party details

Party day! With all the crafting and preparation that I did for Maggie Claire's party, of course I would share all of the details with you!!

Here is her invitation made by the fabulous Traci over at punkinprints! She did the best job!!!!

{I cropped the bottom off because our address was on there}

I hung paper lanterns on the porch outside, and I had a couple of paper pinwheels too.

I made a ribbon wreath with a bag full of scrap ribbons that I had. It turned out so cute!

up close of the wreath

The kids corner at the party! On the left is the hairbow party favors that I made, and on the right is the pin the candle on the cupcake game. In the middle was bubbles for the boys.

hairbows for the girls :)

The cards said "Thank you for coming to my party! Love, Maggie Claire"

We served lemonade and sweet tea in pink cups with paper straws. The paper straws and the polka dot balloons came from The Polka Dot Market.

I made a paper pennant banner that said "happy birthday mags" to hang on the fence and it turned out so cute! I also made cupcake toppers for all the cupcakes with the same graphics.

I also ordered cupcake shaped cookies from my dear friend Anita. You should definitely check out Anita's sweets and treats! She does the best job and they are so yummy! I can't wait to have another party to order some more!!! {the stripes on them matched the paper straws}

The food table right before everyone dug in! :)

Here is the birthday party girl! Her outfit was so fun, I can't wait to put it on her again, she looks precious in it!!! Her outfit was from a local boutique in Charleston, but you can order it here.

We love you Maggie Claire!!!!

I would do a million parties for this baby girl!!!!!!

Cake time, she definitely enjoyed it!

She only stayed in my lap to open the first few presents, but she got lots of cute things and fun toys!

Thank you to everyone who came to her party! We enjoyed having you over at our house!

party, pork loin, electric knife... oh yea!

I was just so proud of myself for making this pork boston butt tonight for our small group! I was so nervous at first, because Mike wasn't home with me {he seems to be the meat expert} and I had never cook any other meet than ground beef or chicken! I really can't believe that we've been married for over a year and that's all the meat I've cooked!

Here is how I did it:

-I covered the butt in some Lawry's seasoning and balsamic vinegar before I put it in the oven. I added a little bit of water to the dish that I had it in, covered it in tin foil, and put in in the oven for 2 hours on 350 degrees.
-I used my instant meat thermometer {that was a wedding gift that I haven't used yet} to check the butt around 1:30 and it was 160 degrees {I wanted it to be closer around 170}. I actually cut some slits in it, flipped it over and put some more seasoning on it. {That's not necessary, but I wanted all of the sides nice and brown, and the bottom was a little mushier than the other sides}.
- I drained and uncovered the butt for the last 30-20 min in the oven and it turned out perfect!
-I then used my electric knife {another first time use of a wedding gift} to cut all the meat off, I mean, I couldn't believe how much meat was on that bone!!!! I love my knife too, it was so fun and easy to use! As I cut the meat, I put the meat on a separate pan and then put the brown sugar glaze for the final yumminess!

-Then the best part was the brown sugar glaze that I made to go on top of it!
Brown Sugar Glaze:
-2 cups of brown sugar
-2 tbsp of flour
-1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp mustard
{I did add a little bit of water too... maybe 1/4 cup}
I put this on simmer on the stove as I was slicing the meat to make it thinner for a perfect glaze.

All this preparation was for our life group halloween costume party at our apt... it was super fun! Here are all the costumes
{some people didn't dress up, so they didn't want to get in the picture.}
{notice Matt in the Gecko costume, he won the "best costume award" for the night}

Mike and I were Captain Hook & Tinkerbell
I got his "pirate set" and my "fairy wings" from the dollar store. Pretty frugal costumes. I cut the tutu I had on off a kid's costume someone let me have, and it was very stretchy to fit me.
Mike also has in his vampire teeth that we all got, April brought everyone treat bags!
{We played games & had a lot of fun}

Roman Goddess{Natalia} Catwoman{April} Tinkerbell{me}

enjoying life to the fullest

So, it's been a while since I've given anyone an update! Here's what's new: I finally got a new car and I absolutely love it! Here is a picture of me with my new car! It's a 99 Honda accord, in a dark purple color. It really looks black, until the sun hits it at the perfect angle and then you can see the purple tint. It feels so nice to have a car that will actually run well for me, and not give me any problems. It has a sunroof, which I absolutely love! Oh, by the way, did you realize that yesterday was when I took this picture, and yes, it was in the 80s on December 19, and I was wearing shorts! The weather has been like this for the last week, and it has been so wonderful! Last night, my stepdad Mike, has his work party at the festival of lights, and we all went! It was really fun, Mike and I ate at the shelter, with Brad, Beth, baby Jack, my mom and Mike. It was our 4th oyster roast that we have been to this Christmas season, and I don't even like them. Good thing there was other food there! Then we rode through and saw all the lights. Here is a picture of Jack with his little head out the window enjoying it all. He loved it! At the very end, I love taking a picture of the Happy New year and getting the next year in there, The last 4 years I have gone, I have gotten all of the years, so here is this years! Happy New Year 2009! I can't believe it's already going to be 2009!
So, another party that I went to this year was what we called our "girlfriends" party with all the kids and babies. Once a week, a few of my friends and I all get together and have lunch. It is normally at one of our houses, or we will go out to eat somewhere, and just enjoy life together. My sister in law Bethany and baby Jack were there, Michelle and baby Stone, Christina and baby Olivia and Ella, and Allison & I all got together to have our little party! We decided to have a gift exchange and draw names, so we did and it was fun! Here are a few pics from the day, mostly of the kids: