Baby L Gender Reveal

Three parties.

One week.

Yes, yes that did happen. 

Remember THIS post ? If not, just know that I LOVE throwing parties.

If you give me a reason to celebrate, I will give you a party. It's just that simple, folks.

Well it just so happened that we had THREE reasons to celebrate within one week, 

so party we must! Times three. It started with Bryan's Mom's surprise 50th (HERE),

and then my sweet Pampered Chef's mini Baby Shower and theeeennn, two other

girls and myself decided to host Kyle and Lyndsey's gender reveal party.

Lyndsey was my college roommate and one of my best girlfriends. 

A few months ago she shared the big news with me and

we immediately started talking about gender reveal options. 

Knowing that I had done reveal cakes in the past, she asked that I do the honors

for Baby Landmann. SO. EXCITED. 

SO... if you have ever seen a gender reveal cake done (or braved doing one yourself!) 

you know the drill, the unknowing parents go in for their gender ultrasound and 

one of the nurses will let you know BOY or GIRL.. or Pistols or Pearls in Baby L's case.

 Just plain ol Pink Lemonade for Momma!

Should anyone ever need a gift idea for me - THIS.

This beverage boat from Pottery Barn is everything. I need one.

 

 Lyndsey and her hostesses (tall and small)

It's a....

BOY! 

So excited to meet this sweet little boy in 4 short months! 

Weekend Happenins' and a Surprise 50th Birthday Party

Welcome back to another glorious work week!

I can not believe we're already into the second week of August. 

I LOVE August! Not only because its yours truly's birth month but we also

get to welcome preseason football into our evening schedules andddd...

it's Shark Weeeeeeek! 

Recall last year's post HERE if you feel the need to partake in the infamous

 "Shark Week Drinking Game."

This weekend we also celebrated my mother in law's 50th birthday.

With a milestone birthday like the big FIVE - OH, a blow out surprise party was only necessary.

So that we did! Although I had every intention of snapping photos that night, once guests

started to arrive it completely slipped my mind. Here were a few that were captured!

Please note, our fabulous guest of honor's face as she walked in the door.

#nailedit

 

About an hour or so into the party I realized I didn't even snap a photo

of the Sangria Bar that I set up. Judging by all of the missing mason jars

and the half full (optimism, people!) beverage dispensers of the sangria, 

I'd say it was a hit!

Another exciting weekend happening was Jake's early Saturday morning 

trip to the pet hospital. YES. So NOT fun. For being 7 1/2 years old, he's actually been quite healthy!

When we woke up early that morning to start tackling some pre-party errands, we noticed

that Jake must have licked his little back paws raw the night before. They were bright red

and we could tell he was in pain. We checked his paws and all around the paw pads

and couldn't find any cuts or bites so we knew it must be some type of a rash or allergic reaction.

One huge cone collar, a pack of antibacterial paw wipes, 3 different types of meds 

and a $300 vet bill later, our little boy is better and back to his happy tail wag.

Seriously though, it took us a hot minute to pull ourselves together after seeing

Jake in his newest accessory. He absolutely hates us.

Another Jake-related topic! We are 99.98% sure we have located Jake's little sister.
Would you just LOOK at it ?!
(Name that YouTube video)
They're like twins! Jake is a Jack Russell/Beagle (or a Jack-a-Bee) so
our neighbors were thrilled to finally know what breed their new pup was!

I foresee another puppy in the future very soon. 

SO You Want to Plan a Party..?

Ok, ok..

I know I have disclosed what I do for a living

more than once, but just to be clear:

I'm in sales.
I LOVE sales and I wouldn't want to do anything else. 

BUT I swear I want to be a party planner in my next life!

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH WEDDING PLANNER.

BRIDES = SUUPPEERR STRESSFUL!

I just love everything about party planning, whether

it be a birthday party, a baby shower, a bridal shower,

a cookout, a tailgate- I have even been excited about a garage sale.
I mean a nice welcome cocktail for your prospective buyers of
junk is always fun, no?

I just love the planning aspect and oh, the details!

I also have a weakness- I can't say no.

I will stress myself out to no end before I say "No, I can't."
I get so excited and say "Yes!" to everything that I sometimes
sit back and say "Okay- how am I going to get this done??"
The answer? Organization, people. 
Planning is a huge key to success here. 

Let me walk you through a couple steps here..

1. First, I pick a date. 
Make sure you give yourself enough time to
prepare and arrange either Save the Dates or invitations ASAP.
You want your guests to have enough time to respond.
2. Next, the theme!
 If you're throwing a party for someone,
sometimes there is already a theme decided, which is helpful.
Once you have a theme in mind, then the fun comes in!

3. If there is food involved, I decide on that next.
Reason being? I get easily distracted with the decor/details
that I will literally FORGET about the food! 
Once you have a clear menu plan, whether its a formal, sit-down
dinner or finger foods, you can move forward.
So you've set a date, you have a theme, and you have decided on a menu.
4. Decoration ideas?
I suggest Pinterest.
I actually suggest Pinterest for everything in life. 
Throwing a party ? Pinterest.
In laws coming and you need a quick dinner idea ? Pinterest.
Oh you have tons of lame t-shirts and you don't know what to do with them?
Pinterest.
You get the point.
If you are planning an event with multiple people,
create a "group board" so that you can have multiple pinners.
That way everyone is on the same page. It's perfect for multiple hostesses.
5. Decide on games/activities.
Unfortunately your guests aren't going to see the 
time and effort and heart that you put into every little detail.
So don't be upset!
What they WILL be talking about are the games or activities.
I played the cutest game at my Grandma's 80th
surprise Birthday Party! She had about 20 or so friends
there and they all found seats in my 
Mom's living room. Being that most of them
were at least 75 years old (or older) they were ALLLL
into gardening. I placed a name of a flower on the back
of Grandma's shirt and her friends had to give her 
clues to which flower she was. They loved it. 
I have never seen a group of 80 year old women
crack up the way these ladies did. 
With that being said,
choose games that are appropriate for those attending.
(I clearly wasn't whippin out the beer pong table 
for Grandma and her Bingo Buddies).
6. MAKE IT FLOW!
It is very important, as a good hostess,
to have an itinerary of the day and how you
want things to flow. You may be throwing a party
with your closest girlfriends or you may be having a BBQ
with 75 guests- half of which don't know each other.
You want to make everyone feel welcome and "at home."
Try doing an ice breaker, or make a point to introduce
people who you know are shy. 
And PLAY SOME MUSIC FOR PETE'S SAKE!
I can't tell you how many little gatherings I've been to that
were dead-silent. No music on in the background, no nothing.
This clearly makes for a very awkward group gathering.
I get this from my mom. 
Neither of us can do virtually anything without
having some tunes on.  
I'm not saying to invest in a ten thousand dollar Bose
speaker system, but plug that iPod in and crank up some Pandora!

7. Send your guests on their way with a favor.

I aaalllways always always make favors for my guests.
I'm not sure if it's an etiquette thing that I also picked up from Mom,
but you want to show your guests gratitude for coming.
 Also, if you didn't have enough fun with Pinterest on the party decor,
here's your time to shine! 

Mason Jars of honey from a local apiary with a 
hand stamped "Love is Sweet" note from the Southern Bridal Shower

There are so many cute, cheap and easy ideas-

anything from a cutely-wrapped cake pop to

a  mason jar filled with homemade granola. 

Individually wrapped Cake Pops from the
Alligator Themed Baby Shower

8. Finally print yourself a free party planning template.
Helllooo Organization! :):)

via PrintedInkDesigns.com

via Ko-JoDesigns.com

via atypicalenglishhome.com

Questions, comments, concerns?? :)

Email Me! 

I honestly LOVE LOVE LOVE helping with parties.

PINK Breast Cancer Charity Party

<3 October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month <3

..Is it me or is Breast Cancer Awareness becoming

bigger than Halloween during the  month of October? 

This month is very special to me.

My Mom is a survivor and I always like to show my support in one way or another.

Whether it's participating in a walk or donating, I feel that I owe

it to my Mom, whom I could have lost. 

Therefore I have decided to host *yet another* party! 
I chose to host a Bunco for Boobies charity event-
all proceeds to be donated to Susan G Komen. 
Oh what's that you say ? Bunco is for middle aged women
all hopped up on Chardonnay? 
Invite your girlfriends over to play one night,
and yes, 7-8 bottles of vino,
you'll see how exciting it actually is haaaa!

Beverage Display 

The concoction? 

Annndddd the Dessert Display. I clearly outdid myself this time.

Food Setup.. not as exciting, I know.

This buffet server was possibly one of my FAVORITE purchases;
Hellooo Spaceeee:

Here are some other Deets:

Keep Calm & Fight On Printable
..with more of those fabulous little glitter ribbons
I found from Michael's.

Pink Tissues Balls
I am on a tissue ball frenzy now that Kell
has showed me how to master these.
Tissue Balls at EVVEERRYYYY event! YAYY!

The "Hope" Banner
Kelley made this for me, literally the night prior.
I am mildly obsessed with Cricuts and what they can do. 
[Ignore the minor Halloween decor in the background.
I undecorated most of the house for the party but
a few things were missed- OOPS!]

Gift Bags!
[More Kelley projects.. ]
And my un-chalked chalkboard
that I bought from Kirkland's.
It formerly read "BOO" for Halloween
and I just turned it into a Welcome sign on the door for the party :)
$10 bucks well spent!

Finally, I saw this idea on Pinterest. I asked the girls to sign under the 
"I Wear Pink for.." 

Super excited that Mom & Gmom were able to attend!

The party was a total success and we had a blast!
We are donating $250 to the Susan G Komen Research Foundation.
It's not a gazillion dollars but I'm no Donald Trump, people.
I'm hoping to organize a walk in Ocala next year
to switch things up a bit!

We also just recently celebrated 2 of
my best girlfriends' bdays!
Jill turned 25 on the 9th and Haley turned 27 on the 15th.
I made this wine label for Jill.

I took Haley out for margs and gave her a cutie pic of us.

Followed by a super appropriate card. :)

That is all I have for you at the moment, friends!
Actually, I don't know what I'm talking about.
That was an obnoxiously long post.
You are welcome. 

Don't forget my Halloween Treat Countdown starts tomorrow!
MWAAAHHAHAA
Creepy laugh? Not so much?