four

Darling Janelle at vintage simply love (she really is darling) inspired me to jump onboard with this fun little spin on a "getting to know you" post!  Hopefully you learn a bit more about the gal behind this blog!

4 nicknames

Rach, Rachie, Rock (short for Rocket, thanks sis), Rachie Muchachie (my mom even has a song for this nickname)

4 jobs I have had

lifeguard/swim club manager, day camp counselor, nanny, teacher

4 movies I have watched more than once

Erin Brockovich, Crazy Stupid Love, The Wedding Planner, Father of the Bride

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4 things in my purse

softlips chapstick, bobby pins, wallet, sunnies

4 books I would recommend

The Husband's Secret, Yes Please, The Girl on the Train, anything by Jodi Picoult

4 cars I have driven

Dodge Neon, Pontiac Grand Am, Hyundai Elantra, Honda Pilot

4 places I have visited

London, Paris, Portugal, Dublin

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4 places I want to visit

Australia, Italy, Greece, Vancouver

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4 favorite foods

watermelon, mac n' cheese, tacos, chocolate

4 favorite drinks

water, Dr. Pepper, "dirty Shirley/Shirley Slammer" (Shirley Temple with vodka), coffee that doesn't taste like coffee

4 TV shows I watch

Parenthood, Southern Charm, Law & Order: SVU, Friends

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4 places to shop

World Market, LOFT, Target, HomeGoods

4 things I'm looking forward to in 2015

family vacations, a big family reunion, decorating our house, watching Max grow and learn

Hope you were able to learn something you didn't know about me!  Have a wonderful day!

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Max Turns One | A Monster Party

My little Baby Max turned ONE on Sunday!

Shirt from A Chapman Creations on Etsy

When you have your first baby, everyone tells you to cherish the moments when they're little because "they go by so fast."  And you smile and nod and think "yeah, ok, sure," as you adjust to punctuated sleep and the complete upheaval of your life as you get into a new groove with your little nugget.  You think those precious moments will last forever...they're always going to be little.

And then all of a sudden it's been a year since you brought your bundle into the world and you realize that the past year was the fastest-passing year of your entire life and you can finally conceptualize how true those 5 words really are.

How the flip do I have a 1-year-old already?!  I've been planning this party for months, but the actual day really seemed to sneak up on me.

We've been suuuuuper busy the last two weeks getting the house set up and ready for Max's birthday party, so I had to dust the cobwebs off this here blog before I could write this post today.  Sorry it's been crickets over here lately.  I hope today's post makes up for it!

I'll let the photos do most of the talking, but here's the low-down: we had a monster-themed party to celebrate Max's one-ness (other themes I considered were Sesame Street, baseball, nautical, and camping).  My sister and I baked and decorated all the cake pops, cupcakes, and Max's smash cake.  I got the ideas for the decor mostly from Pinterest but added my own spin to some of them.  All of the pictures were taken by my darling friend Dottie of Dottie Millwater Photography (when your talented photographer friend comes to your kid's birthday and offers to snap pics with her fancy camera, you put your own camera away and let her work her magic).

The Decor

Max's monthly photos

The centerpieces for the tables were tissue boxes wrapped in paper and decorated like monsters.  

Each table also had a jar of cake pops.  I made the jars for Max's baptism.

I thought my sister was going to throttle me when I told her I wanted to hang all those streamers from the bulkhead.  I'm very grateful that she supported my vision: there needed to be more color coming from the ceiling!  This tip made it super easy!

I made the confetti by cutting up pieces of cardstock.  I did the same for my wedding.  Easy peasy and adds pretty color to the table.

I made the boho flags from small pieces of scrapbook paper.

What's a party without balloons?

The Sweets

We baked for DAYS.  But we had fun.  And these cake-pops were TO. DIE. FOR.
Tutorials here and here.  (These gals have perfected the process...and they have pretty awesome blogs, too).

I love an opportunity to use my cake stand.

My future sister-in-law decorated these.  I love them!

The one in the middle is my favorite.  He reminds me of a minion from Despicable Me.

The Favors

Found these plush monsters on Amazon

The kids also got some Play-Doh and bubbles

The Man of the Day

Max was awesome on his big day!  He took a great nap that lasted through the start of the party and was such a happy guy playing with his cousins and friends.  I thought he might cry when we sang to him but he held it together!

Practicing walking.  He's still not interested in doing it on his own but he'll walk as long as someone or something helps him.

We taught him how to "blow" last week and we practiced with a scented candle at breakfast!

He wouldn't eat the cake unless we put strawberries in it.

He was happy with our singing.

With his parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncle

Such a wonderful day with family and friends!  Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate and to all who wished Max a happy birthday on Sunday!  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

22 hours in Naptown

I did it: I survived my first overnight away from Max.

Victor was in meetings in Annapolis all day Friday, learning new "golden nuggets," as he calls them, to help him hone his skills as a lawyer.  He goes every year, and I typically join him Friday evening for dinner, drinks, and fun in my favorite waterfront city.

The view from the cocktail party

We could have taken Max, but it would have been a repeat of our beach trip a few weeks ago, meaning we would've been back in the hotel by 8 PM.  Being baby-free gave us a bit more freedom.  We went to the cocktail party with Victor's colleagues at the Marriott (on the same waterfront terrace that was almost our wedding location), strolled to dinner at 8:30 PM, and swung by the after-party at 11 PM at the Westin.  On Saturday, Victor went to more meetings while I leisurely showered and got ready, watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians, browsed Pier 1, dropped some dollars at LOFT, then did some Mother's Day shopping at my favorite boutique, Lou Lou, before meeting Victor for lunch and some ice cream.

Sitting in traffic.  For once I don't mind.

There were beautiful flower arrangements all over the city.  This was one of my favorites.

Ego Alley in Annapolis

Max did wonderfully with Victor's parents and loved being spoiled rotten by his avos.  We couldn't have asked for a better first overnight.  It's very comforting to know that Max was happy and loved while we were away.

His first pillow/blanket fort.  Avos house is the coolest!

While I enjoyed being baby-free, I couldn't wait to get back to my little goose.  But when I got to Victor's parents' house, he was napping, so I waited in the backyard amongst the lilacs.

They smelled divine

Hope you all had an equally wonderful weekend!