graduation party planning, 1st edition

i am so not an event planner

& i feel just a tad overwhelmed when it comes to entertaining a large number of folks.

well, planning a graduation party for these two cuties
for a large number of folks

is exactly what i'm knee deep into for the next 5 weeks.

or is it 4?

oh my...

& yes, we are already praying for a sunny, dare i mention breezy, day

because these two have big plans

for a few hundred of their closest friends.

oh my....

on this particular day

day 1 of planning

possibly a few weeks behind

they clearly were not stressed.

neither am i

i promised i'd be a.o.k.

& not stress.

so i'm not stressed.

i am not stressed over the 5,694 things that need to happen 

between now & when she puts that cap and gown on.

not one bit.

& i'm not crying. 

not i.

well, as of today we are moving in the right direction

&  have a list of ideas. a growing list.

i have myself a little grad party folder rolling over on pintrest.

surely that's a big step. right?

so if you have any tips or advice

or even fun images,

bring it!

i'm all ears!!

& lastly i want to share a fabulous & simple recipe with ya'll.

i made this last night for all my girlies

(my meat and potatoes lovin' big guy was gone)

& it was a smashing success!

Spaghetti with asparagus, smoked mozzarella and prosciutto

Giada De Laurentiis

* 2 pounds asparagus, trimmed

* 3/4 pound spaghetti

* 4 tablespoons olive oil

* 4 garlic cloves, minced

* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

* 6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut crosswise into strips

* 6 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, diced (about 1 cup)

* 6 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Cook the asparagus in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. With a spider or slotted spoon, remove asparagus from boiling water to a bowl of ice water to cool and stop the cooking. When cool, cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces, and set aside.

Return the water in the pot to a boil, adding additional water if necessary. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add asparagus to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the pasta, and if needed, some of the reserved cooking liquid. Toss to coat. Add the prosciutto, mozzarella and basil, and toss to combine. Turn off the heat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

The Paris Market

 i actually had a couple of you ask if i ever left Back in the Day Bakery!

ya'll are too funny.

well, i also barely left this next destination.

& to be honest, we just so happened to stumble upon this shop a second time. 

serendipity, of course.

my favorite shop destination in savannah is The Paris Market.

& let me interject right here...thank goodness for a man

who always entertains himself and never taps my shoulder saying "is it time to go yet babe?".

truth be told, i always ask the girls, "where's dad? i'm ready to go".

i could have spent hours in here.  come to think of it, i might have!

 (told ya...park him by the books & i have endless opportunity to shop!)

if you go, make sure you order a strawberry mint water.

hello.

 

The Paris Market is now offcially my favorite store.

seriously.

even beats out my long time fave that starts with an A and rhymes with ecology.

gasp!

paperlife class giveaway & how you can help a foster child

i'm flying out the door for a busy day, which has become my life story these days, but before i go i have a couple of fun and important things to share with you. 

Amy from Paperlife has graciously offered a free seat in the following online class to one of my readers!
please leave a comment if you are interested & I will announce the winner early next week.
Here is a description in Amy's words...

"This Online Class is a complete and detailed "how to" on what I have come to call, Life Journals, which is my take on art journaling with a Paperlife flair. Life Journals and this class has all the artsy, technique, and design filled treasures that you know and admire in art journaling and mixed media but, they include your life. What I mean by that is in a life journal you get a little scrapbooking, photography, journaling, mixed media, and more all in one place.

This is a self-paced class, which also means you will have access to it for as long as the Paperlife and/or its blog host platform is in existence, so hopefully God-willing, forever. I am doing it this way because, I want the ability to update and change this initial core class as, life and products and techniques change and/or improve. The Classroom is a private blog you will be given access to and loaded, I mean LOADED with videos of me teaching you how to life journal, as well as, PDF's and other materials. I want this to be a resource for you to have access to at anytime during your life journaling journey. Everyone learns in their own way, and life is busy, so I want it to be something you can set aside a weekend and complete all at once or, do slowly over the course of time, or even completely out of order focusing on what you are interested in at the moment. I have also packed this with tons of information, ideas, techniques (think backgrounds, collaging, fabrics, inks, etc), and resources that I want you to be able to refer back to when needed.

My hope is this class will become a "go to" tool in your very own Paperlife. It is also part of my plan to add future classes for you to purchase through the paperlife, that will focus on more advanced and specific art journaling topics and techniques that build on this core class. You see this is more than a hobby to me, as you will discover during this class. Art journaling, scrapbooking, and creating is a lifestyle for me that I have come to realize resides in all aspects of my own little world. I want to share that with you, how I live it, and how you can have it too. So I thought, what better way to begin this paperlife learning journey, than in and by introducing you to my beloved LIFE JOURNALS.

Early class registration will begin April 10th with an amazing early bird price of $30!! I promise this is worth so much more than that but, I want to make this initial core course and the gift of Life Journaling accessible to everyone. The classroom itself will go live on May 15th and the price after that will be $40. Which is still an amazing deal (btw) but, don't wait and miss that $10 discount, because I mean $10 that can arm you with a ton of journaling supplies. I cannot wait to share this piece of me with you and have you enjoying this amazing journey that is LIFE JOURNALING with me."


Direct link to the class information and purchase page can be found here.

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I would also like to take a moment and share a wonderful way you can help and two more  giveaways...

please visit both ashley & darby to find out more information about this fantastic ministry opportunity.  both of these precious friends of mine are hosting a little incentive for your participation!

thank ya'll!!