We introduced the guests to the theme with a custom invitation created in standard Microsoft Word with a few downloaded fonts from dafont.com, and a few free clipart images. If you've not checked out Dafont, you must. If you love typography and textual effects, it is a great resource. And they just so happen to have a Harry P font that is remarkably Potter like. I printed the invite on the parchment colored paper. I addressed in deep red ink and included a stamped white owl on the same colored envelope. Because I love all things themed, I created a House crest and included this verbiage. 

The House of (Name) proudly announces:

A baby boy is on his way
bringing with him lots of 
Mischief, Magic, and
snuggles for his Muggles.

Join us for a baby shower celebrating 
Rachel

Saturday, June 13, 2015
2:00-4:00pm
(Location)

We hope you join us for what is sure to be
 an afternoon of wizardry and well wishes
for the Momma to Be.

For decor, we wanted to keep it themed and fun, but not overdone. So we opted for some statement elements as well as some that could be used in C's room. 

• B created the classic brick wall with 9 3/4 sign for the entrance. 
  
• I made a directional sign to some of the iconic HP locations.
• The gift table was adorned with a stack of packages, delivered of course by the messenger owl.
• I created a paper banner to go over the food table out of precut pennants from Hobby Lobby (they have two sizes and lots of colors) and then printed the letters of this name in Harry P font on cream colored index cards. Then I strung them on the string provided with one package of the precut pennants.
• B found some great Harry Potter prints on Etsy and elsewhere that will grace the nursery but were too perfect not to include in the shower. I added a "He's a Keeper " sign to the mix.
• B created a table runner with baby photos from both sets of grandparents and the parents and a sonogram. Each person was assigned one of the four Houses. Baby C's had the colors of all four because his house is yet to be determined. 
• In one corner of the room, we strung acceptance letter envelopes on fishing wire. 
• We included another messenger owl in a cage on the dessert table. 
• B made sure we had a sorting hat and all full Harry Potter series. We included framed baby pics of the parents to be to complete the little arrangement. 

We scheduled the shower post-lunch on a Saturday so we didn't provide a full meal, but had lots of yummy appetizers and desserts.  I continued the theme into the menu. We had some savory, sweet, and some shower staples. 

Some of my favorite menu items to make for the shower were the golden snitches and the kettle corn. 

While you might not have many occasions to make the snitches, they're easy and fun. There's no real recipe and Pintereset can provide you lots of ways to make these. I opted to use the gold-wrapped Ferraro Roche (hazelnut chocolates) as the base. Then I hot glued a large white feather folded into a "V" onto the bottom where the foil gathers. Warning, they do take a little bit of time and the feathers, of course, are messy. 

Popcorn is an easy, cheap, and popular party treat. When I threw Nick's little sister's shower, we incorporated popcorn (because she was ready to pop, ba dum bum!) so I wanted to include it this time around too. But to make it a little more interesting, I wanted kettle corn. It was important that it could be made ahead of time AND use an air-popper. I found a recipe on another food blog, but since I stumbled across it, the blog domain has been vacated, it appears. So, I'll give you my interpretation of the recipe.

Neither Rachel, nor B or I are big shower game lovers so we opted for Movie and TV Mom trivia and a rendition of What will Baby C Look Like? To play, you need multiple copies headshots of each parent as a baby. Slice the photos at the forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, and chin. Then ask each attendee, or a group, to use the pieces to build what the bundle of joy will look like. It's always interesting to see which dominant characteristics the family members predict. 

We organized this shower during the time Nick and I were packing up our rental and moving into our new home. While I don't recommend managing such big events simultaneously, it all worked out wonderfully. It was an honor to host this shower with B and incredible to celebrate Rachel and Baby C! 

This weekend. This weekend. Man, it's been a full one! 

Friday we had the incredible fortune to go see the man, Mr. Garth Brooks, in concert in Tulsa. Yes. And, you don't have to ask, it was awesome!!!!!!! (You may think I've already overused the exclamation point, but I assure you it's totally warranted in this instance.) Seriously, our puppy's half-namesake is a PERFORMER extraordinaire.

Recap of the concert, in brief, he sang the hits--the old stuff, the good stuff. Nick's sisters and significant others joined us for the memory-making night. It was a blast!! Despite our really pretty decent seats (in a section filled with mostly lame-o sitters), we stood, danced, and sand along. I can't tell you how thrilled we were to have scored tickets and gotten to go. And it was all the better to share it with A and B and their guys!  

Despite a late night, and still in Brooks afterglow, it was a semi-early wake-up call to work Wichita's Bridal Fair on Saturday and again on Sunday. It was time well spent passionately sharing the stellar talents of Ashley and company of Events and Design by Ashley. 

Family, friends, fulfillment, and food, that's where it's at. 2015, you're doing us right so far. Seriously, try spaghetti squash. You'll feel like a B.A. in the kitchen and you'll be doing your body a favor by using this low-carb or gluten-free substitute. Win-win. 
Now, onward through this month! 

Until next time-
xoxo

We went from job searching and newly engaged to new hires and wedding planning fiends to 1 year of employment and newlyweds. it's been pretty much a whirlwind. It seems almost impossible that the end of July marked one year with a Wichita address. 

In January 2013, when Nicholas began interviewing for school psychologists positions we didn't quite know where we would end up. But as luck would have it, he aced the interview of the position he really wanted and we were headed to Sedgwick County. We were fortunate enough to have family with an available house that we could rent. We officially moved in the weekend before we started our jobs and the rest is history. 

Albeit belated, in honor of our 1-year Wichitan anniversary, here's a recap of a few of our random favorite discoveries about the town, ourselves, and our life:

1. Unsurprisingly, Nick knows his way around pretty well; I still use iPhone Maps for everything.
2. We eat at home more times than not. Hence the restaurants we haven't visited but have been meaning to... i.e. The Anchor, Picasso's, Twelve, Kanai, Little Saigon, Avivo Brick Oven, NuWay, Bonefish Grill, Old MIll Tasty Shop, Luciano's, Stearman Field, MIke's Wine Dive, Stroud's... That said, we have managed to find a handful of new favorites though: Ming's Chinese on Seneca, Taco Pronto, Molino's, Tanya's Soup Kitchen, and Newport Grill.
3. We have a soft spot for the Westside. We love our little neighborhood and the ease in which we can get around. Nick says "it has a small town feel with large town/city amenities."
4. Driving 20-25 minutes to go across town has become normal when back home we could have been in any number of different towns.
5. We were so lucky to find Four Paws Dood Ranch in nearby Peabody. Garth was the perfect addition to our family! 
6. We see my brother and his family much more now that we're less than an hour away from them
7. There doesn't seem to be any great biking trails nearby which is a bummer for Nick.
8. Oddly, we don't watch local news like we did in Pittsburg, but instead rely on our technology and social media to keep us up to date.
9. The majority of our nearest and dearest friends and family don't live here. We miss them!! Come visit!! (see number 12)
10. We see a fair amount of split faces and Wildcats license plates running around town so we know were still in good company.
11. The new double oven we put in this rental house was a fantastic decision. Never have I loved an appliance so much. 
12. We have put over 15,000 miles on our new car in eight months...so, apparently we're not in Wichita a lot.
13. We have a lot more to learn about this city we now call home.

Since this is a post about our address anniversary, we should celebrate with something sweet. Ice cream pie seems like a natural fit. This quick and simple recipe starts with Oreos. Not just any Oreos, but the ones with the Reese's Peanut Butter cream filling. I must confess I was sorely disappointed in these cookies. I think my high expectations of their wonderment left me accordingly underwhelmed. But, their redeeming factor: they make a kick butt crust. Once the crust is made, the rest just falls in place in no time. It's certainly a dessert with a lot of cool factor (ba dum chh).

Reese's Oreo Ice Cream Pie
makes one 9-inch pie
Crust
1 box mini-Reese's Oreos
1/4 cup butter, melted
Filling
1 container of cookies and cream ice cream (or your favorite flavor)
1/2 cup-3/4 cup chopped Reese's Minis (or more if you please; and use the unwrapped minis- easy and delish!) 

Instructions

1. Finely crush Oreos in food processor (or put in a Ziploc bag and crush with rolling pin).
2. Pour Oreo crumbs in a medium bowl. Mix in melted butter until well combined.
3. Spray 9-inch pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. 
4. Pour moist crumbs in pie pan and pack/smoosh into an even layer including the base and sides of pan. 
5. Refrigerate crust for at least 30 minutes. When you put your crust in fridge, take your ice cream out of the freezer.
6. Once crust is set, spread ice cream into crust. 
7. Sprinkle the top with chopped Reese's Minis. At this point make it your own! Fill free to top with some hot fudge or more.
8. Freeze again for 20-30 minutes. Cut slices and enjoy! Store in freezer, but the pie won't last long. 

Dang, I wish I had a piece of that pie right now. Oh well. Here's to the next year of adventures in Wichita! Talk to you soon! 
-xo 

Remember those life phases I spoke of recently...keep reading, case in point. :) 

On June 1st, my dear best friend M and her husband, J welcomed little man C to the world. He came just a wee bit ahead of schedule and is as handsome as ever! Nick and I are over the moon excited for them. We're anxiously awaiting a free day to travel to meet him in person. But in the meantime, let's talk about one of Baby C's first parties.

Back in April, I had the privilege to host a couples shower for the M and J. J is an outdoorsy guy and M is super crafty and both are total fun, so the shower had to be a culmination of those traits. Thus, a woodland themed event at a local restaurant chain seemed to be the best of both worlds. Some traditional couples showers are very formal and others are more Baby-Q style. This one was typical shower with a twist. 

Full disclosure, I love to throw get-togethers. Nick doesn't love when I do. Not that he's opposed to social events (because he's about 1 million-percent social butterfly), but he's not fond of my continuous planning and processing and mulling that planning the events take. I make lists, budget spreadsheets, and go a bit overboard with Pinterest. I can't help it. Type-A might be a gross understatement.

Here's the rundown on our modern, woodland "Bucks, Trucks, and Ducks" baby shower:

Announced the party with a flair: chevron totally goes with woodland, right?

(made with Publisher on a semi-dying PC)

Main tablescape included:

• cheap brown tablecloth (total cheating move...I know)
• custom invite theme print
• green woven placemats
• chevron banner
• scattering of river rock
• natural sticks displayed in glass vase
• "the best is yet to be" sign

Gift tablescape included: 

• Handmade countdown to baby chalkboard
• Peep "ducks" on top of a Easter grass marsh
• Scattering of river rocks
• Guestbook onesie (see adorableness below!)

We asked guests to record their attendance on this newborn sized onesie. I ironed on the phrase "I am Loved" in camouflage flocked block letters. The perfect blend of newborn cuteness and camo cool, if I do say so myself.

Granny and Gramp (aka Mom and Dad of M) had the honor of signing first. (Idea credit: Pinterest)

We ordered appetizers and drinks from the restaurant. So desserts were my territory. What's a shower without sweets? I mean, come on? So, since one option isn't my style, we had three offerings:

• Vanilla Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

You can check out the amazingly light, delectable cake and frosting recipe here. I'm normally a chocolate and PB advocate, but I opted for vanilla this time. Shocking, I know, but it was so worth it. I didn't use vanilla bean or add PB cups as a filling but go crazy if you feel like it. Thanks Baker Girl for the recipe! 

• Brownie Balls 

Think cake balls, but better. In my book, brownies always win. This was mostly my own concoction that began with a box mix and store bought frosting. This recipe can serve as your inspiration point though.  

• Nutter Butter Acorns

Absolutely inspired by Pinterest. They're the perfect fun addition: simple to put together and great flavors. Here's a how-to. But I didn't mess with piping on a stem; i just slapped another chocolate chip on the top (easier and more chocolate!) 

Because it was a couples shower, no invasive, super girly games were considered. Plus, I must confess, I really usually dislike shower games...sometimes I'm a fuddy dud. Alas, games at a shower are tradition. Here were the activities:

• Bottle Duty: Beer Bottle Matching Game

Description: J is about to trade beer bottles for baby bottles. But, before Baby C arrives, let’s test your knowledge on one of J’s favorite beverages. Match the bottle with the brand of the beer. First one done with the most correct answers wins a prize.

•  What will Baby I look like? 

Headshot photos of M and J cut up so attendees could combine eyes, nose, mouth etc. to predict what Baby would look like. (They were hilarious and all wrong). He's a looker already!

• Guess the Baby C's Birthday Pool

All attendees were asked to target the date that Baby C would arrive. We had one guess on June 1st! That guesser will be getting a prize! 

All in all, we had about 35 people there to celebrate M, J, and Baby C. And now that he's here, I think it's only natural that we plan another party. Who's with me? Meet you by the desserts. 

-xo