Category Archives: Amy’s Thoughts

The Perfect Guy

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A few weeks ago I was digging through some old photos and high school memorabilia to make a slide show for their wedding reception and ran into this gem…

It’s like a teenager’s dream board for the Perfect Guy. I mean seriously… who wouldn’t love a guy who “won’t get weird on you” or who “buys you stuff”? Especially when there’s “nothing you can do to mess things up”.

Before Ashley met Greg, she was dating someone else and asked me one day if I liked him… If I thought he was “the one”.

I said no.

I mean he was nice enough… for someone else. But no. He wasn’t the one for her.

Of course, she burst into tears and told me I never liked anyone she dated… that there wasn’t a perfect guy… that I needed to stop being so negative.

I told her I was sorry, but that she needed to find a guy that works as hard to make her happy as she works to make him happy. I told her that would be the guy for her.

She said that guy didn’t exist. I said he did. I can’t remember if she hugged me or not. I’m guessing not.

Then one day she met Greg. It took about a year for them to date and a bit more to figure it all out, but one day she called me to tell me that she came home from work to a surprise from Greg… a set of pink golf clubs for no reason at all, except that he wanted her to learn to golf so they could do it together.

He wanted to golf with her. He bought her pink golf clubs. Pink. For no reason.

Suddenly I knew. This was the perfect guy. For her.

A few months later she told me she that she now knew what I meant way back then. Back when I told her she needed to find someone who worked as hard to make her happy as she works to make him happy.

I may have teared up a bit and we definitely hugged. I thought my heart would burst with happiness for her.

So last week when I found the dream board of the perfect guy buried deep in a bin of teenage memories, I knew I had to make this…

I laminated it, forgot to get a better photo and gave them both to her this past weekend at her super fun bachelorette party…

and as we all raised our glasses for a toast before she takes on the world with Greg by her side, my heart swelled again… because she really did find the perfect guy – the perfect guy for her. xo Amy

 

Planning a Bridal Shower

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I love crafting, planning and creating fun, beautiful things. I love things that match and don’t match, but still match in a fun kind of way. I love friends and parties and a cup of coffee. I love a good love story, happily-ever-after weddings and planning a wedding.

Have you met my daughter Ashley? She’s smart, beautiful, hard working, thoughtful and sweet. I highly recommend having a daughter just like her. Ashley has met her prince charming – his name is Greg and they are about to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. She could not be happier…

We’ve been knee-deep in wedding planning, but I took a break recently to co-host a shower for her at my home this past Sunday, with her future mother-in-law and fiance Greg’s two sisters. It was such a beautiful, sunny, perfect day and there’s so many things to share with you that I’ve decided to make this week all about the details.  Who knew hosting a bridal shower could be so much fun?

Some of you may be saying whoooaaa… “it’s not appropriate to throw a shower for your daughter”, but I can promise you – I’ve looked into that. The idea for a large shower originally came from my friend Lynne. She, along with her son’s future mother-in-law, hosted a bridal shower last year for Lauren, her future daughter-in-law. Until then, I had never entertained the concept of having one big shower, but was so intrigued.

A quick google search confirmed that it’s a new trend for the mother-of-the-bride to throw a shower for her daughter and according to Emily Post Etiquette,  it really is okay. Ashley loved the idea of having one big shower with friends and family from both sides and we thought it would be fun that everyone could meet each other before the wedding.

Pitching in to help was Ashley’s maid of honor (mom of a toddler and three-week old adorable baby girl), the bridesmaids and other friends who brought fruit for the mimosa bar, Servati’s baked pretzels with spinach dip, a healthy vegetable tray, cucumber sandwiches, seared salmon and tuna, a yummy salsa and more. It definitely was a group effort that came together seamlessly. The food was delicious… I’d show you a photo, but it didn’t occur to me to snap a picture until the food was long gone.

Guests included friends of Ashley, Sandy (Greg’s mom) and I, along with family from both sides. Most of the guests didn’t know each other before Sunday. We love that they have had the chance to meet and chat prior to the wedding.

The only people missing were friends and family from out-of-town and a few relatives from my mom’s side of the family that were invited the week before to an intimate brunch/shower for nine hosted by my Aunt Shirley at her home a few weeks ago. Ashley’s great Aunt, Betty Jane, would have been overwhelmed at a large shower, but the small gathering that included her sisters, their daughters and daughter-in-laws was just perfect for her. It was such lovely afternoon with a yummy menu and beautiful details. We all had such a great time catching up with each other…

Shirley’s shower was themed in patterns of black and white… This past weekend it was all about shades of pink, green and sky blue. Think princess, prince, frogs, castles and carriages. I’ll give you a close up of the details each day this week, but for now, here’s a sneak peek…

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There were so many awesome gifts… the designer in me loved how well they coordinated with the banner in the background. Isn’t it adorable? I made that with my new favorite toy tool… a silhouette cameo that I got for Christmas. It was so much fun to create banners, garland, labels and more with the happily ever after themed card stock I found at Hobby Lobby.

Of course a party wouldn’t be complete without some festive tissue poms and lanterns…

Ashley sent me a link for a mimosa bar she saw on Pinterest. We decided to create our own and it was a huge hit…

We wanted some fun glasses, so Greg’s mom got 4 dozen mason jars, Ashlee (my son’s fiance – yep, there’s another wedding in the future -yay!) found some hot pink straws and I came up with an idea for colorful name tags to help guests keep track of their drinks…

Confession: At times, I may or may not have a hard time letting people do things… some might use the term control freak or perfectionist… I prefer the term executive detail coordinator, but you would be proud of me. Greg’s sister Gina offered to do the games and prizes and although it was slightly painful for a few seconds, I graciously handed her full control – full, as in from that point forward, I didn’t ask a word about it – ever… I trusted her impeccably and boy, was I was glad I did… she did an amazing job. She brought these little mini rose bushes as prizes… how cute are they?

The dining room was home to the sweet table. We provided “to-go” bags and made everyone promise to take ALL of the sweets home with them to help ensure I fit into a smaller sized dress next month. Thankfully, we had dutiful guests and these plates were emptied by the end of the day…

along with all the other serving dishes on the table…

In decorating news, I finally got a new chandelier and dimmer in my dining room. It was looking all “look at me” and glam – dripping with crystals above the sweets table…

Tip: I highly recommend having at least one party a year… it’s a surefire way to get things done around the house. I painted a ceiling medallion at midnight last week to match the antique bronze finish of the chandelier before we hung it. I love, love, love how it turned out. That’s a  DIY “how-to” topic for next week!

All in all, it really was a perfect day, because seriously… how could it not be perfect with a guest list that included 55+ of the most fabulous women in Ashley’s life? Check back  tomorrow for the mimosa bar and mason jar details! xo Amy

Inspiration by Gandhi: Action Expresses Priorities

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I love to-do lists… they make me feel good. There’s no doubt that if you take time to write down all the things you need to do… all those large and small things that are cluttering up your busy little mind, you will almost instantly feel better. Unfortunately, that good feeling doesn’t last for long because the truth is, a to-do list is only as strong as the action that follows it.

I’ve added two new dimension to my to-do lists lately and I find that I am really liking them. Every Sunday night or Monday morning, I try to sit down and do this…

  1. Write a short term to-do list of what I need/want to accomplish for the week.
  2. Create a priority list of what needs to be focused on above everything else.
  3. Develop a plan of action backed with a commitment to get it done.

To-Do Lists

I currently have a number of them. The topics can change each year and some include long and short term goals. My current lists are work, personal, home and wedding.

Priority List

This recently added list has really helped step up my productivity. Each week I review my current to-do lists and create a master priority list naming with projects I need to tackle and complete ASAP. This list has no regard for what I prefer to do, rather it focuses on what must be done… now.

Action List

My action list takes everything a step further. I develop a plan of action for the week penciling in what needs to be done and when. It includes the specific day(s) that I will tackle a work or personal project, when I’ll workout and when I aim to complete a project. I may have to re-evaluate half-way through the week to allow for unexpected things that come up, but I’m finding this is really working for me.

The bottom line here is writing to-do lists will make you feel good, but they are really nothing more than fluff. The real fun begins when you can start checking off those lists because you’ve defined priorities and taken action.

xo Amy

 

 

 

 

Simply for the Sake of Beauty

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Do you have something in you home just because it’s beautiful?

William Morris once said…

Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.

A few weeks ago I brought something into my home that I love. She’s beautiful and I’m smitten every single time I look at her.

I wish she was more useful to me… trust me I’ve tried, but have had to settle for adding learning how to play her to my bucket list. In the mean time I’m okay with her just being eye candy to an empty little corner of my home.

For the last 10 years, this corner has been home to our Christmas tree. Other than that it’s been empty… as if waiting for the day my cousin would call and ask if I had a home for her.

Of course I said yes. She belonged to my grandmother who brought her into their home 78 years ago. She had her at hello.  They were instant friends.

A few weeks ago the best piano movers in Cincinnati delivered her to me…

They patiently moved her around until she was in the perfect spot…

Then the nicest man - Lou Proske, a first violinist of the Dayton Philharmonic Symphony, stopped by to visit. He listened to her and made sure her sweet little voice was perfectly tuned…

Once everyone left, I sat down like my grandmother must have the day she received her beautiful Howard Baby Grand. I stroked her ivory keys and remembered my grandmother’s beautiful Victorian home complete with a three-story turret, frosted glass wall sconces and velvet tufted sofa. I heard love and laughter… felt joy from memories that will be forever engraved in my mind…

The story from my Uncle is that my grandmother sat down and began to play beautifully, without any formal training. Maybe that would happen for me? Those piano lessons during a brief year of my life long ago never really clicked, but maybe now I would realize a hidden talent buried deep down inside of me… or maybe not. <sigh>

For now,  I am going to have to settle for just loving her and occasionally listening to her beautiful sounds when my aunt or friends stop by to play. xo Amy

P.S. If you live in the Cincinnati area and need a piano tuner, leave a comment and I’ll give you Lou’s contact information! I would highly recommend both him and the movers! Both are reasonably priced and do an excellent job!

 

A Valentine Pay-It-Forward Kind of Day

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In the past, I have been really, really bad about correspondence. For example, I love getting and sending out Christmas cards. If you sent me one this year… I so very much appreciated it and at the end of the holidays, packed it away with the rest of our Christmas treasures and apologize that you didn’t get one in return.

Each year I have the best of intentions.  There’s always a box of cards on my desk ready to sign, address and mail – yet every year, December 25th comes and goes without a single card sent out. I hate that.

This year is going to be better. Yes, I’ve missed a few birthday’s already, but I semi-passed the Valentine’s Day test – my family members in Cincinnati should get their cards today, although I’m pretty sure that Tyler and Jaimie in NYC and my brother’s family in Maryland, won’t get theirs till tomorrow or Saturday. Ugh.

After getting my valentine cards in the mail, there was one card left….

In the spirit of Pay-it-Forward week…I decided to give it to my favorite greeter at Wal-Mart. He’s an older gentleman… a gentle soul, with a bit of stutter and a genuine smile for everyone who walks through the doors. If you are in a rush, you will be past him before you can hear him say ”Hello, how are you? Welcome to Wal-mart”. In fact, you’d probably be half-way into the store before he finished, because it takes him a bit of time to get those words out. Can you imagine the inner strength it must take to be a greeter with a stutter? I really admire that about him.

I’m almost always in a hurry when I run into Wal-mart, but when I see him at the door, I slow it down so I can hear every single word he has to say. It’s always the same… “Hello, how are you? Welcome to Wal-mart”.

I saw him at door on Christmas Eve and gave him a hug. It just happened. I actually hugged him without thinking… that’s just who I am, but he was so surprised… and happy. It made me feel good. Funny how that works. So today I am bringing him a Valentine’s Day card and inside I wrote “Thank you for making my day a little bit brighter each time I see your smile at Wal-mart”.

I hope it makes him feel good, because giving this card to him is going to make my day. xo Amy

Want to see the most awesome video about an adorable six year old paying it forward? Click here!

Inspiration by Gandhi: Learn As If You’ll Live Forever

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Do you remember counting the days till you graduated from high school or college and thinking you couldn’t wait till you were done? The thought of no more papers to write, projects to finish or tests to study for was pretty darn exciting, wasn’t it? In a few days we would be free…

Yea right.

Soon we’re learning a new job, how to stretch a paycheck, to be a good parent, use a new smart phone.

The world becomes our classroom and we are students of life.

Some where along the line we begin to appreciate that learning is an adventure and the ability to learn is a gift. One that keeps us forever busy, entertained and alive.

I hope you learn something fun today. xo Amy

 

Inspiration by Gandhi: Where there is Love, there is Life

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Can you imagine a life without love? Love comes in many forms… a warm smile, a gentle hug or a word of encouragement can make a bleary day seem sunny. When it’s all said and done, we’re not going to be worried about how big our house is, if we have granite counter tops or designer clothing. It will be about loving and being loved.

Maybe most important of all is to give love… to your child, a partner, a pet, a friend or a stranger. The funny thing about giving love is it almost always comes back ten-fold. If you don’t feel loved, try spreading love to the world around you and I promise you will feel love back. Wouldn’t it be a beautiful world if we all focused more on loving each other? In the end, I think that’s what life is really about. Love. xo Amy

 

 

No, I’m Not Getting a Flu Shot.

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I am confused. When my kids were small, flu shots were for the sick and the elderly. By around 2010 or 2011 flu shots were recommended for babies, the sick and the elderly. Last winter I noticed the CDC was now recommending flu shots for everyone over six months of age… there was even a discussion that a flu shot would be “required”. I must say that caught my attention. Really? Someone would or could “make” me get a flu shot? That didn’t sit with me well at all. Especially, since the predicted flu epidemic of 2011-12 never really hit us as predicted AND as I remember, the flu shot didn’t end up covering the strain of the flu going  around at the time.

What changed from the original push for a flu shot for the sick and elderly to now urging everyone to get one? I’ve never heard an explanation for that.

My mom told me she didn’t feel good today. When I mentioned maybe she was coming down with the flu, she said “Oh no, it can’t be that… I’ve had a flu shot”. I didn’t mention that I the other day I read this over at Disease Proof – Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s blog…

Please consider that over 200 viruses cause influenza and influenza-like illness; both produce the same symptoms, such as fever, headache, aches and pains, cough, and runny nose.  Laboratory tests are required for doctors to tell the two illnesses apart.  Both illnesses last for days and both rarely lead to death or serious illness. Even in the best-case scenario, vaccines might be effective against only some influenza A and B, but those represent less than 10% of all circulating viruses.

Those of us that are healthy need not worry about the dangers of the flu anyway.  No treatment, drug or vaccine is without risk, and you only have to read the circular with the vaccine to be informed of those clear risks. ~ Dr. Fuhrman

The key word to me here is healthy. If you eat right, sleep well and take precautions such as washing hands and keeping your hands away from your face, according to Dr. Fuhrman, you are at less risk for catching the flu. If you are healthy and happen to catch it, my guess is you will survive. I’m just not a fan of putting a virus into my system.

So what does Dr. Fuhrman say is the best for the prevention of the flu? G-Bombs… greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds. Hmmm… when give the choice of a vaccine with known side effects or healthy food with no known side effects, I’m going with the latter. Thankfully, I have that choice. xo Amy

A Simple Journal

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My dear grandmother, bless her heart, was a know-it-all. She was never wrong. Ever. The classic story my father will tell you is about the time she insisted she knew where a street was and my father disagreed with her. To settle the argument he pulled out a map to prove he was right, which according to the map he was right… but did my grandmother concede that she was wrong? Not a chance. To her, it was obvious the map was wrong! Yep. that was my grandmother.

My mother is a different kind of know-it-all. Arguments with her about something that happened in the past are easy to resolve because to prove that she is correct (or wrong) all she has to do is dig through her years of calendars to see when a past event took place. It’s actually kind of fun to look back with her to see what we were doing five, ten or twenty years ago.

In the past I have tried to keep a journal, but find I just don’t really have the time to keep up with it on a daily basis. It seems that when I have journaled in the past it has been to get me through a dark or stressful time in my life – keeping a journal is something I highly recommend to relieve stress and help you work through tough times.

Last week I saw a post by Ashley over at Little Blue Boo, one of my favorite creative bloggers. She shared that she writes in a Five Year Journal. What caught my attention is that there’s just enough space for a sentence or two each day…

Each page has a place for something about this day for the next five years. I think it’s brilliant. Of course, I ordered one from Amazon immediately…

So far I’ve written about having my grandmother’s beautiful 78-year-old baby grand piano delivered to my house and Les Miserable with a friend last Friday, playing Rummy-O (my new favorite game) with my parents on Saturday night while my husband was fishing in Cumberland and what I gave to my son’s finance tonight to help with her ulcer – rejuvelac, aloe vera juice, licorice capsules and bromelain.

Another option for this 5 year journal would be to use it as a daily gratitude book. If you’re in a bit of a funk or even a huge funk – every night before you go to bed write down three things about the day that you are grateful for. Do it for a week and I promise it will make you feel better. It’s like one big hug from the universe and is a sure-fire way to pick your spirits up. Even on the worst of days you’ll find you have something to be grateful for… the stranger that held the door for you at the store or just the fact that you survived the day.

Personally, I can’t wait to pull this book out five years from now and reflect on what I was doing in 2013… who knows, maybe one day I’ll use it to prove to my kids that I was right about something :)  xo Amy

Inspiration by Gandhi: What You Think, You Become

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Every great motivational speaker will tell you that one of the first steps to becoming who you want to be is to visualize yourself as the person you want to become. They’ll tell you to project positive thoughts – that what you think will eventually become your reality.

For instance, if you’re a baseball player and want to become a major league hitter, you should visualize yourself hitting the ball out of the park and imagine yourself as a great batter. Experts will tell you that this technique really does work.

One of the best places to explore this concept is through a book called The Secret. The Secret is chock-full of wisdom from philosophers and modern-day teachers – men and women who agree that the key to achieving health, wealth and happiness is through purposeful intention or thought which is what this week’s Gandhi reflection is about.

A few weeks ago I wrote down some personal goals for the year. Today it’s time to translate those written goals into daily intentional thoughts. xo Amy