Trip of a lifetime!

Well, here I am.
On the biggest adventure of my life. I've decided that my blog will become a short journal of my trip - and, for some artistic flair, pictures will be added later. I can't help but have the feeling that I will return from this trip a different person. I'm excited about it! New places, new people, new food. I love it.

My brother, Stan, and I arrived in Europe today! Berlin, Germany to be exact. Our first stop. We're staying with a friend of ours and her apartment is BEAUTIFUL! Pictures to come.

This post is short because I have a serious case of the jet lags. Off to sleep. Watch for more!

Ashten's room!

Another one of the exciting happenings of the weekend was going to Abilene to help Ashten decorate her bedroom.

Ashten and I started talking about decorating her room when I went to visit my sister, Rebecca, two weeks ago. We did some serious brainstorming and I left her with instructions to pick out a paint color and have her room painted by this weekend (her walls were actually a stark white color to begin with).

As you already know, I get very excited about things like this. I guess since I don't have a house yet. (and probably won't for a while!) I LOVE to help other people decorate.

I drove in early Saturday morning and we set to work, sale shopping, picture hanging and room arranging. She and her husband did a great job with the paint - the color was stunning!

Here is a before and after picture of her room.
Isn't it lovely?

We did the WHOLE thing for under $140.

Could her puppies get any more adorable?
They were little models for me while I took pictures.

The room is great! From smelling the yummy candles to seeing the sheer curtains catch the breeze and the cheerful blue color on the walls - it is so lively and peaceful at the same time!

Asten, I had so much fun working on this with you!
p.s. tell Dustin thanks again for all his help!

Laura's Birthday Hoedown!

Here are some pictures of Lou-lou's Birthday Hoedown! She had around 60 guests at her party, and I think all of them had a blast boot-scootin' and hay-ridin'.

Here are most of her guests! Instead of presents, she asked that they bring a donation for The Arc of Dallas, a non profit serving individuals with disabilities. She was able to raise $270 for the charity! Thanks everyone!

Here they are about to leave for the hay ride. We didn't know how many people were coming until...well..they got there! They were a little smooshed, but we were happy to have enough room!

Mmm! The massive candy bowls. This was a hit.

One of Laura's friends volunteered to make cupcakes for the party. Look how cute they are! Thanks Anna lauren!

Some of the decor. I never have time to take as many pictures as I want to at parties like this, since I'm usually busy hostessing. We put these boots up in the trees and mixed lights in. They looked great!

Daniel and I gave a quick two-stepping lesson to all Laura's friends. I was nervous that the kids wouldn't appreciate it, but here they are - dancing away! It made me so proud. Mom and Dad even got a dance in!

AND here she is!
The woman of the hour. Laura and Chrissy posing on the saddle we brought in. That big "Howdy" sign was the first thing guests saw when they walked out the back door.

So now the big question is:

What will we do next year for Laura's birthday party?

Can't wait!

What a week!

I always love it when people ask me to help them with creative projects...no matter what it is! There's a certain lack of confidence that comes with being creative, I think. Volunteering to do a project is scary because - what if they hate it? But if someone asks you to do it they trust you. Ahh, what a great feeling!

Anyways.

Here are two things I've gotten to make this week:

Grace Kelso's support card

Grace asked me to take pictures for her support card this past weekend, so we went on a picture-taking trip around downtown. Oh my goodness we got some great shots! It was so hard to narrow it down, but here are Grace's final pics...no pun intended. (and a few honorable mentions)

Front of card (above)

Back of card (below)
Honorable mention:

Laura's Birthday Invitation
Lou-Lou is having a Birthday Hoedown this weekend. This was the invitation that she passed out at school. We had a lightning photoshoot this weekend and came up with this idea! She is so sweet and asked her friends to bring a donation to The Arc of Dallas instead of a present. Get ready for more pictures of the party on Monday! We've been decorating like crazy.

So if those two aren't enough fun for one week:
Tonight is Laura's Birthday Hoedown, complete with hillbilly names, a hayride and dance lessons.
Saturday, bright and early, I'm driving down to Abilene to decorate Ashten's bedroom. I can't wait!

Watch for more pictures on Monday!

Fun, quirky and relaxing!

Here is another bedroom redo!

My oldest sister, Emily, and I talked about this for months before I could finally go to Austin! She already had a great paint color picked out, and we put our heads together for the rest. She wanted a fun, quirky but still relaxing look. Here's the result!

I love this canopy! We looked at lots of different ways to do it, but this was our favorite design. Emily is a great seamstress and whipped this out in no time!

Another angle. Look at the cute pillows Em picked out! I really like the curtains, too, but didn't get a very good picture of them. Whoops!
I had such a great time doing this with her!

Note

This shadow box has been sitting empty in my room for about a year, and every time my sister comes over she tells me that I should put something in it. I guess I've been waiting for the "perfect" little cute paper to pin in it...just haven't found it.

Then one weekend my sister came again, and when I got back from work I walked in to find this. A cute little note from her was in it! Perfect. I don't think I'll ever change it. I love it!

Amazing Race!

We're really going to do it!
Yes we are!

My cousin, Grace, and I have been talking about trying out for the Amazing Race for about 4 years, but we've been too young. FINALLY we have a chance to audition! We're heading up to Chicago on April 23 to audition live.

I can't wait!
Click the image above to see more about it!

We're both PR majors, so we decided to launch a campaign to encourage casting directors to pick us. We need your help though! Please follow our blog, twitter and facebook accounts and we'll keep you updated on our status. Tell your friends too!

Lets see if we can get on the show!