the best saturdays include best friends and brunch

 no one tells you about the withdrawls you go through when you leave college.

one day, you're seeing your friends and roommates all day err day,

and the next, poof!

the real world slaps you in the face and everyone moves away.

 

last weekend, my sweet came to houston!! i can't even tell you how excited i was to see this girl. we spent the morning eating a yummy brunch, spoiling ourselves with pedicures.

pretty perfect saturday morning if you ask me!

 

reunions are the best.

 

 #sunnysquintyface

 

who would have thought the stranger i lived with my freshman year of college would turn out to be such a fabulous life long friend.

 

 

only the best bachelorette bash for the bestie

it's ok to use your best friend's bachelorette party as creative therapy...isn't it?

  

you're invited to:

like every fun party...there are rules.

read carefully.

i'm not a debbie-downer.

the main table, full of snacks and drinks and fun. :)

 i'm not sure about the rest of you, but i tend to judge a party by the food.

just being honest.

as my wise mother has said on many occasions 

"you can spend thousands of dollars on a party, but if the food is terrible, you might as well have stayed home."

i completely agree.
what can i say, i love to eat!

snacks for the evening included:

hot pink cotton candy flavored popcorn

sugar dot cookies

hershey kisses and york peppermint patties

twizzlers
cake pops!

yogurt covered raisins

chips and salsa and guac 

the beverage station was stocked with:

fresca

dr pepper 10 (a.k.a. go go juice. don't judge.)

ginger ale & champagne for mimosas

cranberry-pomegranate juice for pom-settias

this was the motto for the evening.

in case the guests weren't sure what kind of night they were in for, i think this sign removed all confusion. i wanted everyone to have a fun and relaxing night full of lots of laughter and memory making.

 a party just isn't a party without bunting!

you know those cardboard sheets they have in the scrapbook paper racks?

they make excellent bases for painting your bunting. 

 in the middle of the living room, we had a party table full of games, boas, hottie-whistles, beads, and of-course, tiaras!

mad-libs are the best.... 

 each girl was given a pink bag with a pink nail file and a bottle of the bride's favorite nail polish, "topless and barefoot" by essie.

the bride and groom are honeymooning in cancun, which gave me the perfect opportunity for a fun play on words.

the three ladies in this photo with me are fantastic.

i met them in high school choir,

ya i was a choir kid,

and to this day i still consider them some of my sweetest friends.

isn't it fantastic how the Lord puts friendships together? 

 the bride and i at dinner.

she's going to be the most beautiful bride!

i'm so excited to celebrate her big day with her! 

and just when you thought you were partied out,,,
don't forget about breakfast!

it is most important meal of the day after all!

the morning menu included:

fresh fruit

breakfast cassarole

orange juice

iced coffee

chocolate chip muffins

 left over cake pops... 

 each girl was asked to share memories or pieces of advice with the bride.  i wrote them down on white hearts and scattered them on the table for her to read at breakfast. 

i had such a fantastic time getting ready for this event, and i'm so glad everything came out perfect for the bride!  she deserves nothing but the best!

 



mr. and mrs. chastain: part 5

after our reception under the trees, 

the bridal party headed over to a beautiful park about 5 minutes from the church, to take some fun photos.

bryce and the ladies!

the bottom right photo is of bryce and his beautiful sisters. they are so fabulous and i'm so blessed to be able to be a part of their family!

and now, the handsome groomsmen!

they were such good sports for rockin the bowties.

the best part of being the bride is no one says no.

:)

i think they just look so handsome.

and of course, there were jumping photos. 

duh.

i made sure to get one on ones with my sweet sweet bridesmaids:

 one cousin, two new sisters,and three fantastic sister-friends.

every girl needs true heart friends like these ladies.

and of course, there's a brothers shot:

they are quite the studs gentlemen.

they helped with so many projects and were so patient with me as wedding detail discussions pretty much dominated family conversations for the majority of the year.

sorry bout that.

you're the best,

and i hope you know i love you bunches! :)

and of course,

bride and groom shots.

the high five is my favorite.

all photos were taken by Jana at bella bee photography.

the wedding was coordinated by Rhonda at precisely as planned.

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

two months of fabulousness.

today, bryce and i are celebrating two months of marriage.

how did that even happen?

our long-distance relationship lasted forever.

our engagement lasted forever...and ever and ever.

then, all of the sudden,

the wedding was here and over and we're two months in.

and what a fabulous, fun, time it has been.

i've learned so much over the past few weeks and am appreciating more and more all of the counseling and prayers we received over our engagement. i know without a doubt our marriage will be stronger because of all the wise counsel we received. 

but most of all, the greatest advice we received was to 

communicate about everything:

the good, the bad, and the silly.

even when i don't feel like talking,

or when the bub-hub just wants to watch sports center.

we have to communicate.

when you don't have tension, or anger, or frustrations, or worries clouding your mind, you're able to fully, 100%, enjoy each other's company. 

ugh, tension is the worst, honesty is the best.

i'm more in love with my bub-hub than ever.

people say that being married is like having a sleepover with your best friend every night.

how could anyone not love that??

i know that we are still in the honeymoon stage,

but who says you can't be happy and in love forever?

sure it will take work,

but are there any fabulous things in life that don't require a little work?

marry your best friend people.

all the cool kids are doing it! :) 

holla for friday!

dear munchkin game, you are hilarious.  it was so fun getting to defend curses and kill the monsters. the life of an elf is a hard one my friends. 

[the game can be found here]

dear birchbox, i'm so excited about getting to meet you soon!

dear fourth of july cherry cobbler. i'm obsessed with you.  all day at work I think about how yummy you're going to taste. that's a healthy way to live right? ; ) 

dear bestie,  thank you for coming to houston and hanging out with me, and for loving Chick-fil-a chocolate chunk cookies as much as I do. baked, sealed, delivered...i'm yours.

dear nicole's classes,  i'm so excited to have my first week completed! i'm so close to having my homework done, and I can't wait to start week 2.  

you can check out nicole's classes here:  http://nicolesclasses.com/

dear pure barre, today, i'll attend my first class, and i'm so nervous!!! i've heard the class can be a killer, and i'm excited but to be honest, i'm a little be terrified too!

dear weekend,  i pray that you last a long time and go by slowly. i pray that you are sunny and not humid.  i am so excited to have more time off to spend with my hubby! 

 this has been a week of fireworks, friends, fabulous! :)

how was your week?

high five it's friday!!!!

dear friday, you're hot, you're humid, and you're fantastic. i'm so glad you're here. please be sunny and fun of tanning rays. :) 

[if this were my iPhone, i'd be inserting my sun and my pink polka-dot bikini emoji right about....here!]

dear raisin bran, you're such a fabulous treat for any time of day, but especially dinner.  i don't know what it is, but cereal for dinner is fantastic. maybe because it's like i'm breaking all the rules. i'm a cereal-rebel. lock up your kids folks. i've got a spoon and i'm on the loose. 

dear olympics, i'm so glad you're finally getting close! gymnastic trials started last night, and women's trials start today. my favorite! :) i can't wait to watch all of the talented girls on the telly  while i sit on the couch eating a brownie and thinking to myself...man i wish i was athletically gifted. 

dear random shuffleboard opponents at howdy happy hour, i warned you that i'm a terrible competitor. i told you i had never played before.  i wasn't joking. but thanks for pretending to be disappointed when the game ended so quickly after i gave you the win.  

dear world, i'm officially a chastain now. two hours of standing in line with lots of strangers at the social security office paid off.   next week, i'm going to conquer DPS. bring it.

dear houston, watch out. my bestie is comin to town, and we've got some fun to have! 

how was your week?

and fun friday letters to share??