sweet inspiration

When making movies about things that don't necessarily happen in real life, like dinosaurs working as lumberjacks and cupcakes decorating themselves, you need inspiration from places where those type of things exist everyday - the archives of Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies.

As a kid my brother and I memorized the entire "Skeleton Dance" and performed it frequently for my parents. Our interpretation of the "squiggly" part was one to behold, and might be on home video somewhere.... Julie recently came across one of our new favorites, "The Cookie Carnival" The gingerbread man's make-over for the cookie princess is a pretty fantastic scene and will probably inspire some new ideas for upcoming movies.

So if you ever need a creative way to fold your sheets or put away the dishes, might we recommend Silly Symphonies?

an interview

We want to thank perfect laughter for doing a great little post about us. They emailed us with questions about what we do and how it is to work with your spouse. They have other great interviews and a really well put together site. Go check it out!

gordon

(dashing fellow found here)

memories

I think for most of us, home movies can be an instant remedy for anything that brings us down. The memories recorded on film remind of us of our bad haircuts, our amazing styles and the people we may have wanted to become.

In the last trip to my Grandparents house I brought along my new camera to get practice and to record some of the things about their house that I really want to remember when that house is gone. The creaky concrete stairway, the fog rolling over the green hills early in the morning and the mossy forest behind the house where many adventures still lay in wait. Not to mention to capture a little bit of my Grandparents personality for a reminder of what I love about them.

So, if you get a minute, tie a towel around your neck for a cape and think about the things or people that inspired you once upon a time. Then grab the camera and document it, you'll thank yourself later.

written in the stars

The recent horoscope scare has given me a new found loyalty to my sign, true to my scorpio nature. What better way to celebrate our signs than to throw a party! Our party book had a great idea for a horoscope cake, a perfect centerpiece for a party full of fortunes and destiny.

bernice

(fine looking lady found here)

gaiety guaranteed

While thrifting over the weekend, Julie found a most amazing little book which contains some of the best party ideas we have ever heard of.

Some of our favorites include titles such as Hitch Your Wagon to a Star which revolves around horoscopes and futures and includes a game called Destiny Quiz.

Who wouldn't love a party based on the late 1800's? This party comes complete with cut out handlebar mustaches and stiff white collars "which will add distinction, if not comfort" as well as a "lousy play in one act" called Little Nell.

Some of the images are pretty fantastic as well.

This discovery should yield some pretty fantastic parties. So stay tuned, we will be throwing a party from this book post haste and we can't wait to share some of these ideas!

new friends

We have had some happy chatter going on over here at TIAJ this week! We have connected with so many wonderful people and feel blessed for all the encouraging words we have received.

Here are some of the conversations overheard in the production studio:

"....and then for the nice things people have said, we can give them all a chocolate chip!"

"Do you really think they will visit again? I was really hoping to show them what I have in my backyard!"

"Darling, I don't know why they had to bite your cake. That's what you get for looking so tasty!"

We knew you were coming

so we baked you a cake. Ever since we bought this amazing cake pan from Williams-Sonoma we have been obsessed with baking little villages, whether they be for Christmas or just to try some fun table centerpiece ideas. We were introduced to chocorooms recently and just had to add them to our newest village.

Below is the recipe that came with the pan. We thought we would share it with you because it makes for the perfect little cakes, crunchy outside and soft inside. (we are brownie corner people....) We used it for our valentine's cakes by doubling the recipe for a jumbo cupcake pan.

1 1/4 Cups (200g) all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 cup (155g) sugar

3/4 cup (180ml) milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

8 Tbs. (1 stick/125g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and flour the wells of the pan.

Over a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and sugar. Using a handheld whisk, stir in the milk, egg, vanilla and butter, one ingredient at a time, until combined.

Bake about 35 minutes.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then invert the cakes onto the rack and let cool completely.

Our recent experiments in baking has left us wanting to start a bakery, although we may need a year in France to learn. But stay tuned, we will be sure to share with you our most recent attempts. If you're interested, the little circus people we used on the cakes can be found here.

much love

Regardless of whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not this year (spring, you can't come soon enough!), Groundhog day has been good to us. We were fortunate enough to be featured on not one, but two blogs today for our videos.

Arbiters of wit?! Oh Kate, lets be friends.

Thanks Design*Sponge for letting us join your endlessly inspiring blog!

We also had Stanton and Rubi's wedding video featured on Wedding Chicks. We know there are others of you out there who, like us, want something a little different for their video. Contact us if that person is you!

bruce

(fine looking fellow from here)