Focusing on the Festive // Back in the Swing of Things

When I started this blog 9 (WOW!) years ago, my intention was to document things that inspired me and to keep a record of special moments.

Many of those moments for me are holidays. I love to cook, bake, and mix up fun drinks for special occasions and most importantly share those things with incredible people. So, yes that means that I especially love holidays and throwing parties for friends and family!

When we moved in with KC's family to finish saving for our home, and then moved into our house last year, this space took a bit of a back seat, and so I'm going to go ahead and do some catch up posts! I didn't even post about Halloween last year. GASP! I'm looking forward to revisiting the festive parts of last year, and to keep sharing more festive moments as this year goes on.

We did have lovely festive moments with friends and family that I am excited to retroactively share and document here. It doesn't seem right to leave them out any longer!

Thank you to anyone who has been a reader here, I'm looking forward to continuing blogging about festive moments along with books, planners, and scrapbooks as the year goes on. :)

If there is anything specific you'd like to see, please let me know!

XO,

Alexandra

29 // Birthday Celebrations + Fourth of July 2019

Hello Friends! I hope that you had a lovely fourth of July and weekend! I wanted to share a little bit about my birthday and the fourth!

Why my Birthday & The Fourth are Complicated (aka making new traditions):

My whole life until my parents moved to Arizona we had a cookout for the fourth with family that was also my birthday party, and often my aunt's as well. It was so nice to have everyone together, to share meals, and to set off fireworks. (the city where I grew up doesn't have any restrictions about setting off fireworks within city limits.) Once they moved, KC and I spent a few years traveling for my birthday, and every year I ended up feeling really sad and missing how things used to be. KC's family doesn't really have any traditions for the holiday, so we didn't have an easy replacement for the old traditions. This was the first year in a long time where I didn't feel sad because that tradition no longer happens. It was so so nice, and such a relief. Overall I had a much nicer birthday and holiday than I've had in a really long time. A big big big part of that is KC, his patience, and his planning. It also feels like it was meant to be that our new home happens to have a great view of the city fireworks, and a big enough yard to hang out in. Especially for a girl who grew up thinking the fireworks were for her birthday, and not America's. ;) I felt like we were creating a new tradition and

Here we go!

My Birthday!

This year I turned 29, and KC really spoiled me. We had breakfast at home and he gave me gifts to unwrap before we headed out to a few bookstores, the mall (obviously had a pretzel), and then went to Papersource before getting tapas for happy hour. It was a fun day to spend together doing fairly normal things that I enjoy. It was nice just to be together without any obligations or worries.

 

The Fourth!

On the fourth we had people over for a cookout/potluck/my birthday party. Our house has a really good view of the city fireworks. We had a lot of fun eating, chatting, watching fireworks, and making sparkler art. I was so grateful to everyone who wished me happy birthday! Our sweet neighbor even came over and had a vegetarian only grill for our veggie guests. He grilled the best sweet corn and brought over homemade herb compound butters. So spoiled by his generosity!

Family Dinner:

Then on Saturday we went to visit my mom and grandma. She made hot dogs and mac and cheese which we never have anymore, but was a treat for us growing up. My sister and nephew came and we looked at old pictures which was such a blast from the past. These photos of KC and Darrick kill me. Too cute.

What about you guys?

Do you have any fourth of July or birthday traditions?

I'm really enjoying making new ones. :) 

XO,

Alexandra

Juliet's Lingerie Shower + White Sangria Recipe / April 2017

Hello friends! I hope that you had a great weekend! Ours was packed with social activities, and it ended up being so fun. We had a bit of downtime on Sunday which was also nice!

The biggest part of my weekend was hosting (one of my best friends), Juliet's lingerie shower! She's getting married at the end of May, and since she lives in Taiwan... she can't have normal bridal showers (where would she put the stuff?!). Lingerie however, is traditionally very packable. ;) 

We had such a fun time, it was a small group of us, about half of her bridal party, and it was a great sized group!

Decor:

Tassels - DIY here. I got a HUGE package of tissue paper at TJMaxx for $2.99.
Balloons - Target Dollar Spot, y'all! ($5 each)
Milk Glass Vases + Flowering Culinary Sage - you can get milk glass at thrift stores and I keep this collection on the mantle in our new space! Culinary sage were the most wild looking flowers I could find in town, super pretty! Adding the flowers made my everyday vases look more festive!

Food:

Drinks - Strawberry Mint Margaritas, Gin/Blueberry Drink (SO STRONG! I recommend adding a bit more cranberry!), and White Sangria (recipe below).
Food - appetizers, crudite, and pretzels.
Desserts - spice cupcakes, blueberry pavlova (I changed the blueberry jam a bit), and Birthday Cake Popcorn.

White Wine Peach Sangria

1 bottle of white wine
1/2 cup peach vodka (any peach liquor will do)
2 peaches sliced (or 1 small bag of frozen sliced peaches)
1 orange, sliced
1 1/4 cups of orange juice
1/4 cup sugar (to taste, very optional!)
ginger ale/club soda to taste (1/2 liter)

1) Mix all ingredients aside from ginger ale/club soda. Let chill for at least one hour (I made it the night before).
2) Add ginger ale/club soda immediately before serving.

Games:

The Panty Game - each guest is instructed to bring a pair of panties, they should be unwrapped and put into a bag/box as guests arrive. Then, hang each pair of panties up, and have the bride guess which pair is from which guest. There are several versions to this game, in one nothing happens if you guess incorrectly, this time we played that you have to try on the pair that you guessed incorrectly and model for your guests (over your clothing ;). Would you guys like the PDF of the sign I made for the bag?

Marriage Advice Madlib - KC and I made a madlib (I didn't like any existing ones!) that was around the topic of marriage advice. I designed a PDF and printed them for the guests. Reading them was a blast, and they definitely got a little naughty. We all laughed so hard. Would you guys like this PDF?! 

Disney Love Song Guessing Game, get that printable, here. Some of them were pretty tough, and it got us all singing Disney songs. hehe :) 

Extras:

Our baking store went out of business last summer, so Jessica and I (figuring we'd be hosting something... ;) gathered up some cute party crown/hats, and matching cupcake liners with toothpick tassels. They were cute and fun little touches.

I always like to use white serving platters if I can. Ours are packed right now, but I think they really help! 

I used these carafes for our drinks. They are so handy, simple, cheap, and cute.

Lastly, we gave nail polish favors. I like to get Essie because they're nicer polish. I get mine at TJMaxx, because they're $3-4 cheaper each. :) I put a little tag on each that said, "to a lifetime of getting nailed!" - thanks, Pinterest!

Have you guys ever thrown a bridal shower or lingerie shower?

What is your go-to food to make for a crowd?

XO,

Alexandra