More dressies!!!

Last week, my MOH, Jenny, and I went to our local mall just for something to do and ended up searching for flower girl dresses. We looked at sears first and ended up getting distracted by the adorable infant clothes. Then we went to Macy's. I figured we wouldn't really find anything because Macy's is a bit expensive in my opinion (at least for a girl on a fast-food minimum-wage budget like me). We were looking for a dress that looked similar to the ones I had found online. If you remember from an earlier post of mine, they were kind of buttery yellow with white accents. All we were finding were bright highlighter yellow dresses. Nothing really that we liked.

But then my wonderful bestest best MOH ever spotted something among the racks. It was the only one, just HAPPENED to be a size 5 and was ON SALE!!!!!!

And so I bought it on the spot. :)

Our adorable flowergirl will be wearing this adorable number, making her TWICE as adorable :)



Isn't it so cute?!??!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!?!??!

Here's some detail pictures.


The top


The bottom :)


The back.

And it was on sale for 8 dollars!! I think that is the shortest amount of time it's ever taken me to decide to buy something. EVER!!!

I showed Mike and he thinks it's so adorable :) SCORE!!

And the second dress...


A while back I was looking through my mom's avon book and saw this really really pretty white, eyelet dress. And so I recently decided that I needed to get it.

It came this morning and I'm going to wear it to my wonderful future-sister/bridesmaid's bridal shower today :)





Here's a detail shot



And just a picture I took that I thought was pretty.



I just really love this dress. I plan to wear it to the rehearsal dinner too :)

PRAYER REQUEST!!!

So the other day Mike was looking on Craigslist at apartments when he stumbled across, seriously, the MOST PERFECT APARTMENT WE'VE EVER FOUND!! It's a one bedroom with a dining room and a fireplace. It's all hardwood floors (which at first made me not so excited, but then he found out the tenant below that apartment is deaf. HA!) anyway, it's 450 a month, which is in our budget, and it's only 700 for first month and the deposit. Another rad thing is that it's in an AMAZING part of the city (Vandercook Park area) and seriously right across the street from my brother's apartment building :)

I had to work last night but Mike went to look at the apartment because he couldn't wait till today :) Plus I wanted him to go then so he could take pictures and talk to the woman. He said she was really nice and explained to him that there are a lot of people looking at the apartment :\ She was showing the place yesterday, today and tomorrow. We're talking probably ten families looking to live in this one apartment.

Mike and I took the application in to the woman instead of mailing it to her in hopes that that would give us some brownie points.

Seriously, this apartment is so amazing and we want it so so much. If you guys could keep us in your thoughts and prayers we would deeply appreciate it. We'll let you know if we get it or not.

I really shouldn't post pictures because that'll just bring my hopes up even more! But I can't help it :P


The living room. ADORABLE FIREPLACE!! Right? And you can kinda see into the dining room.


This would be our bedroom. Those windows are big and look wonderful :)


Here's the cute little bathroom


The dining room. Awesome little hutch cabinet right? AARGH I WANT IT SO BAD!!


the kitchen is little but we can always use the dining room as a makeshift kitchen


A view of the living room from the dining room.

And so you see why we need prayer. This is the apartment of our dreams. I know that it's only a one in ten chance but someone has to get it, right?

Rant.

It really bothers me how much weddings and marriages have lost their true meaning.

I'll admit, I'm one of those brides that have subscribed to half a million wedding blogs and sit for hours at a time reading blogs posted by other brides about projects and decorations and venues and flowers. But some of these posts are RIDICULOUS!

It seems these days that weddings are all about trying to make it the least bit "weddingy" as possible. Get rid of as many traditions as possible. "I don't want to wear a pretty dress, I want to wear jeans and a sweatshirt". "I don't want my dad to walk me down the aisle cuz it makes me feel like a piece of property." "I want there to be an epic light saber battle in the middle of the ceremony." COME ON PEOPLE! Have you forgotten what a wedding is about?

Have you forgotten the seriousness, the specialness of getting married? Not anymore apparently. It seems to me, that weddings are almost becoming a joke. Or a contest. For so many it's no longer about "the man leaving his family to cleave unto his wife, making their two lives become one." Now it's, this couple living together will make everything legal but they decided that she wants to keep her last name and he wants to keep his.

What's even the point anymore? I mean, I'm against living together without being married. But it seems like making a joke out of your wedding is just as much a slap in the face as not getting married at all.
Where's the excitement of finally getting to be with the one you love forever? You've already been living together for half a year.

Some traditions are traditions because they make a wedding, a wedding. Sure, some are a little ridiculous (like the something old, something new...) but others are meaningful. Like the father walking his daughter down the aisle. Or exchanging rings as a symbol of your never-ending promise to love each other. Though that promise seems to be the most broken these days. Speaking of which, when did your "no" mean "no" and your "yes" start meaning "maybe"? Why is this a promise that's so hard to keep? Two that become one, don't break off into two again. One becomes two halves, struggling to become one with someone else. That only makes one and a half. Which then could become a fourth....anyway. You get my point. If we were meant to go from marriage to marriage, we'd have those little memory erasers like they do in Men In Black. Or bounce back like those memory foam mattresses.

I don't know. All I'm saying is that I've seen what marriage and weddings have come to these days. It's like we're trying to take God completely out of the picture. HE MADE MARRIAGE!
I'm going to make it my goal to glorify Him in our wedding. Not us.

This is something that just really bothers me. If I offended anyone, I'm sorry. But I should be able to voice my own opinion on my own blog.

Day of Accessories

I suppose a lot of brides spend their entire engagement looking for just the right shoes, or the perfect necklace that will compliment the dress, or those perfect earrings. For me? When I dress up, I would rather me in the dress be the focal point and not a blingy necklace and giant earrings. That's just me. Some girls can totally pull that kind of thing off.

It's just not a mandatory thing to me.

Heck, in eleventh grade I rocked my pink fuzzy slippers to our winter formal and I was wearing this bombshell of a dress :)



But no one would have ever guessed.

And as you can see, I didn't pair it with some big necklace. I have a piece of black ribbon tied around my neck. That was the gist of my accessories for the night. (As well as my awesome purple extensions.)

But then I've never been a big accessories kind of person.

I have four piercings in my ears and I barely ever wear earrings. The only rings I wear are my purity rings, engagement ring and ring from my dad. And I wear this beautiful heart necklace that Mike got me for my birthday last year. Really, I only wear things because of the sentimental value.

And so, on my wedding day, I'm taking the all-natural approach :) For the most part. I suppose I'll be a bit more dressy than normal.

Apart from the giant white dress I'll be wearing, my accessories will be limited.

Obviously, I'll be wearing my engagement ring, but my other rings will be safely at home in a jewelry box or something.

For the sole reason of not wanting to have gaping holes in my ears (I used to have my first holes gauged so they are slightly bigger than the other ones) I will be wearing these adorable little gems



Okay so there aren't really any gems in them...but they are cute aren't they? I spent about five dollars. At Claires. Big spender, I know.

I just couldn't bring myself to buy some hundred dollar pair of earrings that I'll maybe wear once or twice a year.


And I'm still debating on if I want to wear my heart necklace from Mike.


It's absolutely beautiful and I love how it looks on, but I also love the look of not wearing any necklace. I'm still not sure. I'll see what Mike thinks.

When it comes to shoes, I'm going to wear the best kind out there. And they're completely free! 100% organic, with the cutest little embellishments.

My feet :)

Yup, I'm gonna be a barefoot bride. So I'm hoping that no sticks or pokey plants or bees try to get in my way. Cuz I don't want to be stumbling down the aisle.

Like I said, I love the natural look. Hair down, not much makeup (if there is any, it's to enhance the bride's natural beauty) I'd even go so far as to say that I want to be a hippie bride :)



Just kidding. I don't think Mike would go for that.

Here's what I want hair wise.











So there you go. I guess that kind of gives you the idea of what kind of bride I am. Or something like that.

Though it will take about three cans of hairspray to make my hair look anything close to those pictures.

Our Soudtrack

I thought I would let all my readers (if there are that many) know the song list for the day.

First the ceremony:

Our processional will walk in to "Divine Romance" by Phil Wickham



This song, in my opinion, is the perfect mood for our outside wedding :) And it gives me chills just listening to it. Not to mention all these songs now get me a bit emotional whenever I hear them because of what they mean (our wedding day)


The song I am walking down the aisle to is a song that Mike wrote for me for our first Valentines Day. It is called "For Lost Sleep". It was meant to be a lullaby to help me because I had trouble falling asleep at night. Those of you who haven't already heard it, will not be hearing it until I'm walking down the aisle. I want everyone to get the full effect and I'm almost completely positive that all eyes will be filled with tears by this point. It truly is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.

While we sign our marriage certificate, pray and do the unity sand, the song "I Have and I Always Will" by Dave Barnes will play. It is a duet between and bride and groom on their wedding day.




And then when Mike and I are leaving again, we will be exiting to a different part of the song he wrote for me. A pretty awesome remake of it with an intense build up but, once again I must inform you, you have to wait until the day of :)


On to the reception:

I don't really think there will be a song to announce us. First, because our DJ won't be coming until an hour into the reception, and second, because the reception is like...100 yards away from the ceremony. So we're prolly going to go straight there.

and so...

The bouquet toss and garter toss songs are still toss ups....okay I know that was lame. But anyway, moving on.

Mike's and my first dance :)

We will be dancing our first dance to "You and Me" by Lifehouse. This song has been significant in our relationship since like....week 2 when we both heard it and were like "best love song ever!". It became his ringtone and he covered it and gave me a cd with that and the song he wrote for me :) and we also danced to it at my sister's reception and it brought tears to my eyes.



and I know that this may be a somewhat popular song for a first dance, actually I didn't know that until Mike told me that his best friend, Kyle, who is getting married next month, is dancing with his bride-to-be to that song. I hope they don't think we're trying to steal it :P


My Dad and I will then be dancing to, I'm sure you've all heard it on Tarzan, "You'll Be In My Heart" by Phil Collins. I just so absolutely love this song :)




I'm not sure yet what Mike wants to dance to with his mother. I'm not even sure if they have talked about it. But when we figure out a song I will let you know.


My grandpa and I will be dancing together as well. He has been a very important role model in my life. Him and I have always had a very special bond, being exactly fifty years apart. So I really wanted to honor him with a dance. We'll be dancing to "The Way You Look Tonight" by Tony Bennett



A funny story: when I was looking for a song for the two of us to dance to, I stumbled across this one. I wasn't sure if grampa had ever heard it so I asked him on facebook if he had ever heard of "The Way You Look Tonight" by Tony Bennett. He responded by telling me that it was one of his favorites and he listens to it every night after gramma goes to bed. What are the odds?!



I'm not sure what song will play when we cut our cake. There are a few that we have yet to figure out, but you get the gist of it.

Whenever I listen to these songs, I can't help but close my eyes and imagine our magical day. And it always makes me smile and get tears in my eyes.

only 104 days :) We'll soon be hitting the double digits :)

to DIY Four: Our Cardbox

To DIY Four....like to die for...but DIY...and the number four....

I THOUGHT IT WAS CLEVER!!


Anyway, so as you can see, this post is all about our cardbox and how FREAKIN AWESOME IT IS!!!

I'll start from the beginning..

Mike and I were at Intermission last night (you know, the place it all began) and I was on the computer just quickly checking my google reader when I came across this rad cardbox idea from Offbeatbride.com.





Mike saw this and was like "We have to make this!"

And so, we left Intermission and went to Lowes to buy a mailbox.

very similar to this one here.




Then it was off to Walmart where we bought the rest of the supplies:

- a black fuzzy pillow
- styrofoam balls
- white cardstock


We had to stop at safeway to get a record-your-own-message card. I'll explain that a little later.

And then we got to work.




I ripped the black pillow apart so we could use the material to cover the mailbox.



The mailbox covered in fur.



I sewed parts of the pillow back together to create two arms and then we stuffed them with the stuffing from the pillow and put hanger wire in so they could be bendable.



Mike cut out the teeth and painted the eyes.






The finished product...almost.

And this is what it does when you open it.




I have to say I'm pretty impressed and proud of our mad skillz. :)

I just hope it doesn't scare the children.

The Ring(s)

I've always thought that the idea of the promise ring was a cute idea. It's like a pre-engagement engagement ring. A ring to wear when you two know that right now you are too young to get married, but you know you want to get married, and that says I'M IN LOVE, I'M IN LOVE AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT! (anyone get the Elf reference?)

So, anyway, a loooonng time ago. Like last April (as in last year in April) Mike mentioned that he didn't really get promise rings. He had the same idea I did about it being a pre-engagement engagement ring, he just thought it was kinda pointless instead of romantic like I thought. Hmmm. I didn't really mind that much. I just wouldn't be one of those girls with a promise ring.

Then our six-month anniversary rolled around.

Mike and I were driving somewhere. I don't really remember...OH WAIT! Yes I do :) We were going to blockbuster to buy my brother his birthday present. A giant movie poster for the Boondock Saints. Great movie, by the way.

Anyway, so actually, when we first got in the car to leave, Mike reached into his middle console and pulled out a ring box. He smiled and said "Happy 6 months." and opened it to reveal this very sweet present.



In case you can't see it, the outside says "True love waits" and the inside says "Mike & Shay"

Isn't he wonderful? And so, I had a promise ring. Mike says "No, it's a purity ring". I say that if a guy buys a girl a ring with their names engraved inside, it's a promise ring. So I just call it my promise/purity ring.

I love that it wasn't anything blingy, like an engagement ring. It was very sweet and simple.


Then at the one year and thirteen day mark, I got my second ring.




But you all know that story :)

Ironically, on the Fred Meyer Jewelers website, this ring is called a promise ring. COINCIDENCE! haha


So, now, onto the third ring.

My wedding ring.

Mike and I originally decided that my engagement ring would just double as my wedding ring. But the more I thought about it, and the more I saw pictures like these:









Just kidding about the last one. THOSE RINGS ARE GINORMOUS!


Anyway, I really love the look of the two rings together.

And so, I started looking at options for the wedding band.

As you can tell by the picture of my engagement ring, where the diamond sits is kind of a unique shape. it curves up and down and in an out...my point is, there aren't really any rings that would fit perfectly with my ring. I'm actually completely fine with that.

So here are the rings I've been looking at:






I've never been a blingy person, but I don't really think these are blingy rings. I love the look of diamonds all the way around. And the amazing thing is, these rings are pretty inexpensive. I haven't really talked to Mike about them yet, but my ringed fingers are crossed :)


So for the record, I still wear my promise ring.



There it is on my right hand along with the ring my Dad gave me, and the purity ring I wore before he gave me my promise/purity ring.



And there's the beauty on my left hand :)

Jumping the Gun

The other day, Mike texted me and asked me what I thought about us having a flower girl. I was hesitant at first because we had already decided that we weren't going to have a flower girl or ring bearer. It would save money (i.e. little mini tux and little mini dress) as well as parents wouldn't have to worry about their little kiddos during the ceremony.

He was referring to this little girl that goes to the daycare he works at named Audrey.

Her parents go to the church Mike used to attend and he house sits for them a couple times every year, so he knows the family pretty well.

Still I was kind of hesitant....until I started imagining things like this...










And started absolutely loving the idea.


Then I got a little ahead of myself.

As in Mike hasn't even asked Audrey's mom yet if she could be our flower girl..

But come on..LOOK AT THESE!!!











Picture one of those, on this adorable little girl..



That's her with Mike about a year ago.



So you can see why I would be doing this now. And I'm hoping this actually happens :P Cuz if it doesn't...then I just wasted an hour of my life. haha.

Do you wanna get married? Or run away...

Don't worry. I'm only quoting a Goo Goo Dolls song. Speaking of Goo Goo Dolls. Guess what Mike bought me for my birthday...

TICKETS TO SEE GOO GOO DOLLS LIVE IN KENNEWICK!!!! AAAAHHHH!!!!!!

That being said, Sunday, Mike and I went on a roadtrip to Idaho. Why, you ask? To get potatoes of course! And on the way back we stopped at the Goo Goo Dolls concert :)

I'm sure you're just DYING to hear all about it and see some pictures so, I will put an end to your suffering and go ahead and give you what you want.

We got up at 7 in the morning. Mike came and got me from my aunt and uncle's house where I was house sitting. We packed the cooler full of energy drinks and pb&j and headed for Idaho.


The cooler being guarded by our trusty cow friend.


About five minutes into the roadtrip, we realized the blinkers weren't working. So we had to pull off of the freeway and figure out what was wrong. Turns out the hazard lights button was on, so even though my hazard lights don't work, if the button is pushed, the blinkers don't work. Good to know.

Back on the road.


There was still snow up on White Pass. IN MAY!


My ipod died in Idaho and we still had the WHOLE trip home :P


These things were GINORMOUS!!!! I mean, look at the little itty bitty car!


We found the sunshine in eastern Washington :) That's where it's been hiding.


Even though we had like six pb&j sandwiches, we stopped here to get some good ol fashioned fast food.


Fluffy :)


and we MADE IT TO IDAHO!!


Land of the giant feathers...?


love love


Coeur D'Alene was a really pretty town. They even had a beach on the lake.





We had made it to Idaho by 3:16 that afternoon.


Mike won me a dolphin out of one of those fifty cent grabbers. And it only cost him a dollar fifty!


WE GOT TE POTATOEZ!


On the way to the concert I slept....surprise.


yay :)


Bigger Yay!





After the concert, Mike and I found a rest stop and made chicken burgers :)
It was around midnight.


By this point, Mike had been driving almost eighteen hours, I was asleep, and he was trying to stay awake.


It didn't help that we hydroplaned most of the way home :P


So there you go. Our awesome 19 hour roadtrip. We prolly won't be having one again until after the wedding and when we've been able to save up some money.

3 months, 23 days, 1 hour, 36 minutes and 40 seconds. 39 seconds. 38 seconds...


This roadtrip was my favorite by far. I so love spending time with Mike :) and being able to make these kinds of memories is a blessing to me :)

Enjoy your week!
And to those of you whose houses we visited last night, enjoy your potato :)