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!

happy halloween + gnomeo and juliet

Juliet: 

Oh, Gnomeo, Gnomeo, are we really doomed, Gnomeo, to never see each other again?

Why must you wear a blue hat? Why couldn't it be red like my father, or green like...

...like a leprechaun... or purple like, ummmm, like uhh...like some weird guy.

I mean, what's in a gnome? Because you are blue, my father sees red.

And because I am red, I am feeling blue. 

Oh, at any rate that shouldn't be the thing to keep us apart, should it?

Gnomeo:

 No, no! It shouldn't! I couldn't have said it better myself!

Juliet:

 Oh, my giddy aunt! Did you just hear all that!?

We're not necessarily the type of couple to dress up in celebration of Halloween, but we're definitely the fun-loving type of couple that will dress up for pretty much anything (like midnight movie premieres).

Our church hosts a harvest festival each year, and we were asked to participate in the Trunk or Treat portion! Last year we were Carl and Ellie from UP, and I'm not sure we can top that one -- it's such a popular movie and as easy as the costume was, everyone seemed to love it!

I personally love this movie though and had a blast dressing up as Gnomeo and Juliet. I think it's definitely underrated, as far as cartoon movies go. The soundtrack is packed full of Elton John songs, and the Elton John/Lady Gaga collaboration for "Hello Hello" is pretty fantastic.
The costumes (other than the hats, which I made at the last second, and the white apron) were compiled from items straight out of our closets. So the cost was only a couple dollars, for the apron and felt-by-the-yard from JoAnn's!
We decorated our trunk as a garden, using a bunch of flowers and odds and ends from the dollar store!

For my outfit, I used a new dress from Ruche (the one I talked about in my Mary Margaret post!), a sheer white blouse, an embellished tank top, a plain white apron, red tights and black boots!

Ever After: Danielle de Barbarac

After reflecting on my love for Ever After in last week's post, I concocted an impromptu photoshoot with the help of my tripod and (for the last two outfits) my handy husband.
I had watched the movie on Saturday, and began to think about what a modern Danielle would look like.
Her hair is simple and classy, and I'm not sure two side braids would ever be "out of style", although it's definitely reminiscent of an old school 'do of the hippy persuasion.
I could see Danielle in bell bottoms - but maybe that's more because she's played by Drew Barrymore.

Top: Forever 21, Blazer/Necklace: Lux Clothing, Skirt: Ruche (similar), Booties: Urbanog

I wanted to experiment for this shoot, and took advantage of Pixlr-o-matic to edit all of these photos.
It was fun to experiment, but also gave every photo a more fantastic feel to it, allowing me to imagine myself away into another place, into another time.

Top/Dress (similar, similar): Ruche

Danielle: You have everything, and still the world holds no joy. And yet you insist on making fun of those who would see it for its possibilities. 

Henry: How do you do it?

Danielle: What?

Henry: Live, each day, with this kind of passion! Don't you find it exhausting?

Danielle: Only when I'm around you. 

Top: Ruche (remixed), Skirt: LOFT (remix 1, 2, 3, 4), Shoes: Zulily (remixed), Jewelry: Cookie Lee

Grand Dame: Her name was Danielle de Barbarac...and this was her glass slipper. 

Perhaps you will allow me to set the record straight?

Wilheim Grimm: Then...it's true! The story!

Grand Dame: Yes, quite. Now then...what was that phrase you use? Ah, yes. Once upon a time...