I've talked so many times about my close girlfriends on this blog I thought you might like to see those crazy kids. As you can see, we can't even keep it together to take one picture...it took 3 tries before we could stop laughing.
For the past 6 months I've been planning a surprise 40th birthday party for one of my closest friends. Her husband asked me to plan it and I was really excited to do this for her. This was a big affair and it has been sooooo hard not to talk about it!!! I got so much help from some other good friends - couldn't have done it without them (Peggy, Julie and Misty - I love you girls!). Well, it went off without a hitch. My friend, Karen, was flabbergasted. She had tons of friends and relatives fly and drive in from other states just for her which is very telling of her warm and wonderful nature. Anyway, I wanted to share with you the details of the party. It was so much fun!
and made a swag for the entryway out of this fabric:
We hung paper lanterns throughout the party:
We made centerpieces out of something called blumeboxes (you can find them at http://blumebox.com/ ): 
We used Martha Stewart ribbon around lime green candles and around the blumeboxes:
There was a custom made banner and crown from a fabulous artist over at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5031136 :
And for any of you in or around the Charlotte, NC area, we used the most fabulous caterer called Triple Crown. The food was unbelievable. Everyone was commenting on how fantastic the food was. Their website: http://www.triplecrowncaterers.com/about_us.htm We had filet mignon and roast turkey. Mashed potatoes with chipotle and montchego cheese. Roasted asparagus, penne pasta with a gorgonzola cream and walnut sauce, crabcakes, shrimp cocktail, baked brie and fresh fruit. And just too much more to list. But the best part...our birthday girl is a small town girl at heart. She loves comfort food and adores cream pies so rather than a birthday cake or traditional desserts, the caterer made banana cream, coconut cream, chocolate cream and boston cream pies for dessert. Yum!!!
We also used the greatest party service for the kids who attended. We had them separated from the adults. They had their own dinosaur hunt party that was provided by a company called Oogles and Googles (http://www.ooglesngoogles.com/birthday-parties.aspx) and they did such a fantastic job. If there's one in your area, I would highly recommend using them for your kids birthday parties.
Sorry about being so bad about posting this week. We've been sooo busy! But guess what? J started flag football this week. Ya know how sometimes you think your kids are getting so big? Well, put them on a football field with a ball in hand and they look tiny. It was adorable.
Speaking of which I have to stop using that word...or as happy hubby would say "that word." What word? Adorable. I now have both of my sons saying it with great frequency. Yes, I have an almost 6 year old boy who will see something like a miniature version of a batman action figure and he'll say, "Oh Daddy it's just so adorable!" I don't even have to look. I think I can now hear the sound of hubby's face cringing. So at least now that he's playing football, he can tackle anyone who tries to beat him up for his lunch money when he does something like comment on a bully's "adorable outfit" (something that he's subjected to hearing his mother say with great regularity when I see other moms wearing really cute outfits).
Let's just focus on the dreamy kitchens. I never realized how much I love creamy white kitchens until I started looking through pictures and magazines. Almost all of my kitchen files have white or ivory cabinetry. I guess there's something just classic about it. I have a white itchen with nickel pulls and white appliances. We've got a really nice 12" creamy tile backsplash that was installed on an angle so it's in a diamond shape. Rather than a traditional kitchen light fixture, I found an old brass and crystal chandelier which I spray painted cream and hung over the kitchen table. At some point I'd love to add either soapstone or granite countertops. I just added red toile valances to the windows which I'm loving! Again, as soon as the digital camera is up an running, I'll post some pictures. Until then, here are some kitchens that inspire me:
Check out my slideshow above. I've added new pictures from the fall catalog. We've got some great stuff!
Today I gained a different perspective. All this month I've been dreading the day that the kids go to school. J started kindergarten and C starts preschool in about a week. There is that little part of me, however, that has been craving some "me" time again. It's been 6 years since I've had consistent quiet time or days to run errands without car seats and snacks involved.
Today we had preschool orientation. The preschool director spoke to the parents about the school, the program, dropoff and pickup, etc but then she really caught my attention. She started talking about thinking about your "free time" in a different way. Think about the teachers while you're away from your kids. While you're running errands or typing at your computer or working, there's someone loving your child. Someone who is reading to them and teaching them how to paint with a sponge. There's a teacher who is giving them a hug when they're crying and someone engaging them in play.
I'm ashamed to say that I've never really stopped to think of it that way. I've always appreciated our teachers as J was going through preschool, but never really thought about the day to day engagement, love, patience and care they take to teach our children.
So as we start our school year, thank you teachers for all that you do and all you accomplish with our children. You are truly appreciated.
