Couples Shower

This past weekend, my mom and I threw a Couples Shower for our friends, Kathryn and Brian.  Originally we were going to do a traditional bridal shower, but decided it might be fun to include the guys.

Here is the invite I created for the shower.  Costco has a blank greeting card that you can upload your image or design to and get them printed.  You can get fifty, 6 x 7.5 photo cards and envelopes for fifteen dollars, its a pretty sweet deal.  Plus, every additional twenty-five cards is five dollars.

Couples Shower Invite

We provided the main course, a couple side dishes and a couple desserts.  Then we asked people to bring a favorite dish to share, plus a recipe for the couple.  My dad deep fried a couple of turkeys, that were delicious and gone pretty quickly.  I made a fruit pizza (recipe below) and some rainbow fruit kabobs that I saw on Pinterest.  Parker loved the fruit kabobs!

B & K Fruit Pizza

Fruit Pizza Recipe
Crust
1 Cup Butter
8 Ounce Cream Cheese
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Almond Extract
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 3/4 Cups Flour

Mix softened butter and cream cheese together, add sugar, then egg, almond extract and vanilla.  Then mix in dry ingredients.

Spread onto a greased jelly roll pan (approximately 13"x18"x1")

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes

Cool and then frost

Frosting
8 Ounces Cream Cheese
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Powdered Sugar

Blend softened cream cheese, with vanilla, then add powdered sugar to desired consistency.

Top with fresh fruit of your choice (I used blueberries, strawberries and grapes)

Rainbow Fruit Kabobs

We kept the decor pretty simple and put together flower arrangements in old jars, with rocks in the bottom and raffia & ribbon tied around them.  We bought a few flowers at the store and then I picked some out of my parents garden.  I can't wait until I have a garden big enough where I can cut flowers to make arrangements for inside my house.  I love having flowers around, it brightens my day!

A breezy family photo, minus Parker, who refused to be in the picture

My Mom, Mother of the Bride, and Dad

Bride, Mother of the Bride, Maid of Honor (Bride's sister)

Margette & Suzanna (my sister)

My dad working on the turkeys

Games.  We didn't want to go overboard on the games, especially since we were including the guys.  

When people arrived, we had them address an envelope to themselves, to help 'the soon to be bride and groom' with their thank you's.  Later in the evening we drew a name from the pile of envelopes and the winner got to choose a prize.  It wasn't really a game, but someone got a prize, so we'll put it in the game category.

Guess the Age.  We put together a poster board of pictures, when Brian and Kathryn were growing up and people had to guess the age they were, when the photo was taken.  People could play this game at their leisure and participate if they wanted.  The person who got the most correct got to choose a prize.  The person who won, was a childhood friend of Kathryn's and got 7 out of 10 right.  

What is this?  A Kitchen Gadget game.  This was our one somewhat organized game of the night, my mom would hold up a kitchen gadget and people had to guess what it was.  She wouldn't let people touch it, just look at it.  When my mom first told me about it, I thought it would be a pretty easy game, but then she showed me the gadgets beforehand and I think I knew 3 out of about 20 gadgets.  I was wrong, it was a hard game.  Some of the items included a wine stopper (the easiest one), a stir stick (that looked like an actual paint stir stick covered in silicone), an olive picker, a weird egg whisk, a tool to remove kernels of corn from the cob and many others.  I wish I would have gotten a picture of all them.  The person with the most correct got a prize.  Then all the kitchen gadgets were a gift to the couple.  

We had a basket full of prizes that people could choose from, including: lottery tickets, hand lotion, make-up bags, mini games, etc.  We also had a basket, full of hand made dish rags that my grandma makes, as a party favor.

Guys participating in games

Ryder chillin' in the grass

Trying to figure out what kitchen gadget my mom was showing them

Manly Presents!

Our gift to the couple, was a fun print of Montana with a lot of cities and towns spelled out in it.  I ordered it from B and A Prints Etsy Shop.  It looks like they have all the states on their Etsy shop, for anyone who is interested in a unique gift.  I was very happy with their Etsy shop and received the print within five days of ordering it.

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Cheers to the Happy Couple!

Stars and Stripes

The Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite holidays, for a few different reasons.  I love that the weather is usually nice and sunny and that it is close to my birthday.  Although the birthday thing isn't as exciting as it used to be.  I love getting together with friends and family and having a BBQ, then watching fireworks around the campfire.  It's an extra bonus when we get to celebrate at the lake.  

With the Fourth just under a couple weeks away, I thought it would be fun to do a little patriotic project.  I recycled a few of my wine bottles and added some fun stars and stripes to them.  Perfect for the Fourth of July! 

What you'll need:

- Empty wine or champagne bottles or any other type of bottle
- Star stickers
- Spray Paint
- Painters tape

The directions are pretty self explanatory, but just in case:

Star Bottle

1.  Apply star stickers to a clean bottle.  A clear bottle is probably the most ideal, for the star bottle.  I only had one clear bottle (I don't drink too much white wine), so I had to use a green bottle too.  I used both paper and plastic (clear back) stickers and found the the plastic stickers were easier to remove.  If you have the option, I would suggest the plastic stickers that have the clear backing.
2.  Spray 3-4 light even coats of spray paint.  I used Krylon, Oxford Blue, in a satin finish.
3.  Let dry and remove stickers.

Striped Bottle

1.  Spray the desired number of bottles, with 3-4 light even coats of white spray paint.  I used the plain old white color from Rust-Oleum, in a flat finish.
2.  Let dry.
3.  Apply painters tape around the bottles.  To get the straightest line, it's easiest to place the tape on the parts of the bottle that are not curved.  Shocking, I know.  I tried my best to place the tape in the same position on each bottle, so that they would line up when placed together.
4.  Spray a few, light even coats of red paint.  I used the red color from Rust-Oleum, in a glossy finish.
5.  Let dry and remove painters tape.

I wasn't quite sure how these would turn out, when I started, but I was pleased with the outcome.  I like the combination of the different paint finishes (satin, flat and glossy), it adds a little more character.  The Rust-Oleum brand spray paint is my spray paint of choice.  It coats the best, requiring less coats and I've never had the spray nozzle get clogged.

I suggest using a clear bottle if you have one

Ready for some stripes

Stars and Stripes

Red, White and Blue

Has anybody else been working on any Fourth of July projects?

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Cheers!

Happy Dad's Day!

One of the fun things about having your kid(s) in school/daycare is seeing all projects they've worked on.  Parker brings home so many art projects.  One of my projects, on my to-do list is creating a spot to display them all.  

I had to share the cute Father's day present, Parker made for his dad at school, a silhouette and an "All About My Daddy" interview on the back.  I've seen these all over Pinterest and had every intention of doing this project with Parker, this year, but his teacher beat me to it.  His answers are so sweet and funny.  They crack me up!  It will be fun to look back on this in years to come.

All About My Daddy

Parker, Ryder and I are pretty darn lucky!  I have a wonderful husband and the boys have an AMAZING dad!  He is hard working, patient, thoughtful, supportive, a great teacher, sweet and a wonderful role model to our boys.  We couldn't ask for a better husband/dad in our lives!  

I also, feel blessed, that I was able to grow up with, not one, but two dads.  Happy Father's day, Dads!  Thank you for everything you have done for me!

 One of my favorite pictures of the boys

My boys

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Cheers!

Housewarming Gifts

We recently went to a Housewarming party and we put together a fun bucket of goodies for the new homeowners.  We tried to choose a variety of items that are used frequently when moving into a new home or are just nice to have around.

Housewarming Gift

What we included in our bucket:

- Maglite Flashlight

- Carabiner Style Bungee Cord

- Goo Gone

- WD-40

- Assortment of Nails/Hooks

- Nail Hole Filler

- Hand Soap

- Handmade Dish Cloths

- Tape

- Quick Card on a Paint Sample

Other possible items to include for a similar "basket" could be:

- Hammer or other small tools

- Extension Cord

- Level

- Gorilla Glue

- Paint Brush

- Surface Protectors

Some other possible Housewarming gifts:

Bottle of Champagne, to celebrate their new home

Pasta Night:  Colander, Pasta, Pasta Sauce and a Bottle of Wine

Oven Mitt filled with Kitchen Tools (wooden spoons, whisk, ice cream scoop, etc.)

Plant for Inside or Outside

Custom Return Address Stamp or Labels

Welcome Matt

A favorite item from a local store or Farmer's Market

You can never go wrong with a bottle of wine or flowers

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Cheers!

Sweet Seven Month Old

Our little guy is seven months old!  Ryder is such a sweet, happy baby!  We can't get enough of him!

7 Month Stats

- First time on an airplane and first time to Seattle.  We took Ryder to Seattle for a quick weekend trip and stayed with our good friends, Jesse and Katie.  He did so well on the plane, he was very interested in everything and pretty wiggly as usual.  A few people on our flights, commented that he was a very a good baby, which is always nice to hear.  And of course I got to change two dirty diapers in those teeny tiny airplane bathrooms.  Lucky me.

- Sitting up on his own.

- He's starting to move a little more everyday.  He turns in circles on his belly and does a little bit of an army crawl with one arm.  It's about time to bust out those baby gates again.

- Likes to sleep on his belly.  Turns over to his belly immediately, when I lay him down for his nap or bedtime.  I lowered his crib mattress last week, (his dad hasn't noticed yet, at least he hasn't said anything about it) because he was looking a little too close to the top of the crib, when he would lift his little head up.  He throws mini baby tantrums in his crib, he puts his head in the mattress and kicks his feet.  I think its kind of funny.

- Ryder's making more sounds.  His newest sound is "ba ba ba."  We love to hear him talk and he is usually pretty vocal when we are changing his diaper.

- Still not sleeping through the night.  I really hope this changes soon.  He doesn't take the best naps either.  However, he does seem to take good naps on days I need to go somewhere.  Why is that?

- He's very ticklish, which I love, because baby laughs are the best!

- Still no teeth, but you would think they would be coming in any day, with the way he chews on everything and drools like crazy.  He's a pretty good eater, at least for his mom.  He doesn't eat as well for his dad.

- He loves mirrors.  This is one of things that can calm him down if he is crabby and going outside.

Enjoy Ryder's 7 month photos.  He definitely doesn't stay in one place for very long anymore.  He was getting a little crabby inside, so we had to move his photo shoot outside, which he loved.

"I can erase this, right mom?"

Sweet 7 month old

Time to go outside

We were in the shade, but every time I laid him on his back, he closed his eyes

Happy 7 months Ryder!

Cheers!