Bridal Shower: 85 Days Till I'm Hitched

First, I have to start off by saying I have AMAZING bridesmaids and a GREAT mother! They did such a wonderful job organizing, planning, and decorating for the shower!  This blog might be sweet and short with words but full of pictures!  :)  I had a wonderful time at the shower and am so grateful for all of our family and friends that came to celebrate our upcoming wedding.  The party started at 2pm and we had some foods and drinks. 

Entry 

Drink Table

Engagement photos as part of the decorations

Refreshments :)

Cute Gift Table Sign

My WONDERFUL bridesmaids 

Advise wreath

Cute ring and dress cookie favors for all of the guest :)

Then we got started with a quick game so that the guests could get to know each other.  We played a bingo game that was similar to a "find someone who" game.  The squares on the bingo board described different people that were invited to the shower and the guests had to find a person that matched the description and get five in a row to win a prize.  For example, some one of the boxes read "went to middle school or high school with the bride" and the guests had to find either my friend Corinne or my friend Malia in order to fill that bingo spot.  Donna was of course the first to get bingo because she is great at games!  Lydia came in at a close second and they both won a prize :)

The BINGO winners!

After bingo we played a game that Sara had made.  She and her husband interviewed and recorded Will and I had to answer the same questions Will was asked to see if we had similar answers.  Sara divided the movie into three parts: 1 Questions about Will, 2 Questions about me, and 3 Will's this or that.  I got a little nervous and didn't do too well with part one but I rocked part two and three :)  Will as super silly but it was fun for people who didn't really know him very well to see him on the video.

If you look close you will see Will being interviewed on the TV :)

Questions in the game

Me in the hot seat

After the game I opened gifts.  We got some wonderful things for our future house.  Overall it was a wonderful shower and I had a terrific time.  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture with everyone before they left but here are a few :)

Jennifer a great friend of mine from George Mason 

My beautiful mother and soon to be mother-in-law

A family friend of ours who has known me since I was a baby and it turns out she knew Will when he was  a child too!  What a small world!

Happy 4th of July!

3 years ago on July 4th Will said "I love you" for the first time and now here we are about to get married and about to move into our first house! So we bought the house back in April but the owners before us wanted to rent back until they found their house...this worked our great for us because now here we are getting the house ready to move and I don't have to work for the summer!! So while we waited and planned and waited for this month to finally arrive so we could officially feel like home owners Will and I came up with a three week renovation plan.  The plan went a little like this...

• Week 1: remove carpeting, pick out paint, install new light fixtures and recessed lighting throughout house
• Week 2: have painters prep and paint all walls, ceilings, and closets.  Also, remove current back splash in kitchen and replace with new tile back splash and put up crown molding in living/dinning room.
• Week 3: have new carpet put into basement and bedrooms, refinish hardwood floors on the second level and stain cherry, and install hardwood flooring on both stair cases and 3rd floor landing.
• Week 4: move in!

So far our week 1 plan is going to plan...the lights are currently being installed.  However, there is one major project that we failed to think of...landscaping!!! We didn't realize how much work needed to be done to the yard because there were many over grown shrubs.  Thankfully while I was on the way back from my bachelorette party Will got started on trimming down trees.  Then on Monday we when we had planned to remove all of the carpet we did a little and then spent the remainder of the day in the year.  We moved all of the plants that we didn't like to our back yard and then bought new plants for the front.  We also mulched Tuesday and now I have some great before and after pictures!! Enjoy!!

                                

Before and After...Good bye butterfly bush 

Before and After...ahhh so much more organized :)

Before and After...Love my new purple flowers!

I don't have a good before and after of the backyard but we moved some of the big shrubs that were in the front to the back to build a nice little wall to create a little privacy.  We are also working on leveling out the current patio.  More home updates to come soon and next week Will and I are also going to work on more wedding details.  We are going to talk with our officant to go over the ceremony in more detail. Also we are going to pick out the boys tuxedos. My Mom and I will also be going back up to Musket Ridge on Wednesday for an appetizer tasting and to pick out table cloths for the reception.  BUSY, BUSY, BUSY but loving every moment of this right now because I am going to miss all this planning once we are moved in and the wedding is over.  

PS. we have finally hit the 2 digits in our count down!! I think today is 95 days until the wedding.  So glad to not be in the 3 digit numbers any more :)

Ladies Weekend in Charlottesville

So the adventure for my Bachelorette party started at 10:30PM the night before the party.  I was packing, all excited and ready for Saturday to come.  I had clothing spread all over my bed and all of the sudden I heard wind outside and boom....out goes the power.  So I grabbed a flashlight to clear off my bed and call it a night so I could get up early to pack.  Usually when our power goes off in a storm it comes back around 1 or 2 in the morning.  However, when I woke up at 6AM Saturday morning  our power was out.  At my parents house, when the power goes out so does our well water.  Therefore, I couldn't take a shower.  So I text all the girls trying to find a place to shower but our phone lines were down and everyone was having cell phone difficulty.  Finally, my wonderful friend Jennifer got her fiance's phone to work and I ran to their house to shower quickly before we left on our adventure.  I packed up quickly and we were ready to hit the road at 10:30AM.  We drove down and when we got to our hotel about about 12:30PM they had no power so we through out bags on a cart, headed to get sandwiches, and begin our wine tasting!  First stop, Blenheim Vineyard, which is owned by Dave Matthews Band.  It was gorgeous and we had a nice little wine tasting over looking their barrel room below.

After Blenheim we went to Jefferson Vineyard and had another tasting.  Our wine pourer was actually a teacher that used to work at Lindsey's school when she was a teacher in Charlottesville.  It was a tone of fun!

After our two winery visits we headed back to the hotel room with our fingers crossed that the power was back on.  Thankfully it was so we checked in, got cleaned up, and then changed into our black dresses for dinner.  We ate at a wonderful restaurant called Bang! We each ordered a special martini then did a little sip a pass with all of our martini's so that we were able to get a little sample of all of the great martini's they had there.  After dinner we went back to the room for a fun little game to see how well I Will and I know each other.  Then we headed out for a night of dancing.  We went to a bar called Trinity.  The dance floor was empty when we got there so we had a huge dance floor and stage to our self but it quickly filled up and we had a great time dancing! On the way back to the hotel room we made a little pit stop at a pizza place and took it back to our room for a little late night snack.  In the morning we woke up to a table that explained it all... pizza, Oreos, Doritos, glow sticks from the dance party, and Gatorade. 

Our room was a mess, it looked a little like the room from the Hangover...minus the tiger.  We had a few fun laughs, cleaned up, and traveled back home after stop at the bagel shop.  We left Charlottesville with some great memories and a terrific time was had by all! On another exciting note the night of my bachelorette party Will got the keys from our town house renters and we now officially feel like home owners.  Ana drove us back to our new town house and Will and I got right to work on renovating our future home. 

Tomorrows blog post will be all about our next adventure...designing Will and I's first home! 

Summer is Here: AKA Wedding Planning is in Full Swing!

Now that I am off work for two months we are now in full wedding planning mode! So here goes...

Monday we met with our DJ to start discussing songs and the agenda.  Now our homework is to work on a do not play song list and come up with some of our key songs like father/daughter dance, etc.

Wednesday I went to my hair trial since my hair stylist is going to be taking 3 months off.  We played around with my hair straight, poofy, and curly.  Curly got the worst reaction from Will so poofy it is going to be!  My WONDERFUL bridesmaids Malia and Sara came with me and sat through 3 long hours of hairdos but they were troopers and kept me entertained  :) We played around with a cage veil but it is not the veil that I will be using on the wedding day.  Here are a few samples from the trial.  

 VOLUME!!!

My favorite option 

 Other side of my favorite option

 Fun...but not me

Super curly! 

Today my Mom and I went to Hitched to have my first dress fitting!!! It has been about a year since I last saw my dress and I fell in love all over again.  I didn't want to take it off!!! They are taking my dress in 3 inches so my running plan is working :) However, I can't take full credit for all 3 of those inches because we did order it a little bit too big since my order was made a year and half before our wedding date.  While we were there my Mom and I started exploring some veil options and a little sparkle accessory for my hair.  I am going to do a small cage but instead of the usual netting that the birdcage veil comes in we are having one made with the tool that most long veils are made from.  It should be in at my next dress fitting next month so pictures will come soon! We found the perfect clip for my hair that is almost an exact match to a little something special on my wedding dress. I am going to wear the veil and clip for the ceremony and just the clip for the reception.  Here is a little sneak peak of the clip.

More wedding planning to come! My Bachlorette party is TOMORROW!!! The bridal shower is only 2 weeks away! :) Only about 3 more months till the wedding...WAHOOO!

A Productive Spring Break!

Today is Will's last day off but I still have two more days of Spring Break. It was a productive break full of home things and wedding planning.  On Wednesday we went up to Maryland and did a cake tasting at a local farm bakery.  We were a little apprehensive since our first cake tasting at another bakery in Virginia was an interesting experience and we had to listen to the baker talk about how great he was for about an hour.  However, this time our cake tasting experience was much more enjoyable.  The owner is a humble guy and he had cupcakes waiting for us taste when we got there.  We ending up choosing a pumpkin cake with traditional buttercream icing.  All we had to do was find the ribbon and cake topper that we want on the cake and he will do the rest. So today we bought our ribbon and topper.  I am so glad we were able to check another item off our list.

While we were in Maryland we went to meet our officiant.  Our officiant was the same officiant that married Will's parents so it will be a special ceremony for his family as well as mine.  Warren is our officiant's name and he has been married for 60 years! While we visited with him he had us write a list of our top 10 traits that we like about each other and a list of 5 things that we "liked less" about one another.  However, Will and I could only think of 2 things we "liked less" and they were of no big surprise to one another because we have talked about it before.  Warren asked us if we have ever had any doubts about getting married or have thought it was bad timing.  Not once have either of us had second thoughts.  We explained to him that we feel our relationship has really progressed each day.  With planning for the wedding and buying a house we have learned a lot about one another and have only seen these experiences as building blocks to our future.  :)

Now we are working on finding invitations and that is the next thing on our wedding "to do" list.  Tomorrow we will only be 6 months away from the wedding! We can't wait!!! :

A Day of DIY Projects

Today is the 2nd day of spring break and already Will and I have completed many of our home DIY home projects that we put on our "To Do" list.  We started out the day painting a "As Is" chair from Ikea that was only $9.99.  It was perfect for a little corner desk that Will had refinished a few months ago.  

Before

After

Then we started working on a monogram project with inspiration from a monogram flag that my Mom had given us as a present.  We started out by buying a 4ft x 2ft board from Home Depot and then we cut it down to a 3ft. x 2ft piece.  After that we painted it a off white color that we had gotten for $2 on the mistake/returned paint rack at Home Depot.  After we painted it tan we taped the trim to frame out the monogram design.

Once it was taped we used a technique I had read on a blog to make crisp, clean lines.  We took the same paint that we had been using and repainted the area that we were about to paint black.  This extra coat helped fill in any spaces that might not have been covered perfectly by the tape.  After that was dry we painted the black trim and peeled off the tape to reveal the clean lines because of that extra coat of tan.

After the trim was done I found a google image of the flag and Will enlarged the image in Paint.  He then printed the large image on several pieces of paper.  I had to cut and tape the image back together so that it would be large enough for the area inside of the trim. 

Next, Will scratched the back of the design with a pencil.  Once the back was covered with pencil I laid it on the board and traced the black design.  When tracing it on the board it left an outline on the wood.  From that outline I painted the image and ta-da it was done!

For our last project of the day we finished up a quick project to frame our first house key.  I typed up the title, left space for the key, and then under the key I typed up our new home address (sorry you don't see that part in the picture).  I had painted the key red a few days ago.  We glued it onto the paper with super glue and in just a few minutes we created quick and cheap knick-knack to help fill our empty walls.

It was a busy day of doing little projects to make out new house feel homie once we get to move in.  Tomorrow it is back to wedding planning.  Will and I are going to try a cake up in Frederick, MD and then meet an officiant.  Later this week my Mom and I are going to pick out invitations.  This spring break is defiantly a week of getting things done! :)

Our First House!

As of Friday William and I are now homeowners.  After searching for a few months we found this house just 6 miles from my work! It is right by Frying Pan Park and has a 2 car garage! William is excited because many of the other townhouses we had been looking at only had 1 car garages and he would have been parking outside.  But now he doesn't have to! :) It also has beautiful walking trails right behind the house and a nice view of a small pond ie. water retaining area.  We can't believe we found an end unit it such a great lot that doesn't back up to other townhouse. The location couldn't have been better.  The house has good bones but we have some big plans for it.  Before we move in we are going to re-sand the existing hardwood floors, add hardwood on the two sets of staircases, add crown molding, repaint every wall, and add recessed lighting throughout the house.  We can't wait for out mini renovations.  However, we aren't moving in until July because the previous owners are renting back from us until they move into their new place.  This worked out perfect for Will and I because we can continue to save while they make our first few mortgage payments :)  

More updates to come as we work on home projects :)