Monday, April 30, 2012

Birthday Boy

This past weekend was the cutest, sweetest fiancé's birthday! So, of course, I had to buy some festive junk from HEB. Because that's just the kind of girl I am.




Which prompted Nick, with a truly boyish grin, to ask if I was going to a small child's birthday. Whatever, he totally wore the crown.

I love birthdays, and I want us to make a big deal out of them in our new family. My parents always treated birthdays like the event of the year, and some of my favorite childhood memories involve the plethora of birthday signs and the personalized birthday menu. So, to my future kids: I promise to make a big deal out of you all the time, but especially on your birthday...

Speaking of big deals, I made The Cupcakes. And let me tell you, they were worth it. Every calorie was worth it. You might remember that I am something of a kitchen newbie. So, while the cupcakes weren't perfect, they were pretty darn good, and it felt so good to create something for someone from scratch. 


That was our breakfast-- adulthood has many charms...




Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Catching Up

Getting listy with it:
  • Our engagement photos are almost ready!! Sneak peek of one of our favorites:
{Photo taken by our rockstar photographer Mr. Mike Reed}
  • I didn't think I would be that much of a procrastinator when it came to the wedding, but that, my friends, is just not true. I am currently procrastinating on the following (ooh, a list within the list!)
    • Finalizing the guest list
      • Why is this my least favorite part of the entire process?
    • Deciding on an officiant
      • Again, the ceremony is kind of the point, so I'm not sure why this is such an issue
    • Beginning to look at the menu options
      • Food! Otherwise known as my favorite thing. Maybe it is because all the options look too good that I can't decide? 
  • I am making these cupcakes for Nick's birthday, and I think I am more excited about them than he is. Seriously though, I am going to be injecting the cupcakes with milky goodness. Enough said. I am crossing my fingers and my toes that these turn out perfect... send positive thoughts my way?
{via How Sweet It Is}
  • Our invitations are officially in the works, and I am getting more and more excited. 
  • I have had the chance to do some serious hanging out with 3 of my 4 bridesmaids, and all I can say is that these ladies are something special. They are all from separate parts of my life, and they haven't met each other yet, but it's going to be fun to watch those "worlds collide," as George Costanza so aptly put it.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Ceremony Decor

I really like the way this looks: poms and candles, lining the aisle.

{via Style Me Pretty}


This is actually a picture of the gazebo at The Winfield Inn where we will be saying our "I dos!" And, I would love it to look a lot like this!
{via Bouquets of Austin}

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Scrapbook

Life lately has been all twinkle lights at Spiderhouse, good times with my fiancé (courtesy of Mr. Mike Reed!!), girls nights out with Caitlin, my Maid of Honor Extraordinaire, and many lovely Austin nights. Also, my cookie told me that "fame, fortune and romance are [mine] for the asking," which is, you know, really good to hear.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

And the fun continues: flowers and invites galore!

I have countless journal entries that start like this: "I haven't journaled in forever........"

Yeah, I tend to be a bit of a blogging and journaling delinquent. But, I will reform.

I finally picked a florist! That is one step forward for indecisive brides everywhere. (Cue the slow clap.) I am really excited about my pick, too. Verbena Floral Design has done the flowers for some incredibly gorgeous weddings on Style Me Pretty, and LuAnn has been nothing but sweet and accommodating, helping me work my ideas into my budget. It feels so good to have that big item checked off my list, and now I can just get back to my obsessive Pinterest pinning of pretty flowers in bottles. Ha. I'm not kidding though...

My amazing invitation designer, Emily Jeffords of Beautiful Hello, created this awesome inspiration board for the invites, and it made me pretty giddy. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with-- whatever it is, I know it's going to be great. Go check out her blog for more loveliness.

{inspiration board via Beautiful Hello; individual pictures  from various: 1 and 5 via The Wedding Chicks; 2 via Fellow Fellow ; 3 via Grey Likes Weddings; 4 via The Nouveau Romantics; 6,7 & 8 via Style Me Pretty}

So many other ideas are swirling around, but I will save them for another post. I have a to-do list that includes deep cleaning the bathroom (yuck), so I had better get to it!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Inspirational Wednesday - Style


It's Wednesday! And, that's just 2 days until Friday which is almost the weekend! See, doesn't that help? Things have been clicking away over here. I still have wedding head, as my Mom calls it, but I might be equalizing out just a little bit. The rest of my "to-dos" seem pretty manageable, so I think I might let myself actually read a book, one without glossy pages full of pink flowers. An actual book!

But, since I still have "wedding head," I still have some ideas percolating in the back of my mind...

I can't wait to get all my best girlfriends together and go dress shopping. The base color of the wedding is "shades of blue," and yes, I realize that grammatically, that's an issue. I just can't pick one shade, so we are going to run the gamut and hope it works!  I'm crossing my fingers we can find something like these: chic and pulled together but eclectic.

{all images via Style Me Pretty}

For me, a few things seem constant: 
Poofy veil!



Pretty dangling earrings and a delicate hair flower


Monday, April 2, 2012

Wedding Music Take 1

I've been building a playlist in iTunes with some essentials for both the wedding ceremony and the reception. Music is such a huge part of Nick and my relationship, and certain phases and years seem set to a soundtrack. For instance, our first months of dating and "study" sessions (haha, like the quotes?) were almost always to the smooth reggae of some guy whose name I can't even remember. But, I do remember almost every word of his songs. So, that's good. Coldplay eased us into dating, we had a Beach Boys few months, a She & Him phase, A Guns and Roses 3 1/2 years...

So far, this is what I've got:

Bridesmaids and dudes: More Than Words - guitar version, Sungha Jung. Get a load of this small child playing his guitar. It will blow your mind:



Bride's Procession: Hallelujah - probably an instrumental version

Recession: November Rain - instrumental version

But, if you haven't seen the music video to the original, do yourself a favor (and say hello to the crazy wedding dress, the insane suit that only Axl Rose could get away with, and a shirtless Slash playing his heart out...):



Meaningful lyrics: "So if you want to love me then darlin' don't refrain..."

Dinner Music: She & Him and probably some other softer stuff

Father/Daughter Dance: Father and Daughter - Paul Simon

Meaningful lyrics: "I'm going to watch you shine, gonna watch you grow, gonna paint a sign so you'll always know, as long as 1 and 1 is two, there could never be a father loves his daughter as much as I love you..."



First Dance: ????????

Yeah, I have a lot of work to do. To be continued...

And, because it is Monday, and we all know that means few extra expresso shots in the coffee, here is something lovely to make you smile:

{via Green Wedding Shoes}

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Engagement Picture Day

I am so tired and happy. Nick and I got up before it was light, prettied ourselves (at least I did; Nick rolls out of bed photo-ready. It's so obnoxious...), and headed to Hamilton Pool with our wonderful photographer Mike Reed. Three hours later, after traversing most of the park (I only exaggerate slightly) we called it a day. It was fun, exhausting, and exciting-- I can't wait to see the finished product!

I spent so much time prepping on Saturday for our little beach picnic-- I love any phase of life that involves painting pieces of a tree, spending hours in Hobby Lobby, or picking out flowers from Central Market. So, I had a bit of a heyday. Photographic proof:



Pictures of pictures never turn out that well, but here are some behind the scenes polaroids from today. Mike's pictures came out ten million times better, which is why he is the photographer and I am the amateur with the instant camera!