It's a cowBOY!

It's been entirely too long since I shared something interesting with ya'll...but I was inspired today by

to share something creative with you! Just so you know, my OCD is going crazy right now because I am about to go completely out of chronological order and share with you something that I did during my 8 weeks off this summer, but it was NOT the first thing I did during my eight weeks off.

Anywho! Deep breath....

My bestest of friends, Melissa Ann, is having a BABY BOY! So I threw her a super adorable CowBOY baby shower over the Summer while she was home on leave (she's a Marine), to celebrate in her joy with her hometown friends! I was so excited that I was off from school because it gave me the time I wanted to be creative and add special little caring details. I even actually made things from Pinterest! My mom and I love this kind of stuff, and she was a huge help! First things first, my amazing cousin Ashley, Sister to my cousin Paige, who you might know from Live, Laugh, Love ,designed the most adorable invitations for me, thanks again Ash, they were perfect!!!

(This is actually the first draft she made for me... not the final product, but ya'll don't need all my bizzzzz, no stalkers allowed! Anyway, you get the picture, super cute!!!)

My theme of course was Denim, Bandannas, and Farm Animals. One of my very first ideas for this shower was to make a diaper cake with those cute little denim diapers that Huggies has out, and everything just built from there. At first Melissa wasn't sure if she wanted to announce the gender to everyone, and when I started the planning she didn't even know yet! I wanted something that could be gender neutral, but could also be tweaked to favor a boy or girl if I wanted. If it had turned out to be a girl I was originally thinking I would add some pink, but then just decided to stick to Red Bandannas regardless...

The main attraction - a denim diaper cake (made by me, with some help from Mom) with Cowboy Booties, and that super cute horse on the left over there was crocheted by my Mom! Isn't it AWESOME?!?!?! There is also a matching little one on the cake but it's on the left side, not clearly pictured. Melissa went nuts over that thing, as I suspected she would, because she always appreciates homemade/crafty things, AND she is also learning to crochet.

 

As seen on Pinterest.... Cowboy Cookies as game prizes! (I was so excited to find bags of colored M&M's at Party City that I overlooked the dark blue ones - I was so mad when I saw them later!!) The denim on top came from an old pair of my stepdad's jeans that mom said were beyond mending. Thanks Steve! :-) And don't worry Lissa, they were washed first!

"Take one and clip it on, but don't say BABY, or you'll have to pass it on!" using the cutest farm animal ribbon I have ever seen (found at JoAnn Fabrics)... and another one via Pinterest... Wishes for Baby - made into a little book for Mommy to keep, made with scrapbook paper and tied with suede strings.

Mom and I picked out some outfits we couldn't resist in various sizes and snatched an idea from a shower my SIL threw to hang them on "clotheslines". The tables were decorated with little farm animal rattles/toys and daisies in ball jars (got a huge case at WalMart on the cheap), tied with bandanna ribbon and accompanied by trail mix. The little red baskets were a 3 pack from the dollar bin at Target, and the red bowls were a 3 pack from the dollar store. Bahhhgain! 

Oh the food, so yummy! Fried chicken in bandanna lined baskets from the Dollar Tree. Utensils in soup cans, Mom lined the edges with another (washed) old pair of jeans and we wrapped bandanna ribbon around them too. The plates are in a bucket from the dollar bin at Target.

Dessert! The adorable little farm animal plates are from WalMart. My cousin Ashley, who made the invites actually found them at her Dollar General in KY, sent me a picture and said I should really have them for the party. I agreed and was so excited that WalMart had some! They are made by Hefty I think... The little lunch box is from Party City, along with the napkins, and the cupcakes were handmade by me! Another idea from Pinterest. The chocolate cows have spots made of Tootsie Rolls, the chocolate sheep are marshmallows, the chicks are yellow cake with yellow colored coconut and starburst noses, the pink piggies are just dyed yellow cake, they have starburst noses, the eyes are all made with mini m&m's and the frosting is just colored with frosting food coloring. As tedious as it looks, I promise it wasn't. I think it probably took me about a half hour to decorate them after they were made, honest. We served sweet tea and lemonade, and I took another idea from Pinterest that I strongly recommend... I froze sliced lemons in a muffin tin in lemonade so they served as ice that wouldn't water down the drink, and a pretty decoration all in one!

 

Mommy's spot :-) I rushed to take this picture before I would let her in the door, but I was still waiting on the cow print balloons that I got on Amazon and had filled at Party City, that were put behind her chair and all over the house using bundles of leftover denim diapers as weights. I found that "Cowboy's Welcome" sign at Ross, and I couldn't resist. My mom and the Boy thought I was crazy when I asked them to help me take a picture off the wall to hang it. Whatever, my beach scene clashed with the decor.

She actually spent most of her time on the floor opening her gifts and playing with her fur baby, Gracie. (good thing I swept before she came!)

Almost everything I bought, got sent home with Mommy. She had hinted to me weeks prior which bedding sets she had been admiring, so my gift to her was to help her decorate the nursery with the decorations from the shower. The baskets, the sign, the bandannas, table decor, etc.... it all went to Mommy. And my other little gift to her? That pony on the ground in the above photo with the bandanna around it's neck. Everyone needs a Rocky Horse in their childhood, and this one sings while you rock on it!!! (p.s. he's from WalMart too if you are in need of one)

Ta-da!!! Me and the Mommy to Be!!! 

(now you can see the balloons too!) 

I was so pleased with how everything turned out, and I think Lissa was too. I can't wait to meet her perfect little Christmas Present, and I'll be sure to keep ya'll updated too!

25 Again.

I thought I should probably finish this post and hit publish so ya'll don't think I'm crazy when I turn 24 again in just a few months... Ya know, especially since its been sitting in my queue since February, and it was late even back then. On January 12, 2011 I turned 25 again. Yup, that's right, again. Because, really, who wants to turn 26? It's so lame, and un-eventful. The way I figure it, if I start counting back now, by the time I'm turning 30 I can re-celebrate my 21st Birthday! Wouldn't that be awesome? I think so....

So anyway. My 25th birthday this year... It was awesome!!!! My mom and step-dad took the boy and I out to dinner at J.Alexanders. That place is awesome, probably my favorite "fancy" restaurant. It's not fancy really, but it's not Chili's either. Then we went back to their house and I got super spoiled with some amazing presents. Way more than I ever expected or could have imagined I was getting!!!! Included in all that was this way cool coupon organizer that my mom hand-made for me!!! And... a super cute Coach purse!!! My mom rocks.

Yup, I'm totally wearing a princess crown - I'm the birthday princess, duh!

That boy of mine is pretty awesome too... he finally got tired of hearing me whine about not being able to listen to CD's in my car anymore after my factory stereo decided to eat 5 of them and not give them back, so he got me a new radio!!!! And it even came with free installation provided by that handsome man himself! Which is good, because it came with all these pretty colored wires that I had no frickin' clue what to do with. All is good now though, it's hooked up, and pretty, and it even connects to my ipod!!! My poor little 2002 Accord is so high tech now!

Love him!

And... Because my friends and I are all January babies, we celebrated our birthday together with a joint party at my house. Jenn and Jess were turning 25 for the first time this year, so it was a 1/4 century blast!

Completely equipped with party hats. 

You know how I know my Mom's cool?

She "Gave Cancer the Boot" with early detection...

and takes photos of herself in the bathroom mirror, on her iPhone, to show off her new hot pink hair extensions on Facebook!

Stylish? Who me?

I feel so cute and stylish today in my comfy fall-ish outfit I wore to meet up with my study group. Looks kind of like something you might see on Pinterest, no? So what if it's 86 degrees outside.... My brain says its fall, and I'm wearing $10 Converse. :-)

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