gender reveal!

Last Wednesday we had our long-awaited ultrasound to see our sweet baby for the first time. We've heard baby's heartbeat at almost every appointment, which is such a breathtaking sound, but this was our first experience seeing the silhouette of that little face. Let me tell you, it's weird. Watching a movie of your innards. I can't get over how bizarre pregnancy is. I always struggle to find the right words to explain the strange exhilaration that overtakes you at each step. 

We decided to have a gender reveal party on Friday, so we had to wait two whole days to find out if we were having a Phoebe or a Phoebo. We gave the secret-holding envelope to my bestie Becky, and she reveled in the power she suddenly held over us. She would be the new head of the Department of Mysteries, which mainly consisted of silly-string buying, decor-making and snack-preparing. She's the best.

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I thought it would be fun and easy to plan a gender reveal party. I was very wrong about myself. Apparently preparing to find out the gender of your child is a little bit more stressful than I thought. The anticipation was almost crippling, especially as Friday approached and slipped by hour by hour. I would be sitting at my desk and suddenly be seized by a pounding heart, shaking hands, and the overwhelming desire to scream.

I cannot emphasize enough how incredibly wonderful it is to know now. The night was perfect, despite my mini breakdowns and panic attacks. Becky even helped me set up a Periscope broadcast so that our long-distance friends and family could watch on a live feed! I had never even heard of Periscope, but it was such a brilliant solution. We were able to watch it together afterwards, which showed the live comments and hearts of everyone watching along! It was really special. It was especially wonderful to have that live recording on my phone afterwards, because the camera we set up to record the reveal ended up dying after only 4 seconds of video! 

I made little paper pins (bows and ties!) for people to wear to represent Team Boy or Team Girl. We also asked everyone to sign their names on the Team Board. Dusty and I were both Team Boy from the start! I also made a fun little list of Old Wives' Tales to indicate what each superstitious prediction would be for my pregnancy.

Dusty's grandma, Momo, had her own special prediction. When we first told her we were pregnant, her response was, "Oh I already knew that. God revealed that to me weeks ago."
There was a lot of laughter, surprised expressions, and "wait what??" from the rest of the family.
She then proceeded to say, "I also know the gender, but He hasn't told me to tell you that yet."
We begged her to tell us, but she wouldn't budge. Two weeks ago, she gave us a gift bag (stapled shut) with a gender-specific gift in it. The gender reveal suddenly became all about that bag. 

THIS. Hi, William Boyer. I knew it was you all along. 💙 #schantababy #TEAMBOY

A video posted by caitschan (@caitschan) on Aug 7, 2015 at 8:30pm PDT

As it turns out, we were right. Momo was right. Her gift was a pair of boy's socks and a card that said, God announced! Gender revealed! A baby boy born at Christmas. I can't believe all God must have in store for your baby boy! With resounding joy! - Momo. "

Team Momo. Team God. Team BOY!

We're naming him William Boyer. His namesakes are my dad, William, and Dusty's grandpa, Bernard Boyer. William is also the middle name of Dusty's dad, and there are a few other Williams on his side of the family. I have always loved the name William, and it is such a supreme privilege to be able to name our son after my wonderful father. Seeing his face when he read the baby's name aloud was one of the happiest moments of my life! There were many tears involved, and the kind of deeply felt happiness that is the result of a lifetime of love. I am so proud of the family our son belongs to, and the legacy he will carry on. It's a legacy of strength, faith, good humor and goodness. I have always been surrounded by boys, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Will Boy, we cannot wait to meet you!

Photos by Amy O'Neil Photography!

die hard popcorn bar

This past weekend we celebrated my husband's 26th birthday with two of his favorite things: movies and sweets! We transformed the back porch into an outdoor movie theater, complete with a fully stocked concession stand.

The weather is perfect right now, mid 80s during the day and low 70s in the evening. Arizona has a short but very delightful spring. We wanted a genuine summer blockbuster feel, with every movie candy you could possibly think of as well as an extreme popcorn bar. We had plain, kettle and homemade caramel popcorns to choose from, as well as a plethora of seasonings and toppings for a truly versatile popcorn experience. We also had a friend bring a ton of old school boxes of candy, including Raisinets, Sugar Babies, Junior Mints, Red Hots, etc. We finished off the buffet with a giant container of cheese puffs (because obviously) and a few bags of chips. We were pretty lucky that Easter was the next morning because we had a LOT of candy left over. We're not too mad about it, though. I currently have a whole sheath of Almond Snickers in my purse and I may have had peanut M&Ms for breakfast.

After everyone arrived and swarmed our concession stand, we lit the fire pit, gathered in our chairs and underneath our throw blankets, and got ready for a lively viewing of Die Hard. 

On Instagram

Popcorn seasonings: Popcorn salt, Butter, Garlic Parmesan,
Nacho Cheddar, White Cheddar, Spicy Jalapeno

I absolutely love birthdays. I think the worst part about getting older is having people care less and less about your birthday, and having to resign to only celebrating every other decade or so for the big milestone events. There's this point in your twenties where it feels like you have to pass the torch to the younger generations because their birthdays are more important and should be more memorable. I mean, that's true...and I understand the necessity of it...but it's still painful to let go. I'm no Elsa. I'm a birthday month kind of gal and I try to take advantage of celebrating as long as humanly possible. I'm glad that my husband feels the same way, so that we can hopefully continue to throw these silly and fantastic themed birthday parties every year. Especially when it involves vintage Bruce Willis and strings of twinkle lights.

the old fashioned lawn party

A few weekends ago my husband and I had the pleasure of driving to California for the 30th birthday of my college bestie's husband! Lauren had spent months planning the most extravagant party for her beau, fancy as can be. We all donned our best attire and prepared for the swingingest lawn party ever concocted.

We arrived a day early and were able to help set up, which was a blast. Seeing all of the thoughtful details and putting together the final touches are always my favorite parts of any party. Also, the food. That's mucho importante.

Lauren had a fantastic menu planned, which included the most incredible bacon wrapped goat cheese filled dates (okay fine, I'm biased, they're the only things I made). She also had authentic Mexican bottled Coke, shrimp cocktail, bite-sized caprese skewers, and lots of other munchies. Each table was decorated with old fashioned mini wooden table games, fresh leaves and citrus, and place settings topped with custom themed cookies. It was fantastic.

The adorable invitation was created by their friend Holly (see her Etsy page), and Lauren's little sister is the artist behind the handsome gent playing croquet. If you noticed in the photos above, they had that same jaunty caricature frosted onto the cookies on the tables as well. If you plan on having a lawn party any time soon, I'd highly recommend ordering this invite! It's perfect. 

As is appropriate for any lawn party, there were cigars for the men and a backyard oasis of lawn games. We all pitched in $5 to play the games, and whoever won the most by the end of the night won the pot! (SPOILER: my most spectacular husband nabbed that prize!). There was also a prize for best dressed, and snazzy music playing all evening to set the mood. 

The entire event was held at their aunt's house, who is one of the sweetest and most giving ladies I've ever met. She has a stunning backyard that's perfect for outdoor fiestas (Lauren also had her rehearsal dinner there!). She is a most gracious hostess. She even gave me a picture frame and some super cute rugs when we left (I think she sensed how poor we were when we were crying "we can afford to drive home! we can afford to drive home!!" when Dusty won the cash prize).

Aaron, the birthday boy, made giant dice for Yahtzee and a giant Jenga set for pretty epic game play. There was also checkers, croquet, and corn hole. It was so much fun having a large scale theme party as adults. Everyone dived in and came dressed up and got babysitters for the evening. The money pot definitely inspired people to play the games, and we all just got to let loose and have fun.

For the more casual players, blankets and quilts were set out on the lawn. It was a blessedly gorgeous day. Living in the desert, we get pretty used to having only two seasons. Summer and Winter. "Winter" is a loose term designated to weather in the 60s and 70s, and Summer basically lasts from March until Winter comes again in December. We were overjoyed when the weather was warm but cool in the shade, picture perfect for outdoor lounging and gallivanting.

The best part of it for us was being able to spend so much bonus time with Lauren, Aaron and their little boy Wesley (plus their little baby bump, who's due in September!). They met and got married after college, after we had moved off to Virginia, so this year has been our first opportunity to drive out to see them regularly and build that double-dating relationship. I loved helping out and celebrating Aaron, who has made my lovely bestie so very happy.

After hours of gaming and laughing and playfully competing, Lauren gave the signal to roll out the desserts and Aaron's dad made a lovely toast. There were macaron ice cream sandwiches (I'm not even joking), champagne, and of course cookies and cake.

Happy year 30, Aaron, and thanks for letting us come out and crash the party!

luck of the irish

2011: Dublin, Ireland | 2012: Lynchburg, Virginia | 2013: Paris, France | 2014: Rome, Italy

Happy, happy St. Patrick's Day.

This day is stirring up some mighty lucky and lovely memories of my marriage. Travels and parties and smiles fill my mind like shamrock confetti. This day has been very good to us. I have always adored St. Patrick's Day, because growing up as an O'Neil it was a rather fun and celebratory part of my heritage. My dad would always capitalize on our surname, and we'd all eat corned beef and cabbage and wear way too much green. It was the best.

Dusty came into my life in high school, and he was brought into the Irish fold. He would come over and enjoy our over-the-top celebrations. One year we had Irish soda bread, Irish cream coffee, Scottish eggs, Guinness stew... we made the Dublin population jealous with our enthusiasm.

2009: home sweet Arizona.

I find myself feeling incredibly nostalgic today. Every St. Patrick's Day so far in our 4 years of marriage has been a magical mystery tour of new places and experiences. 2015 has been a year of change and heartache and adjustment, reacquainting ourselves with adulthood and life in Arizona. So it's fitting that we're here, calmly celebrating with family. It's a great time to wear green and look forward, to cherish each other and share confetti-filled dreams.

P.S. Some Irish music/bands to listen to today: 

New: Bear's Den | Kodaline | Needtobreathe

Favorites: P.S. I Love You soundtrack | The Corrs | Enya | Flogging Molly

Or you can go full Celtic and listen to songs like I'll Tell My Ma, Black Is The Colour, Drunken Sailor, Scarborough Fair, Molly Malone (Cockles and Muscles).

bar of s'mores {frocktober, day 3}

This outfit is a replica of one I wore during my first Frocktober in 2012, but I was in Virginia so I also added boots, a cozy vest and a big purple coat. Now that we're in desertland my Frocktober is looking quite different!

Yesterday at work I was surprised with this fun teal happy birthday necklace, a big happy birthday banner, confetti, and of course a giant box of cupcakes. I can't contain my glee that I work in an office that loves to celebrate with food. 

Then came my birthday party, which was also all about the food and I'm still savoring the memory of it this morning. Happy sigh. 

Everybody knows that s'mores are the sweet heavenly angels of childhood desserts.
Sure, they're a pain to make because they're sticky and messy and time-consuming, but that's part of the righteous victory of making them.
They're best eaten while camping, permeated with smoke and freedom.
Last night we recreated the brilliant exhilaration of the wilderness for my birthday, but we upped the ante a bit. We added a gypsyland of twinkle lights.

We had a s'mores bar, guys. It was such a genius idea, and I'm gonna go ahead and say I came up with it, and that Pinterest had no part in it whatsoever. I'm a terrible liar, but that's the nice thing about blogging - you can't even see my lying face.

To be honest this was nothing like camping because there was an actual bathroom available, the fire was huge (which would maybe mean death in the woods), and we had a fancy s'mores bar table with recipe cards and everythang. Baron Von Bacon, anyone?

NUTTY BANANA: 

Graham Cracker + Reese's Cup + Sliced Bananas + Marshmallow

CHOCOBERRY: 

Graham Cracker + Dark Chocolate + Sliced Strawberries + Marshmallow

BLACK & WHITE: 

Graham Cracker + White Chocolate + Mashed Blackberries + Marshmallow

SAMOA, PLEASE!: 

Graham Cracker + Mounds Bar + Caramel Drizzle + Marshmallow

THE GRASSHOPPER: 

Graham Cracker + Mint Chocolate + Marshmallow

BARON VON BACON: 

Graham Cracker + Caramel-filled Chocolate + Bacon + Marshmallow

There was a perfect little group of us, friends and family alike. The backyard was home base. There were chairs spread out in the desert around a mini marshmallow roasting fire. Because trying to marshmallow roast on a bonfire is the ultimate doom. You will never succeed. If you're lucky, your armhairs will be the only burn victims.
There was also gypsyland, which was an ideal lounge area because it's close to the kitchen and feels like a close cousin to neverland.

I think my favorite s'more combinations were the Black & White and the Baron Von Bacon. They were the most unusual and the most surprisingly delicious of the bunch! You definitely can't go wrong with a traditional s'more, or the Nutty Banana. Those sliced bananas add a delightful creaminess to the whole experience.

It was such a beautiful night. I loved every second. Gathering together for creative s'more-making is my idea of a very merry un-birthday in heaven. (Because we won't age there. Huzzah!).