Final Countdown

It's 2:30 pm on May 28 and exactly 9 days left til my sister's wedding. We are in the single digits! I repeat, we are in the single digits! Now, I'm not sure if Lauren and Blake are going to play Europe's "Final Countdown" right before she walks down the isle (like some weird couple might do) but, it IS, in fact, the FINAL COUNTDOWN!

To be honest, its a bit surreal, and its not even my wedding! It seems like yesterday that we were driving from Memphis to Murray for a late-July wedding and Lauren literally talked about Blake for the ENTIRE 3 hours... He had just recently told her that he wanted to get to know her better and hoped that they could start dating. Lauren talked...and talked....and talked about what this would entail and debating about whether she wanted the same thing.

Well from my point of view, OF COURSE SHE WANTED THE SAME THING! I mean, you don't talk about someone for 3 hours and not like them! 

Finally, on the way back, I pointed this out, and I'm pretty sure by the time we got back to Memphis, she knew how she felt. Almost exactly a month later, Blake and Lauren were officially dating. 

From the beginning, it has been so fun to get to know Blake and also to see their relationship grow. I'm sure Lauren and Blake are just ready to be married already, yet also excited and anxious for the wedding. I know that God has blessed their relationship and will continue to bless their marriage! I'm so excited for them, and I can't wait to call Blake my brother!

#LamFam15


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Photo by: Mikaela Hamilton Photography 

Brown Paper Packages #10

Wow! Already time for a new Brown Paper Packages! This one snuck up on me a little bit! A few fun things have happened in the midst of our busy-ness the past two weeks... Here are the top 6...


A New Hammock - WE ARE SO EXCITED to have a hammock!! There are much more significant things that have happened in the past 2 weeks, but this has definitely sparked the most raw excitement. That's actually saying a lot, seeing as how neither of us typically show that much outward excitement. 

Mother's Day - This year for Mother's Day, we were so blessed to be able to see BOTH of our moms!! It was a beautiful day to celebrate our mothers and we enjoyed spending time with both! Thank you mom and Melanie for being so loving, understanding, and fun! We love you both!

Spending Time with Braxton - Last week, Braxton spent the week with us. We pretty much did our normal routine, just with an extra person! It was fun to spend time with him and have interesting and thoughtful conversations. Koba and Yuki really enjoyed having him there too!

Koba's Birthday - Koba turned 1 on May 15, so of course we celebrated! Click here to read what was included in the birthday festivities. He just looks so happy in this picture :)

We're Moving - When we got the hammock, I made a comment about how I wished we had a bigger yard. Several conversations, 2 rolls of packing tape, and 1 week later, we had found a new place, scouted it out, fell in love with it, and arranged to move. There will be more information about this coming soon.

Make Block Letters out of Cereal Boxes

I decided to start this project because of a friend's Bridal Shower. Her shower was going to highlight the fact that her new name was going to start with a T, so all of the bridesmaids were supposed to provide Ts for decoration for the party and eventually decor for the couple's new home.

I started with a large-sized Special K box. 

Using a ruler and a pencil, I drew the outline of the letter. I decided each size should be 2 inches thick.

These dimensions gave me enough room to cut out all of the sides from one cereal box. For larger sized letters, or more intricate letters (like a G, for example) you might need more than one cereal box or cardboard.

Using a hot glue gun, I started gluing the pieces together to form the block shape.

There was a small bit of overlap, which I simply cut with scissors. 

Once the T was complete, I started painting it. This letter was meant to be for the Bride's future bedroom decor, which she informed me was going to be Navy and Yellow.

After the letter was fully painted, I had the bright idea to use bits of crayons and melt them, letting them drip down the sides.

This did not turn out the way I wanted it to! The first problem was that the crayons were too light and kept blowing away when I tried to used the hair dryer to melt them. Had I been confident I wouldn't have burned the house down, I might have placed the letter in the oven for the wax to melt. But I wasn't that brave. At this point, I should have given up on the crayon idea.... 

But I didn't. I decided that I should hot glue the bits of crayon to the letter so they wouldn't get blown away by the hair dryer. This is the result... Crayon melting FAIL! To be honest, the sides look how I wanted them too, but the front just looks janky. Yes, I said janky.

Out of desperation to revive my dying letter, I repainted the front face. I added a bow in an attempt to cover up the bumps left by the hardened hot glue. You can see them up close, but from far away, it looks ok. I also glued a piece of jute to the back to hang it on the wall. This craft is VERY light in weight, so it doesn't really take much to be able to hang it up.

In retrospect, I wish I had used a paint brush to apply white and yellow craft paint to the front edge of the letter. I think I could have controlled paint better than the melted crayon and gotten it to drip down the way that I wanted. Live and learn, I guess.

This project cost me a grand total of $0! I recycled the cereal box and old crayons. I already had the hot glue and craft paint. And found the ribbon in a random drawer in my house.

Note: Making the T out of an old cereal box was not an original idea of mine. I got the idea from lavendersbluedesigns. The crayon part, I thought of on my own, but I wish I hadn't. 

Koba Turns 1

Friday was Koba's Birthday! To celebrate, we got him a "cake," some gifts, took lots of pictures, and gave him a birthday survey. The answers to his survey are first, followed by some of the pictures we took.

Name: Koba. Pronounced Ko-BA

Birthday: May 15, 2014. I was adopted on July 27, 2014.

Current Weight: Isn't this a little personal? But if you must know, 10.2 lbs. I'm a fully grown adult cat now.

Name Origin: Koba from "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" (2014). He's the villain ape trying to rule over all of the apes. 

Nicknames: Mr. Grumpy Whiskers, Koby

Favorite Color: Green

Biggest Fears: Bath time, Yuki

Current Hobbies: Bird-watching, napping, EATING, playing tag with Yuki, dancing


Now for the pictures!!!

"It's my birthday! HEYO!"

"This tastes like regular food, but it must be different because of the candle..."

"I. Love. Birthday Cake."

Yuki getting ready to steal the rest of Koba's birthday cake with a sneak attack.

Birthday Presents!

Yuki trying to steal Koba's thunder.

A series of terrible selfies.

Right photo: Everyone tired of taking pictures....

Finally a good one, after a short break.

Happy Birthday, Koba!

Stanley Cup Playoffs, Round Three!!

The first round was me being a realist, and last round was me being overly hopeful. This round may be a bit of both!

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Anaheim Ducks:  I'm really hoping that the Ducks continue their fantastic performance and eliminate Satan's favorite team. The Ducks are going to be the only thing between the Hawks and another Stanley Cup. I think this will be a tough series, but very fun to watch as both teams have great defensive and offensive talent. Ducks in 7. 

New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: I guess I better stick with my bracket and say that the Rangers will win (even if I hope that they don't). I hate both of these teams. The Rangers played with their backs against the wall against Washington, but Washington pulled a Preds and blew a 3-1!!! COME ON! I'm hoping that a meteor will hit the arena and eliminated both of these teams...Rangers in 6, I guess.

My Updated Bracket

Ashley's Updated Bracket

Click on these links to see my analyses and predictions from other rounds:
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | An Ode to the Champions

#TBT Throwback Thursday

 This post is going to just be a random array of photos that I have taken involving Lauren and Blake or their wedding planning. Enjoy! I'll try to caption all of them, also.

NOVEMBER 3, 2013. I actually posted this picture on a blog post not too long ago (That Time in Memphis). Although I met Blake before this, this photo is from the first time I actually got to spend a lot of time with Blake. Nathan and I decided to visit Lauren and Blake in Memphis for the weekend. It was the first of many good times!

NOVEMBER 30, 2013. I think this was the first time Blake had visited Logan County. I'm not for sure though. Anyway, This was taken over Thanksgiving break when our parents bought all the kids tickets to see the Rockettes!

APRIL 19, 2014. This was the first race that we completed as one big happy family. Click here to see this year's race picture. 

MAY 17, 2014. This was the day of Lauren and Blake's graduation from the MTR master's program! This was ALSO, the day that we met Blake's mom and sister!

JULY 4, 2014. We decided to take a mini-vacation for independence day and went to St. Louis, MO! We went up in the arch, we went to a free concert, and we went to six flags! It was a great weekend. Click here to see the youtube video :)

OCTOBER 6, 2014. One of many photos from our FIRST family vacation. We went to Gulf Shores, AL and in this photo we were at Lambert's Cafe. Click here to see THAT youtube video...hahaha

NOVEMBER 23, 2014. This photo is from the day Lauren and Blake got engaged! Blake had organized a plan to have Lauren drive to different locations around Memphis that had a special memory for the to of them. At each location, friends or family were there to give Lauren a new note telling her where to go next, which eventually led to him at the last location and the proposal! This is Nathan and I giving Lauren one of her notes!

SOMETIME IN MID-DECEMBER. I don't know when exactly I received this in the mail, but I know it was before Christmas. What a great Christmas gift! 

MARCH 19, 2015. This is one of many wedding work days! In this photo, we are assembling the wedding invitations in preparation to mail. (Remember to RSVP! Click here to do that)

Hope you enjoyed the random Throwback Thursday!

#LamFam15

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Sweet and Sassy Hash Brown

Ok, I LOVE sweet potatoes. Lets just start with that. I was thinking I wanted to try a new recipe for a sweet potato that 1) wasn't going to take me an hour and a half to fix, and 2) wasn't going to be super sweet. I wanted it somewhere along the lines of the sweet potato fries at restaurants that are sort of sweet and savory at the same time.

Finally I found a recipe online that I thought might fit the bill. They called it "Sweet and Sassy Hash Brown." Looks pretty good right? A supposed sweet potato recipe that takes only 30 minutes to provide a delicious side dish. And so, I started.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. butter substitute 
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Clean and chop sweet potato and onion into small pieces. A normal person would use a grater of some sort, but hey, a real woman chops the whole thing with a knife, right?

2. Melt butter into a large skillet. After the butter is melted add sweet potato and onion pieces. Cook covered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Make sure when you take the lid off to stir, you keep your cat away. He'll try to sabotage your meal.

3. Add chili powder, garlic powder and cinnamon and stir. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes.

4. Let cool for 3 minutes and serve.

Review:
Well, I had high expectations for this recipe firstly because I usually love sweet potatoes. Secondly, because the reviews on the website where I found the recipe were great. Additionally, I personally thought my outcome looked pretty tasty! So, imagine my confusion when not only was it not "great," it was oddly bland. It was still edible, but I'll say, I won't be combining these ingredients again. Not something I would like to eat twice.

Now, is it because I changed an ingredient from the original recipe?... Is it because I chopped by hand instead of using a grater?... Is it because I forgot to leave the pan covered for the first 5 minutes?... We will ever know. But hey, if you like bland food, or if you like trying random new recipes, or if you think you can get a more successful outcome, I encourage you to try this recipe! Although the taste was disappointing, I still had fun.

Nathan rated this recipe a 2/5.
I rated this recipe 2/5.

Original recipe on retrieved from AllRecipes.com.

Brown Paper Packages #9

"I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad..." Ok, I don't feel bad, but its still fun to remember my favorite things.

Two weeks ago, one my friends, Melissa, was in a play at Playhouse In the Park in Murray Kentucky. Additionally, the play was one of my all-time favorite musical soundtracks and movie, Rent. Obviously, this combination required me to attend!!! I was a little skeptical because of my love and knowledge of the show and I tried to prepare myself by lowering my expectations. After all, its just community theatre. 

After the first number, titled "Rent," I knew that this show was going to rise high above my expectations! It was phenomenal!! Every single one of the main characters was perfectly cast. The acting was great, and the singing was ON POINT! Top it off with messages of love and friendship, and you've got yourself a perfect recipe to make you cry...

Anyway, I'm so glad I made the trek to Murray to see my friend play Mimi. She was SO great and it was fun to watch her! Great job Melissa and the rest of the cast and crew!

The weekend following the Rent performance contained other Brown Paper Package moments. I am going to be a bridesmaid for my friend Kaitlin. All of her Bridesmaids are scattered across eastern USA. 1 in Murray, KY; 1 in Paducah, KY, 1 in Southern Illinois, 1 in South Central Kentucky, 1 in Memphis, 1 in Georgia, and 1 in Northern Illinois. Anyway, you get the point....some are pretty far away! 

SO....it was decided that we should try and pack all of Kaitlin's pre-wedding festivities into one weekend so that everyone could come, and so that the BMs wouldn't have to make numerous trips for various parties and showers (click here to read all about Kaitlin's Survivor themed Lingerie Shower). It was so fun reconnecting with friends and meeting and making new ones as well. Additionally, we got to celebrate Kaitlin and Dustin's upcoming marriage in a fun and unique way.

And then there's this....

Survivor: Lingerie Island

One of my good friends, Kaitlin, is getting married in a few short months and bridesmaids and friends wanted to throw her a lingerie shower. For you readers who may not be familiar with this, its exactly what it sounds like; instead receiving silverware and plates like at a regular bridal shower, the bride-to-be receives lingerie. I personally think these types of showers are sort of on the awkward side, but just let me continue.

Kaitlin is also a HUGE Survivor fan. In fact, Survivor is actually the reason we first became friends. She did not have cable at the time, so my sister had asked if she could come over and watch the season finale with me since she knew I would be watching it anyway. And thus, our Survivor friendship started! Me, Kaitlin, and Jeff Probst.

Due to her love for Survivor, someone requested that her lingerie shower be Survivor themed, and me being the only bridesmaid who watches Survivor on the weekly, quickly jumped on the idea and started I getting excited.

The Invitations.
Survivor 101: Many clues and notes that the contestants on Survivor come in the form of a riddle, and they are usually always a riddle or rhyming.

The Buffs.
Next, I needed to make buffs for all of the guests of the shower, obviously. My mom helped me with this! Thanks mom! This turned out to be a case of trial and error. I had looked up directions online to find how to make a buff, but after we made one following those directions, we found that the material that I had bought was not stretchy enough to fit on someone's head. So, we adjusted and measured squares that were 18" x 24". Then my mom sewed the edges to prevent fraying and then we connected 2 of the edges.
Survivor 101: Buffs are a piece of circular material that Survivor contestants wear on the show.

Naturally, I tried on a buff and played with it!
Survivor 101: The buffs are meant to be worn different ways depending on the needs of the content at the time. They shield the cold, catch the sweat, hold back the hair, and make the contestants look tough. Most importantly, the buffs help to separate the tribes (they each have different color buffs) and create tribe pride.

1. The Pirate
2. The Sweatband
3. The Necklace
4. The Cinderella
5. The Bracelet
6. The Strong Arm









Next, I assigned guests to their tribes, and wrapped the buffs. I wanted to split up specific people so that the tribes had a somewhat equal amount of Survivor knowledge.
Survivor 101: Survivor contestants don't find out what tribe they are on until they arrive on the island. This way, they can't strategize ahead of time.
Seasoned Castaways: "Blue tribe getting your first look at the pink tribe..."

Lastly, for prep, I created some decorations to make shower feel more like Survivor.
Survivor 101: At each tribe's camp, they have a tribe flag (which is actually a banner) with their tribe name labeled on it.

• Large Black Banner - Main "Lingerie Island" Banner
• Pink and Blue Long Banners - Tribe Banners. These were good to separate the tribes on different sides of the room. I used leftover material from the buffs, sticks, and jute to make these. The Tribe names were chosen based on the theme of the party
• Duanku - means panties in Chinese (according to Google Translate)
• Lianghao - means bra in Chinese (according to Google Translate)
• Torches - These are actual tiki torches that I borrowed from my parents. I removed the oil canister and replaced it with tissue paper to look like fire.
• Survivor 101: When castaways get voted out of their tribe, Jeff snuffs their torch symbolizing that they are out of the game.
• Seasoned castaways: "Behind each of you is a torch. grab a torch and approach the flame. Dip it in and get fire. This is important, because in this game, fire represents your life."
• Wrapped buffs
• Pots for the snacks
• Survivor 101: Castaways have to boil their own water and they are only supplied with rice for food. Sometimes they are given beans, nuts, fruit, or more hearty food for winning a reward challenge. For our shower, guests were only given chex mix and water (we had just eaten dinner).
• Voting Urn, Pen, and Paper. I used stuff I already had and just wrapped them in packing paper and jute.

Once all of the props and decorations were ready, it was time to have the actual party!

The Tribes.

Both teams are looking FIERCE!


We had 3 challenges.

The Knowledge Challenge. In the first challenge, tribes had to work together to answer questions, using a large die, about Kaitlin and Dustin's relationship.
Survivor 101: These types of knowledge challenges are normally played individually, but we thought it would be more fun to compete as a team.
Seasoned Castaways: "Let's get to today's reward challenge."

The Puzzle Challenge. One at a time, a castaway from each tribe had to untie knots to release envelopes. Once all of the envelopes were brought back to their tribe mat, 2 castaways could start putting together puzzle pieces that were inside the envelopes. The first tribe to finish the puzzle wins.
Survivor 101: This is a CLASSIC Survivor Challenge. Knots and puzzles are in many episodes of Survivor.
Seasoned Castaways: "You have got to DIG DEEP!"

The Memory Challenge. One at a time, a castaway from each tribe had to memorize the order of pictures random lingerie objects, then rush back to try to remember the correct order. The first castaway to finish gets a point for their tribe. The first tribe to 4 points, wins.
Survivor 101: When castaways are on the island, some challenges involving mental alertness prove to be very hard due to their lack of sleep, lack of food, and having to strategize 24/7.
Seasoned Castaways: "Survivors ready...go!"

Tribal Council.

Kaitlin opened all of her gifts, and as she opened them, all of the guests gave each one a name.
Lingerie Shower 101: This is a CLASSIC Lingerie Shower activity. It makes it a bit less awkward...

Once all of the gifts were opened and named, each castaway from both tribes voted for which gift was the overall favorite.
Survivor 101: Normally, the castaways vote for who they want to leave the island, but that would not work for a shower. I mean, who wants to get kicked out of a party?...
Seasoned Castaways: "It is... time to vote."

After everyone had cast their votes, I read the votes. THEN, I symbolically put out Kaitlin's torch and everyone commented about how she is leaving the virgin island. hahahaha
Survivor 101: There are many quotes that Jeff Probst says during EVERY tribal council.
Seasoned Castaways: "Once the votes have been read, the decision is final. The person voted out will be asked to leave the tribal council area immediately. I'll read the votes." 

I think everyone enjoyed Survivor: Lingerie Island. I know Kaitlin loved it because we are such Survivor fanatics. The goal was for her to have a great time, and for all of the guests (even if they have never seen Survivor) to enjoy the challenges and theme. It was a success.

Kaitlin and Jeff Probst >>>>>

Shoutout to the puka shell necklace. Even though Jeff doesn't actually wear a puka shell necklace.