C'est Une Fille: Another Shower for Baby M

In mid-November, on a gorgeous Southern California day, I was treated to another baby shower, this time at Cute Apartment's brand new place (yes, she moved and hosted a shower a week later - she's a superhero!), surrounded by my closest girlfriends, and hosted by one of the best hosts I know. 

 

Cute Apartment, the great hostesss

 

I am overwhelmed by the amount of love and excitement I can feel radiating from my friends about this Baby Girl.  That is to be expected from family (though still greatly appreciated!), but there is something special about the feeling you get when a friend seems like family by how much they truly care.

 

I'll let the photos do most of the talking, as I managed to remember to take some this time around!

 

I was happily surprised to see a headband making station for my little girly girl (okay okay, I know she could be a total tomboy, but until she can object, this little lady will be rocking a lot of headbands and bows).

 

Lovely ladies I've met through HH's journey so far in Law School

With the host herself, Cute Apartment

Me and Ms. Art Teacher

Twin Beauty School and myself

Giggling with Best Friend Swagger

Me and Ms. Smiles

A group shot we waited a little too long to take, as there are some pretty girls missing - but I love it all the same!

 

Sister Swimmer, myself and Gardening Mom - unfortunately Sister Singer had to work!

The love of my life, and my favorite Daddy-to-be, Handsome Husband

 

I am so grateful to Cute Apartment for throwing this gorgeous shower, and to all of my friends and family who made it to this shower (and my first one, as well, of course), and have been so generous with their gifts and kind words for our growing family.



It's December!

In November...

 

Handsome Husband spent a few days in Portland, Oregon at a Negotiation competition, and found out he would be traveling to a few competitions in 2014 also!

I got to spend the morning catching up with Cousin Snapshot and Best Cousin during Cousin S' visit to So Cal. 

L-R: Cousin Snapshot, Me, Best Cousin

 

We hosted a fun birthday dinner at our house for birthday girl, Mother-in-Law Red!

 

Gardening Mom, Sisters Singer and Swimmer and their friends and BF YOLO, Handsome Husband and I kicked off the holiday season with the Tree Lighting Ceremony we attend every year!

HH and I at Tree Lighting

 

HH and I commemorated this pregnancy with some maternity photos (that I've yet to share on the blog...coming soon, promise!) in Old Towne Orange.

 

Sneak peak - I'll share more soon!

 

Handsome Husband kicked his studying into gear for finals - and we started getting really excited that once he is done with finals, little Baby M will be making her grand debut any day!  (And because I'm neurotic, I started worrying about what I would do if I went in to labor during one of his 3+ hour long finals.)

 

Cousin Study Buddy and Mr. UNC accompanied HH and myself to a USC basketball game when we were lucky enough to get courtside seats from Gardening Momma's boss.  The game was exciting, but I was a little nervous the entire time shielding my basketball (aka my baby belly) from stray balls and players.  Luckily we stayed out of the action.

 

Best Friend Cute Apartment hosted a lovely baby shower for me to celebrate Baby M's upcoming arrival with all of my closest girlfriends.  It was gorgeous, and I will be sharing details soon!

Me and the hostess with the mostess, Cute Apartment

 

The family got together to celebrate the birthday of Tutor Girl - she's getting close to the big 3-0, and I admire her for loving that instead of loathing it as I do!

 

We attended the wedding reception of a good friend of HH's from law school, and were happy to celebrate their recent nuptuals with them.

 

Aunt Fancy Chef treated the ladies in HH's family to a day of yummy food!  First we had a lovely breakfast, followed by a super fun cooking class!  I can't wait to go back, the cooking class was so much fun!

 

Thanksgiving was full of family and great food and as usual, we were feeling blessed to be able to see both my side and HH's side of the family on the holiday.

 

I opted out of Black Friday shopping, and instead chose to do some Black Friday crafting and wrapping with Gardening Mom and Sister Swimmer.  Gardening Mom and I managed to crank out some adorable burp cloths which will be making their way to the blog very soon!

 

We wrapped up the month with a lovely Hannukah Dinner at Gardening Mom and Hat Dad's house - and I got my annual fix of potato latkes!  I can never get enough, especially leftovers!

 

In December?  I'm crossing my fingers for a slightly early arrival of little miss Baby M, and we've got lots of fun holiday events to attend!



Goodbye, October!

In October...

 

Handsome Husband and I were lucky enough to be invited to the new beautiful home of The Esquire and Baker Girl.  We enjoyed seeing their brand new place, and an amazing dinner prepared by BG!

 

I had the dreaded 1-hour glucose test, failed, freaked the eff out, took the 3-hour test, and passed!  Very typical Stress Casey behavior to have a meltdown before the problem entirely presents itself.

 

I had a lovely time catching up with an old high school teacher of mine over coffee (well, decaf tea for me).  It was so nice to hear about a program I was heavily involved with in high school (Model United Nations, for those wondering), how it's changed, and to get Mr. T updated on many of his former students and the awesome things they are doing nowadays.

 

HH and I got to head to San Diego for a soccer game on the field I spent so many days and nights watching him play on!  This season will be the last that there are players on the team HH played with, so it is a little sad for him, the end of an era, if you will.

 

We had one busy Saturday in mid-October!  We started the day off with a kickball game (okay, I watched a kickball game) with some of HH's newer friends from law school, were hosted to a lovely BBQ at Best Cousin's new place, and ended the evening with a viewing of Captain Phillips after being invited by Aunt Fancy Chef to join her and some family at the luxury movie theater!

 

 

We got to support some fundraising Kindergarten Teacher was doing for her chosen charity by attending an evening at a local wine bar.  Though my glass was longing for wine instead of water, the conversation with some of my favorite ladies made up that.

 

Handsome Husband and I set sail on a Tiki Cruise around Newport Harbor with some law school students. 

 

Gardening Mom and I got a start on our Christmas Shopping at Citadel Outlets' annual Shopping Extravaganza!  This year, MIL Red and Grandma Beach Bum decided to join also, so it was fun to meet up for lunch and a break from the shops.

 

Aunt Fancy Chef invited us to a lovely charity event for South County Outreach called Empty Bowls, where we got to try lots of yummy soups from local restaurants, bid on some silent auction items (though we didn't win, boo!) and listen to some lovely speakers.

HH and I at Empty Bowls

 

Handsome Husband attended a Boot Camp for New Dads!  Though he said he didn't find it all that informative, I still think it's cute!

 

I was showered with love and some pretty awesome gifts for our little New Years Baby at my family baby shower!

 



 

We celebrated Cousin Halloween's 7th (he's getting way too old these days!) with pizza and cupcakes during a mid-week birthday party!

 

Halloween ended the month, and we were content with eating fajitas and handing out candy to our whopping two trick-or-treaters!  We also spent some time thinking about how fun it will be when our baby girl is here for next Halloween!

 

In November ... We've got a lot going on!  There's a few birthdays coming up, some holiday events, our maternity photos, a second baby shower for this little lady, and lots and lots of prepping for her impending arrival! 





A Shower

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to be showered with love and generous gifts from family and friends at a shower lovingly hosted by some of the wonderful ladies in Handsome Husband's family: Cousin Studdy Buddy, Grandma Beach Bum, and Aunt Fancy Chef.  I can't thank these ladies enough for their kindness and for taking time out of their busy schedules to do something special for me and our little girl.

The shower was held at Grandma Beach Bum's house, which is extra special because this little lady on the way will spend many a holiday at this home.  Grandma BB's house is the gathering hole, if you will, for this family, and it's rare when we're all together in another location.  I can't wait to see our New Years Baby grow into a little girl while celebrating big days at this house - searching for Easter eggs in the backyard, learning to play bocce ball with her Daddy, grubbing after the annual family golf tournament, and opening presents on Christmas afternoon.

I received the sweetest gifts, and lots of goodies for this little lady to use and wear!  Lots of darling clothes (because girls clothes are just too much fun!), some bath time necessities, lots of diapers (oh yeah!), and some especially thoughtful gifts like the custom print Best Friend Cute Apartment made, the monogramed bow holder from Tutor Girl, a handmade crocheted blanket from a dear longtime family friend, and the I Love NY onesie from none other than my NYC transplant friend, Fashionista.  I can't thank these ladies, and all the ladies who attended for their generosity, and for thinking of me and our baby girl.

I totally failed on taking enough photos, but I did manage to get a few with some family and friends before the day was over.

Left: Me and my Gardening Momma

Right, Top to Bottom: Fashionista and I; Cute Apartment and myself; and Sister Swimmer, me, and Sister Singer

 

Like the good husband and Daddy-to-be he is, HH showed up near the end of the shower to thank the hostesses and guests who remained, and obviously carrry all the gifts to our cars!

Two excited parents-to-be!

Adventures in Pinterest: Gender Reveal Party Details

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out the video from our Gender Reveal Party, to see these fun details and more!

Pinterest was obviously my #1 go-to site when planning our Gender Reveal Party.  I think Pinterest may have somehow been the one to invent these types of parties, afterall.  There were definitely some pinspired elements at our party, and I wanted to share those with you!

My Pinspiration:

{Pin}

My Creation:
  

I absolutely loved the way the mix of patterned fabrics looked on this banner, and couldn't wait to recreate it!  I picked up all my fabric and ribbon at JoAnns, the tape was from Michaels (but you can find it on HERE also).  It was super simple to make, though one of the fabrics I chose just would not work with the double-sided craft tape I picked up, so I had to scrap that one from the banner.  Other than that, easy peasy.  I freehanded a "stencil" out of regular paper, and used that to keep the triangles roughly the same size and shape.  I used tiny bits of the craft tape to hang the banner in a few places around my parents' home for some cute pink and blue decor!

 My Pinspiration:

{Pin}

My Creation:

I absolutely loved the idea of putting together a "Boy or Girl" banner (clearly, I'm into banners at the moment), but wanted something that more went with our theme or bright pink and blues.  Using my Silhouette Machine, I was able to cut the little flags, the letters, and punctuation in no time!  I used tiny foam craft mounts to secure the letters to the flags for a little dimension, and strung the flags onto twine I had on hang to hang it.

 My Pinspiration:

{Pin}

My Creation:

Funny enough, this was probably the most time consuming of the projects I'm sharing with you today!  Taking the time to cut and ball the fruit was definitely intensive, but the surprising part was how hard it was to get it looking so Pinterest perfect.  The above photos are completely misleading, because you can't really just put the fruits in one variety at a time.  You have to layer them, keeping all the "columns" even, or it spills and fill the entire watermelon "bowl".  It was a lot of trial and error, but all in all it wasn't that bad!  And the result is adorable, if I do say so myself!  I definitely plan to present fruit like this in the future!

Linking up with: The Vintage Apple, Something Swanky, Vintage Wanna Bee, Ginger Snap Crafts, Lil Luna, I {Heart} Nap Time, A Diamond in the Stuff, Live Laugh Rowe, 504 Main, Tatertots and Jello, Be Different Act Normal, Six Sisters' Stuff, C.R.A.F.T., Delightful Order, House of Hepworths, Positively Splendid, BEAUtiful Mess/Keep Calm and Carry On, Southern Lovely, Someday Crafts, Chic on a Shoestring Budget, A Night Owl, House of Rose

Boy or Girl?

Last chance to take a guess, I hope you'll watch the video and see who will be joining us in January!

A Mother's Day Brunch

Last weekend, for Mother's Day, we hosted my parents, my sisters, Mother-in-Law Red and her beau, Mr. Bear for brunch.  I have so loved owning our home for many reasons, but by far my number one reason?  I love to entertain. 

I spent quite some time deciding on the perfect spread - balancing the necessities of sweet and savory breakfast items to please all those in attendance, and I did pretty well, if I do say so myself!

This, to me, is the perfect brunch spread:

Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins

Hashbrowns

Bacon - soft and crispy!

Smoked Salmon

Strawberries and Bananas with Nutella

Cheesey Egg Bake

 

and

 

A Mimosa Bar (duh!)

 

And obviously, no Mother's Day is complete without some gifts.

 

 

My gifts for Mother-in-Law Red were lovingly bought at a craft fair (the adorable sign) and the phone case is from Etsy.

 

For Gardening Momma, I got a little crafty and my Pinspiration was from none other than the Saw it-Pinned it-Did it Queen herself, Steph! 

 

My Pinspiration:

{Pinned}

 

My Creation:

 

I went with a big of a fluffier succulent arrangement, and a different type of wooden letter, and skipped the bow for Gardening Mom's wreath, but I loved Steph's so much I just couldn't stray too much for her adorable wreath.

 

I wasn't the only one who got crafty for Mother's Day this year, Sisters Swimmer and Singer worked with Hat Dad to create the coolest succulent planter for GM also!

 

So cool, right?!

 

Sisters showing off their handiwork.

 

Linking up with: The Vintage Apple, Something Swanky, Vintage Wanna Bee, Ginger Snap Crafts, Lil Luna, I {Heart} Nap Time, A Diamond in the Stuff, Live Laugh Rowe, 504 Main, Tatertots and Jello, Be Different Act Normal, Six Sisters' Stuff, C.R.A.F.T., Delightful Order, House of Hepworths, Positively Splendid, BEAUtiful Mess/Keep Calm and Carry On, Southern Lovely, Someday Crafts, Chic on a Shoestring Budget, A Night Owl, House of Rose



No April Showers Here

In April...

 

I got to spend a lot of time with Cousins Halloween and Teeny Girl, as their mama Cousin Study Buddy studied into the late hours with my very own Handsome Husband.  Law School final time is a real joy, lemme tell ya.  But the only saving grace has been hanging out with my two little friends so much!

 

We had a long overdue dinner with Baker Girl and her husband, The Esquire, over for dinner.  We got to catch up with them, and we loved hearing about their new home plans, their exciting jobs and just catching up with an all-around wonderful couple.

 

We celebrated Lucky P's arrival and Tutor Girl's second time becoming a mommy with a Sip and See at Grandma Beach Bum's house.  I put together a super (in my never to be humble opinion) adorable and useful gift that you can see HERE.

We had a fun morning at the Farmer's Market at Orange County's Great Park with Mother-in-Law Red and Mr. Bear.

To celebrate two years of smiles for Sister Swimmer and her BF YOLO, and for me to get some camera practice, we headed to San Juan for some cutesie photos of the happy couple!

Handsome Husband's family got together at Lucille's BBQ to celebrate two special birthdays!  Grandpa Backgammon and Uncle Lighting!

Another HH Family event - the Annual Family Golf Tournament!  For the past few years, I've enjoyed attending the tournament and taking photos, as this girl is no golfer.

We had a fun night out in LA to celebrate the birthday of my dear friend, Best Friend Swagger!

I had a fun day with Gardening Mom, hopping around our community garage sale, hitting up a garden show or two, and doing some craft area organization!  May sound boring to some, but we live for some good sorting of craft supplies!

HH got deep into studymode for his upcoming finals, which start May 1st!

 

Linking up with Jennifer.



Kiss Me, It's April

In March...

We returned home from our East Coast Vacation, which you can read about HERE.  Look out for another vacation recap coming this week!

I hosted a birthday dinner for Hat Daddy-o, and made the most adorable miniature desserts, also coming to a Stress Case blog post near you soon!

Gardening Mom and I made it all the way to Pasadena to check out the famous Rose Bowl Flea Market, and walked away with two wooden ducks (Mom, not me).  It was at the same time slightly overhyped and completely overwhelming.

I turned the big 2-5 and my generous parents took me and Handsome Hubs to a wonderful surf and turf dinner at Fleming's Steakhouse in Newport Beach to celebrate.

Handsome Hubs and I hosted a birthday party to celebrate our 25th birthdays (we are a week apart!).  The theme was Tacky Las Vegas, which you can read more about HERE.

San Diego friends!

Me and Twin Unicorn on the L, Best Friend Swagger and I on the R

St. Patrick's Day came, and with it came Tutor Girl and Cousin Ronomon's new bundle of joy, Lucky P.

HH and I with P on St. Patty's

A week after me, HH turned 25, and we had a fancy date night at the movies.  Have y'all heard of Cinepolis?  It's amazeballs, gotta check it out.

The super comfy seats at Cinepolis

Mother-in-Law Red and Mr. Bear hosted a yummy Italian birthday dinner for us to celebrate our big days with HH's fam.

Cousin Study Buddy turned a year older, and we got together over Mexican food and Coors Lights (and funfetti cake!) to celebrate!

We had a little belated dinner with my family at our place to celebrate HH's birthday with his all-time favorite dinner - Salsa Chicken.

We ended the month with a family fun day at Grandpa Beach Bum's to celebrate two awesome things: Easter, and Cousin Teeny Girl's 5th birthday!  

R: Cousin Teeny Girl aka The Birthday Girl! L top: The Heartfelt Family, R bottom: Me and Lucky P