Aisle Runner

So I finally got to work on my aisle runner yesterday. I traced and traced the outline of the HUGE monogram I designed and finished that in about 45 minutes.

Today I ran out and got some paints (which turned into a huge debate on the merits of the three different light greens). Then I started to work:

Quite honestly, I'm not 100% happy with it. I don't know if I didn't trace Kevin's name dark enough or if I was just getting sloppy but my name looks so nice and his looks so....thick. My mom keeps trying to tell me that is just how the letters in his name are. Oh well, it IS on the ground and people won't be analyzing it like I will.....we'll see if I can let it slide. I might need to try it again. It really only took about 2 hours total, so it wouldn't be too bad. Gosh, every time I look at it, I hate it more. I did not have this problem when I made Steph's. Grr....

Also, I finally managed to start cleaning my room out. I seperated my clothes into "Keep," "Honeymoon," "Take to apt.," and "Goodwill." Normally I have a really hard time getting rid of things, but I know there is no way I will be able to fit all this stuff into the apartment without it ending up a HUGE mess like my room is. The hardest things to get rid of are right on top: the pink pants and the red pants. I love those pants. I thought I was so cool. I haven't fit into those pants in about 3 years. Oh well. A lot of the clothes I am getting rid of are actually in really good condition, so hopefully some people will get good use out of them and be able to keep warm this winter.

Enjoy it!!

Sneaking up

I can't believe how quickly the time is going, now that we are getting down to the end. I'm sorry that all my posts lately have been about the wedding, but I seriously don't have time for ANYTHING else.

Wedding checks:
--We booked a DJ! FINALLY! With a mere 41 days to go, we finally called and booked someone
--My friend sent me the enlarged pieces to my aisle runner, so I can start working on that tonight
--I decided I am going to put my monogram on the front of the programs, so I shrunk it to the right size and set that up. Once I get a new color ink cartridge I can print one out and take it to be copied. Oh, and I ordered the paper I need to work on this!
--I have delegated the making of the card box to my very handy father, so hopefully he will start working on that and then I can finish it
--I went in for a fitting so my dress is being hemmed and bustled (European style) and I also have a crinoline now.

And then there is my mother. She still needs a dress. And we do not agree. She likes this very simple dress, which is a very nice dress but looks like you are wearing a business suit but with a long skirt. And I like another dress she tried, that is a little more flashy and a little more of a "gown" rather than a "dress-suit". I just thought she would want something a little more dressed up than what she is liking right now. I know she wants that first dress but she wants me to like what she is wearing, so she doesn't want to get it. So I don't know. Because I am not going to like it any better. But if that is what she wants, then fine. She needs a dress and we are waiting too long as it is.

ALSO, speaking of my mother and sneaking up....it's her 50th birthday today! SO Happy birthday Mom! Love you, even if you like boring dresses.

Enjoy it!

Great Success

SO I made it to the dress shop, this time with my shoes, and had a successful first fitting. So all I need as far as alterations go is to hem the dress and add a bustle. I did not like the first bustle that she added because it pulled the extra fabric on top of the dress and kind of added some extra weight to my butt, an area that certainly does NOT need any extra volume. So instead we decided on a European style bustle, where the extra fabric is gathered underneath the dress. 

Also, I called Lillian, our AAA travel agent, and paid the balance on our honeymoon. So we are officially booked for Antigua. Be jealous. This will be our first vacation together and I cannot wait! For serious. A week of beaches, sun, relaxation, and swim up bars. Woohoo!

I'm just so so glad that we are getting some of these things off the check list. Hopefully tomorrow my parents are going out to listen to the dj and then we can (finally) book him and be done with it.

Enjoy it!!

Dress Fitting FAIL

Well, I made it 20 of the 25 minute drive out to the dress shop and then realized I FORGOT MY SHOES! Which means...no dress fitting. As the lady so snippily told me. Yes, I know that, thank you. If I didn't live 25 minutes away and it wasn't rush hour, I could go back and get them and be fine. But that is not the case.

Oh well, I tried the dress on anyway and I still love it. I was a little worried because I thought I might change my mind on it (its been 6 months since I've seen it) and a lot worried about my shelf @ss fitting into the dress. It's still not where I would like it to be, but the girl laced it all the way up and it was better than the last time - so I guess its really crunch time now.

ALSO - I found jewelry. Its very simple and almost more casual, but I would definitely be able to wear them again. And on the way home, my mom and I stopped at David's Bridal and started looking at some dresses for her...and we're going back out again tomorrow!

So, this is it. Of course I'm not all tall and willowy

like the model on the Maggie website, but I like it just the same.

With a veil

Again

This is the one embellishment on the dress.

Its simple and sophisticated, and this just adds a

little whimsy/vintage. I sound like I am describing wine haha

47 days!!

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it is getting so close. Really I feel like the time has been draaaaaagging by, because we've been planning this since Dec 2007. But since Thanksgiving, everything has been SO busy and So rushed that time has just been running by.

The dress is in and paid for. My first fitting is tomorrow, hopefully my butt will fit in the dress (not likely after the amount of nonsense I ate between Christmas and New Years, but a girl can dream, right?).

The honeymoon will officially be completely paid for as of Thursday Jan 8th. This may be my favorite part of the whole planning process so I am pretty excited about that! I have seriously considered starting to pack, since its summery clothes and bathing suits, both of which I am definitely NOT wearing in the snow haha.

Invitations finally made it out on Dec. 31 and I could not be more thankful. I have about 10 stragglers left where I was missing one thing or another, or they weren't on the original list and I hadn't properly tuned my ESP to read my mom's mind. BUT we should be getting RSVPs in today and I am SO excited about it. Like I've said before, I thought I would end up calling people to invite them to the wedding, so this is a huge relief.

Big checks still left:
** Get my mother a dress!! She hasn't even gone into a store to look yet. Thanks mom, guess you'll be wearing that same tired navy blue pants suit that you wear to everyone else's wedding**

**Talk to the priest about readings and music**

**Work on programs. I can't do the text w/o the priest, but I could definitely work on the outside covers**

**Get a veil and a crinoline for the dress. And figure out my old, new and borrowed items**

**Find jewelry and hairpins**

**Design and print favor labels - we are doing a Hershey's bar and on the wrapper will be a little monogram and a place to write the guest's name and table # - mutli purposing!**\

**Get the rest of the supplies for the centerpieces - about 26 bowls, 130 votive candles and 80 floating candles**

**Find a cake topper that had no lace or heart and doves and looks like US**

**Buy a wish jar**

**Make a card box**

**Paint my aisle runner**

**Get table #s**

**Get our marriage license**

**Finish up the bridesmaid gifts for my girls**

**HIRE A DJ**

Hopefully I'll be able to start checking a LOT of stuff off this list soon...

Enjoy it!!

Pictures from my long lost camera

I accidentally left my camera at Kevin's parents house for Christmas, so here are a few pictures of the gathering that I've been meaning to put up:

This is Kevin's grandmother, dad and Aunt Shirley

Kevin's brother Nate and his fiance

(Nate is always that hairy, but not always so blah -

he was VERY sick for the past couple days and was

not really into the whole photo shoot I had going on)

This is Kevin's cousin Kim (in the red) and his fiance Julie.

They just recently got engaged and are planning a wedding for August '09.

Here's Kevin and his mom, Judy.

And here's Kevin's other brother Randy...sitting on top of Kevin

I curled mah hairs!

We're so cute

Kevin put this up in my living room.

"Babe, that wall is so bare, it needed something."

It will be coming down soon.

Kevin, being a goofball

And a goofball again...

he is really going to get tired of me and my camera.

(ps - see that green thing in his arm - its a pillow.

I MADE it! By myself! I stitched it BY HAND!

It may or may not be because the pillow I slept with all the time

was actually made by his ex, unbeknownst to me.

So I needed to make a replacement.

I actually still sleep with the other one, it's just at

my house haha. Thanks, Kevin's ex!!)

Enjoy it!!!

I miss my bebes

Since I've been spending so much time up at the apartment, I've really been enjoying having the kittens around (although I anticipate I will enjoy it much more now that I took down the Christmas tree they were set on destroying). I haven't had a pet that didn't live in a cage or bowl since I was 5 years old (mom is NOT big on animals).

Way back when I was 4, my grandparents bought me a little black ball of fur, a poodle mix I named Jack. Jack was a little terror and he liked to chew things, like most puppies do. The problem with Jack's chewing habit was that I was 5 and my baby sister was 2. We were not very good at putting our toys out of Jack's reach, let alone away.

When I started going to kindergarten, I took the bus to and from school. When I got home, my job was to go get Jack from the backyard. One day I went to get Jack and he wasn't there. I went to the door and asked my mom, "Is Jack inside?" and she said, "No we sold him today while you were at school."

Since then, I've been pining for a puppy and swooning over every little fuzzy thing I see. And I finally got my kitties. I got to put my new camera to work over New Years, so here are some of their pictures...

See the cute pads on his feets? adorable!

They are so adorable, snuggling together

Soooooo tired

Oscar had too much on New Year's Eve

Thank you for making it through my crazy cat lady pictures...

they are still little babies so they're extra cute.

I promise to do my best to cut the paparazzi act once they are normal sized haha

Enjoy it!!