DIY Party Hats!

A few weeks ago I threw a surprise party for one of my besties Ashley. She turned a whopping 25 years old and seriously... no one deserves a fun party more than her!!

 Jake & me with Ashley & Kevin at our wedding.

Ash was one of my bridesmaids and an official superstar throughout my wedding process, I can't tell you enough of how lucky I am to have her as a friend!

I had several projects in mind for the party, one of them being party hats! I have too many Pinterest boards littered with fun DIY party decor that I seriously had to sit myself down and figure out what I could get accomplished in my time frame!

Party Hats for sure made the cut. There are some AMAZING hats out there, but I have a rule (more like my bank account has a rule) that I can only use craft stuff I have on hand, so I didn't go as elaborate as I probably would have normally. Check out these inspiring party hats:

Oh Happy Day

Studio DIY

Studio DIY

Almost Makes Perfect

100 Layer Cake

Awesome right? Here is how I did ours:

Materials: 

Clearance Party Hats (I got 8 for 99 cents!) 

Scrapbook paper

Tissue paper

Extra craft supplies like poms

Hot glue gun

First I took a hat and took it apart and traced it on paper.

I did that 8 times for each hat I had. Then you cut them out glued them onto the hats. 

Next you take your extra craft supplies and go wild. They crazier the better in my book :) 

I did the same thing with noise makers. A surprise party REQUIRES noise makers! 

Another rule is that you have to put said party hats on your dogs... 

 

Kevin, Ashley & Phin! 

 

I'll share more this week about the rest of the details to the party! Hope ya'll had a great weekend! Boomer Sooner!

White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake

Sorry for the absense guys....July was a pretty busy/rough/fun month. We went on our first family vacation in 10 years, I started a new position at work, and we lost our favorite little bully, Zoe.

I'll talk about all of these things later, but today I wanted to share with you a delicious cake that I made!

This White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake is from Favorite Family Recipes and anything that claims to be similar to Nothing Bundt Cakes....well, I'm all over. I talk more about my love of the bundt and share wedding photos here. 

I haven't perfected it....mostly the looks of it, but it did taste very good!! 

*One tip* for making this the cake is that the recipe makes a lot (and I mean a lot!!) of frosting. I would half it, at least!

ENJOY!

Big..Huge...Pee My Pants, I'm So Excited Announcement!!

Our wedding was featured on Wedding Chicks! 

WHAT???? Crazy, I KNOW!

You can check out the feature here: WeddingChicks.com/WeddingSign-Palooza

It is pretty cool to see all of our, our families, friends and vendors hardwork on display on a wedding website!

 They have also pinned a few pics from our big day, that you can view over on their Pinterest page.

On the feature, I go into detail about our budget and DIY tips. They apparently loved our chalkboard and light up signs (Good job Hil on the chalkboard writing!)...they named the whole piece after them :)

Seriously over the moon excited about this! It makes me feel just as giddy as I did on November 30!


 

Book Review: The One and Only

Emily Giffin is one of my favorite authors. When she comes out with a new book, I can't read it fast enough!

The One & Only was OK. Honestly, when I finished it really just made me want to go back and re-read Something Borrowed and Something Blue (my faves of hers). I just couldn't get past the weirdness of the father - daughter like relationship Shea and Coach started out with, turning into a relationship. I also didn't think that Shea and Lucy's relationship was as strong as Emily has written in the past. It was kind of a Rachel/Darcy feel of a friendship (polar opposite, long time friends), but less believable. Amazon's description of the book states: Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets. 

I would qualify falling in love with your best friend's dad as "upending" but the "unsettling truths" part was a bit of a stretch. What happened between her and Ryan was predictable, and when she had strife with Coach, it seemed weak and misplaced. I didn't hate the book....just not my fave! 
What I did like about the book was that it was based in Texas, so it seemed very familiar every time she would talk about going somewhere. Also, the football. For a "girly" book....it talked quite a bit about football, which was awesome! (71 Days until OU Football starts!!) Best part of the book: the fictional team despised the Longhorns!! It made me smile every. single. time.

I'm now reading Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, and will let you know what I think!!

Humungo Announcement + Friday Faves 14

Drum Roll Folks!!

Jake and I are getting a puppy....TOMORROW!!!! Whoop!!

We have talked about getting one since day 3 of dating. And now, finally, after 202 days of being married...we are getting our pup!


I will for sure be sharing pictures...and lots of them, soon!

As for now, I'm going to share my favorite pics of my first dog love....Zoe!! Zoe will be our puppy's cousin! And no, Zoe is NOT being replaced, just joined :)

This was Zoe being the ultimate attention whore at the wedding! Anywhere I went, she went. It is seriously one of my most favorite memories of all time!!!

My friend Keith gave me this painting he made of Zoe. He seriously gives the best gifts!!

Happy Friday Guys! Promise I'll get to posting more than once a week soon! And thanks for allowing me to do dumb stuff, like use my blog as a shrine to my niece dog :)