For Christmas, Mr. Preppy Wedding bought me this amazing personalized address stamp (in Eubanks). And I love it. I would recommend this for any shower or wedding gift, it is an all around fantastic and very useful tool!

Looking at the stamp-makers website, they also sell a super cute stampable notecard collection. I love all their choices, especially these cuties:

Throwing a shower?

For all you gals throwing a shower this winter or spring, I love the tissue paper pompom kit and the tissue paper bouqet kit from Martha Stewart Crafts (and remember to scour your Sunday paper - there are always 40 percent off coupons for Michael's there).

Going along with this fun pinky theme, how about this Whitney English invitation, spiked pink lemonade with pink rock candy bling at the bottom of your glass. While you're at it - call the party pretty in pink and everyone must dress up in some pinky hue, with the exception of the bride who must wear white.

These Caspari paper products (via paperbuzz) will add to theme. And this ruffle cake would be a perfect way to end a very lady-like party.

Preppy Cookie Exchange

I promised pics from this year�s cookie exchange so here they are!

The spread -

I love these fun placecards from Pottery Barn (last summer), they are super cute!





I used these placecards from the Martha Stewart collection at Michaels so people could write the names of their cookies.
Here�s the bar. I did champagne and chamboard with blackberries as the signature drink, so yummy.
And the other food table, I made this recipe for pigs in a blanket (one of my favorites). They were all gone by the end of the party.
I also got this awesome cookie box kit (also Martha Stewart Crafts) for everyone to take home their treats in.
All in all, a great party.

And just because I had the camera, here are some shots of the Preppy Wedding House during the holidays.


And Santa�s favorite elf.

Wine & Cheese Shower

Just some fun pics from this weekend�s shower �

Since it was a wine & cheese shindig, we did corkscrews (from the Dollar Tree) with personalized labels from Etsy.

I love these napkins, they were a gift from Jennifer at TobeeNamed. If you want personalized products for your next shower, these are the way to go.
To make it more about the couple getting married, we made sure to feature some of their favorite pics down our staircase. The Best Wishes is from Martha Stewart�s new Michaels craft line. If you haven�t checked it out yet you should.


We served lots of fun things, but here are a few with links to their recipes:

- Rose Sangria

- Mini Onion Quiche


- Mini Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

- Knorrs Veggie Dip & Veggies

Oh and just cause you�ve missed her, here�s LuLu enjoying the festivities with her dad. And what you can�t see is that I made him wear the Jcrew shorts with the fabulous fish embroidered on them. Tres preppy!!

Oh and here are some fun pics of some things we've recently done to the house. I know a few bloggers were sharing their "signs" and here's my favorite.

And I wanted to display pictures of our wedding in one central location, so why not on top of the place where I spent (ahem - waste) all of my time.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend. I know I am looking forward to Wednesday already!

Preppy Showers .... Some Great Ideas

Hostess with the Mostess has some great ideas for some BEAUTIFUL wedding and baby showers. She also includes what to buy lists for easy execution!

Some of my favorites:

• The Hooked Couples Shower (great for beach wedding couples, or just those who like to fish!)
• The Bling Bride (great for a classy bachelorette party)
• The Due Date (a great baby shower without overdoing the baby theme)

So I spent the weekend getting prepared for the shower next weekend and helping my dad, father -in-law & husband build a small outdoor patio. I learned a lot about the principles of being level. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

The Golf Themed Bachelorette

Last night, I had a reader request from Jennifer to help her with a bachelorette party she�s planning. The theme is GOLF (Girls Only Ladies Forbidden) a la the movie The Wedding Date. Which I love. And tell me, who�s gonna be watching The Starter Wife tonight? I digress �

Anywho, I put together this fun storyboard of ideas to help Jennifer throw a great party.


First off, I made sure that the theme was not too golfy. Because as much as I like golf, I am not all about golf paper products. So, I chose sage green and brown for my colors and polka dots for my theme and went with it.

Love this invite from wedding paper divas. As you can see, you need to make sure to clearly state on the invite that preppy golf attire is required.

I would start the night of at the host's home. I love these cute polka dot paper products and I would do heavy appetizers with coordinating cupcakes for dessert. Instead of playing lots of games, start the night by explaining that the whole night will be one big progressive round of golf.

Then distribute to each guest a homemade golf score card (you can do this in word) that clearly delineates the holes or bars you will be visiting that night. At each bar, guests are scored on how many drinks they consume. Whoever gets the highest score gets a special trophy that they get to carry around to the next bar.

I would also create some fun cards for each hole. Jot down a task for the bachelorette to complete and distribute to guests to give to the bride at each hole. And if you�re looking for ideas for tasks, visit this site.

Since you�re not buying expensive prizes for games, for favors get all the girls something that will make your group look more like a �team.� I like this headband from etsy, but I can also see argyle socks, hair bows or barrettes or even coordinating polos.

Some other things to remember �

• Get a play list together of your favorite dance songs for the limo ride (that�s right no driving on a night like this)
  


• The host has exclusive power to revoke score cards from any guest who is winning excessively (this is for those competitive girls who could kill themselves by drinking too many shots)
  
• Create a visor veil for the bride using a plain white visor and netting from a fabric store. This signals the bride-to-be without going too over the top.

• To save money on the party, only offer one signature drink at your home. And make sure to include it as the first hole!

The Preppy Traditional Shower

I got a request from a preppy reader to put together a shower theme for a friend who was very preppy traditional. She didn�t particularly like monograms (GASP, I know) and did not particularly have a favorite color (other than black & white).

Well in my shower planning experience, you give the bride what she wants so, I�ll try to do just that.

I started with the black and white notion and immediately thought of damask. Now, I love a good damask just about as much as I like a good toile, so here goes�



A lovely (and very traditional) Crane�s Invitation.

Some beautiful damask paper products from card isle.

This damask tape will look lovely around a small white favor box filled with a single chocolate truffle of the bride�s choosing.

I would use white ceramic vases like this bean vase, to hold lime green button mums. Then you can accent with lime green napkins and a midori champagne.

And how about this beautiful jewelry box for the bride-to-be.

I see no games, just girls, giggles, gossip and cocktails.

As y'all can see, I am going to try and do more storyboard like postings, I just think they allow you to see how all the ideas come together.

I'll be out of commission until next Monday, the preppy lil sis is graduating and will be a Gamecock no more!

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Wine & Cheese Shower

The hubby and I are excited about throwing a small couples shower for some great Richmond friends in a month or so. Since the couple are huge wine lovers, we decided to shower them in style with a take on the whole stock the bar theme. I ordered the invitations last week from vistaprint.com and led off with "Let's Toast The Night Away."

Here are just a few things I am planning on doing to make this shower a success:

• The theme colors are going to be turquoise & brown. Imagine that. You know brown is the new black. We've ordered these fabulous napkins from ToBeeNamed. Jen, the owner is fabulous and all the napkins she offers are fully customizable. All her stuff is so amazingly preppy, I just can't wait to see these napkins in person!



• I'm also going to get these favor tags from etsy. We're going to tie these around mini bottles of wine for our guests.



• The paper plates are coming from ebay. Cheap and chic. You know I like that.



• We'll be serving a variety of wine, this sangria, lots of cheese (marked with these) and crackers and some substantial sandwiches and finger foods. We're going to do mini cheescakes for dessert to keep with the them (of course!!)



• There will be two games (arggh, I know people say they don't like games, but they tend to get people together). One will be a blind tasting to see how many people can guess the type of wine they are tasing. The second is a game that my sister-in-law had us to at our couples shower, it involves the bride and groom standing back to back with one shoe in their hand. The couple is asked questions like "Who made the first move" and "Who wears the pants" and they answer by holding up a shoe to represent either themselves or their partner (lots of fun - I promise).



• We're also going to do some kind of display of pictures of the couple down our staircase. I just use some twine and mini clothespins and it looks super cute.

What am I missing? Any suggestions from all you preppy readers out there?

Preppy Bachelor Parties

Well, I am not going to pretend to know how to throw a preppy bachelor party, but I do know the husband-to-be is off to celebrate his this evening. He and a bunch of his college and work friends are off to the Outer Banks for a long weekend. I�m very glad for him, he certainly deserves a break from me in these last few days. I�m ensuring him that my craziness is only temporary and will subside as soon as we board the plane to Aruba. I think he would like for me to sign something regarding this, but we�ll see!!

While he is gone, I have bunches of fun things to accomplish like getting my eyebrows waxed, doing my hair run through, finalizing calligraphy for a banner that will run between two topiaries at the reception. I am also packing in a Thursday Night Party with the girls and the preppy lil sis and I have a date planned for Mexican tomorrow.

I thought since I haven�t been able to take pictures of the finalized Preppy Wedding CD, I would at lease let you all know what songs we chose for the CD. And as always, I promise a more detailed post on where to buy the labels and packaging later.

Only Heart - John Mayer
Did you Ever Look So Nice - The Samples
Carry Your Heart - Blue Dogs
Bring It On Home to Me - Little Big Town
Feels Like Home to Me - Bonnie Rait
She�s Everything to Me - Brad Paisley
Once in a Lifetime Love - Keith Urban
With this Ring - The Platters
Signed Sealed Delivered - Stevie Wonder
Sweet Virginia Breeze - Steve Bassett
The Sweetest Thing - U2
Someone Like You - Van Morrison
When it Don�t Come Easy - Patti Griffin
Till Kingdom Come - Coldplay

You can see, it is a real mix. I adore country music, so there are a few of my favorites represented.

And I know some of y�all have questions as to how I will blog after the wedding? I mean, can I really be the preppy wedding? Well, I have some good ideas about how I will proceed (if you will) but I want everyone to be surprised. So the answer is, you�ll have to wait and see!

Preppy Wedding Shower and Bachelorette Details Continued

Just a quick post this morning. Here are some more details from the shower and bachelorette. Enjoy!

Favors at the Bachelorette

The argyle napkins

Flowers at the Shower (hydrangeas will be used in the wedding)

Towel Cake (made by my aunts)

The shower drink of choice

Favor Bags at the Shower

I wish you could see all the goodies!

The Preppy Bachelorette Party

Just wanted to let everyone know the Shower/Bachelorette weekend went great and yes, I am still alive, although I had a hard time getting off the couch bed on Sunday (but I did get to watch the entire second season of Sex and the City).

I don�t have pictures back yet from the shower, but I do have some bachelorette pictures. First, I know I blogged about our preppy attire for the night, so here are our wedding role polos.


As for other preppy details, check out the argyle cake that matched the Caspari grossgrain plates and napkins that were used. (I can�t find a picture of the Caspari napkins on-line, but they perfectly matched the cake!)

I got lots of cute lingerie and my friends really nailed the polka dot theme within my lingerie. I also got some awesome hanky panky items, which I LOVE.

Here�s a picture of my super preppy bridesmaids and friends (all decked out in their polos and argyle) who were in attendance and followed me out for a night of FUN.

LOTS OF FUN. I�m so lucky to have such great friends who traveled from near and far to celebrate one of my last night�s of singleness. And boy did we celebrate�four bars�stretched expedition limo�pregnant Paige dancing in a boy sandwich. Again, I cannot reiterate that we did have LOTS OF FUN. Maybe some pictures will fully express that sentiment.

Oh yes that is Polynesian sauce from some late night chick fil a munching in the limo. Erin just had to take a pose by it.

And the piece de resistance .

Yes, that was tequila. And yes it is very painful for me to look at this picture!

Big thanks to Alison, Erin, Paige, Jess, Ree, Megan, Julie, Nicole, Mrs. Hunt, Lantzie, Lau, Rachel, the preppy lil sis, and Kelly for such a great time!

I�ll try and post shower details tomorrow, if I can get my hands on some pictures.

Preppy Party Supplies

Well, I am very excited for the fun wedding weekend ahead. Tonight my best friend from NYC comes in and we are all doing dinner. Poor thing rode on a Grey Hound bus to get here, as her Jet blue flight was cancelled due to ice.

Then tomorrow, I have a bridal shower thrown by my dad�s sisters, followed by a bachelorette party thrown by my bridesmaids. Last night, I got these to wear with my polo and jeans, who knows what else is on tap for tomorrow night. With 13 girls hitting the town, it should be a VERY good time.

This weekend, I promise to take picture of some of the DIY favors we are using for inspiration to all you other brides-to-be. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but fun, cute stuff.

I�ll leave you with this site to look at this wonderful Friday afternoon. We just received some matchbooks we�re using in conjunction with sparklers for our send off. For Your Party offers the best price and the easiest customization with so many color and font choices. They are a god send to anyone planning a party and needing napkins, gift tags, ribbon, coasters or matchbooks. I highly recommend you take a look.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Preppy Wedding Shower - Part III

When throwing a shower �.

You SHOULD prepare music for the occasion that complements the theme
You SHOULD NOT include any music that includes the words butts or sexy

You SHOULD include other bridesmaids or family members to alleviate the financial responsibility of the shower
You SHOULD NOT circulate a collection plate for guests

You SHOULD display pictures of your guest of honor prominently
You SHOULD NOT include pictures of Spring Break 1998 (otherwise known as the day she found tequila)

You SHOULD do your best to introduce guest who do not know each other with commonalities.
You SHOULD NOT use alcohol or men as a commonality

You SHOULD track the gifts and gift-giver for the guest of honor

You SHOULD NOT skip the gifts you know the bride will return

Preppy Wedding Shower - Part II

If you�re planning on throwing the perfectly preppy shower, chances are you�ll need some great party food. Here are some of my staples. They�re easy and always crowd pleasers.

I�ll post tomorrow on a couple more things to consider when planning your shower.

Aunt Gracie�s Ham Biscuits
1 1/2 lb. Virginia Country Ham (Preferably Todd�s Country Ham)
1 1/2 lb. Swiss cheese
3 pkg. Pepperidge Farms rolls (small rolls)
2 sticks butter softened
3 tbsp. prepared mustard
3 tsp. poppy seeds
2 tbsp. minced onion

Slice rolls down the middle. Melt Butter. Mix in mustard, poppy seed and onion.

Spread the 1/3 of the mixture of both halves of the rolls. Layer ham and cheese liberally on both sides. Put rolls back together and use a knife to cut out each individual roll. Wrap all rolls in tin foil.

Repeat with the other two packages of rolls.

Bake at 325 degrees until cheese melts. Best served warm.


Mom�s easy veggie dip
1 package Knorr � Vegetable recipe mix
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream

Mix together well. Chill two hours before serving.

This is a great with a veggie tray. I prefer serving with sea salt bagel chips.

Erin�s Strawberry Hill Smashed Mimosa
8 cups chilled champagne
4 cups chilled fresh orange juice
1 can of ginger ale
1/2 cup Triple Sec
Halved orange slices

Just before serving, stir champagne slowly into orange juice. Add triple sec and ginger ale into the mixture and stir. Use orange slices to garnish your pitcher.

Erin�s famous mimosa would look just charming in this Issac pitcher from Target.