Mike's Birthday

I have been waiting to post about this party until i got the pictures from the talented Mike Cunningham, and tonight is the night folks....

So for Mikes big THREE OH party, he wanted something small and intimate with his best friends. Just a dinner where we could all sit around and chat and enjoy eachothers company. So with that in mind, i created a dinner party for the birthday boy.

Mike has a couple of tattoos (which i am obsessed with...), the invitations showcased his permanent markings, and also included the invitation to "come inked" with the enclosed MOM tattoo

So we may be adults, but we are still a bit immature. So what? Who cares?



the table was set, with a monogrammed letter mug for each guest with various succulents planted in each (im obsessed with succulents these days)


mike's favorite cake is chocolate with vanilla frosting, so thats what he got. You dont turn 30 everyday, folks.


doesnt he look so happy?


My favorite part of the evening was mid-meal when we all got a chance to lovefest/roast Santi. He is such a hilarious guy, and having his closest friends all together at once...you get to hear some hilarious memories and sentiments. It was great.

This is, the non birthday, Mike. The genius behind all of these pictures. 100 thank yous for taking all of the beautiful pictures, Mikey. You're the best there is.

except maybe youre not the best at getting me to "act natural" and not be "awkward." I AM NOT PHOTOGENIC PEOPLE. Get over it already.


lovelies showing off their tatts.

the birthday boy and his lady friends

Happy Birthday Mike! Hope it was everything you wanted it to be and more.
wow im short.

to see more detailed photos, check out this post on mike's blog
there will be even more pictures and probably some repeats on my shop blog later

le Collage des Shavs

1: go to flickr.com
2: in another window open http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php
3: choose 4 columns, 3 rows
4: answer the following questions in the search bar of flicker. pick your favorite one on the first page and paste the address into your mosaic

1. What is your first name? Shauna
2. What is your favorite food? artichokes
3. What school did you go to? Folsom
4. What is your favorite color? gray
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Jake Gyllenhaal
6. Favorite drink? Dr Pepper
7. Dream vacation? Santorini, Greece
8. Favorite dessert? Chilis Molten Chocolate Cake
9. What you want to be when you grow up? An event planner
10. What do you love most in life? The stability and security of my beliefs.
11. One word to describe you? giggler
12. Your nickname? Shavs

who did you bbq with on memorial day?

Chelsea from Dancing with the Stars/So You Think You Can Dance? Oh right, no. That was me.

I am such a creeper.

Disney Pola's

Went on my most hated ride "it's a small world" but was delighted that this was sitting in front of us.
These little men were dreamy the whole time.



Went on the rapid ride in California Adventure and got soaked. The dry part on my skirt is only dry because my purse was on my lap and it soaked up all the water that would be directly on my lap.
it looked like i went swimming in my clothes. Kind of funny at first but then after that initial funniness, it wasnt funny at all.

Sneak Peak

the dinner party i threw for Mike's 30th birthday was a success.



Pictures that laugh in the face of these phone photos to come, once my personal photographer, Mike Cunningham, gets back from his cruise.

American Idol Recap

A few years ago i decided to see how to get tickets to American Idol. I learned the only real way was to get on the waitlist and hope that one day you get them. So i signed up for the tickets not thinking i would ever get them and forgetting about it. This weekend, while i was in Huntington Beach, i got an email saying that i could now register for my tickets to the finale. UH YEAH. How perfect is that?




So me, Martha, Neil and Zach piled in my car and drove up to LA yesterday morning to the Nokia theatre.

After a few hours standing in line in the sun with a bunch of cougars, we were let into the theatre for the rehearsal. Ok so the rehearsal is pretty cool. The stage is awesome, youre right in the front...everyones there except the judges. Well the real judges. There is a set of fake judges with the same coloring as the real judges who sit in and make comments. Its weird. But the reason for this is to time the show right, and also because at the end of the live show they show recaps of each of the contestants. Well the recaps are taped in rehearsal, so if you look closely at the back of the judges heads, you'll notice that, for instance, Randy's fake judge is WAY thinner than him and totally bald...not to mention they are all in black, and last night only simon and kara were in black...Just a little insiders info.

We got to see my girl crush Carrie Underwood rehearse like 1,000 times. It was really coo. I love her. Also she is TEEEEEENSY tiny with bird legs. And they kept doing the same song which got old really fast. Ryan was there cracking jokes, Adam and Kris were obviously there as well doing their run throughs in all of their outfits, and we sat there front and center just watching. it was awesome. I would of been satisfied with just the rehearsal. We were so close to the front, and it really did end up being the exact same thing as the regular live show...but we got tickets to the live show so of course we were going to stay for that....

You know who else stayed for that? Katie and Suri, Anthony Hopkins, Brooke White from last season (she was a stones throw ahead of me), the guy who plays Aaron Pierce on 24, Terri Hatcher was said to be there...it was pretty cool. You know i love me a celebrity siting.

here is a really bad picture from my phone of jason castro, idol alum.

Also at one point during rehearsal i got to tell kris (maybe i yelled it to him like a crazy person) that he was going to win. And maybe he smiled and said "thanks." What a dream. You know whats not a dream? Adam Lambert in his trench coat and fog machine. Nothing is more barfy than him and if he wins i will be even more pissed than i was last year when David Archuleta was robbed (he was also at the show, a little miniature doll of a boy). So to see to it that Adam doesnt win, i did my part and voted nonstop for 4 hours via text, for Kris. I am guessing it was over 1,000 times. I dont have the patience to count. But im not kidding, i never stopped. Its the only way i will feel like i did everything in my power to see to it that Kris wins.

So there you have it. American Idol. It was seriously so fun. Everyone go register for tickets. You never know, you may be at the finale in 2012.

_______________________________

ok now what i really think. Everyone at idol, the audience and the judges wants Adam to win and they dont try and hide it. Its mean, and its gross. Ryan was the only person who stayed nuetral. Bless his heart (also ryan is funny and obviously tiny, he tapped my hand with his microphone we are totally pals now). Kara is supposed to be this amazing songwriter, yet she wrote the worlds WORST song and sabotaged Kris with it. First of all, adam screaming and wailing about moving mountains is just comical and obviously cant be taken seriously and she was right, the song was written way too high for Kris. GOOD ONE KARA. Youre a freaking idiot.

Bottom line of this post. Youre nasty if you vote for adam lambert.

Follow Up to 4am

So i don't know when i fell asleep but it was close to 5am. KILLER. Up and at 'em by 8. Today's going to be a long day.

So just two things. Its kind of a good news/bad news thing but neither is really news its more like a good thing and a negative thing.

OK on the biggest loser, i don't know if i have mentioned this before but i have the worlds BIGGEST crush on Sione. He is a TOTAL babe. I guess I have Island Fever for a married man. Seriously though, isn't he hot? I'm not normally into affliction t-shirts or whatever it is that he wears but i could totally look past that. HE IS HOT. WOOOHOO. I love me some Tongan.

Now with the bad. Oh my lands. Adam Lambert. What am i to do with you?

Lets make a list as to why he is not a good choice for the award of IDOL WINNER.

1. his voice. OK i cant totally say he has a bad voice. its not my taste. Mostly because its falsetto screaming and i would rather be deaf than listen to him scream on stage, in my car, in my ears at the gym, playing on the speakers in the grocery store. Its not pleasant. its 80s hair band, but higher pitched. Its barfy, is basically what i mean.
2. His look. He looks like a girl but hes not a girl. He wears more makeup than Paula. He is actually really pretty. Its gross.
3. He is not a good role model for kids. I am not saying that because he is gay(everyone relax). I am saying that because he is obsessed with himself and because he is the type of person to makeout in front of people. If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't do a google image search of him. Its not good. Regardless of what gender he is kissing, it takes a certain kind of nasty to makeout with someone in public. Especially a foot away from someone with a camera in your face snapping pictures. Lets be real here, gay or straight, NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THAT. And I'm not talking about tasteful kissing, I'm talking about visible tongues all over the place. And we've all seen his tongue, a lot. its long and gross.
4. Hes a performer, not an entertainer. "Isn't that the same thing?" No. Every time hes on stage he is a character, and to be honest, if i wanted to watch someone singing and acting on stage i would turn on "Broadway idol." OH WAIT. There isn't one. Cause no one wants to watch it. Not to discredit theatre actors. I love me a good show and performance, but Idol is not the stage for your bedroom eyes and your other seductive dance moves and body rolls. I'm shuddering just thinking about it.
5.He's not original. Taking a song and singing(debatable, more like screaming) it the exact OPPOSITE way of how its written doesn't make you talented or original. It makes you predictable and boring. How come the judges are floored every time he does this (every time he performs) and act like its the best thing they've ever heard? Uhhh is there something wrong with my ears? Taking a catchy tune and taking away its tune, does not make it good.
6. He's fake modest. Which is way worse than just being outwardly proud. I cannnnnnnnot stand him. Obviously. Smug. Gross. Barf.

If he wins, AMERICA IS NASTY.

4am purge

It's almost four am. Why am I still awake??!

Figured I would dump my brain and hopefully get tired?

-Adam Lambert is so gross and I just have this feeling he's going to win and it pisses me off so bad. What almost makes me just as mad is that I have friends who normally have good taste, that think he is the awesomest. It's really disappointing.

-Megan and I finally watched HSM3 this weekend and I'm watching it again right now, and who is the writer that thought it was cute to have Vanessa Hudgens call Zac Efron "wildcat" the entire movie? It's not cute.

-Kelsey and I made headbands and bows and clips and all sorts of pretties for her missionary collection. In return for my supplies and gas driving the 1,000 miles to her house, she took me on a date to Cafe Rio. I love that crazy lunatic.

-I have this voice recording app on my phone, it comes in handy for car edition of "iPod karaoke." we played tonight. Kelsey singing "halo." A couple of weeks ago I got Emily recorded singing "irreplaceable." I didn't know Beyonce was a rule, but I do know it's a real treat having these lovelies in the palm of my hand when I need a good, tone deaf, laugh.

-drama today. Big time. Made the day go by much faster. Didn't directly involve me so that's good but it sure was entertaining.

-Richard stopped by the office today with fruit and yogurt parfaits from McDonald's. Loved it.

-I finished listening to "Columbine" by Dave Cullen, today. I've been listening to it, instead of music for a couple of weeks...it's totally draining. I'm glad its done. Not to say it wasn't interesting and fascinating...I couldn't stop listening. It's just a heavy subject. But if you think you can handle it, I'd definitely recommend it.

-how did Helen win the biggest loser? She looked TERRIBLE.

It's 4:07, still wide awake. Crap.


-- Post From My iPhone

Alright alright alright

time for a new post. This blog is boring me.

I've just been so busy with a million other things that this is the last thing i think about. Apologies.

-How about greys last week? Oh man. WATERWORKS. Thats all i have to say. I dont know if im going to be able to watch 2 hours of constant emotions this thursday. I may have to break it up into parts. Im being serious.
-The "I Like You" books are the death of me. They are no longer in my shop. They are so cute and i wish i had the time and the patience for them...But its just not worth my while at the price they are at. I sold out of them and wont be re-adding them. Atleast not for a long time.
-Martha gave me a bunch of Arbonne product, and i must say...my skin and hair feel better than ever. Thanks Martha. Plus that stuff smells good enough to eat.
-Now that i have an iphone and i can check my mail from my phone...i have a really hard time returning and placing emails. Its not so good. Im trying to find a way to manage them better. So if i havent gotten back to you...shoot me another line.
-My nephew Lincolns 3rd birthday was on saturday. That kid is a total hoot. He had a superhero party...megan made all the boys their own superhero capes, it was pretty cute. Except you know whats not cute? 3 yr olds who are told to wear a cape, cause they dont want to. They dont want to do anything you tell them to do, so that was fun. I got him a helmet. HE LOVED IT.

I also made the cake which the kids loved. Well actually i didnt make the cake, megan made it, i just decorated it. She made one of those rainbow colored ones, it turned out looking really great.
-My friends Richard and Emily both were in Vegas this weekend. Good times had by all.
-Mothers Day painting orders are done. HOLLA!
-The dinner party that i am most excited for is this Saturday night. It will be photographed by a real photographer so that will be nice.
-Sunday and Monday will be spent with my mom and my sister megans family at DISNEYLAND! Its been so long since ive been to disneyland with kids. Hasnt happened since Jack was 6 months old, and he wasnt really that fun, obviously. I am so excited to see these little guys thrilled to death to be there. its going to be great.
-Ms Kelsey Marie is leaving soon (next week) to become a missionary. Shes going to PA. Shes going to go gain 90 lbs in Hershey, and then go convert Stanley and Creed in Scranton. I'm gonna miss that crazy loon. We are getting together tonight (if she doesnt bail like last night) to make some hair pretties for her to take. Cant have any frumpy sister missionaries out there...gotta accessorize.
-Remember how i used to go to the gym all the time? Im doing it again. Mark my words. Summer is almost here.
-Speaking of summer, i hate vegas in the summer. its been like 100 everyday for the last week or so. I HATE IT.

Amen.

Happy Birthday/Mothers Day

Dear Amy aka Mom,

I'm sorry that, what seems like 90% of the time, your birthday falls on Mothers Day and you get jipped with one gift. This year, you are getting 4 gifts. And probably something else next weekend when i see you at Disneyland!!!!!

(for those of you who aren't my mom, these paintings are me and my siblings ranging in ages from 3-5-ish...im the baldy, second from right)
Thank you for putting up with me over the years, for being my biggest fan, for always giving me everything i ever begged for, for knowing i love you even though we have very different personalities, for telling everyone how talented you think i am, for being a strong woman and example to me, for your testimony, for teaching me how to work hard (i think i finally got that part down after 25 years of being LAZY...better late than never?),...I love you more than i show it, more than i tell you, and I hope someday you will know how much i look up to you.

Thanks Mom.

(also i should note, even though i want to take all the credit...that my lovely sister megan worked hard on these paintings with me...we slaved away finishing them till 12:30 last night watching Highschool Musical 3, which we both couldnt believe we hadnt seen, and both totally loved it)

if you want to see the before pictures and what we look like now, its all over on the painting site.

more of the same...

ok so these pictures were obviously not taken with my iphone.

but they were taken by the same dummy photographer. Me. Nice black truck. Very elegant.

another of the chandelier. I think it looks like honey jars or a massive beehive.

more garlands.

Ta-Da!

I think im going to add the garlands to my etsy shop, along with some big 17inch round balloons. I kind of went crazy and bought a million (the only way you can buy them) and most people dont need a million, so check back in a couple of days and see if ive done it. Would you even be interested in buying some?

The Mason Jar Chandelier

This post is for Alisa, because she is impatient. All of those photos are from my iphone so the quality is terrible. Once i have the good images emailed to me i will post those....


it looked pretty decent amongst the details in the sun

we got it lit right as the reception was starting...its not easy to light all those candles individually

Once the sun was down, i think it looked spectacular

just like a bunch of little fireflies captured in the jars.

Thanks for getting married, Ashley and Larson so i could create this little lady.

Sneak peak

I did a wedding yesterday....and made a mason jar chandelier.

It looked so magical all candlelit...
I'll post that picture tomorrow along with the rest of the wedding.

Come back!

-- Post From My iPhonel