Happy Bearthday

Today is "Earth Day" and it's also my Birthday!


So, Happy Earth Day to everyone, and Happy Birthday to me. :)

Do you ever...

Do you ever just get an itch to move away for a little bit?

Well... I do.


Which is funny, because it's never happened before. Not this much at least.


I think it'd be fun to live here:

south carolina

virginia (oh yes... I would love it here)

 the oregon coast?

lexington, kentucky 

Have you ever wanted to move away? Where have you thought about living? 

Weekly Wedding Planning Tips

Hello everyone! Right now I am on Spring Break (no work! yippee!) and I suddenly have alllll this extra time. I am seriously bored. When I am bored I start planning parties.

Right now I am planning a "Royal Treatment" Night for the Young Women and their moms. We will be doing facials made from ingredients found right at home...  it will be a chance for moms and daughters to "beautify" themselves and relax....thus they will be getting a "royal treatment...." We are trying to tie in a princess theme with it... still working on that one without it being too complicated.

Since I have some extra time on my hands, I am going to give you some wedding planning tips.... according to the Wedding Planning Gospel of Annie.

First of all, I want to say that I totally and completely believe that you can have a beautiful wedding on a tight budget. Sure, money helps, but there are many things you can do to cut back on costs and still have a wedding you love. Here are my tips:

1. Get married on a weekday! Prices for many reception centers are less expensive on Mon. - Thurs. nights because everyone wants to book the weekends. If you have family coming in from out of town this is a little bit harder to do... but it can save you a lot!

2. Read between the lines.  What do I mean by this? When you are looking at reception centers and you read a contract and see that big number at the bottom.... read the WHOLE contract and see what renting the venue includes. Are linens, silverware, dinnerware, floral arrangements, food, a wedding cake... etc. included in the price? Let me tell you now, it can be SUCH a pain renting your own linens, dinnerware, silverware... etc. and it can add up. Many people think "Oh, I'll just have it in my grandma's backyard" thinking they'll save money that way... but if you have to rent tables, chairs, and everything else, it can cost way more than renting a reception center (and it is a huge head ache). So, look around and make sure you compare prices with rental companies and venues to make sure you're really saving. Sometimes it really is less expensive to go with your own vendors.. but make sure you take the time to compare!

3. Have simple, fresh flower arrangements instead of large ones.  Some people opt for using artificial flowers for arrangements so they can use more for less. Totally understandable... and artificial ones last longer right? yes... they do... but there is just something so pretty and elegant about fresh flowers. They add brightness and a fresh feel to a reception (and they smell great). So, instead of getting rid of fresh flowers, do a small, simple arrangement with two or three fresh flowers. Or even ONE.

I love this example. You can find old, colored vases from antique stores in your wedding colors and use that for your flowers. 

So, there are my wedding planning tips for the day. Do what you will with them. I'm sorry if you totally disagree with them... please don't send me mean comments.

Tampa

Here are some pictures from our trip to Tampa, we had SO much fun. It was great being able to visit Steve's brother and sister-in-law and play with their kids. :)  It was hard to come home. After this trip, I decided that I really wouldn't mind living in Florida. Why? Well, for one thing, a flight to Europe would be a LOT cheaper out there than it is here. I could go to London and Paris all the time! Maybe.... Also, you have the beach close by, that is an obvious reason. AND, I would get to be close to these cute kids! Enjoy the pictures!

 Brynn

 Alexis and 

Steven

 We saw baby alligators!

 Brynn, Alexis, and Carter

 HARRY POTTER!!

 The whole family.... tear...

 Siesta Key Beach

adieu, adieu, to you and you and you

Tomorrow morning when I wake up I will be here:

to visit these people:

adios, salt lake city friends! I will be enjoying family and warm weather in Tampa for Steven/Steve's spring break! Can't wait. 

pictures

As promised, here are the pictures Abby took of us for our anniversary.  I LOVE how they turned out, enjoy!

 love this one... except for my super long neck ha ha 

 I posted this one before, but I love it so I had to post it again

 I think I'll get a big copy of this to go over our fire place

 I wore a different flower in my hair than I did on our wedding day and I love this close up shot

 I don't know why, but I LOVE this one

Thank you Abby!!!!! I am so happy with how these turned out! :)

Thanks so much Abby! I am so happy with how these turned out! :)

3 years

I am happy to say that after 3 years of marriage, I can still squeeze myself into my wedding dress if I hold my breath (something I would not have been able to do a year ago, thank you weight watchers).

Our anniversary was  last week and to celebrate, we had a photo shoot!

I'll be honest... I didn't love a lot of the pictures we got on our wedding day (some I loved), so I wanted an anniversary do over. So, Steven suited up and I dressed up. It was kind of a spur of the moment idea, so I asked my friend Abby to take some pictures for us and she did a MARVELOUS job. Abby is an aspiring photographer and once I found that out, I put her right to work. ;) Here is a sneak peak:

(we are really weird sometimes)

More to come! I can't wait to see how they all turned out. Thank you for doing this Abby! :)


By the way, tons of people walking by told us "congratulations" and things like that... it was so awkward.

Now that we have been married 3 years, here are some common conversations that I have with people:

"How long have you been married?"
"3 years."
"Wow! That's great! Do you have any kids?"
"No."
"Oh................."

"How long have you been married?"
"3 years"
"Wow! When are you guys going to start having kids?"
"ughhhh......."

"How long have you been married?"
"3 years."
"Wait as LONG as you can to have kids. It's TERRIBLE (I added that last part)."
"Ok." :)

"How long have you been married?"
"THREE YEARS."
"Do you have any kids?"
"Nooooooo......"
"How old are you?"
"23."
"Oh whoa! You are young. You can wait a while to have kids. You were 20 when you got married??!?!?! What were you thinking?!?!?! That must've been SO hard."
"ummm... I'm sorry?"

So, be prepared, if you have been married for 3 years and you don't have kids yet, people will hold you accountable.