western wear...

We are so excited to be going to two fun family birthday celebrations over the next couple weeks. This weekend is Aubrey Knowles's ladybug-theme 2nd birthday party (more on that and the fun party planning with Kristy later) and next weekend is Luke Harden's 1st birthday party. I love the theme parties and have been planning Kinley's outfits in my head since I got the invites.

Well, today I got in the Western mood and decided to make Kinley's western outfit. Believe it or not...we don't have any western wear...I know...crazy....so, I tried to get creative. I ended up making her a pillowcase "shirt" to pair with a denim skirt. I have seen lots of pillowcase dresses around and like the idea a lot in these hot summer days....but, I just could not part with the denim skirt in my vision...so, I decided to crop it and make a pillowcase shirt.

These are SO easy to make and there are great instructions online like these, and these. I decided instead of ribbon to use a blue bandana (because it is a boy's birthday party). I also decided to screen print (using the freezer paper method) a horse on the front of the shirt. I used the leftover bandana to make a bow. To top it off, my mom brought over Bart's grey boots that he wore everyday of his life as a child. They were so worn out that the heels were coming off and I had to hot glue them back together. Kinley LOVES them too! I think the whole outfit turned out pretty western and for only $1 (for the bandana)...I love it! We can't wait for the party!

Now we just need a denim skirt!

Kinley cheesing it up.....

Kinley not wanting me to have a photo shoot anymore.

out-of-towners dinner

Thursday night Ben and I had the absolute JOY of having a last minute dinner party! Bart and Olivia were driving through town for one night (from California...then Vegas...here one night....then to Austin...then Dallas again...then back to Boston) they are just crazy travelers...Matt came in town one night too before leaving for Scott's family fishing trip bachelor party....and our sweet friends from Ben's Blue Jay days, Lisa & Chris Reddout, were also driving through for the night! Because it all came together so quickly on Thursday...of course, I did not cook anything. So, we borrowed a couple bottles of wine from my parents, who were out of town, ordered Saviano's, watched the Cowboys pre-season game and called it a night.

It was so, so fun to have everyone! They even came bearing gifts! Lisa brought some keepsakes from her childhood for me to look at that are definitely my next project. They are so cute and totally need to be duplicated...I will keep you posted on that. Also, Bart and Olivia brought this amazing T-shirt for Kinley from Las Vegas and she absolutely LOVED it! Not kidding, she put it directly on over her dress, wore it all night, slept in it, and wore it the next day. She just kept looking down and pointing at her t-shirt for Princess Tiana. We watch Princess and the Frog like everyday...so, she just loved it.

Bart decided he wanted his hair cut (what a cute shirt he is wearing!) and I think Ben did a great job! Kinley loved playing with her uncles and has learned to just cheese it up for the camera...so they kept asking her to do it...so funny.

Thanks for coming in town guys! We love you all!

big sky, montana tees

So, last week before we went to Mexico my sweet friend and college roommate, Lindsay Barry, totally flattered Kristen and I and asked us to screen print T-shirts for her family vacation! Linds sent Kristen the shirts in the mail. They were navy pocket t-shirts, the boys a little darker than the girls.

Linds requested a mountain-scape image on the back of the T's with their vaca-destination, big sky, montana, under it in the patagonia font (which is BelweBold, in case you are wondering)...we downloaded the font for free here to add to our font list. Then, she threw out the idea of the last names of their family in a circle on the front pocket. We LOVED that idea, so cute, and we had never done it before. WordArt has a great ability to type in a circle.

It was SO super sweet of Linds to ask us to help her and she will soon find out that some things look better through a picture on the internet than in person. Each batch of t-shirts we make are very thought out and executed with care...but, most things have some imperfections. But, the imperfections are what make it homemade, special, and custom....at least that's what we tell ourselves :-) It was also so fun to do this with Kristen. We had all 4 kids over here and they just played and played while we worked on six adult tee's and a onesie for Linds' adorable niece, baby Presley. We just love Linds and her whole family and miss her all the time. If there was any way we could do this for her and be part of her life from several states away...we were just so excited! Have a fun vacation Linds! Much love from Texas!

Surprise Birthday Night!

Friday was my 28th birthday and I was just so blessed and overwhelmed to feel so celebrated that day! My best friends, Kristen and Allison, over at Lullaby Lubbock made sure that I would never forget it. First they posted this so sentimental birthday post and were scheduled to take me to dinner...just the three of us, no kids, and I was so excited! Little did I know that they had a totally different night planned! Our small dinner night started with 12 of my closest friends! I was totally surprised and just loved it! Then we moved on to the second half of the night. Let's just say...we went to enjoy a new form of a cardio muscle-training workout and this was our teacher! (sorry this pic is grainy)

This might seem a little "adult" but, it really was so fun, hilarious, totally nothing "sexy," SO, SO innocent and a fantastic workout. Everyone of my sweet friends and family that took part in the evening have wonderful morals and values and saw the evening for the hilarious adventure that it was. Each of these girls joined in on the fun night.

To see the adorable matching t-shirts, totes and drink bottles that they made...look at the more "kid-friendly" version of this post at Lullaby Lubbock.

I also got some so sweet homemade birthday gifts and gift themes from my friends. Kris and Al went with the "Get Fit" theme and got me some great workout clothes. Nina and Meredith gave me some fab jewelry and a gift card. Lauryn went with the ice cream theme (that we could eat after the workout:) and got me an electric ice cream maker, a set of ice cream bowls, an ice cream scoop and monogrammed this cute towel!

And Ashley sewed me this fantastic jewlrey maker / makeup-brush holder!

Overall, it was a fantastic night and I felt so blessed to have such sweet friends that made me feel so special! I love yall, thanks girls!!

More wedding pics..

I know I have exhaused Mendy and Alex's wedding season on this blog...but, there were some new cute pics that my mom sent me from the actual ceremony that I just HAD to post!

Mexico Trip

We have been gone for a week to the RIU Palace Mexico in Playa del Carmen and this is how much fun it was!

Everything for the wedding week just turned out fabulous! (beware...lots of pics ahead!) The rehearsal dinner was so great and we had reservations at one of the restaurants on the property and had a fabulous private area for toasts, which were both tearful and so sweet, and then went dancing afterward! It was a great, fun night with family and friends all excited about the big day!

Seriously, the wedding was absolutely beautiful. The whole day was sweet. Mendy and Alex avoided each other all day, the girls had a spa day and all got ready together for the wedding. The ceremony was so intimate and sweet and personal. They wrote their own vows and it was so tearful and beautiful. It was a special moment that I will always remember and am thrilled to have been a part of it. Everyone was gorgeous and the colors and flowers and setting Mendy picked was just amazing. I wish I had more pictures! I know Mendy will have a million from her amazing photographer and friend, Janie, that went on the trip. Kinley was a mess and wanted to play in the sand the entire time. She kept filling her shoes with sand and pouring it out...thank goodness my mom was there to follow her around...too bad she missed the entire ceremony!

After the newlyweds left and went on their honeymoon, we stayed around a few days to play with family and friends. Ashley and Neil were so much fun, Gary, Cheryl and Aunt Deb and Jim were there, a bunch of Mendy's mom and friends stayed, and my mom and dad were there too...it was so fun! There was a show for the kids every night on the stage with dancing and songs and Kinley just loved it. She danced and twirled and just couldn't get enough!

Kinley also seriously LOVED the beach...I can't say it enough. She would lay down, face first in the sand and do "sand angels." It was so funny...she can't stand if one tiny piece of food is on her at dinner...but, she can be covered head to toe in every crevice with sand and just be in heaven....it was so fun!

The entire week was such a blast and I could talk for ages about it! It was nice to be on vacation, to be surrounded by so much family and sweet friends...but, mostly we just can't wait for Mendy and Alex to come home from their honeymoon, live around here and start their new lives together!