Strings Attached

Our Mother/ Daughter Luncheon is coming up at church and the theme this year is "Our Mother's Apron." We're supposed to wear our favorite apron to the lunch, so, of course, I've been thinking about and "researching" aprons (I call spending hours on Pinterest looking at stuff "researching" so I don't have to feel guilty....). There are some really cute ones out there!

One of the great things about aprons (besides the whole protecting your clothes thing) is that they are relatively easy to make and there are tons of free patterns all over the internet. I like full aprons better than just the half ones, but that's because I'm an incredible messy cook (and eater, but we don't need to bring that up!). As you'll see in the pictures I posted below, there are so many ways to make an apron as fancy or as plain as you like. C'mon, jump on the bandwagon... you know you want to sit down and sew an apron right now! ;)

I actually own a couple of aprons already- I have a vintage one that my grandma made, one that I made, and a few from my sister's stint at Starbucks (she passed them along to me because I am addicted to, I mean, kind of like, Starbucks coffee). But, since I've been finding all of these really cool ideas and patterns, I'm getting together with a friend to sew some aprons for her and her daughters... and I'll probably end up making one for me, too. I can't wait to see what we come up with!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, is a round up of different apron styles and ideas:

Apron I made for my mom-in-law using scraps
of Nathanael's uniform

Vintage apron made by my Grandma

Ruffly apron I made from calico and some scraps of pink cotton 

Source: craftinessisnotoptional.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Ruffly half- apron from Craftiness Is Not Optional

Source: shabbyapple.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Cute apron for sale at Shabby Apple

Source: onjustacoupleacres.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Gathering apron from Reformation Acres

Source: nothingbutpennycandy.tumblr.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Vintage style apron with fun little accents- love the pom pom trim! From Pretty Little Things.

And if you're like me and just can't get your fill of aprons, check out my apron board on Pinterest!

30 Years of Love

So... I blew my New Year's Resolution of posting on here once a week... but I had a good excuse, I promise!! I've been busy planning a surprise get- together for my parents' 30th anniversary! It was TONS of fun to plan, and they were so surprised! It was pretty low- key, and it was just family, but it was a lot of fun to plan something to honor two of my favorite people. 30 years is a long time to stay together, and they are still very in love with each other. It's so neat to see how much they enjoy just being around each other now that they have the house all to themselves. I'm very proud of them & grateful for the example that they show!

I have to admit, I had to tone down my party planning OCD when it came to this little shindig... I love to try to come up with ways to "totally transform" spaces and make every single little detail "go" with the theme... BUT, my parents are not those kind of people. And... I didn't want to be really stressed out about something that was supposed to be a fun and relaxed time. So, I decided that we'd go with a green & blue theme (my parents' favorite colors)... and candy!! Lots of candy!! ;) The table ended up looking a little more "Easter" than I wanted it to, but I think it still was very pretty!

Something else really fun that we did was make a banner saying "30 Years of Love" and clothespinned it up with pictures and balloons. It turned out so nice! (My nephew Ryan helped me with the pictures, and my brother, Robert, and  my husband, Nathanael, helped with the balloons... and tons more, but more about that later!). I really love how it turned out!

A BIG part of any Perkins family gathering is food... and this food was delicious!! My brother grilled steaks and hot dogs, my sister made potato salad, and I made a couple of desserts (apple pie and Tom Selleck). It was all kinds of delicious! Plus, we all ate more than our fair share of the candy scattered on the tables, so we were all so stuffed!

After dinner, we moved to the carport and watched a slideshow of pictures from my parents' lives together. The slideshow was 15 minutes long, so I'll spare you the extended version, but here's a little sample of the "movie." The original had tons more pictures and even a video, all set to some good ol' bluegrass music.

It was a great night! It's always fun to get together with family, but it was especially sweet to be able to honor my parents. I can't wait until their 50th!

A HUGE thank you to Robert & Amanda for hosting the party at their house... especially since Amanda is about 7 1/2 months pregnant... with twins!! They did a bunch of work and preparation to make our little get- together possible. Robert did the grilling and did a bunch of setup work, and made sure we had the projector all ready to go.
Thank you to Amanda, Luanne, and Valerie for sending pics and video for the slideshow (and Noni for letting me "steal" some pics off her facebook). Also, thank you to Valerie bringing the potato salad & chips- yummy!
A BIG thanks to my husband for putting up with weeks of obsessive worrying about whether everything would go smoothly... and all the work he did at the actual party... and for taking the pictures!

Like I said, it was so much fun, and I know my parents enjoyed themselves. I even saw my dad crying a little during the slideshow... ;) I'm so glad that we could all make this sweet memory together!