this week was pretty laid back and lovely. there was coffee, a playdate (lookie that Brynn’s cheeks!), more coffee, of course mini-topknots, and a lady date with Elizabeth, Amy, Lindsy and Bree for dirty burgers. what makes them dirty? well, it’s the way you feel after you eat one – so incredibly dirty and full of self loathing for having just enjoyed a pile of food as much as you did. burger, cheese, thick cut bacon, garlic mayo and tomato jam on a pretzel bun. i have mentioned it numerous times here and probably will again, because i have dreams of this burger. if you’re local, hit up DOA and get one. or the elk sliders. or the greek burger. or anything on the menu. i get my burger with garlic fries because i hate myself.

Harper now has 2 levels of fashion attire – naked with undies OR omg wearing every piece of fairy attire she owns at one time. she goes from jammies to naked in .6 seconds, then from naked to fairy like it’s her job. we are talking tutu, wings, headpiece and wand. most of my days consist of picking up tulle and clothes strewn about the house.

besides no clamp curls and Kristen Bell, here a few other things i loved this week:

Stacy threw her son a Mario birthday party. freaking love it.

i bought this gelaskin for my phone and it’s on its way! NEON ANIMALS.

massive blog crushes – Oana Befort and designlovefest.

we have been downing smoothies like it’s our job. Harper’s two favorites have been this one and this one.

and thank you to Lisa for bringing this amazing blog to my attention. hilarity.

how was your week?

last friday H had preschool in the morning and we had a date with Stacy and 2 of her 3 boys to go to the children’s museum afterward. but it was just our luck that the museum was moving and therefor closed, set to reopen in it’s new location the next day. what do you do when you’ve told your 3 year old you’re going to a museum all day and then you can’t? cupcakes.

because toddlers don’t know nor care that cupcakes are totes 2006. oh and? either do their moms.

frosting is frosting. is marshmallow flavored frosting.

pretty sure that sweater is completely ruined from being slathered in chocolate frosting. if you ever need some cheering up, simply sit and watch a couple of kids (or just one if you only happen to have one handy) consume a cupcake. there is nothing not cute or happy about it. if you disagree i will fight you.

that escalated quickly! brick killed a guy with a trident!

besides, cupcakes give you muscles. or they have muscles. who knows really?

vid by Stacy.

why yes i did buy furry boots. and you should, too, because they are super cozy and you can walk around making bear claws at people and it’s what Flo-rida would want.

last night Scot and i had our first date in so long i can’t even remember when the last one was. H went to GG’s for the first time overnight in the same amount of time. we decided to make our date a double and have dinner with Bree and Barham, who we hadn’t seen since the beginning of december (unacceptable).

we went to Marrow for dinner and cocktails. cannot recommend it enough. this was only my second time there but every thing Scot and i have tried there has been amazing. last night Scot had the marrow burger and i had the clams with pork jowl (seriously!), sun dried tomatoes and white beans. it was all in a yummy sauce served with bread for dipping and piling the goodies on. so dip and pile i did. Bree had beef cheeks with polenta and beet salad and Barham had the marrow with lamb tongue. he is more adventurous than i am. they have a full vegetarian menu as well. we know the owners and chef (and bartenders) personally and they are rocking it. if you find yourself in the tacoma area you have to go. DO IT.

plus, you can wear furry boots there.

Snag the Code Here:

<a href="http://www.harpershappenings.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/2hi86lj.jpg" /></a>

we always try and do a main drink. a few years we had hot buttered rum, made by my mom (helllllo), one year we had candycane martinis. this year we wanted something easy and festive. Scot found a recipe on good old Martha Stewart and we made it with a few tweaks. it ended up being a huge hit. but the name Martha gave it? Christmas Rum Punch? sorry Martha, too boring for us. so we renamed it.

A Christmas Punch in the Face.

y’all ready for this?

two days before the party, we filled a bundt pan with water, frozen cranberries and mint to make a huge solid FESTIVE AS F@#K ice cube. it worked perfectly to keep the punch cool and looked pretty to boot.

|shop|

3 3/4 cups dark rum
2 1/4 cups grand marnier
1 1/2 cups amaretto
3 3/4 cups apple juice
3 1/2 cups seltzer water
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 cups lime juice
Freshly grated cinnamon, for garnish
lemons, limes and oranges, sliced, for garnish

|do this|

>> in your big ol’ punch bowl, mix the sugar and lime juice until the sugar is dissolved. add ALL THE BOOZE, mix and put in fridge until your guests arrive. to serve, place your giant festive ice cube wreath and all the sliced lemons, limes and oranges in the bowl and garnish with cinnamon.

>> scoop into the mason jars you’ve collected like a hoarder and adorned with the names of your guests using paper tags and martha stewart stamps because you have a problem.

>> DRINK!

i didn’t take many photos this year because we were too busy being jolly and stuffing our faces, but here are the few i managed to snap!

get festive!