A Winter ONEderland

On November 28th, my favorite little ladybug (aka Hunter's future wife), Jenna Mae turned a year old.  Her parents, our dear friends Cara and Rob, threw her a lovely birthday party with the theme of Winter ONEderland.

                                     

Cara decided to keep it simple and only serve a couple munchies, but focus mainly on desserts and a hot chocolate bar.

...and I was all 'well hell.  Why didn't I think of that?'

The entire set up was just so... pretty.  I cannot think of a better way to describe it;  everything was feminine and white with slight touches of pink here and there.  

In the living room hung a banner with Jenna's monthly photos backed by pattern paper

Nestled in the corner was a gigantic number one with made from cupcake liners and sprayed a gradient pink.

In the center of the dining room hung three white tissue paper pomanders, centered perfectly with the dessert table below.

In front of her gorgeous vintage gold mirror she hung snow flake shaped twinkle lights, and covered the dessert table with a lace cloth.

On each table were mason jars filled with Epson salt and tea candles and wrapped in raffia that hung one delicate snowfake per jar.  

The dessert table was filled with goodies such as fruit, brownie bites, and red velvet cupcakes.  Each food was identified with a tented card that had a snow flake graphic in the corner.

The cake.  Oh. THE CAKE.  First off, I was completely obsessed with it's beautiful simplicity.  White frosting with pink marshmallows between the first and second layer.

What I really loved about it, though, was it sparkled.  Not only were there little pink pearl-like details in the icing, but it seemed the icing itself was iridescent.

The hot chocolate bar came complete with peppermint, marshmallows, cinnamon  caramel and nutmeg to add to your beverage.  

There was also a big pot of spiked apple cider which I *ahem* may have partaken in.  Noms.

 Jenna's high chair sported the same pretty banner  from the living room

The little lady was very conservative with her cake smashing.  Perhaps in true lady like fashion, she didn't want to mess up her outfit.

 I seriously cannot get enough of her beautiful little face

Cara and I used the same real estate agent, Kim and continued to stay close with her.  Kim gave birth to a son in July and this was the first time we had all the kids in one room:

Me & Hunter-13 month, Cara & Jenna-12 months, Kim & Ethan- 4 months

                                    

The beautiful family;  Cara, her husband Rob and their little girl, Jenna

Cara, thank you for getting knocked up two months after me;  there is no way I could have made it through this pregnancy and first year with out you.  You have been a little bit of sanity in whirlwind of parenthood. I adore you, your family (especially your mom!) and I hope to call you a life-long friend.

Always & Forever,

  ME 

Wedding Crashing: Very Pinteresting

 On July 21, 2012 I was very honored to be bridesmaid in my best friends wedding.

The ceremony and reception took place in the Currents Ballroom at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ.  The ceremony decorations were minimal and your eye wandered to the beautiful ceiling that looked like ocean waves

The bride and groom, Connie and Joey, obtained a self-uniting marriage license which allows a couple to get married without having a third party officiant.  Instead of a member of the clergy, our friend Phil stood in front of family and guests and spoke kind words about the couple.  He even appropriately added a quote from Superman.

Connie's dress was show-stopping.  The bodice was ruched organza with a shell-like detailing along the sweetheart neckline.  Her A-line skirt was a sea of flowing ruffles.  She customized the dress by adding a jeweled strap to one shoulder, making it both romantic and modern. Her long black hair was pulled back just at the crown, while the rest fell in soft curls.  I was so proud of her for not pulling it back in a ponytail, like she often does.  

The bridesmaids wore matching Grecian-style dresses in Wisteria.  Our one shoulder strap had a floral detailing similar to the ruffles on Connie's train.  We held simple bouquets of silk hydrangea.

The gentlemen looked sharp in their crisp black suits with ties and vests to match the ladies' dresses.  The groom wore all black.

In lieu of flowers, the men had boutonnieres of crystals that showcased a Superman emblem.  Can you guess Joe is a fan of super heroes?

The answer to that is Yes.  Yes he is.

Joe is also a huge fan of movies; a former Blockbuster employee, his collection of unopened DVDs is the envy of all who see it.   As a nod to his love of movies, the escort cards were designed to look like ticket stubs.  Tables were named after a movie that came out in each year of their life.  

The corresponding table not only had the movie's name, but also a picture of Connie and Joe from that particular year!

The centerpieces were simple hurricane vases with flowers and a floating candle.

Not a whole lot of fuss because you didn't want to distract from the pièce de résistance.. the shark tank.

That's right, as guests walked into the reception area, they were shocked to see the entire back wall was the aquarium's shark tank (Mr.Wonderful  not included).   It was kind of bad ass.  The guests also had exclusive access to other exhibits of the aquarium, including the shark tunnel.

After the couple danced their first dance to Michael Morrison's version of "Sway", we sat down to a buffet dinner.

Can we discuss the cake?  It was provided by local baker, AndieKakes and it was gor.  ge.  OUS.  I have never seen such a beautiful cake.  It was four tiers with beautiful edible sugar flowers.  I wish I could tell you the flavor, but I was too busy drinking cosmos and running around the shark tunnel to notice they served it.  Whomp whomp.  

  

The whole event was beautiful, down to every pin-worthy detail.  Connie and Joey, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day. I love you both so much and I wish you a life time of love, tolerance and happiness.  

xoxo,
  Amerbutt

Hunter: 14, 15, & 16 months

I am not even going to try to pretend like I am not three months behind on Hunter's monthly posts.  So here you have it- Hunter in a nutshell:

November was a bit of a rough month for us.  At the beginning of the month we got a call from daycare that he was running a fever and was very listless.  I called out of work and took him straight to the doctor.  Diagnosis:  pneumonia.  

We caught it early enough that he didn't need to be hospitalized.  Just some antibiotics and a couple days home from school.

..and  he was sick from then on out.   It's now February and I feel like we are still combating the runny nose.

Mid month my brother Tim and his wife Bryn welcomed their third child, Hayes, into the world.  We got a chance to visit with Hunter's new cousin.

Thanksgiving came, and the bubs was awesome.  He sat at the table like a big boy with an actual plate and fork.  He ate pretty much everything that was put in front of him, including turkey, stuffing, corn, peas, cole slaw and sweet potatoes.  He even had his first taste of pumpkin pie.  

JEGs, Hunter and I with my parents

The weekend after Thanksgiving we had our first trip to the emergency room.  We were playing in the living room and I was sitting on the floor with my legs straight out.  Hunter wasn't looking where he was going (as toddlers often do) and trip over my legs and took a header into the leg of the coffee table.  At first I didn't think much of it-  he fell and it scared him.  But as JEGs was hugging him, Hunter lifted his head and we both saw the huge knot on his forehead.  He wasn't showing any signs of concussion, but being scared out of our minds first time parents, we decided to take him to the ER just in case.

It was just a mild contusion, and it cleared up in about a week or so.  I am hoping it didn't mess up his brain too much.  I guess we'll just bank on his MLB contract or a modeling career instead of becoming a doctor or lawyer.  

December was fun.  We went to see Santa again.  Last year he couldn't give a crap about Santa.  This year, he cried.

I wish I had gotten all three pictures of him with Santa.  While we were waiting in line, we took him out of the stroller to stand in line with us. 

Stupid mistake.

Of course he wanted to run around and rip all the ornaments off the kiosk next to us.  When I picked him back up he started crying.  And that's how we handed him off to Santa.   

The first picture is him crying because he is pissed off. The second picture he is looking at Santa with this face of  "who the hell are you?"  and the third picture is him crying bloody murder and trying to escape. 

It was quite a progression.  

Hunter loved the Christmas decorations.  When we got home from daycare in the afternoon, he would walk over to the garland on the banister and point to it till I plugged it in.  Then he would look at it and say "Whoa".  He loved shoving his toys in the Christmas tree, and he particularly liked dragging the beaded garland around

...and in the middle of the month, Hunter was sick again, this time with bronchitis.     

It's all good dude.  Mommy and Daddy didn't want to use any of their vacation days to actually go on a vacation this year.

We  had a big family dinner at my parents house on the 23rd.  My brother Andy flew in from LA and we took our ceremonial picture of Andy with all the nieces and nephews.

L-R Abigail. Owen, Hunter, Andy with Hayes, Bridget, Skylar

all hopped up on sugar:  or how he spend most of December

Christmas morning was fun since Hunter was learning how to open gifts.  Although, he was more interested in tearing the paper off in little pieces and throwing it in the trash can, than the actual gift itself

   

We spent Christmas morning with Momma and Poppa G, where Hunter (along with JEGs and I) were spoiled tremendously.  

In the afternoon we hussled over to my parents house for dinner, and we had our second fall in as many months. Hunter was walking around with his sippy cup in his mouth, slipped, fell on his face and the straw of the cup was shoved up into his gums.  There was so much blood.  I was freaking out and ready to drive him to the hospital again.  JEGs calmed me down, got the bleeding to stop and in the end all we had was a busted lip.  

There goes his modeling career.  Still holding out for that MLB contract.

New Years Eve brought snow fall to our neck of the woods, so we took Hunter out for his first real frolic in the snow, complete with a snowball fight with the neighbors.  

January was a month of coming down off the Christmas high.  Hunter got sick AGAIN, this time with pink eye and a double ear infection.  I swear, I am seriously thinking about putting a cloche on him.

At his 15-month check up he weighed  25 lbs and was 33 inches tall.  He continues to be in the 97% for height and 50% for weight.

He spent his second Ukrainian Christmas with my in laws and housed down not one, but two servings of ham, corn and peirogies.  

He has really become quite the chatter box.   He's even getting really good at audible words:  he calls me Mama and JEGs is Dad.  He also says hi, bye bye, shoes, broom, car, hot, cup, fire truck ( according to the teachers at daycare, this comes out as "fruck".  I have yet to hear this little gem.), sit, d'oh, more, milk, whoa, and his favorite, no

Some of his favorite activities are pulling out every pot and pan we own and "cooking" with a wooden spoon.  This involves "mixing" something in the pot or pan and then requiring everyone to taste it while saying "hot".   He also loves pushing around a broom and putting things in the trash can.

..I guess I can forget that MLB contract.  Sound like this kid is more cut out for the set of Downton Abbey.

Hunter has also recently discovered music.  He loves to dance, and strum on his Daddy's guitar.

Currently Hunter has 8 teeth and three molars.  We are having some biting issues at daycare (he has bitten other kids) and we aren't quite sure if it is coming from frustration, or teething.  We don't know how to discipline him because he doesn't bite at home.  So if any super moms out there have some advice for disciplining after the fact, that would be awesome.  He is also starting to test his limits;  touching things he isn't supposed to touch, going places he isn't supposed to go, the usual.  I am hoping this is the start of the Terrible Twos and there will be an early ending.

He really seems to enjoy going to "school".  His favorite teacher is Ms. Tara and on the days I pick him up, he goes around and says bye to each of the kids in his class individually.

Enough messing around.  We're going to be late.

Otherwise, Bubbers, we love you so much.  I cannot believe how quickly you are growing up.  You aren't my baby anymore, you are a little boy.  You are this walking, talking little person with opinions.  But you are so much fun. Watching you play and figure things out fascinates me-- I could do it all day long.  Every day I look forward to coming home and seeing what new thing you have learned today.  You bring so much joy and fulfillment to my life.

Always & Forever,
  Mommy

Vintage Dresser turned Island Style Buffet

:::peeks out from hibernation:::

 You guys still out there?  Or have I lost you all?

Sorry for the (over a) month long silence.  I needed a little time to detox from the holidays and basically just get my stuff together.  But now I'm back.  Back again.  Lizzie's back.  Tell a friend...

Remember once upon a time, when JEGs and I scored our original buffet from Craigslist, stained it blue and put it in the great room of our apartment?  

holy overkill on the styling.  Geebus.

I loved that buffet and it held a special place in my heart since it was the first piece of furniture that JEGs and I revamped together.  Unfortunately, when we moved into the house, it's small size was really not filling the space in the kitchen, and with the onslaught of baby paraphernalia, we needed more storage.  

I had been casually looking around Craigslist and peeking at yard sales, but I wasn't finding anything I wanted.  One day I was meandering around our local thrift shop, Impact! (it's very exciting) and I stumbled upon this:

A seventy-three inch dresser with gorgeous lines, fun rattan doors and tons of storage. 

The problem?  They were asking $175, and that was not within my budget. 

I found the dresser on a Tuesday.  That following Friday the store was having a sale of 25% off all furniture, so I took a gamble and hoped it would be there three days later.  

At 9:59 am on Friday I was standing in front of the store, waiting for the doors to open.  When they did, I rushed back and found it was still there!

After the discount and tax, the price came down to $139.13.  I could do better.

Since it was a dresser, it came with a mirror (you can kind of see it peeking out of the picture above). The following day I advertised it on Craigslist for $15, and it was gone later that afternoon.  I posted the original blue buffet on my Facebook page, and our friends Tim and Lisa snatched it up for $60.  

Taking in account the sale of the buffet and mirror, the final price of this dresser-turned-buffet was now $64.13.

HOW YOU LIKE ME NOW???

JEGs and I sanded it down and gave it a couple coats of crisp white paint and voila! 

I have such a crush on this piece now.  Something about it looks very "island" to me.  Like you would find it in your  hotel room on the beaches of Bermuda.

..of course, I've never been to Bermuda.  I'm more a Jersey shore kind of girl (without the GTL).

We replaced the original hardware on the drawers.  I had picked out brushed nickel but JEGs mentioned going with a flat black.  It was a hard sell, but once  we put the black on, I knew it was the right choice.  The brushed nickel felt too modern for the piece and really didn't fit our style.

The knobs on the doors are a different story.  I don't know if you can tell, but the original knobs had a very dated diamond shaped back plate that I hated.    The problem was, we couldn't get the knobs to sit flush with the door without them.  JEGs took the original back plates and cut off the points with a hack saw.  Then he used a bench grinder to get them into a more modern oval shape.  The original shape had a inner bevel we liked, so JEGs hand filed so it continued around the new shape. 

 He used some fine sand paper and jewelers stone to smooth it down, hit them with some flat black spray paint we already had and added the new knobs. 

The top had an indentation that went all the way around.  We liked the detail so we played it up by painting it black

and by "painting" I mean "coloring it with a Sharpie".    Don't judge, it worked.

The blue cabinet was good to us in the apartment, but a bigger space means bigger furniture.  I have put everything I needed in this new piece and I still have room to grow.

We already had the white paint on hand, and even though I don't have the receipts anymore, I don't think the hardware cost us over $10.

What do you think?  Seventy-five dollars well spent?  I think so.  

Always&Forever,

  ME