jessicaNdesigns: my family

Kelley's Island 2013

8.29.2013

For about 7 years now we have tried to plan a family vacation tradition with our best friends & it has never worked out. Until this year that is! It was short a short trip, but a sweet one full of memories! Though I love the ocean, we decided to stay closer to home & went to Kelley's Island Ohio. I had not been there since high school.

Kelley's Island is beautiful. You take a ferry to get to the island & it is so peaceful there. We kept asking each other, "why don't we come here more often?" It's an island in Lake Erie & has a population of approximately 313 on the 4.1 square mile island. Most people drive golf carts or ride bikes around the island, we did both and it was so much fun! All the kids said the golf cart was there favorite thing!

We spent our time at the pool, eating at the local restaurants, searching the beaches for shells, taking walks, exploring the island, getting ice cream down town & watching sunsets over the water. It was a great vacation!

I found that I couldn't stop snapping pictures of the scenery, especially the water. I have always felt most alive by the water! I have dreamed of owning a little beach cottage one day. I always pictured it by the ocean, but I am considering changing my dream to owning a lake house!

My best friend of 24 years & our kiddos.

Did you go on vacation this year? Where are your favorite vacation spots?

Our 10th Anniversary Rustic Barn Party

8.05.2013

This summer was our 10 year wedding anniversary! I didn't want to do the usual dinner and a movie. I wanted to do something special, something really memorable, something with our close friends and family. I mean, ten years is a LONG time! I am very proud that I have been married to my best friend for this long!

Parents of our friends own this adorable barn that they hold weddings at & I knew it was perfect for the party I wanted to throw!

me & my love. high school sweethearts...

I knew I wanted the decor to be rustic & inexpensive. I also knew that chalkboards, twinkle lights & mason jars would be the main decor inspiration. With that in mind, I had my friend Val create the custom hand lettered invitations & then all the decor was based off of them. I kind of loved them, a lot!

I did not have to buy much at all, I used a lot of things I already owned to decorate with. I did however HAVE to buy these World Market mason jar drink dispensers, obviously.

little chalk board labels // B&W striped straws

I put mason jars in my vintage Dr. Pepper crate & I loved the little paper straws we used! Even though they get a little mushy after a while, they are too cute to pass up.

We had several yummy adult beverages: citrus vodka slush (i altered this recipe a bit), peach sangria & beer. We also had lemon basil water using basil from my garden!

We chose to have hot appetizers & dessert. We sat down & picked our favorites: Fresh Summer Salad, BBQ chicken strips, shrimp cocktail, tomato bruchetta, loaded potato skins & buffalo chicken dip.

For dessert we had Brooks' favorite, chocolate chip cookies & my favorite, cheesecake!

My favorite sea salt caramels!

me & my bff, Crystal

I created a diy photo backdrop using my prized vintage sheet collection & it was perfect!

We had a ton of fun using it!

The best part was the diy mason jars everyone got to decorate & take home. We spray painted hearts on the jars with chalk board spray paint & had chalk markers available for everyone to get creative with! It was really a lot of fun!

It was the perfect night! Getting to celebrate with our closest friends and family...I could not have asked for a better husband or better people to celebrate 10 years with him!

Here's to many more decades with you, love!