December Instagram
The Year In Review
Every year, for the past 4 years or so, I have been doing a "year in review" post which catalogues all of my first of the month posts with the first sentence from each of those posts. Here is a look at the busy year Justin and I have had as we got married, moved in together, and experienced some of our biggest life changes ever.
January - I am beyond excited to have had one more day of vacation with the lovely and awe inspiring maid of honor Marion. Unfortunately the day was fun-filled invitation creating and anxiety producing.
February - This week I have been working on the music for the wedding (among other things). After talking with the reception site, Justin and I decided to have music put on cds to play during the reception.
March - This week has been crazy stressful as Justin and I try to finish the final touches. Justin is still working on bridesmaid dresses and I am trying to finish all of the paper "products" that will be found at the wedding including the programs.
April - Last night Justin and I started moving things into our new rental house.
May - Justin and I are still busy setting up house, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of where we now live.
June - Obviously when you move into an older house, you get the remnants of whatever the last owner/renter had. Given that the landlord pays for an exterminator, we weren't expecting a big bug problem. Maybe we should have been.
July - It had been far too long, so Justin and I (and my mom) made our way up to the North Georgia mountains to visit with my grandparents. It was a nice getaway and gave us plenty of time to think.
August - One of the BIG things Justin and I share is that we love to try new restaurants.
September - I wasn't going to post about this, but we made French bread!!! Julia Child's French bread!!
October - The scare last Thursday (and Friday) have resulted in some changes that Justin and I are taking to make our house feel more like a home (as well as add some additional security).
November - Instead of celebrating Halloween on Wednesday like any normal person, Justin and I decided to go out and do something different.
December - Justin and I were super busy this past weekend. I came up with a list of things that needed to happen over the weekend, things we could do to save money rather than spending it.
January - I am beyond excited to have had one more day of vacation with the lovely and awe inspiring maid of honor Marion. Unfortunately the day was fun-filled invitation creating and anxiety producing.
February - This week I have been working on the music for the wedding (among other things). After talking with the reception site, Justin and I decided to have music put on cds to play during the reception.
March - This week has been crazy stressful as Justin and I try to finish the final touches. Justin is still working on bridesmaid dresses and I am trying to finish all of the paper "products" that will be found at the wedding including the programs.
April - Last night Justin and I started moving things into our new rental house.
May - Justin and I are still busy setting up house, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of where we now live.
June - Obviously when you move into an older house, you get the remnants of whatever the last owner/renter had. Given that the landlord pays for an exterminator, we weren't expecting a big bug problem. Maybe we should have been.
July - It had been far too long, so Justin and I (and my mom) made our way up to the North Georgia mountains to visit with my grandparents. It was a nice getaway and gave us plenty of time to think.
August - One of the BIG things Justin and I share is that we love to try new restaurants.
September - I wasn't going to post about this, but we made French bread!!! Julia Child's French bread!!
October - The scare last Thursday (and Friday) have resulted in some changes that Justin and I are taking to make our house feel more like a home (as well as add some additional security).
November - Instead of celebrating Halloween on Wednesday like any normal person, Justin and I decided to go out and do something different.
December - Justin and I were super busy this past weekend. I came up with a list of things that needed to happen over the weekend, things we could do to save money rather than spending it.
Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String
Since yesterday was Christmas, I thought I would share a few of my favorite things about the holiday season.
1. Packages tied with REAL ribbon (not the fake plasticy stuff). Unfortunately, the box above used a WHOLE spool of ribbon. (At least it was pretty?! I must admit I am also in love with the candy cane wrapping paper! Always looks sooo amazing when you stick a candy cane on it!)
2. I couldn't decide on one favorite Christmas cd. I really like Point of Grace's cd "When Love Came Down", Michael W. Smith's "Christmastime", and Enya's "And Winter Came". I've only listened to Enya's album this year, so far, but I have been known to listen to these albums all year long. They are very calming. Don't get me wrong though -- I totally love more upbeat Christmas music as well! Give me Bing Crosby or Burl Ives any day!
3. One of my favorite seasonal movies is The Family Stone. LOVE that movie! Home Alone and Miracle on 34th Street always remind me of Christmas... even if I don't watch them every year. It's a tie between Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and A Charlie Brown Christmas as to which animated movie is my favorite.
4. As to my favorite Christmas foods? French chocolate truffles and blood oranges top my list! I can get everything else all year 'round. :) Also loving eggnog thinned out with skim milk topped with nutmeg. Mmmm... :)
5. I don't really have a favorite thing to do at Christmastime, but I am hoping in the future to go to New York one Christmas and ice skate at the Rockefeller Center and shop on Times Square. (I also want to get a really good hot chocolate and people-watch from a cafe. :) Until that becomes a reality, I will be quite happy to enjoy Christmas with both my own and Justin's families as we navigate between at a minimum of two houses on Christmas day.
What are your favorite things at Christmas time? Do you stay super busy or do you have a chance to relax?
Christmas Eve!
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| image by Robert Hill of Eyeon Media; edited by me |
After a fun-filled weekend with baking, spending time with extended family, grocery shopping, and going on a hike to a waterfall, unfortunately, Justin and I both ended up sick... AGAIN! Coughing, sneezing, watery eyes, the inability to breath, so on and so forth. The worst part is that my cameras batteries were dead when we went on that hike, so inevitably I missed the opportunity to get either a family shot or a shot of the beautiful waterfall. It almost makes me feel like it was not worthwhile.
Today, we commence on more baking... along with house cleaning and present wrapping/finishing. This has been a crazy December! (Oh, I may have forgotten medicine taking.)
I hope you all are having a fantastic Christmas eve spending time with those you love, and I wish you all a very merry Christmas! :)
Smashcake Studio
Guess what we received in the mail this week?
Justin and I had won it in a contest from Anders Ruff. Approximately 3 days after deciding on what we were getting, Smashcake Studio had this beauty on our doorstep very well packaged in gorgeous, brightly colored packaging including a few pieces of candy!
The biggest surprise with this cake stand is how tall it is! The quality of the cake stand is amazing! But the cake stand is much taller than I was expecting. I'm a little bit worried about putting Justin's huge cakes on there. :/ With the cakes on there, it will practically rise up to being as tall as me when on the table... but, then again, I'm pretty short.
So now on to putting together a party to celebrate and use our gorgeous cake stand! Thank you Anders Ruff and Smashcake Studio! :)
The Kiss
After watching The Bachelorette: Ashley and J.P.'s Wedding (Yes, I watched it. Yes, that makes me a sad, sad person. lol.) I was inspired to write a post about the importance of the kiss, the first one you make as husband and wife at the altar.
If you haven't discussed this with your future husband, you need to. Or maybe you don't. I'm not you or him... I'm not in your relationship, and I can't tell you what you need to do.
Justin and I had to have this discussion.
When we first started dating, Justin told me that he wanted to save his first kiss for his wife. This was kind of a big deal for me since he had dated others, but I had never dated anyone other than him.
Then later into our relationship (much later... as in 4 years later...), he changed his mind and decided to kiss me.
Can you imagine dating 4 years without kissing... and then kissing? I'm not sure many people can. The one positive I think that we really got from this period of waiting was that we had become superb friends. We had discussed everything... our relationship had been up and down... There were tears, there were smiles, funerals, weddings... graduations, family arguments, friend arguments, dinners, breakfasts, winters, summers, periods of work and periods of play... We had met one another's families...
I think what held us together is that Justin was very affectionate in other ways making me feel like an absolute princess. He held my hand nearly everywhere we went. He hugged me all of the time for no apparent reason. He kissed my forehead when I wasn't feeling good, kissed my hand just to be cute... He rubbed my feet after a day of walking in the mall... He put his arm around me when we were sitting out in the cold winter looking up at the stars...
(I say he was the affectionate one, because I am not. I don't like making people feel excluded or like they are a third wheel, so hand holding was out of the question when friends were around... I'm weird, I know.)
So anyway, that first kiss at the altar was a HUGE deal for us. I wanted to skip over it. I had read online that others would just skip over that part during the mass and no one would be the wiser. Or maybe a kiss on the cheek? I wanted to save the first married kiss for in private. Justin did not.
We glossed over this discussion by not discussing it. I hoped I would get some bravery by the time the priest said those fateful (dreadful) words. I was prepared to kiss and be done with it so that my husband would be happy. Y'know, nothing crazy... just a peck on the lips.
By not discussing it, Justin and I were in completely different thought processes. During the "you may kiss the bride" part, he managed to turn me in such a way with his hand up to my cheek so that no one would see. lol. I was soooo mad at the time. I was thinking "You wanted a kiss, so we may as well get a good picture of it!" Now, looking back I can laugh and think that he was... protecting me in his own special way, if that makes any sense. He was loving me, thinking about me, considering my thoughts and feelings.
Unfortunately though, in the aftermath, we got to hear things from family members like "Why didn't you let him kiss you?!?" and so on and so forth. Turns out the priest and the singer were the only ones to see the actual kiss. lol. We also heard things like "We're practicing our kiss before we get married." lol.
My opinion on the matter? Think about it, talk about it, and plan it. If you want a special kiss picture at the altar, make sure you are on the same page with your significant other. If you are shy like me, at least talk to and consider what will happen when you are up in front of all of your family and friends rather than avoiding it and hoping it goes away. It won't.
I know most people are not like me... I know most people cannot wait for that moment when they get to kiss their significant other at the altar. I think that is wonderful.
As an aside, I do think it is funny that Justin once suggested that we practice kissing in public. After being married for nearly a year, that still hasn't happened. Maybe next year? ;)
If you haven't discussed this with your future husband, you need to. Or maybe you don't. I'm not you or him... I'm not in your relationship, and I can't tell you what you need to do.
Justin and I had to have this discussion.
When we first started dating, Justin told me that he wanted to save his first kiss for his wife. This was kind of a big deal for me since he had dated others, but I had never dated anyone other than him.
Then later into our relationship (much later... as in 4 years later...), he changed his mind and decided to kiss me.
Can you imagine dating 4 years without kissing... and then kissing? I'm not sure many people can. The one positive I think that we really got from this period of waiting was that we had become superb friends. We had discussed everything... our relationship had been up and down... There were tears, there were smiles, funerals, weddings... graduations, family arguments, friend arguments, dinners, breakfasts, winters, summers, periods of work and periods of play... We had met one another's families...
I think what held us together is that Justin was very affectionate in other ways making me feel like an absolute princess. He held my hand nearly everywhere we went. He hugged me all of the time for no apparent reason. He kissed my forehead when I wasn't feeling good, kissed my hand just to be cute... He rubbed my feet after a day of walking in the mall... He put his arm around me when we were sitting out in the cold winter looking up at the stars...
(I say he was the affectionate one, because I am not. I don't like making people feel excluded or like they are a third wheel, so hand holding was out of the question when friends were around... I'm weird, I know.)
So anyway, that first kiss at the altar was a HUGE deal for us. I wanted to skip over it. I had read online that others would just skip over that part during the mass and no one would be the wiser. Or maybe a kiss on the cheek? I wanted to save the first married kiss for in private. Justin did not.
We glossed over this discussion by not discussing it. I hoped I would get some bravery by the time the priest said those fateful (dreadful) words. I was prepared to kiss and be done with it so that my husband would be happy. Y'know, nothing crazy... just a peck on the lips.
By not discussing it, Justin and I were in completely different thought processes. During the "you may kiss the bride" part, he managed to turn me in such a way with his hand up to my cheek so that no one would see. lol. I was soooo mad at the time. I was thinking "You wanted a kiss, so we may as well get a good picture of it!" Now, looking back I can laugh and think that he was... protecting me in his own special way, if that makes any sense. He was loving me, thinking about me, considering my thoughts and feelings.
Unfortunately though, in the aftermath, we got to hear things from family members like "Why didn't you let him kiss you?!?" and so on and so forth. Turns out the priest and the singer were the only ones to see the actual kiss. lol. We also heard things like "We're practicing our kiss before we get married." lol.
My opinion on the matter? Think about it, talk about it, and plan it. If you want a special kiss picture at the altar, make sure you are on the same page with your significant other. If you are shy like me, at least talk to and consider what will happen when you are up in front of all of your family and friends rather than avoiding it and hoping it goes away. It won't.
I know most people are not like me... I know most people cannot wait for that moment when they get to kiss their significant other at the altar. I think that is wonderful.
As an aside, I do think it is funny that Justin once suggested that we practice kissing in public. After being married for nearly a year, that still hasn't happened. Maybe next year? ;)
Christmas Movies
Over the weekend, Justin went with me to babysit a few little gremlins as we watched Steven Spielberg's The Gremlins and ate some homemade popcorn. Apparently the movie, despite being quite scary for children, actually takes place at Christmas time. I had never seen it before, but it was quite amusing between explaining what was happening to a three year old ("Someone gave him a shot!" in a high-pitched overly-happy voice), enjoying popcorn, and playing bejeweled on my iphone.
This got me to thinking... what is your favorite Christmas movie? Is it something surprising like The Gremlins? Or what about something more traditional like It's a Wonderful Life or A Miracle on 34th Street?
It's so hard to believe Christmas eve is a week from today! Are you ready?
Finally Friday!
I'm sorry for the lack of updates this week, friends. I've been sick, and I haven't really felt like doing much. I hope you all are looking forward to the weekend as much as I am!
Justin and I have some Christmas present crafts to finish as well as addressing and sending all of our Christmas cards that came in the mail yesterday!! Yay!
I'm also going to be watching the movie Gremlins with the little rugrats I babysit! :)
What all are you up to this weekend? Finishing Christmas presents? Seeing lights? Something else?
Justin and I have some Christmas present crafts to finish as well as addressing and sending all of our Christmas cards that came in the mail yesterday!! Yay!
I'm also going to be watching the movie Gremlins with the little rugrats I babysit! :)
What all are you up to this weekend? Finishing Christmas presents? Seeing lights? Something else?
Bouquet Pendants
One idea I absolutely love that we used when planning our wedding was the idea of using pendants to make each bridesmaid and flower girl's bouquet unique and special. We didn't actually get a picture of the pendants in the bouquets, but we bought little picture frames from Michaels ($3 for a set of 5) and printed initials that we put into each frame.
For my bouquet, we placed a rosary into the bouquet that we got from an antique shop. My dad had a rosary that he was going to let me borrow, but I felt like a black rosary just wasn't as pretty.
Other pendant ideas I've seen or heard of often include lockets with pictures of loved ones, jewelry from another female in the family, something blue... etc...
What do you think about the idea of using pendants to personalize a bouquet?
If you like the idea, it may be good to know that Anthropologie is offering 30% off charms today!
Through the Woods
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| image by Robert Hill of Eyeonline Media; enhanced by me |
As the days get shorter, Justin and I seem to get busier. Over the course of the last week, as mentioned in last Tuesday's post, Justin and I managed to go from having one or two things to do... to having a full week of activity! Birthdays, babysitting, family outings, photo shoots, and parties... On top of it all, Justin was sick! :( Oh the joy of Christmas!
Florrie Mitton
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| Forever Lace Garter with Rhinestone Trim |
So you have your dress, the venue is picked, and now it is time to decide on the small details that you may or may not remember about your day. You have to pick out the decorations, the rental company for plates, and... the garter. Are you doing a garter toss?
I have to admit that I had absolutely no interest in having my husband pull my garter off with his teeth or through any other method. Probably a good idea since, on the day of, I completely forgot to put mine on! (Just goes to show that even when you have a gazillion lists you will still likely forget something! Especially when you are as forgetful as me!)
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| Aphrodite Beaded Garter |
When I was researching garters, the garter I most wanted (but did not get) was a Florrie Mitton.
If you are not considering wearing a garter, you probably will after seeing these. Just keep in mind that these garters are expensive. They are handmade in England using vintage findings, beautiful crystals, fine laces, and silk.
So what do you think? Would you splurge for a Florrie Mitton garter?
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| Romance |
ChicWish Review (Follow Up)
Back before Thanksgiving, I discovered ChicWish and ordered a few things. Now that the dress I ordered, the Got a Date Lace Dress in Mint, is finally in, I thought I would review my experience.
First off, I used free shipping right before Thanksgiving. When using free shipping, ChicWish will not monitor where the item is in the shipping process for you, so I was sitting on pins and needles waiting for my dress to come in. They said it would be at my house between 8-12 days but really it came in 13 days. As you can imagine, I was nervous that the package would not come in.
When I opened the Got a Date dress, it had been folded up, but luckily the wrinkles came out within 2 or 3 hours of being hung on a hanger. The lace on the dress has not all come unfolded though. There weren't any care instructions, so I am not really sure if I can iron the lace out or not?
The dress is cute and stretches, but because the lace around the waist does not go fully around the back, I would definitely recommend you make sure to order the dress in the correct size, whether small, medium, or large. If you receive a size too small, I can imagine that the lace around the waist would not fit around you if you ordered too small even if the dress actually stretched around you anyway.
The positive is that I received compliments all night about my dress the first night I wore it... from every woman I ran into. They all liked the color and the vintage style.
So my take on ChicWish is that while the items may be cheaper than others, more cheaply made as well as cheaper in price than stores like Anthropologie, items purchased are still gorgeous and likely to get lots of compliments anyway. However do not order using free shipping if you intend on having the item by a certain time. If I had needed the dress within 12 days, I wouldn't have had it.
Would I order from ChicWish again? Yes. When you read the little notification about them having "this many" in stock, they don't let you know that they frequently get more back in stock. :)
The Got a Date lace dress is gorgeous, and I definitely would recommend buying it on sale. It is a fun dress to wear whether dressed up or down in the summer or in the winter.
Have you bought from ChicWish before? Would you consider buying from them in the future?
First off, I used free shipping right before Thanksgiving. When using free shipping, ChicWish will not monitor where the item is in the shipping process for you, so I was sitting on pins and needles waiting for my dress to come in. They said it would be at my house between 8-12 days but really it came in 13 days. As you can imagine, I was nervous that the package would not come in.
When I opened the Got a Date dress, it had been folded up, but luckily the wrinkles came out within 2 or 3 hours of being hung on a hanger. The lace on the dress has not all come unfolded though. There weren't any care instructions, so I am not really sure if I can iron the lace out or not?
The dress is cute and stretches, but because the lace around the waist does not go fully around the back, I would definitely recommend you make sure to order the dress in the correct size, whether small, medium, or large. If you receive a size too small, I can imagine that the lace around the waist would not fit around you if you ordered too small even if the dress actually stretched around you anyway.
The positive is that I received compliments all night about my dress the first night I wore it... from every woman I ran into. They all liked the color and the vintage style.
So my take on ChicWish is that while the items may be cheaper than others, more cheaply made as well as cheaper in price than stores like Anthropologie, items purchased are still gorgeous and likely to get lots of compliments anyway. However do not order using free shipping if you intend on having the item by a certain time. If I had needed the dress within 12 days, I wouldn't have had it.
Would I order from ChicWish again? Yes. When you read the little notification about them having "this many" in stock, they don't let you know that they frequently get more back in stock. :)
The Got a Date lace dress is gorgeous, and I definitely would recommend buying it on sale. It is a fun dress to wear whether dressed up or down in the summer or in the winter.
Have you bought from ChicWish before? Would you consider buying from them in the future?
A Busy Weekend
Justin and I were super busy this past weekend. I came up with a list of things that needed to happen over the weekend, things we could do to save money rather than spending it... but things that needed to happen anyway. One of those things was getting a chandelier we had previously bought (as in before getting married) from my parents house to hang in our dining room. It ended up taking all day Saturday and Sunday to actually get it hung since we had to go looking for brown chain (Who knew it was so hard to find?!?) and driving the hour (plus spending time with my family) when getting the chandelier. The chandelier looks soooooo much better than the previous chandelier we had hanging in our dining room.
While we were driving around looking for chandelier parts, we came across some chairs at Home Depot that we had previously decided against purchasing. The price for the chairs was down by approximately $60, so we bit the bullet and bought not at all certain that the chairs were exactly what we wanted for our dining room. They were. YAY! They are soooo much more comfortable than the stools we had before. It's actually nice to have dinner in our dining room now. :) Plus, we think the stools look awesome with the table...
We also had the joy of finishing our Christmas decorations! Yay!!! My parents let us borrow some garland to put on our staircase and a wreath... while one of the ladies I babysit for decided to decorate our mailbox. We are feeling all Christmasy now!
It's good that we got as much done over the weekend as we did, because we are about to get busy with Christmas parties and events! It always surprises me how busy you can find yourself at this time of year. This week, for example, Justin and I have gone from having very little to do to having something to do every night. (As if we didn't have enough to do already!)
Are you surprised at how busy you become during the holiday season?
ASOS
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| A Wear Fit & Flare Lace Dress |
I feel like I keep discovering more and more shops. ASOS is an awesome shop with cute clothes. It started in the UK in 2000 with only recently (as in 2010) opening up to shoppers in the US. I had heard about ASOS before today, but only today did I actually go to the website to check it out.
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| ASOS Rib Fold Over Collar |
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| Little Mistress Floral Applique Prom Dress |
There are a lot of cute styles available at ASOS, and right now they are providing a 30% off coupon on the website. I would definitely recommend checking it out for holiday dresses, warm coats, and... more!
Christmas Decorations & the Holiday Weekend
After spending a delightful Thanksgiving with our families enjoying Justin's most delicious Ultimate Coconut Cake, and a crazy-busy Black Friday at the malls shopping deals and discounts to obtain the perfect gifts for the ones we love, Justin and I spent our Sunday buying and decorating our very first Christmas tree. (We were suppose to put it up on Saturday, but my car requested service first.)
We went early Saturday to pick out a Christmas tree at Costco. (Seven to eight foot trees were being sold there for a price of $30, which I could not argue with.)
Then Justin completely surprised me by picking out some turquoise ornaments for us to decorate our tree with. While I was worried about our Christmas tree being too "girly", Justin informed me that Christmas trees, in essence, are girly and he might as well decorate the tree with my favorite color just to make me happy. I was perfectly content to go along with it. Unfortunately, Justin and I are crazy picky and we could not find a tree topper. Instead, being resourceful, I decided to put a polar bear on top of the tree that I got from my parents' house. It is now our favorite part of the tree!
Next on the list of Christmas decorations, Justin and I will be making a Christmas wreath and a tree skirt.
So what did you do during the holiday weekend? Do you agree with Justin that Christmas trees are girly? What do you top your tree with?
Black Friday Shopping
One of my favorite things to do every year after Thanksgiving is to go shopping on "Black Friday". I love people watching. Then there is also the excitement of seeing Christmas decorations up in the malls and hearing Christmas music for what is hopefully the first time in the year. While Christmas decorations are going up earlier and earlier every year and shops are playing Christmas music sooner and sooner after Halloween, I still love keeping up the tradition begun with my grandmother and mother years and years and years ago when I was very young. Unfortunately for Justin, neither my mother nor my grandmother truly enjoy going out in the crowds anymore, so Justin gets the joy of coming with me. He doesn't mind so long as I don't spend all of our money. :) Unfortunately, over the years, we have also discovered that often the deals advertised in conjunction with black Friday aren't always as good as what you may find during the year or after the Christmas rush is over in January.
Obviously there are a number of places you can go and ways to save even more money on the biggest spending day of the year. Starting, of course, with coupons from newspapers and paying attention to deals in the stores. You can also get help finding deals from websites such as SlickDeals. Something very new to me this year is using smartphone apps like RetailMeNot, DealsPL, Pocketly, Shopkick, Pic2Shop, and Redlaser to name a few. Some apps provide useful coupons while you are in stores while others look up your item using a SKU number and tell you if other stores, online or not, have the item for cheaper, assuming the SKU number matches the SKU number available online for other stores.
So what do you love most about Black Friday? Do you go for traditions sake or to find a specific gift for a good price for that someone special?
Obviously there are a number of places you can go and ways to save even more money on the biggest spending day of the year. Starting, of course, with coupons from newspapers and paying attention to deals in the stores. You can also get help finding deals from websites such as SlickDeals. Something very new to me this year is using smartphone apps like RetailMeNot, DealsPL, Pocketly, Shopkick, Pic2Shop, and Redlaser to name a few. Some apps provide useful coupons while you are in stores while others look up your item using a SKU number and tell you if other stores, online or not, have the item for cheaper, assuming the SKU number matches the SKU number available online for other stores.
So what do you love most about Black Friday? Do you go for traditions sake or to find a specific gift for a good price for that someone special?
Wishing All A Happy Thanksgiving!
Over the past year, my life has changed in so many ways... for the better. I am so thankful for all of the wonderful people in my life who have blessed it in so many ways.
I sincerely hope that each of my readers has a particularly good Thursday whether or not you celebrate Thanksgiving!
I sincerely hope that each of my readers has a particularly good Thursday whether or not you celebrate Thanksgiving!
Shoes... Shoes... Shoes...
When I was getting married, I had the hardest time finding shoes. Today, through pinterest, I stumbled across ParisXOX on etsy.
Before finding out about ParisXOX, I thought the only place to get shoes dyed in a specific color was through Payless Shoes. I was pretty excited when I discovered an etsy company that not only dyes shoes in a wide variety of colors but also has a huge selection of shoes from which to choose as well as shoe ornaments through which to make any shoes you choose even more gorgeous.
I am also loving that this company provides color swatches, and they will send you a pair of un-dyed shoes to try on and make sure you get your correct size. Perhaps the best thing about this company is that a huge amount of money from your purchase gets donated to the animal shelter! Not only do you get gorgeous shoes in the correct size and color for your wedding (or other event), but you get to make an animal's life better as well!
Starting today, ParisXOX is having an inventory sale for Black Friday, so go check them out and score yourself a pair of cute, colorful shoes for a discounted price! :)
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| Watermelon Pink Shoes with Rhinestone Embellishments. |
Before finding out about ParisXOX, I thought the only place to get shoes dyed in a specific color was through Payless Shoes. I was pretty excited when I discovered an etsy company that not only dyes shoes in a wide variety of colors but also has a huge selection of shoes from which to choose as well as shoe ornaments through which to make any shoes you choose even more gorgeous.
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| Orange Shoes with Feathers and a Crystal and Pearl Embellishment |
I am also loving that this company provides color swatches, and they will send you a pair of un-dyed shoes to try on and make sure you get your correct size. Perhaps the best thing about this company is that a huge amount of money from your purchase gets donated to the animal shelter! Not only do you get gorgeous shoes in the correct size and color for your wedding (or other event), but you get to make an animal's life better as well!
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| Victorian Jade Green Shoes with Rhinestone Embellishments |
Starting today, ParisXOX is having an inventory sale for Black Friday, so go check them out and score yourself a pair of cute, colorful shoes for a discounted price! :)
Christmas Crafts
Apparently, this week's posts are all about saving money!
This week Justin and I have been discussing how best we can save money and yet still decorate for Christmas. Let me share some of our ideas:
1. Instead of buying a Christmas tree, we are going to borrow a fake tree. As exciting as a real tree? No. Can we focus on giving instead? Yes.
2. As I shared in the last post, we have been shopping for Christmas gifts since August looking for the best deals. We have used coupons, gift cards, and money I have made through doing online surveys to save money. :)
3. As one of our Christmas gifts, a family I babysit for has offered to pay for a mailbox decoration for Justin and I. I am so excited about this gift in particular since the money used to purchase the mailbox decoration is also a donation to children's healthcare. I couldn't have asked for a more thoughtful, better gift from this family! :)
4. Justin and I are planning on making all of our Christmas ornaments using things around the house. (Don't tell him I told you.) We got a lot of ideas from Pinterest.
5. I am super excited about making this wreath for our front door. It looks nice yet cheap and easy enough to do.
6. I bought my Christmas party dress a month ago which leaves more money for whatever else is necessary (gifts, food, etc...) this month and next.
The only thing Justin and I are not skimping on this year are our Christmas cards. I took an awesome picture a couple of years back that we will be printing on some high quality cardstock from a professional photo studio. We are also planning on jazzing up our card sending by using Christmas stamps. :)
Ok... that and some Christmas pictures taken with Justin's immediate family that we hope to include in our Christmas card. :)
How are you saving money this Christmas?
This week Justin and I have been discussing how best we can save money and yet still decorate for Christmas. Let me share some of our ideas:
1. Instead of buying a Christmas tree, we are going to borrow a fake tree. As exciting as a real tree? No. Can we focus on giving instead? Yes.
2. As I shared in the last post, we have been shopping for Christmas gifts since August looking for the best deals. We have used coupons, gift cards, and money I have made through doing online surveys to save money. :)
3. As one of our Christmas gifts, a family I babysit for has offered to pay for a mailbox decoration for Justin and I. I am so excited about this gift in particular since the money used to purchase the mailbox decoration is also a donation to children's healthcare. I couldn't have asked for a more thoughtful, better gift from this family! :)
4. Justin and I are planning on making all of our Christmas ornaments using things around the house. (Don't tell him I told you.) We got a lot of ideas from Pinterest.
5. I am super excited about making this wreath for our front door. It looks nice yet cheap and easy enough to do.
6. I bought my Christmas party dress a month ago which leaves more money for whatever else is necessary (gifts, food, etc...) this month and next.
The only thing Justin and I are not skimping on this year are our Christmas cards. I took an awesome picture a couple of years back that we will be printing on some high quality cardstock from a professional photo studio. We are also planning on jazzing up our card sending by using Christmas stamps. :)
Ok... that and some Christmas pictures taken with Justin's immediate family that we hope to include in our Christmas card. :)
How are you saving money this Christmas?
Sacrifices
So... when you get married and:
a) one of you doesn't work
b) both of you have mediocre/bad paying jobs
or
c) you have a lot of debt (i.e. student loans) that needs to get paid off
you make sacrifices in spending. Hopefully you didn't splurge too much when you got married and/or if you did it was for reasons you both wanted. The same goes for after marriage. You pick and choose what you want the most.
Neither Justin nor I came from extremely wealthy families. When we moved into a rental house, we were under the impression that we would only have my bedroom furniture and the furniture he had from his apartment. (We have only taken/used his furniture thus far.) Our families (well, his) don't really have a lot of furniture to help us fill our house with. I am not willing to take things I don't like or have an idea of what to do with since we have hardly any storage space.
But I guess the biggest sacrifice, and the reason for this post, has been the gas bill. Over the summer I was finding new and exciting ways to decrease the electricity by decreasing our use of the air conditioner. The same has gone thus far with the heater. I think we have our thermostat set at 55 or 60. With this house getting cold so easily and the heat rising, I can't really find a great reason for not saving the money. If I can withstand the cold with blankets and sweaters, it makes me feel like my money can go towards better things. (Unfortunately, my husband cannot withstand the cold, so we do turn the heater on when he is home.)
Other things we have done include:
1. Severely limiting our use of garbage... recycling as much as we can. (Recycling is free.)
2. Thinking twice before grocery shopping. If we know we are going to have a busy week and not be able to eat at home, we only shop for the meals we know we will eat at home.
3. I complete surveys online to make a little bit of extra money during the week for things like general household expenses, gifts, and treats. :)
4. Staying at home when my husband is at work. If I'm honest with myself, I would probably go shopping... not only spending money I don't have, but using gas as well. Is it worth it? Really?
5. Using pinterest to find ways to decorate on the cheap. (Also using wedding supplies.) We also like finding new and exciting ways to make gifts or... waiting to buy things until they are on sale. I began Christmas shopping back in August. :)
Clearly, there are a million ways to cut back on spending until you get your debts paid down, you move up in your job, or you both get jobs... You don't even have to sacrifice the occasional splurge. Truthfully, you just have to decide where it is you want your money to go.
Do you have any other ideas for cutting back on spending that you can share with me?
a) one of you doesn't work
b) both of you have mediocre/bad paying jobs
or
c) you have a lot of debt (i.e. student loans) that needs to get paid off
you make sacrifices in spending. Hopefully you didn't splurge too much when you got married and/or if you did it was for reasons you both wanted. The same goes for after marriage. You pick and choose what you want the most.
Neither Justin nor I came from extremely wealthy families. When we moved into a rental house, we were under the impression that we would only have my bedroom furniture and the furniture he had from his apartment. (We have only taken/used his furniture thus far.) Our families (well, his) don't really have a lot of furniture to help us fill our house with. I am not willing to take things I don't like or have an idea of what to do with since we have hardly any storage space.
But I guess the biggest sacrifice, and the reason for this post, has been the gas bill. Over the summer I was finding new and exciting ways to decrease the electricity by decreasing our use of the air conditioner. The same has gone thus far with the heater. I think we have our thermostat set at 55 or 60. With this house getting cold so easily and the heat rising, I can't really find a great reason for not saving the money. If I can withstand the cold with blankets and sweaters, it makes me feel like my money can go towards better things. (Unfortunately, my husband cannot withstand the cold, so we do turn the heater on when he is home.)
Other things we have done include:
1. Severely limiting our use of garbage... recycling as much as we can. (Recycling is free.)
2. Thinking twice before grocery shopping. If we know we are going to have a busy week and not be able to eat at home, we only shop for the meals we know we will eat at home.
3. I complete surveys online to make a little bit of extra money during the week for things like general household expenses, gifts, and treats. :)
4. Staying at home when my husband is at work. If I'm honest with myself, I would probably go shopping... not only spending money I don't have, but using gas as well. Is it worth it? Really?
5. Using pinterest to find ways to decorate on the cheap. (Also using wedding supplies.) We also like finding new and exciting ways to make gifts or... waiting to buy things until they are on sale. I began Christmas shopping back in August. :)
Clearly, there are a million ways to cut back on spending until you get your debts paid down, you move up in your job, or you both get jobs... You don't even have to sacrifice the occasional splurge. Truthfully, you just have to decide where it is you want your money to go.
Do you have any other ideas for cutting back on spending that you can share with me?
The Designer Jeans Search
Instead of celebrating Halloween on Wednesday like any normal person, Justin and I decided to go out and do something different. I had never been to Phipps Plaza, the mall known for having the most expensive stores in the city of Atlanta. It is the mall of Giorgio Armani, Versace, Valentino, and home of the only Tiffany & Co. in the state of Georgia. It is also a very quiet and empty mall on Halloween.
Since we were in such a fancy mall, I convinced Justin to let me try on designer jeans. I've been looking for a fabulous pair of jeans since... forever. I may have had one awesome pair in high school, but unfortunately (or rather, fortunately) I lost too much weight and essentially they lost their awesomeness. (Also, I may have torn them when Justin threw me over a fence that one time and sprained my ankle. Entirely different story though.)
Previously this month I had tried on AG jeans (at Anthropologie) and Hudson jeans (at Dillard's). The AG jeans looked cute, but I wasn't IN LOVE. They reminded me of... jeans. The Hudson jeans I wanted so desperately to love because they fit so well around my thighs and followed my legs fairly well, but I just could not deal with the triangular pocket.
I guess I should mention my stature. I am short at 5'2" and I'm not the skinniest of people (although you are welcome to tell me that I am). I am curvy in that my hips and waist have approximately a 10-inch difference. (I could be a little off since I haven't measured in awhile.) I generally wear a size 0 or 2 in American sizes... 25/26 in European sizing depending on the brand. I typically have been wearing Aeropostale jeans for the last few months, but in the past, I have tried Express, many of the Macy's brands, Kohl's, JC Penney's, American Eagle, jeans sold at Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, Wet Seal, and... I think that's all.
Over the years what I have been looking for in jeans has drastically changed. The biggest issue I've had is that I buy jeans and when I bring them home, they don't fit the way they did in the store. The extra stretchiness tends to make my legs, thighs, and butt look bigger than I'd like. They also typically don't add any length... which is very important to a short person. I don't always want to wear heels just to make me look taller.
When Justin and I walked into Nordstrom last night, my only goal was to try on the Paige jeans that I had read so much about online. Every review I read made them sound like the most amazing jeans ever. Plus, every person I had ever seen them on looked... great. Now maybe my problem is that I needed to get more in shape, but my feelings are that wearing a size 0 or 2 in jeans shouldn't make me look too big, to begin with.
So I picked up a pair of Paige jeans (skinny and flared, sizes 25 and 26) as well as a pair of Hudson jeans without the triangle pocket when a customer associate saw me and decided to "help". I tried on these first few pairs only seeking the opinion of my husband. All of the jeans fit, but none spoke to me. (For your reference, the size 25 fit best in those brands as well as AG.) When I came out of the dressing room, the sales associate suggested that maybe I should try two other brands she had on the floor (J Brand and Rag & Bone). I went to try on the J Brand straight leg jeans, but the size 25 did not fit. I had to upsize to a 26 before they fit but did not look amazing. (Should have taken pics.) Then I tried on Rag & Bone in Kensington skinny jeans as well as a dark wash in the skinny jeans. I was informed I may have to upsize in Rag & Bone since they tend to run a bit small.
I knew I would have to upsize when I began to put the Rag & Bone jeans on. They were fitting snuggly around my ankle, so I was certain there was no way in heck they'd fit around my hips. You have no idea how shocked and surprised I was that the size 25 fit! The jeans hugged my legs in all of the right places, in essence making my legs look skinny... in all of the right places. Yay! The Kensington wash also helped by making my legs look longer than they actually are. As the sales associate said, I would be able to dress up these jeans with heels or just wear them with flats for normal day-to-day wear. She said exactly what I was thinking, that if you are going to spend a bunch on jeans you want them to be a staple in your closet.
Justin and I decided that I needed to research the brand a bit before making such a large purchase. Unfortunately, in my research, I have yet to see a true blogger review of these jeans. Apparently, tons of celebrities wear these jeans, LeAnn Rimes and Khloe Kardashian to name a few. I'm just looking for a review that a blogger has done so that I can see how these jeans wear over time. With so much stretch in the hip area, I fear the jeans will stretch out and cause the same problems my other jeans have after buying. I don't feel terrible when $20 jeans stretch, wear out and sag over time, but I would be devastated to spend $200 on a pair of jeans that don't last.
So what are your thoughts on designer jeans? Could you bare the thought of spending $200 on a pair of jeans? And if you have, was it worth it?
Paper Accessories
One of the most exciting details I wanted to include when planning our wedding were the paper accessories. I picked out doilies (which you can get fairly cheap on Amazon) that we used to make cupcake holders that I thought were really elegant. We also bought the really cute vintage paper straws that I am not sure if they made it out. :( I also considered using vintage style bakers twine, but that did not work out either. (I couldn't find anything in particular I needed it for.)
When I saw The Papered Nest on etsy, I knew I had to share! They have everything from brightly colored sticks (that you may want to make cake pops with or put cookies on), vintage paper straws, hand-dyed doilies, and bakers twine among other things. A trip to this store when planning an event will give you everything you need to really make your event shine!
Check out the template for the cupcake doilies here. The template did not work for me, but you can see the general idea on how to make them. There are super-easy albeit time consuming.
Thanks again to Carolyn's Cupcakes and Justin's grandmother for making all of the cupcakes and Justin's aunt and uncle for making the cake balls!
Viral Videos
We've all seen the viral videos that are all over the internet (specifically "Gangnam Style" & "Call Me Maybe"). I know you've seen them, because the nine year old I babysit for has seen them. I know you are more tech savvy than her. :)
But have you seen all of the parodies?
Carly Rae Jespen's "Call Me Maybe" was sung by the US Olympic Swimming Team, the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders, and then (one of my favorites) the response to US Olympic Swimming Team's Missy Franklin by her high school football team!
While there have been a number of "Call Me Maybe" wedding dances, I think what is most amusing is how "Gangnam Style" took off for wedding dances like in this one.
But I guess what really got me interested in commenting on the crazy way viral videos have taken over our weddings, and lives for that matter, was this video where the groomsmen dance to One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful". It is absolutely hilarious watching grown men in suits dancing to this song. I know I would have been so embarrassed if my husband had done this at our wedding. I do have to say those must be some pretty devoted friends the groom has to be willing to dance to this song with him.
Have you seen any awesome viral videos recently?
But have you seen all of the parodies?
Carly Rae Jespen's "Call Me Maybe" was sung by the US Olympic Swimming Team, the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders, and then (one of my favorites) the response to US Olympic Swimming Team's Missy Franklin by her high school football team!
While there have been a number of "Call Me Maybe" wedding dances, I think what is most amusing is how "Gangnam Style" took off for wedding dances like in this one.
But I guess what really got me interested in commenting on the crazy way viral videos have taken over our weddings, and lives for that matter, was this video where the groomsmen dance to One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful". It is absolutely hilarious watching grown men in suits dancing to this song. I know I would have been so embarrassed if my husband had done this at our wedding. I do have to say those must be some pretty devoted friends the groom has to be willing to dance to this song with him.
Have you seen any awesome viral videos recently?
Amy Osaba Florals Review
One of the best and worst vendors of my wedding day was Amy Osaba Floral Event & Design. The flowers were absolutely gorgeous. They looked hand-picked which was exactly what I wanted. She also tried to incorporate my vision into my flowers. That's where the pleasantries end.
Come the wedding day... so many things went wrong. I guess I should mention that things were going wrong in the florals department from day one.
I contacted Amy Osaba's company after I saw a mention of her on a wedding blog. I thought it was awesome that her florals were gorgeous and that she lived/worked in Atlanta! Dream come true, right? Vendor #1 taken care of.
My mom didn't like Osaba's florals from day 1. My mom said the florals looked silly. I liked them, so we decided to meet up with Osaba and her coworker. First of all, for my vision, I brought images that I was thinking about for the day's theme not realizing they wanted floral images. (Hint to future brides: bring floral images when you first meet your possible floral vendor.)
Then we tried to meet with Osaba again since I wasn't comfortable with where the first meeting had gone. With our first meeting in June, I thought, for sure, they would be able to meet sometime between June and March if only to make me feel more comfortable with hiring them. Apparently not. Several e-mails later, I had given up on Osaba. Her floral studio was completely unprofessional taking weeks to respond to e-mails. Her staff was not providing me with any clear vision of what the wedding day florals would look like. I was completely uncomfortable with her, but Justin wanted to go with her. I couldn't find a reason to argue, so we did despite the fact that my parents continued to angerly chide us about or decision constantly forcing us to meet with other florists. (None of the florists they asked us to meet with knew anything about cherry blossoms and really, truly could not think of a way to make cherry blossoms work into our wedding florals.)
I decided to let the florals go and trust we had chosen the right vendor. We paid half the floral price and signed a contract. Then Justin and I focused on obtaining other wedding vendors.
Come January, Osaba decides it is time to meet up again... and where was the rest of her deposit?! Five e-mails later and she still hadn't sent me the total amount due to her and it was the week before the wedding. She insisted that the deposit needed to get to her ASAP approximately three days before the wedding. Justin had already planned to pick up my hair flowers the day before the wedding, but apparently that was too late to receive the money.
First of all... why would you wait until a few days before the wedding to e-mail your client the amount due when your client e-mailed you at least a month in advance asking about how much they owed?!?! Really?!?!
Second of all, if your client is already late with the payment through no fault of their own, why can you not accept the payment when it is good for your client. Three days before the wedding is not going to make a difference. Besides, it was your fault that the client did not know the total prior to then.
Osaba, get your act together and your billing straight! There is no reason to be so unbusiness-like and cause undue stress to the bride and groom who hired you. The bride and groom could just as easily have made their own florals; you are a splurge.
Honestly, three days before the wedding I considered breaking the contract and going with another vendor. This company made me so angry.
Osaba delivered our florals the Saturday of March 10 at our reception site just as we had asked her to do. From the moment the bouquet was put into my hands until the moment I walked down the aisle, my bouquet was falling apart. Osaba came back, after only the wedding coordinator was able to get in touch with her, to fix the flowers... only to have them continue to fall out of the bouquet despite how careful I was with them. Even just standing still at the alter was enough to make the bouquet fall apart. How depressing to spend so much money on something that falls apart! The wedding coordinator and my grandmother, who had worked with florals before, did their best to put the bouquet back together.
Later we found out that pendants we had given the florist to put on the bridesmaid bouquets were never put in. We also realized that we were never given the tossing bouquet originally promised to us.
My verdict: Even though Osaba did put pendants in the flower girl bouquets as well as a rosary in my bouquet, I would never recommend using her. She did not perform business in the way she should have (in my opinion). She also claimed we were lying when we said we had not received the tossing bouquet (even when our wedding coordinator backed us up). The flowers were pretty, but what does that say about her work when the flowers were falling out of the bride's bouquet, wilting and turning brown even before the wedding started? Nothing good.
I can't get my money back, but you can avoid using Osaba, or a florist like her for your wedding. Note how vendors treat you at the beginning of your wedding planning. Generally, if they act like they want your business, if they make you feel good about hiring them, and if they give you a clear vision about what to expect, they will probably be a good hire. It is your wedding. You should feel comfortable and confident about the choices you make regarding your vendors. If you don't, reconsider who you are hiring and take the time to check out other vendors first. Finally, if you get a vendor who does not perform up to a certain standard, make sure to let them know so that they can do something about it.
Osaba florals were handling approximately three other clients (according to her blog). While this may have been a good excuse for the awful floral work she provided us with, she did not own up to her mistakes and help us to solve our problem in a timely manner. It took her approximately three months to send us a check after Justin had discussed our issues with her. By that point, the check was hardly worth anything to us. (Not that $100 really makes up for florals that fall apart on your wedding day to begin with.)
You deserve the very best on your wedding day. After all, you only (hopefully) get one.
The Last Name Fiasco
One of the most important things to consider when getting married is what your last name will be. If you are the bride, will you take his last name? Keep yours? Maybe hyphen the two names together? Come up with something new altogether?
It really is a big deal. Feelings can get hurt. You just have to keep your best interest in mind.
I have known people that have done all of the above.
I know you aren't thinking about it now (and preferably will never be thinking it), but what happens if you divorce? Or you remarry?
Something rather interesting that my grandparents recently mentioned to me was that, if you do take your significant other's name, you need to make sure your middle name on all of your records is the same. (i.e. If your maiden name is Aiden Lenora Smith and when you marry your new last name becomes Hopkins, your new name either needs to be Aiden Lenora Hopkins OR Aiden Smith Hopkins. Apparently, records can get mixed up if you use a combination of the two.)
Other things you should keep in mind when changing your last name include what records will need to be changed. Obviously, if you don't change your last name, you don't have as much to worry with. If you are changing your name, you need to contact Social Security and DDS to name a few. You will need a few copies of your marriage license to prove that you did in fact get married.
What about business contacts? Sometimes it's as simple as keeping your old last name until the end of the school year if you are a teacher. Other times, you may need new business cards, a new e-mail address, and a change on your business or personal website.
Of course none of this takes into account the various other changes that can occur after marriage such as updating information on your bank account(s) and your many insurance accounts (car, health, home, and life).
All of this can be time consuming and stressful whether or not you begin tackling it during the process of getting married or in the months following. But is it as stressful as telling your husband-to-be that you don't want his name? Or is it meaningful for you to take his name (or some variation of it)? This is all worth considering. Take your time to think about it, talk with your significant other about your intentions, and MOST IMPORTANTLY make a decision that is right for the both of you! :)
It really is a big deal. Feelings can get hurt. You just have to keep your best interest in mind.
I have known people that have done all of the above.
I know you aren't thinking about it now (and preferably will never be thinking it), but what happens if you divorce? Or you remarry?
Something rather interesting that my grandparents recently mentioned to me was that, if you do take your significant other's name, you need to make sure your middle name on all of your records is the same. (i.e. If your maiden name is Aiden Lenora Smith and when you marry your new last name becomes Hopkins, your new name either needs to be Aiden Lenora Hopkins OR Aiden Smith Hopkins. Apparently, records can get mixed up if you use a combination of the two.)
Other things you should keep in mind when changing your last name include what records will need to be changed. Obviously, if you don't change your last name, you don't have as much to worry with. If you are changing your name, you need to contact Social Security and DDS to name a few. You will need a few copies of your marriage license to prove that you did in fact get married.
What about business contacts? Sometimes it's as simple as keeping your old last name until the end of the school year if you are a teacher. Other times, you may need new business cards, a new e-mail address, and a change on your business or personal website.
Of course none of this takes into account the various other changes that can occur after marriage such as updating information on your bank account(s) and your many insurance accounts (car, health, home, and life).
All of this can be time consuming and stressful whether or not you begin tackling it during the process of getting married or in the months following. But is it as stressful as telling your husband-to-be that you don't want his name? Or is it meaningful for you to take his name (or some variation of it)? This is all worth considering. Take your time to think about it, talk with your significant other about your intentions, and MOST IMPORTANTLY make a decision that is right for the both of you! :)
Just Another Weekend...
In case you were blithely unaware, my obsession is Anthropologie. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that store. I love their home products, their dresses, their cookbooks...
I went in this weekend and found some amazing $80 shoes. I did not buy them. I don't wear orange! And if I had bought them, I would probably be broke. However, if you do wear the color orange... Go buy them now! Soooo sooo cute!
Unfortunately, my money went to this green dress that I probably couldn't afford.
Everyone I talked to at the store wanted this particular dress, specifically all of the sales associates. I usually wait to buy clothes from Anthro until they go on sale. I probably should have waited this time as well. However, they were already almost out of stock of this dress. There was one size 0 left in the stores. ONE. So I bit. I don't think this dress will make it to sales, and I have been waiting for it to come into stores since I saw it on their website a few weeks ago.
I tried it on with a cute black sweater, and I felt all dressed up for Christmas! Or like Zooey Deschanel. I'm sure some heels (as pictured above) would go great!
I also tried on the Carmindy Dress and the Sparked Threads Sweater. The dress was cute and much more subdued than what you see online in the picture. If I hadn't seen the dress in stores, I never would have thought of ordering it... or trying it on. The sweater was bleh. I'm used to my Free People Fluted Sweater that I love so much. The sweater at Anthro wasn't long enough or cute enough for my tastes which is sad since I'm so picky to begin with.
Finally there was the Jeweled Skinny belt that I got on sale. Justin and I had had our eye on another belt in the Anthro store, but... this one won out since it was on sale. We thought it may be cute with the Native Birds dress. (See here.) :)
What do you think? Do you think the Caridad Ruffled Dress will go on sale? Do you like the Sparked Threads Sweater? Will the Jeweled Skinny Belt go with the Native Birds Dress?
Cleaning Up
Over the weekend Justin and I went to Ikea looking for options to clean up our spare bedroom. Our landlord was coming to figure out how to set up a security system, and we didn't really want him to think we lived like slobs. Hence, we started a major cleaning overhaul.
There was sweeping and vacuuming... mopping... and driving (our desk up to my parents house since we wouldn't be using it and needed a place to store it until we could sell it). I found one of my most favorite cleaning product ever... Softscrub. We started working on getting the grout in the bathroom cleaner than I even imagined it could get! (It worked in the toilet too, fyi.)
We could have left our house like that... clean but with junk everywhere. I'm not that kind of person though. Heck, I even did all of our laundry despite the fact that the landlord won't even be looking anywhere near our laundry basket!!!
Unfortunately, the upstairs bedroom needed more than cleaning which is why we took that trip to Ikea. First of all, I need to say that if you can find your furniture elsewhere... do it. The furniture is expensive and takes up a TON of time. We had to wait at least an hour for them to get three boxes of wood from the back of the store. I mean... really??!!
On that note... our house is clean and ready for a visit from the landlord... or anyone else that wants to visit! :)
Bridal Shower (1950's Style)
I'm absolutely obsessed with anything 1950's, but I thought this idea was particularly creative and interesting.
I absolutely love the fun bright colors (specifically the red). And look at those cute aprons! What a fun way to incorporate the 1950's into a bridal shower!
I originally saw this fun shoot at The Pretty Blog. They feature so many pretty things! Go check it out if you want to find out more about this bridal shower... or just see more pretties! :)
September Overview Instagram Style
I love taking pictures, so I decided to share what Justin and I were up to during the month of September Instagram style.
Changes
The scare last Thursday (and Friday) have resulted in some changes that Justin and I are taking to make our house feel more like a home (as well as add some additional security).
Justin, I must report, is doing much better at checking and double-checking to make sure he has locked doors (with me triple checking). We leave far more lights on at night (with little regard to how this will effect our electric bill). I am now known to open the shutters for all of the windows to make it much easier to see out. (Justin had said it let's people see what we have/don't have, so he doesn't really understand why it's important for me to see who is seeing into our house and what is going on around it.)
The house still makes tons of creepy noises (as most older houses do) and with the electricity flickering when things come on or go off (as is normal for this particular house), I still get a bit unnerved.
In the past few months, Justin and I have been trying to spend as little "extra" as possible with regard to ourselves. We have a very limited budget with the majority of my paycheck going directly into savings. However, after some discussion, Justin and I have decided to splurge a bit (if possible) and buy things to make our house feel more like a home (and less like we've just moved). A rug in the living room, curtains, and more comfortable seating are just a few things we are considering. Unfortunately, all of these things cost money... and we are coming up on the season of giving. *sigh* Maybe one day we will have it all figured out!
In the mean time, I wanted to give a shout out to the following:
a) Georgia Power: While I did not appreciate the scare on Friday, I do appreciate the "public apology" via twitter. I appreciate you looking into the problem... and the fact that you will not be changing our meter again in the near future.
b) City Police Department: You guys have been SOOOO AWESOME! From arriving within minutes of us discovering my car had been broken into, to taking fingerprints, and having an officer come out to search my property with me, I truly appreciate how awesome you are! It definitely makes me feel safer living in this area!
c) DDS: I do not agree with how you update licenses, but I am ecstatic that the process has been as painless as it has been! (And only cost $5!)
d) Our Bank: You also have made this process as easy as possible. We truly appreciate the time spent working with us to get our accounts in line. Sometimes I am so glad I am not with a big banking company like Suntrust! Eeek!
e) My husband: who has been supportive, helpful, and awesome.
f) Our landlord: who also has been super helpful and is so awesome for agreeing to put a security system in for us!
Justin, I must report, is doing much better at checking and double-checking to make sure he has locked doors (with me triple checking). We leave far more lights on at night (with little regard to how this will effect our electric bill). I am now known to open the shutters for all of the windows to make it much easier to see out. (Justin had said it let's people see what we have/don't have, so he doesn't really understand why it's important for me to see who is seeing into our house and what is going on around it.)
The house still makes tons of creepy noises (as most older houses do) and with the electricity flickering when things come on or go off (as is normal for this particular house), I still get a bit unnerved.
In the past few months, Justin and I have been trying to spend as little "extra" as possible with regard to ourselves. We have a very limited budget with the majority of my paycheck going directly into savings. However, after some discussion, Justin and I have decided to splurge a bit (if possible) and buy things to make our house feel more like a home (and less like we've just moved). A rug in the living room, curtains, and more comfortable seating are just a few things we are considering. Unfortunately, all of these things cost money... and we are coming up on the season of giving. *sigh* Maybe one day we will have it all figured out!
In the mean time, I wanted to give a shout out to the following:
a) Georgia Power: While I did not appreciate the scare on Friday, I do appreciate the "public apology" via twitter. I appreciate you looking into the problem... and the fact that you will not be changing our meter again in the near future.
b) City Police Department: You guys have been SOOOO AWESOME! From arriving within minutes of us discovering my car had been broken into, to taking fingerprints, and having an officer come out to search my property with me, I truly appreciate how awesome you are! It definitely makes me feel safer living in this area!
c) DDS: I do not agree with how you update licenses, but I am ecstatic that the process has been as painless as it has been! (And only cost $5!)
d) Our Bank: You also have made this process as easy as possible. We truly appreciate the time spent working with us to get our accounts in line. Sometimes I am so glad I am not with a big banking company like Suntrust! Eeek!
e) My husband: who has been supportive, helpful, and awesome.
f) Our landlord: who also has been super helpful and is so awesome for agreeing to put a security system in for us!
Programs
Honestly, this was one of my FAVORITE parts of the wedding planning process. I spent sooo much time planning out the invitations and save-the-dates that it almost makes me sick. Do you know how little time I spent planning the programs? Do you know how much more proud of the programs I was than any of the other wedding paper products?
First we started out with paper. Thick paper. Program paper.
Or maybe we started with the actual program. I don't remember.
Not being Catholic, I had to spend a lot of time on the wording and researching other Catholic wedding programs. Originally we were working with Father Tim, but he ended up having to do something for the archdiocese on the same date as our wedding. It was sad, but we scampered to find another priest to fill in. We ended up not even having a priest officiate which worked out quite well for us.
Point being... I had to e-mail him and the church coordinator about the wording and events within a Catholic wedding (that did not include communion). I needed to make sure I included all of the prayers and everything that needed to be said since only a few of Justin's friends and my dad's side of the family were the only to have ever experienced Catholic mass before.
Meanwhile, the wording for Catholic mass got changed as we were planning the wedding making things even more confusing. Ahhh!!!
So anyway, the program was double sided beginning with a cover page (including our names, the church name, the date, and the time) and ending with our thank yous and remembrances. We also made sure to include the names of everyone involved in the wedding mass including readers, singers, and ushers that were not necessarily standing with us at the front of the church during the mass.
I used a similar type to that which had been used on our invitations and save-the-dates.
My favorite part was the outside of the program. Justin had sifted through and bought a bazillion(!!) blue flowers from Ikea for our floral arrangements that I had NO IDEA what we were going to do with them! In January, I had bought a TON of ribbon from Hancock Fabric on sale that I also did not know what I would do with. So it came together. My mom and I spent 2 days cutting flowers, ribbon, and using a glue gun. *ugh* SOOOO TIME CONSUMING! But it looked so pretty, and I was sooooo happy with it! I was really afraid that all of the programs piled on top of one another would lead to flat flowers, but luckily this did not happen. On top of it, Justin (yes, Justin) had to teach my mom and I how to tie the bows so they would lay pretty. (Justin knows how to do everything! It really is scary occasionally. Apparently he learned this skill on a "How to Correctly Tie Your Shoe" website. Go figure. lol.)
At the same time as we were gluing flowers and tying ribbon, we were also poking holes in the pages of the program and sewing the books together. (Also very time consuming. So glad my dad was able to help!) Finally, we glued pockets inside the program covers to hold the map and information about the reception site. (The church coordinator had suggested the use of pockets to make church clean up easier. She said inserts typically get left at the church in the pews as they fall out of the programs. Then you have guests that can't find their way to the reception site! It probably didn't help that I had left the reception site as a surprise to everyone except out of town guests, immediate family, the wedding party, and the vendors.)
The one thing major that we did to the programs, that was even a surprise to me, was include two birds and a heart sitting on the ribbon that went around the back of the program.
My mom used to joke when I was young that if we saw birds sitting on a power line that they were having a meeting. I had a bird hole punch I bought for the wedding not knowing if I could use it. (Yes, they are technically black birds that I punched as blue.) Anyway, I was just playing around and being silly when I discovered that this could be a fun and unique way to personalize our programs without losing the class I was hoping to achieve. So my mom cut out approximately 300 "blue birds" on some thick blue paper while I used my Silhouette Cameo to print 150 hearts. Then my mom got to work gluing. I figured not many people would notice, but I was amused... Justin was amused. Everybody who knew anything about this little touch was able to notice and be amused.
Overall, I was so proud and excited for my guests to see our wedding programs. A lot of time and love went into them. I felt involved in every detail... and yet I felt like everything just came together.
I don't really have any suggestions for creating your own wedding program except to have fun. The minute you start worrying about copying somebody else or not being creative enough, you will probably get locked up and not be able to imagine what it is you want. Worst case scenario: call me.
Thursday
On Thursday morning Justin and I woke up to find the trunk open on my car. Upon further investigation, Justin noticed that nearly everything in my console was gone and everything in my glove compartment had been gone through. Lovely way to start the day, yes?
First I checked with my bank to make sure no money had been stolen or used -- it hadn't. Then we contacted the police. Within 10 minutes, we had 3 police cars in our driveway. (It's nice to have such efficient service!)
Unfortunately, Justin had either forgotten to lock my car and/or hit the unlock button unknowingly from inside the house creating the perfect "crime of opportunity". Also, unfortunately, I am a very forgetful person, and I had shopping cards (i.e. Kroger), gift cards (such as the ones received from our wedding), a little bit of cash (in case of an emergency), my license (You don't know how many times I've driven off without one!), Health insurance card (Justin put it with my ID), and debit card in my console. Of course the thief, not having time to go through and pick out what s/he wanted, took all of these things. As well as a switch for Justin's truck and a motormount for my car.
I'd like to say I've learned my lesson, but it really was random of me to have giftcards and car parts in my car. I had no intention of having my health insurance card with my ID until Justin put it there. I'm also really, really picky about locking my car. I double/triple check every time.
Anyway, the point is not whether or not I lock my car or what exactly I keep in it. The point is that now I find myself afraid. I'm not afraid of what has been done. The thief can keep the gift cards, my license has been reported, my credit frozen, and my bank accounts blocked. I'm just afraid of the thief coming back again. I'm afraid of someone thinking that the car was an easy target so why not try the house!
In over 10 years, I have never had a problem with what I keep in my car. I do not keep what I have out and visible. I regularly clean out my car. In fact, I get embarrassed easily when my car is a mess (i.e. not vacuumed, trash in the car from children, mud on the seats, fingerprints on the glass).
But it also makes me feel uneasy that my husband is forgetful and does not always think to lock my car. It makes me almost afraid to go anywhere with him in it... that maybe he will forget to lock it again.
I know I shouldn't blame him for my things being stolen. I knew the risk of keeping things in the car. I took the chance knowing how forgetful I am. That is my fault. I just hate that a decision was made (or not made) that made it easy for someone to break in to my car (possibly encouraging future break-ins in the future).
This break-in has truly had a negative effect on me making me want to move. There is no garage for me to safely secure my car in. I feel like even seeing my car outside the house is enough to encourage the thief to come back for more. I wonder if moving the car even closer to the house provides more protection? Would having a camera as well as a motion sensor light scare a thief? Do we need to get to know our neighbors better? Would that even matter at 2AM in the morning? And what did I hear at 2AM in the morning? Was that the person going through my car? Were they going through anything else? Was it an animal? Would it have stopped the person if I had turned on the light rather than not wanting to wake up my not-sleeping husband? Is there anything I could have done? Anything that I should do in the future?
Last night we slept with the lights on in the front room... just because. I felt like someone walking by the house may not know if we are awake or asleep and decide it wasn't worth the risk. I don't know if that is logical or a waste of energy. And the thing is... I really hope I never find out.
I'm hoping as the days go by, I can begin to feel more comfortable again. I'm hoping my husband has learned his lesson. I'm hoping we can take whatever measures we need to make the house more secure.
I think the thing I am most saddened by is the fact that we lost wedding gifts that our friends and family gave us. I feel like we have wasted their time and money rather than doing as I intended... helping it to go as far as possible using coupons to get great deals. That and the loss of security I once had.
Justin says the 'quick fix' may have deterred the thief from stealing something more valuable or attempting to break into our house. I hope s/he enjoys their wedding gift cards and car parts. I guess whatever makes a person happy is fine by me...
By the way, as a side note, Macy's was absolutely awesome when I called to explain that my giftcards had been stolen. They offered to send us a complimentary $25 giftcard which I accepted happily! So Macy's... I <3 you! Thank you for being awesome!
First I checked with my bank to make sure no money had been stolen or used -- it hadn't. Then we contacted the police. Within 10 minutes, we had 3 police cars in our driveway. (It's nice to have such efficient service!)
Unfortunately, Justin had either forgotten to lock my car and/or hit the unlock button unknowingly from inside the house creating the perfect "crime of opportunity". Also, unfortunately, I am a very forgetful person, and I had shopping cards (i.e. Kroger), gift cards (such as the ones received from our wedding), a little bit of cash (in case of an emergency), my license (You don't know how many times I've driven off without one!), Health insurance card (Justin put it with my ID), and debit card in my console. Of course the thief, not having time to go through and pick out what s/he wanted, took all of these things. As well as a switch for Justin's truck and a motormount for my car.
I'd like to say I've learned my lesson, but it really was random of me to have giftcards and car parts in my car. I had no intention of having my health insurance card with my ID until Justin put it there. I'm also really, really picky about locking my car. I double/triple check every time.
Anyway, the point is not whether or not I lock my car or what exactly I keep in it. The point is that now I find myself afraid. I'm not afraid of what has been done. The thief can keep the gift cards, my license has been reported, my credit frozen, and my bank accounts blocked. I'm just afraid of the thief coming back again. I'm afraid of someone thinking that the car was an easy target so why not try the house!
In over 10 years, I have never had a problem with what I keep in my car. I do not keep what I have out and visible. I regularly clean out my car. In fact, I get embarrassed easily when my car is a mess (i.e. not vacuumed, trash in the car from children, mud on the seats, fingerprints on the glass).
But it also makes me feel uneasy that my husband is forgetful and does not always think to lock my car. It makes me almost afraid to go anywhere with him in it... that maybe he will forget to lock it again.
I know I shouldn't blame him for my things being stolen. I knew the risk of keeping things in the car. I took the chance knowing how forgetful I am. That is my fault. I just hate that a decision was made (or not made) that made it easy for someone to break in to my car (possibly encouraging future break-ins in the future).
This break-in has truly had a negative effect on me making me want to move. There is no garage for me to safely secure my car in. I feel like even seeing my car outside the house is enough to encourage the thief to come back for more. I wonder if moving the car even closer to the house provides more protection? Would having a camera as well as a motion sensor light scare a thief? Do we need to get to know our neighbors better? Would that even matter at 2AM in the morning? And what did I hear at 2AM in the morning? Was that the person going through my car? Were they going through anything else? Was it an animal? Would it have stopped the person if I had turned on the light rather than not wanting to wake up my not-sleeping husband? Is there anything I could have done? Anything that I should do in the future?
Last night we slept with the lights on in the front room... just because. I felt like someone walking by the house may not know if we are awake or asleep and decide it wasn't worth the risk. I don't know if that is logical or a waste of energy. And the thing is... I really hope I never find out.
I'm hoping as the days go by, I can begin to feel more comfortable again. I'm hoping my husband has learned his lesson. I'm hoping we can take whatever measures we need to make the house more secure.
I think the thing I am most saddened by is the fact that we lost wedding gifts that our friends and family gave us. I feel like we have wasted their time and money rather than doing as I intended... helping it to go as far as possible using coupons to get great deals. That and the loss of security I once had.
Justin says the 'quick fix' may have deterred the thief from stealing something more valuable or attempting to break into our house. I hope s/he enjoys their wedding gift cards and car parts. I guess whatever makes a person happy is fine by me...
By the way, as a side note, Macy's was absolutely awesome when I called to explain that my giftcards had been stolen. They offered to send us a complimentary $25 giftcard which I accepted happily! So Macy's... I <3 you! Thank you for being awesome!
