Weekend in Pictures: Birthdays Galore!

This past weekend consisted of baking, jumping on moon bounces, pizza, baking, pumpkin beer, baking and signing happy birthday (x3)!  My niece turned 4 and my nephew/godson/favorite little man turned 2.  We celebrated with a Moon Bounce party for Abby and a family party for the both of them.

I did a little bit of baking for the kid party on Saturday; it was Frozen themed so we went with snowflake sugar cookies and "snowball" Oreo truffles aka crack.

The birthday princess pre-bouncing!  So sweet to watch her with all her little friends :)

After bouncing around and racing through the moon bounce obstacle course, we headed home.  The rest of my Saturday looked like this...

For the family party I baked both of the kids birthday cakes.  I love how the Pinterest-inspired ombre Frozen cake turned out and I definitely want to use that technique again soon.  I would love to try it with purple or pink (duh super girly).

The kids we very excited to open gifts (who can blame them?!).  One of my most memorable birthdays was by 7th when I got a boombox, the Spice Girls CD, AND Spice World the movie.  I mean really, does it get better than that?!  For the time being, Abby is (obviously) into Frozen, Princesses, and My Little Pony.  Chase is loving dinosaurs and cars.

At this point Abby is saying, and I quote, "this is taking forevvvver."

After Chase realized what was in the box he was excited to try it out!

I still can't believe Abs turned 4 this year!  She's a sassy little one and is totally aware everything that's going on; can't get much past her anymore.  She is very smart and was excited for her Frozen Treasure chest :)

Cake time... Chasey boy wasn't having it and Abby had a sneaky little grin!  I served both cakes with strawberries as suggested by the birthday girl, and now I think they should be an addition to every cake ever.

Scott and I finished the busy weekend with a trip to Target where I found my new FAV snack.  I looove the Snap Pea Crisps so when I saw these new Lentil Snaps I was all about them.  They are delish.

Someone was not happy to be in Target... how is that even possible?

It was a busy but fun couple of days.  This weekend we're headed to Nikki and Matt's wedding which happens to be at the most beautiful venue ever!!!... where we got married :)  We are so looking forward to that.

Happy Hump Day!  Two and a half days til the weekend y'all!

Our First (Married) Year

It's crazy to realize that Scott and I have been married for a year.  I've heard that the first year of marriage is the hardest.  If that's true, I think we'll make it :).  Trust me, we've butted heads multiple times over or first year as newlyweds, but the good times we've had and memories we've made far surpass any arguments.  I definitely learned a lot during our first year in marriage, and I figured I could share some advice to my soon-to-be married friends (I'm looking at you Caitie & Melissa!).

1. Take turns

Take turns making dinner, doing the dishes, picking out restaurants, choosing a weekend getaway, and being the romantic one.  It's not fair to expect one person in a relationship to always be the one responsible for making decisions.  I'm not the best decision maker, but I do my best to offer suggestions and go out of my way to do little things to surprise Scott.  It's always nice to find a random note or your favorite greek yogurt in the fridge ;)

2. Compromise

Once you're married, it's not just your decision anymore.  Before I got married, I would occasionally check in with Scott on little decisions I was making.  But now everything from big purchases and travel arrangements, to little things like homemade pizza is discussed so that we both know the options.  I may not always want to watch ESPN, but I know Scott doesn't always want to watch Teen Mom or The Big Bang Theory either.  Giving in to what the other person wants every once in a while is necessary to keep the balance.

3. Keep each other in the loop

I don't think couples need to be in constant communication and honestly get a little annoyed when I'm spending time with someone and they're texting their bf the whole.time.  While I don't need to know every move Scott makes during the day, I do think it is important to check in with each other a couple of times and keep each other in the loop.  With Scott traveling daily, it's nice to know where he is at or what time he thinks he'll be making it home.  This may seem obvious, but keep each other aware of any upcoming plans you may have made with friends, too.  Marriage takes working as a team together... i.e.don't just go to happy hour with your gfs and eat dinner without even realizing that the only thing at home for your hubby is a frozen hot pocket.... whaaaaa?

4. Remind them what you love about them

Straight off of Pinterest, I made an "I love you because..." frame that we have in our bedroom.  We take turns writing on it and the messages vary, but it always makes me smile when I see Scott wrote something.  It's been anything from "you cleaned the whole house!" to "you are so determined and it's inspiring!".

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Our first year of marriage was filled with fun trips and dates; we saw new places together, celebrated "married" holidays and birthdays, tried new restaurants, worked on home "improvements", tried new recipes, and had a lot of laughs over the past 12 months.

Tonight we're off to celebrate with dinner and attempting to eat a year old cake!  Cheers to many more anniversaries and birthdays and holidays and babies and vacations and memories together, Skitt. xxo :)

Flashback Friday: Our Wedding!

It's hard to believe our wedding was a year ago this weekend!  We lucked out with a gorgeous day and celebrated surrounded by all of our favorite people.  Our incredible photographers, MattnNat captured all of our special moments.  I'm so glad we chose them for our wedding because every time I look back at our pictures, I remember all of the little details.  I love thinking back on our big day and when Scott and I were looking at our album the other day, I decided to share some pictures.  Enjoy!

These lovely ladies (and a couple mimosas) kept me calm throughout the morning!

A small heart made from my dad's favorite flannel.

My gift to Scott was a new watch, so all the guys wore their matching Movados.

Scott and I opted to have a "first look" and do all of our pictures and bridal party pictures before the ceremony.  I was so excited before the first look and I was a really nice moment for Scott and I to share between just the two of us.

How gorgeous was my bridal party?!

A special moment with my momma after she walked me down the aisle.

Our venue was the beautiful Riverdale Manor in Lancaster.  We were so thrilled with how the space looked and, especially with the gorgeous weather, loved having parts of the day outside, too.

So happy to make it through the first dance.

Our cutest little flower girl and niece, Abby, who still thinks she's a flower girl to this day!

A cotton candy surprise for my groom.

With the help of my sisters and Matt and Nat's expertise, we were able to capture this amazing sparkler shot.  It is one of my favorite photos of the night; I'm so glad we took the time to get it!

A sparkly send off at the end of the night!

Looking back at these pictures makes me remember how lucky I am!  I get to spend everyday with my amazing husband and spend my life with such great friends and family.  We had a tough year leading up to the wedding, but it turned out perfect in our eyes and we're both very thankful.  It feels like this was just yesterday; it's hard to believe Monday will be our first anniversary!

Thanks for joining me to look back at such a special day.  A few hours of work and then I'm off to bake lots of goodies for my niece and nephew's birthday celebrations this weekend!  Happy Friday!

DIY Halloween Candle Holders

Happy October!  The month of dressing up and eating way too much candy has officially arrived!

I've been trying to come up with ways to reuse my glass containers from B&BW 3-wick candles I may or may not be obsessed with.  Spooky and sparkly candle holders are the perfect addition to my fall and halloween decor!  

These are super easy to make, and you can customize them for different holidays or whatever look you're going for!  Follow along for a step-by-step tutorial.  Here's what you will need:

• Glass containers (Mine are left over from Bath & Body Works 3-wick candles.  They take a bit of elbow grease to clean up, but it's worth the time!)
• Mod Podge
• Wax Paper
• Glitter (I used black and orange)
• Masking tape
• Foam paintbrush
• Tea lights or other small candles

Step 1

Lay the wax paper over your working surface.  Make sure your containers are nice and clean, then use the masking tape to create whatever pattern you'd like.  I made a jack-o-lantern face and a simple striped pattern.

 

Step 2

Using the foam brush, spread an even but generous layer of mod podge on the inside of the glass.  For the striped container, I painted every other stripe to begin.

Step 3

Fill the container with the glitter and shake it around until it's evenly coated.  Dump out any extra on the wax paper and back into the container.  After I used the orange glitter in the striped glass, I painted the remaining stripes with mod podge and repeated the process with the black glitter.

Step 4

After about 30 minutes, use tweezers to remove the masking tape.  It was hard to see the jack-o-lantern face against just the orange glitter, so I layered mod podge and black glitter over top of the back half of the container and it turned out much better.

I absolutely love how these turned out and want to thank +missglamorazzi for the inspiration!  If you make a new candle holder, send me a picture :).  I'm sure I'll be using more jars for other holidays!

Check back in Friday for a flashback to our wedding a (whole) year ago!

September Favorites

I say it at the end of every month, seems like each one goes faster than the last.  Let's just jump right into my favorites for the month!

Find: Marc Jacobs Honey

My last Sephora online order included a sample of Marc Jacobs fragrance, Honey.  I sprayed it twice before dropping the tiny glass bottle to the floor and watching it shatter.  Heartbreaking, I know, but I did get to smell it!  I loved it and was so upset that I wasted the rest of that sample.  Literally two days later, Honey pops up on Groupon; $49.99 for 1.7 fl.oz. (normally $76).  I bought it on a semi-whim seeing as I only wore it once, but am so glad I did!  It is more of a Spring scent, but for the time being the beautiful little bee-covered bottle can sit on my perfume stand and look pretty :)

Memory: Curacao!!!

I've shared all our pictures from Curacao (here, here and here) already, and I'm sure it's obvious why it's my favorite September memory!  We had so much fun and every night my dreams are still in Curacao.  Of course I have a trend where all of my dreams eventually turn into nightmares and a really high cliff with a shark at the bottom of it started showing up recently so that's just awesome ... whomp whomp.  Anyway, still my most favorite memory this month!

Food Find(s): Pumpkin Eggo Waffles & Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts

I picked both of these up in the grocery store and Scott asked me why I have to "buy everything pumpkin."  I'm like uhhh... fall?  And I'm glad I stuck with my gut (literally) and tried both of these because they're delicious!  Pumpkin pie pop tarts for 15 seconds in the microwave + a cup of chai = heaven on a chilly fall night.  I know we haven't had many of those nights yet, I'm just getting prepared!

Song: Taylor Swift "Shake it Off"

Tay tay's done it again!  Every time this song comes on I am rocking out to it.  Liz and I had a dance par-tay (pun intended) and we were shaking errything off!  I love how she's basically making fun of herself and turned it into a catchy song.  In other news Scott is refusing to let me pick the music in our house anymore ;)

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Happy Monday!  This week I have two exciting posts planned- a DIY candle holder to add to you Halloween decor and a flashback Friday to our wedding pictures in honor of our first anniversary next Monday.  For now I am off to my flu shot, eeek!!!

Random Thoughts Lately

Happy Friday y'all!  Hard to believe it's already the last Friday in  September.  I mean really, where is the time going?  Did you know we're only 90 days away from CHRISTMAS aka the best and most magically day of the year!  I may be a bit early to the Christmas party every year, but I can't help it I just get so excited.  Anyway, we are gathered here today to talk about all the random thoughts going through my head lately because I didn't write my other planned post.  Without further ado, I'm just going to go for it!

1. Christmas Gifts

Sticking with the Christmas theme, I think I'm going to make it my goal to make my gifts more meaningful, personal, and functional.  I feel like every year we just buy people stuff, and then every weekend we spend time cleaning up and putting away all the random stuff we've received.  I want to make it a point to purchase (or make!) everyone things they can use and that really come from the heart.  If you have any ideas, feel free to leave me a comment :)

2. My Fall To Do List

Things I want to do by the end of November: go to an orchard, get in a few more hikes while it's still nice, carve pumpkins, and... drum roll... redo (most of) my kitchen!  We've been wanting to replace appliances, the counters, and few other things and it's finally time!!!  We're going appliance shopping this weekend, so send me positive vibes that it goes as smoothly and headache free as possible.  And ya know I'll be sharing some before and after pictures on here.

3.  First Anniversary!!!

Our first wedding anniversary is only TEN days away! Whaaaaaaattt?  I really cannot believe we are that close to being married for a year!  This time last year I was having my final dress fitting, putting together welcome bags, and freaking out about all the little details.  This time this year I have finally sent my wedding dress away to be cleaned and preserved (whoops took a little longer than expected!).  I've got a few little things I want to do for Scott (if you're reading Hi Skitt!), but plans are definitely still in the works!

4. Writing (officially) = Therapy

If you've read my 25 before 25 list, you know that my sisters, my mom and I are writing about our whole experience losing my dad.  The goal is to have a story for our kids so that, when they're old enough, they can learn how great of a person my dad was, and what we experienced taking care of him until he passed away.  While it is incredibly hard to write, it is so therapeutic to get everything on paper, especially emotions that have been suppressed for almost 16 months now.

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If you've made it this far, thanks for reading all the randomness going on in my head right now!  I hope you have the best last weekend in September ever ;)