Fireman Baby Shower + Giveaway

I'm very excited to get to share this adorable baby boy shower that I recently coordinated in a fireman & dalmation theme. This event had some fabulous {special touches} that I hope will inspire you as you plan your next event! 

If you've seen my events before, you know I love a decadent dessert table! This baby shower was no different. We had two cakes, a dozen cupcakes, two dozen cakepops, chocolate chip cookies, frosted sugar cookies, kit kats & hershey bars - {YUM}!

The custom firetruck and dalmation print cakepops were by April's Cake Pops and are one of my favorite dessert table additions! The cupcakes and cakes were embellished with the most amazing fondant toppers done by Natalia from Haute Tart. She created a gorgeous custom cake topper with a "Welcome Baby Maddox" message and fabulous dalmation and fire hydrant toppers for the cupcakes. They far exceeded my expectations and took the dessert table to the next level. {AND} Natalia is giving away a $25 shop credit to one lucky NBrynn reader today!! Easy entry below.

I {LOVE} how these adorable "Fire Chief" boots doubled as vases for the main food table! For centerpieces, I used recycled tin cans and added a handle to look like a pail, topped with some printable package circles and set beside a fireman helmet. These were extremely inexpensive, but a very cute addition!

We carried the fireman theme throughout the party with "Welcome Baby Maddox" banners, napkin wraps, "Wishes for Baby" and "Gifts" signs and candy bar wraps. 

Guests were greeted with a sign-in table, where they could leave a well-wish for baby and mama. We hung a belly banner across the front of the entry table, showing the progression of the mama-to-be's growing belly. Each guest received their own bag of "Red Hot Popcorn" at their seat. If you are interested in this yummy recipe, you can find it here!

It was a special event for a special occasion and one I was excited to get to be a part of! Here's  one last look at the main dessert table. Hope you found something that made you smile and don't forget to enter our Haute Tart giveaway below.

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More about Haute Tart...

I have been creating edible fun for the past five years. I started with cakes locally & now operate out of a small studio kitchen in Milwaukee, WI. I have been selling my custom fondant art on Etsy for a little over 2 years. I originally operated under my cakery name "Crumby Art" but decided to seperate the two businesses at the start of 2013, now my etsy shop is titled Haute Tart. I have been very blessed to have over 1200 Etsy sales, most of which are from repeated customers. There's nothing I love more then making the same little boy or girl's cake toppers with each growing year, its a very special feeling. Aside from work, I am a mommy to four wonderful children ages 4-10. They are definitely my biggest inspirations! I love working with all of my customers, new & repeated, in creating sweet works of art for their big days!

Vendor Credits:
Fondant Cake & Cupcake Toppers: Haute Tart
Cakepops: April's Cake Pops
Printables & Invitation: DimplePrints
Event Coordination: NBrynn

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Stepping Stones of Pain

Last week I needed to come up with a handful of meaningful memories about my mom for a Mother's Day project one of my sisters initiated. It seemed like an easy enough task given that I have an extremely devoted, sacrificial, thoughtful mom. She worked very hard to provide for us, nurture us and help us achieve our goals. Even on a very tight budget, I cannot recall a holiday that she neglected to presented us with some token of love and celebration. As a grandmother now, she continues to pour out her love and devotion.

Despite all that, however, the memories didn't flood in like you'd think they should. At least not the good ones. Rather, my first 15-20 minutes of reminiscing was filled with trauma, pain, betrayal, loss, embarrassment and anger. All true memories. All real events. But not all that happened in my childhood. Yet I struggled initially to recall a truly joyful memory with any real clarity. It felt as if only the bad has any real staying power in our hearts, at least in mine. 

I did come up with some good memories - lots of them actually. But the initial flood of bad memories has been bothering me ever since. Especially as I think of my own children and the lifelong relationships I crave with them, I keep asking myself, "What will they remember?".  Why was I only remembering every terrible snapshot from my childhood and how I can I navigate my own children toward a different experience? 

These questions have been floating through my heart all week and have given me a new perspective on myself and my life over the past few years. I've realized that remembering the bad and traumatic of childhood isn't where it stops for me. In "introducing" myself to some new friends recently, I've found it difficult to express who I am without mentioning the devastation of losing our foster son a week before his adoption should have been finalized and all the other relational and spiritual unraveling that surrounded it. Granted, it was a true series of unfortunate events that wreaked havoc on our careers, our family, our friendships and our faith. But it all happened three years ago. Three years that have been filled with new careers, new friends, new life. And yet the pain and the loss is what feels like the most crucial information to share about myself. Why? It's all true, all real, but not all that I am. 

I've thought and I've thought this week and stumbled across a pretty clear revelation about myself. I see now that trauma and pain is often where I let my heart dwell and my mind wander. It hasn't been an intentional decision, but certainly a lifelong habit. In my late teens and early twenties, when I would "tell my story", it would usually be full of the painful, life-changing trauma's that I experienced as a little girl - addiction...abuse...betrayal...failure...It was like one stepping stone of trial to the next with all the green grass of good lost in between. I repeated these "stepping stone" stories so often in my mind, that I think they eventually became the only dominant or real memories I had left. And I wonder if this is something we all do - walk along these stepping stones of pain in our mind and lose sight of all the good along the way. 

That's what I've done with our more recent losses. I've let them define me: 

I am Pain. 

I am Loss.

I am Failure.

I am Devastation. 

I am unloveable, unfriendable, unfindable.

One stepping stone of pain to the next, walked across over and over and over again in my mind and my heart until it has become the dominant story of who I am today. But it's so, so incomplete; so warped and so biased. It's rooted in reality, but has become a reality all its own that's not accurate and not fair. As much as I know that painful experiences will always be a part of my story, I never want them to be the whole story. 

In realizing this pain-dwelling habit, I've been challenged to fill in the missing pieces; to paint a more accurate picture of who I am, for myself more than anything. Here's what I see today:

I am Brave.

I am Vulnerable.

I am Authentic.

I am Alive.

I am mother, wife, friend, daughter.

May I become her more and more. 

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Vintage Dress Giveaway

With a one year old and a two year old, growing a new business and trying to keep the house semi-clean in between it all, my husband and I rarely get to go out for a true date. It's tempting to skip those times all together in light of all the other responsibilities pulling at us, or at the least, to maintain "date nights" with minimal energy or thought. 

We do neglect our time together a lot, but every now and then we put a plan into place for an evening out and I'm always excited to make it a special event. Last week we had plans to go out for Thai food with friends and I was thrilled to see my {Shabby Apple} package in the mail that same day. I couldn't wait to get it on and style myself for the night out! 

Here I am ready for a rare evening out in my new Shabby Apple dress. They style fit my new haircut perfectly. I felt fresh, fun and feminine.

 If you aren't familiar with Shabby Apple, they have beautifully feminine clothing often with a vintage inspiration. In their own words: 

At Shabby Apple, we believe in both femininity and feminism. As feminine women, we create clothing that is artful in design and crafted with a vintage-style flare. Each piece is carefully constructed to both flatter a women’s figure and maintain her mystery. As feminists, we created a company that is women-owned and operated and that donates to help other women start their own businesses. With our old-fashioned style and modern ideals, we believe the best is yet to come!"

I know many of you that read this blog are also busy mamas, working hard every day and you desperately need and deserve an evening out. Well, if you can muster the energy to make the plans, Shabby Apple is giving away a $50 gift certificate to one lucky NBrynn reader for any vintage clothing item on their website! Easy entry below. I have my eye on a few more items myself. :)

                

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Cease Striving

I recently realized that I am okay being {imperfect}. 

You may be thinking, "Big deal." or "Good thing!", but for me this was - and is - a truly revolutionary realization. 

You see, I've lived with labels like "over-achiever", "teacher's pet" and "go-getter" all my life.  In personality tests, I always found myself in the "natural leader" category. I was the one chosen to represent the school or the team at a conference and was always the one to take the lead on a group assignment, volunteer for the biggest job that needed done and make sure everything came together in the end. I said "no" to almost nothing and have always felt an immense pressure to live up to all those labels and self-inflicted responsibilities. 

To put it simply, I have always been a perfectionist. 

The drive to {be more} has been a deeply ingrained, immensely motivating force in my life. It pushed me to try diet after diet after diet starting around the fifth grade, to maintain strenuous exercise plans into my twenties, to invest in diet pills and other concoctions, to go for days not eating at all.  It pushed me to maintain a 4.0 throughout high school and earn the title of Valedictorian, then to go on to be the first in my family to earn a Bachelor's degree paid for in full by myself without loans. It's pushed me to carry the weight of decisions that weren't my own, to fight against injustice with complete abandon, to look, to compare, to strive for more. Sometimes the striving has led to great achievements, sometimes to disastrous ends. Perfectionism is a double-edged sword in that way. 

This mantra in my head has been constant: "More, more, more, more". Regardless of the area of life - mental, physical, relational, spiritual - for as long as I have memory, there has been this nagging feeling that it's just not enough. Or rather, that {I'm just not enough}.

Part of my recent realization has been the discovery that perfectionism has been one of the key ingredients in my Christianity. In being completely honest with myself, I've realized that my need to be more and do more is what pushed me into faith in the first place. Well, perhaps that's too simplistic. But perfectionism was at least one of the biggest reasons why I felt a need for a Savior or a faith at all. At twelve I was already on a quest to "greatness" - aka perfection - which would require all the help I could get. God sounded like a pretty good route to my end goal and the thought of someone perfect seeing me and loving me despite my imperfection was astounding. 

My faith is very much in process these days, so I am still sorting out what bearing this discovery actually has on it. Perhaps it is just new understanding. I tend to think it is an awakening to a richer, truer way of doing life and faith. 

But back to being perfect. Well, I'm not. And if there's one thing that I have learned loud and clear in the past few years, it's that this world is not perfect, people are far from perfect, systems and governments are apallingly imperfect and no matter how much time passes or how much effort I put forth, "perfect" still stands in the distance, miles and miles from my reach. The "more" mantra doesn't cease. It's an endless cycle of striving and achieving and striving and failing and striving and striving and striving....

I'm passionate about being and becoming a truly authentic, real person. And the reality is, {perfection isn't real}. At least, not in this world, not anytime soon. AND THAT'S OKAY! This truth has become like a ferocious lion inside of me roaring with certainty, "It's okay. You're okay. Imperfect is OKAY!!". It's normal; it's real; it's relatable; it's just fine. 

Me on a morning walk recently

I wouldn't have been able to put all of this into words a year ago or even a month ago, but the certainty of this revelation has been taking root in my soul for a few years and is now shaping the way I view life and others and yes, even myself. I find myself totally comfortable with the thought of being and remaining imperfect throughout this life. I'm at peace, even happy, with the state of my post-baby body (yes, saggy boobs and all; they were bound to start sagging some day!). I'm calm about the messiness of the spiritual journey I've been on. I feel more aware, more thankful, as far from perfect as ever and as close to loving myself as ever. 

I should add that my quest toward perfectionism has not meant a sudden shift to laziness or apathy or boring contentedness. On the contrary, coming to terms with my own imperfections has birthed a swelling, freeing self-confidence within me that has resulted in trying things I would have never tried before, working late into the night and rising early in the morning, and hoping for depths of friendship and richness of life greater than all my striving dreamt up before. I work hard, I hope a lot, I expect a lot. I'm messy and in process and loving this {imperfect} journey of life.

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Shimmy Shimmy Chevron + {Giveaway}

My mother-in-law surprised me with such an adorable "just because" gift last week, that I had to share it with you all (yes, I have a great mother-in-law!). She discovered these treasures - hand screened belts and hand dyed scarves by Mango Bay  - at a local fair. I love the fresh, Spring coral take on a new favorite of mine: chevrons! Take a look.

The scarf and belt were both well made and the color is so perfect for this time of year. And you know I swoon over chevron stripes! Sooo, I've worn the set twice this week! :)

I checked out Mango Bay's Etsy shop and she has great prices and plenty of other designs to choose from {AND} Mango Bay has offered to give one of our lucky readers a belt and scarf set of your own for free! Yeah!! Easy entry below, plus a peak at some of their other great products.

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Mmmm. I love stumbling across great, handmade products and fellow small business owners. Good luck with the giveaway!

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Treasure Hunt: Pearls

I feel like Spring just keeps teasing me and is never really going to be here to stay. Today it is rainy, chilly and just {blah}. So I needed a little eye-candy pick-me-up until warmer days come. 

Today I went looking for one of my favorite treasures: PEARLS! I really, really enjoy pearls. I got my first pair of pearl earrings as a gift for being in a friend's wedding. A couple years later, I received a matching pearl necklace as a birthday gift while living in Thailand. More recently, when it came time to get my daughter's ears pierced, pearls were the only option! She got her ears pierced and her toenails painted for the first time all in the same day...it was a girly-kinda day!

Join me in this classy, soft, beautiful journey of {all things pearls}.

Love this bracelet

Fancy, but gorgeous earrings



So classy! (I may be starting my Christmas wishlist early this year...)



Sweet on the eyes, sweet on the tongue



Just plain {SWEET} - the precious daughter of one of the many talented photographers I've gotten to work with this past year. 



Gorgeous pearl cake - and the colors I'd choose for my wedding if I had a do-over (No, I don't want a do-over, my style has just changed in the 8 years that I've been married!).



Simple way to dress up napkins at an event

DIY Pearl Pomander Ball

Great ideas for a pearl-inspired birthday party...

Fun twist on the pearl-themed party (and you may remember pinwheels are another favorite of mine)!

Ah, {pearls}...you make me happy (even on this yucky, rainy day)!

Happy Hunting!

(All photos linked to their original source AKA the place I originally found them from) Pin It Now!

Clean Up, Clean Up...

I feel like I am CONSTANTLY cleaning! I spend half my day on my hands and knees wiping up meal messes and the other half running up and down the stairs doing load after load of laundry. I know you can relate. Having young kids is tough on the tidiness of a house. 

I used to have a very orderly, clean home. I swept, mopped, dusted, scrubbed, wiped - the works - every Saturday. It would stay really clean for a couple days, then slowly get messier and start to irritate me by the next Saturday. But NOW...oh now, if I actually find an hour or two to do a decent cleaning (still nothing as thorough as before), it stays clean for approximately 3.5 hours and then you'd never know the extent of my labor. Crumbs here, toys there, dirty laundry over there...

To be honest, I regularly {choose} my children over cleaning. I've become pretty comfortable with a lesser degree of tidiness than the perfectionist in me ever would have accepted before and I think it's quite a healthy adjustment. I live with crumbs until the kids go down for a nap or let that pile of laundry sit on the dresser for a day or two until I get to it. I love this saying as a reminder of what really matters: 

While my kids are teaching me to relax and invest my time where it counts, I also want to teach them to be organized and responsible. So, this week I turned my attention to our basement/play room where toys have historically found their homes scattered all across the floor. I like having a room in the house where such chaos is acceptable or at least doesn't affect the functioning of the home. However, I've also been dreaming of some added order to the space to help keep things from getting quite so out of hand. Here's what we came up with:

This was a very affordable organization project. Two $17 shelves from Walmart and a dozen bins from the Dollar Tree. My husband was able to print and laminate labels for me at work and then we attached them to the front of each bin with clear packing tape. I made the simple "Play Time" banner hung across the top in about twenty minutes with a couple pieces of scrapbook paper and some twine. Love it! 

The kids are doing a great job choosing one bin at a time to play with and then helping put that one away before moving on to the next toy. And I'm working hard to constantly be engaged with them and make wise decisions about how my time is spent. 

Wishing you and your family a home full of memories (and not too many messes)! :)

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