Home Decorating & Ice Cream Sundaes

I don't have much to report on. Fiance and I painted his place (soon to be our place) on Saturday. My sweet mom came and helped us out. Once there were three of us, it moved quickly. The room is kind of a great room and we painted it a butter yellow. Its so pretty. The trim is a bright white and the contrast is amazing. I think our color scheme is going to be blue and green with some yellow. Mom and I found some great fabric for one of our couches in those colors.

We haven't finalized our wedding reception menu yet . . . so I am blogging about the rehearsal dinner. As I have shared before, our theme is a "Night at the Ballpark." We are having traditional ballpark fare and then an ice cream sundae bar for dessert!!! I am excited about this. We'll have lots of different toppings for people to choose from. What is your favorite topping on ice cream? My favorite are those rainbow colored jimmies posted below.

I got tagged by Miss Downtown Southern. If you haven't checked out her blog, you need to! She is also planning her wedding and her ideas are fab!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:50 - I like my sleep

2. Diamonds or Pearls? I like both, but right now I can't afford diamonds, so pearls it is!

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Sex and the City

4. What is your favorite TV show? the Office, Lost, Wife Swap (its really funny), Super Nanny

5. What did you eat for breakfast? coffee, yogurt, cantaloupe

6. What foods do you dislike? I don't like lamb. I like bananas but I don't like imitation banana flavored things - like banana popsicles or banana slurpees. I'm not really a picky eater, so thats all I can think of right now.

7. Your favorite potato chip? I like Ruffles ridged potato chips

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? I don't really have a fave right now, but I agree with Downtown Southern on MJ's greatest hits - its an awesome cd even though he is weird. I also love Madonna's greatest hits.

9. What kind of car do you drive? Acura Integra

10. Favorite sandwich? smoked turkey on french bread with house dressing - my sister will know where this is from.

11. What characteristics do you despise? hypocrisy, narrow-minded people, lying, inconsiderate people . . . I could go on, but I'll stop

12. What are your favorite clothes? I love wearing sundresses in the summer. In the winter, I wear a lot of cable knit sweaters and jeans.

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Italy or Paris

14. What color is your bathroom? Black and white tiled floor and white walls

15. Favorite brand of clothing? J.Crew

16. Favorite time of day? I like the 7:00 p.m. hour - I'm usually home from the gym and relaxing at home.

17. Where would you want to retire to? wherever Fiance is (hopefully its near the water)

18. Favorite sports to watch? Basketball and VT football

19. Coke or Pepsi? definitely coke

20. Are you a morning person or night owl? definitely a night owl

21. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? we're painting this weekend! its not very exciting but I thought I would share :)

22. What did you want to be when you were little? A lawyer

23. What is your best childhood memory? I loved staying with my grandparents - both sets. I always felt grown up when I was there by myself. We also had a lot of great vacations - like Disney World, NYC, Lake George.

24. Nicknames? My family calls me Sissy

25. Piercings? Ears

26. Eye Color? Hazel

27. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

28. Favorite restaurant? I love me some PF Chang's

29. Favorite ice cream? depends what kind of mood I am in - I love Bruster's Birthday Cake Ice Cream - its pure sugar

30. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? probably a Super Target, to be practical, but most likely J.Crew

31. Bedtime? 10:30 - 11:00

32. What are you listening to right now? the hum of the air conditioning in my office and my typing

33. How many tattoos do you have? none! thank goodness

34. Next film you'll see? I'm a dork but I want to see the movie Kit - the American Girl - haha - I love those movies!

Food for thought

I feel like I have found such a great community among my blogger friends . . . including the brides to be. This idea came to me as I was reading other wedding blogs. All of you other brides out there have great ideas, you have great taste, and you appear to be very organized. So many of you would make great wedding coordinators.

Here is my thought . . . what if brides starting bartering for “day of” coordinating services? At my sister’s wedding, my mom had an acquaintance come and coordinate the ceremony start. Then my mom did the same for her daughter. It was nice because they weren’t good enough friends to come to the wedding, but they trusted each other for this small task.

This post is not at all meant to offend any wedding coordinator. I link to several wedding coordinator blogs and they are really fabulous. I realize they provide a valuable service to a lot of couples. That being said, I don’t know how everyone else feels, but it shocks me to find out how much some wedding coordinators are charging.

If you all are anything like me, you have devoured every wedding magazine you’ve come across since you became engaged. I have read every wedding blog I could find. I have heard all of the horror stories and all of the “behind the scenes” stuff and what should be in your "emergency" bag. I feel like I am prepared to handle emergency situations, should they arise. So, I thought – some of my fellow bloggers must feel the same way.

What do you all think? Trading with another bride in your area, to be her day of coordinator and then she would do the same for you? I feel like this idea is so much better than asking a friend or a family member to be the coordinator. Because, this would be a person who is detached from the situation and all of your guests can enjoy themselves. The other added bonus is, who better understands than another bride? They know the small details mean something to you.

Obviously the two brides would have to talk about what their expectations would be, but I think it could work. It may mean giving up a Saturday during your wedding planning, but it might be worth it. What do you think?

Love the One Your With - Emily Giffin

Okay girls, I’m not gonna lie to ya. I wasn’t that impressed with Emily Giffin’s latest novel. I loved Something Borrowed & Something Blue. I also liked Baby Proof, but it wasn’t nearly as good as Something Borrowed & Something Blue.

This novel was worse than Baby Proof. I was so bored when I was reading it. I would try to read a chapter a night, but sometimes, I couldn’t even get through that. Well I finally finished it last week. I have to admit, the last two chapters were good. However, I was disappointed with the book. Call me old-fashioned, but why can’t she just write about someone actually loving the one they are with? Why is it, in her books, that the main characters always have to venture out of their relationships to decide whether or not they really do - love the one they are with?

I think it makes for an interesting plot once in a while, but for every novel? No thanks. Anyways, I would not recommend this book. Maybe her next book will be better. Feel free to share your opinions!

Thank you

I just wanted to thank you all for your birthday wishes. It meant a lot.

Paying to be a bridesmaid?

Not sure how many of you have seen this. Do some people really want a big wedding . . . that bad? I guess so. To each his own . . .

More Wedding Business

Before our reception, we are having a cocktail hour. The cocktail hour is scheduled to take place in an outdoor garden. Our reception site won't let our guests in until a certain time, so we need to have a cocktail hour. (Hopefully it won't rain). Here are some pictures of the garden:

I don't really want to do a whole lot in the garden. However, I have always loved the look of white lights. What do you all think about white lights on the trees? Or do you have any other suggestions (that might be less time consuming :-)?

Shower Game

I am not a fan of shower games. I don't know why - I just don't really like them. To me, they feel like forced fun, which is never fun. However, the other night I was lying in bed and my mind started to wander. I love to look at people's wedding pictures was my first thought. Then I thought of all the people I know and how I have never seen their wedding pictures.

So my idea is - what if the host of the bridal shower asked everyone to bring their wedding album and they were displayed at the shower? Or perhaps, everyone could bring their favorite wedding picture to the host, the host could display those and then the guests could guess whose wedding it was? It wouldn't necessarily have to be a picture of the bride or couple. It could be their flowers, their favorite wedding detail, their bridesmaid's dresses . . . If a guest isn't married, they could bring a favorite wedding thing that they have seen recently.

I think it would be a fun way to break the ice and hopefully not weird. The other idea I had (as I was writing this post) is what if each guest wrote on a small card their favorite memory of their own wedding day? Or their favorite memory of their child's wedding? (or a sibling or friend's wedding if they aren't married)

I don't know if people already do these kinds of things but I think it would be fun. Especially for the bride ;)

So they say its your birthday, well its MY birthday too!

Yes, it’s my birthday, June 20. I can hear my mom now, “2-- years ago today, Daddy was dropping me off at the hospital and I said, if this baby is a girl, its going to be named ____. Then I slammed the car door and had you. That’s what we named you.”

This weekend is going to be a celebration of my birth, according to Fiance, and that’s fine by me. I love celebrating my birthday. I don’t know if it’s because my birthday is in the summer and I always felt slighted, but I love to celebrate it.

Last year, was not the best birthday, I was studying for the bar. However, my Daddy may have topped all birthdays last year. He spent a good two minutes trying to get our dog to tell me “happy birthday.” He knew it would make me laugh.

Tonight, Fiance is taking me to dinner at my favorite restaurant and then I will be enjoying my birthday cake. I’m excited – can you tell?

I am including my horoscope from this month's Instyle. I don’t have a lot of faith in horoscopes, but this one was pretty right on. Out of pure curiosity, how many Gemini blog friends do I have?

“You’re witty, curious and up on the latest trends, not to mention a brilliant communicator. On the other hand . . . with so many varied interests, follow through is not always your strong suit. Stellar style, you choose clothes in classic shapes and styles but continually reinvent your look with statement pieces from your vast collection of accessories. Love personality . . . ever independent, you’re slow to settle down – and even when you do, you never give up the hobbies you love. Wise partners know that the way to win your heart is by stimulating your mind.”

I have to admit – that last line is my favorite. That’s one of the things I love about Fiance – our talks.

27 Dresses

My mom recommended this movie to me and I watched it last night. It was very cute. I think I appreciated it more because I am getting married and in the midst of wedding planning. I loved the end of the movie . . .

Come on out

I think I have some new readers and I need to update my blog roll. If you read my blog, leave me a comment! Don't be afraid. If you have been reading for a while, you can still leave a comment :)

PS - please let me know if you are a bride - I have a special section just for my fellow brides to be

Certain Girls

I just finished listening to this book on a cd. It was really good. I have loved Jennifer Weiner's other books but its been awhile since I read one. This one started off slow but towards the second half I was hooked.

The book is the sequel to Good in Bed. Cannie is now a mother to a thirteen year old girl, Joy. The book alternates between Cannie and Joy as narrators. The audio book was cool because it had an adult narrator for Cannie and a young girl narrator for Joy.

I thought the characters were well developed and the plot was good too. I think Jennifer Weiner has a great talent for exploring various emotions. I love the way she talks about things that everyone thinks, but doesn't always say. I would definitely recommend this book, especially for a quick beach read.

New Skirt

Hey girls! I am back home this weekend. I have just been "feathering" my new nest. I have been buying miscellaneous holiday things and entertaining ware, so I had to find a place to put them. I can't wait until I live with Fiance. I did pick up this little number on my way home. I think it will be perfect for a casual shower. I am not bold enough to wear a striped shirt with it, but perhaps a black stretchy tee. What do you think?

(photos from J. Crew)

Wedding Day Timeline

Have you been thinking about your wedding day timeline? Click here for an excellent post about wedding day timing.

If you have any tips for the wedding day timeline - please share!

My bouquet

I saw this inspiration board on Snippet & Ink. I am sharing it with you because it has my bouquet on it!! The bouquet on the top row, second picture, is what I gave my florist. I saw it in a copy of Charleston Weddings and I haven't been able to find an electronic copy of it.

My florist thinks that a lot of the flowers were grown in someone's garden and they might be hard to find in September. I told her to just duplicate it the best that she can.

New Favorite Blog

I love Southern Wedding Style Magazine's blog. The profiles of the different weddings are so fun. Check it out if you haven't already!

I've been tagged!

So I have been tagged by Miss Muffy Martini. If you haven't checked out her blog - click on it, right now! She is super fun. I am convinced that if we lived in the same city we would be bff's.

(Post rules at the beginning of the post. Answer all the questions. Tag 6 people, go to their blog and leave a comment to inform them that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answers.)

1. What were you doing ten years ago? I was living it up at VA Tech. I loved college.

2. What are five things on your to-do list today?
*Pilates after work.
*Change the sheets in my guest bedroom.
*Pack up some of my stuff to take to Fiance's house this weekend.
*Do 50 push-ups so my arms look buff in my white dress.
*Update my "wedding to-do" list. How sad is it that, that's on my "regular" to-do list?

3. Snacks you enjoy?
I love all kinds of food. For snacks, I usually eat triscuits, string cheese or a 100 calorie pack of crackers.

4. Places you’ve lived:
I've only ever lived in the greatest place ever, the Commonwealth of Virginia.

5. What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?
I would pay off mortgages and any debts for my family.
I would start a scholarship fund for people to go to college or graduate school.
I would buy Fiance and I a ranch in Montana with horses.
I would devote time and resources to prevent abuse among families and to prevent abuse against animals.
I would buy us an apartment in Tuscany and a Vespa. With a personal jet to fly us there.

I am tagging:

Europafox
My Mom . . . doing business as 3G&1B
The Pink Clutch
One Fabulous Mom, when she gets back from vaca
Nautical by Nature
Always Organizing

How to Pack

Check out A Dress a Day for a great post on packing.

Weekend Movie Madness

Fiance and I have very different tastes in movies, so this makes it hard to find movies that we both want to watch. We have some genres that we both like, including motivational sports movies, legal thrillers, dramedys, and comedies. We talk about movies that we both want to see and then try to save those for weekends we are together. This weekend we got caught up on some movies we have been waiting to watch. Here is what I thought . . . I am ranking the movies based on how much I liked them.

1. I LOVED Dan in Real Life. I had heard mixed reviews. Initially I wanted to see it because I love Steve Carell. I heard he had a more serious role, so I was prepared for a serious movie. It was really good. I think I would consider it a dramedy. If you haven't seen it, I would definitely recommend it.

2. Walk Hard - the movie was funny. It was definitely a parody of Walk the Line. If you aren't expecting much with this movie, you'll probably get a few good laughs.

3. I love Will Ferrell. He is one of my favorite comedians. However, Semi-Pro was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I was most excited to watch this movie and I was the most disappointed with this one. It wasn't really funny and I felt like I was struggling to laugh at something in the movie. So, if you were on the fence, I would say to skip this one.

A Night at the Ballpark

Okay - I am getting super excited about our rehearsal dinner. This past Saturday I was running errands and I got a lot of wedding stuff done. I went to Michaels and found stuff for our out of town guest bags. I will post a picture when it gets closer to the wedding and they are finished.

Then I went to the Dollar Store and found these awesome popcorn buckets (see picture below) to use for the centerpieces at the rehearsal dinner. My future mother in law and I are going to fill them with typical ball park snacks like peanuts, cracker jacks, sunflower seeds, candy and all that kind of stuff. I think they will look really cute.

Here are some pictures of where the rehearsal dinner is actually going to be. Its the restaurant at the ball park in my hometown. Our color scheme is going to be red, white, and blue. I found some adorable grosgrain ribbon in those colors to use for tying the silverware. As far as other decorations - I wasn't sure what else we could do.

I know you all are familiar with Snippet and Ink. Well I just have to say that Kathryn is so incredibly kind. I sent her an email asking for any inspiration tips and she sent me the nicest email back the very next day! First, I always have a ton of respect for people who have famous blogs that actually answer their email. Its so nice and you know they get a ton of mail. Second, she gave me a lot of useful information.

Anyways she suggested maybe using navy and red gingham as table runners with white tableclothes. My mother in law also thought maybe red and navy polka dot fabric would be cute - I totally agree. So I am going to see what we can find at a fabric store.

I think we should just use red, white, and blue balloons thoughout the room. I think its classic Americana and its fitting for a night at the ballpark. I will keep you posted on other details as they come in but I just wanted to share this because I am so excited!

And you thought you knew me . . .

I saw this on One Fabulous Mom.

So me:
So not me:

So me:

So not me:

So me:

So not me:

So me:



So not me:


So me:


So not me:



So me for vacation:



So not me for vacation:




So me:


So not me:

Warning - if you haven't seen it, you might want to skip the post

I am not going to give too much away, but I'm not gonna lie to ya, I was a little under-whelmed by the movie. It was good, but in my opinion, it wasn't as good as the series. I kind of felt like the end was predictable. I also felt like the characters were almost doing parodies of themselves and it was like Sex in the City on Steroids. Some of the scenes were just a little too cheesy and I didn't feel like the characters were being themselves - does that make sense?

That being said, I left happy and I was glad I saw it. There were some truly hilarious scenes. I don't know, maybe my expectations were too high. Sorry for being Debbie-Downer. Feel free to let me know what you thought in the comments!

New Preppy Line

(Picture from HBO.com)

One of the reasons I love blogging is because I have connected with some great girls who share so many of the same interests as me. Its funny because when I see the Sex and the City quiz on your blogs - "which character are you?" Most of my blog friends are Charlotte - of course! Well I don't know how many of you have heard - but Kristin Davis is doing a new line for Belk. It starts this fall. You can read about it here. I am excited and I am sure all of you other Charlotte fans will be as well.