It was fun . . .

. . . but I am so glad the party's over. Three weeks of preparation boiled down to a 3-hour party. Funny how that works, isn't it?

It went as smoothly as it possibly could have and it was so much fun getting everything put together - that's always my favorite part. The decorations, the neat lines of plates & napkins, the untouched platters of food . . . and then it's destroyed in a matter of seconds! In the best sense of the word, of course.

I hate to tell you, but these aren't homemade cupcakes. I have this thing (okay, obsession) for cupcakes from Sam's Club. Wierd, huh? They just taste so good to me that I don't even waste my time trying to duplicate them. That, and the fact that they're $11.88 for thirty of them really seals the deal. They did a great job matching the colors of all the other decorations - I was really happy with them. What I'm not happy about is the fact that Josh took the rest of them to the office today. Delaney's none too pleased either. My guilty conscience is thanking me, though.





My mom's a Vera Bradley fanatic so her retirement gift was a beach bag full of goodies - the bright colors fit her personality perfectly and I know without a doubt that she will use every single thing that we got her. I think my favorite part are the lounge pants - it took a lot of self-discipline not to swipe them! Seeing the look on her face was totally worth all the preparation- I love giving gifts!







We had an obscene amount of food. . . homemade potato, pasta, & ham salads, artichoke dip, fruit & veggies, and hot wings from a local favorite - The Cold Spot, which is a total dive but has the best wings I've ever had. We made lemonade & iced tea so we could have "Greg Normans." (They're really called Arnold Palmers but I have a hard time keeping my golfers straight so that's what I always call them - drives my golf-fanatic husband mad.)

Congrats, Mom. I'm so happy for you.