Oh what a year! I have to say 2011 was pretty amazing. Dottie and I were browsing the archives to come up with our “Best Of 2011” and I kept grinning and going, “Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that post!” My one post turned into a three part extravaganza, but I think its packed full of goodness. I hope you find some old favorites and maybe some fun stuff you might have missed the first time around. I can’t wait to reminisce with you. Let’s go!

{THE VINTAGE MASTER CLASS}

We launched a new (and super fun) series called The Vintage Master Class—featuring none other than my mama! Professor Brigitte gave us some really terrific “true life” stories of life in the 60s. She kicked things off with a fun look at what it was really like to backcomb and tease your  hair into these elaborate ‘dos (see the 50s/60s here and 60s / 70s over here).

We giggled as we heard about her Infamous Junior Prom date (you MUST read it…over here)

And we even got to go on a Virtual Slumber Party! (Did the boys show up as they threatened to? Read more here!)

It was one of my favorites series we did and I hope she comes back for more in 2012!

{ALIX’S VINTAGE BOOKSHELF}

If you are a long time reader then you know I have an obsession with vintage children’s books. The stories and especially the illustrations are just ace. I continued to share my passion for vintage children’s books by giving everyone a peek at some incredible stories with the coolest illustrations around! See them all here.

 

{MISS DOTTIE’S KRAFT KORNER}

While I was busy obsessing over my vintage books, Dottie was obsessing over all things crafty and cool! Let’s take a look:

She showed us how to get the littles interested in needle and thread with these cool vintage sewing cards:

She showed us how she made a simple (and adorable) bib for her little Peach, right over here.

She was also our “on the street” reporter, scaring up the coolest crafts from around the web, like this lovely from Hart Sew:

We cheered her on as she tackled her UFOs (aka Unfinished Objects, those pesky crafts that you never seem to find time to finish up).  See ’em here.

And when she couldn’t decided on a fabric for recovering her vintage chairs, you guys weighed in and helped her make the decision.

{BIRTHDAY PARTIES}

We love birthday parties and were so inspired by you guys. Some of our faves this year included:

The Super Girl Birthday Party! (How cute is this little girl??)

The Awesome Rock-n-Roll Birthday at a San Francisco club (awesomely clever!).

The Amazing Sound of Music party (seriously sooo cute).

And everyone’s mind was blown by Pilgrim’s amazing Willy Wonka birthday party:

And then we had our own special little birthdays. Dottie’s little Peach turned two and had a most glorious little Dutch girl party:

And of course, my Wolfie turned seven! His birthday was at a prefab bouncy house emporium (his choice!) but we managed to add a little creative fun to it. You can see it all here!

{TIPS & TRICKS}

We love sharing some of our favorites with you! Here were some of our tips for finding affordable and CUTE baby clothes:

We looooove reading to our kiddos. I asked Greg to give us his Top Five Fave Story Books that he loves reading to Wolfie:

And we had a lot of people ask us for recommendations for fun “non-kiddo” music that would be great for a little kid dance party, so of course we obliged with our Best Dance Party Music List.

That’s it for Part 1! Stay tuned for more….