Saturday Night Live

This Saturday night, I am throwing my friend Wren a Girls Night Out to celebrate her third pregnancy. She has two precious girls, the oldest only 3 months and 3 days older than HA. This baby is going to be a boy! Little MR. Anderson. So Nattie has to spoil his Momma a little before he gets here, and she is running around like a crazy person with 3 kiddos 4 yrs old and under!!??! There is a reason I waited to have my second. I'm already a crazy person, I don't need any help being one! Since it is her third, we are keeping it small and opted for a girls night as opposed to a shower which in my opinion is way more fun.

First, dinner at Wild Ginger.

 

Afterward, we are headed back to my house for dessert and a movie. I'm trying to decide between What To Expect When You're Expecting and Baby Mama. As much as I love Baby Mama, I'm thinking WTEWYE is the winner. I saw it in the theatre with my friend Kerry. I was pregnant with Collins, and she was expecting her 2nd as well. We liked it alot, so I think it would be fun for Wren to see while she is actually pregnant too. If I can find it?!! Anyone seen it somewhere??

 

 

 

 





I cannot give you any specific info about my house, because Wren reads the blog. Ha! Don't worry, pictures will be up Sunday.

 

 

 

 

~Nattie B

 

 

What is IT?

While riding to HOTlanta this weekend, Em told me that she had seen an article deeming Nashville the new "IT" city. What can I say, I've always been ahead of the curve. :  ) Who am I kidding? I wouldn't even be out of my parent's back yard if it wasn't for Chris. I followed him here. He was the smart one. And when I say followed, I mean it. I cringe when thinking how it sounds..like crazy. Sounds crazy. It was crazy. I know. Luckily for me, it turned out to be God's plan and not just mine! Let me remind you this was a 17 year old's brain. Okay, no more justifications. It went a little something like this:

Girl Meets Boy in May 2009.
Boy is a senior in high school, while girl is just in the 10th grade. (I'm was a sucker for older men.)
Boy goes to a small, conservative Christian college in Nashville as planned.
Girl goes for first visit assuming the college girls are all plain and ugly. It is a small, conservative Christian school after all.
Girl gets terrible shock. She has never seen so many cute, fashionable girls in one small radius in her life.
Girl panics.
Girl immediately starts taking 11th AND 12th grade classes.
Girl graduates high school only one year later and heads to a small, conservative Christian college in Nashville as unplanned. (unplanned = I always said i would go to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.)

 

Paris on the River Seine

Hey! It's the City of Light & Love

 

On top of the Eiffel Tower

Okay, now that everyone agrees I am a crazy person (which might I add I am not denying), let us move forward.

I'm so thankful it was Nashville and not somewhere dreadful. I love this city! I love everything about this city. Evidently I am bad about comparing things to Nashville, because there are many times someone in my family says, (in a 'I'm rolling my eyes at you' tone of voice) "we know.....it's no Nashville." This is usually in reference to something in my small hometown. So, here is the article in the New York Times. Read it! It's interesting even if you aren't obsessed like I am.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/us/nashville-takes-its-turn-in-the-spotlight.html

 

 

Chris had a great idea, and for Christmas Chris  HA gave me a subscription to the NASHVILLE magazine. I just received my first issue in the mail last week! Can't wait to read it!!

 

 

Is there a way to remove the comments section for just one post??! LOL No crazy person comments needed. ; )

 

 

~Nattie B

Love Is In The Air (and In My Belly)

I know it isn't even February 1 yet, but I already have Valentine's Day on my mind! Here are some fun Valentine's food ideas to do with/for your kids and/or your Valentine!

PINK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

 

Since my favorite color is pink, it's likely that I will start making my chocolate chip cookies pink all year 'round! :  )

 

 

HEART SHAPED CINNAMON ROLLS

 

 

 

Perfect for Valentine's morning!

 

 

VALENTINE'S FLOAT

 

 

Just use cherry 7-up, ice cream and heart (or just red if you can't find hearts) sprinkles

 

 

VALENTINE'S SPRINKLE PRETZELS

 

 

 

 

VALENTINE'S MARSHMALLOW POPS

 

You could even use the pink heart marshmallows they put out at Valentine's.

 

 

LOVE POTION NO. 9 SMOOTHIE

 

 

http://www.makeandtakes.com/mixing-up-a-little-love-potion-9

 

 

VALENTINE CHEX MIX

 

 

http://www.giftsfromyourkitchen.com/snacksN/valentine-chex-mix.html

 

 

I LOVE YOU S'MORE BARS

 

 

Chocolate Brownie Mix

Crushed Graham Crackers

Valentine M&Ms

Hershey's Syrup

Mini Marshmallows

Milk Chocolate Chips

 

 

I LOVE SPRINKLES SANDWICH

 

 

Use a heart shaped cookie cutter for the cutout. Spread peanut butter on the bread and cover cutout with sprinkles. I can't WAIT to do this for HA!!!

 

 

 

~Nattie B

A Few of My Favorite Apps!

Just got in from my girls weekend trip to Atlanta. At around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, I couldn't find my phone. I was freaking out, because I had a deadline I needed to meet for a Junior League thing. I had been distracted earlier that evening, so I had forgotten to check to see if the photos I had sent in were going to be able to work. Luckily, I found it (in the dark, of course) and learned all was well in the Junior League universe. I honestly don't know what I would do without my iPhone. Glancing at my iPhone now, I can do anything from use a noisemaker to help me go to sleep at night to check prescription drug interactions to create and personalize a fun greeting card using different apps.

A few of my favorite apps:

 

 

1. PINTEREST

Perfect for killing time when you are stuck in line somewhere or waiting at a doctor's office

 

 

2. INSTAGRAM

 

 

 

I take Instagram pics constantly. I like that I don't have as many friends as on facebook, so you can see more photos of those you do have.

 

 

A lot of times I use Instagram to snap a photo of a random funny moment with HA like above where I found her being silly at Mah Mau's.

 

3. INSTAFRAME

 

 

You don't even have to upgrade it.

 

 

 

4. E!

 

 

For your must have celebrity news on-the-go! Can't miss if Rob is spotted out and about in Australia while filming his current movie, right?! Yeah, that's right. Rob as in Robert Pattinson. Don't hate.

 

5. OVERGRAM

 

 

It's just fun!

 

 

Cracks me up every time.

 

6. Red Stamp

 

 

I LOVE this app!! I can make super fun invites/messages/cards using photos or not!

 

I used it to make a Thank You for Harper's Christmas gifts. I mean who wants to spend more $ right after Christmas on thank you notes if you can do something this cute?!

 

 

I'm having one of my besties a girls night out to celebrate her third pregnancy, and I wanted to send a text reminder. this was much more fun than a regular text. : )

 

 

 

Those are my current favs. Send me some of your 'projects' you create with them, too! I'd love to see them!!

 

 

~Nattie B

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right on Target - Fun Valentine's Day things from Target

I ran in Target today to grab some wrapping paper for Ece's gift I'm taking to ATL on Friday. Like almost everyone else, I never go in Target and just grab what I went for. I headed to the Valentine's section just to get a peek. They had a lot of fun new things including awesome gifts for guys which is so hard to find. It gave me several ideas. Great prices, too! So I thought I would share!!

Neither Chris nor my Dad are big fishing guys, but this was so cute I kinda wish they were (just so I could give this as a gift). One of my best friend's husband AND Dad are big into fishing, so I sent Wren a text with these fishing Valentines.

 

 

 

 

 

And even though two of these are fishing themed, the one on the far left is a general Valentine's theme.

 

 

Now a remote, that is PERFECT for Chris! Hey! It would work for me, too. If I were buying it for someone like me, I would get this and then put it with a DVD season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

 

 

 

Chocolate cigars. They actually have detail that makes them look more like a cigar than this photo shows.

 

 

 

 

Super fun concept! Taking chocolate and giving it crazy flavors turned into candy bars in adorable packaging. These would be fun to receive even if you never ate it. It is one of those things you would see on someones desk at work. 

 

 

 

 

 

This looks like a beer can complete with the tab and rim indent on the top.

 

 

 

 

For $1 each you could get these for your girlfriends or coworkers and pair it with a individual hot chocolate pouch. Just tie a fun ribbon around the combined two, and you have an inexpensive "little happy" as my sister Ashley would call it.

 

 

 

Who doesn't like a cupcake or even one that just looks like a cupcake?! These came in Red Velvet or Peanut Butter sets.

 

 

 

 

The 'stach is makin' a comeback!!!

 

 

 

 

I really liked how they put the traditional candy hearts in small, colorful tins.

 

 

 

 

How fun are these mustache and lips straws?! I told you the 'stache was makin' a comeback. You could use these all year, not just for Valentine's.

 

 

 

 

 Fun cupcake toppers!

 

 

 

Hopefully these gave you a new outlook for Valentine's gifts!!

 

 

 

Can You Hear Me Now?

That commercial was so annoying. Is it even on anymore? I have to hand it to them, though. Every single time I say that, I think of the geeky Verizon guy and laugh to myself.

I love love love music!! I heard a song on the way home from the mall late this afternoon. It's so funny how when you hear a certain song, your mind immediately goes back. Here are a few of mine...

This was the one from this afternoon. It makes me think of high school. And of Chris' Aunt Amy even though he actually has an Aunt Amber. Amy is the one that liked 311.

 

 

Dancing with Chris at our wedding

 

 

This was on when we were on our way to the hospital to give birth to Collins.

 

 

Listened to this album all the way to the beach with my girlfriend

 

 

Middle school

 

 

Alicia (my friend I lost in high school)

 

 

Beale Street Music Fest 2000

 

 

College

 

 

 

~Nattie B

 

 

 

My Favorite Vegetable is Salery

Also, I have SUPER SALE info to share! Who doesn't love a good, better yet, GREAT sale?! Exactly. Here are a couple of links to some awesome sales going on right now.

ModCloth

Sale: Cabin Fever Sale 70% off a huge selection

http://www.modcloth.com/shop/sale

 

Like check out these super cute earrings for $4.99!

http://www.modcloth.com/shop/earrings/refined-the-time-earrings-in-sunrise

 

 

 

One of my favorite 'places' to find awesome deals on cute & trendy clothes, accessories, jewelry and more!

Their sale section is huge! The best thing to do is use the filter to narrow things down.

J Crew
Sale: Extra 40% off all final sale items. Use code GET40
http://www.jcrew.com/sale.jsp

 

Happy Shopping, Y'all!!

~ Nattie B
 

 

 

Monday Confessionals - I'm SO Over It

My completely not shocking to anyone confession - I may be Betty White, but I am no Maya Angelou.

I started this blog with one idea in mind: to 'get real' with people. I would write about things that were on my mind, but now I feel like I have to really have some helpful or insightful (helpful and/or insightful only in my mind) thing to talk about. To no surprise of my own, I don't have a lot of insightful thoughts. I mean, for real, I literally spent my down time (aka after Chris and the girls are gone to bed) last night watching my TiVo'd 'Kourtney & Kim Take Miami' (KKTM) and 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' (RHOA). Although I am positive sure that no someone may watch those and become anything but insightful, it isn't me. I was texting with my friend Em while I was watching KKTM. She was watching RHOA at the same time, because she had decided to not to fall into the Kardashian trap for this season of KKTM. At one point, she texted something about her brain cells dying by the second while watching RHOA. At that same time, I was watching Kim Kardashian (KK) try to solve her Persian kitty's (that Kanye sent her to keep her company in Miami) constipation problem by asking Siri on her iPhone. (I just tried to upload a clip of it, but there is something going wrong with it.) So as you can imagine, my brain cells were multiplying by the second!

Kim's Instagram pic of the cat with her phone.

But I did find this clip from the episode!

But I digress...
I never meant to start a blog to share my wealth of knowledge that I definitely don't have. I feel like I have gotten some of my feelings out there, so people can learn who I am and what I am about, but from now on I just want to do a 'get real' everyday thing. This is me. So here's to new beginnings and their new beginnings.

It May Not Be Spring, but It's Time to Cut the Grass

It has been a weird last few days, but now I'm starting to get excited. This weekend I am headed to HOTlanta. My friend Em and I are going to spend the weekend with Ece (my best friend from high school) to celebrate her birthday. I don't get to see Ece much, and it is always a lot of fun. She is Miss Independent. We like to live vicariously through each other. She gets to hear the pros and cons of the 'married with kids' life, and I get to hear the pros and cons of the single and independent life. It works out really well for us, because it is easy to think the grass is greener on the other side. During our conversations, we are quickly reminded of things to be thankful for in our own situations. She can be thankful for her single life when I am having to compromise with Chris or take care of a screaming baby, and I can be thankful for my life when she is lonely or wishing for a guy. If you think about it, we usually only think that the grass is greener if we don't know someone that well or we don't know much about their situation. If I didn't have a deep relationship with her, I would only see all of the bells and whistles of her life, too. Deep down I would know that her life wasn't perfect, but I would choose to only see the positives, the things she had that I lacked or wanted. I guess I'm just trying to remind myself that the next time I am quick to think someone's grass is greener, I should slow down a little to notice that we all have weeds.

Here is a cool Yahoo article on the world's happiest countries. Despite our vast wealth, the USA is not even in the top 10.
http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/world-s-happiest-countries-233204795.html

Is It Over Yet?!

A couple of days ago when I started the posts on Harpers parties I was pumped. I thought it would be fun and even help others to grab ideas if they wanted. Instead of two more days of birthdays, I'm going to finish this up and move on! I'm not going to post pics of every detail, so if you want more details just ask.

Harper's 3rd birthday

Theme: Minnie Mouse

Colors: Pink, Black. & White

Post Pinterest

 

*Since this was the same color scheme as her 1st birthday, I was able to re-use a ton of stuff!

 

Dining Room Table

 

 

Minnie Papaer plates with ears and bows - Idea from Pinterest. Ordered the bows on Etsy to save time.

 

 

She asked for cupcakes, too this year. I'm a pushover.

 

 

Streamers = cheap

 

 

 

Re-used her Halloween costume

 

 

Cake design = Pinterest idea

 

 

Party hats (which she also asked for this year) = Pinterest idea

They were too espensive on Etsy, so I convinced my sister to make them for me.

 

 

The boys needed hats, too.

 

Striped paper straws from Etsy. You can these really cheap in a million colors. I use these straws for all parties.

 

 

When they get this age, you have to figure out an activity for the kids. They decorated Minnie/Mickey shaped sugar cookies. Cheap plastic tablecloth.

Pinterest idea

 

 

Party favors were big marshmallows dipped in white chocolate and then wither pink or red sprinkles (depending on boy or girl) on lollipop sticks . Cute and cheap.

 

Harper's 4th Birthday

Theme: Rapunzel & Tangled

Colors: Purple & Yellow

Post Pinterest

 

 

Invitation: PDF on Etsy for $10.00. Printed at Sams Club for less than $2.00.

 

 

 

 

Tangled movie posters from online. Cheap cheap.

 

 

You cannot tell, but the kitchen window has a "curtain" of purple, yellow, and lilac streamers. "Frying pans" made of small black party plates at WalMart with a black plastic knife taped to the back. If you have seen Tangled, you understand the significance of the frying pan.

 

 

 

This year we just went with the cupcakes. A friend I grew up with (Brande Hanks Burrow) that lives in my hometown made these. The fondant toppers are things that have to do with the movie/

 

 

 

Front door - Flynn Rider WANTED posters. Printed from computer.

Yellow yarn long braid - this was much harder than it looked online

 

 

We set up a princess makeover station where my niece did their make up and gave them jewelry.

 

 

 

 

The girls were asked to wear their favorite princess dress. We only had girls at this party, and we did it earlier in the day.

 

 

Frying pan garland

 

 

My sister-in-law surprised HA! She came dressed as a princess, too!! It was so sweet, and all of the little girls thought she really was a princess. After awhile she went and changed into regular clothes. When she came back downstairs, they were looking at her so weird.

 

 

Glowing yellow hair on the staircase made of yellow plastic wrap you find on a large bolt at Party City. It "gloes" because of the white Christmas lights wrapped in it.

 

THE END of Birthday party posts! Woo hoo!

 

 

Random Info for the Day - Today is Betty White's 91st birthday! LOL

 

~Nattie B