Ridiculous!

Back before I decided to do this bikini competition, a few friends and I signed up for the R.O.C. Race (Ridiculous Obstacle Course Race).
Having never participated in this event, I didn't know much about it.
All I knew were two things:

1. It was a 5K made up of ridiculous obstacle courses.
2. People wear costumes.

You had me at "ridiculous". 

Sign me up!

Of course, the next logical step was to name our team. We cleverly decided on "R.O.C. Me Amadeus!" 

We were pretty proud of ourselves on that one..and even more so when we decided on homemade shirts, rainbow tutus, socks and colonial wigs!

This plan had success written all over it. 

Behold the full ensemble!

Since I'm a sucker for a theme, I didn't just stop with the costume items. I went above and beyond...

Nails!

I also took a stab at copying a fun rainbow eyeshadow image that I googled!

Not bad, right???

I even managed to talk A.B. into the whole get-up! 

Check out his pretty wig! He fancy.

No colonial wig is complete without a colorful bow!

After we got all dolled up, we headed out to the event!

Now...before you look through the photos of the actual event, 

I want to apologize for the obnoxious watermark located smack-dab in the middle of each photo. 

You see...there is something else that is ridiculous about this event.

They had photographers throughout the entire course taking photos of the participants, which was great! We didn't have to worry about bringing waterproof cameras and we knew the pictures would be really fun!

What's insane is that if you want to download just ONE photo (and I'm not even talking about the hi-res option) it is $11.99! That's right! $11.99 for ONE photo! 

That means if I wanted to purchase all of the photos that they had of all the members of our group, I'd be looking at over $500.00. 

The only way I'm paying over $500.00 for photos is if I'm wearing a wedding dress in them.

So, ladies and gentleman, here are the watermarked...and FREE images!

When it was all over, we were soaked and we were grimy!

But, at the R.O.C. Race, they've thought of everything....including one huge foam shower to get cleaned up!

This was SURPRISINGLY refreshing!

Once we were cleaned up, I sadly looked upon the line of food trucks and the beer carts. I knew I couldn't stay.  

I admit...it HURT to walk away!

This won't be the last event that has food I have to say "no" to, so I just shrugged, took off my wig and called it a day.

By the time I got home, I was starving. My sadness quickly faded when I whipped up this bikini comp-friendly brunch for myself!

A chicken, egg, spinach, salsa scramble with a whole wheat tortilla! Yummm!!!

So that's it! That was my ridiculous weekend! It was a lot of fun and I'm definitely doing it again next year!

Thanks to my fellow "R.O.C. Me Amadeus" teammates for being such great sports and for not being "too cool" to wear wigs and tutus! 

Can't wait to top it next year!!!!!

ROC ON!

A Star Wars Baby Shower?

Yep! That's right! That is exactly what I set out to do once I found out the theme of my newest nephew's nursery. Nice choice, sister....nice choice. :) I couldn't wait to begin!

That's when it dawned on me. How in the world am I going to pull off a beautiful, elegant baby shower while still capturing the Star Wars feel? When I started my research, it seemed like there were endless children birthday party ideas and decor...but nothing sweet and "baby-like". I started to get a little worried. 

This had the potential of being the scariest baby shower ever. 

My first breakthrough was when I found this adorable Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/vmiddleton5?ref=seller_info

I had originally wanted to make the invitations myself, but decided it couldn't hurt to have a LITTLE help from someone else. :) I ordered the basic image of the invitations and decided to put my own twist on things. 

Here's how they turned out.

 

Once the invitations were done, things got a little easier. I paid a visit to my local IKEA and found all sorts of "spacey" looking things. I also managed to pick up a cool vase from a nearby Goodwill. 

Here's a tip: I find that if you cover a table in candles and flowers, it really classes things up!

Check out the finished product.

I bet I know what you're thinking. "Hey Dawnya! Where did you get that AMAZING Jedi sign?"

Well, I'll tell you! My extremely talented artist of a boyfriend painted that. (This photo hardly does it justice.) He's kind of a big deal. 

My sister loved it so much that it is now hanging in the nursery. :)

I knew that I needed to have a few actual Star Wars pieces, so I found these plastic party rings online. I paired them with light saber picks and turned them into cupcake toppers for my super yummy strawberry cupcakes. So cute!

These are just a couple VERY cheap picture frames from IKEA. 

I used a bit of computer magic to create the inserts.

All in all, I was able to put together a beautiful, sweet and elegant baby shower without completely breaking the bank. It just took some serious brainstorming!

A big "thank you" to my Grandma for sewing the tablecloths and to my Mommy for hosting the party!

And thank you, Amber, for letting me run with this idea! haha

My Favorite Theme: Love.

If you've followed me for any given amount of time, you know how much I ADORE themes.

I especially love Valentine's Day. A day that celebrates LOVE and HEARTS and PINK... I can hardly contain myself!
Here are just some heartfelt pieces from my work week.

So, you can understand my excitement to celebrate my first Valentine's Day with A.B.! 

(I didn't think to warn him.)

I kicked off this day of love with cranberry mimosas and heart-(ish) shaped cinnamon rolls. 

These were far cuter BEFORE I put them in the oven.

Later on, I began working on my tablescape for dinner. I made a vegetarian lasagna and salad...but who cares about that? All I cared about was the table! 

 

I feel so lucky on a daily basis with A.B., so I hope that my little "day of love" made him feel just as special as I do. 

Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day!

Going batty!

Here's a cute craft I picked up! Enjoy!

 

 Boy I LOVE Halloween!

And just like that....BOO! I'm 32!

I love birthdays and I loooove Halloween! 

Why not combine both???

This year I decided to have a Halloween themed birthday. 

And since my birthday is so close to Halloween, I bumped it up a week early. 

(No one minded.)

Since it was my party, I felt being a ringmaster was very fitting. :)

I worked on my decorating hardcore for weeks! My table scape was my pride and joy! 

Hope you enjoy my pics....and my awesome friends who went all out with their costumes! 

I love you guys!

I was SO proud of this! I found this styrofoam skull at Michael's for $5.99. The rest was from Savers! Such a beautiful centerpiece and sooooo cheap!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah.....friends forever.

THANK YOU to all my friends who came to my Bewitching Birthday Bash! It was so much fun and I'm just happy the cops didn't show up! There are so many more awesome costumes that I didn't get pics of. If any of you have some, send them my way so I can post a part 2!!!

Happy Halloweeeeeeeen!





P.S. ROBOTS!!!!