Currently [v3]

Basically this is a post for a few things that didn't deserve their own post but I had to share them with you anyways. I am currently loving.... 

>>> Starbucks Iced Americanos. I don't know why I never ordered one before but ever since, I just can't seem to get anything else. And since it doesn't quite feel like fall around these parts in sunny San Diego, I can go for something iced still. But believe me, when those red cups come out I'll sure be making a switch.

>>> OPI Wooden Shoe Like To Know It. I think it's the perfect fall color without being overly dark. It's a brownish purple with a little sparkle to it and the formula is fantastic. Two coats gets great coverage and they haven't chipped yet which is awesome for my nail-polish-hating nails.

Source: theitaliandishblog.com via Jayme on Pinterest

>>> These amazing apple crisps. I made my first batch the other afternoon using a single apple. But silly me, who was I kidding. I gobbled them up that same night and had to make a larger batch again the next day. They're super simple and bake for long enough to make your house smell like apple pie without all the effort.

>>> TheKnotDOTcom. Seriously it's been my best friend since getting engaged and I'm constantly finding new tools and ideas and endless amounts of inspiration from that site. I highly recommend any bride-to-be to check out all that it has to offer. For example, my most recent use has been related to our guest list. I made an excel file with everyone invited, imported it to the website and have been able to track our online-RSVPs as well as easily create seating plans with an interactive screen to show table placements and such. It's been awesome for this DIY/OCD bride like me.

So tell me, what are you loving this month? Anything you think I'd love too?

A Tribute to My Mr.

Today marks 68 days until our wedding and as the days and the months quickly pass by I just can't seem to stop myself from thinking how blessed I am to be marrying this man. And quite frankly, I hope I never stop feeling lucky, feeling loved, feeling like I'm in exactly the relationship I dreamt of my entire life.

 

Life is definitely not bubble gum and roses every moment but it's because of that fact, because there will be moments when I'm angry, moments when we fight, moments when things don't go my or our way, that make our love so special. I cannot wait until the day that I get to call J my husband but even more than that, I can't wait to live my life together with him because I know it is exactly where I need to be.

 

Source: spicedsweetroasted.blogspot.com via Jayme on Pinterest

 

I love you babe, and I can't wait to be your wife!

Tying the Knot: Wedding Dress Hanger

I'm sure you've all seen the hangers floating around Pinterest and the webs in general that are custom made to hold your wedding dress or to give as gifts to your bridal party. Whether it be curved wire or painted wood the options seemed to be endless and quite frankly, something I didn't feel like spending a bunch of money on. So I decided to DIY my own version.

 

After a quick trip to IKEA for a set of white wood hangers that cost me less than $1 each the process was super simple and super easy. Not to mention the perfect afternoon activity to go along with trashy TV that the fiance wouldn't watch with me :-) 

[1] Gather all supplies: hanger, printer paper, pencil, permanent marker, bobby-pin/credit card/something with an edge. I printed my lettering in the font and size that would fit the hanger the right way and cut it down to size.
[2] On the wrong/back side of the paper, trace your letters in pencil making sure to completely cover all areas and use enough lead.
[3] Tape the paper right side up so the pencil markings are touching the wood.
[4] Gently but throughly rub over the letters to transfer the pencil marks onto the wood. This is where I used a bobby-pin (only because I had one sitting on the table where I was working) but anything will work for this step. Carefully lift one edge to make sure all letters have transfered.

[5] This is how it should look. Tough to see I know but you can tell that the pencil marks have stayed on the wood.
[6] Carefully trace over the pencil with your permanent marker making sure to avoid smudges.

And it's as easy as that! The other side of my hanger says "Mrs. New-last-name" and then obviously this is our wedding date. I love how it turned out and the fact that it was cheap. Sure the professional ones might have the edge of well... professionalism but hey, I much prefer to do these types of things myself.

 

Another item crossed off the check-list! What have you accomplished this week?

We Sure Are Cute

As a project for the wedding I'm incorporating pictures of J and I growing up and I sometimes can't get enough of them. I love thinking about all the memories that I have from pictures of me and I absolutely can't get over how much of a cutie my fiance was. (And still is, don't worry babe.)

I'll share more of the project later once it's finished but here's a sneak peak. 

 

 

Both of these pictures were taken in 1991.

Happy Friday! I'm spending the entire weekend with this guy and I can't wait!

Tying the Knot: Our Guest Book

I originally posted about our guest book as a Guest Post for Syndal while she was getting married to the love of her life but for anyone who missed it (and to keep my own blog up to date about everything going on with my own wedding) I thought I'd share it here too!

The Guest Book

After attending the wedding of some close friends, I knew almost immediately that I would want to create a photobook using our engagement pictures to have for our guests to sign and send us words of love and encouragement. Then I got our pictures from our photographer and fell in love with them. I literally couldn't keep myself from designing said-book ASAP and am so, so pleased with how it turned out.

I read many reviews about different online sites to use for projects like this taking into account price, book size, customer reviews, return/exchange policies incase something went wrong, coupons. You name it and I researched it. I knew that this book would be something we had for the rest of our lives and I wanted it to be perfect.

With all that said, I happily chose MyPublisher and I am absolutely thrilled with the results. The minimum size for photobooks from them is 20 pages and that's how many we ended up having. I didn't want to spend extra money (I'm cheap, what can I say) and knew it didn't have to be very long to get the job done. The cover is solid black, linen finish and it's gorgeous. Inside the front cover I picked a textured gray and all their books come with a vellum overlay before the first page.

They have tons of layouts to choose from depending on the number of pictures you want per page and how much physical space you want the pictures to take up. The quality of the photos is absolutely stunning, seriously these pictures do not do them justice. Even the black & whites turned out amazing.

I specifically designed some pages to have more white spaces and some to have less and emphasize the pictures instead. We're not having a huge wedding and with families/couples I estimated that we'd have enough writing room even if it wasn't on every page. The layouts allowed you to pick one of their standards and then customize them to exactly your liking. (ie photo dimensions, location on page, etc)

To create a little uniformity to the book I repeated some of the layouts on different pages and I loved how their site was super user friendly. One of the things I liked best was that from running list of pictures to be used, ones that were placed in layouts no longer appeared. We had over 100 photos from our photographer and some were extremely similar with just minor changes in expression/angle/etc. This made it super easy to be sure pictures weren't repeated and to eliminate ones that didn't make the cut.

I picked the standard pages (versus the lay flat pages) because I was worried with how the center binding would be affected. I had read that some of the lay flat pages messed with the alignment of pictures and ended up cutting off essential parts. And I definitely didn't want that! Of all the pages I only had one (see below) that was slightly cut off and too close to the center. But I'm almost positive that was my user error and not a printing problem.

The end of the book is a solid white page (perfect since we're using it as a guestbook) followed by a little company logo and an odd barcode. I was sorta confused to see that but thankfully it's small and in the back. There's also another vellum sheet and the back cover has the same gray texture as the front.

I am by no means associated with MyPublisher other than the fact that I am a very pleased customer. They did an amazing job with the printing, putting the book together was a breeze and I was even able to use a Buy One Get One Free code and give my mom a copy of our book to keep for herself. I cannot wait for this to be displayed at our wedding and have it for the rest of our lives to look back on such an important day. 

All images taken by me, engagement pictures taken by Josh Barrett of Ignite Images

Tying the Knot: Checklist Update

Things have been so hectic around here ever since we got back from vacation that I seriously don't know how it's the second week in October already! I've really been feeling like there aren't enough days in the week and hours in a day to accomplish everything I want/need to get done. Between planning a wedding, applying to med school again, working, trying to keep up a house and spend time with my fiance the days are just slipping by. But thankfully we've gotten a lot done on the wedding front recently so check it out. 

+ Pick a wedding date

+ Choose your wedding party

+ Find a ceremony site

+ Choose a ceremony officiant
+ Plan the ceremony details (unity, readings, etc)

+ Find a reception site

+ Plan the guest list
+ Plan the VIPs/toasts for the reception

+ Pick a caterer

+ Decide on a menu

+ Find a florist

+ Find a photographer

+ Find a DJ/Band

After a bit of trouble we have finally found someone we like who isn't going to flake on us and isn't too expensive!

+ Find a bakery
+ Decide on a cutting cake

+ Find salon/hairstylist/make-up artist

+ Have an engagement party

+ Take engagement pictures

+ Have a bridal shower

+ Have bachelor/bachelorette parties

+ Plan rehearsal dinner

A huge thank-you is in order to J's mom for taking on this task and running with it. Such a huge relief and we're so grateful!

+Find wedding dress

+ Decide on a veil

Notice that it says 'Decide'. J wants to know absolutely nothing when it comes to me (which I love) so even a yes or no about a veil is out of the question.

+ Find bridal shoes

+ Pick other accessories

+ Decide on Old/New/Borrowed/Blue traditions

Most of these were easy like my dress & shoes and certain pieces of jewelry and my favorite is a blue OPI nail polish for my toes that has my new last name in the title!

+ Pick out bridesmaid dresses

+ Pick out tuxes

+ Decide on wedding bands

 

+ Have dress fittings and alterations

+ Buy wedding party gifts

Part way finished but not giving any details yet!
+ Buy gifts for our parents
+ Buy gifts for each other

+ Plan special dances & "must have" list of songs
+ Figure out day-of transportation

+ Set up wedding registry

We've opted for a more modern take on a registry where it's specifically tied to our honeymoon instead.

+ Book night-of hotel room

+ Book Block of Hotel Rooms

Done and done!

+ Book honeymoon
+ Place flower order
Can't wait to see what our florist comes up with since I've given a bit of freedom for these.
+ Place bakery order

Nothing Bundt Cakes bundtinis for everyone!

+ Send Save The Dates

+ Design Invitations

+ Send Invitations

This is happening this afternoon once I'm done with work! I love how they turned out!

+ Make guest book

+ Design wedding website

+ Decide on wedding favors

+ Create slideshow

And I cry every time I watch it. But more importantly, does anyone know how to burn it to a DVD with a Mac? Help a future-bride!

+ Make ceremony programs

+ Make escort/place cards

We decided on a multi-picture frame where each table will be listed with their appropriate guests instead of individually  making one for each person. 

+ Write vows

+ Get marriage license

37/50 52

Over 70% with a little under 3 months left!

But seriously, who can teach me how to burn a DVD? Ha!

Happy Wednesday!