I'm sawwwwy...sooo sawwwwy!

I'm just going to apologize now...

I have my annual staff exam on Thursday at 3pm and therefore, probably won't be on blogger much this week. I'm so sorry! Dont worry-i wont cheat on y'all...I don't even see Beau the week of my staff exam.

The test is a pretty big deal...19 pages memorized verbatim and I have to get a 90 or higher. I've taken it twice so far so I have faith in myself but my nerves still get the best of me each time.

In the meantime, if anyone knows how to blog from an iPHone, post pics, etc...I'd love to know how!!

And you already know...Thursday night there WILL be a celebration!

Look ma, no bands!

So I know it's "traditional" (blah, blah, blah) to receive a wedding band on your wedding day. Typically, one that matches your engagement ring...

But I'm not traditional.
We aren't traditional.
I'm wearing cowboy boots under my wedding dress.
We are getting married at a gazebo, not a church.
I don't want roses, or peonies or lillies in my bouquet.
We are exiting our ceremony to Taylor Swift's "Love Story".
...this is just me.
This is us.

I've gone back and forth between deciding if I want a band or not so this weekend I tried on the matching band to my engagement ring. Yes, the band was gorgeous and matched my ring to a "tee" but my engagement ring is simply gorgeous all by itself. Once I put the band on, all the beauty of my engagement ring disappeared.

I called Beau and informed him of my dilemma. He concurred that if I truly didn't love the idea of a wedding band, then I didn't have to get one.

I know, they're convenient for traveling because you can leave your "real" ring at home and just wear the band but in all honestly, when I'm married, I want to wear some bling. A rock.

So there. No band!
Is it not just beautiful all by itself?!
Sorry-I know...no one likes a bragger but I'm pretty darn proud of Beau remembering the exact ring I tried on and fell in love with picking this beauty out for me! :)

Are any of you girls wedding band-less or considering going band-less??
Thoughts?!

Absolutely Stunning

Kirby & John's Wedding

10.23.10

Words cannot describe how beautiful and extravagant their wedding was.
I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Me & Ric (FFIL)

Me & the Boys
Beau, Me, Julie (FSIL) Julie & Brian (FBIL)

Me, Marsha (FMIL) & Julie

Christmas card material!!

First dance <3>

Father/Daughter dance
So beautiful-brought tears to my eyes!
Look how happy they both are!!

Congrats to the happy couple!
Can't wait to post our wedding pics on here!! Less than 6 months!

Happy 84th Birthday!

To Kadie!

It's October 25, 2010 and Kadie is 12! Well, 84 in dog years...and that's old in my book!

Kadie is a miniature schnauzer, and by miniature I am not kidding! She was, by far, the runt of the litter as she has always been so much smaller than any other schnauzer I have ever met.

Kadie was our first dog we got as a family. We had dogs when I was a baby but none that I can remember so Kadie has been a pretty special dog in my life.

Kadie was waiting for us under the Christmas tree one Christmas eve. She was thee teeniest-tiniest little thing and was a huge surprise! My aunt Mary and Uncle John arrived at our house before we did to surprise us with our lil puppers and were we ever so thrilled! She had on the smallest little red sweater, which we still have to this day, and which never fit Tini (even though Tini is supposed to be a chihuahua). I carried her everywhere with me...so much that my mom thought Kadie would never learn to walk on her own. ((Imagine that?!))

Kadie has been the best dog. No kidding. She minds like no tomorrow unlike someone I know, ahem...Tini. She entertains herself and is pretty low maintenance. She has always loved kids, other dogs, and especially, her sisters: Roxy and Tini and her cousins: Sadie, Gretta (R.I.P.), Chewy and Chloe. She is just the sweetest, kind-hearted dog and although she's old, has a snaggle tooth and a pungent smell to her these days, I still love her more than ever!

Happy birthday Kadie Bug!

This is what it looks like when my aunt comes to town...lol...I still can't believe we got them to line up like this. I can imagine there were treats involved...
From left to right: Roxy, Tini, Chewy, Gretta, Sadie and Kadie
(Kadie, Roxy and Tini are our's)
(Chewy, Gretta and Sadie are my aunt's)

Kadie & Roxy-Sisters!

Me, Mom & Chris with Kadie and Roxy
(Old school pic...that was pre-college, pre-nose job, and when I had my hurr braided up for softball...classssay laday!)

If you're wondering, there was no cake involved at Kadie's birthday hoopla as she has a "sensitive" digestive system. (Whatever that means?) Anyways-she enjoyed baby carrots and strawberries with her sisters and a relaxing night of Monday Night Football!

Lay Me Down On A Bed Of Roses

This Sunday, one of our college friends past away suddenly. Although Beau and I were not close friends of JM, he was a Sigma Chi and always seemed to be in the same places we were, always making them better places than they were before. He had a charismatic personality that could bring a smile to anyone's face and was a free-spirit to say the very least. His sense of humor was contagious.

Although I just love this song, I never wanted there to be an appropriate time to play it. Unfortunately, this could be thee most appropriate time to play it...



I will forever remember his Polo emblem tattoo on his left chest and his Northface tattoo on his back shoulder blade as he's the only person I know that could pull tattoos like these off! It was just last weekend we were trying to convince him to get the Hanes logo tattooed around his waist and the Levi's logo on his butt, which I think he was seriously considering! I still cannot believe this has happened nor can I shake it.

Rest In Peace, JM. You will be missed by many.

Guestbook Bandit + Private Dance!

It's that time of the week!!

First of all, I would like to post a picture of our guest book we had sitting out at our most recent shower (well, our only shower but who's counting?!). Anyways,I looked at it for the first time this past weekend and realized this:

Yes-that last line reads "Old Shot Gun Kelly". Neither Beau, nor myself, know anyone by the name of "Old Shot Gun Kelly" but apparently, she was there! Hmm...this may or may not be the alcohol talking from that night but hey, that's funny...I don't care who you are! ((I'm just wondering if they plan on signing our Wedding guest book the same way?!))

Ok-onto my next topic...

Thanks to theknot.com (p.s.-LOVE that website), Beau and I are incorporating a "Private Dance" into our wedding.

I'm super excited about it because it's soooo incredibly sweet/romantic/special PLUS we get to pick out yet another sentimental song!

So, I'm guessing you're just dying to know what it is?

Basically at the very end of the reception, when all the guests are gathering outside with their bubbles, sparklers, flower petals, etc...the bride and groom remain on the dance floor for one last dance. By themselves. No parents. No wedding party. Just the two of them...as husband and wife!

Is that not THE sweetest thing ever?! It gives me chills evvvverytime I think about it! It just makes sense. I mean, we will have our first dance to our all time favorite George Strait song (and no, I'm not revealing what it is just yet!) but I mean, how are we supposed to follow up with a sentimental dance after all the hoopla that's going to take place right before (thanks to our rowdy wedding party and their grand entrance)?!

I think it will be so sweet and just what we need to top the night off before heading back to the honeymoon cabin! ;) Ha...me...neverrr.... And yes, we have a honeymoon log cabin reserved for us the night of the wedding!

Have you ever known anyone to do this? What'd they think? What do you think?! Oh and if you happen to run into our "guestbook bandit" send him/her my way...we have some serious talking to do!

List of Ten Tuesday

I recently stumbled upon Jenni at Story of My Life ((ps...LOVE reading her posts, looking at her pics and hearing about her and her hubby...check her out!)) who has created "List of Ten Tuesdays". Basically there are no rules, just to makes a list of 10 somethings-anythings. I'm a list girl so I had to jump on this train!

So. Here goes my random list of 10 for today...maybe next time it will be better organized? ...nah...

1. I've started going to the gym during my lunch hour and it has been just fabulous so far! (Well, except today. I packed by shoes, socks, shorts, sports bra put it all in my car this morning and realized I totally forgot a t-shirt. Who does that?! So I skipped today.) No, I don't get all sweaty because I don't do cardio when I go during lunch. A brisk leg or arm workout followed by a strict ab routine will make me walk out of there feeling like jello and not sweaty at all! Sometimes I even have time to scarf down a quick salad too! Since I was unable to go today, I guess the cans of soup in my desk drawer will have to act as instant-dumbells and I may or may not steal my boss's workout ball to sit on for the rest of the afternoon. ;)

2. Baby powder has become my new best friend. I've always been the girl who just had to have clean hair. Pssshh...that crap is for the birds. When you're trying to grow your hair out, you'll do anything to avoid washing, drying, and straightening it everyday. Even if you do have to "powder" it 3 days in a row.

3. I have a horrible addiction to Etsy.com all of a sudden. I can't get over its adorable, handmade, personalized goodness and I can't seem to get enough of it these days!

Dear Santa,




4. I'm extremely excited to start working on a (hopeful) iPhone/iPad app for my company! If it pans out like I hope for, details will come soon!

5. Smitten blog designs has thee cutest layouts. If you see a new template on my blog within the next few days, this is why.

6. I've decided to be a sailor for Halloween this year. Well, I didn't decide that, it's just how it's gonna be. I have a sailor costume from a couple years back that I LOVE and only got to wear to my company's Halloween party...therefore...no one saw me in it except all the bartenders and waitresses at the time. Fortunately, it still fits. The funny thing is that when I wore it the first time, I had to not eat so it would fit cute. This time around, it's a little baggy in the mid-section so I actually have to eat so it will fit cute. Oh the benefits of losing a few lbs! Hollaaa!

7. My company is starting a live stream talk show every Tuesday and they've asked me and a couple other girlies in the office to be the "panel"! It's supposed to be kind of like The View but focused on Women's Health, which of course, is right up my alley! I'll keep y'all posted on that...it should be verrry interesting to say the least!!

8. I will warn you all now...my company staff exam is in 2 weeks so if I'm M.I.A. in the blog world, this is why. I will try to post a couple of times but it's a pretty intense exam that we take yearly on all the different aspects of our businesses (hormones, allergies, vitamins, yeast overgrowth, thyroid, adrenal glands). It's oh, about 14 pages front and back typed and has to be memorized word for word. If I don't get a 90 or higher each year, my job may or may not still be here. This will be my 3 time taking it so hopefully it won't be as intense as the first go 'round!

9. Less than 6 months 'til "I DO"!!!

10. I think I'm going to see Wall Street tonight with the Mr. Anyone have any reviews on it? I'm not dying to see it but he's a Financial Advisor (remember that for your 401K's, life insurance, disability insurance, etc...he's good!) anyways, so I like to support him and what he enjoys. It's at Studio Movie Grill so even if the movie isn't my cup of tea, they serve booze which always makes for a good time! ;)

Back to work!

It's my blog

and I can't rant if I want to!

...I thought we got our fair share of weddings last year (11 to be exact) but apparently it's starting all over again.

Don't get me wrong-I LOVE weddings. Everything about them. Well, for the most part. The necessary parts. You know, like you go to the wedding, maybe a shower here or there, and that's it.

Well...

This coming weekend, the Beau is an usher in his friend's wedding, whom I love...BUT-in saying this, we been to the engagement party, 3 showers, 1 sip-n-freakin'-see, rehearsal/rehearsal dinner, wedding (duh) and, of course, the Sunday brunch. No telling what we haven't been invited to but I think I'm okay with that...we've already been to 8...count them...8 different events all for one wedding. I know Beau is in the wedding but damn. That's 8 different outfits for ONE couple! Phew!

As if that's not enough, the bride's older brother is getting married exactly 2 weeks after. Beau isn't in this one yet we've been invited to their engagement party, 2 showers, rehearsal dinner, wedding, and don't forget...the Sunday brunch. That's 6 more outfits!

In case any of you skipped first grade-that's a total of 14 different outfits for 2 weddings! I won't even need close to that many outfits for my own wedding!! I mean, I'm always down for any excuse to shop but dang...I've gotten a whole new wardrobe out of these 2 weddings! (Poor pitiful me...I know.)

Sorry-that's selfish of me. And I know a big part of us being invited to so many of their events is because Beau's parents are verrrry close to their parents but I'm starting to think they missed the entire point of the wedding...the marriage. It's more of a show & tell, social production than a celebration of two people who've fallen in love with each other beginning their lives together as husband and wife.

Don't get me/us wrong-we love these people and are very honored to be invited to milestone events in their lives but come on, let's keep it reasonable people!

...I'm just sayin...

Oh and just FYI to any of my guests reading this...we're having a total of 3 showers, which have totally different invite lists for each, 1 rehearsal dinner for OOT guests and wedding party, the ceremony (of course) and that's it! Yes-this is a huge event in our lives, but we know you have lives too! ;)

Ok...I'll step down from my soap box now.

Post #101

Although it's "technically" Wedding Wednesday, I'm skipping it this week. This is my blog afterall so I suppose I can play by my own rules...k? K!

This is post #101 for me and I feel like it should be a little special. I'm dedicating this specific post to ALL my followers. Although I don't have an overwhelming amount of followers, there are you girls out there who read my randomness religiously so I just want to THANK YOU! If I didn't have any followers, I would probably be pretty discouraged and possibly consider doing away with the whole thing altogether so seriously, I am so thankful for all of you and your sweet comments you leave for me! I feel like I have learned so incredibly much through all of you and the crazy part is-I don't really even personally know any of you!

I've kept up with all your vacations, babies, weddings, pet stories, heartbreaks, bachelorette parties, schools, careers, you name it...and I definitely don't plan on stopping anytime soon! So there. You're all just stuck with me and I hope that's okay with you because it's definitely okay with ME!

For those who have stuck around for a while, thank you for listening to all my rants, wedding plans and my obsessions with Beau, Tini and chapstick! Xoxo

For my new followers, welcome and thanks for stopping in! I hope you decide to take off your shoes and stay a while!! I've got a lot of exciting things going on in my life right now which means...lots to write about!

Holy sHELLac!

This has been on for a good 12 days and looks like it was done yesterday.

(And no..it's not coincidence that this is of my left hand, ladies. It took me (& my fiance) 5 friggin' years to get this beauty on my ring finger and I'm damn proud of it AND him!)

...but that's besides the point...

If you've never heard of shellac, do yourself a favor: call your local nail salon, make an appointment and get it done. If you have heard of it, sorry but you're going to hear about it all over again because I have found myself asking, once again, "Why didn't I think of this?!?"

I've never been a huge manicure person because my nails are thin and it always peels off the next day but oh em gee is this stuff fabulous! I only paid $25 for a shellac mani and it was seriously the best $25 I've ever spent. (Well maybe...if you exclude all the bottles of vodka I've purchased...) Oh, sorry-anyways, it is guaranteed to last 14 days and they are not kidding! As you see...I'm almost to the expiration date and they are still shiny, no chips or cracks and no signs of it coming off any time soon! I HIGHLY recommend it! (Watch out though...some salons in town try to charge $45-$60 for a shellac mani. Ya...um, no thanks.)

Not only does it stay on for 2 weeks plus, it is completely hardened and dry by the time you leave the salon! Like, dig to the bottom of your purse, pull your credit card out of your wallet, find your keys kinda hard.

The only downfall to the shellac is that it only comes in limited colors...your typical reds and pinks. They don't have any of the fun fall/dark colors just yet, and no blues or purples, but I intend they will soon come out with more since this stuff is simply fantastic. (Not to mention, the salon here has wine...sigh...)

From one girl to another...shellac is where it's at!

Me again!

Wow-2 posts in one day...impressive!

I just had to show y'all this pic-I am SO excited!
Happy Monday to ME...my garter is here!!

So I don't know how appropriate it is to have your garter delivered to your office but it was either here or to Beau's parent's house...awkward...so I chose the workplace! I simply went to get our everyday junk mail and there it was!! Sorry for the long distance, blurry pic...clearly I need to help my special co-worker/work bff, Lauren, take better pics. (HA! Just kiddin' Lauren...I still love you!)

PS-If I've never mentioned how much I LOVE getting things in the mail, now you know!

Ta-Da!

If you haven't noticed, I get bored quickly and change my layout like I change my panties...I kid! ...I change my undies more often than every 6 months. I did my best...all the thanks in the world to Templates by Tenille, who, by the way, has some really cute blog designs! She offers custom blog design or premade designs and even free ones!! I LOVE my blog but hey, I'm planning a wedding here and could use every penny I have towards that rather than a blog design so I took advantage of her free backgrounds and attempted to design my own banner! It's not super fancy schmancy since I don't have the fancy schmancy art program but I love it and the pink and zebra is me to a "tee"! I mean, if it had rhinestones and/or feathers I may or may not love it that much more!I'm just gonna throw this out there...if any of you would like to take a stab at making me a better banner, I'm all for it! (just sayin'...)

Oh yea, and I figured out how to add pages! Ha...I am so behind in this bloggy world but let's just say I have enough to do already!

So what do ya think?! Any suggestions?!

To home tend or not to home tend...that is the BIG question!

Ever heard of home tending? Ya-me either...until last week...and Beau and I are seriously considering doing it. We've never lived together, he works in town, I work in the burbs, his parents live in town, my mom lives in the burbs, BUT...ALL of our friends live in town right now since not many are married and only a handful have kiddos. We aren't quite ready to move away from all of our friends, bars, rodeo, biggest mall in Houston I mean, the Galleria, etc, so the idea of buying a house in the suburbs is just not very appealing right now. We also have no idea whether or not we want to rent or buy...so many options...so we really think home tending might be the best thing for us right now.

What is it: (in laymen terms) Home tenders are people, like Beau and I, that aren't quite looking for a permanent home so we would move into these really nice homes in the more "uppity" parts of town that are trying to be sold. Homes range anywhere from $300K to the millions and rent is anywhere between $600-$1000.

$1000/month to live in THIS million dollar home? Yes, please!

And have THIS kitchen? I'll take two!

The catch(es):

• The house will be available to show so it has to be kept clean all the time. (That'll be a good excuse for Beau to help ME clean!)
• We could be in the house anywhere from 1 month to 1 year, depending on if and when the house sells. (You get a 30 day notice when the house is sold so you have time to pack and find another place to live...whether it be another home tending house or not.)
  
• You have to furnish the house and whatever rooms are left looking empty or bare, the home tending company will take care of, including putting pictures on the walls so you aren't in a naked home.

The pros:

• No lease. If we did end up being in the house for a long time and decide to move out, we aren't stuck there.
• Rent is dirt cheap which would allow us to save a lot for a house!
• Home tenders bring down the cost of the homeowner's premium, which is enticing to homeowners. (You can only imagine how much the premium is for a house like the one above...)
• It gives homeowners a sense of ease knowing their house isn't just vacant on a lot somewhere.
  
• Many of the houses have pools, which is the responsibility of the homeowner, not the home tender. ((can we say "pool partay"??!!))
  
• The home tending company supplies movers at a discount.
• We would be living in a huge house in a good part of town for almost nothing.
• We could actually have the chance to "pick" the house WE want to live in! The home tending realtor told us that if we find a house for sale, ANY house, she will call the homeowners and 90% of the time she can convince them to agree to allowing home tenders to stay in their home!
  

The cons:

• The possibility of moving constantly-so it's definitely not anything close to being permanent.
  
• The more you move, the more your furniture gets damaged.
• When the house is being shown, you have to leave.
• We have to take care of the yard, which means paying yard guys, but I don't really consider that too much of a problem since they aren't expensive.

The home tending realtor has informed us that a lot of the houses aren't moving because of the economy so home tenders have been staying in the homes for a while. Our goal is to find an overpriced town home. Why? Because it doesn't have a yard so we wouldn't have to mess with that. A town home is more efficient for Beau and I since it's just the two of us. A lot of people don't like the idea of a town home so less people are willing to actually look at it and/or buy it, which leaves us in the house for longer! Plus, a lot of town homes in greater Houston are far too expensive for what you get, leaving less people interested and once again, Beau and I get to stay in it longer!

So, that's it! Beau and I are pretty excited about it! (Well, we could live in a box and I would be just as thrilled...I'm just so excited about finally living together!) We've been seriously discussing it recently and have decided that we will try it once and see how it goes. If we are in the house for less than 6 months, we probably won't home tend again. If we are in it for a while (10 months+), we may consider it again! We really have nothing to lose besides the fact that we may move a few times more than we wanted to but hey, that's ok with me.

So I need to know: What do you think? Would you do it? Ever known anyone that has done something like this? Any suggestions?