Bunco Girls Night

A few months ago my friends started an all-girl Bunco group. It has been an absolute blast! There are 12 girls in the group and we meet once a month, each time at a different person's house. Bunco is such a fun and simple game to learn. Best of all, there's absolutely no skill involved. You switch tables and partners every 5 minutes or so, which is perfect for mixing up a large group.

Last week was my turn to host, and I was excited to do a little entertaining. I love how you can transform a typical Thursday night into a special occasion with just a few personalized touches. The Bunco Girls straws were my favorite; they were perfect for our orange julius drinks!

Jack's Party in the Park

I can't believe my little nephew Jack turned 3 this May! My sister Sarah threw the most adorable Party in the Park, and I just have to share some pictures. She's so amazing! At what point am I too old to say I want to be just like her when I grow up?


"Lunch in a Box" - pasta salad, fruit salad, pretzels and juice boxes


Jumbo chocolate covered marshmallows


Jack's proud aunts


The adorable birthday boy and his adorable mom:


Aunt Kiki and Uncle Brenty


I'm sure there will be more details on Sarah's Jack and Izzy blog in upcoming weeks. Check it out!

Baby Blessings Shower

Last Saturday I hosted a baby blessings shower for my sister's second-born...just in time! Sarah called me at 1:00 am on Monday so I could watch Jack while they went to the hospital. She got to the hospital at 2:15 am, and Noah was born at 3:30 am. So quick there was no time for an epidural. I'm so proud of my big sis!

Here some shots from the shower. I sent out "Notes for Noah" cards with the invite so everyone could write a message to Noah. We put them all in a little album, next to the favors.


The food!


My favorite were the chocolate covered marshmallows and pretzels.


Cupcake and food tags:


My three wonderful sisters and first born nephew. I just love my family!


Pictures of my newest nephew coming up next!

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! I had such a busy week finishing albums for holiday deadlines and getting ready for Turkey Day at our place. I was really looking forward to having everyone over to our house this year. It was a great day. I always love spending time with my amazing family, and a lot of delicious food doesn't hurt!

Our dining room - all ready for the feast!


Name tags around the glasses:


Centerpieces - SO thankful for my wonderful husband who stayed up till 1:00 am helping me get ready!


Getting the turkey ready to go (not my favorite part of the day):


Almost time to eat - Brent did a great job carving this thing!


As we head into the holiday season, I'm definitely reflecting on all the blessings we've had in 2009 - a new house, Brent being promoted, two healthy pregnant sisters and one beautiful new nephew, getting Walter (and finding him after a truck hit), another amazing year for KruBooks... So much to be thankful for!

Cupcake Baby Shower

This weekend I co-hosted a baby shower for one of my closest friends. We decided to have it at Sugar Cupcakery, which really is the perfect shower venue. The party room was sophisticated and classy, and the cupcakes were, of course, amazing! You can read more about Sugar on my sister's blog.

The invitation I designed for the shower set the scene for Sugar's modern and fun decor.


The party room:


The adorable mini-cupcakes!


There was a great outside patio area right off the party room. We got lucky with the most beautiful November weather. We decided to put the food outside, along with the food tags I designed to match our invitation.


The co-hosts with the guest of honor:


Congratulations on your baby boy, Elizabeth! We can't wait to meet him!

Gender Party Fever

Remember the gender party I wrote about last week? Well, my sister's party has been showing up all over the web this week! First it was on Ohdeedoh (Apartment Therapy's Kids @ Home Blog). And today it is featured on the popular entertaining blog, Hostess with the Mostess! I'm so proud of my big sis!

Sarah's blog
Sarah's Etsy stationary store, Jack and Izzy

It's a GIRL...and a BOY!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend! Don't you wish all weeks had one less weekday? We had an especially fun treat this weekend - we found out the gender for two of our on-the-way niece/nephews! Right now, Brent and I have three pregnant sisters. We will have SEVEN nieces/nephews by February! We've known for a while that Brent's sister Joelle is having a boy, Kru William, in November. When we found out that Lorren and Sarah's ultrasounds were a day apart, I was ecstatic! On Thursday, we got the call that Brent's other sister Lorren has her second GIRL on the way. I'm so glad little Savi is getting a sister!

My sister Sarah had her ultrasound Friday, and planned a little party to announce whether baby Addy or baby Noah is on the way. Everyone had to wear pink or blue for what they thought the baby would be. It was such a fun party!


Here's my nephew Jack and I (both predicting a baby girl):


Jack's been saying for MONTHS that he thinks baby "Addy" is in mommy's tummy. Here's a clip from the party...

Time for the big reveal! Sarah and Garret put a pink or blue gumball in the center of each cupcake.


And...it's a BOY!!!


You can see more pictures of the party details on Sarah's blog. She is incredible!

Brent and I are so excited for our new niece and nephews! We can't wait for them all to get here. I just love being an aunt :)

New House Party

Sorry I didn't post my layout of the week last Friday. I was busy getting ready for our New House Party that night! Brent and I were so excited to host our first get-together as home-owners. The party was a lot of fun. We can't wait to have everyone over again soon!

Here are some pictures to make up for my absence last week. First, this is our new house!


Here is the spread for the party, including oreo truffle favors with our new address.


Banana cupcakes...delicious!


Once it got dark we used the fire pit on our back porch. What a wonderful way to end the night!


I still need to take some pictures of the inside of our house, but I've been waiting to do some painting first. I promise they are coming!