Merry Christmas

Since I've got nothing else to post about for a little while, I figured I'd share our Christmas decorations with you in the spirit of the upcoming holiday.  I just finished getting everything put up yesterday, just in time for Mr. T's parents and brothers to get here to visit.  I had grand plans, but only had time, and the effort, to put up about 70% of it all.

A wreath I put together with supplies from Hobby Lobby for about $15.  I wanted to put it on the front door, but the hanger wouldn't stick, so now it's on the door that leads to the inside from the front porch.

Here's a cute little wreath I made for the inside, using LauraLou's tutorial over at Lucky in Love.

Our tree is a little puny this year, but it was one I've had laying around from when I used to decorate my room at my parents' house.  So we decided to use it instead of buying a new one right away.  I bought most of the turquoise and silver ornaments on sale last year at Walmart, and got the rest and the tree topper and garland on sale at Hobby Lobby this year.

Garland to match the tree with the left over ornaments and beaded garland.

I needed an excuse to buy some shelves I've been wanting for awhile and the stockings were the perfect solution.  I love the tin trees I found at my work, they're adorable.  For the stockings I found these on sale for $1.50 at Hobby Lobby and added some cute ribbon to make them a little less boring.  They're our in between stockings until I finally finish the ones I'm making.

A cute little stocking for Chief that I took home free from work because it didn't work anymore.

And a lighted picture for fun.

I get to open my Cricut on Christmas, so get ready for some fun projects in the coming weeks.  I also have to get my invitations going, so those will be coming in the near future.

But until then, enjoy your time off if you get any, have lots of food, and cherish the time you get to spend with your loved ones.

Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Update: Had to include a picture of Chief celebrating Christmas.  Mr. T's mom bought the cute little Santa outfit.  Just to note though, this is the first and last time he will ever be in clothes.

Our New Puppy Chief

We have our little baby!!!  And we're absolutely loving him.  He is sleeping in his crate at night, and we only have to let him out once or twice in the middle of the night.  He's only had a couple accidents in the kitchen, but they were mostly our fault for not letting him out enough.
He's such a cuddlebug and he sleeps all day when he's not playing.  As promised, here are some adorable pictures.

Sleeping in the car on the way to MN.

 

Chief and his happy daddy.

 

At 8 weeks old, he's already 17 lbs.  He more than doubled in weight from when we saw him three weeks ago.

 

We thought about having a no couch rule, but it was too hard not to bring him up to cuddle with us.

 

 Look at those big paws.

Okay, that's probably enough pictures for now!  We decided on Chief since it was our college mascot, and it's from The Fox and the Hound which we thought was cute.  We had mentioned it to the lady that we were thinking about Chief when we went to visit, and that's what they started calling him.  She said he knows his name and will respond to it, so we decided not to change it.

There will be more I'm sure, but for now, I need to finish unpacking all of my stuff and get the rest of the Christmas stuff up so I can show you all.

Enjoy your holidays.

Miss Mojito's Internet Inspiration Blog Award

I know, I know...I've been super boring lately, and basically nonexistent.  But in my defense, I graduated and then packed up and moved to MN.  So I've been enjoying time with Mr. T and our new puppy "Chief."  This is actually the first time I've logged in and caught up on blogs since last week.

I promise I'll have some pictures up soon of the puppy and all the decorating I've been doing for Christmas.  But in the meantime, go check out my interview on Miss Mojito's blog, With this ring, I thee blog.

And instead of making promises I probably won't keep, won't don't we plan on seeing each other again after Christmas. 
So Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and be sure to enjoy the time spent with family and friends.

I Have a Question From The Audience

 Since I've been drawing a total blank lately as to what to talk about, I figured I'd answer a question I got from one of my readers.

Born to be Mrs. Beever said...

You've shared a lot about your DIY projects...have you shared stuff about the actual venue, vendors, etc? Maybe you did in month's past before I was a follower but I'd love to hear about the stuff that you chose as well as the stuff that you did yourself :)

I have shared a little bit about my venue and vendors, but I haven't gotten too in depth besides letting you guys know what they actually are.  Here's a summary of what some of you may already know.

The Church

This post was back in August, so I won't blame some of you newer guys for not knowing =]

 

We're getting married in the little church that Mr. T and his family have been going to ever since they moved to our hometown when he was in 5th grade.  It's an adorable old church set out on a country road.  The congregation consists of about 50 people or so, and Mr. T's dad happens to be the president.  This works out really well for us because we will basically have free reign of the church.  I plan on decorating it the Thursday or Friday morning before the wedding.  I can technically do it anytime after church the previous Sunday.  The means I can take my time and I don't have to worry about rushing to get it all done.

The Reception

This one was also way back in August.

Basically there are three options for reception venues in my hometown.  One is about 20 minutes out of town, but happens to be pretty close to the church.  We decided against that because of the distance and the driving at night.  Out of the other two, one is ridiculously overpriced and the food is horrible.  So that left us with basically one option.

 

(decorated for a different event)

You can read the post for all of the details and pictures, but here are a couple of highlights.  First, those beautiful chivari chairs are included for free.  Second, there is no venue rental fee, no linens and table fee.  Basically, the only things we pay for are the food and alcohol.  And the food isn't outrageously priced at $70+ a plate.  A middle of the line, delicious option, is only $20 a person, and we can do a kids meal for $7.  Plus, we can bring in our cake lady, our own DJ, photographer, etc.

And it doesn't hurt that the ceiling is gorgeous, and it's on at a Country Club that we can use to take pictures after the ceremony.

And going back through all of my old posts I've realized I haven't really shared all that much about my vendors.  I didn't do it on purpose, but I'm also from a little bitty town, and they're not well known vendors in big cities, so sharing with you won't really do much good.  Although I do plan on doing an indepth review of everything afterwards.  At this point I'd really only be able to tell you who I picked, and that's a little boring.

Hopefully this served its purpose for some of my new followers.  I do talk a lot about my projects and ideas, and don't really dive into all the other aspects as much.  So from now on I'll try and work on that.

I wouldn't mind designating a day to answering any questions I get during the week, so if you're wondering about anything else, or want to know more about my personal life, ask away!  I don't mind =]

I'm Baaack! . . . Kind of.

Hello all.
Sorry I left you all for so long.  Last week I only had three days of classes and then I headed home for the weekend and spent too much time going out and having fun with all of my friends to remember to touch base with all of you.  I've been trying to cram everything and anything into the short amount of time I have left in IL.  It's so weird to think that I'm moving in only 6 days.
Here's what my week looks like:
Monday: take two finals
Tuesday: take one final
Wednesday: pack up my apartment completely
Thursday: take my last final! Drive home and pick up Mr. T from the airport =]
Friday: come back to school and GRADUATE!
Saturday: work a cheerleading competition for my boss and go out one last time at home
Sunday: drive to WI and pick up our puppy, and finish through to MN

His 7 week picture taken yesterday.  I think we've unofficially decided on the name Chief.  The lady said he will sit at the base of the stairs and watch the other little puppies play and jump in and help when necessary.  And it was our U of I mascot until someone decided it wasn't politically correct.  I say "Long live the Chief."  So it seems appropriate.  We'll see though!

after that: Decorate our house with the enormous amount of Christmas things I've been accumulating for the last two months.  Enjoy two large Christmas parties with each side of Mr. T's family, one on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas Day.  Host our first Christmas dinner at our house in MN with Mr. T's immediate family.

It's going to be a crazy end to the month, and I'm sure it will be an emotional rollercoaster for me.  I can't believe I'm graduating in only 4 days, and then leaving school for good.  And my hometown.  That part is going to be the toughest.

I haven't been working on any projects lately either, so I don't really know what to talk to you guys about.  Anything you would like to know??  Ask me some questions, and I can devote a few posts to answering them!  Wedding related, personal, I don't really care!

DIY: Coasters, Part One

Wanna know my current favorite aspect of planning my wedding?

Getting boxes in the mail all the time!  I think it's the build up that happens when you're waiting and waiting and waiting, and you know it should be here at any time, and then there's a knock on the door, and if you're like me you go running to answer it hoping it's your package.  In my case, it's usually not...but when it is, I get so excited.  And yes, I'm a dork, I realize that.
But anyways, this is one of the latest packages to show up at my doorstep.  Although this one went to my house, so I didn't get to run to the door like a little kid.  But I did get to open it up when I got home, and this is what I saw.

I ordered coasters from Katz Americas that I'm planning on using for the cocktail hour and throughout the reception at the bar.  Unfortunately, it was a minimum order of 1000 coasters, but the price wasn't bad, so I went for it.  For $33 including shipping, they sent me blank coasters of medium thickness.  At the moment, you can't order blanks from the website, but if you call their phone number, they'll get you all set up.

I'm going to use my custom "Eat, Drink, and Be Married." stamp that I ordered from Etsy along with another stamp that I've got in the works.  I would like for the coaster to also say our names and our wedding date, so I need another stamp for that.  I already bought the StayzOn ink that I've read multiple places works perfectly for this so it doesn't bleed when the coaster gets wet.  I bought mine at Hobby Lobby, but it's available at many stores and also online.  It's a little pricey at around $8 so make sure and use a coupon if you have one!

I haven't actually stamped on any of them yet, because I need to get that second stamp.  But as soon as I do, I'll let you guys know how it goes!

Oh and by the way, if any of you are interested in buying some of them, I'd more than happily oblige.  There's no way I need that many!

Kids' Table: Activity Books

One of the things I'd really like to do for the kids at our reception, is to provide them with a goody bag full of fun things to do instead of giving them a favor.  They're not going to have any use for an "adult" favor, and I'd like to provide them with some things to keep them occupied so their parents can enjoy themselves during the rest of the reception.
An activity book is one of the things I'm thinking of doing.  I started doodling up some rough drafts for pages that will hopefully keep them occupied.

(source)  

 I will admit that I'm "borrowing" a few ideas from Heather at We Met in a Bar.

So here's what I've come up with so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of the pictures I found just by googling things like wedding coloring pages, etc.  I drew up a few things like the cake, or the connect the dots and matching pages.

I'm planning on just printing these out on regular computer paper and folding them in half.  I really like how simply they are binded in my inspiration picture, so that's probably the way I'll go.

Kids' Table

I've read a lot lately about people have kids-free receptions, and while that might be nice for some people, it just won't work for us.  I kind of like the idea of having a fancy, formal reception without kids present, but at the same time, it wouldn't be us.  We both love little kids, and neither one of us feel like it would be right to not have them present at our wedding.  Kids bring so much happiness and fun to wherever they are, and heck, we're both kids at heart ourselves.

Mr. T and I are both at points in our lives where our cousins and other family members are having babies and raising a family.  To tell them they can't bring their babies and little kids, doesn't make sense for us.  And it wouldn't be logical either.  Almost everyone will be traveling from out of town, and they would either have to leave their kids at home, or at the hotel.  I think that if we did that, most of them just wouldn't show up, because it wouldn't work out for them.  And it just seems a little silly.
Our reception venue has kids' meals for only $7 so its not like it will be a burden on us to have them there.  By early estimates, I believe we will have about 30 kids under the age of 12 at the wedding and reception.  I plan on having them seated with their parents for dinner, but I'm also planning on having a separate kids table full of things to do for after dinner, to keep them occupied for the remainder of the reception.  I've got grand ideas for fun activity bags instead of favors, and all sorts of good things for the table itself.  We'll see how many of them actually come to life, but I do think it's pretty important.  Here are a couple examples:

(source) - Activity books, to make not buy

(source) - Tutorial - Crayon Rolls

(source) - Games to play

(source) - Candy Centerpiece

Etc, etc.  There are so many different options, I just have to pick some, and remember not to spend too much money!

Will there be little kids at your wedding?? If so, what are you doing for them? If not, how come?

DIY: Engagement Pictures Scrapbook, Part Two

part one

I've made some more progress on our engagement scrapbook since the last time I posted pictures.  And since I promised to show you the rest of them, I'd hate to disappoint.  So here they are!

I have just a couple more pages to finish, and I'm not quite sure when that will happen, but like always, I'll be sure to share with you when I do!

DIY: Table Numbers, Part Two

part 1

I know it's been awhile, but I keep forgetting to take pictures of the finished product when I go home on the weekends.  But here's where I left you when we parted ways in Part One.

During a sale Walgreens was having, I printed out 60 pictures of Mr. T and I in black and white and trimmed them all to 3x3" to fit inside the photo corners.  I used a mixture of our engagement pictures, and some of our favorites from throughout our relationship.

After getting them all situated in their little corner holder homes, I was ready to get these finished and boxed up.  They've actually been in a box for a couple months now, and I finally remembered to take a picture when I was home for Thanksgiving break.

If you remember, the table numbers are double sided.  In between each side, I taped in a plastic balloon stick that I cut in half.  I got all of these from my work from my boss.  She is actually the one that came up with this general idea, as she did something similar for her daughter's wedding.  The stick will go down into these small glass tubes that I got from the basement.  Then I'll fill the tube with white salt so the stick will stand up straight.  Unless I can find a green salt that matches, I'll use that instead.

Here's an idea of what it looks like, without the picture, next to the hurricanes I'll be using (more on those to come).  I really like that they are double sided and tall so they can be seen from around the room, that way it won't be impossible for everyone to find their tables, since there will be around 30.

Are any of you doing anything slightly "unusual" for your table numbers?

Review: Custom Stamps from Etsy

A couple months ago I placed my first Etsy order.   I ordered two custom stamps from Etsy seller Jen from scribbling club and I finally got around to using them this weekend.  She had a deal going at the time for two stamps for $28.00 plus shipping.  We emailed back and forth until we settled on a design I liked for both.  I designed both of the stamps, and she played with them to make sure it would work for the size.  Then she sent me proofs for both of them before making the stamps, just to finalize everything.  I was incredibly impressed with our conversation, and the amount of interaction I had with her.

Once she started making them, it took no time at all, and they were shipped out to me 6 days later.  I'm thrilled with the quality of them both.

This "Eat, Drink, and Be Married" stamp measures 2x2".  I'm planning on using it on cocktail napkins for the bar, as well as on blank coasters I ordered.

I also ordered a return address stamp to use on the back of our invitation envelopes.  It measures 2"x3".

I reversed both of these in the picture so you could see what they really look like.  In reality, they're obviously backwards so when you stamp them they read correctly.

I addressed our Christmas cards this weekend and got to use my new stamp for the first time.  It's a little big for everyday use, and definitely can't be used on the front of the envelope, but I wanted it to be big for the back of our invite envelopes.  It stamps nice and clean, and like I said earlier, I'm very happy with the way it turned out, and will probably be ordering from Jen again.  My mom said she wants one for Christmas!

I'm Super Excited!

I got a Cricut!! 

(source)

Mine is black, which must be a Walmart Black Friday special, because I can't find a picture of it online.

I finally talked my mom into buying me a Cricut for Christmas.  I was telling her about all the awesome things it does, and I knew she caved when she decided we should get my Grandma one for Christmas.  So I did a little investigating in the Black Friday sale flyers.  Walmart was selling it for $188, which included the Cricut Expression machine in black, red, blue, or green, along with two cartridges, and the 12"x12" cutting mat.  They were running the sale all day Friday, while supplies lasted. 
So I called up our local Walmart to make sure they were carrying it, since they cut the majority of our crafting department.  Then I called again when I realized it was an all day sale, instead of a 5am.-11am. sale.  I talked to the lady who answered the phone and very specifically asked if it was going to be on sale starting at midnight, since it said ALL day FRIDAY.  She said yes.
My mom and I drove there just after midnight, and found the Cricuts all wrapped up in shrink wrap in the middle of an aisle.  I asked one of the workers to please unwrap them so we could get what we wanted.  He gave me crap about it and said multiple times that it wouldn't be available until 5am.  I told him (maybe not so nicely) that I called and was told that it would be on sale at midnight.  Long story short, we had to argue with him, his manager, and then the cashiers at the register as well before we could get out of there.  But, my mom and I are good at that sort of thing, and let's just say, we got our way!
So I am now the proud owner of a Cricut Expression...that I cannot open until Christmas =[  I'm so antsy to get my hands on it and start working on some projects, and discover all of the wonderfulness that is that cute little bug.
I'll definitely be posting lots and lots of projects after Christmas once I start using it.  I already have all sorts of grand ideas in my head.

Do any of you have this yet??  If so, do you love it as much as I think I'm going to??

Non Wedding Related: Puppy Episode, Part Three

part one, part two

Hi guys, remember me?!!  Sorry I left you for so long.  Last week I was off school all week for Thanksgiving break and Mr. T was in town, so I didn't get anything at all done!  I had every intention of popping in from time to time, but it just didn't happen.

But I'm back.  And I only have 8 days of classes left until finals, and then I'm done forever!!  Or until I figure out what I'm doing with my life.

But anyways, I bring you more puppy happiness.  Mr. T and I drove up to Wausau last Sunday on our one year anniversary to pick out our puppy.  We got there, and walked down into the basement where all the puppies were, and let me tell you...it was love.  As soon as I got downstairs, all of the little puppies walked over and started climbing over our feet.  They were so cute!

If you remember, there were two puppies for us to choose from.  A little boy with a blue camo collar, and an adorable boy with an orange collar.  We stayed there for 2 hours playing with the puppies trying to decide.  I don't think either of us made up our minds until we were half way out the door.
In the end, we ended up choosing blue camo guy.  He was a pound heavier than all of the other puppies.  He has such a cute, roly-poly looking face.  We both like big dogs, and figured it couldn't hurt if he turned out to be the biggest.  He was a little bit calmer than the other guy too, so that played a role in our decision.

Here's our little baby.

We'll pick him up on December 20th on our way back up to Minnesota.  We did a lot of shopping for him over the past week.  We picked out food bowls after seeing him.  Then we got a big fluffy dog bed and a couple toys on sale at Big R on Black Friday.  Mr. T's mom made us a cute little rug to go under the dog bowls to match our kitchen rugs.  My sister bought us an "early Christmas present" that consisted of a leash, collar, and two rope toys.  Then Mr. T's parents found a brand new, unwrapped dog brush when they were moving back into their house.  Oh, and we bought a nice plastic container to store the dog food in on sale this Saturday from the hardware store.  So our little guy will be all set to go when he comes home.  We'll just need a couple more little things.  I can't wait to see how big he is in 3 more weeks.