Flower Thursday

Hi Everyone! These are some flowers from my garden in the spring that I meant to post ages ago! And as much as I love when my garden blooms in the Spring, I love the Fall leaves and crisp air even more and I know it's right around the corner!! : )

I'm Bummed about the Erin Condren Life Planner....

I'm a list maker / calendar / planner kind of gal and I'm LOVING the Erin Condren planners that I've been seeing all over blogland but $50, seriously!!?  I can't bring myself to spend that.  And the best coupons I've been able to find so far is 10% off with 2011OFF and $10 off with WELCOME10.  The WELCOE10 is actually a better deal out of the two but still. 

I totally missed the boat with the whole buy a $50 voucher for $25 and I'm kicking myself! 

Okay the pity party's over! ; ) Happy Monday!

Baby Shower: Where I got my inspiration!

Hello Friends!  We survived Irene with no damage to our house, no trees down, and we still have power!  How Blessed are we?!

I literally found all of the baby shower inspiration online and I really wanted to give credit to the lovely ladies who helped me out by sharing their own ideas.

First up is Sarah at Life Sweet Life she had a tutorial on my banner that I made!

Next is Sandi at Oh Baby Shower Decor she's got some great inspiration and lots of ideas. That's where I got the idea for the little mini Bath and Body Works hand sanitizers as favors.  I also got the idea for the guests to sign a baby book from that website as well.

The labels I made came from Darby at Fly Through Our Window I just tweeked the template to fit what I needed.  And I think it turned out perfectly!  I also used the same template to make little food name tags.

I found this book at Target, it's call On the Night you Were Born, so cute and a great sentimental book if you're looking to do something like this at a baby shower!

I found this next idea through Be Different...Act Normal and it took me to this blog the poem is so adorable and great!  I'm not a mom yet, but even I get choked up reading it!  I thought it was such a cute idea that I had to give it to my SIL as a gift.  I got a set of 4 tiny vases at Target for $2.99.  You can click on the poem below and read it. 

This type of wreath I've seen all over blog land and I really wanted to try and make one.  I used this tutorial and it worked out great!

I got the idea to serve fruit in these little waffle bowls from Kelly at Kelly's Korner.  I absolutely LOVE this idea!

I made these POMS and I think they turned out really cute, I watched a Youtube video for these, because I had never made them before.

I got the punch recipe from Erin at Blue Eyed bride.  It was a hit!

Okay I think that's about it.  I hope if anyone is planning a shower in the future they can get some ideas here! : )
p.s. I went and got a 4 pack of receiving blankets from Target and used two of them on the table above to add to the color scheme I was going for and then gave them to my SIL at the end of the shower (along with all of the decorations, I hope she'll be able to use some of them in the baby's room)
Have a great week!

Baby Shower!!

 Hi Everyone!  Last weekend I threw a baby shower for my SIL.  She and my baby brother are expecting their first little bundle of joy in October (I think she'll have it in September though!)

I had a lot of fun planning this little baby shower and I wanted to share some pictures with you and then I'll go into more detail about where I got my ideas from!  Literally I got all of the ideas from blogs online!  There are so many creative and talented ladies out there!  So I can't wait to share all of the great resources with you! 

 Picture of me and my SIL.  I'm on the phone with the daddy to be :)  he was traveling for business and couldn't be there.

The mommy to be with her mom and my Granny and her girlfriend was able to make it (she just had her own little boy two weeks ago and he was born 5 weeks early I think so he's still in the hospital.  It was nice that she was able to come and have a little break :)

Details coming soon!

The Last Weekend in My 20's

Like the post title says, this is the last weekend of my 20's.  I really don't know how I feel about it, but I knew I was going to have some fun!! : )

First I had Friday off of work (I do flex time so I get every other Friday off, love it!!)  And I got some errands run and had lunch with one of my very best friends Kristen.  It was really great to catch up with her and just talk about life!  That's what girlfriends are for!

Today hubby and I watched our nephew Gabriel for a few hours while my SIL threw a little luncheon / shower for my other SIL because a) she's preggers and b) she works for my SIL so she wanted to do something nice like that for her.  BTW - I'm throwing Amy my SIL who's preggers with her and my brother's first baby a shower in August and I've been doing all kinds of fun planning thanks to blogland for some awesome ideas I'll be sharing with you soon!!  Watching Gabriel was a lot of fun but, OH MY GOODNESS, it was exhausting and I had hubby helping me, and I only had him for two hours, and I only took him to the mall, and he happens to be an angel baby!!  I don't know how you mama's do it, but ya'll are all awesome in my book!!!

Then I fixed hubby and I some yummy pasta primavera with crab meat and had a little of my favorite red wine to go with it! 

So my last weekend of my 20's has been pretty great so far, I have to admit. : )

Be back soon with more updates on my life and my last days in my 20's before I am thrown into my 30's, oh man!!!

Perfect Summer Read: The Beach Trees

Hi Friends!  So sorry for my absence these past couple of months I hope everyone has been doing well and enjoying the warm weather!

With Summer right around the corner I like to get my summer reading list together.  You know the kind of books you like to take to the beach, pool, lake, mountains, etc. that you can just get lost in.  Well I have the perfect book for you!  It's called The Beach Trees by Karen White.

Set in New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina comes a heart warming story about moving on after great tragedies.  The main character Julie Holt is like a fish out of water in New Orleans in the beginning, she's a native of New England and has dealt with her own tragedy, the disappearance of her younger sister Chelsea when she was only twelve and then the death of her best friend Monica who leaves her only son Beau in Julie's guardianship.  Her life changing journey leads her to New Orleans where Monica grew up and has left a beach house named River Song to her son Beau.  Only after she arrives in New Orleans does she realize that Katrina has taken it's wrath out on River Song and there's almost nothing left.  So she must connect with the family that Monica ran away from and try to piece together the mystery of why she ran away from a family that seemed to love her so much while rebuilding River Song.

Here you meet Monica's brother Trey who is a very complex character and her grandmother Miss Aimee who is one of my favorite characters of the book.  One of the things that I love about Karen White's books is you get two stories in one.  The present day with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina which is Julie's story and then you get to see Aimee's story and what tragedies she dealth with and how she overcame them. 

My favorite quote of the book is, "Great tragedy give us opportunities for great kindness."  It get's me a little choked up thinking about all of the disasters that part of our country is facing right now in Missouri and other states in the wake of the tornados.  But this book shows us just what the human spirit is made of and how we overcome and move on, help one another when the weight is too much to bear.

There's romance, mystery, and drama all rolled into one and I promise it won't dissapoint.  I guarantee The Beach Trees will leave you inspired.  Follow this link to see what others had to say about the book.

Happy summer reading!!!

Happy Valentines, Blessing Ring, and a Tutu

Happy Valentines Day Friends! Really quick post as I'm walking out the door to work.

I have a surprise baby shower to go to today for a co-worker and I made her a blessing ring.  Seriously the easiest thing ever to make!!  All you need is a necklace ring from a craft store and ribbons.  Then you can add any embelishment you like.

And I also made her a tutu in her school colors.  She went to Virginia Tech and so did her husband and they are die hard fans.  So I think she'll really love this!!

Hope you all have a wonderful V Day!!!