FInally - the PWC! (Almost)

After over 2 months, I finally said goodbye to my long locks and had my hair chopped off - The Post Wedding Chop, if you will. I fully planned on taking pictures to show all of you, however, the electrical system in my house had other ideas.

I was flat ironing my hair, and when I was about halfway through, sparks flew out of my flat iron and the room went dark. GREAT. There I stood, half dressed in a dark room with not so much as a glimmer of light from the window. I flipped the light in the bedroom. Nothing. Same in the living room. Of course, those are the only other 2 rooms with mirrors, so naturally, they'd be on the same fuse/circuit/electrical-jargon-I-don't-understand as the bathroom. Thankfully, the lights in my kitchen were still working and sort of lit up the living room, so in the half-light I was able to attempt to put my make up on and throw my hair up in some semblance of a half-updo. It's a sad look today, folks.

BUT - As soon as Josh gets it fixed, I'll have PWC pics to show. I was a little nervous, but... oh well. I think it looks OK, and it'll grow fast.

OH- and we're not getting the house I posted about (and pinned about) here. It's a bank-owned property, and they just kept countering at a price that we felt the house wasn't worth. Oh well - the search continues!

Have a great weekend :) Hopefully I'll get a few wedding recaps done, too.

Wanna Play The Price is Right?

It's no secret that I've always been a HUGE bargain shopper - and that urge for finding good deals has gotten even stronger now that I no longer have a cushy bank job from which to collect a paycheck. I'm always shopping on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and... whatever they call the day after Christmas, so I can find a good deal. This year I added 'day after Halloween' to my list of days to go shopping.


I didn't decorate for Halloween this year, which kind of bugged me. I've never been one to decorate a ton for a holiday, but lately I'm finding myself drawn toward elaborate vignettes, charming DIY displays, and cute little decorations for all of the different holidays. Maybe it's the teacher in me? Who knows. What I DO know is that I scored some major loot yesterday at Meijer (a regional grocery/department store, kind of like Wal-Mart), and I'm looking forward to putting it up in our house next year.

Check out what I got, and see if you can guess what I spent (without going over, of course!):

Glass and metal yard stand that actually works through Thanksgiving (disregard the unkempt flower bed behind it...)

Metal pumpkin trick or treat sign

A metal sign (glittery!) and metal pumpkin wreath (also glittery!)

Crow, Owl, skeleton, two candle holders, a Yankee  Candle tumbler (in Candy Corn!) and 12 Yankee Candle tealights

2 pumpkins, and two signs (they're still in the boxes here)

I adore these pumpkins!!

And a cute little ghost cookie plate

I also got some spider web stuff and glow sticks, but I figured you all know what those look like :)

So, did you guess how much I spent?



If you guessed $40.71, you would be correct!! I was floored at the 75% off sale, and ended up saving a whopping $115.50 had I bought them at full price. Now they're all packed away in a little tote in the basement, waiting 363 days until they can be used again :)

Do you do a lot of decorating for holidays? Where are the best places to find deals?

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Hopefully you're not quite in your sugar coma just yet... 

Josh and I dressed up for the first time as a couple this year! We went to Ferndale to visit one of my friends and his new fiance, and we went out to 80's night at a bar. For months I was stumped when it came to thinking of a fun costume for Josh and me. I knew it couldn't be too outrageous, or else Josh would never go for it. I also wanted to make it myself in an effort to save some money. About a week ago I saw Laura's post on MeSooLaLa, and I knew what we were going to be. Well... besides great big copy cats, we were going to be contestants from Double Dare!! After about $30 in supplies, I had everything we needed: two blue t-shirts, iron on transfer fabric, neon green fabric paint (slime), plastic goggles, and elbow pads.

Here's what I did:

I found the logo online, resized it, and printed it on to the iron-on fabric

I cut everything out... which was a HUGE pain...

  

...it was kind of hard to get the small spots without making the ink rub off  for some reason

I peeled off the backing  and ironed away! And yes, our iron is an antique... but it works REALLY well!

Some of the logo needed a lot of attention before it would stick. It was a little frustrating...

Then I randomly applied the fabric paint to the goggles for a "slimy" look. I was going to  slime our shirts, too, but opted not to as I ran out of time and the paint was taking a lot longer to dry than I expected.

With the addition of a few plastic orange flags (made from  a cheap tablecloth), we had our costumes!

Team Blue for the WIN!

 We had a blast in Ferndale with these crazy kids. I promised Garrett I wouldn't post a picture of him in his costume (yes, that is Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast), but he doesn't read the blog, so I guess what he doesn't know won't hurt! Isn't his fiancee adorable! Love her :)

 Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of their pets in costume! Clarence the dog was the cutest hot dog you've ever seen, and Boo the cat was a pretty adorable ghost.

How are you getting in the Halloween spirit?

Pinning My Heart Out

Hi friends,

Sorry I've been MIA with my recaps and posts. We did something a little crazy last week, and I've been in a minor freak-out mode.

We put an offer in on a house.

!!!!!

This is kind of a big deal for us because we weren't really planning on moving anytime soon. However, now that we know which district I'll be working for, it's much easier to plan for the future. I just happened to be perusing a real estate site, kind of window shopping if you will, and stumbled across an amazing deal. We went to see it in person, checked a few things out, went to see it a few more times, and finally put in an offer. I'm on pins and needles waiting to hear back. We both said that we'd be OK if it didn't go through... but let's be honest. I want this house like I want a Halloween bag full of Snickers and Reese's cups.

We'll see what happens. I'll keep you posted :)

Oh - want to know why I want this house so badly? Well, let's see: 4500 sq ft with a finished basement, a HUGE master closet, over 8 acres, enough bedrooms and space that we wouldn't have to move once we have kids, an amazing wrap around deck with a great view, 2 fireplaces, and tall ceilings, just to start. Ahhh... It's definitely been taking up most of my recent pins on Pinterest.

It's a foreclosure, and it hasn't been updated design-wise since the 1980's, so I've been daydreaming about what we could do with the kitchen:

I think this should have darker countertops

Source: cotedetexas.blogspot.com via Ashley on Pinterest

LOVE the butcher block island! The kitchen in the house has an island that would be perfect for  this

Source: housetweaking.com via Ashley on Pinterest

sigh... tile + lattice/quatrefoil? I die.

Source: Uploaded by user via Ashley on Pinterest

I've done some daydreaming about painting the rest of the house, too...

I'm really drawn to warm grays right now

Source: designfinch.com via Ashley on Pinterest

I love 2, 4, 5, 10. 

Source: marthastewart.com via Ashley on Pinterest

That shade of green makes me happy as an accent with gray. Look familiar? It's practically the same green as my bridesmaids' dresses.

Source: design-seeds.com via Ashley on Pinterest

All around amazing colors right here. Love it.

Source: design-seeds.com via Ashley on Pinterest

It's possible I've been daydreaming about accessories and decorating, too...

Ooooh. Shiny! This would look great in the entry way, or over the stairs to the basement.

Source: horchow.com via Ashley on Pinterest

For my reading nook... not sure where it will be, but I'm sure I should have it.

Source: heathersafferstone.com via Ashley on Pinterest

The color. Enough said.

Source: blog.livelikeyou.com via Ashley on Pinterest

I've been wanting a sectional for quite a while now. I love the style of this one, and the mixing of different accent fabrics.

Source: blog.effortless-style.com via Ashley on Pinterest

What's been stealing your heart on Pinterest lately?

(Need an invite? Leave your email in the comments, and I'll send one!)

Feels Like Home: Seating our Family

First, the girls got ready, then we put on finishing touches. You got to see the church from a guests point of view, and now it's time for the ceremony to start!

As the grandparents and parents were seated, two of my cousins played music. They played the flute and saxophone, and completely nailed this song:

(I'm told this is in Twilight, which really bummed me out, but it's just such a beautiful song - especially with their instruments!)

Josh's grandma, escorted by Josh's sister's boyfriend, Jason

My stepmom's parents, escorted by my brother, Justin

My dad's parents

My mom's mother

My mom's father. We are beyond thankful that he is still with us (actually, he turned 80 yesterday!). He had quite a scary time in the hospital for almost 100 days last year. The weather made it hard for him to walk, but his goal was to walk down the aisle at my wedding, and he did it :)

My stepmom and my brother

Josh's parents

My mama, looking oh-so-hot in her dress.. and trying not to cry :)

Next up: My girls start walking!

Feels Like Home: From our Guest's POV

So far we got pretty and put on the finishing touches. Then it was time for the wedding to start!

If you were to attend my wedding, you would have noticed a few things:

You would have seen the church, looking much like this, if you got to the wedding more than half an hour before the ceremony started.

If you were there within half an hour of the ceremony start time, you would have been dodging  all of these crazy raindrops as you made your way to the church.

The beautiful green and blue altar flowers would have definitely caught your attention, with their peacock feather sticking out for some added whimsy.

My adorable cousins would have handed you a program so you  knew the order of the ceremony. Later, you'd realize you didn't need it because the pastor chose not to follow the order anyway. (Don't even get me started... seriously)

If you had good eyesight, you would have noticed two galvanized buckets full of dirt, one with my monogram and one with Josh's, next to a tree up on the platform.

If you could see this super cute bow, made my my mother-in-law, then you must have had a great seat :)

One more time for the altar flowers. I just loved them.

The details of the intricate woodwork in the chuch sure would have caught your attention...

And, as you watched the slideshow of pictures from my and Josh's childhood, you would have anxiously awaited the time for these girls to start playing the processional.

 Once they started playing, you would see the grandparents and mothers get seated, and know the ceremony was about to begin!

All photos by Emily Waid Photography - go check her out, because she's great!

Feels Like Home: Just a Few More Minutes!

After we got all prettied up, we headed to the church to get dressed and add the finishing touches.

Erin had to send pictures to her sister of her hair and dress. I've known them both for 23 years - since I was 3! Needless to say, they were a big part of my wedding! 

I got zipped and buttoned up.

All pinched and prodded into place :)

Gratuitous shot of the details on the back of my dress :) There are sparkly buttons there that you can't really see...

Jenna and Ashley took one of the many self portraits to come

Love that lace! And the shot of the back of my hair before it got completely demolished from hugging people.

My dad got pinned...

And my mom put my grandma's necklace on me.

My sister jammed my veil in place...

And I got a last minute shower of hair spray from Jenna :)

Lindsey helped me with my garter. She bought it for me off of Etsy, and it was perfect!!

One picture I don't have is one of me and my bridesmaids all sitting together in front of the fan, dresses hiked up as  much as we could get away with, letting the air attempt to cool off under our dresses! It was HOT and HUMID! I don't think I ever cooled off until we were in our hotel that night... Just one of those things you deal with when you have an August wedding!!

With that, we were ready to get the show on the road!

All photos by Emily Waid Photography - go check her out, because she's great!