Cortney's Babyshower

As many of you know, my younger sister Cortney is pregnant with her first child, a baby boy. It seems like just yesterday her and David were tying the knot. You may remember this POST when they got married two years ago. She is due 9/26/14, and our family could not be more excited for Cort and David! This will be Pat and I's first time to be "Aunt and Uncle", this is also the first grandchild for my parents and first great-grandchild for my grandparents. I CANNOT wait to meet this little one, oh did I mention it is a BOY?!?! Yes- Wyatt James Richmond. Our family has pretty much zero boys, so this also brings everything to a whole new excitement:) We are just overjoyed and can't wait to meet the little guy in only a few short weeks. I cannot wait to see Cortney as a Mom, I have always thought she'd be the best Mom (she is one of the most caring, laid back, and patient people) and it makes me smile just thinking about her and David raising a family. I think Cort will have him early, my guess is September 13th, we'll see how close I am!

This past weekend my Mom, Paige, and I threw Cortney her a baby shower. The guest list was quite hefty, so we had it at St. Francis Church in one of their halls. It worked out perfect. We had an awesome turnout and Cortney and David are now pretty set for Mr. Wyatt's arrival!

My friend Tessa designed the invites (check her out over at Royalscript.blogspot.com)
The whole shower was based around a Nautical Theme

We made the cake table the focus table and then food on each side. My younger sister Paige made the Wyatt banner, my Dad made the fence, and I found the onesies to hang at Old Navy.

We added nets and sea shells to all of the tables to go along with the theme. I also had some lanterns at home that I incorporated.

My Mom and I found this cute boat for $10 at a craft fair, how cute is it?! We added some baby's breath in mason jars, sea shells, and a net on top.

I absolutely loved the cake and thought it turned out perfect! It tasted as good as it looked too:)

I found this cute anchor at TJ Maxx and then borrowed the chalkboard signs and crate from a friend.

I found these cute free nautical printables online. Printed and punched them out and glued to toothpicks for sandwich toppers.

These fruit kabobs were a hit! So easy- take skewers and add sliced strawberries, blackberries, and donut holes, then drizzle with caramel sauce. Easy and delish! 

Welcome table. I ordered this buoy off of amazing that says "Welcome Aboard." We then had all guests sign the buoy as they arrived for a keepsake.

Made a photo collage of a mixture of baby pictures of both Cortney and David

Momma-to-be

My amazing Mom, Momma to be, little sister Paige

What a crowd! My Mom also made diaper cakes for all the tables which will now be great for Cort to use.

The quilt my Mom made for Wyatt, it turned out so great!

And we're done! What an exhausting and HOT day! Now the fun begins:)

Auntie Amber can't wait to meet you Wyatt! I pray for a healthy delivery for Momma and you. I pray for you as you enter this crazy world we live in and that you will be loved, are healthy and kept safe, and that you grow up to be a wonderful young man some day. We can't wait to be a part of your life!

JUNE/JULY

It's hard to believe July is nearing an end. I'm trying to think back to what our lives were like in June and I can't even remember, hence to why I blog..so that one day I will be able to look back and have more vivid memories of such great times in our life. We have been blessed with a pretty great summer here in Kansas. The temps have been pretty mild for this time of year, which I'll definitely take any day. The humidity on the other hand, not so great, it's been dreadful. One thing that makes me anticipate the cool fall weather that will be here in only a few months.

June was filled with LOTS of birthdays. More importantly both of my sisters celebrated theirs. My baby sis Paige, turned 21, which makes me feel extremely old. It seems like just yesterday I was babysitting her and bossing her around:) We surprised her with a party bus. Number 2 time I felt extremely old. Pat and I were the oldest people on the bus, no seriously we were. It was a fun night and we wouldn't have missed it for the world.

The Birthday Girl

Group Pic

This Momma was a trooper, being 6 1/2 months preggo and being on a party bus was probably not her favorite.

We spent the 4th of July this year at Bull Shoals Lake. One of Pat's best friends, Sean has a lake house down there. We love spending time down there, so peaceful and relaxing. This go around we were able to take some friends with us, Caitlin and Chad. Super fun time. This girl even got a little adventurous:) Sean is so fun and his family is just awesome, they make us feel just like family when we are down there, definitely many more visits to the lake in our future.

 

Relaxation Station, what more could you need!?

Me attempting to wakeboard, mostly because Pat bet me $300 that I wouldn't do it. Who could turn down that bet??

Getting ready to tube. I think Caitlin may have gone deaf after this tube ride:)

On the pontoon.....

Love this girl!

Cheers to an awesome long weekend!

Next up, COSTA RICA. 8 days and counting. I will soon be laying on the beach and relaxing with my man.


Until next time-

Life Lately

Is it really April??? Not sure how it can be..but I will say I am more than ready for some nice weather, I'm totally not a cold weather gal.

 

I've had a lot of my mind lately, particularly the thought of what I should be doing with my life? Today's church sermon could not have been better, I felt that it was directed right at me. It was about living happy, as well as being emotionally and mentally happy. Our Pastor gave us a task this week and that is to make a list of everything we don't need in our lives. He made such a great point.

Happiness is not found by chasing new things, but by letting go of the things you don't need.We need to stop worrying about being the person we think everyone wants us to be, but be the person God made us to be.

 

Life lately has been pretty good, I've been working a bit more of a normal schedule, still not ideal but better so I'll take it. I've been really contemplating what I want to do with my life though...is it normal to do this when you are 27?? Please tell me yes. I've now been out of college for almost 5 years, sheesh. Yea- I'm proud of myself and feel that I have been pretty successful and am at a good point in my career, I work in the corporate world, wear suits every day to work (I always had dreamed of dressing up like this for a job) but is it what I really want to do?? Am I passionate about my job? No.

And I think this is the whole problem, I don't feel like there is a purpose, or I am making a difference. I want to be passionate about what I am doing, enjoy going to work every day (okay I know that is not realistic, but at least the majority of the time), have more of a flexible job/hours, and NOT wear a suit every day. Ha- boy have my thoughts changed. So what am I truly passionate about?

Fashion and Nutrition. My ultimate dream for as long as I can remember is to own a boutique. But of course that takes some funds, lots and lots of moo-lah, more than a 27 year old has. So..that is a good long-term goal. But what about now? I am intrigued by nutrition and health. I would have loved to become a dietitian, but never wanted to take those classes in college (aka science) so I pushed it aside. I absolutely love reading about food and what it does for your body and learning how different foods effect people. And I want to to help people, I want to make a difference in someones life. So that is where I am at.... I've been doing some research on different routes to take, so we will see where life takes me. I want to be the person God wants me to be, and I will pray that he will point me in the right direction and lead me to the field I need to be in.

 

So what else? Well we have been working away on the basement. I'm so proud of patty boy, he has been working his tush off and things are coming along. Pictures to come:)

 



Last weekend was Easter, God blessed us with an absolutely beautiful day. The hubs and I spent the day with family. We started out with Church, followed by brunch at my parents and then off to Beloit to visit his Grandpa.

 

 



My youngest sister, Paige and her boyfriend were also in town for Easter so we had my family over Saturday night to watch the WSU game.

 

 

 

This weekend was followed with some more amazing weather! I am loving the weather (however the allergies are not). I love when I have productive days, Saturday was one of them! We started the day with a great Title Boxing workout (I could not be more obsessed with this place), then made it to the Farmer's Market (first weekend it was opened). We picked up some fresh herbs and vegetables. We then headed to the grocery store to get our food for the week, ran to Lowes to get some grass seed and headed back home to get some yard work done. We got the flower beds all cleaned out, the house power washed, and planted my new herbs in my little herb garden. I took Buddy on a quick walk and then it was game time! 

Today will be spent getting some cooking done for the week, I hope to get in a good run to! Oh and clean out my closet, it's in dire need!

I've already made some fresh pesto, I freeze this in an ice cube tray and then can pop out a few cubes when needed for a quick dinner. Throw on some sauteed chicken and boom- dinner is served.

I'm also a girl who has a major sweet tooth, I won't deny that. I have found these to be the perfect sweet treat!

 



 

They are little protein truffles. Simply made with some protein powder, coconut flour, water, walden farms peanut butter spread, coconut oil, and water. Delish!

Happy Spring!

 



Cupcakes & Cocktails

Ms. Cortney the Bride-to-Be, isn't she beautiful!?!

4.24.12

My younger sister Cortney is getting married June 30th, holy cow, can't believe it's almost two months away, man time is flying! Cortney is the complete opposite of me in every way you can imagine, sometimes I wish I could be as laid back as she is.. anywho she's not a a big fan of planning things you could say so I've gotten the opportunity to help a lot with her wedding, which in all honesty has been more fun than planning my own, I'm so much more LESS stressed out that it's not my own.

I was especially excited to plan her shower, I've been envisioning it for months now! This past Saturday, 4/21 we hosted her Bridal Shower at my Mom's house- the theme was Cupcakes & Cocktails, which I was beyond excited for. My great friend Tessa designed the invites and table cards for me, all of which turned out perfect.

Saturday couldn't have been a more perfect day, the shower started at 7:00pm, there was not an ounce of wind (very rare in KS) and we all sat around in my parents backyard where we had tiki torches and a fire pit going when it started to get a bit chilly.

Can of Dates- As each guest arrived they were to fill out a "Date Card" with
a date idea for Cortney and David to use throughout their
marriage, got to keep that spark alive!

Main food table filled with delicous home made desserts by my Mom, Grandma, and Me!

Tissue Pom Centerpieces. Found these candlestick holders at Goodwill and spraypainted them.
BUT let me tell you, these are not a quick project...hours and hours were spent
on these darn things, but turned out cute huh?!

Pink Champagne (High Heel) Cupcakes. These were a hit, and they're just
so darn cute!

Marshmallow Puffs

Cake Batter Dip (tasts exactly like the name...yuuuummmm)

Wedding Cupcakes, miniature size

Pink Lemonade Bundt Cake

Picture Collage of Cort & David, such cute little lovebirds!

Drink Table

Each guest left with another sweet treat as a Thank You for coming

Sisters, great ending to the night:) Love you both so much!

Looking forward to her next shower in a couple of weeks, this one is a couple's shower, should be fun. My ideas are already turning for the bachelorette party in June can't wait!

Much Love~

Amber