Favorite Things Party

Brittany and I have seen this idea on a few blogs and we'd been waiting for the perfect time to host a Favorite Things party.  We started planning it back in April and we were so excited when it was finally time for the party.  Brittany hosted it in her new place and it was perfect.  We laughed because the party started at 6:30 but several of the Mom's started calling around 5:30 asking if it was ok if they came early.  Everyone needed a night away.

The way the party works is everyone chooses a favorite thing and brings 5 of that item.  (We chose 5 so it wouldn't be too expensive we also set the price limit around $5.  You can choose any numbers you'd like.)  When each guest arrives they put their name in a bowl 5 times.  Then each guest goes around and tells what they brought and they choose 5 names out of the bowl and those people get their item.  I think the hardest part for me was narrowing down what to bring.  Each guest also brought their favorite appetizer.

The favors.  

Signs of Sophie made coffee mugs for each guest with the party logo on one side and their name on the other.  Several people sent pictures the next morning of them having their coffee in their new mugs.  I loved it!

The food table.  Brittany's apartment is so stinking cute.
Everyone's favorite things.   You can barely see the glass bowl, this is where everyone put their names. This is the group of girls we had.  It was a really fun group. I'm going to list the things people brought for ideas in case you host a party.  I think $5 was a good price point if you're on a budget and $25 kind of seems like a lot to spend but if we'd gone to dinner and a movie we would have spent the same amount of money and you bring home 5 new things. Lilly for Target nail file and Essie polish (from TJ Maxx it's only $4 there) Bastite dry shampoo (TJ Maxx is the only place I've seen this) Walmart earrings and AquaNet Babylips with SPF Sea Salt Spray for you hair (Not Your Mothers brand) Bath & Body Works aromatherapy Bubble bath Salted Caramel hazelnut spread with small pack of vanilla wafers Babylips with color and elf eyeshadow brush Bath & Body Works foaming hand soap Clorox kitchen cleaner that you pump onto your rag (I think this one was my favorite) Our group brought really great stuff.  I wanted to go to the store when it was over and get the things I didn't get.   If you're looking for something different and fun for your next girls night this was so much fun.  Everyone really enjoyed it.  I think we're going to try to do it again in the fall.  

Last week of 2014

We've had a great week this week.  We have been kind of lazy. Barrett and I have worked but we've been slow to get there and left early.  We've eaten left overs and watched football.  It's been nice.

I tried to get a picture of Barrett with his stocking from the hospital.  This is the best I could get.

Friday we went to the park for a little while after running errands.  I'm glad we did because it was the last pretty day we've had.  Barrett has grown and changed so much.  He used to be so shy and just stick right to my side.  Now I can barely get him out of the car before he takes off running.  It really makes me happy.  I can't wait to see how he likes the splash pad this summer.

 

Saturday night we went over to Jeremy and Jessica's house so Jackson and Barrett could play.  I love watching them together.   They pulled each other around in that little wagon all night. 

  We've watched Christmas movies and football a lot.  I'm one of those people that hangs on to Christmas.  I just don't want it to be over!

 

I went to the most fun girls night Monday night.  It was kind of last minute Lindsey was in town so we got the Mexico group back together (plus a few more).  We grabbed dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings and they headed to Jessica's salon 98Degrees for spray tans.  It was so much fun doing it all together.  She's starting to offer these little parties at the salon and I just think its the best idea. 

The peer pressure got to me and I went a little darker than I did last time but after my shower I'm glad I did.  We have had a running group text laughing at ourselves.  It was a few of the girls first time to spray tan but I think they are fans now.  If you're local call Jessica to set up your girls night.  It was seriously so much fun.

This was our after.

I sent this selfie to everyone Tuesday morning to show that I didn't have to wear any makeup, just lipstick and mascara.  I didn't notice Barrett in the background photo bombing me until after I took it.  I thought his little smile was so cute.

Barrett woke up at 4:00am one morning.  He went back to sleep for a bit in our bed (which we never let him do) and by 11:00 he was out.  I'm not sure why he woke up but hopefully he gets back on schedule soon.

That is pretty much all we've been up to this week.  We're excited to kick-off the new year tonight.  2014 was a fun year.  We did a lot of fun, exciting things.  I'm looking forward to 2015. 

Dirty Thirty Birthday Extravaganza

I decided to break this up into a few posts.  
We've been planning this trip for a few months.  Since we're all turning 30 within the year we decided to take a trip to celebrate.  I was so nervous to leave my boys but I was so excited too.  I new Patrick and Barrett would be fine.  We started our journey early Friday morning.  When I say early I mean I was picking up my first passenger (Crystal) at 2:30am.  Crystal and I arrived at Brittany's to get her and Mallory and we were on the road by 3:00, right on schedule.  We decided to save money and drive to Atlanta instead of flying.  I was worried that it would be a nightmare and it really wasn't so bad.  We arrived in Atlanta right on time and quickly got checked in.  My suitcase weighed 50 lbs exactly.  I was pretty proud of that.  My favorite moment from the shuttle ride was when someone asked us where we were going and everyone just kinda looked at each other.  We weren't exactly sure because we knew we had transportation set up and didn't really have to know.  I'm sure the other people on the shuttle thought we were idiots.  For the record we went to the Riviera Maya. Here we are right before take off.  I don't like to fly.  I get really anxious mainly because I get sick and I didn't really want to throw up.  I usually have a drink before I fly but it was 8:00 in the morning and I wasn't ready to start drinking just yet.  I got a little upset when I called Patrick right before we boarded the plane but I after I talked to him I was better.  Before I knew it we were cleared for take off and away we went.  {A little background on these girls.  The top left is Crystal, we cheered together in high school and she still lives in Gardendale and we see each other a lot since her youngest is Barrett's age.  Top right is Mallory, we graduated high school together and went to the N'SYNC concert together in 10th grade.  Bottom right is Lindsey, we also cheered together but she is younger than us.  I hadn't seen her in years and enjoyed catching up with her. Bottom Left is Brittany, she was the common denominator in the group.} After our 2-3 hour flight and 30 minute van ride we arrived here! It didn't take long to park ourselves here!  I loved the beach set up because you could easily sit in the sun or the shade.  It was great because we could all sit together but still be comfortable. Brittany and I walked up to the front to make our dinner reservations and we were so happy to be there!  The resort was huge and we quickly learned that if we were going from the beach to the front we wanted a ride.

Most of the shuttles were just 6 passenger golf carts. But they had this one and we call it the zoo train.  We only rode it a couple of times.

On our way back to the beach we stopped for some ice cream.   We were all exhausted Friday from our early start and morning of traveling so we just went to one of the buffett's for dinner.  None of us felt like getting ready so we just wore our swim suits and cover ups and we were way under dressed.  Like afraid they were going to make us leave.  They didn't but we tried to dress appropriately for the rest of the trip.  Breakfast was my favorite meal each day. We quickly got our spot on the beach and I learned they will fill your water bottle with margaritas if you want.  It was a good day! We sat on the beach and talked and read and laughed.  It was so good for my soul. My team had a big game Saturday afternoon so I had to wear my elephant earrings and houndstooth hat to support them. Mallory missed the group picture that morning because she was at the gym. For lunch Brittany and I just went to the little snack bar at the beach and got a hamburger.  These animals are everywhere and they'll come right up to you.  On the left it was sniffing our table and then out of no where it jumped on the table and stole the top bun to my burger.  The picture on the right was my reaction.  Brittany captured it and I'm so glad she did.  We were laughing so hard.  

Animals were everywhere.  I thought this giant lizard was going to get my lip gloss.  Lucky for me Crystal was brave enough to get my lip gloss and take a close picture of it.  

Saturday night we had reservations for dinner at the Italian restaurant.  We got dressed up and it was delicious.   At dinner. Food at dinner. After dinner. After dinner.  I am a good 4 inches shorter than everyone else so I was the perfect height for the bottom, middle of the group selfie. After dinner we headed back to the room and hung out. Then this guy got in our room some how.  We waited outside for a man to come around so we could ask him to get it out.  We saw this couple going to their room and Brittany asked him if he was afraid of frogs and he agreed to help us, truth be told we didn't give him much of a chance.  I told him the only tool I had was a cup, he was like "Oh I don't need it."  Then he got close and saw it and said, "you still got that cup?"  We laughed, he got the frog.  We thanked him profusely and he avoided us the rest of the trip.   That sums up our first two days in paradise.  I'll be back with more...

13 going on 30

In 1999 I was 14 and in love with the Backstreet Boys.  Our church went on a canoe trip every Tuesday during the summer.  It was about an hour drive from where we met to where we put our canoes in and all the girls would ride in one van with our disc man listening to the Backstreet Boys singing at the top of our lungs.  It was one of the best summers I can remember.  That fall BSB came to Birmingham and I was pretty sure my life would be over if I didn't get to go.  We found 3 tickets and my parents paid an arm and a leg for me and my sister to be there.  My best friend Kellie went with us.  We had the absolute worst seats in the place but we didn't care.  It was first concert ever.  

Last night Kellie and I and three other friends relived our teenage dreams and went to see BSB again, live in concert.  I'm pretty sure we were just as excited or maybe even more excited than the first time we saw them.  Things were definitely different this time.  For starters we had to find babysitters.  Last night my mom kept my baby until Patrick got off work.  Secondly, we drove ourselves.  In 1999 our moms drove us and dropped us off.  I thought we were so cool. Last night we were trying to find someone to drive us and drop us off so we didn't have to walk. Ha!  

Kellie and me.  I wish I could find a picture of us from the last time we went. 

I was so excited that Kristen went with us! 

Kristen and Bekah

We were in youth group at church together.  There were 6 of us total that were total boy band fanatics but this was all we could round up for the night.

We weren't to close but we were definitely closer than last time.  

The whole group.
We had such a great time.  We laughed because they sang a few more songs sitting down than in the past.  They did several songs off of their new album that were good.  Of course my favorite were the oldies.  I love how a song can take you right back to your youth.  We were all so giddy.  I really felt like I was fourteen again.   This morning I'm feeling every bit of 28.  It was a late night.  I didn't get in the bed until after 2:00 and then it took me awhile to wind down.  Today, I'm exhausted and my legs hurt from dancing the night away. It was totally worth it.

American Girls

Back in the nineties my sister and I had a bit of an obsession.  We were lovers of all things American Girl.  We started with the books.  We would go to the library every week and check out all they had (which at the time there were only about 30 books).  We'd get so excited when there was one we hadn't read.  I loved Molly McIntire, her father was a doctor in WWII and she showed us life during the 1940's.  My sister quickly grew attached to Samantha Parkington, the orphan who was adopted by her wealthy grandmother. (which now makes me wonder if maybe she'd been wishing for a similar story).  We read the other girls books and stories but these were the ones we loved.  For Christmas we each got a doll.  I don't even remember when we realized there were dolls but it wasn't until after we fell in love with the books.  

When I think of my childhood, these are some of the most vivid memories.  My mom, sister and I would pile up in our bed and my mom would read to us for hours every night.  Thankfully my mom kept our dolls all these years (at least 20 years, we can't really remember). 

{Side note, I saw the author/creator of the books and dolls on Oprah a few years ago and she said she wrote the books because her daughter hated history.  She wrote about the girls in different time periods so that her daughters could learn history while enjoying the story of their favorite American girl. Made me love them even more}

 Since we found out there was a store and bistro in Atlanta we've wanted to go (I'm talking years).  So this year Elizabeth invited us to spend the night with her in Atlanta and make a girls trip for brunch.

Let me back up and just mention our trip to the ATL.  It takes three hours to get from Gardendale to the area of Atlanta that my sister lives.  We left Gardendale at 4:00 which put us arriving at our destination around 8:00 their time.  I fed Barrett around 2:30 so I'm not really sure what I was thinking.  I thought he'd be happy until we got there and he probably would have been if we hadn't gotten caught in traffic.  He was fine as long and the car was moving.  While we were not moving in traffic he was screaming at the top of his lungs.  It was awesome.  I'm sure everyone else thought it was too.  I was about to lose my mind.  We finally made it after I almost had a come apart with my mom (this was after n

she'd mentioned that we should do something next year for my 30th birthday, problem is I'll be 29 next year.)   But all survived and we arrived just in time for pizza.  I had to feed Barrett and I put him in the floor and he was out.  We stayed up chatting and eating it was a fun evening.  I went to bed a little earlier because I was exhausted after the drive.

Elizabeth woke me up Saturday morning saying that she'd already put Samantha in her birthday dress for brunch.  I was sad because I didn't have Molly's birthday dress but I didn't let it get me down.  We all got ready and were out the door by 8:30.  I was proud of us.

When we got there people were lined up to get in.

My sister and I with our dolls. 

I was so upset because Molly has a cute little hat, purse and glasses that I still had and we brought to Atlanta but we left them at the apartment. 

The group minus mom.  Barrett wasn't really impressed.  I let Harper carry Molly and she was thrilled.

I love this picture of my sister, mom, Barrett, me and of course Samantha and Molly.

We sat at our table and they put the dolls in their highchairs.

Then they brought them each a cup of air.  Harper was in the bathroom when they brought these out and she was so concerned that they didn't have anything to drink.  Elizabeth told her they'd already drank it.  Then she wanted to pour them some cream but Elizabeth stopped her.

Harper is so funny.

Ava's not really into dolls so she thought we were a bit nuts.

Barrett wasn't really impressed.  He did enjoy watching all the pretty girls though.

We got a group picture in the princess chair. 

I'm sure when Barrett is 18 he'll love to tell his friends he got to have his picture made in the princess chair and the American Girl store.

We hung out in Atlanta for the rest of the day and headed back to Birmingham around 7:00.  It was a bit of an overwhelming trip but I had a lot of fun.  I loved seeing Elizabeth in her "natural habitat".  It was fun to see where she lives, works and goes to church. I loved seeing Harper so excited about something we loved.  As annoying as it was, it was special seeing how excited my mom was to get to do this with her girls.  She loved telling anyone that would listen how that this trip has been 18 years in the making.  I could tell that it really meant so much to her.  I loved getting to relive one of my favorite things from my childhood, with my sister.  She and I had so much fun just walking through the store looking at the new dolls and new stuff.  We also had a pretty in depth conversation at the doll salon on whether it would be worth it to spend the $20 to have their hair worked on. (I'm thinking when I go back I might splurge). 

 I kept telling Barrett he better hope he has a sister one day or that may not be his last visit.