Saturday, April 24, 2010

Helen's Baby Luncheon

If you read my previous post about my busy, yet exciting year, then you know I have a lot of showers and parties on my calendar. I already hosted my friend Dawn's bridal shower in Pennsylvania (check out all those details here).

This weekend my friend Pam and I put together a mini-shower/luncheon for mom-to-be Helen to celebrate the upcoming birth of baby Matthew.

We had a great afternoon of amazing food, fellowship, and laughter.

The Decorations-simple and personal.

A colorful welcome sign
Here is a close up of the adorable mini clothes pins that worked perfectly for attaching the letters to the ribbon.
The Table
...and a few balloons (and Helen enjoying her virgin mango mojito)
Doesn't she look amazing for being 35 weeks pregnant?
We opened presents and "awwwed" at the cute baby clothes. The clothes alone make me excited for a little one someday. No folks...not anytime soon.


The Fabulous Food
Thanks to Pam (and Misha for putting together the delicious menu)
Fresh salad with strawberries, walnuts, and goat cheese (this picture was taken before it was all mixed together) This salad is perfect for spring or summer and was so yummy and easy to make.
Dessert
The cake was very rich, almost fudge-like and was topped with homemade whipped cream. Again, so good!
Drink of the afternoon- Mango Mojito (virgin for the mom-to-be)

We had a great time talking about pregnancy, labor, our husbands, the Lord, and what little Matthew will look like. Only time will tell, but we are thrilled to meet him.

So there you have it-an afternoon "showering" baby and mom.

Stayed tuned for the mango mojito recipe!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

2010: Weddings and Babies

Weddings

I am beyond excited for year 2010! Good things are happening to the people I love. I am attending 5 weddings this season and I'm a bridesmaid in 4 of them (and 3 of them are in September!) Wow, how crazy it that?
  • My dear college roommate, Dawn, is getting married next Friday on April 30th
  • My sister-in-law, Becca, is getting married September 4th
  • My oldest brother, Adrian, (the last of 3 children to tie the know) is getting married on September 11th
  • My lovely college rooommate, Vicki, is getting marred September 25th
I will be posting details about all the weddings, showers, and parties to share all the decorating, food, and fun we have this year.

for those who aren't getting married, they're having babies...

Babies


Nothing is more special than celebrating the gift of new life.
  • My other sister-in-law, Katie, is having her 2nd baby
  • My close friend in bible study, Helen, is having her first son (due in 3 weeks!)
  • My dearly loved friend in Oklahoma, Lesley, is having her first daughter
  • My high school friend, Kendra, is expecting her 2nd child
I am planning a small shower this Saturday so stayed tuned details, pictures, and perhaps a recipe or two.

Whether it is the joining of two loved ones in marriage or the arrival of a bundle of joy, life is full happy moments.

2010 will be an unforgettable year. Anyone else have a big year coming up? New house or maybe getting married? Know someone getting married? Do share.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Caitlin's Master Bedroom: Before & After

I am back with my 2nd spring break post. I had the lovely opportunity to help my friend, Caitlin, completely transform her master bedroom.

She said, "I am so sick of my boring room. I can't sleep at night, and want a bedroom where I can relax. I want something fresh, clean, and soothing."

So here is Caitlin's room BEFORE:
This view is from the doorway.


This is inside her room looking from the bathroom (It's important to know so you can see how we flipped the bed in the after photos).

So how did we do it??
Here's the run down...

She pretty much gave me free range with colors, layout, and design. The only thing she had were the mocha colored sheets (a Christmas present from her mom that she kept in the package awaiting our big makeover).

I thought a light blue wall color would be perfect for a calming retreat. After a couple of flips through the paint book we decided on Optic Blue from Duron.

Day 1-Shop Shop Shop

We went to almost every store between Damascus and Germantown. About 5 hours later, we got almost everything we needed. That night she and her hubby painted the room and repainted the trim for a crisp, new look.

Day 2-Put it all together

With a few more stops to purchase the blinds and coverlet, we were finished with our purchases. Back to the ranch or farm I should say (she owns 2 sweet Golden Retrievers and 2 not so sweet cats :) to complete our masterpiece.
Tiko and Tug watched the entire time.
As you can see the cats continued to walk on the new, freshly dusted furniture leaving the evidence behind. The cause of a few good laughs.

Back to the transformation.
After we hung the blinds, set up the furniture, hung the artwork, made the bed, fluffed the pillows, and vacuumed, we stepped back to admire the beautiful transformation.

Here is Caitlin's bedroom AFTER:

This is the same view as the 1st before picture. The view from the doorway. We flipped the bed to the other side of the room.

At the foot of the bed is this gorgeous new dresser (not a planned purchase, but how can you pass up such a beauty?) This is where the bed sat before. They plan to hang the mirror just above the dresser once they get some wire.
Close up of the new bamboo roman shade blinds.

Isn't that the perfect color scheme for relaxation? The room looks so much bigger. The coolness of the light blue is complimented by the warm shades of brown. I love the white trim against the blue walls and the clean lines provide a contemporary feel. The artwork and accessories finish the room making it cohesive and complete. This is my favorite make-over to date.

So how much muh-la did we spend?

Price Breakdown
  • 2 nightstands $140.00
  • Dresser $300.00
  • Artwork $50.00
  • 2 lamp bases $40.00
  • 2 lamp shades $ 34.00
  • Mirror $19.99
  • 2 square decorative pillows $40.00
  • 2 king size pillows $26.00
  • 2 white king pillow cases $18.00
  • Accessories $20.00
  • Coverlet after 20% off $105.00
  • 2 Bamboo roman shade blinds- $50.00
  • 1 gallon of paint $30.00
Grand total: $872.99

Not too bad for a complete, head to toe, or paint to furniture make over. Especially since the $300 dresser was an extra included expense.

I'm sure Caitlin will have a much easier time falling asleep in her newly renovated master bedroom.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Spring Cleaning: Closet Organizing


I love SPRING for many reasons. The warm weather, the blooming flowers, and Spring Break!

With a break from school, I have a few simple house projects planned for the week. Stay tuned for blog posts to follow each project. The first little project I tackled was cleaning and organizing one of our bedroom closets. It was very easy. The biggest hurdle was finding the time and energy to solve our messy closet problem. I've been meaning to organize this closet for awhile.

Take a look at the messy and I'm embarrassed to say before picture:
This project took about an hour. The most time consuming aspect was folding all the clothes. However, simple and pain free.
During:
After a trip to TJmaxx and Walmart, I reorganized and ta-daaaa...
After:
Looks so much better and I feel my closet can breathe.

In my basket I am storing all my scarves and bathing suits.
The hubby is storing his spare contacts, toothpaste, bandaids etc. Nothing too exciting. But all safe and organized in his straw basket.

To provide more shoe space, I purchased a cheap rack from Walmart.
Total Cost Breakdown
  • 2 baskets from Tjmaxx- $16.64
  • 1 shoe rack from Walmart -$12.50
  • Organizing- Free
  • Folding- Free
Total Cost: $29.14

A love opening the door to see a fresh, clean closet.

Do you dare to face your dreaded closet?? I promise you will feel very refreshed.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Modern Inspiration: Aloft W Hotel


Modern decor is not top on my list, but I wanted to share some photos of a really cool hotel called Aloft W Hotel at the National Harbor. Our room was huge and full of modern decor. The straight lines, graphic art, pops of color, swing back chairs, and blue office chair all worked together to accomplish a swanky, modern look.

The lounge looks like this...

It's full of boxy lamps, graphic prints on the carpets, pillows, and lights, and has color coming from all angles.

Our room...
I just love those purple stools in the sitting area. They are great for extra seating when guests come over and simpy add color and interest to the room when not in use.

Like this look? Have you been wanting to "go modern" but have no idea where to start?
Here are some suggestions:

Start my incorporating one piece of bold graphic art that matches the colors in an already existing room.

Buy some bright solid pillows or be daring and buy some graphic pillows that really make a statement.

Switch out your current lamps for boxy lamps with clean lines.

Add in color wherever possible: office chair, alarm clock, area rug?? The possibilities are endless.
There you have it, a few simple but bold ideas to change a room without over doing it.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Bridal Shower


This weekend I had the pleasure of hosting my friend's bridal shower at my parent's home in Pennsylvania (where I grew up). It was great to see my college friends and celebrate the upcoming marriage of Dawn and Sung-Yoon. After countless secret e-mails among the bridesmaids, it was exciting to finally see everything come together.

I love surprises in any size, shape or form so I was so thrilled when the shower began with a surprise!!! The picture says it perfectly.

We wanted the shower to feel classy, personal, and fun!
Here's how we did it...

Decorations
  • We set the dining table room with formal china and decorated the table with flowers and candles that coordinated with the wedding colors. It made the lunch feel very elegant. We just happen to have purple glasses and napkins that matched perfectly.
  • Hanging on the fire place were several pictures of the bride and groom throughout their relationship. It was a personal detail that received many "awws" and "I remember..."


Favors
  • Each person had a favor waiting for them at their seat. The favors consisted of a box of mints with the name of the bride and date of shower. Each guest also received a herbal tea bag with a personalized sticker that read the bride and groom's name.

Food
  • It was decided to have a couple family members make the bride's favorite food for the shower. Seafoam salad, pita sandwiches, Miami bean dip, cheese and crackers, and fruit made the menu. It was the perfect fare for an afternoon lunch.

This was taken before all the food was placed on the table.



Dessert

Games/Presents
  • To kept things moving and entertaining we threw a few games into the mix.
We played:
Who Knows the Bride the Best??
Bridal Bingo and
The Newlywed Game


Each winner went to the prize basket for a special treat.
Friends and Fellowship


So there you have it, a fun, personalized, elegant shower for a great friend who's about to embark on the wild ride of marriage.