Almost There

The bridal shower: the “almost there” point leading up to your wedding. Last weekend, I was lucky enough to have a BEAUTIFUL shower hosted by my best friends in the whole wide world! Which means, we are almost there! (less than 60 days)

The bridesmaids have very important duties. Being a bridesmaid a few times myself, this, I know. And really, all women know -- showers aren’t fun. It’s something you do because you love the person you are honoring and you grin and bear your way through the toilet paper dress making, eye-spy, and a plethora of other ridiculous games.

That was my #1 stipulation for my shower – other than this, I gave no input. I wanted NO stupid games! None. I’m sorry, but as I said before, no one actually likes them, unless you happen to be the 10 year old junior bridesmaid or flower girl.

And in my case, more than 130 invites went out for the shower! How on earth do you keep that many women entertained for a couple hours? For real. In actuality, around 80 attended.

Separately, the venue was decorated amazingly – props to my MOH and BMs. I continue to receive compliments.

But brides, and brides to be – being the absolute center of attention in a room full of women, some of which you have never met in your life – is a bit intimidating. There is nothing more awkward than the moment you open a card and gift from an individual you have never met, and quickly scan the room to do a quick thank you. Now, really, I am thankful for the gift, and I appreciate you getting all my towels, but “From Jill & Jack” on a card just isn’t going to cut it. I need last names people! Make a note to yourself next time, for the bride’s sake, if you are attending a wedding shower - sign your last name (unless you happen to be the BFF).

Now, maybe for people who have had smaller showers, this won’t be a big deal, but how on earth do you get to say hello to everyone. 80 women? Sheesh! I could have spent the two hours wandering from table to table to see how everyone is doing (and perhaps meet “Jill”), but it’s impossible. I feel terrible knowing that I barely got to spend any time with my family members who made it in from out of town just for these three short hours.

Another note – watch your choice of outfit. I was super pumped to purchase a new, cute dress for the occasion, even got me some sweet, new kicks to go with it! But it is a fine art being able to finagle heavy boxes and tear through wrapping paper in 5 inch stilettos and a short dress, all whilst trying to keep your legs crossed and be a “lady.”

Opening the gifts is fun. It’s like Christmas, but only with kitchen and household appliances. And you never realized how much fun a margarita machine can be until you have one (buy one, you don’t know what you are missing).

Ladies, if you are planning a shower for a friend – get in touch with my friends for tips, they did a fabulous job. I had a family member tell me that my MOH should quit her day job and take on event planning full time! If you are a bride to be, like me, soak this day it. It’s your “almost there” point. The final countdown has begun!

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Yum! Pour Me a Pitcher!

Are you starting to dream of the summer days where you get to sip your favorite cocktail and bask in the sun? If so, it’s time to fill up your pitcher and enjoy the beautiful weather and share with friends and family.

Us girls met the other day for dinner/happy hour and Colleen ordered a mojito. When it was brought to the table it looked absolutely delicious. My wheels started to turn as I thought about my upcoming beach vacation. I love a great summery cocktail and I quickly began thinking about what I will be making to accompany me at the beach.

In honor of the first day of summer (yesterday) I decided to make a list of the top summer cocktails. Enjoy!

1. The Ultimate Ketel One Lemonade

Ingredients

- 1 1/2 ounce(s) Ketel One Citroen Vodka

- 2 1/2 ounce(s) fresh lemonade

- 1 piece(s) lemon wheel

Directions

1. Shake vodka and lemonade with ice in a cocktail shaker.

2. Strain into ice-filled highball glass.

3. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

2. Watermelon Margarita

Ingredients

- 1 1/2 ounce(s) Don Julio Blanco Tequila

- 1/2 ounce(s) lime juice

- 1/4 ounce(s) agave syrup

- 1 slice(s) watermelon

Directions

1. Muddle watermelon and agave syrup, add rest of ingredients, and shake well.

2. Double strain into a frozen martini glass.

3. Garnish with a watermelon slice.

3. Mojito

Ingredients

- 12 whole(s) mint leaves, plus a few extra for garnish

- 1 1/4 ounce(s) Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum

- 1 teaspoon(s) sugar

- 1/2 ounce(s) lime juice

- 2 ounce(s) soda water

Directions

- Place mint leaves in bottom of glass.

- Add crushed ice, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, sugar, and lime juice, and muddle.

- Add soda water and garnish with mint leaves.

4. Planters Punch

Ingredients

- 3 ounce(s) Myers's Original Dark Rum

- 3 ounce(s) Captain Morgan Silver Spiced Rum

- 1 1/2 ounce(s) Grand Marnier

- 6 ounce(s) orange juice

- 6 ounce(s) pineapple juice

- 1 1/2 ounce(s) lime juice

- 1 1/2 ounce(s) simple syrup

- 4 dash(es) bitters

- 2 ounce(s) grenadine

- 1 orange wheel

Directions

1. Add in a pitcher Myers's Original Dark Rum, Captain Morgan Silver Spiced Rum, Grand Marnier, orange juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, simple syrup, bitters, and grenadine.

2. Pour into shaker and add ice.

3. Shake and strain into an ice-filled highball glass.

4. Garnish with orange wheel.

5. Barbados Punch

Ingredients

- 1 ounce(s) Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum

- 1/4 ounce(s) triple sec

- 1 ounce(s) lime juice

- 2 ounce(s) pineapple juice

- 1 slice(s) lime

- 1 slice(s) pineapple

Directions

1. Add Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, triple sec, lime juice, and pineapple juice to a blender with crushed ice.

2. Blend until smooth and pour into glass.

3. Garnish with lime slice and pineapple slice.

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Was I Even on Vacation?

When most people say they are going on vacation that usually means rest, relaxation, fun and quality time with family and friends.  That’s at least what I expected when I decided to visit my grandparents, with my parents, in New Bern, NC.  But vacation wasn’t exactly what I got.

I consider myself to be pretty lucky as I am fortunate enough to be in my thirties and still have my gram and pap on my mom’s side still alive and kicking.  The only time I really get to spend time with them is when they come up here twice a year.  In fact, I think the last time I was down there was about six years ago.  So when my parent’s told me that they were going down for eight days over spring break, I figured I should really make the effort and go with them. 

Picture it…

My mom, dad, their 60lb dog and me all traveling 9 hours in a car together to visit my 85 year old grandparent’s in their retirement town!  Not to mention the fact that my parent’s waited until the last minute to tell me that “oh by the way, you (meaning me) and dad are going to be re-doing gram’s kitchen.”  WHAT?! 

My parent’s picked me up at 3 a.m. on Friday morning.  That actually worked out quite well for me.  I worked at the bar all day on Thursday and decided to stay a little late and have a few cocktails.  By the time they picked me up, I had a nice little buzz going for me and I crawled in the back seat and passed out for 7.5 hours.  When we arrived, grammy and pap were super excited to see us.  The rest of the day, we just sat around and chatted and got a good old-fashioned Domino’s game going.   Then it was time for bed….I’m a 6’ tall woman and they have me sleeping in a twin-sized bed with a mattress that is literally over 50 years old.  It was my mother’s bed when she was a girl.  The next day I woke up and dad immediately had me working on the kitchen.  Removing all the doors and hardware and taking everything out to the garage where he began to sand everything down.  The next day, we moved into the kitchen and sanded everything down in there.  The day after that, we primed everything and the following day, we painted everything.  Then I had the fun task of scrubbing all of the hardware and repainting those.  Finally, we got a day off where we went to the beach and did lots of antiquing (I love antiquing so this was a good day).  Oh and keep in mind too, that I had 7 trade shows happening coast-to-coast during this “weeks’ vacation” so I was constantly having to check email and take phone calls to help people out.  Then the highlight to my days came each night when I had the pleasure of taking my family’s money during Domino’s (this was awesome).  We then gathered in the family room to watch about an hour of TV - on mute -  (pap doesn’t like the noise) and then off to my bed that was way too small with its 50 year old mattress for little to no sleep.  Good times right?  I was literally counting the seconds until we left for home.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore my grandparent’s and parent’s and I like hanging out with them and playing Domino’s but spending eight days with them on no sleep while re-doing their kitchen and taking care of stuff for my “big girl” job…that was no vacation.  It was kind of like hell.  JK!  I am glad to be back though. I missed my hubby and my normal, busy routine.

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I Am Thankful For...

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, I thought I would post about a couple of things that we are all thankful for. I will speak for myself, but I can almost guarentee that the rest of the WWB bloggers will agree, as you may too, that we are greatful for a lot of the same things. This list does not include everything that I am thankful for, because you all know I am most thankful for my dog, Mark Eaton, but I won't mention him! And so to start...

First things first - Family. Whether it is just one other person or a hundred different people that make up your family, it is still a blessing to have those individuals in our lives. They are who we are, and who we will grow up to be like (Oh lord, please don't let me be like my uncle!) Family should always come first, hence why it came first on my list.

Friends - How interesting that this word also starts with an F. Are F words good afterall? (I know what you are thinking!!) We all know that friends come and go, in and out of our lives, sometimes just as much as the weather changes, but true friends will always be there, come rain, snow, sleet, hail, etc. I cherish my friends and am thankful for everything they have ever said or done for me. I will probably never be ever to repay them for their friendship, but I do not know what kind of person I would be like today if it were not for them.

Freedom - I think I have said it enough times through my blog posts, but I will say it again. I am thankful for those who leave their families and friends to go overseas and fight the battles that help keep us safe from harm. I am thankful for their strength, courage and dedication.

Now here is where some may disagree - Hockey - If you know me, you know that I love, love, love, like really love hockey. It was perfect when I met my husband because one of the first evenings we spent together, we just laid on his floor watching a hockey playoff game and I think he was so excited that he had a girl who actually WATCHED hockey! But now he also knows why I love hockey so much... Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby, Rick DiPietro, Carey Price, John Zeiler (hahahaha, little inside joke for those who know me), but the list goes on of goooood looking hockey players. I am THANKFUL for them!

So what are you thankful for? I have noticed people posting to their facebook every day what they are thankful for this month, but let's remember to be thankful year round. Enjoy your Thanksgiving Day and remember, give thanks for the fun things too!

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