The Big 3-0

My sweet husband and wonderful best friend had a surprise party for my 30th birthday.  I spent the afternoon out with my dad, then came home to a house full of friends and family.  It was such a fun birthday.  I am so blessed to have such loving people in my life.

Luckily our friend, Trey, took some pictures.  You know I never do!

the cake

Brian, Mandy, Matt, Wes, and hubby in the back

hubby, you can't pay him to smile in pictures!

my mom

fire pit and chairs, my bday gift from Dustin

sticking at 29!

Now that I have my fire pit, chairs, and tiki torches, I believe I see some more parties at the house in our future!

A few "30" quotes:

"When you turn thirty, a whole new thing happens:  you see yourself acting like your parents." - Blair Sabol

"Time and tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of thirty." - Robert Frost

"Everything I know, I learned after I was thirty." Georges Clemenceau

"At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgement." - Benjamin Franklin

Waaaaay Behind!

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow." ~ Mark Twain

I believe this has been my blog motto recently.  I figure now is an excellent time for a little catch up.  

First on the list is Valentine's Day.  I used to absolutely despise it, until my husband and I started dating.  He has taken away all of my V-day resentment and replaced it with an affinity towards the holiday.  I even decorated for it this year!

Our V-day banner

My Granny's pie safe

My bestie, Mandy, has asked me to be her matron of honor.  She was my maid of honor as well.  My Mom and I decided to throw Mandy a shower (as her and her mom did for me!).  We ended up choosing the Apple Cake Tea Room for the location.  They have an adorable room upstairs that we got to decorate as we wanted.  Mandy's wedding colors are eggplant purple (bridesmaids' dresses), red, and grey (groomsmen's tux).  I tried to stick with those, but eggplant purple is hard to find!

I got the idea for the address labels from Martha Stewart.  I thought they turned out so cute!  One thing I didn't consider is that they had to be hand processed at the post office.  This didn't cost much extra and in my opinion was totally worth it.  I printed the addresses on scrapbook paper, cut them apart, then used Martha Stewart's lace punch on the end.  Add a little glue and they're done!

the invites

Since we had the shower at a tea room, I thought this theme should carry over to the favors.  I took 2 tea bags and glued them together.  On one side was a "T" for the bride's new last name, and the other said "tea for two."  I ordered hershey kisses that were purple and silver with personalized stickers on the bottom.  I then found some vintage tea cups.  I put all of these things into a box and wrapped them together.

tea bag favors - excuse the stain on my hands
I had several projects going at once.

There were several other things that I forgot to photograph.  One of them is a sash I had embroidered for Mandy's chair which read "Future Mrs. Thornton."  Why do I always forget to take pictures?  Anyway, here are the photographs I did take.

the wrapped favors

The sign I made.  I painted wood letters and glued them to scrapbook paper for the banner.
You can sort of see the sash on the bride's chair.

One of the games we played was "Guess the Bride's Age."  Mandy's family came
through with some wonderful pictures and some embarrassing ones.

cake and cupcakes from Magpies

everyone playing games

I think the shower was a success and my goal of seeing a happy, spoiled bride was reached.