a bridal shower {the second}

leslee's second shower was hosted by mom's sweet friends, miss betsy and miss earnestine. 

(not pictured because my camera battery died. MOH fail.) 

sidenote: these ladies also hosted high school graduation parties for each of us. they are pretty much the best.

petit fours! with calla lilies! all about the details.  

this was a recipe shower. 

filled with lots of pretty (and practical!) kitcheny things. plus each guest's favorite recipe and what les (and keith!) will need to make them. 

let's just say les' reactions to unknown kitchen contraptions were pretty fantastic. she was visibly excited about everything -- regardless of knowing what it was or how to use it. but excitement, she sure didn't lack!

this basket of goodies was filled with everything she needed to make veggie pasta!

note: in trial run, this was made. and eaten. with no leftovers. thanks to miss cindy!

little known fact about my sis -- 

her left-handedness makes her quite terrifying with scissors. or knives. or anything sharp. 

it's really frighting to watch her open her gifts. everyone holds their breath hoping she doesn't seriously injure herself in the box-opening process. 

this time around Bridesmaid Sarah "leslee proofed" her box. previously opened, then re-closed with regular tape. 

no sharp objects required. brilliant sarah!  :)

and then my camera died. so if you see my mom. tell her to send me her pictures and i'll amend this post. 

oh wait, I see her every day? and still haven't gotten them from her? 

alright. i'm on it.

two showers down! two more to go! 

I Remember

September 11th, 2001
"The whole world's changed today"

And I remember everything.

I was a senior in high school. I had 1st period flex, no class. I listened to a CD while I got ready and in the car on the way to school - no radio, no TV. I was preoccupied by thoughts of the disagreement I had with my boyfriend the night before. (Sigh.)

I remember I walked into my high school completely unaware that an airplane had just smashed into one of the twin towers at 9:46am. To be honest, I didn't even know what the twin towers were. I was 17 years old.

I remember how I was met in the hallway at the top of the stairs by my friend Jenna..."have you seen this?!?" I had no idea what she was talking about. Airplane? New York? Was it an accident? How does that happen? I walked in to 2nd period Government just in time to see the 2nd plane hit the south tower at 10:03am. The classroom was silent.

The rest of the morning was a blur. I remember my friend Melissa coming into my 2nd period class. Her mom worked for Delta and was on a flight from LA. No one was sure at that point if there were more hijacked planes aimed at more targets. She was terrified. We were all in shock.

I remember the bomb threat that was called in that day. Our whole high school spent the entire afternoon outside in the stadium and field house while the bomb squad was called in. I remember how we had no idea what was going on. And that we were not allowed to go back into the building for the rest of the day. But we weren't allowed to leave either.

I remember finding my mom and sister in the field house. Asking my mom what was happening? Why? Was this bomb threat really real? And why couldn't we all just leave?

I remember how that afternoon I was still caught up in my own personal all-encompassing boyfriend drama. I was so completely oblivious to the nightmare unfolding in New York that I'm almost ashamed to admit it.

I remember finally being released from school and sitting on the couch that night next to my boyfriend. Glued to the TV, watching replays of the 2nd plane hitting its target, seeing the pentagon smoking, hearing reports on a suspected flight that went down in Pennsylvania, watching and re-watching the horror of the towers collapsing, the smoke, the New Yorkers running from the wreckage.

I remember how I went to fill up my car with gas that night...just in case. In case of what? I don't know. But it seemed like a full tank of gas would keep me prepared for the "just in case."

I remember how that night my mom said to me..."ok, you're never moving to New York now..."


..................................................

Four years later on July 7th, 2005 I remember running very late for my summer school class at the National Gallery in London, England. I remember trying to run into the Gloucester tube station, only to be met with floods of people exiting, trains weren't running...but no one knew why.

I remember the buses flying by filled with people and how we tried to hop on one, so we wouldn't be in trouble for missing class. I remember being so very thankful that we didn't get on a bus. There were bombs there too.

I remember thinking...not here, surely not here. Terrorism knows no national barriers.

...................................................

The following year in 2006, I remember my first September 11th as a New Yorker. On the five year anniversary of that terrible day. I remember the stories my New Yorker co-workers told. Of where they were. What they were doing. How they were affected that day. Stories that brought the nightmare and terror to life on a whole new level now that I was a New Yorker too.

...................................................

Today - ten years later on September 11th, 2011 - I remember.
I know we all do.

Found this page in my senior scrapbook - A newspaper clipping collage

So much pink! {ok, and a bit of red too!}

Last weekend I made the drive south to Austin.

Just me, my pretty car and my newly downloaded Eli Young Band "Life at Best" album. (it's real good BTW!)

Anyway, the whole reason I went to visit...no, not for a football game this time...gasp!

It was Kayla's very first Baby Shower!

College bestie Kayla, and her husband Fordy are expecting their sweet baby girl - Camby Paige - in just 2 short months. 

When she called me to tell me she was pregnant last spring, I squealed and said..."YAY, and I'm moving back to Texas this summer!" Or actually, I think it was something along the lines of screaming... "YouStopItRightNow!!!"  

And then I told her I felt like I'd be heading back south soon. And truly was still just a feeling at that point.

But good thing I did! 

Or I would have missed this fantastic celebration!

Kayla's sis-in-law Laura and her fellow hostesses sure do know how to throw a lovely shower. It definitely wasn't their first party...Everything was perfectly decorated and perfectly planned and perfectly lovely.

Blue, Red and Pink...all Cambry's nursery colors.

With a table full of all Kayla's favorite foods! Seriously, everything she loves from mini mac & cheese to strawberry shortcake. All right there on the pretty blue and red table.

And there were so many pink presents! Baby Cambry will have so many cutie clothes. And plenty of necessary pink things. She is already so very loved.

But the best part of course, was being in Austin to celebrate with my sweet friend. So much life to catch up on and so much happiness to share. It's good to be home.

And I can. not. wait. to meet lil miss Cambry ohsosoon!

 

two month updates

alright. it's now been 2 months since my move to texas. think it's time for a quick life update.
family time.

2 months in, i've decided i'm perfectly content living at my parents house for the time being. (at least until les gets married!) and i'm getting quite used to being around the fam more. they were after all, the largest draw in getting me back to the lone star state. so i'm totally ok with this. especially all the time i get with this little one...she's my fave.

waking up early.
while i don't know if i'll ever really get used to this, i am much much better at it. and at getting to bed earlier. why are both of these things so hard for me??

my sister, the bride.
i didn't know that i could be more involved in this wedding planning business than i was from nyc, but turns out i could. i've been quite the busy party planner myself for her bachelorette bash that's coming up in a few weeks. it's been really fun though, i wouldn't trade it. here's a lil preview of what i've been up to...let the 11 week countdown begin!


driving.
a gchat conversation with friend matt...

Matt: yea i read your tweet about fidgeting with XM stations the whole drive home and thought 'thats exactly what someone who is just getting back to being acclimated with driving needs to be doing'

what? i'm getting better at multi-tasking while i drive! i even did a lil road trip to austin last weekend. all by myself. but more on that later.

knees.
definitely scars. from this lil event. don't think these are going away any time soon. i'm so cool. i wish there were a better story...

gym.
almost every day. advantages to a slower lifestyle i suppose. my sister claims it was impossible for me to be healthy with that crazy fast life i had in nyc. yeah yeah yeah. starting next week...5:30am boot camp. apparently i'm super workout ambitious in the south too.

in summary.

gchat love from former roomie lindsay ann...

Lindsay Ann: you were in love with texas first. and it will take some time for you to get to know each other again.

it's true. i do love texas. very much. and after my northern hiatus, me and texas are getting to know each other again...maybe on more grown up level.

 i think i like where our relationship is headed.

 :)