i'm an aunt!

my sister had a baby! i still can't believe it! mary emerson leigh barger made her way into the world on friday, january 17th, at 11:10am. 5 pounds and 15 ounces and 19.5 inches long - she is perfect!

the baby came 2.5 weeks early but both momma & baby are happy & healthy. i am so proud of my sister and so happy she can drink wine again! here's what mary emerson has been up to since she showed up... 

{our first picture together!}

{friday}

{friday}

{saturday}

{headed home on sunday!}

{monday}

{tuesday}

the first grandchild for all 7 grandparents and first niece for her 3 aunts... i'm convinced this baby will never learn to walk. welcome to our family, m.e. - we already love you so much!

my sister is having a baby girl! {gender reveal party}

saturday night, my sister leigh and her hubby derrick invited the family over for their gender reveal party! they have known since last tuesday and made us wait another 5 days to find out - it was torture! i helped craft the decorations during the day and then we headed over for dinner around 6pm.

after we watched my gamecocks lose, we all sat outside for a lovely dinner before heading inside for dessert. leigh passed out cupcakes for all of us and we counted down to find out what baby b is - a baby girl {video below}! this is the first grandchild for both families - so needless to say she will be one spoiled kid.

congrats leigh & derrick - i can't wait to meet my niece - i promise to learn to change diapers before february gets here. i love y'all!

i love surprises! {well, surprising other people}

last week i wrote about how i had a few surprises for the weekend. well operation surprise my mom & stepdad is now complete so i wanted to share!

surprise # 1: my cousin! her & i planned her trip down about a month ago and i've kept quiet ever since. after having drinks with my parents on friday, i raced home to meet lauren who drove down from DC. saturday morning we showed up at my mom's house & everyone was shocked & so happy to see her. i love having her around - i wish she lived here!

surprise #2: these adorable little cookies i had made for the housewarming party. i contacted a local baker a few weeks ago and asked if she could make a custom cookie that looked like their house. i sent her a picture & they turned out beautifully. thanks to terry at sugarbaker's in belmont for the cookies - they were a hit!

surprise #3: spa day! i had a half day on monday from working on sunday so i scheduled a very late "mother's day/thank you for all you do for me" spa day for my momma & i. i kidnapped her around 1pm & made her guess where we were going the whole drive. we went to the fabulous ballantyne spa and lounged in the hot tub, steam room & sauna before our appointments. i got a  massage & my mom got a 50 minute facial. i loved spending the day with her & just relaxing!

mary ann turns 50 - lilly pulitzer themed party!

last friday night was my stepmom's 50th birthday bash! oh what a night! we have been talking about doing this party for years now, and in a funny turn of events, we ended up having the party at the venue where i work. so it was a little bit stressful planning a monumental party at my place of business for my stepmom, and inviting pretty much everyone i know. i couldn't have asked for a more perfect evening!

if you know my stepmom, you know she is a walking ad for lilly pulitzer. so when we were coming up with the theme of the party, it wasn't a hard decision. my stepmom is one of the kindest, most beautiful souls i know, and we had about 130 people show up to celebrate her birthday. you know you're doing something right when that many people want to celebrate with you. i hope it was a night she will cherish forever!

i will let the beautiful pictures & captions do the rest of the talking. all photographs taken by the amazing love shutter photography - i am still drooling over how beautiful these turned out!

{the invites}

 

 

 

 

 

happy birthday mary ann :)

 

a huge shout out to all the vendors that helped make this night possible. i'm so lucky to work in an industry with so many talented people who make my job easy. thank you for helping to create such a beautiful evening for my family & friends! also, to my staff, you're incredible. thank you for being so professional and fun-loving, i appreciate y'all on a daily basis but was so proud of y'all on friday. lastly, thank you to my daddy for giving me the reigns on this. it was an important evening - thank you for trusting me enough to be "the boss." thank you for loving your beautiful wife & our family so much everyday. i love you!

 

venue: the duke mansion

photographers: love shutter

linens: party reflections & classic party rentals

cupcake stand: party reflections

florals/table décor: lynette with the bloom room

band: hot sauce

cupcakes: tizzerts

white couches: AFR