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!!!

Monkey See, Monkey Do, Landry Tigh Just Turned 2!

Today we celebrated Handsome and his 2nd birthday! Before he was born everyone must of known that he would LOVE monkeys because we received quite a few monkeys and monkey related items. All of them were and are his favorites...so choosing a party theme was easy!

Here is the adorable invitation created by Kristine Schroeder at KDS Designs:

There is a wonderful park right by my parent's house...so I reserved our spot and it was PERFECT!

The tables...

Monkeys and bananas!

(bins were from Dollar Tree, pinwheels: Party City, monkeys and bananas:WinCo)

Favors for the kids...filled with Landry's favorites: a monkey, bubbles, and M&Ms!

It's not a party without some cake!

And of course you need something to eat!

Everything is all set up and ready to go!

(I made the banner using my Silhouette, tags and labels were created using Microsoft Word, foam monkeys came in a craft set fom Michaels)

Here is the birthday boy!

"Muscles!"

Love my little family!

Poppie trying to find the trick to "Barrel of Monkeys!"

The kids had a blast playing at the park! Landry enjoyed his day...it was an all around SUCCESS!!!

Pantry Re-do!

So, if you know me at all...you know that I LOVE to organize! When I say love, I mean like madly, deeply, passionately, LOVE to organize. It brings peace to me and there is nothing better than seeing color coordinating bins, labeled, resting nicely on a shelf.

Since my new addiction started...a.k.a. Pinterest...I have been wanting to organize everything in my house. What better time to start than during vacation? Just to let you know how crazy I am...a majority of my vacation "to-do" list is organizing different parts of the house. I am two days in...two projects down! :o)

 

Here is what my pantry looked like before:

Notice the oatmeal boxes on the floor...I had an "assistant" who wanted to help. :o)

Now, even though I love to organize, I hate to spend a lot of money on bins. I am often torn because the OCD in me so desperately wants everything to match...so many times I end up spending more than I want on matching bins. Well, move aside matching bins...I have a new trick up my sleeve! :o)

Here is what I used:

Yup...banker's boxes! I bought a pack of ten for about $13. Then I decided to paint them black so that they all matched and coordinated with my kitchen...with is red, black, and white. I just poured the craft paint...which I already had...onto a paper plate and used a paint roller to paint the four sides of the boxes. This was so quick and easy...seriously, I had six boxes painted AND dry within 30 minutes!!!!

Then I cut vinyl labels with my Silhouette craft cutter. Two boxes fit on each shelf...but it left a gap in the middle. So, I went and grabbed some empty baby wipe boxes that I was saving for a different project. They were a perfect fit! I decided to cover them with a damask print fabric that I had, added a black vinyl label, and voila!

I am sooooooooo excited with the way it turned out...and so is my "assistant!"

When I went to take the picture my "assistant" came running over, put his hands on his hips, and then said, "cheese!"

Here is another shot...without the cutie!

Oh...and did I mention that my only expense was the set of boxes? Yup, a whole woppin' $13 people! Everything else I already had on hand!!!!

The Stockings Were Hung...

by the chimney with care!

Yup, you guessed it...I have been letting my creative juices flow this weekend! One of my favorite things about Christmas as a kid was hanging up our stockings. So, naturally I was very excited to be able to hang up our stockings...our family of stockings. I debated for awhile about whether or not I would just buy Landry a stocking or if I would make it. There was one at Pottery Barn that I loved but part of me felt that it wouldn't be the same as having one that was homemade. So, I decided to do my own version of the Pottery Barn one I loved...and I must admit...I am pretty proud of myself!

Those of you that know me and my type A personality...I made one for Chad and me as well...because there was no way that I was going to have one homemade stocking an two store bought.

Here they are hanging from our mantle and I have to say...it automatically made our living room feel so much more homey and personal. I love them!

Fun and Easy Christmas Gift

SPOILER ALERT!

If you are a parent helper in my classroom...you may want to stop reading. This post is about the gift you will be receiving in appreciation for all of your hard work! :o)

Now, back to business! I am sure that many of you are like me and you have quite a list of friends, family, co-workers, etc. that you would like to acknowledge during the holidays. If you are also like me, then you may find yourself on a very tight budget. Well, here is a simple, fun, and cute idea for you!

I know it is kind of hard to see what is in the bag...a set of measuring cups!

Here is what you need:
measuring cups - I found mine at Dollar Tree
cellophane bags
gift shred
ribbon
cardstock for the tag
button - strictly optional
glue dots - or any kind of glue

Since I have 15 parent helpers in my classroom, I was looking for a gift that would be useful, cute, and of course...budget friendly. So, I took a trip to the Dollar Tree and found these adorable, red, Betty Crocker measuring cups. Everything else I already had at home.

I put the cups in the bag, added some shred for a bit of pizazz, and tied the bow on. Then I printed some little cards that read, "No one could ever "measure up" to you...thank you for all of your help." I used glue dots to attach the card to the bag and the button to the card. If you don't have glue dots, you can easily use any other kind of glue or hot glue...I just think the dots are easier and less messy.

Here is another picture for you:

Like I said, these are super easy, fun, cute, and most importantly...very budget friendly. Since I already had the rest of the materials at home these only cost me $1 a piece!!!! These would also be great as a favor at a bridal shower, gifts for friends, neighbors, co-workers, anyone.