Water

Water Rules. It's one of my favorite sayings because water does in fact, rule. I'm not much for lemonade or sweetened drinks.  When I feel the heat, absolutely nothing sounds better than a glass of cold water with ice.

Water is the original beverage. I think I would even go as far as to call it classic.  I suppose some would say it's plain and simple and not something exciting - especially to use at an event.  I mean, how much can you dress up something see-through?

No need to have these brain busters haunting your every thought my friends.  Be Different...Act Normal has the answer. Dress up the ice! Get some frozen fruit and spice up the water! How much fun is this? This is the perfect way to dress up your beverage!

Knowing how much I love color, I have fallen completely in love. Beware my friends, I may just spice up your drink with some color cubes!

Planning

I, of course, love to plan. I love to organize.  I love details. This is the reason for me blogging. (duh)

Anytime I see a plan that is detailing an event, whether it's from start to finish or just one specific aspect of the planning process, it makes me very excited.  Most people don't know just how much time and effort goes into planning a party or wedding, whether it be a first birthday party, or a royal wedding.  

On Martha Stewart Weddings, I found a diagram for a wedding (from the event planner's perspective) and for some reason feel the need to share it with everybody who reads this (all 3 of you?! :) )  But it definitely sends tingles through my body in the most nerdy of ways. 

You may not (probably not) find this as exciting as I do, but just take a look and see some of the process of putting together a major event! 

Much love!

Mission Statements

Quotes are great, for motivation, inspiration, and to use as a mantra.  I've always loved quotes and seek out quotes almost daily for these specific reasons! Sometimes they help you find guidance, purpose, positivity and even empathy.

Quotes can even keep things interesting at a party.  You can print them off in different fonts, forms, colors and frame them.  It's a great conversation topic, and hopefully can keep the mood light and fun.   You can bounce off ideas of the hidden meanings, or the topic at hand!

They're also a great decoration idea for a home.  For a family.  You can even come up with your own, much like these I found on the wonderful blog - Love, Actually. (Like the awesome movie!) This can provide a sense of camaraderie for your family as each is different from the next!

Bust out your inner writer/artist - and have a go! Whatever is most important in your life.  What you strive for, strive to be.  Announce it to the world! :)

Dance like nobody's watching

Sing like nobody's listening

Live like it's heaven on earth

Festive Lighting

This will be a quick one!

As my friends are making their apartment a home, I too am getting antsy to make some changes with what I've already done! I've been browsing craft places both in person and online and I have fallen back in love with paper lanterns!

Paper lanterns have an instant effect on any sort of event you may have! They create a fun, summer-y atmosphere and I simply cannot get enough! So feel free to hang as many as you like, because you definitely have my seal of approval!!

Travel Maps

One fun aspect of decorating is to personalize your room.  I love to travel and love to talk about my travels.  I've always loved to discuss where I've been,  and it's definitely not a short list!

I studied abroad in Europe for about 4-5 months and the places I've been seem to be endless. I've always loved travel maps to sort of show off all of my expeditions.  But I've always found that I've wanted to show off more.  More along the lines of, yes, I've been to Paris, but I've been all of these other places with the capital too - and they were all just as special!

Found this idea on  Be Different...Act Normal.  And it's a very good interpretation of trying to make something your own! I have so many left over maps of major European cities and love this idea to try to make it my own!

ohmygosh. shoes.

I've always loved shoes just as much as the next girl, perhaps even more? However, I am a tall, tall girl - so sky-high heels are not always an option for me. But, I do spend too much of my spare time in shoe stores just window shopping and longing for the shoes I a) cannot afford and b) cannot wear.

Now I know I could wear whatever I want - heels and all, I like to think that my posture makes me look taller than I really am, so I choose flats because I can pull them off and still attempt to look graceful!

When I was in my teens I even impulsively bought a beautiful pair of shoes with three/four inch heels just because they were pretty to look at.  And I did. I looked at them every day, and they always made me happy.  Turns out, I only actually wore them (outside) once. Other than that, they just made me content

That being said, I've recently come to a truce with heels.  Although I may not be able to wear  (or walk in) them, I'll still buy them and attempt to do both!

Broke Ass Bride is amazing.  The found an amazing pair of shoes and found a great way to get the exact same look for way less. Pretty shoes, in my budget? Yes. Please.  Check it out to find out how you can get the same look for ridiculously less. Can't hardly tell the difference between the real and fake ones (aside from the dead giveaway or the Louboutin brand)!

Summer Celebrations

Hey ya'll!

Sorry I've been away for so long - It's been an absolutely crazy chaotic week of friends and guests coming to visit, job interviews, and all of the craziness that comes with both! I haven't had any time to peruse the web and chill out until just now! Hopefully I'll be able to pull up a post each day this week.  I'm once again feeling inspired by the things that are out there!

We're going through a major heat wave here in Dallas. I've actually lost count of the number of consecutive days we've been over 100 degrees.  It's HOT.  It's about 9 pm at the moment, and it's still 103-ish degrees. We're roasting.

On the plus side, this heat does not make us want to eat much food - in any way shape or form.  Even me, the sweet tooth, can't seem to find an appetite for anything else other than fresh fruit. Yes, you heard correctly! The thought of watermelons and ripe, juicy apples makes my mouth salivate the way chocolate and fried foods used to.

So the thought of putting on an event or celebration in the summer just makes me cringe at the moment.  The food would melt in an instant and forget about serving anything with substance!

I came across a beautiful cake today.  Well, to be fair, it's probably not technically a cake. But it definitely made my mouth water at the sight of it! What a great way to celebrate with a big juicy watermelon cake. Decorate any way you see fit - let your creativity shine through! In this picture from Living the Fruity Life, you can see the splendor and the recipe to make this masterpiece!

Cheers! Slainte! Prost! Opa!

I was talking to a friend the other day and we started talking about toasts (the act of speaking, not the bread).  Toasts are very common in other cultures, but I feel like it's a very rare occasion when formal toasts are given here in America - At least in my perspective!

Toasts can add some class to your event or get-together.  They can create a bond and create a mood (or enhance the mood that's already begun!).  It's nice to have a little sense of camaraderie.

So I took some time to look around and find some really great toasts, whether beautiful, fun, or cute! They can be short or lengthy, I feel like it definitely depends on the type of atmosphere, venue, and situation.  I know in my case they'd definitely have to be a bit on the shorter side.


"May neighbors respect you, trouble neglect you, the angels protect you, and heaven accept you."


"I drink to your health, when I'm with you
I drink to your health, when I'm alone
I drink to your health so often
I'm starting to worry about my own"


"Here's to the men we love
Here's to the men who love us
To the men we love who don't love us
Screw them and here's to us"


"Here's to the husbands that have won you
the losers who've lost you
and the lucky bastards who have yet to meet you!"

Cheers!!! :)

Do-It-Yourself

Hello! Hope ya'll had a wonderful weekend!

My girlfriends and I are hosting our first Wine Club here in Dallas this weekend.  It's a fun little club that we had back in Minnesota, and wanted to carry on the event down here.  We'll have girls, wine, snacks, and of course, the good old-fashioned dance party!

In preparation for this event this weekend, we need to prepare a menu, decorations, and the necessities of have enough wine glasses! In preparation my roommate remembered that we probably needed wine charms, especially if we were all drinking the same wine and have a lot of girls in close quarters with the same shaped glasses!

Right now, she's making her own wine charms.  We've been shopping for charms before and couldn't find anything that wasn't super generic, boring, or had the right personality for people our age.  She came up with the idea to make our own wine charm, so we can throw our personalities into it, and make the charms as we see fit! She's brilliant that girl is.

I've attached some pictures of the charms step by step.  They are super cute, and so easy to make! It's just some simple beading, and creating a catch to connect the wire around the stem of the glass! Easy, personable, and DIY - what on earth is better than that?

Mad props to Erin!

Life, on a stick.

One of my absolute favorite foods has to be salad.  I love that you can make salads however you want them to, and they can be different each time - as long as they have the lettuce.

Being from Wisconsin, I'm also a huge, giant fan of fried food.  I like everything fried - however, my waistline does not.  State fairs have given us the opportunities to have your favorite things fried, and put on a stick! I think their reasoning is that if you're able to walk and eat this greasy, obesity-inducing piece of heaven, then you're at least doing something good for your life, and working off those calories whilst you "exercise"

I've always wondered how to combine the two.  Not necessarily to deep fry lettuce (that thought makes me gag!) but to make your healthy food choice, more mobile.

This weekend got me excited when I found out that, THERE IS A WAY! It's a great idea for a party - you can use them as a healthy alternative for hors d'oeuvres! This allows your guests to still mingle while munching, but with less buttons popping on their slacks!

From Be Different...Act Normal  and Sweet Paul you can see the perfect way to make this salad-on-a-stick!