13.1 done and done.

I wasn't fast and it wasn't pretty, but I am proud to say I completed the Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon last weekend. I'm pretty sure most of the people around me were walking about as fast as I was running (and not speed walking) but it didn't really matter. What mattered was that I set a goal and I did it. And that feels really good.

Thank you to all my friends and family for cheering me on and encouraging me on race day and every day leading up to it (and even running with me, gold star for Hilary!!!).

I learned a lot about myself and running in general during this process. Here are my key findings:

• Running hungover is pretty miserable but a decent hangover cure.
• Running during lunch is a great use of one's lunch hour.
• Wear less clothes than you think you need to stay warm (still working on figuring this one out).
• The first mile is always the hardest.
• Mile 5 & 6 are usually the easiest.
• A big post-race brunch at Tasty n Alder makes finishing a race feel that much better.

13.1!

Thank you, Ann McCulloch Studio!

A couple of weeks ago, I won a pair of custom throw pillows in a Facebook contest run by Ann McCulloch Studio (Ann was also the inspiration behind the botanical prints in our bedroom). 

These pillows are amazing: 18"x18" cut silk velvet down pillows in Manuel Canovas fabric with a double French welt trim. I didn't even know what  a "double French welt trim" meant until I saw them in person.

I found the perfect home for them in our living room, right next to my gold cross hatch pillows from Abode Decor. 

P.S. Make sure to like Ann McCulloch Studio on Facebook to be notified about future contests! 

Arley's Shower: Cheers, Bitches.

I'm on a shower kick.

Last weekend I was involved in co-hosting a shower for another bride-to-be, Arley. It was held at the beautiful home of my friend, Courtney. And, yes, the banner above really does say "Cheers, Bitches".

To make the banner, I used a free, customizable template from A Printable Press. Here is a link to make your own custom banner!

This shower was so gorgeous I had a tough time self-editing so I'm apologizing in advance for the extra long post today. Here is a peek at some of the other details.

P.S. Links to anything link-able are at the very bottom of this post.

Table

 

Bar

Food

 

Flowers

Favors

Friends

Links

• Bell Pepper and Goat Cheese Strata
• Mini Bagels from Kenny & Zuke's Bagelworks
• CoCo Donuts
• Olive Oil Favors
• Birch Straws

Shower games.

Some girlfriends and I hosted a wedding shower recently for our friend Megan. At the party we played a newish game that worked really well for our group, He Says... She Says. I highly recommend it. 

It was super easy to put together. Before the shower I sent a list of questions to the bride and groom and collected their answers, picking my favorite to include in the game. It was pretty cute how many of their answers were similar. 

At the shower each guest got a playing card with a list of questions and one answer, and they had to guess if the answer was from Megan, Chris or both by circling the lips or mustache. 

When we read off the answers, guests would hold up the lips or mustache to show what their answer was. This made for some great photo ops (of course, my camera died and I captured none of this). 

I love parties with games (especially competitive ones) so I thought I would share some of my favorite wedding shower games:

Wedding shower games

1. He says... She says: Details listed above.
2. How well do you know the bride?: Create a list of questions about the bride, the person who answers the most correctly wins. 
3. Newlywed game: Send a list of questions to the groom and collect his answers. At the shower ask the same questions to the bride. With every correct answer she gets to open a gift. 
4. Weddings to weddings (a spin on Apples to Apples): Write down a bunch of nouns on notecards. Have the bride read the noun and the guests write adjectives to describe that noun on a notecard and place all notecards in a bowl. The bride then reads all answers and selects her favorite adjective. 

I've got templates/sample questions for all four games listed above. Feel free to contact me and I will email them to you! Happy shower planning!

Meet bkr.

Have you heard of bkr? I'm kind of obsessed.

The bottle is glass and the sleeve silicone, and it comes in a ton of beautiful jewel tones. I just purchased Crush, a neon coral-sleeved bottle, as I needed a new water bottle for toting around at work.

Here is a little from the gals behind bkr about why glass and silicone is better for you than the average water bottle:

Glass is better for your body and the earth. Glass is chemically inert; it does not alter the taste of its contents and does not allow any unsafe chemicals to leach and make you sick. Glass is a fully recyclable material. It can be recycled endlessly and recovered glass is used as the majority ingredient in new glass containers. And without question, everything tastes better out of glass.

The silicone sleeve is non-toxic, protects the glass, provides a quality grip, is dishwasher safe, and is clean, modern, minimal, and cool. Silicone is 100% recyclable. You can find specialty recycling centers, or mail it back to us and we'll recycle it for you.

I highly suggest you check it out.

UPDATE as of 5/20: They now sell bkr at Canoe in Portland.