something in the water...

Well, the time has come for us to hang up our "wedding" hats and put on the new "parenting" hats. Err, well let me clarify: that statement would NOT be including hubs and I, but pretty much half of our friends. :)
There was obviously something in the water last year because we have babies poppin' up everywhere around here! I actually have 9, yes, nine, girlfriends who are all currently sporting baby bumps- half of these bumps are girls to be named Harper, the obvious name of 2011, and 2 are girls to be named Avery. There are only two boys in this mix.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the baby showers I have attended thus far, two of which were my first couples' baby showers. Such a great idea. Everything is laid back and it's nice to see the daddy-to be involved in the gifts and excitement of having a shower for the unborn child- after all, the mommy isn't going to be the only parent here! In the past, it was tradition to have a female baby shower on a Sunday afternoon, similar to that of a bridal tea- I get it. But it was also a traditional role that the moms stay home and raise the children while dad works and takes up a smaller portion of their children's days. Not anymore, people! Half of these mommies are going right back to work (Amen to you, sisters. I don't know how you do it!), with the daddy's helping out with pretty much all of the child rearing they can. So it was very fitting to have a Saturday night shower with males and females, laughter, excitement and just enjoying the new chapter of our friends' lives. At one of the couples' showers, they had every male and female write down parenting advice on a large index card that they then put into a flip album as a keepsake for the soon-to-be parents. It was hilarious- especially since there were only about 2 individuals out of the 50 there that actually have kids yet, and the difference in advice written by males vs. females was hysterical.
I am so happy for all of my lovely friends who are all just glowing, precious preggs! I am also very excited for us to all grow old together as parents and I cannot wait to see these little bundles of joy!

Here are a few pics from the two couples' showers I attended for the arrivals of Avery James & Avery Elizabeth...

Avery Elizabeth's Shower

Avery James's Shower

The travel diaper case cover I made (with the monogram being done by an amazing friend). 

Here is a close up of Harper Elizabeth's diaper cake (Harper is due in about a week!), and Avery James' diaper cake. I made both of these cute cakes with the help of my friend, Cal. If anyone needs a diaper cake, let me know! After these two, I'd say I have become a pro at it.

Harper Elizabeth

Avery James

An Alabama Farm Wedding

Good Sunday evening, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! I know I did- I thoroughly enjoyed all of the SUN we had this weekend here in the South. I think I have had a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder this season so the warm dose of Vitamin D has done me well. Another note of happiness currently in my life is this this project I am working on.

I am so excited to share it with you! Event planning is by far my favorite project to tackle, and planning a wedding? Doesn't get any better!  It also gives me an excuse to live vicariously through others since I cannot afford, nor is it very reasonable, to have my own wedding 100x over using a different theme and dress each.and.every.time.

This particular wedding is a dream of my many wedding dreams and yours truly is very honored, and giddy, to have been asked to help plan the nuptials.

The wedding deets & ideas are going to reluctantly be saved for another post, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek of the unbelievable venue in North Alabama that the couple has chosen for their wedding. This beaut is actually their's for the entire wedding weekend, which is amazingly unheard of. I have always had a soft spot for some open land, rustic settings and a chicken coop.

One chic, Southern retreat coming right up! Be prepared to swoon...

Breathtaking isn't it? I mean, honestly, what more could we do to this place to make it even more gorge?? The natural beauty of this place just beyond the best.

Christmas at the Campisi's

So I totally skipped my Thanksgiving post this year... I am all holiday-ed out to be honest and Christmas stress and decor completely trumped that of Thanksgiving, but I did put much effort into cooking my first from scratch dishes, and setting a nice table for the fam at my house. It was the first time for me to ever use my fine china, after it has sat patiently for two years in my sideboard. So here are some pictures from both wonderful holidays that I am very grateful to have had in my life to thank the Lord for all I have been given- health, love, happiness, and family.

This year for Christmas, I wanted a very woodland feel to my decor and greenery. What other way than to have Mr. Hubs cut down a gazillion cedar trees from the woods behind the house? I stuck cedar everywhere... it was quite addicting. Hubs finally said enough was enough before he found cedar on his toothbrush. psshhh, whatev. I also made my very own cedar garland by hand to go over our entry way on the front of the house. It took a couple of hours but turned out gorge. I was quite proud of myself to wing such a project with no rhyme or reason and it turn out even better than expected. Patting myself on the back as we speak... ;)

This is a picture Christmas morning after Santa stuffed Bubba's stocking with a new "bear" to replace the one he has loved on since Christmas of last year... 

This one capture more detail of my tree- before final decor was added. I loved my burlap ribbon this year. I got it from Hobby Lobby this summer, knowing someone would find it and I would never see it again. That happened. And it turning up in Pottery Barn's holiday catalogs didn't help. But here it is! Along with my new fav tree topper- a moss angel from a local boutique, Wrapsody.

My dining room table arrangement. My moss reindeer was purchased a few years back from Smith's Variety. The magnolia leaves were cut from the trees at the front of my neighborhood by myself and my mother in law- at night, so we wouldn't get in trouble. :)

Our mailbox! I had this swag made 2 years ago when we moved in- but I changed the colors of the ornaments on it this year, and added the real deal cedar to the skank, faux greenery. 

Here is a picture of the pile of cedar hubs brought home, as well as my "workstation" for making my garland. Notice the heater- that garage floor was super cold!

Here it is all finished! Hubs added some lights to my garland so it stayed on 24/7 during the holidays. He also surprised me with these lanterns shipped home from one of his business trips up in Pennsylvania. 

Foyer

Copper is just so photogenic...

Wreath and table arrangement made out of what else? Cedar and magnolia. The wine bottles are tea light votives Paw Paw made for me. 

Another arrangement, and the cedar posts Hubs put up on our back porch one day while I was at work- these beauts replaced the fugly, cheap ones the builder threw up on the house. The cedar posts totally transformed the patio. Bravo, Mr. hubs!

Close up of the wreaths on our windows- these are 2 artificial wreaths, with cedar added. Yes, I had to find a place to store all 15 wreaths for the year...

Last but not least, the final exterior product! 

I cannot wait until another Christmas holiday rolls around... there is no telling what other ideas I come up with for next year between now and then!

Twenty Twelve

I think it is pretty obvious that for the new year, I need to brush up on my blog posting skills. I have gotten worse and worse about it! Not gonna lie though, I feel that the uploading of the pictures part of blogging has become rather time consuming and it alone has put a major slacking in my efforts. I write this as I am skipping my Christmas posts as they too, still have pictures needing to be uploaded.
Anyways, so I decided to do a post today of the new year, knowing there is not much else but words to sum up 2011: boring. We really did not have too terribly much going on this past year. We had friends get married and/or engaged, and we have had a baby booming here recently, but the babies are all due in 2012. Copper has been the highlight of my year! Ha. We didn't take any crazy trips, our jobs are still kickin at the slow pace that they are, and every is just as it was a year ago.
Now, I know I am supposed to be happy that things are still continuing to thrive instead of anything bad happen, but sometimes, just truckin along for 365 days gets rather dull.
I was so ready for the new year. I have things to mark off my bucket list, and hobbies from my past that I am now determined to begin again. Its just going to be MY year... simple as that. :)
Here are my 2012 "To-Dos" rather than resolutions:
1. Quit biting my nails. This has been number one on my list since I was in high school. But I am serious this time- its gotta stop. I will be 28 years old this month with the hands of a boy. Disgusting.
2. Take a tropical island trip- leaning towards St. Barts.
3. Come to a conclusion on my career path- this is the year I need to make my move on changes.
4. Spend more time building my relationship with God
5. Start taking pictures again- I used to be a pictures HOG and these days never take any- I miss them!
6. Learn how to RELAX- my anxiety and OCD tendencies have gotten out of hand. I need to learn how to chill out about the small stuff and enjoy life.
7. Exercise. Still havent stepped foot into the gym since July 2010. Wow.
8. Experience more culture and cuisine. Chris and I tend to fall into patterns and get "stuck" doing the same ole things... I am ready to try out new restaurants, try out cultural activities outside of our comfort zones...
9. Finish decorating- I know this will truly never been feasible since it IS something I love to do- so I will always be wanting to change something, but there are some pretty need-to-get-done-for-the-first-time items on our list that have got to be checked off, like, last year.
10. Learn to love to cook- at least a little bit more. This will be the year's biggest fete... notice it also being the last on the list.

:)

What are YOUR To-dos of 2012??