Category Archives: Family

10.12.10

5.


As many of you know, my baby girl turned five last month. For their birthdays, I let my kids pick the theme, then the rest is up to Momma. You can see her first four birthdays here. Believe it or not, you can have a character party with style. This year, she chose a Princess and the Frog theme. I aimed for a whimsical, bayou-esque feel. Since Tiana is a chef (and so is E, might I add) I focused on the cooking element. You will see this theme repeated in the invitations, as well as the favors.

 
We had an absolute blast. Below are some pictures of the event, as well as the How To’s.

Invitations– The Plum enclosures were on clearance at Paper Source.
Poms– Pom Love
Pinata– Pinata Queen
Goody Bags– 1. Aprons- Bought aprons here. Printed each child’s initial (lilac for girls, chartreuse for boys) on transfer paper and ironed on. 2. Tiana’s Cookbook 3. Frog Cookie Cutters
Photographs– James Woo
Games– Pin the Kiss on Naveen, Hot Frog, Freeze Dance
Flowers– Remember those darn candy jars from Lou’s party? They have once again been re-purposed. We wrapped them in ribbon and added an E sticker glued onto lilac card stock.
Music– Princess and the Frog Soundtrack, as well as some other Disney faves.
Candy Cups– Michael’s.  I created the labels from Paper Source‘s 2.5 inch labels.
 
A special thanks to my bestie, MJ, who slept over the night before the party to tie together loose ends. As usual, there were a lot more loose ends than I estimated… We were up until 1:30 am.. she arranged all of the flowers- and what an amazing job she did! I have the best friends in the world. A big fat kiss to all of you.. MWAH!

10.05.10

Welcome to the World, Glory.


Last Sunday I hosted a baby shower for my dear friend, Aimee. Aimee is married to Mike’s best friend from high school, Will. They are truly like family to us, and we are so grateful to have them in our lives. She is having a little girl sometime in the next two weeks. Her original due date was November 3, but the doctors keep moving it up, so at this point, it can be any day.


Aimee’s mom passed away of cancer a year ago. Gloria Wedlake was an amazing woman- so charming, graceful and charismatic. Aimee was lucky enough to inherit some of her best traits. To honor her mother and Will’s mother, they have decided to name their little bundle of joy Glory Constance. I just love it. It is so fitting.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of the shower. Aimee is not your “cutesy” kind of girl, so I tried to make it sophisticated and earthy with a twist of bohemian flair. Just her style.

Here are the How To’s:
  • Invites- Tinyprints.
  • Mantle Letters- Cardboard letters from Paper Source. I cut strips of paper to create the patterns. This created a much cleaner look than paint.
  • Kitchen Table Flowers- Reused the candy jars from Lou’s Yo Gabba Gabba Party and wrapped them in this paper with pink velvet ribbon. I bought 9 yards of burlap at G Street fabrics ($7/yd) and cut it into (3) 3 yd pieces. MUCH cheaper than buying burlap table cloths. I bought the runners here.
  • Dining Room Flowers- For these you need a lot of flowers, a lot of patience and a lot of this.
  • CD’s- I had my graphics go-to girl, Jenna create the labels, and popped them on some of these.
  • Cake- Kristy at Tastefully Treated.
  • Menu- Sausage and Leek Casserole, Butternut Squash Soup, Arugula Salad (Pomegranate Arils, Bleu Cheese, Candied Pecans, Red Onion, Balsamic Vinaigrette),Fresh Berry Salad, Assorted Muffins and Danishes. Also, our other dear friend Melissa brought this as well as Mimosas and Bellinis. All of it was delish.
  • Elephant Table– Bought this beauty on clearance, here. I bought a tray of wheat grass and cut it to size then wrapped it in the pink velvet ribbon. How cute will that be in the girls’ playroom?
  • Gift Basket– I have a lot of go to girls. Mary is my go to girl for all things baby. Check out her site here.
I hope you enjoyed this peek at Aimee’s shower. Welcome to the world, Glory…We can’t wait to meet you!

09.15.10

Happy Birthday to My Girl.

 

My little E-Burger is turning FIVE today. Sniff… Sniff… I really can’t beleive it.
Elizabeth Grace Salmon was born on September 15, 2005 weighing in at 9 lbs. 5 oz. She was a chubby little ball of goo. I will always remember the nurses telling me that she was the most beautiful baby that they had ever seen. And she was. We would take her out and people would stop us and tell us how she looked like the Gerber baby.

Well, that Gerber baby has blossomed into a ridiculously hilarious, animated, intelligent and sweet little girl, who makes me laugh harder than anyone that I know. Oh, yes, and may I add that she has already developed a wicked sense of style. I have to check in with the CEO to see if my outfit gets a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down” before I leave for work. Who else has a five year old stylist?
Happy Birthday to my baby…. You have brought us so much joy. We love you E!

09.12.10

Field Trip: Wings of Fancy.


Yesterday, my two favorite girls and I headed to the Wings of Fancy Live Butterfly Exhibit. What a beautiful day we had. The weather was perfect and the butterflies were flying footloose and fancy free. Below are some of the highlights.

E loved touching the specimens.

This little guy made himself right at home on my baby’s head.

These two thought Lou’s jibbit was a real flower.


My girls.

They insisted on wearing their butterfly dresses in honor of the butterflies.

08.31.10

The Best Party of My Life.

I believe that there is true meaning in numbers. Call it superstitious, call it crazy, but there are numbers and dates in my life that have significant meaning and always will. August 31 is a date that I hold dear. August 31, 2001 was the day that I got engaged, August 31, 2002 was the day that I got married, August 31, 2005 was the day that I lost my mother, and August 31, 2007 was the day that I found out that I was pregnant with Anna. Despite what you may think, albeit bittersweet- today is a happy day for me.


Today is my eighth wedding anniversary. We never really make a big deal of our anniversary. We don’t do gifts, we don’t even do dinner without the girls. Each year for our anniversary we sit as a family and watch our wedding DVD to relive what both Mike and I agree was the best party we’ve ever been to. Maybe it’s because it was all about us— the only time in our lives that all of our friends and family would unite together for us (while we are alive.) I remember feeling overwhelmed as I entered the church thinking that never again in my lifetime will I have this group of people together in one room. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of the arduous planning that by Neets and I to make sure every last detail was taken care of. We had so much fun.. all the while giving my father more and more grey hair. Or maybe it’s because it was the beginning of us. If we only knew then what we know now. There are so many reasons that I cherish this day….. Whatever the reasons may be- Happy Anniversary to us!


The Salmons est. August 31, 2002

I actually have this picture hanging in our bedroom. I just love it. Not what you would expect from a wedding portrait.

This is my favorite picture of our wedding. I keep it on the desk in my office. If you look in the top right hand corner, you can see Neets watching over us to make sure everything was just perfect.

Let’s get this party started!!!!!

Our wedding song: Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

For all of you brides out there who had something go wrong on your wedding day…. My flowers were supposed to be hot pink and orange, and they showed up in peach and mauve. I thought I was going to die because flowers are my thing. I have the best friends and family in the world. My godfather ran to various DC flower marts to find any hot pink roses he could get his hands on and my bridesmaids reworked the bouquets. Looking back, I still get angry about those bouquets, but we didn’t let it ruin our day.

Invitation was sent wrapped in vellum with a gold organza ribbon. Tablecloths matched the bridesmaids dresses perfectly. Can you tell what my favorite color is? Thank God for my patient husband who still talks about his Big Fat Pink Wedding.

High arrangement flanked by a menu and a picture of the Mr. and Mrs. on each table for guests to sign.

Low arrangement… Still hating those peach and mauve flowers……

Mom.

My Nanny. She was 81 when we got married. She’ll be 90 this February and is still just as feisty.

This was a picture taken by a guest. I wish I had one before any cards were taken. Mom and I found these invitations that matched the Adirondack chairs out front of the club perfectly.. So we had them printed as place cards and arranged in wheat grass. Still love these.

My best friend.

Mike and my girls.


This is the only picture that I have of my two Mothers. It was taken at my bridal luncheon the day before our wedding. While I wish with all of my heart that Neets was here, I am so grateful to have inherited my mother-in-law. She’s amazing.


Thanks for taking a walk down memory lane with me. And to my amazing husband- thanks for eight wonderful years. Here’s to 80 more. I love you.

08.29.10

Priceless.

Concert Tickets- $200
Dinner- $30
Brobee Backpack-$30
Light Sticks-$20
Yo Key Chains-$20
Tour Tee Shirts-$60
The look on their faces…. Priceless.

Last night we took our #1 fan to the long awaited Yo Gabba Gabba Live Concert. What a fun family night. Now, I am a sucker to watching my girls experience new things. I actually cried because of the sheer joy on their faces at Disney on Ice. Back to Yo- the girls loved it and we all danced the night away. Sadly enough, all of the parents knew the songs better than the kids. Yooooooooooooo Gabba Gabba!!!!!!!!!

We met Bella and Gigi for some burgers and fries beforehand.

Spent $100 after five minutes of entering the concert.

Hilarious.

Mommy and DJ Lance Lou.

Loving it.


E’s kitten-like dance.

So Yummy! So Yummy!

Time to say good bye.

Check out this family’s adorable shirts.



Biz was awesome. I think the Dads were more excited than the kids… “Oh Baaby Youuuuuu!”

08.12.10

Best Vacation Ever.


Do you ever feel like you need the world to stop turning for a minute so that you can reconnect with those that you love most? Well, the Salmons were in dire need of a vacay last January so we splurged for a vacation at Beaches, Turks and Caicos- and I am so glad that we did. It was the best vacation that we ever took. Mike and I went on our honeymoon in Turks and loved it. Mind you that was eight years ago, and there was virtually nothing on the island. That is certainly not the case now. We were a bit skeptical of the cheese factor between the Sesame Street theme and the all-inclusive resort, but everything was top notch. Beaches is like three resorts in one. We loved it for so many reasons. Here are the top ten:

1. Delicious Food.
2. Fantastic Service.
3. All Inclusive (Don’t need to worry about buying your kid a $10 ice cream.)
4. Camp Sesame.
5. The Kiddos Had Their Own Room.
6. Amazing Pools and a Fantastic Water Park.
7. Minto, Our Incredible Concierge.
8. Tons of Activities For The Babes.
9. Fully Stocked Bar And Fridge In Our Room.
10 Minto’s Nightly Delivery Of Cheese, Cookie And Fruit Trays To Our Room.
Seriously, I could go on forever. After day 1, we had our routine down pat:
8:00- Breakfast
9:00-10:00- Pool
10:00-12:00- Water Park
12:0o-1:00- Lunch
1:00-5:00-Girls to Camp Sesame… Mommy and Daddy hit the Pool, Beach, Bar…
5:00-Showers/Baths
5:30-Nightly Show at the Main Stage (Elmo and the rest of the Gang shake their groove thangs.) They open up the stage afterwards to let the lil ones dance- the girls loved this!
7:00- Dinner (There are 18 restaurants to choose from.)
8:30- Ice Cream
9:00-Bed for Lou, nightly swims for E and Daddy.
10:00 (Yes, 10:00) E would collapse in her bunk.
Then we’d get up and do it all over again.. it was marvelous!
Camp Sesame is well run, and clean as a whistle. The camp counselors are fantastic and also babysit at night. They get to have Storytime with Elmo, Treasure Hunts with Abby Cadabby, and even make Cookies with Cookie Monster. We were all so sad to leave. We have such terrific memories that will last us a lifetime.
Well, last week I booked our trip for next year. It’s not cheap, but I honestly don’t care if we have to cancel Christmas and eat Ramen Noodles for three months, we’re going.. and I can’t wait!
(PS: How hilarious is Lou in the picture where she is yawning? Do I bore her that much? That was our last night.. and as you can tell the night was coming to an end.)