Dinner and a show...

When we talk about dinner and a show 'round these parts we are usually referring to grabbing a bite at a Tex-Mex restaurant or BBQ joint before catching a movie or concert. That makes for a pretty good date night but for our 3 year anniversary we were shooting for a pretty-freaking-amazing date night and we nailed it!

Our anniversay is July 12th and it just so happened that it was also opening night of Jersey Boys at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Since my boy IS a Jersey boy it was perfect. This is the first time either of us had seen a show at the AT&T PAC and it was amazing! The building and accoustics are phenomenal and the show was outstanding. If you have the opportunity you need to see it!

Gardens outside the Winspear Opera House

Lobby of the Opera House

The PAC offers a package that allows you to make a night of it by adding dinner reservations to a group of select restaurants in and around the Dallas Arts District that offer special menus and pricing for theater attendees. We chose Screen Door and couldn't have been happier with the delicious food and service.

Appetizers... hot crawfish dip with spicy crackers and fried green tomatoes with chili ranch sauce

Shawn got Mama's fried chicken w/ sausage gravy, mac n cheese and collard greens.
The mac n cheese was ridiculous!

I got shrimp and grits and loved it.

Dark chocolate brownie with homemade ice cream and lemon icebox pie.
Too die for!

We had an amazing night! Can't wait to celebrate many, many more years with this wonderful man.

Paging Dr. Stegeman...

A wedding was not the only thing we celebrated this past month. Lizzy's remarkable boyfriend, Etienne finished med school in Holland. This dude is such a dream! He took his last class and almost immediately jumped on a plane and traveled over 12 hours to make it to town in time to work his tail off helping prep for Bev's big day.

I didn't want this huge accomplishment to be overlooked so I planned a little surprise dinner at our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, Matt's El Rancho in Allen. E thought we were just meeting up for a family dinner as we do everytime he and Liz come back to Texas. Well, when he walked in he was suprised to see family and friends, a cake, a gift and us all in costume.

E in his lab coat and his "staff" in scrubs.

Definitely deserves that Shiner.

"Examining" his gift.

This might be my new favorite cake, Strawberry Sheet Cake

Me and sweet Avery



Congrats E!  We are all SO proud of your huge accomplishment!

Ooh-la-la LINGERIE...

The first week of June my family embarked on a whirlwind month of celebrating (and working our tails off for) my baby sister, Beverly's wedding. We kicked off  the  festivities with her lingerie shower/bachelorette party. 

As I've mentioned before, Bev is not your typical bride. She's not your typical anything really which is one of my favorite things about her. Bev was not down for the shot-induced, penis straw and condom veil all-nighter (thank the lord!) so we decided on a small lingerie shower with a French poodle theme. Below are all des détails...Ooh-la-la!!

(Side note: Growing up Bev had a poodle named Tiffany. Technically, that was her name but we all just called her "Poodle" or "Stinky" or if she was really prissing around "Princess Poodlecup".  Since then Bev has been borderline obsessed with all things poodle so the theme was perfect for her and she LOVED it!)

WHO: Hosted by my middle sister, Lizzy (check out her blog at Lizzy Goes Dutch), and TVD for our fabulous little sister, Beverly.

Me, Lizzy, Bev and our momma

Le Bride...



WHAT:  Ooh-la-la lingerie shower and bachelorette party. French poodle and Parisian details.

 WHEN: June 2, 2012

WHERE:  Bev's adorable little bungalow in historic McKinney

WHY: To PAAARRRTTTAAAYYY!


How embarrassing!

Poodle veil and panty hat.
Coco Chanel would approve.

 

 HOW: Food, friends, games and giggles.

 

Lizzy made all kinds of delish treats.

I think she had fun.

Dishes, serving platters, drink dispenser, glasses and decor items from The Vintage Dish

Photos by Christie Wright, Lizzy Parker and Beverly Parker 

Farm Fresh...

A few weeks ago Jen Rios with Jen Rios Design asked if I would like to provide dishes for a farm-to-table inspired engagement photo shoot she was styling. Heck yes I did! After talking a little about her vision we decided on a fab dinner/salad plate combo that went with the earthy, rustic aesthetic she was shooting for. Unfortunately, I didn't get to attend the actual shoot due to maid of honor duties so I have been dying to see how it all came together. When I got an email today from Teresa at Lightbox Photography, the super talented photographer who captured the magic I just about squealed.

Here are a few of my fave pics from TVD's first ever styled photo shoot...



 I love, love, love everything about this engagement! It just exudes warmth, sweetness and simple elegance. 

It was such an honor and a pleasure to be included with some of the best in the wedding biz in DFW. Thanks so much for including me and TVD. Can't wait to work with you all again!

Lightbox Photography
Jen Rios Design
Couture Events by Lottie
Nest Floral Studio
Beauty and the Blush
Period Charm Rentals
Rebekah Disch Design

The Week of the Week After...

My BFF, Christie made the brilliant suggestion that I organize my posts about all the events of the week (10 days, technically) leading up to my sister's wedding in chronological order and share them with you the week after.  Genius! Well, I kind of dropped the ball on the week after part but I've finally gotten my thoughts together (and caught up on much needed sleep) so new blog posts will be rolling out over the next few days.

A sneak peek of what's to come...

TVD in 2 photo shoots

Lingerie shower/bachelorette party
Surprise med school graduation dinner for my other sister's boyfriend
Wedding set up and prep
Rehearsal dinner
Ceremony
Reception
3 year anniversary date with my Jersey Boy