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!

Introduction to the Top Balcony

This is a close-up of my Drumstick Alliums that are mid-bloom right now. These two are about 3 feet tall. I planted these as bulbs at the end of fall last year. Currently, they are in bloom on both our front and back balconies, but I believe they are smaller out back since they are in a smaller pot and probably not getting as much sun. I can't wait until these open up completely and are full purple.

The four-leaf clover looking plant is made up of multiple bulbs called Shamrock Iron Cross. The little pink flowers from it are very cute and dainty and one of my favorite things about this plant. They typically only open when its cold outside. I'll try to get a close up of them to share. These bulbs are repeats from last year - I just replanted these about 3 inches deep at the end of April or so. I have extra bulbs if anyone wants some! They are very easy to grow and maintain, I promise.

Oh, and the pots below it in the picture with the dead stuff? Those are from my tulips and crocuses, early spring bulbs. Sadly with the random cold snaps and strange NC winter weather we had, only one of my tulips actually opened up this year but the blooms were such a tease. I plan to take these pots down, harvest and store the bulbs over the summer/fall, and then re-plant them in the winter. In the meantime, I could plant Dahlias or other bulbs I have sitting around to enjoy this summer.

This is a Cypress Vine. It is supposed to have red flowers, but for some reason the only ones I've seen so far are white - you can see a small white bloom on the center stake. Although you can't see it in this picture, there are teeny tiny little red blooms that should open up soon. These are said to attract Hummingbirds! I need to clean out and refill my feeders.

Dog Days of Spring

This morning Tucker had us up around 8:30 for the day, which wasn't too bad. We took him for a swim at the lake but we didn't take the camera so we have no action shots to share with you. Let me just say that this dog loves to swim. Here are some recent pictures of Tucker just being himself. We like to hang out on the balcony (weather permitting) and of course he loves to sit in "his chair" and watch anything that moves.

(All images taken by Me)

In the bottom left he was definitely watching some geese in the lake across the street. If he could keep his mouth shut, Tucker would be a great hunting dog. He is very attentive and is easy to train. I'll have to make some videos of his tricks soon - I started teaching him to roll over this morning, and he already knows how to do the trick we call "Nose" - I put a treat on his nose and he pops it up into the air, maybe catching it, maybe not.

The Real Deal

For future reference, this is a picture of a ceremony in the Prestonwood Country Club ballroom. Our ceremony will be in the same place facing the same direction, but I don't really want it to look as plain. We will not be renting different chairs - I'm fine with the look of the Prestonwood chairs and they are comfortable, so we will be foregoing the extra $$ for Chivari chairs.

I think a chuppah, an aisle runner, lots of candles, and some pretty floral arrangements should dress this up nicely.

(Image from aweddingminister.com)

Ceremony Ideas

I've tried to describe the kind of decor ideas I have for our ceremony, but I feel like words don't really do it justice. If I had to write out the description, I would say that I want the aisles to be lined with tall cylindrical vases filled with water and floating candles. I'm not sure if saying "lined" is accurate - from the picture I've found that I'm using as my inspiration, there are tons of candles to create this effect. See for yourself, and let me know what you think!

(This image is from Jenna & Jeff's Wedding on the Knot)

I think the wide aisle runner and the chuppah also "speak to me" in the picture. I do like how the candles are of all different sizes but I would rather use vases that look more like this:

(Image from Keily & Gregg's Nestledown wedding via greenweddingshoes.blogspot.com - shot by Dana and Jeremy)

Thanks to the local Marshall's I've been able to round up about 8 vases or so already, all of varying heights. I need to find out the dimensions of the room over at Prestonwood to get an idea of how long our aisle should be. Once I know that, then I think it will be easier to decide if I want to go with this look or if I would rather have the candles just at the front with the chuppah, like this:

(Image from asouthernsoiree.blogspot.com, Jamie and Michael's Wedding)

I guess that's enough of my ceremony ideas for now. I'd love to hear what you think! Feel free to leave me a comment, send me an email, or just call me up with advice :)

Love this Surprise Wedding from 100 Layer Cake

I think that as every Bride to Be starts the planning process, and at many other points along the way, one always jokes that they should just elope. Of course that would be great until you have your parents, family, friends, etc to answer to.

I love that this couple cut down what was left of their engagement from 7 months to 7 days. If only we could pull this off!

Jumping right in

First, welcome to my blog! I've known for a little while that I wanted to start a blog and I'm happy to have gotten around to doing it.

I have a few "goals" to accomplish with this blog:
1. Keep track of wedding plans to share with friends and family
2. Use the blog as a place to share and store my wedding inspiration links/photos that I've found on the web and from other bloggers
3. Track the status of my container garden and maybe include some pictures and how to advice for those who are developing green thumbs of their own
4. Follow wedding-related and other inspiring blogs and share my favorite posts

My intentions are to not let this blog interfere with my daily work or home tasks. I imagine I'll be posting a lot from work, but since mobile posts are possible, we'll see how the iPhone works as well! I hope to round up most of the inspiration pictures I've bookmarked and blogs that I follow and add them to this in the near future.

Until we meet again,
Brit