Ribbons, Lace, & Memorial Day

    

     In May of 2012, I became a bride-to-be. I remember having no idea what was in store for me; all I knew was that I wanted the next 11 months to be absolutely perfect. And not so surprisingly,  they were (for the most part)! I had the support of family, friends, and an amazing group of bridesmaids and groomsmen who were all so happy and excited for Eric and me. These people made our engagement a wonderful experience, even through the tougher times. As I prepare for my duties as a bridesmaid in three, count 'em, THREE, weddings this summer, I hope to do just the same for my brides!

     I started by volunteering to host a lingerie shower for my May 31st bride, Cheslin. So, this past Saturday, that's exactly what I did! And can I just say that I have no idea what I would do without my mother? She was such a big help to me, and without her there's no way the shower would have been as lovely as it was!

     We had the shower at Newk's event room in Oxford, MS, and it couldn't have been more perfect! The party was from 2-4 in the afternoon, and I got there around 1:30, fifteen minutes later than I'd hoped to be there, and was already worried that I would spend the next twenty minutes trying to get our food and drinks set up inside the party room, leaving me hardly any time to decorate! Not to worry, though; I walked into the event room to see that the food and drinks had been completely set up! They even had ice, cups, plates, and silverware laid out and ready to go (THANKS, LIZ!!) I was so relieved! My mom got there a few minutes later and began helping me rearrange and dress tables. Cheslin had requested sherbet lime as her punch flavor, and my mom just so happens to be a total whiz at making punch! Not only that, but she has the entire collection of McCarty Pottery punch bowls, cups and saucers; if you're wondering why that's relevant, just know that McCarty Pottery (along with Peter's) consists of some of the most beautiful pieces of handmade pottery you might ever find. They always dress up a nice party or shower, and my mom has been an avid collector for nearly twenty years (I'm very slowly building my own collection)! So she brought in her McCarty and began making punch, which turned out to be a hit with everyone!

 

     When Cheslin arrived, her eyes just lit up when she saw the room. I could tell how thrilled she was with how it all turned out, and that of course made me the happiest hostess!! She especially loved the line of panties I had hung for her, which went along with a "panty poem" I read for her.

 

     We had lunch and chatted for a while, then Cheslin got to sort through the panties each guest brought for her for the "panty game." Guests buy a pair of panties in their own personal style but Cheslin's size; the "game" part is where she has to guess who is responsible for each pair!

 

 

 

She then opened gifts and received an abundance of lace, silk and frills! Her lingerie drawer is stocked up for a while!

 

     After watching Cheslin open her lacy gifts, we had cake, punch, and lingerie cookies! It was all delicious! One thing to know about Cheslin is that she is a "little" girl with BIG attitude. And I love that about her. Because of this, it was great having her mother there; she told us tons of stories about Cheslin in high school; turns out, Cheslin has always been crazy, outspoken, and full of nerve! I tell her that I wish I could just pack her into my bag and carry her around with me to stand up to people who cut me off in traffic or are rude! We talked about the fast-approaching wedding and how excited we all are to be a part of it; I know I am! I know how special this time in Cheslin's life is; I remember how wonderful it was for me and how thankful I was to be surrounded by such amazing people. I'm truly honored that she selected me to be one of the few standing next to her as she becomes Mrs. Astorino next Saturday. I'm so glad to have been able to host such a lovely lingerie shower for her. Her future husband can thank me later :)

Cheslin and my mother

     My mom only asked one favor of me after helping host the lingerie shower: that I attend our boss's son's wedding with her thirty miles down the road in Holly Springs. Well, of course, mom! I would love to! And I really enjoyed it! It was a lovely, rustic wedding at the Presbyterian church in historical Holly Springs. It seems like the entire town came to the wedding, so the bride and groom were sent away with lots of well wishes and whistles from onlookers. As I sat through the wedding though, I could not get over how impeccably tired I was. My feet hurt and were swollen (yay pregnancy), and my back and shoulders were killing me. I left Holly Springs around seven and sent this picture to my husband while driving; I assured him we had plenty of leftovers for a few days!

 

     I got home just in time to change clothes and head to our local (and new) Piggly Wiggly grocery store to get food and party necessities for our Memorial Day lunch on Sunday. $97.23 later, we were all set! By the time we got home from doing that, I had surpassed exhausted. I would almost say I was lucid. Even still, I tidied up the living room and kitchen in preparation for family the next day as Eric began seasoning the hamburger meat. I tried to stay awake for a Netflix documentary with him when we laid down; I only made it about thirty minutes in!

 

Sunday:

     We woke up around 8:30 and went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.  Normally, I cook a good spread for the husband and I on Sunday morning, but seeing as how we had our parents coming in a few hours, I didn't want to have any dishes to do before they arrived! We got back around ten, and I had time for a quick, thirty-minute workout at my gym before going home to get ready. Eventually, I plan on posting some of the pregnancy workouts that I enjoy. Pregnancy definitely brings about some crazy changes in your body, but the main goal for my workout routine during these nine amazing months is to try my best to retain the muscle that I had begun to put on before discovering I was expecting. Lately though, my back has been hurting so bad, I've been resting more than ever, stretching instead of doing much of anything else. I think I've been to my gym twice in the past two weeks, which is very unlike me. I plan on becoming a regular again very soon, though :) 

 

     Having our parents over for lunch Sunday was more enjoyable than I can explain. Our house is a simple, single-family home of about 1,600 square feet, so we were all packed into my kitchen and living room, but at least it meant that we got to all be together! Our getting together and remembrance of the men and women who have proudly served our country also kind of doubled as a birthday celebration for Eric, who turns 27 this Thursday. He was our chef for the day, and while he grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, and chicken wings for us, he had purchased an enormous fourteen ounce ribeye for himself. Normally, I might scold him for that, but I had to remember that he was the birthday boy! His stepmother and dad came from New Albany, and they brought him a "diaper cake" as a birthday gift, which was too adorable! So, it actually ended up being a gift for Baby Pace more so than Eric, but anything you give to Vaught you're really giving to us too! The diaper cake was too cute! She had also attached a baby photo of Eric (so sweet!) and a few toys for Vaught.

The diaper cake and the birthday boy!

 

     And speaking of Vaught, it was hard for the conversation to not turn to him at least once or twice every few minutes. He is, after all, the center of mine and Eric's focus right now! As we were talking about all the nursery items we've gathered and others we plan on getting soon, crib bedding came up. With a sympathetic, knowing glance at my husband, I began to describe the gorgeous bedding I had discovered from Carousel Designs. I fell in love with it when I saw it and knew it was exactly what I wanted for Vaught! It's weird that there's actually nothing at all spectacular about it; it's plain navy. But I have searched the web (far surpassing the first page on my Google searches), for plain navy bedding, and I've not been able to find anything else remotely like what I've found from Carousel Designs. The reason I was quick to look at my husband is because when I first showed him the bedding, all he saw was the price tag: $375 for everything, though I tried to tell him I didn't really want everything in the entire set. He proceeded to tell me I had "lost my damn mind" and no one in their right one would pay that for baby bedding. I originally told him that by the time I was ready to buy it I wouldn't be in my right mind anyway, so that didn't apply to me. That had been several weeks ago, and I hadn't brought it up again. My grandmother, who was looking over my shoulder as I showed the bedding to my  mother, pulled out her credit card and told me that this would be her gift to me for Vaught. I couldn't believe it. I was convinced that I'd either have to purchase the bedding and deal with my husband's wrath later, or worse: settle for baby bedding I hated. I had found some other styles that were doable, but they were so busy and modern, I knew I'd tire of them sooner rather than later. It meant so much to me that my grandmother wanted to do this for us. Although we've still not bought Vaught's crib, it's comforting to know that we've got his bedding taken care of! Not to mention, Carousel Designs was also having a 20% sale for Memorial Day; they rarely have sales! So, I felt a little less guilty knowing that I (as well as my Grandmother) was getting a pretty good deal!

    

Mom petting Anabelle. She rarely loves on our pitbulls!

My cousin, Audrey Anna. She had been at the lake and stopped by on her way home.

Chance just kind of laid in the middle of the floor; he doesn't like to miss anything.

With mom and dad.

 

 

 

      On Monday, Eric and I got up a little after nine, and I was somehow able to convince him to go shopping with me in Collierville. I told him I just wanted to run to a couple of stores at the mall then visit Once Upon a Child because I'd never been. Now, before you assume anything, you should just now that although I was fortunate enough to have almost always been given the best of everything, my mother also taught me that some of the very best gems are found in secondhand/thrift stores. So, I've never had a problem shopping around at Goodwill or junk stores. You'd be surprised at what you can find!! Once Upon a Child is a children's store that sells gently used hand-me-downs--everything from clothing to strollers to Boppy pillows. I believe you could prepare your entire nursery from items found in this store! Even my husband enjoyed browsing the racks, gathering up cute onesies for Vaught. We left the store with 7 adorable outfits and only spent $27! We left there and went to TJMaxx, where I found a couple more baby outfits at great prices. Although I've been told countless times to not go overboard purchasing clothes for the baby, I couldn't help myself. I was awakened this morning by some powerful kicks and punches from our sweet little boy, and since then, he's all I've thought about. Well, almost all....

 

     I've also spent some time today thanking God for our freedom as Americans and for the men and women who have so bravely fought for it. Because of their service, we can enjoy the freedoms we have that we are so quick to forget sometimes. It's not about swimming pools and barbecues; today is about remembering those who have given their lives so that we can enjoy these things that are fun to do on Memorial Day. Sure, this three-day weekend has been amazing and very much needed, but we must remember why we have it in the first place. Thank you to all who have served and still do, for you are so much appreciated!