{Kristi's Wedding Reception}

I know that a lot of you who read this blog enjoy parties and the planning that goes with them. I had nothing to do with this wedding reception and the details that went into it but my friend Kristi is AMAZING at event planning and making it a celebration to remember.

I took some pictures of her reception when I was up in Salt Lake a couple weeks ago and I thought I would share them with you ... so enjoy!


... entrance to the reception...

... book signing table ...

... gift table with a cute iron basket to hold the envelopes ...

... pictures and cute decor were on display all over the reception ...

... table centerpieces ...

... the cookie bar - I wish so badly that I would have taken a picture of the jars when they were filled with the cookies. It was so so so cute ...

... pictures on the cookie table ...

... cookie jar labels ...

 ... burlap banner that hung behind the head table ...

... the beautiful reception room - that dance floor definitely got some use later that night ...

... bird cage with a framed picture and flower balls ...

And here is the talented woman who made it all happen! She is super creative and everything had a little "Kristi Touch" to it!

Seriously - she is so sassy! It was a weekend of fun and definitely a night to remember. It almost made me want to be a professional event planner. Almost.

{Holly's Baby Shower}

My cousin Holly is expecting her first baby in June so my mom and I put together a baby shower for her. We decided to have the shower outside in my mom's backyard and started to pray for good weather!

Whenever I have a party to throw I always feel that the invitation is a good place to start with the theme and colors. I looked online and found this one on ETSY at Cohen Lane ... Click Here to visit their shop!

How cute is that??? I loved the style and the color combo was perfect! So gray, black, hot pink, and white was decided as our color theme and then came the fun part ... Planning the details and putting it all together!

It ended up being a gorgeous summer night so we were able to go with our plan and have the shower outside in my mom's backyard. It was a fun time and we enjoyed talking, eating, and watching Holly open up all of her presents!

I love to have things labeled, it makes everything seem organized and more complete. I threw together these little labels for the food table, they were so easy and simple and took me all of 10 minutes.

This salad is ridiculously easy and soooo good. I swear I make it for every party/shower. I have the recipe listed at the bottom of this post so you can experience it for yourself.

First time EVER using my Silhouette machine that I bought last year. It's been in my garage in a box for the past 6 months because I was too afraid to use it. Good news. I needed to make some sort of scalloped circles for this banner and I didn't want to have to cut out each one so I got brave and tried out the Silhouette. It was so fun! It took me a couple tries but I got it figured out and it was pretty dang easy.

Designated seating for the "Mama to Be"

Seriously had so much fun with this shower. My mom and I work well together and divided up the list of things to do and everything went really smooth. I am looking forward to the next party!

Recipe for  CHICKEN BOWTIE PASTA SALAD

Lettuce (I used romaine)

Bowtie Pasta

Grilled Chicken

Parmesan Cheese

Croutons (optional)

Salad Dressing

NOTES: The pasta needs to be cooked and then completely cooled off. I usually cook the noodles in the morning and then put them in a big ziploc bag with some water to keep them moist and lay them in my fridge. When it's time to put the salad together, I just drain them and throw them in.

Also, I buy frozen chicken strips and let them thaw out the night before or morning off. When they are soft enough, I chop them all up and put them in a bag until I need them. 

Then when it's time to actually make the salad, I can just grab my salad bowl, put in the lettuce, pasta, and chicken, and then add the dressing. I always use Ken's "Creamy Caesar" because it doesn't taste as strong as other caesar dressings. It's on the lighter tasting side. Mix the salad all together and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. If you wanted to add croutons then go for it. Enjoy!

{Robot Birthday Party}

My incredibly talented friend Aubrey Robison of Every Little Moment Photography is a creative genius. Enough said. Every single thing that girl touches end up being amazing. She is a gifted photographer and the perfect party planner.

So no surprise when I saw the ROBOT PARTY that she threw for her 3 year old son. Every little detail was darling and I am sure the kids all loved it.

Want to see the whole party? Visit her website at http://www.everylittlemomentphotography.com to see the rest of the pictures. You will love it!!!

{Bridal Shower}

Last weekend I was able to travel to Salt Lake and help throw a bridal shower for my dear friend Kristi. Oh my word, is there anything more fun than getting together with a bunch of girlfriends to get ready for a wedding? I think not.

One of my assignments was to handle the invitations. Kristi's colors for her wedding will be coral, gray, white, and cream so we stuck with that color scheme for the shower. Which then helped me decide that I would do the same colors for her invitations.

I found this PERFECT shower invitation online at ETSY. The shop name is Fine & Dandy Paperie and you can visit the shop by clicking HERE! I am kind of obsessed with the subway art thing right now so I fell in love with this style the minute I saw it.

Our friend Megan hosted the shower at her home and she went all out. I wish I would have grabbed more pictures but in between gabbing with friends and getting all the food ready to serve, my hands were busy. Thankfully Kristi grabbed my camera and took some pictures for me!

{Bride To Be Chair}

Here is where our special guest of honor sat during dinner and while she opened up her presents. Loved the designated seating for Kristi!

{Side Table}

This is the little side table next to the "Bride To Be" chair. Complete with her own bowl of yummy popcorn to snack on while she opened presents, fresh flowers, and an oversized glass for her drink!

{Miscellaneous Decor}

These pinwheels were all over the room and were absolutely darling! Megan went above and beyond. I loved them!

 

Loved the pinwheels tied to the back of the chairs with ribbon!

 {The Food}

Oh the food. One of the joys about being pregnant is stuffing your face and everyone leaving you alone about it because they know you have an excuse. For this shower, we had chicken pesto panini sandwiches, pasta salads, fruit kabobs, and pink lemonade. Plus two different kinds of dessert! I was in heaven.

 I totally didn't grab a picture of our cute mason jars filled with the pink lemonade and the fabulous gray and white striped straws. So just use your imagination and you will understand how stinkin cute the drinks were!

Seriously such a fun night! We had a great time and I am super excited to go back up there for Kristi's amazing wedding in June. Counting down the days!

{A Great Reminder}

I have a routine every morning. My 4 year old comes in my room and wakes me up to ask if she can go watch cartoons until her little sister gets up. Once I get her settled on the couch, I go back to my room and crawl back in bed. I grab my phone and go through my emails, reply to texts, and listen to voice mails. In addition to that, I check Facebook, make a move or two on Words With Friends, and make plans for my day.

While looking through the news feed on Facebook today, I saw a link to an article that caught my attention and thought I would share it on here.

Your Children Want YOU!!

from:powerofmoms.com

I thought this article was so interesting. First of all, it's such a great reminder but secondly, I have never personally felt like a "loser mom" after looking online at Pinterest. In fact, I find it inspirational, humorous, and super helpful when I need something in a pinch. I have used Pinterest to find a recipe for dinner, to test out a new cleaning method, to start a family tradition, to find guidance for holiday decor, and so on. It has even helped me with ideas for my calling in Primary so I am actually quite grateful for Pinterest. I guess it all depends on your outlook. Let's all remember what's most important in life and not get distracted with the little things. Afterall, nobody is going to be disappointed when they enter your bathroom and you don't have any flower shaped soap ... :)

Lastly, I leave you with a quote regarding Motherhood -

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother... Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children... What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else." Elder M. Russell Ballard

Have a great day!

{Plans for St. Patty's Day}

So, as St. Patrick's Day gets closer I am trying to decide what fun things to do for my kids. I have seen some way cute ideas on Pinterest lately and thought I would share them with you in case you are also looking for ideas.

This would be super simple and a huge hit at our house. To drink green milk and eat their favorite cereal would be their favorite thing in the world

How cute are these little treat bags? I am totally going to hide one of these for each of my kids somewhere in the house and let them go on a scavenger hunt to find them. My plan is to say that a "Leprechaun" dropped them off for us!

I am not really a huge baker but I think even I can handle making these cookies!

And this will definitely be happening at our house. Our family loves sprite floats of any sort so we'll throw this drink in there for sure!

So there's some ideas to get me started. Do you have any fun traditions that you do in your household for St. Patrick's Day? What are your plans for this year? We would love to hear your thoughts!

- Junkie Tawni

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{Sheri's Cleaning Schedule}

I have been in search of an amazing cleaning schedule for way too long. And now I am so happy to tell you that I have found it!!

Motivated Moms 2012 is a pre-planned checklist of chores that will allow you to have a clean, organized home and still have time for yourself. No need for huge cleaning days - just do the chores, check them off and you are done for the day!

Key features:

• All tasks in the average home are planned out for you throughout the year
• Check off chores as they are done and they drop to the bottom of the list out of your way
• No major cleaning days or Spring Cleaning week, do just a little all year around
• Daily items and those that come up less frequently are scheduled for you
• No need to remember when you last changed the a/c filter or dusted the living room – just do the tasks as they come up; the app keeps track for you.

You can move items to other days if you have a conflict. The application also gives you the ability to "hide" items that don't apply. Don't have a pet? Just hide the "Feed Pets" chore, then "unhide" it later if you get a pet part of the way through the year.

The system is designed to help you complete chores and tasks throughout the year so you don’t spend your entire day doing housework. Motivated Moms is all about reducing stress, not adding to it, in order to make home management easier.

Don't have an iPhone? go here. Motivated Moms offers the same cleaning list in an e-book form to download to your computer!

I am loving it and I have a feeling you will too!

Junkie Sheri