Bachelorette Party ("classy, not trashy")

Planning a bachelorette party?  Want to have some good, clean fun?  Here's a cheat sheet for you as you plan the big night!

Start with adorable invitations

We were going for the "classy" theme so I cut out black cardstock in a dress shape and embossed the great Coco Chanel quote "a girl should be two things:  classy and fabulous."  I finished it off with a beaded accent at the top and a strip of glitter at the bottom.

On the back, I cut a piece of silver cardstock after printing the details of the party.  (I covered up the address portion.)  In case you can't read it, it says at the top:  "Let's celebrate a lady who's both!"  At the bottom, it says:  "Wear your favorite little black dress...We're taking the bride out on the town!"  Then I glued the back of each of the invitations together.

One additional thing I placed in the envelope was a little cutout of lingerie, complete with rhinestone accents.  I added the bra size and gown size but I didn't want to give away the bride's secrets here!

Have a dress code

I don't mean in a junior high hemline three inches above the knee kind of way!  The invitation told everyone to wear their favorite little black dress, and I told the bride to wear white.  I also had a veil and sash for her to wear, just so everyone would know it was her special day!

Pick a fun place for dinner

The bride helped with this one but we went to a fun Mexican restaurant and got a big, round booth that was perfect for our little party.

Go on a scavenger hunt

There are a couple of ways to go about this:  couple-themed or destination-themed.  If the town or area where you're having the party is special to the couple, make a list of places that were meaningful in their relationship.  If you're doing more of a destination party, just create a list of fun things to do around town.  (That's the one we chose!)

Here are some ideas:

• get a guy to propose
• get someone to serenade the bride
• make a public toast to the bachelorette
• take a picture with another bachelorette
• take a picture with a groom at his bachelor party
• find a guy with the same name as the groom
• get asked for your ID (thrilling after 30!)
• take a picture with an animal
• keep a souvenir from a bar or restaurant
• pose with a server or bouncer
• a picture of the sign at each place you go

We did this as a group since there were just 5 of us but if your party is big then you can make it a competition.  

Wrap it up with a lingerie party! 

I can't explain it, but girls just like to buy pretty, frilly things for their friends.  We headed back to the house for some girly fun.

At this point I introduced lavender into the color scheme and used it as an accent throughout the party.

An easy-to-personalize polka dot banner:

Coordinating napkins:

Party favors!

Mason jar glasses with purple and white polka dot straws and lavender milk (okay, milk I colored purple):

 

More purple decorations:

Homemade mousse martinis!

Time to open presents!

We displayed them on a clothesline, complete with purple sparkly clothespins!

We had so much fun celebrating the bride.  There's still time before the wedding...maybe we should do it again!

Adi

Graduation Party Ideas

Last week I received an invitation to my cousin's high school graduation.  Is she seriously that old?  I wasn't too far from my own high school graduation when she was born, and since I'm still 21 in my own mind that means she's definitely not old enough to graduate...

It seemed like a good time to post about some of my favorite ideas for a graduation party.  I joined Pinterest after my last grad school final (the carrot at the end of the final-master's-course-stick, if you will).  My own party was the first thing Pinterest ever helped me plan, and I used it to help with my little sister's graduation from the same school a few years later, too.  A lot of the ideas are blue and gold, but of course you can adapt these ideas for your own mascots and color schemes.

We had the party at my house and I kinda regret doing that.  My mother-in-law had offered to host it for me but since I was graduating in December I turned our annual Christmas party into a graduation party.  Between finals, graduating, and hosting, it turned out to be a bit much and by about 9:30 I was ready for everyone to go home so I could go to sleep.  I am SUCH a party animal.

My mom made me a cool cake with my school's logo on the top.  I loved it!

I made sugar cookies with sparkly icing showing the school nickname and year.  These keep well so I was able to make this ahead of time, which was helpful since the party was the same day I graduated!

These "diplomas" are actually those Pepperidge Farm cookies that come in a canister.  (You just tie your school's color of ribbon on them.)  Yum!

Our families pitched in with the rest of the items:  7 layer dip, mini sandwiches, meat and cheese rollups, etc.  I definitely needed their help and I'm so glad they were willing.

One perk to graduating in December was that my party supplies were bought in June for next to nothing.  If you're fortunate enough to graduate at a weird time of the year, keep an eye out for decorations during the previous "traditional" graduation time in the late spring/early summer.

Looking back, the mix of graduation and Christmas decorations kinda makes me giggle.

I put out little buckets of color-coordinated candy.  I found these candy sticks at Cracker Barrel (they have all of the colors!!) plus butterscotch disks and Hershey kisses with blue wrappers.

Somebody though Cleo needed in on the festivities.  Poor dog.

A few other ideas:

If you're able to, borrow the whole graduation getup from a friend who graduated from the school a term or two ahead of you.  Take fun pictures around the campus that you can use with your invitations!

Me and Willie the Ram:

Posing at the entrance of the alumni building:

The invitations I made were actually wedding invitations.  I had already had two graduations before this so I was over the traditional invitation thing.  I love how they turned out!

Have you thrown a graduation party?  Share your favorite ideas here!

Adi

Gift idea: Military Mom Charm Necklace

A few months ago I went to a really cute vintage fair with a friend of mine.  There were several booths full of charms for everything.  I found a few military-themed pieces that I thought would make a great gift for my mother-in-law. 

File this idea away for an easy gift idea for your mom/sister/grandma/aunt/bestie.  Slide them onto a ball chain (I had to add a jump ring to one of the charms so it would dangle properly).  You can even cut the chain to make it fit.  It's as easy as that!

What did you do for mother's day?

Adi

You've pinned it, now make it! (craft edition)

Consider this part two of Sunday's food challenge.  This time we'll focus on the crafty side of Pinterest.  What pins have you been intending to try?  Here's a peek at what I want to try.

Cinderella!



Texas!



How cool is this?



Maybe for the big 1-0?



So Victorian!



What are you making this weekend?

Adi

You've pinned it, now make it! (food edition)

I am officially throwing down a challenge.

You and I pin stuff all the time.  We probably spend more time pinning than making, if we're honest.  Oh, sure, we go through and reorganize our boards so we won't "forget" we've pinned things but do we ever actually make half the stuff we pin?  (Be honest!)  That's about to change, at least for one lucky recipe, because it's time to make these meals happen.

What's the recipe that you find yourself accidentally pinning two or three times because the picture looks so darn tasty?  Is it a snack?  Dessert?  A casserole?  What have you been meaning to make?

I tried this recently with Chicken Potato Casserole.  You can find the original link here but I snapped some pictures along the way to show you how easy it was.  (I was out of bacon...the horror!)

 

 

I have to admit it was easy, but it would have tasted better with the bacon...and maybe some of that ranch seasoning I made recently.

Make sure you leave a comment when you make your meal so we can hear about the recipe you chose!

Adi

Reading grants in DC (or, the hardest I've ever worked on vacation)

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to be a grant reader for a federal competition in Washington, DC.  I'd done some remote ones through conference calls but this was my first time to be sent to DC to do it on-site.  It was much more intense than the picture I had in my head.  We read through grants, discussed them in small groups, came to a consensus on the scores, and went back and forth with the Department of Education people a few times to clear up anything that wasn't up to their standards. Fortunately, my group was awesome and we got along really well.  I liked them from the start, when we were emailing each other before the trip.  While the days (and nights, and early morning hours) were long, I'm glad I went, and toward the end of the week I even managed to escape the hotel to snap some pictures in the Pentagon City area!

That first evening I arrived I got to have dinner with my husband's aunt and uncle and had a great time catching up with them.  They're such a fun couple!  Little did I know it would be my last time to escape the hotel for a while, haha!

Here's the view from my room:

Okay, that part was kind of awesome.  I didn't expect to get one of the coveted "Potomac View" rooms but, lucky me, I did!  I never made it down to the touristy area to get up-close pictures of the cherry blossoms but they were gorgeous from the plane as we dipped and curved to make our entrance into the airport.  That's a pretty lucky view to get to have, too!

That first evening I arrived I got to have dinner with my husband's aunt and uncle and had a great time catching up with them.  They're such a fun couple!  Little did I know it would be my last time to escape the hotel for a while, haha!

Here are some of other gorgeous blooms in the area:

This was my fourth visit to DC so I wasn't in a rush to go look at the mall and monuments.  (The reflecting pool was drained again, anyway.)  That turned out to be a good thing, since I didn't have time until the last night, and at that point I was too tired to go!  I am the type of traveler who wants to spend as little time in the hotel room as possible because I WANT TO SEE IT ALL.  By Thursday, the near-all-nighters had caught up to me, and my reading pal and I went to the revolving rooftop restaurant instead of out on the town.

The views were gorgeous, we got an outside table (closest to the windows), and it was sunset.  Totally worth not going out.

 
After a long week and a long flight that ended with circling the region due to some storms, I finally got off the plane and found my sweet husband waiting for me with a GIANT bouquet of flowers.  What a treat!  That definitely cheered me up after a long, bumpy flight.

It's good to be home, but I'm thankful for the experience.  It's pretty cool to meet people from all over the country, from difference backgrounds in education, and work together to figure out who should earn some grant money for some innovative new programs!

Adi