Labor Day Weekend

For the Labor Day weekend, David and I headed to PCB for one last summer beach trip with our buddies Colby and Jamie. We didn't arrive until late on Thursday night, but were so excited to hit the beach on Friday. The weather was perfect! It was cool with a nice breeze, but we could tell by the waves that Lee was heading into shore.

David and Jamie configured this really complicated game where you take two PVC pipes, stick them in the sand, put a beer bottle on top, and try to knock it off with a Frisbee. Its actually a lot of fun.

We headed to Firefly to kick off our weekend of relaxing and eating. After dinner with Colby's parent's Wayne and Terry, and Colby's sis and bf - Ansley and Ben, the four of us decided to stick around for one more drink and listen to the local music. The musician liked Colby, and she joined him for a fun rendition of Jesse's Girl.

On Saturday, the weather was so iffy all day, but cloudy most of the time. So, Colby and I took advantage of the time to shop a little at Pier Park and wander through Target before picking up dinner. We were hosting her family again to watch the Georgia Game.

It was so pleasant on the balcony before the rains came!

The game was pretty sad. You can see how no one was enthused.

But they perked up when it was time to eat! We had Sweet Basil's salad, Buddy's steamed shrimp, steamed asparagus and my famous cream cheese grits! Yum!!!!!

On Sunday, we were lazy once again. The afternoon found us at Billy's oyster bar for a few draft brewskies and some raw oysters. Dinner was a Pompano's, a local seafood restaurant. We left on Monday fully relaxed and ready for our 4 day work week. Our ride home was without traffic, thank goodness, and we didn't get stuck in any rain. Now, this weather that Lee brought to us is amazing! I hope it stays like this for the UGA/SC game this weekend!

A Birthday Party Continued

Part II of the Birthday Party: Here are a few more shots of the photo time and dinner.

Here's my Mom with her friends Carol and Catherine. I love all of the dress-up pictures!





We're so lucky to have these two moms!



David's Uncle Grady and Aunt Vicky looked so sharp! Grady's spectacles were his grandfather's - they're over 100 years old!

Stephanie looked great in her vintage hat and gloves!



Mrs. Connie was pretty in her summer white...



...and my Aunt Jill looked beautiful in her lavender and vintage jewels!

I love this photo of my Griffin family. The fur I am wearing belonged to my great-grandmother and Amanda's fur belonged to her grandmother. She and Mrs. Pam really were stunners in their hats! Mr. Benjy looked the part in his tweed coat and pageboy; and of course, my David was handsome as ever!

Patti flew in from NYC for the special party! We were so happy to have her there!

Mrs. Pam, Mom and Mrs. Caroline make a great looking trio!

Jen and Jason looked great too! I loved all of Jen's pearls!

Tina and Tony made a good looking couple. Tina's vintage hat was adorable!

Here are the FriendGirls. My Mom's bffs are so much fun - Jen, Claudette, Jill, Susan, Tina and Steph.

The Conner's had so much fun! Susan's hat was awesome!

My Mom's cousin Jamie and Aunt Bren came down from Kentucky to surprise her! And of course cousin Bengie was there too!

Everyone enjoyed their seating arrangements!

It was a lively crowd!

The foyer table was such fun!

The night ended late, and we loved discussing all of the details with Mom after her special guests left. It was a great night, and I loved every minute of planning the night to honor the most special lady in my life! My Dad was a fantastic co-planner, and I had lots of help from my Aunt Jill, Aunt Vicky, and MIL Pam. I couldn't have done it without them, and I loved how excited everyone was to dress up!!!

My Mom's Birthday Celebration

Remember my post a little over a month ago? Well, I have the pictures to show you now! Just for a re-cap: My Dad and I planned and hosted a 50th birthday celebration for my precious mom on July 15th. She turned 50 on that day, and we hosted her a surprise party at my parent's house in Hawkinsville. The dinner was modeled after the final meal served to the first class passengers on the Titanic in 1912 - everything from the 9 course meal to the floral arrangements to the china to the music playing on Mom's new player piano. This is the first of two blog posts coming from yours truly to share the magical evening with you all!   

Gatewood Florist designed and made these gorgeous floral centerpieces filled with salmon roses, stock, and white hydrangea in silver compotes.

Each place setting was set with the replica Titanic first-class china. The navy and gold rimmed edge on the china is just beautiful. We used Leon's Francis The First silver with the glassware and white linen napkins. I printed personalized menu cards for each guest so everyone could fun to anticipate the upcoming courses!

With 50+ guests, we had to split the tables between the dining room, living room, and foyer. The new piano took up space, but was lovely playing the exact music from the ship back in 1912.

I used this IKEA shelf to display photos of my mom growing up and photos of the first class cabins on the ship. Leon brought this adorable menu board to display. It really got the guests excited for the evening's menu!

I used simple white IKEA curtains at the back door of my parent's house to designate the entry into the dinner area. The cocktail time was on the back porch and around the pool.

I never thought it would be such a rainy day! Either way, it was such a fun party! Even though they were a little wrinkled from the precipitation, the photo backdrop was so fun. I took a rendering of the Grand Staircase from the Titanic and enlarged it onto 3 poster size prints as the photo area background. It turned out so cute!

To encourage guests to let loose in the photo area, I had a rack at the ready with fur stoles, feather boas, parasols, and hats. It made for some really fun photos!

The talented Andy Hill made my mother the most special slide show. I collected photos of her from birth to present, and he set them to music. It was so heartwarming to see her transition from infant to toddler to child to teenager to adolescent to adult to married woman to mom.

Here's my baby bro with his awesome girlfriend Sydney! They make the cutest couple! Asa is too funny, and Sydney is so much fun!!!!!!

I could not have pulled off such a fun night without my David. He worked so hard in helping me to get everything just right! He's the absolute best!!!!!

And here's my parents. My Dad and I had so much fun planning this party for my mom. I know he had just as much fun as I did in planning it! They are so happy, and I loved having this night to celebrate my mom.

Our Brince-o looked great in his top hat!!!! He was a big help to me too!!!

Our Abbye was still in Madrid - and having a ball, must I say. I thought this silly mask kept her at the party too!

Here's my family. I am a lucky gal to have them all. Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom with her baby!

Here we are honoring Abs! Mom and all of her chickadees!