"Perfect Chemistry" Bridal Shower

My friend and her fiance are both chemists and met at work; therefore the stars aligned in the right order to use "Perfect Chemistry" as the bridal shower theme. We carried forth her wedding colors but then added in several chemistry touches. 

• The banners "Amanda & Jason" and "Perfect Chemistry" but done as periodic table letters. No, I don't think "Ec" is an element. :) The numbers we used are her birthdate, his birthdate, engagement date, and wedding date.
• Test tube favors filled with Nerds. 
• Custom H20 water bottles
• High school chemistry book for guests to write messages to the bride & groom. I'll rip them out and scan them into a photo book I'm designing of her parties. 
• Trivia game on how well you know the couple called "The Elements of Jason & Amanda"
• Periodic table bridal shower bingo
• Erlenmeyer flasks as vases

Later that night we went out for dinner and drinks and dancing. The tiara the bride-to-be is wearing as something our group is passing down from girl to girl.

Their wedding is just a little over a month away, and I'm excited to double up as both Matron of Honor and (semi) day of coordinator.

Shower dress - Old Navy; Bachelorette party dress - Cynthia Rowley (TJ Maxx) 

End of My Twenties Night Out

The end is in sight. The end of my twenties that is. 

Saturday night, I got to celebrate the final weekend of my twenties with friends, including the lovely Vee. I even honored the decade by drinking like I did 9 years ago! 

I'm pretty much dreading having to face the fact that I'll be 30 tomorrow, but then I gain some perspective and reflect on all the people and events that have brought me to this age. I look at my marriage, my home, my friends, my career, and I can't help but think "If this is what my 20s have given me, how much more awesome will it get in the next decade?" 

and a pre-dinner OOTD:

Dress: TJ Maxx, Cardi: Target, Shoes: Target, Flower pin: Burlington Coat Factory

Signing off on my last post in this age bracket. See you on the other side! 

Birthday BBQ

Sunday was only our second time throwing a party at our home. Yes, that's kind of weird considering I help plan events. For some reason it's harder to do when it's YOUR home and YOUR food. It also complicated things that we purchased and set up our new patio furniture less than 24 hours before the party. But it all came together. We had a great turnout for my husband's birthday BBQ party -- I don't know why we don't do this more often. It's not all the time you can chose everyone you want to hang out with a party.

Menu: hamburgers, hot dogs, my dad's famous "old settler beans," Italian sausage sandwiches, potato salad, veggie tray, chips, spinach dip, lemonade, beer, soda, and water. Not too shabby for it being our first cookout. 

Sunday's party also marked a special moment in my life -- when my two favorite babies (bff's little girl and my nephew) were able to be in the same place together... thus making my heart melt into a pool of goo. 

Bestie's Birds & Branches Baby Shower

My best friend is expecting a little baby girl in late October. Using her nursery theme of birds, I thought how perfect that theme would carry into her shower. It didn't take much online research to gather a slew of ideas for a birds and branches shower!

Here's the nursery:

The word art was done by me (::toots horn::)

And here's how the shower turned out: 

p.s. OOTD: Dress and Cardi - Target; belt - ON

I Heart Theme Parties

When it was announced that the Facebook campaign to urge Saturday Night Live to have Betty White host proved successful, my friend Christen immediately sent out invites for a Betty White Hosts SNL party. With my combined adoration for both SNL and the senior comedienne, it was not a party I could miss. 

Last year the same friend threw a Golden Girls party complete with GG-themed trivia contests, prizes, and costumes. Oddly enough, I came dressed as Rose. Like the last themed party, Christen didn't pull any punches in theme-ing out the SNL bash. There was all white foods, gigantic posters, blacklights, white dress code, Betty White Russians, Betty White-tinis, and Betty White Cranberry Vodkas. At 11:30 we all gathered to watch a truly classic SNL.

Though my husband isn't a big Betty White fan, he is a huge fan of our friend's bulldog, Sherman. He came wearing white, too.