TGIF: Spring is almost here!

TGIF is no understatement. This has been a long week. That's how we all seem to feel on Fridays, right? This is our first weekend back in town as a MARRIED COUPLE! And I am so so so happy to not have anything really planned. I'm sure there will be a good deal of unpacking presents, and cleaning, but there will also be so much lounging and I cannot wait! Do y'all have any big weekend plans?

Meal Planning

If you saw my post on Monday, you'd know I was trying out meal planning for the first time. It has been really nice to have a brand new dinners and recipes to try out every night. But, I think I will try a different approach next week. This week we had a few crock pot meals, but they all only took 4 hours, so we ended up starting them when we got home - which kind of defeats the purpose. We also had a few meals that just took an hour or less to prepare. While none of that is super time consuming, it is still just another task to have to complete every night. Another meal to prepare, and another kitchen to clean up. I know, life.
I think for this upcoming week I'm going to get the plans together at least by Saturday so that we can go to the grocery on Sunday morning and pre-prepare a lot of items during the day Sunday, even if it is just chopping onions or crushing garlic, that's still one less thing to do during the week. I think it is definitely a trial and error game, but I have been pleased so far! Do any of y'all meal plan? I am still seeking any and all advice on what you think works and what doesn't - please share!

The Bachelor

I'd like to say that this is my only guilty pleasure on TV, but I think the truth is that all reality TV is my guilty pleasure. Oops.
Anyways, this week's episode of the Bachelor was the famous "Fantasy Suite" episode, of which all of the girls took advantage. At the risk of approaching a touchy subject, I honestly don't know what I would do in that situation, as either the contestant or the Bachelorette. I think the bigger news on the episode this week however, was that Ben said "I love you" to TWO girls. That's right. TWO. I'd always assumed it was an unwritten, or actually written, rule that they were not allowed to say it back to the contestants because if it was clear to the fans and audience who was favored, then there was less incentive to continue watching. Well, I guess you get around that by saying it to BOTH of them. I mean JoJo was genuinely shocked, she's watched the show enough to know that normally they just dance around it. I can kind of see where he's coming from, but I feel so bad for both of the girls because the fact that he said it back, right now they both think that they'll get the final rose, and obviously that is not going to be the case. I'll be very interested to see "After the Final Rose" that airs after the finale and how the runner-up really felt about it all.
Unfortunately we have to wait two weeks - this upcoming week will be the "Tell All" episode, which is always full of drama. Y'all, I can't help it. It's like a train wreck that I can't look away from. Please tell me I'm not the only one.

DietBet (again)

Do you know what happens when you go to an all inclusive resort for 6 days? Let me tell you. You will gain at least five to eight pounds. Like a solid gain of five pounds, not just, "Oh, I think I gained five pounds at Thanksgiving dinner." Legit. So I am back on the DietBet train, well actually, I've been on it in a maintainer which requires that I stay within 2% of my starting weight - which I am currently over. For now I've also joined a Kickstarter which requires you to lose 4% of your current weight within 4 weeks. I have completed three of these before, and won two of them. I think my chances are pretty good on this one (knock on wood) because I am going from an almost stationary lifestyle of work and wedding planning to 5 days a week at the gym. Fingers crossed!
To find out a little more about DietBet and my first experience with it, check out this post.

Post Wedding Blues

I have officially been married for thirteen days and it has been more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. We went on a honeymoon the Monday immediately following the wedding, so I am finishing up my first week back at work. I came across a lot of articles while I was planning the wedding that said after the wedding you will have "Post Wedding Blues" because it will all be over and you won't have any planning to do. Well, at least for now, that couldn't be further from the truth. I enjoyed planning my wedding, but it was A LOT of work, and took up A LOT of time. I am so happy to have more time to spend at home with my husband (!), and it's time that we can just hang out and eat dinner and watch TV instead of going to Michaels and Home Depot and making seating charts and painting candle holders and assembling signs and monogramming napkins. You get the picture. I'm sure I will feel a little sadness that it's all over, but it's only over because our marriage is starting, and isn't that what it's all about?

Orange is the New Black

Maybe I watched all three seasons within a week and a half, maybe I didn't. Spoiler: I totally did. And since there are only three seasons, I am desperately waiting until the summer for the new one to air. As with most shows like that, I'll probably forget about it, and rediscover it after it about a month after it's released. Have any of y'all watched it? What did you think? I am super interested in trying to find out how realistic some of the things that happen are, but I haven't had much luck on that research. Only a handful of articles with interviews by the producer and previous inmates.

Hope you've had a great week so far, let's get this weekend started!

Happy Friday!

xoxo 

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Wednesday Showcase

TGIF, winter is here! (or is it?)

Well, I have already officially failed on some of these resolutions, most notably the one aiming for 3+ posts a week. I honestly don't know how most people keep up. I suppose if it was a full time job for me, I would have the time. Maybe? But the past few weeks I've worked probably 65 to 70 hours a week for the past few weeks and I barely have time to eat, let alone whip up a few posts. But, enough with that, because I made it happen today! How has your week/life been lately? Let's catch up!

Friends 

Y'all. I'm not sure I've made my love and affection for Friends clear before, so let me take this moment to reveal to you how obsessed I am. As in, I own every season on DVD, and in some cases more than one copy. I cried at the finale. I regularly watched "Joey," the not-so-successful spin off. I can recall almost every episode. I have seen every episode at least half a dozen (or maybe a dozen) times. I watched it so often on DVD that I can tell which scenes have been left out of the Netflix versions - yes, it's true. Obsessed. And now, thanks to NBC, I can relive it all over again!
Have you heard the news? There will be a reunion of sorts and it is the day after my wedding, so basically I'm treating it as a wedding present from NBC to me. Logical, right?

The Bachelor 

Ah, another season of the Bachelor is here. I used to tell my self that I wasn't going to watch it this season - every season - and yet I would inevitably end up watching it. And if I started mid-season, I would binge watch to catch up. Those days are over. I am officially a Bachelor/Bachelorette-watching girl (I am not prepared to call myself a fan, yet). So far this season, all two episodes, has been about on par with the prior seasons. Although I will say I'm glad they didn't try to bring back the idea of starting out with two Bachelors/Bachelorettes, because that was just painful to watch. But is definitely an interesting twist to have twins, and two prior contestants. I'm very interested to see how far Becca goes. She already seems much better than last (last) season in terms of showing some personality, though I'm sure a lot of that comes with the familiarity of the process. And of course there's Lace. There's always one of them. I'm honestly a little surprised he didn't send her home pre-rose ceremony on the first night. But actually, I'm not sure that a Bachelor has ever done that, though I know a few Bachelorettes have. Feel free to prove me wrong if I'm not remembering correctly. Who are your front runners so far?

Winter, is that You?

This weather has been insane. We woke up to at least two inches of snow on Sunday, and then had blizzard like conditions on Tuesday, but only for about 15 minutes, and then just frequent snow, and yesterday the high was 60! Our wedding is a little over a month away and I used to think I wanted snow - just enough to be pretty, not so much it ruins plans - but with as cold as it's been I'm starting to rethink that. Maybe 60 degrees in February wouldn't be so bad!

Making our House a Home

We closed on our house right before Christmas, and as of Wednesday have officially moved everything out of our old Condo. despite the fact that we are more than doubling our space, it still feels like we have so. much. stuff. and trying to find a place for all of it has been more difficult than I would have imagined, and of course knowing that we will (most likely) be adding lots of wedding presents to the mix as well, for which I am oh so thankful. My mom keeps telling me I need to "live with it for a while" and then decide what I can keep, what we still need to buy, etc. But y'all, I am so impatient! I want to have every room perfectly decorated right now! I am doing my best though to re-purpose a lot of the things we have, and use them in decorative ways that I might not have considered before, so that is helping things find a place and making our house look like a home.

Ready for the Weekend

I don't know about you, but after having two short weeks thanks to Christmas and New Years, these last two full weeks have seemed like they were never going to end! I am so excited to be going into a three day weekend, even if I do have to come into the office for a little bit on Monday. At least there will be another short week following. Plus, I have the chance to go home and get a lot of wedding plans sort of finalized (!!!) and run some errands, and I am really looking forward to that. Turns out planning a wedding in a town you don't live in anymore is a bit challenging! Do y'all have any plans for this 3-day weekend?

Have a great weekend, y'all!

xoxo 

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Wednesday Showcase

See You Later 2015!

I think I have finally recovered from the holiday craze and am one-hundred percent ready to jump in to 2016!

Y'all, it has been a crazzzzy couple of weeks! First of all - WE CLOSED ON OUR HOUSE! Which really itself is what has contributed to most of the chaos around here lately.

Of course in addition to that is still the wedding planning, which starting to all come together, while still feeling like there are a million things to do - more on that tomorrow. But all in all, it is has been a great few weeks and I wouldn't trade it for anything, well, except maybe for a little extra sleep.

I don't know what it is about this year, maybe the wedding, maybe the new house, or maybe the fact that for the first time I'm not heading back to school after the holidays, but there is just something in me that wants to make this year the year. You know, making resolutions and keeping them, getting rid of old bad habits and welcoming new positive ones. This year is going to bring about a lot of change, and I don't want to get lost in the shuffle and forget what is really important to me and what really matters. So, for possibly the first time ever, I am setting goals for myself and for my family. Real, written, goals. And for the sake of accountability, I want to share them with all of you as well, in hopes that we create a network of support, and I want to know your goals and resolutions as well!

These Short Term goals are really things that I am hoping to accomplish in the next month or so. I keep a to-do list every day, although there are certain things that obviously cannot be done in a day, but still require some kind of timeline/deadline. The wedding is less than two months away, so clearly that will part of the resolution has to be done soon! I also don't love living in a complete state of chaos, so I would like to get things as settled as possible in the new house. What are some of your short term goals? 

If I'm being honest, a lot of these Long Term Goals should really be life-time goals, but y'all that is hard to think about sometimes. Like, I know I should eat healthy, but I also know I love ice cream. You know? 

But seriously, I am really hoping that by sharing these goals I can stay accountable and be diligent in my every day decisions. I don't think any of these goals are unreasonable. I have generally been an active person, so working out often isn't intimidating, it's just difficult keeping that schedule when my day to day feels so unpredictable. Similarly, I've always done well keeping a budget for myself, but now there are two of us, so I feel a little more guilty if I want to go a bit above the budget, while expecting my fiance and soon to be husband to abide by it. But this is a new chapter and I am so looking forward to it! 

Are you a big goal-setter? Like I mentioned, I'm not the type to make big resolutions, or any kind of resolution that is actually tangible, so I am really looking forward to see how this turns out - any advice welcome! 

I hope you've had a wonderful start to 2016! Cheers!

Have a great day, y'all!

xoxo 

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Wednesday Showcase

TGIF, results day!

I cannot believe it is already Fall! This is the first time in a looonggg time that I have not been in school in the Fall and I think it is throwing my whole perception of the seasons off! That and the crazy ups and downs in the weather! Anyone else or is it just me?

Louisville BrewFest at Slugger Field

Three years ago we went to Louisville BrewFest kind of on a whim just as something to do on a Saturday night/afternoon, and it was great! Last year it coincided with the Avett Brothers concert so we got to take my mom and brother and they loved it just as much as we did.
It is coming up tonight and I am so excited! The BrewFest is held in Louisville's Minor League Baseball Stadium and they have different beer (and wine!) set up around the entire concourse, as well as a few inside. At the beginning you buy tickets and with each ticket you can get a 3oz pour of the beer of your choice, so it makes it possible to try a lot of different kinds! The weather the last few years has been perfect, the nice crisp fall that we've all been waiting for, so hopefully the same holds true for tonight. Louisville honestly has so much going on all of the time that it's hard to keep up, so it's nice having events that I already know I'll enjoy! What are some of your favorite fall events? My

Recent Netflix Obsession: Criminal Minds

I don't generally consider myself a big TV watcher, but there are about half a dozen shows that I do tend to watch regularly - Greys, How to Get Away With Murder, Madame Secretary, and the Good Wife. However, as you may or may not know, those are all shows that run a regular season, i.e. not in the summer. So during Bar Review and in the evenings after work this summer I'd been looking for new-old shows on Netflix to watch and came upon Criminal Minds. I used to watch this show all the time when I was in high school and even in college, but I have not watched it live in a few years so I had a lot of catching up to do - read: a lot of new episodes I hadn't seen yet. I also got the boy hooked on it, which is rare because I don't tend to watch things that he likes. But we have made our way through quite a few seasons and I'm loving it. We have also learned that it might not be the best thing to watch right before bed - hellllllo nightmares!

Building My Work Wardrobe

After finnnnaly cleaning and organizing my closet, I realized that I have more clothes than I realized and that maybe I don't need to work all that hard, for the time being, to build up my work wardrobe. However, the one discovery that I did make, is that because of my weight loss I no longer have pencil skirts that fit well. And by that I mean they fall down to my hips, rather than sitting at my natural waist, and just look very awkward over all. So. I've been on the hunt for some new ones, but can't make up my mind. On the one hand, I would just much rather buy online because it is so much easier to scout out good deals and see a lot at once, but because my sizing has changed so much lately I don't trust myself to order online, even from my favorite places. As much as I love shopping, I just get so overwhelmed when I don't even know where to start!

Related/Unrelated: I am also on the hunt for a new pair of jeans and had the same overwhelming experience at the mall last weekend because every pair I've ever owned have been from the Gap or OldNavy, but I want something different and had no. idea. where. to. start. So I ask (beg) y'all - where do you buy jeans??

Wedding Planning!

Wedding Planning is in fullll swing! I can't believe that we are less than 5 months away! I know that still might sound like a long time, but considering when we got engaged we were 14 months away, it feels very close. Plus, when you add in the holiday season - it will be here before I know it! As I mentioned last week we met with a wedding planner, who pretty much forced me to start making decisions - which was a much needed push - so since then I've been trying to narrow down some minor/major details, one of which is our napkin color and what the table is going to look like. I got the idea in my head months ago that I wanted to embroider all of our napkins with our new monogram - I know. I. am. monogram. obsessed. However, in order to do this I (1) needed to actually decide on the napkin colors, (2) order the napkins, and (3) figure out how we were going to set the table because that would dictate the placement of the monogram on the napkin. I am proud to say that ALL of those decisions have been made and I've finally gotten into a grove of using my sewing machine for embroidery - which is half of the reason I bought it in the first place! I also may or may not have stopped at four different Michael's stores between here and Knoxville to pick up 200 silver chargers. Spoiler - I did, I totally did. And of course I wanted to buy everything else in the store, and was quickly reminded why I love Michael's so much and made me wish I'd gone into crafting as a profession, although I'm pretty sure that's not a thing. Is it?

BAR RESULTS COME OUT TODAY

So I mostly kept my promise of not talking about the Bar again until results came out. Well, folks, TODAY is the day! {and hopefully I will be updating this post with good news!} I PASSED!!

Happy Friday, Y'all! Have a Great Weekend!!

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TGIF, it's football time in the Bluegrass!

okay, okay, I know, its football time everywhere :)

Football Tailgating Season

Y'all. There is nothing I love more than a good tailgate. I love to plan them, I love to go to them, I just love everything about it. We didn't get to go to the UK or UT games last weekend because we had to  meet with the wedding planner (see below), which was pretty much the opposite of a football game. This weekend we're heading to the Tennessee v. Oklahoma game in Knoxville and I am so excited. Not only is this going to be a big game for Tennessee, but they are also doing "Checker Neyland" again, and it was a lot of fun last year. From what I understand it started as a big push from a couple of fans to get everyone to wear either white or orange, depending on where your seat is, so that from far away it looks like a checkerboard. And let me tell you, it. was. awesome. It actually worked, and worked well. And honestly you didn't have to be that far away to see what was going on. Basically from anywhere inside the stadium you could look across and it looked like a checkerboard - I was very impressed. Here are a few pictures from last year, and I'll be sure to document it again this year because it seriously looked photo-shopped it was done so well.

Wedding Planner

After having a couple  lot of moments of extreme stress over trying to plan our wedding and trying to coordinate everything that needed to be done, as well as keeping all important parties informed, I finally decided that we definitely needed someone for day of coordination, and preferably someone who could help out a little bit along the way. Luckily my mom was able to talk to a few people at home and found a woman who can do as little or as much as we need, which is perfect. We met with her last Saturday and I feel 100x better about everything. There were definitely still some stressful moments because me, my finance, my mom, and both of my fiance's parents were there - so there were a lot of opinions. But, I could tell she was working towards what I  wanted to make happen and not getting bogged down with all of their ideas as well. I'm hoping this will be a much smoother process and all of my winter wedding fears will subside. Well, most of them at least :)

Unpacking

I have finally (almost) finished unpacking from moving out of my apartment and it is so nice to come home and not see boxes and boxes everywhere. I also did a major purge of some clothes and my closet, at least for now, is very organized and looks great. I invested in getting all new hangers for my dresses because I just think it looks so much better when all of your hangers match, if anything it can give the illusion of organization. I'll try to include a few pictures soon. Working with a small closet is always a struggle, and especially trying to use the empty space on the sides that I can't really get to. If y'all have any suggestions, it is still a work in progress and I am always looking for input!

Goodbye to the Pastels :(

While I was unpacking and getting my closet organized, I also started putting away all of my summer clothes. It was definitely a good thing because it cleared up some space in my closet, but I just hated to put them all away. Don't get me wrong, I love boots and oversized sweaters as much as the next girl, but I love bright colors, pastels, seersucker and sun dresses. I am also an extreme rule follower, so when Labor Day came around I knew I had to put them all away for now. That being said, it is barely going to get to 70 today, so I guess mayyybe it was time to pull out my fall clothes anyways. 

BigBrother

Do any of y'all watch Big Brother on CBS? My mom and I have literally been watching it since the first season - which I can not believe was 17 years ago! I've since been able to get the finance into it, to the point that he sometimes is more interested in it than I am. They are down to the final 5 now and I honestly don't know if I like any of the ones that are left. I kind of felt like this season there weren't any major stand outs that I was really pulling for. I do think John is hilarious though! If you watch it, what are your thoughts??

Have a Great Weekend, Y'all! Go CATS! 

xoxo

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TGIF, time to RELAX!

TGIF, Y'all! I feel like this week has flown by!

Vera Bradley Purchases

A few months ago I got a travel jewelry case from Vera Bradley. I've always had some kind of travel jewelry bag, but I was starting to out grow the one I used most often/it wasn't really designed for bangle-like bracelets. It didn't have a lot of give. Enter: the perfect jewelry case from Vera Bradley.
Since then I've also been admiring the travel hanging organizers for quick weekend trips, or really anytime that we travel. Because honestly my suitcase usually consists of at least two small makeup cases, along with all of my other toiletries scattered throughout my suitcase, and me praying they don't all open up. I first saw their hanging organizer in the outlet store around here, but there weren't any patterns I loved, so I just couldn't justify getting something that I thought I needed but didn't really like, knowing I'd find a way to replace it sooner rather than later. Well, as we were gearing up for this vacation, I thought I'd give their website a quick look and boy did I luck out! The pattern that my jewelry organizer is (which I love!) is being discontinued so the whole line of it is on sale, plus last week Vera Bradley was celebrating its anniversary and the entire site was 25% off, and - my favorite part - free shipping. So I miiiight have broken my spending freeze, but I am now the proud owner of the cutest travel organizer I have ever seen!

State Fair

We went to the state fair last night and it was so fun! Admittedly, I had never been to the state fair, only the county fair, and needless to say, I had no idea what to expect. The entire expo center was full of the most random vendors, and then the outside was exactly what I would expect for a fair - rides, all of the fried food you can imagine, and silly games. I indulged in a bloomin' onion, and I am pretty sure I shouldn't eat for the next three days because of all of the calories! Have y'all ever been to your state's fair?

Selling Back Books

I shared a few weeks ago the many ways you can save money when you're buying text books. But, another one of my personal favorite "savers" is to sell back any books that I no longer need. You can go about this in a couple of ways. School bookstores will usually buy back your books, but not for a whole lot. Amazon also has a great deal where you can send in your books (free shipping) and receive an Amazon gift card for the balance. Both of these are great because the money is guaranteed and you're not waiting for someone to actually buy it. However, sometimes the amount they are willing to pay is quite low and you tend to feel like its not really worth it. That was the case for a few of my more recent books (because apparently tax law books are worthless?). Then I noticed Amazon gave me the option to list my books for sale on my own, and I thought  I'd give it a shot. Within two weeks I'd sold all five of the books I had listed, and I am getting a direct payment to my checking account! So if you're like me and have any law  or other text books laying around, or really any kind of books that you're looking to get out of the way, I would highly suggest checking out this option!

Dinner with my Big!

My Big in my sorority lives about an hour away from me now, but I haven't seen her since we accidentally ran into each other at Keeneland in the spring. She texted me earlier this week to see if I wanted to come up for her birthday dinner and I was so excited to get a chance to see her! Going to a small school where everyone kind of spreads back out after graduation can be tough, and we are lucky to be so close to each other, so I'm trying to make more of an effort to hang out with people that I can see more easily than others. I'm not sure where we're going yet, but I am really looking forward to it!

Wedding Plans

Earlier this week I mentioned some of the concerns I was having about the fact that we were having a wedding in the middle of winter. While there are still some things I am trying to sort out and envision to fit in with a winter wedding, I am so excited about all of the progress we are making! We have finally selected our band, caterer, and hired a wedding planner to help with the remainder of the decisions, as well as coordinate on the day of. Let me tell you, knowing that someone else will be the point person and that I can honestly trust her and enjoy that day was a huge relief. My mom met with her and said she was great, and I am meeting with her in a few weeks and cannot wait to share all of my ideas and hear her suggestions on how to make it all come together!

How has your week been? Do y'all have any big plans?

Have a great weekend, y'all! 

xoxo

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Wedding Wednesday, 178 days to go: Coming to Terms with a Winter Wedding

photo source

I am literally counting down the days until my wedding. I know that it is going to be the best day and I cannot wait! But, I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little (very) concerned about having a winter wedding.

As most girls do, I've been picturing my wedding day for as long as I can remember. That picture has changed with time, but it has always included all things bright and colorful. I always assumed my bridesmaids would wear pink, the guys would be in seersucker, and there would be pops of yellows and green all around and gorgeous outdoor scenery. This all still sounds like my ideal wedding, except that now I'm getting married in February. There is no colorful outdoor scenery in February. There are no bright shades of yellow in February. And there is certainly no wearing seersucker in February.

(Almost) every decision I make is very well thought out, and very intentional, and our wedding date was no exception. He proposed in November of last year, and we knew it would take at least one year to plan. We also knew that with the bar exam this summer, the months of June and July were essentially non-existent when it came to all of the checklist items. Football season also played a large part in pushing the date past the fall, and by then, I honestly knew I'd be too impatient to wait around all the way until next summer. I mean y'all, if I could have gotten married this February I probably would have. All of this to say, we chose February, but as I am getting deeper into the planning process, it is harder and harder for me to envision exactly what a February wedding is supposed to look like.

I know, I know, Pinterest is where I should be looking. But let me tell you, it is very difficult to find inspiration for a "Winter Wedding" that does not revolve around poinsettias and snowflakes. I am a warm-weather, bright-color kind of girl. There is absolutely nothing appealing to me about a snowflake motif. Although, I will say, some of the pictures of weddings I have seen in the snow are gorgeous. Like so much so, that I kind of want it to snow on my wedding day (I'm sure I'll be regretting this if we end up with another winter we had like last year). But honestly, if I'm going to endue the cold, I think at the least I deserve the pictures to prove it, right?

Obviously at this point the date is set, and by obviously, I mean we have the church and reception venue booked, so we're pretty set on the date. And y'all, I am doing my darndest to reimagine my ideal wedding, but it. is. hard. I always imagined pretty pinks and yellows, short dresses, and warm sunshine. I am now trying to imagine long flowing navy dresses, shades of green, and snow on the ground. I used to consider if I would provide guests with sunglasses, now I'm considering blankets. I used to think that fur stoles were just hmm . . . not something I was interested in, and now, I think maybe it is the only way I will stay warm, and perhaps they are actually really nice. I'm working on it. I literally have a Pinterest board called "Embracing the Cold." It will be the best day of my life, and it will be beautiful, I just don't know what it is going to look like. Yet.

How did you choose your wedding date? Was it convenient, did you want to wait until the venue was available?

Have a great day, y'all!

xoxo

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Wedding Wednesday, 346 Days to Go {How I Asked My Bridesmaids}

Let me be clear, I do not think it is necessary at all to do anything but call a girl up and ask her to share in this day with you. However, in law school I don't get nearly as many chances to craft as much as I would like to, so I decided to take full advantage of this opportunity! 

After scouring Pinterest for a clever, but not overdone way to ask my bridesmaids, I finally concluded that I would just have to come up with something on my own. I ended up incorporating a few different things that I'd seen, and eventually just let my creativity get the best of me and this is what I ended up with! 

I knew I wanted to do something clever without being too cliche, but everything I kept finding on Pinterest just seemed over the top. After some brainstorming and flashbacks to Big/Little reveals with Kappa, I settled on including a few different items, each with a cute note attached. Below are the notes I attached to each item, and then I put all of them inside a large mason jar. I also included the girls' names on the top of the mason jar. I tried to choose the shades of nail polish and type of candy for each one specifically, so they were still personalized. 

Inside of the mason jar I also included a card that said "Will you be my Bridesmaid?" and one said "Will you be my Maid of Honor?" I included a small personal note on the backs of these cards. 

To make all of the cards I typed up what I wanted to be on the card in a word document. Then I cut down scrapbook paper so that it would fit in the printer (8.5 x 11). I don't hate my handwriting, but I knew I was going to need to make seven (!) of these jars, so I thought it was more efficient for my perfectionist self to let the computer do the work. If any of y'all are interested in this let me know and I can send it your way!

After I'd printed the cards, I cut them out and glued them to some glittery scrap book paper and cut them out again. For each of the "item" cards, I attached them directly to the item itself. Then I put the "Maid of Honor" and "Bridesmaid" cards on another piece of glittery paper to really frame it and make it stand out. 

To present it to each of the girls I put the jar in a cute chevron gift bag from Target with a piece or two of tissue paper. I also placed a piece of tissue paper directly inside the mason jar before placing everything in just to make it look a little nicer and also so that it wouldn't be banging around inside. 

What do y'all think about these? What are some of your favorite ways you've seen brides ask their bridesmaids? 

Have a great day, y'all!

xoxo

linking up with: 

Wedding Wednesday | Celebrate Southern | Humpday Happenings | Merry Monday | Wow Us Wednesdays

TGIF, bye February

It is February 27 - one day, ONE day away from March. I get that February is a short month so technically it does go by faster, but I truly feel like this February has flown by. Of course part of that could be the fact that what seems like the entire eastern United States has had at least a solid week of being snowed in.
Here are a few things I've been up to this week - how has your week been?

1. DietBet

Have y'all ever heard of DietBet? I feel like for a while it was popping up in a lot of fitness magazines as one of the "great ways to motivate yourself" options. I had personally ignored it because I wasn't sure I trusted actually betting money on the internet, and conceitedly thought I didn't need to lose enough weight to warrant the risk. I. Was. Wrong.

I have this friend who is on and off a new diet every other week, not in an unhealthy way, but more in an "I love food" kind of way. I get her. But, recently she's decided to really take things under control so she signed up for DietBet and was telling me all about it, and after the aforementioned week long snowday spend mostly eating and drinking, I thought maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. So I signed up, for two different bets. They have the option for you to lose 4% in 4 weeks or 10% in 6 months. I thought to jump start the process, I'd do the 6 month one as well as the 4 week one. I am so excited! My official start date on the 4 week one was February 24, so I have until March 24 to lose 4% of my body weight. I am so looking forward to feeling better (and lighter) and will be happy to share any information about this with any of you who might be interested. Honestly, I was a little skeptical at first, but I am really hopeful in the end results. [not sponsored, I'm just legitimately this excited that I had to share it with y'all!]

2. Composites

So we had law school composites this week. Let me just say that sorority and high school senior pictures were way easier. You just had to show up in a tank top, put the cape on, and make sure your hair, makeup, and pearls were in place. Law school composites comparatively were such a hassle having to actually wear a suit jacket and blouse. I know it probably looks nicer, but after four years of something four times easier, it was just slightly on the annoying side. Okay, end rant.

3. Registry

So you know how last Friday I mentioned we were going to register at Belk on Sunday? Well, thanks to all of the snow that came last week, and the fact that the South is sorely unprepared for more than a few inches of snow, the roof caved in. I didn't even know that was possible, except that one time it happened to an NFL dome. But seriously? When my friend called to tell me I almost didn't believe her.
Luckily there is another one about 45 minutes away and since I was so determined to get the process started we headed up there and luckily were able to at least get our feet wet. I had no idea there were so. many. thing to decide. Not only do you have to decide how plush you want your towels to be, but also what color, and how many. Then, in addition to regular dinnerware and china, there are serving dishes and platters to choose from. I am looking so forward to this because it means we are planning what our future home will be. However, next time we head out to mark a few things off the list we're definitely going to do some research before we get to the store. Do y'all have any registry tips?

4. Free Weekend

This is the first weekend since school started back in January that we have no plans. Zero. And I couldn't be happier. The last two months have been a whirlwind, and I'm so excited to know that we are going to get to sleep in on Saturday and Sunday, and I can finally get some things done around the apartment that I've been dying to tackle. I'm one of those people that needs to have a huge block of time available to complete a big task. I totally see the benefit of just cleaning up 15 minutes a day or whenever you have time, but sometimes I think it's just time for a deep cleaning and I need 6 hours to do that. This might be the first time that I am this excited not to have plans!

5. Contouring

Okay. So I am not trying to look like Kim K., but I would like to figure out how to contour just to make my face look a little brighter and less tired looking. You know what I mean? A few months ago I received the perfect highlighter in a Birchbox and have been obsessed since. Of course when I wasn't looking, it seemed like there were contouring tutorials everywhere I looked. Last weekend I was trying to find one before Barristers to try out and couldn't find anything that I felt comfortable doing - i.e. that was simple. So here's my plea, if y'all come across a relatively easy/well explained tutorial please send it my way!

BONUS: I think I've mentioned it before, but if you don't already, you should seriously consider subscribing to The Skimm. I'm not even sure anymore how I first found out about it, but it's a news outlet of sorts. They send an email to you every morning with the prior day's top stories and the most concise (and witty) explanation you could ask for. It seriously takes less than 10 minutes to read, but you get so much quick news. Plus, it his my inbox no later than 7am, usually earlier, so it is perfect to read on your commute to work (assuming you aren't driving!) or while you're enjoying your morning coffee. Seriously, sign up. You won't regret it!

Just in case you aren't enticed already, here's an excerpt from earlier this week:

The Skimm

Have a great weekend, y'all!
xoxo

linking up with:

|  Oh Hey Friday | Friday Favorites | Five on Friday | Friday Favorites | Casual Friday | xoxo Rebecca
Mix it Up Friday

Wedding Wednesday, 374 days to go!

Happy Wednesday, Y'all!

I'm going to try something a little new around here on Wednesdays, "Wedding Wednesday." I hope these weekly updates/features will serve a lot of purposes. First, it will help me keep a running log of the wedding planning and engagement process, which I am trying to enjoy to the fullest! Also, as a first time bride there are so many things that I have no idea how to do or how to choose and I would love love love to hear from any of y'all on what worked for you, what didn't, what you've enjoyed at other weddings you've attended, etc. Seriously, I am willing to take any and all advice.

I am learning there are about a million decisions that have to be made and as someone who is naturally indecisive, I am anticipating that bringing me some stress, but I am trying to make as many decisions off the bat that I can because there are few things I love more than crossing something off of a to-do list.

Here are a few things that we've been able to decide in three short months:

Date:

February 2016

Time:

Early Evening

Location:

My Hometown in Kentucky

Ceremony:

My Church at Home

Reception:

A local venue in town, set on acres of land 

Officiant:

My Youth Pastor

Colors:

Grey and Navy - still hoping to include a few lighter colors like sage, blush, etc. 

Maybe something like this: 

Souce

Registry Locations:

Belk and Bed, Bath, & Beyond 

(we've decided this, but have not even started thinking about what to actually register for)

Wedding Party:

We are each going to have seven people in our party (so many!) and they have all been asked and the Maid of Honor and Best Man have also been chosen 

There are still some major items that we need to start taking care of soon, things that tend to book up earlier - band, photographer, caterer, etc. We have a lot of ideas on these, but haven't made any definite decisions or put down any deposits yet.

Any advice on how to tame my indecisiveness? - It really is a lifelong struggle, and something I work at on a continuous basis, but wedding planning seems to have brought it all back to the surface. What are some things that y'all thing need to be decided as soon as possible?

Have a great day, y'all!
xoxo

p.s. I've been looking for a "Wedding Wednesday" Link-Up, but haven't been able to find one, so if y'all are aware of one that exists I would love to get involved. Or I'd be more than happy to host one if there is interest and another one isn't available!