Old New, Borrowed, Blue...

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of throwing a bridal shower for my little sister.

We had a wonderful luncheon at

and I have to say that it was pretty much perfect. The entire staff at Sequoia Brewing Company was wonderful to work with! I had another place arranged and when I called to set up some of the details, the person at the other venue told me that she had never written my name down...even though she had the e-mails from me and the one she had written to me telling me that it was reserved for me...so I had to look and find a new place. So, after some moments of panic passed...and a few "choice" words about the other venue...I decided on Sequoia Brewing Company...and I think it really was a blessing in disguise! They made everything so easy, wonderful...and I cannot say enough positive things about them. The manager was super helpful, flexible, quick to respond to any questions I might have, and their staff was so friendly and helpful...LOVE THEM!!!!!!! They have a beautiful private room and I highly recommend them for any kind of event!

Family and Friends Recipe book, photo board, cupcakes from Creme de La Cake, 56 days until "I do" sign, and an R monogram that each guest signed and left a special message.

The OCD me has to point out something that I didn't notice until looking at these pictures...I am sooooooo upset that I put the letters on the banner in the wrong order...the white accents should have alternated corners...I don't know if anyone else noticed...but it drives me crazy now and I can't believe I didn't catch it before the event.

I had originally wanted the shower to be on their patio. The manager told me they had a private room, which I wasn't aware of, and I was a bit hesitant. After seeing it, I loved it. It was a great room with lots of windows to let light in and it has this amazing, rustic wood table!

I went completely away from my sister's colors...I hope she didn't mind. :) She loves the burlap and lace that is so popular right now, so I went with that.

I layered organza with a burlap table runner. Then I used an assortment of mason jars that I decorated with a variety of ribbons, lace, and twine. I purchased all of the flowers from Trader Joe's and Vons.

The place settings...

The favors...He "popped" the question and she said, "YES!"

(clear cup with a vinyl embellishment I added, filled with a yummy popcorn mix,

wrapped in a cello bag and tied with a bow)

The menu

(printed on cardstock with a raffia bow hot glued to the top)

The Bride's seat...with an arrangement specially picked by the cutest nephew in the whole word!

I have to do a bit of a side story to tell about these flowers. On Friday I picked up Landry and told him that we had to go to the store to get flowers for Auntie KK's party. When we pulled into the parking lot he asked if he could pick his own flowers for Auntie KK. Of course I said yes. We went in and I got the flowers I needed. Then I took him around in the cart and asked him to choose his. He said, "No mama. I get down and choose da fowers aw by mysewf." So I got him out of the cart, he walked around, and chose this bouquet "aw by hissewf!" Melted my heart!

The family and friends' recipe book...

Prior to the wedding I asked each guest to send me some of their favorite recipes and a photo of themself. Then I put it all together and made her a recipe book on Shutterfly. I have to say...it turned out really cute!

This was a photo board that I made for our game of "How Old is the Bride?" I collected pictures of Kaitlin as a child and numbered them. Each guest had to guess hold old Kaitlin was in the picture.

It turned into a very serious game!

One of the answer sheets...

We also played a game, "He Said, She Said." I sent a list of questions to Ron and Kaitlin and sked them to answer them. Then I read the question, along with one of the answers. The guests held up a mustache if they thought it was Ron's answer and the tiara if they thought it was Kaitlin's answer. I wish I would have gotten some pictures of the actual game...it was so fun. :)

 

Kait, I hope you had a wonderful day! I had so much fun planning all of the details and I hope it was everything you could have imagined...love you!!!

Fiesta Time!

As you know, our little man turned 3 years old on Monday! We couldn't let a birthday go by without a party...I was supposed to...that was my intention...small, family dinner is what I kept telling myself. Simple dinner. Small. Nothing fancy. Just a dinner, a cake, and a few presents.

Yup...that's what I said...but what I did...well...maybe not so simple. :) Here's my problem...I get these ideas and I just "have" to run with them. Really. I do. If not I kind of drive myself crazy. So, when we knew that Chad's parents were coming down...and other relatives were asking about when the party was going to be...which on a side note is so extremely flattering as a parent...people waiting to hear about when they get to celebrate your little one...nothing feels better...I knew that I wanted to do his party on Cinco de Mayo.

In the middle of dinner one night, an idea struck...and I was so excited about it I could hardly finish my dinner...actually, I'm not sure that I did. I had to run and get the sombrero...here is the result:

I just e-mailed that ADORABLE pic to our closest family members...even though I was super tempted to do invites...did I mention that this was all decided about 2 weeks before his birthday. For normal people this would be plenty of time. Not me...no joke, I started planning his 1st birthday party in September...and his 2nd birthday in November. Told you. I'm crazy. :) I also have to add that I am so thankful that I have a child who is always game for my shenanigans. :)

Party day came...and the house became a fiesta!



Simple tissue flowers and a green 3 added some fun to the dinning area...green is Landry's favorite color for the moment.

Banner for the birthday boy!

Fun Mexican banners definitely added a festive feel to the kitchen...and patio, too!

Mini sombrero garland on the fire place

When I asked Landry what kind of cake he wanted he said, "green." Green...really? Then I asked if he wanted anything else on it..."candy...M&Ms...and lots of fire." Clearly I am not a cake decorator but I have to say that I think it turned out pretty cute. I also have to add that there is one orange M&M that was put on backwards...so you can see the logo...and it is driving me crazy. :)

Who is this cute boy...waiting for the party to get started?

We had to take a picture in front of the chalkboard...which is becoming one of my favorite holiday/party decor areas. Handsome is showing us how to do "free" fingers.

"I'm free now, Mommy...I all growed up now!"

I've got good news...and bad news...I'll start with the bad...my food pictures are not so hot. Like. At all. Sorry...everything looked much yummier and more festive in person.

Now the good news...you know one of my favorite parts of a party is naming my food. Really...it is like a fun game I play with myself. It really does bring me so much joy. Told you. I have issues! :)

Back to the food...I did a taco bar with all of the fixings!

If you didn't know...you can "google" any word and it will give you the Spanish version. I took 3 years of Spanish in high school and remembered most of them...but there were some I had to "Google!"

After dinner...it was time for some "fire" - a.k.a. candles, singing, and cake!

Landry really didn't want us to sing to him...at his 2nd birthday he actually cried when everyone sang...but we told him that if he wanted cake and "fire"...we had to sing.

Hope he made a big wish!

 

We had a wonderful time celebrating our little man!

Super Bowl 2013

Are you ready for some football? Well, if you answered, "yes"...you're out of luck...because the season is over! :)

We have adopted the tradition of hosting Super Bowl...and I LOVE it! This year was a little extra special because Chad...and pretty much all of our friends...are HUGE Niners fans. So, I had no choice but to go all out for my man. :)

Here's the invite...not to be confused with an actual Super Bowl ticket...

Our guests were welcomed with this on the door...

of course you have to have a banner...

and it isn't a party without some balloons and food!

 

Most of you know that I have a very abnormal love for naming my party food. Really. It is a bit abnormal. It really brings me almost as much fun as the actual party. And yes, I do crack myself up with my names...ask my hubby...I think I'm pretty clever sometimes! :)

So, here starts that parade of food pictures...

I told myself that these were for the kiddos...honestly, I used it as an excuse to buy some for me. I also have a secret love affair with these tiny pockets of pb&j!

Of course there were the "usuals"...Chain Gang Chili Dip, Super Bowl Salsa, Grid Iron Guacamole, Coin Toss Cream Cheese and Chili Sauce...and new this year...

A build your own hot dog bar...

I made a list of some NFL inspired hot dog recipes...and here were all of the fixings!

I also had some toys and activities for the kids...even though they never touched them! Ha!!!

Even the "big kids" had their own game!

Cue the good ol' Super Bowl Squares! Do you see a little mister in the mix in the picture above? Yup...he was all about the squares and even bought a few of his own!

 

Unfortunately our team didn't win...but we still had tons of fun!