Ok let’s talk about this ice cream party shall we?!?! After Riley’s birthday, I was really trying to think what theme I should do for Molly. We had already done unicorn and Pinkalicious (with Elmo, ha!). I asked you guys to comment on a post with some ideas, and Vanessa Jaimes gave me the idea for an ice cream theme! I immediately knew that was what I wanted to do, and that Molly would LOVE it, so thank you Vanessa! I had such a blast planning this cute party that was just as sweet as my girl.

 1. DRESS | 2. BALLOONS | 3. DESSERTS | 4. FAVOR BAGS | 5. ICE CREAM GARLAND

I recently found out about this super cute preschool that doubles as a location for kids parties on the weekends! If fact, I can’t really take credit for “finding it” since my girl Ashley has a party there a few week prior with her kiddos and I just thought it was such a fun spot. They have tons of swings, slides, tiny cars to ride around on a “track”, animal exhibits, water games for when it’s hot out, a bounce house… really just a place where all the hopes and dreams of a kiddo could come true. We decided to have Molly’s party there instead of at our house, because we figured that there would be so much room for the kids to run around and play! It’s called Camelot Kids. I highly recommend throwing a party there if you are local to LA! It was just so easy, and the staff is so helpful during the event. Not to mention the kiddos all had a blast!

 1. DRESS | 2. MOLLY’S CONVERSE | 3. FAVOR BAGS | 4. ICE CREAM GARLAND

How stinkin’ cute is this balloon backdrop?! Complete with an ice cream cone! I mean come on! Popped! Balloon Designs created this incredible ice cream wonderland. It truly elevated the party about 100 notches, from a fun party to an adorable and fun party! Molly absolutely loved the ice cream cone! I had never seen anything like it! We figured out how to disassemble it, bring it home, and put it back together because we just didn’t want to part with it yet. We would have left it all together but it was so massive that we had to dissemble to fit in the car. Ha! Jennifer (the owner) is just so talented and I couldn’t recommend her more for your party balloon needs! So adorable!

As you guys know, our family LOVES Polkatots cakes and desserts! We have used them for our last few events, like Riley’s Little Manno 1st Birthday Party, and obviously we had to use them for Molly’s birthday! I am still blown away by how cute the cake turned out!!! I couldn’t have imagined it any more perfect. The cone melting on top was the best touch. Doesn’t it look so realistic!? We also ordered ice cream shaped cookies, cupcakes inside of ice cream cones, and some rice crispy bars! To say Molly loved it, and was in sugar heaven, is an understatement. She kept running back over to the cake table to just stare in amazement! And so did I!

 1. DRESS | 2. ICE CREAM GARLAND

I custom ordered her sprinkle dress from Etsy! The shop owner offered this dress pattern with a different fabric and was so sweet to alter it to this super adorable blush and rainbow sprinkle option! She even added it to her site so that you can now order it! You can find the original on her Etsy store, Sydney Jade Co, and here’s the version I got for Molly! That’s why I love ordering from Etsy so much, it is beyond easy to customize products!

 1. DRESS | 2. OUR MATCHING SHIRTS | 3. RILEY’S TEE | 4. MAMA CONVERSE | 5. MOLLY CONVERSE | 6. MY JEANS

I thought it would be really fun if the whole family was dressed in rainbow sprinkle attire! Kevin and I wore matching shirts and Molly had her dress… but I struggled to find something in Riley’s size so I had to get creative! I ordered a blank shirt, felt and some Fabri Tac and made it myself! DIY for the win – I linked all the supplies below!! He looked so stinkin cute and I am so happy to have this family photo of us!

How cute are our mommy and me matching Converse?! I couldn’t resist. Oh! Also, these are the $35 jeans that I love from Nordstrom, they are out of stock right now but I am really hoping that they bring them back soon! Another pair that I have that are really similar to them are these ones, and they are only $24. I would definitely recommend sizing down on these though! They run big but I love them because they are GREAT for women with curves!

For the favor bags for the kiddos, I put customized coloring pages, crayons, slime, pop-up ice cream cones, and inflatable ice cream comes! Don’t worry, I remembered to put the coloring pages in the bags this time! Ha! I found the crayons and slime at Walmart, and I ordered the rest of the goodies online!

I’ve linked some items below from the goodie bags, as well as other Ice Cream Party decor!

 1. DRESS | 2. OUR MATCHING SHIRTS | 3. MAMA CONVERSE | 4. MOLLY CONVERSE | 5. MY JEANS

Last year we said no gifts, so this year Molly couldn’t believe her luck when we got home and there were a pile of presents for her to open! We actually split it up into two, and kept some in the garage until after her nap. So it was even more fun for her! We bought her this Ariel doll last weekend and gave it to her as an early birthday present during our trip to San Diego. We had seen it at a friends house and she fell in love with it, it’s easily becoming one of her favorite toys!

 1. MY SHIRT | 2. MY JEANS | 3. ASHLEY’S DRESS

We had the best day celebrating our girl’s 3rd birthday and Molly had the best time with all of her friends! She spent her day going down the slide, playing the swings and steps, looking at all the animals like the birds, chickens, guinea pigs, and turtles. My heart was so full watching her, and I feel so lucky to be her Mommy!

I hope this post inspired some of you to do your very own ice cream party! If any of you have done it in the past, I’d love to see! Also, I’m currently brainstorming some summer activities to do with the kiddos, especially Molly. If you have any ideas, pass them my way! If I use your idea, I will give you a shout out in my blog about it! xoxo

The post Molly’s Ice Cream Themed 3rd Birthday appeared first on Ali Manno (Fedotowsky).

Peter’s Hometown

As always Peter is adorably awkward. I find myself laughing out loud multiple times whenever he’s with Hannah. He’s just so sweet and precious and such a dork and I love him for it. I honestly watched his date assuming he was going home this week just by process of elimination. I knew Luke needed to stay around for the drama coming next week, and her connection with Tyler and Jed is just too strong. So I kind of watched his entire hometown thinking it was the last week see if him and was really bummed about it because I just adore him so much!

But we get more Peter! Yay! When they were in the plane I was having a mini panic attack watching. For those of you who have been following me since the OG days, you probably remember that I had a huge fear of flying when I went to the Bachelor. And of course my date was a date similar to this one in a tiny little plane. But even now, 10 years later where I have flown over 500 times since then I still get nervous. And watching them kiss while he’s not paying attention to what he’s doing just give me so much anxiety! Obviously, I know he’s being safe but the chicken inside of me couldn’t help.

Onto his parents house. What an adorable family! Which doesn’t surprise me at all because I mean Peter is a product of that family. Their little German prayer at the beginning of dinner just made me smile.

And his parents!!! Seriously I want like to somehow magically have another sibling that can marry Peter so their family can be apart of my family. Ha! I just love everything about them. I cried right along with his mom and dad when they both broke down. I feel their love for Peter. That’s how I feel about my kids. And I never want that to go away even when Molly and Riley are in their late 20s looking for love. I’m confident I’ll still have that intense love for my kiddos when they are older like Peter’s parents obviously do for him. Peter’s dad reminds me a lot of Kevin’s dad. He isn’t afraid to be emotional. I love that about him! I truly believe that Kevin having a father figure that is so emotionally intelligent, sensitive and loving is why Kevin is that way. His mom has a huge part in that too! But I think there’s something to be said about men having exceptional male figures to look up to who aren’t afraid to cry. I have no doubt that my unicorn husband and I are raising a unicorn son. If you read my blog regularly than you know exactly what I mean by that.

Can I take back what I said about not knowing whether or not Peter could handle the role of the Bachelor? I actually think he would make it fantastic Bachelor! I think we see this adorable awkward quirky side of him because he’s not completely sure of himself in the situation. But I think the Bachelor would give him so much confidence that it would take him over the edge. And with a heart like his, women would be jumping at the bit to sign up! Again, I wish I had a little sister so I could set them up.

Tyler’s Hometown

Don’t they just kind of seem like they fit together? I don’t know what it is about the two of them but I feel like they look like a couple. And they just seem so similar in so many ways. I really feel like if they end up together at the end of this, they’re gonna have a really good shot at making it.

I also cried like a baby when they went to Tyler’s parents house. When his dad was talking to Tyler and just really opened up I found myself in tears. I just love these families!

Weirdly I don’t have a ton to say about this hometown. It was pretty standard. I think in general it just made me understand more why Tyler has shown so much class throughout this experience. Minus the one time last week where he picked on Luke’s height. But I think Luke is just such a toxic person at this point that I don’t really blame anybody for saying something to pick on him. Sometimes when you’re bullied and lied to over and over and over again you have to push back a little bit.

Luke’s Hometown

I found his hometown to be extremely interesting. I know he’s not the first “villain” on a season of the show that made it to Hometown‘s. But I think he’s the first one for me that I had a hard time empathizing with. But then to sit there and watch this show and see the people in his Bible study say such nice things about him, it kind of made me take a second look at him. Was I missing something? Should I empathize him? Am I being too tough on him? I truly always try to see the good in people every time I watch the show. I try to remember that I was once in their shoes and it was hurtful to hear the things people would say about me on the Internet. So really try to keep that in mind but I’m writing these blogs trying to be fair to everyone. It’s just very hard to see Luke’s side when he was so mean hearted throughout this process. He just told lie after lie after lie and I felt it was a form of verbal abuse to Hannah.

And then we get to his parents house, I felt like a terrible person for having these thoughts. Watching  him talk to his mom and dad and seeing how much his parents love him. It just kind of reminds me that even though people do shitty things sometimes, most people are deep down good people. When he was talking to his mother I kept trying to imagine that I was his mom and he was Riley. And 25 years from now Riley sitting in front of me talking to me about how he maybe didn’t make the best choices. My heart would break for him. I know my kids are gonna make mistakes and possibly do stupid things like lie to people to save themselves. But it doesn’t make him all bad. I don’t know. I think this is the sappy mother in me just wanting everybody to get along.

All that said, I know a big week is coming up with Luke and Hannah. All I know, all any of us know, is that he is going to tell her that if she has already slept with someone it would be a dealbreaker for him. And it’s hard to comment on that situation when we haven’t seen it completely unfold yet. As of now my thoughts are this, I feel for him. If I just told someone that I love them and have them meet my family and then found out right afterwards that they slept with somebody else it would really, really hurt me. On the other hand, with fantasy suites coming up it’s a pretty well-known fact that that tends to happen. It doesn’t make it right or wrong. It’s just something that happens. Not with everybody but with a lot. But what I wholeheartedly believe that everybody has a right to feel hurt by it. It just depends how it was handled. I guess we will see you next week.

Jed’s Hometown

When Jed brought Hannah to a music studio at the beginning of this hometown I was screaming inside: “NOOOOOOO JED! Come on! Enough with the music”. At the same time I was thinking how ballsy it was considering the fact that he recently admitted to her that he came on the show for his career. But then the more we got into the date I realized that music is a huge part of him. And that became even more evident when she sat down with his family and they all talked about how important his music was to him. So I guess it really wouldn’t make sense for him to do anything else with her during his hometown. Music is his life! The whole point of hometowns is to see how you would fit within somebody’s life. Also, the song they wrote is incredible! I have no doubts that he’s going to do huge things with his career. He’s super talented. And it’s just so romantic! I’m for sure buying it on iTunes when it comes out. Because it will be on iTunes after this, assuming the show lets him release it. I think it might be owned by them because it was on the show. But I’m unsure.

Anyway, I get that a musicians life isn’t necessarily the easiest life. He’s not gonna have a steady job therefore unsteady income. Actually scratch that. Before the Bachelorette he wouldn’t have had steady income. Let’s face it, everyone on the show is immediately Instagram famous when the shows over now and can make a living just though their Instagram. But I get that before the show, it’s really unstable. I guess I just don’t really understand why that means he can’t get engaged. I’d love for any of you that happen to have more insight into the music world to give me your thoughts on this. Sure he would be on tour and it wouldn’t be easy, but if you’re in love does it matter? Hannah can go on tour with them!

And even though her hometown date with him seemed really negative, and the shots we saw with his family seemed very stoic, I still feel like we saw very limited bits of it. I feel like there was probably a lot more laughs and smiles then we were shown. I mean, obviously it wasn’t great because Hannah said that it didn’t go the way she wanted it to. But I don’t think it was as terrible as we were led to believe.

Rose Ceremony

Jed has every right to be upset about the Rose Ceremony. Luke should be more upset too! At this point to still be so unsure that you can’t send somebody home is just so unfair to the guys. I understand that she’s struggling, but if you’re serious about being with someone I feel like you need to have a more clear idea of who you want to end up with at this point. I told you guys this before but I knew my top two guys day one and that never wavered throughout my entire experience as the Bachelorette. So to have a top four and only have 2 1/2 weeks left until you get engaged and still not be able to narrow it down to even three is very concerning. So I get why the guys are upset! However, I have no idea what’s going on at Hannah’s head. I’ve no idea what she’s really feeling or what she’s gone through. None of us really do. So I’m gonna give her the benefit of the doubt on this one. I hope she knows what she’s doing because I think she really hurt Jed with this one. What are you guys thinking?

And like I do every week I’m going to include some of my favorite looks from my blog from this past week. What’s so great about them is they are super affordable! I am absolutely in love with this white top from Walmart. Keep an eye on my Instagram stories because I’ve been wearing it a lot because it’s just so beautiful.

1. TOP | 2. JEANS | 3. LOW HEEL PUMPS | 4. PURSE

Also, my dark wash jeans in the photo below are only $16! Head to my blog post with all my Affordable Friday looks to see more photos of them. I posted a photo of my backside too because I just think they make my butt look really good! Ha! And I never feel like my butt looks good in jeans.

1. SHIRT   | 2. JEANS | 3. NAIL POLISH COLOR | 4.  CHAIR

The post The Bachelorette – Hometowns appeared first on Ali Manno (Fedotowsky).

The Battle of the Lukes

I want to say right off the bat that Luke S has nothing to be ashamed about. He said in the episode that Luke P made him look really, really bad. And yes maybe that’s true that Luke P made Luke S look bad to Hannah. But Luke S is a standup guy in my opinion, and I think most viewers would agree with me. I feel sorry for him that he was dragged into all Luke P’s BS. And I applaud him for holding his head up high and choosing to go home. Not everybody is going to agree with me on this one. But I think he just knew that it wasn’t fair between him and Hannah and I think on top of that he knew he probably couldn’t recover from the situation. He was dealt a really shitty hand and he left with his head high. I also thought it was really nice how respectfully he told Hannah to keep her eyes open. It seemed like he genuinely wanted to give her advice.

The Rose Ceremony

And as we all know now, Luke P got a rose. I know a lot of you probably speculated that Luke S was also going to get one, and think that’s why they took away a rose at the beginning of the ceremony after he left. But I don’t think that’s necessarily true. At this point in the game you want to send way more guys home each rose ceremony then you’re allowed to. And I know that sounds harsh but it’s just the truth. Like do you honestly think that she think she’s going to end up with Dylan or Dustin at this point? I bet the majority of you don’t even know who those two people are. Because they get barely any screen time. Because she’s just not into them and isn’t forming relationships with them. I guarantee if she could have, she would’ve sent both of them home tonight too. So when Luke S left on his own, it allowed for more drama by adding speculation that by taking another rose away  it makes it seem like he would’ve gotten one. Trust me, Hannah wishes production took at least three more roses away.

And even though I knew Luke was going to get a rose even before she gave it to him, I was still holding my breath just hoping he wouldn’t say his name. He is just the worst! I know she knows that deep down. But since they had such a strong connection from the get-go I think she’s just not willing to say goodbye just yet. But I have faith that she will figure it out and send him home.

Bar Scene

I love that Jed put Luke in his place. It’s not a secret that he’s my favorite of the season! If he doesn’t end up with Hannah, I really hope he’s the next Bachelor!

But the main thing that had me surprised during this whole bar scene was that the guys got to go to a bar in the first place! When I was on the show, if you weren’t on a date, you didn’t get to leave the hotel! Heck, you didn’t get to leave the hotel room! The only time I was ever able to leave the hotel room if I wasn’t on a date is when they let me go to the gym supervised one time. There’s a reason people go crazy on the show. And that’s because they’re locked up like animals! Ha! I’m serious! I bet the guys felt like it was Christmas morning that they got to go to a pub and have a beer even if it meant they had to talk to Luke P.

Mike’s Date

The very first thing I notice about Hannah‘s date with Mike is that when they walked into the candy shop, the whiskey bar, and the restroom, she always walked in front of him. I feel like if she were with Peter, Jed, or even Luke P, she would’ve been holding their hands walking in. She just didn’t really seem super connected to him physically right off the bat.

I feel like I’ve heard her say multiple times that she felt very comfortable with him. But the way she said it just seemed like she was talking about her friend and not someone she was romantically interested in. I think she also talked about being comfortable with Jed, but when she said it she had hearts in her eyes and I’m pretty sure giggled while saying it. When she says it about Mike it’s almost like she’s trying to convince us and him that something is there when it’s not.

Which is fine! Just because they don’t have chemistry doesn’t mean they’re not both awesome people! I’ve had plenty of guys in my life that we’re great friends but I was not romantically interested in at all! That said, they are damn good catches and the women that landed them are super lucky woman. And that’s how I feel about Mike. I think whoever ends up with him is going to be super lucky! But it’s just not Hannah.

Group Date

When I saw that this was going to be a date with the wrestling in it, I just rolled my eyes. I get that the Highland Games are a Scottish tradition (and I enjoyed all of the competitions except for the wrestling). But I just don’t understand why they had this date and the rugby date in back to back episodes. It’s just too much. I don’t care for it.

And as much as I love Jed (is that not clear yet? Ha!), his wrestling move on Hannah was very strange. I thought he was going to pick her up and gently lay her on top of him. I don’t think it turned out like he meant to do. Ha! Although Hannah sent some very clear signals to all the guys that she’s super into Jed when she kissed him in front of everybody.

While I appreciate Peter’s attempt at a really hot and steamy moment on the pool table with Hannah, it failed miserably! From the get go! The way he pushed the balls to the side so calculated really just set it up for failure of the gecko. Never mind the fact that he hit his head on the lamp. But I just find him so endearing and precious that I can’t help but love him. He reminds me of a little brother. I found myself smiling and laughing throughout the whole thing.

I’m not trying to be a prude, but I thought Hannah took the super passionate making out too far on the group date. She had very sexual steamy make out sessions with Jed, Peter, and Tyler C. To the point where I felt it would’ve turned into much more if they weren’t on a group date. I honestly don’t ever remember kissing anybody like that except the guy I chose in the end. I could be wrong. And this isn’t meant to be something where I say what I did is better than what she’s doing. I just think that the point of dating multiple people is to get to know multiple people – I kind of felt like she was just taking advantage of getting to make out hard-core with multiple guys. And if it was the Bachelor doing that and the tables were turned, I would annoyed with him t00. I don’t know. I’m on the fence about this. Part of me says go for it girl! But the mom side of me thinks it’s inappropriate.

But I will say this, there’s no handbook on how to be the Bachelorette. You just go with what feels right in the moment. And I’m sure that’s exactly what Hannah is doing.

Luke’s Date

Before Luke left for his date with Hannah he tried to be civil with the guys. But it’s just too late. He’s dug his whole too deep to be able to have any sort of normal conversation with them. He thinks that he can go back but he can’t after everything he’s done. And then when he was on the date with Hannah, he said that everything he said is blown out of proportion by all the guys now. And I kind of agree with him. But he deserves it. He has shown time and time again that he can’t be trusted and that he’s a liar. So he’s right – he can’t say or do anything right at this point.

The second that Hannah said that this was either her first date with her future husband or her first and last one-on-one date with Luke made me think right away that he be going home. They wouldn’t have shown that on the show otherwise, right? Otherwise she would be saying she’s picking him in the end. The show would kind of be over.

But as we saw from the previews we have not seen the last of Luke. In fact, I think all the fighting that was happening with the guys was still with Luke. They just didn’t show him in the preview. I’m guessing she didn’t give him the rose but she didn’t send him home either.

Tell me what you think!

I’m so over the entire situation with him. I found their date infuriating because he kept saying the same thing over and over and over again. And then Hannah kept saying the same thing over and over and over again. Let’s discuss!

Oh! Because you know I love talking outfits….

Here are a few pieces she wore in tonight’s episode, along with some more affordable versions!

And while you’re here make sure to check out some of my cute looks from my blog last week! The office look below is honestly one of my favorites ever!

1. WHITE BLAZER | 2. BAG | 3. FLORAL TANK  | 4. $39 JEANS | 5. EARRINGS

Truly this is one of my favorite looks ever, and I wanted to make sure you all see it. Ha! I love that the blazer can make an otherwise pretty simple outfit elevated and perfect for work. The cami tank is also so cute and delicate with the floral and scallop detailing! Also can we talk about how amazing the heart earrings are?!

Jump over to last week’s post if you want more details on everything, and also another outfit too!

1. WHITE BLAZER | 2. BAG | 3. FLORAL TANK  | 4. $39 JEANS | 5. EARRINGS

The post The Bachelorette – Luke appeared first on Ali Manno (Fedotowsky).