Wedding Ring... and A Surprise

I have some great news. J picked out a wedding ring! It took him ages to actually go down to the jeweler to try some on and determine his size. I was a bit anxious to get more line items checked off the to-do list, so I've been a bit of a nag about it. With the 4-month countdown on, he finally felt the pressure. Without further ado--
He went with a tungsten carbide ring from Superior Wedding Rings. They offer both men's and women's rings in platinum, titanium, tungsten, palladium and gold. While we were at it, we managed to talk Kyle at Superior Wedding Rings into allowing me to do a giveaway-- a tungsten band up to $120 (in honor of my upcoming 400th post, natch)! To win, you must visit their site and leave a comment here telling me which ring you would pick. To get extra entries, become a follower of this blog AND link back to this contest on your blog. I will announce the winner on next week's Wedding Wednesday post. Happy browsing!

Wedding Wednesday: Flower Girls

I realized that I never shared with you the full flower girl ensemble. What a more fitting day to share than today-- as it's our 4-month countdown mark!

Gap had an in-store only coupon for 30% off, so I finally felt like I could splurge on the flower girls' shoes. (They were originally $26.50.) My niece loved the shoes so much that she got upset when my step-mom said they had to come to Aunt Abbie's house! The dresses that I picked up from JCrew for the flower girls were big enough that they can wear them again.
Because the dresses are so darn nice, I thought it might be a good idea to get the girls another more playful outfit to change into for the reception. I had nearly forgotten that I had picked up tutus for the girls way back in August last year! (That's the trouble with buying things so far in advance-- you forget!) So, each girl will wear a different colored tutu-- one in brown, one in turquoise, and one in chartreuse. Those aren't exactly our colors, but I really don't care-- I already had them and didn't want to pay any more than I already had. The girls can't wear tutus alone-- so I stopped at Old Navy when I was out of town last month, and picked up white tops and shorts to wear with them. For a visual-- here is a picture I found a bit ago that gives you an idea of how cute the look can be.

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Is this not the cutest thing? I'm almost as excited about the second outfit as I am about the first!

Helpful Sites

Over the weekend, I stumbled upon a few helpful sites. Whether you're planning a wedding or just a natural DIY kind of girl, both of these websites will have you jumping for joy!

Rippedsheets is a great site for many different labels, paper, hangtags... you name it! The website isn't as user-friendly as I'd like (or pretty for that matter), but it has beaucoup products.

If you love (free) fonts as much as I do, this site will make you grin ear-to-ear. Click on the free fonts icon for a quick and easy font install. I have downloaded more than 150 amazing (free) fonts in the past five months and have been using them for everything under the sun. I did notice that a couple of these were dupes of ones I already had, but many were not. If you need help downloading free fonts or are looking for sites, shoot me an email. I'd be glad to help!

Have fun browsing! If you've found other sites, feel free to share here!

Music to My Ears

Ever since Mara posted this, I've been going back for more time and time again. I love this version... and can not seem to stop belting it out at the top of my lungs.


Have you found any amazing songs that are even more wonderful live? Share!

Blogging Break...

My blogging break is somewhat over. I have to admit-- it was very freeing. I've been in a state of exhaustion lately. Honestly, I've not only been planning our wedding, but I've also been helping another friend with hers. I'm helping another friend start her own business, too. Last week, I was not home before 8 a single night. I can not say that there won't be more blogging breaks in the next few months because I can tell you right now that there will be. I can tell you that I'll be back to blogging this week, but I am definitely going to cut back on my posts for a bit. Posting every day was killing me! I know you all understand... and I do appreciate your continued readership and comments! Thanks for sticking with me!

Brief Interruption...

I know I just this morning said I was taking the week off, but I had to interrupt the break to tell you... our friends eloped, i.e. told not a single, solitary soul they were getting married. They just freakin' went and did it! How ballsy... I briefly mentioned it to J a year ago, and he agreed that our parents would kill us. I just HAD to tell you. CRAZY!! Okay... back to my break.

Taking Care of Business...

I am taking a much needed break from blogging this week. I am a bit overwhelmed right now, so I think the best thing is to take a step back and breathe. Thanks for your understanding! I'll see you next week!

Fabulous Shoe Friday

If I weren't so enamored by the colored-shoe trend, I would think about these (very inexpensive) beauties for the wedding! I love that the ankle strap is removable.

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How Cool...

How cool is it that my coworker is getting married right this second in St. Croix? I wish I were there! She's orginally from there, so she has 150 wedding guests. I'm thinking of her, as I trudge through the snow.

Weight Watchers Wednesday

I didn't gain or lose at Weight Watchers this week, but I still left with an unsettling feeling in my stomach. After 8 years of "leading", our group leader has given her resignation to Weight Watchers. Her back-up that is replacing her can only hold meetings on Tuesday nights. Because of the schedule change, two of the meeting volunteers had to quit volunteering. Weight Watchers has told the new leader that if she doesn't find 4 volunteers (which have to be at goal AND meet WW "standards"-- whatever that means), then our local Weight Watchers chapter will have to close. I am so bummed. There have been several new members start within the past couple of weeks, and I know that I would be devastated if I just decided to take on this huge challenge to find out that the help I finally asked for was no longer available. It just breaks my heart. I'm thankful that I found WW when I did, but I feel awful for those who are just now trying to fight that battle. I have offered up my time, but I have to hear back from WW about my application. We'll see what happens.

Now... on to this week's recipe:

Classic Shepherd's Pie

Was POINTS® Value: 9 Now POINTS® Value: 5 Servings: 6 Preparation Time: 25 min Cooking Time: 42 min Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Seasoned meat and vegetables are nestled under creamy mashed potatoes and then baked to form a sensational, savory pie.

Ingredients

	2 large potato(es), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
	1/4 cup(s) fat-free sour cream
	1 tbsp reduced-calorie margarine
	1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
	2 tsp olive oil
	1 cup(s) onion(s), chopped
	2 medium carrot(s), diced
	2 medium stalk(s) celery, diced
	1 pound(s) uncooked ground turkey breast
	3 tbsp all-purpose flour
	1 tbsp rosemary, fresh, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
	1 tsp dried thyme
	1/2 tsp table salt
	1/4 tsp black pepper
	2 cup(s) canned chicken broth, or beef broth

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400ºF.
  
  
• Place potatoes in a large saucepan and pour in enough water to cover potatoes. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain potatoes, transfer to a large bowl and add sour cream and margarine; mash until smooth, season to taste with salt and set aside.
  
  
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add turkey and cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Add flour, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; stir to coat. Add broth and bring to a simmer; simmer until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.
  
  
• Transfer turkey mixture to a 9-inch, deep-dish pie plate. Spread mashed potatoes over top and using the back of a spoon, make decorative swirls over the top. Bake until potatoes are golden, about 30 minutes. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.

Enjoy!