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!