InCase Wood Grain iPhone case

"OH NO THEY DIDN'T!"

Yup they sure did. Designers, HunterGatherer, came out with a woodgrain line for Apple. Now ya'all know my love for absolutely anything woodgrain, and then add to that my love for my iPhone, so now I'm in bliss!

I kinda wish it was in a smaller grain design, but hey beggars can't be choosers right?

Problem is I just bought a spiffy new white case for my iPhone literally weeks ago. So I can't go out and buy another case just yet! Can I? Though my birthday is just a couple of weeks from now. Hmmm...

I better have the hubby take a look at this post, I mean it's just InCase!

Dough-Nu-Matic

Got a minute? Well thats about how long it takes for the Dough-Nu-Matic to form, fry and drain delicious mini-doughnuts! It's like having the Krispy Kreme doughnut assembly line conveyor belt right in the comfort of your own kitchen! Wake-up, set the timer and by the time you’re ready for work, you have fresh, hot, yummy home-fried goodness ready to go. Does it get any better than that really? Finish them off with powdered sugar or dip in chocolate, nuts or whatever your heart and stomach desire.

So splurge some hard earned dough on some delicious dough.

Happy 4th of July

Now I'm not one to brag or anything, but I bake a mean pecan tart. I mean mean. I only do it for special occasions cause it requires a lot of my time, and I just don't seem to have a lot of that these days.

My top secret recipe has a buttery, creamy, flaky dough baked from scratch, and although I could simply use a cookie/pastry cutter to easily form the crusts of each mini tart, I choose to mold it all by hand right into the mini muffin pans. That takes the most time.

Now I can't go and share my secret recipe for my pecan tarts, cause then it would no longer be a secret, and everyone has their little secrets right?

So here's a modified version I picked up from my fave baking blog Bake or Break, that's not as secret, and almost as yummy.

So while the men are out firing up the grill this 4th of July, bake a batch of these and share with the family.

Wooden Utensils

Picnic and Party Perfect, wooden utensils add a sleek touch to any event or outing. I'm already trying to think of an event to plan where I can put them to use! You can get some at Anthropologie, but I always seem to entertain larger crowds, so bulk from Ecoware is better for me. A better deal too! "Sorry Anthropologie!"

The ones pictured above are letterpressed. But plain ones are just as charming!

Frecklebox

Make your gift as cool and unique as the child your giving it to...with FRECKLEBOX! They have everything from books, growth charts, lunchboxes, party favors, placemats, posters, stickers and more. The best part is you can personalize each and every one of them!

We chose the personalized hardcover book about becoming a BIG BROTHER for mr. red. There's even a spot at the end of the story where we inserted our own family pic. Very cool.

So hop on over to FRECKLEBOX and customize your own gift. This time, it's personal!

DIY Tissue Poms

As our baby shower creeps up on us, and as our bank accounts continue to dwindle away, I'm searching around for some low cost, high impact ideas to add some flavor to our soiree. No offense to my sis who is throwing it for us, but let's just say I got the creative gene in the family.

I really do love poms. So I'm going to attempt to attempt to make some for the shower. We'll see if I ever get around to it. But here's an easy step-by-step tutorial from Martha Stewart.

Frames Wallpaper

I love this! I'm not usually a fan of wallpaper, but for this, I'll make an exception, because it's truly exceptional! Imagine a wall of preprinted frames and borders ready to be filled with your imagination! Be it photos, artwork, kids' doodles, and/or even paintings, the possibilities are endless. Graham and Brown Taylor & Wood Frames wallpaper has thought of it all, and with a modern and funky design, it's perfect!

Now I just have to figure out which wall to put it in at our house, order it and then get the hubby's sign-off. (In that order)

Ego Award Ring ::GIVEAWAY:: WINNER

Thanks to everyone who entered our Ego Award Ring Giveway!

Congratulations to "Chrys" - our WINNER!

Jimena, owner/creative force behind Jewells will be working with you to customize your very own Ego Award Ring.

Winner was randomly selected by random.org.

T-Shirt Dress

Have a bunch of old t-shirts lying around? Don't know what to do with them? Well send them over to Prairie Mama, and she'll repurpose your old t-shirts into cool dresses for your little ones!

An awesome way to recycle your old tees and give your little gals some sweet dresses.

Ego Award Ring ::GIVEAWAY::

A very cool ring with a very cool message from you! Customize your very own Ego Award Rings by Jimena. Choose your own message to wear and share, plus choose the ring band to go with it. It's elastic so it'll fit on any finger!

Made in Argentina just for you.

EXCLUSIVELY COOL JUST FOR YOU! GIVEAWAY
The very cool Jimena Rios, designer and owner of Jewells, thinks you're all cool too! So she has an exclusively COOL GIVEAWAY for one lucky COOL PICK reader! She's giving away one customized Ego Award Ring made especially for the lucky winner. Just leave a comment below, it's that simple!

You have until midnight 12:00am (PST) on June 26, 2009 to enter! Winner will be posted on Monday, June 29, 2009!

Modern Press

Folks, this alone, is reason enough for me to get married again. Correction. I mean, have another wedding.

Modern Press has a custom wood line of table numbers, placecards and signs! Too cool! Oh how I wish they were around when we got married.

They are currently running their SUMMER SALE - take 15% off accessory items and 10% off custom invitations. So go check it out.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the bestest guy I know, and to all the dads out there. It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it!

Yes, I'm a lucky gal. We're jam packed this weekend with all things celebrating DAD. On the agenda: {for our little family} Brunch at TASTE on Melrose. Then some much needed rest and relaxation for Dad, while I take care of mr. Red. {for our big families} BBQ and swimming to cool off from the heat, and then even more food.

So hats off to the hubby who proves that superheroes don't always wear tights! Around here, daddy always saves the day.