Teal and Black Wedding : The Boys

And now for the Gents.

First up the Groom, one of the most important pieces of the puzzle.

We stopped by the old staple and well known in the area tux shop , C E Roth. Josh chose his tux and the guys tux. We went with teal vests for the groomsman and a cream colored vest for Josh. Also we opted for the pocket handkerchief instead of having them wear boutonnieres. We decided this to cut the cost on flowers, plus I think the look works. It was just one of those things we didn’t think we NEEDED.

Josh chose his long, long, long time best friend, Jay , as his Best Man.  They have many many many many (trust me, I could type at least 10 more 'many's' there ) inside jokes/stories.  We just never know whats going to happen when they are together.

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Martin, was a Groomsman, friends well before Josh and I started dating.  Josh was also the Best Man in his wedding a few years ago.

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 And my brother Dave, also our musical guest of the evening.  They are each the brothers they never had.

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Josh and I both put a lot of thought into the people we chose to be in our wedding party.  We knew we didn't want a huge party and for it to get out of hand.  We chose those people that have been in our lives for a long time and knew would always stay there.

Teal and Black Wedding : The Girls

In hopes to fully document my wedding by our first anniversary, I'm kicking it into high wedding gear.

my little personal touch, I made and sent all the girls these cards. they all said yes!

Let’s meet the ladies, shall we?
My Maid of Honor, my sweet sister Liz. Sweet in more ways than one…she’s a pastry chef and also made our delicious cake!

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Bridesmaid, Beth. College roommate and forever friend/Biznit!

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Bridesmaid, Kelli. Witnessed the beginning of our relationship, and long time friend. Jay her hubby was Josh’s Best Man and visa versa.

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I was able to get all the girls and my Mom together to go dress shopping at Alfred Angelo’s. They had a fun time getting all dolled up. It was like a fashion show. We found some duds…and after trying on just about all the dresses there we all decided on the one they are shown wearing above.

I had my eye on it before we went, it just looked simple yet sophisticated and cute. I thought they all looked great in it. Oh and the price was right, plus they all got $$ off because I bought my wedding dress there, cha ching!
Did I mention the colors that we picked, I don’t think so. We chose a deep teal and black as the colors for our wedding. So black dresses worked out perfectly. And since the day of our wedding was a chilly and rainy one I snagged some shawls the week before that were the perfect teal color. The girls took charge in figuring how to wear them and I think they looked pretty sharp.

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Teal and Black Wedding : I need a shower

This past weekend it would have been a year since my bridal shower, let's reminisce shall we?
I have some great people in my life, and I felt so blessed when I walked into a room filled with love.  I won't lie, I had a feeling it was my shower;-) My sister picked me up and took me to the festivities, where I was surprised to see a whole lot of loved ones, including my friend/bridesmaid who flew out from Missouri! That girl can't pass up a party!

me and my girls :-)

My family and friends all made it so special.  From the picture paper punches (which I saved for the escort card table and gift table at our wedding)

to the yummy food

and the super cute favors. 

my moms famous caramel corn, fortune cookie and a little picture of josh and I

And then all the gifts!  Wow!

We also had some entertainment.

And after the shower there were just 41 more days till the wedding...AHHHH!!!

I look scared out of my mind.

Sangria!

Hello my peeps, what's up?  Sorry I've been MIA, with the holiday and long weekend I've been a little busy.
I had a very productive weekend, and I'm quite proud with my accomplishments.
When we first moved in a little over a year ago it was a whirlwind, we successfully got the 3 upstairs bedrooms, washed, spackled, primed, painted and carpeted in about a week.  We would not have been able to do it with all the help we had from our family, lots of man hours were put in.  Since that first crazy week we painted and redecorated the living room, hallway and foyer.  We have just recently started tackling the downstairs, so far we have paint color picked out for the downstairs office, the walls are all ready to be painted and carpet will be picked out any day. 

In the mean time I thought I would start a little project of my own.  A spot that has been neglected but seen on a daily basis. The downstairs landing/hallway.It's not completed, just needs some trimwork done and the doors painted to match the trim, but you get the idea. I painted the walls and ceiling, and get this...put down new vinyl tiles. I'm so proud, all in a weekend.

Right after replacing the door into the garage.

Hallway/landing painted

Hallway/landing painted and new flooring!

Here is a better look at the tile

Woo hoo! Go me!

To celebrate the update and Labor Day, Sangria was just what my sore muscles ordered.  Don't worry...it's healthy, I mean look at all the fruit

Here's my fav recipe. Yum.

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

Today was one of those days when I just kept having conversations over and over in my head...possibly just talking to myself, and possibly reinventing 'what I should have said'.  Most of of the phrases that kept ruminating(aren't  you proud SCL, apparently I have some smart friends too ;-)) around were "Are you kidding me?" and "What?! Do I look like an idiot".  What made these thoughts and conversations to myself exist today is no longer important, as I am Over it.  So I will turn to the positives of the day.
1. Still sticking to my healthy living plan, or operation UF.
2. Had a lovely 2.5 mile walk at lunch with a friend eventhough its a decent 95 degrees out.
3. Made another batch of yummy SpiCAY hummus.
4. I made weight watchers Turkey Meatloaf for dinner, and it smells delish. Recipe at the bottom.
5. I came home to this on top of my laptop.

Oh yes that's baby Josh

How can I not have a good day now?  I seriously busted out laughing, made my night.






WW Parmesan-Turkey Meatloaf
Makes 8 Servings
1T olive oil
1onion, chopped
1 1/4 lb ground skinless turkey
4 slices whole-wheat bread, made into fine crumbs
1/2 cup ff milk
1 egg lightly beaten
3T ketchup
2T grated parm cheese
1t minced garlic
1/2 t dried basil
1/4 t dried thyme
1/4 t ground pepper

1.Preheat oven to 350F; spray 8x5 loaf pan with nonstick spray. In small skillet, heat oil. Saute the onion until tender.
2. In med. bowl, combine the onion, turkey,bread crumbs, milk, egg, ketchup, cheese, garlic, basil, thyme, and pepper; blend well.  Transfer to pan. Bake until browned and cooked through, 50-60 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes, then cut into 8 slices.
Per serving; Cal 181, F 9g, Carb 10g, Fib 1g

UF

Well...I finally cut my hair, nothing crazy, just to my shoulders.  And for some reason I thought that was where I gained all that weight from.  I was hoping to hop on that scale and to drop a good 20lbs. Darn it.   I mean my hair is thick...it had to atleast weighed like 5lbs. 
Why is it so easy to pack it on and it takes fooooorrrr eva to make it go away?  Well I'm on a mission, Operation Surprise Getting Married Makes You Fat Now Get Unfat.  Or UF for short (unfat) or atleast UF un poco (unfat a little).
It's crazy when it just hits ya, like dang what did you do? yikes!  Well it's been a constant battle no doubt.  And if you are blessed with the ability to not eat your entire plate of food or are naturally skinny well just please be thankful and await a post on my thriftiness as this does not concern you.
What's my game plan?  Well, consuming as many whole foods as possible, as the processed kind are not exactly anyones friends (although very tasty at times), and increasing my exercise.  With the weather getting nicer it should be a little more enticing to get some walking and running in.  Wish me luck!
Have any good recipes or tips? Share SHARE!

Cupcakes

Since someone is so anxiously awaiting my post on todays adventures here it is, just for you Dad.
Don't you just love how last minute plans end up being the best?  A few days ago I got in touch with my Biz to see if she was available this weekend to meet up.  I was amazed that the two of us had a weekend day free.  We decided to check out the Philadelphia Premium Outlets, you  know me and my bargains.  While I regret taking pictures of our illigal cupcake eating at Ruby Tuesdays, and ourselves weighted down with bags of goodies, I do have some stats.
First up tip number gazillion...always do your homework.  Check out the site and see if there are coupons.  Lucky for us, Gap and Banana Republic had 30% off this weekend!

awesome lantern I scored from Yankee

We first made a stop at Banana Republic and were amazed by the prices, Awesome!  I walked out of there with 2 shirts for the hubs,  2 shirts for me and a pair of pj pants for a grand total of $31.46, would have been  $13.49 more but I did my homework and found 30% off coupons.  Express I found another work shirt for $9.99, Gap I scored a nice jacket for $20.99, Champion I found 2 gym shorts for vball for $16.78, at Columbia nice swimming trunks for the hub $6.98, and finally Yankee Candle a surprise for me mum at $5 and 2 super cool lanterns for $10.  So for 5 shirts, a jacket, pjs, 2 shorts, swimming trunks, and candles and lanterns I spent $101.40.
The Biz also had a successful shopping trip, her hightlight was the 2 dresses she found for work for $36 total!  Looks like this outlet is legit, but as always check prices not all the stores were as good as the ones I mentioned.
We had a great day shopping and enjoying each others company.  Can't ask for more than spending time with a dear friend and a successful shopping trip!