Showered

My beautiful little sister in law Kate is getting married in December and this weekend, we had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate her upcoming nuptials. You might remember from Kev and my 'how we met' story that I actually knew his family first because I was Kate and Mike's babysitter. It was such my honor, 12 years later, to be able to help our other sisters Kyle and Beth host the shower and bachelorette party at my house. 

We've improved with age a bit, agreed? (2002, 2013)

Our theme was 'around the clock', where each guest was given a time of day to inspire their gift and we also tried to incorporate the idea into our food and drink as well.

Our drinks were for morning (mimosas with Army champagne since Kate is marrying an amazing Army officer and setting off on their military adventure), noon (apple cider) and night (wine).

And the food was split the same way: Morning (muffins and fruit), Noon (salad and sandwiches), Night (a variety of appetizers).

I love any excuse to break out my china, but selfishly, a great moment for me during the day was when one of my mother in law's good friends came to get a cup of coffee and I served her the and saucer in the back right of the picture below. Years ago, when Mrs. Greenwood found out I was collecting different patterns, she gifted me a place setting that had belonged to her grandmother because she loved the idea that it might be used. Not only had she already seen it proudly in its place in my china cabinet, but then to be served from it too, really touched her.  It was so special and only gave that setting more meaning to me. 

 Kev, being the amazing husband that he is, had taken the big boys down to my inlaws on Friday night so I could get the house clean without worrying about them and their inevitable dirt. Wells got to hang out through the shower then went home with Deb so we could have the bachelorette party later that night. He was definitely the life of the party for a few grandma-aged women without grandchildren. 

 Our 'game' was to leave advice for Katie for the morning and night (keeping with the theme) for her marriage. This was actually one of my favorite parts, as Kate was reading the sappy advice (Always kiss good morning), totally unplanned, the women in the room would blurt out real advice (kick him out of bed to take out the dog).

 The rest of the shower was spent mixing and mingling, while ooh-ing over all Katie's amazing gifts (can I get an 'Amen' for how much we all need bridal showers roughly 7 years into marriage? For real.) 

Kate with her future Mother in Law and sister, Hannah.

 Friends and family

 Our sweet bride

 The L ladies: Kyle, Deb, Kate and Beth (who flew in from Washington State for the weekend)

 Having no real sisters of my own, I can't tell you how grateful I am to have all these amazing women in my life. 

All in all, it was a beautiful and fun afternoon of celebration. 

And when the shower ended, the bachelorette party started and we quickly dumped that apple cider and filled the drink dispenser up with margaritas...but the rest of that post is for Tuesday.

****

Happy Veteran's Day to my hero of a husband, and all those who serve and have served in our Armed Forces! 

A Baby Shower

Last Friday, my sweet friends hosted a baby shower for me and my friend Cassie. Cassie is due in July with her second baby (also a boy) and it was a great opportunity to celebrate these new little men together. Of course, I did not expect to have any type of shower with this pregnancy, being the 3rd time around and another boy, so it was really such a nice surprise to have a little party. 

Traci and Elizabeth set up this amazing spread. I wish I could send you some of Elizabeth's pound cake, this preggo went back for seconds.

 Cassie hasn't picked a name yet and we aren't sharing Baby3's name, so the girls made these letters for our last names and everyone signed the back. A meaningful keepsake for sure!

 Cassie and I did not plan our outfits, we just happen to show up matching really often. We actually unknowingly went to brunch at the same place two days later, wearing the same colored purple dresses. Weird.

 I wrote a post a few weeks ago about some of my favorite gifts to give and this burp cloth was one of them. Cassie is an Oklahoma State fan and I just know Baby J will be spitting up because of Oklahoma fans all fall long.

 I also got her a giant wine glass, because when you are about to have 2 under 2, it is important.

 A sweet little outfit from Traci for Baby 3. This one is coming with me in the suitcase just in case we aren't in a house before Baby comes. 

The Ladies

Me, Elizabeth, Andrea (also pregs with a boy, due in September!), Cassie, Jenny, Nikki, Gina, Traci, Baby Charli

Cassie and me with the lovely hostesses. My dress is from Target when I was pregs with B. It is a non-maternity one in a bigger size. The necklace is Traci's, it is probably j.crew or somewhere else fancy like that where I don't shop. (I love my friends' closets)

 And finally, this is what happens when you walk in the house with handfuls of gifts. 

Thanks, Bubs, that was helpful.

12ish weeks til we meet this little dude.
Can't come soon enough!

***

PS I am reading and appreciating all your comments this week, but time is just so short getting ready for the move and spending time with all the wonderful people we know in Monterey. I look forward to catching up on all your blogs soon and thank you for all your sweet words in the meantime!

It's A Girl!!

For my friend Gina! 

(Did I fool you? A little bit? No? Okay, on to the post)

Sunday morning Traci, Caitlin and I hosted a baby shower for our friend Gina who is pregnant with her second daughter. 

The theme was 'Around the Clock' so each lady was given a time of day to give an appropriate gift (morning, playtime, nap, bath, evening, late night). This was a fun idea to help Gina get a variety of gifts, plus since she already has a daughter, it was a good way to replenish the practical baby items they needed.

Of course, drinks were had first.

 Champagne + Raspberry Lemonade + Lemon Slices. 

Then there were decorations and food. 

Traci provided the monograms.

I jumped at the excuse to use my mis-matched china. 

(If you have never read the story of my china cabinet, be sure to click on that link.)

Brunch ready to go.

A little Cheers for baby Maddie.

And then it was outside (enjoying our beautiful Monterey Indian Summer) for gifts.

The 'morning' basket by Caitlin: Coffee for mom, outfits for baby.

Opening gifts for throughout the day.

And at the end of the gift giving, late-night: dark chocolate, red wine and 50 Shades. 

Don't judge, it was hilarious.

All the lovely ladies.

Nikki, Traci, Gina, Me, Caitlin, Andrea

Obligatory touch the bump pic.

For our activity, Caitlin had a friend from Japan create these beautiful origami cranes. Gina and her family are moving to Japan after their stint in CA, so we wanted to find a way to fuse her new home into the shower. We each wrote a good luck wish for Maddie on the crane and had several others for Gina to give to family and friends to add to Maddie's well-wishes jar.

Big sister Hannah came over toward the end for a cupcake and some special gifts we had for her.

The sweet family ready to welcome baby Maddie!

After dessert, we had different shades of pink polish as a parting gift. 

(I peeled the labels off and added baby stickers from Michael's).

All in all, it was a beautiful shower for a beautiful Mom. 

Gina, we are so thankful that you let us celebrate you and your growing family. 

We love you!