Times they are a changing. . .

I have moments when how much I've grown up over the last few years alarms me a little but in general I absolutely love my life exactly as it is now.  I hope that I continue to feel this way at each new stage in my life.  I've had a few “a-ha” moments in the last few weeks that really show how much I have grown up and settled down since I started the back end of my 20’s. 

My favorite moment was enjoying girl’s night with my friend Stephanie and her absolutely adorable little girl Emilee.  Stephanie and I danced together as part of Georgettes and Pamoja.  We also lived together for a year at college.  She is part of a lot of my favorite memories of Georgettes and going to school at UGA in Athens.  We have always had fun when we were together.  This past Friday I drove to Athens to spend the evening with her: we picked her daughter up from daycare, ate at Panera, and then hung out at their house and played games.  It also included a small fashion show and Emilee dancing for us.  It was a very different evening from our nights out in the past but it was so much fun and it was so special.  I think getting older for me has meant that I appreciate the little things a lot more and don’t need big flashy plans to appreciate the company I am with. 

Before:

Now:

At times I get nervous that so many of our friends are transitioning into the parenting stage of life and that we plan to be a few years behind them.  I worry that I won’t be able to relate to their experiences in the same way other parents would.  In some ways this is a valid concern but then I remind myself that we are not friends because our lives are the exact same, we are friends because we love one another and support one another.  I got married before several of my friends but it never hurt our friendship so I must trust that this will be the same way.  I try and remind myself that I will be thankful to have so many people to look to for advice and guidance when that time comes for us.  For now I will just enjoy spoiling and loving on their wonderful kids!

My Best Friend’s Baby Shower

Here is my Pinterest inspiration board: 

Here is the update from the actual shower.  I was so excited to help host this event.  There were 5 of us working together since it was a large couple’s shower and we all wanted to help plan this special event for Alyssa.  I was tasked with decorations and games which I was thrilled about! 

I loved all the inspiration pins I found so I got to work trying to make them a reality.  The most fun about making décor yourself is that you can really personalize it the guest of honor.  Alyssa’s favorite color is purple and she plans to use Purple and Grey in the nursery with elephants as part of the décor.  I made sure to include these in the shower decorations.  My favorite projects were the photo display, the paper pennants, and the fruit loop centerpieces. 

The photo display was very simple.  I bought command hooks and hung wide ribbon on them.  I used clear stretch cord to create a loop to attach to the command hooks.  Then I mounted all the photos of their baby pictures and their maternity pictures on safari animal paper in pastel colors which I bought at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon.  To hang the pictures on the ribbon I used clothespins which I picked up at the dollar store.  It was such an easy project and the guests loved it because as they walked around and got food they could enjoy looking at all the pictures.  It also started conversations with people sharing memories with Alyssa and Will.   

The paper pennants were fun and whimsical and very reasonable to make.  I used the same safari paper bought in a paper pack from Hobby Lobby (with a coupon of course).  I create a guide using thick cardboard so I could cut the triangles on the exact same angles.  After creating the guide I cut all 120 pieces of paper into triangles using my guide and my paper cutter.  I cut the paper in smaller batches of 5-10 sheets at a time so that they would cut easily.  Then I bought thin ribbon that had colors to match the paper and cut them into 4 and 5 foot lengths.  I lined up the triangles in varying orders so that no two stands of paper pennants were the exact same and glued the triangles to the back of the ribbon – starting with the middle to ensure that the strands were centered.  On two of the paper pennants I added letters including “It’s a Girl” and “Gifts” for the gift area.  

Game Day!

It’s always bittersweet to see the summer come to an end.  Any sadness is eased by the beginning of college football season and the changing of the season to fall.  I am a huge UGA Football fan and my husband is a huge fan of any kind of football (high school, college, or NFL).  This year UGA began the season playing an away game against Clemson in Death Valley.  We didn't have tickets but since it was a night game and ESPN college game day was reporting from Clemson we decided to make the drive to tailgate for the game.  The Clemson campus is beautiful and reminded me in a lot of ways of the UGA campus.  It was fun to spend the day with friends and then late afternoon we started the drive home so we could watch the game at home.  Traffic had other plans so we missed the first half but all in all it was a really fun day!  The only thing that could have made it better would have been if the Dawgs could have pulled off a win, it was a back and forth match but Clemson ended up winning the game.  

10 Year High School Reunion

In some ways I can’t believe it’s already been 10 years.  In other ways I feel like high school was a whole lifetime ago.  There was quite a bit of drama leading up to this event.  The person planning it was faced with some complaints and so decided at the last minute to completely change the location for the event.  This drama was definitely a factor in some people opting not to go and the low turnout resulted in ticket prices being pretty high for the event which resulted in less interest.  I’m still glad that we decided to go.  Honestly I never considered not going, I think it’s important to stay connected to your roots and was interested to catch up with everyone.  Admittedly there was less mystery around what people have been doing thanks to Facebook but I still enjoyed catching up with some old friends and acquaintances.  As someone who never felt completely comfortable in their own skin in high school it was nice to go to this event as a confident and successful adult.  It was a reminder of how much we have all grown and matured over the years.  Sometimes being a grown up feels like it’s not all it’s cracked up to be but then I remember back to how dramatic and unsure we all were in high school and feel thankful for changes and people in my life.  

Endless Summer Sale – Lilly P

I love these twice a year sales from Lilly Pulitzer.  It’s the only time I purchase Lilly since their regular prices are too high for me!  I was a little disappointed this year since the sale prices seemed to be higher in general and they faced a lot of issues with their website due to such high web traffic.  I did manage to score a few pieces that I love.  My absolute favorite is the Love Note clutch.  It’s a metallic gold clutch with an enamel elephant on the front.  I love that it can transition through any season and how the metallic fabric really dresses up any outfit you pair it with.

I got the full outfit including shirt, skirt, necklace, and clutch for less than $80!  These pieces had an original retail value of $345 so I scored them for over 75% off.

Pencil Skirt (regularly $118)
Cleo Ruffle Top (regularly $49)
Sea Shell & Sand Dollar Necklace (regularly $68)
Love Note Clutch (regularly $110)