Just Laugh.

A Few Thoughts About Winter, Snow and Freezing My Face Off

2012-02-08T12:36:00.000-05:00

Wouldn't it be great, if when it snowed, it was always a sweet and cozy, problem-free, stress-free experience?

I wish.

Honestly.. When I think of the word 'snow', my first reaction is to gag. I hate snow. Thoughts, feelings and experiences I associate with snow are as follows:

Frozen body

Runny nose

Numb skin, arms, hands, legs and toes

Salt everywhere. Including salt in my socks and salt in my shoes

Oh yeah, and salt stains running about a foot up the back of my jeans

Slipping on ice

Shoveling the driveway

Struggling to scrape ice off of my windshield, windows and mirrors

Waiting for the "car to heat up"

Slush that ruins my flats

Driving in terror

I've been dreading the cold since we first decided we would move back to the Midwest. All I could think of was the times I hated pumping gas, feeling like my face had frozen off or times I nearly crashed my car from all the black ice. I hated having to run outside to start my car at 3am to prevent the engine from freezing. I hated having a big clunky coat everywhere I went. Wahh, Minnesota is so cold. SO cold.

Halloween Blizzard of 1991

"Armistice Day Blizzard" of 1940

2011 - Collapsed Metrodome after 17" of snow

I think it was late September when I realized the cold was hitting hard and fast. We finally had our first snowfall sometime in November.. Unfortunately it was a night I had to work late and had to make the nasty drive back from Minneapolis. Oofta.

I keep bracing myself for a 3-foot snowfall or a massive storm to hit, providing us with a real Snow Day (unlike SC's version of a "Snow Day"). It's been strange though - Surprisingly warm for a Minnesota winter. It's been so dry and mild, that some of our friends and family have called us "lucky charms" - claiming that we brought the warm up from South Carolina. Ha! I do wish we had the same winters as SC. If I had it my way, I'd want snow for the week of Christmas and then it can melt away for all I care. I miss wearing flip flops in February.

I'm not exaggerating on this winter being dry, either. According to MPR, last year to date, MN had more than 60 inches of snow. This year, to date? We have only had 14.9 inches! The Metrodome roof collapsed thanks to 17 inches of snow - more than we've had all year. WEIRD! It actually makes me tolerate snow a lot more - to the point of even liking it a little. Hmm.. I'm hoping and praying it doesn't snow again until next year. I doubt that will be the case, but it feels good to hope!

{Click photos for source}

A Tropical Birthday Surprise + A Nautical Dessert Party

2012-01-18T16:57:00.000-05:00

Back in December, my bro-in-law, Jordan called me looking for some help in throwing together a little birthday party for my youngest sister Lanae! Of course, I began thinking of some fun little ideas and after running a few by him, we decided to go with a nautical-inspired dessert party. Jordan really wanted to go out for dinner with my family and somehow surprise Lanae as well. We decided on a restaurant (old, but new to us) called Psycho Suzi's. From what I knew about Psycho Suzi's, the place looked like a rundown VFW or sketchy warehouse, but inside it was a tropical paradise! Jordan left most of the details to me - he planned to meet us for dinner and then "nonchalantly" head back to my parents for a fun little party - little did Lanae know!

"What are you guys doing here?!"

L&J

Mom and the boys (minus Mitch & Jon)

Dad and Vaness

After our fun little birthday dinner, my mom, Vanessa and I rushed back to the house to get the rest of the food put out while the boys and Lanae made a quick stop at Walgreen's for a little 'delay'.. It was all timed quite perfectly. She was SO surprised!

I've thrown a couple nautical/beach-inspired parties in the past, and I really wanted this one to be somewhat original. I decided to go with more "mature" beach elements, focusing on navy and white. I was excited to reuse a few things I had spent hours making for Justin's Surf's Up Birthday Party last March - the mock capiz shell garland, shell pomanders + a couple beachy recipes.

I love incorporating memories into birthday parties.. Memories are priceless! I gathered a collection of favorites from everyone in the fam and printed them onto flags. This is the first "memory" garland I've made.. I thought it turned out so stinkin' cute!

{Music}

included a compiled mix of songs by South, Dandy Warhols, JET, Doves, Turin Brakes, Spoon, Alexi Murdoch, Phantom Planet, Eels, The Killers, Nada Surf, Perishers, Keane, Beck, Aqueduct, Imogen Heap and more!

{Menu}

Happy Birthday, Nae!

xo

Fonts used: kevinandamanda

New Years in Galena

2012-01-06T17:52:00.000-05:00

Justin and I were really fortunate to be able to take some time off work after Christmas through New Years! We planned a little trip to see his family in Wisconsin (I can't believe I didn't take more pictures!), plus I'd get to finally spend some time with my bestie, Marta - It's been way too long!

We drove into Gratiot to spend a few days with the fam before spending the weekend in Galena. We celebrated Levi's birthday and I relaxed the most I had in months. Augh, so nice! We ate Casey's pizza (apparently, legendary) and exchanged Christmas gifts.. Lukus gave me some incredible white appetizer plates for me to use for all of my parties, plus some other sweet gifts! It was so nice of his parents to move some things around in the basement to make it even cozier for us to stay. They arranged a new little room for us and a hangout area for all the "kids" to hang once it started getting late.

Jamming and freestyling with Levi. He even let me name all of his songs!

Later in the week, we spent an afternoon in New Glarus, WI with Justin's bros and Marta! Lunch at the NG Hotel and exploring Little Switzerland's bakery, cheese shop and meat shop. What a fun day!

Like a 'kid in a sweet shop' - haha

And then the snow began to fall..

Headed to the NG Brewery, crammed in the back of the Element

Our condo for New Year's weekend - Marta hooked us up with! The old Galena High School, overlooking downtown Galena

Two amazing things: Skrillex & Egg Rolls

Only 3,000 steps to climb to get to Main Street

Live music and hanging with friends at Embe

Thennn the sock-mittens came out..

Getting ready to say 'goodbye'

Hangin' with G before we headed back to his parent's house


Say, Whaat?!

Greatest Hits of 2011

2012-01-01T21:34:00.001-05:00

2011 was pretty great! I definitely didn't blog as much as I wanted to, but oh well! Here's a few of our favorite mems for the year (and I have to say, I think March was my fave!)!

January

Marta came to visit Greenville for the second time in 3 months! We celebrated New Years with friends and Justin's brothers - one of the best I have ever had!
Our little man, Romeo, turned 2 years old.
I had to rush Justin to the Emergency Room for severe stomach pains. The ER was a total nightmare and we still don't know what in the world happened.

February

I threw my first “hired” party! Our good friend, Josh, asked me to design a party for his wife, Theresea's, birthday. She loves pigs so much, so I went with a pig-inspired theme. She was so surprised!

March

I helped my friend, Jody, throw a huge Rockstar-Glam Birthday Bash - Oh yes, costumes included.
Marta visited again! She came to celebrate Justin and my birthdays with a huge beach-inspired party for J and a trip to Charleston!
We took a short trip to Asheville.. Justin got his first tattoo!
We went on an amazing roadtrip to West Palm Beach, FL with friends, Josh and Theresa.. Lots of great memories and more birthday celebrations!
I celebrated my 27th birthday, which Justin surprised me with an incredible party (which he decorated all by himself!) filled with our best friends.
Justin's birthday gift to me was also a huge surprise.. our new puppy, Coco Chanel!
I was hired by another friend to design a bridal shower inspired by Anthropologie
I designed and hosted a jungle-themed baby shower for my good friend, Tiffany

April

We traveled to Virginia to see Justin's brother, extended family and his immediate fam, who drove down from Wisconsin. We had an packed weekend, including juggling our 2 pups and catching up with relatives we hadn't seen in a long time!

May

We celebrated Easter by hosting a colorful, little lunch party with Justin's bros. Unfortunately, Justin was super sick and missed out.
Justin had to have an unexpected surgery, and was hospitalized for 5 days. Not a fun memory.
Jody and I hosted a fun oriental-inspired cookout. The food was to DIE for.
We saw Sleigh Bells in Asheville and ran into our friends, Gina & Curtis. Incredible show.
We finally told our friends that we were planning to move. Wow, it was definitely more difficult than I imagined.
I hosted a small Mexican dinner party for our close friends. Dinner was awesome, until towards the end - Romeo decided to have massive, explosive diarrhea.

June

We said 'goodbye' to many of our dear friends - including our Shepherding Group - which we were welcomed by a gorgeous farewell party on our last night with the group
We threw our own farewell party and an emotional last few nights in Greenville
We endured a handful of days of nonstop packing for the big move. Cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning with my sister, her fiance (now hubby) and our closest friends
We moved from South Carolina to Minnesota, journeying with 2 vehicles, a giant moving truck and 2 very needy pups
Summer began and we lived it up before finally finding some jobs.. We saw Foster the People, late nights watching movies, hottubbing, a Father's Day Jazz Party and silly memories at the Drive-In
I began freelancing for Chanel again! It felt so good to be back with my all-time favorite cosmetic line
My good friend, Jade, got married! I was honored to be a part of her big day as her Personal Attendant

July

We rocked out with my parents at a Black Keys show - our birthday gifts from them
Celebrated the 4th watching fireworks overlooking our beautiful MN Boat Club venue where we had our MN Wedding Reception in 2008
My friend, Ash, offered me a free ticket to see Britney Spears live! We had fantastic seats and sang our little hearts out!
I hosted (with some help from Jade!) a garden-inspired baby shower for my good friend, Mulder and her unborn twins. The whole experience was insane and amazing at the same time! {Photos}
Our planned "family camping trip" quickly shifted to an indoor weekend after some rough weather {Photos}

August

Vanessa and I hosted a Cuban-inspired bachelorette/bridal shower dinner party for our little sister, Lanae. All the work put into it was so worth it! {Photos}
I designed and helped host a second bridal shower for Lanae, inspired by lemons
I was offered a job as the Business Manager for the Minneapolis Macy's Chanel counter.. Definitely one of my dream jobs (aside from my career in therapy)
After couple years, we finally were able to go to the MN State Fair and stuff our faces with handfuls of greasy food

September

My dear high school friend, Laura, got hitched - I was honored to do makeup and be a part of her special day! On the same day, in all of the craziness, Coco went into her first heat. Talk about bad timing..
Mulder finally had her babies! I finally met them despite all of the chaos with my new job, and we celebrated her birthday
My little sister got married! I was honored to do almost all of the decor for the wedding/reception And yes, I cried like a little baby.

October

Justin and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary
We took advantage of some time off work and traveled to southern Wisconsin to visit his family and Marta
My little blog turned 2 years old!
I helped with decor for Lanae and Jordan's Spooky Halloween Party

November

We celebrated a Gold + Aqua Thanksgiving with my family for the first time ever. I threw the party decor together on a budget of $2.99! We girls laughed our heads off as we rushed around, serving food and maneuvered through the messiest kitchen in the world!
I left my job at Macy's for an incredible opportunity to work in therapy again (plus, paid grad school tuition!)

December

I publicized my new Starter Site "alannaandes.com", kicking off my plans to create a business in party design and planning
Lanae (my sister) and her hubby got a new pup! Little Bernie is the cutest little Boston!
I started my new job at the MN Autism Center School - So far, I love it!
I helped my mom throw an Italian-inspired Christmas dinner party on Christmas Eve! It was such a fabulous night and the food was delish!
We traveled to Wisconsin to celebrate a belated Christmas with Justin's family and ring in the New Year in Galena with Marta & Justin's brothers!
Our little peanut, Coco Chanel turned 1 year old! I love her to pieces and I really can't believe how big she is!

Miscellaneous Photos from 2011

Why Hello There, 2011!

Since We've Moved

Jordan & Lanae's Wedding Setup and Rehearsal

Jordan & Lanae's Wedding Day

Coco Chanel

July 2011

A Vintage, White & Gold Christmas Inspired by Italy

2011-12-31T00:58:00.000-05:00

Buon Natale Italiano!

I haven't had the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with my family since 2008 - the year Justin and I were married. It was just too hard and expensive to travel back and forth from SC to Midwest, PLUS we were lucky to spend holidays with Justin's fam in Virginia or in Greenville. I didn't want our tight budget to affect my obsession with needing to decorate or "come up with a theme" for everything, so I didn't! My mom had mentioned how fun it would be to switch things up this year -- instead of our traditional Swedish dinner (oh yes. Swedish meatballs, lutefisk, lefse, rootamoose, lingonberries, the works. We have a lot of Swede in our blood), she wanted to go with an Italian dinner (despite having no Italian blood). The menu was all catered by Capital View - the same restaurant who catered my Lanae's wedding. It was delish!

I will say.. Christmas has changed since my 2 of my grandparents have passed away. We would have a huge gathering at my parents every other Christmas Eve - I miss those times. You know what, though? It's OK, because new traditions are starting and we have a blast no matter what. It was really great to have my Grandma, a couple Aunts and a cousin join us this year - in addition to our entire family + all of the husbands.

Inspiration for our little dinner party came from some vintage elements with a little holiday mixed in. I loved the idea of shades of gold and silver metals with white, tan and cream.. but the thought of not including red seemed so wrong. So I included red. I thought it turned out pretty well.. It was all thrown together pretty quick with our budget in mind - I found some birds on clearance at Michael's and bought a bunch of clearanced, silver, sparkly branches for the place settings. I believe the total cost for everything came to less than $13.00 (of course, using things I already had). Not bad!

My mom and I added to the menu by making our own garlic bread, cheeseballs (new and old recipes!) and punch.

Anyway.. I wish my photos were a pinch better in quality, but oh well.. Enjoy.

To give our dining area more of an "Italian cafe" feel, we removed the large dining table and set 3 separate tables. Garlands included string lights, a paper flag garland (hand cut and punched), gold and silver strung beads, strung cotton balls and strands of knitted yarn. I give the knitted yarn credit to my sister, Vanessa - She did all the work on those, and I didn't even have room to use all of what she made! I totally loved the combination of the different textures together.. It really wasn't as chaotic as it might appear (ha!).

Centerpieces were made of gold and champagne sprayed branches with birds and tied fabric, lace and ribbon. I added my new little birds and suspended old ornaments (which actually belonged to my grandma) along with a few of my hollow yarn balls (see DIY here).

The food table was in the kitchen. We did a "buffet style" for serving and it worked out quite nice. Centerpiece included several vintage milk glass vases (received as gifts or found at the thrift store), pearl branches, red and white feathers and sprayed branches mirroring the dining room centerpieces. I made 2 vertical garlands out of old muslin I already had, adding lace, ribbon and beads for more texture.

Our fantastic menu..

Lanae and Vaness, loading up their plates

Being silly

Punch buddies!

Jon and Vanessa

Jordan and Lanae's new pup, Bernard! I like to call him "Sire" with an English accent.

With Grandma!

With my mom and aunt

Lanae & Aunt Dynette

Our beautiful tree my mom and I spent hours decorating

All zonked out..

Merry little Christmas to you!

What I'm Listening To.. A Little Christmas Mix

Anthropologie's To-Die-For Displays

2011-12-29T18:30:00.000-05:00

I think it's safe to say, I am quite obsessed with Anthropologie. Despite everything offered being extremely expensive (a little too expensive), I love the shabby chic/vintage inspiration that store gives me on a regular basis. I know I'm not the only one with this obsession.. Try Pinterest or Google-searching "Anthropologie-inspired".. The results are endless. I'm pretty sure my favorite parties to organize have to be the ones I've done with Anthropologie in mind. I can't help it!

Just a few parties & DIY's I have done, inspired by Anthro -
Bridal Shower Inspired by Anthropologie
Cupcake Liner Pomanders
Ruffle Fabric Pomanders
Anthropoligie-Inspired Garland
Yellow Bridal shower with Anthropologie-Inspired Elements

Even the Q-Tip Flowers my sister an I made for our little sister's bridal shower were inspired by Anthropologie.. Remember?

Anthropologie

The ones we made..

Not only is Anthropologie known for their unique style, merchandising and design creativity, but they are especially known for their incredible displays and window displays. I love these so much, I had to share!

Scrap wood display in front of Philadelphia store. Credit

Clothespins. Credit

Marshmallows

More marshmallows. Credit

Cork. Credit

More cork. Credit

Paper. Credit

Tissue. Credit

Birds. Credit

Branches. Credit

Marshmallows, mugs and doilies. Credit

Rubberbands. Credit

Clothespins. Credit

Cork. Credit

Books. Credit

Clothespins. Credit

Snowflakes. Credit

Paper chains. Credit

Ornaments. Credit

Draped Paper and Paper Chains. Credit

Wine corks. Credit

Paper chains and ornaments. Credit

Dyed fabric. Credit

"Snow" letters. Credit

Paper and fabric. Credit

Credit

Igloo made of milk jugs. Credit

Carved books. Credit

Books. Credit

Credit

Books. Credit

Stockings. Credit

Chair and table pieces. Credit

Plastic cups. Credit

Balloon dogs. Credit

More cork. Credit

Credit

Plants in small bags. Credit

Bread. Credit

Coffee mugs. Credit

Suckers. Credit

More clothespins. Credit

Mason jars. Credit

Tea bags. Original Source and Credit

Paper hangers. Credit

More hangers. Credit

Rolled sheets of paper. Credit

Chopsticks, plastic spoons and paper mache. Credit

Credit

Yarn balls. Credit

Credit

Fabric or wax paper? Credit

Rolled paper. Credit

Credit

Rolled sheets of paper. Credit

Clothespins. Credit

Chandelier covered in encyclopedia pages. Credit

Funnel planter and doily/piped headboard. Credit

Coffee filters. Credit

Rolled paper. Credit

Books. Credit

Ribbon and scissors. Credit

Books. Credit

Brown bags and packaging paper. Credit

Credit

Recycled bottles. Credit

Straws. Credit

Dishware. Credit

Newspaper. Credit

Cork. Credit

Credit

Created with IKEA supplies. Credit

Credit

Plastic cups. Credit

Credit

Tissue poms. Credit

Mittens. Credit

Credit

Real and wooden feathers. Credit

More clothespins. Credit

Credit

Wood? Credit

Credit

New Starter Site + Logo

2011-12-26T13:30:00.000-05:00

It's here! Many thanks to the fantastic Brian Saycocie, for designing my new logo and starter site!

There's still a ways to go, but for now - check it out!

www.alannaandes.com

Big Changes and a Brand New Job

2011-12-03T01:28:00.001-05:00

I have been looking for a job in counseling/therapy since we moved to Minnesota and haven't had much luck. I was genuinely excited to take the Business Manager position for Chanel in Minneapolis, but definitely wanted to keep my options open in pursuing my career in the mental health field. I have thought about grad school a lot more lately too.. struggling with the outstanding costs and sacrifice of time I would be making, not to mention.. it's school. It would be sweet to go back. Well - bittersweet, anyway.

My resume has been all over a handful of general and mental health job-search sites plus my manual search for jobs had been pretty tiresome and dead-ended. I decided to put as much of me into Chanel as possible, as a manager and freelance makeup artist, since I love Chanel more than just about anything. I repeat - I love Chanel. I hate retail. This was my 3rd time working for Macy's and the management, structure and communication skills have been different every time. I am not writing this to speak badly of Macy's, I think it just comes down to my disregard for all retail in the world. Of course, I took the job at the perfect time - end of summer, ready to roll full-forced into Thanksgiving and Christmas. Schedules grew worse and my patience grew thin. It was fun while it lasted though. I made some great friends and met some fantastic people during my short time there.

It all happened really fast. A few weeks ago, I received an alert for The Minnesota Autism Center looking for therapists to work with children who have autism (ASD - Autism Spectrum Disorders). I looked at the qualifications and thought I'd at least email my resume, even though my exposure to autism was mostly limited to children with Asperger's. I was shocked to receive an response from an actual human being within a half hour of my email. I was given an interview for the next afternoon (yee!) and I just so happened to have a short shift, allowing me to make it to the interview. I kept my hopes low, so I wouldn't be down on myself if I didn't get it. The interview went well and I found myself praying I'd get the job. Cell bill reimbursement, great pay, great hours, great experience and most of all.. paid tuition for grad school. It seemed too good to be true. Less than 2 hours after the interview, I received a call with an offer. Ah!!! I had to keep my mouth shut until I was able to give my notice to my Chanel Account Executive and Cosmetics Manager.. I was pretty shocked how fast it all happened - I still am. Within 24 hours, my life had gone from no job leads to an offer. My last 2 weeks flew by. 2 weeks full of long hours, giftwrapping, Shanghai Wok & LeeAnn Chin (not that I don't mind, haha) and crappy, overplayed Christmas music. I definitely won't miss Macy's, but I'll miss the people.

I had a nice long weekend to relax before I started my new job. It's been really great so far! There are a handful of MAC Centers around MN and the first MAC School (where I work) launched this past fall. I am a behavior therapist for 5th grade, working one-on-one with two children on a daily basis (one in the morning, one in the afternoon) providing ABA Therapy and assisting within the school setting. The structure and ABA Therapy is actually pretty incredible. I'm pretty new to it all, but I really like it. I feel like I've learned so much already, on top of absolutely falling in love with each of those kids. Each child in our little class is so entertaining in their own way and so smart! One of the kiddos I work with has me laughing all day with his sweet personality and mannerisms.. so cute! It's pretty exciting to be back in the mental health field again, not to mention the joy of being to freelance for Chanel on the side. It's so nice to have a regular weekday schedule where I don't have to drive to Minneapolis, the parking is free and I finish before 4pm. I forgot what it felt like to have weekends and a normal social life! More than anything, it's incredibly rewarding to be able to work with children again.

If you wanna know a little more about MAC - The Minnesota Autism Center.. Check out a couple videos below.

Soundtracks: Drive

2011-12-02T23:30:00.000-05:00

Justin and I saw Drive a couple weeks ago and it was definitely not what I expected. Well.. It kind of was, in that I expected it to not be a typical Ryan Gosling-ish kinda movie. I just didn't expect to love it as much as I did. We tend to enjoy a few of those movies out there that get the bad reviews for being so nontraditional or "weird".. Not sure why. Maybe because we make our own opinions based on expecting the movie to be pretty blah. He did fantastic in the role, as always. Ryan has always been one of our faves - What a doll!

The movie was pretty awesome and I definitely give huge credit to the soundtrack. The score was pretty simple, but something about it somehow added intensity to the film. Can't seem to get a few of the first songs off of repeat: Kavinsky & Lovefoxxx, Desire and College. I'm pretty into The Chromatics' track as well, with the remaining tracks as the score from the film, by Cliff Martinez. Honestly, the only song I could have done without is Riz Ortolani's "Oh My Love" - eugh, not a fan. Aside from a pretty sick soundtrack, Justin keeps trying to give me a list of reasons why he seriously wants and has to have the 'Scorpion Jacket'. So cute!

Drive

Check It Out

Featuring: Kavinsky & Lovefoxxx, Desire, College Feat. Electric Youth, Riz Ortolani Feat. Katyna Ranieri, The Chromatics and music by Cliff Martinez

A Gold + Aqua Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T11:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, loves! This year, I used all decor I already had, summarizing the dinner party as probably the cheapest "parties" I've ever set up for. It wasn't super embellished or detailed, but I did my best to make it nice with spending as little money as possible. I spent $2.99 for a can of spay paint, which I'd say.. is pretty stinkin' budget-friendly!

I pulled most of the decor with greens, golds and aquas in mind, by filling in with some mixed prints and brighter colors like fuchsia and mustard. Lanae and I came up with all of the Indian-inspired names for the place settings and everyone had a pretty good laugh. It was exciting to use my new collection of vintage goblets I found at my favorite thrift store this summer - Eee!

My mom wanted to have 2 turkeys this year since we were having so many people join for dinner. She told me she had a new, secret turkey-cooking tip that she "read it on the internet" in which you're supposed to flip the turkey upside down so all the juice stays in the turkey. Great idea, eh? It was.. until there wasn't any juice/grease to use for the gravy. Cheapest! The boys had to run to the store for the 4th time that day to get ingredients for gravy... Oh man. The turkeys were extra juicy though, so the tip actually works (just kinda jips you on gravy)!

This Thanksgiving was actually one of the most entertaining ones I've ever had - Between the chaos of my mom and I serving all of the food with the giggles, running out of serving spoons and making sure everyone had what they needed, I was exhausted and totally happy with how everything turned out.

The Menu

2 13-lb. Turkeys

Mashed Potatoes

Cheesy Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole

Corn

Honey-Cinnamon Carrots

Raspberry Fruit Jello

Orange Cream Jello

Mom Andes' Cherry Muffins

Dinner Rolls

Weddings Inspired by the Roaring 20's

2011-11-08T22:07:00.000-05:00

Augh! I'm obsessed with the 1920's (as if you haven't read that by now). I just can't get enough. I don't know where it began, but I love everything about the era. The headbands.. the makeup.. the fashion.. Just today, Green Wedding Shoes featured a to-die-for 20's-inspired wedding and I had to pass it on myself along with a collection of some of my favorite flapper-filled photos from 100 Layer Cake. Enjoy!

Source

Old Spooky Mansion-Inspired Halloween Party

2011-11-01T23:26:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloweenie! This year, Lanae & Jordan threw a heck of a party - Old Spooky Mansion style! I was lucky to help out with decor for the party, using a lot the stuff I had from last year and adding a few new things. Enjoy!

My bro-in-law (Jon) as White Trash and my sister (Vanessa) as a pirate

My Bro (Mitch) and his girlfriend (Liz) as a doctor and nurse

Zak as a Vampire

My sister (Lanae) as an Eskimo and my bro-in-law (Jordan) as a Woopie Cushion

Dan as Pedro and Stacie as a German Milk Maid

Bloody Finger Cookies

Bloody Bone Candy

Mummy Dogs

Frankenstein Marshmallow Pops and Cheese & Crackers

Devin and Nicole as Lumberjacks

Josh as Osama Bin Laden, Dom as a Marine and JP as Josh

Dan as a Pirate, too!

Isaac as a Samurai

Happy Halloween with a Pumpkin and a Punk Rocker

2011-10-31T11:53:00.000-04:00

Even with their desperate need for haircuts, we couldn't not dress up our little pups for Halloween. They wear clothes on a regular basis and really don't seem to mind it! Especially now that we live in a snowball, our little lovies depend on their tiny sweaters to stay warm. Found these little costumes at Target and couldn't help myself.. Happy Halloween!

Coco Chanel, our Lil' Pumpkin

Our Lil' Punk Rocker

My Little Blog is 2 Years Old!

2011-10-28T14:13:00.000-04:00

Holy cow, it's been 2 years! Looking back, this past year definitely seems busier and the crazy stories seem less eventful! I suppose it's a blessing either way, right?

On this day, I can't believe I actually have 47 followers! 47 people who actually care about what I have to say.. Quite an honor. When I first started it all, I thought my only followers would be Justin, my best friends, and my mom! Thanks so much for reading, lovies!

By the way, I do have some exciting news..

I will be launching my new party-planning website soon! A lot of things have been in the works in developing the logo and the starter-site and I can't wait to show everyone! I'm pretty excited. I plan to keep going with this blog as my personal blog, but will eventually be launching a party-blog as well. I promise to continue to keep you posted.. just hang in there!

xo

Photo Credit: The Cilantropist

Hello, Wisco (Visit + Anniversary)!

2011-10-26T23:26:00.000-04:00

Since the move, J and I have been slam-busy with so much happening that we haven't had a chance to visit good ol' Wisconsin.. until now! It's been way too long since we've seen his family, so it was really great to be able to throw this one together at the last minute. Thanks to Macy's, I was finally given a couple days off in a row (in a ROW!) to celebrate our 3-year anniversary, so we decided to take advantage of my freedom and spend it in Wisconsin. We made the 6 hour drive, pup-free and it was definitely a great little weekend!

Highlights:

Rocking out to dubstep the car with my hubby and rolling into Gratiot late (and I mean late!)
Examining Lukus' 4000 DVD collection and choosing 20 for ourselves (Thanks again, Lukus!!)
Waking Alyssa up in the morning and looking at her collection of owl accessories
Laughing our heads off watching funny music videos with the brothers.. I-I-I-I work out!
A cheese-filled lunch at Culver's

1$ Psychology and Therapy books from the Library
Stocking up on good cheese and 2 gorgeous, aqua bird cages at Swiss Colony
Playing with a 3-legged kitten, feeding some cows and seeing the old trailer where I met Justin for the first time 8 years ago (ghetto-looking, yes, but it was different back then!)

Playing a hefty game of Dominoes
Enjoying my father-in-law's message at church and visiting with family friends
Birthday celebration for Justin's Dad
Alyssa teaching me to paint and tattoo my nails with newspaper

Spending an afternoon with Marta, laughing at old voicemails and blackberry videos
Giving Georgia a "little girl makeover" and feeling awful when she hated it

A sweet, rainy anniversary dinner at Vinny Vanucci's in Galena
Channel-surfing, sipping champagne and being silly at our hotel

Spending lunch and the afternoon with Marta at her boutique

Exploring Galena, munching on gourmet popcorn and finding some fun little treasures on Main Street

Dropping by Justin's old high school to see his sister and Dad
Visiting Justin's old Platteville house and a few antique and cheese shops on our little drive home

3 Sweet Years with my Love

2011-10-25T23:25:00.000-04:00

Happy 3rd Anniversary to my sweet man.. Can't believe another year has gone by.

I love you, Justin!

DIY: Q-Tip Flower Poms

2011-09-28T22:00:00.000-04:00

I have been meaning to share this for some time now, but I have literally not even had a free minute to blog! It's sad, but I'll explain more about the craziness happening in an upcoming post.

In my recent bridal and baby shower planning, I found some fabulous inspiration on Pinterest and stumbled upon a super easy-to-understand DIY for Anthropologie-Inspired Blooms at Homemade Ginger. At first I couldn't tell what they were made of until I looked closer at the DIY. Q-Tips!

I always love incorporating new elements into parties and I knew these would be perfect - My sister Vanessa and I took on the challenge and we had a fun time with it! Here is our experience, based on inspiration from the DIY --

We used:

Lots of Q-Tips, cut in half (we used almost 2 boxes for 9 flowers)

Styrofoam Balls

Scissors (strong enough to cut Q-tips)

Hot glue

Food coloring + water

Thick, wired stems from silk flowers (unless you plan to hang these)

We began by cutting all of our Q-Tips in half. Before we figured out a system, we kept getting a kick out of how they kept shooting off in different directions as we were cutting them.. I think one even shot into my drinking glass!

We debated whether or not to use hot glue and decided to, since I wanted to reuse these for other parties, etc (I'm sure the project would have gone much quicker if we had chosen not to use the glue). Depending on the size of the styrofoam ball, we spaced them accordingly. It's totally up to you, how close or deep you want the Q-Tips -- We definitely found it a little more challenging to fit them when we placed them closer/deeper, since there was not much room for the ends to go. Another thing to keep in mind.. The more Q-Tips you use and the larger the styro ball, the heavier it is. If it's too heavy, the stem will have a harder time holding it upright.

I was absolutely too excited to dye these beauties to think logically - I filled a bowl with yellow food coloring and failed to add water. AH! I really wanted yellow, but without the water to dilute it (at all!), the dye was so severely strong, that it turned out orange. We originally planned to make 6 yellow flowers and I dyed 3 of hard-worked poms orange. I decided to do an additional 3 and save the orange ones for something else. Boo. I'll never make that mistake again -- Add water to dye.

For the additional poms, I wanted to pack the Q-Tips in. I loved the direction they were going. They turned out a bit heavy for the stems, but with the right vase, they looked pretty amazing! We ended up using these little beauties for my sister's Sweet, Yellow Bridal Shower and they were a big hit! My mom kept asking the ladies, "What do you think those are made of?? Huh??" and it was fun to see everyone's expression when they found out it was all Q-Tips. Definitely worth the time and hassle!

Thanks again, Homemade Ginger, for sharing a great tutorial!

xo

Jordan + Lanae's Sweet, Yellow Wedding

2011-09-21T11:28:00.000-04:00

Another post, LONG overdue. I have been dying to share photos of my sister's wedding for over a month now! I was honored to help out with lots of the decor as well as work with a lot of great people while putting everything together - especially my parents, Jordan's parents and our families.

Jordan and Lanae were married at the sweetest venue and a place I had never heard of until now - The Mystical Rose Gardens in Baldwin, Wisconsin. The atmosphere was oh-so sweet, including a gigantic greenhouse (used for her reception) and beautiful gardens and landscaping (used for the ceremony). The venue is maintained by a sweet and extremely accommodating family.

We put a lot of work into making the wedding decor DIY-friendly and as affordable as possible. We made and used quite a few crafty projects - including a dozen more hollow yarn balls (just like the ones I made last December - DIY Fabulous Hollow Yarn Balls), DIY Ruffle Poms, DIY Cupcake Liner Poms, wedding programs, a fantastic escort card frame and farewell ribbon sticks - plus, I made over 600 feet of paper flag garland following her yellow, black and white + lemons inspiration.

The outdoor decor was fairly simple. We suspended the hollow yarn balls between pillars on a patio overlooking the gardens. Instead of using balloons to make them, this time we used large, round kick-balls (ranging $1-$2.50 a piece). The escort cards were a little trickier.. Lanae found a huge frame which she painted black and she picked up. Coordinating her invites and programs, we printed out all of her guest names and attached them to matching paper used for the flag garland. After rounding all of the corners, I spent a couple hours trying to attach horizontally (and evenly!) for the cards to rest on with mini, black clothespins. And don't forget, alphabetizing all of the guests! It was worth the time.. It turned out absolutely adorable! We also suspended the frame (using ribbon) at a great height for the guests to pick up on their way to the reception area after greeting Jordan and Lanae. So perfect!

Their "guestbook" was one of the cutest, original ideas I've seen! I can't take any credit though.. Jordan's uncle helped make this happen, by printing Minnesota and Wisconsin "postcards" for the guests to write a message to J & L. After painting a mailbox the perfect yellow, it was mounted on a post and ready to go. I can't tell you how many times I heard "Aww, cute!" and "So cool!"

These sweet, little farewell "ribbon sticks" were totally a last minute project. We had played around with ideas of sparklers and other fun farewell things, but almost decided to skip it all together to save a little money and time. Using mini dowels/kabob sticks, Lanae began tying strips of ribbon to each one - about an hour later, she was done and they were so stinkin' adorable!

After a lot of trial and error (and time!), I helped Lanae design these fun programs. Over years of attending other's weddings, I always love saving programs and invites for inspiration. We came up with the design based on a few that I've saved and included a couple fun details of our own. Lanae hit the jackpot after finding a stack of clearanced, high-quality, yellow cardstock with just enough for her programs. We completed each one with wrapped, black twine. We endured quite a bit of frustration printing them evenly and efficiently.. However, the outcome (again!) was definitely worth the trouble.

Displayed with the sweet, damask invitation

Getting ready! Hair was done by Jordan and Lanae's friend, Katie Mikels - Embellish Salon.

It was fun to do makeup for Lanae's wedding as I did for Vanessa's last September! It hit me hard that my little sister was actually getting married.. I still can't believe it.

Lanae actually embellished her garter! She designed Vanessa's for her wedding as well. How cute is that?!

Since I was extremely occupied with the Lanae, my mom and bridesmaid's makeup, I barely managed any time to get ready myself! Poor Katie threw my hair together in about 15 minutes and I had less than 5 to get dressed. As my getting-ready-chaos began, Lanae and Jordan saw each other for the first time in the garden for a really special moment.. Even though I could have only seen it from the window, I'm sad I missed it!

Flowers were done by a good family friend - Christie - who owns a shop called Kissing 2 Lips. The bouquets and arrangements were absolutely incredible.

Lauren, Me (MOH), Vanessa (MOH), Lanae, Nicole and Kirsten

Each of the maids were given a different belt and jewelry as a gift from Lanae. I loved that our dresses had pockets - so cute!

The bridal party headed down the road to a wide-open field for some sweet shots!

The fam.

Ushers (including my hottie hubby!)

And for a little more decor..

This summer, Vanessa and I had conquered our techniques of sewing paper for Lanae's Yellow Bridal Shower invites. Our new motto quickly became: "You can never have too many flags!" and with that in mind, I began by designing and printing the table number-letters. Time began running out and in our frantic rush to finish everything, Vanessa ripped these babies through her sewing machine the night before the rehearsal dinner. Unfortunately, her sewing machine quickly said "NO!" and she - read it and believe it - hand stitched each string of table numbers by HAND. Poor thing! Luckily, there were only 12 tables, but still! We kept the table decor fairly simple by using cylinder vases wrapped in transparent, damask paper and twine and filled with a lemon and a half to work as a base for the dowels. It all turned out pretty cute, don't you think?? Runners were long, strips of heavy paper, made by Lanae's sister-in-law, Emily.

View from the head table, you can see all the hard work put into all of the decor and setup!

I made these little MR and MRS signs for the backs of their chairs.

For the bridal party, I made little name tag cards and tucked them into their forks. Favors were matching chocolate bars provided by Shauna Younge.

The dessert table was a gift from Jordan and Lanae's sister-in-law (and my new sister-in-law!) and photographer, Emily. The table was designed by Shauna Younge and was kept a secret from J & L until right before the ceremony.. Their faces were priceless! I had the honor to meet Shauna and be a small part of the plan, although I ended up being surprised as well! Very cute.

Jordan and Lanae actually designed their cake (pineapple flavored!) and it was created and made by Cup-Cake.

The dessert table was full of tons of yellow, white and black treats - including chocolate-covered pretzels, cake pops, macarons, cupcakes, popcorn, lemon candy, rock candy, truffles and sugar cookies.

Before we knew it, we were walking down the aisle. We walked to River Flows in You by Yiruma.

I cried like I knew I would. Despite the bugs and chilliness, the ceremony was SO very beautiful. During Vanessa's ceremony I cried my eyes out and needed Lanae to continue whispering gibberish to me to keep me from losing it.. We still laugh today about her rambling, "Cowboys and rhinos..", "tacos and jellybeans..". This time, it was Vanessa's turn to keep me sane as she whispered the most random things she could think of. This time, it was, "Willie nelson riding a bike.." and "toejam" and "Jack Black forgot his wallet.." What?! Haha! I definitely laughed more than I cried!

The reception was sweet and charming, full of candles and twinkle lights. Everything turned out so beautiful!

Vanessa and I finally survived through our dreaded speech (I was terrified!!) and it went smooth. We kept ours light and fun, while the men went a much more sentimental and emotional route. The night went so fast with dancing and mingling.. It was great to see more people and relatives we haven't had the chance to visit since our move. The whole evening was so sweet and memorable.. I am so lucky to be a part of it all. Love you, little newlyweds!

Additional credits:

All photos by Emily Steffen Photography

Chanel, Brides & Babies, Fried Food and a Whole Lotta Diapers

2011-09-14T15:17:00.000-04:00

I feel like I keep rambling about how busy my life has been in the last 6 months. Well.. It HAS been busy. Overwhelmingly busy. We had our huge move in June, lots of baby showers and bridal showers, babies being born, Laura's wedding & planning my sister's wedding, the MN State Fair (obvi.), brand new jobs and the nightmares of having unfixed pups.

Obviously, I it's hard to blog about all of these things in one post, but I am doing my best to stay caught up with this little blog as best as I can! Can you believe this blog is going on 2 years old? It seems way longer than that..

So.

Brand new jobs. I think I've already talked about Justin and his job a few posts ago and I've mentioned that I took a freelance job for Chanel. In August, I met with my previous Account Executive for Chanel to discuss possibly working as the Business Manager for the downtown Minneapolis Chanel counter at Macy's. The meeting went well and I was offered the job! I have been there a few weeks so far and enjoy it for the most part. This fall, I will have been working in the cosmetics industry for 8 years - whether at a counter or freelance. For the last 4+ years I was a full-time mental health counselor, so it's definitely interesting to be at a counter again (especially in management), although sometimes I still feel like I'm counseling with all of the interesting people I interact with everyday. Retail can get old pretty quick, but somehow I make an exception since it's Chanel. I mean, c'mon. I love Chanel.

Before I accepted the job at Chanel, I was on a desperate job hunt and even had an interview set up for a job focusing on adults, home placement and family crisis situations. After submitting my resume, I received a voicemail (on a Friday) from a man, who I could have sworn said his name was "Stew". I called back to set up the interview time and graciously asked, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name.. Was it "Stew"? And she crustily responds.. "No. It's Sue." OOOPS. Why in the world didn't I just ask them to repeat her name, instead of guessing it? Idiot me! I played it cool and continued to set up a time to meet. In my excitement of being offered an interview, I took the first time available (the following Monday) and went on with my day. Little did I know, I had a meeting scheduled at the same time for something very important to me, so I weighed the pros and cons and decided to call Stew/Sue back and ask for a later time. She never returned my call, so I attempted to call her again Monday morning and we finally connected. The first thing she said to me was this: "I'm sorry-- What could possibly be more important than this interview?" I was a little caught off guard by her tone and apologized again for the inconvenience. She continued to respond sharply to me as I offered to come in at any other time and she refused to budge or swap her lunch hour and told me she would still see me if I cancelled my already scheduled appointment. I thanked her for the opportunity and that was that. Thank goodness I didn't go to the interview, get the job and then realize the person I was working for. That woman needed a vacation or a serious nap.

Now that I'm moving head first into my position at Chanel, I'm getting to know the ups and downs of transportation and the value of my time. Did you know it takes me - on average - an hour and a half (in rush hour) to get to work in the morning? Did you know it costs me 13$ to park in the garage each day I work? It's definitely been a challenge, but I'm not giving up. It's so funny how I've spent most of my life living in the Twin Cities and I don't know left from right when I'm downtown. I am so twisted! I'm slowly getting it though..I've met some fun people so far, including the ladies at my counter. One is a serious veteran who's worked for Chanel for 15 years (wow!) and completely reminds me of Candace Azzara from In Her Shoes. The other has fantastic experience and started the same time I did, not to mention we totally have a similar sense of humor. Aside from the ridiculous drive and expensive parking, I like it.

I've always loved the Minneapolis skyline.. (Click for source.)

Showers and babies. Mulder finally had her two, little twin girls a couple weeks ago! Her shower was one of the first parties I hosted since living back in MN and I am super happy to share the the shower will actually be seen in an upcoming feature at Baby Lifestyles -- I'll share more deets later! It has been really hard for me to be able to see Mulder and the babies since I accepted the new job. I hate that my new schedule has basically taken over my life! I finally was able to see her last week and make a fun little dinner to celebrate her birthday (with Jade and Nate too). The babies were absolutely breathtaking. Seriously.. The tiniest, sweetest little things. They have the cutest names -- Kendall and Hartley! It's so adorable how one has dark hair and the other is totally blonde.. I can't wait to see them again!

Bachelorette parties & a beautiful wedding It's been really great catching up with new and old friends since the move, especially celebrating my good friend Laura's bachelorette party! It just so happened to be the same night my sister was hosting a Lady Gaga-themed bachelorette party! It was fun to help her create her costume over a couple weeks and as I headed to Laura's bach party, I stopped to do Gaga makeup for some of the girls! Laura's sisters threw a memorable and fun Girl's Night Out (and In!) to celebrate.. We began at a hotel in Bloomington and headed downtown Minneapolis to Zelo for a super delish dinner.. then back to the hotel for gifts and games! It was such a fun night.

We made this insane skirt out of an old belt, tulle, peacock feathers and tons of hot glue..

For the wedding day, I was really honored to do makeup for Laura, her mom and the bridal party as well. She gave me the sweetest, unexpected, little thank-you gift and I died when I opened it -- So stinkin' cute and thoughtful!!

After pure chaos of running home to change and dealing with some unexpected craziness, I made it back just in time for the big event. The wedding was absolutely gorgeous. It was at the University Club in St. Paul - I had never been there before. It was such a charming venue for a wedding, I loved it. The ceremony was beautiful, and I cried a little of course! She looked fantastic and they were adorable together during the entire evening. The reception was special and there were some sweet moments with all of the glass-clinking and kissing and an emotional song/video her dad shared with her. Unfortunately, Justin had already committed to going to the bachelor party for Jordan (Lanae's fiance) happening at the same time. Boo. Attending a wedding alone is stinky, but it was great to see old friends - some who I haven't seen since High School.

A few minutes before the ceremony -- No crying.. God bless waterproof mascara!

The moment I lost it.. She looked INCREDIBLE.

I've never seen Laura so happy!

Our little girl is now a 'woman'. Back up a little bit.. After I finished with Laura's wedding-day makeup, I rushed home to change and get ready for the wedding. On my way, I called Justin and received some dreaded news: Coco went into heat. GREAT. Since neither Romeo or Coco are fixed, we didn't want to risk pregnancy for her - especially since she's so tiny and it would be hard for her to carry Romeo's puppies. Before making it home, I flew into Petsmart to find some puppy diapers and hoped to quickly talk to an expert on what we need to expect and what was actually happening with her. I found a bunch of diapers (holy expensive!) and went up to the Banfield counter where there were 2 women sitting behind the desk. I told them I had some questions about my 9-month old puppy who just began heat and one of the women responded with willingness to help with any questions, seeming to know what she was talking about. She explained how all puppies are different but if we don't plan to breed, that we should keep Romeo somewhere else for the next 4+ weeks. Uhhhh no? Where the heck am I supposed to keep him?! I explained that we could keep them separated and she would have diapers on to prevent from any mess and the woman told me this:

Woman: "They need to be in separate kennels - far away from each other, or she will get pregnant."

Me: "Of course..We will keep them separate".

Woman: "No. If they are in separate kennels, but the kennels are near each other, she will get pregnant."

Me: {Laughing} "Wait. How? He can impregnate her from another kennel? Wouldn't that be pretty unlikely that he could reach or.. "

Woman: "Yes. She will get pregnant. {Touching her temples} They can connect."

Me: "Ok. So you're telling me that she can actually get pregnant by just thinking about it?"

Woman: "Yup."

Are you kidding me, lady?! She was serious, too. I can't believe I actually believed it for a minute, but get out of town! Dogs can't get pregnant by just "mentally connecting". Sheesh.

Regardless of Banfield-crazies giving us false advice, we had been debating whether or not to get her fixed (when we adopted her) because we really wanted to have puppies. We're still kind of unsure about it all, but will most likely have them both fixed - and soon. We don't know much about heat or pregnancy or breeding (gah!), but obviously it's expensive to get a pup fixed (not to mention two!). So that's the plan. It's been a ridiculous nightmare to keep them separated though. Romeo is so intense to be near her, while she just sits and looks at us, as if to say, "Oh, please." I know it doesn't compare to being a parent of a human baby, but diapers are expensive! It's definitely worth it to use them though, since they prevent so much mess (and hopefully pregnancy!).

Poor baby girl!

They barely fit her! They were too big and too small in some places..

Her diapers are hysterical though. So cute and little! I do feel really bad for her.. She seems so bummy since it all began. Romeo has been exhausting us with trying to keep them apart - He's seriously lost it. Poor little guy!

The good ol' MN State Fair. This year, we were lucky to go to the fair TWICE!

My handsome hubby and his gyro

My mom tried to adopt this guy at the mini donut stand, after he said he was from Guatemala. Oh, Mom!

And for round two..

We got 'Lloyd Christmas' during our wait for food at the Hollywood Diner

Boys hanging at Heritage

Instead of tossing the mullet through the hole, Vanessa gladly took my dare to go peek her face through -- hehe

Thanks to my mom and The Current, I have liked Tapes 'n Tapes for some time now! It worked perfect for us to be at the fair the same day they were playing a show! My mom and some girls from work saved good seats for a while before people started going to the front to dance, despite being in the way. Security kept trying to kick them out, until we all jumped up and rushed the stage (a total Footloose moment!) and jammed out the rest of the song! It was pretty exciting! The show was awesome.. of course, we were front and center!

Tapes 'n Tapes

Other than that, I have been helping my little sister plan her wedding and my new party-planning site is in the works!! More details coming soon (duh!)!

Goodnight, dolls.

xo

DIY: Fabric Ruffle Pomanders

2011-09-01T14:52:00.000-04:00

As I've been in the midst of party/shower planning all summer, I have spent quite a while trying to come up with ways to create new decor. In my golden list of DIY sites and blogs I love to follow, I stumbled across the easiest-looking DIY pomanders. Last March, my good friend, Jody and I, created about a dozen cupcake liner poms for a Rockstar Party we threw for her sister and hubby's birthdays. We took our cupcake-liner-pom-creating skills to the next level as she helped me create evern more liner poms for the Anthropologie-inspired bridal shower I designed. I have been wanting to try making poms with fabric for some time now, and the last 3 showers I've been planning for have given me the opportunity to give them a shot.

There are hundreds of tutorials out there because they are so easy, but the one I used for inspiration was found at Once Wed. Vanessa and I decided to take on the project together, since we were planning 2 of Lanae's bridal showers and definitely wanted to incorporate them into our decor. I've made lots of fabric flowers before (so had Vaness!), so this came a little easier to us. For this DIY, we used styrofoam balls instead of mini paper lanterns. It seemed a little more practical my my "storage situation", not to mention.. I already had a bunch of leftover styroballs from previous parties.

All you need:

Fabric of your choice

Scissors

Pen/Pencil

Small piece of cardboard (for original circle, to trace)

Hot glue gun & glue sticks

Styrofoam ball

Unfortunately, these beauties are extremely time-consuming. They take lots of patience, so you might as well throw some Friends episodes on (like we did!) and rip through them!

First, you need fabric circles. Tons of them. With any sturdy piece of paper - cardboard is perfect - cut out the size circle you want, corresponding with the size of the styrofoam ball. We chose to use 5", 4" and 3" styroballs, adjusting the size of the circles for the bigger sizes. We found the most strategic plan was to trace the cardboard circle onto the fabric - hundreds of times - and then began cutting them out (with fabric folded, to go twice as fast), being careful to cut inside the pen/pencil marks.

Next, fold the circles in half twice (or 3-fold). At the folded point, add plenty of hot glue before holding in to the styroball. Honestly, getting started is the trickiest part. Once the glue dries, it's easy to pack the folded circles in more securely. Depending on how ruffly you want your pomanders, spread the "petals" out or pack them in as much as you want, as long as the styroball is covered up.

Next, fold the circles in half twice. At the folded point, add plenty of hot glue before holding in to the styroball. Honestly, getting started is the trickiest part. Once the glue dries, it's easy to pack the folded circles in more securely. Depending on how ruffly you want your pomanders, spread the "petals" out or pack them in as much as you want, as long as the styroball is covered up.

We also made them in white, black and lace.. They turned out SO CUTE! Tip: I planned to hang these little lovies, so I covered one end of a paper clip in hot glue and found an empty spot to press it into the styrofoam ball. Make sure to let the glue dry before hanging.

I loved the mixture of textures.. Lace, fabric and cupcake liner poms + hollow yarn balls.

Credit for inspiration:
Once Wed - DIY Fabric Poms

xo

A Sweet, Yellow Bridal Shower

2011-08-29T23:03:00.000-04:00

My sweet Aunt planned special bridal showers for both Vanessa and I and now it's our little sister's turn to be showered! For a long time now, Lanae has talked about having yellow, black and white as her "wedding colors", and now that wedding plans are in full swing, including invitations sent and designs chosen, I'm totally in love with her scheme. She's always been so funny how she describes her "style" and vision for the wedding, often saying she likes it "cute" and simple/modern. She chose a signature damask pattern for her invites, as well as other wedding decor (which I am in the process of making.. EEP!), but for now.. we come to her latest shower.

A month or so before the shower, Vanessa and I met with our aunt to talk about ways we could help - especially since I just love parties oh-so-much. We decided to create her shower inspired by lemons. The guest list included relatives and family and we chose to go with a mid-day event. We took on the decor and setup, and also helped with preparing the food. You can see, we really amped up the yellow/black/white to really imitate Lanae's idea of a "perfect party".

Ice Water & Lemonade

Paper Straws - The Sugar Diva

Corsage my aunt made for Lanae.. Made of measuring spoons, a pizza cutter, a washcloth and a wine stopper (I think).

I was able to use a few pieces I had, including my white, Cupcake Liner Poms and Hollow Yarn Balls. Vanessa and I created the rest of the poms new for this shower - Check out the Fabric & Lace Ruffle Pom DIY!

Menu:

Meringue Drops

Lemon Slice Candy

Lemon Tarts

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Marshmallow Pops

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon & Sugar Pita Chips

Veggie Pizza

Cucumber & Tomato Bruschetta

An all-time favorite recipe I received from my dear friend, Jody. Yu-hum!

Vanessa and I took on quite a few projects while deciding on decor. I have always loved Billy Balls and we knew Lanae especially loves them, so we decided to make some ourselves. We followed the DIY at Design*Sponge and found it a little tricky! We thought it would be a little easier, but actually rolling the felted wool without any creases or cracks was definitely a tasks that kept us laughing. I would definitely attempt to make these lovies again someday!

P.S. Love my extended (and still growing) collection of milk glass?? Aside from a few pieces I borrowed from my momma, I started with a piece from my grandma, gained a few pieces from my friend Anne Marie & her mom and I squeak every time I think of the fantastic thrift store I found the rest of them at. Can't wait to go back!

Vanessa and I spent countless hours during our "Sister Craft Days" working on these Q-Tip Flower Poms. I came across an incredible DIY tutorial at Homemade Ginger with my friend Mulder's Garden Party Baby Shower in mind. Since I had already taken on more than enough projects for the baby shower, I grew really determined to create these for Lanae's bridal shower. We made a total of 9 flower heads with 3 different sizes of styrofoam balls. When doing the largest styroballs, I managed to squeeze the q-tips in much tighter - which totally stunk in the end - because the flower heads were way too heavy for their stems. I've considered transferring them to stronger stems in the future, because they are way too amazing to waste.

{Check out my DIY post here.}

For favors, Vanessa and I dipped pretzels in white chocolate (obviously continuing with the yellow/black/white theme!).

I've really grown to love showers that have some sort of "wishing tree" or "advice" for the bride/mom-to-be. I think it's a really sweet way for the guests to share memorable words, while giving the guest of honor something extra special they can have forever. I created this tree at the last minute, using a long, black-painted branch, ribbon, mini clothespins and some round-ended paper. Guests were asked to share advice or words of wisdom for Lanae.

Cute little bride!

In the bathroom.. Vases full of lemons

Credits:
Paper Straws - The Sugar Diva
Fonts used - Fonts for Peas
Paper for flag garland: Michael's
Fabric: JoAnn & Hancock
Q-Tip Flower Pom Tutorial - Homemade Ginger
Billy Ball Tutorial - Design*Sponge

xo

Soundtracks: R + J

2011-08-25T12:08:00.000-04:00

I'm the first to admit.. I've always been a sucker for Leonardo DiCaprio. I'm sure, every other 6th grade girl was drooling when the "modern version" of Romeo + Juliet was released. Man, 6th grade. I remember after seeing the movie, I went straight to Best Buy to spend my hard-earned dollars on the VHS, so I could re-watch it as much as I wanted.. I even remember rushing to my boombox to record my favorite R + J songs that would come on the radio, so I could have my own "Romeo + Juliet Mixed Tape". Really funny to think about it now, but after 15 years, I still love the music. It's a compilation of songs that remind me of being a teenager and growing up, not to mention all of the big hits that rocked the radio like "Lovefool", "Talk Show Host" and the "You and Me Song". Oh, to be a teenager with mixed tapes again..

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet

Check It Out

Featuring: Garbage, Everclear, Gavin Friday, One Inch Punch, Des'ree, Butthole Surfers, The Cardigans, Kym Mazelle, Quindon Tarver, Mundy, Radiohead, Stina Nordenstam and The Wannadies

Noche Caliente en la Havana! Cuban-Inspired Bachelorette Party

2011-08-18T05:59:00.000-04:00

I can't believe my little sister is about to get married. Just last August/September, I visited home for Vanessa's showers and wedding weekend and hosted a Marie Antoinette-inspired shower for her. Now as Lanae's turn, she asked for a whole different style of shower, as opposed to the frilly, ruffly tea party.

Vanessa and I brainstormed for months on how to play up a "spicier" style of party. Lanae has always loved the Caribbean-style atmosphere (as do I!), but we really didn't wanna do another cliche "leighs and luau" bachelorette party, so we chose to play up the spicy Caribbean/on-the-beach attitude and went with a shower inspired by Havana, Cuba!

Vanessa and I got together quite a few times to really get an idea of what we wanted to do. We kept going back and forth with different ideas.. especially since Lanae wanted this shower to have a little more "spice" than both of our bachelorette parties/showers had. We sent out invitations just in time, including a blank scrapbook page and instructions for her friends to decorate and send back or bring with them to the shower. I did the same thing for Vanessa's shower and it was super special for her to open it without having a clue I had organized it all. We figured Lanae might have a pretty good idea that she might get a book as well, but we decided to go for it anyway.

We made the invitations in a few different colors, just for the fun of it. They were really fun and easy to make! I'm continuing to see just how much my hot glue gun is my best friend forever. Ha! We felt some inspiration after seeing something similar in a movie and wanted to let it be interpreted as lingerie or a swimsuit - since our theme was meant to be beachy. We were pretty happy with them!

The inside read..

Since this was 1 of 3 huge showers I was in the process of planning (Mulder's baby shower and 2 showers for Lanae), we had to get practical and creative with what we were going to DIY for decor. Our colors consisted of red, pink, aqua, mustard, green and golds. Other than that, we knew we wanted string lights and garland, we knew we wanted palms and we knew we wanted a fantastic menu. Lanae really wanted to have the party at her new home, which was a little tricky for space, but we made it work. Not to mention, Lanae and Jordan were finally able to move her stuff in there the Monday before the shower (Saturday) and we rushed to strip and paint the almost the entire place in less than a week (Ohhmyword.).

The night before the party, we finished the favors. To go along with the Cuban theme, we decided to give the girls chocolate-covered "cigars" aka chocolate-covered pretzel rods. We added some sprinkles for fun, and I found perfect, authentic Cuban cigar labels [online] to print, cut and wrap around each one. Vanessa, our mom and I headed over the morning of the shower to set everything up, before Lanae arrived at 7pm. So many things needed to be finished, other than just the table setup. Most of the food and all the hanging decor was still undone. The stresses began!

Everything came together - as it always seems to - and as Lanae walked into her newly painted condo, her jaw dropped. She was pretty ecstatic with the theme we picked and she definitely understood the time and thinking that went into the decor, food and everything. It was really awesome that Lanae invited my best friend, Stacie, too (who is actually 1/2 Cuban!), so she helped BIGTIME with the menu. So much fun!

The Menu:

Cuban Paninis - Made with ham, swiss, pickle and Cuban mustard

Besitos de Coco (aka "Coconut Kisses") - a favorite Cuban dessert

Fresh Fruit Kabobs

Picadillo Empanadas

Guacamole Bruschetta

Triple Fudge Cupcakes

Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

Drinks: Pineapple Malibu's, Mojitos & Lemonade

& Coconut-Lime Jell-o Shots

{Stacie made these Paninis -- To. Die. For.}

{Recipe for Coconut Kisses found here. We followed recipe with a shorter bake time and without chocolate. They were INCREDIBLE!}

{Stacie also made these Picadillo Empanadas. Delicious!}

Cuban coffee cans -- Really good coffee, too!

{Dulce de Leche Cupcakes - Actually, with Coconut Pecan frosting. Dulce de Leche was really difficult to find!}

{Triple Fudge (and filled!) Cupcakes}

{Courtesy of Vanessa & her fabulous Jello-making skills!}

I wanted to incorporate some Spanish newspaper somehow. SO! During our shopping trips, Vanessa and I went on a hunt for specific grocery stores which would have all-spanish papers and we found some! For the garland above the drinks and desserts, we hung strips of newspaper with gauze, along with a banner that read
"Noche Caliente en la Havana" meaning "Hot Night in Havana"

We kept the table fairly simple, with lots of bright colors. Vanessa sewed the aqua table runner with a yard of fabric we found on sale at Hancock. The white square vases, found at Michaels - 80% off. Flowers, see below. Palms, seashells and sand, I had from previous parties/showers. Woven placemats, Stacie's. Glassware, given to my by Vanessa (EEee! ..after she used them for her wedding place settings). Napkins, I already had, which I previously found for 1$ at a thrift store. Various gold tealight holders, found at thrift store and spray painted gold.

Chips & Mango-Peach Salsa at each place setting..

Vanessa and I worked several days working on these flowers - which we kept ourselves laughing, as we nicknamed them "Pinch Flowers". I found the DIY Tutorial at Martha Stewart (found here!) and we improvised a little with our binding and choice of fabrics. The red fabric, we found on clearance at a fabric store. The fuschia flowers were made with a bed sheet we found at a thrift store. Each flower took about 20 minutes.

A Cuban-inspired party was tricky to pull off (especially as a bachelorette party!) since Cuba has such a specific style. Implementing hundreds of palm trees, old cars and fedoras didn't exactly fit into our budget, so we did our best. When thinking of what the "streets of Havana" might look like, we kept picturing clothes on clotheslines and festive lights. Rather than hanging clothes, we found some fantastic, red gauze and hung strips of it with miniature clothespins. We made a paper garland as well, with a new lace-like punch (Martha's deep edge "flower bed" punch). We rearranged some mini lanterns onto string lights I already had. Everything blended together really nicely! Stacie brought a fabulous Cuban music mix over to set the mood -- definitely including one of my favorite soundtracks, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.

Of course she's sneaking around the palm branches..

..and of course she's sniffing the fabric flowers..

Stacie, Lanae, Me & Vanessa

After a few crazy games, we settled down to watch Lanae eat a powdered doughnut for every answer she got wrong during "How well do you know your groom?" game..

Ready for presents!

Loving the scrapbook we gave her..

Bridesmaid love..

It was such a fun and "spicy" girl's night.. hopefully one that Lanae will never forget!

What I'm listening to:

Dirty Dancing - Havana Nights

A "Garden Party" Baby Shower

2011-08-06T05:45:00.000-04:00

I can't believe my dear friend, Mulder {Ashley, but we call her "Mulder"} is going to have twins in just a matter of a couple weeks!!! I will never forget the day she called to tell me the big news - after years of patience and waiting. I answered the phone, thinking it was just another regular conversation.. She asked me how I was doing and I rambled on for a good 10 minutes before asking her how she was doing. She goes, "Well.. I'm pregnant!" and I remember screaming and thinking, are you kidding me, right now?! I just blabbed on and on about nonsense when she had the world's greatest news to tell me! Oh my word.

Of course, I had to throw her a shower. The scheming began as I started packing for our big move and Jade was planning her wedding. Before I knew it, Mulder found out it was going to be twin girls - which had to be incorporated into the theme as well. Time flew by, I moved, Jade got married and before I knew it, the shower was right around the corner! I spent days and days creating new, innovative decor before bringing about a dozen boxes and laundry baskets over to Jade's (who lives about 45 minutes away) to get everything in order. Since we decided to have the shower in the party room at Jade's apartment complex, it was a little trickier (but worth it!) to haul all of my stuff without forgetting a thing or two! It definitely worked out for us to prepare everything at Jade's place a few nights before the shower, so that all we would have to do the day of, is bring it down and set it all up. Easy enough, right?

Finally, our big day came. It was so wonderful that my mom was invited to the shower too. It was great to be there together, as well as it was her first time being at one of "my parties". Since she's the best mom in the world - seriously - she offered to come early with me to set up the shower. I'm not talking an hour before.. but 4 hours before it started. It's unbelievable how much time it takes to set up these things -- Maybe if I wasn't so obsessive-compulsive about how everything needs to be arranged, I'm sure it wouldn't take near as long. Oh well.

The shower was beginning at 11am, so the plan was to arrive at 7am. In the last 6+ years, I've had my share of apartment-living, including full understanding of the pros and cons that go along with it. It was nice for her building to have a few shopping carts available near the elevators, in case anyone has a lot to carry or something heavy. It definitely came in handy, while making trip after trip with all my boxes of party supplies, vases, decor and food. We made it to Jade's as planned and began our hunt for shopping carts to easily move everything from Jade's place to the party room - 3 floors down and in the building across the street.

We found carts, loaded them up and made our first trip to the party room. In our excitement, Jade went to unlock the party room door - with the keys she was given from her leasing office, the day before - to quickly realize the door wouldn't unlock. Hmm. She tried for a few minutes without panicking. No luck. Then I tried. Still thinking there must be some "trick" to it, I tried some more. Nope. My mom tried. Uhhm, no. We stood there with our overflowing carts and go-get-em attitudes, trying to figure out the answer to our problem. Jade quickly decided to make a phone call to the answering service, since (obviously) it was hours before the leasing office would open. As most answering service are, they were rude and short with her, basically schooling us on how we are not an "emergency situation", despite the fact that we had hours of work ahead of us, food to prepare and had paid $$$ to rent the room with a guarantee to get in as early as needed. Frustration began to kick in, as 8am rolled around. During all of the chaos and frustration, a little friendly, completely bald man - whom looked just like Phoebe's dad from Friends (Bob Balaban) came trotting down the hall and we desperately hoped he was a maintenance man or someone who could help. Although he was just a tenant on his way out to run his "Saturday morning errands", he asked us if we needed help, offering to try the lock. As he took the keys from Jade, he immediately said with his high voice, "Oh, these arent' the right keys! I use this room all the time!" Awesome. He introduced himself as "John" and explained that he wouldn't "go anywhere, until he could help us get in the room". Wow, John! Thanks, little man!

John began making phone calls/threats to the unhelpful answering service woman, claiming that "since no one is bothering to help us, maybe he would just call the police or break the window to get in" (ohmyword!). We tried to open the door to a miniature conference room across the hall from the party room and it worked. My mom and I began to set up a "staging area" in there, so it would at least give us something to do. As we're working away, little John was pacing the hallway on hold and politely demanding assistance on our behalf.

Trying to organize everything!

My happy mom, with the stupid, unopened party room in the background.

Before we knew it, it was 9:30 and we were still locked out. The leasing office supposedly opened at 10 - which would give us literally 1 HOUR to set everything up. I felt sick.

With Jade up in her apartment, getting food ready and little John continuing to pressure the answering service woman, we finished putting flowers in vases and most of the additional set up details. Our friend, Whitney, arrived with some of the food, shocked to see our situation and stress. At about 9:50am - 10 minutes after John offered to get us coffee, apologized for our ridiculous morning and went on his way - a beastly woman walked through the lobby, making no eye contact with any of us as she stomped to the party room door and unlocked the door.

I was actually helping Whitney get some things out of her car, as I heard my mom exclaim, "It's OPEN!" Whitney and I couldn't believe the woman who walked directly past us with nothing to say, was a person with a key. As she was unlocking another room, someone said to her, "Did you know we have been waiting to get into the party room since 7am???" and she rudely had the nerve to say, "So?" SO?! Are you kidding me, Jumbotron?! An apology would have been nice. Even an ounce of acknowledging our exhaustion and frustration for the past 3 hours would have helped.. but no. Even little, bald John was back with his Starbucks, rushing back in forth with vases and boxes so we could start our set up (bless his little heart!). I couldn't believe the woman, as she arrogantly watched us rushing our decor into the party room and still had nothing to say to us. Honestly, I think it's appalling for someone so cold and rude to work in a role of accommodating others and supposedly maintaining interaction with people on a daily basis. I was so fuming with her rudeness but had no time to dwell on it, as our minutes were counting down and we had SO much to do.

At about 10:50am, just about everything was done. I was sweating and overwhelmed, but it was done. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to hang everything I wanted to, but the food was almost finished and we were - for the most part - ready for anyone to arrive. I was happy that Mulder and her mom and sister came first. There's just something about seeing my friend's face, when arriving to a party I have spent months, weeks, days and hours working on. It was so great to be finished after such a nightmare of a morning. It honestly was worth it though. Whew!

The theme of the shower was "Garden Party". A little twist of shabby chic, vintage pinks and yellows, with lots of florals, ruffles and lace. Since Mulder is having twins, we wanted to play off the idea with "sugar and spice" and "two peas in a pod". Everything turned out really beautiful.. I couldn't be more happy for Mulder!

Whitney, Me, Mulder & Jade

Chicken Salad & Croisannts

Deviled Eggs

Make-Your-Own Ants on a Log

Fresh Fruit

Feta & Artichoke Tarts

Chocolate-Covered Pretzels

Marshmallow Pops - Chocolate-Covered Marshmallows

Berry Creme Cupcakes

Pink Lemonade

Love mason jars and straws!

Cucumber Ice Water

Vintage dishware my sister gave me, re-purposed from her mix-matched wedding place setting collection. LOVE these!

Backdrop I created (with help from Lanae and my friend Stacie) out of ribbon, lace and strips of fabric

Lots of emotions! Everyone shared why they think Mulder will make a fantastic Mom!

Belly Measurement Game

An unexpected Coach diaper bag! Everyone squealed as she opened it!

Favors: Chocolate-Covered Pretzels

Old college friends & roomies!

What a fabulous day.. It was so exciting to see old friends (and roomies) I haven't seen in years! Aside from all the the chaos and preparation before the shower, the day was so special and memorable. Can't wait to squeeze those little girls when they finally arrive!

xo

Credits:
Decor, including ribbon, lace and paper supplies: Michael's
Fabric: Hancock Fabrics, JoAnn Fabrics
Paper Straws: The Sugar Diva
Dishware & vases: vintage; White, square vases: Michael's
Fonts used: Fonts for Peas

Soundtracks: Represent, Represent.. Cuba!

2011-07-31T14:19:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite soundtracks (especially for the summer!) is the album from Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. The movie is definitely a cheesefest and doesn't even come close to the classic original, Dirty Dancing; However! I still like it and I LOVE the soundtrack. Even though the whole album is great, I especially love the tracks by Orishas and Atercipelados. 1950's.. spicy Cuba.. Zazaza!

Dirty Dancing: Havana Night

Check It Out

Featuring: Wyclef Jean and Claudette Ortiz, Black Eyed Peas, Yerba Buena, Jazze Pha and Monica, Santana and Jorge Moreno, Christina Aguilera, Orishas and Heather Headley, Mya, Shawn Kane, Atercipelados and Julio Daviel Big Band

What I'm Listening To: Havana Nights

I'm So Pinterested, I Could Scream!

2011-07-28T14:00:00.000-04:00

Well, it's happened. I'm completely addicted and I can't get enough.

Pretty much everyone already knows how it works or has one of their own, but it's been one of my best friends these days, so I had to share my love! This site couldn't be MORE perfect for party planning, new recipes or finding inspiration for pretty much anything. Endless boards of photos, ideas and original sources.. I love organization, I love Pinterest. Whoever discovered it is a genius. A GENIUS!

My Boards

Feel free to check out my Pinterest boards.. If you haven't begun your pinning addiction yet, lemme know and I'll send you a little invite!

Two Little Date Nights

2011-07-13T17:56:00.000-04:00

It still feels like we're in the "moving process", as we've been staying with my parents while we look for a house. It's definitely a challenge for many reasons, but it's a blessing as well.

It's been interesting to find time for ourselves since there's been so much commotion going on (including planning my sister's wedding!). After having our own space together for almost 3 years, it's obviously difficult to adjust to sharing space with 2-5 other people on a regular basis. That's where "date nights" come in!

I love being back in MN, especially during summer.. Before I moved, I spent lots of time in Uptown (Minneapolis) with some good friends who lived up there. I was so excited to take my time and show Justin the fun little town and my favorite spots I used to hang out.. Plan B Coffeehouse.. Isles Bun & Coffee.. The big bookstore.. We decided to grab dinner at Pizza Luce (my first time, no kidding!) and checking out some of the shops.

Perfect evening in Uptown at Pizza Luce. Holy delicious.

I just love him..

Plan B.. I have missed this place!

A couple weeks ago, we enjoyed another fun night out to dinner and then a stroll through Stillwater. It was another perfect night.. just super hot! After dinner, we checked out the fun little shops, including a new favorite - Mara Mi, climbed the 150+ steps to the amazing overlook view of the city and enjoyed some yummy ice cream.. Man, I love Stillwater. Can't wait for our next little date!

The water was really high!

The Black Keys, Fireworks & Our Crazy Month of July

2011-07-11T02:04:00.001-04:00

This summer has been some of the busiest months I've taken on in a LONG time. I dunno if it's all the catching up with friends I literally haven't seen in years, if it's all of the sweet shows that are constantly coming to the Cities or if it's all of the weddings, babies and showers I'm hosting and helping with.. Either way, I'm busy and going every single day of the week!

A few months ago, my mom told me she scored tickets to see The Black Keys - whom Justin and I LOVE - and she ordered tickets for us too as belated birthday gifts! Yee! We were pretty excited to see them live, since we've liked them for a couple years now.. Cage the Elephant opened, but they definitely weren't as good.

We planned to meet up with some of my mom's friends - Sarah, Loan & Brian (Loan's fiance) at a restaurant before the show, but we ended up walking into the completely wrong place, sat down and ordered our drinks while waiting for the rest of everyone to show up. After a while, they still hadn't shown up and I noticed the name of the restaurant on the menu.. Uhhmm. Apparently "Burger Moes" and "Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub" are not the same restaurant! After a good laugh, we paid for our drinks and headed to Burger Moes, where of course, they were waiting for us. Cheapest!

The show was good! Our seats were pretty high up (at Roy Wilkins), but we could still see a good bit of the show. Cage the Elephant started and they were pretty ehh. It was getting so hot up in our seats and everyone around us were all complete duds. Between the shows, we headed to the bathroom and stood in line in the non-air conditioned death trap for a half hour. I thought I might die.. I swear they had the heat blasting in there. Finally back at our seats, Black Keys came out and I was ready to stand and rock out.. but everyone around me sat there like deadbeats.. What the heck, people! Who sits at a Black Keys show?!

By the time the show was more than half done, I couldn't take it anymore, so I stood up. Was that rude of me? I have a debate going on with my dad.. Is it rude to stand at a rock concert when everyone around you is sitting? Maybe.. But is it irritating and rude to have to sit and watch an amazing show like a zombie, with no room to enjoy it?! If I pay to see a show (or get a ticket, atleast), I wanna enjoy it! I don't enjoy blocking someone's view, but maybe they need to loosen up and stand too rather than sit there in silence, like bored losers. Thankfully, my mom stood up with me and we rocked out together, despite all of the duds around us.. I'd definitely see them again!

The Black Keys

Playing "Everlasting Light".. the biggest disco ball I've ever seen!

This year for the Fourth, we talked about grilling out and seeing fireworks downtown St. Paul. It's been years since I've experienced a MN Fourth of July.. and aside from getting devoured by mosquitoes, it was so nice to be home for this one. I had seen so many amazing blogs and parties with cute red-white-and-blue ideas, but I just didn't have the time or money to pull off a party so soon. We've begun planning upcoming bridal showers and a baby shower and I'm already over my head (in a good way, haha)! With that said, my Fourth was a good one and we watched fireworks overlooking the Mississippi and the Boat Club where Justin and I had our MN Wedding Reception in November 2008. Such an adorable little place!

Jordan and the pups

MN Boat Club on Raspberry Island

Now there's some brotherly (in-law) love!

My Dad, Justin, Jordan & Jordan's friend, Garrett

Waiting for fireworks to start..

One more thing. I can't believe my teeny, tiny, little brother just turned 20 years old. We celebrated his birthday by going to Joe's Garage in Minneapolis. I heard the food was really good.. I thought I would try something new from the menu, rather than something I always tend to order.. So. I ordered the "Jamaican Jerk Chicken". Of course, I'm excited to receive a sweet, fruity-ish chicken with rice and all this caribbean business. Ohh no. It was a bite ful of fire. I can't stand spicy food, so to attempt to eat that was pure insanity. Aside from my mouth numb from the pain, we enjoyed dinner and a gorgeous sunset on the rooftop. Great night!