Valentine's Day Beary Favor Bags for Oh Happy Day

I made these super easy Valentine's Day Beary Favor Bags for Oh Happy Day. With just a few simple materials (um, like paper and a stapler) you can make these cute bags for Valentine's Day! Enjoy!

+ Check out the entire DIY feature on Oh Happy Day
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My Real Life 2015 Best Nine and Happy 2016

According to 2015bestnine.com, my best nine Instagrams were the ones shown above. My real life best nines are the ones shown here on our holiday card (photos by Sarah Hebenstreit) and below.

Thanks for all the love and support this year. I'm so grateful to my family/friends and to all the friends I've made both online and offline this year. Happy new year!

1. Lucas turned 5 and had an epic Wild Kratts party

2. Theo turned 3 and jammed with his buddies

3. Lisa turned 40 and holy shit she's 40 (I went to Tulum, Mexico with my girlfriends from college on our annual trip)

4. Lucas started kindergarten and LOVES it

5. Family trip to Maui and Theo's first plane ride

6. Lisa and Nick celebrated their 10-year anniversary (photo by Sarah Hebenstreit)

7. Lucas had his first surgery (1/2" piece of wood in his foot)--also, not really a "best" nine but he did so well throughout the whole ordeal.

8. Nick ran a full marathon (3.49) and hasn't run since (but plans to get back into it in 2016), photo by Sarah Hebenstreit

9. Lisa went to Tulum and got a tan--Nick hiked the Trinity Alps and got pneumonia / I also conquered a very big fear of mine!

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December 10th: Girls Night Out to Benefit Girls on Fire Leaders

Please join me for wine, nibbles, friendship and shopping for a good cause on Thursday, December 10th at 7:30 p.m. at Brushstrokes Studios (upstairs event space) in Berkeley for a Girls Night Out to benefit Girls on Fire Leaders, an adventure leadership camp for young girls in the slums of Kenya. The next camp is coming up in just 4 weeks so we are hosting a fun holiday boutique with goods from Erica Tanov, Ginger Caftan, Ash Dry Goods, Carrie Saxl and more. And I will be selling curated holiday gift boxes as well as our new 2016 Calendar. Portions of the sales that night will benefit Girls on Fire Leaders. I hope to see you there!

+ Brushstrokes Studio / 745 Page Street, Berkeley, CA

+ Photos by Jennifer Graham via Girls on Fire Leaders
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DIY + Recipe: Thanksgiving Dessert Toppers

I made these easy Thanksgiving Dessert Toppers plus a yummy recipe for Layered Pumpkin Pie in Mason Jars. See the full post over on Oh Happy Day.

Halloween Monster Movie Night with Whole Foods Market Berkeley and 100 Layer Cakelet

I can't believe Halloween is just around the corner! A few weeks ago I designed/styled a fun Monster Movie Night party along with the talented catering crew from Whole Foods Market Berkeley for one of my favorite blogs 100 Layer Cakelet and all shot by the talented Michelle Drewes. It was super fun! I designed these fun invitations with finger monsters in kraft jewelry boxes.

Whole Foods Market Berkeley's catering team did an AMAZING job with the spooky spread (remember Lucas' 5th birthday party they catered?)--monster pizzas, witches fingers (hummus and veg dip), graveyard dip (7 layer bean dip), banana ghosts (frozen bananas dipped in white chocolate), and caramel apple and pears. They provided gorgeous fall flowers with ghosts made of cheesecloth, "healthy" candy and not-too-scary Halloween books. We played "Monsters, Inc." on a white sheet and the kids were hooked.

I created this monster backdrop for the food table complete with eyeball pumpkin.

That watermelon brain! Those carrot fingers!

"Healthy" M&M's from Whole Foods Market Berkeley were packaged in these super cute glassine treat bags from the Oh Happy Day Party Shop.

I had no idea that Whole Foods Market Berkeley made custom cakes like this one--using one of Lucas' monster drawings. So cute! They also make character cakes using licensed images like Star Wars. Who knew?

I set up a low table with some goodies for the kids including glow sticks and jars with neon bouncy balls and spiders from Target. Lucas set out place mats and drew monsters on each one. He was so excited to help!

One of my favorite crafts was the giant pair of balloon eyeballs that were so easy to make.

Theo's favorite thing to say (or scream in your face) is, "I AM BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!" so naturally we had to get him a Buzz Lightyear costume for the shoot.

Side note: Lucas' hair looks hilarious to me here! Also, he looks like me in this pic!

+ Check out the feature and all the photos on 100 Layer Cakelet!

+ Photography by Michelle Drewes
+ Catering by Whole Foods Market Berkeley
+ Design, planning, decor, invites by me
+ Party decor by Oh Happy Day Party Shop and Target
+ Cute kiddos by Lisa and Lisa

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Theo's Music Themed 3rd Birthday Party

I can't believe my little Theo turned 3! I still remember sending out his birth announcements, his 1st birthday flip book invitations and his 2nd birthday food-themed invitations. What a big boy he's become -- especially with his new haircut!

This year's theme was music. If you know Theo, you know he loves to eat, but did you also know he loves to sing, rap, dance and perform songs on his guitar? He even has a signature dance move that involves a super wide leg stance, one hand tapping to the beat on his hip and heel raises up and down. I can't stop laughing at, I mean with, him.

I'm also excited to announce that I will be a contributor to the awesome party blog Oh Happy Day! Theo's party is the first in a series of party DIY's I will be working on for them. I couldn't be more excited for what's to come! Many of the products I'll feature will be available in the Oh Happy Day Party Shop--a one stop, expertly curated shop for all your party needs. Scroll down to find links to three DIYs--the invitations, the party favors and the photobooth/props.

Check out the DIY post on Oh Happy Day for these custom invitations -- each with its own harmonica!

No Jackson kid birthday party would be complete without our traditional donut holes and custom cones!

Andrea of Bakin Bit outdid herself once again with the food this year. She made pulled chicken tacos, cilantro/lime rice, jicama slaw, heirloom tomato salsa, guacamole, two cheeses, black beans and sweet potatoes, and a roasted vegetables and summer squash salad with basil vinaigrette. DELICIOUS!

Theo taking it all in. The morning of the party he kept saying, "A birthday party for ME???" Too cute!

One of the biggest hits of the party was the snow cone machine with homemade syrups from Bakin Bit. Big thanks to our friends Nancy, Andrew and Eric for taking charge of the snow cone station! Big hugs and high fives all around!

The kids waited patiently in line to choose their flavors -- my favorite combo was mango + coconut + strawberry. And how cute is Jeanne and her girls Hayden and Hadley?!? (Jeanne, you're supposed to share with your kids!)

Love how Lucas is "reading" to his friends. And super cute that Wilder is wearing his "Go Wild" T-shirt from Lucas' 5th birthday party.

No music themed party would be complete without our favorite kids music duo Your Song My Song! Comprised of Theo's preschool teacher Eric and his talented girlfriend Jaime, they belt out the best kids and adults tunes and make it so much fun! Just look at Theo's rocker face! If you need some awesome entertainment for your kids party, you have to book them!

Since Theo's favorite color is yellow, I made a lemon birthday cake/cupcakes with lemon frosting and lemon curd in between the layers.

Check out the DIY post on Oh Happy Day for these party favors--handmade finger jingles for the little ones! Bigger kids got a small bag of lemon jelly beans.

Check out the DIY post on Oh Happy Day for our photobooth and props--super easy and fun!

Next big boy band right here, watch out! ;)

+ Find all of the DIY projects and sources at Oh Happy Day!
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Birthday Thank You Postcards

Remember Lucas' 5th birthday party extravaganza a few weeks ago? It was super fun and wild and I'm so happy it's over! Lucas is a lucky kid -- he received so much love and so many gifts from friends and family. For Lucas' 3rd birthday, I made the mistake of letting him go to town with opening his presents. He ripped through each one and tossed them to the side only to make room to grab the next one. I was appalled -- but really, what did I expect?

Since then, I've learned my lesson and now Lucas gets to open two presents a day, starting with the card. After thoroughly enjoying and appreciating each gift, we write a thank you note. I write and Lucas signs it in his signature block lettering.

I designed these double sided double thick thank you postcards to show our appreciation -- similar to the ones from last year's Superhero 4th Birthday Party. The front of the postcard has a collage of photos from the party and the back has the animal print pattern from the invitations I designed. I personally love postcards rather than cards when writing thank you notes for parties because they're more casual, as well as save money on postage and envelopes.

+ Featured on 100 Layer Cakelet
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Lucas' 5th Birthday Party

For the last two years, I've been asking Lucas what kind of birthday party he would like to have. He didn't have much of a say for his 1st or 2nd birthdays, but starting with his Superhero 4th birthday last year, he's been very clear about what he wants. Of course, he gets the modernized version of it because that's how I roll.

This year Lucas turned five (can't believe I have a 5-year old!) and without hesitation, he said he wanted a "Wild Kratts" party. If you haven't seen this show, it's worth checking out. It's an educational animated series on PBS, created by and starring brothers Chris and Martin Kratt.  The show is full of fun facts about animals, ranging from polar bears to geckos, and each episode features a particular critter's unique "creature power". Lucas gets really excited learning about animal powers and defenses, and I love when he enlightens me with new animal facts! This year we decided to throw a joint animal-themed birthday party with Judah, Lucas' good friend from school, who turned five the day before.

This year I partnered up with Whole Foods Market, which provided the amazing appetizers, entrees, beverages and desserts for our party. The super-talented catering teams from the two Berkeley locations created a delicious picnic style meal that included fried chicken, mac 'n' cheese, deviled eggs, strawberry/spinach salad, a yummy cabbage crunch salad, "turtle sandwiches" and cupcakes in two flavors. In addition to the lunch menu, they created some amazing food sculptures to go along with our animal theme.  Mice out of lemons? Porcupines out of watermelons? Chickens out of eggs? Crazy cool and fun, right? And as a special added touch, the team at the Gilman store location were kind enough to make us custom paletas in three flavors -- blueberry cream, apple/pineapple and fresh strawberry.

To modernize Lucas' vision of a "Wild Kratts" party, I decided to go for a more generalized animal theme, with "Go Wild" as a primary graphic element. Starting with the invitation design, I painted abstract animal patterns using simple black watercolor paint, and hand wrote "Go Wild" which would later become a logo for the party. I took a cute photo of Lucas and Judah and used it as a custom envelope liner. The envelopes were finished with matching wraparound address labels. The invitations, liner and envelopes were made with recycled paper.

For dessert, I baked a yummy red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, decorated with rainbow sprinkles and five wild animals on top.

If you've seen our other birthday parties, you know that donut holes are a Jackson family  tradition. This year's donut cones were made with the animal printed recycled paper.

Judah's parents got each birthday boy a Wild Kratts "creature power" suit as a gift. Lucas started off as "Chris" (green), but by the end of the party had traded with Judah to be "Martin" (blue).

I love this photo of Lucas testing out the t-shirt favors.  He wasn't crazy about having his photo taken, hence the pouty face. I couldn't resist. 

For the party favors, I made a giant rubber stamp of the "Go Wild" logo, and hand stamped white t-shirts in various sizes that I ordered online. Each friend got a t-shirt to wear at the party and take home. (The shirts were also handy as a change of clothes for several kids who got grubby or cake-covered during the party). 

We originally scheduled the party for Saturday, and had all the invitations printed up. We later changed it to Sunday due to Little League conflicts. I didn't want to waste the old invitations, so I cut off the old RSVP information, and used the top half to make "creature power" trading cards that accompanied each t-shirt. Each trading card had fun facts about different animals. Cute AND educational! The bottom of the invitations were used to create name tags. Big thanks to Jocelyn, Judah's mom, for ironing and packaging each shirt with a custom hand written tag!

Jeremiah (Judah's little bro) and Theo!

We also set out a bunch of animal masks which the kids loved!

Partnering up with Whole Foods Market to provide all the food and desserts was a dream! The catering team was fabulous to work with.

How cute are these "turtle sandwiches" made of turkey, cheese, cucumbers and fresh bread baked especially for us by Whole Foods Market Gilman?

As the party's main event, we had Lick Your Eyeballs present a fun, informative and hands-on animal show. They were amazing! From geckos and frogs, to a kingsnake and caiman lizard, the kids were very brave and gentle with the animals.

Elsa holds a jar of gecko egg shells.

One of my favorite ideas for the party was to make "polar bear ice," aka popsicles. There's a Wild Kratts episode called "Polar Bears Don't Dance," and I wanted the "polar bear ice" to tie into that.

The team at Whole Foods Market Gilman made custom paletas in three fruity flavors (blueberry cream, apple/pineapple and fresh strawberry). All were a huge hit on the warm day.

I designed some packaging for the pops using wax food bags, snipped at the bottom and  sealed on top with a hand lettered label. The package kept the pops from sticking together in the cooler, and also doubled as a place for the melty drips to fall. But as you can see, the package was ripped right off. Devoured in seconds!

Birthday boys waiting patiently to blow candles.

I had no idea Whole Foods Market catered kids' parties, but now I'm spreading the word because the food was spectacular, and the catering team was open to my ideas, accommodating, easy to work with, and even delivered onsite (including compostable plates, utensils, napkins and adorable cups and straws from Susty Party). Special thanks to Lizzie at Whole Foods Market Berkeley for collaborating with me, to Jocelyn and Aaron (Judah's parents), and to my husband Nick, all of whom helped make Lucas' 5th birthday party a smash! For more information about Whole Foods Market catering you can contact the team here.

+ Featured on 100 Layer Cakelet
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Warby Parker Opening Party in San Francisco

Here are some pics I snapped at the Warby Parker opening party in San Francisco. The edited down version, along with a funny story about perfect vision by Anthology magazine's creative director, Meg, is on the Anthology magazine blog. Aside from the neat stacks of color coded books on display and the rad glasses available for trying on, my favorite part of the store is the artwork on the walls by one of my faves, Lab Partners (Theo's room houses two of our favorite prints from them).

Love the new store and everything Warby Parker, especially my Laurel glasses in Tea Rose Fade and Nick's Roosevelt frames - both Lucas approved!

Whole Foods Market Gilman Street Preview

Last week I had the most awesome shopping experience at a store that's not even open yet. I was so honored to be invited to an exclusive preview event celebrating the opening of Whole Foods Market’s newest location at 10th and Gilman in Berkeley, the 41st store in the Northern California region. I got a firsthand look at the new store before doors open to the public (November 4th), and then feasted on an amazing dinner at the Berkeley Rep featuring local vendors such as Diestel Turkey Ranch, Capay Organic, Local Greens, and Gelateria Naia. As much as I love going to the Whole Foods on Ashby and Telegraph, I have been eagerly waiting for this Gilman location to open.

Cut-to-order cheese department with two on-staff Certified Cheese Professionals.

Ultimate dream pantry right here!

Who knew panko came in so many flavors?

I must say I was completely blown away by the new store. The woodsy interior with pops of sunny yellow and teal lends itself to an airy and bright feel as soon as you walk in the store. It feels roomy (wide aisles you guys!) and welcoming with lots of eco-friendly materials ranging from the reclaimed redwood exterior from a demolished sawmill in Mendocino County, to the indoor store fixtures made from wood from the Port of Oakland.

How cute is my friend Sarah from Snixy Kitchen?

LOVE the wide aisles and clear signage

This is where the grab-n-go prepared food is going to be. Portions for 2, 3, or 4 ready to go!

In addition to the environmental design of the store, some highlights that stood out to me include the new rating systems for produce and meat to help shoppers make more informed choices, the cut-to-order-wrapped-in-paper cheese department, the Allegro Coffee Roaster and huge cafe inside the store (they open at 6 a.m.!), the Artisan Bakery's breads baked daily from scratch, the grab-n-go section that serves meals of various portion sizes for super busy people and families (like me!), and the Whole Body "Try It" Bar that offers large samples of various skin, hair, and beauty products. I'm also excited to check out the prepared foods section and salad bar.

This might be my favorite spot in the store.

Sourcing Director Darrin Daniel and Jeremy Stone tell us about the small lots of specialty coffees, their team of passionate coffee experts, daily cuppings at the store, and their Loring™ drum roaster used to roast beans on-site. Interesting to note is that the roaster is one of the most precise and environmentally-friendly roasters available so you won't smell that burnt popcorn scent of roasting beans. Oh, and their Espresso 924 is named in honor of local punk venue, Gilman Street’s own 924 Gilman.

More than the physical aspects of the store is the innovative spirit and sense of community this store brings. Local sourcing is a priority for Whole Foods and they work hard to discover local food entrepreneurs and bring them to us. There is so much transparency about everything in the store and I think that's really important to people, especially families with children. They are committed to helping the community through store programs and local drives. Employees were enthusiastic, skilled, knowledgeable, and easy to talk to and ask questions.

After the store tour, we were treated to A Most Excellent Evening, an amazing community dinner at the Berkeley Rep hosted by Whole Foods Market Gilman. I had the best time meeting new people in the community as well as Whole Foods staff and partners, including the president of the Norcal region who had a pretty funny story about how he first started at Whole Foods 20+ years ago.

The official opening, at 1025 Gilman Street, is on Tuesday, November 4th. There will be a bread-breaking ceremony (and a check presented to Berkeley USD Gardening and Cooking Program) at 9:45 a.m. The doors will open at 10 a.m. Hope to see you there!