Fabulous April

Besides the kick-ass weather that we are having today, here are some things that made April kind of a big deal...

Connie surprised me with a great bridal shower!


Our friends Manders and Evan got engaged!


The Boys of Summer have returned...

My brother Russell passed the Pennsylvania State Bar Exam (he is beyond stoked to add that coveted 'Esq.' after his name ;)

This little dude turned 2..

..and finally my other brother, Andrew, was on Flash Foward. Even if it was only for a hot second, it was kind of awesome

April, you were awesome. There were some crappy, rainy days mixed in, but for the most part you rocked. Hard. I look forward to seeing you next year.

Always & Forever,

Moi

Zippity Oops Da!

Ok.. so the title is kinda lame. Whattiya gonna do?

Last week I was on a roll. I had printed out all the address on the invitations and I had started on the RSVP envelopes.

Seriously friends, I was a beast. I had two cups of coffee, I was just about a third of the way through my stack and it was only 9:30 am. Boo- YAHH!!
It was then I realized I had been printing the wrong zip code.
Sonofamother.

How did I manage this colossal mistake? Right now my oldest brother is saying it's because I'm blond (even though I'm totally a red head, dammit) but I blame the actual zip codes. My parents is 19047. My zip code is 19401. I had printed 20 envelopes with 19407. It could happen to anyone, right? (Please say yes and make me feel better...)
The ironic part is I was sooo anal about double triple checking the addresses when I did the invitation envelopes. I guess I just went into auto-pilot when I started the RSVP envelopes. I had ordered an extra- but only ten. I needed another ten just to come out even.

After a slightly frantic phone call to my mother, I quickly hopped on the website I ordered the invites from, Wedding Paper Divas, and used their awesome Live Chat service. I was able to speak to a representative via instant message, and order ten more envelopes for only $2.00


I got immediately got the email confirmation stating they were not scheduled to arrive until Tuesday, April 26th- however, they showed up on my door step on the 22nd! Hooray for speedy delivery!

I am happy to say that I have correctly printed all 75 envelopes and they are ready to go. Second time is a charm ;)

Lesson of the day: pay the eff attention to what you are doing. And Wedding Paper Divas ROCKS.

Always&Forever,
ME

Garage Sale Challege Party!

Some people have that ability to find a hunk of junk and make it into something amazing.

I am not one of those people (just tryin to keep it real here, people). But I try.

A couple weeks ago, Kasey at Thrifty Little Blog challenged her readers to stop at a garage sale you wouldn't normally stop at to see if there was anything worth grabbing.

I accepted this challenge, and began with to work on my find. Props to Nina for thinking of a cake stand-- that is exactly what I had in mind! Ever since I saw this photo, I have wanted a beautiful silver cake stand for our wedding cake

Well, this little guy was not going down without a fight.

Let me refresh your memory with what I picked up for $1

It was a little rough, but with a little toothpaste and some a whole lot of elbow grease, I was able to get it to shine up a little


The sides look much better

The legs are still a litte rough looking..

..but the handles look much better!

I still need to put a little work into it, but it's coming along nicely...

I still have plans on taking a real silver polisher to my find (and not just a tube of Crest), and I am still trying to figure out how I want to create a top to my cake stand.

This bad boy isn't done yet. Stick around, I will finish it ;)

Always & Forever,

ME

Simple Pleasures- 4/26/10

Happiness is spending the afternoon picking wildflowers with your neices.

Her wish was to be Hannah Montana forever and ever

...wasn't quite able to get the hang of it

Here, I'll show you how it's done!

This doubles chances of your wish coming true

Let's pick flowers for Lizzie's wedding bouquet!

using all her might!

The most perfect bouquet ever.

Always & Forever,

Aunt Lizzie

April Showers-- The Goods

I was holding off on posting pictures because I was really hoping my friends would post pictures on Facebook. Evidently they aren't going to anytime soon, so I'm left with my mother's pictures. I was reluctant to use her pictures because I swear her camera that has an "ugly" setting on her camera, similar to smile recognition on other cameras- it only takes the picture if you are making a weird face, or moving in an awkward position. Without further ado, a quick pictorial of my wedding shower:

I walk in and I'm all sorts of surprised

I forgot to mention something in my other posts... I knew I would be bummed if I was caught off guard and in a sloppy jeans and t-shirt (which I was), so once I realized the shower wasn't going to be on Saturday, that evening I took my dress, shoes and cardigan and gave them to my maid-of-honor, Constance. She was able to hand it off to me after the surprise, and I could change into my party dress. However, I didn't think to make my hair look cute, and instead it was pulled back into a sloppy librarian-bun!

My mom's friends, Miss Joycie, gave us a nice Pyrex dish and a casserole tote with handles. Seriously one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

Modeling a toaster like I'm Vanna White...

Some of the other goodies I got (but do not have pictures of) include :
Our dishes
A cake stand (I've always wanted one!)
A beautiful pair of candle sticks
A Punch Bowl (now I don't have to steal my sister-in-laws)
A Chip and Dip set along with a MultiServer Set
New glassware (which we desperately needed..I tend to break glasses A LOT)
A new shower curtain and other bathroom accessories
A shower radio- who doesn't love a little Bye Bye Bye while they are scrub-a-dub dubbin'??
A iHome alarm clock
as well as other kitchen tools such as a garlic press (which made JEGs super happy), measuring cups and a potato masher.

As a joke, JEGs registered for a bag of Twizzlers at Bed Bath and Beyond, and I am happy to say we now have about 3 pounds of Twizzlers at our apartment. Score.

Some other pictures to tickle your visual fancy...

Me with two of my bridesmaids Aileen, and Connie. My other bridesmaid, Tara, wasn't able to make the trip down from Pittsburg at the last minute. I missed her :(

Some of my friends from high school, Kathryn, myself, Connie and Jamie. I'm telling you, my mom's camera can be set for "horrid", as shown from Kathryn and myself in this picture... I promise, we are usually very good looking people.

and finally, two of my former Applebuddies, Meg (Connie's co-conspirator) and my Pocket Sized Diva, Sarah.

My shower was such a blast! While I opened presents, the guest played Bridal Bingo. Connie had her boyfriend Joey make up the bingo cards. As a joke he gave each card a "ball and chain" square. Connie didn't realize it was a joke, and she seriously thought I registered for a ball and chain. Wouldn't that be pretty sweet if I could? Or at least a bell collar so I know where JEGs is at all times. Hmm...

I digress. Each table was adorned with purple flowers (my favorite color) and all around the room were pictures of JEGs and I from the past 8 (almost 9) years. There was also a large board with picture of me from different years, and guest had to guess who old I was. I won't lie, some of those pictures I didn't even know how old I was!

Connie did a really great job, and I am so thankful to all my friends and family for being so generous! We got so many things off our registry, that JEGs was afraid we won't have enough options for our next shower.

Oh yeah, did I foget to mention that? Momma G is throwing us her own seperate shower. WEEE!!!

Always & Forever,

ME

April Showers-- Part Two

When we last left in yesterdays post, Connie was planning my surprise bridal shower, but many obstacles got in the way!

I think I am having my lovely Applebuddies over on Sunday afternoon for wine and gossiping. I am uber excited. However, the declines start rolling in. Meg had called every attendee, and told them of the situation and that the Apples and Wine party was off. She then calls me up on Wednesday and says that she talked to a bunch of the girls and they either forgot, or had to pick up an extra shift, etc, etc, and wanted to know if I wanted to just do lunch with her and her mom (whom I love!) on Sunday instead. I am totally down with the idea. She also said that she was taking a class in Norristown on Sunday, so she would drive me if I wanted. A free ride? Totally.

Just so you don't think I'm completely oblivious, I did have a sneaking suspicion that my shower was that weekend. However, I thought it was going to be on Saturday! I spent all Saturday afternoon slowly getting dressed and waiting for JEGs to say something like " Hey, let's go out to lunch" or have my mom call up and say "Hey, the new furniture is here, can you stop by today to check it out." Something.. ANYTHING! I even put the dress and shoes I wanted to wear for my shower in a bag and made a big show of leaving it in the Great Room-- you know, so JEGs could grab it on the way out and throw it in the back of the Jeep.

When 3:30 rolled around and JEGs was not moving from the couch, I began to entertain the idea that maybe I was wrong and the shower was not this weekend. I was so bummed, that I decided the only logical idea was to drown my sorrows in 4 pints of Blue Moon on Saturday night.

Well hello beer hangover. Welcome to my body.

I spent most of Sunday morning trying to recover from my hangover with coffee. After I showered and dressed, I sat down on the couch and watched Can't Buy Me Love (aww.. a young McDreamy!) until Meg arrived. However, as I was waiting, the excessive amount of coffee I drank to rid me of my hangover started to kick in and I was as jittery as a heroin addict going through withdraw.

The entire way to Newtown my heart is racing and I can't sit still. We pull up to the Temperance House in Newtown and all I can think about is getting food to soak up all the caffeine that is pulsing through my veins! We walk in, and the hostess leads us to a room where the first thing I notice is my friend Kathy standing there. My first thought, " Why is Kathy here? " Slowly I saw Constance, then my Mom and it started to come together.

Now I'm excited and my heart starts to race even MORE. I think the first thing I said was "Oh my. I've had waaaay too much coffee for this!"

The whole party is a big blur to me, but what I do remember was awesome. Connie did an amazing job putting it together.

What to see more? Sorry friends, you're gonna have to tune in tomorrow to see the goods ;)

Always & Forever,
ME

April Showers-- Part One

Apparently, it's very hard to surprise me.

One of the stipulations for my job is I have to be on-call every other weekend. This means that I have to be able to get to the airport with in an hour of being called, and be sober. You can imagine this severely limits my social life. So when I am not on-call, I try to make the most of my weekends by planning activities, and dinners and general merriment. According to my best friend and maid of honor, Constance, this makes planning a surprise bridal shower very difficult to do.

Constance and my mother set out to plan my bridal shower in February. After going through and figuring out what weekend I wouldn't be on-call, they decided on April 18th. Unbeknownst to them, I had planned to gather with some of my old work buddies from Applebee's for wine and munchies at my apartment-- but we'll get back to that.

In early March, Momma G invites JEGs and I to Ocean City, Maryland for a weekend. I am kind of pumped because, helloooooo, it's OCMD. Connie finds out about this and puts the kibosh on it.

Soon after this, Connie learns of the wine and munchies with the Applebuddies. She calls up one of the girls, Meg, and tells her about the bridal shower and that Meg needs to find a way to get everyone to cancel the lunch at my apartment. Meg agrees.

Around the middle of March, my co-worker Chris tells me he has a wedding in Atlantic City and he wants to know if I can be on-call for him. At this time I wasn't 100% clear on if we still were not going to OCMD. I talk to JEGs about it one afternoon and JEGs cooks up a story of our reservations got mixed up and there was not a room for us. I was bummed, but I tell JEGs that I'm going to take the on-call shift. He starts feverishly texting while we are in the car (don't worry-- I was driving).

It turns out sir JEGs was texting Constance and telling her about the potential on-call situation. Connie calls Chris and informs him that I CANNOT take that on-call shift and he has to find someone else. The next day at work, Chris tells me that he got someone else to cover his shift and not to worry about it. I start to get suspicious.

Oh, did I mention that at this time, Connie and Joe were in Florida for the Phillies Spring Training? Talk about fever pitch.. ba dum cheeee.

It's now the beginning of April, and I still think that I'm having my Applebuddies over on Sunday. I sent out a reminder through Facebook, and have a couple people confirm they will be there. Connie sees this on my live feed, and contacts Meg with a polite "WTF, I thought you were going to make people cancel?" Meg assures her that she's got this under control.

So what part did Meg play in the covert operation? Did they surprise me? Tune in tomorrow to find out!!

Always & Forever,
ME

Flash Forward...

My brother was on there! I've got the screen shot to prove it!

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great weekend!

Always & Forever,
ME

PSA: Watch Flash Forward!

See this handsome guy?

That's my big brother. He's an actor, and tomorrow night he is going to be on the show Flash Forward.

I'm not sure what part he is going to play, so it will be a Where's Waldo of sorts for us. Won't you join us in the fun??

Always & Forever,

the (really excited) little sis

Garage Sale Challenge

I have been challenged, and I accept

On her fabulous Thrify Little Blog, Kasey challenged us to stop at a garage sale that we wouldn't have normally given a second look.

This past weekend my parent's church had a flea market. Mommacita and my sister-in-law Angie signed up for a table, so I decided to visit them while JEGs was working on his car.

I was meandering around the tables when I came across this:

I completely fell in love with it. It should polish up pretty good- I've got some plans for it too.

Curious what I'm thinking about? You'll have to come back on April 27th!

Always & Forever,

ME

Dancing in the Rain

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... it's about learning to dance in the rain"

--Vivian Greene.

I like to keep this blog about mostly light and cheery, but sometimes I have to keep it real. Friends, I had a little bit of a meltdown today.

Straight up, tears-streaming-down-my-face, mascara-everywhere, balled-up-in-a-corner meltdown. Basically the kind of day that makes me want to fashion a sippy cup out of a wine bottle.

It wasn't just one thing that caused this- it was a culmination of financial issues, health issues, wedding issues, with a dash of family and friends on the side. I won't bore you with the details.

But when the tears were done, I thought about the above quote and remembered-- I have been through worse, and I've survived.

So I'm ditchin' the umbrella and strappin' on my dancing shoes (which may be blue and fabulous) and I'm gonna get through this.

Always & Forever,

ME

My Feet Look Fabulous..

I came home from work the other today to a little surprise...

MY WEDDING SHOES CAME IN!!!

Say hello to the prettiest thing in our apartment (other then me, of course)...

Go ahead, take a second to wipe the drool off your mouth.

Better? Ok. Moving on...

When I decided to go with blue shoes a lot of people remarked "Oooo, your 'something blue' on your wedding day!"

Uhhh, yeah. That's exactly it.

Confession time: I just really wanted blue shoes. I don't have any right now, and these are fabulous. Plus, I REALLLY didn't want white shoes. When the hell am I ever going to wear white shoes again?

I love these shoes. Truely. Madly. Deeply.

Always & Forever,

ME

Floral Question

Can anyone tell me what kind of flower this is?

I love the first blooms of spring. They are so cheerful and pretty. The cold and crap of winter melts away and suddenly the air is filled with the fresh fragrance of hyacinth, crocus, and cherry blossoms.

These flowers, however, smell like fish.

I would like to quickly add that the wind was blowing when I took this picture. I don't normally style my hair like Alby Grant

I'm not even kidding. They smell like salmon. And they are EVERYWHERE around my complex.

There is a tree right outside my apartment, and right next to where JEGs and I park our cars. Everytime I walk outside, I breath through my mouth in hopes I don't have to smell them. Uuuugggghhhh.

It's a shame because they are really pretty. I would love to snip a branch and put some in a vase in my apartment-- but it would smell like the seafood section of the ACME.

So, can anyone help me identify this flower?

Always & Forever,

ME

Mandy, There's A Minister Handy...

..and Even thought it would be dandy
if you let him make a fee!

So he didn't linger..
He got a ring for her finger!!

Come along and let the wedding chimes

bring happy times
For Mandy and Evan!

Alright, alright, enough shenanigans. I am very happy to announce that oure friends Mandy and Evan got engaged this weekend while visiting our nations' capital!

I am so happy for them-- Congrats you two!!

..and if you were wondering where I got the title (and the horribly revised song) it's from one of my all-time favorite movies White Christmas. I love this routine. The sassy red gloves. The take-way skirt. Her itty bitty waste. I just die. I always wanted to be Vera Ellen.

Always & Forever,
ME

Isn't it a humdinger?!?!

I'mma Do it My Damn Self.

As I am closing in on the three month mark for the wedding, I need start turning my attention to my favorite part: the DIY details.

Here is what is on my TODO list:

1. Table Numbers.


We are naming all of our tables after towns in Long Beach Island, NJ (where we got engaged). I am still debating on whether I should put the table names in frames, or have them sit on a silver perch as pictured above. Ideas??

2. Escort Cards

No, I'm not giving my guest an escort for the night. Swears. Escort cards are those little cards with you names and table assignment listed. I love the embossed birds pictured above. They will match my invitations perfectly. And how sweet is the tag with the ribbon?

3. Pomanders aka "Kissing Balls"

I fell in love with these while surfing TheKnot for wedding porn. I want to line the aisles with shepherds hooks and have these darling balls hand from each. I am thinking I will do a blue ribbon, but I am debating between white roses or white hydrengea. Thoughts??

4.Parasol

I love the idea of using these parasols for photos. I have seen many people get pictures add these photos into their 'thank you' cards after the wedding. Now, should ours say Thank You or Just Married? Hmm... decisions, decision...


5. Programs.

We are having an outdoor ceremony in July. Having our programs double as fans was a no-brainer. The first picture features fans that have word puzzles on the back to keep guest entertained before the ceremony starts. The second picture is a simple fold out fan. I am torn between the two- the first fan is fun, but will my guest being Soduko-ing during my vows? That turns me off to the idea a little.

So many projects and only three months left-- I've got to get crackin!

Always & Forever,

Me

All photos from theknot, Wedding Bee, and Aylee Bits