Sunday, April 6, 2008

Invitations/initial prep


I wanted to share an image of the cute invites I sent. We invited about 100 people and hope that summer madness will not be in full effect in early June and more people will be able to make the bash. I ordered the Stacy Claire Boyd invites from InvitationBox.com and would recommend the website to anyone in search of cute invites and great customer service. I sprang for the extra fifteen dollars to have a proof sent to me via e-mail before going to the printer and that small investment was totally worth it! We had a few minor cosmetic changes made and they did a fabulous job of formatting our rather long message to fit beautifully within the space provided. I chose a catchy message I had seen on other lobster boil invites...'Heads or Tails, meet us down by the lake. B's graduation is drawing near so we want to celebrate!' We have 35 confirmed guests, with the majority of our slacker friends failing to RSVP, most likely, until a few weeks before or until we bug them!

Additionally, the location of the party is going to be perfect...granted it isn't the Atlantic Ocean, we are going to be at B's parents Lake Michigan home with plenty of lawn space for tables and lawn games in addition to 'warm' (keep your fingers crossed!) water for sailing, kiteboarding, jet skiing and other water sports.

My wonderful family is making the trip from NH to the Midwest to celebrate (and hopefully can avoid checking an additional suitcase of 'lobster decor and other needs only available on the east coast.') My dear mother is going to arrive a week early to help with cooking, assuming I don't drive her crazy before her anticipated arrival with a million more questions! My sister, H, will be here too, so 'Ms. 16 going on 25' can tell me all about how I have lost my east coast prep ways and the proper changes I can make to recapture them.

I have begun bringing some of the party decor to B's parents house on our recent visits. Most importantly, the lobster traps I found in Chicago...thank god for Craig's List. What I find most humorous about my lobster trap experience is not that lobster traps somehow made their way to Chicago for who knows what purpose, but rather my curiosity getting the best of me in searching 'lobster traps' in NH and approximately 100+ were listed in the past week on Craig's List. Oh the luxury of being a 'coastie' (as B terms me).

The picking up of the lobster traps was an experience in and of itself. My friend L and I were planning on putting them in a Jeep Liberty prior to the famed 'Chicago South Side St. Paddy's Day Parade'. We arrived at a warehouse in which the lady I had contacted tried selling us old bed frames, dressers, bicycles and other antiques in addition to what we came for, the two lobster traps. She too, did not know how they made their way to the Midwest. I wish I had pictures of L and I loading the larger than anticipated lobster traps into the small SUV being sure not to lose wood pieces falling from the traps, as they were a little loose due to the constant subjectivity to salt water! I stayed in Chicago with L for the night and thoroughly enjoyed my next day of work driving around without the ability to see out the back of the car! Needless to say, the lobster traps have been repaired enough to make the most perfect serving table for appetizers and sides. More on that project later...

--JM

1 comment:

Unknown said...

What a writer! Can't wait to read more. Are you going to use your creativity to make "Lobster name tags?"