Under 200 Days!

Since my last post we've come to the conclusion that Costa Rica will no longer be on our list for possible Honeymoon locations.  We do want to go to Costa Rica one day, but we've realized that we do not have enough time to see all of the things that we want to see in such a diverse country, and we'd have to move around a lot, which would not be the relaxing trip that we want. 
So now we are targeting Caribbean locations with beautiful beaches and good dive locations nearby.  I haven't done a dive in some time, but since Jake has his advanced certification I'm totally comfortable diving with him.
Also, we are now under 200 days to the big day - 196 from today.  Its been a busy time - we had two engagement parties, Thanksgiving, and now we are coming up on the holiday season.  I have a huge project at work going on, so I've had to put wedding planning and also blogging to the side.
I do have a picture to share from our mini-engagment session at the State Fair with our photographer, April Sirit of Evoke Photography. We had an awesome time at this shoot and look forward to our full session in the spring.

Costa Rica

(Image from TripAdvisor)

My workload today is pretty much non-existant (knock on wood) so I'm doing some research on our potential Honeymoon destination today!  I'll post any must-sees or dos for us if I come across any :)

Good Intentions

I had very good intentions of doing some solid Honeymoon research over the weekend.  I did find some helpful articles and reviews that talked about what to see/do in Costa Rica, but I wasn't sold on any particular resort or area.  I did get a little side-tracked before the research began as Jake and I sat down to finalize our budget and look at our guest list again, which led to research on bulk florals, etc, so I digress.

I started a list of what we wanted to actually do on the Honeymoon (if we went to Costa Rica) and this is the list that I have so far (literally):
Costa Rica - zipline

I know that I can add to that from what we've discussed already - horseback riding, possibly scuba diving, touring local volcanoes, hitting up a spa, and I'd love to spend some time on a beach, weather permitting.  Costa Rica's "rainy" season starts in April/May, so we would expect some wet weather if we go in June, but I've read very different extremes on how rainy it actually can get during that time.  It shall be an adventure though!

Friday the 13th

Since we got engaged in February on Friday the 13th, I will always feel like every Friday the 13th is special.  It has been a whole 9 months since we got engaged.  According to my wedding tracker, we only have 7 months and 6 days to go!  This means that we have since passed the halfway mark in the wedding planning process, and I feel like there is still a lot to do - probably because there is.

Today, I called Olga to schedule my appointment to drop off my wedding dress, so I can check that off the list!  I'll be dropping it off mid-January to be pinned and cut before my first fitting.

Here is a list of the other things that need to be done in the grand scheme of things for our wedding:

• Bridal Party Attire
• Florist
• Save the Dates
• Wedding Website
• Vows/Ceremony
• Invitations (which we can't order until after our tasting) - note to self, need to schedule tasting!
• Honeymoon

In the meantime, Jake and I have some Thank You notes to write for gifts that we received at our Engagement party last weekend.  We also hope to do some research for the Honeymoon this weekend :)

My Lazy Boy

Here is an "action shot" from our walk during my lunch break today.  As you can see below, Tucker was not interested in walking!  I do love it when he lays like this though :)

My Dog is Fratacular

At the State Fair a few weeks ago, I bought Tucker an NC State Block S collar from the Unleashed booth.  Since Jake and I are State alums, we thought it was only proper for him to represent our Alma Mater.  When I was talking with JP, Unleashed's owner, I mentioned that we were having trouble with Tucker pulling on his walks.  He recommended that we come in to get him a harness, so we did just that.  Unleashed on Lake Boone Trail is an awesome dog store that has tons of dog-friendly treats, food, collars, leashes, and of course, toys among other dog-related items.  If you are in the Raleigh area, I highly recommend them!  And treat your dog to a trip to Unleashed - Tucker loved it as he got lots of treats during the harness-fitting process.

So back to the harness.  Of course we had to get a manly harness for our son, since he is such a handsome boy after all.  So no pinks, purples or anything like that.  The best option that they had in Tucker's size at the time was a pattern called "Bone Hunter" in camouflage fashion.  Here's a picture of Tucker sporting his new look as he stopped to check out the ducks on one of our lunch walks this week. 

I think he looks mighty fratastic, don't you?  Camo and a Block S collar would make any NC State frat boy proud.  And the harness has been one of our best dog-purchases to date.  Tucker rarely pulls and I feel much more in control on our walks.  I'm very grateful especially since Tucker hit 78 pounds this week and at 10 months, has a lot more growing to do!

Home-grown Rose

I was out on our balcony Tuesday night and realized that my Climbing Rose had a new bloom!  This will probably be the last rose of the season, but it was too beautiful to leave outside.  It's still lovely sitting on our kitchen table.  This is just an iPhone shot, but I love it!

Kiva: Loans that Change Lives

I'm taking a break from Wedding Related posts today to tell you about Kiva.  In a nutshell, Kiva is a micro-financing website that connects lenders, such as myself, to hundreds of Entrepreneurs worldwide who are trying to become more economically self-sufficient.  The loans start at $25 a piece - lenders come together to collect enough for an Entrepreneur's loan.  Then over the course of a few months to a year, the Entrepreneur will pay back the loan.  You are able to search different regions, genders, and types of business before you make the loan.  I've contributed to a Fish Seller in Azerbaijan and a Poultry farmer in Vietnam, for example.  Once the loan is paid back, you are able to re-lend it to other needy individuals or groups.

Most of the businesses will keep track of their progress and keep lenders updated through journal entries.  Its very fulfilling to know that just a small loan from one person can combine with loans from others to help get a small business off the ground.  Kiva makes it very easy to make a difference when you are physically worlds away.  I encourage you to check out their website and learn more about the Kiva story. Visit http://www.kiva.org/ today!

Real Wedding Find on Green Wedding Shoes

Green Wedding Shoes is one of my favorite Wedding blogs for inspiration.  Now that I have more time to actually read wedding blogs again, I had to share a Wedding that I found inspiring.  Please check out Megan + Simon's Backyard Wedding on Green Wedding Shoes.  It has color, it has style, it has succulents!  I also LOVE the bouquet shown below.

(Photo credit: JAC Photographers)

Going for a R-I-D-E

One of Tucker's favorite things is going for a ride.  Until Jake and I are completely, 100% ready to put him in the car, we cannot say the "R" word.  If he hears it, he will bark until you just have to get in the car, forgetting whatever else it was that you were supposed to do before you left or bring with you.  So here is a recent picture of Tucker on a ride, nose out the window, taking the world in as every Chocolate Lab should. :)

A New Look

I have another confession: I was never really in love with my Blog template.  But luckily, I found one that I feel suits me and the blog, its Rounders 4 by Douglas Bowman.  Wherever you are, thank you Douglas!

Back to Blogging!

I know I've fallen behind on blogging, okay?  The first step is acceptance - no denial here.  Its very clear that I have been slacking off when Jake has asked me 2 or 3 times since my last post if I've updated my blog at all.  The answer now will be, YES!  October always has been an incredibly busy month for my family, so I can put some of the blame there.  Work also has been extremely busy - I've been working overtime every week which is nice when the paycheck rolls around but long days are not my favorite (are they anyone's?). 

We have our first wedding-related event coming up the first weekend in November, our Engagement Party!  Mom and I still have a lot of work to do to prepare, but we are both looking forward to it.  I don't have any real updates in terms of wedding planning, except that Mom's friends have called dibs on my Bridal Luncheon.  Oh and Jake and I took some fabulous engagement pictures at the State Fair last week!  We had a lot of fun with April and Emily, her lighting assistant.  I expect to have proofs sometime around December and I'll be sure to share once I do! 

*THE* Bridesmaid Dress?

This past Saturday, my local Bridesmaids joined me at David's Bridal for our first Bridesmaid dress outing. We had a lot of fun and I felt like it was a huge success.  If I had to decide on a Bridesmaid dress today, this would be *the one* - I know, this is completely different than what I had in mind when I went.  I originally wanted black, then greens and blues.  Well the dress itself (style 88312) didn't wow me in the green or blue options that they had.  But what I did really like was the color shown below, Sangria!

Here is a link to the dress on the David's Bridal website.  The best thing about it, besides the fact that its fun, flattering on everyone, and could definitely be worn again are (drumroll please) the POCKETS!  I have a few pictures from our outing that I'll try to get on here soon - they are on already Facebook for those of you who can view them already. 

So, if I go with this as the bridesmaid dress, then Sangria and green (with accents of yellow and orange) will be our colors!

Another Bouquet I love

I definitely want a colorful bouquet with lots of rich greens, succulents, and maybe even some non-traditional greenery additions.  I love the Billy Buttons, Succulents, and Dahlias in this bouquet.  Ideally, I'd like yellow to be more of an accent color than the main color in the bouquet, so I'd cut some of the BBs from this and add different colored dahlias, roses, anemones, etc.  Plus that gray stuff that I think she calls Kangaroo Paws would have to go.

Photo Credit

More Chuppah Inspiration

I found some beautiful Chuppah pictures while catching up on some blog-following this weekend.  Seeing how these are put together should definitely give Jake and I a better idea of how to build/assemble our chuppah.  And we probably should go ahead and start looking for materials soon.  Regardless, here are the photos, enjoy!

Photo Credit

I particularly like how the flowers hang down in the back of this one.  Love that its simple but still very elegant.  Maybe I could find some fake flowers that would string easily to create this effect? 

Photo Credit

I could not resist...

This is our venue, the ballroom of Prestonwood Country Club (photo credit Tamara Lackey Photography).  I really like this set-up a lot, but we won't have a band, instead we'll have Jeff Simpson (Simpsound) as our DJ for the ceremony and reception.  I'm also debating having a head table or a sweet heart.  I see the positive aspects of both.  Do I want to be with the bridal party or alone?  Even as I think about the differences I can't decide. But I do need to consider lighting options and videography as well.  So much to do!

Prestonwood spotted...

Ashley of Story Photographers just blogged about this beautiful Prestonwood wedding of Allison and Scott.  Its always fun to see our venue set up and to get ideas on all the ways to use the space.  I've been seriously neglecting the good ol' blog - I keep saying, "I've been busy," and I have been, but I need to get some wedding things done, stat.

Ask my two, yet to be asked bridesmaids to be bridesmaids
Schedule our tasting
Get serious about flowers - do I want to DIY the centerpieces and have the florist do the bouquets/bouts?
Schedule meetings with florists -  how many is a reasonable number to interview? 
Figure out flower budget (eeek)
Schedule an appointment to try on bridesmaid dresses @ DB
Work on guest list and start getting addresses for e-party
Are we going to do Save the dates?

Yea, the list could go on and on.  When I sit down and think about it, the 8 months we have left just keeps shrinking and shrinking.  Oh and can we please figure out the Honeymoon plans??  And when do vows come into play, and music?  I wish work wasn't so busy right now so I could get a lot more wedding tasks taken care of on the clock.  I'll leave you with a picture from the wedding mentioned above.  Hope you all enjoy the weekend! (And Go Pack! Great win vs Pitt!)

The Registering Process

We thought the registering process was going to be easy.  Everyone says its so much fun, and they are right, it is.  But I believe that the registering process is much better after its over.  Sure, I know we may tweak some things online later on down the road, however I'm glad that after 5 hours of analyzing options, we can say that our first registry is done.  The Bed Bath and Beyond store in Cary Crossroads is daunting, and Jake's napping now after we finished round 2 earlier today.  We broke up our visits into kitchen/fine dining the first visit and bed/bath the second visit.  I think we made wise decisions and I hope that we'll be happy with our choices for years to come.

Yes, we are still planning on registering at Crate and Barrel in addition to BB&B - we have considered adding a Macy's or Belk's, but we'll just have to see how much we can handle!

Quarantined

After a busy week at work last week and a short trip to the beach, Jake and I came back to Raleigh Sunday. Monday morning I took him to Urgent care and he was diagnosed with Swine Flu! He had a terrible fever Monday and Tuesday, but is improving every day. I'm basically waiting until it hits me. We ate off each other's plates Saturday night, but since Sunday we've been avoiding contact, practicing good handwashing, etc. My management has asked me to work from home this week to avoid spreading the flu if it is in fact in my system... So Jake and I are quarantined for now.

Fun Web Finds

Work has been mostly slow this morning (knock on wood) so I've been able to check out the usual wedding blogs that occupy my time so well. Today I found three very unique posts, from the Editors of Martha Stewart Weddings, Snippet & Ink and Style Me Pretty.

• The Bride's Guide idea is to use Radicchio as a stamp that creates a very nice rose. You can see the post here. I'm intrigued, but not sure how I would apply this to our wedding...
• I love the Chuppah that S&I calls to attention here - it wouldn't necessarily fit into our overall feel for the wedding, but I love the colors and the free flowing fringe on the sides.
• The Orange and Teal Bash posted on SMP is super fun. I love the lanterns on the Chuppah and the fabulous pops of color. Again, a little out of our realm but still very cool to see.

So not necessarily anything that we will be using, but hopefully this helps make your Friday go by a little faster as it did for me :)

Prestonwood Pictures

This past Sunday June (FMIL) and Liz (FSIL) went with me to take another walk through Prestonwood. They were setting up for a banquet so there were some tables out in the ballroom but I took some more pictures to get a better feel for the space. Here are some of the pictures from our visit!

We are very excited about hosting our ceremony and reception at Prestonwood - luckily the room is gorgeous so we won't have too much decorating to do but we'll still dress it up a bit :)

Aisle Mock-Up

I took some time today while Jake played video games in this rainy weather to lay out the vases I have in order to get an idea of what our aisle could look like. I can't quite decide if I like the vases lined up in a straight line or grouped together, kind of overlapping. I took pictures of both set-ups below.

Lined up straight, even with the aisle about 2-3 inches apart.

Grouped or bunched together - I think I will need more vases to get the full effect of this one.

So far I have a total of 11 vases ranging from 10 to 19 inches. I only have three that are 16 inches or greater - I'll need to get a better variety of vases in the 14-19 inch category. I like the look of having all different sizes instead of lining them up by height. Hopefully I'll be able to get some shopping done tomorrow and find some more.

I do need to do some research on floating candles. The diameter of these vases is from 4 to 5.5 inches. I'm guessing that the candles should all be the same size around 3 or 3.5 or so. I want white floating candles. I think the water heights inside the vases will vary as well, but I don't think I want them to be higher than 2-3 inches from the top.

The dimensions in the half of the ballroom that we're using for the ceremony are 48x62. With a chuppah at the end I'm guessing our aisle would be about 50 feet long?

My Very Own Inspiration Board

Out of boredom at work comes my very own inspiration board, from images that I've found across the web. Unfortunately I don't think there is a way to make this show up as a larger image in the blog post, but you should be able to click on it to be taken to the full-size image. Credits below from left to right.


Photo credits from left to right: Carrie Patterson Photography, Ink & Peat, J. Crew, lovethecard.com, J. Crew, Ink & Peat, Keily and Greg's Nestledown wedding shot by Dana and Jeremy, and Martha Stewart weddings

A Chocolate and Peanut Butter Revelation!

After having my paws in a huge bowl of Peanut Butter M&Ms this past weekend at Mom's and then having some Reese's Pieces at the house, I've come to the conclusion that the M&Ms definitely fulfill both a chocolate and the peanut butter craving, while the Pieces are just kind of peanut buttery. Don't get me wrong, both will suffice in a movie theater or on the road for a quick convenience store fix, but I have to admit that I like the Peanut Butter M&Ms better than the Reese's Pieces.

Now I just need to find out if Mars will make Peanut Butter M&Ms in different colors to go in my candy bar...

10 Months To Go!

It's amazing how time passes so quickly. Everyone keeps telling me the older you get the faster time flies. I feel like summer started yesterday! This is just a reminder that I need to kick it up a notch in the wedding planning world.

Here are pictures of some non-wedding related things that make me happy. These were all taken on my iPhone. I need to take a picture of Jake soon so that I have a more recent one of him. I guess its time to upload the pictures from my camera over the last few weeks!

Tucker watching a hummingbird at the feeder

I love these little guys!

These are the beautiful roses that Jake gave me for our 4 year dating anniversary and 6 month engagement anniversary! They smell amazing and the colors are beautiful. I think if I go with the Emerald and Aqua color scheme that I will be incorporating orange tones in the flowers to add a punch of color. Thanks for the inspiration and the beautiful flowers Jake!

Bridesmaid Dress Ideas?

I've had some time today to surf the net looking for suitable bridesmaid dresses in the Emerald to Aqua range. This is what I've found so far. The main qualifications are that they need to be in the appropriate color range and be about knee length. My motivation for having non-matching bridesmaid dresses is so that each bridesmaid can choose a dress that 1) suits their body type, 2) they will wear again, 3) they can spend the amount they choose to spend, ideally keeping it from $50 to $150.

From left to right, we have:
Francesca's Collections, Blue Moon Dress, $38
David's Bridal, Style 83176, originally $120, on sale for $59.99
J. Crew, Silk chiffon Juliet dress (in tropical aqua), $180
J. Crew, Silk tricotine Cecelia short dress (in oasis green), $225
J. Crew, Embossed-cotton Aubrey halter dress (in sea green), originally $98, on sale for $78.00

I do know that a couple of these options don't meet the criteria, but I think this gives a good representation of what styles and colors go well together. I'm certainly open to more ideas if anyone wants to share some with me!

Being Indecisive, as Usual!

I've been thinking lately about colors and I'm starting to drift away from the Black bridesmaid dresses idea. I think if I had to pick two colors today, I would choose Emerald and Aqua. Here are a few pictures that I've found lately that are swaying me to use non-matching dresses.

From Sara & Ryan's Wedding

Image via Offbeat Bride

Image via Offbeat Bride

I'm Back!

I have been uber-busy the past month with work, family obligations, etc. This past weekend Jake's brother Justin and his new wife Elizabeth got married and we all had so much fun! It made me realize that there are a lot of little details that I should probably get started on. I'm ready to kick it into high gear and get the rest of this wedding planned. Here's what we have booked so far:

Venue (Ceremony and Reception): Prestonwood Country Club
Officiant: Reverend Barbara Lodge (read her blog here!)
Photographer: April Sirit of Evoke Photography http://www.evokenc.com/
DJ: Jeff Simpson of Simpsound Productions

As for the other things we know so far - I have my Mom's dress that will be getting altered early next year. I'm very excited about this! Jake and I are going to build our chuppah and we should get started on this soon.

I need to figure out:
Bridesmaid's dresses - how about asking the rest of my bridesmaids to be bridesmaids first?!?
Flowers - do I want to have a florist do them all or can I do some on my own?
Transportation - including getting the guests/wedding party to and from Prestonwood as well as for us to the hotel afterwards
Honeymoon - we need to start researching COSTA RICA!!! We definitely want to go to Costa Rica and zipline through the rainforest, go to the beach, go horse-back riding and scuba diving

I know there are many other things TO DO but this will work for now! I hope to have more time this week to catch up on other blogs I like to follow and will post things that I love :)

Bouquet Inspiration

I found it, my new favorite bouquet, pehaps ever. I've never seen anything like this but I love it. Courtesy of Snippet & Ink, from the Sneak Peak of Anli & Kenneth's Wedding.

So much to do!

Okay so between a fabulous beach weekend over the 4th and staying busy at work I've been neglecting the good ol' blog. Here's what's going on in my own little wedding planning world.

Today we will meet with a potential videographer
I have my first dress appointment Tuesday (gasp!)
We need to schedule meetings with potential officiants

I have a couple of invitation books to go through to figure out what we like. We need to get serious about invites and Save the Dates if we are going to do them. Everyone keeps asking me if anything is new and I haven't really had much to say but hopefully there will be more substantial developments soon!

Need a Good Laugh?

Thanks to the lovely Megan's blog (Meg{Moir}) I found an awesome non-wedding related blog that made me literally LOL at my desk. You will giggle (at the least) at every post. The blog is called Stuff White People Like, and it is completely hilarious and very true, at least in my experience. So check it out here: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ and enjoy!

Making an Exit: Bubbles or Sparklers?

I'm waiting to hear back from the Social Director at Prestonwood as to what rules they have regarding the sendoff at the end of the reception, but in the meantime I'm contemplating whether we want to exit to bubbles or sparklers. I'm not afraid of sparklers at all so that won't be an issue for me, but I think that since our sendoff will be around 11pm that the sparklers would look better than the bubbles at night. I've found some pictures of both at Prestonwood to give you an idea of what it would look like.

(Image by Robin Lin at www.robinlin.com)

(Image by Tamara Lackey at www.tamaralackeyblog.com)

(Image by Tamara Lackey at www.tamaralackeyblog.com)

Fun in the Sun

As promised, here are some fabulous pictures of Tucker and his friend Toby playing at the beach this past weekend. They both had a great time and got some really good naps afterwards as well! I'm very excited to take Tucker to the beach for the long weekend over the holiday - he will have other dogs in the house to keep him company, Jade and Katie, and maybe even Bridget too! Maybe I can round up some more wedding related items to post this week?

Beach Bound

I am very much looking forward to going to the beach this weekend. Jake, Tucker and I plan to have a great time with friends in the sun and sand. Bocce ball and frisbee throwing are definitely on the agenda! Oh and I'm very excited to see Tucker's reaction to the ocean this time around. The last time we were at the beach it was pretty chilly and he wasn't quite as strong of a swimmer. I will be sure to take some pictures to share!



Hope everyone has a great weekend wherever you are!

Found: Awesome Florist Blog!

Thanks to Snippet & Ink I believe I have found my favorite Home and Floral Design Blog, Housemartin, which is the blog of Pam Zsori of Ink & Peat. I love how she incorporates unique and unexpected natural elements into her arrangements, including thistle, succulents and more. Here are a couple of images that really stood out to me. I think I'll save these for my floral inspiration collection!

(All images from Housemartin)

One Year to Go!

On this day next year, I will be tying the knot! I like to call it our "pre-anniversary" if you will. I'm very excited and I know that this year is going to fly by. We have been researching officiants this week so we have been productive with wedding-related work! I hope to post some of my personal photos of garden and puppy related items this weekend.

One thing that I have found that I know I want to incorporate into our ceremony is one of these adorable ring bearer bowls from Etsy seller, Paloma's Nest. We haven't decided if we will have a ring bearer/flower girl yet, but I also think it would be neat for one of the members of the bridal party to carry our rings down the aisle. I love that this can be used as a little jewelry bowl after the wedding!

(Image from Etsy Seller Paloma's Nest)

Things Tucker Likes...

Every time we are out and about with Tucker it is a new adventure. He will chase after anything that moves, whether its a squirrel or a leaf blowing down the sidewalk. I thought it was about time to start a list of the things that attract his attention..

• Bunnies
• Frogs
• Bugs
• Birds
• People, and he is especially interested in the people walking by that are clearly afraid of him (how they are afraid of him I have no idea)
• Ducks & Geese (still birds I guess)

There is also a list of dead things that Tucker has tried to bring home:

• Half of a dead snake (the mowers split this temptation in two - twice as hard to avoid)
• Runover frog
• A dead fish floating in the lake
• And a dead bird that had flown into a window...

Thankfully Tucker responds very well to the Drop command, especially when I have to use the really mean voice since I don't want to go anywhere near the dead snake/frog/bird/fish in his mouth!

Color Ideas

If you haven't been to Snippet & Ink's blog yet, you are missing out. They post something new every day, whether its a featured sponsor, creative wedding photos, fun giveaways or inspiration boards! I'm going to use green as one of my wedding colors, but I don't know what my complementing color should be... Here are a few of my favorite Snippet and Ink inspiration boards in colors that I can seriously see myself using.

Emerald and Aquamarine

Summer Lovin'

Jadeite and Lawn
(All images from Snippet and Ink - click on the board titles for the original S&I post as well as photo credits)

To Do List...

So I have another boring post today since I wasn't able to post any this past weekend. I did have a great time out with friends Friday and with the girls in Pinehurst Saturday! Here are the things I hope to accomplish this week:

• Schedule my first alteration appointment with Olga to see what we can do with my Mom's dress
• Email Prestonwood regarding the room dimensions for the ceremony and reception, also find out when the tastings usually occur (yes!)
• Start researching flowers and florists

Am I missing anything? I need to look at the different checklists floating around online to see what else I should be doing right now. Probably should register soon and start looking at invitations though!

Catching Up...

So this week has been busy both at work and at home for me. I have a lot of pictures from last weekend as well as some from during the week that I need to post. I'm leaving the office early today so I hope to get around to posting some this afternoon. I also need to catch up on the blogs I haven't been able to read this week. There is a chance I'll find something I love and share with you here!

Happy Friday everyone!

Bridesmaid Inspiration

Some of you may know that I don't want all of my bridesmaids to wear the same dress. I don't think its necessary to make your closest friends suffer through the process of getting measured, getting fitted, and then paying for a dress they will probably never wear again. In my opinion, the least a bride can do is let her maids pick out the style, that way they can each have a dress that is flattering and comfortable to them and there is a better chance they will wear it again!

I want to have black bridesmaids dresses - yes black. At this point I think knee-length cocktail type dresses will do. Nothing too frilly or fancy, but nothing just cotton either. I don't know the particular fabric that I want, but I love the pictures below. I think everyone looks great and hopefully it will be an easy solution for my yet to be announced bridesmaids!

(Images by Trever Hoehne, found here)

Plant Rehab

A couple of weeks ago, Jake's Mom, June, my future MIL, gave me a plant to "rehab" for her. I have a before picture of the plant but it really makes it look worse than it was.

When I first received the plant, it was mostly brown and had no blooms - basically it looked dead. I thought that maybe it wasn't getting enough water, but then found out that it was getting too much water, and probably developing some kind of mold disease, because it didn't have proper drainage. Jake got out some tools and made a bigger hole in the bottom for me. This "saved" the plant!

Here are some before and after pictures, as well as pictures taken during the pruning process to help take care of the plants. Get yourself some gloves (these were like $4.00 at Target - they don't have to be fancy) and don't be afraid to get a little dirty.

This is the true before shot, taken this morning before I started to prune these bad boys. Now for this plant pruning is basically just pulling all of the dead/brown stuff off of the plant. Keep in mind this is after I've had them for a few weeks - the better drainage has made a world of difference.

You have to actually pull on the plant folks. Don't be afraid. If you mess up and pull off some leaves (or half the plant) its not the end of the world.

So you can use two hands - I didn't in this case since I was taking the picture with the other hand.

1. Grab on to the good part of the plant with one hand and the bad with the other.

2. Pull the bad part off of the good part, trying not to damage the green part of the plant in the process.

3. Repeat until the plant is happy and all the dead is gone.

Now wasn't that easy? Seriously, all it takes is a little time, some patience, and maybe a drop of sweat or two if its hot enough out, but not only do these plants look prettier, but they will probably grow better from here on out as well.

June, I'm happy to say that this plant has been revived. If you want it back, I'd love for you to enjoy it. They do look like mini-sunflowers!