Reflections on 2008

With 2008 drawing to a close, I have been thinking alot lately about the happenings of my life in the last year... 2008 was a big year for me! College graduation, engagement, moving to a new city, cohabitating with CityBoy, starting my "Big Girl Job," being promoted super early in my career, and in general beginning my "Real Life."

This time last year, I was happily dating CityBoy and preparing for my final semester in college. If you had told me that 1 year later, I'd be living in Dallas with CityBoy, working for a great firm, wearing a big diamond on a certain finger, I'd have probably thought you were crazy! Yet, here I am!!

I am so grateful for the blessing I have been given in 2008.

I'm thankful for the education I received that allowed me to have my fantastic career and for my parents who supported me through several changes of my college major and all of the bumps I encountered in the road to my degree.

I'm thankful for CityBoy. Without him, I can honestly say I would not be the person I am today. My relationship with him gave me incentive to grow up--I'm no longer the irresponsible young woman I was when we met. He loves me unconditionally, even when I'm cranky and bitchy. I can't explain the way he looks at me, but it is one of the best things about him.

I'm thankful for my job. I felt at home instantly with my current firm. I interviewed and had office visits with them over a year ago, 6 months before my graduation. I didn't plan on interviewing with firms or accepting a job so early, but I "tag-teamed" the Fall Career Fair with S, one of my bridesmaids, who was graduating in December. I am so grateful I found a firm where I can truly be myself and enjoy working! I'm extra thankful for the recent promotion I received!!

I'm thankful for Dallas. The city can be trying, but we're enjoying it so far! CityBoy has had a few bad traffic days, but all in all, we love it here! After growing up in small town and going to college in a BIGGER small town (Lubbock, Texas...go there, you'll see), I'm loving the opportunities Dallas has and the myriad of restaurants, stores, and activities right in our backyard!!!

I'm thankful for my Family! My immediate family is incredibly close. I'd rather spend time with them than anyone else! CityBoy loves my family too, so that's an extra thing to be thankful for, since his family is hundreds of miles away! My mom and sister have proved to be excellent wedding planners and I'm grateful for their fantastic ideas!

I'm thankful for my friends. Now that I don't see most of them as often, I'm beginning to realize who my true friends are. The ones that are true are so precious to me and I can't imagine my life without them.

I can only hope for 2009 to be as great as 2008 has been.

Seating Charts, Servers, Real China, etc.

The title refers to things we WILL NOT have at our wedding...

To understand this choice, you have to understand the culture in my hometown. Texas truly is a "whole 'nother country," especially when you are in Rural Texas. My hometown is home to just over 5,000 people--most of whom know each other, and although it is within 2 hours of several of Texas' thriving metropoli (metropolises?) including Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, I can't imagine making my HUGE family travel even an hour to attend my wedding. I can already picture Uncle Jim Bob (no, I don't really have an Uncle Jim Bob) having himself a "good ole time" at the wedding and trying to drive home and ending up a pancake on highway 21!!!

(Note: CityBoy's family is from Detroit, MI and Daytona, FL, so either way they're going to be travelling to our wedding, but his family numbers pale in comparison to my Big German Family...yikes!)

My hometown leaves few options, but I have faith in our creativity! Our ceremony will be held at the church I have attended all my life. I know each and every one of the 300ish members personally and a good chunk of them are family and most of the rest might as well be ;-) My parents were also married at this church and although the church has had a few facelifts (several not to my liking), it is still a very gorgeous country church.

The reception locale is a tough one to describe--we will be having our reception at the Sons of Hermann Hall. This space is the traditional reception spot for most anyone who gets married in my hometown. Its a large building with slightly industrial features including some horribly large & obvious airconditioning units against one wall (don't worry, we already have a plan for covering these babies and still getting air flow!!), polished concrete floors (not the trendy type), and absolutely no aesthetic value to the outside or entry of the building!! We have some great ideas for decorating, to be shared in a later post!

Considering all this, our reception will be Free Seating, Buffet Style (Beer & BBQ as my sister affectionately refers), and as CityBoy described after his first wedding there, a great party!! It may not be 100% classy, but this is the type of wedding I grew up attending and one that I know I will enjoy!

Red Shoes...

My bridesmaids are wearing "strawberry" colored dresses, so we discussed silver, gold, and champagne for shoes, but I was really not digging any of them. True to my Red loving self, I held up my lovely red patent purse up to the dress and TA-DA, perfection!! So, my 'Maids have free reign to choose whatever red patent beauties they want!!

Here are some of my favorites!!! (the first 2 are from Macys and the last 5 are from Dillards)

ePhoto shoes & outfits!!

It basically just hit me today that my sister, semi-pro photographer-extraordinaire, will be taking our Engagement photos in less than a month! I have a basic idea of the "vision" for our photo session, but I'm at a loss for how to achieve it.

I want the photos to be edgy and represent CityBoy & I's unique personalities. I'm not worried about CityBoy's wardrobe--he has a style all his own. Skinny Jeans, cowboy boots, and a Joy Division T-shirt and he's set. So, how do I put Plain Jane blue jeans, flipflops & solid tee ME next to his funkiness? I don't really dress to my style much, so I gravitate towards basics. But--I want to jazz up my basics for our photos and really do something fantastic with my hair. I used to have a long sweep side bang and I've let it grow out recently, but I think I'm going to bring that back if I can manage a haircut sometime this week or next.

Our ideas for photo spots are pretty diverse.

My brother and I found a Typically-Texan ranch driveway with my soon-to-be last name above the road in my hometown that I can't wait to take some Anthropologie-esque photos under! I'm already picture CityBoy in dark jeans & his So-CityBoy Black Cherry Luccheses (Boots on a Yank...its great) with this great black funky pearl snap he managed to find at Sheplers that looks nothing but western. For me? I'm drawing a blank! The closest thing to my vague vision is dark jeans--possibly trouser style--with one of my great basic tees and a cute jacket with CUTE heels & some cute jewelry... One problem. I don't own half of that stuff!!!!!! YIKES!!!

Next, my grandfather's winery. The winery is housed in the house my grandfather grew up in and the house itself has gorgeous arches on the porch and they've been a family photo favorite! I actually took some of my graduation shots there, including a close-up in a strapless dress where I look stark naked b/c you can't see any clothing! For the winery & the next location, I want very casual clothing. I'm picturing CityBoy in Jeans & Tennis Shoes with a plain Black V-neck and myself in Jeans & maybe a black top too, but with colorful flats??

So, the next location (also featuring casual wear) will be my parent's backyard!! I cannot wait to take pictures with CityBoy on the swings in the backyard where I grew up!! I was thinking a sundress would be great for the swings too, but its December!!!

Finally, we'll be taking some pictures in SmallTownGirl & CityBoy's new hometown, DALLAS!!!! I'm most excited about taking these because I absolutely love Downtown/Alley/Street pictures!! I also want to take a few shots at Nasher Sculpture Center!! I've spent the last 3 weeks auditing their Financials and everyday when I take a potty break, I dream about the great photos I could have...I just have to ask if I can take them there?

These are my thoughts...for now... My blogging is losing steam as I'm looking at photogs and trying to watch TV while procrastinating a shower before bed!!

Bubbles!

A few weeks ago, during one of our nightly marathon phone conversations, my mom clued me in on the PERFECT necklace to go with my dress!! I haven't put up pictures of my dress in case CityBoy goes snooping, but I will show pictures of the necklace (its on our fridge anyway)!!!!

My sister briefly moved home after college and started getting all sorts of fun, trendy catalogs...which, although my Sis moved to Wisconsin, are still being delivered! So... Mom is flipping through the Christmas Anthropologie catalog and happens across page 39 where she finds the Ephemera Necklace!!!

I must say...I'm in love!!!!!

So, Sunday I ventured out of the apartment and into Anthropologie--they didn't have it in the store, but referred me to North Park. Luckily for me, another Sales Woman overheard me asking about the necklace and interrupted to tell me that she knew the designer!! So, I may not have walked out with the necklace, but I happily surfed to De Jarnette's website to check out these beauts:

I think the Anthropologie version is still my favorite... Which do you like best??

Thoughts on Love...

Over the weekend, while searching for the poem my grandmother loved and wanted read at her funeral, I got the opportunity to read some amazing things in her journal. She had bible verses that touched her, quotes that made her laugh, quotes that made her think... Reading her thoughts on Life, Faith, Maturity and Love helped me to remember the wonderful woman she was.

The pages titled "Thoughts on Love" really stuck with me. Some thoughts from Beema:

"A husband is like a fire--if left unattended, it will go out."

"Love does not consist in looking at one another, but in looking together in
the same direction."

"Marriage, n. A community consisting of a master, a mistress, and two
slaves, making in all two."

Beema's thoughts on love got me thinking about love, so I researched some quotes of my own...

"Infatuation is when you think he's as sexy as Robert Redford, as smart as
Henry Kissinger, as noble as Ralph Nader, as funny as Woody Allen, and as
athletic as Jimmy Conners. Love is when you realize that he's as sexy as
Woody Allen, as smart as Jimmy Connors, as funny as Ralph Nader, as athletic as
Henry Kissinger and nothing like Robert Redford - but you'll take him
anyway." ~Judith Viorst, Redbook, 1975

"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where, I love you simply,
without problems or pride:I love you in this way because I don’t know any other
way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your
hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your
eyes that close." ~Pablo Neruda

"You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an
imperfect person perfectly." ~Sam Keen

"You don't marry someone you can live with, you marry the person who you
cannot live without."

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and
not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the
reflection of ourselves we find in them."

"I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what
it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with
them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them
everything about yourself, includingthe thinkgs you might be ashamed of, love is
feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees
when they walk into a room and smile at you."

For me, love is being able to be myself, to enjoy sitting in the same room doing different things still feeling together...love is looking past the imperfections and being what the other person needs... Love is midnight coffee runs...gotta go!!

A love like that...

This weekend was a sad one... my grandmother passed away. The world will be a little less bright without Beema in it. She was a beautiful, wonderful woman and someone I have always looked up to and admired. More than anything else, I will remember the love she had for my grandfather. She and Poppey had been married for 63 years and up until the end, the love they had for each other shone brightly.

I want a love like that...one that lasts and lasts, one that sees me & CityBoy through the greatest and worst times of our lives, through today's economic troubles and whatever tomorrow has to bring. I know that CityBoy is "my Poppey," he is my soulmate and I can't wait to see where our love takes us... I can only hope that in 63 years, CityBoy and I will still have the same sparkle in our eyes that my Beema & Poppey did for each other...

What comes before Part B?

PART-A as in Wedding Party!! My fiancee is an expatriate Yankee in Texas, so many of his friends will not be able to make the trek to Texas for our nuptuals, so he will only be having 3 groomsmen. When left with the challenge of limiting my bridal party to 3 of the wonderful ladies who have graced my life with their presence...I found the task impossible!

After much thought and a few diagrams (I'm an accountant...I need flowcharts!), I decided on 5 bridesmaids. Since the ladies will walk in separately from the dudes, that's not an issue, but for the recessional, its another story... My MOH will recess...recede...LEAVE with the Best Man and then the remaining 2 groomsmen get a BMaid on each arm!! We'll be a little lopsided at the front of church, but I am still deciding if I want the guys on CityBoy's side and the girls on mine or if I want the Best Man & MOH on their respective sides and then a strange conglomeration of Bmaids and Gmen to even out the sides...

Anyway...Each of my 5 Bridesmaids represents a very important part of my life:

My big sister, C, is going to be my MOH. She was a shoe-in... As long as I can remember, we've had our skirmishes...one time she KICKED me in the eye right before we went on vacation and I had a shiner at the beach. By the time we reached high school (I was a Freshman, she was a Senior), we could hardly stand each other! When she graduated and moved to college, we learned that absence really does make the heart grow fonder...distance didn't hurt either! When I graduated and moved even FURTHER away, we just got closer. Now she's a half-a-country away and we talk everyday! She's my wedding designer ;-)

Next is my friend, S. She represents my crazy college years. She and I interned together and over the course of a few months became fast friends and had some of the wildest times together including a Monday night on 6th street that ended in us walking down the street barefoot (YIKES!). She knew CityBoy and me before we really knew each other!! S has been a great friend to me and I know no matter where our lives take us (we're just down the street from each other now), we'll always be able to pick back up and be crazy together!

My friend, SA (too many S's!!), has been around since I was just a kid. We did SO much together...swim team, band, UIL academics...and we've always been the best of friends. We may not see each other often, but I know she'll always be a part of my life! She's the most amazing person I know and I am so proud of her...ANYTHING she puts her mind to, she can do. I know she's going to do AMAZING things with her life and I can't wait to see where she goes.

I practically grew up with my cousin, B. Our mom's are sisters and we were born only 4 months apart, so we've gone through everything together, including matching pink & black dresses, our obsessions with My Little Pony and Hanson, and planning our weddings!! B got engaged a couple months after me and will be getting married in June!! I'm so glad we get to go through this together and be a part of each other's big day (I'm her MOH)!

My 5th Bmaid is my cousin, W. I was the flower girl in W's parents wedding and I was very, very close with her parents as a kid...as a matter of fact, I was their "test child" before their first child, my cousin D, was born. W has lived within walking distance of my childhood home since she was 3, so I watched her grow up and she's more like a little sister than I could ever explain! She's 17 and I still see the little girl who would ride banana seat with me on my bicycle!!

I love all 5 of these ladies and I'm so glad they'll be standing up with me on the most important day of my life!!

My New Grown-Up Kitchen!!!!

So, lately, I have been thinking about decorating and my wedding registry. I love the color Red, but I've decided I need to stray from my Reds/Pinks/Oranges in my decorating style. I did a really great job with our bedroom (in an effort to de-feminize it for CityBoy) by going with super cute curtains from Anthropologie and a Lime-ish Green DKNY bedspread!! There is some deep red in the curtains, but the colors we've chosen to focus on are the Lime Green, Navy, and Turquoise blue! I have to say its not what I would have first chosen, but now I LOVE IT!!!

Here's a photo from awhile back, its taken on my iPhone, so its sorta fuzzy, but its a good general idea!!!


Anyway, so back to the point of this post.....


I'm trying to decide the direction I want to go with my kitchen... Right now, my kitchen is rather small and not a very good canvas for decorating, but since we're registering, I want to keep future kitchens in mind!!


My current kitchen is full of hand-me-down dishes, including Mom's tricked-out-70s-style Corelle featuring Orange and Teal flowers!





I'm definitely ready to have my own kitchen style!! I had thought about going with black & white for my kitchen with red accents, but after I saw this gorgeous piece of kitchen machinery, I changed my mind:


RED & ROBINS EGG BLUE!!! Um, yes!

I have 4 gorgeous Red Glass canisters from my mom that I would love to keep in my kitchen, but Red & this gorgeous-almost-Tiffany shade of Blue go PERFECTLY together!!!!!

Busy Busy Bee!

I've been amazingly busy with work lately and the absolute last thing I want to do when I get home from work is be near a computer, so its been awhile. In addition to the busyness of work, I just started a weekend class (9-5 Saturdays & Sundays) for the next 3 weekends!! I'm about 12 hours shy of the requirements to sit for the CPA exam, so I'm trying to bust through those as quickly as possible so that I can use CityBoy's study materials before they are too terribly outdated!! I'm also planning on taking a Winter Term online course, so that maybe I can be eligible next summer!!

Anywho...I've been very, very, very addicted to WeddingBee lately, so I waste plenty of time there on a daily basis. I love the way they have so many Brides-To-Bee and even Newlyweds and Not-so-Newlyweds contributing!! I love the different ideas each of these lovely ladies have and they really inspire me!!

One of my favorite ideas was this cake topper from Miss Fondue, I really think we might order one of these, maybe not for on top of our simple wedding cake, but maybe for next to it???:

In addition to all of the cool things these ladies have tipped me off to, they also talk about some great wedding topics, such as wedding trends, name changing, and vendors!!

I'm in love...and spend WAAAAAY too much time on this site!!

Also, I've recently found CakeWrecks, also a good time waster and pretty dang funny!!!

Back in Texas!!

After a full 8 hour day of travelling yesterday, I'm finally back in Texas!! I came into the office for a brief half-day to attend a training session on our Staff Review/Goal Setting software, then I'm outta here!! On tonight's agenda: Nascar Truck Series @ Tx Motor Speedway with my CityBoy & little brother! We managed to score tickets in the luxury suite compliments of my Dad's boss, so we'll be up there schmoozin' with some real grown ups and having a great time!!

Portland was fabulous, here are some of the photos I managed to take on my iPhone (I managed to forget my camera b/c I pulled it out of my purse to charge the battery!!):

Greetings from Portland

I'm in Portland, Oregon for Training all week!! It is GORGEOUS here!! We're kinda stuck out in the 'burbs of Tigard/Lake Oswego for our training and my firm said "y'all are just down the street from the training facility" and wouldn't approve a rental car, so we've spent about a gazillion in cab fare when we probably could have gotten a rental car pretty cheap. Our instructor got his for $95 for the whole week!!!

Its killing me being stuck in the hotel...I am definitely my dad's daughter b/c I, like him, want to drive all over the city and see the sights. Everytime we go out for dinner, I can see the pretty tree covered mountains and hills and I want to see MORE!!

Tomorrow our training is finished at 2:30, so we're taking the bus downtown and spending the afternoon/evening seeing the sites and doing Portland-y things!!! We have a list of things to see, so I'll take iPhone pics (I forgot my camera in Dallas, I took it out of my purse to charge the battery and realized Sunday at the airport that it was still sitting on the dresser...bummer) and post some!!!!!!

Staring at Ikea all day...

This has been a busy week, I'm no longer in the office twiddling my thumbs. I don't have time to blog while I'm at a client (I figured out how much it would cost the client if I billed even 15 minutes of blogging time and I felt guilty) and I don't wanna be near a computer when I'm at home, so the blog has and will be neglected for the next 2 weeks!!

Anyway, the client I'm at is directly across the highway from Ikea and everytime I go to ask the client a question or go to the bathroom or get a coke, I see the giant Blue & Yellow IKEA sign out the 6th floor window and it makes me die a little inside b/c I'm stuck in here and not over there shopping.

Anyway...my parents flew back into Texas last night after being in Chicago/Madison for a week and they stayed at my apartment last night. This morning, on my way up to lovely Frisco, I passed them and I just KNEW they were going to Ikea (my mom loves that place)...sure enough, Noon rolls around and I get a phone call. They were just getting done at Ikea and wanted to know if I wanted to meet them for lunch! OF COURSE! Who says there's no such thing as a Free Lunch? So, Mom suggested just eating at the Ikea cafeteria (they were there, I was close, it worked...food wasn't bad either), so I ventured over.

After enjoying my Swedish Meatballs, we did a quick stroll through Ikea to grab some Euro Pillows for my "Big Girl Bed" (I had to get rid of the girly collegy bedding) and Mom pointed out all of her wedding ideas in the "Pretties" section, so I'm posting a few of her thoughts!!!

I'm not sure I like the really dark red candle, but I think once its lit, it'll be a brighter red, either way, they're $2 a candle and already in my colors (kinda)

Mom and I both like these lights for Decoration. We want to use the lights to hide some of the less attractive areas of the Sons of Hermann Hall where I will be having my reception (its a small town with few venues...its the best we can do...plus, my parents had their reception there and its HUGE!!)!

I also like these Ball Lights b/c they kinda go with our Geometric theme. We will be using Chinese Lanterns in white, reds, pinks, and oranges through out the hall and most of the other decorations will be very geometric (my sister came up with the "theme").

Anyway, those were our finds for the day on our quick run through Ikea during lunch!!! More to come...I love Ikea!

Small Town Modern

I'm getting married in my very small hometown. Weddings in my town are quite an experience, as my Fiancee can tell you. He referred to his first Lee County Wedding as a "frat party"... Beer, Barbeque, Dancing, and a few traditions an outsider may find disturbing...

I'd always thought of ways to escape the Beer-N-BBQ wedding, dreaming of a small wedding in my parents backyard or a destination wedding or something else unique, but now that I have the rock on my finger, I find myself wanting the traditional Lee County Wedding...BBQ and all! This might have something to do with the fact that D loves BBQ...as a matter of fact, we were talking about the "menu" and my mom said she prefered potatoes to noodles as a side dish and D put his foot down and said "NOODLES!" He's such a dork.

So, I'll be having the traditional wedding for Lee County, with a few modern touches. We'll have the Beer & the BBQ, the DJ playing late 90s Country Classics for our guests to scoot their boots to...but we'll also have an iPod playing OUR music, an amazingly tasty cake, gorgeous decorations & little touches of US everywhere!

SPRINKLES!

So, I'm very into clean, simple lines. I like modern, architectural, non-fufu things. For my wedding cake, I went with these likes and my bridal committee and I decided on a 3 tiered whtie fondant covered cake as a palette for my Aunt L (my florist) to decorate with whatever gorgeous flowers she chooses...

Now...I am pretty much ADDICTED to the food network (maybe not so much now as I was in college, but I still love it) and I have watched every Cake Challenge and every Ace of Cakes and I know that I could rollout some white fondant and cover 3 tiers of cake... So, Mom and I decided to ask my Aunt D (a fantastic baker) to make my cakes!!

Mom & Aunt D are both very planny people (who both have daughters getting married in the next year) and back in August had already started thinking about wedding cakes! My mom ordered several different pre-made fondants online and since we were having a birthday party for my dad, she made a "test cake" for the whole Fam to try!!

I absolutely love all things citrus...Oranges, Lemons, Limes, Grapefruits...so we decided to go with an orange flavor scheme for the cakes! Mom made a white cake (with some orange zest), homemade buttercream (with Patron Citronge, an orange liqueur), and flavored the fondant with Orange as well! The result was FANTASTIC!! I ate like 4 pieces and the cake was GONE by the end of the night!

Well, since we're doing the family-made cake and already decided on a flavor, we are missing out on CAKE TASTING!! Soo, I staged a cupcake tasting for Hubby-To-Be and I last night. I get Daily Candy Dallas's emails everyday and yesterday's email featured Sprinkles Cupcakes for the UT-OU Red River Shootout benefiting Children's Medical Center Research...so I decided to stop in on my way home and pick up a few!!

I picked a few I thought Hubby-To-Be and I would both like: Red Velvet (okay, this one was all me), Banana, Lemon, and Cinnamon Sugar. I surprised him with them after dinner and instead of letting him tear straight into them, I cut each cupcake into quarters and we each got one quarter of each flavor, a la cake tasting!!

Dallas Photo Ops!

My Sister (a Baylor alum) has always been in love with the Suspension Bride in Waco and after seeing this shot by Lubbock-native photographer, Lauren Clark, she decided she wanted to take some of our engagement photos there (Sis is doing our Engagment Photos)...


I brought this idea up to Hubby-To-Be and he said "That Bridge is so Cliche and we have absolutely NO ties to Waco!" (a friend of ours proposed to his FIRST (of two, both cheated on him before the wedding, poor guy) fiancee on that bridge...)

So, since we all 3 (my sister included) like the architectural look, we've decided to take some of our e-photos at Home (my parents house and my grandparents winery and the general "country") and some in Dallas!!! So, I need to scout out some great photo spots in Dallas for our Christmas photo shoot!! Suggestions are WELCOME!!

Old, New, Borrowed & Blue...

Something old, something new,
Something borrowed, something blue,
And a silver sixpence in her shoe.

I think I have most of my "somethings" figured out...

Something Old
My More-Grandma's Handkerchief. My mom and aunt and older cousin, Kassie, all carried this in their wedding bouquets. It is very old and delicate and disintegrating in the center from being folded for so many years, but when tucked delicately into a bouquet, its ruffled edges have the appearance of a butterfly. My cousin, Bekah (Kassie's sister), is getting married in June and she will also carry the hankie.

Something New
Probably my Dress? I haven't decided if this is going to be for sure what I consider my "something new," it kinda feels like a cop out to me?

Something Borrowed
This is the one I'm still not sure on...

Something Blue
The Star Sapphire Ring my dad gave to my mom. My mom is giving me a gorgeous star sapphire ring that my dad gave to her. Sapphire is my birthstone and I've always loved the ring. I almost cried when my mom said she was giving it to me for my something blue. I will probably have it resized, I have, as my aunt puts it, "sausage fingers" and although the ring fits on my pinkie, I'd like to wear it on the ring finger of my right hand.

...and I said "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's?"

Holly: I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together. I'm not sure where that is but I know what it is like. It's like Tiffany's.

Paul: Tiffany's? You mean the jewelry store.

Holly: That's right. I'm just CRAZY about Tiffany's!

I managed to find the most amazing man on the planet. He treats me like no other guy ever has, like I'm everything in his world. We argue, but 5 minutes can't pass following an argument before we're apologizing to each other. We're both Virgos, and that makes us similar in so many ways, but it works perfectly. He's my Tiffany's. He puts me together.

And...as if he wasn't already the perfect guy for me, he bought me a gorgeous ring and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him!!

So, my sister gave me some busy work for my boring day in the office today to come up with some ideas for a Sex and The City themed Bachelorette party for her college roommate who is getting married in January! The party is gonna be at my apartment, since I live in the city where the wedding will be and the party will take place the night before the wedding since my sister is flying in from Wisconsin!! Well, this got me thinking about ideas for my own bachelorette party, my sister wants to do a Tiffany themed party...and THAT got me thinking about wedding bands to go with my bling!!

Those are my 3 options on Bands to go with my ring. I think the one I am leaning towards most is the simple platinum band. I've always loved the simplicity of my mom's ring...a simple diamond solitaire with a simple gold wedding band. To me, the simplicity of one diamond and the simple wedding band is more representative of my relationship with my fiancee...our relationship is simple, perfect, and unpretentious.

Thoughts?

My Favorite Mr. & Mrs.

I was looking at more invitations and stumbled across The Future Mrs Darcy! and absolutely fell in love with a couple of their designs, but more than that, their designs are named after famous couples...Elizabeth & Darcy from Pride & Prejudice, Holly Golightly & Paul Varjak from Breakfast at Tiffanys and so many others! Which got me thinking about famous couples... I have a lot of favorite love stories, here's a list of some that I love:


Love Story (classic...I'd never seen it before I met my fiancee, he rented it and brought it over right after we started dating when I was at home sick)


Pretty Woman (so, she's a hooker, it has a happy ending)


Sex & The City (The series and the movie...Carrie & Big's love story is a bumpy, but great one)


Breakfast at Tiffanys (Don't we all feel like Holly Golightly sometimes?)


Anyway, here are a few of my favorite designs from TFMD:

Ferris & Sloane....man, I love Ferris Bueller's Day Off and this invitation!!! I'm really into non-traditional (read: stuffy) invitations, so this one is right up my alley!

Okay, Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall is a little more traditional, but what would you expect from Casablanca?? I really really like this style and can already picture it with our names in the places of these famous lovers!!

Okay, so this one isn't really practical, but my Fiancee and I are the HUGEST office fans ever!! I think of any of the lovers that TFMD has invitations for, we're most like Jim & Pam!! I definitely can't wait until Thursday...I'm still a little pissed that the VP debate happened on a Thursday and caused me to miss The Office & Grey's Anatomy...

Bling!

I'm really not an everyday jewelry wearer, my daily jewelry consists of my gorgeous Tiffany engagement ring, my watch & my college ring. That's about it. Every now and then I'll feel zesty and wear a cute necklace or cute earrings, but I don't own that much to choose from... and I can't see myself remedying that problem b/c I just don't think about jewelry for my outfits...my mom and sister, on the other hand...


My mom is a fabulous jewelry maker, I love everything she has made for me and anyone else, so she's going to be making jewelry for me and my 'maids (and I'm sure something perfect for herself as well)! I think that I want something a little outside of the standard CZ necklace & earrings, so we're going to go with Long, Pink necklaces for my 'maids and something long and funky for me!!


Here are some things that inspire me:

This beaut' is by Tarina Tarantino. Most of her stuff is a little outside of my style, but some of her stuff, I'd die for. I think this necklace would be great for either my maids or me! Red necklace with a wedding gown? I'd do it!...

So, this one is probably the closest to what I'm imagining for myself. Its also by Tarina Tarantino.

STD is not an appropriate acronym for Save the Date....

I've been thinking lately about Save the Dates...I'm getting married in September 2009, so my sister (my paper guru) and I decided March would be about the time to send them, so I'm a little early, but it never hurts to look!!

My sister is a super hero when it comes to paper goods, she is the go-to-girl in our family for invitations, she makes her own handmade Christmas cards every year (last year with her Gocco printing machine thingy...which I'm clueless about), and she's also a Fabulous photographer! If I didn't actually want her IN some of the pictures and not behind a camera all night, I'd have her as my photographer in a heartbeat!!! Luckily, I know another great photographer, Amy Blackburn!!

I can't find any pictures of invitations my sister has done, but here are some ideas I like:

Invitations By Nature

Minted

The last minted one is probably my favorite! My sister is taking our engagement pics when we're both Home at the 'rents for Christmas, so depending on how fantastic the pictures turn out, I'd love to use one with our STD ;-)

Love this Photographer!

I think I may have had my photographer picked before I even started dating my fiancee seriously!! The photographer I'm using is a friend of my older sister's from high school and someone I've known since I was a kid. And, did I mention, she's AWESOME!! Here are some of my favorite Wedding/Bridal pictures by her.

The courthouse in my hometown, absolutely gorgeous...

Amy loves shoe shots and SO DO I!! I can't wait to pick out fun shoes for my dress!!!

Can I bill for wedding planning?

Sitting in my cube for 2 days unassigned and not having any pending clients, I have been doing lots of wedding shopping!! I am absolutely in love with Wedding blogs (in particular We Met in a Bar, Brooklyn Bride, Something Old Something New, Handcrafted, and many others I've visited lately), so I decided to make one to show my bridesmaids, who are scattered across Texas & in Wisconsin, all of the things I've found that I like or that inspire me!!

I am absolutely in love with these shoes! My Bmaid Dresses are "strawberry" and knee length, so my bridal committee (me, my mom, and my sister/MOH) decided after numerous conference calls that we think Red Shoes would be best, but these might possibly be the perfect match!! My only issue...the 3 3/4" heels!! I'm pretty confident some of my bridesmaids will be able to pull them off, but my sister is the biggest klutz I know, and a few of the others probably aren't used to heels this high!

My bridesmaid dresses are going to be custom-made by my Super-Seamstress Mom, and they were probably the easiest thing that I picked for the wedding and one of the few things that is really set in stone so far!!

My inspiration for the dress we're making came from an ad for Bella Bridesmaid in one of the many many many bridal magazines I bought right after getting my bling! We researched the dress and it is from Simple Silhouette's Simple Collection. I fell in love with the box pleats and somewhat simple design of the dress, but I want to tweek a few of the details!!