First Annual Falconhead Independence Day BBQ

An alternate title for this post could be "Lizzie Discovers Washi Tape and Proceeds to Put it On Everything". 

The weekend after the Fourth of July, I had our family and neighborhood friends over for a little Independence Day BBQ.  We noshed on my in-laws amazing BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, my mom's awesome German Potato salad, blue berry cobbler and other picnic-type foods.  

In my mind, I would have beautiful red flowers overflowing my pots and in my planting beds.  However, we've had SO MUCH rain this season, I am having a hell of a time keeping anything from not drowning.  So to make up for my lack of flora, I stuck flags I snagged from Target's Dollar Spot in each pot.  

                       

In the mudroom, I created a drink station.  I had bottles of water, Capri Sun and beer in the cooler, iced tea in a pitcher and I made Skinny Dragonberry Rum Twist in my drink dispenser.  

I had been eyeing up Pottery Barn's Rhodes Dispenser Stand- and was totally willing to pay full price for it- until I realized it would be too small for my nearly-nine-inch container.  So you know how I roll-- I do it my damn self.   I snagged a pot and base from Lowe's, sprayed them a glossy red, and glued them together.  

I was inspired by Kim's fence planters, and sprayed a couple leftover cans the same glossy red, trimmed it in washi tape I picked up at Lowe's for about $2.50 and added some patriotic flowers from Trader Joe's.

The bulk of the party was meant to be held in the backyard, so I opened the fence gate and decorated them with a fabric banner I made from scraps I had leftover from a Halloween costume gone wrong.  

I probably should have ironed it before I hung it.  Whoops.  

On the day of the party, it was projected to be 97* , so I left sunscreen both inside and out in the back yard as well as bug spray (just in case).  I had snagged a little tray at a yard sale for $.50, sprayed it the same glossy red and trimmed it in the same washi tape.

I was going to have about 10 kids at the party, so I wanted to make sure there were plenty of activities to keep them occupied.  We set up an  inflatable pool, along with a water table to help keep them cool.  I set a basket of goodies outside for them including sidewalk chalk, pool toys, water guns and DIY ribbon wands I made out of ribbon, dowel rods and, you guessed it, washi tape.  

 You guys, I love me some washi tape.  Expect it on everything now.

Another thing that kept the kids attention was the Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker.  My sister-in-law, Angie, brought it with her to pair with the blueberry cobbler, and the kids sat outside rolling it back and forth to each other.

Abby gives it a roll

Owen intercepts and sends it to Bridget across from him

Of course, I think it only kept their attention for about half the time needed.  I am pretty sure my mom and Angie finished making the ice cream.

I love hosting family gatherings.  My family lives about 45 minutes away from me, and while that isn't a ridiculous amount of time, I don't get to see them as much as I'd like to.  I especially don't get to see enough of these sweet faces:

my nephew Hayes.

His sassy sister, Skylar

my niece and goddaughter, Abigail.

Our friend's daughter, McKayla

our handsome neighbor, Townes

This is one of my favorite group of pictures from the day; my 21-month-old son pushing his nearly 8-year-old cousin on his Mater toy.  

This kid is a beast.  

It was such a great afternoon, and I got the best compliment from my niece Abigail-- she said Aunt Lizzie throws the best parties.

Seriously the best words ever spoken about me.

I hope to make this a yearly event, so next year you'll see a recap about my 2nd Annual Falconhead Independence BBQ!

Always & Forever,
  ME

Wedding Crashing: Rustic Farm

Calling all brides-to-be:  get your pinning trigger finger ready, because THIS is how you a rustic farm wedding with class.

You guys remember our friends Max and Whitney?  Well on May 18, 2013 we were honored to be invited to their wedding at the groom's parents house in Unionville, PA.

The ceremony was held on the front lawn with the house and beautiful courtyard as a back drop.  On the day Max proposed, the smell of lilacs filled the air of their front porch, and they paid tribute to this fragrant memory by having lilacs everywhere- including the mason jars with tea candles that lined the aisle.

Max and Whitney chose a self-uniting ceremony and had their good friend Sara act as an officiant.  The ceremony was so beautiful and intimate, I felt honored to be present for this moment.

photo via Jenna Walcott Photography

photo via Jenna Walcott Photography

Whitney looked... stunning.  There is no other word to describe it.  Her dress had everything: the mermaid style bodice was covered in lace and rhinestones, with feathers peaking up from her modified sweetheart neckline.  The skirt has big ruffles of silk organza.  She kept her jewelry simple, but added the perfect amount of drama with a gorgeous diamond cuff and a cathedral length veil.

photo via Jenna Walcott Photography

Her bouquet was the most beautiful bouquet I have ever seen and contained peonies, succulents and , of course, lilacs.



Her bridesmaids were given carte blanche in picking a dress; the only rules were short and neutral.  Without consulting the bride or each other, these five ladies picked dresses that played off each other perfectly.

photo via Jenna Walcott Photography

We need to talk about the favors.  If you are looking for those nasty Jordan almonds, look elsewhere.  Each guest got their own mason jar mug to carry around with them for the rest of the night.  They had chalk board paint on each one, so you could scribe your name to your glass.

You guys, mason jar mugs.  So yeah, this happened.

#mydreamcometrue.

Instead of the traditional guestbook, they set up a photo station for guest to have their picture taken, and then write  a little note in a photo album.  It was a great way to remember each guest on the day

I loved this heart shaped cut of wood.  This is a beautiful memento of the day to be displayed on a mantle or bookshelf for years.

One of the personal touches was the actual beverages provided for the evening.  Max is a brewer for a local brewery, so clearly a beer aficionado.  Max was given the opportunity a while back to go to Belgium and learn brewing techniques from Jean van Roy at Cantillon Brewery.  In honor of their special day, Jean sent a few kegs of their limited gueuze as the toasting beverage.  

The owner of Farrente's Meats is a close personal friend of the groom's father and did the catering for the wedding.  They provided the most amazing appetizer I've ever had:  tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons.  

The reception was held under a tent directly next to the ceremony area.  Throwing tradition to the wind, they chose a family style seating plan-- which lead to us getting to meet new people!

photo via Jenna Walcott Photography

The table linens were a simple and crisp white cloth with a burlap table runner. Mason jars and vases were filled with lilacs and roses of all colors and rose petals were scattered about.

We were serenaded by The Blue Method, a local soul funk band that is a favorite of Whitney's.  

After the first dance, the party got started

When Whitney is around, there is always dancing..

As the sun started to set, sparklers were handed out to guest to add to the magic of the night.

Maximus and Taintess,
  Thank you for inviting us to your special day and into your lives.  We feel so blessed to call you our friends.  We wish you more better than worse, more health than sickness and more riches than poor, but I know regardless of your situation, you will remain steadfast to each other.  For you have found a life companion in each other.

Love Always,
  JEGs and Lady Lumps

Take Two

Back in June I shared a mood board for our master bedroom.  I had two phases, the first being a general freshening up with paint and curtains.  Every time I sat down to blog about it, I stopped myself, and I couldn't figure out what was holding me back.  Until a couple weeks ago I realized what it was.

I hated the color.  

Hated it.  

I had chosen Benjamin Moore's Conventry Gray with the idea of going with a gray, blue and coral color scheme.  After the color was on the wall, it just felt too cold and sterile to me.  

I decided to start looking into the "greige" colors-- beige grays.   These are the colors I started flirting with
(This picture is really not a good representation of the colors.  If you are interested in their true tones, I would highly reccommend getting your own samples)

At first I was torn between the Revere Pewter and the Edgecomb Gray, however I felt like the former was too dark and the latter too light.  While I was flipping through the new Pottery Barn catalogue, I noticed wall color they used, SW Pediment, seemed like a nice mix of the two, while still being gray.

I've taken the day off from work and I'm repainting the bedroom again.  Here is hoping the second time is a charm.

The good news is I am still loving our bedspread that I scored for $60 at Marshalls.  It's a beautiful navy blue with a large floral print.

My favorite part is it is reversible. If I am feeling sassy, I can flip it over for a geometrical design.

It reminds me of this picture I snagged from Centsational Girl as an inspiration for the bedroom.

 So I am just going to file this whole process under "life lessons".  Sometimes you don't pick the right paint color the first time.

How about you?  Have you ever picked a color that made you cringe after wards?

Always & Forever,
  ME

Sandy, You Inconsiderate Bitch.

Way back in 2009, I house crashed the sweet little shore house my parents rented from my Great Aunt Ola.  It is a duplex, with my parents on the lower floor and my great aunt, her daughter, and her daughter's kids and grandkids coming and going through out the summer.  It wasn't much, just a two bedroom apartment that my parents spent their retirement enjoying during the summer.

And then Superstorm Sandy hit the New Jersey coast.  

Working in the broadcasting business, I saw homes completely washed away from their foundations.  I feared for the fate of our cozy shore cottage when I heard that Long Beach Island was one of the hardest hit areas.  When my Aunt Becky was finally allowed on the island to assess the damage, they discovered the whole first floor had flooded and the water line was about three feet high.  

Although I know we are very lucky to have sustained minimal damage, I was still upset the entire first floor had to be gutted- the only things that were saved was the refrigerator, stove, and living room furniture.  All the other furniture, cabinets, walls, flooring, appliances, linens and special keepsakes had to be thrown out. 

The once cozy living room went from this 

to this:

Both bedrooms were gutted

...as well as the kitchen and bathroom.

standing in the kitchen and looking into the living room/ front of the house.

As I mentioned before, the entire kitchen and the original cabinets had to be ripped out

before circa 2009

after June 2013

For a couple of months we weren't sure if we would be able to use the house at all this summer, but then my cousin teased us with pictures on Facebook of drywall

and floors..

..and the greatest tease of all, a brand new kitchen

ERMERGERD, I love this kitchen layout.  Look at all that storage!

Now that most of the work is done, my mom can start scouring yard sales and Craigslist for furniture to replace all that was lost.  Or as I like to call it "the fun part!"

Fingers crossed I'll be able to house crash before the summer is over!

Always & Forever,

  ME

Rookies

Hey guys!  It's been quiet around the halls of Lizzie In Progress because, honestly, I've just been kickin' back and enjoying the summer.  We went to a beautiful wedding in May (hopefully I'll get it on the blog soon) and we've got another one coming up this weekend!  Also you guys, tomorrow is our third anniversary!  Holy hell!  No big plans to celebrate-  no traditional gifts of leather, crystal or pearls here--just dinner at a local Italian place, and we are staying an extra night away for the wedding then we normally would.  

But what I really wanted to tell you about is something that happened this past weekend.  On Sunday JEGs and I took the monster to Target to fill a couple prescriptions and to buy Hunter a potty.  In order to get him excited about the potty, we told him we were buying him a new toy.  So we head over to Target, and surprise surprise, the shittastic Target in the Metroplex doesn't have the toilet we were looking for.  Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised.  This Target has burned me before.  

Anyway,  now we have promised Hunter a toy, and if nothing else, this kid remembers stuff like this.  So we meander over to the toy aisle and find a little $6 helicopter for him. As we are leaving the aisle he starts yelling "BYE BYE TRUCK!  BYE BYE TRUCK!" and by the time we are in the clothing department, he is in hysterics.  JEGs shows him the helicopter we picked out and he says he doesn't want it.  He wants truck.  So JEGs goes back to the aisle and swaps it out for the little police car that came in the set.  He doesn't want that.  So we take him back into the aisle and ask him to point out what he wants.  This is what we came home with:  

A fifteen dollar fire rescue truck with lights and sirens.  Very LOUD lights and sirens.  

...and we still didn't get a potty.

As we were driving home, JEGs looked and me and said, "You realize we made a rookie parenting move by letting him cry his way into getting a bigger toy, right?"

I make no bones that I am a sucker for that little boy.

But to be fair, we don't buy him toys that often.  The last toy we bought him was to replace a broken toy he got at Christmas-- which is probably when he got most of the stuff he has now.  

So if a gargantuan truck keeps my little dude happy (and keeps me from having to watch Cars 2 1500 times today), then I will just take it.  And stock up on some Advil.

..but not from Target.  They'll probably be out.

Always & Forever, 

  ME

Hunter 21 months

Lawdy folks.. I think we are hitting the dreaded Terrible Twos already.  This child know what he wants to do and he is going to do it by himself, whether I want him to or not.  When I was a toddler, my mom says she knew I had an independent streak early because I would insist that I didn't need help.  I would say in a very stern voice " I DO IT MYSELF".  Hunter definitely has my strong will and hot Irish temper.

I am pretty sure my mom is chuckling to herself.

He got to log some quality time with his godmother, Aunt Tara, at the beginning of the month.

Don't let the side-eye fool you.  He adores her.

His eczema has gotten much worse;  it covers his hands, feet, arms, legs and occasionally patches crop up on his face and torso.  We have an appointment with the dermotologist this up coming week and I swear it can't come soon enough.  Trying to do the simplest things like wash his hands or even just hold his hands makes him cry in pain.  It breaks my heart.

All of his teachers at daycare mention how great he is with words.  I mean, he's not Henry Higgins' star pupil, but you get the idea of what he is trying to say.  He is also starting to be able to put together small sentences:  yeah I did.  where mommy go.  mailmans truck.

He loves to grab a cell phone or anything that looks like a cellphone- like a remote- and have "conversations".  When you ask him with whom is he talking, the answer is usually Mem (my mom) or Pop Pop (JEGs' dad).

Let's be honest.. this kid is a gangsta and just a general bad ass..

yeah I'm drinking my cuppy.  What of it?

..he didn't choose the bub life, the bub life chose him.  

Bubs,

  I know I say this every month, but every day you continue to bring us so much love and joy.  I miss you when I am at work, and I can't wait to see your adorable grin again.  Your hugs are probably the most medicinal things on this planet.  I love you so much.

Love,

  Mommy