Blast From The Past

So. . . I've been sorting through some old files on my computer and I came across a file of pictures that reminded me of several things I've never told you about, so I thought I'd update you. 

We went on a Carnival Cruise in 2009 to celebrate our 3 year anniversary.  It was a great vacation!  I can't wait to go on another cruise!  We had an awesome time and best of all - no cell phone connection for 7 glorious days.  We went swimming with the stingrays, snorkeling in a cave, and zip lining and kayaking in Jamaica. 

We went to Galveston with Curtis' dad, step-mom and other family members - just to hang out.

This is a wreath I made my mommy-in-law.

I had a great birthday dinner with my friends and family - this was August of 2010.

I went wedding dress shopping with my gorgeous sister (well, one of my gorgeous sisters)!

Celebrated my hubby's birthday - Dallas Cowboys style!

We went to Corpus Christi in November of 2010 for a short anniversary celebration.  We had just found out we're going to be parents!  We ate at a two story Whataburger - for reals!  (that was not the highlight of the trip - just so you know - but I thought the Whataburger was cool. Haha)



I have more pics but I think I've filled you in on those events.  I'll try not to wait so long to post pics next time.  :)

Love,

Stef

Ladies Brunch

Awhile back, I was talking to my mom about how much I missed her, my sisters, and grandmothers.  Since my birthday was coming up (and I get whatever kind of party I want) we decided to throw a brunch for all the ladies of my family to get everyone together at one time.  We picked a date around my birthday and started planning.  I was so excited to do this because I had never really thrown a party like this before AND it was for all of my favorite ladies.  I enjoyed setting everything up and it what I wanted for my birthday was to spend some quality time with my mom, sisters and grandparents.

I found this inspiration board on The Party Dress and used it as a basis for our decorations.  I wanted to have something bright and fun.  I am so inspired by The Party Dress blog. From what I know, this is a party planning company. Almost daily, they post new ideas for seasonal parties, decorations, weddings, birthday parties, etc. They also include links to find out more about the things they are pulling together. I love scrolling through the weddings, parties and home sections.

I found these invitations from Dragonfly Papers on Etsy. 

I set the table with fresh flowers and each person had a name card, a paper flower and a cupcake at their setting.

 
The brunch consisted of an egg and sausage breakfast casserole, fresh fruit, deviled eggs, chicken salad sandwiches and of course cupcakes!
 
 

 
 
We had a really good time hanging out - just girls!
 
 

From left to right: My dads mom, my mom, her mother, and my dads aunt (she's like my grandma too!)

From left to right: The middle sis, the baby sis, and the big sis!  Yes the baby is the tallest of us all.

We had a great time!  It was so much fun to plan and setup everything.  We had an even better time just spending time together.  Unfortunately, we couldn't invite ALL of the special women in my life at one time. . . guess we'll just have to plan another party. . . with a bigger venue because there are alot of ya'll! 

 

August Birthday's Are The Best

I love my birthday. It's the best day ever! . . . well for me it is. I told Curtis the other day that he needs to learn to love my birthday as much as I do! :) I use it as an excuse to get away with all kinds of mischief. One of the best part of my birthday festivities is the annual (of course) birthday dinner. This dinner is one of a kind. My mom will cook you WHATEVER you like and everyone else has to eat it with no complaints. (Which is one of the many reasons my mom is the best ever) I really enjoy this privilege to say the least. My mom will also make you whatever kind of cake you want, which for everyone in my family is something different. My cake of choice is yellow cake with chocolate icing, plain but OH SO YUMMY when it's freshly made just for my birthday.

So this birthday dinner is a family affair, all of your grandparents and sisters and closest family members are required to come. . . ya know unless they can't. So this year, I wanted to host my birthday dinner at our new house. I've been wanting both sets of my grandparents to come and see our new house and I thought this was the perfect opportunity. It was so great to see all of my family. I decided to cook spaghetti for everyone. Spaghetti is not necessarily my favorite meal of all time, but I wanted to cook. I've never cooked for more than 4-5 people, so 13 was kinda overwhelming and I thought to myself, "Self! Ya know, 13 people are coming over and this could go terribly wrong if you try to cook something too ambitious, you best stick with the old faithful. . . spaghetti". So the decision was made. It turned out perfectly. I managed to cook JUST enough food for everyone; with the help of my mom, sister and Aunt Rita of course.

In short, the birthday dinner was a success. :) Not only did I get birthday presents (which is always fun), but i had a great time hosting everyone. Yay for a house with enough room for everyone!

P.S. It's still my birthday month... just a reminder! :)

Oh May!

Last night Curtis and I had our friends over for dinner. God blessed me in his perfect timing by letting me meet Kasey May at work and we've become great friends. Kasey and her husband Rolyn are a great couple and a lot of fun to hang out with. So last night, they come over and were brave enough to try one of my crock pot creations (and it was actually good). Then we made Aunt Carols' delish chocolate chex mix. WHY following Aunt Carols directions perfectly NEVER produces the same quality food that she does, I'll never know! But it was tasty in it's own right. We had a great time visiting and laughing and touring our new house. Can't wait to do it again! This whole hosting dinner parties thing is fun!