Spudman

It's official: I am married to a triathlete! I can't believe JD can check "participating in a triathlon" off his bucket list. It just seems like such a hard, unattainable accomplishment. . . but, he rocked that thing like a champ and had a fun time with his cousins, brother, and uncles. Go, JD, go!!

Sparkle and Shine

During the initial stages of planning my golden birthday party, I decided I wanted to base the decor on  the words "SPARKLE AND SHINE." Those two words guided all my decorating decisions! I looked up different quotes with the words "sparkle" or "shine" or some variation of those two words to use in frames as centerpieces. Here are a few other ideas I utilized as focal points and accents on the tables:

• Empty jars with gold ribbons and/or buttons housed inside
• Paper & ribbon banners on shiskabob sticks, planted in mini mason jars of dirt
• Gold doilies
• Gold candle roses (found in the wedding section at Hobby Lobby; just for decoration, as no open flames were allowed at the park)
• Spray-painted plastic lion
• Fake flowers taped to jars and "planted" in dirt
• Scrapbook sticker numbers "25" on old mirrors and in frames
• Reese's and Rolo candies sprinkled down the middle of the tables

I was so excited about these tables! Instead of using the typical plastic party tablecloths, I lined the tables with rolls of brown kraft wrapping paper. There were crayons out on the tables for guests to doodle and draw with as they chatted. I thought the fancy gold contrasted well with the rustic brown. . . perfect combo!

"May you always have work for your hands to do. May your pockets hold always a coin or two. May the sun shine bright on your windowpane. May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of a friend always be near you, and may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you." 

-Irish Blessing

Golden Birthday

I turned 25 on July 25th. For some inexplicable reason, 25 seems like a landmark age to me. It's kind of a big deal, I suppose. As a teenager, I remember thinking, hypothetically, "By the time I'm 25, x, y or z." You know, like I should be accomplished and have stuff to show for myself by now? Haha. . . I definitely DO think I've done some pretty neat things so far in my life and so I decided to throw myself a golden birthday party to celebrate the big day. JD was my right-hand man through it all. I sent out invitations, reserved a pavilion at a park, made gold frosted cupcakes, assembled gold centerpieces, and even bought & altered a gold-toed boot piñata. Talk about a party ;)

It was stressful to have the party outside when the weather forecast was expected to be gloomy. I was so anxious! However, everything went off without a hitch (thanks, in big part, to my family who was in town from Texas). Thank you to everyone who came to help me celebrate! To me, it was a magical evening of good conversation, good friends, and good food. All the makings of a good birthday.