From My iphone

... 10/25/2015

1.To be as happy as a monkey with a new banana.

#lifegoals

2. I co-ordinated a fundraiser yard sale at church to benefit our upcoming mission trips.

 I scored that bamboo chair!

#perksofthejob #someonehastobeincharge

3. I have no idea why but I get free Chic-Fil-A tea all the time. Like a lot.

I looooove CFA tea. I drink it unsweetened with extra lemon. 

If you don't sweeten tea in any way then it needs to be good. 

And it is. I drive thru a lot. A lot!

And if you follow on Instagram you have seen my posts about my good luck.

Sometimes it is the CFA drive thru peeps and sometimes it's the car ahead of me.

#freetealuckyme

4. When I say, " Mollie let me take your picture!" this is what I get.

Yep.

#truestory

5.One of Mollie's adorable sorority sisters got married a couple of weeks ago. 

She asked me to make something they could hang on their cruise ship door. 

She sent me an "idea" pic and we came up with this.

#fallforthesuidys

Celebrate!!! Cause We Have a Graduate!!

College Girl graduated over the weekend.
I guess we have to call her Graduate Girl now :)

It was a fun-filled weekend with friends and family.

She had her Chi Omega stole to wear and we had it monogrammed. 
(Again, I say, it's the South and a Sorority)
She had a cord in the UWG colors to represent her time 
as an Admissions Tour Guide and Ambassador.

( Mollie and Wolfie)

( She was Tour Guide of the Year!!)

But mostly, it's about the cap.
What you put on your cap says it all...

This cap speaks the truth.
Starbucks gift cards were the currency of her college life.

( Mollie's Chi O sister who is married and in NY joined us for the weekend of festivities.

It was fun for Molls to have Courtney home for the weekend!)

The ceremony was very nice - and not too long!
It started at 9 am which was crazy early since we had to leave home at 6 am but we made lunch reservations and were seated and starting a lovely lunch by 11:45. Not bad.

Then we headed home to prep for the Lowcountry Boil she requested for her party.
We had been planning and prepping for ages but due to crazy unforeseen circumstances we were waaaaay behind schedule.
My family swooped in and pitched in and we were ready for our shindig on Sunday evening!

We made a Cornhole game with the West Georgia mascot and shield on them.

We cleaned and painted our porch, did some yard work and then the fun began - decorating.
The UWG colors are red and blue and our graduation party was a couple of weeks after July 4th so we scooped up a lot of great red and blue decor on clearance!

I was having so much fun at our party that I forgot to take very many pictures
 and the ones I did take are not very good :(  Oops!

I should have taken better pictures but the hanging photo board was a hit!! We suspended it over the table so it could be viewed from both sides. I printed 91 pictures that gave an overview of Molls college experience. I printed them in black and white except for the ones where she was in school colors and then I printed those in full color. It was fun. 
I also printed a picture from the first day of preschool and kindergarten.

Mollie wanted traditional Southern desserts with her LowCountry Boil - 

Banana Pudding and Key Lime Pie. 

Neither one of those holds up or serves well to a large group in the 95 plus degree weather we've been having. So we bought these adorable little canning jars that do not have any writing on the sides and layered the desserts into them. Then once they were sealed they could be thrown into a cooler or galvanized tub full of ice.

 Everyone loved them. 

I made little signs with directions, the menu, etc. on them. 

I used cardboard and stood them in buckets and old cans we saved.

We had a Sangria Bar which was a ton of fun and I took not one single picture of - Gah!!

My mom bought the cute jars that sit either upright or tilt to one side - like old fashioned candy jars and we cut up the fruit and put in those. We set that on a chill platter insert I had.We put out red wine and a cooler of white and ice and everyone created their own concoction. Very refreshing!

 We put the "glasses" which were mason jars upside down in this metal tub.

(With The Grands as she calls them)

With her cousin, who graduated this week too :)

  We just hung out and devoured 20 pounds of shrimp and fixins!!

( Brook was so busy eating he couldn't pose for a pic!!)

Mollie nannied this little cutie for a couple of Summers!!

Sorority Sisters - the one closest in the pic is Mollie's Big!!

LCB and friends and family relaxing and chatting - 
that's how we do Graduation in the South!!

The Big and The Little Of It !

It's a big deal becoming a BIG!! 
College Girl became a "Big" in her Sorority this year!
 Big/Little week is a fun, fun week.
But it is a BIG thing to get everything ready.
And it is a secret until the "big reveal"!!



First the girls who received bids into the sorority at Rush go to a local store and fill out an info sheet/wish list with their likes and sizes, etc. on it.
Then the future 'bigs' get busy. Mollie and her "twins" met to coordinate ordering of family shirts and other goodies their littles will receive throughout the week.

It's serious business. Big decisions and budgets to consider, too.

But it's fun, too :)

Then after they agree on color and fabric they have to find the right sizes on the crammed racks!!
 The looks on their faces - if only that much concentration went into classwork!
 Sorority girls are serious shoppers, if nothing else!

Looks like shopping was successful!

Then College Girl came home for a few days to craft like crazy!!
We set up a staging table in the Library (where her headboard for her apartment is hanging out until it goes to school - soon, I hope!)

We started gathering all the components for each days' surprises. Each day is assigned a letter, a theme and limits on items/costs but the requirements must be met so that each girl has an amazing Big/Little Week.

A canvas for "H", handmade day.

Awesome wooden letters from the Greek shop near the Georgia Tech campus - another reason CG came home to craft - lots of resources in Atlanta.

Hand painted bulletin boards are one of the most popular "H' day items and we went with chevron stripes. Love them - taping nightmare, however!

And another canvas ... stay tuned for an important Sorority Girl message.

Now we are cooking! CG says her favorite color is GLITTER!!! I helped her with painting details but she told me that she can "glitter like nobodies business!!"

This was Day 1 - the letter "C" for Cookies and Candy. We found a giant lollipop in Chi O colors, bought KitKats because her future little didn't list her favorite candy and another sister, Morgan, informed us that you can't go wrong with a KitKat. CG baked cookies and we used the Cricut to decorate the jar lids. A little cello and ribbon - which makes every gift look better - and we were good to go. The baskets are on display in the Chapter Room by a certain time and then the future littles are allowed to come get their goodies after a certain time. So organized and efficient.

Heavy glitter usage in progress. Not going to lie - we loved this!!

Chevron stripes. Check. Letters in red. Check.
 The amount of tape used for this was crazy.  Oy.

Another popular item is the fleece blanket. CG found one with owl fleece on one side so we used it for "O" day. We had the future littles name embroidered on it 
and then CG tied the fringe. So cute!

The artwork for "H" day all finished and wrapped in cello along with the letter H which CG glittered in silver.

 

 

 

Day 2 "H", Hand-me-downs and Handmade. The bag contains hand-me-down Sorority t's so that the new girls can sport their letters on campus. It gives them a head start on t's.

 CG forgot the glittered letter "C" on Monday so she added it to Day 2 with a note :)

The letters will spell out Chi O by the end of the week and then go up on the walls in the dorm rooms.

And Day 3 is "I" for Insignia. 

This is the day the girls get their "Big Letter Shirts" and items with their letters on it like car decals, tags, etc.

We wrapped it all up in Chi O colors and added the glittered letter "I".

And Day 4 is "O" for Owls. We used the Cricut to put a monogram on front of the bucket and an owl on the back. The blanket went in here along with a Lilly Chi O cup, the glitter letter O, an owl pillow,and an owl statue that has been handed down in CG's "family." Cello wrap and some owl ribbon completes the look :)

We added a big owl picture and a pretty vase with red and yellow flowers. "O" Day is complete.

Each day the "Bigs' include a note with 'clues" for the future littles. The hints are misleading as the intent is to remain a surprise until Big/Little reveal on the night after "O" day. It is such a fun week even though it's so busy getting everything ready.

And then the older sisters devise a method for 'revealing' themselves to the new girls for one last surprise!!

And then....

Big and Little are united... and mom gets a picture via text :)

Such a fun week and I love that the girls are so dedicated to creating a special and meaningful week and that making/crafting keepsakes is part of it!