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“Light & Bright Shower for Oliver”

Thank You Thursday - Baby Love

Welcome Baby Oliver

We are so excited that Baby Oliver's arrival is soon upon us!  Last weekend
 we had a fun celebration for our cute mom-to-be, Kayley.  

Kayley's friend, Lisa, has this amazing house that is centrally located 
and offered it for us to have Kayley's Baby Shower.  

It was so fun planning and preparing for the shower and we couldn't be happier with how everything went.  
Marci is the "esteemed cook" in our family.  Her menu blog is my favorite reference when I need a recipe.  
She came up with ideas for food and prepared and  coordinated with some of 
Kayley's friends that wanted to help out. 

Kayley's sweet mother-in-law Lorna offered to take care of the dessert.  

 We decided cupcakes would be fun.  

Lorna shopped around 

and decided on the most amazing cupcakes.  She got them

HERE.

They were delicious~

She brought three flavors and I really couldn't pick a favorite.  

Vanilla, Lemon and Peanut Butter Chocolate. 

Kayley designed amazing invitations, some banner letters, cupcake toppers 
and tags and labels for the food and favors.  

Cupcake Table

My mom addressed and mailed the invitations for us.  
She loves hand addressed letters. 

 I adored my assignment.  I got to take care of decorations and favors.

I had so much fun sewing circle banners.  It became addictive and before I knew it 

I had a mile of them.  As it turned out it was the perfect amount when 
 we went to set them up in Lisa's beautiful house the day before the shower.

They looked so pretty in the four front windows .

Kayley painted the "B is for Baby" sign when she was in High School.

I love using it for Baby Boy Showers.

Kayley e-mailed a file to show me the cupcake toppers she was designing.  I thought 

they were adorable and printed one not realizing it hadn't yet been re-sized. 

It was a 5 1/2 inch circle! It was so funny but I loved it 
and couldn’t bare to just toss it 

so I decided to incorporate it into a banner for the beverage bar. 

 I love this old window. It is so fun for holidays and parties. I found it 

on Etsy last year and it was perfect to feature the important announcement.  

There have been so many cute showers and parties where 

mason jars were used for drinking glasses and 

they were a nice size  for the "must have" striped straws.

The “Welcome Baby Oliver” banner Kayley designed was adorable.  
 After I printed it and cut it out I decided to add some pennants 
behind her letters to better show them off.

A couple of years ago I made advice and prediction cards for a friend’s baby shower.
I thought it would be fun for Kayley and Scott.

The food was divine.

For the favors I decided to make Rice Krispie Treat pops.

Something  simple and gluten free for Marci and Hope.  

I think they’re ready now ♥

A big thanks to Marci and Kayley's friend, Kalina for all of the wonderful pictures!

Valentine

♥Happy ♥ Heart ♥  Day♥

via the macs

…… a few of my Favorite ♥ Quotes:

♥Where there is love there is life. ~ Mohandas Gandhi

♥You are what happened when I wished upon a star.          

♥If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.  ~ A. A. Milne

                                

♥To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever. ~ Henry Drummond

                          

♥Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold. ~Zelda Fitzgerald

                 

♥Once in awhile in the middle of a normal life, Love gives us a fairytale.

♥Always remember there was nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name. ~ The Avett Brothers

                                   

♥Love is the magician that pulls man out of his own hat. ~ Ben Hecht

                                   

♥Life is better with your best friend.  That’s why I married mine.

♥Love is what you've been through with somebody. ~ James Thurber

              

♥ In Family Relationships LOVE is really spelled TIME. ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

                                  

♥I thought I knew happy but you taught me Happiness.

♥Where there is great love, there are always wishes. ~Willa Cather

                               

♥Loved you yesterday, love you still, always have, always will♥

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

A Repeat Offender

{a perfect Valentine Cake too!}

Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake

so Delicious & Easy 

Last Year's Yummy Cake

Kayley wanted a "Chocolately" cake last year for her birthday. Heather is my GO TO GIRL when I need a fabulous recipe. Once again,she came through again with shining colors! 

Tripe Chocolate Fudge Cake

Ingredients:

1 chocolate cake mix (with pudding in the mix!)

1 large box chocolate pudding

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/2 c warm water

4 eggs

1 c sour cream

1 12oz package chocolate chips

Directions:

Grease and flour a 12 cup bunt pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine cake mix and pudding mix. Blend in oil, water, eggs, sour cream. 

Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into pan.

Bake 45 min-1 hour.

Cool 10 min, then slide knife around edges of pan and invert.

Cool completely and glaze.

Glaze:

Melt 1/3 c margarine and stir in 2 cups powdered sugar. Blend in 1/2 t. vanilla.

*my mom's friend sometimes just heats up a tub of frosting from the store and pours over the top instead.

Kayley didn't hesitate when asked what kind of cake or dessert she would like for her birthday.

Since it was the second year in a row I decided to add a festive banner with her birthday number on it. She's turned the big Two Five this year (which makes me age four when I had her, my story is getting harder and harder to believe)!

I found the cute printable number banner 

HERE

Hope all those wishes come true LeeLee!

 {all photos by Marci}

Valentine Twinkies

Valentine Twinkies

Here is a last minute idea for Valentine's Day dessert! 

Quick and easy strawberry shortcake ala heart shaped twinkies.

via Crazy Domestic

Simply cut your twinkies diagonally, and place them together in a heart shape! They topped theirs with strawberry jam (diluted with water-about 3 parts jam, 1 part water) and then garnished it with fresh strawberries!

You could even drizzle hot fudge or chocolate sauce over the top! 

Thank You Thursday

via doodle graphics