These pics are from the wedding aisle decor Signature Party Rental designed for a wedding this past weekend.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Picture from this past weekend's wedding
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Fun Event Concept
Our friends at M&M Event Company did this amazing Candy Bar Mitzvah. I love the concept and would love to use this as inspiration for one of our events. Now I just have to find the right event....hmm.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 2010
So here's the whole story for any who cares to hear it. Its a long one, so consider yourself warned. 3 weeks ago Ben Winder from Rockwell homes calls me with a very vague story about needed some help planning some upcoming events. He asked if he could meet with me privately to discuss the details. I thought he was being really weird until he came by and explained that they were prepping for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (hereforth referred to as EMHE) to come to the area and it was still a big secret. He needed some help coordinating VIP tent area on the home site as well as planning the wrap party the night after everything was done. He proceeded to drop a few bombs on me...such as the fact that the whole thing was going down in less than 3 weeks from that day and that all our help would be on a volunteer basis.
It sounded like a fun opportunity so I accepted to help out. Sure, why not? Right?
I was invited to a meeting a few days later with the chief local coordinators as well as Jonathan Weber, Locations Manager for EHME. I was thinking that my part in this whole things was going to be relatively minor until Jonathan drops a packet into my lap of their event rental needs and asked if I could take care of it. The list contained 5 tents totalling over 4,000 sq feet of space, tables & chairs to accomodate the hundreds of volunteers that would be eating meals on site throughout the week, as well as a slew of other specifications such as lighting, tent walls, air conditioning, etc. I was thinking, "I SWEAR Ben told me they were bringing all this stuff themselves, but whatever, we'll role with it" On top of the general equipment rentals, they would also need special accomodations/event planning for the VIP tent that would sit directly across the street from the build site and I would need to find time between all that to plan the wrap party for all the production crew, designers, builders and community VIP's. I played it cool. You know, I would nod and say "Sure thing. No Problem." while inside I was thinking, "What the crap am I doing! Am I insane!?!"
We were filled in on the fact that this was happening in Pocatello even though that information was supposed to be kept quite until the family was ambushed. I was given a few names of businesssmen in Pocatello and I set off to pull together the event.
We started setting up tents with a great crew of volunteers about the same time the family was being ambushed by the designers at the fire station. I worked with Greg Hansen of Rockwell Homes to plan some interactive elements in the VIP tent such as a 42" flatscreen showing time lapse video of the build, updated each day. We also had photographers taking pictures of the guests and then printing them right away. The photos were put into a scrapbook where we could then sign them with our personal messages to the family. We were given full access the VIP area all week and were on site to see the demolition of the house as well as some early filming of Ty giving the designers their challenge (I won't share too many details about the challenge as I might ruin the surprise but it had to do with musical instruments)
Del Lou just happened to come visit during the week so we got blue T-shirts and hard hats and she hung out with us on site, jumping in as they were filming the "Braveheart March" of volunteers coming up the street cheering.
All week it was amazing to watch how fast the house went up, and on Monday night Amy and I drove down to check it out. It was after 10:00 p.m. when we got there but Greg found us and offered a tour of the home before the family came home the next day. We saw each room and he explained who it was for and some of the stories behind the designs. We learned a lot about the family and I felt a much closer emotional attachment to the project after that tour. I'm so excited to see the final show and re-live that tour! :) It is a beautiful home and I know the family is going to LOVE it.
On Tuesday we were at the house when the family arrived. We spent about 2 hours filming crowd scenes of us cheering and yelling "move that bus!" before anyone actually arrived. Then another 30 minutes of filming the limo pulling up and Ty opening the door yelling "welcome home!!" No one would get out... He would then shut the door, the limo would back up, and we would do it all again. It was quite entertaining to see all film and production stuff that you never think about when you watch a show on tv. The family finally arrived just before 4 o'clock and then things got a little crazy. Even from my perch on my ladder :) I still couldn't hear what was being said. The President of ISU was there and I think he offered the kids scholarships for college. Who knows what else happened, but I sat on that ladder for a LONG TIME. They announced that Kylie Minogue was there to play a concert in the street while the family was seeing the house, but I had to jet over to set up the wrap party so I missed it.
We found a great group of guys at Robert Allen Nissan dealership who were more than happy to let us use their facility for the party. Dave Alexander from Texas Roadhouse agreed to be our caterer, not only for the party but for our VIP tent all week. He was AMAZING and I'm so glad I got to work with him and his staff. We were given the name of a local cover band "The Installers" who donated their time and resources to provide the music for the night and they did such a great job! Ed Sanders even spent a lot of time on stage with them jamming with his harmonica and singing along. The party started at 9 p.m. but most of the crew didn't arrive until after 10. Over the next few hours we all had so much fun. All the designers came (which is really what made the party a success) and they were so gracious and kind to all the people who wanted to take photos and shake their hands. As it got later, the crowd thinned and only the real party people stayed behind. The atmosphere was so laid back, Ty and Jillian were out dancing to the music, Ed was killing it on his harmonica up on stage and Paul was just chillin in the parking lot visiting with us. I don't remember the last time I had so much fun.
I am so glad that we agreed to be a part of this crazy circus...we met some amazing people in this community that I would probably never have met otherwise. I even feel like I made some great new friends. The people at Rockwell were champions and Im proud to have worked with them. Its been a long and tiring week and my brain feels fried, but I hope I got most of the details to preserve the memories of such an exciting and special experience.
It sounded like a fun opportunity so I accepted to help out. Sure, why not? Right?
I was invited to a meeting a few days later with the chief local coordinators as well as Jonathan Weber, Locations Manager for EHME. I was thinking that my part in this whole things was going to be relatively minor until Jonathan drops a packet into my lap of their event rental needs and asked if I could take care of it. The list contained 5 tents totalling over 4,000 sq feet of space, tables & chairs to accomodate the hundreds of volunteers that would be eating meals on site throughout the week, as well as a slew of other specifications such as lighting, tent walls, air conditioning, etc. I was thinking, "I SWEAR Ben told me they were bringing all this stuff themselves, but whatever, we'll role with it" On top of the general equipment rentals, they would also need special accomodations/event planning for the VIP tent that would sit directly across the street from the build site and I would need to find time between all that to plan the wrap party for all the production crew, designers, builders and community VIP's. I played it cool. You know, I would nod and say "Sure thing. No Problem." while inside I was thinking, "What the crap am I doing! Am I insane!?!"
We were filled in on the fact that this was happening in Pocatello even though that information was supposed to be kept quite until the family was ambushed. I was given a few names of businesssmen in Pocatello and I set off to pull together the event.
We started setting up tents with a great crew of volunteers about the same time the family was being ambushed by the designers at the fire station. I worked with Greg Hansen of Rockwell Homes to plan some interactive elements in the VIP tent such as a 42" flatscreen showing time lapse video of the build, updated each day. We also had photographers taking pictures of the guests and then printing them right away. The photos were put into a scrapbook where we could then sign them with our personal messages to the family. We were given full access the VIP area all week and were on site to see the demolition of the house as well as some early filming of Ty giving the designers their challenge (I won't share too many details about the challenge as I might ruin the surprise but it had to do with musical instruments)
Del Lou just happened to come visit during the week so we got blue T-shirts and hard hats and she hung out with us on site, jumping in as they were filming the "Braveheart March" of volunteers coming up the street cheering.
All week it was amazing to watch how fast the house went up, and on Monday night Amy and I drove down to check it out. It was after 10:00 p.m. when we got there but Greg found us and offered a tour of the home before the family came home the next day. We saw each room and he explained who it was for and some of the stories behind the designs. We learned a lot about the family and I felt a much closer emotional attachment to the project after that tour. I'm so excited to see the final show and re-live that tour! :) It is a beautiful home and I know the family is going to LOVE it.
On Tuesday we were at the house when the family arrived. We spent about 2 hours filming crowd scenes of us cheering and yelling "move that bus!" before anyone actually arrived. Then another 30 minutes of filming the limo pulling up and Ty opening the door yelling "welcome home!!" No one would get out... He would then shut the door, the limo would back up, and we would do it all again. It was quite entertaining to see all film and production stuff that you never think about when you watch a show on tv. The family finally arrived just before 4 o'clock and then things got a little crazy. Even from my perch on my ladder :) I still couldn't hear what was being said. The President of ISU was there and I think he offered the kids scholarships for college. Who knows what else happened, but I sat on that ladder for a LONG TIME. They announced that Kylie Minogue was there to play a concert in the street while the family was seeing the house, but I had to jet over to set up the wrap party so I missed it.We found a great group of guys at Robert Allen Nissan dealership who were more than happy to let us use their facility for the party. Dave Alexander from Texas Roadhouse agreed to be our caterer, not only for the party but for our VIP tent all week. He was AMAZING and I'm so glad I got to work with him and his staff. We were given the name of a local cover band "The Installers" who donated their time and resources to provide the music for the night and they did such a great job! Ed Sanders even spent a lot of time on stage with them jamming with his harmonica and singing along. The party started at 9 p.m. but most of the crew didn't arrive until after 10. Over the next few hours we all had so much fun. All the designers came (which is really what made the party a success) and they were so gracious and kind to all the people who wanted to take photos and shake their hands. As it got later, the crowd thinned and only the real party people stayed behind. The atmosphere was so laid back, Ty and Jillian were out dancing to the music, Ed was killing it on his harmonica up on stage and Paul was just chillin in the parking lot visiting with us. I don't remember the last time I had so much fun.
I am so glad that we agreed to be a part of this crazy circus...we met some amazing people in this community that I would probably never have met otherwise. I even feel like I made some great new friends. The people at Rockwell were champions and Im proud to have worked with them. Its been a long and tiring week and my brain feels fried, but I hope I got most of the details to preserve the memories of such an exciting and special experience.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Riley's Bug Club
Today Riley started his own Bug Club. (I think he got the idea from Sid the Science Kid.) Anyway, armed with his new magnifying glass (a VERY early birthday gift from Grandma Smith) and his newest and only member (mommy), he struck out to discover all the exciting adventures that awaited in the back yard.
Turns out bugs are a little scarier in real life...even lady bugs :)
Monday, April 19, 2010
I ♥ Faces Collage Contest
Here is one of my photo collages. After I do a photo shoot, I like to include a collage like this as a gift. You can see a few of my others in my previous post.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Easter 2010
Just some cute pics from this year's Easter Egg coloring adventure. Thank goodness it was considerably less messy than I was anticipating!
More from the remodel...
So you saw the sad state of the old kitchen...but little did you know you could turn around and see the dining and family room in just about the same condition. I caught this picture after we had started to remove the trim, but when we bought the house there was an actual door here closing off the spaces from each other. 
We found that the original opening had been much larger so we tore the wall out to there. But why stop when you could...
really open up the space! We tore out all the walls and moved the dining area into the former closet/laundry area. Hardwood floors and "tea bag" green paint from wall to wall tie the kitchen, dining, and family room all together.
And finally, installing a gas insert and covering the old brick fireplace with GORGEOUS new rock really finishes off the space. I'm still waiting on my mantle, but I couldn't wait any longer to post! I love love love it now and I'm just itching to move on to the bathrooms and maybe knock down another wall up front in the living room...hmmmm
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Remodel Pics...FINALLY
Okay, so even though this has been done for a while, I've been way slow on getting pics posted. It was a lot of work but so worth it!!
Ugly Kitchen Before:
Pretty Kitchen After:
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
Friday, October 23, 2009
Its The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
Riley went with his cousins to the "U Pick It" Farm to gather pumpkins. He rode the train and picked out his very own pumpkin (which is sitting on our porch now and he has to go give it a hug each morning before we leave the house). This morning I asked him where he wanted to go and he said "Punkin Patch!!" He's such a cutie! 
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Busy Bees
Sorry...no pics on the work in the kitchen yet. The new floors, paint, and cabinets are all done but we still have about a week before the countertops will be installed. I'm not going to post any pictures until everything is done....but its going to be a makeover reveal worthy of HGTV! I LOVE LOVE LOVE what we have so far. This time of year usually slows down at work so we planned the kitchen remodel accordingly, but we've ended up having some of the busiest weeks of the year and its been some long days between the office and the house.
Maybe its just cause he's "at that age", but it seems all my stories about Riley these days revolve around him being in time-out. hmmm. Yesterday he had to sit in time-out for something (now I don't even remember what it was for). He knows the drill...you have to sit quietly for 2 minutes, then you have to say you're sorry for whatever you did wrong, and lastly give mommy kisses and hugs. Well he now tries to skip the 2 minutes and almost immediately starts into the apologies. So he was sitting there and looking at me with those big blue eyes and he says "I sorry Mommy, I mean it, I sorry!" He's just starting to really put sentences together and the way he said it made me laugh out loud. He's growing up way to fast!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Nail Polish Woes
Just this morning I was thinking about how grateful I was that the past months have been pretty "toddler disaster mess" free. I guess I jinxed myself, because not one hour later I was cleaning out my office and I got a whiff of nail polish. I ran to the living room to find Riley happily watching sesame street while painting himself all over with my nail polish. Benson's recliner is COVERED in it but he miraculously missed the carpet. I'm pretty sure his clothes are done for. This was him sitting in time out. I said in my stern discipline voice "you sit there in time out for 2 minutes!!...oh, and let me take your picture"
Monday, August 17, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
