Kitchen Gadget and Gift Card Shower....

     This past Sunday some dear friends from my church threw me a Kitchen Gadget and Gift Card shower to help get me setup for my new apartment.  When they originally approached me with the idea I was overwhelmed and excited because I'd never heard of a shower like this before and I was touched that they'd want to do this for me!
     We had gorgeous weather on Sunday with warm temperatures and sunshine.  It was the perfect day to get together with a bunch of girls to eat, talk, and really get me excited about my new place. 
     They went all out on the food.  We had everything from chocolate covered strawberries to this delicious pimento cheese that Joy slaved in the kitchen for hours and hours making (or maybe it was from a local store, but who really needs to know that?). 
     I think everyone would agree that the stars of the shower were all the decadent cupcakes that Joni made.  Many of us knew that she was a fabulous baker, but she really outdid herself with these.  There were 3 different kinds: Coconut, Hummingbird with pineapple and banana, and Chocolate chip cheesecake.  All of them had this awesome cream cheese icing.  I think I'm drooling just thinking about them!  To top off the cupcakes she found these adorable kitchen gadget stickers.  And my favorite was the cupcake with a cute little key for my new apartment on it!

Here are a few pictures:

    Of course after eating it was time open gifts!  They got pretty creative with their gadgets, Paula even going so far as to use paper towels instead of tissue paper. :)  We were trying to come up with dishes I could make for them using all my new tools.  I could peel something, chop it, steam it, and then grate something on top of it- all while wearing my cute new apron that could almost pass as a dress!

     I had such a fun afternoon and felt so loved by these women in my life!  They blessed me by providing things that I otherwise wouldn't have had the funds to get for a while. 

Thank you for such a fun day ladies!  Of course I'll be returning the favor soon by having you all over to my new place!

Prom Project 2011

       In honor of Prom Project, I am writing this blog in Pink!

     This weekend marked the 7th year some amazingly, talented women from my church have pulled together Prom Project for 240 Jr. and Sr. High School girls in the Louisville area.  Without the donations of a dress, shoes, and jewelry these girls would not be able to go to their prom.  We all know that the tickets alone can be pricey, not to mention the dress, shoes, jewelry, makeup, hair, corsage, etc. I don't even want to think about how much I spent or, more realistically, had my parents spend for 1 evening of fun.

     The girls setup appointments this year and were assigned to a Personal Shopper (this was my job), much like the TLC show "Say Yes to the Dress".  From here we took them into the dress room where we evaluated what they were looking for, size, etc. and let them pick as many dresses to try on as they wanted.  Multiple trips back were a must to gain the ultimate experience, plus there were over 2000 dresses to choose from!

     After we found the perfect dress, it was onto the Shoe Boutique where size, color, and the ammount of sparkle were determined.  Our Shoe Boutique volunteers were awesome at personalizing the experience for each girl.  They would put the shoes on their feet and used their finger magic to get all the straps on and off each time.

    

     Last, but certainly not least was the Jewelry!  It was all organized by color so that the girls could easily find something to match their dresses and shoes.  Whether you wanted the huge dangly, jeweled earrings or a simple silver heart necklace, there was something for every style.  Once the girls picked out what they wanted it was wrapped up in a pretty bag or box by our volunteers and added to the girl's bag of goodies.

     There were so many other  facets of the evening from alterations, to entertaining girls waiting to be seen.  We had over 200 volunteers from our church participate and you could see the excitement and openness of heart in each face.  It was a great way to not only meet the girls we were helping, but also other volunteers.  Women can always talk about clothes and accessories.  Ooos and ahhs were heard at almost every turn!

     We all have stories from our Proms.  Some are filled with memories of a romantic evening with a high school sweetheart or others of us were just glad when it was over.  The more important stories that filled that halls of Prom Project were around life.  I was amazed at how willingly the 3 girls I spent time with throughout the evening opened up and shared their life experiences. 

     For one girl, her Prom was a way of saying goodbye to high school and embarking on the next chapter in her life.  She was engaged and had a 2 month old son and relayed to me all the plans for their future.  She'd gotten into a good nursing school in Massachusetts and her fiance had a job waiting for him.  She told our prayer team that she just wanted to provide a good life for her son.   I was amazed at her maturity!

     I am so grateful for this ministry and that I had the opportunity to participate this year.  I'm the first to volunteer to play dress-up with pretty things, but more importantly I was moved by the girls we were helping.  They walked in with emotions ranging from humble, excited, nervous, to self-conscious, but all of them left with a smile!  And that certainly made every second of my experience worth it! 

Have a great Prom Girls!