spring break fakin'

spring is in the air y'all, and by spring, i mean summer. because let's be real. spring doesn't exist in dfw. well that's a little bit of a lie. it exists for 27 minutes. 

EG and i had a lot of fun parading around town during spring break.  i mean, our lives are pretty busy, so we needed to get away from the daily grind.  #gimmiethebbq

we took a trip to the farmers market, ate a ginormous sandwich at pecan lodge, threw a fun gender reveal party for our bestie, played in the backyard, and ordered chocolate chip pancakes at the local diner.   #allonatuesday 

we also hit some pretty major milestones this week. EG posed for her first passport photo #cheeseplease and fed herself puffs.  she's gotten pretty good at swatting them off the highchair, but now we've moved on to bigger and better things. aka: stuffing her whole fist in her mouth, sometimes resulting in puff-eating success.  raider is pretty bummed about it. he's not blinded by her sweet baby girl grin. #gimmiethepuffs
we also got to hang out with uncle grayson this week!

yay for spring break. it's pretty much awesome all around. even if you're fakin' it.

mr. and mrs. chastain: part 9

no reception is complete without a bouquet and garter toss!  my girls were such great sports, and they were all ready for a fight.  i think the photos make it pretty obvious who won...

even though steph is already engaged,

she said it couldn't hurt to catch the bouquet...just in case. :)

and then the garter toss!

bub-hub's brother caught it.

keepin it in the family after all! :)

our exit was one of my favorite parts of the night.

growing up, sparklers were always my favorite part of the fourth of july,

so i was thrilled when our reception venue gave us the go ahead to light 'em up!

and so we began our life as mr. and mrs.!!

thanks for sticking around for the whole story! 

if you missed anything, or just want to revisit, check out the links below! :)

part 1 | part 2

part 3 | part 4

part 5 | part 6

part 7 | part 8

all photos were taken by Jana at bella bee photography.

the wedding was coordinated by Rhonda at precisely as planned. 

only the best bachelorette bash for the bestie

it's ok to use your best friend's bachelorette party as creative therapy...isn't it?

  

you're invited to:

like every fun party...there are rules.

read carefully.

i'm not a debbie-downer.

the main table, full of snacks and drinks and fun. :)

 i'm not sure about the rest of you, but i tend to judge a party by the food.

just being honest.

as my wise mother has said on many occasions 

"you can spend thousands of dollars on a party, but if the food is terrible, you might as well have stayed home."

i completely agree.
what can i say, i love to eat!

snacks for the evening included:

hot pink cotton candy flavored popcorn

sugar dot cookies

hershey kisses and york peppermint patties

twizzlers
cake pops!

yogurt covered raisins

chips and salsa and guac 

the beverage station was stocked with:

fresca

dr pepper 10 (a.k.a. go go juice. don't judge.)

ginger ale & champagne for mimosas

cranberry-pomegranate juice for pom-settias

this was the motto for the evening.

in case the guests weren't sure what kind of night they were in for, i think this sign removed all confusion. i wanted everyone to have a fun and relaxing night full of lots of laughter and memory making.

 a party just isn't a party without bunting!

you know those cardboard sheets they have in the scrapbook paper racks?

they make excellent bases for painting your bunting. 

 in the middle of the living room, we had a party table full of games, boas, hottie-whistles, beads, and of-course, tiaras!

mad-libs are the best.... 

 each girl was given a pink bag with a pink nail file and a bottle of the bride's favorite nail polish, "topless and barefoot" by essie.

the bride and groom are honeymooning in cancun, which gave me the perfect opportunity for a fun play on words.

the three ladies in this photo with me are fantastic.

i met them in high school choir,

ya i was a choir kid,

and to this day i still consider them some of my sweetest friends.

isn't it fantastic how the Lord puts friendships together? 

 the bride and i at dinner.

she's going to be the most beautiful bride!

i'm so excited to celebrate her big day with her! 

and just when you thought you were partied out,,,
don't forget about breakfast!

it is most important meal of the day after all!

the morning menu included:

fresh fruit

breakfast cassarole

orange juice

iced coffee

chocolate chip muffins

 left over cake pops... 

 each girl was asked to share memories or pieces of advice with the bride.  i wrote them down on white hearts and scattered them on the table for her to read at breakfast. 

i had such a fantastic time getting ready for this event, and i'm so glad everything came out perfect for the bride!  she deserves nothing but the best!

 



pinning in pink

you know you're a pin-aholic when...

your home visiting your mama, and you hear her say,

"oooooo sarah grace, you have to see this pin....o wait....you pinned it!"

my bad

that might have happened a hand full of times on my trip home last weekend. 

what can i say, i take after my mama. :)

one thing i've learned about myself is i that i hate passing up an idea, especially when it's cute. this is probably the reason i have a couple dozen too many ideas for an upcoming bachelorette bash (steph close your eyes!).

these fabulous finds didn't make the cut, so i can share them without ruining all the surprises. 

pink is mandatory at every bachelorette party, so i've been on the hunt for anything and everything hot pink and sugary and sparkley.

how cute & perfect are these?!

Source: debbiesweets.blogspot.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

i also really want to try this sangria.
i love sweet tea and i love sangria so i really don't see how a combo of the two could go wrong.

Source: lovelesscafe.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

if you have ever met me or talked to me, even just once, chances are beyond high that i was wearing polka dots, or sporting a polka dot accessory. i love me some dots.  how cute would this tablescape be with black, white, and hot pink accents?

Source: ruffledblog.com via Ruffled® on Pinterest

grown up popsicles?
yes please!
strawberry peach vodka frozen cocktail.

Source: endlesssimmer.com via Amy on Pinterest

"the morning after" gift basket.
how funny is that??
target and michaels have bright pink buckets on sale right now.
hmmmmm.....:)
 

Source: bakeeatshare.blogspot.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

i think this should be the motto for any and every party or night on the town. nothing better than letting it loose on the dance floor with a group of girl friends.
 

Source: iloveprettypinkthings.tumblr.com via Katy on Pinterest

a party isn't a party without a glitter.
duh.

Source: glitterandnails.blogspot.com via Precious on Pinterest

and of course, you need a fabulous pair of shoes with a tiny touch of sparkle.
it's not a purchase, it's an investment. :)

Source: beyondtherack.com via Sarah on Pinterest

i wish i could plan 5 parties so i could use all of my pinterest ideas.
orrrrrr,,,,,
maybe i'll just plan a party with 5 times the fun!

what party pins to you love??

 

 

a lovely baking shower for a lovely bride-to-be

you're invited to a baking shower! :)

what is a baking shower you might ask?

it's just an excuse to eat yummy treats and shower the bride-to-be with gifts to fill her kitchen.

my mama and i hosted a baking themed bridal shower for my sweet friend stephanie.  guests brought so many sweet gifts, and many of them tied in to the recipies they gave her. neat huh?

the colors of the bride-to-be's kitchen are going to be blue and red, such a fun combo! so i designed the invitations and matching recipe cards to reflect this theme.

along with the invitations, guests were given two recipe cards to fill out and give back to the bride.  she received so many yummy recipes!! i wanted to keep them all!  there is something so sweet about having  the ladies in your life share their kitchen secrets.

i was really happy with the size and spacing of these cards.  they had enough room to hold detailed directions, and the lines were well spaced, even if the person writing has large handwriting like me. :)

the back of the recipe cards had a giant "d" for the bride-to-be's new last name! :)

i found plain, bamboo kitchen utensils at the grocery store and painted the handles to match the theme. my mom came up with the fabulous idea of tying them to the plate handles.
the bride said she is going to display them on hooks above her stove. isn't that a great idea!?

the guest's favors were recipe cards for two of the items that were served at the shower:
limeaid punch and chicken caesar salad bites.

we used all white flowers, white and blue plates, and white and silver serving pieces.  the white table cloth provided a clean backdrop for all of the red and blue accents and the yummy food! :)

the yummy bite-sized menu included:
shortbread dot cookies
raspberry spritz cookies
mini ham sandwiches
chicken caesar salad bites
chocolate pinwheels
vanilla gem muffins
fruit tarts with blueberries and raspberries
limeaid punch with fresh raspberries

aren't the flowers beautiful? my mama is so great at arranging flowers, i wish i had even a few of her skills!

just a few photos of me with my mama, and with the beautiful bride-to-be! and we all matched, aren't we the cutest?!

are you hosting a shower anytime soon?

if you're interested in personalized invitations, send me an email and i'd love to work with you! :)

gracefullymadeblog[at]gmail.com

woohooo olympics party!

what's better than the opening ceremonies of the olympics??

dressing up, eating yummy snacks and watching them with friends of course! :)

 yes there was an invitation... 

and a chalkboard welcome sign! :)

we had the opening ceremonies on, and set up kinect sports, but really, let's be real.

isn't it all about the food??

let's break down this snack situation:

what do you think of my janky oreo pops??

i'll be the first to admit that i am not a "pretty" baker.

i've tried to make cakeballs dozens of times,

and while they taste yummy,

they look absolutely terrible.

i think i am using the wrong type of chocolate coating...it takes forever to set and drips everywhere and is just a disaster.

any suggestions??

i filled mine with mini turkey pepperonis, cheese, sauce, and red and yellow bell peppers.

i may or may not have eaten an entire tray full.

p.s. you can find wonton wrappers in the produce section next to the tofu.

duh.

this was so yummy and tasted just like the real thing.

next time, i'll probably add strawberries to the mix.

horray for using wedding gifts! :)

 

a party isn't a party with out salsa and guac!

 do you guys have HEB grocery stores?

they have the best spicy guac on the planet.

i may or may not have eaten 1/2 a carton of guac for lunch saturday.

i'll never tell.

 

don't judge.

of course there were decorations!

bryce and i found the blue sparkly ring and usa stars in the clearance section at target.

definitely great planning to have the olympics fall a few weeks after the fourth of july.

watch out feddy....the real competition is coming your way! :)

loving the chastain women!

not quite to par with hostess with the mostess, but a step in the right direction! :)

p.s. after 2 months with my new iphone,

i realized that the plastic shield was still on my phone...which is why all of my iphone photos have been turning out so terribly.

 sooo smooth....

i'm seeing non-grainy, well lit photos in my future.