mad men bridal shower

my sisters and mother threw me my shower today, a mad men, 60's housewife themed brunch. though there were some minor hiccups- like my mom being on crutches the result of a minor bike accident - it was a really fun day. it was at my parents house and since a lot of the guests were the women in mike's family i thought it was really nice, there is something almost old fashioned about inviting my new family into my mother's home, the home i grew up in.

the girls out did themselves offering and belini's and mimosa's in vintage glassware, and a goodie bag full of vintage candy classics like wax bottles, necco wafers, lemonheads and candy cigarettes.

there was the perfect balance of games (just the toilet paper bride and a age guessing game with childhood photos of me) food, chit chat, and of course sitting around the bride to be while she opens mountains of gifts...i do not exaggerate...mountains. we received such thoughtful gifts and nice things for our home, and only one instance of tears. my sister gave me an engraved locket like the one i gave her for her shower, i wanted her to have something special to pass down through the generations and she returned the favor, we're such saps!

i had super cute outfit as well but i dont have any pictures yet - will be sure to post when i do!

(ps. my sister designed the invite's too - isn't she talented?!)

April Showers

This weekend is my soon to be sister in law's surprise shower and i am so excited! I could have never guessed a year ago that i would be so excited to celebrate my friend's and loved one's pending marriages but i really am. At this point I'm a little relieved to be able to duck having the wedding questions directed at me and enjoy being a guest and bridesmaid and listen to their stories and stresses and join in their excitement. I'm also excited to have a ladies day with Mike's family, there are a lot of great women that i really don't get to see enough, and because i have a small family the big italian get-togethers are a lot of fun to me.

But, I'm a bit neurotic too. I love wrapping gifts, it's always been a big thing in my family, and in the last year or so i really havent veered too far from brown kraft paper wrapping for all occasions. So why on earth am i worried that my soon to be in laws might think i'm nuts or a cheapo for bringing a craft paper gift instead of one in shiny bridal paper? If it was any other girlfriend of mine, (especially the crafty or earth conscious ones) i wouldnt think twice about it. But here under the fear of judgement by my soon to be family i keep questioning myself, i mean - really Kristy - do you think anyone will even remember what you brought let alone what it was wrapped in? Sheesh the world does not revolve around you!

The maid of honor has been a rock star setting up this shower, she has included so many special touches, photo books, recipes, a mother flown in from the west coast AND has managed to keep it all a surprise. I can't wait to see the brides reaction!

LA bachelorette weekend

i'm back from my jam packed weekend of fun and girls in los angeles and i'm missing them all so much already it hurts!

being the first real bridal events of my engagement it really seems like the ball is rolling, the summer of weddings is underway - and my life as a mrs. is just around the corner. i had so much fun celebrating with my girlfriend karina - our friend andrea was a master planner and

host making it possible for the herd of ladies to get it all in and still have smiles on their faces.

we started with a sushi dinner on friday night once all of the other travelers landed from new york and seattle at izakaya followed by cocktails at the village idiot.

saturday morning started bright and early with our lingerie brunch at tart (highly recommended by the way, the ambiance is really darling, the service was fantastic, the food was delicious and the prices were unbelievable.)

after the storm of nighties was tamed we made our way to the lounge spa. again, for any girls in the LA area looking to do a spa party i give the lounge spa a big thumbs up. we had our own private little lounge, complete with spread of snacks and drinks (compliments of andrea) to hang out together while two by two girls were whisked away to their appointments, it was a great way to spend time relaxing together in smaller groups, we got to catch up on the gossip from our far away friends, have our tarot cards read and be pampered.

we traded our white robes black dresses and headed off to the hollywood men. the giggles of anxiety and anticipation started early and only became magnified when one we realized that one of our friends sprung for a seat right up front and another let the words "on stage" slip. it was so much fun, we laughed so hard, the boys were cute and the girls were crazy, it felt like a legitimate bachelorette party. part of me is still embarrassed but i think thats part of the point, when else do you subject yourself to such a thing? men dressed in firefighter costumes or like soldiers with back street boy routines? too funny.

looks like a whirlwind? it was! though i somehow also managed to get some great shopping in while i was there ...more on that later!

goodbye evite - hello paperless post

as my los angeles girls weekend of fun approaches the emails and invitations have begun to circulate and i just had to share the company i am using to send e-invitations out for our lingerie brunch. it's called paperless post and it is like evite for the design minded girl.

they have a limited selection of patterns (they are still in beta so i hope that means more to come) but they are all very classy and give you great color control, they also have some photo options for those who wish to really personalize. the have really elegant font choices, type size, line spacing, and justification control. the kicker is that the invitation looks and acts like a paper invitation, a beautiful envelope - fully lined flips over and opens to reveal the details - it was perfect for a last minute, not super formal party which we would have sent paper invites for if we had thought it through better. i highly suggest checking them out if you have been thinking about going the digital route for any of your events ( and i'm not being paid by them i swear!) the one downside - BEWARE of the pay for extras.