The big 2-6

Written by Shannon Leigh

Last week I turned 26.

It was a lovely day.

{my little family on my birthday}

I had a shoot in the morning but then the rest of the day was ALL about me:).

I knew that as things got busy work-wise I'd probably have a lot of late nights editing but MAN, I am exhausted.

I took 2 naps and laid in bed while reading a full chapter in a book (whoa- I usually get to read about 2 paragraphs before I am needed by someone or dinner needs to made or laundry needs to be done, or pictures need edited, etc).

{The Ru and I. I love her}

I even took a nice long bubble bath before dinner, which I haven't done in YEARS.

Matt had procured a babysitter for Ru and he took me out to Ko Fusion downtown, which seriously has the best food EVER. I am still salivating over the steak. YUM.

And of COURSE we had to get some cupcakes at Cakes on Walnut too, it doesn't really feel like a birthday without one.

{Chocolate strawberry cupcake= a little slice of heaven}

Matt surprised me while I was getting ready with pearl earrings that match the neckless he got me for Christmas. I felt so spoiled. Of course I love them, they are beautiful. I think I'll wear them everyday.

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes and to my dearest Matty (and Ruby) for a great day.

Here's to hoping 26 will be the best year yet.

Tea for Ruby

Written by Shannon Leigh

I apalogize for the overload of pictures.

BUT my first child only turns one once.

We celebrated with a tea party last Saturday.

After all Ruby's favorite book is Tea for Ruby.

I made the invitations in photoshop and printed them on card stock.

I scanned floral fabric and then fashioned it into the teacup. I also scanned burlap to give the background a little bit of texture.

The fabric on the outside of the invitation is from a vintage pillowcase from a thrift store.

The gold and white medallions were left over from a project long ago.

The party was at our house.

It was a tight squeeze but everyone managed ok in our humble abode.

We used vintage tea cups (including some from Grandma Ruby, Grandma Dudley, my mom & my mother-in-law).

I even had my Great Grandma Hagen's teapot.

We also had real lumps of sugar (I was really excited about that).

I made Paula Dean's Strawberry Cake for the center of the table.

Ruby's smash cake came from Cakes on Walnut, of course..

I made embellished party hats for EVERYONE.

and EVERYONE wore one.

It was awesome.

I wish I would have gotten a pictures of the whole group.

I also made Ruby a party hat with a matching bib to wear while she ate her smash cake.

She wasn't thrilled with the hat.

O the menu for the day:

Strawberry cake

Chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream cheese frosting

Lemon cupcakes with lemon icing

Teapot shaped sugar cookies

Strawberries & grapes with whipped cream

Cucumber sandwiches

Broccoli sunflower salad

Cheeseball & crackers

Hot tea

Ice tea

Lemonade

&

Coffee

The chair swags are made out of doilies.

I got the idea from Martha, of course.

I LOVE that my grandma wore here party hat and sipped on tea.

So cute.

Kellen dressed up like a cowboy because... he's awesome.

I also made the garland on the window.

It's just fabric & ribbon tied to twine!

This one took some trial and error since I didn't have any kind of tutorial but I eventually got it looking the way I wanted.

Cake time.

We stripped down Ruby's dress (more on that later) and put on her hat and bib.

She wasn't SUPER excited over her smash cake.

We stuck her hand in it a few times trying to get her to go crazy but she just kind of nibbled on the icing.

She certainly didn't dig in.

It WAS a tea party after all.

She was just being a lady.

Since Matty turned the big 3-0 last week and he didn't celebrate with anyone, other than me, I decided to make him a cake and surprise him at Ruby's party.

I made him a baked alaska (one of his favorites).

I think he enjoyed it!

Then of course it was present time!

She was so spoiled by our families.

We feel so blessed to have so many people who love Ru like we do.

A special shout out to all who came and made Ruby's first birthday special.

(Especially my mother-in-law who slaved away in the kitchen with me for hours before the guests arrived. I couldn't have done it without her).

Over all the party was a great success.

I'm already dreaming up plans for birthday #2.

Dun dun dun...

Don't tell Matt.

Squeezing them tight

Written by Shannon Leigh

Last week was insane.

There were 2 big birthdays and lots of party prepping.

And then there was the earthquake in Japan.

My heart broke while watching it unfold.

It made me squeeze my loved ones a little tighter and also hold on to the infinite wisdom of our heavenly Father and his perfect plan for this world.

And then I prayed.

A lot.

Mostly because I didn't know what else to do.

I will continue to lift up those affected and fervently pray that more people will come to know the Lord and his vast grace in this fallen and broken world.

In other (not so important) news, Matt turned 30 last week!

WHAT?

How on EARTH did that happen?

It seems like yesterday he was a handsome 22 year old 1L that I had a serious crush on.

And NOW he's my baby daddy.

How time flies.

Matt's 30th fell last Saturday.

I let him sleep in (although he still set his alarm for 7:30- I mean who does that?).

I made him chocolate chip waffles.

{look at that bed head-adorable}

I then told him that we could go out to eat to where ever he wanted to go.

I surprised him by getting a baby sitter.

I told him I had to "run an errand" and then dropped her off at the sitter.

{Ruby and Matty before dinner}

We went to Buttita's, a local Italian place.

We hadn't been there for dinner before.

We love the atmosphere.

One of our new favorite C-U spots.

I highly recommend the artichoke hearts and the tiramasu.

YUM.

We even caught a movie (it's been a LONG time since we went to a movie).

A special thanks to our friend Charissa for watching miss Ruby.

I made him a photobook of our trip to England for our second anniversary.

More on that later.

A few things that I absolutely adore about my 30 year old hubby.

- He just keeps getting more handsome.

- He is the best daddy to Ruby EVER.

- He calls Ruby, RuFriend.

- He gets up with her in the morning so I can get extra sleep.

- He rubs my feet before I ask.

-He's a soft place to land and lets me complain but also encourages me to move on.

-He brings my wild ideas back to earth.

-He has so much integrity.

- He works hard to provide so I get to stay home with Ruby.

There are so many other things that I love about him but my list would go on for days.

I love you Matty, here's to 30+ more years!

(even though you won't read this).

A Camping We Will Go

Written by Shannon Leigh

I'm going camping, yes sirree! 
I'm going camping, won't you come with me? 
First we'll pitch our tent on the ground, 
Then make a fire as we all gather round. 
I'm going camping, yes sirree! 
I'm going camping, won't you come with me?

Next we'll cook on the open fire, 
Then till stories till we all get tired. 
When the stars are twinkling bright, 
We'll sleep in our tents 'til the morning light. 
I'm going camping, yes sirree! 
I'm going camping, won't you come with me?

When we see the morning sun, 
We'll wake right up 'cause the day's begun. 
There's so much that we can do -- 
Fishing, swimming, hiking, too. 
I'm going camping, yes sirree! 
I'm going camping, won't you come with me?

A Series of Self Portraits

Written by Shannon Leigh
By the birthday girl herself.

(that's what you get for leaving these on my camera, silly sister)

Happy 26th Birthday, Morgan!! We love you!

Ode to being 24 (part 2)

Written by Shannon Leigh

On my actual birthday (last Thursday) Matt and I celebrated my 24 years with Mexican soda.  If you haven't had some you should really go to your local Mexican grocery store and pick some up (you might want to stay away from the meat because of the whole Swine Flu thing).

We ended up going to the Courier Cafe in Urbana.  Matt and I are frequenters of this cute little establishment.  It's practically famous in these parts.  Read their story here. 

I had some birthday blueberry pie and Matt celebrated with a brownie covered in ice cream and whipped cream.  Both were delightful.  We left with full bellies and happy hearts.

Good thing my birthday fell on Dessert Thursday.  What a happy coincident.