This is where...

my blog becomes an outlet for me to gush over all things wedding. Is that cool? Seeing that I'm getting married in exactly 212 days has got me thinking about it 24/7.

This is the day we dream about our entire lives. As little girls we fantasize about every intriciate detail of our perfect wedding day- the day we truly get to feel as through we're a princess and start the beginning of forever with the man we love and who loves us wholly.

Marriage is a funny thing. It's one of the biggest, most important decisions you will ever make- the thought of finding that special person you will spend the rest of your life with is amazing and knowing full and well that it's "right" couldn't feel more amazing.

I am still on cloud nine with the way everything is going. I'm trying not to become too overwhelmed with details and planning because it is A LOT and can become increasingly overwhelming in no time.

So, my handy dandy wedding planning book came in the mail just last week and I've orchestrated a wedding checklist from it to help me stay on track. We'll see if it actually helps.

I've already mentioned that we booked our church and reception venues! That is a huge relief. Now the daunting task of forming the guest list is before me. Here are a few photos of the church and reception venue...

I'm so excited about our reception venue. It's absolutely amazing. It's a recreation of picturesque downtown Pensacola in the 1900's and couldn't be more perfect for our theme and style. Ben and I adore it and I have so many wonderful ideas that I can't wait to see in reality! The awesome thing about this venue is it really doesn't require a ton of decorating other than centerpieces, guest table, food tables etc. Take a look... That's all for now. I assure you there will be a lot more wedding updates for those interested :) Stay tuned. xo

Crazy.

I'll be doing this for real in just a few months!

Wedding on the brain.

I got engaged just a week ago and life has been a whirlwind ever since. A great whirlwind, at that.

I couldn't be more excited to plan the most important day of mine and Ben's life together! I am elated and I still don't think my feet have hit the ground quite yet since all of this happened.

We signed the contract for our reception venue last week (pictured above- bottom left) and it couldn't be more perfect and charming. I completed our wedding site that you can view here. We're going to check out a potential church this weekend for our ceremony. It's actually the church that my grandmother grew up attending, so it has special significance. Things are officially rolling!

SO much to think about and do and the thoughts can be completely overwhelming. I don't want to lose sight of what this is all about and get caught up in all of the little details that I forget to enjoy and truly savor these next few precious months. So I think the key is to just relax and enjoy every little bit of planning.

Oh and we set a date! October 28. 2011 shall be an incredible day. We are so excited!

Thank you so much everyone for the congratulatory wishes! They truly mean so much!

Yesterday was the best day of my life (to date, anyway)

It was my 24th birthday yesterday and my incredible boyfriend took me on the most AMAZING picnic EVER. He took me to the park where we had one of our very first dates so many years ago when we were much younger (teens) and also the park we have visited many times before. It's a beautiful park in the the historic district of downtown Pensacola overlooking the water. One of my favorite places in our city. The weather was PHENOMINAL. It could not have been more perfect in anyway. The sun was shining and the light breeze and 70 degree temperatures were impeccable.

Ben spread out a blanket and got the most delicious food from a quaint deli in Pensacola.

We sat and ate, talked about how gorgeous and perfect the day was and just enjoyed each other's company. It was just such a sweet, special moment and I was thoroughly enjoying every single second.

Lo and behold, he begins talking about memories we've had in that park (some, awkward but most, amazing- we were laughing about it mostly) and he then goes to pull something out of his jacket pocket and continues talking about how he's always known that he wanted to spend his life with me and then he ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM!

I was speechless to say the least- tears immediately surfaced and through my clouded vision I looked down at the most perfect, flawless, gorgeous , breathtakingly beautiful ring I have EVER seen in my entire life (and I AM NOT joking)...

He then went to his car and got "THE JOURNAL". Rewind to when I was 17 years old- Ben gave me a red leather journal when he first started showing interest in me. He knew I loved to write and he knew I loved red. He wrote a sweet little note inside of it and it was the first gift he ever gave me. I actually never wrote in it. I just kept all of our things within it- pictures, letters etc. When Ben and I got back together in 2009, I made that journal into "Our Story"- I started from the very beginning of the day that we met, through the heartbreak of our seperation, in between when we were apart all the way up to our reuniting in October of 2009, including pictures, letters, memories and conversations we had that I printed and kept. I also included scraps from dates we had been on and so on and so forth. I worked on it while he was gone on tour last summer and gave it to him when he returned home. The journal still had many empty pages and so he took the time to write in it almost every day from when I gave it to him! He documented our holidays together, times we were apart, special times and dates and just the sweetest, most romantic things you could ever imagine. He wrote in it the night before he proposed and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever read.



I read the second half of the journal in it's entirety and continued to bawl my eyes out. I was absolutely overwhelmed in every sense of the word and could not stop feeling like I was in the most amazing dream I had ever had.



A couple had watched us from a bench the entire time and came over to congratulate us. It was so sweet.



I did manage to snap a picture (believe it or not). Kinda nice you can't see my red eyes and runny makeup through my sunglasses. I assure you, it's there.

And the ring again...

It's perfect.



He's perfect.



We're perfect together.



WE'RE GETTING MARRIED IN OCTOBER! I am elated. I couldn't be more happy or sure about anything! The plans are already rolling! I can't wait to marry the love of my life.

Homemade spring.

Well, the beauty of spring has officially made it's debut! Flowers and trees are blooming all around here in pretty Pensacola. See?

I love it. My sinuses, however, do not.

To celebrate, I crafted this masterpiece (actually, I didn't even have a hint of spring on my mind when I made this but it sounds good, so yeah).

Photo frame- .49 cents

Floral Fabric- .79 cents

Polaroid of the love of my life and I- Free!

I quite like it and it goes nicely with my excessive frame collection and display pictured below...

Hope you're all well!

Etsy Revealed...

Here it is! I've only listed a few of many, many items but I'm excited to finally have it up and running! Check it out...

Too Good To Be New

More items coming!

Valentine recap.

I love my Valentine. He is the sweetest Valentine that ever lived, I assure you.

So, I made him a homemade valentine to show my love.

And I filled a basket with so much goodness. A Will Ferrell dvd (because he loves Will Ferrell), wine, chocolate, candy, love notes etc

But I came home to ALL of this.

Betsy Johnson sunglasses and jewelry! He spoils me rotten.

But I don't mind it one bit :)

And he took me to a Japanese Steakhouse and we ate the best filet mignon and chicken teriyaki.

And here we are.

But it wouldn't be right if Ben didn't look silly in at least one picture. It's like his signature thing.

He's the greatest and I absolutely adore him.

writer.type

Found this last weekend at an antique mall.

What's that? Do I know how to operate it?

Um, no not really. However, I wouldn't be opposed to learning.

In any case, it makes for a neat piece of retro decor and for this, I have a few ideas :)

In the spirit of Valentine's Day.

As commercialized and somewhat silly the holiday can be, I can't help but love it all the same.

Love is a good thing.

I can't wait to go out with my dear tonight.

Happy Valentine's Day!

In the process.

I've created my etsy account!

I finally thought of a clever and unique name.

I have a room full of goods that I've been collecting for months on end.

I have models ready to exhibit some of these timeless finds.

Pretty much, my site will be up and running SOON and I'm pretty excited about it.

Sneak peek...

Check back soon for the reveal!

Project guest room minus a bed.

On Wednesday, I stumbled upon this lamp in good.will and paid a whole 2.99 for it.

I changed my guest room up a bit.

Got the chair at good.will for $12, pillow at a local thrift store for a quarter, record player at good.will for $10, mirror came from good.will and I paid $2 for it. Ben found the desk for me at a thrift store as well as the record player on the desk that plays 45's. The Elvis picture came from an antique store in Hickory, NC and I paid $15 for it. The sutcases were $1.77 and believe it or not, from a thrift store.

Altogether, everything you see here was under $60!

There you have it! All I need is a bed and you're more than welcome to be my guest!

Well, I'm sick.

I was diagnosed with pharyngitis, an ear infection and a sinus infection today. Yes, all of that. I waited in urgent care for nearly 3 and a half hours to be seen and diagnosed in less than 15 minutes. It's crazy how that works. Basically, I'm not planning on leaving my couch or bed for the next couple of days.

My boyfriend wins the award for being the most awesome. No joke. From driving me to urgent care and waiting for hours in a room full of really sick and highly contagious people...

To bringing me home and tucking me in only to go back out in the cold to get my prescriptions filled and pick up my favorite soup from Olive Garden. Then bringing it back to my house and waiting on me hand and foot. I'm so thankful for him in every way- he truly is the greatest blessing ever, treats me so wonderfully and kills me with kindness every single day. I adore him.

So, I'll be out of commission for a couple of days but when I return, I plan to share my guest room project I'm working on. Still looking for a bed but I've got some cool things going on as well as some more thrifty finds to share :)

Hope you're all feeling better than I am.

Project shelves and some other neat stuff.

My beloved Ben found these shelves at a thrift store and hung them in my apartment for me to showcase the dvd collection and my camera collection. I just love how this space turned out.

And then I got an idea, so I changed it up a bit by adding an old suitcase and some awesome vinyls.

Altogether, I spent no more than $35.00 on this entire section. I paid $3.50 for the chair, 50 cents for the pillow, 50 cents for the suitcase, around 1.19 for each record (yes, they are ORIGINALS! Crazy.) and $25.00 for the wrought iron tree which ends up being the priciest piece you see here.

I quite like it.

And last but not least, one of my most favorite things that my little sister got me. A shadow box for my earring collection. Not only is it practical but also decorative and a neat way to exhibit my jewelry. I love it.


And that's all for now.

:)

Skyisms.

It's been an unbelievably beautiful week down here in the sunny south. These are just a few examples of mornings this week in which I captured the sky's loveliness.

This morning in particular was my favorite (yesterday morning).



Thank you, God for painting us the most breathtaking pictures every day. They astound me.

Part Deux.

Here are few more of my thrifty finds.

1960 Imperial savoy mint green snapshot camera. In my opinion, there are few cameras out there that are as cute as the green plastic Savoy! Also, my Kodak Brownie Holiday from circa 1953. Totally love them both and both were under $10.00! Unfortunately, their film is so far past extinct but luckily they're cute and dainty and make for fabulous decor.

The radio I found at an antique/junk yard in North Carolina and paid only $8.00 for.

I found this unique, decorative wrought iron tree at the same antique/junk yard in North Carolina and fell totally in love with it. This aired on being a bit more pricey at $25.00 but I just had to have it! My sweet Ben actually ended up purchasing it for me and I am very much thankful. It's great for a focal piece or could be used to hang jewery on. I love the mint green and even the rust that bleeds through the color.

I just made over this area in my bedroom. The dresser was free and Ben totally surprised me by painting it and changing the ugly metal handles to delicate and beautifully painted glass knobs. I love it. The shadow box was a Christmas gift from my little sister and is perfect for my vintage earring collection. The radio was found at a local thrift store as well as pretty much everything else you see. The plaid chair came from good.will and I only paid a mere $12.00 for it! I was indeed a happy camper that day.

So, here's the deal. I love doing this and sharing my finds and ideas with all of you. I'm very seriously contemplating starting an etsy site so that I can buy, refinish and re sell items. I think it would be a fun project to do on the side that would also generate a little income. What do you think?

Hope you're all having a most lovely day!