Lily’s Luau!

Over the weekend, we celebrated Lily’s 6th Birthday with a Luau! After months of planning, spending, and crafting, the party was definitely one that she will remember. She invited her best friends, Abby and Ally; and with her sister Evie at her side, they danced, swam, made a craft, and had a fantastically fun Home-Made Party! Thanks to all of my Etsy friends for their hard work and to Leah for her Photography!

Oh, and one last thing, I am in the process of starting my own Children’s Party Planning business. I am using my family and friends over the next several months to practice on, so I can start building my Portfolio. I hope you like what I’ve done, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to plan many more! Enjoy…

I whipped us these napkin rings from flowers that I had left over when making the girls each their very own barrettes to take home.
I filled bud vases full of six-lets, which I haven’t eaten since I was a kid, so it took me back to the days when candy wasn’t so expensive! 😉
The dining table was set for our Luau dinner, featuring Hawaiian chicken and pineapple on the grill.
Each girl got to go home with their very own grass skirt. The flowers, clipped to the top, were their hair barrettes that I made.
…and these pineapple cups were gifts that I threw in as well. Every kid likes to drink from fun pineapples, right?
These were bamboo fans for each guest to take home as well. The Thank You tags, Cupcake Toppers and Wrappers, and Water Bottle Labels were made from Etsy seller, Heather at Chickabug. Check out her shop for many more paper party items, customizable to your child’s party!

The delicious gourmet cupcakes were made by Rhianna at Happiness In A Bite. I have used her for three different parties so far, and they are always a hit!



The beautifully decorated Gourmet cookies were made from Lori at Lori’s Place. You gotta check out her work as well…AMAZING!
They came individually packaged and ready to eat. Aren’t they adorable?

I filled a bucket full of water bottles and Jones drinks, with labels tailored to Lily’s Luau. The labels had fun Birthday Facts on the back of them. You can find them here: www.etsy.com/shop/chickabug.

The kids loved the chocolate fountain! Who am I kidding, I love it too. 😉
We set up a photo booth for pictures and Owen loved running back and forth through the grass skirt wall!
Joni and I trying it out…
Shaking those hips…
Smooches….
The Birthday Girl herself…Lily Aniston!
Her Headband and Tutu were made by Etsy Seller Tiara’s Tutus. She has beautiful costumes for all times of the year and with Halloween coming around the corner, you should stop by!


Alexandra…..
Abigail…

Poms always add eye candy to a party. I got these from PomLove on Etsy.
The banner is made by Taffie Wishes on Etsy. She has so many cute things, so be sure to stop by if you like what you see!

Brad, was the Grill Master of the night. I had to sneak in a hug between running around like a Mad Woman!


Best friends for life…






And Brad had to sneak in a pose too. 🙂

Ta-Da!
Have a great Week! God Bless.

Aubree

He Cooked Dinner Tonight!

My wonderful Husband decided to take over tonight and cook dinner! That’s all it takes to make me happy. 🙂 It was a nice break! He found this delicious “Lowcountry Boil” in Men’s Journal and decided to try it out. Throw in some corn bread muffins and a nice cold beverage and wa-la…a great end of the Summer meal!

Bowens Island Frogmore Stew

The Ingredients:
6-8 cups of cold water
3 tbl spoons of Old Bay Seasoning (I found this at Target)
Dash of Hot Sauce
1.5 lbs of new red potatoes
2 lbs Hilshire Farm Polska Kielbasa, cut into 1-2 inch lengths
6 ears of corn cut in half
2lb large peeled and de-veined shrimp with tail on

The Process:
Place Water, Old Bay Seasoning, and Hot sauce in large pot and boil. Add Potatoes and cook for 10-15 minutes until soft. Reduce heat to med-high and add kielbasa and corn and cook for another 5 minutes. Then increase heat to High; once it is back up to a boil, add the shrimp and them remove from heat. Stir gently to mix, and keep watching until the shrimp turn pink. Drain the water, add salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Aubree

Blogger Award!

My lovely friend Bethany, passed along to me this beautifully, thoughtful blogger award this week. Upon accepting the blogger award, one must tell 7 random things about themselves, and then pass it along to 2 other people. So in honor of the blog award here are 7 things about me… Oh and if you so choose, Angela and Geni it is your turn!

1. I get God’s advice first before I make any decisions, at least most of them. It’s the only way to live.

2. The one thing I wish I could change about myself is that sometimes I’m quiet (not shy, just not a conversationalist) and it makes for uncomfortable situations.

3. I have really taken a love for cooking over the past year. I love to cook for people and make Gourmet meals!

4. I sing really loud in my car, and then act normal whenever a car passes me.

5. I am a hypochondriac, un-diagnosed. I once went to the emergency room with numbness and weakness to my head because I thought I had an aneurism. It’s a very costly disease!

6. Being outdoors, with my kids, makes me the most happy. Whether it’s picnicking, riding bikes, hiking, or swimming, I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being outdoors.

7. I am planning to start my own Children’s Couture Party Planning business next year, and I’ve already started my portfolio. More on this later…

Much Love! Thanks Bethany for passing this fun award onto me!

Aubree

Back To School!

Well, today was the first day back to school for Evie, and the first day ever to school for Lily! I was nervous for Lily to go off to Full day Kindergarten, especially since she didn’t go to preschool last year to prepare for it. But, she had her big sister there to help her. Lily was ecstatic to finally get to ride the bus, and they were both super excited to go to school. Here is a picture of them on the rock in front of our house this morning…
Lily wouldn’t give me a good shot because the sun was in her eyes.
My big second grader!
Grandma Debbie came over to join in the festivities this morning…
My babies…
Family picture!
This is the neighborhood crew…
The school bus driver is so much fun! He honked his horn all the way down the street and when he stopped and opened his doors, he said “Come aboard!!” It was great.
When they got home, they argued a bunch, cried, and ate a bunch because they were exhausted and hungry! Lets hope this changes after the first few days. 🙂

Talented!

Recently, while gazing through all of the beautiful home-made things on Etsy, I came across a couple of wonderfully, talented hat designers! They were too good not to share. I adore hats and want to buy these for this Fall/Winter. I would love to learn how to make these; after our Fall jackets and boys’ Hat and Tie sets were such a hit, it makes me want to focus on those rare items. We’ll see how it goes. 🙂 But for now, here are a few pictures:

The Designer is Snugars and you can find her complete collection here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/snugars?ref=seller_info



I love these hats for myself! This designer is Katarina Couture, and you can find her complete collection here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/katarinacouture

Mallow Run Winery

This past weekend, we had the pleasure meeting some new friends and experiencing a great outdoor concert and picnic at the Mallow Run Winery. Their was a wine tasting, food vendors, live music, and great scenery abound! The kids had a blast running around the hills of the vineyard, and Brad and I had a great time hanging out with some South Side friends, new and old, and tasting Mallow Run’s delicious wines!

They have a Farmer’s Market every Sunday through October, that I will definitely be trying out, if anyone wants to join me; they have a Luau coming up at the end of August that features great Hawaiian music paired with Island foods and wine; and it is a great place for a date night! Bring a picnic any evening and come taste the grapes of this beautiful land! Haha, I should do their marketing! 🙂
Here is Lily playing down by the creek.
Miss Evie…
Brad and I…
The girls were running up the hill so they could roll back down it.
Making memories…rolling down the hill.
This darling girl has totally won my heart! She is almost 13, and is the perfect example of Christ! She has the greatest personality and the girls look up to her so much. We love her and her whole fam! Lily, talking on a cell…she thinks she is a teenager.
Boys will be boys…


At the end of the night, Brad slow danced with Lily on the last song. This is their big finale!
Such a great Dad…
And a great Husband!
So, if you live on the South side of Indy or are looking for a fun weekend day trip, go check out Mallow Run!

My first interview!

Heather, from Chickabug, makes beautifully fun party labels to decorate Children’s Birthday Parties with! I recently ordered some from her for Lily’s Luau Birthday party that I’m throwing at the end of the month. Her work is excellent and excitement to any party! I will definitely be using her as a continued vendor in the future.

Anyway, she interviewed Leah and I for our Crew & Cate shop, so step on over to her blog and check it out!!! We have grown a lot just over the last month it seems, and it is sweet women like her, and their blogs that make it happen! Thanks Heather!!!

http://www.chickabug.com/blog/2010/08/interview-aubree-and-leah-of-crew-cate.html

Happiness…

I was recently interviewed for my clothing business, and one of the questions was, “What do you do with the rest of your time when you are not sewing?” I’m glad that this question was asked because it really got me thinking about my time and what I do with it. At first, I started thinking about how busy I am as a Mom and how when I’m not working, I’m always at the beck and call of my children and usually pretty worn out! Then tonight after dinner, I turned around from my usual cleaning of the kitchen, and this is what I saw…. these beautiful children bring me so much joy and they really don’t wear me out, they rejuvenate my soul with their sweetness!

Evie and Lily were playing dress-up in some of my old dresses that I no longer wear, and my high heels. They asked if they could go out front and play in the yard like that, and I said uhhh…no.

Here is Owen, trying to be a big help to Daddy while fixing Mommy’s garbage disposal. Such a little Man! I love how he has is hand on Brad’s back. 🙂 By the way, you can’t stick boneless meat and other large foods in the garbo, it’s a myth! I’ve stopped mine up three different times in two different houses. So those who think you can stick just about anything down them, you are wrong!

Oh, and if you want to know what my answer was to that interview question, I will be posting a link to my interview a little later! 🙂

Aubree