puff pastry ...

my new favorite thing to use in the kitchen is puff pastry. when making my mom's famous french apple tart for thanksgiving this year. i decided to substitute my usual dough recipe for puff pastry. it was a hit!

puff pastry adds some instant fancy, and best of all, you can buy it in your grocer's freezer!

check out my latest post, all about puff pastry on the zupas blog. click here.

there are some great last minute new years recipes!

{photo by me}

new years treats ...

i've been surfing the web for a nice new years treat to make..
i thought i'd post my findings for you!

shrimp shau mai

lil' smoky cheese ball

petit croque monsieurs

cheese fondue

pears and camembert

lemon ricotta fritters with lemon curd

baked brie with pecans

chicken satay with peanut chutney

goat cheese stuffed mushrooms

grilled beef rolls with dipping sauce

wow! i could go on and on, but really it's making me too hungry.

can you tell i'm a fan of savory things?

looks like i have a lot of choices to think about. thanks martha!

best of 2009 ...

as the new year is approaching fast, i thought i'd put together a best of 2009 post.

so, here you have it.
the most popular posts original from the armelle blog, from 2009!

:: last minutes christmas decorations :: posted after x mas on jan 12, 2009

:: my valentine hearts on a string :: posted february 4, 2009

:: ginger carrot soup :: posted february 24, 2009

and, other foodie posts for zupas

:: my feather headband :: posted march 17, 2009

:: my little ezra's circus party invitations :: posted april 2, 2009

:: ezra's easter basket toolbox :: posted april 8, 2009

:: ezra's big circus birthday party :: posted april 15, 2009

:: a mini-me headband for baby girl :: posted may 19, 2009

:: the arrival of miss norah :: posted july 8, 2009

:: roasted tomato soup :: posted september 11, 2009

:: my little norah's nursery tour :: posted november 10, 2009

:: christmas goodie packaging :: posted december 17, 2009

:: christmas packaging :: posted december 21, 2009

i hope you like this best of 2009 post!

it was fun for me to look back some fun things i was able to make/do this year!

i really love having this blog! it's been a really nice creative outlet for me.

and, who knew that i'd get to come in contact with such nice people!

so, thanks to you all, whomever you are....

yes, you ...the one who reads this blog!

it's been fun to share my 2009 with you!

here's to hoping for a great 2010!

merry christmas to all ...

i hope you have the merriest christmas ever!

this year i opted from a traditional photo christmas card, and decided to do a faux poloroid with a card. i guess i wanted to stick with our instant photo theme from two years ago.

hope your holidays are magical!

to see what we'll be eating with our christmas feast, click here to see my latest zupas post.

so tiny ...

ok, really?

these are too much! i can't stand how cute they are! some people are so cleaver!

if i had the time, santa would be getting one of these tonight with his milk ...

{via design mom, via not martha}

count down ...

can you believe it?

only 2 sleeps until christmas day!!

my tree is feeling a little like the one above.... about a million little sticky notes of things i have to get done before the big day.

i'm trying to slow down and remember what this season is all about... click here if you need a little reminder too..

{photo via apartment therapy via living etc}

once there was a snowman...

how darling is this snowman kit?

it has everything you need! and, you can re-use it over and over!

i wish i had one a few weeks ago when z man and i made a sad little snowman. we ended up using my leftover mint leaves from my garden and he became a greek snowman, ha ha ha!

{via my favorite things}

christmas packaging tips ...

people think i'm silly, because i almost like wrapping gifts as much as giving gifts. most of the time i don't get enough time to wrap all my gifts so pretty. so, this weekend i tried to wrap as many as i had ready.

if you've been to any of my jewelry shows, you'll know i love to use vintage music sheets. i decided to incorporate the music sheets in my wrapping this year. plus, it's nice to re-use/recycle paper.

i also love all the paper doilies i've seen all over lately, and i've been using them like crazy. so pretty.

if you like this style of packaging, here's a few fun tips + things you'll need:

• brown kraft paper for wrapping gifts, or white gift boxes.
• embellishments/trimmings- buttons [a new favorite], lace, ribbon, twine.
• music sheets- i love to get most of my supplies at thrift stores. my favorite find was a vintage christmas caroller song book. on some, i was able to use actual christmas songs for the wrapping!
• paper cake doilies. the mini ones are so darn cute!

• paper tags. i use tags, or i make them with my paper cutter.
• use a type writer. i had a fun time using my old type writer to type my gift tags. i wrote the basic to's and from's. and, some i got silly and wrote random things like "do not shake."
• don't forget to layer, layer, layer. i think the more layers the better!
• try something new! i pretty much didn't wrap one gift exactly the same. it was a lot of fun using different materials and colors on each gift!

i hope this helps inspire you to get all your holiday wrapping done!

sadly, i still have a lot more to do, but this is a start right?!

displaying christmas cards ...

i'm always interested in a nice way to display christmas cards.
this is how we displayed ours two years ago. strung on pom pom garland with mini clothes pins.

this year, they are still in a big pile. i'm still thinking of how to display them.
i hope it won't be too late.

anyone else feel a bit disheveled this year?

for more inspiration for christmas card display, click here.

roundup : christmas decorations ...

here's a little round-up of cute christmas decorations i've seen around the web ...

bottle brush trees + advent calendar via pam garrison

a modern christmas tree by black white and yellow via simply grove

this darling christmas table by ish and chi

a darling little white tree on line + live, via kenzie poo

a white christmas room, by haishai

a colorful christmas, by thompson family life

a circus themed tree, on design sponge

a darling fireplace, by life in the fun lane

tutorial: christmas goodies + packaging idea ...

for neighbor gifts this year, i decided to make caramel popcorn. {check out my recipe on my latest zupas post, here.}

i had these darling window bakers bags i've been wanting to use. so, the packaging just kind of fell into place!

i love how they turned out!

here's what you need for a cute christmas goodie package:

• bakers twine or string [bakers twine is available in my shop!]
• labels
• snowflake ornaments or box toppers [i found these cute ones at target]
• bakers bags [or lunch bags will work!] *if you are intersted, i can list a few in my shop.
• a goodie to fill the bag!

just fill the bag, and tie the top with twine and secure your ornament and tag!

..now, i'm off to make more! i've delivered a few, but still have more to go..

shop announcement : free priority mail upgrade ...

starting now, i will be offering a free upgrade to priority shipping [should take 2-3 days, usa only] in my shop!

merry christmas! and, happy shopping!

click here to start your last minute holiday shopping!

snow & graham 2010 calendar ...

i just picked up my 2010 snow & graham calendar.

it's just lovely.

merry christmas to me!

{*found locally at the darling flower basket boutique in provo}

chalkboard gift tags...

with chalkboards being all the rage, i'm surprised i haven't seen chalkboard gift tags before.

genius!

check out these ones by heart of light. a great way to re-use tags!

oh christmas tree...

how cute is ths pink christmas tree?

love it!

{via simply grove, via emmas design blog}

round-up : ikea toys...

during this time of year, a lot of us have toys on the mind.

here's a little round-up of ikea toys that we either own, or would love to own someday...

i do prefer wooden toys. my hubby thinks i'm a toy snob. but, i say that if i have to look at them covering my floor all day, and i pick them up for a good part of my day, then at least i want them to be pretty.

we have this little leka baby gym from ikea and baby norah loves it... and so does big brother ezra.

i also just picked up this little mula push toy from ikea yesterday. for $7.99, i thought it was a great little addition to our toy collection.

this ekorre rocking mouse has been on my list for a while.

my little z man has this ekorre walker/push toy and he loves it. he puts all his cars and trucks in it and pushes it all around.

this isn't necessarily a toy, but i love this rofylld mini rocker

and, last but not least..i LOVE this virre wooden slide. i've been wanting it for a while. it's darling and my little z man would go nuts over it. would definitely have to stay inside since it's made of wood. but, it's cute enough to be inside.