Beach Birthday Bash

Karrie is 40! We celebrated her big year by taking her to Navarre Beach for the weekend. It was cold, windy and perfect! The waves, sand, and salty sea smell were a great break for all of us. Thank you for letting me plan your fun weekend. Happy birthday, sweet friend!

Forty things we love about Karrie...pictures, memories, and notes from her children

This baby had her first big road trip and we a trooper. She liked the adult attention and the peace with no big brother and sister. 

Sleeping in the sunshine

The drive back was interesting. The weather started to get back about the time we reached Louisiana. We drove through a lot of snow and ice but we finally made it back. We also almost died in a car chase but that's another story for another day. 

Pickles and Ice Cream

Thursday night, I hosted a little game night for Carmen.  At least, she thought it was just a game night!  She insisted that we bring no baby gifts so we decided to pamper her instead.  She got some great gifts...gift certificates for a massage and pedicure, lotions, bath salts, magazines, candles, and soft slippers. 

She is having a boy--after having three girls! I didn't want to use pink in the color scheme even though this technically wasn't a baby shower. Aqua, orange, and lime green were the colors and went perfect with the pool house which is where we had the party. I set up an ice cream buffet and a few friends brought finger foods for dinner. 

Karrie is going to love this picture! 

Okay...there was a little pink!  I had these plates already.  I bought them at a warehouse sale and thought they were too cute not to use. 

We had a great night visiting, eating, and celebrating Carmen!

Couples' Valentine Dinner

Blake and I had a few couples over Saturday night for dinner and a gag gift swap.  We cooked stuffed chicken parmesan.  Everyone else brought the side dishes and drinks...green bean bundles, garlic bread, and green salad.  I also decided to make a strawberry pretzel salad.  Thank you Ashley for the delicious recipe!  I had hot fudge cake for dessert with peaches and strawberries.  Julianne brought homemade vanilla ice cream and it was delicious!  Blake and I served everyone and had a lot of fun being hosts for the evening!
After dinner we had a white elephant gift swap and had a good laugh!  What a great night to spend with good friends!  And we had so much fun, I didn't take good pictures! 

The Place Setting...Because we prepared the plates in the kitchen, we didn't set the table with dishes. 

The Entre`...Yum!

The Favors...I used these as my table centerpieces.  I made the tags based off of a printable I found (and can't remember where).  I didn't use the exact wording as the one I saw but used famous couples both real and fictitious.  I found the little paper buckets on the dollar aisle at Target.  I filled each one with Hershey kisses and printed the tags myself.  I inked each tag with scrapbooking ink and attached in the bucket handles with a curled pipe cleaner.  Very cute!