Sunday, December 20, 2009

love is in the details.

A few weeks ago I flew to DC to host a bridal shower for my beautiful big sister. We had the shower on a Friday night at an amazing restaurant in Old Town Alexandria. The food was delicious and it was wonderful to spend the evening with so many of Jenn's wonderful friends. Bridal showers are one of my favorite parts of getting ready for a wedding. It is such a special time to be surrounded by great friends and relatives and celebrate this special time for the bride.

Get ready because I have LOTS of pictures from the shower. I wanted to be able to show all of you the little details. I'll do another post all about my new favorite Etsy shops that I discovered during the planning!

For place cards, I bought clear plastic frames at Michaels that were only $0.99 each. I sprayed them with a few coats of chalkboard paint and bought small plastic easels for them to sit on. I thought they looked a little plain so I added ribbon to the top of each one. I think they turned out pretty cute!


Jenn's place setting



The sign-in table.


I set the table up with one of their stunning engagement pictures and the cross-stitch that I gave them as an engagement gift. The little sign was another picture frame from Michael's. I gave it a few sprays of chalkboard paint and think that it was a sweet touch to the table. The guest book is from Paper-Source as well as the name tags.


The mantle



One of the arches in front of the wine room.


The room was so pretty!


Cocktail time!


The ladies opening their favors (more on those later!)


Since it was a date night shower, I wanted their favors to go along with the theme. I found an Etsy shop that makes cute little pocket mirrors. I gave one to each girl so they could use them on their own date nights.

Presents!



My place setting (I accidentally wrote maid instead of matron but didn't want to mess it up by erasing)


The cake table and one of the shower invitations.





One of Jenn's bridesmaids, Lily, recreated one of Jenn and Jason's first dates. SO thoughtful!


All of the girls


The bride with our Aunt Mary. She took a day off from work and flew from Texas with my mom just to be at the shower. It was so special to have her with us to celebrate! 


Two sets of sisters


Jason stopped by as we were leaving.


The day after the shower we went out to brunch and did some shopping in Old Town. We were lucky enough to see some beautiful snow! The shower was the weekend that it snowed in Houston so Mom and Aunt Mary were excited to get to see snow in DC since they missed it back home.

Wonderful sister. Amazing friend. Beautiful bride.


Two of my favorite women in the whole world. 



This is one of my new favorite pictures. 



Monday, December 7, 2009

thanksgiving recap.


I realize that I am very behind with my blogging, but I am going to do my best to catch up and get back on track... starting with a Thanksgiving recap.

As I am sure most of you know, we spent the Thanksgiving holiday back in Texas. We had a wonderful week spending time at home with our families. We enjoyed two delicious Thanksgiving meals, one with my mom's side of the family and another with the Kruegers. We also managed to squeeze in some Black Friday shopping and wedding planning!

Checking out their wedding venue!


B2B and MOH


Out to dinner with the Krueger gang


Pops and I baked a delicious apple pie from scratch. It was a huge hit and we will be making another for Christmas. 


With one of the *two* amazing turkeys that my dad made.
  

I don't think the really wanted me in the picture...


Oh how I wish I didn't have to wait a year for another feast like this!


Jenn with sweet Amelia Rose.


My turn with the sleeping babe.


The whole gang!


Our first Thanksgiving as Mr. and Mrs. 



And in non-Thanksgiving news...

Happiest of birthdays to the lovely Ivy Ruths! I hope your birthday is wonderful and that you have a great time celebrating tonight! Can't wait to see you and your hubby very soon!