A Weekend Away

Saturday afternoon we headed down to San Diego for a little mini-vacay. Our first stop when we got down there was the USS Midway. Although I must admit I was eager to check into our hotel, I'm glad we stopped. It was HUGE and really interesting, seeing all the Navy barracks, fighter jets and other cool things on the ship. Then we checked into our hotel, relaxed for a bit then walked to dinner in Seaport Village.

When I was little we would sometimes go to San Diego and we stayed in the same hotel, so I have great memories in the Village. Dinner was so fun, then we walked to the Gaslamp District for a couple drinks afterwards. Sunday we woke, went to breakfast in the Village, then headed to the Museum of Natural History (Alex really wanted to go, I wasn't too excited but I agreed). Turns out, we were both utterly disappointed...we paid to see a bunch of fossils. But, lesson learned and all in all it was an awesome weekend!

I love this year-round holiday store (especially since Christmas is by far my fave holiday).

5 on Fri



[1] Turkey in NC. Yes it's still far away, but we booked our tickets for Thanksgiving in Wilmington with Alex's fam! I'm beyond excited for this trip, and to see Alex's (well, soon to be "mine" too) family. Here's to having some of this yumminess:

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[2] ComfyCozy. I've had my eye on this pullover since last winter, so decided since I had a gift card to Zappos, to bite the bullet and grab it. It came and it's SO soft.

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 [3] A picture's worth 1000 words. I sure hope so...because we have a wedding photographer! After much research/debate, we finally decided on a photographer...more to come on this!

[4] Weekend Getaway. Tomorrow Alex and I are heading to San Diego for the afternoon/night just to get away for a bit, and I'm excited for that time together.

 

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[5] ONE YEAR! Last, but certainly not least...this time next year we'll be starting to get ready for the most exciting day of our lives...9.27.14-the day I marry my handsome best friend!

One of my fave pics from the many "wknd trips" we had when we were dating long distance =)

Asking My Maids.

Being the crafty person I am (or like to think I am) I went back and forth on all different ways I could ask my bridesmaids. There are tons of ways out there, and especially with Pinterest...it could quickly get out of control! For me, I also had to think of creating something I could mail, since 3 of my bridesmaids are thousands of miles away.

So, although it's not as creative as I maybe would have hoped, I settled on designing a cute little card and wrote a meaningful note inside. As a little add-on, I grabbed some of the pics I shot while at our venue back in August, and made a mini collage card with our date written on it. I added some glitter, and wrapped both cards in twine and yarn and called it a day.

I'm pleased with how they came out, and loved that I got to ask each of them "in person"...even though "in person" sometimes meant via FaceTime...thank you Steve Jobs!

And, equally as important--we also "asked" our ring bearer, my nephew Easton, who of course gladly accepted (he's currently only 13 months, but is very excited), and our adorable flower girl, Alex's niece Olivia, who is just as excited as me!

Wedding Blooms

One of the first things I thought about when we set our September date was "what flowers are in season in September?!". Maybe it's because I'm the daughter of a passionate gardner and I grew up dead heading all the plants in my backyard...whatever it is, I'm happy I have a love for flowers and can't wait to pick our wedding flowers!

Since our venue is already very green, I want flowers that will pop, and not take too much away from the natural setting. I love the contrast of green/white, and also love the traditional white bouquet. And I love the idea of white lily's or roses mixed with baby's breath. I know baby's breath is always at weddings, but I think it is so pretty and adds that nice soft touch, so we'll definitely have a lot of it!

The barn doors at our venue are the perfect spot for a baby's breath wreath, and I absolutely love the pomanders to line the aisle. So many wonderful options!

Any other September brides out there? What flowers did you have, or do you plan to have?!

Five on Friday.

This week has flown by for me, but I'm still just as excited to see Friday is here!

[1] Day-of-Coordinator! That's right, one more thing checked off our to-do list, we officially booked a coordinator for our wedding and I'm very happy about it....now I can just relax no stress on my wedding day, right? ;)

[2] Roller-coaster. Tomorrow Alex's company is having their "Fall Picnic" at Knott's Berry Farm amusement park, and I'm so excited because I haven't been there for a long time. I love the thrill of upside down, make your stomach drop roller coasters-I'll def be screaming, but enjoy every ride!

[3] Cool Mornings. This week is the first week that when I walk outside I feel the cool, Fall, crisp air and it makes so happy! The days are still pretty warm/non-fall temps, but it's a start. This is what it gets me excited for, although we don't exactly have changing leaves/turning of the seasons out here in So. Ca.

[4] Aviici. Normally I'm all about country, and don't get me wrong I still love it, but I have a longer commute with my new job, so I need some more variety. And Aviici's new song gets me through rush hour when it comes on...I love it!

[5] New Headband. I'm not a huge headband fan, but I love this new purchase (mine has black stones, though). It is classy enough for work, and adds a nice touch, to the running-late, can't do my hair days!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

My Planning Space!

I have yet to chat about it on here...but Alex and I moved in with my parents a bit over a month ago. It is going to help us save a lot for the future and we're so blessed that my parents are allowing us to be their roommates, and it's actually really fun [well I think so, at least]. Anyways, that is not the point of this post but I wanted to share the desk area makeover that I completed over the weekend. If you recall, back when we lived in our cottage apartment I made a desk area out of some open space [here]. This time, we have an actual desk, so it was a bit easier.

I know that I'm going to be spending a lot of time here in the coming months, or year I should say, corresponding and researching all things wedding, so I wanted to pretty it up a bit [but not too much since I still share it with the mister...].

This is what it's looked like for the past month or so...

And after I got busy this weekend...

Very simple changes, but it makes it so much more enjoyable. That cute gold banner is from my winnings from the "Golden Giveaway" hosted by Katie over at Perfectly Us, how awesome does it look? I love the "fun" it adds to the space.

Now I have a pretty, and calming area, for me to get down business on all things wedding! Where did you do/do you do most of your planning? Please share any tips you have for making your area more relaxing or oganized...Lord knows I may need it a time or two.

Fallin' for Pumpkins!

Despite the "heat wave" we have been experiencing over the past week or so, we successfully completed our first [hopefully of many] Fall craft days (from our inspiration here)! We pumped the AC, and picked up some pumpkin flavored treats to help get us in the mood.  I decided to tackle the burlap pumpkins I've had my eye on for the past month. I had seen a couple different ways to do them, but decided to use a variation of a couple of them, and put my own twist ...partly because of the lack of supplies, but I ended up loving how these came out and am so glad we can enjoy them all season long!

Supplies:

Orange, Cream & Natural Burlap

Various Sizes Circular Templates

Neutral Threading Floss

Polyfil

Green Pipecleaners

Hot Glue Gun

Needle

Scissors 

Twine

Step 1: Trace your circle templates onto burlap, and cut each out. Side note: You can really use whatever circle size you want, depending on the pumpkin size you want. I used a paper plate, then some other plastic larger serving dishes we had

Step 2: Thread your floss in the needle (and knot at the beginning so it doesn't pull itself thru the burlap), and start free stitching around the perimeter. You want to do the stitches close enough so when you pull it to bunch up it works nicely, but not too close together. Also make sure you do it away from the edge enough that it doesn't fray itself and undo your stitch. I found about between 1/4-1/2" inch worked well. 

Step 3: Once you've stitched all the way around, holding the part of the circle where you began your stitch,  carefully pull the other end of the thread (with the needle on it) so that the circle becomes bunched up into a pumpkin shape. Once you have the shape, open it back up a bit at the top and grab some polyfil and stuff your pumpkin to the "plumpness" you like. 

Step 4: Sew up the top of your pumpkin. This step may be different for you, depending on what you do for your toppers. Since I was putting a piece of burlap on top, I just did a messy stitch up top to make sure it was tightly closed. Then I glued a piece of burlap on top, and also created a little stem with a pipecleaner. Then just for a little extra detail, I decided to start at the bottom of the pumpkin and create seams on the sides. To do this, I came up from the bottom and went over the top, back to the bottom and up a different side. Once you start, you'll get the hang of it.

The Finished Pumpkins!

The yummy Fall snacks!

THE Checklist

After booking our venue and setting our date, I felt like I deserved "some time off" from being overwhelmed with wedding planning [although I am so excited for this whole process]. Now that it has sunk in that we will be married 9/27/14, I realized I need to create a checklist, just like many of you other brides out there. I am a huge planner, and very organized, so I'm not too worried about keeping track of everything, but I realized there is just SO much to fathom in this whole process, and I love making "to-do" lists, so why not create one for this!

Yep, I have a honkin' two things checked off...haha, very far to go, but luckily I have some time (which i'm told will fly by!)

All you other brides...what am I missing that you ran into/have run into with planning? Help, please!