Fun Fall Weekend

We had a really fun weekend!

We kicked things off Friday with a trip to the pumpkin patch!

Ella wanted to eat all of the pumpkins...she went right up to several of them and tried to bite them. I think she thought they were apples?!

My child did not want her picture taken.

But she did want to pick up pumpkins and put them in the wagon!

Hahahaha!

Her favorite part?! The fire truck!

Saturday, we headed up to Chapel Hill to see Trav' parents. They found an original Tickle Me Elmo that had belonged to Travis' sister, so they got it out of the attic for Ella!! She loved it!!!

 After hanging out with Elmo for a little bit, we took Ella to Tarheel Town, which is something UNC does before every home game. They had bounce houses (which Ella was DYING to go in, but unfortunately, she was too small), face painting, bands playing....

...and of course Rameses was there!

Too bad Ella was once again terrified of him, so I made Trav go with her. Look at her little face. She is so scared!

Then we waited for the Victory Walk, where all of the football players get off the bus and go into the stadium!

This time when we saw Rameses, Ella was excited!

Ryan Switzer, one of our favorite players, also walked right by us! 

And again, my child hates pictures. UGH!

We dropped Ella off with Trav's parents so we could go to the game (it started at 7PM, which is Ella's bedtime, so there was no way we were trying to bring her!).

It was a great night for a football game, but gosh was it cold!!!!!

Yes, 52* is cold to me. I was seriously shivering and hunting down the person selling hot chocolate. 

Yesterday, we drove back to Charlotte (thank you, Ella for screaming 3/4 of the ride home and refusing to nap!) and got home just in time for the Panthers game!!

I think this was Ella's face after one of Cam's interceptions...yes, he is on my fantasy team so I was paying attention to the game!!!

We were all so excited they won!

GO PANTHERS! :)

Five on Friday!

Oh, HEYYYY there! Sorry for the radio silence over here, but we've been at the beach!!

(Full recap coming soon, I know you're excited!)

1. Ella sported her first pigtails last week and it was everything I hoped it would be and more. 

I. can't. even.

2. Charlotte moms! You have to stop by my friend Katie's house this weekend! 

Of course Ella and I went on Wednesday and I got her a super cute bonnet from April (red for Christmas, I'm so excited!) and another couple of things from Anni! All 3 ladies have so much cute stuff, it was hard to not buy everything!

3. Speaking of Anni, she is going to make Ella's birthday shirt for me (yes, her birthday is in February)! Ok, so don't judge me for planning ahead...I am a little type A, we know this!
The theme of her party is Lilly Pulitzer and Anni is going to make me a shirt like this:

So all of you Lilly fanatics out there, what fabric should I get for the appliqué? We might even make matching pants to go with it!
These are my favorites:

Let me know your opinion! (You only have 3.5 months...haha)

4. Ok, so speaking of being type A, I can't believe it is already October 16 and I do not have Ella's Halloween costume done. Shoot, I haven't even started it, who am I kidding. I am so behind on life! And yes, I am crazy for making it again this year...but my mom always made mine growing up, so I feel bad just buying one for Ella! 

Here is what I'm attempting...

...and yes, I do realize I am crazy! Ella will probably refuse to wear it with my luck!

5. A few beach "outtakes" if you will...

{when my camera timer went off wayyyy too quickly!}

{swinging and laughing...kind of?!}

{#eatallthepuffs... It was the only way we could keep her happy on this boat!}

{that one time I made everyone get up early and have a sunrise photo shoot on the beach...Ella=not a fan!}

Plenty more where that came from next week! (But better pics, promise!)
Have a great weekend!

Kathryn's Baby Shower

If you've been reading for a while now, you may remember the amazing bridal and baby showers my dear friend Kathryn has thrown for me in the past.

So of course, I had to (attempt to) return the favor for her baby shower yesterday! 

First, here are the invitations:

I was so excited when I found these on Etsy! They are identical to some I loved on Tiny Prints, but at a fraction of the cost!

Anyways, I had this really ridiculous idea that I was going to have tons of time before the shower started to run around and take really good pictures of everything. HA! At 12:58 (the shower started at 1:00), I thought I had time, so I was quickly running around trying to get everything as people were walking in the door!

And because it was the gloomiest day ever, I had to use flash, which I never like doing...so please excuse that these pictures are literally, the worst. Ever. But I promise it was a cute party ;)

A better shot of the diaper cake:

It was really easy to make!!! I used this tutorial. 

Oh and I made those onesies! A tutorial is coming soon...

We had wayyyy too much food! Not even pictured is the counter to the right, which had salad, fruit, veggies and different warm appetizer things (100 piece party pack from Costco...amazing). 

Since Kathryn isn't finding out the gender, we had people guess when her baby would arrive and if it would be a boy or girl. Most people guessed girl, and the week of Christmas!

Beverages...again, worst. picture. ever. That sign says "watering hole."

And of course we had to label the wines!

Loved the "Hello Baby" bunting! I ordered a huge printable file from Etsy, and it included most of the signs and labels used for the party!! It was awesome. 

We also had a station set up where guests could decorate an alphabet block...this was Kathryn's idea, and I thought it was so cute! I should have taken a picture of all the blocks after...they turned out so great!

We also had a station set up for writing messages on diapers. Kathryn had this at my shower, and I loved reading the messages when Ella finally got into that size diapers! 

(PS, can you tell I used to be a teacher with the plethora of sharpies I had readily available for both this and the blocks?! I did not have to buy one sharpie!)

And animal crackers for party favors!

You know Ella was appropriately dressed for the safari-themed shower!

Kathryn got so many great gifts!

My favorite was this onesie from her dogs, "my siblings have tails!"

BIG shoutout to my mom who came to help me, and watched Ella during the shower (Trav got stuck working, so Ella had to come)!

...well, I think my mom watched her, anyways ;) When Ella wasn't playing in the gigantic dog cages...

...or testing out the new baby's toys!

 

Glad I could (somewhat) repay my friend for all of the amazing showers she's thrown me!! Thanks for having a baby, Kathryn!! :)

Five on Friday!

1. First and foremost, Happy October! The BEST month!!

My fall decorations are finally out, so bring on the pumpkin patches and cooler weather!

2. I mentioned that I was reading this book, and I finally bit the bullet and cleaned out my closet Wednesday. HOLY CRAP. It was amazing, but overwhelming! Here's what it looks like now:

Yes, all those empty hangers are clothes I got rid of!! I managed to sell a bunch of them, both in a Facebook group, and then I took some to a consignment store...and the rest I just gave to Goodwill! Definitely took a while, but I love walking in my closet now!! (Oh, and I know the book says to fold your clothes, but I don't have that much drawer space, and prefer to have my clothes hanging!) Now onto the next thing to declutter...

3. This.

My new favorite side from Trader Joe's. We had it last night with some shrimp, and it was so delish! I just had to share.

4. We have been having so much fun at our music classes! Ella has really been getting into it, and she especially loves the "Peekaboo" song we sing with the scarves. She thinks it's hilarious.

5. This weather. UGH. Go away Joaquin!!! {I'm just glad we're not going to the beach till next weekend!!!}

Have a happy weekend! Stay dry!