Chocolate wisdom and leopard ruffles

Isn't that just one of the greatest quotes ever? What a treat when I opened my beloved little chocolate from a secret stash bequeathed to me by a coworker. That stash is only for the most special of occasions... like when I try to cut back on caffeine. Which I'm trying to do - not an easy task when you average about six cups of coffee a day... on a good day.

My goal is two cups a day. Today I made it to two cups of coffee and a Diet Coke because I met a dear friend at Chick-fil-a, and I just couldn't bring myself to order water. I was so strong on Paleo and so weak now that I'm off of it. I think I'm a total all-or-nothing kind of girl. Dang it.

This past weekend I threw a classy bachelorette party for one of my dearest friends who is getting married next week. I absolutely can't wait, it's going to be one of those weddings of the year, helped by the fact that it also happens to be a dear, dear friend. And there will be good food. And my dress is somewhat forgiving. And I'm wearing nude pumps that would make Kate Middleton swoon. It's a win-win.

I promise to post new pictures soon, but wanted to show off my fancy new ruffled tablecloth. I learned how to make this on YouTube -- ahh, YouTube, you have changed my life so. Mr. Right wasn't a fan of the leopard print and pink ruffles, somehow he doesn't find it as neutral (and awesome) as I do. When I assured him that I could re-use some of the fabric I purchased for the party in our house - he wasn't so game. So I may have to make some leopard ruffle pillows for my new etsy shop.

Speaking of etsy shops - I promise you I'm working hard on creating inventory so I actually have something to post. Because as beautiful as an empty shop is... well, it really isn't very beautiful. In the meantime, I have a few friends who have inquired about special items... if you have something you want, I am happy to create something ahead of time before I launch the store. Just leave me a comment and we can discuss. 

And to the sweet person who stopped Mr. Right yesterday at church and told him that she can't wait to buy something from my little shop - you are officially my very favorite person. You know who you are (ahem, Michelle--BLESS YOU). 

Speaking of Mr. Right - I got to help him out at church yesterday. He's usually busy running all over the place and we never actually see each other at church, and I've busied myself by volunteering behind the scenes with the production staff - mostly because I get to wear a cool ear piece and headset and look official and stuff.  Kind of like a member of the FBI, but in a dress. But now, one week out of the month I'm officially Mr. Right's right-hand-gal helping him with a new member class he teaches. I do very important things like sign people in, hand out books and pick up response cards. Basically the class couldn't run without me. Okay, it could. But I like to be helpful and it's nice to serve Mr. Right and my church at the same time. Besides, I love to hear him teach and love on people. 

And since my sweet nephew Luke has been hogging all the pictures on the blog lately (my goodness, isn't he adorable?) I thought I'd include a picture of our beloved niece Ella. We got to hang out at the pool yesterday, swam with our favorite girl, I watched Mr. Right do flips off the high dive, and then we ate a huge dinner on the patio overlooking the pool. It was a pretty great outing.

Ella will be a big sister in October and we will gain another adorable nephew who will probably hog the blog with all his cuteness. And of course I'm about to start his baby quilt, which may also delay my pillows. Thanks for your patience, I can't tell you how much fun I'm having getting geared up.

Another holiday, another party

In case you haven't noticed, Mr. Right and I love to throw parties. Like, we are hosting FIVE different parties at our house this month. Maybe we're a little crazy, but it's one of our very favorite things to do together.

When I first met him, he was hosting a monthly dinner at his house that would easily draw 20+ people. And, well, it was nothing for me to have 30+ people at my house for Easter, or church functions, or well... I didn't really need an excuse. We both plan events as part of our job, so for us, it's a match made in heaven.

It doesn't matter that we have a little house, we love nothing more than to fill it to the gills with friends, good food, and lot's of laughter. Plus now we have a system - he cooks, I decorate and occasionally help with the side dishes. And socialize.

This week was no different. We decided to throw a little July 4th party, thinking we might convince 10 people to come. We had 40. 

It was so much fun I didn't take any pictures. Well, I took a few as folks were leaving together to  watch the fireworks at the lake a few blocks from our house... so all of the pictures are of folks' hineys as they're scooting out the door. Between you and me, there were no blog-worthy pictures.

Our party involved a hotdog cookout, and our friends brought sides and desserts. Most of our friends went Pinterest-nuts that day and brought several dishes each, so we had PLENTY of food, much of it was red, white and blue and covered in sprinkles. I had a little of everything and let me assure you, I declared the day a Paleo-free holiday.

But for now, here's a few of my little projects I literally whipped up the day of the party. Nothing like waiting 'til the last minute, huh?

This frame will soon be a chalkboard, but until we get around to taking it to the framer to be redone, I decided to hot glue burlap to the back and then I pinned the patriotic bunting I made with scraps leftover from my nephew's quilt. Total cost - $0.

I hung bunting like this in several places around the house - with our red curtains in the living room it made the whole house look patriotic. (For those who have asked, my sister made the picture above our mantle, which we used as a decoration at our wedding reception - I adore it.)

I will never be too old, or too sophisticated, to eat marshmallows. Admit it, you love them too. I call these my Star-Spangled skewers.

I am thankful for friends, for days off, for air conditioning in this blazing Texas heat, and for all the men and women who have fought so hard to give me freedom. Happy Independence Day.

The baby shower and the quilt debut!

We threw my sister an "April Showers" baby shower last weekend, and I must say it was adorable. But then again, Sarah is a shower-giving pro, so it was fitting that her own shower be extra special.

Most of the credit for this shower goes to my other sister Lindsay, who graciously hosted it at her house and did most of the decorating. My mom and I provided most of the food, and Sarah, even though she was the guest of honor, even helped with some party favors (because she can't stand to pass up on a good craft project). She also gave us the world's greatest hostess gifts, I might add.

Lindsay came up with the genius idea of serving drinks in mason jars, because (a) they're adorable, and (b) they have a lid, which means no spills on her carpet! She just punched a hole in the top of each jar and inserted a straw. She also tied a name card to each drink so guests could label their drink and avoid mix-ups. I may use this idea at every party at my house for the rest of my life, especially once children are involved. Do they make plastic mason jars?

Oh wait, those are called sippy cups.

Since the shower was in the evening, we served a full dinner of chicken salad sandwiches, miniature ham and cheese sandwiches, fruit-kabobs, tomatoes with basalmic, pecans and peaches, various dips, and several desserts for our 30+ guests. Thankfully it was a team effort. 

Here are my sisters: Sarah, the interior designer (and baby Luke), and Lindsay, the Neuro ICU nurse. Unfortunately we're covering up the adorable burlap bunting that said Luke with rain clouds.

I was lucky enough to have two of my favorite girlfriends (and former bridesmaids) help us celebrate - Andrea and Katie. (Katie's the one getting my next quilt project, in celebration of her August wedding. And, well, Andrea is pretty much a member of our family.)



Here's most of our family: Philip (Luke's baby daddy... and Sarah's husband), Sarah, me, Lindsay, my mom and dad. It was an all girls' shower so Mr. Right and Lindsay's husband Dallas didn't get to come. Philip and dad came at the end to help load the cars, which we definitely appreciated.

By the way - my sister got a ton of loot at the shower (such sweet friends), but I must admit that I don't know what most of it is for. Baby things are like foreign objects for me right now... someday I'm going to need a crash course in baby gear.

And finally... drumroll please... here's my latest project, Luke's baby quilt! Ta dah! (imagine me using my best attempt at spirit sprinkles or jazz hands)

It was my first attempt at triangles, and I LOVED the process. My current project is another triangle quilt (I think I mentioned my 526 triangles?), but what I love about triangles is the next quilt will look NOTHING like this one - there are so many fun ways to use them.

I also must brag that this is the straightest quilt I've ever done - thanks in part to my fancy Janome machine. It's so much easier, and I'm learning secrets that help me keep things straighter (although if you look closely, you will definitely see mistakes). Instead of sewing this in rows, I patched it together in squares, then bigger squares, and eventually had four big squares that I sewed together. This helped me so that if one part got off, it didn't affect the rest of the quilt.

This quilt was made using vintage reproduction fabrics from my local quilting specialty shop - they cost a lot more than JoAnn's, but they were also cute enough to justify the difference. Because of all the reds and whites I chose to prewash all of my fabrics, so this one probably won't crinkle up as much as my regular quilts. I just couldn't chance any bleeding colors. Oh... and I did a combination of machine- and hand-stitching on the binding. Sometime soon I'll experiment with all machine-binding, but I'm still a bit worried about ruining an almost-finished quilt.

Here's another view of Mr. Right "modeling" the finished product - what a sweet husband:

And the back... my favorite part... it features vintage bicycles and scooters. ***Sigh***

I can't wait to see Baby Luke use his quilt! I hope that someday he drags it around the house, leaving it a dirty, tattered, well-loved blanket. Because that's exactly how all quilts should be used... they should be enjoyed and loved.

Baek-il

Last Saturday night Mr. Right and I went to our very first Baek-il - a 100-day birthday celebration for our dear friends' son Joseph. It's a Korean tradition that started many years ago, back when babies had a high mortality rate, so making it to 100 days was a sign that your baby was going to live to see adulthood. Which, was worth celebrating!

I just love learning about other cultures - and honestly, I am always looking for an excuse to throw another party - so this was my kind of night. I tried my first Korean food (yum - sushi and egg rolls and glass noodles) and enjoyed seeing some of the authentic Korean costumes and learning about their traditions. I also discovered that Asian pears are ginormous and SO GOOD! I have a mild pear addiction, so this made my whole night.

My favorite part of the party (besides the pears) was the tradition where the baby predicts his future job. Guests were encouraged to bring an item that symbolizes a future career. We brought a bottle of store-brand Benadryl because (a) I bought several on sale recently had an extra bottle sitting in my medicine cabinet, and (b) his mama is a doctor and it would be fitting if he became one too. So, our Benadryl was put out next to a Bible (preacher), a spool of thread (signifies a long life), a $20 bill (wealth or banker), a calculator (mathematician), and a hammer (architect?), and we waited for 3-month-old Joseph to reach for an item that would signify his future career.

However, there was one small problem. 100-day-old babies don't really perform on command. So we all stood around in a circle, anxiously waiting while he stared blankly at the items, probably thinking that we were a strange group indeed.

Finally, after trying several different positions and a lot of coaxing, he grabbed our Benadryl.

WHICH MEANS WE'RE THE WINNER. WE ARE AWESOME!! (Oh yeah, and he's going to be a doctor. Probably.)

One other funny story - I was sitting at the dinner table, enjoying my first taste of Korean food, when one of the guests leaned over and asked me, "How does it feel to be the only white people at the party?"

Gotta love blunt people. I told him I hadn't even noticed. And secretly I have to admit that being a fish out of water is one of my favorite parts of traveling... and teaching ESL... so this was right up my alley. Especially when they're feeding me.

Don't be surprised if someday Mr. Right and I adopt this tradition with our own babies. Which, for the record, we're not expecting anytime soon, even though I got asked AGAIN by a coworker last week if I was pregnant. This time I responded with "Feel how flat my stomach is - I'm doing Crossfit!" I'm done feeling bad when someone asks... I've been doing some crazy crunches and I feel good. I know it's the flowy shirts, but some of them are just too cute to give up (and are in style). 

Speaking of babies, stay tuned for my next post when I reveal my sister's uber cute baby shower and debut the baby quilt! I'm so excited I could spit.

She's alive!

Boy, I stink at this whole blogging thing these days. I would apologize and feel bad about it, except that I don't, so I won't. There's so many exciting things going on with life at the moment. If only I could tell you everything, but some things will have to wait. So I'll just wink at you through my computer instead.

In the meantime I'll post a picture from my last dinner party - this was my second annual Easter lunch. Last year we had about 20 people, this year we upped it to 30. I'm not sure if that means next year I should plan for 40, but if that happens I think we're going to have to add another wing to the house, or serve meals in the bathroom, because this year I had folks squished into every spare nook and cranny of my house I could possibly find. And I loved it.

I'm already gearing up for my next party - a wedding shower brunch for a dear friend. Oh the possibilities! Of course, that's not until June, so just this past week I started getting the itch to have some of my Sunday School girls over for a big spaghetti dinner on my back porch in the next week or two. Maybe that will hold me over...

Fun with a photo booth

I think I'm going to declare 2009 to be the Summer of the Weddings. I'm not complaining... weddings are a great excuse to see old friends, eat a free meal, and dance the night away. Last night we went to yet another one... this may be one of the coolest weddings I've ever been to.

First, they had a photo booth.

Then, they had ice cream... and homemade chocolate cream pie. Even chocolate chip cookies.

And finally... there was two-stepping. My night was complete.

Congrats Katie & Justin! May God bless your new marriage, and thanks for a fantastic party!

The Luncheon

Today I had 17 people over for Easter lunch. It was a blast! One of my joys in life is throwing parties. It's right up there with Christmas and getting a tax refund.

I did my best to decorate in Martha Stewart style... check out the floral centerpieces... I made them myself (total cost for four of them... less than $20)...

Everybody brought a dish... I've never seen so much food in one place. It was a regular feast.

It was such a good day... I am so blessed to have the best family in the whole world, and some pretty cool friends that sometimes feel like they're part of my family. 


Happy Easter, and praise Jesus for all that this day means. 

Cookin', and hangin', and wishin', and dreamin'

I have so much in my head that's just begging to spill out onto the page, but it will have to wait. I've got somewhere between 15-20 people coming to my house for Easter lunch on Sunday, and I've got tons to do to get ready for it! I absolutely LOVE hosting people at my house, and can't WAIT to have everybody here together. Most of the people, besides my immediate family, are other single people from church whose families are out of town and needed some place to go. It has become a tradition to host at least one random person at our family holidays, but this year is definitely a new record! I figure, the more, the merrier! I'm so happy to have friends take part in a special celebration. Plus, I like an excuse to cook for hungry people.

And in true Bethe-the-overachiever form, I am determined to have a well-decorated dinner party! So my good friend is coming over to help me hang curtains on Saturday (the ones that have sat in a box since they arrived in early January), I need to plant some spring flowers in my garden, and I need to figure out how I'm going to seat 15-20 people in my rather small dining room. I have purchased perfectly color-coordinated placemats and napkins for the occasion, and even found some of my discontinued dishes on E-Bay so that I could increase my collection from 9 to 15. I'm not sure what the other 5 people will eat off of, maybe a paper towel or something. I'll be sure to buy the 2-ply just in case.

In other news, I found out that my research article is going to be published next month in a major academic journal! We got the official approval this week, and while you normally have to wait months to see your work in print, ours just fell into place and it worked out that it's coming out in the very next edition! Ten months and 28 pages later, I think it just might be worth it! My professors are happy to have a student get published, I got a free trip to Miami out of it, and I learned a thing or two along the way. Of course, the next time I get published, I'd prefer to actually get PAID for my work. But that's the beauty of academia. 

Flash Photography

This weekend was my good friend Tera's wedding. I am so excited for her and Lee... they're two of the nicest people I know, and they are absolutely perfect for each other!

And a shout-out to Melissa, one of my faithful readers and an old cruising buddy (and wonderful friend)!

Weekend Wrap-Up

I've had such a good weekend. Friday night I got a pedicure with my sister and another friend, and then the three of us, plus one more, met up for a quiet dinner. It was so nice... just laid back, lot's of laughing, comfortable shoes... I love nights like that. The pedicure place used a chocolate exfoliator thing on my legs... you haven't lived until you've had a stranger rub chocolate on your legs as you sit in a massage chair sipping a cappuccino. Hmmm... that sounds a bit racier than it really was. After the pedicure, I felt like a new woman. A new woman with dark purple toenails... again. The edginess is back. And maybe here to stay.

Then Saturday I spent the whole day cooking and cleaning to prepare for a shower I hosted tonight for sister Lindsay (the one getting married). I absolutely love the preparation that goes into throwing a party. I like the cleaning up afterward part a lot less. Saturday night I turned my iPod on "shuffle" (yes, the iPod magically works again), and cooked for hours. I cooked for the party, and also made Christmas goodies for some of my favorite coworkers. Since they put up with me for another year (almost five, actually), I figure they deserve some baked goods.

I did such a good job of preparing yesterday that today I was able to sneak in a quick nap after church. A nap on a party day is so very rare, and it was just the thing I needed to keep me going through the party. The party went fantastically well, many of my sister's bridesmaids, old roommates, and friends from childhood came by, along with some of her new family members. It's weird to see that my sister is going to have NEW family members... new sisters-in-law. Part of me finds the whole situation a bit strange, but I'm thankful that these new family members seem to be strong Christian women who treat her well, so I guess it's okay to share her a little.

So it was a good weekend. I got to spend quality time with friends and family, got rubbed down with chocolate, danced in my kitchen and ate large quantities of cake. Yes, it was a very good weekend.

I won

Never, never, never give up.

Fruit pizza disaster

I'm trying my darndest to make a fruit pizza for a dinner party tonight, but in this battle of the wills, it looks like the fruit pizza may win! Is it bad if I just stop at the convenience store and bring a couple of boxes of Milk Duds instead of a home-made dessert?

I feel so defeated... time to go back to battle.

Painting party

My ever-growing home-improvement project continues. Yesterday two very sweet guys came over and helped me paint 64 feet of dental crown molding. The "dental" part of the crown molding meant we had to paint the intricate pieces with a TINY paint brush. It added about three hours to an otherwise simple project, but doing it with other people made it fun (and I learned all sorts of interesting "guy opinions" on various topics). As a thank-you, I treated them to Sonic milk shakes and a home-cooked dinner. I figure I came out ahead.

This afternoon I'm changing gears and will become a lean, mean cooking machine. I'm hosting our family's Easter Lunch tomorrow after church, and I'm very excited. I had to resist the urge to go buy more dishes and decorations for my 10 guests (because all of my money has gone toward stone and crown molding), but I think it will still be nice with what I have. I'll crank up my music, put on my cute-and-frilly apron (hand-made by sister Sarah!) and cook for the next few hours. I'll feel just like Martha Stuart (except the vegetables for my vegetable casserole came from the frozen section of Target instead of from my organic beet farm in the backyard). Okay, maybe I'm more like Rachel Ray. Whatever. It will still be fun!

Mess Hall Cook

I love to throw parties. I just love having people over, whether it's two people or 75 (like my Christmas party). I love cooking for and getting to hang out with people I like in a comfortable, laid-back setting like my house.

A few weeks ago I got the grand idea to cook dinner for a bunch of my friends and have a game night. At first, I figured it might be 10. Or 15. It ended up being 25. That's a lot of food!

When I went to Target Friday night around 9:00 and bought FIVE packages of chicken, FIVE bags of chips, FIVE packages of rice, TEN avocados, FIVE bags of salad and a gazillion other groceries (you get the picture)... the people at Target thought I was nuts. And I had a new appreciation for those ladies who have ten kids and have to cook for them every night. I just couldn't do it. All these years of living on my own, I couldn't imagine cooking for that many people on a regular basis. Or doing their laundry.

But one night was fun.

I served four big casseroles of my favorite King Ranch Chicken, plus all the sides, home-made guacamole, and dessert. It was so much fun preparing everything Friday night and Saturday morning, and when my friends started showing up (and kept showing up... even more than I had originally planned for) it was so much fun to serve them and then play games with them. My new motto... feed 'em then beat 'em!

Survived.

Saturday night was our church Christmas party, and I think we had about 75 people packed into my little house. It was a wonderful night! This is the whole reason I wanted to have my own house, so that I could use it to bless other people. And somehow, by the grace of God, there wasn't a single spill, stain, or spot on anything. Now that's a miracle!

My next party will be a wedding shower for a good friend in January. I ordered the invitations tonight--I can't wait!

Time to party

Tomorrow I'm hosting my church Christmas party at my house. I can't wait. I've been looking forward to this all month. My Christmas lights are up (and working... hopefully), my house is fully decorated, and I have dozens of freshly decorated Christmas cookies waiting to be served.

I was planning to get my piano tuned so we could do a Christmas carol sing-along, but I got busy, and someone told me that might be cheesy. I love it when they do that in movies--when they sing around a piano, usually wearing turtle necks and drinking cocoa and smiling knowingly at each other.

I really should go to bed. It's 1:00 a.m. and I have to get up in six hours to hear one of our doctors get interviewed on a local radio show. I really wish he could have been on around 10, because tomorrow would have been a good day to sleep in.