Karima's Baby Shower Invitations!

It seems like Karima's baby shower was so long ago with everything that's been going on!

I've was a busy bee cranking out all the necessities for our little party.

The invitations were definitely the most stressful to make because they set the theme for the party and it would be the first taste people would have of the shower.

After looking through pages and pages of baby shower invitations, I found this invitation on the Martha Stewart website that I loved and fit in with the theme.

And with nothing other than Paint and too much time, I edited the invitation to suit my needs

And added our own information to personalize it

I won't lie though, these invitations are not what I originally wanted. I wanted to hand make some invites that look like this:

I even bought all kinds of card stock for it and everything!

I bought light pastel colored card stock

And decorative card stock. I really really liked this card stock.

But what with having to pack everything up, going to interviews, and working, I didn't have any extra time to spend on hand-making invitations. 

But I think that they ended up being pretty cute anyways!

Everyone Has A Story

Yesterday I went to a pretty cool conference.

Chris, my Chick-fil-A's operator, took me and two other leaders to a workshop at Chick-Fil-A corporate. We got to listen to Mark Miller (the author of a ton of leadership books, who just so happens to work for Chick-fil-A), Dan Cathy (the president of Chick-fil-A for those of you who don't know), and a couple other speakers.

It was pretty instructional. I love seminars like this where I get to listen and learn (like TED Talks, I love TED talks!) to other people and grow from it.

We had a lovely talk about second mile service. I was actually pretty moved by this when we were given a Bible quote to go by on providing second mile service. At Chick-fil-A we're always working on this second mile service. It's getting refills for people that are sitting down, clearing their trays, walking trays out to people who are sitting down, etc. It's going that second mile to give exceptional service and blow people's minds away with high quality service.

But why?

Why go above and beyond to make someone's day?

Why do I, and my team, work so hard to make people happy? We bring out high chairs to people with kids, and carry out trays when we're slow or the guest is elderly or disabled. We make such a big deal about making eye contact and sharing a smile. We love getting the cow out to play with kids and we hand balloons out like it's profitable. We have umbrellas in the store, and are more than happy to walk people to and from their cars when it's raining. I have had my fair share of jobs, and I have never worked for a company that is so willing to bend over backwards to make the guest happy.

Why though? Why is it our pleasure to serve relentlessly like we do?

I always have, and so does my team. We go about our jobs with servants' hearts and it truly is our pleasure to serve. But I have never seen the "Why?" to what we do so beautifully depicted.

Take a moment to watch this video, it's amazing!

And it applies to anything and everything we do. It's not just at Chick-fil-A while serving guests that I need to keep this at the forefront of my mind. It's all day long. Every interaction I have needs to be preceded with this idea.

Everyone is going through something, and I don't know what it is. I don't know if the guy who just cut me off on the highway is rushing to get to the hospital to make it in time for his first child's birth. I don't know what's going on in the life of that lady who was rude to me at the supermarket, what if some tragic thing just happened in her life and I don't know? I have no idea what's going on with the cashier's life, and the huge difference a smile I give him could make.

I had a professor tell me something crazy once. He said: "If you think you have terrible struggles in your life, just look to your neighbor and you'll find someone struggling even more."

That statement has stuck with me over the years. No matter how bad of a day I'm having, I can't let that affect how I treat others. I never know if the person I'm letting it out on is having a worse day.

I learned a lot at the conference and I walked away with a ton more knowledge and inspiration than I had the day before, but this video just did it for me. It was too amazing and moving.

BABY FEVER

The baby shower was a success!

I plan on doing individual posts for the invitations and the cake, but the actual shower was AMAZING!!!

Jessica, Karina, and I spent all morning working our butts off making the diaper cake, putting the real cake together, baking cupcakes, making brigadeiro, setting out fruit trays, putting up decorations, cleaning, heating up nuggets, and more. We were still running around like chickens with their heads cut off when the guests started to arrive at 2.

But that's okay because it went smoothly afterwards!

The cake got lots of oohs and ahhs from everyone:

And the cupcakes were a pretty big hit too, especially the little baby booties.

The coolest thing, I thought, was the diaper cake Karina put together. Karima won't be needing to buy newborn diapers until her second child with all the diapers we got her!

Isn't it so cute??? It was my favorite decoration in the whole party!

And the party was also filled with babies! Baby Victoria will be the 4th baby born to a CFA team member in less than a year's span, and all of the three other ladies brought their babies. They were born in boy girl order too! There's me and baby Ariana. We played together for a whole 30 minutes and then she knocked out... I hope that someday my kids will be that easy!

Other than diapers, Karima got lots of goodies. She received a ton adorable baby girl outfits! She also got a few bonnets, bibs, teethers, shoes, socks, gloves, onesies, towels, and blankets. In the gifts there were also a plastic duckie, wipes, a comb, a brush, and a little thing to hang on her crib that says "The princess is sleeping." This little girl is going to be so cute and fashionable, you'll know she's my adopted niece!

I can't wait for Karima to have the baby and for me to finally meet Victoria!

MIA

So I've been MIA for a couple of crazy weeks.

And by crazy, I mean insane. Like not a second to spare insane.

Since I got back from Florida I've gone out a few times with friends, gone to the doctor, threw the baby shower, worked a TON, got a new job, worked some more, learned a whole new work environment, did some marketing stuff with CFA, finally started closing as a shift leader, reconnected with an old friend, moved back into my dorm, hung out with my mom, went back to school shopping, hosted a Girl Scout reunion, started school up again, and started working out. So yes, I'm exhausted and that's my excuse for not updating.

So now that I'm back, expect to hear about all that's been happening, because these past two weeks have been insanely full of goodies!

Disney Wedding Dresses

I'm on a Disney Wedding spree here, in case you didn't notice.

And I have probably visited this website more times than is healthy.

Everything on this website is like a dream come true. Seriously. For a wedding and Disney obsessed girl like me, this is the best web site in the world, as it provides me with the best of both worlds!

For the longest time, they only had two collections, and I have seriously looked at those dresses so many times that I think I have them memorized... But they just came out with a third collection!!!

Anyways, I'm going to share some of my favorites from each of the collections.

I'll start with the most recent Collection Three (Each of the collections includes a dress for each princess: Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, and Tiana, with the exception of Collection One, which does not include a dress for Rapunzel... she wasn't out yet when that collection came out)

First up we have my personal favorite princess, Belle*, although not my favorite dress. While the bodice is gorgeous, there's too much draping and pleating going on for my taste, although I do love the little gems on the tucks.

Next up we have Cinderella's dress. Extremely elegant. The bodice is super simple with the exception of a gorgeous crystal and pearl embellishment, and the skirt is absolutely stunning.

Here is Princess Rapunzel's dress. I love the simplicity and the beading, although I'm not a big fan of the skirt starting so low.

Princess Aurora is second only to Belle in my book. My cousin is named after her Prince Phillip,** named by me! And this dress is absolutely stunning. Like seriously, you have to go to the link and hover over the bodice to see the amazing detail in the little flowers embroidered on it. I'm not a big fan of the extra tulle on the waist, especially since her dress doesn't have all that extra frou frou in the first place.

Collection Two is my favorite of the collections and you'll soon see why.

First up, we have Princess Ariel, and honestly, this is probably my favorite of all the dresses. For a while, I thought this would be the dress I would be married in, but I've found a much better dress now that I can't share or else Luis will see it and we all know that's bad luck! Anyways, I love the one shoulder look, I'm a big fan of it in general. I also love how the whole dress bunches up right underneath the bodice and cascades down in those ruffles. It's definitely an unconventional wedding dress, and my taste has changed for my own personal choice of dress. However, this dress is still one of my favorites to look at and dream.

Next we have Belle again. That bejeweled corset bodice is gorgeous. I feel like anyone would shine in that. Although I would personally prefer a more traditional bodice as opposed to a corset. And, I don't like the top layer of tulle. If it were just the bottom layer of tulle, I would think it was the perfect skirt!

Simple is elegant, and this Princess Rapunzel dress screams that. I love everything about it! The dress is extremely simple, yet the sash is so refined and delicate that it makes the dress seem that much more elegant. I'm not sure how I feel about the swirled taffeta at the bottom, but it's still a gorgeous dress.

Here we have Snow White's dress. I will start off by saying that I hate that puff ball tulle with all my heart, but if you mentally remove it, the dress becomes stunning. The satin bodice is so elegant and beautiful. It wraps around so nicely, with the flower sash. And if you ignore the puff ball, the skirt is equally as beautiful and elegant.

I'm not a big fan of the bodices that end too low, but it works in this Tiana dress quite well. I love the crystal infused upper bodice, as well as the fluffy skirt at the bottom.

I only have three dresses to show from the first collection, but that's also the collection with the least amount of dresses, so I won't say it's my least favorite collection, especially since some of my favorite dresses are in it.

As simple as this Princess Jasmine dress is, it is stunning. I would never wear it to my own wedding, but please Disney, release this in different colors so I can wear it everywhere else!

Oh Aurora, how beautiful. I love the one shoulder effect. I love the fitted bodice. I love the crystal beading. I love the gossamer tulle skirt.

What isn't there to love about this Snow White gown? Apple blossoms cover the entire bodice, and they trail down into the skirt as well. The satin sash adds a level of elegance to the dress that really finishes the look. I love it!

The website also used to have a special bonus collection of only three dresses, but it's no longer on the site. Or at least I can't find it. I didn't really love any of the dresses in that special collection anyways, so I'm not complaining.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed my dream dress collection!

*If I were to go to Disney and play the role of one of the princesses, I would play Princess Belle. She is beautiful, a bookworm, and French. I'm a total bookworm and obsessed with French! We're a match made in Heaven!

**My cousin's name is spelled Phillipe, though.

Brunna's Book Club -- The Five Dysfuntions Of A Team

This week's book takes a break from all the fiction we've been reading

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni is a novel about growing in leadership. It's on the list of books recommended for Chick-fil-A leaders to read, so it's been on my to-read list for a while. When last Sunday I went out to eat with Deepa, I saw the field guide for this book in Kathy's car and we started talking about leadership books and all those fun business-y things. Lucky me, she had the audio tape for this book in her car and she was super kind to lend it to me! So I've been listening to it during all my car rides. I didn't think I was going to like an audio book, but it has actually been really nice.

Anyways, this fable is about DecisionTech's executive team. The company has been having some serious issues staying above water and the board of directors brings in Kathryn Petersen as the new CEO to straighten out the team and bring DecisionTech to the top of the market. 

The actual details of the story aren't really the important parts, although it is interesting to see how Kathryn manages to draw in her team of executives on board with her new way of seeing things, and teaching them how to be a proper team.

The real important part is finding out what the actual dysfunctions are, and the solutions to each dysfunction. I could sit here and list them all, but I found this picture that sums up the lesson of the book perfectly:

This picture has the dysfunctions on the left of the pyramid, and the solutions on the right, with the main topic in the center.

It's definitely a different type of book from the others I've been recommending, but it's definitely a worthwhile read, especially for anyone who works in a team setting (business, work, sports, etc etc).

Let me know what you think!

Universal Studios

So today's Book Club post is being rescheduled for tomorrow, because yesterday was too wonderful of a day to not post about!

We went to Universal Studios!

Well, first I arrived on the Megabus at 5am, got 3 hours of sleep, then went to Universal Studios. It was really fun! I went with my mom, Cinthia, Brian, and my cousin Marcia. We always manage to have a grand time together.

We started off with a quick Starbucks run, then went to the park. It's an amazing park with great special effects on all the rides that just make your mouth drop. 

We went on The Revenge of the Mummy rude, which was pretty awesome. It was one of those rides that when it started, I was expecting it to be a subtle, built-for-kids ride. I was pleased to be wrong. Right when you think the ride is going to across some doors, it falls backwards and a crazy wild ride begins! It was really fun, and it scared Marcia and my mom.

We also went on Twister, which is one of few rides in all of Orlando that I remember from when I came when I was little. And Shrek 4D was awesome! So many crazy surprises!

We left the park after those rides and I got to watch my not-so-little brother play basketball. They lost, but according to my mom it was the most points they've ever made in a game, so I'm proud of him. And my mommy added me to the family YMCA membership so now I can go to the Y to work out and do other recreational things for free in Atlanta. I'm excited! Hopefully, knowing that my mom is paying for my membership will encourage me to get up off of my lazy butt and go work out.

Finally, we went back to the park until 10:30 PM. We went on Disaster! and the Simpsons rides, which were really cool simulations. Then my mom got all emotional on ET, because she went on the exact same ride 20 years ago when she first came to the States, and I schooled everyone at the Men In Black ride, with 160,600 points. Cinthia came in second place with only 60,000. I was pretty proud of myself. 

Then while everyone else ate, Cinthia, Brian and I waited well over an hour in line at the Rock It ride, which was awesome. You go up in a 90 degree angle and then speed and turn throughout the entire park while listening to the song of your choice. Both Cinthia and I picked Pump It by Black Eyed Peas. After being tossed and turned, we joined the rest of them to stand another hour in line for Despicable Me. I haven't watched either one of the movies, but after going through that simulator, I'm in love. I want a minion for myself! And now I have to watch the movie.

We might be going back tonight just to go on Transformers and watch the fireworks, which will be nice. Having a season pass definitely has its perks.

Now for a lazy Sunday!

New Arrivals - Kate Spade

It's official.

I'm obsessed.

It's another Kate Spade post guys, #sorrynotsorry in advance.

And their new arrivals are labeled as a Lights, Camera, Action!, oldies cinema look! I was in love before I even looked!

Price: $448

This Olivia dress is my favorite of the dresses. Probably because it's the most colorful and reminiscent of summer, and I'm still in a summer wear mood. I love the cinched waist and the bright colors, plus it has a cute flirty skirt.

Price: $448

This Leah dress is beautiful, especially for a business setting. I love the high waisted pencil skirt and the cute tie-neck detail. If I could find a blazer of the same shade to throw over it, it would be perfect!

This Joyann dress required a front and back shot. Because as sleek and elegant as the front is...

Price: $378

...The back adds a whole nother level of sexiness to the dress. I absolutely love it! Especially that little bow right at the small of the back. Wonderful!

Price: $368

Then there's this Jazz skirt. It's beautiful, simple, and elegant. Two thumbs up from me!

Price: $458

I love this cute black purse. It's extremely sophisticated, perfect for the office! And the inside is lined with little bows. Too cute!

Price: $148

I'm loving statement necklaces more and more with each passing day, and this necklace is the kind of necklace that I would love to rock with a cute dress!

Price: $35

It's a clapboard iPhone case.. Need I say more? Love!

Price: 250

Kate Spade honestly has the best bangle watches ever. I really love this creme colored one. It would go well with so many outfits!

Price: $175

This one is really different from the bangle watches I usually like. The big face is usually a turn off for me, but I love how it's mostly black with just small details of white and gold. Too cute!

Price: $250

This Gold Bazooka one is just a guilty pleasure watch. It's gold with pink details, what's there not to love?? I'd probably never wear it, but it's cute to look at.

Price: $328

This Carrin Heel has me swooning. It would be perfect to wear to the office. Nude with black makes for a sophisticated color combination. Plus it'll go along with most outfits.

Price: $328

My favorite part about this Dijon Heel is that it has the cute Kate Spade bow at the front, but it's color choices are sophisticated enough that I could wear these with almost any suit to almost any business professional occasion. I love it!

Price: $298

Then we have the two Kalle Wedges! I love the elegance of this black one.

Price: $298

But this brown one would be perfect for a casual day, or even to wear with a cute sundress.

Price: $328

Out of everything, this one is the truest sign of an upcoming fall... But I can't be angry because this Rickee ankle boot is gorgeous! I would probably wear it with every single one of my fall and winter outfits if I owned it. Look at the cute bow on the zipper! Adorable! Plus it was made in Brasil! Can I please own this???

That's it for my favorites from the latest Kate Spade arrival. I swear they make each collection more beautiful than the last!

Fan Girl Problems - Kate Middleton

I have a slightly unhealthy love for Kate Middleton.

I just think her life is so fairy tale!

Like a story from Princess Diaries or Suddenly Royal!

Not quite though. Still, she was a 'commoner' and now she's married to the future king of England. That's pretty fairy tale to me.

Now she walks around wearing designer dresses, like these two Alexander McQueens:

She's so beautiful!

And she hangs out with the crown princess of Denmark!

Plus plenty of other lovely royals

Look at the happy ladies with their cute hats!

But that doesn't stop her from getting down and dirty, even when she's wearing heels!

She's always hanging out with normal people, and talking to kids.

She is definitely not stuck up at all and is involved in all kinds of charities and whatnot.

Plus, look at how cute she is with these kids!!! And the little girl is dressed up in a princess dress <3

She is too cute!

And she plays hockey with little kids!

Athletic princess for the win!

And she's culturally diverse, hanging out in Tuvalu with the hula skirt ladies.

Culturally diverse and cute at the same time. This is her outfit from when she went to visit a mosque!

And she sure doesn't forget to have fun. She goes grocery shopping all by herself, loads her own car, and runs down the parking lot, skipping, to return her cart. That sounds like a blast to me! (The skipping down the parking lot part, not loading my car with groceries)

And she has become a lovely fashion icon, one of my favorites, personally.

Look at how utterly beautiful she is.

Maybe not born a princess, but definitely meant to be one. (Btw, her official portrait definitely does NOT do her justice, however modest she may have been at the revealing)

This one is of her going to a tea party!!!

In fact, she's so stylish that the Headwear Association has recognized her specially for her gorgeous hats.

They even posted on their blog that she received 91% of the online vote for the honor.

And I 100% agree that she deserves it!

I mean, who else can pull off such lovely hats in everyday life??

Not to mention that she was a gorgeous looking pregnant lady!

The baby's going to be so lucky to have these adorable royal parents!

The baby's going to be just as stylish as his mommy, I bet!

Look at how cute she is with her baby bump!

Kate Middleton is definitely the source of much of my fangirling! Who cares about the Kimye baby and all these other pregnant stars, when there's a royal baby from Kate now?!

Anyways, I'm done obsessing over her for now...

For now..