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.

Hunger Games, Throwing Food and Engagement Pics

Last weekend back home with my parents was perfect.

I got to introduce them to one of my dear friends and one of my bridesmaids Meg. We all saw the Hunger Games and of course joined the spontaneous cheering and booing begun by rows and rows of teenage girls. We went to a hibachi restaurant and got delightful stains on our clothes, went to Sephora and got made up by our favorite guy Justin, played with the dogs, and then watched 6 episodes of American Idol.  Like I said, perfect.

Me and Meg before we got rice thrown at us!

Velvet would like you to know that it was hot outside 

Pebbles wants whatever edible items you might be holding

Nick and my engagement shoot is tomorrow, bright and early. If the engagement/wedding has felt in anyway unreal, it's about to get real! I have never really been photographed (save for the once a year photos taken of young Lindsey with freshly combed hair, gaps in my teeth and my hands folded up by my face-- which were truly works of art, letmetellyou), so I have no idea what to expect. I hope we get some good shots that Nick and I can treasure for ever (and display prominently all over the house). I am willing the used car salesman smile to take a hike...

Just call me Suzi Homemaker

Okay, confession time: my kitchen and I are strangers.

I like to say that college killed any urge to cook and bake with its rigorous schedule and frequent coffee shop study trips. But that is probably a lie considering all the movies I managed to watch and the downtown trips I managed to enjoy. I just stopped cooking and baking, end of story. Luckily Nick likes to feed me, or I might A. wither away or B. get fat and happy off boxed mac and cheese forever and ever amen. 

It is time for a change though, the kind of change that requires a theme song. Please hear Europe's The Final Countdown as you read. The ring on my left hand is urging me to not only obsess over wedding plans but also to nest. I want our apartment to be homey, and I want to have pies sitting on the windowsills, goshdarnit. Is that too much to ask?

So, at the urging of my office-mate (who is also one of my lovely bridesmaids and a fabulous cook!) I am going to try, I said try, to make dinner twice a week. Wish me luck?

 I've already prepped Nick for a feast tonight, and I plan to make this delish-looking dish. I will probably modify it a little, but nothing too crazy since kitchen newbies probably shouldn't start by rewriting recipes, just a thought.

{via Eat Live Run}

Add a salad to appease my mom and two glasses of wine, and that is (hopefully) dinner tonight! Expect a report replete with pictures tomorrow. Yes, this blog is about to make room for food... we'll see how long that lasts...

A List and Engagement Shoot Ideas

I think it has been said before, but lists are my crack. There is a stack of to-do lists on my desk, dating back from who knows when. I guess I just don't process things (in this case, all the stuff I have to do) until I see them listed in black and white.

With that in mind, let's list it up! I am grateful for...

• My sweet fiancé who never ceases to amaze me and always makes me smile
• My mother who likes to text me a lot of crazy emoticons of clapping hands and shocked eyes
• The Hunger Games premier! It could only be better if I was dressing up and waiting in line to see it at midnight... but alas...
• A bulletin board full of goofy pictures
• Notebooks that I can scribble in
• A father who actually reads my blog
• Good books (thinking particularly here of Your Voice in My Head, by Emma Forrest which I am about to start listening to on tape, for the second time.)
• Coffee, multiple times a day
• Wedding blogs (which I peruse periodically throughout the work day... shhhhh don't tell)
• My tiny blog, for giving me a fun outlet to gush about all things wedding related

Now, on to engagement shoot planning! We are scheduled to shoot with our photographer the first of April, at Hamilton Pool. I've only seen pictures, but the place looks gorgeous-- natural and wild, with large jutting stone surrounding a pool of water.

{via Kathy Davies Photography}

There's also, apparently, some greenery:

{via Jenny Demarco}

I don't want to give too much away, but I really like the engagement shoots I've seen that aren't too cutesy (see, Nick should really thank me, right?) or styled. Just us doing our thing, looking fabulous (haha).

I love these shots:

Two lovebirds just lounging-- that's us.

{via Kathy Davies Photography}

 Sweet and natural? Oh yes!

{via Green Wedding Shoes}

Picture of the picture!  

{via Grey Likes Weddings}

And here I confess that I adore The Notebook. This shot reminds me of that for some reason. Plus, what would an engagement shoot be without a smoochy picture? 

{via unknown}

Directionless Musings

It's been a very directionless Saturday, so unfortunately that turned into a directionless post...

These came in the mail today! Nick thought I was crazy, no joke, as I ripped open the package and pulled out a bag of these little tags. I think I squealed too. What he fails to realize is that a creative spirit has taken over my body... yes... I have plans for these tags.

These could be adorable escort cards, kind of like this:

{via Style Me Pretty}

Though, I think I might like to jazz them up a little more, maybe use a typewriter font, or do a cool cutout on the edge. I love the idea of including some dilapidated old windows in the decor, so maybe that could be where the escort cards hang?

{via Jose Villa}

In other news, the Instax Mini has been getting some attention. It accompanied us on a trip to visit two of my favorite people in the world (hi Mom and Dad!) and documented some of the fun:

Lastly, I am obsessed with this calligraphy-like wall art I got from Oh My Deer Handmades. The wall looks so much cozier now, and this sign will definitely have to be used somewhere, somehow in the wedding decor...

Okay, off to go get something done, mostly so I can check it off my to-do list!

The Simpsons (and flowers, of course)

The past few days have felt like an episode of the Simpsons. It starts like any old day, then the drama heats up, some of it rather outlandish, and by the end we have arrived right back to normal. Like nothing happened. I might as well be living in Springfield. I won't bore you with the details, I'm kind of bored with them myself by now, but any Austinites might be able to appreciate that the drama surrounded apartment hunting for a new place. By campus. Ha. Yeah, we are staying put. Cue the credits.

So, wedding fun has been on hold for a few days. That is about to be remedied with a flower consultation tonight! Is anyone tired of flowers? I didn't think so:

{all via Style Me Pretty}

Life: March, one year out.

I've been collecting all this cool stuff for the wedding and hoarding it away in a hope chest my dad made for me. (Hey Dad, the hope chest is actually being used for its intended purpose! Woot!) Yesterday it dawned on me, after drooling over a few lifestyle blogs, that this stuff was too pretty to sit in a trunk for a year. Why not put it all to use now so that by March 8th, 2013 all these little knickknacks and details will already have stories?

So, I began beautifying the apartment with my new toys. Nothing too spectacular, just making the normal a tiny bit prettier.

Smoochy picture now resides on the TV console

Awesome basin holds ugly remotes

Hello TV area, you are looking spiffy!

Cool jug hanging out with my books

Little kitchen table set up makes me happy-- that is my great grandmother's hankie

Books and Fleetwood Mac adorn the bar

Thrifted blue jar/mug now brings order to the make-up brush madness

Just another day in the life

I love when Nick asks me what I'm doing. He walks over, taking a much needed study break from some massive notebook of scrawled pharmacy notes from one of many classes called pharma-something. "What'cha doing Linds?"

My face resembles a guilty puppy. "You know... working on... flowers..."

He thinks this is very cute. I think about how sad I will be when I don't have this excuse to look at pretty pictures.

In the works: lots of flower meetings. After my initial two consultations, I decided to do a little more research and talk to some more florists. I'm excited to see what comes of it. And, in case anyone but me cares, I love these two bouquets right now:

{via Style Me Pretty} 

{via Design Sponge}

Videography is almost in the bag! I found exactly who I want, and they are available, so the deal just needs to be sealed. More later...

And, because I think we are kinda cute:

Linds and Nick, New Year's Eve 2009.