Girls Just Want to Have Fun

The past few weekends have been so busy again! Time is really flying these days. Two weekends ago Toni, Michele, Sara and I headed down to Dewey Beach for a little girls weekend away and had a great time!! I am glad we got to spend some time sans boys and lay in the sun, drink and gossip. I hope that even as time passes, we can still make effort to bridge the gaps in geography and circumstance and make time for each other. Since Toni did such a great review of the trip, I will skip the play by play.

This past weekend I hosted Sara's bachelorette party.  I rented two rooms at the Sheraton Society Hill Philadelphia for everyone to stay over. One of the other bridesmaids and I decorated the rooms with typical bachelorette party paraphernalia, snacks and lots of alcohol. The maid of honor even brought homemade fruit infused vodkas that made for some pretty banging martinis.

I had each girl bring a wrapped gift of lingerie for Sara that best represented their personality without putting their name on it. So once everyone was settled, I had Sara sit down and open all her new goodies and guess who gave her each one based on how it looked - naughty, nice etc. She did pretty well and got a lot of great little gifts for the honeymoon!

The Bridesmaids and Bride

Next, we headed to dinner at a BYOB Italian restaurant in the city for a bite to eat. The food was great and we polished off three large bottles of wine between 9 people which got us primed and ready for a fantastic night out.

Next we went to Duel, a dueling piano bar in center city. They really cater to bachelorette parties, we had a table that was front and center in front of the pianos. They have a lot of wedding themed drinks and play really fun music. They even called Sara up on stage and did a funny little roast for her which was the perfect balance of embarrassing and cute. You can request any song imaginable and they will play it for you on the piano -- we had a great time there.

At around 11 pm we headed on to our next stop, Plough and the Stars. This is one of my favorite dancing bars in Philadelphia and one that Sara and I had spent a lot of time at during our single years. I thought it was only fitting that she get Plough'd one more time before walking down the aisle. The music is good and its a really fun/crazy atmosphere. At this point everyone was hammered and fading fast and by 2am we were ready to head back to the hotel which was only a few blocks away.

Once we got back, I unveiled my last surprise of the party. I had made cute gift bags for everyone and a special treat for Sara. Included in these gift bags were little bottles of vodka, gum, raspberry Ghirardelli chocolates, a cucumber face mask, cherry chap sticks, and a Kind granola bar. I got the idea from this blog. I used some of the things they mention in their post and improvised a little. I think they came out super cute and everyone seemed to like receiving them.

For the bride I made a special gift:  I got her a tote bag with a bride on the front that she can use to carry things in on the day of the wedding . Inside was a bottle of Skinny Girl White Peach Margarita, a bachelorette picture frame signed with well wishes by the entire bachelorette party, bride and groom luggage tags and a "Soon to be Mrs. Penwarden sweatshirt" that she can wear the day of the wedding while getting ready! I thought it was pretty cute:

All and all the party was a great success and everyone seemed to have a great time. It is always stressful when you are planning something on behalf of someone else and are not sure how the group will interact. I think the key is in the details though, we had a lot of really great little details that turned an average night out into a great time and hopefully something she will remember for a long time!

Showers of Happiness

This past weekend was my friend and former roommate Sara's bridal shower which, as a bridesmaid, I have been helping plan for the last few months. I think everything turned out wonderful, despite my ultimate nervousness day of! Sara's mom chose a tea shop in Sara's home town to host the event. The tea shop provided a good assortment of sandwiches, quiche, and sides for lunch as well as teas both cold and hot. The  I felt no party would be complete sans alcohol, so the bridesmaids also prepared a pitcher of mimosa's for the guests to enjoy. It was a big hit with guests both young and old. It was a perfect drink for the occasion because it gave a festive feeling without being overpowering on such a hot afternoon.
I also wanted to share a few of the details that I worked on in order to make this a special day! I found that I have quite a knack for shower/bachelorette party planning and have enjoyed the process for the most part. I was in charge of the invitations. I chose to do a printed invitation from a website called Zazzle. Upon scrolling through pages of invitations, I fell in love with this one because of its subtle nod to Philadelphia's Love Park Statue.

On the front of each of the invitations, I included a personalized address label which I made on the computer and  again complimented our LOVE theme. (ok so maybe this isn't exactly what mine said hahah!!)

The bridesmaids and I looked at many different favor choices but ultimately decided to again stick with the LOVE park theme and went with a set of 4 glass coasters tied with a pretty silver ribbon that we found online. I thought this was a fun yet practical shower gift that people would actually use!





For shower games we decided to limit ourselves to two games so that they were fun but not too much where guests were annoyed by them. The first game we chose was the purse game. Everyone got a partner and a list of 50 things you'd typically find in a purse. The team with the most things on the list inside their purse won a gift basket. The next game was called 'present bingo'. We gave each guest a bingo board and had them fill the squares with presents they thought Sara would receive during present opening. As Sara opened gifts she announced each gift until someone had 5 in a row and yelled bingo. The games really brought out everyone's competitive side and I think everyone had fun!

The day was a lot of fun and Sara walked away with a lot of great gifts to start her new life with Steve. Showers of happiness to both of you for a long, healthy, and happy life together!!





Summertime and the livin is easy....

Wow, my blog has fallen off the planet, I have been so busy... time is flying.  The month of June was filled with many fun activities begginning with the Bike Race which is every year on the first weekend in June. This year Joe and I threw a huge party for all of our friends. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time - I cant believe that this was our 5th year at the Bike Race -- crazy!! The following weekend, Joe and I went down to the shore to visit his family and celebrate his mom's birthday. We also went and checked out the new casino in Atlantic city, the Revel, that everyone has been talking about. We had a good time checking it out but I am not sure that it was any better then any of the other 20 casinos in AC.

The highlight of my weekend at the shore was bringing the ingredients for a truffle pizza and making it for Joe's family in their brick pizza oven. Do you think I have a career in the pizza business? The above pizza has truffle oil, shitake mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, roasted red peppers, fontina cheeze, topped with thyme and parmesan cheese.. so good!

On June 26th -- Chez Terrace had its 3rd birthday under current ownership! I cant believe I have owned the house for three whole years! Since I bought the house with the 2009 tax credit-- staying 3 years also means I can keep the money that the government gave me should I decide to sell. This is a big milestone!

On the last weekend in June Joe and I went to Rochester for our annual 4th of July visit. It was great to see all my family and Rochester friends. We arrived on a Friday night flight and spent Saturday and Sunday on the boat relaxing in the sunshine with my family and my friend Meg. On Monday we went and saw Ted at the Vintage Drive-In Movies. It is so nice watching a movie under the stars! Its sad that the drive-in is almost an extinct animal.. its a really simple way to enjoy a great summer night! On Wednesday night we attended the annual 4th of July Pig Roast at my neighbors house, and had a great time swimming in their pool and eating yummy food!

Oh last thing, while we were in Rochester we celebrated a very special 20th Birthday! Happy 20th Birthday to Daisy Bird who spent the day drinking vodka and hanging out with her duck friends:

Pintrest Projects

Pintrest is the ultimate time suck I would say. Even more the Facebook becuase not only is the parusing of Pintrest time consuming, most of the projects on the site consume time as well. Here are two projects I recently completed:

1. Chalk Board Painted Herb Pots

2. Polka Dot Tiered Planter

Both of these projects were a lot of work, by the time all the purchasing and painting was completed. That aside, I think they came out really cute! I am in love with them. Now, here is to hoping that some drunk Manayunker doesnt smash my hard work in some drunken rage.

On that note, I have decided to stay off Pintrest for the forseeable future.

Life Without Limits

A few months ago I was surfing the web for volunteer opportunities when I came across United Cerebral Palsy's website. While they didn't have any volunteer opportunities available that would fit in to my schedule, however,  they were advertising a 5K set for April 26th which began and ended at the Philadelphia Art Museum. United Cerebral Palsy is an organization which I am incredibly passionate about.  UCP educates, advocates and provides support services to ensure a life without limits for people with a spectrum of disabilities, including, but not limited to CP. While my case is mild, some cases can be severe and incredibly debilitating. I thought a 5K would be a perfect way to improve my own health as well as give back to the organization. The race was for people of all abilities, including wheel chair participants. I figured this would be a perfect way to break my 5K virginity without feeling intimidated. I created a donations page, and began a sporadic gym regiment.

On the day of the race, I was nervous. I had never ran more then a mile at any one time on the treadmill and now 3.1 were ahead of me. Joe was confident that I could do it, and we set a goal to complete it under 55 minutes and only walk if absolutely necessary. 

Prerace

Mid Race - I look like I am going to die

As we ran,  I looked around at the people using walkers and wheelchairs and felt lucky just to have the ability to be running in a 5k. My life could have turned out much differently if I had been wheel chair bound. Even though my life has had its fair share of challenges, I've gone though nothing compared to some of the people that surrounded me that day. I continue to feel blessed by everything I have and have been able to accomplish, despite my disability. I may not have been the fastest that day, but I ran, and I finished in 47 minutes.....13 minutes ahead of my personal goal. Joe and I raised $455 for UCP through donations from our friends and family. Thank you to all of you for your support and to Joe for running along side me and being encouraging the whole way. I plan to complete this race again next year with a goal of under 30 minutes. 

All done!

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us"

Art Museum

Center City at Night

Caution Wet Paint

I keep meaning to do this, but I have been busy, so tonight I am finally making it a point to share some of the home stuff I have been hard at work with lately. I know most of you probably remember that when I moved into Terrace Street, the entire house was painted yellow with the exception of the two upstairs bathrooms, which were painted sage green. I grew tired of everything yellow so I decided to have a painter come and paint a few weeks ago. I think everything came out wonderful, and it has made it feel new... its "our" home now.

To start we changed the den from a yellow to a gold color. It had to stay in the yellow family because it is right at the top of the stairs and is sort of an awkward room between the stairs and the upstairs hallway which are painted yellow still. It is also a fairly small room, so we wanted to keep it light. You cant tell in the picture, but it is a few shades darker then it once was. Moving along, we changed the master bath from sage green to a calming sea blue, it is the most restful color for a bathroom. Next, we had fun in Joes man cave. We painted 3 walls sand color and one wall bright red. We also got a really great area rug from overstock, and it looks like a brand new space! We both love that room best. Finally, in Joes bathroom we picked a deeper, manlier, blue. He picked this color, I like it, and it made him happy. So, win win.

On a side note, for the den I also puchased a ladder shelf from Amazon. It leans against the wall like a ladder. I have had some fun decorating it in the past few days with things from Ikea. I still have to find pictures for the picture frames but I think it came out really cute. See the video of before and after pictures below! Let me know what you think!!!! xoxo.

Digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox

#GoodnightOTH

“It’s the oldest story in the world, one day you’re seventeen and planning for ‘some day’, and then quietly and without you ever really noticing, ‘some day’ is today… and then ‘some day’ is yesterday, and this is your life. We spend so much time wanting, pursuing, wishing, but ambition is good. Chasing things with integrity is good, dreaming. If you had a friend you knew you’d never see again, what would you say? If you could do one last thing for someone you love, what would it be? Say it, don’t wait. Nothing lasts forever. Make a wish and place it in your heart. Anything you want, everything you want. Do you have it? Good. Now believe it can come true, you never know where the next miracle’s gonna come from. The next memory, the next smile, the next wish come true. If you believe that it’s right around the corner, and you open your heart and your mind to the possibility of it, to the certainty of it, you just might get the thing you’re wishing for, the world is full of magic, you just have to believe in it. So make your wish. Do you have it? Good. Now believe in it, with all your heart”.- One Tree Hill.


For the last time, Wednesday night at 8 pm, I sat down to watch my favorite show, One Tree Hill. I know, most people think its corny but I started watching nine years ago, after my then favorite show, Dawsons Creek ended. In 167 episodes, and nine seasons, this show accompanied me from highschool graduate to college graduate, to LATE 20's.  The show mirrored my life, as the characters went from highschool, to college, to post-college so did I. And while I do believe a lot of the things that happened on the show were far fetched, corny and hopelessly romantic, some part of me always wanted to believe in the world the way that it was portrayed on that show. Of course in the shows final episode everyone's story ended on a happy, sappy, greeting card rhyme. There is only one Tree Hill, after all.

I remember at Delaware, Megan and I watching in suspense in the dorm room freshman year and hanging a larger then llife size poster of Chad Michael Murray hanging outside my door. So much has changed since that time its unbelievable. I went from a high school senior in Rochester, to a college graduate of University of  Delaware, to a working girl in Philadelphia.  I met a guy, held two different jobs, bought a house, and moved in with my boyfriend.  And as the credits rolled on last nights episode, I couldnt help be a little sad. It was a reminder that I am no longer a young adult planning for 'someday'..  in the blink of an eye someday is today..  and most of the things I once wished for have come true. Heres to the end of an era.
#goodnightOTH -- thanks for the memories. #bittersweet

I need a new favorite show.... Sophia Bush (Brook Davis) has a pilot coming out that looks pretty good, I thnk I'll check that out.