Saturday, January 30, 2010

60 is the New 20?!?!

SURPRISE!!!!  We told my dad that a few of us who came early for the rodeo were going to grab a quick dinner.  I told him that I had made some reservations at a nearby restaurant.  It was REALLY hard keeping the secret!  But he said he had no idea!  He was just wondering why we had to eat at 7:30 (I told him that's the only time we could get a reservation) when the restaurant was no where near packed!!!! 
I wish I could say our cake was the star of the party, but I'm pretty sure it was Little Miss Brinley!  She did so great.  She was passed around from family member to family member and she laughed and smiled the entire time! 


                          



                          
 
  
                                


                           
the goodie bags filled with Doc's favorite things!


                               
Rocky, Am & Brinley


                                  
Mae Mae, Doc, Am and me


                       
with our masterpiece


                          
Billy and Rita with Brinley

                                
                                             


                           




We had such a fun time celebrating my dad's birthday.  We forgot to get a picture with everyone that came!!!  Maybe next year?!?!

Happy 6-0, Dad!!!!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Snow Days

I realized on Wednesday night at about 9pm that if I didn't leave OKC immediately- I might not make it to a) my dad's 60th birthday celebration and b) the rodeo.  I called Am and said- will you be up at 1am because I'm on my way!  Luckily, Amy was a go for my plan and she stayed up until me, Ivy and Winnie got there.

Things were pretty much shut down in OKC starting after lunch on Thursday.  My office was closed both Thursday and Friday.  While most people spent their snow days building snow men and having a snowball fight- I hung out with these two.

Brinley loved Ivy and Winnie.  The first time she saw them (early, early on Thursday morning), she just started cracking up.  It was so funny.  And they LOVED her!  She probably got one too many licks in the face.

You can read Amy's version of events here.

I had so much fun and I'm so glad that they let me hang out with them and put up with my crazy dogs!

On Friday, we thought it would be a great idea to make a b-day cake for my dad.  We tried several bakeries and they really didn't have what we wanted.  Plus, together- we can do anything . . .



Billy and Rita also came into town a little early to beat the bad weather in TN and AR.  They hung out with Brinley while Amy and I got busy in the kitchen.








It's starting to look like  a cake!!!






Check out the next post for party pics of the birthday boy!!!  And for the star of the party!!!!


Thanks Amy & Brinley for letting us crash at your house and enjoy our snow days!!!!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Mr. September

I'd like to share a little bit of the OKC NW Chamber's annual calendar.  There are some beautiful scenery shots and it's really a look at OKC's finest.



Ah yes, for December- we see this lovely bridge.  Gorgeous, really!

It really doesn't get much better than this scenic, peaceful view of Lake Hefner.  You can almost imagine yourself there, can't you?

Wow- a lovely sunset.  How romantic!

And for September, we come to a guy filling up his plate on the buffet line?!?!  And upon a closer look, we see that this "guy" looks oddly familiar.  Wait- is he wearing a name tag?  Yes, yes, he is!



It's Jeremy Walker!

Don't be jealous, ladies.  I know you all wish that your husbands could be featured in a calendar as Mr. September.  Better luck for next year's calendar.  But be on the lookout- the NW Chamber photographer could be lurking anywhere.  Perhaps a shot as you blow your nose or shove that entire mini-burger into your mouth in one big bite or even as you pick the dreaded wedgie.  Nothing is off limits for this calendar!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Single Ladies

It was finally time for Melissa's Bachelorette Weekend!  It felt like we were making plans forever and then suddenly, it was time for the weekend!  I headed to Dallas to get the festivities started!Melissa gave us these cute black and white bags filled with spa goodies.  They were adorable!


 

Julie put together these adorable welcome baskets that had all kinds of snacks for the weekend!


   

And waiting in the hotel rooms- Julie put a bouquet of red roses and chilld champagne- the bride's favorites!






We started the weekend off with a cheers to our beautiful, almost-a-Mrs. friend, Melissa.



The weekend had a packed itinerary with lots of Melissa's favorites!






First up was dinner at Fireside Pies.  Really good pizza!


Me, Melissa, & Mandy


The next morning, we headed to a local favorite- Breadwinners, for a lovely brunch.  Breadwinners seriously has one of the best brunches I've ever had.  Everything there is so good!

We played a little game and wrote down some of the things we loved best about Melissa!


 me, Julie & Melissa





 

 

Melissa's cake got a little damaged.  The cake was from the same bakery that made my birthday cake.  Are we seeing a trend here???  But I must say, their cakes are so good- I can overlook a little mess up.

The afternoon activity included visiting a Texas winery.  I was a little skeptical, but the whole experience was really neat. 



 
 Anna, Angela, Me, Julie, Melissa, & Boler


 

  

 We had a great time trying a couple of different wines and snacking on meat, cheese, and olives.




Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for the Panty Party!


 

As you can imagine, I loved getting ready for this.  I heart all-things-girl!  The theme was black, white, and pink.  I got little favors for everyone and used 3 different b&w wrapping papers and tied pink ribbons on theme.  I also made a little recipe card for each girl that gave directions on how to make a Neese-A-Tini (Neese will be Melissa's new last name).  [Thanks for your help, Am]  And I made little glasses for everyone with stickers and feather boas.

The decorations were hot pink feather boas and a clothesline with white, black and pink panties.  I served popcorn in tin buckets with pink, black and white, ribbon.

I think Melissa was surprised . . .




Here's a little sampling of the gifts Melissa received.  I don't want post pics of all her goodies- a few should be a surprise.  wink wink!






And what bachelorette party is complete without a bachelor in barely-there-leopard-print-speedos . . .  


 

Special thanks to John for his brief appearance!  ha ha!





Sweet Melissa- I can't believe you're getting married!  The weekend was so fun.  I hope you had a good time, but most of all, I hope you know how happy and excited your friends are about you and John!  My favorite part of the weekend was getting to your house on Thursday night and staying up late and chatting about reality tv and snacking on sushi.  That's just us!  I know we will make time for girl weekends and shopping, but I also know it will be a lot harder!  You are a dear friend and I'm so glad we had this weekend together!