Nautical Baby Shower

March 24, 2013

Our good friends, Mark & Anne, were expecting a baby boy, so I threw Anne a baby shower.  She was decorating the baby's room in a nautical theme, so I did the shower in a nautical theme as well.

Here's the invitation (I blurred out some info I didn't want shared):

And the parents-to-be:

 (Anne's lapel-tag is in the shape of a sailboat and says "Baby on Board")

The banner over the food table says "Ahoy It's a Boy"

I scoured Pinterest for nautical ideas.

The napkins were rolled with rope and Life Savers.....

.....and all the food had nautical names.

"Captain's Cheeseball"

"Boat Oars"

"Catch of the Day" (Goldfish Crackers)

"Seagull Snacks"

"First Mate Fruit Salad"

"Sailor Sandwiches"

The baby shower was held at a nearby neighborhood clubhouse (since our little duplex wouldn't hold everybody).

Several of Mark & Anne's friends and family were there.

Kroger even took a special request for a Sailboat Cupcake Cake.  I thought it turned out great - even if it did stain all our teeth!

I also made some "Chips Ahoy Cookies"

After a bite to eat, it was time for some shower games.  Brandon was such a good sport.  He had come dressed in his vest and tie to serve beverages at the shower and complied when I asked him to participate in one of the games.  It was a spin on the Price is Right and I called him a "Barker's Beauty".  :)  He was a hit!

After a few games came presents!

Anne's mom made the baby a quilt.

The baby received so many nice things and we all had a fun time.

One last thing for the guests to do before they left was to leave a "Message in a Bottle" - advice for the parents to be.

This was my first Pinterest-inspired event and I really had a fun time planning it and sticking with the theme.  But what was even more fun was seeing how blessed Mark and Anne were by the shower and everything they received Baby T.

First Travel Weekend of the Year

Hard to believe after traveling so much in 2012 that we made it to the end of January without a weekend away, but we did!  We jam-packed lots of fun into the First Travel Weekend of 2013 though with a trip to the Ville.

Friday January 25 - Game Night with Mamaw:

My Mamaw, cousin Jennifer, and I (and any other family who wanted to come) used to get together about once a month.  We did this for several years.  We would rotate going to each other's houses and each time that it was at Mamaw's, we would have Game Night there.  We don't get together near as much as we used to (Jen has two growing girls and lives in IN and I live in Lex), but we still try to have Game Night at Mamaw's when we can.

Jen was unable to come to this Game Night after all due to weather (snow/ice), but it went on anyway.

Mamaw's favorite game is "Dice."  

That's what we call it anyway, but it's very similar to Farkle, if you know what that is.

My Dad, Momma, Uncle Jeff and cousin, Jamie:

The Hubs:

After a few games of Dice, we split the group in two - the women (Jamie's fiancee, Heather joined us too) played Scattergories.....

.......while the men played Stock Market.

Saturday Morning, January 26 - Boat & RV Show:

After Brandon and my Dad had a nice morning work-out at the gym (while my Mom and I stayed home in our jammies and drank coffee) we decided a fun outing was in order.  It just so happened that the Boat & RV Show was in town at the Fair & Expo Center that weekend!  And if you know me at all, you know I LOVE looking at RV's and that I have a little redneck dream of one day traveling cross-country for months in an RV.  Shannon and I used to attend this very RV Show every year (I think we went about 4-5 years in a row using free tickets she scored from a friend!).

So, off to the RV Show we went!

I don't know why, but I just love how compact and functional RV's are.

Although, I can't quite believe how one would pay for the really roomy, expensive RV's, I really like them and so did Dad and Brandon (or maybe they just enjoyed their comfy seats?).

I can't believe some RV's even have kitchen islands! 

This particular unit wasn't so much an RV as it was a home - even looked like a real home on the outside, but was compact like an RV (with a bit more wiggle room), on the inside.

Saturday Evening, January 26 - Painting Class with the Girls:

After a fun day or RV Dreaming with the fam, I headed out for a Girls Night with Shannon & Jenn.  We ate dinner at my favorite Cuban place in the Ville, Havana Rumba, then went to a Group Painting Class at Pinot's Palette. 

   

We started with blank canvases (except they were nice enough the sketch the Fleur de Lis pattern on the canvas) and the instructor walked us through each step until we had a finished painting!

Here's the three of us with our finished paintings:

And one of the entire class (I'm in the back row, second from the left with my painting over my head)

New Years Eve!!

After traveling all week, we landed back at home on Friday evening December 28.  We were both off work until January 2, which meant we had four glorious days at home with hardly anything scheduled!

I got busy with some craft projects - the biggest of which was making some aprons for our friends Mark & Anne.  Mark is a huge Superman fan and he was also in love with Wonder Woman growing up.  So, when I saw a picture on Pinterest of these aprons, I knew I had to make them.  I worked off the pictures and hoped for the best!

       

Here's the final product!  The little one in the middle is actually a small cape velcro'd to a onesie - Mark & Anne are expecting their first child, a boy, and so I made a little cape for the baby to match their Superhero aprons.

The best part about Mark's Superman apron is that he can turn it over and wear it as a cape!  And it matches the baby's cape - so they can be superheros together!  (And I think I'll have to make a bigger one for the baby as he grows).

I got the aprons/capes done just in time, as Mark & Anne were coming over to our place to ring in the New Year.

We all sat and talked and snacked.

They were so excited when we gave them their presents and they loved them!!  I hate that Mark's apron is a tiny bit small......

.......but it was a perfect cape size and he was pumped that it had dual-purpose!

Then they opened the baby cape and were even more excited!

It was so much fun to make them and even more fun to give them!!!

Midnight rolled around and my cute engineer-husband made sure we all had the same exact amount of sparkling grape juice.

Happy 2013!!!!

Hope this year brings you love, joy & peace!