

- I'm loving Liz's chalkboard calendar

- yummy... a fondue party
- a sweet twist on everyone's favorite party cake, funfetti
- a stylish alternative to the white dry erase board
- and finally, find out what was happening right before my water broke


happy weekend!

how to make sugar cookies & a mess

A visual guide to making sugar cookies - 

Thanks to Brooke for the recipe.

with love from the Walachs

Ezra has quilts coming out of his ears which is a very good thing for this mom who loves all things quilted.

My teacher Lorraine made this quilt for Ez out of Alexander Henry's 2D Zoo, which you may remember from the quilt I made for my nephew Jacob.  I'm so excited that Ezra has some of the bright zoo animal goodness as this is one of my favorite fabrics for boys!

Lorraine added a polka dot label to coordinate with the backing.

I love the dotted circles Lorraine chose to complement the 2D Zoo, and the bright blue binding is a great accent.  Ezra says thanks, Lorraine!

love & cookies

Last week I hosted a lingerie shower for a friend who was getting married.  We snacked on spicy Maya brownies and Brooke's sugar cookies.

No photos of the lingerie to protect the innocent, so feast your eyes on the edible goodies instead.

I'm wishing I had some of these treats left over right about now.  I think I'll go make some cake batter cookies to satisfy my sweet tooth.

l-o-v-e

(image source unknown)

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope you spend it with the one you love.  {xoxo}