Afraid...

It happened last night. I had my first wedding nightmare.

Music skipped (which was supposed to be sung by a human) while we were entering the church and people talked during our vows. Guests ate cake before we cut it. Derek changed into jeans before we took any pictures. My dress was not MY dress and it didn’t fit at all. The cake was pastel purple and there was a nativity scene on the cake table instead of cake napkins. The makeup and hair lady didn’t show up and the DJs spun music like we were in ‘da club’.

Tell me, married bloggers and readers out there. Is this only the beginning of the nightmares?

Wedding Peek- Invites

theyre here!

Reggie was very curious

and Molly didnt give a damn

My Weekend in Pictures

Thursday- painting Maceys big girl room:

Friday- bowling/Tylers birthday celebration:

Saturday- sloshball:

Sunday- Maceys program:

guess who had on the same shoes??

Creep Show?

I really enjoy a good montage of a make-over in a movie (i.e. Clueless). I like before and after pictures of people on diets or learning to work out and take care of themselves. I like watching people get their haircut in the salon, especially when they opt for a drastic change. I like shows that teach people how to dress best for their body and how to shop for those kinds of clothes. I like watching yard work being completed- knowing how hard the work is and knowing how much better it will look afterwards.

You know what else I like? Pictures of blogger households. I like to see how they decorate, what their pets look like, what paint colors they prefer and if they have carpet or wood flooring. I like to see more than just the words they type on a page.

Does that make me a total creep?

LOST

I just finished the series finale of LOST and Im feeling pretty sad. I have been so devoted to this show- for three years now I have tuned in religiously to see just what was revealed to us each week. Because I was late jumping on the bandwagon, I watched new episodes in tandem with old ones. I caught up on all old episodes on my laptop as often as possible. I think there was a week when I skipped showers and meals because I couldn’t tear myself away. Sounds dramatic but if youre a fan, you understand.

A few weeks ago, Derek and I decided to start over from the beginning yet again thinking it might numb the pain on this very day when the last chapter was written and shown to us. Needless to say, I will be in mourning for a while and I will truly miss this show. I will miss the questions it made me ask, the depths to which it stretched my mind and the laughter and tears it made me experience.

I will miss Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, Claire, Sayid, Jin, Sun, Desmond, Michael, Hurley and even Ben more than I can express.

The one I will not miss? Anna Lucia. I couldnt stand her.

Lots of Random Things Going on in My World:

Our wedding invitations have shipped as of today- so exciting.

My first bridal shower is Memorial Day weekend- so close.

Nannie is home and making excellent progress on her rehab and is able to get around more and more with less help- so relieving.

I have officially gone back to hot yoga and am obsessed all over again. Today I even went to 2 classes back to back- so productive- so exhausting.

Derek and I celebrate 3 years of non stop togetherness this Saturday- so grateful.

My knee is slowly coming back to normal but I have experienced my set backs- so frustrating.

Reggie dug up one of the bushes we planted in the backyard- so furious.

I had a trial run with a makeup artist last weekend (was a bit of a tryout for the big day) and she was a flop- so disappointing.

Tomorrow is Friday which means my love Erin will be in town and I get to see her wee belly growing- so precious.

In Bad, There is Always Good

In the wake of the sad news we received over the weekend there was happy news to mix in. We found out on Monday that well be adding another niece to our family in October. As if Macey wasnt enough to spoil, now we get to double the joy. Double the smiles, the laughs, the jewelry and heels, double the jokes and squeals. Couldn’t be more excited to be on this journey with Ryan, Rhonda, Macey and the rest of the clan!

Tonight Derek and I will help paint Maceys big girl room to make room for baby girl #2. So much fun!

What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice,
And all that's nice;
That's what little girls are made of.

Snooty

I worked a sampling event tonight at a local hotel. I had a man tell me the following after I offered him a free sample of beer:

"Im a lawyer, Ill be drinking wine"

Excuse me, but what the hell is the correlation? Youre a snob. Id also like to add that the wine was also free. Idiot.

An Aching Heart

One of Dereks dear friends lost his three week old child this weekend. Needless to say, everyone in our circle is reeling from the loss and is trying to make sense of such a heartbreaking event. Its assumed at this point it was SIDS but were not 100% certain- either way, there are many, many broken hearts left behind.

Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they try to find a way to carry on. To those of you with children at home, hold them a little tighter tonight and let your kisses linger a little longer. Tell them how much you love them.

Take a moment to see Bailey Rene if you can. She will be missed.

Green Thumb?

Someone please explain something to me.

How on earth is it possible to plant two of the exact same trees on the same day maybe an hour apart and one looks like this:

And the other like this:

What…..the hell!

Wedding Peek: Music

Sarah Ann asked me about our wedding music choices so far. I had a feeling that question might come up and so I have put together a sampling for you all.

Enjoy!

Our grand entrance (Derek LOVES this song and put up a convincing case that it was the right song for us and our wedding party to be introduced with)

Our first dance. We don’t have the most amazing chemistry when it comes to dancing together (the horror, I know) and neither of us really wanted to spring for dance lessons. We found this song and listened to it together (I teared up a bit) and decided it was slow enough that we may survive out on the dance floor for the 3+ minutes.

The dance I will share with my grandfather had to be a special one. Though I grew up with a step father, my grandfather has always been a constant in my life. He has provided me a stable and dependable relationship I can only describe as perfect. He truly is my hero.

The Anniversary dance was one that we didn’t feel as much pressure on. It was allowed to be a cliché song that most people knew, and again it had to be easy to dance along with. I cant wait to see what lucky couple is left standing at the very end!

Derek also picked the song that will be played as we cut the cake- this was his first choice for our first dance but it seemed too silly and way too fast for our skills. I thought that was a good compromise.

As for the garter removal and the toss- well those are just silly.

The bouquet toss is one I still don’t know if Im absolutely sure of: In Dereks words "weve gotta push the envelope a little bit"

And of course our last dance will be an ode to Donna Summers:

We still have a few to plan for/decide on but there is no rush and just this start made my heart slow down a beat. Every little thing we cross off our list makes us both feel a little more prepared. We have a new niece or nephew coming in October as well as a cousin that has his own wedding the very same month. Once November rolls around itll be family and eating non stop and dont even get me started on how crazy December will be. We are essentially losing two months of planning- so to all you naysayers out there, I plan for a reason!

Wedding Peek: Ask Away

I have hit a wall with wedding posts so I wanted to throw it out to you, readers. What is it youre dying to know about our wedding? Ask and you shall receive. Chances are, its already been decided on or planned already.

Don’t be shy!

Mothers Day

Just wanted to say thanks to the two moms in my life. Im already a day late so Ill let the pictures tell the story.

And for Janet- thank you for taking me under your wing and treating me like one of your own.

My Reading List

Every now and then I like to let you in on what it is Im reading- mostly because I know youre all sitting at home wondering what keeps me up later than necesaary. I typically have at least 2 books going at a time and this week is no exception. Just wrapped up The Tenth Circle by my favorite, Jodi Picoult.

As you can tell, another one of her books sits in my stack- it will be my sixth by her.

What are you reading?

Soups On

I have been very devoted to making dinners at home lately. I typically sit down with my cookbooks and magazine recipe tear outs (almost always from my Mother in law to be's collection of Real Simple magazines) and I make a list. My grocery list always has a lot of staples on it but it almost always has items specifically for dinners I want to make in the next two weeks.


Some of my recent favorites I wanted to share with you, lovelies.

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells:

20 jumbo pasta shells (about half a 12-ounce box)
1 24-ounce jar marinara sauce
2 15-ounce containers ricotta
2 cups baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup grated mozzarella (4 ounces)
green salad (optional)

1.Set an oven rack to the highest position and heat oven to 400° F. Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain and run under cold water until cool.
2.Spread the marinara sauce in the bottom of a large broilerproof baking dish.
3.In a bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, Parmesan, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Spoon the mixture into the shells and place them on top of the sauce. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and bake until the shells are heated through, 10 to 12 minutes.
4.Increase heat to broil. Broil the shells until the cheese begins to brown, 2 to 5 minutes. Serve with the salad, if desired.

Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas:

 

1 (10.75 ounce) can Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

2 cup sour cream
1 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
6 flour tortillas (6"), warmed
1 small tomato, chopped
1 green onion, sliced

1.Stir the soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in a medium bowl.
2.Stir 1 cup picante sauce mixture, chicken and cheese in a large bowl.
3.Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and place them seam side up in 11 x 8" shallow baking dish. Pour the remaining picante sauce mixture over the filled tortillas. Cover the baking dish.
4.Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40 min. or until the enchiladas are hot and bubbling. Top with the tomato and onion.

Wedding Peak: Invitations and (some) Decorations

Derek and I had a tough time with this particular decision. We requested several samples from various printers and online companies. I even met with a sweet lady in south Austin to talk about custom printing, our options and the costs. Nothing felt right and the prices were even more unsettling. Having said all of that, we have yet to officially order the invitations but finally feel like we met our invitation. This one that speaks to us and our wedding style.

Feast your eyes on the sample/generic layout.

Our wording, of course, will read differently but you get the idea.

I also ordered our chinese lanterns last night- we opted for black. They will be hung in the outdoor tent where our guests will eat dinner. Here is what the tent looks like standing alone and then what it looks like done up in pink (so not my color OR Dereks, obviously).

And last but certainly not least, here are the 3 centerpieces we will be using- the green lanterns (which come in 2 different heights) will be partnered with a candle on the tables outside and the other two will be used for the tables inside- also with candles.

All you ‘wedding people’ out there- have you had enough yet? What about you, Allena?

Wedding Peek: Yet More Cake

I realized a funny coincidence last night that I couldn’t believe hadn’t crossed my mind before. We are serving a traditional wedding cake in a non traditional way. As I mentioned before, there will be 5 smaller cakes and they will not be tiered. You know what else is 5? The number of letters in Dereks (and my soon-to-be) last name.
So… we are having an iron cake stand custom made- the woman doing our flowers is wonderful and is not charging for it as she will reuse it down the road for future weddings. I promise I will share it with all of you just as soon as she faxes me over a sketch of it. Each cake will have one letter of our last name topping it. I first shopped around for the more common cake toppers and didn’t find much that spoke to me so a special shout out to Sweetish Hill for being so awesome and helping me make this idea come to life in frosting!

My love, Erin, asked me what flavor/s wed chosen so I thought Id let you in on our choices:

1) vanilla with raspberry filling

2) vanilla with chocolate pastry filling

3) vanilla with dulce de leche filling

4) vanilla with classic buttercream filling

5) vanilla with cream cheese filling

6) Dereks Groom cake- Chocolate with raspberry filling

Im already having a hard time deciding which flavor I want to try- which one would you try?? Or is better to ask which one would you not try.