That's me!

Today I celebrate the big 2-5!

I really can't believe it.
This entire last year I caught myself telling people I was still 23...by accident.

Oh well!

Cheers to the best year of my life (so far)!!
(photo via honeymoon & Kristen's sweet Nikon)

My "Royal Wedding"

A good lookin' bunch if I must say so myself!

Happy Royal Wedding Day!!

No-unfortunately we didn't decide to move to Mexico...

...but I sure as heck coulda stayed there a little longer!!

Oh how I've missed this blog world of ours!! Our wedding was absolutely without a doubt THE best day of my life! I really don't think ANYTHING could have ruined my day! It was seriously everything I had ever dreamed of...and more!

As for the honeymoon...I think both husband (yes..."husband" is still very weird to me...) and I could agree that it was pretty incredible. As you can tell, from Kristen's very creative guest posts we were in Playa Mujeres, Mexico all last week. People...I've seen pretty water before but I've NEVER seen water like the water there. Breathtaking.

Hopefully you will all forgive me, but of course I don't have any professional pics back yet (DUH) so I'll leave you with some of my favorite bridal portraits so you can at least see me all did up!

Honeymoon post is coming...as soon as I can upload 700 photos...ya-gimme a break! You will NOT be disappointed!

My dress is Sottero & Midgely Kelly & I still loves it! :)

See...told y'all it was a job taking bridal portraits!

Honeymoon Location Reveal

Ladies I just received an email from Steph revealing her location...

drumroll please......


My two love birds are currently soaking up the sun in the Excellence Resort in Playa Mujeres about 45 minutes outside of Cancun, Mexico!!


Her email included lots of AMAZING details but I will leave those fun things for her to share with you!! I will tell you that her room is equivalent of that of a "Bachelor Fantasy Suite" and that everyone has been very friendly to our newlyweds!!!

{the ladybug aka WIFEY}

Knowing these adventurous little bears as well as I do I would bet their honeymoon will include the following...

{Beau and Steph PARASAILING!!!!!}
{Beau and Steph enjoying some Prime Time Rays!!! }
{Beau and Steph catching BIG BIG fishies!!!}
{Beau and Steph have locals snap a few pics of them around the BEAUTIFUL resort}
and theres plenty more photos to come!!! If I receive anymore updates I promise you will too!!!

...and YES for all of those who are wondering I just spent an hour photoshopping my BFF and her Hubby into photos off their resort's website.

WHY?

...because I CAN DO THATTT!!!!

Peace!!

Let Me Introduce to YOU Mr. & Mrs. Howard

Good morning Ladies!!

I have some VERY exciting news to share with you peeps!!! Our little Ladybug got dressed in the most gorgeous white dress and met her lover bear at the end of a hot pink rose petaled isle last night and promised to love him for all the days of her life!!! That's right she's officially tied the knot and made Beau Beau the luckiest man on this side of the Mississippi!!

{Mr. & Mrs. Howard}

Since she isnt able to fill you girls in on her honeymoon destination I promised to keep you updated. Lord knows we wouldnt want yall wonderin all week!

So here's a little peep of her plane ticket!! I dont believe she's actually going to Cancun but that is stop number 1!! Its been rumored that there will be a car adventure to the final destination. We shall see!!

I'll keep you updated!!!

Peace out Lovers!!

Kristen

Just a big ball of emotions

I must admit I'm WIDE awake this morning with not a whole lot to do besides thank all of you LOVELY people for all your kind words, well wishes and undying support over the past year (ok, 14 months and 1 day to be perfectly exact.)

I'm pretty sure I will be far too busy to blog between today and tomorrow (forgive me, it's my wedding day) but I wanted to make sure y'all know how much it has meant to come back to my little slice of the world wide web and read your little comments you've left for me. Kinda like little baby presents...

This is our weekend! The weekend I've dreamt of since I knew what a wedding was and what a wedding meant. The weekend I've longed for since Beau & I met over 5 years ago. I am so overjoyed with excitement, emotions, anxiety, & any other emotion that I could ever possibly think of.

It is so surreal.

I feel like I've been to this person's wedding, and that person's wedding and the man on the moon's wedding and here we are...this is my wedding. People are coming from all over the state and even a few out of staters to watch Beau and I promise to love each other forever. How real is that???

I promise to blog about our surprise honeymoon location, as long as I have access to Blogger. (So help me God I better have access to Blogger, and/or e-mail at least at the airport or I'm going to have some up-set people waiting to know where we are going!) If not, I'll have to make one very important phone call to this lady to guest post about it. ;) ::Light bulb::

Anyhoo...I'm am OVERLY anxious to share all the details with y'all when I get back!! From the gifts to the bridal portraits to the wedding and of course, the honeymoon. Plus some extra handsome photos of my groom!

OH! Here's one little detail...thanks to Kristin over at Busy Bee who posted about an acoustic bridal chorus...I, too, will be walking down the aisle to this beauty!! (Thanks, Kristin!!)

I love you ALL and can't wait for y'all to see pics!!

I'm off to get married ladies!!

After all is said and done, I'm convinced I could be an engineer.

Whoever said "wedding planning isn't easy" couldn't be more right. My-lanta. It. Is. A. Job!

I have truly enjoyed most aspects of it all but there are so many logistics to be figured out and guess who gets the job of making all the decisions??? Yours truly.

So no-it might not take a Rocket Scientist but darn it...it definitely takes an Engineer (with personality, of course!)

Fortunately, I am blessed to be off work tomorrow through the 25th. ((did I just hear angels sing?!)) And the best part of it all...waking up late to share coffee with my bug. ahhhhh...

To be perfectly honest...I have a shit-ton to do. (& here I am blogging...)

Wednesday:
.finish slideshow
.get extensions low-lighted (all it took was one frantic phone call to my bomb.com hair chick)
.approve MOH rehearsal dinner dress (her request-not mine.)
.pick up cake cutting "tools" or whatever those fancy things are called
.attend beau's little league game (according to the team moms, I'm the "lucky charm"...)
.pack for honeymoon

Thursday:
.dentist appointment (who does this the wk of the wedding?? thanks, Beau.)
.p/u dry cleaning
.take reception/ceremony stuff to venue (candles, centerpieces, bubbles, etc...)
.nail appointment w/ MOH
.raffia tying party w/ MOH & Kris (don't ask...all I know is there will be 600 napkins involved)
.pack for entire weekend & honeymoon

Friday:
.drop off ring to be cleaned
.pick up dress
.secret pit stop at Sephora (I've got a 15% off coupon that expires when I'm on the HM...it's only fair-ok?)
.beau p/u groomsman from airport
.meet parents at our house to load the cars (At this point I'm convinced we need a damn U-Haul.)
.arrive and check in to venue/hotel room(s)
.rehearsal (God help me if my wedding party is late...I just might lose it.)
.rehearsal dinner
.last minute details (you never know...)

....all of this and I haven't even gotten into what the day of the wedding will look like...

phew...

All I know is I will be SO happy when I finally get my guest bathroom back...
...not to mention I am in desperate need for a honeymoon. ((Surprise location TBA on Sunday!!))

We're down to the wire people!!

OH! & while my wedding planning journey is quickly coming to an end...this lucky lady gets to join in on all the fun!! Congrats to Annamarie on her recent engagement!! ((I'm sure she will post as soon as she gets back from paradise!!))

An "Oh my God I was an awful child" kind of confession...

When I was, OH, about 7...I had this black beta fish. I don't recall his or her name (nor do I know if it was a "him" or a "her") so please forgive me. Talk about a real bad fish mom, huh? We'll just refer to him as (Beau is going to love this...) "the Canadian".

Disclaimer #1: No judgment on Canadians...it's just an inside joke. Ay?

Oh-where was I?

So I had this fish...and mom wouldn't let me get a "new" fish until The Canadian died. What's wrong with having more than one fish besides the fact that she would get stuck cleaning both tanks-I don't know? Poor mother.

Disclaimer #2: I must tell you all that I am such a softy when it comes to animals. I hate this idea of something so precious yet helpless being killed or dying-even if it is of old age. (No voice to talk, no hands to write with-I mean, I would consider that helpless, right?) Anyways, I can't stand the thought. Whether it's a bird, fish, dog, you name it. (Ok-there is an exception for raccoons, coyotes and rabbits...I like to hunt. But I don't like to physically see them die.)

Are you picking up what I'm laying down?

Ok good! Back to the point.

So mom forbid me to get to get this new fish and apparently it was thee coolest fish of all the fishes. Possibly something pink? I don't know-I can only assume because after what I am about to admit, I was clearly desperate for it and it's awesomeness.

I can only hope they really make fish like this.

You guessed it.

The Canadian got flushed.

Alive and all.

I hang my head in shame for my cruelness. (I hope PETA isn't reading this, by the way.)

I'm just sure he lived for a little while longer after he made his journey around and around and around the porcelain, through the pipes and into the sewer. (A girl can hope, right?)

My God-kids are so mean. I will never forget running to mom with excitement in my eyes to tell her it was time for the new fish! She should have known that very day that I was going to be hell in a hand basket...

Moral of the story: Kids are evil. Fish are pets too. If your kid kills their pet, you should probably re-evaluate your child.

The end.

Aaand a photo of the devil child herself:
...in the ballet slippers mother SPECIFICALLY told me I could not wear for pictures.
...little sneaker...
Did I really think she wouldn't notice them??

Thoughts on a Thursday (Wedding Style)

Like it or not, I've got a ton of wedding crap on my mind so I'm here to throw it all up. Some things just need to get out.

I've been waiting for this very day for a LONG time now...yes, April 7, 2011. Why-you ask? Because the 10 day weather forecast is up today and April 16th marks day 10. I woke up this morning with knots in my tummy not really knowing why...until I realized today was the day I would be able to see the weather forecast for our outdoor ceremony. Dun dun dunnnn....0% chance of rain with highs in the mid 80's! Dear God, please don't change this. Pretty please-with not one but TWO cherries on top. :)

I think I've come up with my own company. You should all invest in me. I would be considered the Bridal Portrait Planner. My goodness. You have no idea what a j-o-b it is to take bridal portraits...especially outdoor bridal portraits. First of all, you have to have almost every vendor lined up like you would have the day of the wedding...with the exception of the caterer and the band. You have to line up your hairstylist, makeup artist, photographer, florist and your dress store (to make sure it's pressed in time). You need somewhere to change, someone to carry your train, someone to carry the bouquet, someone to carry your bag(s) full of hairspray, shoes and makeup, and then of course, you have to carry the front of your dress so it doesn't get dirty. Someone to fix your hair when it's out of place would be nice too. I had my mom and future mother-in-law with me this past Sunday and we could have easily used another 8 hands. Easily. (FYI to other brides...take this into consideration!)

On an amazing note...I got my bridals back on Tuesday and OH.MY.GOSH I can't wait to share them!!!!! My photographer is a God send. He deals with me AND takes fabulous photos. Sigh.

We turned in our final headcount today-2.7.5.-eek. Didn't know we had that many friends...Seriously?

Tomorrow we apply for our marriage license! Did you know that in Texas you have to get your marriage license within 30 days of your wedding but NOT within 72 hours before the wedding? Picky-I know.

Groomsman gifts, usher's gifts, bridesmaids gifts and out of town gifts are already wrapped and ready to go. Sweet success. (That was a job-foreals.)

I know you're all just absolutely beside yourselves wanting to know my something old, new, borrowed & blue so here goes:

Old: Daddy's wedding band sewn in my dress
New: Well, everything? Dress, extensions, last name...just to name a few.
Borrowed: My favorite Aunt's handpicked pearls from China. They're just perfect!
Blue: Sky blue lacey panties blinged out with "I DO" from my Aunt Pam-I know you were just dying to hear about my undergarments. I would be too...

And since it's way past my bedtime and my body is already hating me for the lack of exercise AND sleep...I'm off to hit the hay. Sorry for no pics...I know that's lame.

Sure, you can use our guest bathroom!

...if you don't mind working around all of THIS!


Don't get me wrong-I have absolutely LOVED majority of the planning process but holy ba-Jesus, I'm SO ready to have my house back...oh ya, and my life! :)

Old photo series round 3: Two of a kind

So there's this girl.

And we're kind of just alike.

In almost every single way.

Which would explain why we're such good friends.
I get her.
She gets me.

(She actually physically made me this blog.)

We met back in college (wow that makes me sound OLD) and although she was a ZTA and I was a DZ, we became the bestest of friends for so many reasons.

While flipping through some old photos...lookie what I came across.

WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!

The EXACT same spring portrait.

Mind you-we went to completely different schools in completely different parts of town and never even knew each other...

Me-rockin' the pigtails & Kristen-holy bangs

I don't know who takes the prize for this hideous photo nor do I know why either of our mother's paid good hard earned money for this shizznit. Perhaps so their daughters could blog about it 15 years later? I don't know.

But on a side note...check out the natural highlights we had back then. Damn I miss those days...and so does my credit card...

Anywho, you can find her here where she posted this exact same photo a few months back.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's old school photo...it may or may not include strawberries and thunder thighs...yummm...

From Punky Brewster to Precious Moments

I may be just a little biased but this next one has always been a favorite of mine.

I don't know if it's the mullet look I'm rockin' , the puppy dog look or the random bundle of fall leaves that makes this picture just priceless...

Mom had always told me I look like a Precious Moments child-I beg to differ. I'm not sure what's going on but it's just to cute/funny/cheesy to look past.

Not to mention I kind of look Amish, right?!


I can't help but wonder why my mother paid money for this picture??

And because one picture is never enough...

Halloween circa 1990


Yo mother, since when is it appropriate to dress your child for Easter (the religious-focused holiday) on Halloween (the not-so religious holiday)???

Oh well-I mean who else could pull off whiskers and buck teeth?? ;)

Anyways-happy Sunday girls! I'm off to take my bridal portraits today!!! I'm SO ready to look the part-hair, makeup, dress, veil...the whole 9 yards!! I'm soooo excited!! (Which would also explain why I'm up 2 hours before my alarm is set to go off...I'm gonna be doomed the day of the wedding!!)

I picked up my body bag, I mean-wedding gown yesterday.

Exhibit A:


And also my flowers...

"Hey babe, can you grab me a Coor's? Yea-bottom shelf...just to the right of the bouquet..."



Wish me luck! It's supposed to be super windy today...