{12 in 12: An Outfit Challenge}

Happy Friday and Happy Labor Day Weekend! Got to love an extra day to sleep in! Wendel's sister and her husband are coming in this weekend and then Sunday Wendel and I head to Knoxville for this gorgeous woman's wedding! Hopefully I'll have lots of pictures from this fun to share!!

On another note...I'm so stinkin' ready for fall! 

The leaves are slowly starting to change and I can smell the apple cinnamon candle burning in the future! 

Well to get into the fall time mood, I decided to do a little Fall Time Outfit Challenge. 

This is based off of Kendi Everyday's 30/30 challenge. She picks 30 pieces of clothing {tops/bottoms/shoes} and mixes and matches those pieces for 30 days. 

Well 30 seemed like a lot to me...so I decided to start off easy! 

I picked 12 items of clothing, and rearranged them 12 different ways! 

Now Kendi posts hers over 30 days, but I did a rapid fire outfit trying on evening {thanks Wendel} so these were all taken in two days! 

So what did I pick?

3 bottoms: denim pencil skirt, mustard pencil skirt, deep purple skinnies

3 blouses: white tank, grey and white polka-dot tank, grey and white leopard top

3 sweaters: blue and red striped, navy long cardigan, orange button up 

3 pairs of shoes: brown flats, brown Steve Madden boots, brown cowgirl boots

Belts/purses/accessories don't count. 

Here's what I came up with! Enjoy! 

Pretty decent right? I fell in lover with a lot of these, and can't wait until it's cool enough to actually wear these!! 

Who else is ready for fall? I've got two questions...

1. What's your favorite outfit? 

2. What is your go-to fall outfit?  

{A Master Bedroom Mood Board}

So after working on our office, Wendel and I are having fun dreaming about our master bedroom!

We are wanting to do a few things to update our room for as inexpensive as possible.

I thought I might as well write a little post about what we're thinking about currently, and I'll update along the way!

So meet our Master Bedroom Mood Board!

{I'm proud, I'm finally figuring our Photoshop...this is very basic...but I'm a proud mama!} 

First off, the background is the color we are considering switching too. It's weird because this color looks more grey online, but the color in a room looks a lot of beige. 

We love our blue, but there are a bunch of dings in the walls. We are going to try to touch it up, but if that doesn't work, then we are going totally different! Something neutral that will last a long time! 

Here's what the color looks like in a room. 

It's shale by Benjamin Moore. 

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Now onto our inspiration! 

1. Dark Wood Headboard 

We are loving our desk in the office, so we are considering making a dark stained wood headboard. A very inexpensive option, that we think will really stand out. 

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2. DIY Dust Ruffle 

For some reason, we cannot find a rush ruffle that is the right height for our bed. They are always way too long, which drives me nuts! So I'm thinking about making my own the Velcros around the edge of the mattress. I'll defiantly give you all of the details when we make our decision! 

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3. Burlap Art

This is a totally random thing for us, but I have SO much burlap left over from a Thanksgiving project last year. I have been dying to use it, but I'm thinking about some type of burlap art piece with some family pictures. We'll see! 

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4. New, Bright Curtains

We already have this fabric in our home, ready to be sewn into curtains. We ordered some blinds that pull down and up easily and are as black out as possible {Wendel is a vampire and likes it to be pitch black when we sleeps!}So then we will be make some cute little curtains with this fabric, and maybe a pillow or two. 

These are the colors we're going with to "pop" in our bedroom. 

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5. An Accent Wall 

We want one of our walls to really pop in our bedroom, so we are considering this architectural detail on the wall that our bed is on. 

I'm a little worried it will be too much with the dark headboard, so we'll see what we finally end up with! 

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So here we go! This is what we're dreaming about. So we'll see what we finally end up with! 

Like I said, we will update you along the way!! 

Anyone else ponder and grab inspiration before you update a room? Or do you just jump in? Give me all of our room updating details! 

{Bridal Shower Games: Name That Groom and Who Said It?}

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all are soaking up your last few weekends of summer weather! I'm so excited for fall time, but am sad about having to close the pool in a few weeks! We spent our weekend building something super exciting for my classroom, and I can't wait to share the final product! 

So I recently shared the Around The Clock Bridal Shower my sister and I co-hosted recently, and I am so excited to be sharing two very unique games with you today! 

The first game is one that I've never heard of before, and my sister randomly thought of it! Let me tell you...it was a hit! It had everyone laughing and reminiscing! 

Name That Groom

So here's how the game works. We brainstorm some celebrity couples, and showed everyone a picture of just the bride. The object of the game was to name the groom that go with that bride. 

It. Was. Hilarious! 

So much harder than you would think! 

I made a very simple worksheet for people to use on Word...the simpler, the better people! 

Then I used two different types of scrapbooking paper to mount the pictures. I liked using black as the background so the picture could really pop off of the red paper. Then I put the name of the bride on the bottom. 

On the other side, so the same thing, but put the picture of the couple. 

Then just hot glue the two together using a large Popsicle stick as your holder. 

Now I'll be honest. It is really hard to find celebrity wedding photos online. I ended up using normal pictures in the end, but don't worry about that! Here are the couples we used: 

1. Prince William and Katherine Middleton

2. Lamar Odom and Khloe Karshashian Odom 

3. Kim Kardashian and Chris Humphries

4. Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith

5. President and Michelle Obama

6. Matthew Broderick and  Sarah Jessica Parker

7. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones

8. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson

9. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

10. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert 

11. David and Victoria Beckham

12. Ozzie and Sharon Osborn

13. Prince Charles and Princess Diana

I'll be honest, it was harder than I thought! 

Okay, so now on to game number two! 

Who Said It? 

I got this idea from this cute blog I found on Pinterest

You ask the bride and groom 10 or so of the same questions. 

Then you read one of their answers, and the guests have to decide if he said it or she said it. 

If you think He said it, then you hold up the mustache. If you think She said it, then you hold up the lips. 

Are these things necessary...no...but they make it a LOT more fun! 

These are the questions I asked: 

1. Describe how you two met. 

2. What was the moment you realized you wanted to get married? 

3. What is your favorite thing about your mate?

4. What are you most excited about for marriage? 

5. Describe your first date. 

6. What are your expectations of marriage? 

7. How many children do you want? 

8. Where is one place you would like to travel to together? 

9. If you two have a fight, who will be the one to "fix" it? 

10. What is the most fun thing you two have done together? 

How did I make them? Template online, scrapbooking paper, LOTS of cutting, and hot clue it on a stick. 

Easy enough, right? 

It was so cute to hear their answers! 

Let's just said there was lot of explaining...

Lots of giggling...

And lots of blushing...for the mother of the groom. 

The word consummation may have been mentioned...awkward! 

We had such a blast with these games! They are fun, light heart-ed, and really helped us to get to know the couple! 

{Life Update: A Major Brain Dump}

So feel free to completely ignore this post all together! 

There're no cute dating ideas. No DIY projects. 

This little blog is really a family journal for Wendel and I. Every now and then, I just need to type everything in my brain down, so I can remember where I was at during this time of our lives. 

So like I said...ignore this post...I'll actually be back this afternoon with another post all about bridal shower games!

On to the goods of this post...

I have felt so drained lately! Nothing in particular that is draining me! I'm just drained. 

I've been working non-stop in my classroom...which is a complete and utter joy to me! 

I. Love. It! 

I'm so excited to be preparing for my little ones. I'm excited to get them in this classroom and watch them grow this year! 

On the other hand, I also miss doing DIY projects on the house, and am feeling overwhelmed with ideas and project lists. 

I have learned over the past few weeks that I am doing one thing wrong. 

I am working to rest.

Sounds normal right? Well I'm learning not so much. 

Wendel and I have been members of a pretty incredible church here in Cincinnati for almost 5 years. Crossroads has a completely different take on "church"...

It's a "church for people who have given up on church, but not on God" 

The series right now is on "how to love your job."

I thought this would be totally unimportant to be because I LOVE my job! This would be more for Wendel who works for a family business which can be stressful at times. 

Well just as God does...he spoke right to me. Like got right in my face, and told me how it was. 

I need to work from rest. 

How can I give all of myself to my sweet, precious kiddos when I'm exhausted? 

When I'm drained? 

I just can't! I need to be resting in order to do the best in my job. 

Another thing God made sure to hit me in the head with... 

Sometimes, you have to do the grunt work, in order to get the glory. 

Right now, I am totally focusing on the looks of my classroom. But who cares what my classroom looks like if I'm not planning enough. Who cares if everything is organized if my classroom management is out of whack. Who cares if my bullitain board is cute if my activities aren't age appropriate. 

None of that cares! 

So my room is done. Done. I'm going to spend my next few weeks praying over exactly what I need to teach. Praying that I reach these precious ones, and they feel successful in my classroom. Praying that my lessons are exciting, fun, and educational. Praying that my activities help to grow them in their skills, and their knowledge. Praying that I help them see that they are truly special, one of a kind, and loved by so many people. 

And one last thing God slapped in my face this morning. 

Focus on the now! 

If you don't know me, then you need to know something about me. 

I can't wait to be a mom. Really!

I. Can. Not. Wait! 

But lately, I've been talking so much about that time of our lives, that I'm not fully enjoying our current blissful newlywed life! 

So...what am I going to do with all of this information? 

1. Rest. Easy enough, right? I'm going to take time to do DIY projects that I love! 

2. I'm going to stop focusing on the outside appearance of my classroom, and focus on the little things, like transitioning from calendar time to centers. 

3. Live in the moment. Soak up this time sans kids, and enjoy alone time with my cute, adorable husband! 

Okay...enough of that! 

Come back this afternoon for more fun! 

{Party Planning: An Around The Clock Bridal Shower}

Hello blogger friends! I have a semi-quick post today because I am up to my eyeballs in things to do before I meet my kiddo's parents on Sunday! Can. Not. Wait! 

But today, I have something very special to share! My sister and I just hosted a bridal shower for one of my cousins who is getting married! She's precious, and this wedding is going to be precious...so this shower had to be spectacular!  

We went with an around the clock shower. Everyone gets a time of day, and you buy a present for that specific time of day {i.e. 8:00 AM could be some cereal bowls and spoons.} 

A lot of people get confused because they think they have to show up to the party at that time of day...not the case. 

So we went with this invitation and used the colors of orange, pink, and yellow. Bright, summery, and fun! 

I love balloons because they scream festive. Like I said in this post, some people hate them...I love them! 

My talented mother {hey mom!} made this cute little wreath with some on-sale Hob Lob flowers and some burlap. 

I adore making banners, like this one I made for our Anniversary Photo Shoot! In fact I'm going to do a little tutorial next week on how I make my banners. So stay tuned for that! 

Here is our little dessert table. Another banner...I know...when I start I just can't stop! 

Here's a little party planning tip! Do bite sized everything so you don't need to use silverware! It makes cleaning up a breeze. In the end someone brought a carrot cake, but all of our desserts were bite sized and adorable. 

We had Mini German Chocolate Cupcakes {family recipe- mom made!}, Mini Blackberry Cupcakes with Caramel Icing {family recipe- mom made!}, and Chocolate Cake Balls {Lelia made} 

Totally threw my "have different flavors" rule out for this shower...chocolate all the way! 

Look at this shot of the cake pops with their gorgeous engagement photo behind...have to admit...I was impressed with my skills! 

Are they not precious? And my little birdies made another appearance at this shower! 

We love using glassware! Here are our three cute little bite sized desserts! I may have eaten four or five of those blackberry cupcakes...okay maybe even more than that...

We used lots of tired cake pedestals to create different levels for the desserts. 

Love my mason jars...and stripy straws! 

How gorgeous are they? Lulu's...you never cease to amaze me!  

Thanks Catherine for being my model! Side note...how cute is her dress? 

Our food table. Lots of yummy munchies! 

We are big fans for cheeses, so we almost always do a cheese bar. Go to the grocery store, pick out a few fun cheeses, a fruit preserve, and some crackers. You're good to go! 

BLT bites...so delicious and easy! 

And lastly, the favors...from The BonBonerie...delicious and pretty! 

A few snapshots from the night! 

The beautiful bride and her future mother-in-law! 

Charley, thank you so much for letting us be apart of your engagement fun! We had a blast planning this! 

Check back on Monday to hear how we used these in one of the two amazing games we played during the shower! 

Any ever been to an amazing shower and pull some great inspiration? If so, I'd love to hear about it!