#29. my afternoon

guess what I made today?!



it's not 100% perfect but I really like it! and it only took me about half the work day. (in between other things of course) my boss would be so proud . . .

hey, some days I actually do work. today? not so much.

#20. location showdown, part 2

after much debate (no really. we went rounds and rounds about this. I have the "master matrix of decision making" to prove it), we picked a location! and confirmed a date! and got a caterer! woo! I feel like I've accomplished so much!

ok, so, we're gonna do this thing May 29 at a hill country bed & breakfast . . . not my original date choice, honestly -- the venue GAVE AWAY our original date & didn't feel like they needed to tell me until a week later when I called them . . . (can you tell I'm still a little steamed) but, really, this will be a much better date. Rock's granny & gpaw got married on May 29 years and years ago. I didn't know this until Granny got misty when we told her the date we picked . . . Gpaw passed last year, so it will really mean a lot to her.

anyway, enough talky-talky . . . pictures of the b&b:

It looks like Tara . . .

(the gazebo isn't actually tilt-y, just Rock's photo skillz)

something terribly facinating in the fountain . . .

and, my favorite . . . at night . . .

I am so super duper excited about this place! and it's a b&b so we're staying there the night before and the night after! (the pics of the inside turned out strange . . . probly ghosts. no really, it totally looks like ghosts. and while we were there, a really heavy vase just fell over in a totally empty room. ghosts. I'm excited!)

also, they have a chef, so that's a check too! we're having steak fajitas & lime-cilantro chicken quesadillas and other deliciousness . . . mmmmm . . . .

in a strangely-related conicidence, it turns out their sous-chef worked in and around yellowstone (where Rock & I met!) . . . .

have I mentioned I'm excited?!

#16. rocky mountain high

if we had decided to have a mountain wedding, this would be my ideal backdrop . . .
but we decided on texas. and I'm ok with that. I'm very ok with that. until I saw this gorgeous wedding on a.mountain.bride's blog the other day . . .

courtesy of the very talented Julie Harris Photography, Jen & Matt's colorado wedding:

makes me homesick! that aspen grove makes my heart sing . . .

a texas wedding will be best. and it'll be dramatic too. but nothing can compare with that mountain vista . . .

#14. location showdown, round one

I am from the mountains. Rock is from texas.
we met in the mountains. we live in texas.
we someday want to live in the mountains. we currently live in texas.
we love the mountains. we don't love texas. (ok, that's mostly me)

so where oh where would we think to get married? no, not the mountains . . .

our dream wedding** would be outdoors, in a forest or even a meadow with a majestic rocky mountain backdrop. wildflowers, Mexican food, a cold mountain lake, snow-capped peaks . . . *sigh* perfection . . . seems like a no-brainer, right? oh no . . . this has been perhaps the biggest source of anguish since our engagement. (which is saying a lot considering we got engaged at the height of the crazy-family-explosion-of-drama that is the holidays) (no really, my family is nuts)

so, it might come as a surprise to you that, in the end, the big supporter on the "wedding in texas" side was me. (surprised me!) really, hosting the wedding where we really live will be much easier for us in the long run. it'll be a chance for both our families to take a mini vacation. we can still find somewhere gorgeous and outdoorsy to have it, mountains or not. (they still have trees and grass and flowers in texas. imagine that)

texas is fine, but it sure isn't the same . . .



**ok, my dream wedding. one of them, at least . . . (there may or may not be a dozen more possible scenarios. I did work in a bridal store.) (funny, none of those ever included texas . . . hmm)