Here is a picture of my sweet, little nephew. He is all dressed up for Easter.


Here is my nephew and niece. Although my niece wasn't too happy, she looks pretty damn cute.

New Pink Shoes

Here is a pic of my new shoes from this weekend. Purchased from the J. Crew outlet. I love them.

Just in case

In case you needed a reason why you should not get your nipples pierced . . . check out this article.

How to Handle Seating Assignments

As a follow up to my earlier post, I have a plan for how to assign tables. My parents are hosting my wedding, so the replies will go to them. But I think a good plan is to set up little containers or envelopes and mark them Table 1, Table 2, etc. Then as the replies start to come in, think about where each person should go - just off the top of your head, nothing has to be finalized yet.

Write their name on an index card and assign them to a table (by putting them in their respective container/envelope). Perhaps, write their name on the outside of the envelope so you can quickly see who else is at the table. When the reply date has arrived, you can lay out the index cards according to each table and see how they match up. You can make any necessary adjustments at the time. If you do it a little bit at a time, it will cut down on the size of your headache, hopefully.

PS Mom - I have a feeling you have figured out the comment thing. So come out, come out wherever you are! Chime in girl!

Assigned seating or no assigned seating?

(picture is from The Knot, I love the arrangement of escort cards)


I was inspired to write a post regarding assigned seating after reading a series of comments over at Elizabeth Anne Designs. (BTW, they are doing some truly fabulous inspiration boards). Yes, I did comment already, but I still have more to say. There seems to be a split down the middle as to whether you should have assigned seating at a wedding. I will preface this post by first saying that its your wedding and as most people will tell you, you should do what you want. After all, you and your future hubby know your guests better than anyone and of course know what they would be comfortable with. Furthermore, the reason for etiquette is to make your guests more comfortable, so starting with that premise, I think either would be fine, depending on your wedding.

That being said, my personal opinion is that assigned seating is the way to go. I think there are times when you don't need assigned seating. For example, a reception that is a cocktail reception or a very small reception. In those circumstances, seating is generally not a problem.


If you are having a traditional sit-down dinner and a medium to large reception, I think you should have assigned seating. There are several reasons for this, first, it is helpful to the servers at your reception. Guests usually indicate what they are having and assigned seating makes it easier to identify "who gets what." Second, guests will be seated more quickly thus dinner will be served more quickly and then you can party more quickly :) I consulted Peggy Post in her Wedding Etiquette book to see what she had to say on the subject. While she never says, "you must have assigned seating," she does say "at a traditional sit-down dinner or luncheon, guests are usually assigned places at dining tables and are served by waitstaff."



Now, on to assigned seating at a buffet or food station wedding . . . At our wedding, we will be having stations set up throughout the room, so it will be a buffet-type reception. Although I did not consult my general Emily Post Etiquette book (its at my parents house along with 100 other books - sorry Mom :), I did look this up in Wedding Etiquette. Again, Peggy doesn't say that you must do one or the other, instead she says "guests sit at dining tables, which may or may not have assigned places."


I know that old etiquette dictates that at a buffet-type reception, there shouldn't be assigned seating. However, I disagree with this. I personally feel that assigned seating saves your guests from a lot of akward "is this seat taken" or "may I sit here" or "can we move chairs over so our friends can join us." Isn't that the whole point of etiquette? To save your guests from those akward situations? I personally feel like "looking for a place to sit" is reminiscent of middle school lunch tables, at least for this bride.


I realize that some or many of you will disagree with me, so feel free to chime in! There's no view-point discrimination on this blog :)


P.S. Again, this is just my personal opinion. Whatever you did/will do at your wedding is/was up to you.

Grace Kelly meets Gone With the Wind

Okay, so I am pretty excited because I feel like my wedding plans are really starting to come together. I did a lot of brainstorming this weekend with my mom, my sisters, the caterer, the make-up artist, and the florist. It was really fun!

My style is very classic, elegant, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, etc. However, I am also a southern girl. So my theme has kind of evolved into a classic, elegant affair with a hint of southern charm. The caterer had some awesome ideas about gourmet southern cuisine and I am loving it. (if ya'll have any ideas bring 'em on!)

One of the things I like about my plans so far is they seem different (to me at least) and it really reflects my personality. I have more ideas from this weekend, but I haven't really put them into words yet. They are still just images floating around in my head. I am working on verbalizing them :)

(shrimp and grits - not sure if we will be having this yet, but it was one of the ideas)

Easter Re-cap

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great Easter. Mine was wonderful. However, I think I might have had one too many jelly beans and maybe one too many pieces of cake, so I am not feeling so hot today. I have some pictures and also a lot of wedding updates, so I will be back tomorrow.

My Peeps

Happy Easter everyone! I am off to hang out with family and my cute Fiance. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. We have lots of Easter plans. Friday we will go to church and then dye eggs, Saturday we are going to church for the Easter vigil, then Sunday we will have an Easter egg hunt and a nice Easter brunch.

I am also meeting with my caterer tomorrow morning. I haven't met her. She did my sister's wedding, but that is all a blur to me. Tomorrow night I am meeting with a make-up person to do a trial run for the big day. Saturday morning - the florist. So on top of the Easter stuff, I will be doing quite a bit of wedding planning too :) I am excited.

Easter Cookies

I wasn't going to post a picture, but because One Fabulous Mom asked, here you go. My cookies didn't quite turn out like the Williams Sonoma ones! But they are bright and happy and delicious. I baked them on Sunday and then I froze them until tonight. I had visions of polka dotted butterflies, but it was late and I was tired. So sprinkles was the best I could do. I am going to bring the cookies home with me tomorrow. I can't wait. My whole family is going to be home.

what was J. Crew thinking?

I am copying Midwest Prep's "what were they thinking." Yesterday I excitedly opened my latest J. Crew catologue that had arrived in the mail (during the Lost commercials of course). I have long since given up on dressing Fiance but I decided to take a look through the men's section.

I started laughing when I saw these pants. Mostly because the first thought that entered my mind was the expression on Fiance's face if I ever brought these home for him. I can hear him now "Happy April Fool's day to you too darlin'."

PS - I'm sorry if I offended anyone who likes these

Lost - The Show

no spoilers please :)

After many thursday nights of "okay baby, I have to go, my show is starting." I decided to find out what all the fuss was about. I was not a believer in this show. I found it highly unlikely that there could be four seasons of an hour long show about people being stranded on an island. I was wrong.

This past weekend, Fiance brought Season 1. Before he came, he asked "are you sure you don't want me to bring Season 2, too?" I naively replied, "no, I just want to try Season 1, I don't even know if I will like it, I don't really like Survivor-type shows." A little chuckle and "okay, but by Monday you will be begging me to mail you Season 2."

Well, while I was trying to get better this weekend, I burned through all of Season 1. I am addicted to this show and luckily, its available in full length episodes online. Yesterday as I was waiting two hours to see a doctor, I called Fiance while I was in the exam room to talk (okay complain).* He replied "baby, are you sure you're not upset because Jack isn't your doctor?" Hmmmm . . . . maybe? (just kidding Fiance - I heart you ;). I was laughing a little too loud.

In conclusion, you know are you addicted to Lost when . . . you are going home for lunch just so can watch 20 minutes of the next show.

*not while the doctor was in there

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! I'm sure you are all wearing preppy green outfits. I had a good weekend, but I was feeling a little under the weather. I'm better now. I made my Easter sugar cookies yesterday. I will have to try and take some pictures and post them.

Fiance came to visit this weekend. We both have amazing families, but its nice to have time alone together too. We tried a restaurant down the street from me for dinner. It was okay, but I don't know that we will go back.

Easter Goodies!

Happy Friday everyone! I decided to do a post on some fun Easter things I have come across. I definitely get the "winter blues." I just love warm weather and longer days, so I am always dying for Spring to get here. Easter is the turning point for me. I also love all of the Easter decorations that signal new life (bunnies, chicks, eggs). I hope you enjoy these!


(Williams Sonoma)

I love these little totes from Williams Sonoma. When I was little we each had our own Easter basket. The "Easter Bunny" would then hide it. I swear my parents came up with the weirdest places. My mom definitely played "hot & cold" every Easter!


(Williams Sonoma)

Aren't these sugar cookies adorable? I think I might bake some cookies for Easter this Sunday. These are great for inspiration. I make sugar cookies from scratch . . . the icing is my favorite part.

(Pier 1)

I like these little toys for the munchkins! Although I don't know if the whistle would be a good idea for my 2 1/2 year old nephew . . . I can hear myself now, "okay, give the whistle to Aunt Sissy."

(Pier 1)

For the front door. I love all the colors in this wreath. I didn't buy this yet, but I will definitely be hitting up Pier 1 the day after Easter!

Fun Quiz

I saw this on In This Instance. Click here to do the quiz. I am not going to tell you what flowers I picked (because that would ruin the fun), but here is what it said about me:

You are a classic romantic who believes in true love.

You often experience deep emotions and feel warmth toward almost everyone.

You are a bundle of positive feelings and sweetness.

I am a classic romantic, but I don't know that I am always a "bundle of positive feelings," but I try to be :)

One of my favorites

I love this movie! I must have watched it at least 100 times but I still love it every time I watch it. I stayed up too late because it was on USA and I just had to watch the ending . . . I'm sure most of you have seen it, but if you haven't - you have to watch it!



Reese is adorable too. I can't wait to see Penelope :)

So what do you all think?

I did some re-formatting on my blog. Of course I want it to be organized for any readers I may have, but its also organized for my benefit too :) Instead of just saving everything under my "favorites" I put all of these websites on my blog.

For your next tea party . . .

I love these.

For the Boys

We went to look at some tuxedos on Saturday. We found some that we liked, but we are going to try a few more shops. I have been trying to print out pictures of what I like. Here is one:


(courtesy of Eleise Theuer)

The Rehearsal Dinner

We will have the actual rehearsal at the church (obviously) and then we are having our rehearsal dinner at a baseball stadium (not this one though). Fiance loves baseball, so we thought it was fitting. Its going to be a very casual event. I think it will be a nice time for everyone to relax and visit with relatives.

I have been trying to come up with ideas to go with our baseball theme. I think it would be very cute to have invitations that are printed like tickets to a game. I also think a fun centerpiece would be a plastic popcorn bucket with crackerjacks, peanuts and other baseball type items.

Since our extended families have never met, I kind of want to have some type of nametag - but I am not sure about this.

Feel free to chime in if you have any ideas or suggestions!

Weekend Re-cap & Book Review

I went to visit my parents and Fiance this weekend. They live in the same town. My future in-laws were also visiting for Fiance's birthday. It was really fun. We did a little shopping on saturday during the day. Saturday night we went to an upscale sportsbar for dinner (I know that sounds like an oxymoron). The food was really good.

Sunday, my parents had a little brunch for our families and to celebrate Fiance's actual birthday. It was nice and again, the food was amazing. My mom made this wonderful dish with asparagus wrapped in ham and then a cheese sauce over it. We also had some of the other standard brunch fare: quiche, fruit, coffee cake . . . mimosas :)

I also finished this book last night. It took me a really long time to read it. I didn't like it so much, but I feel guilty if I don't finish a book that I have started, so I made myself read it. I bought it because it had all good reviews on amazon. However, the book ended up being kind of depressing and then it was happy for the last chapter. I like to be entertained and amused while reading, so I guess it just wasn't my kind of book.

Happy Friday

(love this cake)

Happy Friday everyone! Don't forget about Daylight savings - I hate setting my clock an hour ahead (and losing an hour of sleep), but I am happy that the days will be longer :)



I am headed out of town this weekend. Sunday is Fiance's birthday, so we will be celebrating. My future in-laws are visiting too. I need to pick up a little something for Fiance. I'll be back on Monday!

New Spring Dress

I couldn't stay away. I picked up this dress at Target. I am very excited and I hope its warm enough to wear it this weekend. Its a cute dress and great quality for the price. Okay, must work, bye :)

yummy cake

I have an addiction, carrot cake. My favorite grocery store sells it in slices and I am addicted to it. It's so delicious and the cream cheese icing is out of this world. I think I will probably have to start going to another grocery store.

I also wanted to let any readers know that this will probably be my last post this week. I have a project that is going to be taking a lot of time over the next couple of days. I will be back this weekend though :)

I also plan on updating my blog roll. I have discovered so many great blogs since I started this thing and I plan on putting them all up there. I feel like in some weird way that I am leaving people out if they aren't on there . . . thats probably my middle school self.

Singing in the Rain

Because everyone needs a preppy umbrella . . .



It has been raining where I live . . . so I have been thinking about a new umbrella. I am okay with the rain though because Spring is on the way!

Love this picture

(courtesy of Echard Wheeler Photography)

I love this picture. Although the dress is not really my style, I love how the picture shows the details of the dress. I can't figure out if that is someone (the bride maybe) standing under the dress or if its part of the train. Anyways, I love pictures of the dress hanging up.

Am I forgetting anything?

The wedding planning is in full swing. I think I have 5 different wedding checklists and my sister's wedding checklist. I am cross-referencing them because I don't want to miss anything, then I plan on combining them into one master list. am I becoming a bridezilla?

This is a question for all of you newlyweds, married gals, girls about to be married, former bridesmaids, maids of honor, mothers of the bride, etc. . . . is there anything you or your friend/sister/daughter just forgot about? Was there anything that you didn't find on a list and had to race at the last minute? Or perhaps you thought of it after the wedding?

I don't know if its just my personality, but I want to make sure that I have everything covered. So please chime in if you have any suggestions. Don't be shy now :)

Beautiful Reception

(courtesty of the knot)

I love this wedding reception. My colors for the wedding are going to be pink, green, and brown. I think this reception is a lovely way to incorporate all of those colors. The reception site in this picture looks similar to where we will be having our reception. I haven't decided on how the room will be set up, but I like this one!

Centerpieces

(courtesy of The Bride's Guide)

After reading a post by Darcy (from Martha Stewart Weddings) on candelabras, I was inspired. I think they would make lovely centerpieces. I am going with a vintage/classic/elegant theme these seem to fit that, so I was intrigued.

Darcy, thinks this is an inexpensive centerpiece, however, I have heard otherwise from my married friends. Does anyone know how much they are to rent or have any alternative ideas? I am meeting with my caterering company in a few weeks, but I just want to start thinking about this. I have no other ideas for centerpieces and I haven't seen anything that just jumps off the page.

(courtesty of HBO)