snapshots: cousin weekend july 2014

Last weekend, Grandma threw a baby shower for Luke and me and a bridal shower for Blythe and Travis.  These cuties were all there.

audra's baby shower

We had an excellent turnout for Audra's shower.  Unfortunately, I didn't snap a ton of pictures (combination of the extremely hot weather and holding babies and helping with the party).

We did a few things that worked very well:

-only mini-games (mad libs, etc) laying around the party for guests to do at their leisure (no large group games)
-clotheslines double as decorations and gifts
-simple theme: light green/aqua and white

Here are a few shots I managed to get...

First, the prep work (more can be seen here):

gift + doily + twine

DIY clipboards + homemade mad libs

water, lemonade, raspberry lemonade

cups, plates, utensils from shopsweetlulu

lemonade cucpakes from Just Because Bakery

"Advice for Mark + Audra" // "Wishes for Baby"

table set up // vase + burlap

clotheslines everywhere: decorations that double as gifts!

 Now, the party...

cousin love

babes (born a week apart!)

sleepy Joey with mama

pretty Maira enjoying the festivities

All the Mrs. Bs!

 

 

guest of honor with her mama

Then, at the after-party, these cuties had some cupcake fun:

Want to share any of these pics? Just click one of the options below!

Want a copy of a picture? Leave me a comment!

clothespins + food stands: easy diy

This past week, Luke helped me personalize some of the decorations for Audra's baby shower this weekend.  Our decorating theme is light (minty, aqua) green and white (it's a boy!).  Our invitations looked like this:

 

So I did two super simply DIYs: striped clothespins (to hang baby clothes as a decoration/gift), and food stands (more food can fit on the table!).  First, the clothespins were super simple:

One: I spray painted them all white.
Two: I added painter tape.
Three: I spray painted green (flipped over, repeated one-three)
Four: Done!


The food stands took a bit more effort (and a bit more help from Luke.  Here's the simple how-to:

Step One: Put on overalls.**

Step Two: Gather materials.

Step Three: Find the center of each circular board and drill a hole.

Step Four: Spray paint both sides of the circular boards (I used light green and white).

Step Five: (if desired) Lay doily on circular board and spray paint again in a different color.

Step Six: Secure circular boards to candle stands using a screw and screwdriver. Done!

I'm getting excited for the shower and even more excited for the new baby.  Life is good.

**Step One is very important. Do not skip.

reading/eating/planning/wearing // april 2013

I love reading.
I love eating.
I love planning.
I love wearing things.  At the very least, it's better than not wearing things.

Here's what I'm reading, eating, planning, and wearing right now.

 

from the top:

Wearing: Flip flops and flats. Spring is here.

Eating: I went to my first tea party last week. Cucumber sandwiches (sans cucumber) and almond pastries. (Cambridge Tea House, Columbus, Ohio)

Planning: A baby shower for Audra (in June). Green themed. (Items from ShopSweetLulu.com)

Reading: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (for book club)