party | Through Heather's Looking Glass

5 Things Friday XXII

August 19, 2016 by Heather

We made it to Friday! I know my blogging has been a little erratic the last few weeks and I apologize. I have a good reason, hopefully I will be able to tell you all soon! For now, enjoy my 5 things for Friday.

1.) Hair Help: Confession. I haven’t gotten my hair cut in about a year. I was determined to not “give in” to the frustrating and oppressive heat that usually causes me to chop my hair off in the summer. While I am happy to say I made it through the worst of it, my hair has seen better days. It is so thick, that on my first day back at boot camp on Monday, even with two ponytail holders in my hair, my ponytail kept sliding down the side of my head due to the weight. I had had enough. Even though I was sweaty and disgusting, I drove straight to the salon, got a trim, and asked her to thin the heck out of my hair. When she was done, it looked like a small dog was laying on the mat. I wish I would have taken a picture. Anyway, I feel much lighter and better now that I got some hair help. Anyone else have to get their hair thinned?

2.) Macros: My trainer at the gym convinced me to try out counting macros. I am usually NOT a fan of counting calories etc, it’s way too restrictive and time consuming for me and I would rather just go by how I feel, but after my last weigh in/body fat test last week I left feeling frustrated. I have lost 3 pounds since May, but my muscle mass has somehow gone done and my body fat is slightly elevated. I’m going to start lifting heavier, and she suggested I just try out counting macros for a bit so I’m giving it a whirl. What I have learned in two days is that I need to eat less fats and carbs but more protein, which I am finding difficult!

3.) Olympic Emotions: Wow. This week was such a heart breaker for my USA volleyball girls April and Kerri. I really thought they would get that gold. It’s so tough to lose any game, but I can’t imagine losing such a huge match that you have worked so hard for. However, I’m super happy for my gymnastics girls, and proud of how our marathon girls represented last weekend. So inspiring!

4.) Flood Relief: The national news media has done a TERRIBLE job of covering the flooding and devastation in south Louisiana just 45 minutes from where I grew up. Y’all, it’s bad. Over 40,000 homes destroyed, 11 people have died, over 10,000 people in shelters. So many have lost everything. I have had a couple people ask how they can help. If you are local, there are so many places taking up items. Tomorrow, our local Lowe’s is having a “fill a truck” drive all day, and our gym is collecting things like diapers, toiletries, and wipes. My church is also collecting every day, and sending out several relief teams on day trips if anyone is interested in going. Samaritan’s Purse (they do the Christmas child shoeboxes that I love), are sending disaster relief teams and supplies, and you can donate to them online here. Do a google search or go to nola.com to see pictures and other ways you can help.

5.) Happy Birthday: Emma Kate’s birthday is September 24th, but we have decided to have her party early, on Labor Day weekend. We will be having a Frozen themed party at our yogurt shop (get it, frozen yogurt? haha). We are going to keep it fairly simple, just a fun time to hang out and eat some snacks and yogurt with friends. Emma Kate loves princess Elsa so this should be fun!

QOTD: Any frozen party ideas? Thoughts on the Olympics so far? Do you count macros?

Filed Under: Disney, family, health Tagged: flood, macros, orange leaf, party

Early Birthday Surprise

June 27, 2016 by Heather

Last Tuesday, I came home from picking Emma Kate up at daycare, and there were a bunch of people in my house. Surprise! Happy early birthday to me!

My sweet husband planned this all for me, and manned the grill cooking chicken, burgers, hot dogs, sausage, sweet potato fries, etc. My friends brought some delicious appetizers, and we had quite the feast! (and quite the leftovers)

Even champagne. Cheers!

It was so great to see my friends and their families all at my house for an early birthday surprise. (Of course Emma Kate is shoving food in her mouth).

He even got me a cookie cake! Emma Kate was all about that.

I love these girls so much and am so thankful they are in my life and came to celebrate me!

Most everyone has little ones so the party was over by 7:30, but I had a blast with my gal pals. A huge thanks to my sweet husband for thinking of me! Does this mean I get to celebrate my birthday again in July?

QOTD: Have you ever had a surprise birthday party?

Filed Under: family Tagged: Birthday, friends, holiday, party

Father’s Day Weekend 2016

June 20, 2016 by Heather

Oh what a weekend! This one was one for the books my friends. We went to my parents house for Father’s Day plus my cousin was having her 50th birthday party at the Ritz Carlton in New Orleans on Friday night. Of course we weren’t going to miss that! It was adults only so we left little miss thing with Bobby’s mom at our house and headed south around lunchtime Friday.

We made it to my parents, unloaded, and got all gussied up before heading into the French Quarter.

My poor dad had foot surgery and can’t fit his swollen foot into a dress shoe yet. He doesn’t normally wear sneakers to fancy occasions. Smile

Ya’’ll, I’ve had this dress since college. I think I got it on clearance at Dillards. Sshhh don’t tell.

Hello Mr. Streetcar, please don’t hit us, k thanks.

We got to the Ritz early. We weren’t sure what kind of traffic we would run into heading downtown, so we killed some time checking out the beautiful hotel and hanging out on some couches near a gorgeous courtyard.

There were so many flowers, I felt like I was in Disney World at the Grand Floridian.

It was finally 7:30 and time for the party! My cousin rented out a private room and the decorations were amazing. We were given special drinks when we walked in the door with sugar around the rim (I may or may not have had two.)

There was food everywhere, great music playing, and gorgeous flowers.

But the coolest thing by far was the cake! Check out how amazing this is. I’m pretty sure my cousin designed it. (It was delicious, too!)

We grabbed a table and headed over to the wonderful smelling food. My sweet Bobby who loves to eat was in heaven. They had shrimp, raw oysters, crab claws, beef, pork, three kinds of risotto, burgers, and so much more.

After we ate and more guests arrived, it was time to dance! Get a couple drinks in me and I’m always ready to hit the dance floor.

Mom and I dancing with the birthday girl!

Clearly I was enjoying my drink while dancing.

Later in the night, a New Orleans brass band came in to play for us, and gumbo was served. We started up a second line dance, and danced some more! (I was sore the next morning).

A little after 11:00 after singing to the birthday girl and eating some cake, we were starting to fade fast and I realized I am way too much of an old lady to be out that late dancing and such. We said our goodbyes to family, friends, the Ritz, and Canal street as we headed back to my parents’ house. We had SO MUCH FUN and I am glad we came into town for the party!

Oh, did I mention there was a photo booth, and my cousin had her own personalized backdrop? So so fun! Obviously we hated the party, right? haha. I love my crazy family.

The hard reality of a night out on the town hit me Saturday morning and I felt like I had been hit by a bus! We normally eat pretty healthy and I think all the rich food plus sugary drinks, dancing, and being up late just got to me. Sadly I can’t keep up like the cool kids. We spent the day relaxing, recovering, and I even took a nap.

Later that afternoon my mom and I went shopping and then we came home and grilled for dinner. I was so lazy on Saturday I didn’t even take any pictures. Sunday morning I got up and decided to run a 5k. I hadn’t worked out in two days and was feeling pretty sluggish. It was super warm and humid but I’m glad I got it done.

We ate lunch with my parents for Father’s Day, packed up the car and headed back to Mississippi. It was good to see baby girl yesterday afternoon and get back into a routine last night. The great weekends always go by so fast, but I will certainly always remember this one.

QOTD: Do you like to stay out late or are you an old person at heart like I am? Anyone run or race this weekend?

Filed Under: family, holidays Tagged: family, Father's Day, party

Emma Kate’s First Birthday Party

September 21, 2015 by Heather

Over the weekend, we had friends and family come into town to celebrate Emma Kate’s first birthday! She officially won’t be one until Thursday though.

It was a very hot day which was a bummer because I was hoping we could hang out in the backyard but no such luck. Bobby grilled boudin in the blazing hot sun.

We of course had some Orange Leaf frozen yogurt with our cake!

We also had a candy bar and plenty of food.

Chic-Fil-A nuggets, fruit, veggies, chips and salsa, sandwiches, pork, crawfish, and shrimp boudin, and of course cake.

I printed off a picture of Emma Kate from every month and used them as decorations.

She was not a huge fan of the icing on her smash cake and didn’t like how it felt on her fingers.

It was organized chaos with all the kids but we had a great time with about 30 people in the house.

I plan to do another post with more pictures of the decorations etc. so stay tuned for that if party planning is something that interests you. I seemed to manage to catch another cold so I am feeling pretty crummy and am going to try to lay low for the next couple of days. I hope everyone has a great Monday!

QOTD: Favorite flavor of cake?

Filed Under: baby, craft, family Tagged: Birthday, emma kate, family, minnie mouse, party

5 Things Friday II

September 18, 2015 by Heather

Happy Friday! Today is a very happy Friday indeed. We have lots of stuff going on this weekend, but it’s going to be a lot of fun. Let’s dive right in to 5 things Friday:

1.) My parents are coming in town tomorrow because…Saturday is Emma Kate’s first birthday party! Oh. my. gosh. This year yall, it’s just flown by. How do I have an almost one year old? I can’t even. but whether I like it or not, it’s coming, as are a lot of people to our house tomorrow! My guest bedroom has been the “staging area” for the past few weeks and I am hoping to get everything set up today while EK is at daycare. I will be glad to have this room back to normal and not looking like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse threw up in it.

2.) KT tape is hosting a photo challenge through September 21st at 11:59 PM PST. All you have to do is use a sharpie to write a motivational saying or doodle on your tape, post it on Instagram and hashtag #KTtape and #MYkttape to win some tape of your own! I sported my “finish strong” tape on my run on Wednesday.

3.) Now that EK is almost walking, we have a lot more fun at the park than we used to. We met a friend and her daughter there yesterday and the girls had so much fun! I see a lot more park visits in our future. I also got to run 5 miles with another friend and I pushed EK in her stroller. Man my calves were burning! Oh, we also took the babies to Orange Leaf. Emma Kate was not prepared for how cold the froyo was going to be.

4.) I am playing in my churches’ kickball league, and my life group (Sunday school class) has it’s own team. We are having a BLAST! We played a group of high schoolers on Monday night who called us OLD TIMERS! Oh, we ended up beating them. Ah, sweet victory! I have been bringing Builder’s bars to the games as a team snack and everyone loves them.

5.) We still have some hot days ahead of us (in the mid 90’s tomorrow for the party OF COURSE) but it is slowly starting to cool off in a general sense. I busted out my pumpkin Yankee Candle and bought a couple pumpkins for the front door. That plus football has me so excited for fall. Now, if Kroger would just get it’s act together and put out some pumpkin spice coffee creamer I would be a happy girl. Speaking of pumpkin spice, I just got some Advocare meal replacement shakes, they are SO GOOD! You can order some of your own HERE. Tastes like fall!

QOTD: Do you like pumpkin spice coffee creamer? Do you use KT tape? any exciting weekend plans?

Filed Under: Advocare, baby, blogging, fitness, holidays, running Tagged: Birthday, fall, kt tape, party, pumpkin spice, runing

Weekend Happenings and a Surprise

June 22, 2015 by Heather

Happy Monday! We had a great weekend over here at the Montgomery house. Where to begin! Friday, Bobby had to have a minor surgery to get rid of a bone spur in his thumb that was causing him a lot of pain. We ended up at the surgery center the better part of the day which wasn’t too fun, but hopefully now Bobby won’t be in pain!

Friday night we hung out at the house, and early Saturday morning my parents came into town for Father’s Day. Our plan was to BBQ for lunch, so my dad and I went to the store to pick up some things. He also had me drive him around through his old neighborhood for the longest time, which was weird. We got back to the house, and…

Surprise! My birthday isn’t until July 13th, but this was the only weekend my parents and Bobby’s family could come into town, so they threw me a little 30th birthday party. I also had a sweet friend from college and her family come. We had a lot of fun! We had delicious BBQ, and of course, cake! My favorite New Orleans cake, doberge cake.

My friend brought her baby who is about 3 weeks younger than Emma Kate, and they had so much fun playing together!

It was so sweet of Bobby to organize the fun, it was a great afternoon. That night we went out to eat and watched my favorite movie, Weekend at Bernies! It never gets old, my friends.

Sunday morning we all hung out and relaxed before mom and dad had to hit the road back to Louisiana. Happy first Father’s Day to Bobby!

Good times were had, and sadly they had to leave all too soon. Sunday afternoon we had lunch with some friends from church, and then we just hung out around the house. I got a little work done, since 2016 Disney World packages come out today, I am going to be a busy bee (email me for a quote! [email protected]).

I hope everyone had a great weekend and got to celebrate with loved ones. Luckily I will get to see my parents again in two weeks. We always have a great time!

QOTD: Did you do anything special for Father’s Day?

Filed Under: baby, family, food, holidays Tagged: Birthday, family, food, party, weekend

ASICS LA Marathon Weekend: VIP Party Like a Rockstar

March 19, 2015 by Heather

After we had happy hour at the hotel, it was time to board the shuttles and head to the VIP party. I was super excited about it, because I have never attending anything like it before. It was being held at the Devoe House, which is Marilyn Monroe’s old house! It took a good while to get there, but we made it to through Beverly Hills and then went up, up, up! We could see the house all lit up on the side of the hill before we made it up the drive. Of course ASICS had decked it out in the coolest running stuff!

The pictures don’t do it justice, but check out the view!

We headed inside and I was the dork taking pictures of everything. Since I only knew a handful of people there, it was a bit odd not having a bunch of people to talk with.

Shoe chandelier above the bar? Amazing!

I headed upstairs to go to the bathroom, and I thought an “oh my gosh I am at a party in Marilyn Monroe’s house” selfie was appropriate. Not sure why the tub was full of water? They unfortunately had most of the house blocked off and we just had access to the rooms across the back and the back patio. They also had the pool covered which was probably a wise decision!

I made it back downstairs, grabbed a drink, and of course took more pictures.

Food was also being passed around, but word on the street was if you didn’t hang out near the kitchen you wouldn’t get any. I was too excited to eat anyway so I didn’t care!

There was another bar outside, and a DJ up on the second floor balcony.

Soon it was time to light up the night. For the special 30th anniversary of the race, there would be lights going up at each mile marker of the course, one by one. How cool is that?!?! We got to see the actual ceremony at the house as it happened which was very cool.

This was taken during the lighting ceremony. You can see Andrew and Deena Kastor on the left, they got to help turn the lights on.

It’s kind of hard to see, but can you see some of the lights shooting straight up into the sky? I’m sure it was easier to see looking up towards the hills as opposed to looking down into the city. If you check on ASICS and LA marathon on Instagram, they both posted some pretty spectacular shots! All I have to say is…seeing the lights from left to right, made 26.2 miles seem REALLY far!

It was such a cool idea and a fun way to kick off the race weekend and I am so glad I got to see it from up in the Hollywood hills! I chatted with some folks for awhile then headed back inside. My body thought it was 11:30 even though it was 9:30, and I was told I could go back on a shuttle at 10:00 to the hotel. I was sure to grab my super generous gifts from ASICS, )a pair of the official ALAM running shoes, some socks, and a very soft blanket) before leaving.

How cool that ASICS was stamped into this concrete on the counter? (That would be a watermelon margarita by the way!)

I grabbed some donut bites covered in chocolate, powdered sugar and toffee bits (oh yes) before heading out to the shuttle.

I hated to leave on the early shuttle but I was so. darn. tired. From flying and the time difference, and I knew I had a busy weekend that I needed rest for.

I am so grateful that I got to be a part of such a fun night that I will never forget. ASICS is so generous and this party was no exception. It was fun to see how some people get to party in LA, and it was definitely an experience to remember!

QOTD: Have you ever been to a cool party like this one?

Filed Under: fitness, running, vacation Tagged: asics, devoe house, hollywood, la marathon, party, VIP

#DisneySide at Home Party

May 19, 2014 by Heather

Last weekend, I hosted a #DisneySide at home dinner party for some friends and family. We had a couple of people not able to make it at the last minute, but we still had a lot of fun!

Travel With the Magic was sent a #DisneySide party kit which I then used to help decorate and prepare for the festivities, at no cost to me. (All opinions are my own).

I am sure you have seen that Disney launched it’s #DisneySide campaign earlier in the year. Basically, Disney is encouraging everyone to “show your Disney Side”, and that can mean so many different things. You can show it through food, a favorite Disney character, how often you visit the parks, watching your favorite animated classic, and more.

The colors were bright and fun, and I added a few of my own decorative pieces as well.

The kit included some party favors and door prizes which I handed out after dinner.

On the menu was pulled pork, chicken, corn, salad, potato salad, and cake! Do you see the hidden Mickey?

As we ate (oh by the way, I asked everyone to wear Disney clothing to the party to show their #DisneySide!) we all went around the table and shared our favorite Disney memory. It was so much fun to hear the similarities and differences in everyone’s favorite moments. I love that my friends and family love Disney as much as I do, and that we can all share magical moments and special times together!

Moments spanned from runDisney races, to watching fireworks with family, to getting some “extra” pixie dust from cast members. It took me some time to think about mine because I have so many favorite moments, I wasn’t sure which to pick!

After dinner, we played Disney bingo, and used Hershey’s Kisses as the game pieces.

Our winner! Bingo!

I took some time to thank everyone for coming, and handed out door prizes.

Karen won a prize!

Then, it was time for some cake! The plates, cups, and napkins were a big hit.

I even got my dad to wear his Mickey ears, his way of showing his #DisneySide.

*Be sure to check out the Disney Side home celebration page for ideas, activities, and themes for throwing your own party! Be sure to tag photos with #DisneySide, and I would love to see them as well! (@HeathersLG or @TravelwtheMagic and we can retweet your photos!)

QOTD: How do you show your #DisneySide? What is your favorite Disney memory?

Filed Under: Disney, family, runDisney, vacation Tagged: #DisneySide, celebration, Disney, Disney World, party

The Envelope

May 10, 2014 by Heather

Well my friends, the day of our gender reveal party has finally arrived! When I went to my anatomy scan on Wednesday, I told Bobby I would have to stay busy until Saturday to keep my mind off of wanting to know the gender of the baby. Little did I know there would be plenty to occupy my mind, but more on that Monday.

You see this envelope?

Bobby has had it since Wednesday. It has the gender of the baby in it. Talk about some serious willpower on our part!

Our party starts at noon central, we will cut the cake that will be blue or pink inside between 1:00 and 2:00 I would imagine. I promise I will immediately post to Instagram/Twitter/Facebook so make sure you follow me @HeathersLG.

I’m so nervous/excited. It’s going to be so much fun!

Cast your vote! Tell me in the comments below if you think baby M is a boy or girl.

Filed Under: family, pregnancy Tagged: gender reveal, party, pregnancy

Weekend Thoughts and I Need Your Help!

March 17, 2014 by Heather

Good morning! Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I am virtually pinching you if you aren’t wearing green. 🙂 I hope everyone had a good weekend and that you are finally adjusting to the time change. It’s still weird to me that it stays light so late but I absolutely love it!

We spent the weekend at my parents house, they hadn’t seen the dogs since New Years and we just wanted a relaxing weekend doing a lot of nothing, so that’s what we did!

We drove in Friday late afternoon and went to dinner with my parents and watched a movie back home. Then Saturday we just relaxed at the house, sat outside (temps around 70!) and chatted. We planned for a run but it rained Saturday and Sunday, so I haven’t worked out in several days. Not a surprising turn of events for this girl, hoping in another week or so I will be feeling much better!

Sunday it rained in the morning but the sun came out long enough for us to BBQ for lunch and sit outside and eat. It was wonderful! I also finally got to fulfill my snowball craving. I had two this weekend, and they were amazing. Wedding Cake with condensed milk. I die.

Mom and I spent some time chatting about the gender reveal party her and my dad want to throw us. So, those of you that have been to one or had one, any tips or pointers? We have been all over Pinterest but honestly it is SO overwhelming!

What are your favorite themes, ideas, or tips for us? We want it to be casual but lots of fun!

QOTD: Gender reveal party ideas or help?

Filed Under: family Tagged: family, gender reveal, party, pregnancy