The Guy Behind the Blog {{Birthday Edition}}

I thought I'd give you all a glimpse into the life of my mister since it's his birthday! For a few weeks he is officially 10 years older than me, so he is officially gray balls.

He likes to think of himself as a man of fashion. 

He has had a lifetime to perfect his I hate photos face. 

Unless he is the one taking the photo. Nope. Still there. 

He is a professional drunken beaver wrangler. 

He is an amazing big brother. Soon to be an amazing Uncle. 

He LOVES to scuba dive. He spent 10 years as a dive instructor and dive master. 

He is actually from St. Louis, but learned to love the Royals. First, because the wife loved them. Next, because they are great. 

He is one of the goofiest, kind, giving, caring people. He is the best Hubs. 

Happy Birthday, Boothang! 

From Ms. to Mrs. {{Getting Ready & Photos}}

The day of the wedding, I got up and worked out, loaded my car (cough, Jen's car I didn't have a car, cough) full of food in coolers, and off we went to the venue to help set up and decorate. Mostly, I just did what my Mom told me to do. It's safer that way. I was so incredibly lucky that many of my parent's good friends, my family and my two good friends came to help with all this. At 2pm, Jen, Kala, and I went to the hotel to get ready.

This is the only photo from the hotel time. We didn't have a photographer during this time and I got ready with Jen and Kala.  Leslie from Classically Chic Designs did our hair and makeup. My mom also came and got her hair done after a bit. The girls and I ordered pizza, listened to guilty pleasure music and had fun! My goal was to have big, bouncy hair with lots of volume, so I totally used clip in extensions. I also wanted to make sure my eyes popped and my makeup stayed on all day, so I had air brushed makeup done and lashes applied. You guys, if you ever are on the fence about extensions, air brush makeup, or false lashes JUST DO IT! They are all totally worth it and make a huge difference. 

At 5pm, Gabriel showed up so that we could go take photos with Barbara Danielle. 

My bouquet is something I will keep forever. I made it. Blood, sweat, and a whole lot of hot glue later I had a bouquet that I love. 

Our bling. This is also one of my favorite photos. Gabriel did such a good job picking out my rings. For his, he chose a brushed platinum band. 

I really loved the time that Gabriel and I had taking photos, we just walked around Westport and it was really easy going. We didn't have any specific shots that we wanted, so much as we wanted pictures of each other having fun. 

(Kissing is fun, right?!)

This was a candid shot as I was doing touchups. It is such a great picture because that's my dad standing in the reflection of the mirror. How cool is that?! 

What's your favorite wedding photo?

From Ms. to Mrs. {{Venue and Decor, pt 2}}

I already told ya'll that I wanted my wedding to be vintage chic style, with a focus on Lavendar, Mint, and Grey as my colors... but I didn't tell ya'll that the ballroom of Morning Glory had ORANGE walls. So, my mom pulled off a miracle and made it all come together effortlessly.

In the Venue and Decor part 1 post, you guys got to see the bottom floor and guest book table. Here is the rest of the decor in the entry way where the guest book was located.

(P.S. You can thank me for the nakey baby photos later)

My Dad made these initials out of old Readers Digest books! We now have them in our house.

To the right of the entryway, was a sitting room. This is where we had a candy buffet and took some photos before the ceremony. 

I adore this picture. I sometimes stare at is just because I can. 

 We are both sugar addicts and had to do a candy buffet. I actually ate zero food and snacked from this during the party.

In the ballroom, we kept it simple. The piano was covered with lace and became our card/gift table, my dad made these huge paper pom pom displays for the faux windows, we hung paper lanterns from the chandeliers, and every single table had a different center piece. Every single table. No joke. It was fabulous. 

One wall had faux windows, so we wanted to cover them with festive decor. Enter in my ultra handy father, who made these 6 foot tall paper pom displays for each window. 

There were two huge, long wooden buffets that we used for food, booze, and the cake/cupcakes. 

This pretty little spot separated the booze from the nonalcoholic beverages. 

We kept all the wine and beer in these super cute tubs that had burlap bows attached. 

To hold the beer, we had koozies for our guests to take home. This was one of the items that I had to have. I love koozies and feel like they are useful gifts that people will use later. At one point, we ran out of beer and my Dad had to do a liquor store run to go buy more! After that we had too much and sent a case home with the DJ. Best tip ever. 

What party favors did you all use? What unique touches did you have at your wedding?

Weekend in Review {{12.1.14}}

I'm sure we all did essentially the same thing this past weekend- ate a lot of food and saw family. That's what we did too. So instead of writing all about it I'll just give you some photos.

I lied, these two photos are from last weekend. I like to make G take selfies and told him he HAD to take a birthday selfie, so he indulged me.

This is Gabriel and his dad, Big Poppa. We went out to Capital Grille last weekend to celebrate their birthdays. 

Our Thanksgiving feast may have been a little different than most people. We decided to go with filet, crab legs, skrimp, and other yummy foods that aren't traditionally served. Best. Decision. Ever.

These were my meager offerings. I love to make bruschetta it is super easy and healthy! 

We then went to the Plaza for their annual lighting ceremony. Even though I have lived in KC my entire life, I don't remember ever having been for a lighting ceremony.

Gabriel, myself, and my Uncle Marty. Marty hosted our Thanksgiving wonderfulness. 

After the lighting ceremony, we went to the local neighborhood bar. And everyone had a hang over the next day, except for me. Turns out, shots of fireball will do that to you. 

Did you do anything super fun for the holiday?

Friday is Here!

IT'S FRIDAY! YAY! 

So, in other news- yesterday was my main squeezes birthday. What did we do you ask? We had Chipotle and both got off work late. BAM. This weekend we are going to a fancy dinner with his parents, which is always a good time. I still can't decide what to wear, so I am going to be doing one of two things-- 1) shopping for a new outfit. 2) doing ALL THE LAUNDRY. I have a feeling you can all guess what I am leaning towards. If you've got any good outfits pinned on Pinterest LET ME KNOW! SHARE THEM!  I'll try and remember to take photos.

Here's what my boo thang got for his birthday from me:

North Face Etip Gloves // Stephen King's Revival 

*side note: used my Swagbucks to buy the gloves on Amazon and got them on the super cheap! 

I have a feeling this is what our weekend is going to look like besides going out on Saturday. It's what most of our weekends look like, actually.

What are your super fun plans for this weekend? Share!

Laying Low and Happy Birthday!

Ya'll I've been laying low and I have to say it's been pretty relaxing. I have been trying to prioritize and make sure that I have my head on straight so that I can be the best me all the time. So far, I think it's working. We haven't been doing much of anything it's been sooo cold here, Gabriel had hand surgery last week, and we've both had a baby cold going on so it's been hibernation season the past week or so.

Whose birthday is it you ask?! It's my boo thangs! Happy anniversary of the day your momma pushed you out, G! For the next month or so, he will be 10 years older than me. I've gotta tell you, for him being old balls, he's got it going on. We aren't doing anything tonight, but on Saturday we're doing the fancy night out with his parents to celebrate both Gabriel and his father's birthdays. Maybe, I'll actually remember to take pictures of us looking good.



Let's all sing "Happy Birthday" to my hubs, Gabriel. I'm sure he would love that.

From Ms. to Mrs.

We are officially hitched! I went from Ms. to Mrs. I will definitely be sharing more with you. It was a ton of work, but more than worth it. We went pretty simple in terms of food and drinks, so that helped. We just did fruit, veggies, bread, cheese, meat, and shrimp. Oh, and wine and beer. Gotta have your priorities. Since we don't have any of the photographer's photos yet, I'll just tease you with pictures my friends took.

Oh, and you know I gotta throw in some of the boxers :) We took the dogs to the dog pound on Friday and picked them up on Monday. Can you tell they get abused and tortured while there? I got my Mrs. tank from Bridal Bliss Couture! It has the cutest little grey bow in the back, which is perfect because lavender, mint, and gray were my wedding colors. 

Gabriel thinks I was staring at Rebecca, our officiant, the entire time. I beg to differ, this pic shows I was doing the ugly cry the entire time. While they (and everyone watching) laughed at me. With no shame. 

I love this moment that my friend caught. I think it was one of the only moments I wasn't trying not to cry. This is my favorite tablescape with the mint colored C, lantern, and all the pretty things. 

I have to give my bff Jen mad props, since my car blew up 2 weeks ago (that's another story) she has helped me TREMENDOUSLY with being able to coordinate and get ready for the wedding. She has been the best friend that anyone could ask for. 

Our officiant, Rebecca from True Hearts Weddings, was amazing. If you are looking to get hitched in the KC area, I highly recommend her. She was flexible, funny, and overall NICE! 

My friend, Amanda, caught this candid moment of us standing and talking to each other. I love this pic so much. 

And here is a sneak peak of a photo that our photographer took. Since we did not have a separate ceremony and reception, we took our photos prior to everything starting. Which I loved, since that meant I had fresh hair and makeup. I am so excited to see more of our pictures.