U to the F

Greetings from the Ark! Here in good ole' PA we are getting some crazy rain.  What is it about rain that makes us want to hibernate and be unproductive.  Well I have been trying to ignore the fact that it is rainy and windy and just plain miserable outside so I can get some much needed cleaning done.  Apparently my washer is taking note to the weather as it keeps stopping and needs me to coax it through it's cycle. oy vey.
I have good news though!  I'm still UFing...today I hit a milestone! 10lbs down! Woo hoo!  I'm pretty darn proud.

Last night for dinner I made this yummy dish, some eggplant parm, give it a whirl you won't be disappointed! Even the mister couldn't get enough.
Happy almost Friday!

Teal and Black Wedding : Crunch time…

We were lucky to be able to rent the club for 2 days and could set up the day before. Thank goodness too because we had a lot to set up. We got there first thing in the morning with our cars loaded. Josh still a little groggy from his bachelor party shenanigans the night before, along with his best man and groomsmen. But still they all came to help set up. Along with all my girls and both our families. With all the help we did get a lot accomplished in the time we had.

I’m not going to lie, I was probably a little biotchy. It was an emotional day.

We did have a little fun while decorating.

We got done a little after lunch, I stopped at Staples to get a bigger memory card for my camera for the honeymoon and micky d’s for some lunch for the soon to be mr. and I. Everyone ran around doing last minute errands to get back to the club in time for rehearsal. Rehearsal went well then it was off to dinner at our favorite restaurant, Oliver’s. As we were leaving the rehearsal I remembered I forgot to pick up the panera order that we got for both houses for breakfast. My Mom graciously volunteered to pick it up as we all went to eat. Unfortunately they didn’t have our order ready and she had to wait quite a bit. Once she got to Oliver’s it was complete everyone was there and had a great time.

After dinner Josh and I said our last ‘single’ goodbyes and went our separate ways. The girls and I chilled out and went to bed.

Teal and Black Wedding : Par-tay!

I had a lovelly bachelorette party planned for me, with a few of my favorite ladies.  When asked if I had any ideas, I said nothing crazy, a low key night would be appreciated.  Maybe a spa day and dinner. Bingo!

We had a great time, we started at spa, the price included 2 services, I chose a massage and a pedi.  This was just what I needed the week before the wedding.  Everyone contributed to the delightful snacks and drinks.

After our pampering we headed to my parents for dinner.  My Mom set up a lovely sit down dinner for all of us.  Yummy salad and lasagna.

 Then the games began!  I received a care package from my Bridesmaid Beth with a few things to contribute since she was unable to make it.

 I had a constume change as I received not one but two fancy shirts!  The above from Beth and the one below from Stacy and Kylie.

 In my care package along with some other fun items was a game the man of the night...

 After our pin the kiss on the bachelor game...my Mom brought out the kareoke machine and well my friends thats where the pictues stop.

I had a great time, it was just what I wanted, a girly good time with my friends, good food, and some pampering.  Perfect way to send me off to marraige land.

Teal and Black Wedding : My favorites

As I did touch on the dress, I realize now I never mentioned my accessories!
I did a lot of research for my special day, I put a lot of time and energy into making it mine/ours. 
My veil was my favorite. 

I assigned my Mom to veil duty, she graciously accepted the challenge. I wanted a mid length veil with lace.  I could not have been more happy with what she made.  The intricate time she took to hand stitch the lace to the veil was so much appreciated.  It is beautiful, and still my favorite part of my wedding day look.

Since I did not plan on wearing the veil the whole night I made myself a little hair flower.  Really easy, I chose a fake flower pulled it apart and sewed it back together onto a barrette.  Voila! Easy as pie.

photo

It just added a little somethin somethin.

Jewelry I found on Etsy, of course I wanted to tackle this myself, but after not being able to find what I was looking for at the craft stores I gave up and went for something on Etsy.  It was perfect, simple and elegant.

photo

photo

 Shoes!  I know I wanted teal...and after looking at every possible shoe store, you know where I found these?  Payless.  They were in the dyeable section which I wasn't too sure about, but they really ended up being perfect.


photo

photo

All these accessories completed my wedding day look.  Including my engagement ring

photo

And soon to be wedding band.

photo

Ahhhhhh...carpet

Hello!

I'm writing you from a new location, one that smells of fresh carpet and paint.  A project we have been working on for probably the past month.  Well today my friends was the day the computer made the move to the downstair, while the whole reveal is not ready, I was too excited to not tell you.
We chose the color palate of grey and yellow.  I love it!

Today my Mom and I went to Ikea to pick up a few finishing touches for the room.  Mainly the desk and chairs.



Ikea



Ikea



I can't wait to finish the room, we really haven't ventured down here till recently.  Next up will be to redo the powder room and laundry room, then the family room.  We can't wait to have more living space, hopefully it will alleviate the spare bedroom/storage room syndrome.

Teal and Black Wedding : Signs

While I touched on our centerpieces here that wasn’t all that was on the table. We had some tealights to create a soft ambience along with some Hershey kisses and the menu. I got a lot of my ideas from www.weddingbee.com, and if you are planning your wedding, I HIGHLY recommend the site, so many good ideas and support. I wanted something to put on the table with what the menu was for the evening, the table number, and a note to direct people to the photo booth. I couldn’t figure anything out, so Josh and I went to joanns to find something. Josh picked up these wedding programs and said we could stand them up on the table. GENIOUS! And he didn’t think he was crafty! It worked out perfect.

Also at each place setting we had a card directing everyone to our shutterfly wedding website, with instructions on how to upload their pictures from the wedding to it. This way everyone could share each others pictures! Plus we got a glimpse of pictures before our professional ones were done. How did we get these cards? We used vistaprints and got free ‘business cards’. They worked out perfectly!

I did a few more signs around the reception. One at the bar listing the drinks, one in the bathrooms with the toiletries’ basket, and one at the escort card table. I used the same bow technique on the signs as I did with the centerpieces and the invites.

After typing up this post, I'm left wondering what I would have blogged without Jenae's help, she's the bomb!

UF Update

While I've been busy documenting and sharing my wedding, I haven't kept you updated with the UF update, and after reading my friend's post, it has given me some needed inspiration.

Since my last post I have lost 7lbs! Woo hoo!  While it's a big accomplishment, I do have a decent way to go, and I haven't really noticed the loss.  What have changes have I made?  Well staying true to that post I am eating lots and lots of whole foods, fruits and veggies are my friends.  It amazes me how much I was eating, eventhough I didn't think I was eating much.  I really have not been keeping track of calories, but more so making better decisions both with food and excersise.  When I know I can't trust my self on making those decisions I use the Lose It! app on my Ipod to track calories and my excersises.