chalk-aholic

Chalk painted the interior doors of the cabinet tower I use as a pantry in my kitchen this past weekend.  Finally.  I think I bought the paint before A was born!  It turned out great - the top door for menu planning, the middle for a grocery list, and the bottom for the girls to draw on while I'm tackling dinner.  Fun!

 

 

 

While the paint was drying between coats I made chalk labels for the storage bins in our shed.  Remember that plan?  May have been around a year mark on that one too!  Oops:)

 



march madness

It's been several years since March Madness meant basketball to me and my world.  The beginning of that end probably coincided with meeting and dating Clayton (not a big sports fan my hubby).  And then Emma's entrance cemented it for me.  Now it's all about the craziness that is the Gates Family March.  Both my mom and my MIL have birthdays this month in addition to our first born.  My homemade February covered gifts for them both - a lovely lemon coconut moisturizer for Clayton's mom and yummy botanical gin (!) for mine.  And then it was a trip to San Diego for a conference/family vacation.  Next: work, work, work.  And most recently, Emma's third birthday!

Since Easter is early this year and fast approaching we decided to have an Easter egg hunt this past Saturday to celebrate Emma Rose.  It was mostly a family affair and she had a great time with the majority of her cousins in attendance (only the two oldest and the youngest missed out).  Easter themed cake balls for the kiddos and a Gin and Tonic station for the adults.  Fun and delicious!

new and improved

Updated picture of the girls in their Mom-made infinity scarves.  Taken on a trip to the San Diego Zoo.  Could they BE any cuter?!?!?

first birthday fun

As mentioned we spent A's actual birthday in Missouri with my family.  It was a low key, lovely day.  And it couldn't have been more perfect.  My mom made her a tiny angel food cake from a vintage mold.  She used the same pan for my twin sister and me for our first birthday!  Annabelle wasn't in love with the actual cake - she preferred the leftover crackers from dinner - but at least she didn't cry when we sang to her!  The crying came later;)

pretty in pink

Delayed Valentine's Day post as promised!

As part of my homemade gift giving goal for 2016 I tackled infinity scarves for me and the girls.  Getting the length right was a bit tricky.  Theirs are perfect and precious.  Mine?  Not so much.  But still so much fun to make and give!

marjorie lee

I think it was sometime Friday while I was prepping for A's party that I realized where my theme inspiration had truly come from.  I've mentioned before that we were doing a 'loose' xoxo theme.  Proximity to Valentine's Day and the ability to double dip on the V Day décor being sort of a slam dunk for me.  But the bigger - more function based - theme was 'donuts and drinks' and wasn't totally sure where that had come from.  I mean.  I love donuts.  I love drinks.  Who doesn't?  When I was getting out various pieces of serve ware needed for our Bloody Mary bar (Happy birthday, one year old!) it hit me like a tons of bricks. 

 

Years ago my grandmother gave me the above piece and called it a celery glass.  She said she wasn't completely sure that it was officially recognized nomenclature but (as I had quite the collection of vintage barware at that point) made a few comments about me one day using it for a Bloody Mary bar.  We lost Grandma over a year ago now.  She lived long enough to know about our sweet baby girl and to hear the name we had chosen for her.  I miss her. Every day.  And make a point to tell our little Lee all about the Lee that came before her.  Felt her presence throughout yesterday's festivities.  My grandma loved a good party:)

donuts and drinks

Had Annabelle Lee's first birthday party yesterday before heading home to MO to celebrate the actual day with my family.  It was a very fun party to plan for and I think our soon to be one year old - although oblivious to the fact she was our guest of honor - had a good time too:)