A Bachelor Birthday

My birthday was Monday and it was very fun indeed. Who knew turning 24 would be this awesome? I came into my office which was decorated by my lovely co-workers:

My dear boyfriend made my morning bright by sending me several cute birthday messages. He even got Joakim Noah (my favorite Bulls player) to wish me a happy birthday! Okay. Maybe it wasn't for ME, but still.

We went out to lunch at one of my favorite Aurora restaurants: Jake's Bagels & Deli. Seriously, if you're ever in Aurora, IL, check it out! It's right across from the train station. Of course, Dana wanted to take me for coffee, so we headed to Starbucks for a little afternoon jolt before our staff meeting. Want to know the way to my heart? Coffee.

After my staff meeting, I headed over to my other office on campus to find my co-workers waiting with treats and a card! I work with such great people!

Then the main event: birthday dinner with the boyfriend. He came over early so I could open my presents before dinner. He'd been talking them up for a while now and was really proud of his "theme" for the gifts. First: a cute pair of nautical earrings (Second way to my heart: all things nautical) and a fun warm-weather scarf (he learned from Moneyball that a good gift for a lady is a "decorative" scarf). Second: a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Third: a bottle of Chardonnay.

I'm sitting there trying to guess the theme. Are we going to California? A cruise? Are we going to drink so much that I'll feel like I'm on a boat? Then he explains. The wine is from Envolve Winery. This may sound familiar to those die-hard bachelor fans--yep, that's Ben's winery! And the earrings and scarf? From a litttle online shop called TheFactoryGirl.com. Remember Sean from last season's Bachelor? Remember how he is a "custom furniture maker" now? Well, it turns out he co-owns the store! How cool is that?! It's like I got a little piece of Ben AND Sean for my birthday--even though I'm more than happy with my own bachelor!

After gifts, we made our way to the Turf Room--another excellent restaurant in Aurora! Delicious food, romantic atmosphere, and yummy drinks!

It was quite a day! I felt like a princess and it was far better than any hokey "fairytale" date on the Bachelor! 

DIY Bachelorette Invites

So, my best friend is getting married in July! Naturally, I'm throwing her a bachelorette party! We're doing something a little different--going to paint pottery at this awesome place called Baked Goods in STL, grabbing dinner at a great Italian place called Gianino's, and then heading out for dancing and drinks at Jive & Wail.

While at Baked Goods, we'll be dong a personal shower and I cannot wait! Instead of just listing the bride's sizes on the invite (which I designed on Vistaprint--super easy, great price!), I thought I'd make a separate insert inspired by Pinterest.  Here's my take:

I got my supplies at Archiver's because I had a gift card. I was looking for pre-cut bras/panties or bra/panty stickers. Surprisingly, no such luck at the scrapbooking mecca. As I was on my lunch break (already running late), I had to improvise on the spot. So, I decided to make my own cutouts and get super crafty. To make 18 inserts I bought:

• 3-12" x 12" bachelorette themed, double-sided pieces of card stock
• 3-8.5" x 11" pink, raised dot pieces of card stock
• 1 Galaxy Marker in white

I cut the 12" x 12" paper into six 4" x 6" pieces. To make the bra and panty shapes, I folded a scrap piece of cardstock in half and free-handed half a bra and panty. This is not as easy as one might think--I am so not artsy. And clip art was no help! Thankfully these shapes are symmetrical so I only struggled through half the shape, knowing the other half would automatically match once cut. I think I ended up with a pretty good stencil:

I then traced eighteen of these prototypes (folded in half) along the fold of a strip of the pink paper. Then I cut them out. A lot of cutting. Are scissor hands a real thing? Like tennis elbow?

Glue each bra and panty (glue sticks work best in my experience).to a piece of the 4" x 6" paper and decorate with the galaxy marker. I wrote the sizes on the bra and panty and then decorated with some dots. Here's the finished product:

I typed up registry info and pasted it on the back too--in case someone didn't want to go the lingerie route. It's important to make guests comfortable!

If you're super crafty/techy, you could probably make a template that is printable. I encourage you to do so, but I know that each of my invites look unique and that's kind of cool!

33 days and counting

The Bachelorette starts in 33 days. Can you say, OMG I can't believe it?! Well, I am very excited it's here....soon. Because let's face it: nothing really good is on TV in the summer. Now I love the Bachelorette, but let's be honest, it's nothing close to The Bachelor--it's "The Hangover Part 2" of the franchise. You know what's coming, and it's so less interesting than the first one, but you watch anyway with just as much anticipation and ultimately more disappointment.

But if I'm going to do anything on a Monday night in June, I'll be sitting back on my red couch, sipping on a glass of vino, watching The Bachelorette (while simultaneously talking to my co-watcher Bridget, texting my boyfriend about it, and tweeting along with the likes of Jennifer Weiner--a girl can only dream to best friends with that woman!).

This season we re-visit Desiree--a girl cast off by the previous Bachelor, Sean. She's petite  sweet, and has an angry brother. I'm sure it will be mediocre television. Join me on our "journey" that will lead to a "fairy tale ending" which really means a breakup where the guy gets tons of ladies and the girl reeks of "bachelor stink." It's a fun game anyway--and a real boost of self-confidence.

COMING UP....my best friend's wedding, tips & tricks for writing your own vows, and a cute bachelorette party DIY invite!