Emily's Bridal Shower!

Have you ever had the perfect party in your brain?

Along the way details get changed, there's too much to be done, wrenches get thrown into your plans, and a little thing called poverty conscious budgeting creeps up on you; It all leaves you wondering if the picture in your head will ever become a reality.

In a recent post about a Bridal Shower Gift, I mentioned that I'd been busy planning
a bridal shower for my friend Emily along with a very crafty-resourceful-fun-ambitious group of ladies: Jena (MOH), Carissa (Bridesmaid/photographer extraordinaire),
& Debbie (mother of the bride). And what a beautiful picture we had in our heads for the way we wanted Emily's shower to be! Her wedding colors are coral pink and espresso brown and Emily picked out brightly-colored vibrant flowers to really liven things up!

Here's how the shower turned out along with some tips along the way! Everything we did is incredibly DIY-able and for the most part budget-friendly; We couldn't be more thrilled with the way it turned out! (All photos courtesy of FABULOUS Carissa McClellan Photography! Visit her website here, and check her out on facebook here)

We went wit simple white table clothes (the paper ones with the decorative edges & plastic lining) and plain brown table runners (ALSO paper table clothes cut into four strips lengthwise! These runners were super simple, streamlined our decor and got a lot of compliments..). White flower and coral heart confetti broke up the plain brown runner, and we centered a large and small, ribboned mason jar of flowers on each table.

Side Note: Flowers are crazy expensive. We may or may not have used premade bouquets of pastel and neon daisies from Walmart (thanks Aunt Belva for scouting that out!). We also may or may not have torn said bouquets apart and picked our favorite colors. Additionally.... someone may have picked up some filler sprigs and already-opened roses (for a fraction the cost of a rosebud stem) on her way to the shower that morning. The same person may have also cut fresh peonies from a neighbor's yard while a certain maid of honor raided her mother's flowerbed.

Only one thing can be said for sure--YES that was me picking those purple flowers on the side of the road on my way to the church hall...

For favors, we bridesmaids spent many-a-night guzzling wine handcrafting these homemade bath fizzes. A pin paved the way to this helpful tutorial, and Martha Stewart showed us how to wrap it all up. The tags read:

 From My Shower to Yours

Homemade Bath Fizz

Emily and Mike

2012

Em's not a huge gamer so we made many of the games optional, and included other things to do like bringing along a recipe card and writing a piece of advice or special message to the bride-to-be.

Each of us girls made up a basket to give away as a door prize... Lottery, Herb Garden, Italian Cooking, Home & Bath.

A lovely shower for a lovely bride. And the best part is that the party turned out exactly the way we wanted it to! And we managed to keep it all (well...most of it) a surprise from Emily.

Mike put in an appearance to help lug the shower loot home...

Bridal Envy.

Emily and Her Mama

2/3 of the Maids

Bridal Party! (minus the tiniest, who was not open to being photographed at the moment)

Diva Dance Birthday Party!

Ever wonder how to through the perfect Diva Dance party for a little girl??
So did I. And after searching high and low, with only a handful of inspiring ideas, we decided to go it on our own. Here's how the party turned out!

I have introduced her in the past, but this is my niece Ashley.

She is fun, sassy, smart and beautiful (as if you couldn't see that for yourself...).

Well, this year our little diva turned 6, and I just knew we had to have a

spectacular party for her and her friends.

So when I mentioned a Dance theme, and Ashley's eyes twinkled--we had found our party inspiration. The fun started with these adorable invites we created.



Ashley got to pick some of her favorite songs that we burnt onto CD's for
her friends. Her party playlist included songs by Alvin & the Chipmunks, The Jackson 5,
Justin Beiber (duh), Selena Gomez and The Black-Eyed Peas. I created the CD labels with the basic Averytemplate in microsoft word, and then emailed them to a local copy shop. Little labels on the back read "Here are some of Ashley's favorite songs
to keep you dancing until party time!" with a
list of the songs on the CD.

In true diva fashion, we had a photo-shoot for her "album cover."



Here are some of the special touches we added to give Ash and her friends the chance to party like a rockstar: My sisters (one being Ashley's mama), made this perfect guitar cake out of tiny, bite-size cupcakes! And even the ice cream cones were diva-licious.

Seriously? Could this be any cuter?? The bite-size cupcakes were wonderful for the girls too and
reduced the chances of 12 half eaten cupcakes...



Sugar cones and a scoop of ice cream, rolled in silver sprinkles? Hello-microphones! Ice Cream fit for a group of rockstars!



I made this Diva bunting by using scrapbook paper in different colors and
textures that matched the party theme (Silver glitter, hot pink, purple, black & zebra)

Each girl got their own VIP tag with their name on it when they arrived at the party!

I decorated the table using the really thick meshed ribbon they sell around Christmas, a spool of hot pink ribbon, and disco ball silver Christmas ornaments (can I get an amen for post-season sales?)



The rest of the house was decorated to fit theme too!



The girls decorated T-shirts and danced the day away...



Please take a second look at our diva's outfit for the day...? AND all of her friends' outfits also. And tell me when 6 year olds started dressing better then I do??

We also sprayed a pink stripe in all of the girls hair, gave them temporary tatoos, and played a few dancing games. Here's the party planning committee:

Even little Amber took part in the dancing fun :)



The day was long, the girls were crazy, and by the end we were all exhausted... but Ashley and all of her friends had such a great time and were adorable in all of their sugar-enduced party excitement :)

Sara: Wine and Cheese? Yes Please!

I love planning things.

Wine tours for us gals, dinner dates and nights on the town and of course--PARTIES! So when I first saw the idea on Pinterest for a wine and cheese party, my little head and all the thoughts in it could not seem to concentrate on anything else. Ask any of the other gals--I annoyingly party planned out loud to them via emails, phone calls, and get togethers for weeks until the party actually happened last Friday.

So here I am to share with you the inspiration and details for my Wine and Cheese extravaganza. It all started with this innocent little pin:

The chalkboard/cork/wine combination was just too classic to mess with. So it was from this pin that my party was born. It started with the invites that I made. I bought an off-white blank card and envelope set, cork scrap-booking paper with an adhesive back, chalk board scrap-booking paper (all from Michael's), and olive and burgundy toned paint swatches that I stealthily stuffed my purse with at Walmart (yes I'm that girl; and the idea is seriously too ingenious to let the embarrassment of potentially being seen stop you!)

I'll put a better picture on here if I can find
one, but for now.. that's as good as it gets.

This is what I came up with:

The invite asked each guest to RSVP, and as they did I gave each guest a particular wine to bring along with them. Nothing fancy, just the average liquor store or local winery variety, any brand. (I was shooting for the $10-$15 range so that no one would have to break the bank!)

After the invites I began some party prep. I bought enough wine glasses for each of my guests and painted the tops of their bases with chalkboard paint, so that everyone could claim a glass of their own and mark it with their name or designs. I used Martha Stewart Chalkboard paint in black. First I taped around the stem of each glass to keep the lines crisp. I found four coats of paint gave me the perfect opaque matte finish I was looking for, and voila!

I made the cute little sign by putting a piece of the chalkboard paper in a cheap antique looking frame, and hanging it on the wall above the wine glasses the night of the party!

I found an ingenious pairing website, hellovino, that gave me all of the ideas for the food I would make, and the cheeses I would offer for each wine! Here's a portion of my wine list, and the food I decided to serve with each:

Reds:
Cabernet Sauvignon- Gouda, Cheddar,  & Camembert Cheeses; and Hershey Kisses

Chinati-  Fontina & Fresh Mozzerella Cheeses; and Pizza

Grenache- Cheddar, Gouda, Swiss & Fontina Cheeses; and Herbed Italian Mini Meatballs (great recipe!)

Syrah- BBQ Pork, Cornbread, Twix candy bars (I didn't make this up! visit hellovino for other strange pairings!)

Tawny Port- Blue Cheese; and Hershy Kisses & Almonds

Whites:

Chardonnay- Brie Cheese; and Cornbread and pumpkin dip (Do yourself a favor and beg Kayla for this easy-peasy recipe!)

Pinot Grigio- Gouda

Gewurztraminer- (This wine is one of my most favorites. If you haven't had it...you haven't lived) Swiss & Muenster Cheeses; Mini Quiche Lorraines

Riesling- BBQ Pork, Caramelized Onion Apple Bites (Strangely savory & delicious) & Gingersnap Cookies

Sauvignon Blanc- Goat Cheeses; and Spinach dip & Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp (Everyone raved about this dish!! Thank you Pioneer woman, you've done it again!)

Prosecco- Chicken Cordon Bleu (I cheated here... I cut down chicken tenders into bite sized pieces, and halfway through their baking added a slice of ham and swiss cheese!) & Lemon Chiffon Pie (mmmm)

There was so much food and wine that I couldn't make my display as picture perfect as my inspiration board, but I'll take more food over presentation any day! Here's how the night turned out:

Note the cute little cheese flags in the photo above? Super easy: cut the flag shapes out of cardstock, poke two tiny holes on the triangle's fat end--one above the other--insert toothpick end in and back out the holes, and write on the type of cheese! 

For each bottle of wine, I made these cute little tags that the guests could tie on with green rafia as they arrived! Each tag had the wine name, the pronunciation for those not so familiar with wine lingo, and the back listed any cheeses or dishes that were recommended to try with each variety.

I also gave some door prizes for the guests who could guess the closest number to this trivia question's answer: How many gallons of wine can be produced from an acre of grape vines? The answer: 800! Here are the prizes I gave pictured below; The closest two got these mini grapevine wreaths I made and the next four got these "charming"  grape ornaments/wine bottle charms!

Happy guests and a table full of food! We are still polishing off the leftovers!

Me and some of the wine loving gals

Check out the chica on the left at her blog, Team Studer!

The collateral damage--altogether, 16 girls finished off 10 bottles of vino, and left 2 half finished! Not bad for a nights work!

Now, I have the daunting task of emptying the remaining bottles.... poor me, however will I do it? ;)

Happy Party Planning!

Sara: Mama D's 50th Birthday Surprise

My mom turned 50 today, October 30, 2011.

She is a loving wife, best friend and mother to 3 daughters, and super-grandma extraordinaire to 3 beautiful children who call her "Gaga."

Gaga is, however, only one of her nicknames. We have also lovingly dubbed her Kitty. Ever seen That 70's Show? Remember Eric's closet drinking hysterical mother? Well my mom also enjoys an occasional cocktail and has been known to spike her coffee with Kaluha.

The fellow gals with which I share this blog, have also provided another nickname for my mother: Mama D. It all started when  we decided to go to trivia night at a local bar, invited my mom, and named ourselves, "Mama D's Chickadees." From there it stuck, and became forever added to her list of alibis.

Anywho. Mama D has turned 50. This weekend we planned a surprise treasure hunt for her around town. I wrote cute little rhyming phrases that would lead her from one stop to the next.

So her travels led her all over our wee village, starting at a flower shop where she picked up a pretty bouquet I pre-ordered for her and her huge obnoxious-look-at-me-I'm-50-birthday-girl-pin.

(The Birthday girl pin I made for Mama D! 50 years later and still as cute!)

From there, she ventured on to a local pizza shop, where both my sister and myself have worked. Here, she picked up an over night bag with a wrapped gift inside (PJs) and another clue that led her..... to the drive-through at the bank! They ladies here sent her out her next clue and a travel-sized toothpaste (all wrapped up of course--she was under strict orders not to open any gifts yet!). She was then directed to the local salon where she goes to ger her hair done, where she was presented with another gift and clue (mini shampoo and conditioner, and her favorite perfume). The next clue, which I'm sure was her favorite, led her to the local bar we frequent for a much needed "OMG I'm turning 50" drink. Next, the clues took her to the grocery store in town where she went to pick up her chocolate peanut butter birthday cake :)

(As a side note here.. when my sister went to check that everything was in place on Friday, the clueless woman behind the cake counter was fully prepared to write "Happy Birthday Pick" on the cake.... because I had asked the lady who I gave the order to, to just put in a pick that said happy birthday. )

Finally she was led to a local Italian restaurant, where she was told she would be picking up take-out for her dinner. When she arrived, however, she was greeted by 11 smiling faces and a very off-key rendition of happy birthday in which we all called her gaga.

It was here that she opened her gifts, and put it together that she would be going somewhere! My dad had made arrangements at a Bed and Breakfast nearby for the next evening. Her treasure hunt had also helped her pack :)

This birthday surprise was very special and couldn't have gone smoother. My mother is an amazing, kind-hearted and completely self-sacrificing woman. She has been the ultimate role model for me and I was so glad to be able to put something like this together for her special weekend.