My Best Friend's Wedding

I just realized that I never blogged about my [other] best friend getting married. Isn't she gorgeous? I can't even begin to tell you how blessed I am to have her. It was the most beautiful day. Here are my favorite shots from her wedding.

Me and my other best friend doing our "Amazon Woman Strikes Again" pose. We literally have so many pictures of this one pose. We even have one from each other's wedding. It's tradition. ♥

Sharing is caring!

If you guys didn't already know, my best friend is so super crafty. If crafting was a real degree, she would have a PhD. Seriously. In honor of her first 100 likes on her Facebook page, she's having this fantastic giveaway!

[source: it's hue i love giveaway]

So if you haven't already, hop on over to her blog and enter this awesome giveaway! Visit her Etsy shop, too, for more fun stuff! Support your crafters! We help make this world prettier! haha =)

Happy long weekend!

This weekend is going to be HUGE! It started off right with this:

I picked up a hitchhiker at the airport today. He has an uncanny resemblance to my husband! We got home to my mother-in-law's and it was amazing to see these two pick up right where they left off (minus the temporary barking before Mushu realized who it was).

I was starting to worry that Mushu was forgetting him. But seriously. Moosh was SO excited. it was adorable! Tomorrow, I get to be reunited with my besties! I love these ladies so much!

Bestie on my right is getting married tomorrow and I'm so stinken' excited for her! And since it's her wedding day/weekend, I'm going to try and not be a blubbering hot mess.


I can't make any promises. Leaving on Monday is going to be a tough one!

The Farewell Tour Continues.

This past week, I got to spend time with some very awesome people. The first half was spent with the hubs' cousins. That I was meeting them for the first time was just icing. I love them! They're adorable!

These pics were taken at Downtown Disney Marketplace. Ethan (above in the red) was in heaven! I loved watching his eyes light up as he took picture after picture next to all the different statues. He's a sweetheart. He even made this adorable video for the hubs.

I'm sad I couldn't spend more time with them, but I had to fly up to North Carolina to visit one of my lovely friends and her little family. And meet this new love of mine...

GAH!! I love her. She's my friend's insanely cute baby girl. I could not stop taking pictures of her. I did find some time to take other pictures, but not much. ;-) Here are some of my faves:

It was definitely a trip that went by way too quickly. It was so hard saying farewell to these wonderful faces! The move hadn't fully hit me until now. It's starting... Sigh.

Someone was mad at me when I got home... but I know he was relieved. But his relief is short-lived. I leave again in three weeks—I get to visit my hubs soon!

Showered with love

[itshueilove.com]

We had the baby shower for my dear friend yesterday. Super huge success. High fives go out to bestie, Katie, and I for buckling down and cranking things out. We got everything ready [minus a couple a details that only she and I planned, but nobody would've noticed.] We were both so exhausted, but it was definitely all worth it to see how happy our friends were and to see everyone shower them with so much love.

This was our dessert table filled with different travel themed decor, including the globe and some paper airplanes.

We also made propeller pops in the clouds. [Easy, but time consuming. And some of the propellers didn't make it in the transport. They became poopy-pellers... Just keepin' it real.]

[itshueilove.com]

Per the momma-to-be's request, we served cream puffs on dessert plates crafted by Katie.

[itshueilove.com]

To keep in the travel theme, we made luggage tag favors! Katie found these wooden tags and created the custom saying for a rubber stamp. I lightly stained the tags. I stamped them with pigment ink and dusted them with embossing powder and heat set it all.

[itshueilove.com]

We also had a running paper airplane theme. We couldn't find a paper airplane cookie cutter, so... my awesome hubby MADE ONE for us!!! He's so clever, that husband of mine. We baked cookie favors, too.

[itshueilove.com]

Perfectly framed Miles. So cute! Props in pictures = LOVE.

[itshueilove.com]

It was an honor to throw this lovely couple a shower. Everyone had a great time. I cannot wait to meet Baby Miles!!
Check out my flickr album for more pics. Hope you guys had a great weekend, too!

Busy, busy!

This week is going to be very busy! Don't get me wrong, I'm totally grateful and praising the Lord for this surge of freelance work. But to add to that, my bestie, Katie and I are gonna be eyeballs deep in crafting for our other bestie's baby shower on Saturday! (did you get all that?)

 [Here we are with mama Minh-Thi and Katie's cutie pie daughter, Amelie. NYE 2010]

[Here is the couple of honor with baby Miles.]

Katie and I couldn't wait to plan a shower together. We used to work at the same advertising firm, so it was like old times--albeit in different cities. Me in Orlando and she in Savannah. We started when she visited over the holidays and came up with a vintage travel theme, playing off the baby's name, Miles.

We collaborated with the invitation and came up with this:

To add to the travel theme (not to mention save on postage!), I printed these out as post cards! Then I distressed them to give it that vintage feel.

I even found this vintage "Post Card" clip art, from Martha Stewart, I believe. Just gives it that old-timey feel. I even surprised the clerk at the post office. He thought they were totally old!

I'm totally stoked to see Katie in a couple of days. In between freelance jobs, I get to craft with her again. It's gonna be awesome!

The lovliest surprise

I got the best surprise in the mail today from my best friend in Savannah. It was certainly the loveliest and most thoughtful surprise I've ever gotten. (Sorry for the poor quality of my phone photo. The bracelet reads: "in God's time.")

For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  ~Jeremiah 29:11

I am so grateful for you and I thank the Lord for placing you in my life. I love you so much! I am truly blessed.

God is good, all the time.

I can't even begin to express how ecstatic I am right now. My lovely friend and her wonderful husband are going to be parents!! I'm gonna be an Auntie!! This was us (almost!) a year ago at my wedding. She was newly engaged and celebrating with us. Now my baby's all grown up and having a baby! Time sure flies. One thing is always constant... How amazing God is. It's wonderful to see how great He really is, and there's no better example than what I see He has done in my friends' lives. Huge congratulations to my beautiful friend. We already know how great of a dad your husband is and you're going to be a wonderful mother! We love you both! (And little Miss Mac, too!)

Little Miss Amelie

She's oxygen free!!! I got this sweet little picture texted to me by Katie's sis, Lucie. Thanks for praying for this precious little girl... keep 'em comin'! She's still in the hospital, but she's doing so much better! Oh my gosh! I can't wait to meet her!

Welcome to the world, Little Peanut!

Amelie Faith Palamaro
Born October 30, 2009, 7:46am
6lbs 9oz, 19 inches long
Please keep beautiful little Amelie, as well as Katie and Ant, in your prayers. She's battling a major infection. The doctors are keeping her in the hospital for a minimum of 7-10 days to continue to give her antibiotics and monitor her breathing. The Palamaros have been in my thoughts and prayers constantly. I can't even imagine what they're feeling, not being able to hold their precious new baby. It's very hard, but her parents didn't name her Faith for nothing. Giving this all to God. She's a fighter just like her mommy, I can feel it!

We're pulling for you, Little Amelie! I can't wait to meet you!!

Love, Auntie Hazel.

The Peanut and Mommy Get Showered

It's a week overdue, but I'm finally blogging about Katie's "Little Peanut" themed shower. I do have 2 regrets...
1.) That I did not have a better camera and...
2.) That we didn't have more time!!! Time to set-up, time to spend with Katie...

It was a whirlwind! We had to rush to set up that I didn't even have time to take pictures of the whole set-up like I originally wanted to. Or rather, I was just so tired from the night before and happy to sit down once it was set up, that I honestly forgot to take the pictures! I think I was more flustered planning and setting up this shower than I was planning my wedding! ahaha But it was all worth it to see Katie and have people there that love her and Peanut so much!

Minh-Thi and I worked until the wee hours of the morning on the day before baking cupcakes, making buckeyes and prepping for the shower. Needless to say we were delirious by the time it all rolled around! See?

During all of our planning stages, I came across this blog entry from Elsie at A Beautiful Mess. She hand drew a sign for guests to take a picture with for a shower that she hosted. I loved the idea so much that I made one for Katie. I'm happy to say that it was a hit! =)

We even took a group picture! Well, two of them (at least on my camera.. there were a couple of other cameras floating around.) Take one. Jennifer (far left) had just finished setting the timer and ran over when Matthew came in to the hall. This is us trying to get Matt to hurry and get in the pic. Obviously the timer went off before he could get there. But it's a hilarious picture!

Take two is more refined as you can see:


I wish I had more pics of everything! But I'm so happy that we could put this together. It was an honor to throw Katie and Peanut a shower! I can't wait to meet him/her!! =)