Go Big Blue!

We have a wonderful group of college friends, and we try to get together as much as possible. Living in four different cities complicates this factor, as does the fact that some of our guy friends refuse to maintain calendars longer than a few days in advance (cough, Joe!).

This is the same group of friends that we have Friends Christmas with every year, but seeing each other once a year just isn't enough. Someone suggested a tailgate to bridge the gap between our other gatherings - and I'm so glad that we did!

Katie and I like to keep our tailgating classy. Thanks for the glasses, Lois!

My handsome hubby and I

I managed to find my friend Claire and snuggle this handsome fellow. How cute is Charlie? I love him.

Zac's dad came down to see us. It was a giant party!

Hooray for long lost friends rediscovered!

Go Cats! Even though they lost embarrassingly at the end. Bummer.

I hope you had a great weekend, too!

We've been busy!

We have had a really busy - but fun! - month. It seems like we've had fun things going on every weekend, and sometimes on weeknights in between.

Last weekend, my in-laws came to visit us. My father-in-law is a prostate cancer survivor, so when we found out the Great Prostate Cancer Challenge was coming to Cincinnati, we were quick to sign up.

Zac and I each ran the 5K (you can't see Derby, but he's off to the side! He ran with me), and my in-laws both walked the whole 3.1 miles. They're awesome!

It was pretty dreary for the first half of the day, but by the time we crossed the finish line, it was sunny and starting to warm up.

Just curious - who do you like Zac looks more like?

Naptime was a necessity after waking up early to run a 5K, but so was what happened next... Beer Fest!! We headed downtown to Fountain Square for an outdoor beer festival. They had a ton of booths, and there's absolutely no way we could have used our 25 sample tickets -- each!

My beautiful friend Tory modeling the sizes of our cups!

A view of the square

We had a blast, but man.... there's a chance we're getting too old for all this fun! I'm beat! More to come soon...

A beautiful rainbow birthday

My friend Vicki threw the most gorgeous birthday party for her sweet daughter Lucia, and as soon as I saw the pictures, I was begging her to let me share it with you. You might want to sit down for this -- it's incredible. Vicki and her husband adopted Lucia, and became her forever family earlier this year. I don't think I've ever met a happier, more loving family before. They're incredible.

And Lucia is one of the cutest babies I've ever seen. But I digress.

These were the outdoor decorations. How sweet! Vicki said Lucia's favorite part was the pinwheels!

Did you notice the rainbow flower boxes in the picture above? I know. Totally exquisite.

Absolutely everything was rainbow. And adorable.

Vicki made the sweetest garland with the weekly pictures she's been taking of Lucia. How cool is that??

This girl thought of everything.

The sweet dessert table... pun totally intended.

How cute are these??

How fun is this kid's craft table set up with pony beads, coloring, and fruit loop lollipops?

Vicki didn't miss a single detail. She is so adorable.

Even Mom and Dad dressed for the occasion! And seriously - how cute is that baby?!?

Is this not the cutest, most wonderful first birthday party you've ever seen? I love all of Vicki's homemade touches and the small details that absolutely pull everything together (um, flower boxes? To die for).

Happy birthday, sweet Lucia! Thanks to Vicki for letting me share the details of this gorgeous party. I told her she should go into business - I would totally hire her!

A Happy Mother's Day Brunch

One of the best things about being finished with school is how much extra time I feel like I have. I'm sure it will fill up quickly, but for now, I feel like I just have extra hours in my day. And it's awesome.

Zac and I invited our families to our house for a Mother's Day Brunch. We live just about halfway between both of our parents, which is ideal for us. We love when everyone comes to our house. We don't have to travel, and I love entertaining.

We had so much fun planning this brunch, but it was a lot of work. I have a new appreciation for the graduation parties my mother threw us - which had about twenty times the amount of guests. We really wanted it to be special for our moms, so we spent a lot of time preparing.

Our menu was very Pinterest inspired, of course...

• Mini breakfast casseroles
• Mini coffee cakes - a recipe I can't give you because it's from my mom's good friend who doesn't want her to have it!
• Veggie tray
• Fruit kabobs
• Warm brie cups
• Salted white chocolate chip cookies
• Make your own fruit pizzas

I found navy blue and hot pink tablecloths at Homegoods, and I used that to set the theme for the brunch.

The drink station. We had bloody marys, mimosas, coffee, soda, and lemon water.

Check out the skewers on the fruit kabobs. I colored water with food coloring and soaked them for a few hours and voila! Hot pink to match the theme!

These mason jars belonged to my grandmother, who gave them to me last summer. I love them!! If you ever put flowers in a mason jar, use small carnations like these. They look perfect!

HOW CUTE ARE THESE?!? I made them using this pan.

I found these flower balloons on Pinterest. Do you like my take on them?

My pretty mom enjoying a mini fruit pizza.

My wonderful mother in law opening her presents.

Our moms loved their brunch, and we had a blast spending time with our families. Do you need proof of how hard we worked? This is what I found about 30 minutes after everyone had left: