Wednesday, July 8, 2015

five on ....wednesday?


honestly i just had the time to write. and when that happens, you take advantage of it. i guess i didn't mean for this post to start with this ridiculous picture, but these window panes will hold a pretty special place at our wedding. even if lee is creepy staring. one of our awesome friends, ryan, gave this to us as a shower gift - little did she know it would be used double; for our house & for the wedding! 


so why have i had the time? well because i ran out of doilies. i started this on a whim the other night after really zoning in on the calligraphy thing. i started to make place mats for everyone at the wedding. you don't even have to tell me i'm crazy, because i already know. we invited 141 people and so far... everyone has RSVP'd yes. ... which is an awesome thing! it just means i have 141 doilies to hand write names on. whatever; i have time at night right? right. 

but yesterday, i ran out of doilies so i had to order more so i had the time to blog. make sense?

via milla c photography

this picture. standing on the left is the groom from amanda & jj's wedding in pittsburg - hence jj is the groom. they finally got back their preview wedding photos and i was in awe of them all; but especially this one. look at the emotion in his face! i was sitting third row, so i got to see this happen as amanda was walking down the aisle, but seeing it captured in a photo like this is just amazing. i teared up - but what future bride (or girl in general!) would not? 


oh my. my sweet, sweet bridesmaid taylor ordered these amazing stock the bar invites for us. they are actual coasters! is she awesome or what?! she has kept every single thing about this party a secret from me ... and if you know me at all, you know this is killing me slowly. however, i have full faith that she & danielle will knock this party out of the park! she's already sneak peeked me a few goodies that she has made for the wedding... just you guys wait.


and finally - mr. bubble. he saved my life this week so far. its been a crazy work week, a crazy crafting week, a crazy prepping for luna week, a crazy finalizing wedding stuff week; it's been it all. we've both been a little stressed and honestly, i've had trouble sleeping. i've always had trouble, but this week had definitely not helped.

lee came home after a crazy day - and said pour yourself a glass of wine and a draw a bubblebath. every single day i thank God for him.
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Tuesday, July 7, 2015

a note about calligraphy.


let's just start this post by saying i'm not a professional. i had been looking all over etsy for someone to hand write these signs for me for the wedding. $12 a piece? sheesh, i would go broke! so after some googling i gave my whirl at calligraphy. 

for the wedding table centerpieces, we're doing a birdcage, a small framed engagement photo, and a few small framed lyrics that are special to us. i'm also doing our table numbers myself with a unique twist, but that's another story for another day because i'm hoping they are super cool. 


so before you correct me, i know that i forgot the "at least" in this lyric. jack johnson's correct lyrics in better together are "love is the answer, at least, for most of the questions in my heart." what can i say though, i was doing these lyrics while half catching up on the bachelorette and honestly didn't feel like re-doing them. plus i can post it here, make fun of myself, and then all is right in the world again. 

for those who want to try their hand at calligraphy - it's actually not that hard. if you have a neat, cursive handwriting you're already 50% ahead of everyone else. for this, it's all about the down-stroke. make that part thicker. 

see how i did it here?


again, i'm no professional (have i mentioned that already?), but with the gorgeous dim lighting at our reception, these will do just fine. after all, everything look awesome in dim lighting.

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Monday, July 6, 2015

july fourth.


every 4th of july (except for last year), we head up to lee's friend, jesse's parents lake house. ok so fine, lee and i have only been together for 3 july 4th's and since we went to the beach last year, this is technically just the 2nd time, but let's just say we have a tradition. jesse's family has a great spot on high rock lake and is perfect for festivities. 


new this year was the jet ski, which i was completely terrified of until i gave it a try... that was successful. what does that mean exactly? the very first time i hopped on the back with lee, our balance was off and i was toppled over into the water. i love the water, but i'm not exactly the world's best swimmer, so that was kind of scary. round two was much better after we got the hang of it. 

we arrived at the lake on the afternoon of the 3rd and a storm set in that night. jesse's parents had just renovated their sun room so it was a perfect spot to listen to the rainfall.


the next morning, we kicked off the 4th with mimosas, because how else do you begin a day? the weather was perfect for more boating, lake swimming while freaking out if there were snakes present, noodle floating, and smoking some meat for dinner.


lee can't stop talking about our future "lake home" and "boat" which somehow he thinks we will have one day. i guess never say never, right?


the boys did such a good job on dinner by smoking a pork shoulder (lee's specialty), chicken, and ribs. around 8:30, we headed back on the boat to catch some fireworks. the lake at sunset is the most gorgeous thing you'll ever see. 


of course no boat ride is correct without more champagne, but this picture was a perfect red, white, & blue for the holiday! throw your hands up in the air if you hate being at work today!
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Friday, July 3, 2015

thai peanut lettuce wraps



i'm pretty much about to make your life with these ground turkey thai peanut sauce lettuce wraps. it was a complete throw in the pot, see what happens kind of thing and it turned out to be "let's make this every week" kind of dinner.

have you ever heard a recipe have so many words in the title? me either. let's get to it so you can get to making this tonight for your man and he will be drooling at the last drop like mine was.

ground turkey thai peanut lettuce wraps

1lb of ground turkey, cooked in a stove top pan
diced carrot, as much or as little or none - as you'd like
1/2 an onion diced
frank's sweet thai chili sauce (i didn't measure; just enough to coat the meat. i'm really glad i dont food blog full time)
3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce
1.5 scoops of peanut butter
3 garlic cloves
1 large head of lettuce leaves

start my browning the ground turkey. when cooked through, add the onion, carrot, garlic. cook for about 5-6 minutes on medium heat and add the thai chili sauce & soy sauce. cook for 4-5 more minutes on a slightly lower heat until the flavors blend. add in the peanut butter until melted; around 3-4 minutes. like everything simmer on a low temp for about 2-3 more minutes. 

spread the mixture on the large lettuce leaves; removing the coarse bottoms. wrap and boom; your have a happy man on your hands. 

and you're pretty dang happy yourself.

ps: happy 4th of july weekend!
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Thursday, July 2, 2015

our sweet luna blue.


so this happened. this post won't be one of many words because i'm still trying to find the words to describe this absolute perfect face of our great dane daughter.


that's right. great dane. so she will only be this size for about ten more minutes. 

i have been wanting to be a puppy mom for years. back when we lived with jared & hannah, i got to be a puppy aunt to their dog, franny, but i knew when i owned my own house, first on the list was a puppy. i talked to lee about it and he was pretty close to adamant on waiting until after the wedding. i sucked it up, and was like okay fine. you're right. we have too much going on.


however, after doing more research, lee kept finding that most places wouldn't have puppies until november. november?! i can't wait for that!! so when we found this beauty, an appointment was set. on monday of this week, we basically went to visit her to see if it would be a good fit, but i already knew that i couldn't leave without her being mine - before i even saw her. 


when the lady walked out with this sweet ball of perfection in her arms, i lost it, y'all. i teared up, put my head in my hands, and immediately fell in love. 


i mean, how could you not? look at those paws! look at that face! luna had been in the bunch of names we had thrown around; such as... juniper, violet, iris.... but as soon as i saw her, i knew luna was the one. and then it hit me. luna blue. 

anyone have any puppy tips on crate training? shoot them my way? i mean would it be a blog post if i wasn't asking for advice? nope.

so welcome to the walker home, my sweet luna blue. i can't wait to bring you to your forever home in two and a half weeks!! between now and then i'll just silently cry until it's july 20th when i can come pick you up.
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Wednesday, July 1, 2015

road to pittsburgh.


last friday, we made the trip in the car for 7 hours. how many times have you traveled 7 hours in a car in your life? not that many times for me so there was not enough magazines, iPad games, or naps that could get me through it. however, i did survive. 

it was a very special trip however, as we were going up to pittsburgh to see two of our friends, jj & amanda, get married! when we arrived friday, it went a little something like this.


i love visiting cities i've never been in. it's just something about tagging that location on instagram that makes me giddy. i swear i'm probably the only person the world that notices that, but i love adding a stamp on my instagram map of where i have traveled. we headed to the church, which was completely gorgeous on the inside, and then over to spaghetti warehouse to eat some rehearsal dinner goodness and enjoy some local IC light brews.


toasts were made, tears were shed (by me at least because i still cry over everything), and we had a big day the following morning, so we headed out for a glass of wine or two at a local bar, eleven, and then called it a night. ps: a thirteen dollar glass of wine is only acceptable when in a city you've never been in. 



the ceremony on saturday was at 2:30pm, so prior to getting ready, we did some exploring. we walked by altar bar, which is a bar in a church, & checked out the primanti bros. famous sandwich which i found to be extremely weird, if i'm being honest. fries on a sandwich? to each their own, pittsburgh! but hey, i'm always down to try something signature. 

i kept stressing because it had been raining all morning and, according to the forecast, had no signs of stopping. 100% chance of rain the weatherman kept saying. luckily, the ceremony was inside as well as the reception, but what bride & groom doesn't want cool outdoor pictures? i said a quick prayer before getting ready as i know as a fellow bride, i would be freaking out. 

i kid you not, God must have heard my prayer, because the rain let up right as we headed to the ceremony and held off as the couple took photos. as soon as they were introduced, it started to rain again. it couldn't have been more perfect. anyway, back to the day.

after the ceremony, we had a few hours to explore before the reception at 5:30. drew and i went to grab some local brews and hung out as lee was in the wedding party and was out taking photos. finally, it was time to party.


this reception was a dream, you guys. it was simply amazing. i loved their sequined place card table cloths, white floral arrangements, and the venue itself was just to die for. it was held at the heinz history center so we were surrounded by all things pittsburgh, as that's where the couple is originally from.


here is myself with the absolutely gorgeous bride, amanda. her dress was stunning.


we danced the night away and ended up singing songs to each other in one gigantic circle. you should see the videos!! jj, the groom, is skilled with computer design and videography, so the couple asked for the guests to video random snippits and email it to him to mesh together. i honestly can't wait to see it!

finally, one final special moment was seeing lee in his suit. this was really special to me because we are actually using he same suits in our own wedding! so i got a little preview of my own groom two months before our wedding. he was so handsome.


ps: we are officially at the two month countdown!
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