Megan's Garden Party

Yesterday we had an AMAZING time throwing Megan a bridal shower. The theme was a garden party and several of our ideas came off of Pinterest. Kara and I had an amazing time planning it and were so thankful to those who helped us! Also, thanks Megan Robinson for all the pictures!

Several fun things included:

• "He said / She said" 

After they got their food, we asked the ladies to try and guess which quotes matched Meg and which one matched Greg. We found some precious 20's silhouettes and created a fun sheet for them at their tables!

• Gift Bingo

The girls played Bingo while Megan opened her gifts. The different spaces were filled with several of the gifts she had registered for (towels, pillows, plates, fiesta ware, etc).

• Encouragement cards 

Kara made these amazing cards with numbers on them that went up to 30. Each guest wrote an encouraging note on it for Megan for that specific day (the number 9 is for 9 days before her wedding).

• Croquet

How could we have a garden party without Croquet?

• BLT Bar

We had bacon, lettuce, tomato, various cheeses, all kinds of breads, mayo and a few toasters. The girls loved it!

• Blueberry Muffins with a Lemon Glaze / Chocolate Muffins with a Chocolate Glaze

We had coffee cake but my favorite sweets were the muffins.

• All kinds of fun casseroles and pull apart bread (yum!)

Kara found some amazing recipes ... so delicious!

• Juice and Coffee bar 

 (Hope you enjoy the pictures!

People getting food

Getting the lawn set up in Mrs. Bush's backyard

BLT Bar! Totally Kara's idea! We even had a
"Toaster Station" next to the coffee station.

Blueberry Muffins with a lemon glaze made in
Meg's flower silicon baking pan.

Chocolate Muffins with a chocolate glaze ... always a win!

Megan's face when she opened our gift :)

Big group shot!

Nutella dip ... my fave! Just mix nutella
and greek yogurt and WAHLAH!

Some of our centerpieces ... love them!
Fabric covered clay pots and numbered cards to countdown
Meg and Greg's wedding with encouragement!

We loved making these flower balls with
whiffle balls and fake flowers!

We did "Gift Bingo" to help everyone play along
while Megan opened gifts!

Croquet was a fun way to end!

Mother and daughter

Life

It's been an amazing last few weeks. Graduation came and went way too quickly but it was incredibly special. We had a shower for Meg yesterday (I'll post more pics in the next blog entry). It went so well and everyone had a great time!

This past week has been full of quality time with so many special people. I was worried that because of work I wouldn't get good time with people before I left. I am so thankful to the Lord and to all the surprises He has provided (random dance lessons, karaoke at Carolina Ale House, surprise impromptu dinners with friends, meeting sweet new babies and so much more). Our Sunday School class also prayed over me today since it's my last Sunday at Bay Leaf before I move  back to SC. I am so thankful for the sweet memories that I've had here and for the precious time this past week has been. I am looking forward to this week and more good times with friends before Saturday!

Here are a few fun pictures from my recent life...

The whole group at Megan's shower

Family at Easter

Kara and I waiting to graduate

Our hoods!

Kara and I with our families

We had a cookout with our families before our "Drop-in smore party"

White Chicken Chili

UPDATE: 5/7/12
It's amazing. I absolutely suggest making it! Wasn't too difficult (just time consuming). I just turned on Hulu while making it. The only thing is that it was more like "soup" than "chili" (honestly, I was fine with this). My roommate suggested that, even though the flavor is amazing, if you want it to be more like chili, add some more chili powder or some other spicy flavor.


ENJOY!

.............................................................



The ladies over at the Southern BelleView blog have been posting some of their favorite summer recipes. They all look good but I might have to try this one out next week ... or maybe this weekend! I'll try and remember to update when I do :)

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
3-4 chicken breasts cooked and cubed or shredded (I just boil them first)
1 medium onion
2 cans (or 1 box) chicken broth
2 cans white beans (navy or northern)
1 can green chilies (4 oz)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. garlic
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder

Saute onion in a little olive oil.

Add other ingredients and simmer on stove for about 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste. It's yummo and great for a summer night!

Graduation & Spring

Two weeks from tomorrow I'll be graduating. It's hard to believe that these beautiful 3 years are coming to an end. I'm so incredibly grateful for all that God has done here in Wake Forest and for the many beautiful relationships that I'm blessed to have. There are, of course, sweet things to look forward to. Several of my friends have recently given birth and several are due any day! There are upcoming weddings, showers and our graduation get-together is going to be terribly fun. I get to tell my kids at Yates Mill Elementary about China next week and the future skype dates we'll be having (can't wait for those!). I'm really excited about this summer and the job God has provided. I'm also excited about having extended time with my family and with friends that I'll miss once I'm gone. And of course, there's China. I have lots of feelings about China but I'm thankful to say that excitement and sweet anticipation are prominent.

It's Spring and I love it. This season is such a sweet reminder that the death of Winter always gives way to the life of Spring. Every season has a purpose. It's funny that my favorite seasons are the "transitional" ones, Spring & Fall. I've discovered that I'm not the biggest fan of change but I love watching nature change. Spring & Fall just seem balanced. They're not too cold and not too hot. They have the best parts of both summer and winter and yet have their own individual characteristics.

I feel like I'm in a "transitional" season right now. I'm letting go of my time here in NC and saying goodbye to a lot of amazing people that have become family. God has poured so much into me while I've been here. At times it was overwhelming and I know that there are several books that I will be rereading in the future. And there's that word ... future. I'm looking forward to it but I'm also waiting on it. It would be so easy to obsess over August but I don't want to miss out on what God is doing now. This can be difficult but my prayer is that I'll use these last few weeks in Wake Forest wisely and that I wouldn't waste any time worrying too much about the future or trying to do God's job for Him. He's working everything out and cares for each and every detail.

Alright, well good night sweet friends. Thanks for caring enough to walk through this season with me, even if it is through this blog! Those are just a few of my "late night thoughts" after my Theology 3 class. Sweet dreams :)

Thankful Thursday

Someone recently pointed this out to me. The picture below is from last year. During this time, I had applied for a single entry, 30 day visa for our trip. I got back a multi-entry, 1 year visa. 

I copied this from my twitter (remember this is from 2011). I'm thankful for God's sense of humor.