Catching Up - August: A Fun Gift Box

Our friends moved into a new house earlier this year. We went to their house for a BBQ in August. Having finally bought a condo, I now consider a Home Depot gift card the BEST gift to give to any new homeowners. I wanted a fun way to package it to make it seem at least *a little* creative. I assembled together this box using paint swatches and blue painter's tape.

Catching Up - July, Part 2: A Pucci-Inspired Baby Shower - Details

Our Pucci-inspired afternoon tea was held at the so-frickin'-cute LM in Lincoln Square. God Bless Chef Stephan who agreed to host our party of eight with only a few days notice. The shower turned out great! We had the perfect mix of funny people who all loved the guest of honor. All of our friends agreed that it was one of the most fun days of the summer.

On to the details!

The Decor

 

 It was very, very hot that day...the vase even steamed up.

The Menu

My original plan for the menus were stitched booklets, but my sewing machine kept eating the paper. I pulled these together with scraps of paper from around the house.

The Party Favors

I *loved* the party favors. These reusable tea cups literally hit the local shops that week. I had been out with my sister the week before and hadn't seen them anywhere. It was total kismet.

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My mom and sister wouldn't use the mugs, so I gave them tea-scented lotion.

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I added a tea bag and customized tag to each cup. (Is it considered unoriginal if you repeat your own designs?)

I packaged the gifts, along with some psychedelic cookies,  in the most perfect green and purple boxes from the Container Store.

I made custom confetti by running fuschia, chartreuse, and violet paper through a shredder.

Catching Up - July, Part 1: A Pucci-Inspired Baby Shower - The Invites

My dear friend, VP, had a little girl in July. We barely squeezed her baby shower in the Saturday before the baby was born (two weeks early!). VP didn't want anything too over-the-top and attention getting, so my friend and I hosted a very minimalist afternoon tea for her.

The Inspiration

For the invites and general theme, I wanted something very "high fashion" since VP loves Nordstrom. She didn't want anything too girly and pink and I wanted to include some shades of purple to honor her mother, whose favorite color was purple...thus, the Pucci-inspired invitation was born!

I was originally going to recreate the design from the Gigi line of paper products from Caspari.

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I quickly realized that this image from iStock was nicer than anything that I could freehand with my mouse.

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Front

The invites say "An Afternoon of Pampering," as we originally planned a little spa day that, unfortunately, didn't pan out.

Back

Ribbon Belly Band

 

RSVP Cards

Envelopes

I assembled these while in Atlanta for work. Thank the sweet Lord Jesus that I had a room on the concierge level and was able to print the labels for these. 

Catching Up: June - Becoming a DoC

My favorite day of the entire year was the day that my friend and I served as Day of Coordinators for fellow blogger Nicole's wedding to her husband, Tim.

{Source: S1 Photography}

I sat on this post for a long while (obviously) because I wasn't sure what to say about it. To say that I enjoyed the honor of being someone's Day of Coordinator (DoC) is an understatement. It was one of the most exhausting (it was very, very hot), emotional (I teared up when I saw the bride in her gown), and fulfilling days that I've ever had at a paid job. Granted, I had a very, very decisive and organized (yet very laid back) bride and two of the kindest, most gracious families that I've ever met as my clients, so my job wasn't THAT tough, but the day still had its random blunders to deal with it...and dealt with them we did.

I'm not sure what the future holds for me, re: coordination, but I certainly hope that I can find the time to pursue this avenue a bit more. There are a few things that I wish I could have done differently and plenty of things to learn, but it's a challenge that I was totally made for. (I hope that Nicole agrees!) I remember texting Andy during the mass - "I love DoCing!" We'll see what the future brings!

P.S. Nicole's photographer, S1 Weddings, is the artist behind one of my favorite local wedding photos of all time. I think that the bride looks fierce in this photo. I wish that I was her.

{Source: S1 Weddings Web Site}

P.P.S. I got to ride in the famous Holiday cab on the way to the final walkthrough with Nicole and Tim. It was decorated for the 4th of July.

Catching Up: May, Part 2 - Rainbow Runner Baby Shower

My sweet friend, devon, from Brunch Club had a beautiful baby girl, Piper Alice, in July. Our friend, the most organized hostess/cook that I know, Tara, hosted an incredible brunch for our other Bruncher, Colleen’s , little nugget in March, so I did the honors for d’s.

I didn't have a chance to photograph anything, so I have a hodgepodge of photos. (Turns out that Tara had her beautiful camera with her too. Grrr!)

Invitations

Devon’s a very enthusiastic runner, so I made a mock-finish line for her invitations.

{Source - Invite Photos: the small d}

Total confession time: I really, really wanted an excuse to justify the purchase of some happy tape. I was sitting in a classroom in Atlanta when these popped into my head. I mocked them up in the back of my work notebook and then made the tape purchase during lunch. devon's follow-up e-mail to me and follow-up post about the invites totally made me blush.

The Tablescape*

I really wanted the colors teal or robin-egg blue, gray, and purple instead of girly pink. I've had this ribbon theme in my head ever since I pulled it out of Martha Weddings in the late '90s.

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I was so excited to make these banner placecards.

 

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Decorations

I didn't get ANY photos of the decorations.

“Bib” Signs

I hung a few "race bibs" around the house with the month and year the baby was due.

 I still have an unassembled “Congratulations” banner that keeps popping up around the house. I was going to send it to her in the mail, but was so wrapped up in work that I never got around to assembling it. Maybe I’ll use it for the next marathon. Ha!

“Onesie” Banner

I designed a bunch of race bibs with names that played on the names of real Chicago 5Ks. I then ironed them onto onesies using iron-on transfer paper. I strung the onesies on purple ribbon and hung them as a banner above the table.

*Tablescape

My friend posted this video to my Facebook Wall after I used the word "tablescape" in a status.

Catching Up: May, Part 1: Hooray for Moms + I Get Sweaty Trying to Win Stuff

The insanity continued across the board for me in May. I pretty much worked around-the-clock.

But we also celebrated Mother’s Day! My mom didn’t want to go to dinner, but also said, “I am not cleaning, cooking, or doing a single dish.” So we got takeout from Brown’s Chicken and used disposable everything. (Sorry, Mother Nature.)

My favorite part of this lovely afternoon is that it all came together in my mind on the drive to her house. I had picked up the napkins and plates at a Merchandise Mart sample sale in March, scored some kick-ass tulips in her favorite colors at Jewel after I dropped Andy off at his aunt’s house, and then stopped at Target for the vase on the way to her house. I snuck into the house and decorated the table before she even knew I was there.

The one thing that I *did* plan ahead was the Halloween cake from The Sugar Syndicate. My mother had been craving the red velvet cake served at our wedding. Although my request for a Halloween Mother’s Day Cake was met with suspicion from the baker, it thrilled my mother to the core.

I’m so happy that we had one last chance to enjoy a cake from the Sugar Syndicate before they closed for business.

I was also lucky enough to be chosen by my employer to attend the American Society for Training & Development's Annual Conference here in Chicago in May. The conference was eye-opening for me, as I tend to think of my work as a job, not a "career" or a "field." But being around so many people doing the same thing and seeing the cool things on the marketplace was the first time that I've ever felt part of a "group" since college. So naturally I used the opportunity to make a fool of myself and run from kiosk to kiosk for iPad raffle drawings while wearing this t-shirt in an attempt to win a free HP Mini Book, which I totally would have sold to buy an iPad.

At the raffle for $5,000, my co-worker said, "I hope that you win after you've been trying so hard to win stuff all week." I think that means he thought that I am a tool.