It was a Pinterest Inspired 50th Anniversary Party!

Saturday was my parent's 50th Anniversary and I utilized Pinterest to the max for the anniversary party that my three sisters and I organized. Below are photos of what we did, along with the Pinterest links that inspired. My area of contribution was designing the invitation and figuring out decorations.

First we used this fun photo for our invitations:

I spent a lot of time looking for an online invitation/website service that would allow using our own photo image and have control over the invitation text (font, size, etc). We ended up using RSVPHQ.com and were fairly happy with the service. We could see who had opened the email, who had opened the web invite and the RSVP results were customizable. There's a number of subscription/purchase options. We paid about $22 because we planned to email more than 100 people. Other online services had lovely templates (RSVPHQ does not), but the space for text was quite limited/restrictive or had terribly small print--which is not idea for my parent's generation.

Many, many people said they loved the photo-- we did too, which is why we used it!

Pinterest is full of ideas for anniversary party ideas You can just search varieties of "50th Wedding Anniversary" and you'll find lots of pins and/or boards that you can pin or follow.

At my parent's 40th anniversary party (held in their home), my older sister modeled my mom's wedding dress, wrinkles and all. My younger sister even modeled the bridesmaid dress that my aunt had saved from all those years ago.

Wedding Dress
This year, Pinterest inspired the idea of again having my mom's dress on display. I unsuccessfully posted on Facebook that I was looking to borrow a dress form. I was running out of hope until about a month ago, when one of my mom's neighbors had a dress form for sale at their yard sale. I told them, if it doesn't sell, we'd love to borrow it or rent it. Unfortunately it sold, but another neighbor found out that we wanted to borrow one and she offered her antique one. So below is a picture of my mom's 50 year old wedding dress on that form. My mom sewed her own dress and at least one or more of her bridesmaids' dresses. It's held up well for not having been professionally preserved.

 We found some neutral colored fabric to cover up the dress form which was a dark brown. The form was a little thicker around the waist (it was not adjustable) and a little smaller in the bust line, but we made it work!  Because the room was very white (floors, walls, ceiling), we found a carpet mat at the church to help add a little contrast under the dress. Here's one of the Pinterest links that inspired me. People seemed to enjoy seeing it. We also put a picture of my mom in her dress on the table adjacent to the dress.


Memory Table


I also made a gigantic 50 out of four sheets of posterboard on which I stuck photos of my parents (and pics of them with children and grandchildren). I would recommend using form-core instead, as the posterboard had a mind of it's own and my dad had to add fishing line to keep the '5' from sagging funny. We hung each number with string and used three removable 3M hooks each (afterwards four came off fine, two pulled off paint from wall). It took a LOT of photos to cover these large numbers, but it turned out well as it had a nice big effect on the large blank wall. It was a lot of work to engineer and affix the photos. Also, we did not want to use original photos, so we scanned and printed photos to use for this. Here is the Pinterest Pin that inspired me (we even incorporated the balloons). It's hard to tell here, but there are white Christmas lights under the Memory Table that shine through the ivory table cloths. Yes, that was Pinterest inspired as well.

Those same photos on the big 50 were also put into a looping slideshow on my laptop and run through my flat screen TV (Pinterest link here). On the table we also had misc. family photos of our family and wedding photos of my parents, their wedding album and the scrapbook from their 40th wedding anniversary party. 50 years ago two family friends painted (watercolor) scenes on to their actual wedding invitation and gave them to my parents for wedding gifts, and those were already framed, so we displayed those. Plus I put some gold colored candies in dishes on this table.

I really wanted there to be several focus areas so that the guests weren't all clustered in one area of the room. We knew ahead of time that the main focus areas would be 1) wherever my parents where, 2) the memory/photo table, and 3) the dessert/beverage table.

50 Fun Facts

We were expecting about 70 people, some of whom did not know any of the other guests. I knew there might be some who would enjoy themselves more (and feel less awkward) if we gave them something to DO. So when I saw some Pinterest Pins (here and here and here) for 50 Fun Facts, I knew I wanted to attempt it... not only as something for guests to do... but also as a fun way to share interesting or silly information about my parents, our family or 1963.

We started with the first six Fun Facts at the memory table (see above photo) and then hung them - in order- on the walls of the Fellowship Hall. The room was so big and so white, that having these little black/white cards on the walls helped to define the room a bit better and utilize the space. The guests said they REALLY enjoyed walking around and reading the numbered fact cards. As my sisters and I bumped into guests during the party, they'd often mention that they enjoyed going around and reading the cards. Some even mentioned that it gave them something to talk about with other guests. Coming up with 50 facts that were relevant, mostly truthful and coordinated with a numbers 1-50 was not easy. The first thirty went fairly quickly, but then it took some creativity! I'd guess that it took me over a month to gather data, with long-distance help from my sisters, subtly questioning my parents about details--who were a little confused initially as to what we were doing... but we finally nailed down the final three around 11pm the night before the party. We were stuck on numbers 38, 42 and 44. We had to fudge a little bit. :)  I will give examples at the bottom of this post of some of ours.

Dessert Table
My older sister was responsible for planning and coordinating details for the dessert table. We had decided during the planning conference calls (between sisters) that we'd do a cake and punch reception since it would make things a lot less stressful the day of the party and keep costs low. Plus that's exactly the type of reception that my parent's had 50 years ago!  My mom requested lemon pound cake (my dad's favorite) and that we serve the same punch they had at their reception. A lady at my mom's church made the wedding cake. We also had dishes with nuts and those pastel buttercreme mints, which is what my parents had at their original wedding reception. We served coffee in insulated carafes so that the table didn't need to be near an outlet.

We used texture gold table cloths that my mom already owned (easily found at Target/Walmart at Thanksgiving/Christmas time) and then used the family punch bowl that my mom had given to her church awhile back. We ripped up some ivy from my mom's yard--as that what was done 50 years ago--and placed it on the dessert table. And as you can see in the above photo, we placed a wedding photo of my parents with their cake. At their 40th anniversary party we used the original topper from their wedding cake, but for their 50th, we decided to go with a flower topper which turned out quite nice and added a nice bit of color to the table!  (Be sure to note the 50 Fun Facts on the wall.)

And here's the happy couple! They don't look like they've been married 50 years do they? They've been vegans for over 10 years, so we think that's what keeps them looking so young!

I wish I had thought to move their wedding picture so that it was included in this picture.

Here's a couple of my sisters, my mom and my nieces working on the dessert table before the party started.

This is where the guys were during the final prep. This probably kept them sane and on their best behavior. ;)  Notice that the table in the background is littered with pizza boxes and drinks. This was probably the stroke of genius of the entire day. Our family in notoriously late, so in order to make sure everyone, including my parents, were at the church ON TIME for the party we decided to have a pizza lunch AT the church an hour and a half before the party was scheduled to start. This allowed for any last minute preparations/decorations, food prep to be done at the same time we were eating lunch.

My niece modeling with the punch. It was so good. The punch was a mix of cider, tea, pineapple juice, miscellaneous spices and Sprite (and probably other stuff, I never saw the recipe)!










Here's my sister and I trying to figure out how to cut the cake. (I'm in the orange sweater). The down side to having a wedding cake at an open house reception is that you kinda have to start tearing the cake apart the moment that guests start to arrive. We had an open house type of party, so that people felt free to come/go when they needed to. This meant there was no actual program or anything to organize.





My first cake-cutting endeavor. It stressed me out, so I turned over my knife to my sister's guy friend, who did a much better job! ha!



**I should note here, that each of the four daughters is wearing a gold/mustard colored name tag. My mom asked that the girls wear name tags and designate our birth order. And because no one wants to be labeled "#2 daughter" the sisters came up with an additional descriptor for our name tags just for fun. Here they are:

Laure,  First Daughter, "Best all-around"
Donna,  Second Daughter, "The Favorite"
Joy, Third Daughter, "Most Anticipated"
Rachel, Fourth Final Daughter, "We FINALLY got it right!"

The space wasn't ideal for candid photos. The space was so white and light, that the cameras couldn't decide if flash was needed or not. Candids were often blurry.  My sisters and I were busy greeting people and making sure the dessert table was in good order, that taking pictures was often an afterthought. Most of the pictures here were taken at the very beginning of the party with my camera, so there aren't as many guests in the shots. We did have a great turn-out! My aunt took pictures during second half of the party but I haven't seen any of those yet. I might add those in later if she has better or more detailed photos. We did have a photographer from my parents church take more formal group photos towards the end (he wasn't able to come until the last half hour of the party). We had hoped for some outdoor photos but it was simply too windy.

 Because adult sisters are still sisters. This is my "They Finally Got it Right!" sister.

My dad and my uncle.

This is my "Best All-Around" sister talking to my mom's Maid of Honor and my mom's sister.

I have three sisters, and somehow "The Favorite" wasn't in any of these pictures. It might be she was the one taking pictures with my camera??? If I could do one thing differently, I think it would have been to be more conscientious about having a non-family member take some photos. We didn't want the expense of hiring anyone, but these days there are so many people with fancy cameras, that we surely could have asked a friend to come and take photographs.

Afterwards we encouraged out of town guests (majority family members) to join us for an early dinner at the buffet restaurant that was less than a 1/4 mile from the church. That gave us more time with family and we didn't have to worry about figuring out meal preparation at my parent's house. Then afterwards we all went directly back to the church and cleaned up. My brother-in-laws and nephews swept the floors and reset the room with tables and chairs according to how the church wanted it left.

Consensus from everyone is that things went really well, looked great, and was enjoyable.  Guests kept commenting that mom my was just beaming and she obviously was enjoying every moment! That's exactly what we wanted! 

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Okay, here's a sampling of our 50 Fun Facts:

3 - Number of Virginia cities they've lived in as a married couple
4 - Number of daughters
6 - Average US household income in 1963 (in thousands)
7 - Number of cats and dogs owned in the past 50 years
8 - Month when J & V were engaged (August 23, 1963)
10 - Number of different mailing addresses as a married couple
16 - Age of oldest granchild, Z----.
17 - Year of marriage when they kept their Christmas tree up for an entire year
23 - Age of V when she married Jess
24 - Number of years J was in school
30 - Years of marriage when they sent their youngest child off to college.
39 - Age of third daughter, Joy (we did this for all children, grandchildren)
42 -  Number of hair appliances J has repaired in past 50 years
43 - Number of years V has planted a vegetable garden
44 - Number of tomato cages V uses annually in her garden
50- YEARS! or 600 months or 2,609 weeks or 18,263 days or ... hours... minutes

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This year I decided to attempt one Pinterest Project per month. I've been fairly successful. This Anniversary Party easily covered my October and November Projects! :)  I'm hoping to go back at some point and document my 2013 Pinterest-Inspired Projects. But that will need to be another day.

Six Months In

Just realized I've been WORKING as a nurse for six months. Crazy, how time flies!

The most common question that I've gotten over the past six months is "So are you loving nursing?" It's a really tough question, 1) because the asker really wants to believe that I do and 2) I really want to say yes, but I can't.  I'm too new and too inexperienced to say I love it. I usually reply "I have good days and I have bad days." I think I'll start to enjoy it more when I stop feeling anxious before my first shift. First shifts of the week are always hard because I'm getting all new patients. Day 2 and 3, I'm a bit more relaxed because I've already cared for several of my patients for at least one night and know their routines and behaviors.

Night shift isn't so bad. It's the sleeping during the day part. haha!  Actually MOST of the time I get at least five-six hours after my shifts, but after a particularly hard shift, I often can't sleep more than a few hours because I wake up and my mind starts thinking about work and it's hard to go back to sleep. It's those times that I wish I had some good sleeping meds. Ambien\helps me get to sleep, not stay asleep (when I actually take it!).  But honestly, I have no desire to work day shift at a hospital. On dayshift, the number of people on the unit seems to double at times with doctors, physical therapy, respiratory therapy, case management,administration, pharmacists, and of course, family and visitors! Plus patients often are coming and going from tests and procedures or are discharged or admitted. Night shift is generally much calmer! Don't get me wrong, it can still be busy-- there are nights when I don't get to sit down (except for my 30 minute lunch). What I like is that the night shift nurses really help each other out. Our busy times wax and wane, so as available, we can help each other out. I'm so new that I still ask a ton of questions or need help with something something I've not done before or done only a couple times (blood warmer, feeding pump, wound care, etc...) and it would be hard on day shift to get help. I'm not sure how new nurses cope on day-shift. Perhaps they just learn faster because they see more and are forced to figure it out. But I'm not wired for it - at least in the hospital environment. Certainly I'd prefer to work when the majority work and to sleep when the majority sleeps, but for now night shift is where I need to be (and it pays more). When life circumstances change (like going back to school), I'll have to rethink things, and maybe by then I'll be ready to move into a different type of nursing that will be more accomodating to a personal life. Twelve hours shifts are tough too, but I DO love that I only work three days a week!

I've been a complete slacker getting to the gym. After completing my three work days, I'm usually so exhausted and it's tough to get motivated to leave the house. Previously I found that I was most successful in getting to the gym when I went right before or right after work or school. But on the days that I'm working I don't want to go to the gym after my shift b/c I'm dead tired and just want to go to bed. And if I go to the gym before my shift, then I will end up not getting enough sleep. So that leaves my days off...and I don't have a regular routine for those days. Maybe that's what I need to figure out.

My goal this year is to do one creative project a month. So far I'm ahead. My January project was Pinterest inspired. When I was in Liberia, I saved a few bottle caps from the soft drinks. Liberia has it's own Coca-Cola bottling company, so all the caps have the price in Liberian dollars on them. Anyways, I turned them into refrigerator magnets by gluing craft magnets inside. I love them. Then the same weekend, I made what I hoped was going to be a case/tote for my new laptop which is super thin...but the tote is HUGE and was actually designed to hold a sleeve (from same pattern package) for the laptop. So I have this nice, new homemade tote and still nothing to hold/protect my laptop! Oh well, at least I don't need to carry my laptop to work or school these days. Guess I should pay more attention to actual dimensions than to what the photo on the pattern package looks like! Ha! So I guess my next creative project should be to make the sleeve and HOPE that it works, but the tote was soooo much work that I'm a little worn out and might have to push the sleeve to spring.  Other things I want to sew this year include: seatbelt covers, hairbands, flat sheet into fitted sheet, and maybe another totebag. Not sure about after that. Perhaps I'll re-learn to crochet. I did a little in highschool, but I've forgotten anything I learned. I tried knitting and that was a disaster. Perhaps I could try it again, but it's hard to get psyched up when "casting on" defeated me the first time.

Well, I probably should be thinking about going to bed as I'm back to work tomorrow. Somehow I was scheduled for four days in a row. Can't remember if I've worked four in a row before. This past week I worked two shifts and they were pretty miserable/crazy. So I'm hoping this weekend is much calmer!