Bridal Shower

Hello Faithful Readers,

I have been told lately that I have been too quiet in the blog-o-sphere this year, so I will do my best to catch up on a few posts this evening.  Please enjoy!

Last weekend we had the pleasure of attending the wedding of D's brother Dan and his lovely new bride, Chelsey.  I"ll add a post soon with pictures of their beautiful ceremony and reception.  In June, I hosted a bridal shower for Chelsey at my home.  Below are pictures from the event.

We had 40 invited guests (about 27 came), and therefore decided to do a buffet style menu.

We rotated the dining room table and pushed it back against the window to allow for additional seating in the living room while gifts were opened and games played.

As people arrived, we served drinks and directed people to help themselves to the main food buffets.  We had seating set up in the formal living room (unfortunately I didn't get a pic) and the family room (see pictures below).

Food Table

Additional food on the kitchen counter

After everyone finished their main course, we played a couple of games.

We played Bridal Bingo and also had "advice cards" with various prompts such as "Always remember....", "Never forget...", etc. The final game was my favorite called "Mustaches and Pearls".  Each guest received a "mustache" and "pearls" on stick (see upper ride side of this photo).  I would then read a question about either the bride or group (such as: "Whose favorite animal as a child was an orca whale?") and then guests would either hold up the mustache (above their lips) or pearls (around their neck) depending on if they thought the answer applied to the bride or groom.  I am sorry to say I do not have any pictures of all the guests as they were playing, but it was definitely a hoot!

Game table 

After games, we cut the cake and passed out dessert, which people enjoyed while watching Chelsey open her packages.

Dessert Table

Close-up of the cake with the bride and groom's monogram

My wonderful sister and mom helped me with the shower, and Biz did such a great job making sure everyone's glasses were constantly full!

Drink station (missing the iced tea which was put out before guests arrived.)   

The favors came from a wonderful new cookie shop in Oklahoma City - 1 Smart Cookie.  They are the "Wedding Minis" wrapped in cellophane bags with bows in coordinating colors 

Tissue Paper Pom Poms - we put these in all the doorways to dress up the rest of the house.

We used the family room for additional seating while people ate - so they would be more comfortable.  I just added a couple of table clothes and small flower vases to each table to spruce it up.  I used a number of TV trays around the house so people would have places to set their drinks and plates, - but covered each with a neutral table cloth (I had 4 matching ones from a former shower) and then wrapped them around the bottom with white ribbon (see upper left corner of this photo). I think it made it a little more fancy without costing me any more money.  I always try to go through my former shower decorations to see what I can re-use!

I had a wonderful time planning and hosting the shower, but definitely could not have done it without my wonderful support network of family who helped cook, decorate, serve and clean!  I am truly blessed to be a part of such of a great family!

Thanksgiving

This year, D and I hosted our very first Thanksgiving!  We had both of our families over to our house (a total of 17 people!)

My Dad is a wonderful cook, and has always made our Thanksgiving dinner, and was nice enough to help me plan, shop and cook both Wednesday and Thursday.  Below is a picture of my favorite chef on Turkey Day!

Again, the lack of living room furniture came in handy - my father-in-law brought me extra tables and chairs from his work, and we were able to just extend into the living room.

Given the number of people, I decided to do a buffet, on the kitchen counter, and have a separate dessert table in the living room. Apparently, everyone was concerned about there being enough treats, and brought extras, because we ended up with 14 desserts for 17 people! (Clearly no one left hungry.)

My mom was a huge help planning the table decorations.  We decided to go a little glitzy.  Below is a picture of each place setting.  We used a gold charger, and a combination of my wedding china as well as my mom's.  We found the purple plate on a huge sale at JC Penny's (so if anyone ever needs to borrow 18 purple plates, just let me know!)  The napkins were another sale at Bed Bath and Beyond.  And they were topped with gold pine cones from Hobby Lobby.  Between my mom and I, we had enough wine and water goblets for each person.  My favorite part of the place setting, however, was that we used my grandmother's sterling silver.

My mom found these super awesome glittery pumpkins and corn at a boutique near by.

I spray painted clear glass candle holders as well as some cheap-o Styrofoam pumpkins from Hob Lob, using a gold metallic spray paint.  I think they turned out pretty cute, and for a fraction of the cost of actual gold decorations.  I also purchased clear glass votive holders, and using clear scrapbook tape, added some gold ribbon to the bottoms.

Here are a couple additional pics of the table:

The food turned out great.  We were a little bit worried about the turkey being done, but the button finally popped up right before we were going to cut into it to see if it was finished.  (Coincidentally, I got three meat thermometers for Christmas this year - apparently people saw a need a decided to fill it!)  Here is D "fake" carving the turkey (we actually used an electric carver).

I set up all of the food buffet style in the kitchen.  I think it turned out fine, though next year, I might consider covering the counter with a table cloth and using blocks to provide some height variation.

The evening concluded with a fire-show by my big brother in the back yard.

Overall, I think our first Thanksgiving was a success, and we look forward to hosting again next year!

House Warming Party

So yes, I know these are all kinds of out of order.

I have the day off (actually the week, but D has been home up until today.) I helped out with a funeral at church this morning, lunch with my sister, watched the Blind Side, cleaned out the closet under the stairs and the rest of the first floor and decided that cleaning upstairs did not sound as fun as watching TV.  However, being the insane multi-tasker that I am, I thought I would catch up on some blogging.  So please forgive the random order!

In July, we were settled in (enough) to host a house-warming party on 4th of July weekend.  The event itself was a blast and we really enjoyed having all of our friends over.  However, the lead up to the party was a disaster to say the least.

I had an extended weekend over the 4th, and had already taken care of cleaning the house.  We had some repairmen in the house working on installing our new windows (two days before the party) - I was a little nervous about the timing (what if they didn't finish on time, what if there was a problem with the install, what if there were giant holes in my house when our guests arrived, etc.)  However, they did a great job, cleaned up beautifully and the windows are awesome.  I spent most of that day crafting and making decorations, food labels, etc.

I made this banner out of burlap and ribbon.  I have included a few close ups for your viewing pleasure!

The next morning, I went to the grocery store, liquor store and Sam's Club.  I returned home to start cooking, only to find that my kitchen sink wasn't draining.  I called D and we decided I should try Drano, first.  I ran back to the store, came home with the Drano, and no luck.  I then tried a plunger, still nothing.  Finally, I decided to clear out under the sink and take apart the drain trap.  I was able to get the entire thing taken apart and still could not find a clog.  My brother-in-law was home, and came over to help.  He took apart the garbage disposal, thinking maybe the clog was in there.  At this point, it was early afternoon, and I was concerned about getting a plumber to come out on a holiday weekend.  D wanted me to wait until he got home to make sure he could not fix it (without paying a plumber).

After he worked on it for an hour or so, we finally called a 24 hour plumber, who got to the house around 9:00 pm.  At this point, I had gotten as much prep work on the food done as I could, and had finished decorating.  I was finishing up a few things around the house, when I heard D and the plumber celebrating a victory.  I should note, our kitchen has  "cut-out" into the family room over the sink.  They were standing in the kitchen, and I walked by the family room, and saw water pouring out from under the base boards (very close to my brand new PB rug!).  I screamed (naturally) and we grabbed towels and got it cleaned up.

As it turns out, there was major clog (paper towels, likely the kids who lived here before us), as well as a weakened pipe.  When I put the Drano down the sink, it caused the weakened pipe to be more corroded, blah, blah, blah - water all over my brand new hardwood floors.

The plumber figured this all out and said he could come back in the morning (after the part store opened. The next morning, I went over to my parents to use their fully functional kitchen to do my cooking, while D stayed with the plumber.  He did a great job, had it done by noon and cleaned everything up perfectly.

We then did our last minute cleaning and decorating and were ready in time for our first guests!

I found the inspiration for the below decoration on Pinterest.  I used some paper lanterns and also purchased tissue paper and made tissue paper balls.  To finish it off, I used red, white and blue glitter tulle.

Sadly, those all the pictures I have of the party :(.  The buffet table had a bright blue table cloth, and food labels made of corks with tooth picks and cards cut out with my Slice, and written in silver Sharpie.  I added some red and blue ribbon bows to each to make them more festive.

We did not have any living room furniture, so I set up three tables in there, and three tables outside.  Each covered with either a red and white or blue and white checkered table cloth, a square of burlap fabric and daisies in a mason jar with red and blue ribbon around it. 

For the menu we stuck with lots of finger foods and heavy snacks.  D got a keg and we made white and red wine sangria (labeled with a chalk board).  We also had a pinata full of mini liquor bottles, which everyone had fun smashing, as well as a trivia game about the new house/house buying process, etc.

Despite the craziness leading up to it, we had a such an amazing time, and look forward to many more parties to come!

Burlap crafting

So I am absolutely in love with burlap. If you have ever visited my home, you'll know I use it to decorate frequently. When we were in the process of decorating our family room we really need a piece of art for one wall. I already had gallery wall with electic photos and a large engagement photo on another wall. I thought something other than photos would create a good mixture of textures. I decided to create my own "wall art" I started with a oval frame from Hobby Lobby (50% off of course!):

I really liked this one because it had some interesting details:

Now, being the spray paint fan that I am, I purchased some green spray paint as well as a clear laquer top coat, and sprayed down the frame completely.

Next, I purchased burlap fabric, black fabric paint, wooden letters and some stencils.  I traced the glass that was in the frame onto burlap using a pencil so that I had the exact shape to layout my letters.  I could not find stencils in the exact correct sizes, so I used the wooden letters, painted the backs with black paint then pressed them once onto a paper towel (to remove some of the paint), and then pressed them (like a stamp) on to the burlap.  The store was unfortunately out of the "N" and being the impatient person I am, I purchased an M and an extra I, and my wonderful husband cut them to make an "N".

The smaller letters I did using stencils and a brush.  I dipped the brush in the paint, then dabbed most of the paint off on a paper plate, and then dabbed onto the burlap within the stencil to create a "stamp" effect.

Once it was dry, I put the fabric in the frame. You can see in the picture below it was a little rippely at first.

I ended up re-doing it to make it tighter. I recommend two people for this process, as it helps to have an extra set of hands to pull the fabric taught.

I think the end result turned out well!

It only took three months...

Well hello again.

I wish I had a better explanation for the lack of posting, but the most honest answer would be that life got in the way.

Since my last post, we have had a great end of summer and start to fall.  D has been very busy at work and I started traveling again around mid-July.  We have enjoyed cheering on our beloved Cowboys to 6 wins this season (and can't wait to go to a BCS Bowl Game this winter!)  We have been in our new home for six months and we are more in love with it than when we bought it.  We have enjoyed taking Maggie for walks around our neighborhood, decorating the porch for fall, and slowly but surely redecorating rooms inside.  So far we have tackeled the upstairs guest bathroom (photos to come) and the family room (again, photos to come).  However, our really big project has been to re-do the downstairs powder room.

When house hunting, I desperately wanted a powder room - I love the idea of a bathroom that is always spotless for guests and with a two story lay-out it is very convenient.  Below are some pictures of the bathroom when we purchased our home.

Other than a broken faucet, there were no mechanical issues with the room - I just did not want that to be what welcomed our guests (the powder room is the first room you come to when you walk in the front door).  I was not a fan on the teal 12x12 tiles, the silver flake light fixture, and boring colors.

I am a big fan of wallpaper and decided that wallpaper in such a small space could have a big impact.  I decided that by keeping the wainscoting below, it would make the wallpaper less over-powering.

I spent days at Sherwin Williams with my very patient mom pouring over wallpaper books.  We finally settled on a light blue with a creamy white pattern.  I ordered the wallpaper and mentioned to D that we'd need to start removing the texture from the top half of the walls.

We I finally decided that the time had come, to give up on removing the texture and to tear out the walls and replace the drywall with smooth that could then be wallpapered. (Keep in mind the wallpaper is already sitting in our house and costs us quite a bit to return.)

My Dad and I decided to tackle the project, and ripped out the wallboard with relative ease one afternoon.  We then replaced the drywall and my sweet husband taped and mudded and primed.  My father-in-law is an expert wallpaper-er and came and installed the wallpaper - only to run out with one wall left.  Both D and I checked the math over and over, but what are you going to do?  D called and asked if we could get the same dye-lot, unfortunately it was no longer available.  D's Dad cleverly left one wall undone so the color variation is not noticeable at all.

I found the tile on Pinterest (my new favorite website/app!)  Unfortunately the image was linked to a woman's blog who did not say where it was from.  I spent hours trying to Google it (but it is surprisingly difficult to describe.)  D then mentioned he had heard about a new Google invention where you could actually search for an image online.  So I copied the picture, and in seconds had several websites that were willing to sell and ship the tile directly to us!  Unfortunately it was not the most simple thing to lay - but D tackled the problem like a pro!

I had a terrible time selecting a light fixture.  I had my heart set on a chandelier, but could NOT find one that fit the size of the room and my budget.  Finally, I found this light fixture at a local light store and I am in love! I love the effect it has on the ceiling when the bulb is lit!

I couldn't find a mirror that I loved and in the end I purchased an inexpensive one at Hobby Lobby and spray painted it white with a new "lacquer" finish spray paint.

We added a variety of decorative items including a new faucet, towel holder, soap dispenser, etc.  My mom is a pro shopper and just today showed up with the perfect rug and towels!

Fortunately, we were able to use the original sink and toilet, which were practically brand new.

At the end of the day however, it looks beautiful.  Better than I had ever imagined.  I am so grateful to have such a supportive husband, father, father-in-law and mom who helped support me and make my dreams a reality.