Sunday, November 30, 2008

Beauty, Ballroom, and a Birthday!!!

So my friend Mary told me she wanted to do something fun for her 30th birthday back in September. I told her I would love to plan a party for her, but then never mentioned it again. Then in October, she told a group of friends that it was her dream to ballroom dance with her husband. Those of you who know me, know that I love planning parties and love dancing!!! Therefore, the Surprise Ballroom Birthday idea formulated. With the help of several talented friends and a husband who loved to make his wife smile, it came together beautifully.

This is how the day went.
  1. Ambush Make-over of Morgantown (aka, Abby, Amy, Melanie, and I), came to Mary's house to do her hair, make up, nails, perfume, dress, and accessories. The dress I bought her was a bit big, so we had to make some alterations. By the end of the 3 hour extravaganza she was ready for her "dinner" date with her husband looking so gorgeous!
  2. Ballroom Dancing in Kim's sunroom. The night before Abby, Kim, and I strung white lights on Kim's vaulted ceiling to give it some mood lighting. Several friends brought yummy appetizers and desserts such as Spinach Artichoke Dip, Bruschetta, Pumpkin Cobbler, Tabouleh, etc. We had babysitting in Kim's basement and the adults dressed up for the occasion. Doug and I were the dance instructors. When Mary and Phil arrived, we were all dancing and shouted surprise!!! Then she got to choose from a list of 9 dance styles the ones she wanted to learn. We did the Tango, Cha-Cha, Country 2-step, Merengue, and Swing.
Doug and I had a lot of fun freshening up on our dance skills. We even learned the Argentine Tango from Youtube! Big thank you to Kim for sharing your beautiful home with us, to Phil for keeping it a secret and supporting the whole thing, to Abby for being my dress model, Amy and Melanie for sharing your talents, to all of those who made yummy food, and everyone that came to enjoy the event!

P.S. You can view all the pics taken on Kim's camera on my candidly creative photo site.
Posted by McArthur Family at 1:59 PM

9 comments:

  1. AngelaNovember 30, 2008 at 4:22 PM

    Amber you truly are such a good friend to your friends...WOW!

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  2. dave&abby johnson familyNovember 30, 2008 at 5:54 PM

    You are such a good friend ,Thanks for letting me play! It was so much fun!

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  3. JamieNovember 30, 2008 at 10:02 PM

    Wow! How fun!

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  4. Lynn, Sarah and AyslinDecember 1, 2008 at 6:19 AM

    We had so much fun-even though my neck is still stiff- and can't wait until we get together again! You have such great ideas I think the whole thing turned out great!

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  5. Daniel and Kate JohnsonDecember 1, 2008 at 11:36 AM

    Looks like so much fun! I am so sad that we missed it. I hope there is a next time soon!

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  6. Julia KellyDecember 2, 2008 at 6:13 AM

    You are such a great friend Amber. Sorry we missed out.

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  7. RebeccaDecember 3, 2008 at 9:54 PM

    That sounds like a blast. Great idea! You can learn anything from Youtube, I love it!

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  8. JanaDecember 5, 2008 at 7:56 PM

    How awesome are you! I'm totally impressed that you and Doug taught so many different styles of dance in one night. Sounds like a blast!

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  9. MaginotDecember 14, 2008 at 4:58 PM

    Wow, that sounds like a perfect night! Amber,you are amazing! I wish I had friends like you guys living by me.

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