A Very Lovely Baby Shower

I just realized that I've posted 5 times in the past 3 months. I promise to start posting again. I feel like I've been living a crazy buys life lately. I literally don't have a free Saturday until May... the END of May. I really can't complain though. Most of the stuff I am doing is either fun stuff, or stuff that pays well.

That being said just a few weeks ago was Annie's Baby Shower. I was a co-hostess, along with her Aunt Susan. Susan's house is much bigger than mine, so we had the party there. It was as rocking of a good time as can be had when your guest of honor is more than 8 months pregnant.

Our friend Holly was kind enough to bring her fancy camera and take lots of pictures. I thought I would share a few.

This is Susan's living room. She set up lots of yummy finger foods. 

Susan also had a champagne toast for the guest of honor! 

I love the strawberries, I think they add a nice touch of color. 

Of course, no party I co-hostess would be complete without a few crafts and homemade items.
The first I want to share are pinwheels. I made a few of these to decorate with, and I also made individual pinwheel drink stirrers for everyone at the party. I'll have a simple tutorial on these soon.

We laid out all the pinwheels near the food. I think they were a big hit.

Sarah and Tamsin playing with their pinwheels.

I also made small favors for all the guests. I sewed quick mini bags out of fabric I had on hand. I filled each bag with jordan almonds, that Susan was nice enough to pick up, and tied each bag with a white ribbon.

We put the favors in a basket lined with tissue paper, and sat them in the front entryway.

I was in charge of games. I had a few classics, but I decided I would be in charge of games AND activities. 

I absolutely loved THIS tutorial from kojodesigns. Since I couldn't make a and entire booth, I decided to decorate a frame. I also had a bucket filled with props. It was a big hit.

I think I'll have it at all my parties from now on. 

Annie and Frank, the mother and father to-be, took a picture before Frank was banished from the premises.

We had another mommy-to-be at our party. I got a picture of both of their bumps in the frame.

During present opening time Annie opened my gift. It was a handmade baby mat. I use lots of fabrics I had on hand, and the inside is lined with fleece. I tried to make it as ungirly as possible as we don't know if Baby Webb is a boy or a girl. 

Finally, I had a new take on the classic "Write down advice/well wishes for the mommy-to-be". Instead of just getting note cards for people to write on, I decorated the front of plain white cards with the alphabet. Every letter got it's own card. I encouraged people to write well wishes and advice on the back of the cards. When Baby Webb is older s/he can use the cards as alphabet flashcards.

As closer look at my artistic skillz. Yeah, that's skillz, with a Z. I will say, it is ridiculously difficult to figure out a drawable item for every letter of the alphabet. I may have a tutorial on this one later too.

Whew! That's it!. Do you have any great party ideas that I didn't think of? I'm co-hostessing a bridal shower next month, so I'm open to lots of new things!

Love, Tina Marie

Tina is slacking

So I'm jumping in again...

Around Town
There is a great oil change place in Alexandria - Lube It! They are always quick, friendly, and (so far) trustworthy. They tell you if you need something more than the usual service (oil change, fluid top-offs, tire pressure checks/fills, even a window wash and floor vacuum) like a new air filter - but they don't push it on you every time. And if you use the regularly, they include coupons with their reminders, as long as you bring the car in within 500 miles of the listed service recommendation.

Growing Up
Something that I've known was coming for a long time was the part of my life where my weekends rotate between bachelorette parties, wedding showers, baby showers, and farewell happy hours for friends moving away. I'm still not ready for it though! While it was an amazing feeling to hold my friend Whit's new baby girl this weekend - Whit and I grew up down the street from each other - I hate to think about the day when we move away, or Whit and his family move away. I guess the part of growing up that I didn't see coming was getting to know all of these great people in DC and then realizing that none of us would be here forever.

Books
The last book I recommended to a friend *ahem* didn't go over that well - so I'll try another one. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, it is a wonderful book written from the perspective of a 9 year old boy. It reads like a young adult book, and can easily be consumed in one day. If you've already seen the movie or been told the ending it may not be worth reading, but if you only know the premise (as I did) I think it is worth a sit.

Grinds My Gears
It really grinds my gears when I get in the way of myself! With Frank in law school I've tried to fill my time with fun and interesting things so that I'm not always sitting at home watching him study. This summer I have my sewing circle on Mondays, Small Group on Tuesdays, and class (Law and Political Process) on Wednesdays. I am left with Thursdays open, and then the weekend (which as noted above is usually spent celebrating something for someone). Well, this week my husband was in DC for the day with his law firm (based in Richmond) and I didn't have time to see him! My plan to keep myself busy backfired! I was really sad that we were so close and so far apart at the same time - but his 10 weeks in Richmond are almost over and he'll be home again soon, so I'll just keep hanging on until he comes home this weekend, and then I'll hang on for two more weeks and this will all fall back into place.