Something Blue: A Bridal Shower

My dear friend Ellen is getting married in just a few weeks! We have been friends since our days in the church nursery! The past few weeks have been full of celebrating her and her fiance, Joel! It has been such an exciting and fun time.  Ellen asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, and what an honor it is! 

My favorite bridesmaid duty is absolutely throwing bridal showers. I love to throw a good party, especially for someone I love. The other fun part is being a bridesmaid with another one of your closest friends! I was lucky enough to get to co-host this shower with Ellen's Maid-of-Honor, and her sister, Cindy!

Together, we tag-teamed the planning and executing of a dreamy blue & yellow vision. 

Speaking of vision, the bride herself was glowing all day. 

She makes one beautiful, blushing bride! 

If she looks this gorgeous on her shower day, I can't even imagine how beautiful she will look on her wedding day! Joel, you are one lucky dude. Remember that.

We also had a mimosa bar. 

I firmly believe every shower should have a mimosa bar. 

There is no shortage of cooks and bakers among Ellen's friends and family. 

Each guest was sent a recipe card in their invitation, and were asked to bring it to the shower.

They were all put in this awesome recipe box Cindy gifted to Ellen.

She will be starting off her marriage with quite the collection. 

Ellen is so loved among her friends and family. It was the joy of these ladies to gather round and celebrate her! She also is very loved by some furry friends as well. 

Cindy made the most beautiful ombre layer cake. 

Girl had SKILLS. 

And, even better, it tasted as good as it looked!

All the lovely guests were sent home with something a little sweet, a little sour, 

to remember Ellen's bridal shower!

(Also handmade by Cindy!)

Tassel Garland: Here

Custom Cake Topper & LOVE Banner: Here

Invitations & Recipe Cards: Here
Paper Straws: Here

Paper Fans: Here

Lemon Scrub Recipe: Here

Ombre Cake Recipe: Here, Here & Here

The French Post: Part 1 (Nice is Nice!)

I can blog more than on the 10th of the month. I really can.
I'm here to prove it.

Back in late June I went to France. FRANCE!

It was all kinds of amazing.

Usually, when I travel, I'm all about going to countries I've never been to before, or may never get the opportunity to go to again (Hello, Estonia. Hello, Croatia. Hello, South Africa). But France, is you know, France. Everybody's been to France.

Okay, I realize not everybody, but it is just a hop skip and a jump from the East Coast. I've seen a million Eiffel Tower pics, haven't you? But I'm here to say, France far exceeded my expectations. Sixteen days across the pond was truly a dream. And I'm so incredibly grateful for the ability to do these crazy international adventures!

This year, we planned our vacation around my sister's vacation schedule, she's a tooth janitor dental hygienist, so we went when her office was closed.

The best part, it coincided with the the Tour de France. For our family who is all about all things cycling, this was a dream come true.  So, our itinerary was planned.

Nice. Aix en Provence. Paris. Le Touquet. London.

Oh ya, we went to London too.
Which was also, amazing. London, I love you.

So let's get to it.

I flew into Nice a day early, since I was flying on airline miles, and there were no award flights the day the rest of my family was traveling. What a shame, right?

 I flew into the Cote d'Azure, which is quite possibly my favorite Cote on the planet. See that little boat down there, three down from the wing, closest to the harbor opening? I'm pretty sure I've seen it twice before.

One sweaty hour later (hello Mediterranean humidity!) I was checked into my hotel. And THIS was the view from my room.

I thought I was going to die of happiness right then and there.  Also, air conditioning. Hallelujah.
Jetlagged and ecstatic, I laid on the fluffy white bed for about an hour, before heading out on foot to explore Nice.

Let me just tell you, Nice is nice.
I explored the waterfront a bit. Finding a row of bolted in chairs, right along the shore, with wifi. I sent pictures to my family back home, to hurry up and get here. It was kinda cruel.

After a good amount of sea spray  showering my face, I headed back into the town, finding a nice outdoor table to sit at, with food I could recognize, praise the Lord for picture menus. And caprese salads. And rose.

I sat down to this masterpiece. And about 10 minutes later looked up to see an entire restaurant staring at me. I wasn't certain if I was just the strange American, or what was happening, until I turned around and saw my head was blocking the World Cup. USA vs. Germany, appropriately enough.
So I moved back a chair, and sat on the opposite side, to cheer on my people. Except not. No one was cheering on the US. I munched on a  bit of my baguette, paid my bill and headed back to the hotel.  I don't even like soccer anyway.

Oh, but Kim, you're in Europe. During the World Cup. You're gonna LOVE soccer whether you like it or not. So say the fans of Algeria at 3am celebrating in the streets below your hotel while you're jet lagged. 

The next morning, after an eventful night of sleep, or lack thereof, I woke up and headed out to explore Nice on my own, until my family flew in that night. A whole day to explore in a foreign country all by myself. Tres Chic!

I asked the hotel front desk where to go, and what to do (all those travel books, and I forgot to research, whoops!), and they mentioned something about a flower market, and a chateau, and pointed east. Okay, off I go!

So me, my big camera, and a handful of Euros, headed out to find this flower market. If there's anything I love, it's an open air market.

I will take all the pictures of all the fruit. All the flowers. All the sweets. Nothing will stop me.

Okay, one thing will stop me. Cafe Creme & Chocolate Croissants. 

I had to pull myself away from the market. It was time to find the Chateau. 

So, I set off again. Walking around the town. 

Exploring nooks, and crannies, wandering down cobbled streets too narrow for cars.

Looking up at shuttered windows, seeing and soaking life in Nice.

Little by little, circling around what ended up being the Chateau, and ascending up the back side. A quiet damp, shady path, passing the occasional local walking her dog. 

Looking back on the town below. And finally, at the top, discovering the expansive views of Nice below.

Looking East into the harbor. 

Looking West, along the coastline towards the airport.

Soaking in the south of France in all of its cerulean glory.

Rumor had it, the Chateau had a waterfall, and I had to find it.

I sat peacefully in the shade of the trees, listening to the roaring water of the manmade fall. 

And decided to test several of the settings on my camera too - they are one of my other favorite subjects to photograph.

After exploring this magical place, the jet lag was catching up with me. I found a shady table back at the flower market, and sat and had lunch. For a couple hours, French style and all. Before walking back to the hotel, catching a quick snooze, and waiting for my family to arrive in a few short hours!

10 on 10: Sunday Funday Edition

The weekends lately have been full. So full. All good things, all good things.

Sunday naps are a thing of the past, mostly because there is so much good stuff to do right now.

Soon, several friends will move, and there will be more time.

But for now, Sundays are really, really good.


As usual, procrastinating and waking up early to print church bulletins. And munch on a macaron.

And then printing bulletins. My tiny apartment has unusual storage. No linen closets, or hall closets, no pantry or any other small storage. Just two giant walk ins. One is converted into an office, and with no enclosed garage or anything else, I use it as my storage area for everything else. Saturday was spent cleaning and purging all the clutter that has collected there. 14 bags of junk - who knew I even had space for 14 bags of junk in 777 square feet, but I did. And this is the final, organized product. It should be noted, I have an entire container dedicated to theme parties.

Running powerpoint. This is my favorite song right now. Reminds me of Sunday school as a kid. 

A little shopping and who do we find but Ashley doing her #mugswap14 shopping :)
Her creepy husband in the back was excited to be there too.

Tea time. It's exciting, I tell ya.

My sister insisted on a sweet treat in our future.  Not a problem.

And then I went chair shopping, and got the steal of the century. $179 marked as $89, rang up as $39. I think that is over 75% off or something.

I guess one of us got a Sunday nap.

Move over caprese, this is my current obsession. Trader Joe's brioche toasts, brie, & jam (this one is Strawberry/Ollalieberry)

Another Sunday Funday in the books.

Linking up with Rebekah.