#35 - Done!

I am excited to say that I just checked #35 off of my 101 in 1001 list:  Donate Blood.

My church was doing a blood drive and so I thought this was a perfect and convenient opportunity to accomplish one of my goals.  I have to admit, I was really nervous.  Like many people, I am not a fan of needles.  But I was determined to face my fear.

When I arrived they ask you a whole list of qualifying questions, take your blood pressure & temperature, and prick your finger to test your blood for iron levels.  I passed all these tests with flying colors!

Next they have you take a seat and prep your arm for the needle.  [Cue the anxiety]  I just squeezed my eyes closed and held my breath.  It was over before I knew it and I barely felt a thing!  I sat there for about 10-15 minutes as I filled the blood bag with a pint of my blood.

Once I was done, they wrapped up my arm and and asked me to sit for about 15 minutes drinking water and eating snacks (which was my favorite part!).

I am embarrassed to say that this is first time I have ever donated blood in my life, which was why it was one of my goals.  But after doing some research on blood donation, it was clear to me that this is something I should make a habit of doing on a regular basis.  The statistics gave me a real sense of responsibility.  Check out these interesting facts:

Only 38% of the nation’s population is eligible to give blood,

and only 5 percent of those eligible donors across the nation donate blood.

Each whole blood donation can help as many as three people.

One unit is divided into three parts: red blood cells, platelets, and plasma.

In the US and Canada, around 43,000 pints of blood is used everyday.

About 25% of all people worldwide require blood at least once in their lifetime.

Blood cannot be manufactured. It can only come as a gift from people.

Isn't that amazing?  With all of the world's incredible technology, giving blood comes down to the simplest of human gestures: Giving of Yourself for Another.

So, if you haven't already, I encourage you to give blood too.  I know I am so glad that I did.

~ Emily

Next Top Model: Sweet 16 Bash

Here is a flashback post from the Sweet 16 Party I put together for my sister last year.  It was such a fun idea I thought I would share it again!

This is my beautiful baby sister, Sara. I know, I know... she's not a baby anymore. In fact, she just turned 16!

She is such a wonderful young lady. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this little girl and how proud I am of her. She is friendly, well-mannered and has a really great sense of humor. On top of that she has a 4.3 grade point average! That's right: Beauty and Brains... Look out!

She loves everything fashion and everything photography, so it is no surprise that one of her favorite shows is America's Next Top Model. So, we thought it would be fun to throw her a Sweet 16 Bash centered around that theme!

Check out these adorable invitations designed by Kimberly McDowell of The Event Essentials:

There were a total of 8 girls who were able to attend (including Sara). When they all arrived, we asked them to have a seat around the dining room table at my parents house. They each received their very own personalized champagne flute to drink our homemade sparkling punch.

Check out this snazzy cake my step-mom made. She also filled a silver platter with sugared berries, cheese, crackers and other yummy treats. Then she walked around the house serving the girls from the platter... it was so fun!

Next, we had them all draw numbers to determine which order they would go in. First, they were each to have their makeup professionally done. Here is a shot of some of the girls primping and waiting for their turn in the makeup chair:

Rebecca Bond-Turner. We were so excited she was willing to do this for us! She did such a fantastic job with all the girls, taking special care to spend the same amount of time with each girl.


And here we have our very talented makeup artist:

Once they were finished having their makeup done, each girl got to spend about 10 minutes with the AMAZING professional photographer: Shawna Yarbrough and her assistant of Studio 7 Photography. I love this shot from Sara's shoot with both photographers doing their thing:

Meanwhile, about halfway through the morning, we stopped to sing Happy Birthday to Sara and cut the cake.

Here are another couple of cute shots of the girls taking photos with each other as they waited their turns:



And NOW... Here are the before and after shots of all the girls:
First up, Danielle:

Next was Kaitlin:


Then Chelsey:
and the lady of the day, Sara:

Followed by Missy:

And Danika:

Then Shelby:

And last but not least, Alyssa:

Then, in true Next Top Model fashion, they all donned various colored tank tops to give some consistency to the shot and took some group photos together. Here are a few of my favorites:

While Alyssa was finishing up her shoot, all of the other girls decided to pose with Rebecca... she was such a blast!

Then we arranged for a limo to come to escort the girls to a surprise lunch in Scottsdale. Here is a shot of a few of the girls posing in front of the limo. They were SO excited!


And finally, here is a shot of the girls at their final destination: Benihana. Sara has always wanted to go there and we thought it would be a fun interactive lunch for the girls to enjoy. (Plus it was SUPER yummy too!)

So there you have it: A 16-year-old's dream of a birthday party! They all had so much fun!

Way to go girls! Hope to see you on America's Next Top Model some day!

#95 - Done!

We took our final family vacation of the summer at the end of August.  We stayed at my aunt and uncle's place in San Diego.  And since my uncle had his Navy retirement ceremony that weekend, there was quite a bit of family in town for that, including my cousin who made a surprise trip from Germany!  So it was such a treat to spend time with all of them.  I am from an Italian family, so for us its all about the food, the wine and good conversation!  Check, Check and Check!

While we were there, my husband and I wanted to take Ella to Seaworld and to the beach - which helped me to check #95 off of my 101 in 1001.  We had such a great time doing both.  Here are a few quick snapshots:

Ella petting the Bat Ray

The Elmo Ride at SeaWorld

Ella's first look at the Ocean

We had a great time and it was the perfect trip to finish off the summer and get ready for the fall wedding season!

~ Emily

Ella Kathryn - My Little Apprentice

Over time, I am planning to share updates on my 101 in 1001 and other personal updates.  So, in order to get you up to speed, I should probably formally introduce you to Miss Ella Kathryn.  She is my beautiful 3-1/2-year-old daughter and CEO in training:

She is such a blessing and so much fun! My husband and I used to joke long before we even thought about starting a family, that our children might just be the most strong-willed creatures on the planet once you combined both of our DNA together... well that was a fun little anecdote to share until it became a reality: Enter Ella! And I do mean that she commands quite an entrance!

Long before she took her first breath of air in this world, she and I were having disagreements. She found it quite necessary to shove her pointy little heel in the most awkward and uncomfortable place in my ribcage. As I tried to persuade her little foot out of that spot, I could swear that she was pushing back even harder... then I came to my senses and realized that it is not possible for an unborn infant to have such a strong personality. It was merely in my head... Ah, but was it?

Since before she was born, this little girl had a mind of her own which she proved even at delivery. The nurse assured us that we had at least 3 more hours before we would even consider pushing. Well, Ella must have heard that and decided to prove her wrong because not 30 minutes later I was holding her in my arms!

It is so funny to think back on those moments now, because each day she is doing or saying something that assures us of her strong personality and sharp wit.  Here are just a few of her recent antics:

While shopping, I glance down and this is what I saw!

Lining up her dollies to watch TV

I was so proud of her for being so quiet for me while I took a call until I turned around to see this: Permanent Marker!

Her first sip of a Root Beer Float!

This little girl is smart, silly and super determined.  Some of the conversations I have with her just blow my mind that she is only 3!  If you want to stay up to date with the misadventures of Miss Ella, you are welcome to come by my personal facebook page.

So there you have it - My little apprentice. Although she is still in training to be the CEO, she already has the "Chief" part down!!!

~ Emily

Awesome Husband Award

My husband Brian and I have the kind of relationship where we bicker all the time... we have the "little old couple" thing down and we are in our 30's. Imagine when we actually get to the "little old couple" ages! Look out!

But I just have to publicly say it. My husband is awesome. He deserves some kind of award or something. I seriously don't know what I would do without him and I really, honestly, don't know how he can deal with me some days.

I am not overly high-maintenance and not overly emotional. I am, however, really annoyingly obsessive-compulsive and anal retentive, which has its pros and cons.

When it comes to my career, being anal-retentive is a GREAT thing. My clients can sleep well at night knowing that I am the one obsessing over the details... that is why they are paying me!

On the other hand, when it comes to putting away the dishes... SERIOUSLY.

It really doesn't matter what position the bowls are in or whether the cups are lined up straight and evenly. But I just can't help myself. I have even tried to do it differently just to show myself "it will all be ok" and yet, my mind will not let it go until I go back and "fix" it.

I know! Can you imagine living with me??? I will be the first to say that it is not easy and yet Brian not only puts up with it, he goes along with it, positioning the bowls and cups just so.

But I digress. These feelings of overwhelming appreciation are not because of an empty dishwasher.

I just wanted to take a moment to give a little credit to the man behind the scenes, indirectly making each wedding I do successful just by being my steady rock.

In a demanding and service oriented career like mine, I feel so blessed to have a husband who is all about taking care of me and providing the love and support that I need, so that I can be the support that my clients need.

Thanks Sparky... I love you!

#39 - Done!

Starting at the beginning of February, I invoked a new personal and business related rule: I am taking Sundays off. No checking email, no going on appointments, no answering the phone. Sure, there will be an exception from time to time, but as a rule, Sundays are my day off. And man have I been enjoying them.

In fact, just a couple Sundays ago, I decided to use my whole day off to check another item off of my 101 in 1001 list: Plant flowers in the front yard.

As they say, the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one, so bear that in mind as I share the next couple of photos with you.

Here is a shot of the little patch of gardening area by my front door:

Ah, but look closer and you will see why this made the list in the first place.

You can see the attempt for beauty was there in the past, what with the small trellis and brick border, but that was from days gone by when I had MORE than one day off a week... and one less child for that matter. (Ok, brace yourself...)

Eeek. Not pretty. But I knew just the place to go to rectify this situation. My friendly neighborhood Home Depot. Look at this marketing quality photo below, complete with employee hard at work.

I am such a flower person, so I just love the garden center. Just look at what my eyes beheld:

But I was a woman on a mission. So, I carefully made my selections, packed up my car and headed home.

To begin, I dug out all of those ugly weeds and added some fresh soil.

Next, I dug a couple of holes for my climbing roses and added a much more substantial trellis.

Meanwhile, while I was working on the roses, my husband Brian was digging up the main drip line for me. You see, the reason that my little patch of garden has never quite been successful, is because it doesn't have a drip line running to it.

For the 9 years we have been in our house, I never realized that the little plastic channel in the crack of the sidewalk, was in fact there for that purpose. Der! And what a simple solution.

I purchased a little kit with all kinds of little connector do-dads and Brian ran a line from the main drip system, through the plastic channel and into my garden bed. Voila!


Once we laid the drip line throughout the patch, I began to add my flowers. I selected a variety of Marigolds, Snapdragons and Alyssum. Here is how it turned out:

So, what do you think? I am so happy with it. Not to mention I got one more thing checked off the list... What a beautiful Sunday that was!