More Birthday Celebrations!!

This week is my sweet Husband, father, and father-inlaw's birthday!! Yup, the boys!! So we decided to celebrate on Sunday!! We went to El Puerto for dinner, they have the best selection of meats ever!! The atmosphere is very bright and festive too!! You can find this great restaurant in Historic Ybor City. After dinner we headed back to our place for some homemade birthday cake!! Yup, I made another one. No complaints either ~;o) We had a fantastic day celebrating with family!! Happy Birthday to my sweetheart Emmanuel!! And happy birthday to my wonderful father and father-in-law!!

LOVE how this came out!!

You can find this cute little clown HERE.

Hope you all are having a fabulous week so far!! Cheerio for now ~;o)

a simple cotton tote.....

.....so I tried my hand at making something new today, this was my first handmade tote. I had a lot of fun sewing this, I was going for a shabby/cottage style.....what do you think?

Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people. ~Colossians 3:23 (ISV)

Curly Ribbon Cake Picks

Spruce up a plain cake with Curly Ribbon Cake Picks!! These are so easy to make and can be done in any color combination to match your party theme ~;o) All you need are twisties, curly ribbon and a pair of scissors....thats right just 3 items!! My kind of project, fast and simple ~;o)

Just cut your ribbon to desired length, curl each color on each side, place the twisty in the center of the curled ribbon and twist tightly into a straight line, all the way down....and tada!!! You have your sweet little cake embellishments!! Then just push them into the desired spot on your cake.

In this small 6" inch round smashcake that I made for Isabella, I created 4 Curly Ribbon Twisties for the cake, I added edible confetti sprinkles, and topped it off with a cute Mickey and Minnie Mouse character. My daughter absolutely LOVES Mickey Mouse!!

A close up of the details...



Btw, I found the Mickey and Minnie Mouse characters at Party City for 99 cents each! They have all kinds of different characters at dirt cheap prices. Happy Baking!!

A Birthday Celebration!

Today is my baby girl's 1st Birthday!! We celebrated with family and friends this past weekend, and then took her to the zoo for the first time today!! We couldn't have asked for better weather!! I took over 481 pictures, way too many to post.....so here are bits in pieces of the festive atmosphere, and some of the lovely faces that attended ~;o)

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. ~Psalm 139:14

Happy Birthday Isabella! Mommy loves you!!

Downtown Tampa just got a little more kid-friendly! We recently visited Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and we were both really wowed by the new surroundings....

Baby's day out ~;o)

Love the angle of the city and the fountains in this picture....

There's the fountains for the children to cool off in, as well as the lighter mist fountains in the back of the park, the new playground, the riverwalk, and of course the new Glazer Children's Museum! I could go on of course ~;o) Have you visited Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park yet? Well worth it!

Halloween Punches are Here!!

Planning a party for Halloween this Fall? Let us help you decorate with these fun new punchies just listed in the Shoppe!! These are great for scrapbooking, confetti for parties, embellishing cupcake toppers & treat bags and so much more!! Want to purchase some? Visit Southern Bliss on Etsy to find them!! See ya there!! ~:o)

it was another hot one....

....so we put on our swimsuit, slathered on the sunscreen, grabbed a bag, threw in some diapers, a towel, a big sippy cup filled with ice cold water, and headed to the fountains to meet up with some friends ~:o)

This is Bella's really good friend Evie :)

Evie is a bit older than Bella. She keeps a watchful eye on her. Come back Bella!! ~;o)

We definitely know how to cool off! Bella threw a fit when we left the fountains, but became easily distracted by the playground shortly after ~;o)

We played and swung lots and lots.....

But then it was time to go home. We had a super day though!! How do you beat the heat?!

nature walk....

.....we went back to Upper Tampa Bay Park on Sunday afternoon. If you will recall, we were there during the holidays a couple of years back in November when the park was decorated with beautiful Christmas lights!! Unfortunately the park no longer decorates for the holidays due to budget cuts ~:o( But it is still worth the visit, there is a boat ramp for launching canoes, a playground for the kids, several scenic nature trails, and an air conditioned indoor educational facility with real marine life aquariums, honey bees, and fossils of all sorts....the total cost to visit the park is $2.00 per vehicle. Here is a little bit of what we enjoyed on the nature walk....

This is a neat little park to visit if your a lover of nature and the great outdoors, and are in the Tampa vicinity! Perfect for the kids too!! Until next time darlings ~:o)

a little surprise.....

Look at what we won!!

Pamela over at Pammydawn had a give away to win this adorable little pumpkin!! So I entered for fun and I won!! This is the first time I have ever won a give away!! And it fit her too!! I thought for sure we would have to put this away for next fall, I can't wait to pair this with some cute outfits for Fall!! I just L O V E the detailed stitching on this sweet little pumpkin!! Want one? Head over to her etsy shop where you can purchase this one and many other beautiful pieces that she offers.

Your work is amazing Pamela!! Thank you for having a give away!! We love our new little pumpkin clippy!! Thank you so much!!

New Picture Portraits!!

Last week we took Isabella to JC Penny for picture portraits!! The last couple times we took her for portraits she cried! But this time she was a happy baby!! I was thrilled when JC Penny called me last night to tell me that they were in, so today I went and picked them up!! Here are a few favorites of my lovie....

I am one happy Mama!!

New in the shoppe....

Happy August everyone!! I have added a few more items to my etsy store!!

(Elephants on Parade!!)

(Tropical Fish Mix!!)

These two items are both new to the shop!! They make great confetti for parties, showers, holidays, and so much more!! Love them both!! You too?! Psssst.....you can find them HERE....will be posting some Fall and Halloween punch outs pretty soon so be sure to check back often!! Until next time darlings ~;o)

on Sunday.......

.......we went to Sarasota!! We first visited the Mote Aquarium, and then we took Isabella to Longboat Key Beach!! This was not her first time to the beach though. If you will recall back in November, we went to the Ruskin Seafood Festival, and then after that we went to Ruskin Beach. Bella was about 2 months old then and stayed in the travel system. But this time was her first time on the beach exploring!!

(First time in the water!)

(First time in the sand!)

Baby loves the beach!

New.....

jumbo-sized paper die cuts in the shoppe!! These measure at around a generous 4" inches in height and width!! They are great for birthday and high chair banners, holiday garland, and so much more!!

Want some? Visit the {shoppe}!! I will be adding more jumbo-sized shapes to my store soon so please feel free to bookmark the shoppe: Southern Bliss and check back often!! Until next time darlings ~;o)

a little pool.

it was just Bella and me for the first half of the weekend because daddy had to work a little overtime, soooooooo we decided to try out Isabella's new little pool!

we splashed.......

we tasted.......

and we played alot!!

We really LOVE our new little pool!! Thank you Grandma ~;o)

Hope your having a fantastic summer so far!! We are ~;o)