Hey all!  Another weekend has passed and what a fun and relaxing one it was for us.  We had our third and final baby shower / housewarming party on Saturday (will share pics with you later) and on Sunday we went for a hospital tour and just relaxed.  What did I do with my extra hour?  I napped on the couch, oh yea, and it felt good.

So I actually have quite a few posts backed up or things to share with you (that’s always a better feeling than have a lack of posts), so for today, I just wanted to show the pictures from my best friend / Twinny’s wedding.  I posted about her Wedding Rehearsal + Dinner a couple weeks ago, remember?

{CEREMONY}

Here we all are, waiting for the beautiful bride to make her way down the aisle.

So sweet and emotional, she was crying on the way down, and so was I!

It was a beautiful ceremony with a couple speeches and a tea ceremony.

The kiss and broom jumping!  (All the ceremony pictures taken by hubby!)

{RECEPTION}

The Colony Club in downtown Detroit is beautiful, isn’t it?

And bubble tea was served at the cocktail hour.  Bubble tea guys, LOVE IT!  Mmmm I want some more now!

Picture table… yup, the couple has met Obama before!

What a lovely first dance!

Some sappy and funny speeches!

And cupcakes for dessert, YUM!

Decided to switch to flash as the room got darker and the dancing began!  Here’s the 3 of us. 

The infamous and growing P.Crew family.  LOVE.

Congrats to Steph and Sean!  Wishing you two a lifetime of happiness, laughter, kitten cuddles, cozy nights with your record player, and tons of cute babies. 

Hey all!  I’m so excited to finally be able to share some of my Michigan baby shower pictures with you all!  A couple Saturdays ago, my good friends from grade school and college threw me an amazing party.  There was a ton of food, a ton of friends, a ton of little baby presents, and it was a ton of fun. 

Super cute invitations designed by my sister-in-law, she even sewed a fabric pouch for them too, so cool!

Here’s a little family portrait to get us started.  Mommy, Daddy, Baby in my belly, and Baby’s new big lion toy!  Oh and in case you’re wondering, the maxi dress is from Anthropologie and I love it. 

Showing off the baby bump… errrr rather showing baby all the yummy food he’s about to eat.

Such a cute setup and such delicious food!

Close ups of food and decor, so lovely!

It was so great to hang out with my buddies from high school and college.  It’s pretty rare that I get to see them since we all live all over the country.  We played 3 games during the shower.

1) First one was everyone got 2 baby clothespins and for the duration of the shower you couldn’t say the word “baby”, if you did, then whoever called you out on it got the pins and the person with the most pins at the end of shower, wins!

2) The second game was filling out a piece of paper with the baby name of various animals.  As in a baby monkey is an infant or a baby swan is a signet, did you know those?

3) And the last game was the guess how big my belly game where everyone had to cut a piece of string the size that they thought my belly was around, of course most people’s strings were a lot longer than my actual belly!

Then it was present time! 

As you can see we got a ton of gifts such as gift cards, things off our registry, clothes, toys, books, bags, and more.  We are so THANKFUL to everyone for all the gifts!

Here we are with Marvin’s mom and sister-in-laws, they had driven all the way up from Ohio just for the shower, so sweet!

A picture with the AWESOME AMAZING hosts!  Sophie and Jenny were there in spirit. 

My mom couldn’t make it because she was in Taiwan but so many of her friend’s did!  These ladies have always been such a huge part of my life growing up!

Thanks everyone for coming!

Oh and of course, the deliciously cute Turkey and Owl cupcake favors, nom nom.

I am happy to say, as of this weekend, I am all caught up on Thank You cards!  Here’s a look at a few I got from the adorable Thank You Cards Shop!  They had me at chevron. 

I am so excited, guys! This weekend I’ll be standing in my twinny’s wedding! Why is she my twinny you ask? I guess you could say we were glued at the hip in college, we were both super social butterflies, we had the same initials and even the same last name (now)! I am so happy that she found the man of her dreams and couldn’t be happier for them to start their lives together (with Smokey and Bandit the adorable kitten duo too). Here’s a few pictures of me and my twinny through the years.

And I’ll leave you with a peek at their beautiful engagement pictures, taken by Orris Photography!  Congrats to them!

Also, this weekend I’ll be having my first baby shower!  It’s kind of surreal to think that time has flown by so fast and it’s already here.  Only 10 more weeks to go (but I’m hoping for 8 haha).  It’s just so exciting to be able to celebrate with family and friends and it’s a blessing to know that so many people care for and love our baby boy already and he’s  not even born.    He’s already been spoiled with so many gifts and we’re SO appreciative of it.  It’s nice to be able to fill the space in our new home too.  And it’s so crazy to think that this is our last trip of the year as I won’t be able to travel pretty soon here, but I’m excited to spend the time at home too.

P.S. GO BLUE!  Beat Michigan State!

P.P.S. Have you entered the Jaclyn1432 $20 shop credit jewelry giveaway yet?

Did you have a good weekend friends?  Mine sure was relaxing.  Marv and I ran some necessary errands, did a little (OK a lot) of thrifting, I washed all the baby clothes we have so far, made some tweaks to our baby registry, ate a whole lot of watermelon, and did some more unpacking~!  Oh not to mention we ate pretty dang well… think fried chicken and lasagna and cinnamon rolls! 

For today’s post, I’m linking up to a {little} dash of ash’s camera phone party again!  Here’s a Retro Camera (Android) pictures I took in California last week!  Gee does it make me miss all the good food we had there!

1 unhealthy (but oh-so-good) meal, 1 healthy meal

showing my baby bump the ocean and sand for the first time!

playing with my nephew and so happy about my niece being born on this trip!

$1 can get you a bubble tea or a chance to win a louis vuitton bag

every time i go to california i MUST eat soup dumplings and shaved ice… mm mmm good!!

P.S. Have you entered the Yellow Plum Blossoms GIVEAWAY?  You have one more day!

There really couldn’t be a more exciting time for my family right now!  As I mentioned earlier, my niece was born last week and Marvin and I flew to California to surprise the unsuspecting parents (my brother and SIL).  Of course YOU KNOW I couldn’t have gone this trip without my trusty camera. 

Welcome to the world, my beautiful niece Joy!

Here she is at 1 day old!  I’ve never held a baby this small before.  And don’t you love the little bow on the hat that the nurse made for her?  Too cute!

She is such a doll!

Here she is being introduced to the family at home.  Her big brother is already so sweet to her!

Of course, the trip to LA wouldn’t be complete without some quality nephew time as well!

Here we are with Evan at the park, feeding the geese and ducks!

Then we found a pretty tree and my dad took this photo of us (kind of like a maternity photo if you ask me)!

Then the Evan bear joined us, so cute!

One of Evan’s favorite park activities is going down the slides and he sure is good at it!

Afterwards, we took a stroll to Manhattan Beach where we played in the waves.  Evan’s favorite phrase from this trip (translated from Chinese to English) is “Auntie, Uncle, and Evan went to the ocean and got ALL WET!”  He couldn’t stop saying it all night!

Three generations of hats haha!

Here is a look at our growing family (including my baby bump)!

I’ll be back later with some more pictures from the weekend, but seriously, can I just say I miss them all already?  Family time is the best time, don’t you agree?

How was your Labor Day weekend?

P.S. Have you entered the Yellow Plum Blossoms GIVEAWAY?

Hey friends!  I’m back again linking up to a {little} dash of ash’s camera phone link up party!  Another weekend has passed and we’re definitely closer to being all unpacked.  This past Saturday we unpacked ALL of our kitchen boxes and finished up the clothes, making progress folks, making progress.    I can’t wait to share pictures of the house with you later this week!  But for now, I thought I’d share a few photos taken with Retro Camera on my Android phone.  And btw, Easy Tether is the best app ever.  You can get internet on your computer through your phone from anywhere where your phone has service.  We still have 2 more weeks until we get internet/cable service at our house and Easy Tether has been a LIFE SAVER!  I mean… imagine not having internet at home for 3 weeks… it would be pretty brutal.

On the left are some chocolate chip cookies that a neighbor brought over to our house t welcome us into the cul de sac.  So sweet!  And on the right, is a deep dish pizza we got from a local joint called The Dish, so big and so good!

A few weeks ago my FIL introduced me to eating avocados on bagels, and boy was it good.  It might be my new favorite (garden vegetable topping was the previous winner).  And on the right, is some almond jello with fruit cocktail I made… because I was craving it. 

On Sunday, a couple friends and I hit up a Sunday brunch at a place called The Well.  Let’s just said I fed baby REALLY well.

And lastly, Marvin wanted to share his camera phone photos from this week too.  He was in Denver for a business trip this past week and look what the house keeper made for him on his bed?  This reminded us when they did this every night on our cruise… oh how nice it would be to be cruising again…

So yea, it’s not any surprise that this past week was full of food, is it?  Baby needs to grow, right? 

 This past weekend, I took a little mini-vacay to Michigan!  The main reason was for my friend Kate’s bachelorette party, but I ended up doing so much more than just going to the party.  I stayed with my Twinny (one of my best college friends), Steph, in downtown Detroit, and her fiance and two loving cats.  When my twinny and I get together, we are like super planners, so the weekend was packed full of food and fun!  Thanks Steph for all your hospitality, I had SO much fun!!

The first night I was there, we headed to a pastry in Greektown for some key lime pie and ice cream.  What a great way to start the weekend! 

The next day we headed to a super cute crepe place for some savoury goodness.

And hit up Olga’s (miss this place) for lunch #2.  Brought back so many memories!

Although I lived in Ann Arbor most my life, I hardly ventured into Detroit so it was fun riding the People Mover and getting a tour of the city with some of my girls!

Next morning we went to a Yard Sale and these cuties were selling lemonade, of course I bought two glasses!

Then we went to a Pakistani festival where I got my coconut juice (pregnancy craving)! YUM!

And after that we visited 71 Pop, an event MCed by Sean that displayed new Detroit artists.

And there was a ton of free candy, cupcakes, drinks, and more!

Loving this shop setup!

We ended the night visiting a few Ann Arbor landmarks, Zingerman’s Deli and the first ever Border’s.

And then surprising Kate for her bachelorette dinner, bubble tea, and karaoke party!  Congrats to Kate and Hieu on your upcoming wedding!

When’s the last time you visited your hometown?  Or do you still live there?

Remember a few weeks ago when I blogged about a Purple and Green Bridal Shower?  Well the wedding happened a few weeks ago and everything went perfectly!  The weather was hot and sunny, I got to see a ton of my college buddies, and I was right there standing by my friend Christine’s side as she married the love of her life!

The wedding was held at the beautiful Cranbrook House and Gardens.

Look at the huge bridal party – they were a lot of fun!

The father if the bride escorting the beautiful bride down the aisle!

A beautiful ceremony later, they kissed and were married!

Love the bridesmaid’s dresses and flowers!

And I was a HUGE fan of my makeup and waterfall braid hairstyle as well! 

Me and baby daddy!

Her dress was SO stunning and I loved that the groom wore grey!

Signing the guest book.

Really amazing dessert spread, yum!!

Father-daughter and mother-son dances.

The infamous PCrew family + significant others. 

Probably one of the best parts of this wedding was the surprise flashmob that many of the guests participated in.  We spent the few days leading up to the wedding preparing for this big debut!  The bride and groom were thoroughly shocked! 

And while I still have your attention, I just wanted to announce the WINNER of the Shabby Apple giveaway!  If your name is Cindy and you’re the owner of the blog Tea-House Moon, CONGRATS!!!  Please email me at sandyalamode(at)gmail(dot)com with your dress or skirt selection and your mailing address!

Fabulous weather.  Dry heat.  Beautiful mountainous views.  Cactus galore.  Arizona is one beautiful state!  I had the pleasure of working in Prescott Valley the other week and then took a mini-trip to Sedona.  Marvin and I have always talked about taking a weekend trip to Sedona but it just hadn’t panned out.  So since I was staying only an hour away, a few coworkers and I took a road trip to Sedona.  It was probably the quickest trip ever though, we pretty much drove there, had a drink and drove back.  Here are some pictures I took of the trip!

A beautiful lake in Prescott Valley.

Bacon cupcakes at the Prescott Brewing Company.  Best idea ever.

Driving through mountains on our way to Sedona.  Don’t worry, I wasn’t driving and taking pictures simultaneously.  I was in the passenger seat.

Breathtaking.

Reminded me of our trip to Red Rock Canyon!

Little mini cactus things!

Loving this shot with the moon in view.

Sedona, we made it!!

I love taking pictures of flowers, they make great subjects!

Our only stop in Sedona, a little coffee shop.

And on the way home, I finally got some more pictures of cacti galore!  That was my goal for the week. 

First off, I have a GIVEAWAY WINNER to announce!  Thank you to all who helped celebrate the two year blogiversary of Lola’s Girl!  As you know, she was giving an awesome Polaroid camera and a winner has been picked.  If you are the owner of City Life To Ranching Wife blog, then CONGRATS!  Please email me your mailing address to sandyalamode(at)gmail(dot)com and we’ll get the camera sent right out to ya! Can’t wait to see the pictures you take with it! 

This week I’ve had my mind on nothing but summer.  Did ya know it will be here in just a few days?  And even cooler, it will be the longest DAY of the year.  Oh how I heart daylight (crossing my fingers that next Tuesday is sunny)!  And it didn’t help that I finally renewed my interest for using Pinterest again.  Well to be honest, I signed up last August in order to do my Pin It Forward post but haven’t touched it since.  Not because I don’t like using it, but quite the opposite, I know that every time I go there I could be sucked away for hours… and that is just what happened this week haha.  It’s a place to be inspired and inspire others!  I like the fact that you can create categories or “boards” as they call it.  And here are a few of my favorites this week from my different boards, and they all pretty much scream summer to me!

{fashion} | {for the home} | {favorite places and spaces}

{food and drink} | {beauty and makeup} | {party and decorations}

Aren’t these all so fun? The shoes… amazing!  The kitchen… so colorful!  The over water bungalow… can I just be there right now?  The fruit kabobs… mmm tasty!  The waterfall braid… so elegant!  The bouquet… perfect summer palette! 

OK, well I’m off to Michigan for my college roommate’s purple and green wedding this weekend!  So excited, especially for the cupcake dessert!    Have a great weekend all!

Are you on Pinterest?  If so, you should follow me!  And if you aren’t on Pinterest but would like an invite, let me know!