seven year itch

seven years of marriage already?! where has the time gone? I'm proud to say I haven't felt the slightest itch, nor a need to scratch it. ;) as usual, I stuck with tradition & gave robert the traditional anniversary gift, which was wool (or copper) this year (year four, year five, year six). for the life of me I could not figure what to give him, so on a whim I ordered some wool roving & hoped I could figure out something to do with it. a few days before our anniversary I found this tutorial on how to make a felt ball garland & got to work. it turned out super cute & I tied a card with some tickets to a baseball game to it (you know how much I must love robert to buy baseball tickets). 

robert surprised me by making the most adorable gift - a record (he tried painting it a copper color to go with the theme, but it didn't work out so he nixed it) with a label he designed, titled, "seven year itch" by "ain't gonna happen," from the record label "slim chance." ha! this guy cracks me up. so. thoughtful. 

and then he also purchased the most amazing house gift- 2 vintage hanging lights that I have been talking about for months. leave it to robert to find an amazing deal on ebay! I didn't take pics of those but hopefully they'll be hung soon & I can share them. 

anyway, I'm not gonna lie- I love gifts more than the next person. but in all seriousness, I am so truly grateful to have the most amazing gift of all- a loving, talented, thoughtful, trustworthy, fun-loving husband that I get to share the rest of my life with. that is a gift enough (although I really like the light fixtures....)

{wool roving in it's original state}

{form a loose ball & then keep rolling with soap up hot & cold water until it forms a ball}

{they look super cute once you've made a couple & start stringing them on some thread}

 {after expressing excitement over tickets to a yankees/red sox game, robert sweetly told me, "we don't have to stay for the whole game." god bless that man!}

{gotta love a husband who remembers our anniversary flower!}

{handmade gifts are the best.}

ina's mocha chocolate icebox cake

breakthrough. I think I may have just improved an ina recipe. yes, the food goddess, ina garten. how arrogant is that? she's got this delicious recipe for a mocha chocolate icebox cake, but you see, it calls for layering in box cookies. now I'm sure that these $8 tate's cookies that she calls for in her recipe are tasty. however, as a lover of cookie cakes (that place in the mall is the best), I thought it would be better to give this cake a soft cookie crust bottom. so if you ever decide to make ina's cake (which is surprisingly easy), I highly recommend switching it up & giving this method a try. because I'm no ina, but I do know a good cookie cake when I meet one, and this is a winner. and a happy mother's day to my mom & grammie, who also agreed.

 {make cookie dough -I used a bag mix *gasp*-  & spread into bottom of spring-form pan}

 {bake it for about 15 minutes}

  {let the cookie cool & make the mocha topping. spread on top of cookie. let chill overnight}

  {chop up some chocolate shavings for the top to hide any imperfections}

{cut a big slice because if not, you'll have to go back for seconds}