Mr. and Mrs. Howard!

Over the weekend I was maid of honor in my friend Marie's wedding! We started our day bright and early at the salon. I had never had my hair done before so I wasn't real sure what I wanted done so I gave my lady a few ideas and she created this:


I was pleased with it and it held up all day, night and overnight! The next day I pulled 28 bobby pins out of my hair and it didn't move too much because of all the hairspray!

I drove two other bridesmaids to the church (a 45 minute drive) and poor Nicolle was stuck in the backseat with 4 dresses draped over her lap!


We were the first ones to the church so we decided they'd put make-up on me for the day. I never wear make-up. I don't even own make-up so this was a big deal! In fact, here is my "make-up bag" that Lisa made me for the day so I wouldn't feel left out:


The lone item in it is the lip gloss given to us by the bride! Here is me with actual make-up on:


They did a great job I think! I didn't feel like myself at all!

Before the ceremony we had some time so we got a picture of all the pregnant bridesmaids together! I am 7 months and the other two are 6 months!


The bride and her mom before the ceremony:


The ceremony was beautiful and Marie is married now, crazy!


Our limo was waiting for us outside the front of the church:


This was my first time in a limo and they can get a little cramped! Lisa and I indulged in a celebratory glass of champagne on the ride to the reception:


Yes, we drank it. No, we didn't feel bad!

Our ride to the reception got a little complicated a few miles from our destination. Our driver hit a 15-year-old riding her bike in a crosswalk. Someone saw it coming and yelled, "stop!" just in time for us all to look out the front and see it happen. Trust me, that is something you never want to see happen. I felt so sick for a couple of hours. By some stroke of luck the girl walked away from the accident and as far as we know she is going to be fine.

I was kind of a dud at the reception because I am not a big dancer :( I wish I was because everyone was having a blast! I had fun watching them though. Plus, it felt good to sit and have my feet up after the long day :)

Amelia was at the reception briefly and wanted nothing to do with me so I tried to bribe her with glow sticks:


They thrilled her to death but she still was Papa's girl and wanted nothing to do with me!

Jason and I:


Marie and Jordan are in Maui on their honeymoon now and I can't wait to hear all about that! For now, I am going to get some rest :)

Set-Up and Rehearsal

This afternoon we helped set-up the reception hall for Marie's wedding tomorrow. Tons of people came to help. So many in fact that there were times when some of us had nothing to do!

I really liked the centerpieces that Marie came up with:



The rehearsal tonight went smoothly and we had a grill-out at a nearby park after. Other than the heat it was a great night!


The entire bridal party:


Tomorrow is Marie's big day!

Marie's Bachelorette Party!

Saturday night was my friend Marie's bachelorette party in Minneapolis.


We met at a hotel downtown, hung out for awhile and then went to dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery.


After dinner we headed back to the hotel for a bit. We played a guessing game where we each brought a pair of underwear for Marie and she had to guess who brought each pair.


She actually did very well at it somehow! She guessed almost each pair correctly!

Marie with her maid and matron of honor:


Jason's sister Liz and I:


Group shot before we headed out "on the town":


We had quite a long night out. Lisa and I (both pregnant) somehow managed to tag along until after one in the morning. It was fun watching everyone have a good time and celebrating with Marie but I can tell you that bar-hopping downtown is not high on my list of things to do again soon! Especially on such a sweltering evening! It was definately a new experience.

All in all, it was a successful night. Lisa and I headed back to the hotel and talked for a bit while we waited for everyone else to get back. Then we ate Marie's cake and had some snacks before bed.

Bridal Shower

Over the weekend my friend, Lisa, and I hosted a bridal shower for our friend, Marie! We spent Friday evening preparing everything that we could so the day of the shower would go smoothly. We designed and made the cake, made pretzel and fruit dips, cut fruit and got games ready!

Saturday everything went smoothly. We played several games including 20 questions about the bride, groom and them as a couple, the "mystery sock" game and bridal bingo!


The hit game was the "mystery sock" game. We put an item in each sock that pertained to Marie and Jordan's honeymoon (in Hawaii) and people felt the items through the sock and had to try and guess what they were! It was funny watching people try and guess the items. One person got them all right even!

We prepared lots of food and sherbert punch.



For the punch we mixed fruit punch (made from powder) with sprite and a touch of orange juice concentrate. We put scoops of raspberry sherbet on the top which gave it a fun taste!

Marie with her matron and maid of honor (Lisa and I):


Marie with all of her bridesmaids except one who lives in California!


We had a fun afternoon. Next - Marie's bachelorette party in one month followed by the wedding!

Creative Bridal Shower Cake

As a co-host for a recent bridal shower I knew that I did not want to pay for an expensive store bought cake! I knew I could come up with something more creative and with a personal touch for one of my best friends.

The bride's favorite cake is, and has always been, Funfetti cake. So that is where we started. While I was at work, my co-host Lisa baked two Funfetti bundt cakes. Once I arrived in the evening it was time to find some way to create the cake I had in my head.

I wanted it to look like two interlocking wedding bands. We cut a chunk out of one of the cakes and put them together:


Once we frosted the cake it looked more like an 8 we decided


An 8 would have been appropriate since it does happen to be the bride's favorite number! Using the chunk that we cut out of one of the cakes we made a diamond to add to one of the rings and it looks more like what it was intended to be!


About half the people who saw the cake thought it was an 8 and the other half knew it was wedding rings. Either way, I was happy with how it turned out! The bride and her cake:


I think she was happy with it!

If you know me well, you know that I am not the most domestic person so this really was out of the ordinary for me to have a creative idea that actually panned out. Lisa and I decided it was because I am a mom now - domestic things are slowly coming more naturally to me :)