I've been featured!

I was just checking my blog roll and noticed that one of my favorite websites Design Dazzle did a post on Snow White parties. I started reading it and low and behold, my Snow White party for Lauren was mentioned! Go HERE to read the post and check out her awesome blog!

Featured Again

I am so excited that my Miss Spider Sunny Patch party for Lauren has been featured again on another party planning blog! I LOVED doing that party and was very pleased with how it came out! Thanks to Belleza e Luce for posting about it! I appreciate the shout out!

Please click on the icon to visit her wonderful blog!

Re-think What Matters: "Must-Haves"

My friend Holly over at 504 Main has been doing a blogging series about the Bare Escentuals campaign on Re-think What Matters. Please go to both Holly's blog and the Bare Escentuals website to read more.



Anyway...this week she talked about the topic of "Must-Haves". I have actually been thinking about this a lot the last few weeks. What do I really need vs. What do I just want. So here are some of my lists that I have made up. I encourage you to make a list of your own. Would love to hear what is on your list(s)!

What are my Top 5 "Must-Haves"?
1.) Health: Not just my own, but the health of my kids, my husband, and our family. If you have your health, you have everything. I have heard this statement with the word "love" inserted instead of health, and I do agree with that, too. But if you are physically not healthy, you are limited in ability to do all things.
2.) Love: I am not just referring to the love that my husband and I share, but the love that we have from our families and friends. If I didn't feel love or have the opportunity to give love in return, I don't think I could survive.
3.) Family: I could not live without family. My kids and my husband are my world. They are my reason for getting up in the morning and for wanting to do all things. In addition to that, the rest of our immediate-extended family is included in that. I think often about how it might be fun to move back to CA or just move to a new city in general for a new adventure, but family is what keeps me here. I love being close to everyone. I love holidays with 15-20 people at my dinner table, I love weekly dinners with my in-laws, I love vacations where the whole crew travels in mass and descends upon some unsuspecting country....I love it all. I would be sad to be away.
4.) Friends: Now in this case, I am not talking about being Miss Social Butterfly...because that I am not. I have always considered myself somewhat of a wallflower. I prefer to have a few really good genuine friends, than have a ton of fair-weather friends. I know my FB account will say otherwise, but hey, that is the beauty of FB. I need to have friends that I can count on in times of need. Even if the need is to escape from my kids and partake in a little wine and good conversation.
5.) The Basics: Food, water, electricity, a roof over our heads, a car to get around, Nick Jr. and milk in the refrigerator.

I am happy to say I currently have all of the above, so my life is great and I really could never ask for anything more.

Fun Lists

"Must Have's" for my Kids
1.) Waffles, Easy-Mac, fruit, yogurt, and milk
2.) Nick-Jr. (Specifically Olivia and Dora)
3.) Something to do (Toys or activities)
4.) Lauren-Lullabies at night
5.) Sarah- Bedtime Stories

"Must-Have's" for the day
1.) Happy/Healthy kids
2.) access to my computer or iphone
3.) to check off items on my to-do list (it is a running list)
4.) The TV and DVR to decompress to at night
5.) 2 children that sleep through the night

"Must Have's" to make my life complete
1.) To see my girls grow up and become successful and happy. To help them plan their weddings would be an added extra bonus!
2.) To travel to Australia/New Zealand, Greece, Sweden, any and all tropical islands. To go back to Italy at any opportunity.
3.) A beach house
4.) For my husband and I to grow old together
5.) To have success in raising girls that are polite, considerate, thoughtful of others, tolerant, and that have an appreciation for the world and all living creatures in it.

Assistance from the Blog World

Hey there all of you who have so graciously come over to read my blog! I have a question....I have been searching around all over the internet and am basically getting bogged down in all my options. I am searching for a graphic designer to help me come up with a logo for my party business and also a possible website/blog design to go with it. I have seen several websites from people who have done blogs/websites that I like, but frankly there are just too many out there and I don't know where to begin. I was hoping some of you might share with me anyone whom you have enjoyed working with and who did a good job for you. On the flip side...if you are such a creative talent and would be interested in possibly helping me out yourself, please drop me a line and maybe we can talk.

I have been in the process of getting my business going for a couple of years now and for the sake of a better excuse, "Life" has gotten in the way. I get more and more motivated every year to get this thing going, so it remains to be seen if it will happen. My sweet husband gave me another little pep talk last night, so I am currently in "go" mode and trying to work on it again! Feel like a good logo and design to put out to the world would be a good place to start!

Thanks!

I've been Featured!

I am so excited that I have been featured on one of my FAVORITE party blogs! Creative Party Place has mentioned Lauren's Miss Spider Sunny Patch party on their most recent entry! I am thrilled! It was such a fun party to plan! Please go to Creative Party Place for great inspiration and ideas for cute parties!

Awards Again!

OK...so my friend Holly and blogger extraordinaire sent me a couple of awards about a century ago and I am finally getting around to posting them and passing them on. Thanks Holly! I promise I wasn't blowing you off!

Here are the deserving bloggers I want to pass both awards along to. Please post about it and pass it along.

1. Katie at "Fun Times with the Becker's"
2. Jenny at "The Blah Blah Blahger"
3. Stephanie at "Gadora Wilder"
4. Ryan at "America's Bridget Jones"

So the first one is this:

The second one is this "sweet" one!


For this I supposed I am to complete the 10 random things about me list and then send it onto others. So here it goes!

1. I grew up on a ranch in South Texas
   
2. I once had a walk-on part on Days of Our Lives when I interned there. (1997)
   
3. I would love to live in Italy and learn the language. I would settle for spending my summers there in a villa on the Amalfi Coast!
   
4. I wish I knew how to make fabulous wedding cakes.
   
5. I am a wedding fanatic. I have been married for 10 years and am probably the only bride that has a MS Weddings subscription that long after her big day!
   
6. I have a husband that makes me a strawberry cake for my birthday every year!
   
7. It is a little embarrassing, but I still watch MTV Real World and the Road Rules/Real World Challenges! Yes, I am 33.
   
8. I want to travel the world, but I HATE to fly. When are we going to figure out how to beam ourselves places???
   
9. Olives, mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, and sour cream just disgust me. Although I will eat olive oil, cocktail sauce, and sour cream chips!
   
10. I am not much of a book reader, but I can look at magazines all day long. I am much more of a picture person than a reader/writer.
    

Hope you all enjoy your awards and know that I enjoy reading your blogs!

Where the Wild Things Are

I am not usually a big fan of bloggers who just re-post what someone else has posted, but I have to do it in this case. I look at a lot of party websites and blogs and I see tons of cute things....but this is WAY CUTE! I have to share it with you all.

Please go to The Hostess with the Mostess blog, HERE!



The party was designed (and photo) by Kristen Gau.

Award

So this is a relatively new concept for me....getting an award for my little journal I like to call my blog! My friend Holly over at 504 Main was very nice to send me a little award the other day. Thank you , thank you! Holly is one of my friends and fellow wedding colleague from LA. She no longer lives in the LA area, but is the author to many wedding books and a fabulous wedding coordinator! She also has another blog all about weddings. Please check this one out Hip Weddings, too! Holly was the first person to give me an opportunity in the wedding business and the one that hooked me up with my first wedding related job. I owe a lot to her for showing me the ropes and believing in me when I had no wedding experience. Having done my own wedding by myself counts for something, but we all know that just because you plan your own, does not make you the next Martha Stewart or Colin Cowie (even though we think we are!) So Holly was great at giving me opportunity and teaching me a lot. We had lots of fun back in the day doing weddings in LA!

So anyway.....back to the award. I have been bestowed with the Friend Award.

The rules to this award are:

*This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming.

*These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends.

*They are not interested in self-aggrandizement.

*Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. *Please give more attention to these writers.

*Deliver this award to other bloggers who must choose others to pass it on to and include this *Cleverly-written* text into the body of their award.

So I have chosen to pass this award along to a couple of my other blogging friends.

Jenny - The Blah Blah Blahger - I have chosen her because I think she has an awesome blog with lots of great postings on many different great topics. I know that her blog is something she is passionate about and I just want to support her.

Ryan - America's Bridget Jones - I have chosen Ryan because I think her blog is unique and tons of fun to read. Her take on certain topics is just hilarious and generally spot on.

Both of these ladies were fellow AXO's with me in college and I have enjoyed their blogs very much! Congrats!

Really, the best award I can have, though, is just to know that people enjoy reading what I have to say. So please sign up as a follower and thanks for the support!

JJ's fun Giveaway

Hey all 5 of my readers!!! My friend JJ who has a great blog has just posted a giveaway in honor of her 1st 100 followers. GO HERE TO CHECK IT OUT! Also..spend some time checking out her awesome blog and photography website!

Congrats to her on her 100+ followers. I aspire to have that many followers one day!