Sugar and Spice

Merry Christmas!!!!

2011-12-25T08:22:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!! Hope you all have a joyous day!!- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Lilly Pulitzer's 80th Birthday Celebration

2011-11-13T14:21:00.016-05:00

Yesterday I had an amazing opportunity to join fellow blogger, Jennifer from Southern Living: Preppy Styleand her lovely friends, including blogger Amy from Forever 29 at Lilly Pulitzer's 80th Birthday Celebration!!

It was even better than I had expected! Jennifer and her friends were so sweet, I felt like I have known them for years, and the brunch was just magical. I had no idea how much access we would have to Lilly, she was so sweet and funny! and of course everyone was so nice and happy to be there in their beautiful Lilly attire.

We each got a great gift bag at our seat filled with goodies including a bracelet from Kiel James Patrick. There was a signature rum drink, a coffee bar and an amazing brunch with quiche, cheese blintzes with blueberry sauce, french toast, yum!

We all got to hang out with Lilly like she was a friend of the family, but she really is isnt she ;)

After the brunch there was a silent auction where I won Beth Dunn's
book and then we ate yummy cupcakes. After that Dan picked me up and surprised me, he had gone to Lilly in Palm Beach and changed into a Lilly Polo and got me lots of little Lilly goodies to celebrate the day. It was a day I will never forget!

Thank you Jennifer and Dan for such an amazing day and Thank you Lilly for everything you have done!

By Far the Worst Week of My Life

2011-11-08T15:55:00.004-05:00

Last Saturday was suppose to be a huge 90th birthday party for my amazing Grandma. My mom had been planning it for months and months, people from all over that we hadn't seen in years were coming down and everyone was so excited. My Grandma is amazing, she is the perfect combination of sweet and sassy. She would stuff you full of yummy food, and then tell you like it is! My Grandma was so spunky for her age and I think I took advantage of that forgetting sometimes that she was actually 90. She had no health problems what-so-ever and did more than your average 70 year old. I think that is why I have been blindsided.

Last Tuesday while at work my dad called me and told me the worst news I have ever gotten...my Grandma had had a cerebral hemorrhage and the doctors don't think she will wake-up from it. I rushed to the hospital about 10 minutes away from my work to be by her side. She looked like a little newborn all swaddled up in blankets, I have never cried so hard in my life. Just 4 days from her 90th birthday my Grandma was gone. Some people said she knew, or that it was a blessing it happened so fast for her, no pain, or that so many people could be their for her funeral since they were coming to the party anyways, but my heart was broken.

She was one of my best friends, always there for me even when others weren't, she taught me so much and spoiled me with all the love in the world. I know I was one of 13 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren, but she made me feel like I was the only one, the best, her favorite. She will be deeply missed. I can't thank her enough for everything she did for me and the person I am because of her, all I can hope is she knows how much she was loved.

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T18:49:00.000-04:00

Panini Party!

2011-10-28T10:17:00.005-04:00

My Birthday was back in September and one of my gifts from my parents was a panini maker. Dan and I love having paninis, we eat them almost every other day from a couple different places and we had been wanting one for a while. I asked for a single sandwich one and my mom and sister found an even better one at Target, thanks to Danny's Food Network favorite Giada DeLaurentiis!

To break it in a couple of weeks ago during a football game we had a panini party. I made up a panini buffet of all sorts of stuff to make pannins, jalapeno cheddar , ciabatta, and three cheese bread, ham, roast beef, and bacon, brie, cheddar, blue cheese, and mozzerella, roasted peppers, carmelized onions, apple butter, apples, pesto, basil, raspberry preserves...

The party was so easy, since everyone could just make there own meal I didnt have to do anything and they had fun doing it.

Now we are totally addicted to making paninis at home, great warm lunch for fall football days! Okay as much Fall as Florida gets.

Wordless Wednesday: Fall Projects I Love

2011-10-26T12:41:00.010-04:00

Ahhh Fall my favorite Season!!!

Back to Blogging

2011-10-08T18:07:00.003-04:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged in so long! Everyday life just got very busy...and my company blocked blogging :( but I wanted to start blogging again since I have been trying to get caught up and keep up with the ones I read.

Life has been great just very hectic! I got on a new program at work in February and have been working a ton of overtime, and became a chair in Junior League.

A lot has happened since I've last blogged, one year anniversary, my birthday, vacations, new car, Danny got a new job...lots of happy times! Hope to share some things I have been wanting to and more happy times to come!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2011-02-14T16:12:00.000-05:00

Hope your day is filled with lots of Love!!

Golfing InStyle

2011-01-21T15:23:00.002-05:00

I have never played golf before, that's something I let Dan do with his boys, but after seeing this adorable outfit in Instyle magazine I might have to change my mind!

The clothes are from TobyTuckerGolf.com and the shoes...

even cuter closeup are from EquiptForPlay.com, with that style I might have to start or at least go with and sit in the club house!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New Puppy House

2011-01-16T11:01:00.010-05:00

Olive

The puppies are getting so big, well at least Lily is, Olive is still tiny, they are thinking she ws actually the runt not the third puppy sister that the owners kept.

Lily

They will be two in March, how time flies, and we need to get them a bigger home to stay in when Danny doesnt work from home. I found these two gorgeous options from Frontgate.

The first option is the Manchester Pet Residence

The Second option is the Six-panel Pet Gate and Crate

Which one do you think? What do you guys do with your puppies when you arent home, after the honeymoon we tried to just keep them out and they destroyed a few things in their path so they arent ready for that yet we think. Maybe in a little bit, since that has been 9 months, wow, time does fly.

New Workout Song and Motivator!!

2011-01-10T15:53:00.001-05:00

I just love Katy Perry's Firework!! Its my new favorite workout song and such a great motivator!!!

Cause there's a spark in you!! You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine!!! ...Cause baby you're a firework!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cucumber Water

2011-01-09T16:31:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone I hope the first week of the new year was great for everyone!! I had a very good week, trying to incorporate my resolutions into my daily life. The first resolution I am tackling, the easiest, drinking more water!! The first day I tried 80oz but had to get up in the middle of the night so I cut it back to 64oz, and it been going well. I came up with something to help I thought I would share...In December Dan and I went to a spa that served cucumber water, I had seen oranges, lemons, limes and other fruits but never cucumber before which is funny because right when you sip it it tastes like being at a spa, so I thought that was so refreshing lets copy that to try to get myself to drink my water. Its so good, and refreshing and makes it so much easier to enjoy water, plus it balances sodium, helps eliminate fluid, and is great for your skin!!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T16:07:00.009-05:00

I can't believe its 2011 already, 2010 has got to be the best year of my life by far!

I got Married to the love of my life!

Got two amazing puppies!

Joined Junior League and made some amazing new friends!

Traveled a lot.

I can't wait to see what all happens in 2011, Happy New Year Everyone!!

Here are my resolutions so far:
Drink more water
Take my vitamins every day
Be more organized at home
Work on my reactions

New Years Eve!!

2010-12-31T12:53:00.006-05:00

We are headed down to West Palm Beach for New Years, and I can't wait! Are friends Matt and Nadine are throwing an around the world New Years Eve Party, we are doing Italy with Rosa Regale, Peroni, and homemade stromboli, and the hotel had a shopping package deal with the Gardens Mall, yay!

So I put together an outfit I think is cute something between these, a cowl neck black sweater tunic, and leggings, but have no clue which shoes to pick...leopard heels or booties...

Our First Christmas

2010-12-28T21:26:00.011-05:00

We had such a wonderful first married Christmas! We spent the day at my parents with family and had such great time relaxing, enjoying yummy food and drink and celebrating the season. We started off the day just the two of us opening presents, sipping hot cocoa, and then enjoying a great breakfast Danny made of bacon and blueberry pancakes, yummy! I have to say this year I was completely spoiled! I guess because this is a special Christmas for us.

Stocking Stuffers: We are very practical when it comes to stocking stuffers...

Its a tradition that every year we get each other new PJs and open them up on Christmas Eve, this year we both got two pairs:

The Clarisonic skincare system:

I don't wear perfume but Vanilla Bean Noel lotion from Bath and Body Works, its so yummy smells like cookies and Dan loves it, I think its why we started dating, so since its only available during Christmas I get it every year from him:

I nice gift basket with a Lenox 1st Christmas ornament(we bought the Lenox cake one too), a Southern Living cookbook, and some caramel apple cider mix:

A 10 year old Tawny Port, my favorite:

Since I am one, Computer Engineer Barbie, I was so excited when this came out:

Two pairs of Banana Republic Yoga/Lounge Pants:

The Cutest Minimergency Kit that has 16 must haves just in case and its only about 2 inches, adorable, I got this for my friend Tara in October for her birthday and Danny went back and got it for me:

Jack Rogers silver thongs:

A custom ordered switch plate for our weirdly configured front door switch plate:

And a key holder to go above it, our living room has a leaf pattern on the cornice:

My Shampoo and Conditioner:

Coby speaker for my IPhone:

Okay so Danny was also spoiled...

Stocking Stuffers: See very practical...

Dan's fancy tooth brush we have replaced 3 times and I am sick of it not working, so I got him this one instead $5 sweet stocking stuffer:

Just a coincedence I got Dan two Pjs also, Dolphins and Marvel Comics:

Good Eats 2 book(he loves this show and cooks from it often):

Henckels 26 slot knife block:

Henckels 10 inch chef knife, scary isnt it!:

Watch winder for his Omega wedding present:

A new Perry Ellis front pocket Wallet, good for vacations:

And a tool tote filled with little stocking stuffer tools and more candy, also a new Miami Dolphins house key:

And for the Puppies...

New leashes and collars in holiday colors, this brand Yellow Dog Design has the cutest patterns

New Puppy bowls from Grandma

Dont worry, we spoiled everyone too! I love shopping for and giving gifts!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, I will post all our gorgeous decorations once I get them downloaded. This was such a special first Christmas for us and cant wait to start the New Year!!

Our first Christmas Cards!

2010-12-19T15:02:00.000-05:00

Long time no post!

2010-12-12T17:04:00.012-05:00

Hey everyone!! Its been so long since I have blogged, I cant believe it. I have been so busy with work and my company blocked blogging. It was only a matter of time, they block everything fun, which is fine I should be working anyways. The last few months have been so busy with work, Junior League, decorating the house, and a New York trip.

I have really enjoyed all the work we have been doing with Junior League, we had our main fundraiser, Festival of Trees, and now we should settle down some. People create gorgeous trees and donate them to us, and we auction them off in a huge festival silent auction, with vendors, entertainment, parties, food and Santa! It was so much fun, our provisional class created a fun girls night out tree, with cute girlie ornaments, martini topper and a ton of girlie gift certificates.

I won an adorable "Not a creature was stirring" tree, with handmade mice ornaments all over it. We also had an super fun preview gala, that we got to dress-up for, and all of the donations go to a great cause Connected By 25, helping foster children have a smooth transition into adulthood, such a great organization!

We had a great Thanksgiving at our house again this year. Dan made his first fried turkey, and it was the best turkey I had ever had!! He also made his roasted turkey so I could still have gravy, everything was very yummy and was a reakky good time with friends and family.

The Puppies, Lily and Olive, are doing great! They have really matured and are not really puppies anymore, I call all dogs puppies though. They are still super sweet and snugly lap dogs, but have calmed down so much, they say that happens around year 2 which they will be in March, cant believe its been that long since we got them, the same week we got engaged. We love them so much, what a great decision to get both sisters!

Danny and I just had a wonderful trip to New York City last week, enjoying the cold weather, and everything decorated for Christmas, its so pretty up there this time of year, going to some great restaurants, and Christmas shopping, we had a wonderful time, and on our last day there we got some snow. And on our first day there we ran into Angelo from Top Chef, one of our favorite shows, he was super nice, talked to us for a while.

All the windows were so gorgeous I will have to share more on another post, hopefully my posts get going again. Hope everyone has been doing well, and I hope to catch-up on your blogs also.
Molly

Big Birthday in Vegas!

2010-09-24T10:10:00.020-04:00

We just got back from Vegas and we had such a great time!!
Dan had been before with the boys, but I hadn't so we wanted to see as much as we could, and 4 days was the perfect amount of time to take it all in.

The Strip from the plane.

Check out the view from our room at The Mirage, it was right in the middle of everything...

We decided even though it was midnight our time, we wanted to get ready and hit the town right away, we walked to the Venetian, Treasure Island, then to the Wynn and back to The Mirage to Jet and Revolutions, after some dancing and a few drinks, back to the room to crash.

We were up early Saturday, so we hit up a buffet for breakfast since after all we are in Vegas, after that walked around and spent a lot of time in the Forum Shops of Caesar's palace,so nice, did some betting on college football and then to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill for lunch, I was actually surprised, it actually wasn't that good, soggy fries yuck! After more shopping, we went up to the room to relax, then to Dinner at Samba, a Brazilian steakhouse, after dinner we crashed, "for a nap" and didn't wake up until the next morning, oops time change finally got to us.

Sunday we walked even further to Paris, this was so pretty, I love how Caesar's shops and Paris all have the fake outside indoors look, I just think its so pretty. Off to Bally's to bet on pro football and then on to Planet Hollywood, for watching football, shopping in the Miracle Mile shops, Dan got me a pair of clogs I had been looking for since the honeymoon, and lunch, then back to Bally's to collect our winnings and get a water massage.

For Dinner we went to Le Cirque at the Bellagio, we had such a wonderful time at Le Cirque in New York City, that when Dan told me there was one in Vegas it was a must go, it was so wonderful, the staff was even better than the one in New York, if that was possible, and we had a front row seat to the fountain show, so wonderful. After four amazing courses of food and wine, our waiter gave me a candy box souvenir, something we had not seen before.

After Dinner we got a cab to old Vegas and Fremont street to see the lights, this was very pretty with all the lights, and very lively with everything going on, but it was also kind of scary, glad we went to see the lights they always show on TV, but I dont think we would ever go here again, scary something they dont tell you on TV! While there Danny played some tables and I got lots of great pictures. Back to the hotel to be surprised with a bottle of champagne from The Mirage, how nice!

And finally the big day was here!!! My Birthday!!! What a great day, up for breakfast at B.B King's then to Qua spa at Caesar's, it was amazing!!! They had something I had never seen before, an Artic Ice Room, it was so neat, like the snow scene in Edward Scissorhands, it was truly magical, I had to sneak in my phone when no one was in it to take pictures to show Dan. After a amazing massage, and a steam at had to check out the artic ice room, turns out you are suppose to go in after a steam or sauna, and the snow is actually moisturizer too, so neat! A detoxing tea service and Roman baths, cold and hot, then off to Paradise Gardens Buffet at the Flamingo, so yummy the dessert buffet was even bigger than the actual buffet, tiramisu and peach cobbler, my favorites and a chocolate fountain for Danny.

After lunch back to the hotel to relax, surprise champagne and chocolate covered strawberries from my parents, while enjoying a glass we got ready for a surprise from Danny and gondola ride at the Venetian...

After the very nice gondola ride we grabbed a taxi to the MGM Grand, to Tom Colicchio's CraftSteak, we love Top Chef, we had an amazing sampling menu, having a little of everything and serving us enough food for 5, Caesar salad, warm frisee salad with bacon, blue cheese and a poached egg, Lobster Bisque, Ribeye, Porterhouse, mushroom rissoto, garlic broccolini, Italian beans, monkey bread and banana brown sugar ice cream, fresh fruit and two sorbets, and a peach melba, we were stuffed, and no we did not finish everything.

Next another taxi to Mandalay Bay to Minus 5 the ice bar, so neat but only time for one drink in our ice glasses.

Then to Wynn for yet another birthday surprise the unbelievable Le Reve show, Le Reve means the dream in French and it was, truly amazing!! Couldnt take pictures during but this is before and after the show, so neat. After walked around for the last time and back to the hotel for some more champagne!

What a great trip and an amazing birthday! Thank you Danny!!

It's Football Season!!

2010-09-12T14:26:00.008-04:00

Dan and I at a Pre-Season game

It's Football Season Woot Woot!!!
I love football season, both college and NFL, its just so fun to get together with friends, eat, drink, tailgate and enjoy the game, and it means Fall is almost here along with my birthday. I grew up a Gator, and fell in love with Brett Favre in high school, so my loyalty is with them, yes even with all Brett's drama and team changes, but I am a fan of a lot of teams for different reasons, Penn State, Georgia, Dolphins, anyone playing New England :P... to name a few. I just like enjoying the game, and making up snacks for everyone to enjoy! And to think I even understand what's going on unlike when I was a cheerleader in high school, whats 1st in 10 and why do we want them to do it again, haha! Here's to another great season!

Here is my favorite football snack and its super easy:
Enchilada Chicken Dip:
3 cooked Chicken Breasts shredded
8oz Cheddar Cheese
8oz Cream Cheese
8oz Mayo (yes very healthy)
2 cans diced green chilis
Mix altogether and bake at 375 for 25 minutes, its heavenly with chips and is always a hit!

Something even nicer to wake-up to...

2010-09-06T09:14:00.004-04:00

Happy Labor Day! Poor city utilities workers are laboring over this mess we woke up to...a water main busted right in front of our driveway, and now they are digging up our street, water is everywhere, I guess the ton of rain we got(and needed) made a mess of things, and now lucky us we have no water and our street is closed!

Something nice to wake-up to...

2010-09-05T19:05:00.003-04:00

So I woke up this morning to our chandelier hanging about 9 inches from our glass dining room table, just by the decorative chain, scary! Luckily Danny took it down making it safe, then ran to 3 home improvement stores, and a lighting store to try to find the part that cracked and finally had to order it online. Had to share the story since it freaked me out all day, just think if it fell all the way I know the table would have been distroyed and who knows about the wiring, thank god it didnt!! Sorry didn't think to snap a picture until after Dan took it down. Cant believe a chandelier can do that, its not that old...

Family Business

2010-08-30T10:00:00.003-04:00

I was shopping on ebay yesterday afternoon and I came across a new brand while searching for Lilly stuff, Lilly & Van. Looks like Lilly's niece Lilly is staying in the family business and her stuff is super cute! This brand is sold on QVC and has great prices! Here are a few of my favorites!

Junior League

2010-08-25T13:45:00.003-04:00

It’s official, I am now a member of the Junior League! I have wanted to join since I was a little girl and my next door neighbor was a member. Every year they have a huge holiday gala and I just loved watching her get ready for it when I babysat for her. For the longest time I couldn’t because I was a committee member for another volunteer organization, and because I guess I was too nervous to join, silly I know. But this year my friend I grew up with is the President and she invited me to come to a meet and greet party last night and it was so fun! I met so many nice ladies and a lot of them work at the same company as I do, just at a different campus.

We all met at the Melting Pot, for martinis, cheese fondue and chocolate fondue, yummy!!! We learned all about the organization, what they do for our community, all the fun activities and socials and best of all all the ladies who are members or want to be members. Everyone was so nice and I can’t wait for the next social September 3rd.

The yummy Blueberry cheesecake martini I had! It had graham cracker crumbs on the rim, so good!!

Big Birthday in Vegas!!

2010-08-23T09:36:00.009-04:00

I am so excited!! Dan has been asking me for the last month what I wanted to do for my birthday, its a big one in September. At first he was going to throw me a big party, but since I am sure after the big wedding season people are sick of partying with us, I finally decided the week before last week go somewhere instead.

So where to go...Napa, cruise, my favorite place New York City... Since this year will most likely be our last year to travel before we settle down and have a family and since its a big milestone birthday I wanted to go someplace that would be a really fun party...Las Vegas it is!!! I am so excited, I have never been or have ever gambled, but I love a good party, playing dress up and Dan loves to gamble and has been trying to teach me! :)

The very next day lucky us Ruelala had a huge sale for The Mirage, super cheap packages, plus free hotel credits with the purchase! Yay!! Its a done deal! We are going to Vegas!!

Now for my favorite part, figuring out what to pack and buy for the trip!! I figured I would pack light, only do a carry on, and a bunch of little dresses that can go from day to night.

Some dresses that I already have that might make the cut...

Got this Jessica Simpson dress just for the trip, thought worn with flats can be a sundress, or dress it up for a cocktail dress.

I have been looking for this French Connection dress in black, found a black a white polka dot one on Ebay so far...we will see...

Then to save room I figured I would just pack one flat and one wedge that could go with anything. (Might have to do something else if I get a black dress)

Gold Jack Rogers look alikes from Target would go with anything

Then I got these for the trip from Overstock.com, so many colors to go with, plus dancing and walking in wedges is so much easier than heels.

Then for the bathing suits since The Mirage and The Palms are both known for their great pools...

Finally get to use the Perry Ellis coverup and bathing suit I got from Ruelala a couple months ago

And the bathing suit I bought last year after seeing it on another blog, so vintage looking and figure flattering, had to copy the great idea!

Throw in jeans or white pants and a couple tops or tunics for the flights and I'm all set! I can't wait!! Vegas is known for great food, great parties, and great shopping, sounds perfect for Dan and I!

Weddng Pictures

2010-08-16T14:12:00.021-04:00

I ran into a friend on Friday and she reminded me that I only showed people a sneak peek of the wedding pics on Facebook and I never posted all of them when I got them, so I posted them finally and thought I would do the same here...

Pre-Ceremony

Ceremony

Cocktail Hour

Reception

Portraits

Details

Oh Happy Day!

Our Sweet Babies

2010-08-13T19:39:00.002-04:00

How can you not spoil faces like these!?!

Jewelry Splurge without the Splurge

2010-08-05T17:07:00.004-04:00

I love chucky necklaces and fun earrings, but sometimes the asking price for these pretty bobbles are ridiculous! This is why I love The Body Shop, yes the sometimes scary trashy teenybopper shop that was once the go to place for scrunchies when I was in elementary school. It has such great cheap jewelry and no sale required, but sometimes they get even cheaper with $1.99 sale price and buy one get one free!! Love it! And they are super cute, I would never know they were so cheap! I got three necklaces and 6 pairs of earrings for under $18, yes $18!! That's a price you can not be guilty about! Some of the stuff is still scary teenybopper stuff, but they ahve really cute stuff too!

I even found the necklace I was searching for forever for the engagement session from The Body Shop, who knew!?!

Ahhh Summer!!

2010-08-01T10:26:00.010-04:00

First the Farmer's Market

Homemade Olive Tapenade, Pesto, and Spinach Dip, perfect for our picnic

Homemade scones, muffins and breads

Danny enjoying a blueberry scone

Then a Picnic

We got a picnic basket a couple of months ago and have been wanting to use it, and we finally did Saturday

We packed the three dips from the farmers market, and we got some other stuff from the gourmet market, orzo salad with peas and prosciutto, a fresh baguette for all the dips, mozzarella with prosciutto, dirty rice salad, a calzone to spilt, orange cream soda, blueberry soda and root beer, a bottle of Cupcake Riesling wine, and a big cookie. (We didn't even eat a 3rd of this ha!)

Pretty Scenery at the park...

A dolphine tree

Then the Pool

News Worthy!

2010-07-29T19:27:00.006-04:00

My parents house made the news...well at least their dock did. A shrimp boat caught on fire in the river right in front of my parents dock, so all the news teams were there. And did you know that there isn't a fire boat in our county, so sad! The two people on the boat were okay, but they jumped off and just had to watch it burn, tragic!

The Fabulous Sugar Doll Blogger Award!

2010-07-22T13:24:00.016-04:00

Both Southern-Belle-Simple and The Tale of a Southern Belle gave me the Fabulous Sugar Doll Blogger Award this week, thank you ladies! You have wonderful, sweet blogs also, check them out if you haven't already! So now I share 10 things about yourself, and give the award to other bloggers!

1. I just got married, and could not be happier, Dan is truly the best thing to ever happen to me!

2. I am the only girl on my entire program at work, which is hard because I am a girlie girl with no girls.

3. I was a dancer for Disney World all through high school.

4. I hate ketchup, mangoes and fishy fish.(love Nature's Table's Mango Ice Tea though!)

5. Dan and I both sit in front of computers all day long at work, so we email back and forth like we are on IM all day.

6. I listen to Charlie Brown's Christmas, all year long, I just Love Vince Guaraldi.

7. Dan and I were set up by a mutual friend 4 years ago this past St. Patrick's Day.

8. I don't have a sweet tooth at all, but can't say no to a piece of cheese.

9. I bought my house at age 22 when I was still in college because I started at my company as an intern junior year and just stayed.

10.I cant say no when someone asks me for a favor, yet I have a hard time asking others for favors.

Looks I Love: Summer

2010-07-21T11:26:00.005-04:00

Teen Reality Show Rant!

2010-07-19T14:21:00.003-04:00

Growing up a dancer and the fact that I can't carry a tune, has made me be a bigger fan of So You Think You Can Dance more so than American Idol. I have actually never watched one episode of American Idol and have never missed an Episode of SYTYCD. Its such a great show for dance, I have even saved dances that I have loved, it drives Dan crazy because it clogs up our DVR. But its different now, is this season's format driving anyone else crazy? I am not happy with the change! I knew last season their move to Fall would have lower ratings because its normally a Summer show, but thats no reason to change it once its back on in the Summer!

1. Only having a top 10 and bringing back "all-stars". Granted some all-stars I loved, but they had their 30 seconds of fame, give new dancers a chance. Plus I think people will be biased on their partners since most have an opinion already on the all-stars.

2. Mia Michaels...I miss Mary Murphy!!! Even Dan says "I think that would have made it on the hot tamale train!" Haha!! I just fast forward through Mia Michaels, so not fun, and most of the time mean. I think of her on Brandon two seasons ago, was so mean to him and kept saying I dont see it, then changed her tune when he was in the finales!

3. Making it top 11 so they could have an extra boy, just make it top 12 then to make it even!

I think they can tell the new format isn't working, only voting off one person a week is showing them that I think only teenie-bopper girls are voting and for all the boys, so girls arent making it, right now there is only one left, luckily she was my favorite girl, but its crazy! Hope next seasons format is back to normal!

New Products I am loving right now

2010-07-14T13:13:00.004-04:00

Recently I came across some new products that I decided to try and now am in love with...

Go Cocktails

Go Cocktails are like the little individual servings of Crystal Light packets, but they are mixers for alcoholic drinks and come in yummy drink flavors like cosmo, appletini, lemon drop and more. They are sugar free, have only 5 calories and are very yummy, my favorite is Appletini!

Sally Hansen Insta-dri

I am usally an aryclic nail fan, but having them on too long during the engagement and wedding has made my nails awful, so I decided not to get them done anymore, and have been doing them myself just with color. I found this on a Target visit one day and am now hooked, its super fast drying, perfect amount of gloss finish, and it is just perfect for me since I type all day everyday and need a touchup a lot and have no patience to wait for nails to dry. I like the color Sonic Blossom (not pictured), a pretty coral for the summer.

Lean Cuisine Market Creations Steamers

I am very picky about mircowave diet food, actually any microwave food, I wont even eat leftovers, but these new ones from Lean Cuisine are very good and taste very fresh. So far I have tried the Asiago Cheese Tortellini, Garlic Chicken, (and I dont usually eat chicken microwave meals), and the Mushroom Tortellini. All three were yummy, big portions, still around 270 calories and tasted very fresh, the chicken was even very good, only one bad thing, I had to pick out the sun dried tomato pieces in the mushroom tortellini vegetables, not a fan. Overall great new meals!

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Foundation

Usually I am a Lancome girl, but after my tan faded from the wedding I had almost a full bottle of my Teint Idole left in about three shades too dark and needed something to mix with it to be able to use it. I had seen a commercial for this and liked the look of the sponge top, not so much for the instant age rewind, just because it looked like it would be an easy applicatation, and is it, its very nice, stays on all day and is only $9.99!!!

Diaper Cake Time Again

2010-07-12T12:06:00.006-04:00

My mom is throwing a baby shower for her best friend's daughter-in-law this Sunday. I have never met her before, but since I am very close to her best friend and she has done so much for me, I am going to go and help celebrate her first grandson being born! The nursery and shower theme is turtles and like I do for every shower a diaper cake is being made...

It is a lot harder to make one for a boy I am finding, but the basics can still be added to it, just none of the little bows girly stuff.

I was having a hard time finding stuff at first, nothing at Target, Walmart, and only two receiving blankets and an iguana outfit (okay its not a turtle, but its still a little green animal) at Bealls Outlet.

Then yesterday I was taking back a top to TJ Maxx and found so much great stuff, some our frogs, not turtles, but I would take any green little animal at this point and they are so cute...

Hope it turns out cute! I am also in charge of favors, I am thinking of turtle shape fancy cookies, like cookie bouquets, in a nice clear bag with green and blue ribbons... we will see if I can find a turtle cookie cutter in time.

****Great news, I found this one on Amazon for $1.50 plus shipping and handling!

I think I will cut off the bottom of the tail though.

Impromptu Pool Party

2010-07-11T15:27:00.006-04:00

Last weekend it seemed everyone had plans for the 4th but nothing going on the 3rd, so what was going to be just a relaxing day of Danny, Carrie and I by the pool ended up being a really fun pool party with all my girls...Tara, Lia, and Amy and their boys.

The pool has never looked better since Dan moved in a took over, yay free pool boy!

I made buffalo chicken dip since I had all of the ingredients, so that was easy, grabbed some shrimp to make shrimp cocktail, grabbed two sandwich wheels from Publix, Carrie brought homemade spinach dip and bread, Tara brought steak skewers, Amy brought wine and I made up a punch to use the blueberry vodka I already had and wanted to make it festive for the fourth...

2 cups Blueberry Vodka
4 cups Oceanspray Blueberry Juice
2 cups lemonade
2 cups blueberries 1/2 muddled, 1/2 frozen and added for a colorful alternative to ice cubes

It was a huge hit, even the boys loved it and I had to refill!
The day was so fun and super easy and stress free since it wasn't planned and was just casual. Glad it turned out to be a beautiful day!

Zoo trip!

2010-07-10T11:30:00.004-04:00

Our local zoo has free summer nights starting at 5:00, and live music like jazz or classical for everyone to enjoy. I have never been to our zoo before, so tonight Danny and I are going to check it out.

Cornice is up

2010-07-10T11:21:00.003-04:00

I didnt make the curtains yet, but I put up the cornice just to see how it looks...

Had to share because I thought it was too funny...

2010-07-08T17:10:00.003-04:00

I was doing research online today for work and on one of the websites they had ads powered by Google, and this is what came up. All boring work related stuff and Lilly, too funny! Ah Google, how you know me!

Closet Fabric

2010-07-07T20:46:00.009-04:00

So since I have no patience and had a four day weekend, Friday I took the day to go fabric shopping, so I wouldn't have to wait two weeks for Jo-Ann's. I hit up Hancocks, then my favorite Boca Bargoons and found this fabric. At first I thought it was a little busy but then after I told the guy helping me it was for a closet he said I could go a little busy...we will see...

Since there was so many patterns going on we couldn't decide what was best so here were the choices...

I decided on this one.

Luckily I had an old cornice and I just had to cover it. Pretty easy job with a staple gun.

But since the pattern was horizontal and the fabric was only 55 inches wide and the cornice was 64, I had to make it in 3 pieces.

Ta-dah, the finished project!

Then Dan tried to come up with ideas to use the extra fabric...

Puppy outfit.

Very cool head scarf. Okay not so much! But he gets credit for being creative and cute!

Happy 4th of July!!!

2010-07-04T12:34:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday America! God Bless you!!

Closets!

2010-06-30T10:24:00.007-04:00

I love a well organized, brightly colored closet, I have saved pictures for years of ones I just dream about having...

I guess I kept thinking if I saved enough pictures it would inspire me to create one.

When I bought my house it had a converted patio that was turned into two rooms additional rooms for the house, an office and sitting room, neither are under air but since the living room is open and it has a ceiling fan the sitting room is fine, not so much for the office, too hot to sit in during the summers in Florida, so I started converting it into a closet since it was off my bedroom anyways. I have been doing it gradually, pretty half-hearted and not really putting much into it besides hanging rods and some handmedown shelves, but I decided that I will be doing it for real now.

I picked out the paint colors using Valspar's paint a virtual room and picked them up this past weekend. What do you think? They are a little bold but since most of the walls will be covered with hanging clothes and shelves and since its just a closet, I thought bold and bright was okay.

Then I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics to find fabric for the curtain...of course the ones I like are the two week special order ones, so I will have to wait. So far these are the four I like...

*I started painting this past weekend, a little bright, but hopefully it looks good once everything is complete.
*Once I decide on the fabric I have to special order it and then create a cornice/curtain for the one window.
*Have to Refinish the handmedown shelves, and small dresser.
*Put up rods, wall shelves and shoe shelves and then get everything back in and organized.
*I already have two brown and teal ottomans/storage boxes from Target and some shelf bins I got for Christmas from Lowe's to help decorate and organize.
Hope it all comes together!

A little piece of my childhood

2010-06-28T13:50:00.005-04:00

Everyday I listen to a playlist at work, since I am on the computer the entire day. On my playlist there are 2 Carole King songs, Where you Lead, which I came to love because of Gilmore Girls and So Far Away, listening to those the other day got me thinking about the Carole King sung special Really Rosie that I use to love when I was little, so I jumped on Amazon to try to find it and that got me started on a childhood books by back session that lasted three days searching for books that I loved when I was little and can no longer find. Because my sister is a teacher and has three little ones she got most of the children's books we had I think, but I was able to replace some of my favorites and even got a few videos, yes videos we loved. Here are some of the ones I got... The collection that inspired Really Rosie special by Maurice Sendack.

Two books, the cd, and the original video of Lyle Lyle Crocidile. I use to watch this all the time on HBO as a little girl, but never had the book. Danny had never heard of it so we will be watching the video soon.

Beatrix Potter Collection, I love the pictures in these, really any story with little animals in sophistcated outfits!

Strega Nona is such a great story!

Some Christmas Favorites, this one even has the scratch and sniffs that smell good still.

Yummy Real Simple Recipe

2010-06-26T18:34:00.003-04:00

I get the Real Simple recipe emails everyday and they always look so good, yet I had never tried to make one before, then I finally decided to try this one because it sounded so yummy and easy. I had never deep fried anything before and don't own a deep fryer, so Dan said I could use our dutch oven...

The balls of dough didn't really stay rolled up when frying, but the end result tasted good anyways.

My first time deep frying went well I think, Dan's Chinese spider worked great for getting them out and I didnt burn myself, yay!!

Yummy donuts!!

Perry Ellis Swimsuit sale on Ideeli

2010-06-23T12:09:00.006-04:00

Super cute swimsuits and cover-ups by Perry Ellis are on sale right now on Ideeli, let me know if you need an invite. Bathing suits are around $39 and cover-ups only $27! Such great deals and very pretty summer colors, perfect for the cruise I want to take in August.

I got this bathing suit and two coverups.

I'm a little iffy about this cover-up, but luckily it was the only one that was able to be returned if need be.

Happy First Day of Summer!!

2010-06-21T19:24:00.003-04:00

It's the first day of summer here in sunny Florida and guess whose AC broke!!

The AC guy said that it's only a part, the outside filter for the coil in the outside unit, which is only a year and a half old, but it corrodes more often since we are beach side, lucky us, but since there are new laws in place we cant just replace the part since they don't make our unit anymore we have to get a whole new unit, fun fun!

He is going to have us try one more thing before ordering the unit so Dan is pressure washing the filter tonight, meanwhile fans are a blowin...

Bonannos look alikes at Target

2010-06-21T11:39:00.005-04:00

Check these out, I think Target is trying to copy someone, dont they look just like Bonannos...

Pretty cute and for only $19.99...I wonder if they are as comfortable.

Honeymoon: Part 3 Paris

2010-06-19T16:57:00.005-04:00

We arrived on the train from Germany to Paris Sunday afternoon, since neither of us had been to Paris or even Europe before we were super excited to get there and take the whole city in, so much to see! Luckily we were staying there until Thursday!

When we arrived at the hotel and got to the room they had champagne and chocolates sent up for our honeymoon, it was amazing and so nice, we had a glass and then started walking to find dinner.

Its so nice that you can walk everywhere in Paris and see so much. We didn't ask for directions just wanted to wonder around, there are so many cute cafes any would have been great!

We ended up at Le Nemrod, nice wine, and food, I had steak with bleu cheese sauce and there was a little accident of Dan ordering sausage that was made out of tripe, ahhhh, Danny does speak French, but had no idea what the "AAAAA" meant, but we soon learned and saw it at every cafe practically. After dinner drinks of port and dessert of apple tart finished off the evening at Le Nemrod.

When we got back from dinner and our walk we enjoyed the champagne and the view from our balcony(which I didn't realize we had when we were in the room earlier, haha!)

The next day we woke up had a nice breakfast of chocolate croissants and baguette and cheese platter at the hotel and started to walk...

first to the fountain of St. Michel...

then to Notre Dame...

and then jumped on an open roof tour bus to see everything and get a feel for how the city was laid out.

We got off the tour bus at Notre Dame and walked back to Fountain of St. Michel area to find a nice place to eat, Danny had roast chicken and I had the Croque Monsieur, a walk down St.Germain to go back to the hotel to relax and to clean up and get ready for dinner at Le Grand Colbert from Something's Gotta Give.

We came across these gorgeous gardens at the end of the street where Le Grand Colbert was.

After a wonderful dinner of onion soup and roasted chicken for me, fish stew and rack of lamb for Danny, wine, port and apple tart once again and creme brulee for Dan...we went for a nice walk, just some of the gorgeous things we saw on the walk...

The next day we got up early to walk to the Hotel Des Invalides and to the Eiffel Tower. What a gorgeous view from the top, the line wasn't too bad and we decided to walk down, instead of taking both elevators down we only took one.

After the Eiffel Tower we went to Le Opera De Paris area and had lunch at Le Opera Cafe, Chicken in cream for me because it came with Dauphinoise potatoes which Dan had the night before and I fell in love with and a croque monsieur for Danny, after lunch some shopping at Printemps and some other small shops around the area a walk to the Louvre and then back to the hotel to relax.

For dinner we decided to ask the concierge for a recommendation and went to La Fregate, wonderful food, gorgeous interior, but they had weird Tibetan posters all over the place for sale that look funny with all the classical architecture. I had the beef bourguignon, onion soup and apple tart, Danny had kippers, steak au poivre, and chocolate mousse. A nice walk back to the hotel, a bottle of Domaine de Lucie Saint Amour and a relaxing night.

The next day we decided not to go to Versailles and to sleep in and stayed in Paris. We wanted to go someplace new, we had not seen, so we decided on Sacre Couer. On the way to Sacre Couer we passed Moulin Rouge.

Sacre Couer was just gorgeous, very different than any other architecture in Paris, breathtaking inside also unfortunately pictures were not allowed. We learned quickly as we started walking to findlunch the surrounding area was scary, we grabbed a cab and went back to the Fountain of St.Michel where we knew there was a ton of little cafes.

A nice lunch of onion soup , croque monsieur, croque madame, and a glass of wine for me, a glass of wine is cheaper than soda in Paris, so you might as well! I decided to do some shopping and Danny went back to the hotel to relax.

That night we decided to just walk around and enjoy our last in Paris, and decided to eat late with the Parisians and came across a very cute litte cafe, Le Rousseau on a side street away from everything across the street from the fish Market. Appetizer of shrimp and avocadoes with this wonderful cream base sauce, Dan had duck, I had this wonderful veal and rice dish, and we shared chocolate crepes for dessert.

A nice long walk taking the city in for the last time as we walked back to the hotel.

The next day we slept in, enjoyed a nice breakfast then grabbed a taxi to the train station to say goodbye to Paris and enjoyed the Euro Star train in the Chunnel to London.

Check out this great giveaway!!

2010-06-10T13:01:00.003-04:00

The adorable and generous Trish over at Preppy Pink Lilly Lover has a great giveaway going on right now, check it out!

Watermelon and lobster

2010-06-01T12:32:00.005-04:00

How cute is this welcome mat I found in the spring sale section of Joann Fabrics! I know its Spring/Summer when I am all about anything with watermelons or lobsters on them!

My Talented Bridesmaid

2010-05-23T20:22:00.006-04:00

My very talented bridesmaid Carrie came over for lunch today and dropped off our gorgeous wedding present that she made for us. Its a bridal portrait that she drew and had framed for me, and also made prints for my parents. It came out so gorgeous, she is so talented! Here is one of the prints. Her attention to detail is amazing, we will be hanging it up with all the wedding photos we get framed.

The Honeymoon: Part 2 Germany

2010-05-17T21:13:00.025-04:00

We arrived in Munich around 3 o’clock in the afternoon of course to us it was 10 in the morning, by the time we got the rental car and found the hotel it was almost 6. In Munich we stayed at the beautiful ultra modern Sofitel hotel right in downtown Munich, so we were able to walk everywhere. The room was gorgeous two stories, very modern, with one huge window that was the entire outside wall upstairs and downstairs and a gorgeous shower that we might be coping for our bathroom renovation.

The staff was so nice and surprised us with champagne and strawberries and a very nice hand written note for our honeymoon right when we walked into the room.

Then when we went upstairs to the bedroom they surprised us with the cutest bride and groom rubber duckies.

After freshening up and talking to the concierge about a non-touristy place to eat, we headed out downtown walking to the Marienplatz, it was so close and just like you see in pictures. We had a little trouble finding the first two places he recommended, but we stumbled across the third and went inside. We had no idea, that Germans sit family style anywhere there is a seat, with complete strangers. We didn’t mind, the food was so good, the best food we had in Germany, and so was the beer. Dan had the Wiener schnitzel with German potato salad and I had the sausage platter with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut, they were both so good. After dinner we enjoyed a few more beers, an after dinner drink, and then walked around downtown. Since we had not really slept the night before and arrived in London around 5am our time, we were ready to go to bed, but took some advice and stayed up to try and get on their time.

Going to bed at 11 didn’t help I still woke up around 12:30pm, good thing we changed our plans to go to the castles the next day. We decided to walk around town again went to lunch at a little place that had the best fries I had ever eaten, I had cordon bleu wiener schnitzel and Danny had currywurst. Then we walked all over to Marienplatz again, Hofbräuhaus, the opera house, the royal residents and the gardens then back to the hotel.

After relaxing, and freshening up we grabbed a taxi to head back down to Hofbräuhaus, since we didn’t go into the right section the first time. What a neat place, I can understand why it’s a must see, such a fun atmosphere with great food, beer, music and company. We sat with a nice family from California and two wild German guys that were friends with the band that made the evening very interesting. After a dinner of pork knuckle, a sausage platter, chocolate mousse and beer we decided to call it a night since we were determined to get up early the next morning.

We managed to get up and out early and headed to Fussen to see the castles, yes not one but two gorgeous castles in Fussen. King Ludwig’s parent’s summer home, Hohenschwangau, he grew up in and another castle you can see from it the summer home he built for himself, Neuschwanstein, that Walt Disney based his first castle Sleeping Beauty’s castle in Disneyland on. They both were gorgeous and I couldn’t believe they were built in the 1800’s they looked so medieval. King Ludwig was very eccentric! Since we arrived a little after 11, and the next tour for the first castle was 12:40 and then the next castle 2:45 we got to spend some time enjoying restaurants, shops and a horse ride to the top for the second castle. It was a great day!! Tiring, but well worth it!

Since we changed our planes to reverse the days instead of going back to Munich after the castles we headed to our next stop Rothenburg. I had seen pictures of this adorable town and just had to go, I had actually saved pictures of this town on my computer and never knew where it was then found it again when researching Germany, so it was a must see. We got in a little late so the town was pretty much closed, so we ate dinner at the cute hotel and then called it a night, so sweet the hotel surprised us with rose petals on the bed!

The next morning we went out early to walk around the town, it was so cute it almost seem fake, I kept thinking I was at Disney in Epcot or something, realizing of course no this is the real thing that they base it off of silly! It was so cute! After a nice day of walking, shopping, and eating, we grabbed some of their famous dough balls and headed to find where my parents lived in the 70’s where my sister was born.

After getting lost because of the GPS we finally made it to Kirchburg, took some pictures to send my parents and headed to Freiberg for our next stop. We arrived in Freiburg to the beautiful panorama hotel which is on the side of a mountain and overlooked the entire city, just gorgeous! We had a little bit of a rough time finding a place to eat, we ended up going to a Chinese Buffet, yes a Chinese Buffet in Germany, same concept, but very very different. After dinner and having some difficulties finding our way back to the hotel because of construction and one way streets we went back to the hotel to enjoy the complimentary bottle of champagne and our last night of German MTV because the next day we were off to Paris!!

Lilly on Ruelala!!!

2010-05-13T11:12:00.005-04:00

Lilly sales event is going on right now at Ruelala!! It just started!! I managed to snag these!! They had adorable purses too for very cheap, but I am on restriction, oh well, next year! I hope they are as cute on as they are online! Let me know if you need an invite to Ruelala by leaving your email in a comment.

The Honeymoon: Part 1 New York

2010-05-11T19:51:00.017-04:00

We had such a great time on our honeymoon. Dan planned the whole thing, most of it was a surprise to me, and it was really wonderful, he did suh a reat job! We left the Monday morning after the wedding around 10:00, which I recommend to everyone, going the very next day would have been too difficult. The first stop, because I love it and we could get better flights to Europe out of it, was New York City!!

We only stayed one night, but had almost two full days since our flight left at 10:45pm Tuesday night, so Dan wanted to go all out for that one night, so we stayed at The Plaza!! I have been obsessed with The Plaza since I saw Home Alone 2 in the movie theater and I was finally able to stay there!

We arrived early afternoon to LaGuardia and went right straight to The Plaza to freshen-up and drop off our luggage. Shortly after we started down 5th Avenue for some shopping, and sightseeing, stopping for some Chinese food before doing more shopping and sightseeing. FAO Schwartz, Bergdorf Goodman, Tiffany’s, Omega, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, lunch at Pearls, Time Square, 42nd Street, Kenneth Cole’s, Saks 5th Avenue, then back to The Plaza to relax and get ready.

Downstairs the doorman Jose was nice enough to tell us that the house car was available in 10 minutes, a Phantom Rolls-Royce!! It was gorgeous and so nice to ride in even though our ride was short to Le Cirque. Le Cirque was amazing, the best food and service I ever had in my life and Betsy Johnson stopped at our table to talk to our waiter, OMG!!! She was so close I could have touched her, she looks exactly the same in person and wearing leopard print, it was so neat, but I played it cool since we are in New York City in Le Cirque.

The next morning we decided to walk to Bloomingdales enjoying a nice breakfast at a small café on the way. We spent so much time shopping at Bloomingdales and got a great tip to check out The View restaurant at the Marriott Marque. After Bloomingdales we stopped for some New York City pizza, went to Top of The Rock for the amazing view and some great photos and then made our way to The View just to check it out. It was closed so we decided to cancel our reservations at Peter Lugar and make reservations for dinner that night, early enough to catch our flight. More shopping, this time for Danny, then to Saks to get my second wedding present, I wanted to wait and get on our honeymoon, I decided on a new purse (I am now not allowed another purse for an entire year). Then it was time to eat at The View! What a neat concept, it’s on the top floor of the Marriott Marquis and it’s a revolving restaurant so you can see the entire city while you eat! The food was very good, and the view was amazing, I loved that they had cocktail napkins with a skyline map on it, very helpful! Finished dinner and grabbed a taxi back to The Plaza to pack up our new stuff and make our way to JFK.

Top of the Rock!

The View! Dan's in the same spot but the view is different :)

After a very long taxi ride we made it to JFK to one of the best parts of the trip, while checking in the British Airlines employee Debra, noticed we had not signed our passports yet and asked if they were new. Danny explained we had just got them for our honeymoon and we didn’t know we needed to sign them. Next thing we know she goes to the back and then returns to get on the phone with someone, then she tells us we have been bumped up and we get to enjoy the British Airways lounge! She gives us dinner vouchers too, but we were still full from The View. A nice relaxing wait in the lounge, with a huge assortment of snacks, cookies, finger sandwiches, a full liquor bar, internet, tv and a spa for the very long layover. I enjoyed some cheese and crackers and a glass of wine. Then it was time to get on the plane, what a difference the upgrade made, Dan actually had leg room and the flight attendants were so nice. I tried to sleep right away since it was almost 11, while Danny enjoyed the personal movie library, but we were interrupted by dinner service around midnight, yes dinner service at midnight, it was yummy so I didn’t complain, who was I kidding I was too excited to sleep. After dinner I did manage to sleep some, woke up around 5 our time as the crew was getting ready to land in London for our layover. I was able to sleep once we got through security in the terminal since we had a small layover, then it was on a plane to Munich...

Spring Decorating

2010-05-04T12:04:00.018-04:00

I just love these girly Spring decorating pictures, makes me want to redo my backyard and have a party!

These might be a little too girly for Danny but these are doable and are perfect for the clam bake I want to have sometime this summer. We redid our patio last summer, getting new furniture for around the pool and the underroof area, but now I would love to add things to the backyard area.

And how perfect are these...

this blog from The Finer Things...

And these plates from Martha Stewart at Macy's, I just had to get them...

A sneak peek from Tina Sargeant Studios

2010-05-03T17:16:00.010-04:00

I think I was a little happy and excited, just a little.

I love that Dan got emotional during the ceremony.

The boys and their silly pink and green socks, they wore them like that during the entire reception, too funny!

The wedding party on the beach, what a pretty day, this was even after dinner, gotta love daylight savings time.

Parasols added so much color to pictures.

My husband the model. And to think he says he's not photogenic.

The Happy couple once again.

The Wedding

2010-04-29T09:14:00.032-04:00

Here are some pictures from friends of our wonderful day! Some are a little blurry, but they are still great to have already. We should be getting Tina Sargeant's are amazing photographer, in a couple of weeks.

The Happy Couple

Beautiful ceremony right over the beach. My dad and I didnt fit down the aisle together because my dress was so big, we made a joke out of it and held hands while walking one behind the other.

Our monogram came in for the runner the wrong color green so I had to send it back and come up with something two days before the wedding. I created a stencil using Microsoft Paint to blow up a letter D, Molly and Daniel and April 10, 2010 and a regular printer to print them on a bunch of sheets of paper then cut them out and taped them together, it was like a huge puzzle for the D, but the stencil came out. Then I just got fabric paint and a paint brush and help the stencils down as I painted, not bad for last minute, rose petals can cover up a lot of mistakes ;)

The Happy Wedding Party

Two Happy couples, my Mom and Dad and Dan and I, a total of almost 36 years and 30 minutes of wedded bliss

My girls, they are so pretty if I do say so myself!

The littlest niece had to change into another dress because her flower girl dress was too long, but what perfect colors.

The Parasols were a big hit and added so much color to pictures.

The pink and green table right before you enter the room, for escort/place cards, pictures of us and a guestbook and signature plate. A little Lilly blanket made for a great tablecloth, it was a last minute idea, I had another tablecloth that had too much yellow in it and I had this one from a baby shower I threw a year ago for Amy, perfect! And you can barely see it, but I found a pink and green perfectly matching letter D monogram plate the week before the wedding at Tuesday Morning, gotta love that place.

The beautiful cake! I just love pink and green paisley! She matched the green perfectly to the monogram topper I made. It was so yummy, almond and lemon curd, and raspberry chambord with cream cheese frosting, it was so good and I don't usually even eat cake.

The Groom's cake, its Danny's Fantasy football team logo that one of his friends who is a graphics designer made him, it was a total surprise, and it was peanut butter and chocolate his favorite!

Dan and I's first dance, not bad with no practice whatsoever. Haha!

The beautiful room, it was a pink and green wonderland, the florist did such a great job and all the little things I made in pink and green really paid off to add color to the tables.

The homemade Menu and Favor boxes.

Had to have Pink champagne for the toasts

Matron of honor my sister and my niece Kiley my little flower girl

My girls giving my dad some smoochies

Dan and I dancing again, not sure if I am Ahhhing or singing with the song.

Enjoying the reception

I will share more as they come in.

The Wedding!!!

2010-04-28T10:08:00.005-04:00

The wedding was amazing, it was such a perfect day, everything went great. I am so happy to be Dan's wife. We got back this weekend from our honeymoon and all the friends and family pictures are starting to come in so I am able to share! Here are a couple of pictures I have on my computer at work, there are a lot more to share once I get home. It was such a beautiful day and the green and pink was so pretty for spring. I cant wait to see all the pictures! I will share the details next post.

Bachelorette Party

2010-04-07T17:01:00.014-04:00

The Bachelorette Party my friend Carrie planned for me was wonderful!! We went to a resort in Port Canaveral, Florida and then went to a nice restaurant that was also an awesome dance club outsuide, who knew. It was relaxing, fun and an all around wonderful time!

Carrie and I arrived first to relax by the pool and lazy river, having yummy drinks and a nice lunch. I started with the Dirty Monkey drink and Carrie had the Liquid Sunshine, I then got a Liquid Sunshine! Carrie had the Mahi tacos with fries and I had a yummy blacked chicken wrap with onion rings that I shared with Amy.

Great minds think a like, Carrie and I both made favors and crowns for the girls.

Carrie's adorable Hangover kit.

And the favors I made to thank the girls for coming and throwing it for me!

Later Amy, Lia, Andrea, and Tara joined us and after a little more relaxing, going down the lazy river and then the water slide we moved to the huge suite for games, three homemade fresh fruit martinis from Amy that were awesome, Strawberry basil, Honeydew, and Mandarin orange, so yummy, snacks (spinach dip from Carrie is the best!!) and a giant cake Tara made, its not appropriate for this blog, but was hilarious, delicious, and huge! We had a sculpting contest with Playdough, a nice poem that Amy had written, she is the poem queen, and then a nice poem that Carrie put together, giving me underwear for the rest of my life events!

After the games we all got ready to go out for dinner, we had a very nice dinner at Millikens Reef and the girls were on a mission after to get me drunk since I wasnt yet. Sylvia joined us for dessert and we all decided to stay at Millikens for the great dancing and bars on the dock outside.

We had such a great crazy time, I love to dance and everyone was so wonderful celebrating with us. The amount of shots the girls had me do was crazy, but very very fun!! Thanks to all my wonderful fun girls for coming out and planning this for me! It was a wonderful time!!

Place cards/Escort cards

2010-04-07T16:41:00.015-04:00

I had seen these two escort card pictures on two different blogs and wanted to do something similar for my escort/place cards and holders.

I found these brads online and thought they were perfect with the paper I decided to make the cards out of. I got them on Ebay for half the price since I couldnt find them in a local store. You cant tell but they are super cute with bright pink cherries on a bunch of them.

I found these gifts tags at the Dollar Tree and decided to use them as templates to cut just regular card stock that I printed the guests names on.

I had originally picked a Basic Grey paper, but then wanted to go a little lighter since the favor tags and menus were going to be light, so found this adorable Heidi Grace paper. It was just a coincedence that, the menus, favor labels, and place cards, all had birds on them.

Finish Product... I think they turned out cute!

For the holder I got two memory boards from Micheals when they were on sale for $9, I saw cheaper ones other places, Ross and Marshalls for around $6, but they never had two the same size, so these were fine.

I couldn't find a fabric the exact color I wanted so I went ahead and used the wrapping paper I am using for the cardbox.

Choosing the ribbons and in the order took the longest, but it was fun.

I found two holders/stands at Tuesday Morning for only $6.99 each, I decided later to spray paint them pink.

Here is the final product, escort/place cards and holders. I ended up adding more ribbon than in the picture above.

Favors

2010-04-07T16:29:00.011-04:00

I went to a wedding in New York City 5 years ago and received a very cute candle tin and when it came time to decide on our favors I remembered this favor and tried to duplicate it, adding personalized matches and making the candles myself.

I had a ton of beige candles leftover from another event, so I looked up how to melt down the wax to reuse them.

I had to get creative with keeping the wicks up, having a ton of chopsticks help!

I got the candle tins and wicks, 4 for $1.90 with a coupon at Michaels, it took us forevery to get all of them because they were always sold out.

We got these cheeselicous perfect match matches to go with the candles.

And here is the complete look after using the boxes I got 100 for $23 from Uline, ribbon from Michaels and making our own labels

Programs

2010-04-07T16:07:00.010-04:00

I found those two programs I really liked on Etsy and tried to combine them into one to go inside the holders I already made, and I think they turned out really nice.

I found these two square punches at Joann Fabrics for only $5.97 each, to make these square labels. I got green cardstock at Michaels for a 50 pack of 5 different colors it was only $2.50, without even using a coupon.

I just got regular 110lb cardstock at Office Depot and cut them down and folded them.

Added the labels and ribbon.

Then just printed the inside on regular paper and glued it in.

I think the final product turned out nice and looks good inside the holder for them and the bubbles.

Catch up...says Papa Tomato!

2010-04-07T10:10:00.004-04:00

I have been so busy I am so behind on all the stuff I have been doing for the wedding! I will most likely write 4 or 5 posts just today on what I have been doing the last month for the wedding! Everything is done and with just three days a away we are super excited!!

Bridal Shower!

2010-03-15T10:40:00.014-04:00

My bridal shower was held three weekends ago by my sister and my aunt and it was so amazing!

I have to say it was the prettiest party I have ever been to. The day was so nice and made me feel so special.

Kelly brought these gorgeous cupcakes topped with homemade signs, they were so pretty I didnt even want to eat them.

The food Aunt Debbie did was so yummy, the chicken salad croissants and shrimp pasta salad were the best and the champagne punch with raspberry puree was addicting!

I swear my sister and mom started shopping for pink and green goodies right when I got engaged. They found so many cute things for display and prizes.

The only thing that didn't work out was the dress I bought for the shower, it was too cold to wear, but I decided to wear it for the bachelorette party so it work out in the end.

Another great thing about the shower was I got to keep a lot of the pretty little things for the wedding. I will be reusing some of the table clothes and the big frame with our engagement pictures along withe the Molly and Dan sign, yay!

Special little touches were so nice, I had a monogrammed pink and green wine glass for my yummy punch and even a wrist corsage.

I think everyone had a great time I know I did.
Thank you Kelly and Aunt Debbie for making it so gorgeous!

Candy Buffet

2010-03-01T14:25:00.009-05:00

It's March!! Since the wedding is getting closer and closer I am finally able to do some of the things that I had to wait last minute to do...like buy candy for the candy buffet!!! This is one of the really fun things that I get to do for the wedding!

I got the 7 jars a long time ago at Ross, a few different ones from the same brand so they go together, the most expensive only being $10.99. I still see them there, so they are still available, we went to two different ones to get the ones we needed.

I got the scoops, tongs, and bags off of ebay, for such a great price, only 19.95 for everything in a package deal!!

Now for the candy!! I did my research when it comes to the candy, I checked the prices of so many different places and researched all the candy options in pink and green. Heres what I got...

I ended up getting Lindor truffles in mint and raspberry off of Amazon, for both bulk boxes I only spent $37.00, got free shipping and they arrived prefectly, not melted or damaged at all (I was a little worried).

I got strawberry and apple gummi bears, and strawberry and cream and pear salt water taffy from The Candy Warehouse, other places had more variety of salt water taffy flavors, but the shipping on other sites made the price crazy!

I lucked out finding Bombay Duck London lollipops on sale at my local Hallmark, I got all the pink and green and green and white ones they had for around $1.97 each.

I got watermelon and apple licorice twists, and bubble gum and margarita jelly beans from Bulk Foods, they had the best prices i wish they had more pink and green candy because they had flat rate shipping for only $5!

Now for the M&M's I got them at two different places, originally I was going to get all of the from Michael's, of course using the 50% off or 40% off coupons, I did this for all the green ones and was going to go back and get the pink since 7 oz bags ended up only being $2.99, but then my sister found the Susan G. Komen two toned Pink M&M's for $2 for the 12.6 bags at Big Lots for my shower and she went back and got me 4 bags for the wedding, Thanks Kel!! I also saw Walgreens had an all green 12.6 bag of M&M's just for Valentine's day (I guess they are playing up the green M&M myth) for $3.49 I was shocked, who knew, but since I already had my green ones oh well, but good to know for the future pink and green brides!

Wedding Project: Program and Bubble Holder

2010-02-25T07:59:00.009-05:00

I saw these adorable holders on a blog, and decided to make a variation of the combination. Since we are doing bubbles not petals, and since if we hang them and not tie them the hotel will set them up, I decided to do only hanging holder for both the programs and the bubbles to hang on each seat at the wedding.

At first I was going to make each packet myself, but then I had the idea just to buy small envelopes and tuck the flap in, and I found the perfect color and for only $4.64 for 25 at Paper-Papers.com, what a great deal and I am so glad I didn’t spend the time making the packets!

I created a small cover for the holder, cut all of them out and glued each one to the envelope.

I then cut the ribbon and glued each ribbon to the back on the envelope.

It was so easy and turned out so cute!

Now to just finish making the programs...

I found these two on Etsy and will me making one similar to both of these together.

More wedding project to come! I got a lot done last week!

Engagement Pictures!!

2010-02-17T16:59:00.013-05:00

Dan and I got our engagement pictures back this past weekend from when we shot them January 26th with the amazing Tina Sargeant. I couldnt be happier with them, I am so glad I found Tina in the blog world, and I can't wait for her to shoot our wedding!! She is so talented and had such a neat eye for things as we were walking around. Here are a few...

Pink Swap!

2010-02-17T16:54:00.003-05:00

What a great Pink swap that Hopsy organized for the second year in a row! My partner was Jilly from My Outside Voice and she totally spoiled me!! I am so glad my favorite and wedding colors are pink and green because I got so much neat pink and green stuff! I got...

2 notecard/notebook sets tide up with pretty pink and green ribbon
A pink and green stainless steel water bottle
A big pink and green Cutie Pie sugar cookie(which was devoured by Danny right away)
2 pink lollipops
Berry blast shower bath gel(this made the entire package smell like blueberry muffins, it filled the air right when I removed the package tape, yummy!)
Pink wooden salad tongs
Box of note cards
Yankee candle home remedies candle
3 pink and green fancy paper clips
Tomato horseradish dip mix in the prettiest pink and green package

What I sent her...
A pink heart plastic bowl to hold everything
4 different Pink sprinkles
Pink cupcake papers
Pink monkey pen, since she blogs on Monkey Me, Monkey You
Pink ice cream scrapbook stickers and address book
A set of pink damask notecards
Bag of pink raspberry powdered sugar cookies
Pink hot chocolate canister
A pink spa manicure set
And a recipe card box

What a great swap!! Thank you Jilly!!

2 months to go!

2010-02-10T09:28:00.004-05:00

We are exactly 2 months away from the wedding and most everything is done. I still have to put the favors together, make the card box and the placecards and holder, but really all we have left is fun stuff! I have my shower that my sister and aunt are throwing me on the 20th of February and I can’t wait! Look how pretty the invite is...

Then some time in March is my bachelorette party! Also in March we have a wedding to go to and then of course April 9th is the rehearsal dinner. With so many events I had a lot of outfits to find.

I saw this dress a long time ago before I was engaged and saved the picture and description on my computer because I just loved it, then when I got engaged and thought of the perfect event to wear it to, the rehearsal dinner, it was nowhere to be found, so since August, I had been looking on Ebay for it and finally two weeks ago I found it and its in my size!! It arrived this passed week and is even prettier in person! If I lose anymore weight it will have to be taken in, but my bridal salon said they would do it for me.

I had been eyeing this dress at Saks for a few months, but for no particular event, but then when it went almost half off I had to grab it and decided it’s the dress I will wear to the shower, of course dressing it down without those heels.

Now for the wedding and bachelorette party I have ideas but nothing found yet. I am thinking red for the wedding, maybe something one shoulder also, there is a dress at my bridal salon that I have my eye on, but its pricey since its...yes a bridesmaid’s dress...shocking! and its one size smaller than I am right now, but I still have a month so we will see. For the bachelorette party I am thinking something fun, and little wild and 80’sish.

Invitations

2010-01-28T09:25:00.005-05:00

The invitations have arrived, and they turned out very pretty I think!

Now to put them all together... I never realized how much work is involved.

To save time and since I have horrible handwriting, we opted for the envelope icing, which I thought was pretty much the only thing we had to do besides put them together.
Not so much...

1. Use the glue dots to insert the inner envelope liner.
2. Put the names on the outside of the inner envelope. (Which I did not know about)
3. Put stamps on the RSVP.
4. Stuff the inner envelope with the RSVP and invitation.
5. Add the envelope icing to the outer envelope.
6. Put stamps on the outer envelope.
7. Seal the envelope.
8. Go to post office and make sure we have enough postage.
9. Go to post office and get them hand canceled.

So far I put all the liners in the inner envelope. I want to practice before writing the names on the inner envelope, luckily it’s the shorter name, only Mr. and Mrs. SoNSo, and no address of course, but I still hate writing it, plus I want to go get a pink pen to match the other names ink. I still have two more weeks before they go and I want to wait for Valentine’s Day stamps at the post office so I have some time still. It was so neat to see them though, its so official when its all written out to see, once again, I am so excited!!

Mother of the Bride

2010-01-27T16:13:00.005-05:00

My mom has been having a hard time trying to find a dress for the wedding and then I found this gorgeous dress through Jasmine Bridal. I hope the teal is not as dark as it is on my monitor, my mom went in and saw the swatches, and said it wasn't too dark for Spring, and it is in their spring collection. I am sure it will be gorgeous! Very elegant.

Weekend Recap: Dan’s Birthday

2010-01-25T16:31:00.005-05:00

We had great weekend, and I am so glad because it was Dan’s birthday!!

The weekend started off with a friend of ours coming into town for the weekend from San Francisco, we met up for Mexican food at Salsas and then moved on to Lexi for wine, martinis and chocolate crème brulee before Dan and I called it a night around 10:30. Home to watch The Soup and Conan’s last show and to stay up for midnight to sing Happy Birthday.

Up around 8:30 Saturday to walk the puppies and make homemade ham and cheese croissants for Danny’s birthday breakfast. After present opening, getting ready, and another puppy walk, off to River Rocks for lunch. It was such a pretty day we sat outside on the deck and enjoyed tropical drinks during lunch, I had a mojitos, lobster bisque and a pesto and cheese flatbread and Dan had a rum punch, and fresh catch of the day Mahi-Mahi.

After another round of drinks we were off to Essential Spa for a couple’s massage and pedicures and Dan got a free express facial for his birthday from the spa. We decided to get ready at the spa for dinner after the steam room since it was only an hour until our dinner reservations. A quick run home to let the puppies out and change, then on to dinner at Djon's.

Djon’s is known for amazing food and a very nice upscale atmosphere, neither of us had been before so we were really looking forward to it. An appetizer of crab cocktail, a dirty martini for me and a vodka tonic for Danny started off the meal, then I had the veal chop and Dan got the Delmonico both with steamed broccoli and garlic mashed potatoes. Around dessert menu time is when I realized since we got ready at the spa I didn’t put together Danny’s peanut butter pie for dessert, so we broke tradition and had dessert at the restaurant. I had the bread pudding and Danny had the chocolate meltdown cake, then after a quick stop at Amy and Jai’s home to crash.

Sunday morning we got up early to meet up with Amy, Jai, Carrie and our visiting friend Kelly for brunch before her plane left. Home to watch football and make Danny his peanut butter pie, before relaxing and getting ready for the week ahead.

What a great weekend for Dan’s birthday!!

Engagement Photo session outfit

2010-01-22T10:28:00.007-05:00

Our engagement photo session is this Tuesday and I can’t wait! It was suppose to be two weeks ago, but we had to cancel because of the cold snap, and thank goodness we did because it gave us more time to come up with outfits! I had an idea for the first outfit but couldn’t find my dress black wrap dress, so I was on a mission to find a new black shirt dress and finally found the perfect one this passed week. Here is some of my inspiration...
I just loved Reese Witherspoon’s outfit in Four Christmases, and this photo I took out of Town and Country, sorry its wrinkle, a little old. And I thought they would look very nice paired with Dan’s black Sport Coat and jeans look.

I thought I had a dress so only needed to buy accessories, so I was looking for a bright red chunky necklace and a red pocket square for Dan, just to add a little color. I found both last weekend, and then realized this passed week I had no idea where my dress was so I decided to try and find a really nice shirt dress online.

I found this one at Talbots.com on sale but it wasn’t at the store and I was worried it wouldn’t get here in time with shipping.

Then I found this one at Ann Taylor Loft, sans the belt and fancier in person, and bought it, it was a little casual, but adding a dressier belt and accessories I thought would dress it up some.

Then I walked next door to Coldwater Creek to see if they had any bright tops for the second outfit(which I still havent come up with by the way), and found the perfect Black shirt dress, its dressier and has a very vintage feel, and came with a better belt than pictured. I took back the Ann Taylor dress and am all set for look #1 for our engagement session, now to figure out look two before Tuesday! I know it will be the casual look with a nice solid bright top and jeans and Dan in a button down with a stripe of the same color and jeans, but that’s all I got...

Flowergirl Dresses

2010-01-19T16:22:00.003-05:00

My sister found the cutest flowergirl dresses on ebay and for only $19.99!! Thats such a good deal considering the ones I picked were $140 even with my bridal discount, you cant beat $19.99! I love great deals on wedding stuff, but who doesnt!

I actually had already bought flowergirl dresses, but they were in ivory and I had to get another bridal gown for myself in white because the ivory one was too short for me, oops, that was a rough week, but my bridal shop saved the day.

I will be switching out the white flower sash for a apple slice green one to match the bridesmaids dresses and bought three one for my one year old niece who wont actually be walking as a flowergirl, but is one in spirit.

Here is the ebay seller's store.

DSW Gucci Sale!!!

2010-01-19T10:13:00.003-05:00

There is a huge Gucci sale on DSW.com right now! Such great prices! I scored this one for under $200, originally $795 and you can get free shipping also when you use promo code NEWYR10!!

Bridal Show

2010-01-18T09:33:00.005-05:00

The bridal show was such a nice time yesterday afternoon. I arrived early to get my hair and makeup done by a local spa, then got to walk around and see all the vendors, try lots of food and cake, and get the swag. You wouldnt believe how many people actually thought I got my hair done and wore a tiara for the bridal show itself, silly.

Hair done but before make-up, can tell I didnt get enough sleep the night before, thank goodness for concealer.

My dad arrived to videotape the fashion show just before I had to go get dressed, I thought it was sweet that he asked if he could come see me. Then it was time for the show, it was so fun playing dress-up especially in bridal gowns! For the finale we had bouguets and we got to keep them, yay, mine was a pretty purple with peacock feathers!

I will share more photos when I get them.

Puppies in the cold

2010-01-13T16:09:00.006-05:00

So I have never been one to dress up my dogs or even look at dog clothes, but when its in the 20's and 30's in Florida and the little puppies are shivering on their walks you have to do something, so I got them little matching sweaters, and they looked so cute I couldn't help but share...

Miss Lily!

Little Miss Olive on Mommy's lap, ahh we match, I swear that wasnt planned!

Surprisingly they did very well with keeping them on, not like the bows and hankerchiefs the groomer puts on them, I guess they must have been doing their jobs of keeping the puppies warm.

Warning: Dates are closer than they appear!

2010-01-11T12:40:00.011-05:00

Thats a sign in my bridal boutique, so true!!
We are now less than three months away from the wedding!! I am so excited, I know I say that a lot, I really cant say it enough! I have gotten a lot done in the past two weeks, only minor things left. We were suppose to have our engagement session tomorrow, but had to reschedule because of the weather, its unusually freezing in Florida right now, and taking outdoor photos would be hard. Thursday we have our tasting with the hotel, I am looking forward to that, hope everything is yummy, we went to a wedding there two years ago and the food was very good.

I wanted to share a wedding find today...
I am a big fan of the colorful paper parasols in all these pictures, and decided since I was having an outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour I would jump on the parasol bandwagon. I know a lot of outdoor weddings do parasols, and I have seen a lot of forums and blogs look for coupons for Luna Bazaar, but I found an even cheaper and nicer resource and wanted to share with you today.
It's AsianIdeas.com

For the 32 Inch Parasols I wanted in spring green and hot pink instead of being $8.50 for 1-12/$5.50 for 24+ at luna bazaar I got them for $3.75 for any amount in the pink and $7.25 for 1-5/$4.00 for 20+ for the green and ivory at Asian ideas, and they are nicer!! They dont have a weird separate square piece of paper over the top like at luna bazaar!

Its complementary my dear Watson!

2010-01-08T16:35:00.004-05:00

So I was doing some after Christmas sale shopping on SaksFifthAvenue.com the week after Christmas, and I was so excited to find one of my favorite artists ornaments were on sale for more than 75% off!! I first discovered Michael Storrings when my mom brought me back one of his Saks ornaments from a New York City trip when I was in college, and I just fell in love. I really love anthing with a building facade, especially a New York scene.

When checking out I decided since it was Christmas I would get them in their complementary gift wrap, I love free gift wrap, so sad Sephora stopped doing it, anyways when they all came last night, it was like it was Christmas all over again. How gorgeous!! I will always get gifts complementary wrapped from Saks from now on!! What a way to top off a great sale!!

Honeymoon

2010-01-07T14:08:00.005-05:00

I can’t wait until after the wedding, Dan and I will be husband and wife and we get to go on a two week honeymoon!! Since we live on an island/beach in Florida and our last vacation was at a beach resort we decided to not go tropical. Both of us have never been to Europe, so we figured it would be the perfect time to have a European vacation. At first we decided on Italy, but since it is pretty cold in Europe in April and we would be on the go a lot to see all of it we decided to hold off on Italy for another trip. So we decided on France and Germany for the honeymoon! Paris is suppose to be gorgeous in April and my family lived in Germany before I was born so I would love to see it.

Since flights are cheaper and direct out of New York City and we can expand the layover we have in London coming home we decided to add a few days to the beginning in New York City and one or two in London at the end. I love New York City and havent been in a few years so it will be nice to go for a little bit and Dan said we can stay in one of the fancy fancy hotels! Yay!

To prepare for the long trip Dan bought us new luggage! The set that goes with the wheeled club bag I got for my DC trip last spring, but instead of the 25 and 21 inch, we got the 28 and 25 inch. And it arrives today!! I wish it was closer, I love figuring out outfits and packing for vacation, but then again that would mean the wedding is closer and I still have things to do!

Here comes the bride!!

2010-01-06T17:51:00.003-05:00

Fun news, I just have to share!!
I was trying on my wedding dress during my first dress fitting, and the owner and my "attendant" starting whispering and giggling to each other, it made me kind of self-conscious at first and then very inquisitive, and then I hear my attendant say, yes I already thought of that, so finally I asked what was going on...
"We are having a bridal show at the end of the month and was wondering if you would like to be a model?"
OMG!!! How fun, a model in a bridal show right before I get married!! I thought it was very bridal of me, and said I would love to!!! We get to each wear 5 bridal gowns and unfortunately have to wear 5 bridesmaids gowns as well, but we get to get our hair and make-up done and walk around the show before the fashion show portion of the bridal show! I am so excited!!

It's c-c-c-cold outside!!!

2010-01-06T13:49:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!! Mine was so busy I didn't even have time to blog while I was off, I did get a ton of stuff done for the wedding though! Including my first dress fitting! Yay!

It is so cold outside, Florida in 30's, yay! I just love it!!! I love this kind of weather, even though everyone says its a novelty for me since I have lived in sunny Florida my whole life. I love the cold so much I have been trying to convince Dan for a few months to move up north, I just cant handle the Florida heat, and would love real seasons. Its nice, I have been able to use all my winter coats all week, its almost like dress-up to me since I never get to pull those out unless I go on vacation. I just got a new one from Victoria's Secret on sale for $59, couldn't handle the snow like my ski or Lands' End jacket but its pretty and looks nice for work.

I hope it warms up next week, we have our engagement photo session on Tuesday...outside. Speaking of, I am totally freaking out, I have no idea what we should wear!! Ahhhhh!! Better come up with something fast!

Stay warm out there!!

4 months and counting!!

2009-12-10T12:31:00.002-05:00

Today the wedding is officially four months away! I can’t believe how fast time has flown by! I got so much done the first two months of being engaged that I haven’t done that much recently, only little things here and there, but now I have to kick it into high gear!

Here is what is done:
Booked Venue for ceremony and reception
Booked Photographer
Bought dress
Picked out menu
Booked Florist
Booked DJ, Jazz band, and string trio
Bought undergarments
Bought and embellished cake topper
Picked out Bridesmaids’ dresses
Picked out flowers
Bought fancy address stamp
Made save the dates
Sent out save the dates
Bought groomsmen’s, Danny’s and dad’s ties
Bought toasting flutes
Bought cake server set
Bought bridesmaids shoes
Got fancy boxes for card box
Booked Videographer
Picked out invitations
Got candy buffet jars, scopes, tongs and bags
Designed/Bought Bridesmaids flip-flops
Had bridesmaids main gift made
Pick out table linens
Bought supplies for place cards
Bought parasols for all the ladies, green for guests, pink for bridesmaids and ivory for me
Book hair and makeup
Bought supplies for one of the favors
Bought chair sashes
Registered
Picked out and ordered wedding rings
Bought favor boxes
Designed wedding jewelry (earrings, necklace and pendant) with jeweler
Blocked hotel rooms for guests

This is what I have left to do:
Pick up jewelry
Order Invitations
Engagement photo session (January 12th)
Ask someone to be Officiant
Tasting of menu and signature drink
Book honeymoon
Buy labels for favors and candy buffet
Make candle favors
Put together favors with boxes
Make place cards and holders
Buy wine and labels for wine favors
Make song list
Get crinoline from friend as something borrowed
Dress fitting
Buy shoes
Order Bridesmaids dresses
Buy unity candle
Make bride and groom seat signs
Make programs
Make menus
Buy more bubbles if needed
Order cake and groom’s cake
Send out invitations
Make card box
Buy candy for candy buffet
Make program/bubble holder
Buy Groomsmen’s gift
Decide on hair
Buy Dan’s gift

Still a lot to do! And I am sure I am missing some things too!