Home Sweet Hoosier

The Next Step

2012-02-09T14:57:00.000-05:00

I got an email from my Sister-in-Law the other day and she said "you didn't update your blog yet... what's going on with your hip"? She may be the only one wondering, but here's an update.

The X-Ray didn't show any fractures, but did show some possible impingement.

I had my MRI last week and then my doctor called and said that the MRI didn't show much... some inflammation and some extra fluid in my hip joint bursa sack. What does this mean? That there is nothing that can be done "now" to fix my hip... which I'm pretty ok with because "now" would likely mean that I would either have to get an injection in my hip, have surgery or just stop running... none of those are options I wanted.

So, I start Physical Therapy next week. I am always nervous to start PT because I'm always worried about how the view of the therapist and I will differ. I am by no means a competitive athlete anymore, but that doesn't mean that I want to be treated like I've never been an athlete. I would still consider myself "athletic", especially since I think that's something you're born with... or maybe I would compare it to being more like "riding a bike". Either way, I know how to push myself and I like to. I also don't want to be that difficult patient that the PT hates.

The only joint related surgery I've ever had was on my knee... I chose my Orthopedic Surgeon because he was the surgeon worked on UT Athletes and the Arena Football team that I was interning with... I chose my doctor in Austin because it was Sports and Family medicine... also the reason I chose my doctor here. My doctor here sent me to this specific PT clinic because they have an underwater treadmill and she knows I'm trying to train for a Half Marathon... this is why I already love her.

I'm not stressing about it... I just don't know how to ensure I get what I want out of PT and that the therapist understands my goals and my mindset. I guess I'll know more next week... more to come.

MRI

2012-02-01T20:20:00.000-05:00

I got a call from the doctor yesterday and they said that my x-ray did not show any stress fractures, but did show possible signs of impingement which basically means that the hip is not hinging correctly because of wear on the ball and socket joint.

SO, they order went in today for me to have an MRI. The doctor wanted it done STAT, so I went in this evening to do the MRI. Hopefully this means that by the end of this week or early next week, I'll have some answers on what the next step should be in my treatment.

I am just not sure what type of therapy can be done to change this feeling... possibly some hip strengthening exercises, but I've been running somewhere between 4-6 miles for over a month now, so it's hard for me to believe my hips are weak.

Maybe this is from all of my years as a catcher on my softball team and the fact that the only other two sports I played (volleyball and basketball) both require prolonged hip flexion.

They sent me home with the CD with my MRI images on it, so maybe that also means that I can schedule a follow up with my doctor fairly soon... more to come!!

Doctor's Office

2012-01-30T17:10:00.002-05:00

I'm sitting in the X-ray waiting room, waiting for them to x-ray my hip/leg.

I've been training for a half marathon since (technically) September and about 2 months ago my hip started hurting.

We have tried ice, heat, stretching, rest... Nothing is getting the nagging pain I go away.

I am back up a 6 miles for each run and J doesn't want to up my mileage until we can figure out what's wrong so I don't hurt myself worse.

So now I wait for my x-ray and hope that my new awesome doctor, I just met her but absolutely love her already, can figure out what's wrong with me.

Well, here goes nothing...

Hello Illinois

2012-01-21T12:17:00.001-05:00

We are currently in our way to Champagne, Illinois to watch the UT Arlington Movin' Mavs play wheelchair basketball.

The coach and his wife are some of our beat friends from Texas and they adopted us many times for Thanksgivings when we couldn't be with out families.

If you've never seen wheelchair basketball, it's pretty awesome and you should check it out. If you ever have the chance to play, you'll really appreciate the strength and agility that these guys and gals have!

Hope you are all having a great weekend and I'll have a menu recap for you on Monday!!

Menu Monday

2012-01-16T00:01:00.001-05:00

J and I have decided that we are going to take turns planning the week's menu. This week is my turn and I got all of my recipes this week from Pinterest. Here's what's on our menu for the week ...

Monday - Portobello Pizzas

via

Tuesday - Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken

via

Wednesday - Taco Stuffed Shells

via

Thursday - Southwest Chicken Wraps

via

Friday - Fettuccine with Prosciutto and Aparagus

via

I'll let you know next week how everything turns out!!!

Indiana, Our Indiana

2012-01-12T13:10:00.000-05:00

I was born in Indiana, to two parents who went to Indiana University. This means I grew up a Hoosier. When I was 3, I knew all the words to the IU fight song (and still do to this day) and at the age of 5, while walking around campus on a visit to see my mom's long time friend, I announced to everyone that I thought it was time for us to go visit Bobby Knight.

I lived a few years in Illinois and then, during my grade school years, we spent about 7 years in West Lafayette... Purdue country. IU and Purdue are rivals and the hatred runs deep. I had a teacher in 4th Grade... Mr. Lyle... he was awesome, but he was a Purdue fan. That year, IU beat Purdue in basketball and because of some luck at the grocery store, we were able to make our way into his classroom on Sunday and decorate it in red and white (something that would surely get you in trouble these days... I'm so glad I'm not a kid now) just to gloat.

I moved to Texas right before I started middle school, but still loved Indiana. My dad watched basketball games at every chance he got and often times, if he was out refereeing, the game would be taped to watch later.

When I was looking at colleges, it really came down to 2... Indiana and The University of Texas. I got a pretty great scholarship that would have made out of state tuition at IU relatively affordable, but in the end, I didn't want to be that far from my parents and chose UT. I had an amazing college experience and a pretty great 4 years of sports teams while I was there, even though the football team never beat Oklahoma while I was in school. Even though I am a Longhorn through and through, I have always had a love for Indiana basketball.

I was a freshman in college the last time they went to the Final Four and after a few bad years and a few worse years, IU basketball has finally made its way back into the Top 10 in the nation and is having a great season so far!

All of my life, I've watched IU basketball on TV, but I've never been to a game. Now that we live in Bloomington, I thought I was finally going to get my chance this year. J and I looked at tickets this year, but with that win over Kentucky early, the prices on Stub Hub were kind of ridiculous. I was kind of disappointed that I was going to have to wait another year, and then Christmas came.

I had an envelope in my stocking and when I opened it, I found out that I'd be going to a game in Assembly Hall... the real one, not the one in Champagne. J used to work with a guy who is an IU alum and he's hooking us up!!! I am so excited that after 28 1/2 years of watching IU basketball on TV, I'm going to actually be there, crossing something off my bucket list!

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

When did 2012 get here?

2012-01-07T22:40:00.000-05:00

Obviously I'm a little behind on my New Year post... the beginning of the semester just drains me and we haven't even started school yet!

I've been catching up on the blogs I follow tonight and everyone did such great recaps of the year and their holidays and mine kind of sucked...

Not my holidays... they were great. I took a little over a week off work and it was fantastic to get to spend time at my parents'house baking, and hanging out with family and spending just about every day in my pajamas. It's a great feeling to get up, take a shower and put on some clean PJs.

Christmas was hard... I never would have thought that I would be spending this Christmas without my grandma... despite the fact that her house has been sold and her stuff is all over my parents' house and filling up their garage, it still just doesn't seem real sometimes.

I had to come back to work on the 29th, so my parents, aunt, uncle and a few cousins came down for New Years Eve. We continued the holiday tradition of eating, watching basketball/football and playing games. Once again, we spent another holiday in pajamas, but I'm not someone who likes to get all dressed up and go out with the crowds.

On the second, I had some coworkers over for dinner and then I went back to work on the 3rd. This weekend is a training weekend so there's some extra time in the office. Next week will be another long week full of late nights and then I get a 3 day weekend because of MLK day, so I'm looking forward to that.

SO, the fact that it's 2012 has not really hit me yet... my Christmas decorations are still up, my suitcase from my trip to my parents' house has not been unpacked and all of our Christmas presents are still in boxes.

Like I said, this week is not going to be much better for me as far as extra time goes, so I guess I just need to plan on MLK day being my day to get stuff done around the house. It's pretty likely that I won't get any blogging done this week either (maybe a lunch post or two) so I'll put that on the schedule for next weekend as well, now that all of my Wedding Wednesday posts have run out :-D

Here's hoping that you have a nice, relaxing, quiet week ahead of you... one of us should...

6 Months

2012-01-02T00:01:00.000-05:00

I have another post on the blog entitles "6 Months"... it was a year ago... it was 6 months BEFORE we got married. Now, we have been married for half a year... a different "6 Months" post. There are so many things about our wedding day that are a blur to me, especially now, but the most important part of the wedding is the marriage that comes from it, and I am so lucky to wake up next to my best friend and husband every day and with all of the things we have experienced in our first six months of marriage, I am so grateful to have an amazing husband who is always by my side...

Our first look

Our first kiss (as a married couple)

Our first dance

Happy 6 Months to my awesome husband!!

Another Anniversary

2011-12-31T00:01:00.001-05:00

It was 2 years ago today that my best friend took my breath away when he asked me to be his forever.

Happy Engage-iversary to my husband :)

I cannot imagine a better proposal...

Our first picture as an engaged couple

Happy New Year's Eve!! Hope you have a safe and fun night!!!

Wedding Wednesday

2011-12-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

I just love looking at ideas for photos... I always imagine what it would look like if it was me in the pictures. I found a really cute idea of a create bridal party picture that I wanted to pass along!

via

The mirror is so pretty and I love how the bridesmaids look around it! Hopefully someone out there can pass this idea on to their wedding photographer!

You can check out all of my Wedding Wednesday pins on my Wedding Wednesday Pinterest Board!

Happy Hump Day, and almost Happy New Year!!!

Wedding Wednesday

2011-12-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

Since it's the week before Christmas, I thought it would be fitting to include a really cute "gift" idea in my post this week. If you are looking for a cute way to ask your friends to be your bridesmaids, I think I've found a great option for you!!!

via

You should definitely head over to The Wedding Chicks website and read about everything involved in making these boxes, but here's a preview for you...

This is a wooden box that was personalized with wedding colors and some major artistic ability. Inside was info about the big day, the role of the bridesmaids (a non-demanding list with things like "wipe away happy tears" not "do whatever the hell I tell you"), who all of the girls are, info about the dresses. There was also "inspiration board" type pictures and such.

I guess I would probably not do this if I was unsure whether or not these people would say yes because it's kind of a lot of work for someone who is going to say "thanks but no thanks", but if you have great friends who you know will be honored to stand beside you on that day, GO FOR IT!!!

You can check out all of my Wedding Wednesday pins on my Wedding Wednesday Pinterest Board!

Happy Hump Day!!!

It's almost Christmas!!!

2011-12-20T11:28:00.000-05:00

I survived the last few weeks of the semester and now I'm finally on what feels like a much needed break.

I've been so busy that I have not been able to post pictures of our decorations at home. For our first Christmas in our new house, I wanted to decorate, but I also didn't want to spend a ton of money... we have plenty of time to add to our Christmas collection. I'm really happy with what we've been able to do this year...

I came up to my mom and dad's house on Sunday afternoon and after some relaxation and a little bit of sleeping in, we got a lot accomplished yesterday.

Decorate Tree - CHECK!!!

Make some sweet stuff - CHECK!!!

Crock Pot Candy... this was really cool!

Peppermint Bark

Melting Snowmen... I love these

Peppermint Sugar Cookies

This is all we really took pictures of, but we got a lot more done... my mom made cinnamon rolls and I made fudge and of course, we also made dinner that did not consist of mostly sugar :)

Today will be full of shopping. My dad and I are going shopping for my mom and then when my mom gets home from work, we are going to do some more shopping, mostly for stocking stuffers.

We are going to wrap presents tonight, do a little more baking tomorrow and then my aunt and cousins will be here on Thursday. Hooray!!! This is my favorite week of the year!!!

Wedding Wednesday

2011-12-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

We did not do a lot of shopping around for our Save the Dates. I had a friend at work who was also planning her wedding at the same time as I was, so when she found a magnet save the date at a reasonable price, I took her vendor suggestion and loved the results.

I found this idea and I absolutely love it, especially if you have a really good "how we met" story!!

via

You can check out all of my Wedding Wednesday pins on my Wedding Wednesday Pinterest Board!

Happy Hump Day!!!

Not a Bad Weekend

2011-12-11T20:48:00.000-05:00

There was a lot on my "to do" list this weekend, and we got quite a bit done!!

Lights are up on the outside of the house... it looks pretty good... I'll post some Christmas pictures soon
We got SO much Christmas shopping done. I'm really excited to wrap everything this week... I love wrapping presents!! I just have a few other things to get for J and then I'll be done!
We did a TON of baking on Sunday. We have:

Peppermint Sugar Cookies
Peppermint Bark
Fudge
Oreo Tuffels
We still have a few other things that we want to make and take to my mom's

I got most of my committee work done... I'm still waiting on the scoring for one more of the committee members... hopefully he gets his stuff in tomorrow... we don't have time to wait.

What did we not get done this weekend?

THANK YOU NOTES!!!!

I wanted to get these out forever ago, then we wanted to wait on them because we wanted to put our change of address postcards in with them. Well, now at least some people will be getting a thank you note, a change of address and a Christmas card.

I am bound and determined to get those thank yous out this week before I leave for the holidays!!!

I'm really looking forward to having a less busy week at work. By less busy, I mean I'll hopefully be on my way out by 5:00 pm or 5:30 pm... it's still going to be a week full of meetings and stuff to get done, but I'm planning on being able to come home and get some stuff done here, too.

We really need to get the other presents we have for J's family in the mail, so that's top priority for Monday!

Hope you have a great week!!

What A Week...

2011-12-08T22:27:00.000-05:00

This week has seemed to take FOREVER because it's been so busy... only 1 week and 1 day left in the semester... it's almost over (HOORAY!!!!) and then I'll be back to a semi-normal schedule. Luckily the busiest week ever is almost over AND a fun weekend is about to begin!!!

This weekend I have to:

Do some committee work... we are choosing the best in newly constructed collegiate rec centers
Christmas shopping... SOOOOOO excited for this!!!
Making Christmas Cookies... I'm really looking forward to some fun time in the kitchen with J making a bunch of different Christmas goodies
Thank You Notes... yes... I know... but we haven't hit 6 months yet so I'm not violating any wedding law yet
Get the Christmas lights up... I only have one more week at home before Christmas so hopefully we can get the lights up so I can enjoy them for a week :)

How's your Christmas shopping coming???

Wedding Wednesday

2011-12-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

For those of you who may need flats because you don't want to be taller than your fiance/husband or for those of you who just want flats because of the comfort factor, I think these are amazing and there's no way you can go wrong with them!!!

via

I'm not a huge fan of the white things, but I do love the other stones on the shoe... they may be a little gaudy, but I prefer to call it "costume jewelry" or "I'm the bride, and I'll wear what I want".

You can check out all of my Wedding Wednesday pins on my Wedding Wednesday Pinterest Board!

Happy Hump Day!!!

5 Months

2011-12-02T00:01:00.004-05:00

Happy 5 Month Anniversary to my wonderful husband... I love you more and more every day!

Catie's Captures

Wedding Wednesday

2011-11-30T03:01:00.000-05:00

When it comes to wedding rings, I must say that women have so many more cool, unique options. Most men's bands are pretty standard... there's not a lot of customization to them most of the time, but I found something that I absolutely LOVE and that I think is the coolest thing I've seen for men's wedding bands

via

They send you an impression kit, you send back your finger print and they make a ring out of it. There are a TON of options on these rings from a lot of different makers, and the prices tend to start at about $150 and go WAY up from there. I think that this is a really cool option for a unique and personalized wedding band AND they make various styles of women's rings with a finger print!

You can check out all of my Wedding Wednesday pins on my Wedding Wednesday Pinterest Board!

Happy Hump Day!!!

Thanksgiving Recap

2011-11-28T00:01:00.002-05:00

Our first Thanksgiving was a success!!! We had time with family and we are completely exhausted, which means it must have gone well, right :)

Everyone arrived on Wednesday... J's mom and step-dad from Minnesota and my mom in the afternoon, and my dad late a night after he got done refereeing his basketball game.

We went to a local burger joint for dinner on Wednesday so we didn't have to be in the kitchen and then we went home and relaxed since everyone was tired from traveling.

We got up Thursday morning and got in the kitchen! My mom brought cinnamon rolls (grandma's recipe) for breakfast and then we cooked all day until dinner at 3:30. We had turkey, ham, a bunch of casseroles (corn, pineapple, sweet potato), green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and a pumpkin and squash soup that was my experiment that luckily turned out really well! J also made 2 apple pies and 2 pumpkin pies and my mom brought a cherry pie for dessert. Everything was delicious and we even used the china that I got from my grandmother to make dinner EXTRA fancy. Here is a look at our table...

Our Thanksgiving Table

My DIY Centerpiece

Clean-up was quick because everyone was so helpful and then we relaxed and watched football. The final Texas v Texas A&M game before the Aggies leave for the SEC, started at 8:00 pm (Horns win!!!) and it ended at about 5 minutes until midnight, when it was time for shopping!

J, my mom and I were the only ones who ventured out for midnight shopping, and it was a bust. Kohls was so full that we didn't even make it to the parking lot... we just U-Turned and left. We went to Target, where we did find a parking spot, but where there wasn't anything that was worth waiting in line to pay for, so that was kind of a waste, too. We were home by 1:00 am and in bed by 1:30 am... much different than normal.

On Friday we got up and had breakfast and then went to Brown County... to Nashville, Indiana, which is a super cute little town for of craft shops and tourists. It was crowded, but not unbearable and we did get a little bit of Christmas shopping done. We got home and ate (again) and then J, his mom and step-dad and I went to the mall and to Lowe's. His mom was taking our Christmas presents back to Minnesota for J's side of the family, so we had to get as much of their shopping as possible done.

We got home and I realized that I did not have any gift boxes, so I ran to CVS and got some stuff that I needed and wrapped a bunch of presents (I love wrapping presents) that are on their way back to Minnesota to go under J's mom's tree! It's actually kind of nice to be done with a few people on our Christmas list.

Saturday, we got up and had another great breakfast and then J took his mom and step-dad on a quick driving tour around campus while my mom and dad and I relaxed around the house and got the Christmas tree put up... HOORAY!!! When J got home he was so surprised to see the tree up... it was great!

J's mom and step-dad got packed up when they got home and headed out on their log trip north. J and I went for our run (5 miles... I made it!!) and when we got back, my dad had already left to go ref his basketball game. I ate a little bit of lunch, despite my upset stomach from my run, and then my mom and I headed out to do some shopping.

She was looking for Christmas gifts, which she found a few of, and I was looking for things to decorate the tree and the new fireplace. I think I got some really great deals and the inside of the house is fully decorated (minus the tree topper that I wanted J to help me pick out) and the outside just needs some lights!

Our house just works with Christmas. We have a warm living room with a really deep red accent wall and our dining room and kitchen are a light green. Those are the colors I went with for my tree and my decorations and I just LOVE how they look. PICTURES TO COME SOON!!!

Sunday, we got up and made breakfast and my mom got packed up and on the road. I got the ornaments that I bought, up on the tree and there are even presents under there already (from J's mom and one from me)!!!

The rest of Sunday was spent on the couch for some much needed relaxation and quiet time. A little bit on online shopping, some time on Blogger and some TV... perfect way to spend a Sunday!

The next couple of weeks are going to be SUPER crazy at work, so I'm hoping to have some really relaxing weekends, with some Christmas shopping and some quality time on the couch, enjoying the Christmas tree!

Progress Report...

2011-11-27T16:35:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I told you about all of the things that we had to do before our parents came for Thanksgiving... I would say that overall, we did a pretty good job!

We did not get the doors painted, but that was last on our priority list, so we'll get to that eventually.

We hung all of the blinds and all of the curtains (we need more panels on some of the windows, eventually) and we even got some stuff up on the walls in the living and dining room.

We got the garage organized, which was quickly reversed when J's mom brought a whole bunch of stuff with her from Minnesota. We also got the bathrooms organized, but the big room over the garage is now a storage room that will be sorted through gradually. We want it to eventually be a second family room/craft room. Right now, we don't have a TV to put up there and we also don't have furniture up there yet (the couch is coming from my mom and dad soon) so that room can be a work in progress!

I got all of the rooms and bathrooms cleaned and I am officially in love with our Shark. We have the steamer, that cleans your floors, and I was amazed at the stuff that it took off the floor! We got it at Big Lots (refurbished) for about half price because I wasn't sure if I'd like it or not, but I think that it was a good investment :)

Overall, I was pretty happy with the way the house looked and everyone loved it! My parents were down a few weeks ago (the weekend before Halloween), but at that point, there was a lot that still had to be done, so my mom was really impressed when she got here. It is finally starting to feel like home and I think that we are at a point now that we can take some time to live in the house before we do more stuff to it!

Thanksgiving recap coming some time this week!!

Wedding Wednesday

2011-11-23T03:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Day Before Thanksgiving!!! I hope that everyone is able to spend the holiday with family and friends!

Since Thanksgiving is closely followed by the beginning of "Christmas Season", I thought I would take this opportunity to highlight some great winter wedding decor...

via

Another inexpensive idea for centerpieces, or you could use them to line a walkway to a church or reception. A vase, some salt, some cranberries and a candle. Very simple, but also very elegant! If I can find some good fake cranberries (I'm not sure how long real ones would last???), this may make an appearance on my dining room table this holiday season!

You can check out all of my Wedding Wednesday pins on my Wedding Wednesday Pinterest Board!

Happy Hump Day!!!

This Weekend's To Do List

2011-11-18T13:34:00.000-05:00

We have company coming next week and we are hosting our first Thanksgiving in our new house... HOORAY!!! I'm so excited, but it means that we have A LOT to do this weekend!!! I was sitting at the BMV this morning, trying to get my car registered, and making a mental list of all the things that we have to get done this weekend:

Painting - finishing up some detail work and paint the doors
Hanging

Blinds - they arrived today... HOORAY!!!
Curtains - this is also on the "to buy" list for some of our rooms, but I'm waiting until the blinds are up to decide what kind of curtains I want in the bedrooms
Stuff on the walls - we currently have NOTHING on the walls in our house

Cleaning

Bathrooms
Kitchen
Floors

Organizing

One of the guest rooms - right now it's the shoe room, but it will soon be a bed room!
The garage - I'd really love to park my car in there!!!
The room above the garage
Our bathroom - we need to "his and hers" it... right now everything is everywhere!

We also have some furniture to move around and some boxes still to unpack. There's a REALLY slight chance that we may actually tear down the weird vines that are growing on our back porch and up the side of our house. I hate them and they need to go away!!! Doing this would also mean that we would like get our fire pit dug out because where else do you think the vines would go :-D

It's going to be a long weekend of a lot of work, but with a deadline in sight, we will hopefully have some extra motivation!!

What are you up to this weekend????

Wedding Wednesday

2011-11-16T03:01:00.000-05:00

I previously posted about the Birthday Guest Book, but this one rivals it for one of the most fun, creative guest book ideas I've seen!

via

So, each guest writes a note to the Bride and Groom about one thing that they just MUST do together now that they are married. AWESOME!!!

I think there are a few different ways you could do this. I think one of the most important things that you should do with this idea is have a card already made so that their suggestion AND their name is on there. That way you know who made the suggestion and it would be a great chance to send that person a post card or a note once you do what they've suggested.

I think another cool thing that you could do with these is give each one a page in a scrapbook that could be used as your check list. You take pictures or save mementos from the experience and then add them to the scrapbook page with notes about the experience.

No matter how it's done, I think it's an amazing idea that gives couples some really great ideas of things that they could do together "as long as they both shall live".

You can find all my Wedding Wednesday ideas on my Wedding Wednesday Pinterest Board!

Happy Hump Day!

How Can You Help???

2011-11-12T23:25:00.000-05:00

On Thursday morning, I went to a breakfast for Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County and learned a lot about an organization that has always seemed great to me, but I had no idea how great it really was!

I learned during this breakfast that it's not just a hand out. I knew there's an application and selection process involved when people get their houses, but I had no idea that once they were selected as a "partner family" (meaning, they were approved to have their own Habitat house), each adult living in the house is required to put in at least 250 volunteer hours of building into the other houses in their neighborhood, or other neighborhoods in the city.

Another thing that I did not realize was that the families who are approved for the homes are buying the homes. They have a mortgage with a 0% interest rate, but they also pay property taxes, which obviously contribute to their community. In Monroe county, we have a 0% foreclosure on our Habitat homes, which obviously means that they are selecting the right families to be a part of ther communities.

We heard from a Habitat homeowner who has 2 kids and who has held the same job for something like 8 years. He and his wife could just not seem to get ahead enough to get a home for their kids. He was elloquent, hard-working and so very thankful for their chance to give their kids a yard to play in and a space to call their own. I'm not saying that I was expecting something less from him, but I was especially touched by his story and his tears.

While working in Texas, we were asked each year (as state employees) to be a part of the State Employee Charitable Campain, and I always donated. My money usually went to the Parkinsons Research Foundation, since my Grandfather had Parkinsons and it was something that affected our family so greatly. Now that I am not in Texas anymore, I was trying to determine how and where I contribute, and where better to contribute than right in my own community? I think once J and I get our feet under us financially in the next few months, we will make a contribution to Habitat.

I was invited to my breakfast by my boss, who also invites the Gradute Assistants who work with us. This blog is inspired by something she said to them...

I invited you today, not because I want you to feel as though you need to donate today. But one day, you will be in a place financially that you have money to give to a cause, and there will hopefully be a Habitat in your community, wherever you end up, that you'll think of at that point.

So, with this, I hope you'll look into Habitat in your community. Maybe you can just start with some hours on Saturday morning, given to the construction of a house in your community. Maybe like us, you have a Habitat "ReStore" where you can donate things in your house that you may no longer need or want, or maybe you are in the place financially that you can make a contribution. I hope you'll learn more about Habitat and see if it's something you find worthy to support.

Hope you're having a great weekend!!

Wedding Wednesday

2011-11-09T03:01:00.000-05:00

For those of us who did most of our growing up in the 90s, you probably have a fond memory of Mad Libs. Yes, they are a great way to help kids learn what adjectives and nouns are, and yes you can make them as dirty as you want, but who was the genius who thought of this????

via

OK, so they are not exactly like the classic Mad Libs because you aren't doing them blindly, but I think they would still be a really fun activity. If you have a close knit group who all know each other, they could be a great way to share some major laughs!

You can find all my Wedding Wednesday ideas on my Wedding Wednesday Pinterest Board!

Happy Hump Day!

Well, what do you think?

2011-11-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hopefully you've noticed today that my blog looks different than it did last week. I'm no longer the long distance bride for two reasons... I'm not a bride anymore, AND I now live less than 200 miles from the place I got married, instead of the 1,000 miles that I did during planning.

So, it was time for a change. There will be a few changes to the content as well. Wedding Wednesday is still happening... I love it too much to not keep looking at wedding stuff. It's also going to change to more info about what we are doing to our new(ish) house that is definitely still a work in progress. I think I'm also going to add a "menu" section to the week... maybe Monday, since I love alliteration :)

Hopefully I won't lose any readers... I don't really have any friends here yet, so for right now, you're all I've got!!! I promise I'll also do a better job of consistent posts... 2 or 3 a week for sure!

Happy Monday and welcome to the next chapter of my story!

4 Months

2011-11-02T15:51:00.000-04:00

An extra post today to say Happy 4 Month Anniversary to my awesome husband!!!

Photos courtesy of Catie's Captures

Wedding Wednesday

2011-11-02T03:01:00.000-04:00

For brides on a budget... here is a a simple and yet totally awesome centerpiece idea that I love!

via

Seriously... start at the dollar store... find cylinder vases, a big bag of rubber bands and some tea lights. Then you just need a few cans of spray paint. put the rubber bands on in a random pattern, spray and VOILA!

You could do different shapes/sizes/heights and 3 at a table would be the perfect simple centerpiece! I think these would be really cute as a winter decoration, too!

You can find all my Wedding Wednesday ideas on my Wedding Wednesday Pinterest Board!

Happy Hump Day!

Happy Halloween (yesterday)

2011-11-01T14:36:00.000-04:00

My parents visit last weekend was awesome... my mom and I did a lot of shopping and my house is all ready for Thanksgiving now! I think one more trip up to their house and we will have all of the furniture for the house, too! Once we have all the furniture it will be so much easier to really get things put where they belong and where they are going to live permanently.

Obviously yesterday was Halloween and it was kind of a depressing Halloween for me. We had friends in Texas who always had a Halloween party and there was always a group of us at work who dressed up for Halloween... this year we sat at home and watched Hocus Pocus (DRVed from ABC Family) and gave candy to a few trick or treat-ers. I dressed up for work, but I was one of only about 3 people who did so I mostly just felt silly, rather than festive.

I'm leaving for a 2 day conference on Thursday morning so I probably won't be doing much blogging this week, but I'm hoping that I will actually have some time this weekend to get some more house projects done and actually convert my blog, which I've been talking about for a while but haven't gotten around to yet.

Wedding Wednesday tomorrow!!!

Wedding Wednesday

2011-10-26T03:01:00.000-04:00

I was definitely not into the extravagant cake... our cake was simple and 2 of the 3 layers were fake, which I would suggest to anyone, regardless of how fancy the design is because sheet cakes taste so much better than the fondant on the pretty cakes.

ANYWAY, despite my love of the simple cake and my disinterest in a fancy cake, I fell in love with this beauty as soon as I saw it...

via

OMG... How beautiful is this? I think I love it because it's simple, but has a really striking element. If I would have seen this before the wedding, I'm pretty sure I would have figured out a way to make it happen. AMAZING!!!

You can check out all of my Wedding Wednesday pins on my Wedding Wednesday Pinterest Board!

Happy Hump Day!!!

HOORAY FOR A WEDDING

2011-10-24T14:16:00.000-04:00

I am SOOOOOO excited to announce that my little cousin (who really isn't that little anymore) and bridesmaid is ENGAGED!

Her boyfriend (now fiance) surprised her with a trip to Washington DC (one of her favorite places) for her Birthday and proposed there!

The ring is beautiful... I guess I would call it "non-traditional", but I absolutely LOVE it so instead I'm calling it

SOOOOOO PERFECTLY "THEM"

I am so excited for them... we love him and are so excited to officially add him to the family!!!

Last Weekend and This Weekend

2011-10-21T03:01:00.000-04:00

J and I went up to Ft Wayne last weekend to see my parents and to get more of our stuff, specifically our dining room table and beautiful hutch that's been sitting in my parents' garage for about 5 years, since my aunt handed it down to me. The dining room has been a major catch all up until now, and we were running out of places to put serving dishes that we got as wedding gifts, so we really needed to get the hutch down to our house.

Before we left for Ft Wayne, we got up extra early on Friday morning to go and get...

Yes... that is the iPhone 4S and I am now the owner of one... a white one... it's pretty!

So, once we got to Ft Wayne, we went for a run (which I just realized I needed to log on my Mini Marathon Blog) and then spent the evening relaxing at my parents' house.

On Saturday, my mom and I went shopping and got pedicures and then we went our for her Birthday dinner. The place we had our rehearsal dinner sent us a gift card as a thank you, so what better time to use it than for dinner, drinks and dessert!

My mom isn't really hard to shop for, but she is hard to surprise, so when I saw that this was coming to the Embassy Theater in Ft Wayne, I had to get tickets for her and my dad.

I really wish that J and I could have gone with them, but it's on a Tuesday and that's a long way to drive. Hopefully they will have a great time!

Sunday was spent around the kitchen table for a long brunch and then packing up our car so we could head back home. We got the dining room table and hutch into J's truck and he hit the road to beat the rain. We got 4 of our 6 dining room chairs in my car along with a few other wedding gifts that still remained at my parents' house.

Our house is finally coming along!!!

We are running a 5K this weekend and making dinner for my co-workers who had a baby a few weeks ago, and then I am hoping to make our couch pillows and get some stuff done around the house. Hopefully we'll have house pictures coming soon!

Wedding Wednesday

2011-10-19T11:26:00.000-04:00

Sorry for my lack of posting this week, but I could not pass up the chance to do a quick post today to share my newest wedding find on Wedding Wednesday!!!

Mother-in-Laws can be hard to buy for... but I found this amazing gift that is small and very inexpensive as far as monogrammed handkerchiefs go, but I think it is so powerful :)

I wish I would have found this earlier because I would have bought it for my Mother-in-Law FOR SURE!!!

via

I could not have put it any better myself, and I can only imagine the reaction that would ensue. SOOO, if you are looking for a Mother-in-Law gift, I would definitely recommend looking into this... you can link to the Esty seller from my Pinterest page!

I was runnnning...

2011-10-14T03:01:00.000-04:00

I have always been an athlete, but I played volleyball, basketball and softball so I was always more of an explosive, anaerobic athlete than one that needed high endurance like soccer or cross country.

WELL, as I get older, I am running out of opportunities to play the team sports of my past and it's time for something new. J was a runner throughout his life, including college where he ran cross country and track, and when we first met, he was in the middle of marathon training, which he completed in October 2008 (Twin Cities Marathon).

After his marathon, I decided that I wanted to learn to run. I know that sounds really silly, but for someone who has never run more than a mile or two continuously, you actually do have to "learn" to run because you can't just go out and haul ass like you do as you're chasing after a volleyball.

The moral of the story is, I needed a goal... I needed something to strive for and something that would challenge me AND SO, I'm running a half marathon.

May 2012... 500 Festival Mini Marathon in Indianapolis. I'm hoping for a pace of 10:00 min/mile or less.

J says I should keep a running log... I decided to keep a running BLOG. If you want to follow along, or check out our training schedule, you can come check out my new blog...

www.myminimarathon.blogspot.com

It's going to be a lot about my runs, but I may throw in some additional thoughts and info on my favorite products ever now and then. Come train with me!!!

ABC, All About Me...

2011-10-13T03:01:00.000-04:00

Get to know me ABC's.

You may know all about my wedding, but here are a few things you may not

have known about me!

Age: 28.

Bed size: Queen, but I'd move down to a full if it meant we could get a Tempurpedic... ok, maybe not a full... that's really small.

Chore you hate: Putting laundry away. I don't mind putting it in the wash or in the drier and I don't mind folding.. but I absolutely HATE putting it away.

Dogs: None... and no other pets. I love animals SO much, that I would feel bad having to leave a dog home with no one to play with all day. I know... I'm a little ridiculous about it.

Essential start of your day: COFFEE!!! Just one cup, but I love the taste!

Favorite color: It's a tie between Purple, Green and Burnt Orange

Gold or silver: Silver

Height: 5'7"

Instruments I play (or have played): I used to play the piano and so wish I would have continued... I love the way a piano sounds... so simple, yet so powerful. I may start taking lessons again if I can afford it.

Job title: Assistant Director of Campus Recreational Sports for Informal Sports and Student Personnel... yes, it's a long one and yes, it is as confusing as it sounds. To sum it up, I supervise a lot of college students in the hopes that one day, they will become real people instead of get stuck in the transition from kid to adult.

Kids: None and non coming in the near future! I'm never going to be one of those people who tries to plan conception, which is so not like me because I'm a planner... I'm just going to have to let God do his thing and I'll get excited when he does.

Live: Indiana... just moved here from Texas not too long ago.

Mom's name: Sue

Nickname: Lexi (my real name is Alexis), Lex, Lexo and Girlee (that's what J calls me)

Overnight hospital stays: No, but I have had a few surgeries... knee scope, gall bladder removed, LASIK

Pet peeve: Oh there are SO many... one of them is that I hate when people say words/phrases wrong... It's especially, not "expecially" (I have no idea how people turn the S into an X) and it's "Up and at em", not "Up and Adam", unless you're name is Adam, which is the only time that would be an actual phrase. I shudder when I hear things like this.

Quote from a movie:

"Now let me say, without hope or agenda... that you are perfect" -Love Actually

"You stink... you smell like beef and cheese... you don't smell like Santa" -Elf

Right or left handed: Right.

Siblings: None.

Time you wake up: Usually around 8:00 am

Underwear: Yes???

Vegetables you dislike: Cooked spinach

What makes you run late: My hair... it can definitely be cause for a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!

X-rays you've had done: Lots... probably just about every bone in my body! Well, maybe not my arms... I've never hurt my arms before.

Yummy food you make: LOTS! I don't really bake... there's too much attention to detail required... but I really love to cook! One of my favorites is Cilantro Lime Chicken

Zoo animal: Giraffes and Elephants.Hope you're learned something new about me today!!!

Hope you learned something about me today!!!

Wedding Wednesday

2011-10-12T03:01:00.000-04:00

As promised, this blog is not moving completely away from weddings... Wednesdays will be Wedding Wednesdays when I'll post about something cute that I've found a love! Most of these will probably come from the amazing things I find on Pinterest... I'm so addicted. You can find my Pinterest pages here

I thought that our Guest Book was one of our most creative things at our wedding, and this Guest Book idea is another one that I love.

via

You may not get the sentiment that you could get with other Guest Book options, but who doesn't love to have people's Birthdays? I must admit, I would probably only do this with a smallish wedding because you may not want to have 250+ Birthdays on the calendar. I would also probably do it on a perpetual calendar like this one (which is on my Christmas list)...

via

...because I would not want to have to transfer them over to another calendar every year.

So what do you think of this as a guestbook option???

Now What???

2011-10-11T21:36:00.000-04:00

Well, the wedding is over... the honeymoon is over... our life has just begun. I still plan to do some wedding related posts, but probably just one day a week... we'll call it "Wedding Wednesday" :-D

So, starting tomorrow, this blog will be transformed, slowly but sure, to match the newly started chapter of my life. I'm working on a new title and possibly a new look (we'll see about this one) and we'll be moving from "recaps" to "real life".

Stay tuned... we're just getting started!

Meet My Dress

2011-10-07T03:01:00.000-04:00

I stole this idea from my fellow blogger at "Saying I Do" and I'm so excited to show off the most beautiful dress I've ever worn.

My dress was created by Maggie Sottero... her name is Grace.

via

I tried on a lot of dresses. I went shopping with a group of bridesmaids to start with and never really felt like it was an exciting experience for me. I'm sure part of that is because I knew I wanted to go shop with my mom before I made a final choice. When I went up to Indiana and shopped wit her, I went through a lot of dresses and never had that teary, emotional, can't hold it together moment that you see on "Say Yes to the Dress".

Apparently I was not meant to have one of those moments... I'm probably too logical a thinker for that. I am someone who compares one thing to another... I don't often make decisions based on emotion, and although a lot of the major decisions in my life have been accompanied by a sobbing breakdown, this was not one of them. There are a few dresses that were contenders...

Pretty, but not perfect, although I thought it was at first

Beautiful, but too expensive

This was definitely a contender!

Just kidding... but if I ever go to the Oscars, this is the dress!

This is one that the Bridesmaids liked a lot

In the end, nothing compared to this...

The first time I ever tried it on...

I love the lace...

I love how it fit me, and how it made me look in pictures...

My favorite of all of my bridal portraits by Catie's Captures

Who needs a tearful "moment" when you love your dress this much for the long haul?

Our Flower Girl

2011-10-06T03:01:00.000-04:00

Originally I was not going to have a Flower Girl, but I am so glad that I changed my mind. It was so fun to get to share the experience with my cousins' little girl. I loved hearing about how much she loved brides and weddings once I asked her to be my Flower Girl. I loved getting emails from her when I sent her pictures of her dress. I loved making her gifts and finding cute things to add to her gift bag. It was so great to have a little girl who could have, what her mom has told me, was one of the best days of her life on what was also mine.

Fiona is the most well behaved little girl I've ever met. She sits up straight and has no problem talking to adults and she's not the type to run around or make lots of noise. She's 5, going on 15, and she is the sweetest...

She listens and follows directions so well, and she did her best to keep our Ring Bearer under control. He would not let go of her hand and no matter how fast he tried to run, she held on and kept him from sprinting down the aisle.

The day of the ceremony, she loved all of the stuff that she got to do with the big girls.

She went to tea...

and got to have her hair and makeup done...

She also had to make sure she knew what she was doing, so she went to the hall and practiced.

She really liked the wedding coloring book I made her and her mom told me not too long ago that she plays tea party every day with the tea set that my mom found for me to put in her gift bag. She also carries the purses that I gave here wherever she goes and loved the fact that she had a purse for her Flower Girl camera... I still can't wait to see the pictures she took that day.

It was so fun to share this day with her and to give her memories that she'll hopefully have forever. I can't wait to make her a photo book of her own, probably a Christmas present, that she can have to look back on that day. I can't wait until the day that she gets married...

Our Ring Bearer

2011-10-05T03:01:00.000-04:00

I know I've already shown some really funny pictures of our Ring Bearer from the reception, but what about before the shirt came of??? :-D

He is Jason's nephew (my nephew now, too) and he is 3 1/2 and has more energy than I could even wish for! He has a little bit of a crush on me and when he sees curly hair, he thinks it's me. I love hearing stories about him from J (that he gets from his sister and his mom)...

For a while, it was "Lexi's wedding" that he was going to... J wasn't a part of it.

When is mom started talking with him about walking down the aisle, she asked if he wanted to walk with her or with Fiona, our flower girl, to which he answered, "Mom, I don't walk with Fiona... that's Shrek".

When he finally did meet Fiona, he instantly fell in love. He took her hand and they walked all around together. Fiona is about a year and a half older than him and probably the most mild mannered child you could ever find, so the firecracker that is B was, at times, more than she could handle.

On the morning of the wedding, he asked his mom if he was going to marry Fiona that day... he was sad when she told him no, but he was sure to stay right by her for as much of the day as he could.

He is such a sweet boy... he told me lots of times that I looked like a princess and gave me one of the greatest hugs a new aunt could ever ask for.

He got tired of taking pictures, but he did a great job of sticking with us...

So helpful...

Even though he was tired, he powered through the day and made the most of the party :-D

Mom, Dad, I need a drink...

Cake? Yes please...

Heck Yeah!!! Party

Spin faster Uncle J

I sure wish we were closer to J's sister so we could see them more!

DIY Projects

2011-10-04T03:01:00.000-04:00

I thought about doing a separate post of each of my wedding DIY projects, but I'd really like to get back to reality and move on to what is now my real life, instead of continuing on and on and on with wedding stuff. Don't worry... I'm not running away from wedding stuff, but I had a million DIY projects and we'd spend MONTHS on these projects if I did a post on each one.

SOOOO, I'll introduce you to my Wedding DIY Page. It has pictures of all of the DIY projects that I have pictures of. If there are any of them that you'd like instructions on, I hope you'll either email me, or comment on this post and let me know which ones specifically you'd like me to write about and I'll be happy to do it!

Since Catie's Captures takes such great pictures, I wanted to share some photos of my DIY projects, which many of can also be found on the Wedding DIY Page.

Bridesmaids' Name Hangers

Guestbook Quilt

Centerpieces

Pomanders

Escort Card Display Board

Garter

Programs

Escort Cards

Favors, Photo Share Cards & Guestbook Reminders

3 Months

2011-10-03T03:01:00.001-04:00

Happy 3 months (yesterday) to the best husband ever...

Honeymoon Recap: Sunday/Monday

2011-09-30T03:01:00.000-04:00

We woke up and repacked our bags and headed to the airport. We went to the airport where we grabbed some Duncan Donuts and headed to our flight. We had a direct flight from Miami to Chicago and then had a drive back home.

When we got home, everyone wanted to see pictures of the honeymoon. We ate dinner and looked at pictures and J and I told everyone about our trip.

Monday was my Birthday so we had people over for dinner and cake. My grandma made the rhubarb pie that she always makes for my Birthday and Jason made the Boston Cream Pie that he’s been making me since we first started dating.

We relaxed and tried to wade through all of our stuff at my mom and dad’s house as we tried to get ready for our move to Bloomington a few days later. It was a great end to our wedding/honeymoon weeks… there is nothing I love more than a Birthday with my family around me.

Next Up: DIY Projects

Honeymoon Recap: Saturday

2011-09-29T03:01:00.000-04:00

On Saturday we got up and had breakfast and then had to head to the airport. Our butler brought our bags and we took a picture with her before we left for the airport.

Once we got through customs, we stopped in a store and got some great sauces and spices to take home with us.

I had the BEST grilled cheese sandwich EVER in the airport restaurant and then it was back to Miami where we spent the night.

Instead of going out to dinner, we just went down to the bar. While we were down there, we hopped on their computers to check emails. I got on Facebook for a quick second and my photographer messaged me and told me to check her blog.

She had put up wedding pics and I looked at them and cried. What a great surprise to come home to!

Next Up: Honeymoon Recap: Sunday

Honeymoon Recap: Friday

2011-09-28T03:01:00.000-04:00

We slept in as we had done all week, and then went out to our special reserved spot…

Who would not LOVE to be here all day. We had drinks, food, time in the water, and a lot of time to read and relax. I’m pretty sure we even took a nap or two through the day.

While we relaxed, we had some visitors. There were two crabs who were lounging in the plant just a little way from our cabana. It’s hard to see this one, but his name is Sebastian.

Then there was another crab who I had been working on catching a picture of off and on. I named him Carlos and after some time being coy, he finally came out for a full photo shoot.

After we were done outside, we came back in and got ready for our dinner at the restaurant overlooking the water. We took a picture with one of our butlers since it was the last time we would see him...

And enjoyed our first sunset as we sat down for dinner...

It was a beautiful restaurant

and I made sure to take pictures of our last meal in St. Lucia.

Crab salad with cucumber and lime

Fresh scallops with sun dried tomatoes and bacon on lettuce with a citrus dressing

Caramelized apples and walnuts on spinach

Coconut lobster bisque

Seafood platter... shrimp, crab legs, muscles, lobster tail and fish on a bed of rice.

Filet mignon with fried onions on garlic potatoes

We went back to the room and smoked our cigar

with our new friend Lenny

before we turned in for the night.

Next Up: Honeymoon Recap: Saturday

Honeymoon Recap: Thursday

2011-09-27T03:01:00.000-04:00

We slept in and got breakfast delivered to our room and then enjoyed a great day at the beach.

Our butler reserved chairs for us under a cabana and we relaxed and swam and went out on a water tricycle.

This is what happens when a camera goes from air conditioning to humidity :-D

We at pizza for lunch and went to the pool for some drinks before we went and got ready for dinner. Our butler made reservations for us at one of the other resorts, at a hibachi restaurant.

We got there and had to wait for a while, but there were drinks (we think it had cranberry in it) and really weird chips…

We were seated with 5 other couples at our table and we instantly made friends with one of the girls, who agreed that Saki Bombs sounded like a good idea. Of the other 5 couples, 4 of them were really friendly and talkative… although there was one who really said nothing the whole time.

We had a sushi appetizer and saki bombs before dinner and then it was time for our main course.

Round One: Mahi Mahi (the fish so nice they named it twice) and chicken

Round Two: Pork chops with fresh pineapple, steak and vegis

We hopped back on the bus and went back to our resort where we walked in to...

We didn't ever eat this cake, but it was pretty!

And then we called it a night...

Next Up: Honeymoon Recap: Friday

Honeymoon Recap: Wednesday

2011-09-26T03:01:00.000-04:00

We got up early again and headed down to the dock for the Simon Says tour. We knew it was a speed boat tour (hooray for not getting on a bus first thing in the morning), but we didn’t really know what all we would be doing. Our tour guide’s name was Darwin… he was awesome… and we started the day with cloudy skies, and a cooler of beer J

We went around the island and go to see some cool sights…

Where the original Dr. Doolittle was filmed

Word on the street is this belongs to Oprah

George Foreman's house... his wife is originally from the island.

The Piton Mountains

Then we stopped for some snorkeling. I had been snorkeling before, but it was just off the beach at a resort I stayed at in Jamaica. The place we stopped was a preserve where they put an artificial reef and there were SO many fish… it was beautiful! Even J, who doesn’t swim, threw on a life jacket and took in the cool underwater world.

After snorkeling (man, I wish I had an underwater camera with me for that) we hopped on a bus and went to a hot mineral bath. We walked through on a trail and our guide pointed out some really cool plants and fruits. We got to the waterfall and the mineral pools and the water came from a waterfall and it was warm, right from the source. It is supposedly therapeutic… good for joints and muscles.

From there, we went to the volcano that formed the island. It was steamy and smelled like sulfur, but it was cool. We walked down to the stream that flows out from inside the volcano and it was time for our mud bath.

We got in the water that was warm and grey and then our tour guides brought us a bucket full of mud. We spread the mud all over and let it dry and then got back in the water.

It made our skin feel great… so soft, and we even brought some mud back with us for ourselves and our family.

Once we were done there, we got back on the bus and went and had a “home cooked” authentic island meal at Simon’s wife’s restaurant. It was AMAZING. I absolutely loved every part of the meal of chicken and macaroni and cheese(not like the American version). It was a great end to our tour. We got back on the boat and it started to rain… and let me tell you… when you’re on a speed boat in the rain, it stings!

Darwin... our tour guide

We made it home and we were cold and wet and didn’t have time to get ready for the sunset cruise that we had scheduled… plus, it was cloudy and raining and there wouldn’t have been any sunset anyway.

We came home to flowers on the floor and a beautiful bubble bath with a bottle of champagne. Once again, we drank the whole bottle of champagne and ate the fruit and got into our awesome, cozy robes and relaxed and warmed up after our day in the rain.

We ordered room service instead of going to the restaurants for dinner and it was a wonderful, relaxing night… and once again, we were asleep early… we really needed the sleep!

Next Up: Honeymoon Recap: Thursday

Back Next Week

2011-09-21T03:01:00.000-04:00

Well, the auto-posts have caught up with me and we are in the middle of a very busy week. I'm going to take a few days and get more honeymoon recaps ready... be back next Monday!!!

Hope everyone has a great week and just to make you smile... check out the most amazing ring bearer ever!

Honeymoon Recap: Tuesday

2011-09-20T03:01:00.000-04:00

We woke up early on Tuesday and grabbed breakfast and met our other butler before we got on the bus for our zip line tour. Our tour guide… George of the Jungle… that’s what he called himself. It was another long trip on a bus to the middle of nowhere, but he kept people talking and the trip really wasn’t that bad. We got to the zip line place and got all dressed up…

Then it was time to GO!!!

While we were zip lining, George was in the jungle trying to find spiders and reptiles… here’s what he brought back to show us…

We got back on the bus and George had some treats for us…

Ginip Fruit

Fresh Coconut... it kind of tasted like a macadamia nut

Mango Julie... most amazing fruit I've EVER tasted

Spiced rum... oh how it burns...

When we got back to the resort, we decided we wanted to book another tour. There was one called the “Simon Says” tour that people were raving about so we signed up to go on the tour the next day. We went back to our room to find...

After our snack, we headed to the pool for a little while and got a few drinks and then it was time for dinner.

Our butler had made reservations for us at Tosconani’s… the Italian restaurant on our resort. It was wonderful! We were so hungry that I forgot to take pictures of dinner... but I did get dessert.

My Lemon Meringue Tart

J's Tiramisu

Once again, we were tired… once again we went back to our room and went to bed… who needs night life when you can relax!?!?!

Next Up: Honeymoon Recap: Wednesday

Honeymoon Recap: Monday

2011-09-19T03:01:00.001-04:00

We woke up early Monday and went back to the airport to catch our flight. We got there and international check in was a BREEZE. We had some time to kill so we thought it would be fun to see how much it would be to upgrade to first class. On the flight from Chicago to Miami, the first class seats were the ones that basically turned into beds so we were hoping it may be the same from Miami to St. Lucia. We had some trouble, but with some help from the American Airlines staff at the upgrade kiosks, we got our first class seats! This is the first time that either of had flown first class so we were really excited… ok, well maybe I was more excited that J was…

Champagne before take-off

Wine and mixed nuts... yep, they came in that bowl, not in a shiny bag.

Lunch... spinach salad, cheese stuff shells, wine, water, bread and raspberry cheesecake. I meant to take a picture before I started eating... oops :-D

One more thing to add about first class… the seats are WAY better for sleeping, which is what I did the most during our flight. I was SOOOO tired from the week before and must have needed sleep so badly so this was a great chance to get a little bit caught up!

We finally arrived in St. Lucia and we were met by the resort reps and taken in a private car from the airport, across the island, to our resort. It was a LONG trip, but the scenery and driver were nice.

We got to the resort where we met our butler… YES… OUR BUTLER. J booked one of the rooms that had butler service!! Before he took us on a tour of the resort, I had to take pictures of our room...

Looking from the living room to the bedroom

Our bed

The bath tub

Sinks

Closet with AWESOME robes

Champagne and fresh fruit

Our butler blackberry... just press "talk" and you can have whatever you want delivered!

Our liquor cabinet... no... we didn't open any of these bottles.

Fully stocked fridge

Piton beer... the local beer... kind of like Corona. YUM!

Our patio chairs outside the bedroom

Our view from the patio

J on the patio, outside the living room

Our first honeymoon picture

Yummy fresh fruit

Living room... we sat on the couch once... it was not very comfortable

Looking into the living room from the front door

Despite a good nap on the plane, we were both tired. After our resort tour and a little time in the sauna, we went to dinner, went back to the room for some more champagne and SLEEP! We had to get up early the next day for the ZIP LINE!!!

Next Up: Honeymoon Recap: Tuesday

Product Review - Pictures on Canvas

2011-09-16T03:01:00.001-04:00

One of my most favorite things is finding cool ways to display pictures. One of my current favorites is putting pictures on canvases, of all sizes!

I was recently emailed by pictures on canvas and had the chance to order a canvas so I could tell you all about my experience. I must say, it was a great one!

You start by picking the size of the canvas. They have standard options that range from 8 x 8, up to 24 x 36, but you can also create a custom canvas size. I went with an 11 x 14.

The next step is to pick your image. I did have a couple challenges with this... the first one was that I had so many pictures to choose from (not a bad problem to have). The only issue I really had with the site was that depending on the closeness of the picture as it was taken, it may not fit on the canvas size you choose. It may have been something that could be fixed and I didn't know how. You can choose how the picture is oriented on the canvas and also edit which part of the picture is seen.

The next part has some options on the details of the canvas. I chose to have colored sides, rather than stretching the photo and I love them. I took a stab in the dark and hoped that the color I chose would work with the new paint on our walls and I think it will look great.

Finally, you decide if you want to make any edits to the photo itself. You can make it sepia or black and white and you have the option to have them do some retouching on the photo. Luckily, I was using a high quality photo that was already black and white so I didn't need to do any of these things.

I had my expedited, and I'm not sure how many days it took, exactly, but I know I was surprised to see it when it arrived so it must have been pretty quick :-D

I absolutely love it. The photo is so sharp and the definition is amazing. I've seen a lot of canvases that have colors that get kind of mottled, but that is definitely not the case with pictures on canvas. I would recommend them to anyone!

If you're interested, you can check out their website or their facebook page where you'll find coupons and special offers. Happy Friday!!!

Honeymoon Recap: Sunday Evening

2011-09-15T03:01:00.000-04:00

We left Chicago late in the afternoon and headed to Miami. It was kind of late when we got in and we had to get up early the next morning to leave for St. Lucia so we stayed at the airport hotel for the night. Here’s where I started the photo chronicle of our trip…

Pretty ceiling in the lobby

Our hallway

Our room number

Our room

Up Next: Honeymoon Recap: Monday

Wedding/Honeymoon Recap: The Secret is Revealed

2011-09-14T03:01:00.000-04:00

We (secretly) stayed in the hotel where all of our guests stayed the night of our wedding so we woke up the next morning and got to see people and say goodbye as many of them were headed home that day. We gave hugs and kisses to friends and family, got some quick breakfast and headed over to my parents’ house where a lot of my mom’s family gathered for the day.

We got there and got requests by a few different people to open presents, so we sat down and opened presents and cards and finally got through it all in time to say goodbye to some of the bridesmaids and my awesome employees who drove all the way from Texas just to come to the wedding.

When presents were done, we quickly packed up… at this point, I still did not know where I was going, but I knew it was a beach (bathing suits, cover ups, beach hat), that I’d need some comfy shorts and tanks and that I’d need some dresses for dinner. Luckily, J and I had gone shopping together a couple times to make sure we were all stocked for the honeymoon!

As we were packing, two more bridesmaids came in… the two who had been our roommates for the past two years. They came in to say goodbye and both cried. I was so surprised and so touched. By no means did I think we weren’t friends… some of the best times of my life were had with them, especially the one who I’d lived with for 3 years (before we added J and our other roommate)… I just didn’t really realize that they were going to miss us… I don’t know why.

So my MOH stuck around and helped me get packed and she continued her awesomeness and packed up some food for us to take on our trip. We were taking my cousin back to Chicago, where we flew out, so we got all packed up and headed out.

Before we even got out of Ft Wayne, J gave me a folder and told me it was time for me to know where I was going… ST. LUCIA!!!!!

I called my parents and told them where to find their info packet (that J had hidden in their house) and he did the same for his mom and sister and then we texted the wedding party and a couple other friends who were just dying to find out where we were going. I was so excited. I also found out that we had a zip lining trip already planned and that I got to pick something else to do when we got there.

I WAS SO EXCITED!!!

Up Next: Honeymoon Recap: Sunday Evening

Wedding Day Recap: The Exit

2011-09-13T03:01:00.000-04:00

This is the end of the wedding day recaps... if you have missed some, you can check out all of the recaps (starting with wedding week) under the Recaps label.

Since we got married on 4^th of July weekend, I wanted to do something festive. I love 4^th of July and I love fireworks and I wish we could have afforded a fireworks show for our guests, but we couldn’t. Instead, we got really long sparklers (I think they were 3 feet long and last for 4 minutes) for people to have during our exit.

Our photographer and the event staff at Ceruti’s really came through with a great idea and we went back to the courtyard (where we had the ceremony) for the grand exit. Once again… the pictures tell it all!

Next Up: Wedding/Honeymoon Recap: The Secret is Revealed

Wedding Day Recap: Some Time Alone Together

2011-09-12T03:01:00.000-04:00

Once the party really started and everyone jumped on the dance floor, we walked around and talked with our guests. It was an exhausting couple of hours… running around, trying to make sure we talked to everyone. I know that no one expected to have much time with us, but we wanted to make sure we at least got to say hi to all the people who had traveled to our wedding.

Jason's old coach and his family from North Dakota

My aunt and uncle (dad's brother) and my cousins from North Carolina

Cousins from Michigan, Vermont and D.C.

Cousins from Cleveland

My kiddos, who came all the way from Texas (p.s. I miss them so much)

I think we actually did make it around to everyone, but before it was time for the exit, our photographer wanted us to go outside and have some fun with our sparklers. It was the first time as a married couple that we had any time alone together. Kind of like the night before after the rehearsal, it was so great to just have some quiet time to get to stand next to each other and take a deep breath and not have to be “on”, talking to people. We got some cute pictures with our sparklers and got excited for the last part of our wedding!

Next Up: Wedding Day Recap: The Exit

Wedding Day Recap: Our First Dance

2011-09-09T03:01:00.000-04:00

Click here to hear our first dance song...

J and I only practiced our dance one time between our last lesson and the time we actually had to do it in front of everyone else. We practiced the day before and I had taken lessons in my wedding shoes, but I had never danced in my dress. I was actually kind of nervous before we started, but I knew that J was probably more nervous than me (he doesn’t like to be the center of attention) so I had to make sure I didn’t make him more nervous.

I really wish I had a video of our first dance all ready to show you, but I don’t yet. It went really great and we had fun and we got lots of compliments. All I’ve got for now are pictures…

We also did a father/daughter dance to “Stand By Me”… a song that has always reminded me of my dad… it’s one of his favorite songs.

J and his mom had their mother/son dance to a song that she chose, “A Song for My Son”.

And then, it was time for the wedding party’s next performance. Once again, I didn’t ask any of them to do much before-hand… but I did drop the hint to the girls that we’d be doing the “Cupid Shuffle” to get the party started. The night before at the bar, we taught some of the guys to do it, even though most of them were being losers and not participating… well, this time they did :-D

And then everyone joined the party!!!

Next Up: Wedding Day Recap: Some Time Alone Together

Wedding Day Recap: Time to Cut the Cake

2011-09-08T03:01:00.000-04:00

Click here before reading…

After the toasts, it was time for a quick bathroom break and then it was time to cut the cakes. My dad’s high school friend made our wedding cake… two-thirds of which was fake. She made the top and bottom layer of the cake fake and only the middle was real, which you totally couldn’t tell unless you knew. We also had her make a bunch of sheet cakes that they cut and served for us… mostly because I hate the taste of fondant, but also because it’s way less expensive. We had strawberry, lemon, white and chocolate sheet cakes and they were great, although we didn’t actually get to try the strawberry cake… we heard that one was great, too!

We also had our grooms cake (thanks to my grandmother saving the day)… made of rice krispy treats. It was amazing and we got so many compliments on it.

Here are some pictures of the cake cutting.

Next Up: Wedding Day Recap: Our First Dance

A Couple Days Away

2011-09-06T03:01:00.000-04:00

I know I promised the wedding recaps would start again today, but J is on his way to see his grandparents on Wednesday, so I'm going to take a couple of days away and spend some time with my husband. I know that he is going to be at our house working hard while I'm at work all day so I want to make sure I come home and have some time with him before he leaves for another week and a half.

I'll be back in full force on Thursday... there are a few more wedding day recaps and then on to the honeymoon!

Hope you got to enjoy a long weekend and that your weekend was great!!

Happy Labor Day

2011-09-05T03:01:00.000-04:00

Happy Labor Day everyone! In honor of the past two weeks of ridiculous amounts of hours spent at work, I'm enjoying my extra day off... but don't be confused... we are working on the house.

Wedding recaps begin again tomorrow, but I wanted to let everyone know that coming soon will be a product review of a Easy Canvas Prints where I just recently purchased an 11"x14" canvas of one of our wedding photos. I'm not sure where it's going to go yet, but I'll figure it out eventually :-D

If you're looking for a place to make photos into canvases, you should check them out. If you don't like to pay full prices for things (who does when you don't have to), head over to their Facebook Page and "like" them to get some Sweet Deals.

Hope you all have the day off, too and that you're enjoying it!

2 Months

2011-09-02T03:01:00.000-04:00

It's been two months since we were married and it's been a whirlwind. We haven't even started writing thank you notes because there have been so many things going on... the honeymoon, a new job for me, a 1,000 mile move, buying a new house that needed some work, the loss of my grandmother and the start of a new school year. All of these things have been draining and I wouldn't say it's been a bad start to our marriage, because I still love J more and more every day, but it's been stressful and I'm ready for life to slow down so I can actually enjoy my husband.

I'm so lucky to have amazing pictures to look at and remember the best day of my life...

Happy TWO MONTHS to my Best Friend

Wedding Day Recap: Maid of Honor Toast

2011-09-01T03:01:00.000-04:00

I know I’ve talked in the past about my best friend and Maid of Honor, Melissa. She is the one person in the world who I knew would make me turn off my feeling of needing to make everyone else happy and let others do things to make me happy on and around my wedding day.

I looked forward to her toast, and I was in no way disappointed. Here’s what she said…

“So, I will start by telling you how I met Lexi. It was at a restaurant in Muncie, Indiana… if you haven’t been there, please check it out. Now, I remember the things that came out about Lexi. She was this fiercely independent, extremely talented, beautiful young lady that new exactly what she wanted and was funny… so it was like looking in a mirror. We of course had a few options… we could hate each other, or we could move in together, and work together eight hours a day and then go home together. We chose the latter and instantly became pretty inseparable. I will never forget, Lexi and Jason, if y’all haven’t heard the story, he took her to the aquarium on her first date and after their first date, a few days after, Lexi had been enjoying some adult beverages and called me and left a voicemail. The only thing the voicemail said was, ‘I just want you to know, I’ve met my future husband. This is all.’ That was the entire message, and I knew that we’d been friends for a while and I’d never heard her say that about someone before, so I knew that Jason must be really special. Lexi, you will forever be my favorite partner in crime, my favorite cooking buddy, my favorite TV buddy, the best advice giver and I hope that everyone in this room has the opportunity to have a friend as great as Lexi and that your Lexi finds their Jason. It’s been crazy this wedding week, so I’d like Jason and Lexi to stand up for a minute… I want y’all to have a moment together. Lexi, put your hands out and Jason put your hands on top. I want y’all to look at each other… remember this moment… and Jason, this is the last time you’ll have the upper hand. I love you both!”

Who could ask for anything more???

Up Next: Wedding Day Recap: Cakes and Dancing

Wedding Day Recap: The Reception Starts

2011-08-31T03:01:00.000-04:00

After some relaxing and cooling off, it was time for the reception to start. While we were waiting for all the guests to get into the room, the bridal party (in their recessional pairs) planned their entrances. I thought about asking them to figure this out before the wedding, but didn’t think anyone would go for it, so I was SO excited when they did it on their own!

“The Way You Make Me Feel” (by Michael Jackson) came on and J and I peeked around the corner to try and see what each couple did, but it’s so much better on the video that my cousin took. They were fun and hilarious and it started the evening off just right! I do have to say that my favorite entrance was my cousin and one of J’s college buddies who came in posing and taking pictures of each other!

J hates being the center of attention, so we just walked in together... nothing fancy, with a stop for a quick kiss.

We sat down and our salads were served. Our DJ ran down the head table and asked if anyone wanted drinks and brought them to all of us… he was a SUPERSTAR! Once we were done with salads, the buffet was ready. Here’s one reason I love my photographer… I have pictures of our amazing dinner!

(Pictures by Catie's Captures)

I have to say, I was a little worried about the food… most buffet food is kind of bland and nothing to write home about, and we didn’t get the chance to taste our menu items. Thankfully, I was SO wrong! The chicken was amazing… the ham was SO tender and the potatoes and green beans had so much flavor to them that, if not for my tightly tied corset dress, I could have gone back for seconds.

Up Next: Wedding Day Recap: Maid of Honor Toast

Wedding Day Recap: Before the Party Starts

2011-08-30T03:01:00.000-04:00

We walked out of the ceremony and back into the banquet hall and as each bridesmaid/groomsmen came in, there were more and more hugs and laughter.

We headed back into the “getting ready” room and I lifted my skirt half way up my thigh and sat on the floor to try and cool off. I’m not exactly sure where they came from, but someone handed me a beer… oh what a glorious feeling… the cold beer… it was amazing :)

J had not seen my garter yet, so he sat down next to me and I showed him…. he loved it (pictures to come later), and when it was time to take it off, J had a little help… from our ring bearer.

We waited for the guests to get their escort cards and get into the reception so we sat and talked and laughed. As the wedding party planned their entrances into the reception, I took a second to laugh with the ring bearer… one of my favorite pictures of the day from my bridesmaid Cori…

The DJ (who was awesome, just in case you hadn’t read that yet) kept bringing us beers so we had plenty of refreshments. As we were waiting, someone decided it would be a good time to talk about their connection with J and/or me. People told fun stories and we enjoyed our time together with our friends and family before we had to go talk with the other 200 guests at the wedding.

I had to take a quick bathroom break, with the assistance of 2 bridesmaids to hold my dress up, and get my dress bustled before we headed out…

Next Up: Wedding Day Recap: The Reception Starts

Wedding Day Recap: The Ceremony

2011-08-29T03:01:00.000-04:00

A while back I wrote about our ceremony and how we wanted to keep it simple. We both wanted to get married in the Catholic Church where my parents were married and where I was baptized. There were a few things that prevented us from getting married there. In the end, or ceremony and reception being in the same place was a great thing and I wouldn’t have changed a thing about the day.

So J and I both hugged my parents, we stood there and held hands, and I felt so calm and happy. I don’t know if it’s that my emotions were finally in check or that I was COMPLETELY distracted by the fact that the sun was blazing down on my face.

Cool picture... HOT SUN!!!

If there would have been a way for me to telepathically communicate with our reverend that I wanted her to make it quick, I would have. Unfortunately, I don’t especially love most of our ceremony pictures, not because of our photographers (who are awesome), but because I’m squinting in a lot of them and my veil is in all different sorts of directions.

We got to the vows and there were no tears, only excitement and happiness. The two readings that we put in the ceremony were TORTURE… it’s a good thing I knew what she was saying because I certainly wasn’t listening… I was too busy sweating.

And then it was here… the moment I’d been waiting for… THE KISS!!!

HOORAY… WE’RE OFFICIALLY MARRIED. Like I said, it was 19 months in the making… well, it was actually it was a little over 3 years in the making. It had been a little over 3 years since I met him, since I spent hours on the phone with him, since I fell in love with him and since I knew that one day we’d be here.

What an amazing feeling…

Up Next: Wedding Day Recap: Before the Party Starts

Wedding Day Recap: It’s almost time!!!

2011-08-26T03:01:00.000-04:00

Once we were done with the wedding party pictures it was time for the guys to go greet guests.

Side note… it was a really hot day and we had guests arriving early so instead of them having to sit outside for an hour, my badass DJ whisked them away to the banquet hall, check that… air conditioned banquet hall… across the courtyard from ours. BEST DJ EVER!

Ok, so back on track. The guys grabbed some snacks and drinks and went out in pairs to hand our programs and greet people as they came in. I did fail to let them know to tell the guests that only the first row was reserved, so our pictures look kind of weird because people are sitting at least 3 rows back, but oh well… I didn’t even notice until I saw pictures.

While the guys were greeting, I did one last makeup check, sprayed on some more hair spray and got ready to go. Before we left, we decided that we (the girls) needed to make a toast and drink the champagne that was in the room for us. I popped it, we poured it, and everyone got in a circle.

Amanda, J’s sister, was the first to say something… “to my new sister”… and I couldn’t hold back the tears. My mom made a toast too, and sadly enough I cannot remember what she said, but this awesome five minutes made some of my favorite pictures of the day.

After the outdoor pictures we sweated through, we decided that we’d enter through the reception hall door instead of standing outside in the sun, so once we were done drinking our champagne we went and got ready to make our entrances.

And then it was time. The guys walked in and then it was time for the girls. One by one they went in and the line into the ceremony was getting smaller and smaller. My MOH gave me a huge hug and told me she loved me… I sent the kiddos on the way… and then it was my turn. With my arm in my dad’s, I took a deep breath…

It was no use… I walked out the door and the tears started. I put my head down and said, “damnit” and my dad told me to quit it or he would cry (again) and then I laughed. It didn’t stop the tears from falling, but it cleared my head until I made it down the aisle and dried my eyes.

When I got to the end of the aisle, my mom stood up and stood on my left…

Instead of my dad speaking for both of them, they were both there beside me, just as they always have been. And when the reverend said, “who gives this woman”, my mom and dad said “we do”.

(all photos by Catie's Captures)

Next Up: Wedding Day Recap: The Ceremony (back on Monday!!)

Wedding Day Recap: Wedding Party Pictures

2011-08-25T03:01:00.000-04:00

When J and I met with Catie, our photographer, earlier in the week she asked us for a list of pictures that we wanted on the wedding day. We wrote down every possible combination we could think of with parents, grandparents, wedding party, etc. etc. etc.

We flew threw it… there were only a few times that I had to bring out the “boss Lexi”… the one that my employees understand and see on the rare occasion that they need to… the one that isn’t so much bossy, but stern and semi-demanding. Like I said, I only pulled it out a couple times when everyone started getting chatty, and I know Catie appreciated it since there were so many of us.

Once again, I’m pretty sure the pictures tell the story best (pictures by Catie's Captures)…

A hug from B, who told me I looked like a princess...

The wedding party

Us with my parents

LOVE this picture with my cousins!!

What a cute Flower Girl!!

Love this one!

J with his sister and mom. Great pic of them!!

My favorite pic of the guys... so cute!

The wedding party with our awesome get away car

Next Up: Wedding Day Recap: It’s almost time!!!

Wedding Day Recap: The First Look

2011-08-24T03:01:00.000-04:00

I was scheduled to be the first one ready so Jason and I could have our first look. It really hadn’t been that long since we’d seen each other… not even 24 hours, but I was so excited to see him and I was so excited to get our day started.

If you remember from past posts, I got really emotional during the rehearsal and started to get emotional as I was putting on my dress, so I knew that this was going to be an emotional part of the day. Part of the reason we saw each other before the wedding is so I had a chance to touch up my makeup after the tears, and I was hoping that getting the emotion out ahead of time would mean I could hold it together during the ceremony.

As I walked out of the room and down the hall, I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself… and then…

well, I think the pictures do the best job of telling the story (photos by Catie's Captures)…

and then it was time for my dad’s “first look” of me…

It was really great to get to have this time with J and with our parents. Afterward, it was time for a quick makeup fix and then some pictures with the wedding party.

Up Next: Wedding Day Recap: Wedding Party Pictures

I Still Suck...

2011-08-22T00:11:00.000-04:00

OK, well I know I promised that the recaps would resume today, but I spent the weekend shopping and cleaning and trying to get things that would make our kitchen function like a normal one. I have a lot of stuff going on this week since it's the week before school starts, but I promise, promise promise, that recaps will start at some point this week. Let's plan for Wednesday!!!

I'm also going to take some time to get caught up with everything going on with the blogs I follow... sorry I haven't been around to read and comment like I should be.

One exciting note... after wedding recaps come honeymoon recaps and then NEW HOUSE BLOGS!!!

I'm thinking about changing the blog name again... I'm working on being creative :-D

Happy Monday and come back soon!!!

So Sorry...

2011-08-19T13:36:00.001-04:00

I know I stopped mid-recaps and haven't started again. Now that we have painted most of our new house and I have internet again I'm ready to get back to blogging. New recaps will begin on Monday!!!

Grandma

2011-08-11T00:33:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts this week... it's been a hard week for me. Last Sunday, my Grandma passed away. The only grandparent I had left, the only grandparent who was at my wedding, and my Grandma who I was pretty sure was going to live forever.

She turned 83 on August 1. Just the day before we were all in Indianapolis. My cousin was playing a basketball game there and everyone went. Grandma was her normal self... walking, climbing stairs, talking with everyone and cheering on her granddaughter. The week before that, she had two of her great grandsons at her house for the week and took them all over the city.

She turned 83 on Monday, August 1 and just a few days later, she was in the hospital. She had a stroke and although her motor function was not affected, her speech was. Her sister called a couple of days late to wish her a Happy Birthday. She was not talking right so her sister called my aunt, who called my mom. My mom took her to the hospital where she went through tests and continued to have trouble finding words or speaking correctly.

I got to see her on Friday afternoon... I wish I had been there sooner. I think she knew who I was... but I can't be sure. We spent the next two days in the hospital and family members came from all over to be with her. On Sunday, at exactly 9:00 pm, she was gone. It was peaceful... she had sons, daughters and grandkids all around her bed. There were a few people who didn't make it back, but who said their goodbyes on a phone held to her ear.

My mom told me that the doctor told her on Wednesday that she could no longer live alone. I'm pretty sure that this is when she made up her mind that she did not want to live if it couldn't be how she wanted. I am very lucky to have great memories of her from my wedding week. She was at my parents' house every day helping me with things... she saved the day by re-making the bottom layer of our groom's cake... and I have these great pictures of her (thanks to Catie's Captures) that I can always remember her by...

Putting Grandma's corsage brooch on her

Mom, Me and Grandma

Grandma arriving at tea after saving the groom's cake

Bridal Brunch

Grandma with her brothers and sisters

2011-08-07T21:32:00.001-04:00

Today the earth lost one of it's greatest servants, a strong opinion and an even stronger woman... But earth's loss is heaven's gain. We love you grandma

Wedding Day Recap – Time to Get Ready

2011-08-05T03:01:00.000-04:00

We made it back safely from our bridal brunch and when we got there, our two hairdressers were there, all set up and ready to go! There were two of them and about 10 of us, and we really only had from 1:00 pm-3:30 pm to get everyone ready to go. They were awesome… they stayed focused and stayed busy and got everyone done in time. They also only charged each of us $20 which you definitely cannot beat when it comes to wedding hair styles.

There were some of us in the bathroom putting make up on...

and the others were making use of the board room table as their own personal makeup station.

I got my hair done...

and then moved on to make up. I did my mom’s makeup as I was doing mine...

Side note: if you're wondering, that mirror says "Mirror, Mirror, What the..." on it. My mom got that and everyone loved it.

Then my Flower Girl, Fiona, who had been practicing her petal dropping with her mom...

came in to get ready and I put some makeup on her before she got her hair done.

And then it was time to get into my dress. My mom took it down and as I looked at it, tears came to my eyes. Yeah, I had put it on a few days early for my final fitting, but that was different. It finally felt like my wedding day…

doing my best to not cry...

As my mom was finishing up my dress, the next round of food came in. I did not get to eat much of it, unfortunately, but I did manage to grab some pretzels, a Coke, a few pieces of fruit and I think a couple cookies.

I put the finishing touches (our memorial tributes) on my bouquet… my grandmother’s brooch and the two pins that symbolized my grandfathers…

put my shoes on...

and then it was time to see J.

Next Up: Wedding Day Recap: The First Look

Wedding Day Recap - Tea for 2… errrrr, make that 20

2011-08-04T03:01:00.000-04:00

About five years ago, my mom found a very cute little tea room downtown and took me there. Since then, we've tried to go to tea (and by we, I mean my mom and I with various combinations of aunts, cousins and my grandma) every summer. Just because there was a wedding this summer, I didn’t want to break the tradition… I wanted to share it with others!

The tea house has a hodgepodge of chairs at all of their tables, but they are all painted the same color and have the same seat cushions so it all works. They have tons of cool art from local artists and all kinds of tea and teapots for sale., and each teapot is delivered with a homemade cozy to ensure your tea is hot from start to finish. They even have sugar cubes on every table, which my photographer really loved…

They also make everything from scratch and a lot of the fruits and vegetables they use come from their gardens or from local farms. The food is amazing and the homemade pastries are the perfect finish. Instead of the normal lunch they serve, the lady who own the tea house told me that she could do a brunch menu with quiche, fresh fruit and of course tea and pastries. This sounded like the perfect bridal brunch, so I went with that! The spinach quiche was SO fresh and gluten free, which meant my aunt was actually able to eat with us. The fruit was amazingly fresh and the pastries did not disappoint!

via

It was a great way to “officially” start the day and although I did grab a quick breakfast, there’s no such thing as eating too much on your wedding day… especially when you can’t be certain when the next time is that you’ll eat. Here are a few of Catie’s great group shots from the bridal brunch…

via

Next Up: Wedding Day Recap – Time to Get Ready