I’m still trying to get caught up from being gone most of last week so my post today is kind of lame. Enjoy the view from the gondola from our hotel to Mountain Village, CO. in the meantime.
xoxo
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August 2011
The wedding was in a word – stunning. It was such an honor to be a part of such a special day for these two. I cannot properly articulate their love for each other. I’ve known the bride for 10 years and I’ve never seen her happier then I did this past weekend. I’m probably going to several posts on this wedding, because there were so amazing details each with their own special story.
The venue and views were amazing. We had an fantastic weather day with a typical afternoon mountain rain. It reminded me of summers in the NC mountains and for some reason seemed fitting. Of course, it’s really good luck too!
The ceremony was pushed back just 30 minutes and it actually gave us all a little more time to enjoy each other. We were able to take some fun shots with umbrellas too.
Isn’t she the most beautiful bride you’ve ever seen? I think this picture just really captures HER.
Aren’t they precious? It was one of the more emotional ceremonies I’ve had the honor of seeing. The father of the bride did the ceremony and the bride’s brothers walked her down the aisle. One of my favorite moments was when the father of the bride asked the parents of the groom if the bride was everything that they had hoped for and prayed for in a mate for their son. He did the same with the mother of the bride. That tugged on my heart stings. In the past as a bridesmaid I’ve been pretty good about keeping it together for weddings, but this was just too much for me.
Now, you’re probably thinking to yourself “man, she got really really really good at photography while she was in Telluride”. Don’t be fooled. I still am pretty terrible, but one of the bridesmaids, Katie (yes, her name is Katie too), actually takes pictures for a living. She is part of the really talented team of Jenna Walker Photographers. She was gracious enough to let me post these photos. You can see more of her work here. She did the bride and groom’s engagement pictures too. You should DEFINITELY check them out here.
Oh yea, they travel to the east coast too!
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REF’s off to DeBordieu this weekend to celebrate our friends Alec and Lane. Despite Hurricane Irene they are going to soldier on and I hope that they wake up to a miracle on Saturday morning and see this…
We’ve been friends with Alec for quite some time and we’re thrilled that they will live around the corner from us after the wedding. They are a really FUN couple.
Now, if you’re paying attention I’ll be in Telluride and REF will be in DeBordieu, but crazy blog stalking robbers beware…we have really nosy neighbors, my parents will be house sitting and our dog is a very good watch dog.
I’m sad that I’ll be missing Alec and Lane’s wedding, but I know REF will come back with a full report.
Happy Wild Wedding Weekend!
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Colorado…
Today I’m on my way (via two plane rides, a shuttle ride past Tom Cruise’s compound and a gondola ride) to Telluride, Co & Mountain Village. This isn’t my first trip to the rockies, but my first trip to Telluride. I’m excited to explore this little mountain town and to celebrate this girl…
and this guy…
because they are getting M A R R I E D!!!
I’ll be standing by their side watching them say their vows here…
and our views will be something like this…
and I’ll be staying here.
Not a bad way to spend a weekend, huh?
I can’t wait to share all the details of the wedding next week!
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Brothers Gotta Hug
I’m an over hugger. I don’t know when it started. Maybe I’ve always been an over hugger. I remember as a kid asking for hugs from my mom and dad, but I guess I thought that was normal. I think my hugging out of control when I started spending my summers at Camp Cheerio. My dad used to call this Camp Feel Good, because I would come home having a TON of arrogance healthy self-esteem. I went to the all girls session and any time you’d walk around camp and see a friend (which was basically all over camp) you’d stop and say hello to them. 9 times out of 10 you’d give said friend a hug. It was practically force fed to us that we needed to do this. Not to mention it FEELS GOOD TO HUG.
Well, I may or may not have spent one too many years at Camp Feel Good, because it has been glaringly obvious the older I’ve gotten that while hugging at a YMCA all girls summer camp might be expected it doesn’t really work well for the business world. It doesn’t really work well for the plain ol’ adult world either. Example One: Last week I having one of those really tough weeks. I couldn’t really get it together at the office or at home (besides my awesome meal planning and execution). There was a moment at work when I was sitting in my little cubicle and I realized that I needed a hug. I sat there and seriously contemplated who in the office I could proposition for a hug. Well, I still have my job so you can guess that I came to my senses and did not freak anyone out at my office. It did, however get me thinking just how much better things would be in the corporate world if we were more like Camp Feel Good.
Example Two: This past weekend at my sister’s baby shower I found myself going in for the hug with my sister’s step mother in law. I don’t know this women. I’ve met her only two times I can think of prior to me hugging her. It just seemed natural. I always hug people in social settings…why not hug this total stranger!? Later in the afternoon we met back up with my brother in law and his dad. I have met my sister’s father in law probably less than her step mother in law so this time I went with a firm handshake. Only after the handshake I felt more awkward then I did hugging his wife. We were in my parent’s home why couldn’t I go in for the hug? Why did the handshake feel so awkward? Men do the handshake all the time. Why does this bother me?!
Are you an over hugger?
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Truth Telling Tuesday
- Tulips are my absolute favorite flower. I am so ready for fall, but I LOVE how in the spring you can go to the farmer’s market and find pretty ones like the bouquet above.
- I’m very outgoing, but I have extreme anxiety about about meeting new people or being in a new situation.
- I am 100% a control freak. I like to be in charge.
- When I was younger I could spend 8:ooam – 8:00pm at our local pool. I miss those days.
- I rarely wear high heels. Yes, I know they make your legs/booty look nice, but I’m a comfort girl – through and through.
- Before and After big or little events I get so excited that I can’t sleep. Before an event I think about all the things that are going to happen and get so much adrenaline pumping and after an event I rehash the whole thing in my head I end up thinking about it all night. This could be anything from a wedding to a beach trip to a work event.
- I get sick, a lot. I’m probably sick more then the average person. I had meningitis when I was a baby (before there was a vaccine) and I’ve just had a low immune system since.
- I love sitting outside to talk, eat or just sit. It could be 110 degrees or 10 degrees. I like being outside.
Happy Tuesday Folks!
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I’m going to be an aunt!
This past weekend some friends of my mom’s threw my sister a baby shower in Charlotte. My sister is due with her first baby the second week of October. Her mother in law, step mother in law and sister in law were all able to make the trip to Charlotte to celebrate. The picture above from L to R is my sister’s sister in law, her mother in law, my sister, our mom and me. 
The hosts did a really cute train theme with ticking and bandana fabrics. They used one of the host’s grandchild’s Thomas the train sets. I thought it was a really great idea and such a fun and easy theme for a baby boy’s shower. 
Can you believe that my sister is going to have a baby in 7 weeks? I swear we’re the same size! She said she was feeling pretty good still so we’re all thankful for that. 
There were so many cute presents that everyone brought. Baby R is certainly going to be a sharped dressed little man. My sister gave each of the hosts a really cute and colorful umbrella (and nice note pad) since they threw her a shower! I thought that was a clever and useful gift. I can’t wait until October!
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Last week I asked my friend, Sarah, what she was up to for the weekend. We don’t live in the same town, but not too far away. Sometimes when I ask her what she’s doing for the weekend I can convince her it is a good idea to come down to Charlotte to stay with REF and me. This past weekend I tried that tactic, but no dice. Sarah couldn’t come spend the weekend with me, because she was heading home to work on a project with her dad.
She explained that she had seen this ledge in the most recent Pottery Barn catalog and fell in love with it and thought it would be prefect for above her bed. She, however fell out of love with the price.
Sarah’s dad owns a frame shop called Frames by Edward Wright in Hillsborough, NC which happens to be the same cute town that my sister works in. Anyhow, Sarah and her dad realized they could replicate the ledge for much less than the Pottery Barn version – plus it would be a fun project for the two of them. When she told me about the project I made her send me a picture of their progress. Once I saw the picture below I begged asked if I could do a blog about it & mention her dad’s shop. I am in awe with people who can see something and reproduce it. I just do not have that kind of patience eye.
The picture above is of the ledge in progress in Edward’s shop. Sarah said they joined three pieces of molding together, put putty in the holes, sanded and stained it and then sprayed something called gesso , then sanded it again. When I asked Sarah what gesso was she told me it was made out of rabbit skin – gross. They let it dry overnight then the next day they distressed the wood by hitting it with chains, keys, etc.
After distressing the piece they stained it again, then wiped most of the stain off and put shellac on the edges to give it a golden look. Finally, they dusted it with a green powder (dry powder pigment) which helps add depth and color to the wood. The last step was to add wax to the ledge.
I think it looks pretty incredible! I cannot to wait to see it above her bed. I’m totally impressed with Miss Sarah. Maybe one weekend she and I can meet at her dad’s shop to work on my own ledge, because I could definitely see one of these in my house…maybe above my family room sofa?! Hint. Hint.
Love you sweet friend!
xoxo
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Or why I’ve been stalking the FedEx website for a week.
My Erin Condren Life Planner finally got here this afternoon. I’m sure you all are getting sick of me talking about the arrival of this thing, but I promise this will be the last post about it! It came in the cutest box and made me even more excited to open the package.
When I opened the package I was pleasantly surprised to see the cute gray envelope filled with stickers that had my name on it! I definitely think it was a nice touch to add stuff like those stickers along with coupon codes for future purchases. I have to say I wasn’t sure what to expect with this planner since I had never seen it in person, but I’ve been so impressed with this company and I’ll definitely be getting products from here in the future!
I picked the zig zag pattern and did the ‘choose my own colorwheel’ option and got my signature green color. Again, I was nervous about getting a color I hadn’t seen in person and I’m pretty particular about what shades of green that I like, but it is just perfect! I LOVE that it has my name on it, because I’m a bit of a narcissist personalization freak.
There are all sorts of really nice sayings throughout the planner like the one in the picture above.
The spiral binding is awesome for me, because I like to lay things flat when I write in them. I also love that it has a week at a glance and a month at a glance. Notice how the day is broken into sections: morning, day and night. That leaves lots of room to put work and personal information into the planner. I also like that each week has a side bar with ‘goals’ and ‘to do’.
Each month has different bright colors!
I love the notes section at the back of the planner. There is also a section at the beginning of each month that has a lined notes section. I’ve started to add important information like reservation codes, flight times, etc.
There are several sheets of stickers with pre-printed stuff on them like the ones above and there are several sheets of black stickers that you can put whatever you want on them. I really like these, because the color and star get your attention, but they aren’t so big that they take up all your writing space for the particular day that you’re using them for in the planner.
I think my favorite feature might be the zipper pouch and folder at the back of the planner. The pouch was filled with more fun goodies from the folks at Erin Condren and I’ve added stamps, return address labels and a few pieces of my formal stationery.
I also got a planner in blue/fleur feliz for one of my friends who I know will just love it when I drop it by her house next week!
I’m linking up with Merry and Bright for a show us your life: planner series!
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I got some great news last night. My Erin Condren Life Planner has finally shipped! I guess it was supposed to ship earlier this week, but it was stopped in quality control and reprinted. The folks at Erin Condren are so awesome they decided to express ship my order since they made a mistake. The lovely planner should be on my doorstep on Friday! Won’t that be an awesome way to kick off the weekend?!
In any event I’ve been waiting to get my planner before I started constructing my Home Organization Notebook, a la Erin & Nina. I wanted to see the planner before I printed any sections for my HON. I also went back and forth on what binder to get for my notebook. I wanted something that was sturdy. I decided on this one in green, of course. It is the same one that Nina got. I struggled on whether or not to get this one or something that had pockets. Major life decisions…you know?
I want to make this notebook for a number of reasons, but mainly because I want to get a better handle on our life as a family. You see, I’ve always been good at meal planning, but my execution was all wrong. I wouldn’t follow through with it. Saturday I sat down with R and we went through the cabinets/fridge/recipe binder (I’ll do a post on that soon) to plan our meals together. Then I did something I’ve never done…I put the darn plan on the fridge. I can’t believe how much of a difference this has made. We both know what we’re eating and when. We know what needs to be defrosted or prepped.
This is proof that I am a visual learner and need to get serious about my Home Organization. I have a baby shower this Saturday for my sister(yay), but after the shower I’m heading to the store to look for my notebook inserts, zipper pockets, tabs, etc. Then I’m going to get printing those fabulous free printables that Nina and Erin found.
Here is my working list of sections for my notebook. Am I missing anything?
- Budget
- Birthdays
- Address Book
- Travel Check List
- Coupons
- Receipts
- Menu Plan
- Grocery List
- Blog Ideas
- St. Gabriel (Church)
- House Projects
- Gift List
- Goals
- Weekly Chore Schedule
Those aren’t the order that they’ll be in the notebook…just my running list. I need to figure out what order will work for me.
Last Night we had Party Chicken & spinach salad with strawberries. This is such an easy and satisfying dish. It would be great to bring to a friend who just moved, had a baby, etc. I actually made it ahead of time on Monday, because I saw it on the fridge menu plan. So when I got home from work last night I just popped it in the oven. I think the recipe came from Publix, but my grandmother actually shared it with me a few years ago. I’m sorry I don’t have the source for it. Below is the recipe.
Party Chicken
3 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup of flour
1.5 pounds chicken fillets (4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 – 10 ounce can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup of light mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups of panko breadcrumbs
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
- Preheat over to 425 degrees. Coat 9×12 baking dish with cooking spray. Cut butter into small pieces and place in a small bowl to soften
- Place flour in large zip top bag. Season chicken with salt & pepper; add to bag and shake to coat the chicken. Arrange the chicken in baking dish.
- Combine soup and mayonnaise. Spread evenly over chicken.
- Stir panko and cheese into butter mixing until crumbly (use hands if necessary). Top chicken with the cheese mixture
- Cover with foil. Bake covered for 10 minutes
- Remove foil. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden on top and chicken is cooked through.
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