North Carolina Trip Part 1

Way back in March, T and I spent my Spring Break in the great state of North Carolina! We had a few hours in a car to reach our destination for the evening. We visited with my future Aunt, uncle, and our ring bearer over a feast of crab, mashed potatoes, and pork. It was delicious and I had my first taste of Duplin wine.

Saturday we headed to Topsail Island. I was very excited to head to the beach even if it was freezing in North Carolinian standards, but warmer compared to Wisco weather. Sunday was a yucky, rainy day so we stayed inside and read our books.

Monday we drove to Beaufort and then drove down the Emerald Isle and ate at an amazing restaurant in Sneads Ferry where you could see views of the base.

Tuesday, we left the island and headed to Rose Hill to visit Duplin Winery. We ate at the Bistro and I had the crab cake sandwich. It was delicious!!  We took a tour and did a tasting. I really enjoyed the wine and the experience. I will be ordering some wine for sure from them We went back to New Bern to the place where we had a defining moment in our relationship during our first NC trip. It was interesting to see the little changes that happens in a matter of two years to a town.

Wednesday, we traveled to Raleigh to ride the train to Charlotte. And that my friends, is the end of part 1 of the trip. Charlotte deserves it's own post. :)

MIA

I've realized it's been a loooong time since I've posted...like a month at least.  Oops! In my defense, April was super busy between work, my wedding, my friend's wedding festivities and the important April birthdays in my family.

Before I even try to catch up with what's going on now, we'll go back to late March for a NC trip recap and then we'll press forward to highlight a few events that happened in April and then talk wedding! 8 weeks and I'll be a Mrs.!! :) 'Tis the plan that I am sticking to!

Happy Monday!!

Wedding Wednesday: End of March Check In

In March, we had a minor set back with the invites and really it's super minor..just the heart on the invite won't fully get colored in, but they will be ready upon my return! Very excited for the lots of to do's being crossed off this month! We're kicking it into high gear as the wedding is now in double digits!! :)


Get invitations ordered
Make labels for addressing envelopes
Get invites ready for mailing
Photography list
Tweak timeline
Meet with Reception Coordinator
Work on invitations and wedding program with Erica 
Book on ceremony musician
Decide on wedding ceremony music
Decide wedding reception songs
Do FOCCUS inventory
Research place to get rehearsal invites done through (etsy, wpd, walmart?)
Select and order groom and groomsmen attire
Make shutterfly guest book
Find wedding jewelry
Look over registries and add missing things/wants
Find garter
Find hairstyle
Find makeup inspiration
1st wedding dress fitting
Make Alterations appointment
All men wearing tux measured and paid deposit
Announce wedding in local newspapers
Finalize reception menu
Book wedding night hotel room
Bridesmaid gifts
Groomsman gifts
Bubbles project
Card box
Mail invitations

Engagiversary

St. Patrick's Day wasn't just another day. It was our engagement anniversary! :)

St. Patrick's Day 2012

This year was a much colder version, but it was still a lot of fun to realize we have been engaged for a year!

I rocked these socks all day!

We celebrated by having Applebee's for lunch and then did some shopping for some reads for our plane rides. When we got home we got to devour the 3 of 4 cupcakes I bought for our anniversary. I couldn't resist not eating the Peanut Butter Chocolate cupcake early. :)

Cupcakes from Bloom Bake Shop

St. Patrick's Day 2013

What's St. Paddy's Day without a green beer..and a green Sprite? T gave up alcohol for lent.

I hope you had a wonderful day of green filled fun whether you are Irish or were Irish for the day! 

Wedding Wednesday: March Checklist Update

I've been MIA for most of February since it was such a busy month! We had our tasting at the reception and my dress came in! The girls have picked up their dresses and most of the guys have their measurements in!

Here is the list for March:

Get invitations ordered
Make labels for addressing envelopes
Get invites ready for mailing
Photography list
Tweak timeline
Meet with Reception Coordinator
Work on invitations and wedding program with Erica 
Book on ceremony musician
Decide on wedding ceremony music
Decide wedding reception songs
Do FOCCUS inventory
Research place to get rehearsal invites done through (etsy, wpd, walmart?)
Select and order groom and groomsmen attire
Make shutterfly guest book
Find wedding jewelry
Look over registries and add missing things/wants
Find garter
Find hairstyle
Find makeup inspiration
1st wedding dress fitting
Make Alterations appointment
All men wearing tux measured and paid deposit
Announce wedding in local newspapers
Finalize reception menu
Book wedding night hotel room
Send out invitations
Bridesmaid gifts
Groomsman gifts
Bubbles project

I think I'll get a lot of checks marked off this list this month!! :)

NC Trip

With six weeks left until our trip to North Carolina and finally getting my time off approved, I've started to think about what I want to do this trip. We're spending most of our trip in the coast area, but we will spend a day and a half in Charlotte. I'm really excited to end the trip on a high in Charlotte. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Coast Checklist
- Visit Duplin Winery and do the tour/tasting.
- Have lunch at Two Dogs Pizza
- Go to the shops in Surf City/North Topsail
- Back to Wilmington for a day - tour Battleship NC and see the One Tree Hill shooting areas.

Charlotte Checklist
- Epicentre for dinner/drinks/entertainment
- Cabo Fish Taco for dinner
- Tour of Charlotte
- Alexander Michael's for lunch
- NoDa Brewery Tour

Wedding Wednesday: Floral Inspiration

This past Friday I met with my florist. She is in love with my bridesmaid bouquet! I'm excited for her idea for our reception.. a bud vase with a long stemmed gerb. It is so wonderful to have all of the details finally starting to take shape! Here are the photos that helped inspire us to create my floral vision for the wedding.

Bridesmaid bouquet with fuchsia ribbon

Ivory eskimo roses is my bouquet - I just love the pearl wrap. Ignore the cotton in the bouquet. :)

Bout inspiration - we're using green hypericum berries

Weekend Update

This past weekend just flew by! Friday night started with my floral appointment. I felt much more prepared and excited to meet with my florist than my first visit back in July. I am still debating on using floral in my centerpieces at my tables, but I think in the end I will.

After the floral appointment, I had an hour and a half to kill before meeting with our FOCCUS couple so I stopped by T's parents house. It was so nice to catch up and see his sister. I was a little nervous meeting our couple, but my future sister reassured me that the Mrs. was very nice. :) She was totally right! I just loved our meal and getting to know each other before taking the inventory.

Saturday we had our cake appointment and we met with a new business that does custom printing. I was so relieved to be told our invites can be printed at a reasonable cost! After some meetings, T and I went to our reception hall's open house. We got to try a few things off the menu, see the ballroom all dressed up, and taste desserts and wine. It was amazing and I was stuffed by the time we left. I made a trip home to pick up a few things from Mom and Dad's. It was also an excuse to see my pup. I sure miss her and I know the feeling is mutual when she runs down the road after me when I leave. :( She knows how to make her owner sad!

Sunday was pretty relaxing. T and I started really planning our NC trip and figuring out what we wanted to do. I was excited to finally get approval to go on vacation from the upper management. I think we have a pretty good idea what we want to do in Charlotte, it's just a matter of what we want to do the 5 days before we head back west. One of my top things to do is to go to the Duplin Winery and have Two Dogs Pizza. Another trip to Wilmington would be awesome too. We watched the Super Bowl and ordered Pizza Hut so we didn't have to cook. It was a great evening even if snow was in the forecast.

I am ready to be in NC with warmer weather for sure!

Wedding Wednesday: Cake Inspiration

 With a busy weekend full of wedding appointments ahead, I'd thought I'd share my inspiration for our wedding cake. We're doing a small cake for show and doing some sheet cakes that will be pre-cut ready for guests to dig into! My ever adventurous err bland fiance wants marble. I'm totally okay with it after tasting our cake baker's marble. I'll just go buy myself a small cake of an adventurous almond raspberry from the bakery we did not go with for our engageversary . :)  I'm super excited to meet with our cake lady Saturday!!

I love the detail between layers.

 

Ignore the orchids..I just love the round and square together.

 Love, love, love the pearl details on this cake. I may do a ribbon, but if I don't, go back to the first picture.

I really want these forks!

Wedding Wednesday: Checklist Update

It may not seem like a lot of things got checked, but both mom's found and ordered their dresses last Saturday. So glad to have that taken care of. Tuxes have been picked out too! I got appointments set up with our FOCCUS couple, cake baker, and florist so far this week. One more thing will be checked off Saturday with our last marriage prep class. Good thing T's work Christmas party is afterwards so I have something to get me through the day! We're making some progress and with 5 months to go next week there's always something to do!


Finalize guest list
Print & mail save the dates
Meet/Book Cake Baker
Start photography list
Work on timeline (started..not anywhere near finished)
Work on invitations and wedding program with Erica 
Decide on wedding ceremony musicians/music
Call Church to change wedding time and ceremony
Call couple to do FOCCUS
Second marriage prep class - Jan. 26
Research wedding party gifts
Research place to get rehearsal invites done through (etsy, walmart?)
Ask friend to be a program/bubble lady
Select and order groom and groomsmen attire
Look at cake/knife sets and decide if I want to borrow Berkley's
Talk to photographer about ordering guestbook or go through shutterfly
Find out price for hotel block we reserved at AmeriInn
Find wedding jewelry
Look over registries and add missing things/wants
Find garter
Find hairstyle and makeup inspiration
Menu tasting Feb. 2
Waterproof wedding shoes (will do this next time I'm at my parents)
1st wedding dress fitting
Alterations appointment/Find someone to do alterations
Decide on wedding flowers and make appointment with floristAll men wearing tux measured and paid deposit

Wedding Wednesday: Bridal Show Weekend Recap

It was a crazy busy weekend being home and attending two bridal shows. The first one was on Saturday in Dubuque, Iowa where my Senior Prom was held! If I were getting married in Dubuque, I would have wanted the Grand River Center as my reception venue. I found a lot of inspiration for floral and centerpieces, as well as tasted yummy foods and cake! The best part was stopping by the tux shop that works with my bridal shop to find out they're pricing. Kinda torn between which tux place I want to go with at my shop, but it will all work out.

On Sunday, my mom and I went to a bridal show at my alma mater, UW-Platteville. It was nice to be back on campus (not that it wasn't that long ago that I was). I stopped by my shop's booth to say hi to my consultant and to warn her that I'm coming in with the moms. :)  My mom saw a handful of dresses she liked at the fashion show, so I'm excited to go back this time.

Here are some floral inspiration pictures and a cake picture (love Hy-Vee cake!) I took over the two days of bridal show festivities. Enjoy!

Wedding Wednesday: January Update

I hinted at that I saw my dress last week and there was a problem. Well, turns out it came in with this long snag at the butt. I was bummed, but still very excited to see my dress in person. Knowing that I have to wait for my dress take two is hard. I'm hoping next weekend when I go with my moms and future sister in law to look at/pick up bridesmaid dress that they'll still have it so I can try it on. I'm kinda torn though, I want to have that bride moment in my real dress. I have a week to think about it, which helps.

Below is the list compiled back in December that should lead me up to February. 
Book cake baker (sorta - she wants to meet when I have my look figured out)
Finalize guest list
Print & mail save the dates
Start photography list
Work on timeline (started..not anywhere near finished)
Work on invitations and wedding program with Erica 
Decide on wedding ceremony musicians/music
Call Church to change wedding time and ceremony
Call couple to do FOCCUS
Second marriage prep class - Jan. 26
Research wedding party gifts
Research place to get rehearsal invites done through
Ask friend to be a program/bubble lady
Select and order groom and groomsmen attire
Look at cake/knife sets and decide if I want to borrow Berkley's
Talk to photographer about ordering guestbook
Find out price for hotel block we reserved at AmeriInn
Find wedding jewelry
Look over registries and add missing things/wants
Find garter
Find hairstyle and makeup inspiration
Menu tasting Feb. 2
Waterproof wedding shoes
1st wedding dress fitting
Alterations appointment
Decide on wedding flowers and make appointment with florist

Let the Planning Begin!

I am so excited to officially say that T and I are going to North Carolina the week before Easter! It's a big trip for us as we'll be visiting Charlotte, where we are considering moving in the future. T isn't exactly sure what will make him decide Charlotte is the place for us, but I'm all about atmosphere. I just loved our first trip to NC and even though we were mainly in the eastern area.

I think my favorite part of the first trip was sitting on a bench in Union Point Park talking about our future. We went to Little Washington, Greenville, New Bern, Kinston, Topsail Island, and Wilmington in a matter of a week.

I'd really like to explore Topsail Island more. I cannot wait to ride a train from Raleigh to Charlotte!!

Best morning on the beach ever.

Wedding Wednesday: Centerpiece Project

With it being Winter Break the past week I had a chance to tackle some wedding idea projects. I found on Pinterest a how to dye mason jars. This one seemed easier since I didn't have to bake them. My grandma's mason jars are old and I just didn't want to break them!

All you need is a mason jar, mod podge, and icing color/food coloring. I followed directions from here:  http://www.lilyshop.com/lilyshop-blog/item/how-to-make-colored-mason-jars

First, you put enough mod podge in to cover the bottom. 

Then, take a toothpick and stick it into your icing color and put it in with the pod modge. 

Use a popsicle stick to marry the icing and mod podge. 

Next, gently turn the mason jar every which way until it's coated. 

Now you tip it onto the mouth of the jar to allow the excess drip out. This can take up to an hour.

 After the hour is up, turn the mason jar back upright. Let it sit for 24-48 hours until it's dry.

It's not quite dry yet, you can still see the previous gluey orange color. 

All dry!

Centerpiece idea. May sprinkle fake flower petals or the icy sparkler things.

Downer in the project is I can't use water with a floating candle in it. As you can see, it started taking the color out of it. Looks like I'll need to stick a thicker candle inside it and let it burn.

Goodbye 2012

2012 has definitely been a year I could describe as a roller coaster.

January brought me leaving a great group of fifth graders and elementary school where I student taught. I was able to substitute teach and teach summer school for the district, which made the transition easier.

March brought Tim starting a new job and Tim and I got engaged on St. Patrick's Day :)

We moved into our first apartment together in April 

April also brought Amber's wedding where I was her Personal Attendant

 Attended our good friends Mat & Berkley's wedding in June

 Riley Jo came into the world in July! I'm a proud honorary auntie :)
Then, later in the month my world crashed around me. My mother was diagnosed with cancer. 

August came and she had her mastectomy and started treatments in September.

 Meanwhile, I was starting my very first teaching job as a four year old kindergarten teacher.

 In October we celebrated my parents' 25th wedding anniversary. T & I got our engagement pictures taken. 

November brought Thanksgiving and Patrick's 21st birthday.

December came and I made the Christmas card for the first time! :) Dad had another rocky December with his heart, but our family felt so much closer knowing how blessed we were to make it through this year. 

We celebrated the end of the year and the beginning of a new one with our MOH and BM. I know this year is going to be just as wonderful as 2012 has been to T and I!

The Christmas "Vacation"

The time between my snow days and going back to work after Christmas flew by. Saturday morning I literally flew out of bed and packed as quickly as I could. My dad had called and was going to the ER. They kept him overnight for observation and then sent him home since he wasn't having a heart attack. Christmas Eve was a lazy day after the running around that went on Saturday and Sunday.

My brother made Oreo Truffles Christmas Eve - they were yummy!

It's the time of year where visiting the dogs means they come in :)

Christmas the dogs got their gift from us and the rawhide bone gift from Bree.

We had bacon, eggs, and cinnamon rolls for breakfast after opening our gifts. 

Later on in the day we had Christmas lunch/dinner and then I packed up my car to head to T's parents for Christmas night festivities - Monopoly and brandy slushies :)

The day after Christmas led T, Pat, Erin and I to get those day after bargains. I got my icicle lights for the head table and some string lights that I'll wrap with tulle for under the stage. I scored some gift wrap and got a Rubbermaid tub for all our Christmas things.

I went back to work Thursday and Friday to plan and organize the classroom. I found out late on Thursday that my dad was having a procedure Friday to see if he was blocked. Good thing I was planning to work a half day as he was blocked, but he was able to come home and I was his ride.

I spent Saturday and Monday at the bridal shop and shopping. We looked for my mom's dress for the wedding and I tried on and picked up my bridesmaid dress for Erica's wedding. I also saw my dress - I'll have to post all about that on a Wedding Wednesday update!