#41. I won!

let's start by saying I never win anything. door prizes, bingo games, bets, scratch-off lotto tickets . . . nothing. you know those carnival games where you pick up the floating duck & win a prize if the bottom is red or whatever? yeah, no. my duck is not a winner.

but, I DID win a little "contest" the Repeat Bride was having the other day for some engagement books. (she was mostly giving them away, but hush. I will claim my small victories where I can) I "won" a copy of Emotionally Engaged: A Bride's Guide to Surviving the "Happiest" Time of Her Life (by Allison Moir-Smith).

I'm kind of excited.

also, check out her blog. it's great. she's very honest about the ups & downs of preparing not just for a wedding but for a life together. actually, she's really very honest about everything. pretty great.

(ps: does it make me a nerd to be really excited about winning a book? probably. do I care? nope.)

#40. the birdcage

once wed just posted "how-tos" for this great birdcage veil! I love it! now, where around here would I find a store to sell me these supplies? joanns just won't cut it for this project . . .

#39. t-minus one year. and counting!

over the weekend, Rock & I celebrated our negativersary . . . is that a word? can I make it one? . . . anyway, this past friday marked one year from our impending wedding. so, to celebrate, we went on a "date" like the kiddies do.

we got dressed up and went to the mall.

yeah, it was awesome.

oh, but not just any mall, the Dallas Galleria Shopping Centre Extravaganza. it was still pretty awesome, actually. we told the girl at Lush that it was our -1 year anniversary and she gave me a mini soft hand treatment. (she probably does for all the girls, but I like to think it's because I'm special.) then we went to Antonio in Addison for Italian food, which was awesome.
we, being excellent planners, didn't take any pictures or anything so I will have to substitute with a photo from easter this year.

so, here's what I wore (minus the "model face" look. and minus the 1980's decor at Rock's grandmother's house):

(my legs look furry in this shot. it's the camera, I promise)

aaand, front shot (minus "modesty tank top" required for grandmother/church visit.):

(the girl at Betsey Johnson loved my dress. yeah, that's right)

the craziest part of all of it was thinking about how long and how short the coming year seems. we've been together for 3 years, lived in the same place for less than 2, and will be married in less than 1.

I can't wait

#38. lemons & limes, part III

will continuously using this title get old? probably. too bad.

so back forever a few weeks ago I promised you some pictures from the latest lemon/lime extravaganza when I was home to visit momma. after the tests we did with real fruit (and the resulting mess!), momma thought it would be a good idea to test, well, fake fruit. foam fruit to be exact. somewhere (t.j.maxx), somehow (clearance rack) she found large amounts of foam faux lemons and limes. momma already has more vases than a second-rate flower shop so we hauled out tons of hers and got to work.

here's what we put together:

here's what I learned:

• I really like the look of all the same fruit in the tall lined vases (see the right side of pic 2)
• the deep green vase with the bright yellow lemons is great (see pic 1, just right of middle)
• I don't like the fishbowl vases (pic 2, left)
• the low bowl with flowers & fruit is super pretty (pic 2, lower left) but real fruit won't float, right? will that be good or bad?
• we will in no way need to buy vases! seriously. there are, what, 10 vases on the table here? not even a dent in the displayed collection. not even a dent. I swear the woman has 15 tall lined ones & 8 or 10 of those low floater bowls
• wine is a necessity in these endeavors
• my step daddy is such a good sport

and, for those of you who have made it this far, here's a bonus shot of my memorial day weekend. we got a grill!

(yeah, that's me. in a box. I may or may not have tried to trap the dog in it later that evening. unsuccessfully.)