Easter Weekend Recap (a few weeks late)

I really wish I could be more on top of this blog...I really am working on this. But you know my favorite saying, "better late than never" I know this drives a few of you crazy and it does me to, but...

We had a great Holy Week. I attended services all week and feel like I got more out of Lent and thus Easter because of that. I got Landon out of school early on Good Friday and we walked in the "Way of the Cross" in Homewood. It was very moving seeing the community come together for such a powerful lesson in our faith. About 6 churches in Homewood came together and led the community through the way of the cross stationed throughout Homewood.




Later that night, we went to my sisters 2nd Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Night. This was so much fun and great for older kids. We hid the eggs as usual, but once it gets dark finding them, becomes a challenge and takes more like 20 minutes instead of 20 seconds to find all the eggs.



Now that a couple of weeks have passed, I am not sure what we did Saturday besides getting our Easter best ironed and laid out. On Sunday, we actually got up in time to make it to early service at church (HUGE accomplishment for us) and after the service we loaded up and headed to Auburn for Easter lunch.



My 2nd oldest sister, Tiffany, lives there and it has become tradition for Easter lunch to be held at her house. And I am in love with her house. To me, it is the quintessential southern home.


And her yard serves as a gorgeous backdrop for anything...especially kiddos in their Easter outfits. Lucy was introduced to suckers in her Easter basket and I am not sure she was ever without one in her mouth all day.







She quickly learned the name of the game and would find an egg shake it, and if it rattled it made it to the basket, if not, it went back to the ground!





Poor Landon was popped with his allergies that day and every picture I have of him, he is squinting and/or rubbing his eyes. These are the only ones I have where he doesn't look absolutely miserable.





And we actually got a picture of the four of us. Honestly, I am not sure we have done that since Lucy was an infant.



Grammy came down for the weekend but she is not in a single shot. Grammy - we have got to get better about this! We had a lovely Easter week(end) and are so thankful for our risen Savior!

"Bee"utiful Saturday

I had an incredible weekend this past weekend. Not only was the weather beautiful but I got to hang out with friends and family and partied all day long on Saturday. It was incredibly fun, rewarding, and not to mention incredibly exhausting. I have been so fortunate to join a Mom's playgroup through church that has some fun and faithful moms in it. They have quickly become great friends that I meet up with at least once or twice a week with. The group is called "Mama & Me" and we gather every Tuesday at 10 at my church, Trinity Methodist. Our kids play (Lucy mainly eats snacks) and we have a quick devotional followed with fellowship.

Anyhow, our group was asked to participate in "Party on Purpose" a fundraiser for UMW at Trinity. I quickly volunteered as I love a good party, and off to planning we went. Since nearly everyone in the group is either pregnant or just had a baby, we thought a baby shower theme would be appropriate. So we came up with "B is for Baby" and the party evolved into one of the cutest showers EVER! Kallie, the other party planner and I spent all day Friday setting it up and all day Saturday showing it off. It was "bee" themed but not too over the top...

Bees made out of marzipan. They are really simple and Martha does a much better job with instructions than I could.



These little pom pom's were the steal of the show. Everyone asked about them and I cannot even tell you how easy, quick, and cheap they are to make. Again, you can find directions from my good friend Martha Stewart! :)



We simply cut circles out of black seersucker for chargers and made a table runner and napkin rings out of a bright and cheerful fabric. (sorry for the lack of color in some of these pictures...not sure what was going on with my camera)



Simple yellow, white, and lime green flowers make for a cheery arrangement...



And the candy bar was also a huge hit.



We tried to use only yellow(ish) candy to keep with the color scheme. Think vanilla wafers, white chocolate covered pretzels (tinted with yellow food coloring) yellow marshmallows (sprinkled with yellow sugar sprinkles) butterfingers, bananas, and butterscotch. And the banana cupcakes were divine and also the food sample we handed out to guests. Once again, courtesy of Martha Stewart.




Even though our party was my favorite by far there was some fierce competition.

"Alice in Wonderland Mad Tea Party" Party







I LOVE those dishes!

And candyland was awesome...how cute are these candy bouquets!!?? I examined them and they are really easy to make. I think I will start giving these for birthdays!







"Derby Days" had a cute arrangment with the riding boots.



And, I think I will have to use these for NYE 2011 Party



I had an absolute blast planning the party and honestly can't wait to host a baby shower so I can use everything again. I think it is safe to say that the "Party on Purpose" was a huge success and all the parties were awesome, but "B is for Baby" still gets my vote. :)

Mark your Calendars

Just a few things you will NOT want to miss:

First, Kidz Klozet will be in Birmingham two weekends from now on Friday, April 9 and Saturday, April 10. Kidz Klozet is a new clothing show based out of Mobile and features overstock clothing from awesome brands such as Castles & Crowns, Beax & Belles, Blessed be the Name, Anavini, Ralph Lauren, Hartstrings, and of course our old label, Mary Michael and many other great brands. These clothes are marked 30%-70% off retail meaning you are shopping at wholesale prices. You can visit there website for more information. I would definitely try to go on that Friday but be warned that it will be chaotic!

Secondly, my church is hosting an event "Party on Purpose". This is a party themed event with over a dozen party rooms set up with how tos and what nots. There will be delicious treats served for each party as well as 2 guest speakers that you will not want to miss. Both editors from Celebrate Magazine and Sandra Lee's Semi Homemade Magazine will be giving presentations on the latest party and hosting ideas as well as other great tidbits.

I will hosting a party room with a "B is for Baby" theme. This is a gender neutral baby shower that is sure to impress any mother to "bee" You will not want to miss this or any of the other great parties for ideas and inspiration.

Party on Purpose is Saturday April 10, from 12-4. Tickets can be bought through Trinity Methodist Church or through me, and all proceeds benefit childrens' and womens' missions. So its a lot of fun for a great purpose! Let me know if you would like a ticket or if you want more information.

And finally, if you are in the Birmingham area, I am having a garage sale tomorrow from 7-1pm. There is ton of everything from a gas grill to a tv and everything in between; furniture, adult clothes, shoes, children's clothes, toys, basketball goal, paintings, prints, and a ton of decorative accessories. If your in need of anything or just out and about, come by, I would love the visit!

My Little Olympian

For Christmas, Ashley gave me a ski trip to Vail. I have been wanting to go for years and we just couldn't swing it until now. I was ecstatic to go and was even more excited for Landon to get to go. Well, fast forward a week or so and we found out we were expecting. So, I was out and my ski trip got turned into a boys trip. It was a little hard to swallow at first but I really wanted Landon to go knowing he would LOVE it. And to top it all off, the winter olympics had begun and he had been glued to the tv watching everything from hockey to curling and of course he really loved the skiing and snowboarding. Needless to say, Landon was all about it. So two days after his 7th birthday, Ash and Landon headed out to Vail for skiing.



Ashleys cousin, David, is an avid skier and decided to fly out to hang out with the boys. David is a great cousin and was Landon's official ski instructor...no need for ski school.









He did a great job with Landon, and within a few hours, Landon had it down...thanks Cousin David!!

Ashley's other cousin, Rosemary and her husband, live in a small town just down the mountain from Vail and they were able to hook a cousin up! They got the boys great deals on ski passes and ski equipment. They own a cute little shop with ski apparel and equipment and offer fly fishing excursions and tours during the off season. If your ever in vail, check out, Minturn Anglers, in the small town of Minturn.



Landon has a small crush on his cousin Rosemary! :)




Rosemary's brother, Tim, Ashley's other cousin, had already planned a trip to visit his sister so it all worked out that a bunch of cousins were able to enjoy a ski trip together.



Landon (and David) pretty much dictated every day with skiing. I am pretty sure ash could have given up a day, but not a chance. Landon did not want to give it up. On one of the days he just passed out from exhaustion at the restaurant table during lunch! :)









Does it surpise me that Landon loved it? Not a bit

Does it surprise me that he picked it up almost immediatly? Nope

Was I shocked to hear he was keeping up with his dad and cousins on the blue slopes? Maybe a little bit

Was I shocked to know he even went on a black diamond slope? Ummm, YEAH, you got me there!

Even though I didn't get to go on my own Christmas gift trip (can you tell I am still not completely over it? :) ) I am so glad Landon got to have the experience. He and Ash had a blast and I know its a trip that they will never forget.











Although, I think training for the winter olympics is downright impossible in Alabama, perhaps I will be showing these pictures to the press 10 years down the road at the 2022 Winter Olympics!? :)

Fab Fabrics

I have just found a new brand of fabric that I am in love with. Riley Blake designs are cute, colorful, whimisicle prints that are intended for quilters but you can bet you will see these in our Fall line. Although, they sell exclusively wholesale, you can go to their website for a list of online retailers. And, once you get some of this fabric you can visit one of my favorite blogs here for plenty of ideas on what to do with it! Enjoy!