Category Archives: Friends & Family

Wishing You a Happy New Year

Posted by sunshineandsometea in Friends & Family and tagged with , , , , , , ,

I will be away from the blog for a few days, but I thought I would post one last message for the year before signing off.  I hope to have lots to share when I get back!

2012 has been an amazing year for me and Tadd, and I decided I wanted to make a keepsake of all of the happy times I shared with friends and family over the past year.  I decided to try out Shutterfly’s Videogram feature.  You basically select a group of photos or video clips, choose a display style and music, and it puts together a really cute video slideshow for you.  Once the video is to your liking, you can purchase the digital file in one of 3 different resolution types.  I chose the middle option for $4.99 and think it was well worth the price.  I was able to save the video file to my laptop, share it on Facebook, and post it to YouTube.  So far everyone has loved it, and I told Tadd that it would be fun to do one of these each year.

Wishing you all a very happy new year!  Here’s to 2013!  See you next year!!!

P.S. Above opinions regarding Shutterfly and their Videogram product are 100% my own.  Not being compensated in any way.

Wedding Day Emergency Kit!

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It’s my cousin’s wedding day!  And I couldn’t be more excited!!

She was a bridesmaid in my own wedding 8 years ago, and I am more than happy to return the favor.  You see, back when we were little girls (who obsessively read Babysitters Club books, watched Beverly Hills 90210, and assigned random celebrity code names to all of the members of our family), we made a pact to be bridesmaids in each other’s weddings someday.  And today, that last step in our childhood pact comes true!  Of course, we always imagined that I would be marrying Jason Priestley and she would be marrying Luke Perry, but I would say that our childhood selves would still be quite pleased with the dashing men we chose!

To make this day of hustle and bustle a bit more relaxing and stress-free for all involved, I decided to put together a wedding day emergency kit.  I filled it with items that I thought we might be in need of last-minute or just in case.  It’s hard to envision and try to prepare for every scenario known to man, but I think we will be ready for just about anything with these items in easy reach:

  • compact brush/mirror combo
  • hairspray
  • bobby pins
  • white nail polish

  • safety pins
  • Tide To-Go
  • lint roller

  • floss picks
  • mini first aid kit
  • mints
  • antacid
  • pain medicine (asprin, ibuprofen, etc)

I am also including this purse-sized emergency kit, which contains:

  • sewing kit
  • emery boards
  • double stick tape
  • more flossers
  • hair tie
  • band aids

I put everything into this super cute large blue cosmetics case.  I will throw it into my “getting ready” tote bag when I meet up with the girls this morning to get ready.  I plan on adding a few other items to the tote bag as well…tissues, a mini deodorant, maybe some snacks and water.

Now we are ready to face the day!  Time to get the big day started!  I will be back in a few days to share more about the wedding and hopefully a few pics as well.

Road Trip!

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Tadd and I are on our way back to Myrtle Beach with another couple to visit some friends this weekend, and I am stoked for a road trip!  It was eight months ago when we last visited these same friends over New Year’s Eve this past year.  Winter is obviously the off season for Myrtle Beach, so I think it may be a completely different experience this time.  We have some fun stuff planned, but we also want to take time to just hang out and catch up.  We have missed our friends and can’t wait to see them!

We have procured a few road snacks…pretzel chips, black & white cookies (!!!), soda & sweet tea.  Yes, all junk, but I believe in living life the way you want to on vacation without guilt!  I saw these at the store last night and almost bought them instead of the black & white cookies, but didn’t and now I regret it!  I will have to buy some before the end of the fall season.

Pepperidge Farms Limited Edition Pumpkin Cheesecake soft-baked cookies

I also have my license plate game app ready to go on my iPhone!  How many states do you think we can find on the way from Orlando to Myrtle Beach?

“State Plate Bingo” app for iPhone

When we get back from our trip, I think I will finally be able to get 100% into fall season mode.  I have a couple of simple and small projects in mind so far, and I need to get back to JoAnn’s to pick up some pretty fall fabric for at least one of them.   We have a very busy few months ahead of us and I can’t wait!  We are entering my favorite time of year!

Not sure if I will have time to post again before we leave.  If not, enjoy your Labor Day weekend!  Goodbye Summer 2012!

MelissaBeingMartha.com

Posted by sunshineandsometea in Friends & Family and tagged with , , ,

I always love when friends of mine decide to embark on a new blogging adventure.  And so of course, I try to give them a friendly plug on here whenever I can.

Introducing MelissaBeingMartha.com, a brand new blog started by a girl who I have known her entire life.  Literally. If you had to press my parents into revealing who their best friends are, I have very little doubt that their answer would be Melissa’s parents (and vice versa, I’m sure).  Her dad is my godfather, and our families have been very close friends since before both Melissa and I were born.  They are friends who are really almost like family.

Anyways, all personal connections aside, Melissa is so creative and talented!  She loves crafts, baking, yoga, nail polish, you name it!  I can’t wait to see what she comes up with to share on her blog.  Please go check it out!

A beautiful day full of love.

Posted by sunshineandsometea in Friends & Family and tagged with , , , , , ,

As a follow up to my last post, I thought I would share some of my favorite pics from the beautiful wedding we attended on Sunday!  It took place at the Dr. Phillips House at the Courtyard at Lake Lucerne, a breathtaking historic inn right in downtown Orlando.

Dr. Phillips House

Beautiful courtyard for the ceremony…

Happy couple…

In lieu of favors, they had a cookie/pastry bar with personalized take away boxes.

Fancy living room/parlor. Check out that fireplace!  And antique furniture everywhere.

First dance! Awww…

Loved spending time with some of my closest friends too!  These are some of my favorite people on the planet.

Cheers!

Ah, weddings…

Posted by sunshineandsometea in Crafts & Decor, Friends & Family and tagged with , , , , , , ,

I love weddings, don’t you?  Aside from just sharing in the joy of the bride and groom, there are so many ancillary things I love about weddings.

  • I love seeing the personalization that each couple puts into their wedding to make it unique.
  • I love the creativity involved.  I very often find the settings, colors, flowers, and overall look of each wedding to be inspiring.
  • I find the gravity and sincerity of the occasion to be so moving.  It’s amazing to share such a special moment with a couple that I care about.
  • Weddings are just plain fun.  I get to dress up, slow dance with my husband, and have a great time with friends and/or family.
  • It always makes me reminisce about my own wedding, nearly 8 years ago…

I’m sure I could go on.  And it makes me SO happy that tomorrow I get to see my friends Lara and Tom do just that, get married!  I wish them SO much happiness on their special day and for the rest of their lives.  It’s going to be a beautiful day and I am excited!

On a related note, Tadd and I both went out and got new outfits to wear tomorrow.  Well, Tadd got a new shirt and tie that  he will wear with an existing suit.  I, however, got a new dress, cardigan, shoes, and jewelry!  That is another reason weddings are great…they are a great excuse to shop!  I purchased the below dress.  It’s the most lovely shade of yellow (it’s actually slightly deeper in person), and I love it.

I decided to do something I hadn’t done yet since I started sewing.  I decided to make myself something special…A wristlet to go with my new dress!  I used that awesome yellow floral fabric I bought during my birthday shopping spree.  I have to say, I think it came out pretty cute!

I used this same tutorial that I have used for all of my wristlets thus far.  I urge any of you sewers out there to give this one a try.  It’s such an awesome tutorial, easy to follow with great results every time.

Hodgepodging.com

Posted by sunshineandsometea in Friends & Family and tagged with , , , ,

Hope everyone’s weekend was nice!

I just wanted to take a quick second to let everyone know about the brand new blog of a dear friend of mine.  Her name is Carol and she is actually the mom of one of my very best friends.  My family has known her family since I looked like this:

That’s me in the center, and Carol’s daughter on the left!  Ha ha!

Anyways, Carol is starting a brand new blog called Hodgepodging.com about all kinds of topics; health, weight loss, travel, shopping, etc.  I know she would appreciate some new readers and  friends over at her new online home.  Please check it out!

Celebrating Moms

Posted by sunshineandsometea in Crafts & Decor, Friends & Family and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Happy Mother’s Day!  We will be heading out shortly to spend the day with two of my very favorite moms:

My mom, and HER mom (my “Mimi”)!  We are all going to visit Mimi in The Villages, which is always a fun time.  Not only are my grandparents really fun people, but whenever we go out to visit them, we always get to take their golf cart out for a spin around town.  The Villages is a very unique and interesting place.  It’s a retirement community, but ENORMOUS and unlike any other you have ever seen.  I’m sure I will elaborate on that in a future post.

I knew I wanted to make both my mom and Mimi something as part of their gifts.  I decided to go back to the camera/gadget case that I made the other day.  I think this has become my new favorite go-to simple project.  I think my favorite part about it is that you don’t have to do much fabric cutting.  I would love sewing about a zillion times more than I already do if I didn’t have to cut fabric.   I figured my mom could use hers to hold her iPod Nano and earbuds when she isn’t using it.  And I thought Mimi could use hers for her camera.

If you are new to sewing or just want something quick and easy to stitch up, I urge you to give this one a try!  It’s perfect!  Check out the tutorial here, at Sew, Mama, Sew.

I hope my mother and grandmother like the cases I made for them.  Of course, they both deserve so much more.  I hope my mom and all the moms out there know how much they are needed and loved today and everyday.  I love you Mom!!!

My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.  -George Washington

Instagram Link Party: Cats!

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It has been awhile since I talked about my furkids.  Thought I would share some pics.

Logan just turned 8.  He’s the “old man” of our family.  He knows he’s handsome, and is our most easygoing (read: too lazy to care) cat.  He is also enormous (22 lbs!).

Stella is 2, and is the scrawny runt.  She is sweet and snuggly, and is often terrorized by her brothers (poor thing!).  She enjoys sitting on Tadd’s shoulder like a parrot.  She also loves going out on the screened porch to watch birds and butterflies fly around.

Jacoby is the baby.  You might remember when we rescued him from a Publix parking lot back in July.  He is almost 11 months old now!   He is rambunctious, but sweet and happy all the time.  He also has the shiniest fur I have ever seen.  We call him “sparkle-cat”!

He has come a long way from this!: