Why I like UPS...

Because as I type this, I am PRAYING that the stupid Fed Ex guy will come and deliver my wedding invitations in the next hour before we close and I go home. Otherwise, I will have to wait yet another day to get them.

Argh!!!

UPS would never do this to me (okay, maybe they would, but I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt here).
See, I had them shipped to my work because 1) it was less expensive 2) I thought it'd be easier - the Fed Ex guy comes almost every day (of course, we get UPS every day, twice a day). But nooooooo..... Because only my name was on the package, and not my work's name as well, Fed Ex got confused. Was it a business? A home?? What? Seriously people, why not trying to just give it to the driver who covers that area - and who is in our little design plaza EVERY SINGLE DAY - and let him have at it. I bet he could have figured it out.
But no.
It wasn't loaded on the truck yesterday. Boo. So I called and tracked it, and they were going to "call (me) back". Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!! Yeah, like they actually call people back. So this morning, first thing, I call again. We clear up the confusion (the whole, "is it a business??" thing) and they are going to see if the driver can come back to the warehouse and pick them up. Great! Once again, they are supposed to "call (me) back" to let me know. Ha ha ha ha ha!! So I call AGAIN just about an hour ago. Supposedly now, they are on the truck. Really?? Hmmm.... somehow I just don't get the warm fuzzies. I am not sure this person is being honest.
(*Quick sidenote: people in business will LIE to you. Straight up lie, to buy them more time to figure out how to nicely tell you something bad...)

So.... please pray for my wedding invitations. And the person who answers the phone tomorrow morning when I call AGAIN.... if they are not on the truck this afternoon.



******UPDATE******
OH. MY. GOD.
They have lost the package!!!
It was checked into the terminal here and then...... *poof* gone.
They know they are wedding invitations and are actively searching right now. And because anything having to do with weddings is given a priority - they are really really searching hard.

Okay, I think I may go throw-up right now....

*****UPDATE #2******
Okay, as of this morning it is still lost. They are looking for it, and I have the phone # of a person there at the warehouse that I can call and follow up with. Also - found out that the package DID INDEED have my name AND the company name on it, so that excuse that they gave me yesterday was bad.
I am trying to stay positive and hopeful, but at the same time I am pondering the etiquette of E-vites. Okay, just kidding - a little.
I have about 2 weeks before I really really NEED to get these out. That would be 2 weeks before the reply-by date of October 26th. Of course, if they truly are lost, then the reply-by date can be changed.....

Couples Shower

This past weekend, we went to a couples shower for some friends of ours that are getting married in February. It was fun, and I'm glad that Chris had a good time as well because he's agreed to a couples shower for us. We've decided on a "Stock the Garage (and our house too!)" party. My sisters are going to throw it for us, but it will be at our house since we live pretty central to our family and friends. Chris is okay with this as long as we don't have to do all the work like cooking, etc., which my sisters and mom have already said they will take care of.

I'm excited and a little relieved that he's agreed to a couples shower. Originally, he didn't want anything to do with a shower, but after this weekend AND being told that yes, he can register for tools, he's playing along. I'm excited because I just think it will be more fun, more like a party. Plus, it'll be nice to get some things to help us fix up our house too! He's already registered for a bunch of tools at Sears, and started a registry at Lowe's! It's pretty cute - I hope he gets a lot of things he wants.

The only downside to the party, I will have to admit, is that I got a major case of house envy. I was kind of pouting about it when we left. The house it was held at was a super cute 1920's Tudor-inspired bungalow cottage... if you're familiar with Dallas, it was in the "M-Streets". Seriously, it was a great house with beamed ceilings, stained glass, plaster walls, hardwood floors, and I was so envious!! While driving home, Chris asked "So what did you like about the house?". Umm, "EVERYTHING"!
This is very similar to the house where the shower was held:

Really cute, huh?
Yep, and not a crooked doorway to be seen!

*picture of house from Ebby.com

Ugly kitchen re-do step 1: Paint!

I had an ugly kitchen. It was stuck in the '80's ugly. It was sponge-painted with 3 colors and a fruit-wallpaper border ugly. I've lived with this ugly kitchen for almost 2 years now, and after realizing that we weren't going to be doing the major kitchen overhaul that we wanted to do anytime soon, I decided I needed to do something! So, I decided to paint the walls.

This was our kitchen before:
It's pretty, isn't it?

This paint job was actually done OVER the old wallpaper. Since I wanted a "quick fix", I decided to do the same. I just took off the fruity border, but not the old wallpaper. To do so would have probably pulled off chunks of walls, and I wasn't ready to re-sheetrock just yet.

I did take down the old cornice that was in the window, covering the old nasty blinds that didn't work (and were probably as old as the house!). I think the cornice may be at least 20 + years old. The wood on the back side was aged, and seeing as it has the original wallpaper on it, there is no telling when it was put up. In this picture, you can see the original wallpaper that was behind the valance. Yeah, the previous owner didn't extend the sponge painting to behind the valance.

One of the things that people say about older houses is that they have "character". Sometimes that character is interesting moldings, charming details. Sometimes that character is crooked doorways and cracks in the walls. This picture shows the door that goes to our laundry room and then on to the garage. At some point, there were foundation problems, which have since been fixed. The door, however, remains as a bit of "character".

Currently, there is weather stripping there to help insulate the 2-inch gap that was on the side closest to the refrigerator. Not pretty, but effective. At least until we rip it out and get a new door!

I filled the top of the crack with wood putty. It was left "open" underneath the border. Wood putty isn't a great long-term fix, but it will work short-term. Eventually our plan is to take down the cabinet doors and re-paint them (or get new ones!), get new hardware, new countertops, and new appliances (except for the dishwasher, which is nice and new). At that point, we'll work on the walls - really fixing the cracks, new texture, etc.

But for now, I think the new coat of paint looks so much better! I do plan on adding some color with some accessories and maybe a new window curtain/shade. We're also going to replace the lights soon with something a bit more updated. We have the fixture for the middle of the room, we're just looking to see what we want for over the sink. Maybe a pendant?? I'd love a recessed light, but it may be too hard to put in. There are many things I'd really like to do to this kitchen, but we all start somewhere.

So, without further ado, here's the finished product!

The paint color is Sherwin-Williams' "Windsor Greige". I really like it. In some lights it's really warm, and in other lights it gets cool. Not too dark, but not too light.

See?? The crack almost disappears. Actually, where I used the wood putty, it does!

I'm actually pretty proud of myself. While Chris was away at a bachelor party for one of his friends last weekend, I was stuck inside because of Ike (we just got rain) painting. But it's only step 1.

Next, step 2: tiling the countertops!

Making our guest book

Guestbooks. You are supposed to have one for your guests to sign at your wedding, a register of who was there. But you usually don't pull them out after the wedding. They get tucked away. So I thought I'd go along with the trend and make ours something a little more interesting. We didn't have a lot of money to spend on it, so that limited what we could do to a point. We also have some really nice engagement photos we wanted to print and keep, and so I decided to combine the guestbook with a sort of photo-album with them in it.

Album/book from the Martha Stewart Collection at Michael's : $5.00 on sale

Archival pages with velum overlays (to go in the book) : $10.00 (for 2 sets)

Printing of photos : about $24.00 including tax from Pictage through our photographer

This past weekend, my sisters came over and we put it all together. I didn't have an exact "vision" for the guestbook - it's ultimately going to be more of a photo album and scrapbook (I'll end up also putting an invitation in there, a program, and some other things) - so I told my sisters that without putting too much stuff on the page, they could do whatever they wanted. It's not fancy, but it was fun to make and it's special because we all 3 did it together.

Bogged down!!

Thank you all for your compliments on my hairpieces!

I've been so busy at work these past several days!! Then I get home and there's more stuff to do and take care of! I will be back, I promise. I even have pictures of the kitchen I repainted that I want to share - but I haven't had a chance to get them up yet! It looks pretty good, though. Not "perfect" yet, but definitely much better than before.

I hope everyone's Wednesday is going well.

Lovely Twigs & Honey

My hairpieces from Twigs & Honey are done!!

Myra made a flower piece for me to wear as well as a headband for my soon-to-be niece, who is one of our flower girls, to wear. I am so excited! I think they look beautiful, and can't wait to touch them and see them in person!

In the meantime, here are some pictures:

Fall Friday

I am in such a "fall" mood. Even though summer still has her last grasp on us here in Texas until, um, winter (We're not much for all 4 seasons here... it's hot, and then it's cold. Very little in-between) - I am thinking "fall".

I've been following along as the Nester has been getting ready for fall and posting all kinds of great decorating ideas. That even inspired my post today over at Elizabeth Anne Designs. Twigs, branches, leaves, pumpkins, warm colors, football on TV. This is most definitely my favorite time of year.

So, this weekend I am going to take advantage of Chris being out of town and the heavy rain that is forecast for us (all weekend long, damn!), and I'm going to "fall-ify" my house. I have a wreath I'm going to put up, pinecones, twigs.... and I'm definitely going to be watching football (go Cowboys!!).
I might even work on painting our horribly ugly kitchen. Yes, I have the paint. There's just a fruity wallpaper border standing in my way. But I think I will win. ;-)

I'm also planning on getting together with my sisters to put together a guest book/engagement photo album for our wedding (that is coming up in 64 days!). I read somewhere once that putting your pictures in an album and having guests sign around it is vain and silly. But as I can't think of a better idea, that's the one we're going with. Wish cards thrown into a bowl? Kind of cool, but I don't want to take the time afterwards to put them in a book of some kind. And there again, it's probably not something that we'll pull out and read often. Polaroid photo book?? Again, cool idea. But as I don't have a Polaroid, nor do I know somebody who does... it's kind of hard. Also, I can think of several people who won't think it's cute or fun. And also several people who I would be scared to look at their photos and poses/gestures that they chose. So - we're going with a scrapbook where we'll put a few pics of us from our engagement session, and we'll ask people to sign it with any messages/wishes/advice they'd like to leave. I will definitely photograph it and post it next week.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Much better Wednesday

Hmmm.... why do I have 2 pictures of myself on the side of my blog?? I must investigate.....
**UPDATE** I just removed the second copy of the picture. Still not sure why it was there...

Things are much better today, so far. I am just in a better frame of mind. Chris and I sorted through all the stupid things we were arguing about. And I got in a good workout again last night, so I'm feeling better about myself there. Maybe I can make it THREE nights in a row at the gym???

Tonight, Chris will be gone - he's out of town until tomorrow night. I think I will take this time to do a little cleaning around the house and a little fall decorating. I've been really inspired by many of the design/decorating blogs I've been reading and all of their fantastic ideas! I'll post pictures once I'm finished, there are a few things I would like to buy. But even though it's still warm here in Texas, I'm really starting to get into the fall spirit - it is my favorite time of year!! This is only reinforcing that my wedding is really right around the corner, now. Just a few days over 2 months away!

Have a great Wednesday!

Tuesday blahs

Tuesdays are not very exciting days. They're better than Mondays, but not by much. Especially after a short week, Tuesdays just seem to be laughing at you.

Chris and I have been bickering a little for the last couple days. I just think we're both tired, and we're both adjusting to him not traveling during the week. It's hard because on the one hand I'd like to strangle him sometimes, but then on the other I'm planning my wedding to marry him! Ugh. Men.
One thing that came up yesterday is the idea of a couple's shower. Two of my co-workers are throwing me a "ladies only" shower in October, so my sisters were going to get together to throw me more of a traditional shower. I had thought that having a couple's shower might be fun, but he just really really doesn't want to do it. The thing is that pretty much all of our "couple" friends are really HIS friends/co-workers. And while I do have a few friends, there are several that in recent years have moved, I've lost touch with, or have grown apart from. I am just scared that I won't have very many people to invite to the shower, and I thought by making it a "couple's shower" maybe more people would come. I'm really not trying for a pity-party here, I just wanted it to be fun. But it's not meant to be. I don't want to force the issue.
I don't want to be ungrateful, but I've thought of just having the one shower my co-workers are planning and not worrying about the other one. If it's supposed to be fun, then why is it so stressful?? I've got approx. 2 more months to go until this wedding, and at this point all the little details are driving me crazy. It's funny because people will say "Oh, you're just ready for it to be overwith." Which is not entirely true - I'm looking forward to my wedding, the actual ceremony and reception. But I AM ready for all the planning to be done.

So, here I am, it's raining, I'm tired, am not wanting to think "wedding" right now.... and it's TUESDAY! Bummer.
At least it's not Monday I guess!
I'm sure the sun will come out tomorrow...

Yay!

I usually try not to post the same thing as I do over at Elizabeth Anne Designs, but I couldn't help it today! My dress fitting went well yesterday! Everything fit well, and there's only a couple things she needs to do - shorten it only a little bit and take in the top. Sadly, it's only the top that needs taken in...

The good news is that I can get away with wearing the "comfier" shapewear option, the one-piece slip looking one. Will be much easier to, umm, manage with on the big day, you know... when nature calls.... versus the scary bike-shorts that come up to right under your bra. Yeah, those would suck.

Even with the shapewear, I think I have 1) some more sucking-in to do and 2) some more sit-ups to do. Other than that, I was really really pleased! My question comes to the veil. It's one that I could borrow if I wanted. It matches, but I'm just not sure. Is it long enough?? Should I get one that has a rounded bottom? I just don't know. This one is free... and I'm only wearing it to the ceremony... With the veil, I'll also have a large flower in my hair.

Of course I took some pictures! Here they are:

So, what do you think of the veil??

I am soooooooooo glad that it fits! And with 2 months left to go, I think I could slim down just a little bit - enough to really make it look great! The key is getting my butt to the gym!

I'm really glad it's Friday!! Hope you all have great weekends!

An Important Reminder

I know we all get lots of forwards, but I thought this was too important of a message to not pass on. With all of our wedding planning and upcoming events, it's easy to not really pay much attention that this is an election year (here in the U.S.). I still can not believe that it's not even been 100 years since women have had the right to vote.

*read more about this here

A Message for all women

WHY WOMEN SHOULD VOTE This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived only 90 years ago.

Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.

The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote.



(Lucy Burns)
And by the end of the night, they were barely alive.
Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing
went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of
'obstructing sidewalk traffic.'
They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above
her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping
for air.


(Dora Lewis)
They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her
head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate,
Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack.
Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging,
beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917,
when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his
guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because
they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the rig ht
to vote.

For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their
food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms.

(Alice Paul)
When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks
until word was smuggled out to the press.

So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because-
-why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work?
Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?

Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know.

We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so
hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote.

After a long weekend...

I don't feel like being at work today... long weekends will do that to you. At least having yesterday off makes the week shorter, though.

The weekend was good. We just hung out and got some things done around the house. We had friends over Saturday night, and Chris broke out the Madden '08 (or is it '09?) video game. At least it wasn't Rock Band!
*Note: I don't hate Rock Band... it's just that listening to the same songs over and over and over again gets kind of old.

On a more serious note, I was really happy to hear that it seems like Gustav didn't hit the coastline of Louisiana as hard as it could have. I'm glad that it wasn't the catatrophe that Katrina was.

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

Better picture?? Maybe?

This isn't much better, my camera at home doesn't have a "macro" function or whatever. It's a basic 5MP point and shoot. This is from the camera up at work, which interestingly enough is a 3MP, but I think is a better camera.

Here are my rings: