Monday, April 28, 2014

Victoria's (errr, I mean Heather's) Secret

As you know, I'm a bridesmaid (and I'm sort of proud of this). Anyway, this past weekend me and the co-bridesmaid threw a bridal shower. The bride really wanted a lingerie-themed shower so we of course decided to pull our inspiration from Victoria's Secret. We had a great time!

Here's a few photos.

First of course, the invitations. I made these on the computer. I think they turned out cute.

Invitations
We included a little tag that gave her sizes. We also asked each person to bring a pair of new panties that "describe" the guest's personality. 
Invitation inserts

The panty game was quite funny. We had guests  "drop their panties" by the door:
The panty basket
Then we hung them on a "clothesline" - it was funny to see everyone's "personality." Maybe a little embarassing. . . but oh well, what would a bridal shower be without a stupid little game. 

Our clothesline
Everyone had a little "panty" nametag with black lace or polka dots and made up a "racy" nickname to wear. 


Of course, sticking with the theme, we needed cookies. We made matching little sets of bras and panties. 
Cookies!
And served lunch. We had quiche, bacon, potatoes, shrimp cocktail, croissants, bagels with smoked salmon cream cheese, and fruit with dip. Yummy!!
A view from part of the brunch line
Oh and what would a party be without mimosas? We created a mimosa bar, three different juices, champagne and fruit as a garnish. And of course a cake...a lace-up corset cake. 
It was a great time. The bride felt pampered (as it should be) and we had lots of giggles (lots of champagne helped that along). 

After the shower, it was time to do some makeup. I did Heather's makeup for some photos, complete with fake lashes etc. I can't show you the final in any photos but here's a preview. 
I should be a makeup artist! :) 

Top off the day with some good ole' line dancing lessons (no photos from that) and it's a day! On to the wedding......

Friday, April 18, 2014

39 by 39 - Do Something Awesome for Marc's Birthday & Get a Tattoo

Big surprise!!!

My now-adult son and I disagree on what is awesome when it comes to birthday celebrations! I know, I'm as shocked as you are.

Leading up to his birthday, I've been overcome with mixed emotions. Happiness. Pride. Sadness. Irritation (c'mon you mean your teen doesn't irritate you??). You name it - I've felt it.

at left: one week; at right: 18
Of course it's led to some reflection and it's interesting how twisted your emotions get:

How the heck did those 18 years just fly by?

You can't leave yet - stay home.
Ok, you're 18, get out. (he's not graduating yet so he's stuck with me but there's days lol)

I'm proud of the young man I've raised.
Did I do enough? I mean, he still doesn't do his own laundry.

I'm not old enough to have an adult son. I mean, it feels like I just graduated high school myself.

Needless to say overall I'm really excited and proud but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little sad.

Me and Marc this week
So I've been thinking of ways to celebrate the milestone. Pinterest had my convinced I should fill his room with helium balloons carrying pictures of him that represented every year of his life. (except I have no time and I scrapbooked them and they're put away and I'm too busy to pull them out). And that I should have made a quilt using all the baby clothes and tshirts I've saved over the years (except I didn't save them because I'm not a hoarder). And that I should give him a wonderful journal I've kept over the years in which I'd written down every cute thing he's ever said or did (except that those memories are mixed in with the rest of my journal and I'm not ready to give that to either boy yet). And of course that I should give him some awesome gift like a car (except I'm broke) or an heirloom like grandpa's watch (except that he's sort of irresponsible with tangible things right now so I think that's best for when he's a little older).


Suffice it to say, I was feeling like a failure for not doing something fantastic and nostalgic and memorable.

Then I was reminded he's an 18 year old boy who wants to hang with friends and he isn't on Pinterest so he doesn't know what he's missing:)

So here's what I did instead. I booked his tattoo appointment for his first tattoo. And guess what???

Marc and I finally agreed on what is awesome for your 18th birthday!

Stenciled on, it's about to get real!!
Adam (tattoo artist extraordinaire) doesn't look too happy at my photo snapping habit. Adam's really cool though and was fun to visit with while Marc got inked.

Side note: Marc must have asked about 400 times if it was going to hurt. He asked if anyone had passed out...the look on his face was priceless when Adam said dozens have passed out but only one has ever died. LMAO!!
No turning back now!

And the final product. An elk with R.I.P. Mason. Marc lost his best friend Mason a few years ago in a terrible accident. He's wanted this tattoo ever since. He originally wanted big graffiti letters that said RIP Mason but I helped guide him to an idea he loved even more. He and Mason shared a love of hunting.

first ink!
 And because we had an hour left in the scheduled time, Adam agreed to give me a bonus tattoo. I've always wanted the boys' zodiac signs. And now there they are. On my wrist. I love it!

After tattooing, I cooked dinner for a crazy bunch of kids that I love. Tri-tip, potato salad, garlic bread, and Marc's favorite strawberry dessert. The kids were nice enough to let me take their photo before dinner!


Happy birthday Marc!!






Wednesday, April 16, 2014

39 by 39 - Be a Bridesmaid

Adding "Be a Bridesmaid" to my annual bucket list was sort of like cheating. I knew it would happen - my great friend and cousin Heather had already asked me to be in her May ceremony. It was a win/win - I get to wear a beautiful dress and walk down an aisle without any commitment whatsoever! Yay me.

To say, I'm not a wedding person might be an understatement. I know girls that have waited their lives to have the wedding of their dreams - I might have been like that if I weren't so lousy at relationships. Even still...I watch the money poured into weddings and think, "Damn, that would have been one heck of a vacation." And of course, I don't have a lot of faith in forever, yadda yadda.

But ok, Heather wants a wedding and being a wonderful friend (at least in my opinion haha), I said yes. Besides, she swore she wasn't too demanding. In fact, I could pick any color dress I wanted as long as it was within her "sunset color" parameter.

First duty....the dress! Hers and mine. My "rule" was that I wouldn't wear yellow.

David Bridal's "Hue chart" 
Well, guess what...I'm wearing that Sunbeam Yellow color above. I want to say I hate yellow but it wasn't bad and I think with a little tan and a little darker hair color it's going to be fine. 

I'll of course post dress pics after the wedding. 

Of course, the BIG deal was her dress. I'm not posting a photo because it's bad luck. But while she tried on dresses, Bethani and I messed around. Here's me attempting to show Bethani a duck face (fail) and a veil.

duck face??

Then it was cake tasting. My experience with wedding cakes is "icky" but these were delicious. A fantastic bakery at a grocery store of all places. I wanted to eat more! The banana cake with chocolate frosting was DELICIOUS! 

wedding cake!

 Then comes another fun part - a Bridal Shower. This is the only part I'm envious of. We've decided to throw a lingerie party - Victoria's Secret themed. Would it be poor etiquette to throw myself a lingerie party where I ask all guests to bring me something to fill my dresser with silk and lace? Ok, that's what I thought.

So I made really cute little invitations on the computer and sent them out. I've created a delicious menu for the brunch and we'll host a fabulous mimosa bar. We're playing a fun game (bring a NEW pair of panties that represent your personality and we'll make Heather guess who they belong to).

bridal shower

Then the crafty part came. We put together centerpiece arrangement using mason jars, wood, candles, and flowers. Here's a couple of examples:

Centerpiece version 1 

Centerpiece version 2 (and Heather's legs lol)
 Then I hand painted a sign for her daughter to carry down the aisle. It drives me crazy that it's not perfect but Heather said it's what she wanted so ok.....

Here she comes
 Then the sign for the "program" - again, driving me crazy that it's not perfect but Heather loves "shabby chic" so she's loving it.

 And then yarn art....can you tell Heather has spent a little time on Pinterest? This took forever. But I was able to pound out some frustrations on all those dang nails!



For now, my duties are done. I'll be busy over the next few weeks and I'll post more photos later. Are you a wedding person?

Monday, April 7, 2014

39 x 39 - Sew a Skirt

I sewed a skirt. And it's actually something I think I'll wear. More about that in a minute.....

To say life's been busy would be an understatement. Between school, kids, work, and my other work (on the board at the Home Builders Association), I feel like I've been running running running. Rather than bore you with a bunch of words, let me tell you in photos:

Marc bought a new car. It's ugly but it beats the gas mileage in his ford truck. Good job kid!

I took a few minutes to make my feet pretty (or at least prettier-ish) in hopes that it would spring some sandal weather. This would never have happened if not for my beautiful friend Chrystal. Lately we've been carving out hour blocks to catch up. Amazing how much we need our girlfriends. I almost cancelled this day but instead, we kept our appointment. We painted our toes, I put makeup on her, and fixed her hair. Girly, fun.

 The Home Show! I'm on the board for the Klamath Basin Home Builders Association. This weekend was our annual Home and Garden Show. Nate came along and helped me out. Here I am taking a quick break.
 Speaking of Nate, we've been spending a lot of quality time together. Cuddles, conversations, hanging out. . . I love this kid.

And finally to that skirt. . . here's the finished product. Not too shabby (I'll post another pic when I've got a different shirt on lol). 

 It was really fun to take a piece of fabric, a piece of elastic and come up with something I could wear.

I've blogged before about my mom's sewing. I HATED it when she made my clothes growing up. I've had an aversion ever since. But then I started thinking...it could be sort of one of a kind. Maybe I'd save a little. And well, honestly, I could say I've done it.

I don't know how to read a pattern so I scoured pinterest for an easy tutorial. I stumbled across this simple skirt that says it takes 15 minutes. I would post all the directions but go to her blog. . .she does a great job explaining and I couldn't begin to improve on what she wrote. It took me about an hour (I'm a beginning beginner).

It really was super easy and has given me confidence to want to try something else. I'm thinking a maxi skirt is next.

The skirt is cute enough I'd wear it. It is a little too big. Apparently I added more than a half inch or inch to my hems.

Got any easy ideas for me to try next?