wedding planner

I wanna be a wedding planner when I grow up. I want to spend other people's money on cake. I want to sample cake. (I pretty much want to sample all wedding food) Then, I want to play dress up with blushing brides & put sparkly tiara's on their heads & pick out fabric flower sashes for their dresses. I want to pick out flower center pieces, ice sculptures for the food table & then send the bride & groom to dance class to learn an awesome "first dance" hip hop routine. (riot with me people! no more boring first dances!) I want pick out pretty invitations, photo-booth boxes, chocolate fountains & italian soda bars. I want it all! And I want to have a bazillion dollars to get married every Saturday night. (don't worry babe- you'll still be the groom, although I'm pretty sure after the first time, you wouldn't mind hiring a stunt double to stand in your place) Big SIGH..... Doesn't this sound divine?

Of course I'm leaving out all the wedding mishaps, inevitably the drama, including those "Jerry Springer" moments with some of the family/errr I mean guests :) But I can dream nontheless! And so I do, because in just 3 months my lil brother is marrying the cutest, wanna stick her in your pocket, gorgeous & talented (J-Lo watch out) girl you could possibly imagine! How did he score such an awesome girl- sorry bro, but she's totally out of your league:)

And so I begin to plan my dream wedding. I mean, THEIR dream wedding if it were up to me and money was not an issue. Because in dream world I already won Publishers Clearing House. So, here's my plans:

You must have a wedding video, but not the lame ones they did in the 90's. One like this:

Chris and Jill Wedding from Blue Lily Photo on Vimeo.

Mason jars: they are perfect for summertime weddings & for holding candles. A must have!

A picnic style wedding, where the dessert table is all about the sugar and less about the pretty. I dig me somer real food at a wedding!

Did you notice the mason jars and the paper banner? Next up- photos. I must have photos and more photos and cool ones wrapped around trees? Well the tree has to have some bling too you know!

Outdoor lanterns and old window frames all painted in one color. Dreamy!

How cute is it to use real antique furniture outside? Love this whole display! Cake. The real reason you showed up to the wedding. Well, you know its the reason the groom showed up :) I'm obsessed with this new ruffle look. Simple, elegant and all about the ruffles!

Dear candy table, I may be visiting you shortly. And then staying overnight. Yep, I'll just scoot my chair over here and call this my table.

The colors I imagine at my brother/sister's (in law) wedding. So fun!

The invitations I would totally do if I were getting married. I love the all postcard one- especially when the money fairy didn't arrive!

Another cake. Perfection (if you take away the bow) Just flowers, no bow. It's one or the other folks!

The ruffle cake on left is my ALL. TIME. FAVE!

not so sure about the left picture, but the smore table is right up my alley!

If you do boutineers this one is chic. But personally, I think their a little (slightly)lame. Because, lets be honest, no guy wants to wear a flower.

It's all about the phototgraphy. And I may just have to do a post just on poses and ideas because that's one thing I regret. Not having a cool photographer. Mine ended up being a crime scene photographer. But I didn't find that out til the day of my wedding. So I had to hold REAL still for every photo. True story....

If I could live in wedding land. This would be my backyard and I'd eat dinner every night on this table. It looks similar to my parents backyard and a dinner a few years ago we had. It was heavenly.....

I'm all about the sentimental factor and these table setting numbers are perfect!

The brides bouquet. I love simplicity with peonies and roses. Or an all over bouquet of Cala lilies. But this one screams flair. Dontcha think?

All original photo sites can be found on my pinterest board, found here:

So, I obviously have a little obsession with dreaming of other peoples weddings. Its too much stinkin fun. I don't think they have to be outrageously expensive either. Its simple. Yummy food, candles, flowers, & dancing. Lots of dancing!

modest is hottest

I have a dream..... of going to church in a cute dress that I don't have to fidget with every time I sit down. Of a swimsuit that I'm not spilling out of in every direction.... It's hard to find cute modest clothing out there, but I'm certain if I dig hard enough, I'll find something between nun & skank. It's a fine line you know :)


Here is what I've found:

image found here: Only $60. I just ordered this dress and I'm so hopeful it's as cute on me as this model. Crossing fingers..... and toes!

image found here:
A little pricier at $90. This dress is also in yellow polka dot. How cute is that?

image found here:
at $60 this dress is perfect for easter! And it comes in turquoise too!

adorable swimsuit found here:

As much as I love the color yellow, sadly I cannot wear it. It looks horrible with my skin tone. Something about pasty white-ish, blueish skin next to yellow makes me look sickly! But I can dream anyway!

this one's from limericki.com too and has an adorable white with tiny black polka dots skirt. So cute!

image found here: Can you believe this is a swimsuit? I always look like this when I swim though, don't you? Jewelry, hair and all!

Anyway- There are some options out there and I really want to support stores that carry these items. Yes, lets stick with that when my husband sees the bank statements. I'm helping the world be more modest! Happy shopping peeps!


Disclaimer- my husband has never looked at a bank statement, let alone even know which bank we're at. It's something I love about him!

Dream Kitchens

I'm day dreaming constantly of my next home. I really want to build a home and make all the choices on flooring and door knobs, lighting & tile. It sounds so fun, right? Except I'm terrified of choosing something & regretting it in 2 yrs. I've made that mistake with custom (insanely ugly & supposedly trendy at the time) sofas & was stuck with them for years. I really don't want to make a costly mistake again. So I've been pinning away on Pinterest.com. (if you don't know what that is- you're seriously missing out on some fun & time sucking action!) I figure in a couple months after I've collected all a bunch of pins, I'll see a few reacurring themes and know for sure that I must really like that tile or style. Here's what I've been busy dreaming of....
Image found here:


I love the industrial lighting and stools. Gorgeous! I'm too afraid to do open shelves though. I'm not so good at the accessorizing. I'm more of the "shove everything into the cabinet & shut the door & hope nothin' falls out of it" kinda girl.....

image found here:

This kitchen is just plain dreamy to me.... yellow bar stools (awesome right?) and the massive light fixture is a beauty. I want that light!

image found here

I love how a kitchen can be new and still feel lived in with accents of history. The stools must have a story & I'm thinking those lights have been repurposed. Get the sense I like industrial?

This kitchen found here: You gotta check out the whole house tour. It's perfection! I'm loving the school house lights and the fun upholstered bench.

Sorry, I can't find the original owner of this picture! But I love the wood & tile floor. And the black wall is a really fun contrast! And the light..... well you know I super heart the light!

This is an actual kitchen, you know the ones that are used by multiple people and not just found in mansions. Yes- this is more realistic and also just fun! image found here: You better look at her whole house though- because she has some serious flair..... and I love a girl with flair! I love the cabinetry and hardware throughout this whole house. Its the details that make me love this house....

So as you can tell by all my pictures. I'm kind of obsessed with white cabinets. My husband wants stained wood so I think our center island will be the stained wood while the rest of the kitchen is white. It's a compromise, but one that will make our kitchen less boring too. Because I'm afraid of being boring!

Anyone had white cabinets? What's your opinion on them? Do you love them or hate them?

Infomercial Sucker

I have two kinds of best friends. Ones who bring me chocolate & diet cokes and ones who suck me into their cute packaging and exciting commercials. Marketing companies know just how make me give away my first born with their promises of younger fresher skin, perfectly toned thighs & antibacterial all natural cleaners. Yes, sadly, I am one of those people. The QVC, Home Shopping Network, Infomercial Sucker.

But on a good note, now I can give you my opinion on some of the products I've purchased and you can decide for yourself!

First off: The X5 Steam Mop
This X5 has worked pretty well for me. There are a whole lot more attachments & my sweet husband, who also loves a good infomercial, bought every. single. one! We've cleaned white shower grout. (well its white now!) We've cleaned our oven, steam cleaned all the tile floors and even done some blinds & windows with it. It does cook tops, grills and even carpet! I wasn't impressed with the carpet attachment though, it's definitely not the best whole carpet cleaner but it would work well on one spot of your carpet by using it without any attachments and soaking up the dirt with a dry white rag. I'd avoid using a colored rag as it may bleed onto your carpet. I didn't try it on my wood floor as I was too afraid to. We've had warping issues and I didn't want to risk it, but supposedly its meant for wood. It has temp adjuster that's basically hot, red lava hot & firework/carbomb hot... (Yeah, it's real high tech.) But overall, it has saved me some money in hiring someone to clean all my stubborn spots and I love it on my kitchen and bathroom floors. Long term though, I'm not sure how long it was built to last. But fortunately, I feel like I already got my moneys worth!

Next up: Cindy Crawford's Meaningful Beauty
I was a bit offended when my husband bought me a kit of face products. What? I have bad skin & you noticed? How embarrassing! But I was on a girls trip & he said "he missed me & wanted to buy me something I wouldn't buy myself to surprise me." How cute is that? Ok, not mad. Let's try it! I gotta say in 2 days I noticed my skin looked great. I don't even think I wore foundation! That's huge people! I kept it up for 3 weeks, but to be honest- it's a lot of steps for me. I'm more like a one step, possibly two if you catch me on a good day, step kinda girl. After 2 weeks I didn't notice much of a difference but I think I just got used to having good skin, so it was less noticeable? Don't know, but the products lasted me a long, long, time. Some I still never opened. I really like the night time cream & the glowing serum. Definitely my faves & I do recommend it. Just make sure you cancel the auto renew and just order what you like after your first shipment.

3rd impulse buy goes to: Billy Blanks Tae Bo

This is one tough workout and I highly recommend it. But Billy- please change your outfit and fix that awful awful music. The techno repeating "music" was torture. I had to mute it, once I memorized it & play my own jams. Yeah I said jams, I either sound like a 70yr old man now or someone in a lame band.....

Nuff about that lets move on to: My least favorite purchase, Tony Little's Gazelle

Who wouldn't want to buy this when you see this happy, perfectly fit woman? A Gazelle is a dainty deer like animal that is fast and light on their feet. I was supposed to feel light and airy. I was barely pregnant when I ordered this and thought it would work great for my hip problems during pregnancy. One movement on that & I was down for the count for 2 weeks. Don't try this when you're preggos. But after I was pregnant, I didn't think I was doing it right. It never seemed like a great workout, but it was fun. It's more like a fun toy. It was cheap, only around $100 but I feel bad because it took up so much room and every time I looked at it I felt very un-dainty Gazelle like..... I'd pass on this one folks

Ok- last on my list: The Michael Thurmond 6 week Complete Body Makeover

Remember that show Extreme Makeover? Is it on anymore? Anyway. It was amazing. It was unreal. They did plastic surgery, but still, alot of the time they did it on the face only and they transformed the rest of the body. It was unbelievable! I had to try it. It took a little bit of time to put it all together, taking a test on your body type which I'm still unsure if I got it right & then pulling out the right cards for that body type and putting it a book. The diet is hard people. It's alot of pre prep, constantly thinking about your next meal, work. But it is the healthiest I've EVER felt. All natural foods, eating all the time, and eating Xtremely healthy. It is the best diet I've ever done. And with that said. I haven't been able to be successful since the first time I've tried it, but I'm thinking its because it's dang hard & I haven't fully stuck to the program. It should work if you have motivation & your body will feel amazing. Your mood however, may not. I was a little grouchy on this diet. But that's how I feel without chocolate & diet coke. I need chocolate. Can anyone find a diet for me that includes some mint m&m's? Thanks, that would be great. Speaking of which, I just remembered my mom's diet growing up.... a handful of plain m&m's or semi-sweet choc chips before every meal. You know, as an appetite suppressor..... I'm not kidding. My mom had 7 children and looks fantastic. It worked for her. It's still shocking that us kids didn't end up diabetic. But the thing is, we ate all natural foods. We ate real sugar, sparingly (well not so much). But we also ate a TON of fruits and veggies and only a little meat. We ate fantastic. Real gourmet every night. Rarely ate out & weight was never an issue. I think its because we ate like this diet. (Minus the dessert after EACH meal- not kidding, EACH meal!) No powders & shakes, no packaged foods. Just natural good food. Michael Thurmond even allows white rice! So yes, if you have the will power, this diet is a good kick in the pants! I lost 7lbs the first week. 21lbs in 3 weeks! And I surprisingly kept it off.... until recently. Whoops....

So there you have my not so professional opinion on these products. Overall, I've been pretty happy with our late night shopping escapades. Hopefully you'll feel the same about these products if you try them..... Happy infomercial shopping.......Sucker! :)

Dear Younger Self

You know those people that say (think high pitched annoying voice) "if I could go back and do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing! All of my mistakes made me the person I am today!" Really? You wouldn't have listened to your mom when she told you to stay away from Randy- cause he's trouble? Cause he was you know.... Would you really have registered for classic Winnie the Pooh bathroom towels and shower curtain? Just sayin- cause I totally would NEVER do that :) Would you have really bought a house in 2008 to have the market crash in '09? Let's be honest, there are some mistakes & hairstyles we wish we could take back and on that note:

Dear Younger Self,

-Don't waste another second worrying about if everyone likes you. You don't really love everyone, so don't be that surprised if you can't make everyone love you!

-Remember 11th grade Calculus when the teacher told you to invest $100 every month from the age 18-25 and you'd have a million dollars when you reached 55. Yeah, you should've done that!

-You should've taken the photography classes in college. You thought they were too much money but you would've loved it and you could've saved yourself some really lame Sears portraits when your girls were babies. (No offense Sears- your kid on a chair with a sunset background was totally cutting edge)

-You need to relax as a new mom. It really won't hurt to leave the house with your child in a ridiculous costume because it makes her feel pretty. It would've saved you an hour long debate and 4 packages of fruit snacks & a ring pop promise....

-Journal more. Take more video- my babies were so stinkin' cute! Did I even realize how stinkin' cute they were?! Probably not because of sleep deprivation. I haven't slept 8 hours straight since the day I got pregnant with my first....

-Go on vacations before you have children. Why oh why did we not do this? Oh, yeah right.... we said we couldn't afford it. Guess what? You really can't afford it once you have kids!

-Take care of yourself physically. Don't go all stretchy pants & hubby t-shirts after having kids. Have girls night outs and force yourself to dress up every day! You feel better and look better and get more done, if you dress up a little....

-That ridiculous green plaid couch set that you had custom made- well lets just say you'll hate it 2yrs later but will be stuck with it for the next 8 years!

-If I could do it all over again. I wouldn't waste any time on being upset by 90% of what upset me. I would love more. I would definitely vacation more. I'd laugh more too. I'd hug my children & hubby more. And I'd smile more.

Good thing I have time to do all of this a little longer. The last 30 (maybe a wee more) years has taught me that I need to choose happiness. And if buying an orchid makes me happy, then do it. If planning getaways with my husband brings us closer together, do it. And do it more often. Surprise your kids with mini-dates. Write more love notes. And most important. Above everything else. Don't get started on Pinterest, you'll never want to get off!