Granny's Lil Birthday Party

Ever since I threw my Norris Grandparents their 60th Wedding Anniversary Celebration I've been wanting to throw my lil Granny Morris a birthday party for some time now.  She's just the sweetest little lady and is blown away by the smallest of gestures. 

So we threw her a 79th Morning Birthday Brunch!! 

We had to get creative with our space, because our two bedroom condo is a bit challenging to host celebrations in....even with only 7 Guests.

For Granny all the frills were a most.... mimosas, Granny slideshows on the flat screen, flowers with peacock feathers everywhere...

And this is part of the blog post where you'll think I'm crazy.  Like I said hosting even a small party in our condo is a challenge, so....somehow I talked my amazing husband into moving our king size bed out of the bedroom so that I could use this space to entertain.... and it turned out so lovely and comfortable.

We showered the birthday girl with gifts...

And delicious "Southern" catering from Crackers and Company

Granny was blown away.....she's so cute

Chase surprised her with a poem written all about her...

She of course cried......

And my doggies are completely in love with her, so they had to join in the fun too...

Following Brunch we did some toasting to Granny and played a
"Granny" Game. 

The goal was to come up with as many "Granny" sayings you could think of. She's very unique with her "Southern" ways and the things that come out of her mouth sometimes are hysterical!

Mom made Granny a birthday cake, completely from scratch!

And we sang to our little Birthday Girl.

And she made a wish..

And life was good on that Sunday Morning in May. 

The celebration ended with the attempt of capturing a family photo.  It was comical how challenging of a task this was for this group~ but at last....we "kind' of got the shot.

Good Times, Love Lady ~ Cheers to Granny!

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Mother's Day 2011

Mother's Day Weekend Started Off: 

With a visit at Granny's House.....

Followed by some quality time with Grandma later that evening....

And....a noisy little weenie dog~ she needs to work on her manners...

The next day...on actual Mother's Day, we decided last minute to take a trip down to Tucson.

And somehow on the way down we ended up at the Ostrich Ranch in Picacho Peak.

It was quite random... Justin met a new Girlfriend. 

This was one of the weirdest thing I've ever seen........

Ostriches scare me.....

Winds were blowing it was hot and we were covered in dust.... just an odd, odd, experience.

Later we arrived in Tucson... and shopped the shops and had lunch

Here's Momma and her kiddos....

It was a hot and dusty day in Tucson, but we had fun......

I had to convince my brother to pose in this shot, I thought it was cool...Chase thinks I'm a dork too.

After we got back to CG from Tucson, it was time for some relaxing outside and time for Mom to open
her Mother's Day gifts....

Meet Sweet Cheeks, my parents Cockatiel...

For Mother's Day, mom had requested a basket for her beach crusier and a mirror....and additon I thought it was only fitting that she also get a squeaky horn.

Meet Katie Bug ~ My Parents 11year old Jack Russell

And Olive, she always insists on stealing the show.....

Happy Mother's Day to my little Momma, I Love You!!!!!!

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"Berried" Treasure Pie

A New Traditon Begins... to Honor a Very Special Mother....

Barbara always made these delicious pies on Thanksgiving and Christmas for the family.  She always made several of them, making sure that there was plenty for each of her children to take home and enjoy for the following week.

I could never pass up Barb's Berried Treasure Pie ~ it's just heavenly and was just one of the many things Barb did to show love. 

The night before Mother's Day we decided to make Barbara's "Berried Treasure Pies."

I was truly excited because although I had savored the taste many times during the special holidays, I had never made one before.  So Justin and I decided we would make

a night out of it.  (This Marks # 2 on 101 in 1001)


Complete with all things that Barb Loved....

Wine Spritzers and Jazz Music

We decided to make 3 Pies Total ~ One for Granny, One for Mom, and One for Grandma...and then delivered them the following day. 

And of course "Dings" and "Dolls" got in on the action too.

We hope to make this a yearly tradition and in the future share with our little ones special stories
 about "Grandma Starr"

Happy Mother's Day Mom Starr ~ we love you and we miss you.

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Hot Lanta

I had such a wonderful time when I went to Georgia to visit one of most people in this world:

Miss Aimee Sloan. 

It was just one of those times in life when I knew I just needed some one on one good ole Aimee Sloan girlfriend time.  I always have a blast with her, the most fun is had typically when we're not doing much of anything. 

We laugh...a lot, sometimes we cry a little, and we lounge around, we over analyze, we talk about boys, we spend ridiculousy amounts of time putting on make up and typically listen to the same songs over and over and over again.  Oh, and one more important thing: we eat!! 

There was a period of time in our college years when we spent nearly every day together. 

Now that the years have passed, times have changed, our time together is far and few ~

but I always appreciate those times!

Georgia was just lovely!  It was my first time to the "South" so I really appreciated all the GREEN!! 

 We did so many fun things....attended 12 Stone ~ Aimee's Sunday hot spot, Walked in the Tribble Mill, drove through the Georgia Bible belt.   I was loving all the hills and winding roads....

And...we ate good ole Southern Food.  It was my first time experiencing

~ Sweet Tea, Green Fried Tomatoes. and Collared Greens~

The home Aimee is currently living in with some darling roommates is just stunning.... I was so impressed by the size of the homes in Georgia ~ so big and so beautiful!!

This was the view from her back deck

We did a lot of driving.... even through some of the scary streets of downtown Atlanta. 

One afternoon we ended up at the famous Gladys Knight's Chicken and Waffles ~ and of course

 ate Chicken and Waffles. 

Then more driving...even scarier because Aimee was driving...

Our last night we out for a special dinner at this charming little restruant in the city called: 

Cafe Intermezzo  

It was a short visit...but so much fun to catch up and see the sights of the South

And though we're umm.... 30 now...

It's nice to know....that not much really changes....

We just get a little less more mature with age..... and dare I say...perhaps better looking??? ;) ha!

Love You Shlonger, Let's Plan Another Trip Soon!!!!

And this marks off # 18 on my 101 in 1001!!

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Easter 2011

~Another Norris Easter~

Complete with ....

Horses and Farm Life

Tons of People, Always Some New Faces

Some Not So Friendly Competition

Relay Games Galore

Loads of Sarcasm

Several Wisecracks

And the Ring Leaders of this Crazy Crew ~Grandpa and Grandma

They are the hearts and founders of all this madness, aren't they cute???

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Operation Motivation

Okay, so I'm ashamed to say that this past week of my life has probably been the most unproductive week of the year so far for me, and today I'm feeling so totally behind and defeated.

It's just one of those weeks where my mind has been a million different places, and because of that my productivity level is non-existent.

Maybe it's the heat~ 111 degrees does tend to kill the motivation factor, or maybe it's because I feel like the entire first half of the year I was climbing up a mountain now I've reached the top....and it's time to start climbing the next one, the bigger, rockier, most strenuous one.

So in an effort to get my wheels turning again, I thought it might be a good idea to take a look at my 101 in 1001 list. I've completed a good handful of goals but haven't crossed them off yet ~ I created this weird rule in my head that I couldn't cross them off until I was able to blog about them ~ well today, I'm breaking my rule ~whatever will help me get out of this funk.

101s I've Completed

(Photos/Blog Posts, Coming Soon)

2. Make a Buried Treasured Pie on a Special Holiday ( Such a special night, photos coming soon)
18. Visit Aimee in Georgia (had a blast down south with the Asian Persuasion)
40. Redesign the layout of my personal blog~incorporating more of my personality (I've been dinking with this forever and there are still a few quirks that bug me, but oh well)
44. Finalize my company name and structure (Happy Dance!!)
47. Get my OWN awesome website launched! (Done, not a 100% satisfied, but it's a good start)
48. Have one of my future client's wedding/event featured in a local magazine (Yeah, SO HAPPY to cross this one off, so exciting!!!)

101s in the current "works"

12. Send out a disc of images & slideshow to the Norris family (from Grams & Gramps 50th) (Thanks to my Daddyo this project is in the hands of a great videographer who's going to fuse all these fun little clips together into a beautiful keepsake for the family)
17. Visit Trevor in Berkeley (Can't wait!)
30. Have a "getting dirty wedding" photo session in celebration of our 5 Year Wedding Anniversary (okay, so it didn't happen before our anniversary, but it will happen in the near future)
32. Throw Justin Starr, Doctor of Physical Therapy an awesome party when he graduates!! (35 Days Away, I can't believe this is actually happening)
33. Achieve first ideal weight goal prior to getting pregnant ( # 33 Goal, I hate you....but I will conquer you, and very soon, I'm getting closer but not there yet!!!)
35. Read three pregnancy books and blog about each (in the works / 2 down)
42. Read three books to improve my business and blog about them (1 down)
64. Travel: Travel to another country (I hope, I hope, I hope, I'll know super soon!!)
71. Music: Buy a new No Doubt album...hello, it's been forever since the last one, I can't wait (according to the last Rolling Stone's article on ND, their new album should be released in the next 2 months, can't wait for some new songs to inspire!!)
87. Allow Justin to do a fashion photo shoot with me as his model (this goes hand in hand with a few other goals, but everything goes as planned.... look out! )
94. Move out of our Condo and into a Home!!! ( This will be Amazing!!!)
95. Work Out Consecutively for 5 WEEKS in a row, at least 5 times a week (Uggg, # 95, I have attempted you many times, but always seem to get a little burned out after the first 2 weeks, but I will stomp you)

"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Be Sure to Wear...

...Flowers in Your Hair

So stoked!  We officially just bought our San Franciso/Berkeley tickets! 

Trevor, my brother in law lives in Berkeley and we've been wanting to visit him for quite awhile now....and now we're making it happen!!

I'm so excited I LOVE San Fran and Bay Area~ such a cool vibe.  I've been once before and Justin's been twice before, but now that we know what to expect I think we're even more excited. 

So many fun things to do!  For some odd reason I'm especially excited about the Cable Cars~ we didn't get to do them last time...so this time I'm determined!! 

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Anyone getting hitched???

Come Join: JStarr at my home venue!!!

  Wednesday June 29th, 2011

5:30pm to 7:30pm

DON'T MISS THIS EVENT! Our Bridal Open House VENDOR Night only comes twice a year!! Take a break from the heat and stressful wedding planning and join us for a night of complimentary hors d'oeuvres and champagne! We would love for you just to come out and relax and hopefully imagine how lovely your wedding day can be at our classic and charming golf course venue.

To ensure that we have enough food, please RSVP at (480) 654-5652 or jstarr@eaglegolf.com

In addition to the delicious food and fun give-aways, we will also have all of our favorite vendors onsite for you to meet!

Don't miss the fun!!!

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