Me and my best buddies

Hanging out with my adorable neice and nephew. I just love them to pieces!

(Notice Avery's gingerbread man tattoo on her arm - we took family pictures earlier that day and the photographer was like "Um, yeah we are going to have to cover up your tattoo young lady"...too funny!!)

San Francisco Get Away

Last week, one of my best friends, Nicole, and I took a girls trip to San Francisco. We left on Saturday morning and arrived early that afternoon. We stayed with Nicole's old college roommate (Shauna) for the first two nights of our stay. On Saturday night, we went to a restaurant called Zuni, where Shauna's good friend is a pastry chef. She hooked us up with some desserts that were delicious! After dinner, we went to a little wine bar to hang out and chat. Sunday, Shauna took us to Union Street where we did what Nicole and I do best...SHOP! We both got a cute pair of boots and got a little bit of christmas shopping done as well.

The next day, we packed up all our stuff and moved across town to my cousin Carly's dorm at University of San Francisco, where we stayed for the next two nights. Our first stop with her was Haight and Ashbury where we had breakfast at a cute little cafe. Later that day, we did some more shopping down at Union Square. It definitely felt like Christmas since there were so many people out and all the pretty christmas decorations were up. That night we found a cozy little Thai restaurant to have dinner and the food was amazing! On Tuesday, we took the ferry to Sausalito - a cute little town across the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked around and did even more christmas shopping. (As you can tell, the overall theme of this trip was shopping and eating!) We ate at a restaurant right on the water where you could see all of San Francisco. We watched the sunset and the view was incredible! When we got back to Carly's dorm, we cuddled up and watched a movie, another one of our favorite things to do. It was definitely an experience for Nicole and I to be staying in a dorm since neither of us lived in the dorms when we were at UCSB. It was weird having to use a key to go to the bathroom and having to wear flip flops in the showers.

All in all, the trip was just what Nicole and I needed - to get away from everything for a few days and de-stress! These last few months have been difficult for us - My grandfather and close friend both passed away and Nicole's grandfather passed away as well. Hopefully 2010 will be a better year for both of us.

Nic - Thanks for being my travel buddy...we always have the best time together and I cherish each and every minute of it! I can't wait until our next girls trip together. xoxo

Cresa Christmas Partys

Wes and Carson - he is the happiest baby ever!

Avery and Landon with Santa

The Johnsons and me

The Harrelsons

Amber and me -She is the best cubicle buddy ever!

Some of my awesome co-workers

We had our annual kid's Christmas Party at the office last Thursday, which is something we always look forward to. We have some of the cutest kids in our office! We had Santa come and handed out presents for all the kids. My sister-in-law came with my niece and nephew and they had a blast! It was so fun to watch all the little kids running around the office with their new toys.

We also had our annual company christmas party at Morton's on Saturday night. Unofrtunately, Andrew couldn't go because he had to work...I was super bummed! But I got to sit at a table with Jana and Brian and Gigi and Josh, so it was fun to hang out together. It is so nice to work for such a wonderful company and I definitely feel blessed to be a part of it. Hopefully we will have a prosperous 2010...and maybe even a trip to Vegas if we are really lucky!

Welcome baby Hunter

We have been waiting very impatiently for baby Hunter's arrival for the last 10 months, so when Jana's due date of November 28th came and went, we were that much more antsy to meet the little guy! We had our annual girl's christmas party at my house on Friday night where we all got together to eat yummy food and spend some quality girl time. We were hoping that Jana was going to come with a baby but since he was "past due" she came with him still in her belly. We were just finishing up eating when Jana got up to get some more to drink and announced that her water had just broke on my kitchen floor! We all jumped out of our seats and ran to the bathroom. Everyone was talking at once and trying to figure out what to do next. We got Jana in the car and drove her home to meet Brian (her husband). They took off to the hospital where Jana spent the next 16 hours waiting for Baby Hunter to come. She ended up having a C-Section, since Hunter was a big baby and they were eager to get him out. He was born around 1:30pm and weighed 8 lbs 15 oz. Unfortunately, I couldn't get to the hospital until the next day because I was in Long Beach all day and night for a Christmas parade. So yesterday, we went to visit the Harrelson family and we finally got to meet little Hunter Thomas. He was perfect! He is such a beautiful baby and looks like his daddy. Jana and Brian are so excited to finally welcome the little guy to the family.

Hunter - you definitely made quite the entrance. It's not everyday that someone's water breaks on your kitchen floor - and quite frankly, I'm honored! Congratulations mommy and daddy. You two are going to be such great parents. I can't wait to watch him grow up. xoxo

Jana's Baby Shower

Let me start by saying that this post is a way over due!

On Saturday, October 17th, I threw a baby shower for one of my closest friends, Jana. She was due on November 28th, and had a baby boy - Hunter Thomas Harrelson. When she first told me I could help her cousin throw a shower for her, I was so excited! Usually, I am busy coordinating and planning weddings for people, so I was ready for a new challenge. Not to mention, I am always looking at cute stuff for baby showers, just in case I get the chance to throw one. Well, here was my chance!

Jana and her husband Brian, decided on a Kansas City Cheifs (football) theme for baby Hunter's nursery...which was obviously Brian's fabulous idea. I knew Jana was bummed that she couldn't do her baby blue, white and brown nursery so I appropriately decided to make that the theme of the shower. So everything, and I mean everything, had to be baby blue, white and brown.

Since I'm all about details, I had a lot of ideas for decorations. I made Jana a banner that said "Hunter" which hung over a clothesline of baby clothes...all blue, white and brown of course. The centerpieces were white diapers rolled up and tied with blue and brown ribbon. All the plates, tablecloths, napkins, cups and silverware were baby blue, white and brown.

One of my favorite projects for this shower was a "candy bar". I had all the candy jars and scoops leftover from my wedding so I decided it would be fun to have a candy buffet for the shower favors - especially since the mom-to-be loves sweets! I got all baby blue, white and brown colored candies - and of course, Junior Mints - Jana's favorite! I made little tags for all the candy jars and we set it up on the counter in the kitchen. It was a major hit!

We set-up a drink station of water, soda, lemonade and sangria. The food table included pasta salad, a walnut/strawberry green salad, artichoke dip, sandwiches and a fruit salad. And for dessert, we made cupcakes with blue and white frosting and brown sprinkles. I also ordered the most adorable hand-made cupcake toppers from Etsy.

All in all, the shower was a big success. Jana was so happy with how everything turned out and loved all the little details. We had about 40 of Jana's closest friend and family at the shower. It was so fun to meet some of her extended family that had traveled from Missouri. You could tell that Jana is so loved and that Hunter will be one spoiled little baby!

Jana - I know I've told you this a bunch of times, but you and Brian are going to be amazing parents! Baby Hunter is so lucky to have you both as his mommy and daddy! Thanks for letting me be part of this experience.

I love you both...

xoxo

Also - a big thanks to Nicole and Gigi for taking pictures all day. We had over 250 of them! Love you girls...

Belmont Shore Christmas Parade

On Saturday, I took Avery and Landon to the Belmont Shore Christmas Parade. We went with Nicole and her family - they go every year as a family tradition. We had a blast! When we got there, it was really cold and I was a little worried that the kids would be cold and miserable. But once we put down our blanket and chairs and got settled, it seemed to warm up a little. I think because there was so many people! We got to sit in the front row of the parade which was so fun for the kids. We ordered pizza for dinner and sipped on hot chocolate for dessert. The kids had so much fun watching all the high school bands, dance groups, and different kinds of cars. There was even a truck that came by shooting out fake snow...the kids went crazy for that! We will definitely be coming back to this parade next year. Thanks for inviting us Nic - we had an awesome time with you and your family!