Girls just wanna have fun!

A Tweet my boys sent me from my SIL's account

John and the boys went camping the weekend of my sister's bridal shower (8/12-8/14.) Lucky for me, my niece Demi agreed to sleep over to keep the girls and I company because I'm the biggest chicken-shit ever. It had been almost two years since we had one of our infamous sleepovers, and it made me realize how much I've missed her.

We had a blast-- whether we were watching Never Say Never or Odd Future music videos, laying in bed watching old movies, window shopping at super rad antique/vintage oddity stores, or exploring (and getting lost with very little gas in my tank!) in the Haight-Ashbury. It was good times through and through! She was a tremendous help that weekend.

Here are a few pics from my sister's bridal shower at Crown & Crumpet. There was a mix-up with our reservations -- we were supposed to get the private couch area by the fireplace -- but all in all we had a great time. :)

The banner was supposed to go above the fireplace so we had to improvise. LOL!

Favors and menu made by yours truly.

Noie's 1st tea party (Niki was with my MIL that day.)

The Bridal Party (and me unsuccessfully trying to hide Noie in her SleepyWrap.)

My First STD...

If you thought this was going to be a post about my first sexually transmitted disease, you were wrong my friend. I've never had a STD, but I'd like to take a moment to state how much I enjoy that particular wedding acronym. You wouldn't believe how much fun I've had  using that term in the presence of non-crafty folk. I miss the amusement dearly and hope to publicly use the phrase "making STDs this weekend" in the near future.

No my friends, today I'm sharing a picture of the very first Save-The-Date I've ever made.  I crafted 250 of these bad boys for my sister Stef and her then-fiance Josh's vintage-style wedding. They know what they like so it was really easy to come up with font combinations that worked for them. I just adore how the STDs turned out even though, frankly, I'm certain I've got carpal tunnel after tying 250 teeny, tiny twine knots. ;)

This STD was the first of many, many craft projects stemming from what I will now refer to as the "Wedding-mageddeon" part of my life. Three weddings in two weeks = end-of-the-world for my poor back and fingers. But as much as I bitch and whine, I wouln't change that time in my life for the world. ;)

My First STD

Pink, Teal, and Gray Save-the-Date


While we're on the subject of "saving the date," I thought I'd also sneak in their super cute engagement photos. You guys know I'm a sugar-fiend so these candy shop shots had my sweet tooth aching for a fix. Also? The pictures were so awesome that they were featured in a wedding blog called Sparkle & Hay. You can see that post by clicking here.  Their very talented photographer did an awesome job. If you want to see the post at Aubrey Joy Photography, you can click here.

Too Adorable!



My Best Friend's Wedding

Please excuse the delay, but I just wanted to take a moment to share a few pictures of my best friend K's beautiful 9.10.11 wedding. Watching K&J interact with one another that day made me totally fall in love with their love. I kept smacking John in the arm because K&J were so gosh darn cute together. We had a blast that night.

My favorite parts of the reception?
The bride & groom's first dance and when the groom asked the DJ to dedicate Color Me Badd's "I Wanna Sex You Up" to the bride.

Low point of the night?
I bombed my MOH speech. I got so nervous that I forgot to read what I wrote down! Pretty darn sure I made an ass of myself, but I'm hoping I didn't disappoint too much. (Sorry K.)

Personal highlight of the night?
I "caught" the bouquet. And when I say caught, I mean that it fell on the floor next to me. This is the 2nd time I've caught a bouquet -- the first time was at L&D's wedding a few years ago. Alas, it feels like I'm destined to be eternally a bridesmaid, and never a bride!

Here are a few faves from the night. Enjoy. :)

Since '88

Naughty Flowergirl

Noie w/ John. (The boys were at my sister's wedding in Napa. Pictures to come!)

The escort tags



The tables were named after locations in the Bay Area and Alaska.



Fourlittlelions Designs :)



The Wedding Party



Super Delish!

K&J



After I caught to bouquet. Friggin. Love. This. Girl.



Thank you, and good night!



I was going on very little sleep the week of 9.10.11. It was challenging to be a one-woman show because I had tons of wedding crafting that needed to be done. I learned a lot so I'm grateful for this experience. I'd like to note that I couldn't have done it without John's help. Even though he grumbled about it, he did a LOT of cub-sitting and sometimes even helped me with crafty stuff if I was desperate. But don't worry, I paid him in sexual favors so we're solid. (LOL! I kid! I kid!) I was utterly sleep deprived the night before the wedding, but it was worth it so long as the people I love were happy. I'll post pictures of my little sister's vintage wedding as soon as I get them. :) In the meantime, more posts are coming your way...for real.

Oh How I Covet Thee, Dear Sleep.

My Labor Day Weekend has been crazy.

For starters, I haven't slept since Friday night. Yes, you heard me right...

Friday. Night.

Yeeeeep, I think it's safe to say that I'm on the brink of delirium.

The good news is, I've officially finished formatting, printing, cutting, hole-punching, folding, knot-tying and totally assembling 200 ceremony programs (with 4 tabs each!) for my little sister's vintage-themed wedding. I also (by some miracle) managed to finalize design, print, and cut 100 reception programs last night as well. Her candy bar banners are done too!  All I've got to work on are table numbers and 244(?) escort tags and I'll be officially done allllll the paper-crafting for my little sister's wedding.

Pictures of invites, save-the-dates, programs coming soon!

Oh but that's not all! I have also simultaneously worked on finalizing designs for my BFF's ceremony programs, escort tags, and table numbers. AND...I even managed to squeeze in some time to design my friend L's baby shower invites & sweet little BKs favor tags. And did I mention I had TWO back-to-back bridal showers and my big sister's wedding in the last three weeks alone?!

Swamped is an understatement.

But...this weekend hasn't been ALL about work though. I made sure I had some playtime, too. I took a mini-break from paper crafting yesterday, and gave my first shot at distressing some old apothecary drawers I had laying around. I used to hide the old, beat up thing in my craft closet, but be still my heart -- I've fallen in LOVE! It's amazing what a fresh coat of bold paint and sandpaper can do. Today, I also attended an antiques fair and scored a wonderful piece that I'm going to re-purpose. John thinks I should debut/sell it on my soon-to-be running Etsy store, but I might just keep it for myself. My nails look like crap (I neglected to use gloves), but I've discovered that aside from beating the shit out of eggs, NOTHING helps relieve stress like sanding the hell out of wood.

That book is TOTALLY me. ;-)

I've got a lot going on, but it feels good. Despite the exhaustion, I'm feeling much better these days. I know I've neglected my writing, but I'll be better about that once all this madness is over. In the meantime, thanks for your patience. :)

My Big Sister's Wedding...

Here are a few pics from my big sister's wedding. My sister was a total DIY bride. She created everything herself -- including the all floral arrangements right down to her bouquet! She had a total of 300 guests flying from all over the state -- even as far as Canada! Each and every person got their own Teacake lovingly packaged by myself and my niece D. My sister did a damn fine job coordinating this wedding considering that she works fulltime, has a 1.5 hour commute, and has my rough-and-tough godson to take care of when she gets home. Yep, the SuperMomminess runs in the family, ya'll! I can't wait to see how the professional pictures turn out. :)

My Cubbies & My Godson 

My Church

My Sis, BIL, Older Bro, & DJ Apollo

My Babies

Best Man & Maid of Honor

Last minute speech prep

3/5 Little Lions

Me & D

My Godson

DIY Awesomeness w/ TeaCakes :)

Set this up the night before the wedding :)

This tree has seen many parties ;-)

Designed by my sister

My MIL & Cubbies

Me & Mrs. Mariano

Me and my Grandma

Mi Familia 

Intal Men - Pops, Bros, and Grandpa

:)

My Grandparents :)