charleston strong

we all know by now what happened in charleston, sc last wednesday night.

I can't believe a massacre of this magnitude happened in my state.  

I can't believe it happened in a city that I personally believe is the best city in the entire world.  

I can't believe it happened in a city where friends that I love reside and  where they grew up.  

I can't believe it happened in a city that I just visited 3 days before.

the victims that lost their lives that night were talking to God, talking about God.  they welcomed this boy into their bible study with no judgement.  opening their hearts to a stranger.  I could never imagine what came over them once, after an hour of study, he stands up to open fire on all of them.  all because of their race.

all of my thursday morning was consumed in finding out who this killer was, then focusing on his whereabouts and would we be able to catch him?

but the thing that overwhelmed me was the sense of community that I could feel from charleston.  from seeing it on the news and social media. how people weren't rioting with fists in the air.  people weren't marching angrily through the streets.  there wasn't a racial divide.  instead, people were praying together.  they were holding hands, singing, embracing, and crying together.

I don't know what kind of reaction I expected, but what happened (and what continues) to happen has blown my mind and makes me extremely proud to call South Carolina my home.  yesterday as I spent father's day with my dad, this shooting was the main topic of conversation.  we were both so impressed at how people have reacted with maturity, respect, and love...especially given the circumstances of the crime.

the forgiveness that the survivors and members of the victims family gave this person is nothing short of amazing.  they looked at this killer and with no animosity in their voices, they were able to say the words "I forgive you."  they are better people than me...I'll tell you that.

I hope other communities can learn from this tragedy and realize that hate and violence isn't resolved with more hate and more violence.  the biggest defense is love.  and love is winning.

this tragedy is not indicative of the great city of charleston, the beautiful state of south carolina, or the historic south as a whole.  it's about this person.  this person is not us.

I heart planning: sandi's spa day

Recently, I planned a spa day for my BFF Sandi to celebrate the upcoming arrival of her 2nd baby boy, Charlie.

Last year, I was constantly planning or attending surprise birthday parties, bridal showers, baby showers, bachelorette parties, etc, and while at the time, I complained about having so much to organize/plan I really enjoyed doing it.  This year the party planning is slim and I was aching to plan something.

When Sandi was pregnant with her first baby, she had a prenatal massage that she said she loved.  So I thought it would be fun to have a girls day at the spa to get massages, mani/pedi's, etc and relax before Charlie arrived.  

Once we nailed down a date, I emailed all the ladies with the details and everyone decided on spa treatments. Since most of the details were laid out in the initial email, I decided not to mail invitations.  But I still wanted to create something that was personalized for the occasion.  I used Paperless Post to create a simple "announcement" to use in a follow-up email once all the appointments and reservations were finalized.

Sandi is 110% girly girl and one of her favorite "colors" is glitter/gold.  I chose a gold painted polka dot Kate Spade design and dark blue font to compliment the new baby boy. 

Even though it wasn't a "shower", I still wanted to make the day special for all the girls that came...including the guest of honor.  Gift giving is my favorite thing.  So my favorite part of the whole planning process was putting together little favor bags for everyone.  I was lucky to find some gold and dark blue tissue paper to match the online invite.  Looking back...i'm kind of sad I didn't make myself one.

To go along with the "spa" theme, I included bath/body related items in each of the bags.

Nail File

Nail Polish

Loofah

Burt's Bees Lip Balm

Que Bella Peel-Off Mask 

Travel Size Jergens Lotion

Kleenex On-The-Go Tissues

side note: i'm obsessed with the Que Bella Peel Off Masks.  I don't think they help my skin, but I have a weird obsession with the whole peeling process.  There are several different masks in the line.  Perfect for bachelorette favors, birthday packages, etc.

It would have been good to add mini champagne bottles with cute straws for the ladies to enjoy at the spa.   But since our spa offered wine and champagne, I didn't include those in our little bags.  We had two pregnant ladies in our group, so I did bring some La Croix sparkling water that I thought they might enjoy an adult beverage substitute.  However, NOTE TO SELF La Croix is actually disgusting and I'm glad that the girls declined the offer.  Next time, I'll just ask everyone what drinks they prefer.

The first thing I knew I wanted to do when I started planning this day was I wanted to add cookies as part of the favors.  A fun treat we could enjoy after brunch or while we mingled at the spa.  There were several different ones from gold polka dot onesies to bow ties to ones like these with his monogram.  All still matching the gold/dark blue color scheme.  

After brunch, we were able to walk around downtown and do some window shopping/browsing.  Then we headed a few blocks down to the spa to end our day.  

Everyone at the spa was friendly and accommodating.  They were a huge help for me with coordinating everything.  And answered all of my questions and made any changes I had up until the day.

and can we please talk about how amazing my two pregnant BFF's look?  If I'm ever pregnant, I hope that I look as great as these two.  

their first official "meeting"
Hadley Day Woodward (left) due August 28th

Jack Charles "Charlie" McClain (right) due July 8th

It was a fun and perfect day and I would totally plan a day like this all over again.