It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas. It all started with a free non-work day {Veterans Day} ,  gingersnap cookies and a little creativity at C's godmother's house. We cut, painted and measured, and one giant mess later, have the cutest Candy Cane door hanger. We got so motivated that we went out on Saturday and made 6 more so we can give one to all of C and T's teachers this year for the holidays. Our little arts and crafts guru {C} was in hog heaven painting away. I have no doubt she is going to grow up to be one creative young lady.

Laura -- Here's my best attempt to explain how to make it {since you know I'm not a step by step directions person}

-Take burlap and sketch out a candy cane and cut out the shapes {you need two that are identical so I folded the burlap and then made the cut}. Notice I made a flat bottom -- I think that looks better than curved.

- Spray one side with a primer. Let dry for 10 minutes.

- Sew or glue three of the sides together.  If you sew use the a large straight stich.

- Paint red and white. I measured the stripes 5 inches apart, but did a little sliver at the bottom so there were more red and white stripes. You can either tape off and spray paint--or if you want a more casual look you can just paint with a paint brush. In this one I painted by hand.

- Let dry {about an hour}

- Then stuff with your white plastic bags {I used ones from target, publix}.  Sew {or glue} the last section together.

**If I could do it all over again, I would purchase RED burlap and then would only have to paint the white part. This would save a lot of time. 

Then add the wire metal for the hanger at the top and a bow.

Purr-fect Halloween Celebration

For the kids 4th annual Halloween celebration, all the cutest ghosts and gobblins came out to celebrate for a spooktacular good time. They made goolish decorations, took purr-fect pictures, and made devilish pumpkins. Too many pictures to share, but here are a few.

And am so in love with the weath I found at Coton Colors.

We also had fun with C making the pumpkin decorations and selecting what candy or treats out of the yard could be lined up in the vases.

And glitter makes everything look fabulous.

And the families loved the "purr-fect picture" taking station that we set up so families could capture a family photo.

And on there way out, we made sure they received their witches broom goody bags, which were inspired by something we saw in a magazine. It was also a great way to get the wee ones to pick up sticks in the backyard so we could make the favors.

Great Teacher Themed Shower. So fun

We had a great time celebrating the future little Mack with a teacher-themed shower.

Ever since the fresh-out-of-college days when I would fly up to visit Angie in NYC and we obsessed about Magnolia Bakery, I’ve been in love with cupcakes. Only naturally, Caroline has been a fan of these precious, perfect little treats. She is quite an entertainer in the kitchen and thus for her 3^rd birthday hosted a chef-themed birthday.


Each “chef” was greeted with their very own monogrammed apron and a chef hat that they could decorate as they pleased.


We were going to use the adorable cupcake papers from Meri Meri but decided that the cupcakes were pretty enough on their own.

Then everyone moved to their “chef stations” where their placemats were set out. They each had a cupcake on a cupcake stand and all the toppings they can imagine to make their perfect cupcake from Michaels, Publix and anywhere I could find pretty toppings.

Caroline wearing her chef hat that she designed with all the craft papers. There were tons of places to purchase chef hats from, but we found the perfect fit from Kids Aprons.

We had a fabulous time seeing all the creative cupcake designs the kids came up with and also their version of Breakfast Pizza, which consisted of a Sugar cookie, homemade cream cheese icing and an assortment of fresh fruits to select from.

Bon Appetite! Our dear friend Amanda says Caroline talks with a French accent. I'm not sure about that, but I know our little chefs made tasty creations that would make a French Chef proud.

We had such a great time, and it wouldnt have been possible with out the help of my friends and wonderful family. To all the fabulous men in my life for moving the living room furniture out of the room in 30-degree weather, to Alison for the beautiful names on the aprons to Erin for making the adorable apron for Caroline and to Jen and Desiree for stopping by or checking in on Friday to see if I needed any last-minute items while they were out running errands. To "Uncle Chris" for helping make the perfect "clothes line" for the aprons, and to my dad for taste-testing the made up "breakfast orange and strawberry trifle" recipes since I just had to have something red and orange to serve. Thank you all!

Friends of the Jungle

Friends of the jungle gathered to say Happy Birthday to Tucker. We celebrated in a big way with Safari Man providing the entertainment and all Tucker's friends there to celebrate. 

Earth day Party?

Is it Earth Day yet? When I stumbled across this blog The Winding Road, I fell in love with the Earth/Stars party and it gave me some ideas for an Earth Day party. Is it Earth Day yet?

Tucker's Baptism

What a special day. Tucker was Baptized at our church on Sunday, Dec. 5. We were fortunate that the Baptism gown his great grandmother Alice made was still in mint condition and he was able to wear it on his special day. His father and his sister were also Baptized in this gown. An intimate luncheon concluded the special occasion.

A Roaring Good Time

Shhh --- It was a Surprise. Thure and Brooke had a roaring good time in their 20’s, but now it’s time for the 30’s so we invited their  25 closest friends to join us for a Roaring 20’s style Birthday Dinner & Cocktails.
Of course it was held at our "speakeasy," and if you knew the right "handshake" you could try the Speakeasy Cocktail or Password Tea. The best part of seeing everyone's Roaring 20's attire. Happy Birthday Thure & Brooke.





















It was only fitting that as Brooke said goodbye to her 20's and Thure enjoyed his last "20s birthday" that we celebrate with a Roaring 20's themed surprise party. Thure and Brooke were in for a few days enjoying a much-needed break from their first year in Medical residency and so we decided to plan the perfect Surprise Party. I always love a good theme. Amanda at Karmanos Printing did the theme-ready invitations. Betsy Dunlap did the calligraphy for the menus and other accents. Mary Radcliff did the fabulous flowers. Black Fig catered the succulent cuisine. If you haven't had the oppotunity to be at a party catered by Black Fig, simply stop in their store. They are fabulous and helped me prepare a 20s inspired menu. With speakeasy cocktails, secret passcodes, dancing and fires we had a roaring good time. Brooke was definitely surprised.