14 Months!

No longer a  baby, but a little boy.

Kate's Wedding Invitations

Part of my wedding gift to my sister was to create and send out her wedding invitations.  She wanted something simple and unique and I had so much fun coming up with different ideas and playing around in Adobe Illustrator.  

My favorite part about the invitations was a puzzle piece I included with each invite.  I made the two below posters and had them printed on sturdy cardboard.  I then cut them up into exactly the right amount of pieces and included a puzzle piece and instructions with each invite.  Each guest was to sign the back of the puzzle piece or write a short note and then include their piece in the return envelope with their RSVP card. When Kate and her fiance Justin receive each RSVP they'll have another piece to one of the puzzles, and once put together will have two commemorative wedding posters they can hang or keep in small boxes I provided.  

The picture used for the poster is an actual watercolor of the venue
where Kate and Justin are getting married.

Justin put the above quote on their wedding website and I
 just had to use it as part of their invitations!

Assembling and stacking the invitations.

I tied pale blue iridescent ribbon around each invitation and then tucked
in the return envelope, RSVP card, puzzle piece and instructions.  

I gave my sister a copy of her invitations during her bachelorette party and they were a hit!

Kate's Bachelorette

This past weekend we celebrated Kate's Bachelorette in Palm Springs.  My sister Becky and I had been planning it for months and everything came together perfectly.  There was lots of dancing, pool lounging, games and great food, but most importantly, there was lots of celebrating Kate for being such a wonderful sister, daughter, and friend.

The Decorations
We had lots of decorations around the 8 bedroom villa we rented and my favorites are seen below.  We had fringe, glitter and lots of penises per Kate's request.  We printed a sign for the front door welcoming the girls to the party and had lots of fun setting up before Kate arrived. 

The Favors
Becky is ridiculous and created the most elaborate, creative and practical Bachelorette favors.  She had a bucket for each of the 22 girls and inside was a reusable drink cup and straw filled with crystal light packets, candy necklaces, hair ties and bobby pins, a Bachelorette survivor kit, nail polish, penis rice crispy treats and a homemade apron for each of the girls that our mom made to go along with the cooking theme below.   They were a huge hit and the girls loved all the fun surprises.

The Food
When we started planning the party months ago, one of the major concerns was cost.  Going out to eat with 22 women no matter where we went would be outrageously expensive let alone the time it would take to rally everyone out of the house for every meal.  We came up with the idea to divvy up the group into meal teams with each team responsible for the grocery shopping, cooking, presentation and clean up for their one meal.  The idea worked out great and the teams definitely stepped up to the plate with each meal blowing my expectations out of the water.  I was thinking BBQ and beer and what we got was definitely gourmet.

We ate homemade spanikopita, yogurt parfaits, pina coladas, grilled salmon, shrimp and chicken, homemade waffles, banana bread, strata, kale salad, cheese and salami smuggled all the way from France by one of Kate's high school pals returning from Europe the day prior and lots more delicious treats.

The Games
If you know my sisters and I you know how much we LOVE our games.  For Kate's bachelorette we had to go all out and we planned "Survivor, Palm Springs."  We split the girls into two teams and planned 9 challenges/games.  After each challenge we voted two people off from the losing team(we picked their names out of a bucket vs. having people choose who to vote off ). The challenges varied from puzzles, penis carving, pool beer pong, newlyweds and banana toss, and in the end our own Bachelorette won the whole thing.

Pool Lounging
One of the great ideas my sister had was to NOT plan out the whole weekend and to give the girls time to do what they wanted.  We had all of Saturday afternoon open and we offered trips to the nearby outlet mall, drinks downtown Palm Springs, but what everyone wanted and ended up doing was just hanging by the pool.

Going Out
Saturday night we had a delicious dinner and then decided to head out downtown Palm Springs for a night out.  We ended up going to a Karaoke bar, the Crazy Coconut and had a blast!  Kate's friends love to sing, dance and put on a show and we dominated the mic the whole night.  Kate rented her beautiful dress from Rent the Runway and looked absolutely stunning.

The Shower
Kate and several of her girlfriends have a tradition of throwing a lingerie shower for each other to stock up on goodies for the honeymoon.  Kate's friend Marissa was planning on doing a separate shower a few weekends after the Bachelorette party, but due to scheduling conflicts we decided to merge it into Kate's Bachelorette.  Marissa made the cutest banner and the K on the table below were separate favors for each of the girls, lavender satchels! She hung several clotheslines around the room and hung the beautiful lingerie.  I think Kate is definitely stocked for her honeymoon and beyond.

It was such a fabulous weekend and was great to celebrate my sister and hang out with so many incredible women.  Kate is so loved and I can't wait for the wedding! 

Mountain Winery

Sissy called me up a few weeks ago sounding very excited, "The Indigo Girls are coming to play at Mountain Winery in a few weeks, you want to go?"  The Indigo Girls have played a big role in our lives all the way back to when our dad took my sisters and I to Lilith Fair when I was 15.  The love affair continued through high school and my Senior year my middle sister Kate and I sang "The Wood Song" by the Indigo Girls for my Senior Rose Concert.

The Indigo Girls put on a great show, but what really blew me away was the venue.  Mountain Winery is beautiful!  You have to drive up this windy road to get to the top of the mountain and the views are spectacular.  It's an intimate outdoor amphitheater, surrounded by vineyards, rolling hills, and as an added bonus they have a delicious wine selection.    How have I lived in the bay for 12 years and never been here before?!

Needless to say I picked up their summer concert schedule and can't wait to go back.

To view Mountain Winery's summer concert calendar, click here.

Minnesota

Luke and I spent the last 5 days back in Minnesota seeing my family and spending time at Lake Elmo.  I took a TON of pictures on my fancy camera, but since photos from my iphone are much easier to upload, here's a quick preview. 

Crazy clouds before an awesome Minnesota thunderstorm. 

Wind blowing through his hair.

Stealing mommies shades.

Chasing after Uncle Adam.

Playing in the sand for the first time!

Celebrating an early Father's day with my dad at San Pedros in Hudson.  Yummy Mojitos!

B couldn't make the trip, but sent flowers and delicious chocolate covered strawberries as a special treat. 

Luke chillin' on my parents new pontoon.  

Tarzan. 

Lunch with Molly and Connie at the Rainforest Cafe in the Mall of America.

Adventures in San Jo

My sister Becky lives in San Jose.  She moved there last year all the way from NYC after getting her Masters in  teaching and after 2 extremely cold and unbearable winters.  It was time for her to come back to sunny CA, be closer to her family and friends and she was offered a great job at a new and growing charter school.  I was beyond thrilled when she announced she was moving 45 MINUTES AWAY but also a little skeptical - San Jose, really?  What about San Francisco, or Berkeley, or *gasp* Danville?  I was nervous she'd be bored - moving to San Jose from NYC is a bit of a change in lifestyle to say the least, and she didn't know anyone.

Well obviously I knew little to nothing about San Jose or my sister for that matter as it took her all of a week to make an instant group of besties, and find all the best spots to eat, shop and go out all on a teachers budget. After several visits to see my sister and explore her neck of the woods, I started to see the draw and love affair so many have with San Francisco's southern little sister, San Jose. 

This last weekend, Luke and I drove the quick straight shot down the 680 to one of my new favorite thrift stores, Crossroads Trading Co. which Becky introduced me to on one of my first visits to see her.  Its got lots of gently used designer and vintage clothing all at really reasonable prices.  I have rarely left there empty handed and have scored some great finds, from my DVF  blazer, BCBG dresses, Sanctuary shirts and vintage belts.  You do have to go with an open mind and at least an hour to spare as you can get lost in the racks searching for treasure.  

Luke wasn't in the mood to shop, (minor cereal throwing meltdown in the store) so we decided to head over to Falafel's Drive Through  for lunch- hands down the best falafel I have ever had.  Becky took me here a few months ago on our sister's date to see 'In the Heights' the musical and I have been dreaming of it ever since.  It's so good.  

 It's a hole in the wall spot, that you'd simply drive by without noticing except there is always a line of people out front waiting to order.  

 They have a few picnic spots along the side, but it was crowded, so we took our falafel to go and headed to the nearby San Jose Rose Garden for a picnic lunch. 

Mmmmmmm falafel salad and root beer freeze (root beer and ice cream blended together = amazing)!

 We chilled under a shady tree, ate our food and got in lots of snuggles and tickles with the little guy. 

 Becky and Luke explored the gardens.

 Rows upon rows of beautiful roses.  The air smelled so good.  

Pretty fountain in the middle of the garden.  

It was a beautiful day and Luke enjoyed spending some time with his auntie.  San Jose has definitely grown on me and on Becky too as she's already set on staying for another year... and maybe more.  Hurray!

Summer Kick Off

We have had an awesome week that was started by a great Memorial Day weekend spending time hanging with friends, crafting, celebrating Tori and Brad's wedding, lots of grilling, and ended with a fun trip to Alcatraz with my co-workers. Summer is officially off to a great start.

Glass Etching for our ACC (Alameda Craft Club) night.  More on the ACC later. 

 Congratulations Brad and Tori!

 Hanging with good friends, Lila and Alex. 

 The hubs and I.

 First dance and amazing Michael Jackson cover band. 

 B being B. 

 On our way out to "The Rock" for their night tour. 

 My awesome co-workers. 

 Sunset over the Golden Gate.

 All toothy smiles. I could eat him. 

 Happy Weekend!