Weekend To-Do List

With less than a month until the wedding, the to-do lists are getting looked at a little more closely. I've found myself re-writing the lists in timeline format. Hey... whatever gets the job done, right?

For the sake of all brides out there, I'm posting the "to do this weekend" list I wrote during lunch on Friday.

Order last three ties- Only partially finished. Settled with two.
Finish programs- I've printed them all, but I'm struggling with the sewing part.
Write up schedule of events- Decided to wait until I speak with the photographer about timing.
Write thank you for welcome bags- Why is thank you always the hardest part?
Order flowers- DONE!! Woo-hoo!
Make massage appointment for week-of- Put off until next week.
Make mani/pedi appts for me and moms- Put off until next week.
Order table numbers- Do we want numbers/places/etc?? I can't decide.
Order table number holders- DONE!
Stamp favor tags- Decided this is a good task to do while watching tv next week.
Finalize readings- DONE!
Write directions for welcome bags- DONE!

Needless to say, I was a little overzealous on my to-dos considering I am back at the rodeo on Friday and Saturday nights. But, I did jump ahead and do things on next week's list. Apparently I'm bad at that...

Decide songs-- I had the hardest time getting J to agree to anything. He loves music, but he wasn't really into picking songs. It felt like pulling teeth! I'll do a full post on the songs later.

Create escort "cards"-- I used Martha Stewart mini-envies, affixed clear labels with a blue calligraphy font, and will insert the table assignments closer to date. They're grouped together by last initial in the pic.
Print seating "cards"-- I used my Linda & Harriett chevron notepad and printed names in a green calligraphy font. I then used my paper cutter to cut them into strips and will roll the ends for a nice effect. I'm thinking I'll place them between fork tines. (They're grouped together because I already assigned everyone to their tables!)


Print rehearsal dinner cards-- My bosses at the rodeo are providing dinner and two drinks to each person for our rehearsal dinner, and they asked that I make up little cards for guests to hand in to keep track of the "sale" in the register. This is what I came up with... the drink tickets are in opposite colorways. I hole-punched them and tied them with green baker's twine. The fonts are Gold Rush and Ma Sexy. (The blurriness is intentional.)

Print "after-party" invites-- Okay... this one is a touchy subject for me. J wanted to invite everyone and their brother to the wedding. While I'd love to have everyone we know celebrate, I'm realistic about the budget. J was adamant that he couldn't leave certain people out, even though he may not be best buds with them. I am not really into inviting people later in the evening, but it was my concession to him. So, we are inviting certain people (like some coworkers who threw a hissy fit and his entire softball team) to come to our reception after dinner at 8pm for drinks and dancing. To me, it can come off as "you're not good enough to be invited for the whole thing", but it's not always the case. I think it's all in how you showcase it. Again, I used my Linda & Harriett notepad with Gold Rush, Ornamental Flourish and Ma Sexy fonts.
Dad was busy, too. He went to work on making our wood direction signs (that will be painted later) and boxes to go around some of our vases. He used some of our old fencing and is going to drive it all out from Texas. Yay, Dad!

I've Never "Felt" So Great About DIY'ing It!

Horrible title, I know... but I couldn't help myself!

While Mom was in town for my shower two weeks ago (geez, has it been that long already?!), we spent most of our time shopping for a dress for her to wear to the wedding. So much time, in fact, that we had to make an unexpected hotel stay after I nearly fell asleep during hail and snow. Once all of the madness was over, I convinced my mom that her trip would not be complete without one DIY adventure.

My heart was set on a ring pillow like hers. Alas, the budget would not allow it. So, I picked up some felt and decided to make my mom help me. :) It definitely wasn't perfect... and Mom wants to have another go at it-- but I think our first try is magnificient!
It's not as plump as I'd prefer, and I still need to trim the edges with decorative scissors. Maybe add a few pieces of bling in the center of the flowers?? Who knows.

Fabulous Shoe Friday

Don't shun me for today's Fabulous Shoe.
My feet were killing me after shopping for two days with my mom. We stopped into a store toward the end of our adventure, and I grabbed these. I've been wearing them non-stop since. Now, I would never condone wearing the normal Crocs... but these are comfy as all get-out. They were perfect after my pedicure and later when I was in my garden. LOVE them!

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy birthday, sis! I hope you have had a wonderful day!
And for you readers... I can't believe you didn't call me out on posting a Wedding Wednesday on a Thursday! It took me ages to realize.

Wedding Wednesday: One Month Countdown

You may have noticed my posts are a bit lacking lately. I'm blaming it on the craziness that has become the countdown. We're trying to get as much stuff marked off the to-list now to keep me sane closer to. As of today, we have exactly one month until our wedding day!

I plan to make the next four Wedding Wednesday posts "Not My Dress" posts. I know I've kept you in suspense, so I'm going to tick off those dresses on the board I posted eons ago and show you some of the ones that aren't my dress. I've seen this done on other blogs and thought it was a fun way to countdown. Plus... it's my way of giving up on those other dresses that I turned my back on. Oh... if only we could have them all!

Stay tuned... tomorrow, I'm going to show you what we were able to fashion out of that felt I bought on the last shopping excursion!

Happy Birthday...

Happy birthday, babe. I hope you have an amazing day!!

Tutorial: Water Bottle Labels

I didn't forget my promise to show you how to create your own water bottle labels. And, I'm finally making good on that promise! Here are a few tips before you begin:
*Aquafina labels can be harder to remove. Brands with paper labels are bit easier to remove.
*Find some fun graphic paper to use.
*Pick up a Xyron! This is my version-- Xyron 500.

*Get a paper cutter... preferably one that cuts to at least 12". Most graphic paper comes in 12" x 12" pieces, so you want to be able to easily cut the paper to 8.5" x 11".

First you'll want to remove all labels from the bottles.

Then, you will need to create a template for the water bottle labels.
*Open a Microsoft Word document
*Select Tools at the top of the screen
*Select Letters and Mailings
*Select Envelopes and Labels
*Select Options
*Under Label Products, select Other/Custom
*Create a New Label using these requirements:

• Page size: 8.5" x 11"
• Top margin: 0.39"
• Side margin: 0.39"
• Vertical Pitch: 1.5"
• Label Height: 1.5"
• Label Width: 8"
• Number Across: 1
• Number Down: 7

*Name the new template

Once you've created your template, you can begin inserting your text. Then, print! Now that you've printed your sheets of labels, you can begin the Xyron portion of the project. For the Xyron model I have, you can only run sheets that are 5" wide at a time. {They do make larger versions, but they're obviously more expensive.} I use my Fiskars paper cutter to cut the labels in three sections-- two that are just under 5 inches and one that is just one label wide. Once your sections are cut, you can begin running your sheets through the Xyron.

You put the sheet into one end of the Xyron.
As you "guide" from that side, you turn the handle on the side of the machine. The sheet will come through the other side.
Once you've reached the end of your sheet, you rip the section off. You'll see that the paper now has an adhesive backing.

I cut off one end of the backing that sticks out past the paper, so the edge will be flush with the original sheet you ran through the machine. By doing this, you'll have one straight edge to use to cut the sheet into "labels" with your paper cutter. If you don't have a paper cutter, then you can measure each side and make a line in which to cut using scissors.

Once you've created your labels, you will peel off the backing. You will want to place the label on the bottle from the middle and work your way out to make it as straight as possible.

Then, you're done!

{Note that you will have little strip sections once you've done the larger sections from your original sheets. You can run those through the same way.}

This process really is a snap!

I Was Showered... Now I've Been Splashed!

This post is long overdue. The lovely Jessica of Mason Jar Bride 'splashed' me with an award two weeks ago! I've been reading her blog for a while (she had me at mason jar), so I was touched that she thought of me.

Here are the rules {which I tend not to follow}:

The Splash Award is given to alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive and inspiring blogs. When you receive this award you must:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post. *would I be a braggart?

2. Nominate up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you. *sure

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post. *no problem!

4. Let your nominees know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog. *nah

5. Remember to link to the person from whom you have received your Splash Award. *of course

Ok, so I'm not great at following blog award rules, but I do want to share some fun blogs that I just discovered today. It's amazing how quickly you can follow the blog vortex and find many, many more amazing bloggers. Without further ado:

KegDesign {she's getting married this weekend and is an amazing graphic designer; see proof of her gorgeous invites below-- LOVE}
Whirly Bird {a barn wedding... I love it}
Great Full Day {ruffles, Toms, design... who could ask for more?}
Simply Hue {eye candy and fun interviews}
Walking Around {beaucoup eye candy}

Check out their fun blogs if you haven't already!

Showered In Love

I'm back from my work trip in New Hampshire-- but I have to admit this whirlwind week has caught up with me. I'm beat. I did want to give you a sneak peek into my shower. Unfortunately, I don't have very many pics, but I do have some good ones.

BM Jen- Hostess

BM KA- HostessSPW- Hostess (The shower was hosted at her lovely home)

My other friend is getting married in August!

Can you guess who is in the pic with me and KA? That would be my lovely mother. ;) Only a slight resemblance. I had a great pic with my step-mom, but I don't have her permission to plaster her mug on the internet.

This was the last pic I got... which also happened to be the first gift I opened. Personally, I think you can never have enough throws... especially when you live in CO! I have to say Jen did an amazing job getting the details together. She had M&Ms created in our wedding colors... if you look closely, you can see our faces on them!! Too funny.
I got loads of compliments on my dress. While the hair trial didn't work out well that morning*, I did feel awfully gorgeous... and LOVED the pockets!

*The hair in the pics I did myself... after Mom helped me pull about 100 bobby pins out on the way home from the salon!

Leaving On a Jet Plane

Wow. This week has been a whirlwind. I cannot even begin to go into detail right now because I really should be packing! I'm headed to NH tomorrow morning-- bright and early-- and have not even begun packing. Yikes. Here's a very rushed recap

Fitting-- good!
Hail
Snow
Flat tire
Mani/Pedi
Unexpected hotel stay
Shower-- amazing!!
Best friends ever-- check. :)

I'll be back on Thursday!

Wedding Wednesday: Birch Cones

I'm stopping by briefly for a quick sneak peek into what I've been slowly working on. They're not as pretty as the Muscari ones, but I think they'll do!

Without further ado... our birch cones!
Sorry for the poor quality phone pic! I was in a hurry this morning. You might remember the birch I bought from this post. The cones tied with raffia are waiting to dry before I hot-glue them together. The birch was a bit thick and not as pliable as I'd hoped. So, I scored the birch with a box cutter before breaking them in two. Then, I soaked them in the kitchen sink for 4 days. Once I pulled them out, I twisted them into a cone shape and tied them with raffia. After they dried in that shape, I hot-glued the seams. Not bad, in my opinion! I'm making two for the flower girls and ten to hang on every other row during the ceremony.

Mom gets here shortly, so posting should be fairly light.

Crazy Lady Checking In

Hello, folks! Just checking in with a weekend update. I am utterly exhausted. It was a jam-packed weekend.

Last week, Jen texted me at 7:38 am asking if I still wanted the items I mentioned in this post. HECK YEAH!! She was nearly half-way to Salt Lake City already to pick up a new Westie puppy. I was excited to see her new family member and to finally have those cabinets in my little hands... without exorbitant shipping! When I stopped by Jen's to pick them up, I realized why shipping was so high. Each box weighed 75 pounds! J and I finished putting them together around 11pm on Thursday night. I have to be honest-- I wanted to stay up all night putting things away. Instead, I lined the drawers on Friday night with this (which I ended up not using to line the wedding envies.) On Saturday, I went nuts filling the drawers. I still have boxes of ephemera to go through, most of which will probably end up on Ebay. I'll let you know when I list items. I really need to de-stash! I'll post pics soon.

Yesterday, the time finally came to do what I mentioned in this post. I only got rained on for about a mile, and then I felt disgusting the rest of the time. My sweat crystalized on my skin to give me a nice funk. :) My time wasn't anything spectacular, but I lacked a little something that would have helped: training. I'll be honest. I only ran three times before Sunday. Each time for no more than 40 minutes. If nothing else, I'm consistant! One of these years my body won't let me get away with that. I'm thinking that year will be sooner rather than later.

Afterward, J and I drove "up north" (a place we call North Routt, aka the northern part of Routt County-- we live in South Routt, which is a good hour from "up north") for KA's daughter's first birthday party. The sitting for the drive and sitting for the party did nothing for my legs. We stayed for two hours before making the trek back home.... where I promptly went to bed-- at 7:30. I didn't get up until 6:30 this morning. I think I needed it!

When I got home from work today, I had every intention of writing up a water bottle tutorial. But-- I promptly cut my thumb while trying to open a package from my grandma. I decided that the labels would look better without blood on them. Don't you agree? I could do a quick tutorial without pictures, but that's no fun.

This week is going to be a busy one. Tomorrow, I work at Weight Watchers. Then, Wednesday night, I pick my mom up at the airport! YAY. I am beyond excited. Why is Mom coming to town? We're going to my dress fitting in Denver on Thursday, and my shower is on Saturday! Not only that... I have my hair trial, too. There is a lot of excitement this week. It makes the wedding seem so real now! Time is truly flying.

Officially Off My Rocker (aka How I Became a Stalker)

Let it be known... I am officially off my rocker. This morning, I decided to turn crazy. That's right. I'm admitting it now. On the way in to work today, I decided to follow someone... all the way to his work. I then preceded to get out of my car and walk up to the nice man, who didn't realize he'd meet a whack job before work today. Why did I approach the man? Let me give you a glimpse into our conversation:

NiceMan: Hi, crazy lady. Can I help you?
Crazy Lady: I apologize for scaring the bejeezus out of you, Nice Man. I've been following you since Stagecoach (a good 25 miles). I'm getting married next month and was wondering if you would rent me your fun green car.
Nice Man: Sure! But actually, I'm supposed to sell my car to someone in Glenwood Springs tomorrow, but he's been acting fickle. When and where are you getting married? Here's my name and phone number. Call my wife on Monday to see what we can work out.
Crazy Lady: Thank you (insert now known name)! I could kiss you.
Nice Man: That's probably not a good idea.
Crazy Lady: (thinking to herself while driving the rest of the way to work) I'm not a crazy lady. You can do it if you try. V-I-C-T-O-R-Y. I'm not a crazy lady.
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Want to see the car? You know I took a stalkerish picture while driving behind him!! It's a vintage green Volvo that's rounded. Please forgive that most of the pic is of my dash. I was driving, for goodness' sake! :)

RSVP Countdown

With less than two weeks until our RSVP date, I'm starting to keep track of the yeses and the nos. I'm actually surprised we've gotten back as many as we have. The first RSVP was received three days after the invites were sent!! We sent out 89 invitations. As of yesterday, we had received 26 replies. Not bad! Eight of them were nos... none that we weren't expecting. The yeses amounted to 37 people. YIKES. The number will grow exponentially, I expect. I couldn't just trash the beautiful RSVPs (or their pretty green envies, either) once they came in. What did I do with them?
I put them up on the wall to look at every time we walk through the door! They're on a Pottery Barn card/photo holder that has come in quite handy over the years. See something that doesn't quite look like the others? Yep... that was a last minute invite. We had exactly enough green envies for those on our list, and then J remembered someone that had been left off the list. Doh! They were one of the first to RSVP-- with a no. We are extremely understanding of the nos and were expecting many of them. The one that really disappointed me-- my grandparents. If J and I had married last year, then they would have been able to make it. Unfortunately, we didn't, and they have seriously declined in health since. It's truly devastating to me, but I know there is nothing I can do about it. I am extremely close with them and wish that the circumstances were different. I have to remember... it is what it is (my dad's favorite saying)!

Were you surprised with any no responses?

What a Day!

Today is a big day. It's my step-dad's birthday. The most recent family pic is not a great one and is missing one brother, but I'm posting it anyway. Happy birthday, Pop! Every year on his birthday "week", he takes a solo camping trip. I hope he's hiking up a storm.


The other reason it's a big day-- my niece, Abigail, is having surgery. It's a very last minute thing and took me quite by surprise. Ever since birth, she has been getting ear infections. My sister has been taking her in to the doctor for what seems like an eternity trying to figure out why Abi keeps getting them. The doctor thought my sister was a lunatic. Finally, my step-dad suggested she take her in to see his friend instead. Immediately, they realized things weren't "normal" as the pediatrician kept insisting. Abi has a pressure build-up in her head and has now stopped lying down all together-- not even to get her diaper changed. Tomorrow, they will go in to try to relieve the pressure and insert tubes. It's crazy to me to think of my little pumpkin having to go through surgery! I will be thinking of her non-stop tomorrow, and I hope you will, too. Happy thoughts need to be sent her way to make sure she comes through with great results! Unfortunately, Pop is out of cell range and has no idea what's going on. I know he would be running right back if he knew.

Did I Forget?

Nope- I haven't forgotten the water bottle tutorial. Unfortunately, life got in the way. I have to say that I got so excited about the programs that I started working on them on Monday night. Can you say DIY ADD? :) And, I ran out of water bottles and haven't gotten back to the store to get more. With working at Weight Watchers on Tuesday nights, I feel like there aren't enough days (or nights!) in the week. I hope to have the post ready for you by Tuesday. Sorry for the build-up!