Ice cream social.

In honor of the warm weather coming our way, let's talk about ice cream. 

I spent two years in my early twenties working at a gelateria. Gelato was new to Portland and the little shop was a big hit for a few years. 

I learned some good life skills while working there; like how to make a perfect cappuccino (its all about the foam), what the best glass cleaner is (spoiler alert: it isn't Windex), and that ice cream makes people happy (and fat, if you eat too much). I learned that last one the hard way. 

These days people in Portland are lining up for blocks to get a scoop of Salt & Straw ice cream. It is pretty phenomenal. My favorite flavor? Hands down, sea salt and caramel ribbons. It is the perfect combination of salty and sweet. 

Want to check out Salt & Straw but hate standing in line? Here is a good trick: You can skip the line, head straight to the back, grab a pint (or five) and go right up to the counter to pay. Oh, and don't forget to grab a spoon on your way out. 

In the wise words of my father, "Never stand in line if you don't have to." 

Monogram love.

When Carson was born, Brent bought me this monogrammed bracelet from Sarah Chloe. It was such a nice reminder of my son's presence when I went back to work. 

I'm a big fan of anything monogrammed. Here are a couple monogrammed things I'm coveting these days (just in case, oh you know, you want to get me a birthday present or something)...

This amazing flatware set from Williams-Sonoma (two of my friends, both with impeccable taste, just registered for this very set):

This pillow on Etsy:

This monogrammed bikini top for bachelorette weekends:

A new monogrammed Longchamp tote:

Monday night tradition.

Sometimes Monday rolls around and you aren't quite ready to launch into the week. That is why Monday pizza at Ken's Artisan Bakery is such a good idea. It stretches out that weekend feel just one more night. You'll find us there most Monday evenings, including this one. Maybe we will see you there?

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!