Rainy Tuesday

I can totally appreciate the rainy days! I feel like I can get more accomplished and don't feel so bad not getting out of the apartment with Emma! I'm sitting here with my Chai Tea (yum!) and brainstorming new ideas for my Etsy store! Check it out: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SharedJoy. Thank goodness Emma is a good sleeper, I have a bunch of Halloween headbands to finish to send up to Frederick : ). Speaking of Halloween, October is my favorite month...I love all things fall! So I decided to take part in the Photo A Day Challenge over at A Grande Life Such a great idea and I am excited to participate!

Day 1: Leaves

Day 2: In my Cup

*Blog is still a work in progress* Till next time <3

I'm Back!!

I'm looking at this blog and realized I have not written since 2010!! That's insane and I can't let that happen again : P In the meantime enjoy some fun fall pictures of our little family apple picking while I get things back up and running!

My inspirations and wedding planning fun

I really have to say that I have enjoyed wedding planning, even though it's been hectic and I am ready to get back to normal life.  I had the hardest time at the beginning trying to figure out a color scheme and theme.  Thanks to my wonderful friend Amy Davidovich we came up with the colors black, pink, and white.  Chris agreed as long as the guys didn't have to wear pink vests and that was completely fine with me.  Too much pink can be overwhelming!  I don't know where I got the idea for the damask print on everything, but it just kind of happened and all started with our STD's....Save the Dates people : P.  I was very pleased with how they turned out and after that everything else just fell into place.  Here are pictures of where I got my ideas and inspirations

I can't wait to see what the final product of the flowers are going to be, that I am most excited about!  Here are pictures of what we actually did for our save the dates, invites, favor tags, and sparkler holders:

Everything has come together really nicely!  I can't wait to see the final product of everything on July 16th!

Another Update.....

I know I've been slacking in the blogging department, but I have good excuses.  It has been a busy 3 months and I wouldn't have changed a thing!  Time has gone so fast and we are almost 2 weeks away from I DO!  In the past 3 months, I've had 2 bridal showers and my awesomely fun bachelorette party!

I had such a wonderful time at my PA shower with family and friends, couldn't have asked for anything more!

The cake is a little preview of what our wedding cake is going to look like...can't wait to see the final product on the wedding day!  My second shower was a joint shower, which the ladies from church put together!  It was such a fun time and it was such a nice surprise for me after not having been at the church that long, such a welcoming place : ) 

             

June 5th one of my closest friends got married, I was one of her bridesmaids and she is one of mine : ).  Crazy how we've known each other since the days of Phi Sig and we got/are getting married a month apart! Her wedding was nothing short of amazing and I had such a wonderful time, as I'm sure did everyone else. The day before we had a lovely bridesmaid luncheon followed by some pampering and then in the evening was the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner!

                                   

My bachelorette party was on June 12th in Annapolis and so much fun!  I was crazy busy beforehand as Friday evening I drove up to PA for my hair/make-up trial and my final fitting Saturday morning.  I'm so excited for the big day to see everything put together.  Since I had my hair/make-up trial I was all set and ready to go for my party, drove back to Annapolis in the afternoon with my sister-in-law and 10 of us went out to dinner, had some drinks on the water front and than some dancing!  It was perfect and such a great time!

Chris's bachelor party is coming up on the 9th and I'm sure he is getting excited for the evening with his closest friends! The time is coming near and we are both getting very excited, can't wait for the big day : )

Sorry for the delay

Wow I was so excited about this blog and I have totally slacked!  So much has happened in the past week or so!  ALL GOOD STUFF, will update later tonight....hopefully : P

Catching up....

   On this sunny April day I have decided to embark on the world of blogging. I have plans for this to turn into something big, something HUGE...possibly a wedding version of Julie and Julia ( fabulous movie by the way )...possibly a book, a movie...HAH...only in my dreams. I digress.

   I wish I would have started this blog on September 12, 2009 to fill in every detail from engagement to altar and everything inbetween, BECAUSE although you are engaged and planning the most special day, life still goes on. You would think that planning a wedding is the most exciting time for you and your spouse to be, I mean you've only been dreaming about it since the day you were born (this would be the ladies of course ). It is exciting, but not as happy, over the moon exciting as I thought it would be ( I'm still happy about it, don't get me wrong ).  In my head I feel that our situation is unique to all others, though in this economy I'm sure we aren't the only ones going through daily troubles while planning a wedding. BUT since this is my blog ( well OUR blog, but I doubt Chris will feel like writing : P ) I say we are the only ones!

   It has been almost 7 months since the day of our engagement and it has not been boring to say the least. We were engaged on September 12, 2009 on the beach in Wilmington NC!  He couldn't have picked a more perfect day and a more perfect spot...I knew I said YES for a reason ; ).  So much has happened in the past 7 months, so allow me to fill you in on our journey thus far...

SEPTEMBER

* Engaged September 12, 2009 ( probably the only exact day I will remember, unless I talk to my mother : ) )
*Picked my bridesmaids the day I was engaged....Chris said I should have waited...HAHA
*Went reception hall hunting with my mom the next weekend, Chris was , at the time, working at Chilis

*Found wedding dress unexpectedly
*Chris came on Sunday to check out Meredith Manor....I LOVED IT...just needed to get him to like it
*Major bumps in the road picking a date, a place, etc...resulted in STRESS, but ended with the decision of July 16, 2010
*Picked the DJ and a photographer sometime in September
*Some other things in September I can't remember...probably weren't that important

OCTOBER

*I don't remember at what point, but started to get fed up with my crappy job

*Chris' parents threw a beautiful engagement party for us in Wilmington, NC the weekend of October 10, so glad we had that time together to share our story and have our parents give us advice for our future marriage

*A week later, October 16, Chris was laid off from Chilis, it was also my last day at my job...hmm could it have been better timing...I THINK NOT

    ~sidenote we no longer eat at Chilis, excuse my french, but they SUCK

*October was a blur...wandering where the light at the end of the tunnel was at this point

*October 23...engagement pictures taken ( turned out awesome )

*October 24...Melissa R Gibson's wonderful, fabulous wedding...check out her blog (http://lissabeeconfections.blogspot.com/)

NOVEMBER

*Somehow picked up a 24 hr stomach bug, but felt well enough on November 1st to go to an open house at Meredith Manor, made us more excited for the wedding
*Chris' mom passes, we miss her dearly and know she will be there on our special day...she wouldn't miss it : )
*Celebrated Thanksgiving
*Evelynn Grace was born
*Chris continues his search for a job while temping and collecting unemployment
*Decided we needed a new start after all that we've been through...after just moving in May, decided to move again to Alexandria the day after Christmas
*Chris starts playing in the church worship team

DECEMBER

*Celebrated Christmas with my parents and Chris' dad
*Spent a couple days after Christmas with Chris, Candace, Nevaeh, and Evelynn
*MOVED
*Chris turns 27 and we celebrate at my parents with cake and presents
*I struggle to find more work as a nanny, but we get by

JANUARY

*Happy New Year!
*Job situations still the same, still struggling, still looking for that light...
*Celebrated friend's birthday and a belated polyanna in WC, always nice to get away and forget about reality
*Cake consultation ( it's going to be beautiful )
*Chris started planning a super secret honeymoon ( I just need a passport! )
*Found our wedding bands : D
*Met with our florist and searched for the perfect flower girl dresses
*I start helping with the preschool kids at our church

FEBRUARY

*Celebrated my birthday with friends and Valentine's day with my love
*LOTS and LOTS of snow falls in DC, keeping us snowed in for a few days
*Started to craft our wedding guestbook
*Chris started a temp position at ASCE ( hoping he gets hired )
*Started pre-marital counseling

MARCH

*Still searching for that light...
*Still waiting for Chris to be hired
*Chris takes on second job back at Cosi
*Amy's bachelorette party and bridal shower
*Becoming more and more busy with nanny jobs
*Visit family in Norfolk for brother's submarine commissioning

  And that about wraps up our life in the past 7 months.  I'm sure I have missed some events here and there, but these are the ones that stick out the most at the moment.  Hoping that April brings better days and more excitement as we near the day we become Husband and Wife : ). We know God has a plan for us for better things, we will just sit and wait patiently ( most of the time ).