bridal shower weekend (in NY) recap

apparently, 2 screaming children at 6:30 in the A.M in the midst of a heat wave = an effective form of birth control.

obviously not for us, but i was glad to be able to perform this service for dear friends who are embarking on forever together.

"we want babies!"

::enter my children::

"holy shit. i don't think i can do this. never. ever. wtf?!"

you're welcome.

i mean honestly- the girls did pretty good. but a 6 hour car ride, being away from home in a strange house, with temps in the 100's & mommy not at the ready...that's a recipe for true colors to come out.

the husband really stepped it up & did what i needed him to do. wrangle the girls for 2 days while i slaved away in the kitchen.
they may have ingested handfulls of dog hair & come away with more than a couple decorative bruises (thanks to dive bombing off the bed) but all in all it could have been a lot worse.

we arrived in NY around 3am on friday (after driving all night while bebes slept to ensure a little sanity) and i was promptly awoken @ 6 am by brynn head butting me in the face.
good morning.
i got up & got to work. mixing, beating, cracking eggs, sifting flour, measuring butter, pouring batter, whipping egg whites- etc etc etc

by 12 noon i'd churned out 30+ cupcakes & 4 layers of cake. chocolate & white. in the hottest kitchen ever.

thankfully the rest of the kitchen duties were completed at another house that blissfully chilled with central air.
thank you God.

french macarons, marshmallow frosting, cupcakes in jars, s'mores on a stick. basically- enough sugar to make a dentist cringe.

the rest of the ladies also got to work making Sangria & mojitos & decorations & sliders & putting up tables/chairs, tissue paper pom poms- and more.

we wrapped up the day by going out (girls only) for sushi & gelato.
i usually stay away from sushi- but i decided to be brave (somewhat- i didn't touch anything with raw fish) & go for it.

wow. i want to be rich & eat sushi on a daily basis. thank you very much.

i also had my way with some scallion pancakes & a plate of Pad Thai. heaven.

back to the house (thankfully the room we stayed in was kindly fitted with an AC unit. omg. it was like out own personal arctic vacation) where i fell into bed & snagged 5 hours of shut eye.

back up @ 6:30. banana waffles made. fruit & coffee consumed.

stepped out into stifling heat & immediately became drenched in sweat. quick stop at Wegman's (omg NY people. i am ever so jealous of your Wegman's. i need one. it made me ridiculously happy)

back to the central air house ::queu angels singing::

3 hours & way too many egg whites & pounds of butter later- bridal shower cake = completed.

everyone came together & wrapped up loose ends. food prepped & decorations done. flowers sorted & drinks full of ice.

we (myself & tiffany- the bride to be's sister) rushed back to the house to change & grab the guest of honor.

back to the party (i must mention that it was outside. and it was hot. but it was still awesome)

everything was in order. she cried. we laughed. she hugged. we said "hooray!". everyone ate, played shower games & "oooh'd & aaah'd" over gifts.

squeals of joy were heard when i brought out the cake.
manda's reaction made it all worthwhile.
she loved it.

dessert consumed. favors passed out. people saying their goodbyes. cleaning up. bridesmaids jumping in the pool. drinks being consumed.

it was wonderful.

i had to skip out early & head back to the house. the husband & i quickly packed the car & bundled the girls into their seats. with the AC blasting & alex happily zoning out with a movie, we headed back to our home state.

somehow the husband managed to let the GPS get the upper hand & we found ourselves in Vermont. at 12 am. bendy roads & numerous deer are not a recipe for an awesome trip back home.

there were some choice words (uttered by the husband- not me) and some passing of slow Vermonters on yellow double lines (don't judge. we had no choice. pass or die) but we made it home in 1 piece.

we got the girls settled in bed & unpacked the car.
i threw in a load of laundry, put away food, packed up extras & washed dishes.
and we were in bed by 3:30. not too shabby.

..however, i was once again awoken at 6:30 in the AM thanks to my head butting child.

thankfully the day was cooler (plus we have AC) and a trip to the in-laws, to pick up the dogs, resulted in lunch.
we spent some time hanging out & then baths were given & bedtimes came early.
i then sat my behind down for several hours of picture editing ::yawn::

11:30 = bed. finally. the end.

and now i'll overload you with pictures. because i know that's why you keep coming back to my corner of the internet. enjoy.

the cake & cake bunting (both made by yours truly)










the other desserts (also made by yours truly)







drink table





food





pretty tables & decoration






a crucial piece of technology



s'mores cupcakes in a jar (also made by yours truly w/layering assistance from the girls)





(i painted the lids with chalkboard paint)

the bride to be



crying after she saw the adirondak chair set we(the bridesmaids) got for her



we used a wood burning tool to sign our names!








the ladies






randoms










and etc et. the rest of the set is here: Flickr Set

i did snag pictures of the girls & the husband but i'll share those later. i fear that any more pictures might = loading issues.

happy monday!

oh this weekend

one of my dearest friends is getting married in sept.

so what comes before a wedding? a bridal shower. this weekend. in NY. 7 hours from where we reside.

ah! i'm stoked to go- but let me mention that i'm dragging the family along & i'm baking her cake, cupcakes & various other dessert.

i am COUNTING on the husband to handle the girls for me. straight up take them off my hands for 2 days. i'm going to be covered in sugar, flour & butter. they cannot be near me. as much as i love them.

i'm packing like a mad woman & checking off my list to make sure i have everything.

diapers
wipes
sugar
piping bags
kithen scale
eggs
extra clothing
toothpaste
etc etc etc.

see how random?
we'll be driving through the night (to allow for sleeping bebes) and arriving bright & early. like 2am early.

after i get eveyone back to sleep & i'll be headed into the kitchen to start heating up the house.
in the middle of a heat wave.
i suck.
but people like cake.
so that's it then.

i'm off. i have to work. leave early from said work. go to an appt. go home. pack. double check my list. load people in the car. beg the husband to stop at McDonald's. sleep. drool. tell the husband to slow down.

i'm tired already. but super stoked.
have a fabulous weekend!

p.s. and because posts are boring without photos- here's a few macros from last weekend:







ok- NOW have a great weekend!

hair cut

i finally got a hair cut this weekend.

it's been over a year (actually- closer to 2 years) since my last trim and i had the split ends to prove it. also, the last time i got a legit "style" cut was when i was 14
(and we won't even discuss that one. seriously- i should show you pictures. in fact, i will. i'll dig them up & let you gasp in horror. in my defense- it totes wasn't my idea. i was going on a mission trip for the summer so my mom though it'd be a good idea to all but shave my head. yeah. that bad. but i digress.)

any.way. so the idea was to go to the local hair school & get my hair cut, styled, straightened & etc etc on the cheap. real cheap. like $10 cheap.
i called in advance & was told to come on in, no appt needed, plenty of student, etc etc. hooray.

i arrived at 9 o'clock sharp (pictures in hand) & was promptly asked if i had an appt.

"um...yeee-no."

hmmm- well only 2 students had shown up that morning & without an appt (which i was told i didn't need) there were no openings. but i could come back at 11 & see if anything was available.

eff that. the girls were home with the husband & i was prepped & ready.
i left. and i sort of wanted to cry. i had planned for this for 3 weeks. why does the universe plot against me?

pouting, i stopped at the ATM on the way home & noticed a Super Cuts. ugh. yes? no? eff it- i went in.
i told the girl what she was working with (mad curly hair) and what i wanted (bangs, layers, all around awesome)

she quickly got to work & chatted about God knows what the entire time. i admit, i wasn't listening. so i felt really bad when she stopped (after having obviously asked me a question) and realized that i had no idea what she wanted to know.

"um...Frodo?" wtf? damnit woman.

my kid's name is Frodo now.

anyway, i had a moment of panic when she brought the shears forward to create my "bangs"

really? that short? are you positive?

::snip::

good God. but it's curly- this is ok. it needs to be straight to see results. right? omg. am i a poodle now? like seriously- did i just turn into a dog?

i'm to tired to care.

10 minutes later i was out of the chair & dishing out $20 (including tip) with my frizzy hair in a pony & my "bangs" pinned back. now i had to go home & spend 40 minutes with my straightener.

::sigh::

not the epic haircut i had envisioned. but whatever.

after bitching to the husband about my hair trials & tribulations- i straightened it & applied more than a normal amount of hair serum (in an attempt to ward off the effects of humidity)

all done. i surveyed the damage in the mirror, deemed it "not bad" and decided that next time i'll pony up the cash & go to a legit salon. you know, where they use razors & fancy scissors & offer you sparkling mineral water in exchange for an $80 encounter with their skillz.

that is what happens, right? because i've never been to a fancy hair place. i have no idea what goes on behind those glass doors.

all in all, my hair looks a lot better & could look a lot worse. so, no complaints.




(even though my lazy eye says otherwise, i'm not drunk. or high)



(via Instagram)

right? if it wasn't for humidity & the fact that my hair hates me, i'd be 99% happy with it.

random things

first off- thank you for all the kind words & thoughts in regards to mr. gary cat.
he was awesome. we're going to miss him.

however, let's focus on happier things. yes.

like, swinging. for 2 hours. straight. until you're unable to stand because your equilibrium is off.

thank goodness the ritzy community down the street has a private park (that i have yet to see any other children playing in) because i fear other mother's would mentally stab me for letting my children monopolize the swings.





spitting. fun.








eventually she took a breather to check out the slide







but that lasted all of 5 minutes before she was back on the swings.



much to alex's dismay, we cannot take up residency at the park. so we had to drag her home at some point. but not before i got this video: (forgive the quality- my camera, as awesome as it is, takes the worst videos)



kids are incredible. i wish i got this giddy about something. anything. (besides the Twilight movies)

and for something far less cute- spiderwebs. i loathe spiders. but i can't deny the beauty of their webs. (unless i walk into said webs- which results in my body instantly going into ninja mode in an attempt to escape. have you ever noticed that?)

i was playing with lighting






and sun flare





i love sun flare- but rarely do i get any. now i just need to perfect it.

have a great weekend.

RIP Gary cat

Gary (our outdoor cat) hasn't been home in 4 days.

this is unlike him. he usually comes home every evening & lounges on the back porch.
i'll spot him, he meows, i pet him & he wanders inside to eat & clean himself on our bed.

he also usually deposits many a dead creature on the back steps- so that we may admire them & then toss them into the woods when he isn't looking.

well no dead creatures. no Gary cat.

i've been telling myself that he's simply lost track of time & is livin' it up with the barn cats next door. but now as i sit here, i'm getting a bit teary eyed.

we knew the dangers of allowing him to be an outdoor cat- but his total hatred of being inside & utter LOVE of being outside (meaning, the door would be shut & locked & yet i'd still find him on the other side of it. this forced me to worry that he had either mastered the art of opening a door- with kitty paws no less- or that he was a vampire cate who posesses the ability to walk through walls. i must admit, the former scared me- the latter made me giddy that vampires might actually be real.) forced us to purchase Advantix & set him free.
for several months he has happily frollicked outdoors- stalking small animals & making friends with neighboring cats.

the husband warned me that there are dangerous predators lurking in the woods & that one day Gary might simply not come home. but i scoffed at the idea- Gary is tough. Gary is fast. Gary is awesome.

well- 4 days of searching the woods, calling his name, tsk tsk tsking & snack shaking hasn't produced our tough guy.

the practical side of me is telling me he's gone. the practical side of me is also amazingly ok with it. this is nature. the circle of life. the way things are.

but the Gary cat lover side of me is so very sad & in denial.
i ADORE that cat. and he is the one animal in the house that prefers me over the husband.
the rest, allthough technically mine, all clearly favor the husband.

yes he ripped up every toilet paper roll we put up.
yes he peed all over the basement floor.
yes he scratched the crap out of our walls.
yes he stole food off the counter.
yes he would regurgitate his food all over the house.
yes he once escaped outdoors in the middle of a storm & forced the husband to save him from the muddy flooding swamp after an hour of searching.

but we still love him. mostly.

his sister (Maceo- our fatty cat) clearly misses him. she's been meowing at the slider- running outside & then back in. tripping us up. hanging around us (which she rarely does). looking out the windows. meowing some more.
the first 2 days she was somewhat frantic- but i've noticed now that she's settling down & hanging out in all the places gary never allowed her to. almost like she's taking over. like she knows- you know?

as i sit here typing this i'm 97% sure he's not coming home.
we live rather rurally- so the chances of him getting lost & winding up in someone's yard is slim to none.

but the chances of him getting snagged by a coyote or fisher cat? very high.

oh. i'm so bummed. poor Gary.






Circa 07'



oh hai



damn.

7 months old

as of yesterday.




as you can see- now that she's a mature 7 months, she no longer has to listen to me.

"brynn- look at mommmy!" means nothing to her.



"oh hai!"

7 months old. stop it already!