photo diary: i planned my bff's bachelorette

Some people say "you'll only be a bride once," but the only thing I know for sure at this point is that I'm only gonna be a Maid of Honor, for my lifelong best friend, one time. I've gotta go all out! 

I've been planning her bachelorette party for several months now, and of course I was like "OMG this is gonna look so cute and I'm gonna take so many pictures and it's gonna be such a good blog." Then real life happens and I live in the moment and I forget about work and well- I have crappy phone pics again. 

Crappy phone pics > No pics... and this first one is pretty damn good to be honest.

This is our semi-new trademark pose, which was obviously perfect for this.

Kelly and I used to carpool to gym every day for like a decade or something. We've been through a lot of life changes, struggles, moves, and everything else life throws at you, but never fought. Her first kiss was the first love of my life [in preteen years] and I didn't even start a slam book against her. That's real friendship. 

Now she's engaged to a man who lets her stay young and happy, what we've always said we'll always be... and it's time to celebrate that!

As a lover of everything 'Merica and red, white and blue, I knew that had to be the theme. I've seen some for "Red, White, and Bride," but that doesn't even make sense. The bride is white, ya stupids! I went with "Red, BRIDE, and Blue," had her dress in white, the rest of us in red and blue. Because she had people coming from literally every corner and coast of the US, we went with a fun place in the middle: Austin. 

I've never had to plan something to suit a diverse group of unknowns and holy bleep, I'm glad I'm only doing this once. In the end, I figured the best way to do a little bit of everything and keep the bride happy was to have an awesome party house to hang at one day, and city activities planned for the next. 

AirBNB is the best way to go, and I found some lists of suggested houses on the Google machine, and ultimately decided on this "MANSION IN BUDA," complete with a pool, game room, and beds for a solid 14 people.

It wasn't the cleanest house you'll ever step in, but the owners sure know how to throw a party. Look at this addition/game room/club!

Opposite side views. Be sure to note the "Sex Beds" on the bottom right.

The pool had tons of rocks to jump off of, perfect for a group of gymnasts.

As for decor, I bought a ton of balloons, lanterns, a pin the peen on Willy game, and other little things from this party store straight outta China. I ordered a few months in advance so they came with plenty of time, and the balloons were only about $1-1.50 a piece, even for large letters that said BRIDE. I bought a helium tank once I got to Texas, but turns out those tanks aren't strong enough to make the foil balloons float, I guess. PINTEREST FAIL. I also splurged on some coozies from etsy, and didn't catch the spelling error until Kel saw them. Go figure. 

I also created a pretty simple Snapchat filter that I had activated for a few of the locations I knew we'd be at during a certain time. [Click here if you wanna see/download it]

Now, the bride loves her some water hangs, and Austin was perfect for that. We started the weekend [after they made a stop in Waco to visit the home of Chip and Joanna] at Barton Springs Pool. I am SO JEALOUS this place doesn't exist near me. It's a fresh, clean, natural spring with huge lawns surrounding it, and even a diving board. No picture did it justice. 

Dinner was at a nearby food truck park, because Austin, then a house party full of real Beirut, air hockey, pool, and dancing under a disco ball.

Day two was spent by the pool before heading to the city. In 2017, one must visit as many murals as possible for the most shareable pics. I found a list here, starred them on Google, and made the rounds. The two most famous [i love you so much and Austin] were a little outside of downtown, but worth it. 

We had dinner downtown before heading to a pedal tavern, which took us to the tiniest bar in Texas and a ton of other bars that are perfect for a group and/or anyone with ADD; They have games and food and dancing and the best of all the worlds. If you saw my Snaps, that's good. You saw the party. This blog will not. 

It was a Bachelorette party with only a little bit of cheese, a noticeable theme without being obnoxious, and as much of the bride's favorite things and people as possible. If it were mine, I would have had way more peen and obnoxiousness, but I tried to remember what I learned before. 

And now, I can breathe a little. Kinda. For like a week until I need to put all the finishing plans on my 30th birthday party that happens one month from today.

love,
elizabethany


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bachelorette party DIYs

This past weekend I took my monthly trip to my old home of Morgantown, WV for my girl's bachelorette party! It was the first time I've been to a bachelorette since college, so I wanted to actually help out this time. I decided to take it upon myself to create some bar fun. 

A couple years back I remember someone asking me to help them with a photo hunt of sorts. They had a list of things they had to complete that sounded so fun! That was a must. 

I created this one. Each color was a different number of points, from 1-4, in order of black, pink, silver and gold. Some were generic and some were personal to the couple.

It's kind of plain, but I printed them out on sparkly paper that I got at Michael's and they looked perfect. The prize was a simple martini glass filled with condoms and airplane bottles. That's what's important for such parties, right?!?

Unfortunately, everyone was drunk enough by the time we got out that I was the only one that really went for it. Got a lot of the items, got on the mic to do a toast and ask for more.... basically called game over from the beginning.

I should learn to be less intense sometimes.... maybe.

On Pinterest, I saw these personalized tats that were perfect. They said you had to order them from Etsy, but I decided to research a DIY version. Turns out, all you need to do is order tattoo paper for like $3 a sheet and, as the bride said, YOU HAVE ENDLESS FUN! 

They printed out kinda blurry because I didn't make the Photoshop file big enough, but they still looked great once they were transferred on!

With the other sheet, I made some fun ones to define us in a way. For the bride, the bridesmaids, and the single people who can do all the real penis activities that night. [If you ever want to print these out yourself, you have to use the backwards one.. which is why I'm sharing it.]

Because I'm classy, I put mine on my neck. 

They came right off the next morning, almost like a sticker. Pretty sweet. I think I'll be ordering more of this paper. All you do is print it out, put the adhesive on, and BAM! PARTY TIME, YO!

It was a prettyyyy solid weekend that made me feel like a cougar around all the younger college kids but also like I can still hang with all of them.

What I've needed to come to terms with is that you keep your damn mouth shut when it's the Bachelorette's weekend. What she wants to do, you do. Whether that be raging, napping, eating all the things, etc etc. I'm so used to planning activities that sometimes it's hard for me not to suggest things.

I'm growing up..... like .02% a day.

love,
elizabethany

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nifty: bras you need in your life now

Normally I'm the kinda girl that goes to Target and spends $10 whenever a new bra is needed... but these here booby pushers need to be in my life.

First up: The Boobypack. "The bra-fanny pack."



I mean, it's not really a fanny pack at all... it's just a tankini that stores your stuff... but I'm all for it! Plus, it comes in 'Merica design!

Probably the best part about them is that they're water resistant. You could take them to the beach or the pool, wear em as a bathing suit, and have all your stuff right up in your boobs [hopefully helping to push them up for added cleavage].

They're not super cheap, but let's be honest: You've spent more than this on purses and bathing suits separately.

Next: The light-up bra.



Sure, they're made for raves and crazy ragers, but I'm thinking about Halloween that's less than 3 months away. I'm also thinking about wearing these under a sheer shirt or really whenever I feel like being the life of a party/club, which is always.

Also: Imagine a full bachelorette party wearing these and the wigs?! How. freaking. great. 

I'm pretty sure they're worth every dollar of $55+, but you could also get your own bra and buy their lights to attach on your own. 

BONUS: They have light-up ties, hoodies, and fur. 

Okay, so both of things are targeted towards people who rave or go to EDM shows, but even if you don't- they're freaking great ideas. 

So uh... Sugar Daddy... where you at?

love,

elizabethany

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