Finally...

Finally, I have time to give an update on the bridal shower from Saturday.

So I'll tell you the story through pictures:

First, the bride and groom to be.

I opted to simply let the bride pick the color scheme. It was easier that way. She picked bright green and blue. We didn't go too overboard with colors. But you can see the basket of silverware towards the back. Each napkin had a cute little tissue flower puff in the opposite color and then we made jumbo tissue puffs to hang from the ceiling. (sorry, I don't know what happened but I don't have a picture of that right now)

The full menu:
Punch
Cheddar & Sour Cream Chips
Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato & Avocado Wraps
Chicken, Spinach, Lettuce, Tomato with Pesto Sour Cream Wraps
Salad of spring mix greens with walnuts, mandarin oranges, cranberries,
gorgonzola cheese, and an orange vinegarette.
Cake for dessert.

 You may be thinking to yourself...hmmm I don't see the cake. But guess what, you do!

See those lovely flower pot centerpieces??
Those are the mini-cakes for everyone!
Chocolate & Vanilla layers with vanilla icing & oreos.

Here's a little close-up!

 We had about 20 guests, so not quite half of who we invited, but a very comfortable number of amazing women.

We played 2 games: Gift Bingo...I know not too original, but it's a classic.

But we also did a "getting to know you" game. Everyone answered the same set of questions regarding preferences: Coke or Pepsi, middle brownie or edge brownie, beach or mountains, city or county, etc. I think you get the idea. Anyway, the winners got a spatula, a scraper, and this adorable little piggy whisk! :) 

(p.s. I might have to go buy myself one of these guys)

via

Then it was present time. The bride was blessed with a hefty load of amazing home goodies.

Of course there were other flowers (not in the color scheme, because I started running low on time), but still beautiful regardless.

After the shower and after we cleaned up, my brother & sister in law hung around with my nieces, so I had lots of aunt time with my littlest niece! 

Even though the shower was a TON of work, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I wish I had another party to plan. :)

TOMORROW!

Tomorrow is the big bridal shower day. I took today off work to do some shopping, and boy am I glad I did. I shopped for groceries, decorations, prizes, gift (hello! someone forgot about that one). I've been slaving away all day making all sorts of things and I can't wait to take pictures of it all and show you.

P.S. I'm still working on editing those wedding pictures. Hopefully I will be done soon and I will have some pictures to show. Stay tuned!

It's a special day...

It's my birthday!!

What is it? Week 4

I wanted to frame my picture a little differently this week. The picture made it difficult because I didn't want to make it obvious. Even though it still probably isn't that hard. hahah...oh well!

**This week I've made it a blog hop, so feel free to add the code to your post. That way all your friends can easily play along too!

...and breathe

This past week was by far one of the craziest and most stressful weeks I've had all year. (It beats moving week by far!) Anyway, to sum it up I have graduate class work. It's an online program through Wilkes University called Instructional Media. It's not too hard, but still time consuming. On Friday night, our Rita's employees wanted a Hawaiian night. After making lots of tropical flavored ice, decorating the place inside & out, the night went really well. 

I was supposed to be done at 3:30, but after decorating I didn't get to leave until 5:00. From there I had to do a scope & test session for my.first.wedding.

I had a CRAZY drive there when about 50 feet in front of me someone backed into a telephone pole, split it in half and the top portion went FLYING and SPINNING into the air. All the cars on the road stopped and watched as this huge wooden pole spun itself on the wires and all poles and wires around us shook. Then I finally got to the turn I needed, but of course I missed it.  After turning around and coming back to it, I was waiting to turn when I hear sirens coming from behind me. With nowhere to go I had to pass the turn a 2nd time. Then I pulled off the road into someones driveway and attempted a 3 pt. turn while almost backing into a fire hydrant---because it was green. Thankfully there was a man across the street who yelled at me to stop. Needless to say, I eventually made it to the church that night, got some test pictures and checked out the location and eventually made it home after some incorrect directions from my parents.

Saturday was spent making ice with Greg in the morning, then getting ready & leaving for the wedding. I was so nervous. I knew I could do it, I was just very afraid to be "the one" where the pictures really.count. It wasn't just me taking pictures for me. They were a simple, no-frills bride and groom. But overall, I fell into a groove and the night went smoothly. I even helped cut/serve the wedding cake since I had experience in that department from my catering days. 

I came home exhausted, but we played some Mario Kart with Greg's brother. Today I got worried about all my pictures being blurry, so I checked them, and they aren't all blurry. Thank goodness! But the rest of the day is going to be spent catching up on grad class work, maybe editing pictures and waiting for my future sister in law to arrive for her 3 week visit. Then tomorrow begins bridal shower week. yay!! I'm so excited.

Black & White Photo Challenge

I loved the weathered look of the boardwalk. It also shows age and wear and tear, yet such strength to still remain.

An Answer

I figured it's about time to give you the answer to this weeks What is it?

Here is the hint:

and here is the real picture:

It's the shotput area! Seems random I know, but I was able to watch my brother place 1st at the Junior High County Meet. 

Today's Accomplishment

I turned this...

(wrapping/packaging from our bags of sugar)

...into this...

a Hawaiian skirt for our counters. (fyi-the flowers aren't done yet)

I also spent a good amount of time counting & sorting these:

All because we are having a Hawaiian Night @ Rita's on Friday!

P.S. If you haven't guessed my What is It? post yet, check it out HERE.

And I would really love it if you played along! Maybe the answer will come tomorrow--maybe not. We'll see!

What is it? Week 3

I know I've technically done this on a Wednesday before, but who says you can't do it whatever day you want..right? So here is my What is it? picture for the week.

any guesses?

Don't forget to join in the fun, so I have something to guess!

Wedding Numero Uno

We went to our first wedding of the season. This one was for my cousin and perfect timing for me to get in some practice before I do my first paid wedding (next weekend!). So because it's easier and less time consuming to post pictures...here ya go!

Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs!

I definitely have some anxiety about the wedding this weekend. I know I am capable, but I also know there are times when pictures just come out funky. I'm hoping I don't  have any of those!

This week's theme is PETS. If you don't know by now, I've got 2 labradoodles. One is 4 and the other is 1.5. I couldn't decide (I didn't think it was fair) to put up a picture of only one of them---even though I have some cute ones of them individually. So I went with this picture instead: they are both in it, plus it was one of the first weeks we had Nittany as a puppy so it makes me say "aww he was sooo tiny"