Peppermint Papers...and other crafty things.

I'm a bad, bad blogger

2010-04-21T13:13:00.002-04:00

It's been THREE months since my last post! But I have a decent excuse...my little adventure in starting my paper business has kept me so busy that I haven't had time to blog! I'm currently booked solid for 2010! Now considering I am my one and only employee (with occasional help from my lovely mother and adoring husband) and the fact that I do everything by hand, it's not like I have a wedding every weekend for the rest of the year. But when you throw in place cards, programs, menu cards and welcome folders on top of invitations, that's a lot of time spent designing/printing/cutting/gluing/folding/assembling! All in all, I will have done work for 6 brides by December. I think that's pretty good if I do say so myself!

Thank you to all who have referred me to other people - keep them coming, I've still got openings for 2011! And if you haven't checked it our or become a fan, visit my Facebook page!

Introducing...

2010-01-11T18:48:00.003-05:00

Last year I acquired a new hobby. I had always been a scrapbooker but last year with Kristie's wedding and our wedding, I realized that I really like working with paper in general. So I decided to turn my hobby into somewhat of a side business.

So I introduce you to:

Why Peppermint Papers you ask? Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am a sucker for anything mint flavored. And Peppermint Papers had a nice ring to it. Plus the color red is fun and the peppermint icon is super cute!

So if you know anyone that might be looking for save the dates, wedding invitations, shower invitations, birth announcements, personalized stationary or anything else you can make with paper, send them my way! I'm currently looking for my next project!

Become a fan on Facebook too! :)

The Ones That Didn't Make the Cut

2010-01-09T12:36:00.006-05:00

If you remember back to my dress posts (1, 2, & 3) I didn't want to put any pictures of me in a white dress on here. Gary is notoriously nosey and I knew he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes away. So I thought since the wedding is done, I'll post some pics of the dresses that didn't make the cut.

This is the fantastic sale rack find that I almost bought. My mom and I found it the night before the big dress shopping event and it was only around $300. In the end, it was between this dress and the one I actually bought.

The next day I tried on a bunch of different dresses. The first one I tried on was the one I ended up buying, but there were a few others that looked good enough on the hanger for me to try on, but not good enough on me to buy.

This one had some detail on the bust that reminded me of something Madonna wore in the 80's...it was a definite no (although I'm smiling!)

This one I actually liked, it was very simple. When I went in looking, I thought I would end up with something very classic and simple. This dress fit that bill but in the end I decided it didn't fit the rustic vintage theme of the wedding. This one was axed.

This was one of my other favorites (contrary to the look on my face!), I think in the end it was the material that I didn't like.

This was another favorite, it was very slimming and was elegant yet still had a bit of character to it. If I would have chose this dress, I would have taken the broach off. The thing that made this dress a 'no' was the bust line. To me it looked like one curve of the bust was larger than the other and that would have driven me CRAZY in pictures!

Almost every dress I tried on was strapless so I thought I would throw a halter into the mix just to make sure strapless was what I actually wanted. I thought the halter made me look ultra busty and it wasn't very flattering. Put this one on the no list.

Next we went to Elizabeth's in Northville. I only tried on a few here because honestly they didn't have much in my price range. I did like this one but again the material was throwing me off and I didn't like it more than the ones I had in mind from earlier.

I LOVED this one! It fit the vintage theme we were going for I really liked the beige color of it. Unfortunately, it was a little bit more than I wanted to spend. I should have known better than to even try it on!

Looking back on everything I tried on, I definitely made the right choice. After the wedding, I showed Gary all the dresses I tried on. He agreed that I made the right choice...although I'm not sure he would have told me otherwise!

I know most of you saw the dress already, but here is a picture of me in it at the dress shop...I think you can tell by the look on my face that I had found the ONE!

A Tisket, A Tasket, Our Bathroom Baskets

2010-01-05T20:15:00.007-05:00

I put together two bathroom baskets, one for the women and one for the men, full of items that you just might need during the night. I mean, how many times wouldn't you have paid good money for a hair tie when you needed one?

Here is what we had in each:

Men's Basket:

gum
Shout wipes
Axe body spray
Scope
Wisp disposable tooth brushes
dental floss
shoe polish
cough drops
Tylenol
Tums
deodorant
bandaids
contact solution
hair gel
hair spray
hand lotion
combs
lint roller

Women's Basket:

panty liners
Shout wipes
Q tips
Tums
Tylenol
deoderant
bandaids
tampons
Wisp disposable tooth brushes
dental floss
Scope
gum
cough drops
contact solution
hair spray
hand lotion
nail file
hair ties
bobby pins

Not only are the baskets useful, but I also got to add a cute little poem:

It reads:

Whether your skin feels dry
or your hair out of place.

You're not feeling so fresh
or whatever the case.

We've put together a basket
to help you along,

Now hurry back out
before you miss the next song!

Looking at the contents of the baskets the day after the wedding, most of the items in the women's basket was still in the basket. The men's, however, was almost empty! Either the items got a lot of use or we had a lot of men with sticky fingers!

The Wedding Tornado

2010-01-04T18:08:00.004-05:00

I took this the week before the wedding...it certainly looks like a tornado went through our house. A wedding tornado of wrapping paper, ribbon, groomsmen gifts, wedding presents, out of town bag contents...

And the funniest thing to me in this picture is if you look way to the left, you can see Gary's Bronco-socked feet propped up on the couch...and if you look way to the right, you can see that he is clearly watching some sort of sporting event. I think football was the only thing keeping him sane! He couldn't wait to get our house back to normal!

Old, New, Borrowed and Blue

2009-12-30T21:13:00.006-05:00

Most brides continue the something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue tradition when they get married. I took part in the tradition as well, however I don't think my "somethings" were that creative or thoughtful...but I thought I'd share anyway.

Something Old

My grandma Pat (my mom's mom) let me borrow her strand of fresh water pearls. I loved them because they weren't the traditional single strand of pearls. They were very tiny rice pearls in three strands intertwined.

Something New

I had lots of things that were new! My dress, my veil, my earrings, my shoes...not having the pro pics yet, here's the best picture I could find that you can see everything!

Something Borrowed

Those ladies out there that have shopped for a bustier or long line bra to go under their dress knows that one of those bad boys can cost a small fortune. Luckily Emmy had one that she let me borrow! I don't have any photos of me in it (nor would I want to share one if I did...) but it looked something like this:

Something Blue

Following Kristie's lead, I wore blue undies! Again, I won't be sharing an actual photo but they were something like these:

So although not too much thought went into the tradition, I still took part!

Dancin' Shoes

2009-12-28T17:32:00.003-05:00

Having been a bridesmaid in a few weddings now, I know how tired my girls' feet would be by the end of the night. And I knew that they would be itching to get out of their heels....so I made these for them:

I bought $5 flip flops from Old Navy and I was lucky enough to find hydrangeas at Michael's in all the colors! I hand sewed the flowers on using some gold glass beads and gold cross stitch thread.

This is me modeling my sister's pair

(My pedi from Mexico still looks pretty good, huh!)

And here are all the colors together. I did make Emily a pair but I must not have had them finished when this picture was taken.

I also made an ivory pair for myself...and boy was I glad to slip them on after a looooonnngg day of wearing heals!

We're alive...really, I swear.

2009-12-20T22:11:00.003-05:00

So it's been a while since my last post, and honestly I've been having difficulty getting motivated to start back up again. But at the request of a few people (Kristie to keep her entertained at work, Ange I assume for the same reason!) I will attempt to start writing again.

Before we get into the actual wedding events, I want to go back and post about a few projects that I did that I wanted to keep secret until the wedding. So let's talk about out of town bags.

Out of town bags (or OOT bags) are usually left in the hotel rooms of guests that travel from out of town to attend the wedding. We decided early on that we wanted to do a Detroit theme for our OOT bags. And luckily Detroit has a number of things that were perfect for the bags:

Faygo Soda - 2 bottles
Better Made Potato Chips - BBQ and Regular
Germack Peanuts - Lions, Tigers and Red Wings packages!
Sanders chocolates - 2 per bag

I was so excited when we found the Germack peanuts in the Detroit sport teams. They were even more perfect that way!

All the bags lined up and ready to go!

We also included a note thanking everyone for making the trip and a short paragraph on each item inside the bag:

Welcome to Detroit!

We want to thank all of you for joining us on our special day! We are very blessed to have each of you in our lives and we are so happy that you are here to help celebrate with us! It is an honor to have you here in Detroit…the city we fell in love….and the city we begin our journey as husband and wife! Please enjoy a taste of Detroit!

With Love - Gary and Kate

Faygo Soda
Fiegenson Brothers Bottleworks, or Faygo, was founded in Detroit in 1907 by Russian bakers Ben and Perry Fiegenson. The original flavors of grape, strawberry and fruit punch were based on their own recipes for cake frosting.

Better Made Potato Chips
When the Cross and Peter’s Company was founded in 1930 by Cross Moceri and Peter Cipriano, their main goal was to make a better potato chip, hence the brand name Better Made.

Sander’s Chocolates
Sanders was founded in 1875 by Fred Sanders and began as a single retail shop in downtown Detroit. Sanders candies, dessert toppings and other items can now be found in stores nationwide.

Germack Nuts
The Germack Pistachio Company got its start when Frank Germack Sr. moved to Detroit and established the company in 1924. Today, it is still located in Detroit’s Historic Eastern Market and is still owned by the Germack family.

And there you have it! Of course it looked a lot prettier in fancy fonts and on our colored paper but you get the idea. I was pleased with the way everything came together and I think all of our out of town guests enjoyed them as well!

And We're Married!

2009-11-08T18:56:00.002-05:00

It was over in a flash and it still doesn't really seem real. Thank you to all of our friends and family who traveled from near and far to celebrate with us. It was definitely the best day of my life. The pics from friends and family are starting to come in but for now I will leave you with one I took of our rings on my bouquet. Full recaps to come after the HONEYMOON!

The Letter R

2009-11-04T22:40:00.005-05:00

In just three days, I will change my last name. I will no longer be KK, K Squared, Double K...instead, my new last initial will be R. The nice thing about the letter R is that it is so close to K that when I screw up signing my new last name, I can easily change that K - that I will inevitably write for the first three months- into an R.

Mom mom gave this to us when we got engaged. I just love it. (I also took this picture with my fancy new DSLR camera! I love that too!!)

If the Shoe DOESN'T Fit...

2009-11-02T16:40:00.003-05:00

If you read my sister's blog, you saw her post about shoes yesterday. I decided that I would post about MY shoes. If you remember, I already posted about my shoes early on in the wedding planning process. However, things have changed since then.

I loved my Nina shoes that I bought, but when I took my dress home, the color just wasn't right. So sadly, I returned them. I did however find another pair that I liked even better (at DSW no less!) and they were the perfect color to match my dress. I am usually in between sizes when it comes to shoes so I went with the smaller size after having visions of me slipping out of them and falling flat on my face half way down the aisle. They weren't uncomfortably small, but they definitely weren't going anywhere either.

Fast forward a few months to my second dress fitting. This was the first time I had worn the shoes for any length of time. I realized they weren't quite as comfortable as I thought they were. I bought some gel inserts to hopefully make them a bit better. The only problem is, with the inserts, my already snug fitting shoes were now a little TOO snug. The solution to my problem? Break them in a bit...so here is how I've been wearing my shoes around the house for the last few weeks:

It's working, they fit much better. But I think I'll leave the socks at home on the actual wedding day.

One Step Closer...

2009-10-30T16:36:00.003-04:00

Although all of the preparations for the wedding aren't finished yet, we are one step closer! We are now legally allowed to marry in the state of Michigan! Gary and I picked up our marriage license yesterday morning. Northville has a satellite office so we didn't have to go downtown and mess with the county building. It was really quite simple, we applied on Tuesday and picked it up on Thursday! Of course I had to get a photo...Gary wasn't too happy about it...

Weather Watch

2009-10-29T09:37:00.004-04:00

And it begins. Today marks 10 days out from the wedding...which means our wedding date is now within the 10 day weather forecast! I know being 10 days out, it's not entirely accurate but you better believe that I'll be checking it every day! We're not looking too bad so far...I would love it to be a little warmer with with no rain currently in the forecast, I'm a happy girl!

The Problem with Cake

2009-10-27T13:00:00.004-04:00

The problem with cake is that every flavor is good. Our baker, Gwen, has so many delicious flavors on her "menu" that Gary and I ended up having her bake us about six little cakes before we decided on our flavors. We're getting down to the wire now so we went last night for our last tasting and to finalize the design. So what did we end up with?

White Amaretto cake with Raspberry Cream filling

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Cream filling

Apple Spice cake with Cream Cheese filling

And as for design, I only pulled one inspiration photo the entire 6 months that I've been scouring wedding magazines and blogs. And so here it is:

I liked it because it was simple and classic. Our ribbon will be red instead of orange and the flowers on top will be whatever our florist comes up with!

New Wedding 'Do

2009-10-24T12:55:00.000-04:00

Despite the fact that Gary likes my hair better light, I wanted to get it dyed darker before the wedding. I prefer my hair dark and it fits in well with the fall theme. So just as all of the things you read about getting your hair done before your wedding, I went about two weeks out just in case anything crazy happened (like the purple hair from my latest wedding nightmare).

I definitely got dark...and I LOVE it! I don't think this picture does is justice...I think it looks darker in person. It felt good to have a trim too! I've been growing it out since we got engaged and my ends were getting pretty scraggily. So what do you think?

Important Information

2009-10-21T10:19:00.003-04:00

You can never be too prepared on your wedding day. And you never know when someone is going to need the phone number for the DJ or the address to the reception hall. So I made up these little important information cards for our wedding party and the other folks involved directly with the wedding. .

I started with a blank piece of 8 1/2 by 11 paper and created individual boxes to hold the information. I used three different categories: Important Phone Numbers, Important Addresses and Vendor Phone Numbers

I then cut them out and accordion folded them like so:

Once they were folded, I just had to tie a cute little bow with twine! When finished, they are the approximate size of a business card so the guys can slip them in their wallets and the girls can stash them easily in a small purse.

Hopefully this will make life easier for everyone if they should need to find a phone number or an address. Otherwise, they were just another fun (and quick!) project for me!

Run Like the Wind

2009-10-18T09:48:00.000-04:00

This will be my first non-wedding related post in a while but I had to give a shout out to my future husband because I am SO proud of him! This summer, he decided that he was going to run the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon. Originally, I was going to run with him but do to the horrible feet I inherited from my mother (that and I've heard horror stories of brides having to wear closed toe shoes because they crack their toe nails off while running) I decided it was best for me not to run. But Gary stuck with it and he DID IT! We were downtown bright and early today - the race started at 7:15 AM! They ran through downtown, over the bridge to Canada, through Windsor, through the tunnel back to Detroit and back to the finish line...a whopping 13.1 miles!

Here he is before the race all bundled up...I think it was 37 degrees at race time!

And here is one while he is running...I didn't bring my new camera so it was hard to get an action shot! He is kind of in an open space on the road dressed in all grey.

I also got to see him just before the finish line and give him a high five! I am so proud that he stuck with it AND that he finished 10 minutes BEFORE his goal time!! Congrats G!!!

The Dresses are In!

2009-10-15T09:41:00.001-04:00

They've actually been in for a while, and I'm just getting around to posting about it. I was having second thoughts about my choice for doing different colors for each girl. (And I was having nightmares that the shop ordered the wrong colors!) But when the dresses came in and I saw them all together again, my worries were gone. They look great! Here is Kristie modeling hers:

It definitely took a while to get her all laced up so we'll have to make sure to bake some extra time into our getting ready schedule on the day of!

Gifting the Hostesses

2009-10-12T09:34:00.001-04:00

This post is a little late, but I kept forgetting to bring my camera to work with me. I wanted to share this cute and super easy project that my mom thought up to use for hostess gifts for one of my showers. All you need is a mum plant, a terracotta pot, some ribbon and a handy dad who can drill holes for you.

I think they turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself. Now you may be asking yourself why you don't see me helping...I was too busy taking pictures of course...and I had just gotten my nails done :)

Last Fling Before the Ring!

2009-10-07T14:45:00.000-04:00

Boy did we have FUN!! The theme was "Sexy Girls in the City" and I'd say we lived up to that! The night started out at my sister's house for drinks, dinner and some games! Of course they had to have her entire house decorated with embarrassing photos of me! The girls also set up an underwear scavenger hunt for me...it was SO fun and I got lots of cute undies!!

Clue: Courtney now knows better than to take THIS to the bar with her!

Bronco Girls!

All the ladies ready for a night on the town!

After the pre-party, my mom was a dear and drove us to Grand Rapids where we had a hotel room for the night. We did a little more pre-drinking in the hotel room and then hit the town!

A few more cocktails at the hotel!

Why yes, we did take a red limo from 1992...

Me and my maids on the town

I have many more photos but you can check out Facebook to view them all!

To wrap up this post, I thought I'd write something along the lines of Courtney's post of the top 10 moments of the night, I thought I would post the top 10 things I learned from my bachelorette party:

I have had WAY too many embarrassing pictures taken of me throughout the last 5 years
It's even more embarrassing explaining said photos to my mother
Even with a ring on my finger, I haven't lost my touch for getting free drinks
Don't tell me that some other bachelorette stole your boa because I WILL fight her
It is not impossible to fit 7 girls on a rickshaw at the same time
My sister and I definitely do not hang out enough
I have the BEST helium voice out of the entire group
I can eat two hot dogs and pizza at 2 AM and feel just fine afterward
Video cameras should be illegal at bachelorette parties
I have the most amazing friends ever!!!

Gettin' Pampered

2009-10-04T14:01:00.000-04:00

I decided early on that I didn't really want to have a friends shower per say - but rather just spend some quality time with my closest ladies. So my bridesmaids planned a day of pampering for me! I was home for the weekend for my bachelorette party (post coming soon!) so we took advantage of the fact that we were all in the same city and spent a morning at the spa! We headed out to Design 1 in Grandville for pedicures and manicures. Kristie, Amanda, Emmy and I all received wonderful pedicures (Ange is too ticklish!) followed by manicures for Andrea and I. And of course we had to have some mimosas to sip and yummy chocolate chip muffins to munch!

After mani's and pedi's it was time for brunch. Kristie had asked me where I wanted to go, and I think she laughed at me when I told her. I told her I wanted to go to my favorite breakfast place - Cracker Barrel! Kristie even decorated the table for us!

I am clearly excited to have a Cracker Barrel breakfast menu in my hands!

Some of Kristie's decorations...and my favorite mints!

Taking advantage of the cute rocking chairs!

BUT my day of pampering was not over yet! As a gift to me, my sister and Kristie paid for me to get my makeup done at MAC! While the other girls prepared for the party that night, Emmy accompanied me to the mall so I wouldn't be lonely. She also took a few photos of me while I was getting "made up":

Thank you SOOO much for everything you planned ladies! I had a BLAST! And a special thanks to Kristie - I know she put a lot of hard work into organzing everything!

Stay tuned for the bachelorette shenanigans that went down that evening!!

Ring for the Mr.

2009-09-30T09:24:00.001-04:00

Gary has never been a "jewelry" type guy. He only wore his class ring twice and once was the day he got it. So, he is a little leery about wearing a wedding ring. I wasn't having any of that though...I told him he MUST wear his wedding ring...at all times...no if, and's or but's. :)

When we went shopping for rings, he was drawn to the tungsten carbide ones. They're tough and usually have more of a "manly" feel to them. He didn't want anything fancy, no design in the middle, nothing too shiny...so here is what we ended up with:

It has a brushed finish in the middle with polished rings on the edges. I'm not sure exactly how thick it is but it's not thin that's for sure. Some of the thinner bands looked dainty on his thick fingers. We can't have that now can we.

All in all, I think he's happy with it ( I have even caught him wearing it around the house a few times - he's going to kill me for posting that!). And I like it too which is good.

Music to My Ears

2009-09-25T09:23:00.000-04:00

Being that Mill Race Village is part of the historical society, that means that all of the buildings are also historic. Which means they're old. Which means the chapel doesn't have much of a sound system...rather, it doesn't have a sound system at all. So, I saw it as the perfect excuse to hire live musicians for the ceremony. I scoured the internet looking for local musicians at a decent price. We ended up going with Garza Violins and hired a violin duet to perform all of our ceremony music. They came in at a decent price and their music coordinator was a pleasure to work with.

As for music itself, that was a tougher decision. I didn't know much about classical music before I started wedding planning...but I sure do know! So what did we end up with? (Hint: when you have clicked on a link and are finished listening, just hit the back button to return to the post!)

Prelude
Sheep May Safely Graze by Bach
Air in F by Handel
Arioso by Bach
Air on the G String by Bach

Seating of the Families
Largo from Xerxes by Handel

Bridesmaids Processional
Hymne by Vangelis

Bride's Processional
Trumpet Voluntary by Clarke

Recessional
Hornpipe from Water Music by Handel

Postlude
La Rejouissance by Handel
Aria by Handel

Who knew I liked Handel so much?? What do you think??

*Note: this is not our actual musicians playing, just samples of the songs from around the 'net!

Showered with Love...again!

2009-09-21T09:38:00.000-04:00

I had my third and final shower this past weekend. I can't believe they are all FINISHED! This one was thrown by my mom's friends and included all the ladies I've known since I was a little girl plus my close friends. It was a brunch shower because everyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE ME SOME BREAKFAST! The food was fantastic and we had so much fun hanging out, telling stories and laughing together! Not to mention we got a ton of great stuff again!!

The beautiful floral centerpiece!

I seem to be really excited about this butter dish...it's so cute!

Showing off our place settings

My Grandma gave me the good ole dutch cookbook...guess that means I have to cook now

Me and my lovely girls....Court drove all the way from Chicago!

And last but not least, the hostesses of the shower (plus my mom).
Thanks ladies it was perfect!!

Rosowski Shower

2009-09-14T21:34:00.000-04:00

Our second shower was this past weekend, this time on the Rosowski side of the family. It was great to see some of Gary's family that we don't see very often and also to meet some of his moms friends that will also be attending the wedding! Mary Jane (Gary's mom) did a lovely job with everything...check out those tablescapes!

She also put together a bunch of prize baskets. These two happen to be a "Gary" themed and a "Kate" themed basket. Gary's very fittingly included Oberon and mine of course included LOTS of chocolate!! YUM!

Mary Jane also surprised us with a photo on our cake! She took our photo from our engagement announcement online and had it put on the cake!

It was a little creepy for those who got parts of the picture...here is me about to dig into Gary's face :)

Although it was primarily a shower for just the ladies, Gary, his dad, his brother and his buddy Brad showed up for lunch. It was nice to have him there since I didn't know a lot of the people!

I was also very thankful to have my mom and sister drive all the way from Zeeland the morning of the shower only to turn around and drive right home afterward! Thanks ladies!

I had a great time and we received a ton of great gifts. I'm so appreciative of everyone who made it out to help us celebrate! Everything is starting to feel very real now, I can't believe we've had two showers already!!! YIKES!

All put together!

2009-09-10T21:32:00.000-04:00

Gary got our new grill all put together and set up on our back porch! Time for some grillin'!!

Invitations!

2009-09-08T11:13:00.000-04:00

Since most people should have received their invitations by now, I thought I would post a few pics! These babies were definitely a labor of love! They basically started out as 8 1/2 by 11 sheets of paper and through lots of printing, cutting, corner rounding and gluing...they became our invitations!!

All the components stacked up, ready to be assembled!
(I blurred any personal information for blogging purposes)

The outer envelope and the pocket-fold all closed up

The "guts"!

All the paper that I used is Stardream Metallic - in Ruby, Mars, and Copper. I shopped around for the best prices and ultimately purchased the envelopes and paper from Envelopemall.com and the pocket-folds from CardsandPockets.com. I would definitely recommend either site if you're looking to purchase any supplies! Also a tip: when printing on Stardream paper, you must have a laser jet printer otherwise your ink will smear!!

I was extremely pleased with the way they turned out and I think everyone else likes them as well! Now, onto the next project!

Grill Time for Gary!

2009-09-01T21:33:00.000-04:00

We had our first shower last weekend! I can't believe it's already time to be having showers! Eek! On my side of the family we do showers a little differently. Instead of the traditional ladies shower, we have a couples shower in honor the of the groom! Usually it is a "tool time" shower where the groom receives -obviously - tools. But since Gary isn't really the handy man type, we decided to do "grill time"!

The entire Karsten family as well as the long lost Dokter family (it's been YEARS since I've seen them! Way too long...) got together at my Aunt Sandy and Uncle Kit's house. They have a perfect house for entertaining and even more perfect for a grilling theme being out in the country!

Look at all that yummy stuff! Straight from the garden!

We had great food and great fellowship. Aunt Sandy also always has some sort of activity too! Since it had been a while since the whole family was together, we did a mixer so that you got to mingle with everyone. I found out many interesting things about my family members!

Here we are revealing the correct answers!

Keeping with the grilling theme, we were also presented with a gorgeous new Char-Broil grill! I can't wait to start cooking up some steaks with this baby....well, Gary can't wait...I don't even know how to work a grill!

Gary and I had a wonderful time....a BIG thank you to my aunts - Sandy, Dawn and Laurel - for making it all possible!! We love you guys!

The bride and groom :)

Who doesn't love presents?!?!

2009-08-28T18:11:00.002-04:00

I was SO excited to come home from work the other day and see a big Bed Bath and Beyond box sitting on our doorstep!! Our first wedding gift!!! Since my friend Julie - who currently lives in Dallas - couldn't make it to the shower, she sent us two of our place settings!! Out of our entire registry, this is one of the things that we need the most! We're still using Gary's dishes from college!!! Thanks Jules for the lovely gift!!

I'm a big nerd and had Gary take a picture :)

Jars, Jars and More Jars!

2009-08-27T09:29:00.002-04:00

As mentioned in a previous post, when I decided we would be using different size jars for the centerpieces, we put the word out to friends and family. And boy did everyone deliver! I decided that I would sort through all the jars I had gotten so far to see what we still needed. I was pleasantly surprised to see that we had enough jars for 14 tables! That is more than enough for the centerpieces!

Being the control freak that I am with my projects, I arranged each grouping by table (hence the pink sticky notes) to make sure that I had various sizes on each table. I then put a piece of masking tape on the bottom so each jar is labeled with the corresponding table! I think my florist should be able to handle that...I don't want any surprises when we get to the reception! :)

Look at all those jars!

Thank you to everyone who helped us collect - and also to the ladies who supplied me with over 100 baby food jars! I'll show you what we have up for those in a later post!

Dressin' the Dudes

2009-08-24T21:38:00.004-04:00

When it came to what Gary and the groomsmen would wear, we flip-flopped between finding suits for everyone and renting tuxedos. I thought I had made up my mind on doing tuxedos thinking it would be a lot easier for us to coordinate. And then we heard the price.

We visited both Men's Warehouse and President's Tuxedo one Saturday afternoon at the mall. We walked out of there pretty discouraged because both places quoted us more than $160 per tux! We just didn't reel right about asking the guys to pay that much for something they will where for a few hours and return the next day.

So we were back to thinking about suits. One of Gary's co-workers had just gone the suit route for her guys and had gotten them each a suit, shirt and tie for around $150 out the door. That seemed like a much better idea to us! And suits sure do look nice too, right?

We make a trip to K & G Fashion Superstore to see what we could find. I was a bit skeptical at first but we actually found a very nice suit that fit Gary great! The hard part was getting the rest of the wedding party in to try them on. After about 5 different trips, we had found suits for everyone! I was soooo pleased...not to mention that we got 8 suits for about $900!

As for ties, I had been thinking I wanted go with a gold satin. I didn't want to be to matchy-matchy and have them get the same colors as the bridesmaid dresses. Plus the girls will be wearing gold shoes with their bouquets tied in gold ribbon. I thought the gold ties would pull everything together nicely. I was a little worried that we'd be able to find exactly what I was envisioning but whadda ya know...K & G had the prefect ties too! This picture is a pretty accurate representation of the color!

Gary will be wearing an ivory tie (which we found for $10 at Marshall's!!) and our dads will be in black. All of the guys will be wearing ivory shirts - which we have yet to track down - and I also need to figure out what the little guys will be wearing. If anyone has any ideas of where to get boys suits - I'm in need of suggestions!!

Work in Progress

2009-08-18T14:34:00.000-04:00

I've been slowly working on our invitations here and there but I'm finally getting to the point where we are only a few weeks away from sending them out and I need to get my butt moving!! Luckily, my parents were in town over the weekend and with some help from my mom we were able to get another chunk of cutting/gluing/corner-rounding out of the way.

I've had a design in mind since Memorial Day weekend when my mom was in town for dress shopping. We happened to pop into a scrapbook store downtown Northville that also makes custom wedding invitations. After looking at their book of samples, I found a design I absolutely LOVED!! At first I considered letting them do the work but quickly decided against it. I figured I could handle the task on my own and the invitations would be a lot more personal that way. I'm really glad I did because the process has been a lot of fun for me.

I'm not going to show any images of the finished product until they go out in a few weeks but here is a photo of my mom and I hard at work on them!

Trial and Error

2009-08-12T14:42:00.000-04:00

Last week I had my hair and makeup trial. Since I don't really have a salon around here that I frequent (I'm really bad about the "getting a cut every 6 weeks rule") I was on the search for a salon. I found this particular company again in my reading of wedding blogs. It is called Bridal Beauty on Location. I liked that fact that they would come to your house so we wouldn't have to worry about driving to and from a salon. They also offer airbrush makeup which I really wanted to try. It may seem a little early for a trial but if I liked my hair and makeup, I wanted to book our date as soon as possible!!

I brought a few inspiration photos for both my hair and makeup. The overall look I was going for was very romantic, with soft curls and nothing that was pulled to tight from my face. Here are a few photos I brought along.

The look we aimed for was the loose curly 'do like Eva Longoria's. Let's just say it looks A LOT cuter on Eva than it did on me! I hated it!!! So she worked some magic and pinned the curls up a little more and this is what we came up with.

Back View

Side View

I think on the actual day of, I would prefer to keep my bangs not so curled and add a few more curls on the top of my head. For those of you that are wondering, I will be wearing a veil for the ceremony but I didn't want to wear it since Gary took these photos. I don't want him seeing me in my veil quite yet. :)

As for makeup, I gave here these photos as inspiration:

Basically a dramatic eye with a lighter lip color. Here are the results:

My apologies that these photos are a little dark but it was about 9:30 at night! I really liked my eyeshadow and liner, I just wish she would have curled my eyelashes! I will probably be doing fake lashes on the actual day so that won't matter. I also didn't love the lip color she used (which was supposed to just bring out your natural pigment) so I'll probably ask her to use something else or use one of my trust MAC colors!! So, what do you think??

Center of Attention

2009-08-09T14:07:00.001-04:00

One of the things that can get quite costly for a wedding is centerpieces for the reception tables. Many people opt to go for non-floral centerpieces to try and save a bit of money. I've seen many great ideas such as...

Fruits/Veggies

Candles

Favors as the centerpiece

But something else really caught my eye. It would allow us to feature flowers in our centerpieces, yet keep the florist budget in check. It helps incorporate our rustic vintage theme and I was pretty sure I could get most of the components for FREE! So I present you our centerpiece inspiration photos...

The last one is my favorite...I'm aiming for all clear glass (although the antique blue in the second photo is gorgeous!) and different shapes and sizes, placing a few blooms into each jar. I've officially assigned all my mom's friends and aunts to collecting jars for me!! We would have paid a fortune if we had to buy vases for all the tables! So thanks are definitely in order to all the ladies who are helping out!!

MMMMM...cake....

2009-08-04T13:54:00.000-04:00

I think Gary's favorite part of wedding planning has been cake tasting. I once again hit up a few websites to find local bakers in the area that other brides would recommend. The one thing I knew I DIDN'T want was fondant icing. I prefer butter cream so that was one criteria that helped us narrow down some choices.

The first place we went to try is called Lake's Cakes. Having never been to a cake tasting before, we weren't really sure what to expect. The husband and wife team run their business out of their home so we sat in their living room and sampled about 8 different types of cake and just as many filling flavors. While the cake was YUMMY, I wasn't crazy about the frosting. It was a whipped butter cream and just didn't have very much flavor to it. It tasted a lot like whipped cream to me.

The second place we tried was Gwen's Cake Decorating Etc. She also runs the business out of her home but instead of giving us a small piece of each flavor she offers, she baked us too mini cakes - one chocolate and one vanilla - with two different flavors in each. While the flavors weren't exactly what we were looking for, they were very tasty and the frosting was more to my liking. We booked her on the spot and she agreed to bake us two more cakes for us in the actual flavors we were interested in using on the big day.

Here is Gary and I enjoying our cakes at home...one chocolate peanut butter with peanut butter cream filling and the other spice cake with cream cheese filling. We haven't completely decided on what flavor we will choose but I guarantee it will be delicious!!

Mr. and Mrs. Welte!

2009-07-30T13:22:00.004-04:00

Last weekend was Kristie's wedding and we had SO much fun! I can't believe it's over already! Thursday we went for manis and pedis with the two MOHs and Kristie's mom. Friday it was a busy day of decorating the hall and rehearsal dinner and then Saturday it was up early for hair appointments, pictures, the ceremony and LOTS of dancing! Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Kristie and I getting pedicures!

Decorating the hall on Friday

At rehearsal dinner

Bridesmaid slumber party!

Getting our hair done!

Me with the beautiful bride!

Gary and I on the party bus after the wedding

Dancing the night away....

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Welte!!!

Wait...Who Will Actually Marry Us?

2009-07-26T12:12:00.004-04:00

One of the most important things we had to figure out in the wedding planning was who is going to actually marry us? As I mentioned before, since Gary is Catholic and I am Protestant, we wanted to have a non-denominational ceremony but still have God play a part. I really wasn't sure what to do about an officiant. We don't really know anyone who is ordained...although we played around with the idea of having one of our good friends become ordained (you know, one of those Internet deals). In the end, we decided in order to fulfill our desire for a religious ceremony, we better stick with the people who do it best.

We began our search by simply googling Michigan Wedding Minister. There are plenty out there but it amazes me how many ministers treat weddings as a business. They were offering packages, just like a photographer would. For $300 dollars we get an hour ceremony and no consultation beforehand. (Do you think we really would want someone who has never even met us to perform our ceremony? I think not.) But for $400 we could have an hour ceremony plus a 30 minute consultation. But for $500 we could have an hour ceremony plus a 30 minute consultation and unlimited email conversations. Or, if we wanted the platinum package, for $600 we could have an hour ceremony, a 30 minute consultation, unlimited email conversations AND we could personalize the ceremony to our liking.

I was totally turned off by all of this. So we turned to our recommended vendor list that we got from Mill Race Village and found Phil Rogers. My first phone conversation with him was great so we decided to sit down and meet him face to face. One of the biggest things we were looking for in a minister was someone who wasn't stuffy and would have a little fun with us. Phil Rogers seemed to fit the bill. He's a huge MSU fan and told us all about how he played basketball with Magic Johnson in high school. He and Gary talked sports for a good chunk of our time with him. He's definitely got a sense of humor which fits our style perfectly. So we booked him. One flat fee, no nonsense of what we do and don't get. Check that to do item off the list.

My Dream Ring

2009-07-22T21:09:00.000-04:00

I absolutely LOVE my ring. If I were to have gone to the jewelry store with Gary, I would have picked out the exact same ring. But Gary was very adamant about the fact that he wanted it to be a surprise...that meant no ring shopping together. So how did he know?? Well, I may or may not have left some pictures "laying around". I figured if I'm going to wear it forever, I better REAALLLLY like it right? So what sort of things did I leave as hints?

This beauty...

Or this one....

Or how about this one?

This one actually looks remarkably like THE ring!

If you've forgotten, this is the actual ring...love it!! I think he did pretty well, don't you?

Kristie's Bachelorette Party

2009-07-18T11:35:00.001-04:00

As you saw in my previous post about the garters, Kristie's bachelorette party was last weekend. We all had a BLAST and I'm so sad that it's over. To quote Kristie "This was the best night of my life"...I'm sure she'll take that back in a few weeks once her wedding day is here. I thought I'd share a few projects - besides the garters - that I did for the party:

Last Fling Before the Ring banner

I used my trusty Cricut to cut out the letters and attached each to different 5"x7" backgrounds. I then attached each letter to a piece of ribbon to hang them.

Silverware Wraps

I had some wrapped silverware leftover from the shower so I removed the pink and green wraps and tied some hot pink ribbon around them. I then added these little strings of black beads - they don't tie but if you twist it like you would a twistie tie, they'll stay put.

Black Satin Tablecloth

I made this a heck of a lot cheaper than I could have bought it. I think the fabric cost me about $4 for 4 yards (I had a Hobby Lobby coupon!) and since I already had my sewing machine out, this was a quick 45 minute project. I also used some leftover hot pink tulle to place on top.

Fishnet Candle Holders

That's right! Those are fishnet stockings!! I simply cut the top of the stockings, pulled them around the candle holder and hot glued them in place. I then added some zebra ribbon and fur trim to snazz them up a bit. I added the same trim to the bottom too. If you're ever searching for hot pink candles, Hobby Lobby is the place for that too!!

And a shot just to show how much fun we had....that's a LOT of ladies!!!

Garter Toss

2009-07-13T20:15:00.003-04:00

When it comes to bachelorette parties, quite often all the ladies wear something that ties them all together. Whether it be Hawaiian leis or matching t-shirts, it lets everyone know that you are a part of the rowdy bachelorette crowd. I'm not really a fan of dictating what girls should wear on a night out and we weren't having a Hawaiian theme so I decided that I would make garters for everyone. Hot pink and black garters to be exact. They weren't super difficult, just time consuming. And with the materials I used, they weren't very expensive either! Always a good thing.

First up, the supplies:

A few yards of hot pink tulle (I got extra for other decorations I had planned)

Scissors

Head pins

A sewing machine - I suppose you could do by hand but it would take FOREVER

Black elastic

Black thread

5/8 inch black satin ribbon

Two safety pins - one small, one large

Hot glue gun

Package of rhinestones

Now for the steps:

Cut the tulle into strips about 3 inches wide and the full length of the tulle

Cut pieces of elastic that will fit snugly against your leg (you want them to stay up all night!)

Measure the black satin ribbon to be three times the length of the piece of elastic you have just cut (this allows it to scrunch enough to look good)

Take head pins and pin the ribbon down the middle of the strips of tulle you have cut

Begin to sew on each side of the ribbon to create a "tunnel" to thread the elastic through, pulling the pins out as you go

Once you have sewed both sides of the ribbon to the tulle, attach a safety pin at each end of the piece of elastic. One should be small enough to fit through your "tunnel" while the other should be large enough to keep the elastic from being pulled all the way through

Thread the elastic through the "tunnel" scrunching down to the other end as you go

Once you have the elastic all the way through the "tunnel" hand sew the two ends of elastic together and adjust the ends as needed

To finish them off, hot glue a rhinestone where the two ends meet. I also did a few with bows made out of extra tulle and ribbon

The finished product!

And the finished product put to good use!

Baby Hold on To Me

2009-07-10T11:14:00.000-04:00

One of the most fun parts about planning a wedding is swooning over all the beautiful pictures of bouquets. I didn't inherit my moms love for gardening so I don't really know a ton about flowers. Some girls know from the very beginning that they want all roses or peonies...I am much more concerned about color than type of flower. I was more adamant about what I DIDN'T want then what I did. And as all the bridal magazines will tell you, to help trim some flower costs, you want to stay in season with your flower choices.

After scouring the internet for bouquets I liked, I really didn't find anything that was perfect. Most of the fall bouquets had yellow in them which I do NOT want. And almost none of them have purple in them! I did fine a few I like, and our bouquets will most likely be a hybrid of some of these bouquets with whatever else the florist dreams up:

I LOVE the reds in this bouquet...luscious and gorgeous!! I also like that it has multiple types of flowers. It give the bouquet some lovely texture.

The purple in this bouquet is what I really love. It's so dramatic against the reds and oranges. However, I think they are mini calla lilies which is on my NO THANK YOU list of flowers.

See those little berry things in there? I've learned they are called Hypericum Berries and that they come in green and this lovely burgandy shade. I will definitely have some of these in our bouquets!

Out of all the types of flowers I've seen. I like these the best. They are dahlias and they come in so many great colors - such as the deep orange shown here. I'm hoping that they are in season come November!!

Coming up soon...centerpiece inspiration!!

Hey Mr. DJ

2009-07-08T10:44:00.001-04:00

The decision on a DJ was not one I was excited to make. Some DJs can be serious cheese balls who like the sound of their own voice to much or think it's funny to dance with grandma. But its hard to tell how DJs will perform when you're meeting them out of their element. So when we started our search for a DJ, I began by looking for recommendations from other brides. One great site that I have been using throughout the planning process is Project Wedding. They have a great list of vendors for everything from entertainment to flowers to dance lessons...pretty much anything you'd need for a wedding. I also quite often check out the local boards over at Wedding Bee . So it was on positive reviews via Project Wedding that we decided to check out Mike Staff Productions.

I must say I was so very impressed by the way they run things over at Mike Staff. This is not some guy running DJ services out of his basement. This was a full blown business. This is what they do FULL-TIME. When we arrived for our appointment, we were taken upstairs to sit in front of a giant big screen TV. The CEO of Mike Staff, Kurt, would be talking us through how everything works. Basically we got to see a short video of each DJ that was available on our date. The videos had each DJ introduce themselves, explain what their style of DJing is and why they enjoy DJing for weddings. The videos also gave a sample of how they actually MC - announcing the wedding party, the first dance etc. Kurt gave us a little personal insight into each candidate too as he knows them all quite well.

We were there for about and hour and half to make sure we got all our questions answered and we were satisfied with what Mike Staff had to offer. It was actually quite fun, mostly due to the fact that Kurt is one of the easiset people to talk to that I have ever met. In the end, we booked the first DJ we looked at and I think we will be truly pleased with them.

On another note, Mike Staff also does Photography and Videography but we'll touch on that in another post soon...

Registering!!

2009-07-06T10:41:00.000-04:00

Although it might seem a little early to be registering for wedding presents, I wanted to take advantage of a free weekend while we had it! So off we went!! It was a little difficult to decide what to register for because when Gary bought the condo about a year and a half ago, he also bought all new stuff to fill it! There are definitely a few things that I would like to upgrade on though so we included those on our list. Gary had a little trouble with the idea that some of the things we registered for we already have but I told him this is the one time in your life that you can get the GOOD stuff! I told him my mom still has the stainless steel mixing bowls she received as a wedding present!!

For those that are curious, we registered at Bed Bath and Beyond and Target. We split it up between Saturday and Sunday because I'm not sure how much shopping Gary could handle in one day :) It was a fun experience and I must admit I look at our registry at least once a week! Yep - I'm one of those brides...

New kitchen towels? Yes please!

Yes we do need a new duvet cover...don't question me...I've got a gun.

Gary thinks we need a Snuggie...

Kristie's Shower!

2009-06-29T10:15:00.000-04:00

Kristie's bridal shower was a few weekends ago and everything went great! I was a little worried about the weather since we were having a tent outside and although it was a little chilly, there was no rain!! I think a good time was had by all the ladies and I was pretty please one how my projects turned out. Here are a few of the things I made:

For the food table, I got a few yards of pink and green tulle to lay on top of the white table cloth. It looks super cute and since tulle isn't very expensive, I didn't feel too bad about people dripping salsa and guacamole on it...and then throwing it away afterward.

I also wrapped some green polka dot ribbon around three vases and put pink candles in them for a bit more decoration.

There are multiple projects shown in this picture. The most obvious being the "Guess Her Age" board. It featured about 20 pictures of Kristie when she was younger and we had all the shower guests guess how old she was in each picture. I used all different pink and green paper for the backgrounds and used my Cricut machine to cut out all the numbers and the letters. Thanks to Linda Jameson for the help on this one!

Another project visible in the photo above is the Wish Jar. I bought a plain glass jar from Hobby Lobby and tied a tag on it that read "Please leave your wishes for the soon to be Mrs.". The idea was to have all the guests write a little note to Kristie. I again used my Cricut to cut out tag shapes to write on and tied a piece of ribbon on to each.

You'll also notice the little baskets filled with the favors I made. I took small plastic bags purchased from Michael's and filled them with white chocolate covered pretzels. I then folded pieces of green and pink paper over the top and stapled them onto the bag to keep them closed. I only stapled the back half of the flap and glued the front so they still looked pretty. I also added a piece of ribbon, alternating colors. Here's a closer look:

It was a lot of work but since I really enjoy having projects to work on, I really didn't mind! And I think Kristie really enjoyed herself and that's all that matters!!

Leaving the House Naked

2009-06-25T14:51:00.003-04:00

I did just that this week.

No not NAKED naked...but minus my ring. I totally FELT naked without it! Yes, I take my ring off at night...and when I shower...and when I wash my hands...and when I go to the gym...I think I'm still in that "I don't want anything to ruin how pretty it is" phase. The day after Gary proposed in Cabo, I didn't even wear it to the pool because I was afraid of what chlorine/sunscreen/sand would do to it! People at the pool that day thought I was CRAZY for not wearing it! (I also don't like to wear it when I'm blow drying my hair. The little bugger gets HOT!!)

So I left the house without it. And I almost felt ashamed all day! I found myself hiding my left hand or announcing to anyone who would listen that I forgot to put on my ring. I thought anyone who noticed I wasn't wearing it would think we were already having problems - before we even got hitched!

Silly girl, I know. But I'm hoping to never have that happen again. Unless I'm getting it cleaned. Or sized because I lost 20 lbs. Or upgraded to 3 carats...just kidding G - you know I love it just the way it is!!!

I Heart Shoes

2009-06-22T11:13:00.004-04:00

In my reading of wedding blogs, I've found that one of the things that a lot of brides are doing these days is wearing colored shoes instead of the traditional white or ivory. I really like the idea and absolutely adore the photos you see with colored shoes peaking out from a white gown.

Maybe some purple shoes for me?

Or maybe red? Love the little rosettes on this pair!

As I thought about my dress and the theme I was going for, I decided that the colored shoe was a little too trendy for me. The look I want is classic with a bit of vintage flair. With that in mind, I thought it would be best to stick with an ivory or champagne colored shoe. And so my search began.

Side note: I am infatuated with online shipping for shoes. Sites like Zappos.com, Endless.com and Shoebuy.com make shopping for shoes a BREEZE! The selection is amazing and the free shipping and free returns makes it no more expensive than buying from a brick and mortar store.

The first shoe I fell in love with was the Electra by Nina. I'm a sucker for platforms and the bow detail on these gives them a vintage feel. Plus the ankle strap is sexy yet in a classy, not trashy, way. Aren't they super cute!?

I decided that with over a 4 inch heel, these beauties were a bit to high for me since I'll be walking around in them ALL.DAY.LONG. Plus, when I bought my dress, the store gave me some sample shoes to try on with it and if I got shoes with a 3 1/2 inch heel, I wouldn't have to have my hem altered!!

The second pair of shoes I fell in love with are the ones that I bought and will be wearing on the big day. They are also by Nina, and the style is Kyleen. I love them, they still have a vintage feel, and the heel height is perfect at 3 1/2 inches.

I was a bit nervous about the color (powder sand) but when they arrived via the nice UPS man, they color is perfect! AND they are actually comfortable! AND I bought them from Shoebuy.com which I had a 20% off coupon plus I got a new member discount for ordering from them! The Electra would have cost me $89...but the Kyleen's only cost me $48! That is WAY under my budget for shoes! WAHOOO!!!

*A tip for anyone else purchasing Nina shoes, order a half size up. I usually where a 7 1/2 and the 8 fit perfectly. My bridesmaid Kristie is wearing Nina shoes on her wedding day and she also had to go a half size up.

Dressin' Up the Maids

2009-06-20T09:13:00.000-04:00

OK so I'll just admit this now...I am a HUGE nerd. When it came to picking out dresses for my maids, I developed a PowerPoint presentation with a page for each dress designer featuring the dresses that I liked and in what colors. I then sent it off to all of them for their opinions. I thought it was quite an efficient way of going about it...there were about 15 dresses that I liked!!

A sample of my PowerPoint...

When my mom and I went dress shopping for me, we thought we'd take a quick peak at bridesmaid dresses too. Armed with my PowerPoint and voting results, I went in pretty open minded (which can be disastrous for an indecisve person like me!) However, I found that the decision on which designer AND colors to go with was made super easy the second I saw Alfred Angelo's line. The colors are what really hooked me...they offer the most PERFECT deep red, burnt orange, and dark purple. So how was I to decide between the three? Well, I didn't actually. I thought since all of these are so perfect, why not do one of each? My sister (and MOH)in Claret, bridesmaid Amanda in Eggplant, and bridesmaid Kristie in Burnt Orange. Variety is a good thing, right? :)

As for the dress itself, I tried on about 6 of the different Alfred Angelo dresses they had at the store to see what they looked like on a real person with real hips and curves. Some that I had originally liked online were AWFUL in person. But I did have some success and came away with two styles that I really liked.

I took Amanda and Kristie in to try on both dresses to see which one they were more comfortable in. It was unanimous...so here is the dress!!

It's got a sweetheart neckline which is adorable and laces up the back. The fabric also sort of "gathers" on one side which is very forgiving in the stomach area. My maids will be able to eat that extra piece of cake at the reception and not have to worry about their tummies bulging!

Another item checked off the planning list!!

A little less than perfect

2009-06-16T22:03:00.005-04:00

Where I last left off on our search for our reception venue, we had found Fox Hills and were pretty certain that it would perfect for us. Not wanting to book the first (and only) place we had looked at, we continued to search.

One of the girls Gary works with is getting married this summer and apparently she and I have similar tastes because she's having her wedding at the Blue Dress Barn that I also mentioned in a previous post (Can you say JEALOUS!!!) Anyway, she told us about a similar place in Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor! That's close enough! We could probably swing that! So we decided to check it out. It's called Cobblestone Farm and it is pretty much perfect.

I called on a whim thinking there was no way they would have our date available...but it was open!! Could it be a sign?? Check out the photos below...

I love the moss letters they hung on the barn doors!

You can even have your ceremony there? Probably not a good idea for November...

Look at all of those rafters! And with the Japanese lanterns hanging from them too? *SWOON*

A view from the balcony...

In the end, we decided against Cobblestone. Why you ask? Since on the surface it seemed so perfect? A few reasons:

Although Ann Arbor wasn't too far, I didn't feel comfortable having guests travel to an area that I'm really not that familiar with
There is a home U of M football game which could cause head aches with traffic and booked up hotels
With an outside caterer, we'd also have to rent linens, glasses, serving dishes, etc. which means more $$$
We can only serve beer and wine...and I didn't really want to leave out our friends vodka, rum, and whiskey. Plus I know a few of Gary's buddies wouldn't be too happy about that.
Since we would bring in our own booze, I didn't want to have to worry about running out in the middle of our reception

So we've decided to go with Fox Hills. I really do love it and it's much less of a pain for planning which I'm all about with less than six months until the wedding!!

My Lovely Maids!

2009-06-11T16:28:00.008-04:00

Gary and I decided who was going to be standing up for us while we were in Mexico. It gets a little tricky when the two of you have a different number of people that you want to be involved. I know it's not a TOTAL no-no to have uneven numbers but what can I say...my pain in the arse perfectionist side says uneven is lopsided. Plus with a small wedding, we wanted to keep the wedding party small too. No need to have half your guests standing up with you :)

I had three ladies (and a little lady) in mind that are of the utmost importance to me. While they are all pretty much obvious choices, the most obvious of them all is my big sister Andrea. Although I never call her that, I've never known her as anything but Ange. Supposedly I started that nick name too. Ange will be standing up next to me on our big day as our Matron of Honor. I was a little too young to have the responsibility when she got married but I'm glad that we will at least get to have the experience together when I get married.

Here we are at about age 4 and 9 I'd say. I'm still jealous of how well her hair can hold curls.

My next lady has been a great friend of mine since second grade. We've probably done just about everything together. When anyone from home sees one of us without the other, the question was inevitable "Where's Kate?" "Where's Amanda?" They knew better that someone must be sick or dying if we were not together. We tried to live a year apart, me at MSU and her at WMU, but that didn't last very long. I ended up transferring :) Now we live about 10 minutes from each other in Detroit.

Here we are playing on the monkey bars in Grand Haven circa second grade. Showing a little tummy...she was scandalous even back then :)

My third lady best friends from college. They say the people you meet in college will be your friends forever...and I know that is the truth with Kristie and I. We are very alike in some ways but very different in others. I think our personalities compliment each other well. I also have the pleasure of standing up as Maid of Honor in her wedding in July. We've had so much fun planning her big day, I can't believe it's right around the corner!!

Kristie and I at Curwood, the annual festival in her home town. It was a tradition for a while but sadly I missed it this year :(

And last but not least, my little lady. She's too old to be a flower girl so I've asked Gary's niece Emily to be my junior bridesmaid. Not that I don't ADORE my nephews, but I am so excited to be gaining a niece!! I'm hoping to be a good role model for her as she enters her teens in a few years.

Here is Gary with his brother and Emily in California while Gary lived there about 4 years ago. She's grow up a bit since then!

And there you have it! Gary hasn't asked all of his men yet so I'll save that for another post!

It's Our One Month Engage-iversary!

2009-06-09T12:04:00.003-04:00

I can't believe we've already been engaged for a month! On one hand it seems like it's been forever that I've been sporting this gorgeous diamond ring on my finger...but on the other it feels like just yesterday! I still look at my ring every day and think, wow, that is freakin' beautiful!

I've also realized that I haven't even shared a picture with ya'll! I'm not the type of girl that is going to post her ring on Facebook, but I'll at least put one up for all of you who follow my blog :)

Don't mind my wrinkly knuckles...at least I had just gotten a manicure!!

Search For the Perfect Venue Part II

2009-06-09T10:55:00.004-04:00

In my previous post about our search for the perfect venue, I pointed out some of the issues we were stumbling upon. Another issue we keep running into is guest minimums. Most of the reception venues in town require a 150-200 person minimum in order to reserve it on a Saturday night. There is no way I have that many people that I want to invite to my wedding. Nothing against those that are planning large weddings, I just prefer a smaller more intimate wedding with only the people who truly matter the most in our lives.

Keeping in mind the rustic theme we are going for and ruling out those places with a high minimum guest count, we decided to take a look at Fox Hills Golf Club in Plymouth, MI. Although I originally all but refused to have the reception at a golf course, this one was different. Fox Hills actually has two different club houses, the Golden Fox and the Classic Fox. The Classic Fox clubhouse is actually the original log cabin clubhouse which dates back to 1927. Of course the interior has been remodeled and it is now a great place to have a wedding reception!

I L-O-V-E this picture! Look at that moon!!

Here's a glimpse of the interior. Thank you to this lovely couple for starring in my post.

And here's a look at the addition onto the original log cabin. A bit more modern but still a little rustic feel to it.

I absolutely LOVED the log cabin look yet it still had all the modern conveniences that we need! Plus when we sat down to discuss numbers with Chris from the events team, we were pleasantly surprised by the price too! And if that wasn't good enough, she also told us that since November is technically the start of the off season, they would throw in an extra incentive for us! How about a bar upgrade? Or maybe some late night snacks? FREE!!!! Gosh I love that word.

Gary and I left feeling great about Fox Hills. But, we were a little concerned that it was the first place we'd looked at and their might be something else even better out there! Chris was nice enough to put our date "on hold" for us with no money down.

So the search continues but I have a good feeling about this one...

Where to Have a "Non-Church" Wedding in November

2009-06-05T11:43:00.000-04:00

Since Gary and I have different religions backgrounds (I'm Protestant and he is Catholic) we knew right off the bat that we didn't want to get married in a traditional church setting. I guess you could say we wanted to get married on neutral ground. I didn't think it was fair to get married in a Protestant church just because I'm the bride...and I don't think the Catholic church would even LET us get married there if I wasn't planning on converting.

The problem with a non-church wedding in November is that pretty much all outdoor ceremony sites are immediately ruled out. (Remember this is Michigan people, it's not exactly warm here in November)

So now what? I didn't really want to have the ceremony in a banquet hall, that just seemed boring to me. And I also didn't really want to have to pay a ton of money for the actual ceremony site when we'd already be dishing out a lot of dough for the reception.

Last summer we visited Greenfield Village which has an adorable little chapel that would be absolutely perfect for a wedding. I was completely in love. Until I got engaged and checked on the rental price...$1,500 just to rent it for the afternoon? Ouch. That was a little more than we wanted to spend.

And then my brilliant fiance had an idea. What about the historic chapel at the Mill Race Village in Northville? It had the same exact look and feel as the Greenfield Village chapel, it was about a mile down the road from our condo, and the price was right where we wanted it to be. I love the idea that we will be married in the actual city we live in. The city where we have so many memories together. The city we moved into our first place together. The city we both love so much. So we booked! I'm so excited about it and I'm so grateful to Gary for coming up with the idea. He says he's finished contributing to the planning now...he's done his part.

Here are a few photos of the chapel. Ain't she cute??

And check out these grounds!! What a beautiful backdrop for photos!

Kristie's Bachelorette Party Invites!

2009-06-02T15:34:00.000-04:00

My bridesmaid Kristie's bachelorette party is coming up in a little over a month and a half from now. I figured it was about time I got working on some invitations! I had already decided that I was going to go with a hot pink, black, and zebra theme a while back so at least I had some sort of direction. Once I got started, I was pleasantly surprised on how quickly I got them done! Started and finished in less than a week! I know, you're impressed aren't you?

Here's what you'll need

Gluestick
Bonefolder
Hole puncher
Cardstock (Black, Hot Pink, and Zebra)
Envelopes
Ribbon (Zebra)
Envelope liner templates

And here's the step-by-steps

I used 8 1/2" x 11" hot pink cardstock so I could run them through my home printer. I formatted the document in Microsoft Word to be just under 5"x 7" so I could glue it on to a 5" x 7" black card and be able to actually see it behind the pink.

Trim the black cardstock to 5" x 7" and also trim your printed cardstock to the correct size. Glue the printed sheets onto the black cardstock

Punch two holes at the top of the card and thread your ribbon through them. I looped the ribbon through both holes instead of tying a bow. I thought a bow was a little to "cute" for a bachelorette party invite
Then I used my Paper Source envelope liner templates to cut out some zebra paper to line the envelopes. Place the liners inside the envelopes and fold the flap down. Use your bonefolder to make it fold nice. Place glue around the outer edges in a triangle shape and unfold to that it sticks to the envelope flap.
I also used Microsoft Word and my home printer to print address and return address labels on the same hot pink paper. I used my trusty Xyron to attach them to the envelopes.

Here's the finished project!

Color Scheming

2009-05-30T11:41:00.000-04:00

Having a fall wedding made it pretty easy for me to decide on the colors I was going to use. Regardless, I still experimented with a million different combinations.

Even before I got engaged, I fell in love with a photo I found on a wedding blog.

First of all, I love dahlias and I think regardless of my color scheme, I would have included them in my arrangements. I also love that the colors aren't a bright red, true orange, or royal purple. They look more vintage to me in muted colors.

Also in my wedding blog surfing, I also came across an awesome website that lets you test any color combination you can dream up. So using the above picture as my guide, I came up with the following color palette.

But, when I really looked at the colors together and envisioned what we would do with them outside of flowers, I wasn't so in love with them anymore. They looked a little to spring/summer to me.

So I tried something different. I really like the color jade, but not a true jade. A jade with a little more blue in it. So I started with that and came up with the following:

I still wasn't in love with it...so I twisted around a few colors, removed the jade, added a burnt orange and VOILA!!!! Our color scheme was born!

Very fall, very me. PERFECTION.

The (difficult) Choice!

2009-05-29T15:15:00.000-04:00

I'm one of the most indecisive people you will ever meet. I can't even make simple decisions such as where we're going to dinner. I would much rather someone else make the decision for me.

When it came down to which dress I was going to buy, my indecisiveness kicked in ten-fold. This wasn't a Max & Erma's versus On the Border type of decision. This is the dress I would be wearing on my wedding day. The dress that would be captured in photos that will last a lifetime. One of the most important decisions in planning a wedding. And I was torn.

On one hand, my bargain shopper side was telling me that I'd found a dress I REALLY liked and it was WAY under what I was planning to spend. I could purchase off the rack and not have to worry about when it would come in. How could I pass that up?

But my theme-conscious perfectionist side was telling me that the other dress fit in perfectly with the rustic vintage look I was going for AND it was still under my budget. Plus, I could also purchase this dress off the rack and the only alterations I would need is to put in a bustle.

I think something my incredibly wise mother said helped me make the decision when it came down to it. She asked me if both dresses were priced exactly the same, what would I choose?? With the factor of cost removed from my decision, I was able to concentrate on what I really liked about each dress.

In the end, I purchased the more expensive dress knowing that this is the one time in my life where I will get to purchase a wedding dress and it SHOULD be perfect, regardless if I have to spend a little extra dough.

After I had officially made the decision and actually purchased the dress, I knew I'd made the right choice. The perfect choice. So what what the heck was I dragging my feet for???

Did anyone else have a difficult time making a decision on THE dress?

The Dress Hunt: Part II

2009-05-28T16:18:00.004-04:00

Saturday morning my mom and I were up bright and early to have breakfast with Gary's mom before heading to the bridal shops. It was the first time they had met and I was a little nervous about it but everything went very smoothly.

Two of my bridesmaids, Amanda and Kristie, also joined us for the excursion. Our first stop was I Do Too in Plymouth. Since they don't take actual appointments, I was worried that it would be super busy. I think there was maybe two other brides in the shop so it wasn't too bad. My bridal assistant basically let me wander around the store and grab a few I liked. Then it was into the little room with my mom to begin process. We were getting pretty good at it because of all of our practice the night before :)

The funny thing about wedding dress shopping is all modesty goes out the window. It's hard enough trying to slither into some of those dresses without attempting to cover your "girl parts". At least it was only my mom and I didn't have some strange woman I'd just met seeing me practically in the nude.

Here is a picture of my mom, me and my future mother-in-law outside the bridal shop

SO. MANY. DRESSES.

Kristie and Amanda being patient as a struggled in and out of about 20 dresses. Yes she really is that tall...plus she's wearing heals! Silly girl.

So how did we do? There were definitely a few I liked at the shop. Some of the ones I really liked were ruled out due to being to modern for the rustic vintage-y feel I was going for. In the end, I did put a dress on hold that I absolutely loved (it was the first dress I tried on - crazy huh?) but I hadn't totally made up my mind on which would be THE dress...

Up Next: The Choice!

The Dress Hunt: Part I

2009-05-26T15:42:00.003-04:00

Now that we have our date set, I decided that I should waste no time on finding a dress. I was already freaking out about the lead time it takes to have a dress ordered plus the time it takes for alterations. So I rounded up the important women in my life (minus my big sis who couldn't make it) and planned a day of oohing and aahing over wedding dresses.

My mom, who had to travel for the event, came the night before the big shopping trip. One of the places I had wanted to go was going to be closed on Saturday because of Memorial Day weekend. We decided we would take a quick peak just the two of us to see if they had anything good. This way she could get the crazy "I'm bawling my eyes out because I'm seeing my daughter in a wedding dress for the first time" out of her system without a lot of spectators too.

Note: I am neglecting to post any pictures because I have a rather nosy husband-to-be and I know I couldn't pay him to stay away from reading this...

We headed on over to Diane's Dream Bridal where we were greeted by Diane herself. She was extremely helpful explaining how the dresses were arranged in the store and that I should try on a few of each style to see what type of fit I would like and would look best on me. My mom and I - being the bargain shoppers we are - also selected a few dresses that were close to my size off the sale rack.

After trying on a few, I discovered I absolutely hate mermaid/trumpet skirts although I loved them in all the magazines. I just don't have the hips for that...ladies, you understand that. I also didn't really like ball gowns...it was way too poofy-princess for me. In the end, I had two dresses that were in my "to be considered" pile. They were completely different style of dresses but when it came down to it, one of them definitely looked better on me and I felt better in it. And, to make it even sweeter, the dressI liked was on the sale rack for....$300!!!! Honestly, all prices aside, I liked the sale dress better anyway and since I was buying off the rack, I wouldn't have to lay awake at night wondering if my dress would come in on time!

I didn't purchase the dress that day because I figured I needed to look around a bit and see what else was out there. I had them put the dress on hold for me in case I did indeed want to come back for it....

Up next: The Dress Hunt: Part II and The Choice!

My First DIY Wedding Project!

2009-05-23T13:55:00.004-04:00

Gary and I had already decided who we wanted to stand up for us on our big day when we were down in Mexico. So during our 72 hour quarantine from work* I got down to business on how I wanted to ask my girls to be a part of the wedding. In my pre-engagement browsing of wedding blogs (yep, I'm guilty) I stumbled upon a super cute idea for will you be my bridesmaid cards on Style Me Pretty.

So off to Archiver's I went to buy some cute paper for my project. I hadn't completely decided on colors yet so I bought patterns and colors that I liked and that coordinated well. I made four different cards, one for each of my bridesmaids plus one for my "personal assistant". Each card had four "pages" on the inside, the first three containing a photo and the last containing a personal message from your truly.

Here is the one I made for my Matron of Honor, my lovely sister

Here's what you'll need:

Posterboard

Cardstock in coordinating colors

Glue (make sure you get wrinkle free!)
Paper cutter or scissors
Bone folder

Ruler

Three photos of you and each bridesmaid

Stencils, punches, or die cut machine for letters

Ribbon

And here are the steps:

Mark your poster board with a ruler into 5" x 5" squares. I made mine 5"x20" so when folded, I had four inside squares. There is posterboard out there that comes with lines on it to help you cut a straight line since it will be too long to put into a paper cutter.

Cut poster board into strips and accordion fold at each 5" increment. Use the bone folder to make the creases look pretty

Cut cardstock into 5"x5" squares to and glue them on to cover both front and back of the pages. The card will not fold correctly if you use one solid strip. I used a solid color on the back and saved the patterns for the inside pages.

Glue a picture onto each page in whatever order you choose. You can add backgrounds or other shapes to jazz it up a bit. I used my Cricut to cut out some additional shapes/frames.

For the letter portion, you can hand write it or I typed something up on my computer, printed it and cut it down to a size that would fit. Glue it onto the final page.

Measure a ribbon so that it will fit around the card and tie in a bow when the card is folded and glue it onto the FRONT PAGE ONLY. Leave the rest free so that you can fully open the card.

Cut/punch out the first letter of each girls name and glue it onto the front page.

And there you have it! I also did coordinating envelopes to match, printed out address labels on cardstock that matched the paper on the inside of the card and used my hand dandy Xyron machine to instantly transform them to stickers!

*Both of our companies mandated that we stay home for 72 hours after returning from Mexico to make sure we didn't come down with the Swine...I mean H1N1 flu. Thanks for the extra vacation days!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have a Date

2009-05-22T15:30:00.001-04:00

And that date is....NOVEMBER 7, 2009!!!! I'm hoping for a beautiful fall day, sun shining with that awesome fall crisp to the air. I know, I know...there are both a Michigan and Michigan State football game that day, but I promise it'll be worth it - we're having an open bar! :)

Search for the Perfect Venue

2009-05-21T14:25:00.006-04:00

I swear the second we got engaged, I jumped right into wedding planning. If we are going to try and pull this off by fall, I've got a TON of work to do!! The biggest thing I am worried about is availability of things with only a 6 month lead time. The little stuff I'm not worried about, I know I can get it done plus I have lots of family members and friends who are willing to help me!

BUT how can you have a wedding without a reception venue? Or a photographer? Or a florist?

So, first thing I am going to attempt to check of my mile long TO DO list is our reception venue. Between the two of us, Gary and I have scoured the Internet looking for places to have our reception. In my head, I have this beautiful image of an old barn or log cabin...solid wood walls and columns...strings of twinkle lights...fall reds oranges and yellows...rustic vintage feel...but I haven't had much luck in finding exactly what I'm looking for.

I love, love, LOVE everything about this wedding!

A few problems I'm running into:

Most barns are not acceptable places to hold wedding receptions, especially in the late fall

Not exactly reception-worthy

Those that are acceptable have been booked WAY in advance (for other Michigan brides out there, you must check out Blue Dress Barn or Millcreek Barn near St. Joe...Gorgeous!)

I'm DROOLING here!!

There is nothing really close to my hometown for Gary's home town that resembles what we are looking for. I don't want to have both families travel, especially to an area that I'm not even familiar with

I haven't given up total hope yet, but we are definitely looking at back-up plans as well. And so, the search for the perfect venue continues...

East Side versus West Side

2009-05-19T15:12:00.002-04:00

One of the biggest decisions we have to make is who's hometown we'd like to get married in. I know that traditionally, the wedding takes place in the bride's hometown but I'm not opposed to mixing it up a bit. Breaking the rules can be good, right?

Basically Gary and I grew up on opposite sides of the state. He's from the East side of Michigan while I was born and raised on the West side. For those of you from Michigan or who have visited both sides of the state, you know that they are completely different. On the East side, the houses are built a few feet from each other. On the West side, people actually have YARDS! On the West side, people are friendly and polite. On the East side, you find people have a little bit more attitude and people don't always say thank you when you hold the door open (no offense East-siders!). And while the West side has grown tremendously in the last few years, the East side has a ton more restaurants, bars, and things to do in general.

I've found that none of these differences really pertain to our wedding planning. When it really came down to it, it was all about ease of planning for me. Given that we are trying to plan an entire wedding in less than 6 months, I thought for my sanity, we should probably get married on the East side of the state. That way, we don't have to travel to meet with vendors and we can run errands during the week after work and I don't have to transport any monsterrous DIY project I decide to tackle.

So there you have it. Decision made. East side baby.

Oh Cabo, How I Miss You Already

2009-05-18T13:35:00.003-04:00

Since my last post was exclusively in regards to the BIG NEWS we had to share, this one will recap our vacation. Most of the days we spent lounging by the pool sipping on unlimited fruity cocktails (my drink of choice: Miami Vice - half pina colada, half strawberry daiquiri...DE-LISH!). At night we would have dinner and then usually sit on our balcony and begin the wedding planning or hang out with some of the people we met down there.

The weather was FABULOUS - only one day of overcast skies but we spent the entire day in the shade anyway due to too much sun the day before. Gave me plenty of time to acquire a little sun-kissed glow and get totally addicted to the Twilight series!!!

One complaint I do have is the food. We got soooo sick of the food. It was mostly the same thing every day and nothing really had a lot of flavor to it. It's sad, but I think the best meal I had was at Hooter's when we went into downtown Cabo!!!

We had an amazing time...I'll let the pictures do most of the talking!

The view from our room

Gary and I on our balcony

Lounging poolside

Of course we had to visit Cabo Wabo!

Gary and I at the marina downtown Cabo

Somebody's Getting Married!

2009-05-17T13:18:00.002-04:00

I love the Muppets, don't you?

Oh wait, the real reason for this post is because the person getting married is ME!!!!!

Gary popped the question our first night in Cabo! It was perfect, everything I could have asked for and more...and the RING! WOWZA it's amazing!!! It's exactly what I would have picked out myself. (On a side note: I may or may not have left some pictures of rings lying around the condo...)

This is how it all went down...After dinner on our first evening in Mexico, we decided to sit on the beach and watch the surf roll in...just him and I, no one else in site. After a while, he pulled me up from where I was seated and started his speech that went something like "I've loved you since the day I first met you and I never want to stop loving you". I believe my reaction at this point was something like "what are you doing?" He then dropped to one knee ...and asked me to marry him!!!

After lots of hugging and a few tears, the little town of Cabo San Lucas decided to give us a little engagment gift. Fireworks! What perfect timing! Gary claims that this was all part of his plan, I guess I'll let him think I believe that.

So, now the fun begins with the planning! Stay tuned for a date, but just a warning - I REALLY want a fall wedding and REALLY don't want to wait until 2010!

Look out Cabo!

2009-05-08T19:15:00.001-04:00

Well, we're going. And we're stocked up on antibacterial soap, antibacterial hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes and antibacterial spray. No swine flu is going to stop me. Take that World Health Organization. See ya'll in a week!

Shower Invites!

2009-05-05T16:06:00.004-04:00

As Maid of Honor in my good friend Kristie's wedding this summer, I've been planning her a friends/co-workers shower and I have finally finished up the invitations! I bought the supplies from Paper Source a long time ago and they have just been sitting there in the box begging me to take them out and play!

These were actually super easy to make, the items I bought from Paper Source we pre-cut to the size they needed to be so all I had to do was a lot of gluing!! Here is all the materials I ordered to make these:

Petal envelopes in Jadeite
Petal enclosures in Blossom
1" round stickers in blossom
Square pointed flap envelopes in Jadeite
12"x12" paper in Luxe Blossom Dots
Envelope liner templates

I simply printed the wording off of my home computer, trimmed to the correct size and glued everything together! A reminder when you're working with thinner papers (i.e. NOT cardstock) be sure to use a glue stick that says wrinkle-free.

As for the envelope liners, you can get a pack of all different sizes for about $10. You simply trace the template,cut them out and glue inside the envelope! It is easiset if you insert the liner with out glue first, fold the top flap over where it would naturally fold and outline the flap only with glue.

I think they turned out pretty cute myself :)

A peak at the inside

All closed up and sealed with a sticker!

The envelope with address label and completed card...of course I forgot to take a picture of the envelope liner but when you opened it up, pink and white polka dot paper lined the inside!

Stupid, Stupid Swine Flu

2009-05-04T11:27:00.001-04:00

So Gary and I are supposed to leave for Cabo this coming weekend and all of the sudden there is an outbreak of SWINE FLU! I'm sooooo mad...I really don't want to postpone our vacation, I've been looking forward to it since the day we booked! Our hotel is offering to change our reservation to another locations but our airline will only re-book us without penalty to and from the original destination. We're going to wait it out to see if things settle down or not and then make the decision. Fingers crossed please!!!

Terrible Two's?

2009-05-03T16:21:00.002-04:00

Never - how could someone that cute ever be called terrible?

Chase and Logan playing pin ball

We ventured home this weekend to help celebrate my nephew Logan's second birthday. I really can't believe he's two already. He changes so much every time we see him. The party was beach themed but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate very well and it was a little too windy to be outside. We spent the day getting ready for the party including making these super cute sand cakes! My sister had the great idea of actually serving them in little sand toys! The recipe is super easy and you can find it by Googling sand cake. They turned out delicious! If you make them, I suggest using a food processor to crush up the cookies...so much easier!

Apparently a tub full of wrapping paper is much better than any of the presents!

Happy Birthday little guy - we love you!!!

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Pitcher!

2009-04-26T13:14:00.003-04:00

Saturday I attended the wedding of Ryan and Jill in East Lansing. It was a little weird to be back on the MSU campus, I haven't been there in soooo long. Brought back a lot of memories from freshman year in college.

I bought a super cute dress from The Limited (actually I bought three - it was buy any two items, get one free! It would be a crime not to). The color was a gorgeous peach and I bought all gold accessories to go with it. Low and behold, during the ceremony, I look behind me and another girl has the same dress on! Same dress, same gorgeous peach, accessorized in gold. Isn't it strange how us girls get embarrassed when we see someone else wearing the same thing? We really should consider it a confirmation that our outfit IS cute if someone else is rockin' it too. So there you go...my advice for the day.

Kristie and I after the ceremony. I took ZERO pictures, can you believe it!!

The wedding and reception were beautiful and we danced the night away. Congratulations again Mr. and Mrs. Pitcher!!

Tiger's Opening Day

2009-04-11T14:09:00.003-04:00

Opening day in Detroit is always a special occasion - sun, rain, or even snow, it's a party all day long. This year happened to fall on good Friday so most people had the day off of work anyway. We were lucky enough to snag some standing room only tickets so that we could go to the game. Of course we got down there super early to enjoy some less-than-$8 beers before the game. It was a tad chilly but at least it was sunny!

Love the beer cups at Comerica, you tell 'em!

Look who showed up to sing the national anthem - it's KID ROCK!

We eventually met up with Amanda and some of her friends. Thanks to Rebecca at Proof for the yummy shots!!

We had a hotel room for the night too - if you're looking for a place to stay downtown, I highly recommend the new Fort Shelby Doubletree. It's a little off the beaten path but not a far walk to the stadium area or jump on the People Mover if you don't feel like walkin'.

I'm glad I finally got to partake in the opening day festivities. I'm thinking it might have to be an annual event!

Final Four in the D

2009-04-05T13:03:00.002-04:00

Ford Field hosted the Final Four this weekend. Having such a huge event in town is awesome but with Michigan State playing in it as well, the town was swarming with GREEN! The city streets were full of excitement all weekend.

Saturday we were lucky enough to be invited to a private party hosted by Messy's brother Michael at the new bar inside Comerica Park. I'm SO glad that we had the opportunity because all of the other bars in town had lines a mile long to get in the door!! We also had a perfect view of Comerica Park. It was so strange to see it completely empty!

Larry, Jonca, Gary and I in front of an empty Comerica Park

It was pretty intense, as you can see by the faces in this picture

Gary and I inside The Jungle at Comerica

The day was long and we drank too many beers to count so the traditional late night Taco Bell stop was definitely necessary. The guy in the drive through definitely laughed at us when we ordered 21 tacos. We got all 21 - but they forgot my cinnamon twists. Dang.

Jill's Last Fling

2009-03-29T16:56:00.002-04:00

Saturday was Jill's bachelorette party. Kristie, Tia and I got ready at Kristie's place and stopped by the MAC counter to have faux lashes put on. It's amazing how some fake lashes will make you feel instantly sexier...except for the part where they start falling off 2 hours after you've had them put on! I'm so thankful - surprised- but thankful that Kroger carries lash glue!! :)

Kristie and I rockin' our lashes

Tia and Holly - Jill's Matron and Maid of Honor - rented a limo bus to cart all the ladies around for the evening. You must have to be an extremly patient and tolerant person to drive a bus around full of ladies looking for trouble. Bless you Mr. Bus Driver. We stuck around the Royal Oak area visiting a few different bars including the always fun Boogie Fever. We even got a special visit from "Mr. Daytona". Those pictures are definitely not suitable to be posted here unless I can put an R rating on this post. :) Totally Jill's style, but not so much mine. Girls who have the possibility of standing up in my wedding some day - SKIP the stripper. Thanks so much.

Jager Bombs on the bus - UH OH

Amanda and I at Black Finn

All-in-all it was a super fun evening with the ladies. Next up - Kristie's B Party!!!

Irish For a Day

2009-03-18T10:47:00.002-04:00

I really hate when St. Patrick's day is on a weekday. It's not nearly as fun. We had to get out and drink a few green beers anyway. Emmy and I first attempted to get in to The Claddaugh...we made it through the line only to learn of the $10 cover! It's a Tuesday night! Ridiculous if you ask me. On top of that, you had to pay $5 for a little Dixie cup of beer. Not worth paying that price just for the "atmosphere". So, we headed over to Doc's where the 22 oz beers were only $2.50...now we're talking. Amanda met us there and the boys eventually joined as well. The weather was gorgeous (well, gorgeous for March) so the patio was open. So nice to have fresh air! Can't WAIT til summer...

Family Fun

2009-03-15T10:41:00.005-04:00

This past weekend I had my entire family come to the Eastside to visit! Friday we spent the evening relaxing with some pizza and good ole TV watching. Saturday while the boys warmed up for the golf season ahead, the girls and the little ones visited the Ann Arbor Hand-on Children's museum. Way cool, even for the adults! My favorite part had to be the floor piano - just like in the movie BIG.

Chase and I in the car on the way home from the museum...he smiled so nice for my self-portrait!

It was so great to have my entire family together, especially on my side of town! My dad had never even seen the condo and we've been living there for a year and a half!!

Look at these two cuties all snuggled up on my couch!

Happy Birthday to ME!

2009-02-14T10:34:00.003-05:00

I CANNOT belive I'm 26 already! Twentyfive wasn't so bad, but now I'm on the slippery slope towards 30. My sister, Gary and Emmy would all tell me to shut - up right about now...but still, I can't believe I'm now in my LATE 20's!!!

This is what I had waiting for me when I got home on Friday. Thanks Emmy!!

To help celebrate my birthday a group of us went for dinner to the Rusty Bucket (they have YUMMY sliders!) and then bowling at the Novi Bowl. Of COURSE, while we were there, we had to do some kareoke-ing. A couple of my friends from high school even made the trip to hang out!

We thought it would be funny to take pictures of everyone's reactions to eating the vodka soaked fruit. As you can tell by my face, it was NOT very good.

I love this picture because it is a scene that is quite familiar to me. This is cleary Gary saying something he thinks is funny, but I definitely do not.

A picture of all of those who came out to dinner with us!

And shots for the ladies!!

Thanks all for making it another fantastic birthday!!!

Super Sunday!

2009-02-02T11:10:00.001-05:00

Last year Gary and I threw a Super Bowl party at his condo. It was our first "get-together" at the new place. I think since we threw one last year, we have now been designated Official Super Bowl Party Throwers. So, needless to say, we had one again this year. It was a bit smaller than last year, some of our usual guests were out of town or home sick. Nevertheless, we had a good time and ate waaaay too much food.

Amanda and Lisa by all the food and beer...

Ryan and Lisa were sure to bring glasses for everyone so that we could get the full experience of some of the 3-D commercials that aired during the game.

I didn't care much for the game. I think the girls didn't even venture into the living room until way into the second quarter. It did end up being quite the game though. It was also nice not to have to worry about getting up for work on Monday morning! Thanks everyone for comin' over!!!

QT in the Z

2009-01-30T11:10:00.000-05:00

This week I decided to make a quick trip home to spend some time with my family before I start work at Mullen next week. It was great to be able to spend some time with my parents and also with my sister and nephews! Tuesday night Ange and the boys came over for a pizza dinner. We also had some fun with Chase's Walter the Farting Dog book.

Wednesday is a great day to be home because my mom has the boys all day. My sister took a half day and we enjoyed an afternoon at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. So much fun, and I was glad it wasn't super busy.

Thursday my mom was able to take off work so we were able to spend the day enjoying all the things that I miss about downtown Holland. We visited my dad at Gazelle where I got a new pair of running shoes, had a yummy coffee at JP's, stopped at The Peanut Store for some double dipped chocolate covered peanuts and ate lunch at Subs N' More. What a fabulous day!

I was so glad to be able to spend a few days at home. Next week I start working again (at least temporarily)!

Yep, I'm still alive

2009-01-26T18:34:00.003-05:00

Hello world. Remember me? It sure has been a while since I've posted anything. I guess I haven't felt much up for writing. I've been trying to lie low the last month or so as to refrain from spending money unless I absolutely need to so I guess there hasn't been too much worth writing about.

Not much has changed on the job front. I've had a couple of interviews so far, but nothing solid yet. I'm hoping to get some answers this week. I do have the opportunity to go back to Mullen for 3 months while a former co-worker of mine is out on maternity leave. Although I'm struggling with the idea of accepting the temp gig and the possibility of having to leave a month into it. Mullen and all the people I worked with there have always been so good to me and I hate the idea of leaving them high and dry. I must say that I'm not sure what I would do without Gary through all this. He's been a great support system for me. G - if you're reading this (which I know you will) thanks for everything, even if I don't want to hear it!

One positive thing that has come of my time off is that I've been spending a lot of time at the gym. I've been going twice a day 6 days a week and I'm definitely noticing a difference in my mood and energy level. I'm thankful for that because I was pretty worried about my emotional well-being after being out of work for two months.

I was also happy to find out that Messy and Emmy will be staying in Michigan and in fact, we will almost be neighbors! They have bought a beautiful house in Northville within walking distance of downtown. I am grateful to have them close because they are great friends of ours - even though I've only known her less than two years!

And because I can't have a post without pictures...this past weekend I did get out with all of my girl friends to celebrate Amanda's 26th birthday. That's a good lookin' bunch, wouldn't you say?!

I would also like to wish my sister a HAPPY BIRTHDAY as well! I hope your day was fabulous!

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-02T21:23:00.003-05:00

Another year has come and gone...hard to believe isn't it? Gary and I rang in 2009 at the D'Antonio residence. No, Jim and Emmy did not get a house yet. Mr. and Mrs. D were in Florida so in total high school style, we had a party while they were gone. We had an amazing dinner and played Wii until about 4 AM. It was a great time with great friends.

We wish all of you a safe and happy 2009!

Christmas Time is Here!

2008-12-29T11:43:00.000-05:00

As usual, Christmas was great! I spent about 10 days at home with my family. It was so good to be home for more than the usual two days. I really got to spend some quality time with my parents and my sister and the boys. And I also got to see some of my friends from high school that I haven't seen in a while - even attending an Ugly Christmas Sweater party!

The Saturday before Christmas, we had the Karsten family party which is always a riot. After the party we decided that we should go visit Steve at the City Vu in Holland. I think that we should continue that tradition. Here is the whole clan - minus those who had to watch the kiddos:

Christmas Eve we spent with my my mom's side of the family. It's so much fun to watch the boys open presents! Here are a few pictures:

Gary and Logan reading a story

No presents until we get a good picture! :)

Logan sure loved his "Melmo Bear"!

And Chase immediately wanted to play his Ben 10 game...

I hope that everyone else had a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year!

California Dreamin'

2008-12-11T10:55:00.002-05:00

It was sooo nice to be able to spend a few days in California to take my mind off the whole unemployment issue. I arrived late Friday night after spending 5 hours (and 4 glasses of wine) in the airport. I attempted to get on standby for an earlier flight but was unable to. I was able to extend my trip until Wednesday, and it only cost me $50.

The weather was beautiful and I even got to lounge by the pool! The hotel we stayed at was in a great location, right on the beach, a block from the Santa Monica Pier and walking distance from the Promenade. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

The view from our room

The famous Santa Monica Pier

We had to do some tourist stuff - me with Britney Spears' star on the walk of fame

Gary and I on the pier with a view of the beach in the background

A gorgeous Santa Monica sunset!

Although Gary had to work, I am so greatful for the few days I spent out there. I think I really needed it.

My First...and Last Event

2008-12-05T10:46:00.001-05:00

I spent the better part of November stressing out about my first event in Washington DC. Thanksgiving was far from relaxing since I was freaking out about it! The event is now over and done with, it went as well as could be expected. Nothing ever goes perfect so you have to do a lot of on the spot trouble shooting. It felt great to have my first event under my belt. I even got to see the Volt in person! Here's a few pictures:

I returned to work on Friday only to find out that they were letting me go. So I am now officially unemployed. I'm off to California with Gary to take my mind off it for a while...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2008-11-16T17:12:00.001-05:00

So I was bummed that my sister and the boys couldn't come visit this weekend. I even had all their favorite snacks in the house! Which is bad news because now without them to eat it, guess who will instead?? I am happy that Logan is feeling better, it was for the best that he got sick at home and not while they were over here.

To help lift my mood, I decided that we should put up the Christmas tree. Gary and I bought our own tree this year and I had stocked up on Christmas merchandise last year when everything was 50% off at Target. I'd forgotten everything I bought until I opened up the "Christmas Decorations" box! It was like shopping all over again without spending any $!

Here I am "fluffing" the branches to hide the bare spots...hey, what do you expect from a Wal Mart tree? :)

And here we are with the finished project. I think I'll have to make new bows next year, I always feel that I'm one bow short.

We also had a heck of a time getting that star to stay on top. That thing is heavy! By stuffing enough branches in it, we finally got it situated. It might be a little crooked but hey, it gives it character!

Who's with me on early decorating???

WMU vs Illinois

2008-11-09T16:50:00.000-05:00

WMU played at Ford Field this past weekend and with Gary being a die hard fan, of course we attended. Wait - let me clarify that - we not only attended but we had first row seats. I don't think I've ever been that close to any sports field! The only bad part, the cheerleaders were directly in front of us. Nothing against cheerleaders, I used to be one, but they did get in the way a few times.

Here is Gary and I - you can see our prime view behind us

So close we even got Buster Bronco to acknowledge us

The game was fun - they even served beer - and the end result made a lot of happy Western fans. A picture of the scoreboard, just to prove it. Some -ahem, Gary - might say that since Illinois beat U of M and Western beat Illinois, that Western would for sure be able to beat U of M too. I'll go along with that theory.

After the game we ate at Loco's, my favorite Mexican place (besides Don Pablo's, I'm still upset they closed!) We hit up the casino and ended the night at The Old Shillelagh. The Shillelagh, as it is affectionately referred to as, is truly an experience that cannot be explained. It is a "must see for yourself". However, our evening could probably be summed up with a few words:

Beer, an Irish band that is encouraged to drink while performing, beer, Irish songs with hand motions and sing-along lyrics, more beer, a table of cougars* and the use of ashtrays and beer pitchers as noise makers.

*Cougar: A woman of middle age who actively seeks the casual companionship of younger (typically under 30 years old) males.

Cider Mill

2008-11-04T13:19:00.005-05:00

Every fall, Gary and I make a point to visit one of the local cider mills. We usually go to Wiard's in Ypsilanti but decided to try Parmenter's which is almost right in our back yard.

Gary pouring us some cider

Me enjoying the doughnuts (so not as good as Post's though!!)

Me, as a giant apple

Gary and in front of the mill

Although the cider and doughnuts were good and it was nice that we didn't have to travel far, I think we still like Wiard's better. Plus they have other activities such as Gary's favorite, a hay ride. Maybe we'll try another next year.

Halloween!!

2008-11-03T13:05:00.000-05:00

Messy, Emmy, Gary and I went to Patty's annual halloween party this past weekend. We had a little trouble deciding what to dress up as but in the end I was pretty satisfied with my costume (plus I had fun making part of it!). And those who got what Gary was supposed to be, found his costume very amusing too.

Me, a flapper, and Gary as Peter Griffen from Family Guy

Emmy, a drunk bridesmaid, and Messy as a wedding crasher

Emmy and I

Gary, Emmy and Messy discussing the rules to Flip Cup

Patty served this amazing cocktail called Apple Pie that was sooo delicious. I might have to get the recipe. We ended the evening with a late night...well...early morning trip to Comet Burger for sliders, waffle fries and onion rings. YUM!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy halloween!!

Weekend Up North

2008-10-19T17:43:00.001-04:00

This past weekend my Aunt Paula and Uncle Scott were nice enough to let not only Gary and I stay with them, but also Gary's two buddies, Messy and Larry. The boys were able to get one last weekend of golf in before the weather turns cold while I spent my time doing a few of my favorite things - scrapbooking, reading, shopping and visiting my nephews! It was a fantastic weekend, thanks Aunt P and Uncle S! Here's a few photos:

This was a familiar site on the way up and back home. It's great having a DVD player in the car!

Chase and I...I missed the little guys!

Deacon and Logan testing their booster seats

Mackinaw's strange resting place

Gary, the Photographer

2008-10-12T18:58:00.000-04:00

Gary has been quite the photographer lately. We're actually going to frame a few he took on the golf course at Arcadia Bluffs this summer. Because the weather was so nice today, we decided to spend the afternoon at Greenfield Village. Here are a few pictures he took while we were there:

And one I took of the tree in our complex changing colors...I can't believe its fall already!

The Scarecrow Incident

2008-10-11T10:51:00.001-04:00

This weekend we went out downtown Plymouth to celebrate Leo's birthday. It started out with the best intentions for a fun-filled night on the town. However, we quickly learned that although Plymouth is an adorable date-night spot, it is not the best place to go with 20+ people. The bar was extremely crowded and no matter where you stood, you were always in someone's way. Not to mention that it was strangely hot for an evening in mid-October. It was not a good combination...

So, Kristie and I decided to have our own fun...outside, where it was cooler and the only other "people" around were the scarecrows...see for yourself...

WMU Homecoming

2008-10-05T15:40:00.000-04:00

This weekend Gary and I were supposed to go to the Carrie Underwood concert, but he ended up having to work all weekend. I was able to sell them at the last minute so it wasn't a total bust.

So, since Gary was tied up all weekend, I decided to accompany Kristie and Jill to Kalamazoo for Western's homecoming. We had a low key night Friday since we were going to get up early to tail gate the next day. Saturday we were up and at 'em early, I think the alarm went off at 7:00. That is EARLY for me on a Saturday!

The weather was perfect and I ran into a few people I knew. I emphasize few because that is HOW OLD I'M GETTING!!! I used to go back to Western and know one out of every three people. Not so much anymore.

Kristie, Nikki, Jill and I sporting our Western gear!

Beer Pong at 9 AM, what better time?

KJ and I amongst the crowds of people!

Although I was sad to miss Carrie, I had a great time!!

Time to Celebrate

2008-09-28T19:42:00.008-04:00

Messy and Emmy are officially homeless now that they've sold her condo in Cincinnati. They closed on the condo Friday and headed up to Michigan until they hear about Germany. Saturday night we went out for dinner to Doc's and then for dessert and a few celebratory cocktails at Amatista.

After dinner and drinks, we came back to our place for a bottle of champagne they've been waiting to pop open and some Rock Band. I can definitely say it is so nice to have them around!! I'll be very happy to have them here in Michigan with us, and I know Gary feels the same!

Here's a few pictures of the champagne celebration. Unfortunately we don't have champagne flutes...but who needs glasses anyway? CONGRATS D'ANTONIOS!!

Lady in White

2008-09-28T19:27:00.007-04:00

This weekend I went wedding dress shopping with Kristie. Friday night we did a bit of preparing for the big day by getting manicures/pedicures and going tanning. We also pulled out some pictures of dresses she liked and browsed the Internet to make sure she knew what she wanted. Saturday we were up early to meet her mom and her future husband's mom and sister, Bri, at our first destination...

Kristie and I at The Wedding Bell

The trip was very successful and she found THE DRESS! It ended up being maybe the third dress she tried on but we had to look around just in case. The dress is perfect, it looks beautiful on her and has a little bit of everything she was looking for. I won't give any more details or post any actual dress pictures because you never know who's reading this!!

The day was so much fun, until the ride home. We had taken Kristie's car out to Lansing and I was driving it back so she could stay in Owosso for a friend's birthday party. I got about 2 miles out of Lansing when I heard a strange "flap, flap, flap, flap" sound. Although I've never had a flat tire, I kinda expected that was the case. Sure enough, the rear driver's side tire was completely flat. Kristie and her mom came and rescued me while we waited for roadside assistance to change the tire. Everything turned out fine, I just had to drive a little slower than I would have normally to get home!

Here's Kristie's mom pulling out the spare tire from the trunk. She felt bad just sitting there while we waited!

Girl's Weekend in Columbus

2008-09-24T09:26:00.004-04:00

This past weekend Amanda, Courtney and I all went down to Columbus to visit Lindsay. We did a little shopping on Saturday during the day and then made spaghetti for dinner. We then played a few card games with her neighbor and some other friends and then headed to downtown Columbus. It was sooo much fun but I definitely needed a nap on Sunday!

A pre-dinner drink at Lindsay's apartment

Amanda and I ready for a night on the town (not sure what I'm looking at?)

Amanda and Linds downtown Columbus

Courtney and I making our own entertainment

Thanks Linds for having us! We'll have to come visit again SOON!!!

Puttin' on My Dancin' Shoes

2008-09-18T09:20:00.002-04:00

One of my news years resolutions was to begin taking dance class again. I had heard through a friend of a place literally right down the street from me in Northville. It's convenient, I don't have to go everytime if I have a conflict and it's a nice small class size. I'm glad to be able to check that resolution off my list and I'm actually having a really good time doing it. And as an added benefit, I can really feel that it's giving me a workout too! I've definitely been working muscles that haven't been worked in a while!

It's Officially Official!

2008-09-16T11:17:00.005-04:00

Those of you not close to the automotive industry probably aren't familiar with the top-secret, CIA-esque launching of a new vehicle. Although GM has been more transparent with this one than others in the past, the production version of their new electric vehicle, the Chevy Volt, has been surrendered to the automotive game of hide-and-go-seek as of late. Today, they officially unveiled the production version at GM's 100th Anniversary celebration here in Detroit. Why should you care, you ask? Because this is what I'm working on. This is what keeps me employed. This could change the future of the automobile. And it's not a bad looking car to boot. What do you think?

How Could I Forget?

2008-09-10T16:41:00.006-04:00

I'm really not sure how I could forget to blog about our exciting evening last Friday!

If you know Gary well, you know that he enters EVERY contest he possibly can...through all the radio stations here in Detroit, at sporting events, through the newspapers or anywhere else they are looking for suckers to sign up. Because of this, he wins a lot of things. Most think he's just lucky, I know it's because if you enter a thousand contests, you're bound to win sometime. Anyway, this time Gary put his name in to be part of a cornbread eating contest for the chance to win Lion's season tickets. Of course, he was chosen to compete, so we headed out to Shelby Township (mind you, that is 50 minutes from our house) for the night to see how much cornbread he could eat.

Gary trying to be strategic by mashing it up

Stuffin' his face!

Unfortunately, he didn't win (I'll let you guess who did...) but was offered a pair of tickets for making the trip. We'll see if he actually gets them. Regardless, it was quite entertaining and definitely something different that we don't do every weekend!

DaFont is DaCoolest

2008-09-09T12:44:00.004-04:00

I just stumbled upon the coolest site, it's called DaFont. It lets you download all sorts of fun fonts for your computer. It's free (for personal use) and super easy to do! Here are a few I downloaded:

I can see these helping me with a lot of future projects!!

Bridal Celebration

2008-09-08T17:07:00.005-04:00

Sunday I accompanied Kristie, along with Jill, Tia, and Mrs. Jameson, to the bridal show at The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was so fun, a lot of stuff to look at and a few good ideas came about too. I'm just glad I could say "I'm not the bride!" Those people hound you!

One of the more fun parts of the afternoon was testing out the photo booth. Here are our two seperate sessions:

New 'Do

2008-09-06T16:39:00.000-04:00

I have this bad habit of everytime Gary has plans to golf with his buddies, I decide to get my hair done. It's quite an expensive habit to have, really. I had good reason this time, my blonde highlights were beginning to grow out so it was time to go back dark for fall. I also went with an angled bob cut so it's much shorter in the back. The best part is I don't have to curl it! Just blow dry and go...I think I'm likin' it!

(Do you know how hard it is to take an OK picture of yourself? I must have taken 30...yep I'm a nerd)

Goodbye Summer

2008-09-01T16:27:00.004-04:00

Labor Day weekend we had the pleasure of staying with the DeVries' up at Walhalla. It was a little different than the 4th of July, it was just Scott and Paula and Gary and I. I've never seen so much of Mackinaw! I don't think she much appreciated Logan :) The weather was PERFECT and we spent both Saturday and Sunday perched on the pontoon boat out on the lake. Saturday night we entertained ourselves at The Rendezvous, luckily this time they had karaoke! I was a bit nervous at first, I'd never sang in front of these people before. But as you can see, I eventually came out of my shell.

(Believe it or not, I didn't take my camera out all weekend! My Aunt captured this one...)

Mom and Dad were staying at Ruster's so we did get to visit with them on Sunday as well. They joined us on Tom and Louise's pontoon and we met up with Randy and Dar for dinner at Emerson Lake Inn. Sunday night we played Euchere and Scott and I definitely dominated. I think it was beginners luck!

Monday we decided to hit the road early so we could stop at the outlet mall in Howell. It's always bittersweet to stop there, such good deals but I always spend too much!

It was the perfect end to summer. Thanks to Aunt P and Scott for having us!

Mother Daughter Weekend

2008-08-24T18:59:00.000-04:00

While Gary and the boys were away golfing, I had my mom come stay with me for the weekend. And what an excellent weekend it was! I took the day off Friday and we treated ourselves to some pampering. As a parting gift when I left Mullen, they gave me a gift card to a really nice spa in Novi called Visions. My mom and I both got facials and my, oh, my it was WONDERFUL! It was SO relaxing and my skin felt amazing afterward! Friday night we went for dinner and to see Mama Mia. Great movie if you haven't seen it yet. Makes me want to open a little resort in some remote location!

Saturday we quickly hit IKEA (I say quickly because usually IKEA is in all day trip) and went to Lowes to get some painting supplies. The rest of the day was full of home improvement stuff. We spent most of the day painting (see previous post) but also installed a new programmable thermostat. Saturday night we had Pot Belly for dinner and stayed in to watch a chick flick off of video on demand. We were exhausted!!

Sunday we had cinnamon rolls (a Karsten family tradition) and mom left around noon or so. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. It was great to be able to spend the whole weekend with just me and mom! :)

(MOM - you cryin' yet?)