joint shower

In February, I got a call from Mr. F to announce his sister's engagement!  Her happy news gave me the courage to finally call a doctor and find out if I was pregnant.  She was looking forward to a summer wedding and my suspicions about my growing belly led me to believe that I'd be giving birth around the same time.  The next day the doctor verified my pregnancy and our family has been in full-on celebration/planning mode since!

Sister is marrying a wonderful guy from New Zealand in a a few weeks and moving there shortly thereafter.  The wedding planning period has been extremely short but everything is coming together famously.  We were even able to cram in a joint shower last weekend in Florida to celebrate her wedding and our coming baby.

I wish I could explain how amazing that day was.  We were surrounded by an incredible group of women who spoiled us completely.  It was such a treat to feel everyone's love and support of our respective milestones.  The morning started with a brunch of quiches, bruschetta, and a smorgasbord of delicious iced beverages.  I got to catch up with friends from our days living there and have some much needed conversations about motherhood.  It was refreshing and made me feel so much better about the daunting task of raising a child.

After our meal, we opened gifts and the chatting continued.  I am still processing this group's generosity.  We had asked them to attend two showers at once and they gave to both of us liberally.   I am definitely taking stock and rethinking my gift giving.

My mother in law happens to be a master quilter.  She doesn't refer to herself as such, but I assure you, she is.  Amid a heavy travel schedule this spring and planning Sister's wedding, she somehow managed to make a quilt for Sister and her fiancé and for baby girl.  

I had daydreamed about what this quilt would look like and it is even more amazing than I had hoped!  It looks like a quilt my great grandmother would have made and is the perfect size for indoor picnics and cuddle sessions.  To top it off, the backer fabric looks just like the wallpaper I've hand painted in the nursery.  (..which I still need to show you...)

Isn't she beautiful?!  I often feel like she's the Diana Barry to my more Anne complexion.  Where I am fair, sister has these stunningly dark features that I envy.  And that smile?  Yeah, we've been seeing it a LOT since her engagement.  Can't wait to see her smile at the wedding!

To top it off it was my birthday.  I got to celebrate my sister and daughter in the morning and eat cake in the evening!  How great is that?!

A big thank you to everyone who came!  You are wonderful!  And an even bigger thank you to Mom for putting this shindig together.  I'm so grateful we got to share those memories together before Sister moves overseas.

going to the temple...

Weddings are always special, but seeing your younger sibling so deliriously happy with his chosen spouse is a bajillion times awesomer.  The Stud and his wife The Co-pilot are just an amazing pair.  The month leading up to their wedding was tumultuous, at best.  Most couples have their struggles in the days and weeks before the big day but these two had some major obstacles to overcome.  A month before, our dear, sweet Co-pilot was in a near fatal car accident which she miraculously came out of with scrapes, aches, and a few scars.  It totaled her car and put her on disability until two days before her wedding.  TWO DAYS!  Most brides are taking off work, not going back to it!  Two weeks later, her grandfather died.  A week before the wedding, our great uncle died (who happened to be a pilot also).  A few days before the wedding, The Stud's flight instructor was killed in a plane crash.  The day of the wedding, The Stud and Co-pilot refused to let each other out sight.  

The Stud picked up his bride early on a Friday morning and together they went to the Manti Temple.  The ceremony was beautiful, the room packed, and the bride and groom deliriously happy.  The sun shined (a far cry from the frozen tundra that was our wedding day in the same spot!), the hoardfs of friends and family cheered, and then we ate donuts.  Gobs and gobs of donuts while the bride and groom did their thing.

That night we partied hearty, catching up with scores of loved ones who travelled great distances to celebrate.  It was an incredible day, full of sun and ever so much laughter.  A perfect respite to the preceding month of sorrow.  A perfect example of joy and gratitude and unconditional love.

tail spin

I know, I know, technically DIY week is over but I just had to share one more with you! I made this one for my brother's wedding and I wanted to hold out until after they got married to post it.  Don't know why, but I felt like I was jinxing things by sharing wedding prep too soon.  But now that they're MARRIED! I have absolutely no qualms putting this up.  

The Stud is a pilot and his cute wife is so supportive of this.  Somehow they amicably agreed on using planes as a jumping off point for their wedding.  Best decision ever!  Right after they got engaged, I put these cute save the dates together to mail out..

It was a two-sided card with their names and event information on the back.  I'm still ridiculously proud of how they came out.  Anyway, Kitty and I put these in envelopes together back in May while we were in Utah.  As we were sitting around the table working, we brainstormed decorations.  Planes, obviously, but how to get a Restoration Hardware look on a Goodwill budget.

Cue the summer dollar bin at Walmart.  Kitty and I found these plastic planes for $2 each.  I can't tell you how many Walmarts we went to to get enough planes for the wedding.  It was an all day thing, took us through two valleys, and was one of the funnest days I can remember.

What you'll need:

plastic planes

gray spray primer

metallic silver spray paint

ibuprofen for the fume headache

If you feel so inclined, lightly sand the plastic planes.  I skipped this step because I was painting 20.  In retrospect, I should have taken the time to do it.  Place the planes on a drop cloth (or really classy garbage bag...) and lightly spray primer.  Make sure all neon is covered.  This may require waiting for the primer to dry, rotating the planes, and continuing to spray.  They're kind of tricky to coat!  

Once the primer dries, apply first coat of metallic paint.  I wish I could tell you what paint works best, but I ended up using three different kinds.  Feel free to mix and match to get the desired effect.  Make sure to let paint dry thoroughly before adding more coats.  I tried a generic paint, Rustoleom, and Krylon sprays.  On one batch I also tried a varnishing spray to try to get a high gloss look.  This failed horribly and made the planes look a dull, matte gray and I had to repaint the planes entirely with silver and metallic sprays.

The planes worked great on the tables with the other planes and aviation gear.  I'm excited to keep one for my own bookshelves as a reminder of one really awesome day!

cousins gettin' marriaged

In our extended family, I'm the oldest cousin..by a lot.  The closest in age to me is The Stud who is four years younger.  Growing up, it seemed like I would have a "first" and then the others would catch up about a decade later.  Now that many of them are college aged, it seems like life is catching up with all of us.  Two cousins are on missions, two more got married over the summer, The Stud in a week, and yet another cousin in January will tie the knot.

In May I was able to join one of my cousins on her wedding day, a last-minute surprise for both of us.  She has been more of a kid sister to me and it was such a treat to be there on her special day. I was gone for a week packed solidly with family time and, as Kitty would say, making memories.  At my cousin's wedding, we, her unruly family, planted ourselves on the lawn outside the venue and basked in the beginning of summer sun.  I can remember just a handful of times in my life where I have laughed as solidly as I did that week,

Now it's time for The Stud to get married and I can. Not. WAIT!  I'm en route to meet up with him and Kitty to get the wedding prep underway.  I will be out of commission for a few weeks but have some really amazing posts lined up in my absence.  (Think an entire week of DIY projects!)  Let the laughter, bonding, and memory making commence!

this is happening!

 It's finally official so I can finally tell you!  My brother is getting married!  SOON!  Like, September!   He's marrying a super awesome girl that just really compliments him.  She's the yin to his yang.  The peanut butter to his jelly.  The McDonald's to his Coke.  They're a good fit.

Just for reference, The Stud is a pilot.  I mean, seriously?  It's not enough to be suave, good looking, and a 4.0 student while holding down a job and a serious relationship?  No.  He's also a pilot!  For their engagement photos, they went flying.  To me, nothing says "trust" like getting in a two-seater plane with your spouse to be piloting.  (I'm too chicken to go up still...Don't tell!)

Speaking of trust, just check out how they look at each other?  I'm feeling some serious metaphors about relationships coming on relating to aviation....

Isn't she beautiful?!  Good grief!

Ah...young love...  

So, be prepared, there's probably going to be a lot of wedding talk going on around here for the next few months.  Get ready!  I've been helping with some of the decorations and they are going to be awesome!  

Also, I needed to give a serious shout out to my dear friend Clark Goldsberry who was the amazing photographer behind this shoot. How talented is he?  Plus, he's a kindred spirit!

anniversaries are like double birthdays

On New Year's two some-odd years ago, Mr. F took me to this very beach to watch the sunrise.  While we were already knee deep in wedding planning, he hadn't officially proposed yet.  He walked me down with a blanket in one hand a guitar in the other.  He played me a song written especially for me and as the sun crested the horizon, he asked me to be his wife.

On Monday morning, we went back to that same beach to wait for daybreak to celebrate two years together.  We went back to the place it all started.  For breakfast, we tucked the blanket under our arms and walked to one of our favorite local spots that overlooks the Atlantic. We reminisced about how we got together, through dating and our early months of marriage.  Our situations have changed drastically in two years, but we have drawn closer together and are ideas and dreams are more uniform.  As I scrapped the last remnants of eggs benedict from my plate, we played a few rounds of our old "What If?" game, trying to peg where we will go next.  Neither of us have any clue.  Hand in hand we walked back to the car, smiles deeply creasing our exhausted faces.  With eyes alight, I felt every ounce of the new bride but with the comfort of my old friend holding my hand.