Going to the Chapel

It feels like FOREVER since I have had a chance to blog.  The past few weeks have been very busy.  I finished my first year of teaching!  Immediately after school ended, I went into wedding mode to help my best friend Joy.  We have been doing lots of wedding crafts and errands for her upcoming wedding on June 2nd.  Her bachelorette party was this weekend!  I decided that I was going to make garters for all of the guests.  I am no expert sewer, but I think they turned out to be pretty cute:

If you want to make a garter of your own, you will need the following materials:

• 3/4 in. elastic cut to the circumference of the wearer's leg
• your choice of fabric cut into a strip (should be 4 1/2 in. wide and about 5 in. longer then the elastic so that it will gather)
• 1/2 in. ribbon of your choice cut to the same length as the fabric strip (you will need additional ribbon to make the bow on the front)

To get started, you will need to lay out your fabric and hem up the short side to keep the material from fraying.

Then you should fold the fabric in half lengthwise (wrong-side out) and pin the top and bottom together.  Sew along those pins.  Once the seem is secured, push the fabric right-side out.  It will look like a tube.

Next, you will press the fabric tub flat with the new seem in the middle.  Pin the center of the ribbon down the middle of the seem (it should go through both sides of the fabric).  Sew a straight stitch along the pins.  Start the stitch a quarter of an inch from the edge so that one end can be tucked into the other later.  You may need to cut off some excess ribbon after this step.

Now the fabric tube should have ribbon attached and be divided into two sections with the center stitch.  Push the elastic through the top section of the tube.  Your work will be made easier here if you attach a safety pin to one end and pull that through.  Once the elastic is through, you will need to stitch the two ends of the elastic together with a zigzag stitch.  Be sure the elastic is going to be easily pulled apart when worn.

You're almost there!  Spread the gathering evenly around the garter.  It's time to tuck one end of the fabric into the other and secure it with a stitch so that the elastic will not be visible.  All that is left is to tie a bow and hand stitch it where the two ends of the tube come together.  Here we are enjoying them...

In case some of you are planning a bachelorette party of your own, here are some other little things I did for the party.

Messages on the bride-to-be's car for the ride down.

Gotta have a naughty cake.  I chose to stick to a boxed cake mix (Duncan Hines Triple Chocolate Decadent Cake Mix) with whipped chocolate icing and some Hershey's chocolate bar shavings for effect.  ;)

I wanted the bride to have a guest book to keep that she might actually use.  So I found a sexy magazine for all the girls to look through, find their favorite page, and leave the bride some LOVE advice.  I decided to make Joy's garter a little different from the rest as well.

We played a few games throughout the night starting with telling some embarrassing stories.  We had a special way to indicate whose turn it was.  The "winner" (with the best story) got to keep it.

We also did a "cherry dive" as one of our games.  The girls had 10 seconds to eat as many cherries as they could from their bowls using only their mouths.

Here's our luck winner.  Her prize: a pair of edible cherry panties and pasties.

I personalized plastic champagne glasses with everyone's names so that we could tell them apart.  I wanted to make sure I was having my non-alcoholic champagne and not someone else's.

With my extra garter fabric, I made a little banner that said "Joy's Last Fling" using iron-on letters.

There was a lot more fun that night that I will keep secret.  Here is my update:

How far along? 18 weeks

Total weight gain: I have definitely made up for not gaining initially.  I am up 4 pounds now.

Maternity clothes? I'm in maternity shorts and my regular dresses.

Stretch marks? No.

Sleep: Still tossing and turning most nights.

Best moment this week: There have been so many amazing moments since my last post.  My husband's first Mother's Day gift to me was a pair of opal earrings (our baby's birthstone).  My last day of school in my first year of teaching was great.  My in-laws purchased the glider for the nursery!  We have also enjoyed some relaxation at the lake.  Here's a picture of us there on Memorial Day.

Miss Anything? Being able to lay on my stomach.  Especially when I am trying to get a little sun for this upcoming wedding.

Movement: I keep thinking that I feel little flutters, but I'm not sure if it's the baby or just gas.

Food cravings: Frozen fruit and Popsicles.

Food aversions: Beans...they do not like me.

Gender: ????  I can't wait to be able to answer this question.  We have an ultrasound scheduled for this Thursday.  Hopefully the baby will not be shy and will show us the goods.

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Some lower back pain.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Looking forward to: Our ultrasound on Thursday and sharing the news with our family at dinner that night.  AND...Joy's Wedding!  I can't believe it's finally here.  I know it's going to be so beautiful and lots of fun.

Hopefully I will be able to update more regularly now that things are starting to slow down.  Have a great week everyone!