Inspiration.

I originally started this blog after seeing another Bride-to-be's blog about her wedding planning process. Thinking it was a really cute idea and a great way to channel some creativity, I began writing and revealing some of the monumental decisions, ideas, and adventures that my family and I are taking to get me down the aisle to Tyler.

But besides writing, I am also researching. Each day I look for other interesting blogs and creative outlets that people have posted online. Many of them being home improvement or decorating blogs, I love to see how they set up their site and tell the various stories of their lives. It is a great way to get ideas and inspiration for household projects, family gatherings, recipes, and really anything that life throws at you. I must admit that my blog so far is a little bland- I would love to revamp the look of the blog, as well as provide some more useful tips and ideas. But let's all remember, I am only a beginner at this and my creative switch is only about 1/4 of the way on so far.

Check out some of my favorite daily reads and maybe you will learn something, get some ideas, or just enjoy looking at the amazing things people come up with when they tap into their creative side.

#1- Young House Love - This is my absolute favorite blog. I love their posts about the renovations of their house and the growing of their family. Each post is written as a story and a detailed step by step account of their projects. Definitely recommend this blog.

#2- Pioneer Woman - This is a great blog that I recently discovered when looking for recipes. She is a country woman who cooks and shares her recipes and ideas with her online audience. I plan on making one of her Asparagus recipes tonight :)

#3- Nesting Place - This blog has great ideas for decorating your house, office, or pretty much anything that can be decorated. Her motto- "“It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful”. Isn't that the truth!

#4- The Beauty Department - This blog was actually co-created by Lauren Conrad, Laguna Beach and The Hills star, and is a blog dedicated to hair, makeup, skin, nails, and the latest trends that are going around. Great place to get advice about how to curl your hair or do a smoky eye.

#5- A Beautiful Mess - This blog is written by a creative mastermind, Elsie Flannigan. It is dedicated to talking about fashion, homemade items, and just pretty things in general. Elsie has written this blog for several years and has become successful on the shopping site, Etsy. Reading her blog just makes you think outside of the box.

#6 Red Velvet Art - This blog is also written by Elsie Flannigan as well as three other of her crafty friends. They took their talents and created a shoppe called Red Velvet. They use their blog to talk about the shoppe and share ideas, tutorials, and other cool things they come across.

#7 Don't Warn the Tadpoles - This blog is written by one of my favorite people in the whole world and one of my main inspirations to start a blog- my sister Katie Wilson! Katie has always been super crafty and talented with all things creative so naturally she put that into a blog. Love keeping up with her and my brother's life online :)

I must admit that these blogs really make me want a house of my (our) own so I can try out some of these creative projects that I keep reading about. Apartment life just does not provide the space and the freedom that I need to fully express myself creatively. Sigh. Things to look forward to in the coming years! :)


And as an encore to Riley... Look at this muffin!

A tribute to Riley.

As I'm sure all of you already know, Tyler and I are obsessed with our dog Riley. You can definitely say that she is more than just a dog, but is considered to be our first child. We love her more than anything in the world and she brings so much love and joy to our lives.














So let me tell you a little bit more about Riley...

Birthday: November 11, 2009
Breed: Cocker Spaniel & Golden Retriever mix
Weight: She was about 5 lbs when we got her at 6 weeks but she has grown to an impressive 28lbs.
Hair: Golden
Eyes: Golden hazel- they are gorgeous.
Food of choice: Lamb
Favorite treat: Frosty paw- Yes, ice cream for a dog. OR a rawhide bone. She only gets these once in a blue moon because they are very messy and sometimes can get harsh on her sensitive tummy.
Favorite word: Mango Salsa! We have no idea why she gets so excited when we say this or what she thinks it means but she goes nuts when we say it.
Best friend: Tressie VanGorder. Riley loves to play with her friend Tressie.
Boyfriend: Bo Sills. They like to send love letters to each other via their mom's cell phones. Not quite old enough to get their own cell phones yet.
Favorite human food: Popcorn. Loves it!
Fears: Clicky pens and fireplace lighter.
Favorite thing to do: Sleep. No seriously, she loves to nap.
Funniest thing she does: Grunts. If she is sleeping and you try to move her, she gets grumpy and grunts at you.

So why a tribute to Riley? Well..... she had her first haircut today!!

As a mix of a golden retriever and cocker spaniel, Riley has a lot of hair. For the most part, her hair is similar to a golden retriever but it also has some curl to it like a cocker spaniel. Today, we took her to Bed and Bark and she had a day of pampering. Tyler and I were nervous to get her hair cut but it was desperately needed. Plus, she will feel much better in the hot summer weather that is coming in the next weeks.

Here is a before and after:















It's hard to see the difference in pictures but you can really tell in person. I think it makes her look like a puppy again. Kind of like the pictures below- the left one was the day we got her and the right was from today. Love this dog!

132 days and counting.

Yesterday was a day devoted to wedding planning... And a successful one at that!

Our day began at I do, I do in Athens, GA where I met my parents and Tyler left to go run an errand while I had my FIRST DRESS FITTING!! It was crazy to see it hanging in the dressing room and knowing that it is mine! The best part is that it fit.... perfectly! A little hemming at the bottom and the adding of a bustle and we are ready to walk down the aisle. My parents (both of them) even teared up a bit so I knew the dress was a success.

Now, the small decisions. Which jewelry? Which shoes? Wear something in my hair? How to do my makeup? Hair up? Down? ... Hmm. A little more thinking to do.

After my dress was back on the hanger and hidden in the back room of I do, I do, Tyler made his way back to the bridal store so we could pick out the vest and tie for his suit and his groomsmen. My dad even got to pick out his own special tie and vest since let's face it, he has an important job!

Everyone leaving happy (even my mom who got some ideas for her wedding day ensemble), we made our way to the Georgian Hotel to meet Andre, our wedding coordinator from Trumps. We went over what we would like for our menu and were able to switch out which items we liked best from the tasting. As advertised and promised, Lobster Mac & Cheese will be making an appearance at our wedding reception. We even found out that they use real lobster and not imitation. Yumm..

We also went over the logistics for setting up the room and decorations, etc. Everything went extremely smoothly except one small hiccup involving the sparklers for the end of the night. Yes, spoiler alert- we will be leaving the reception with sparklers. They just make for such pretty pictures when it is dark outside.















Photo courtesy of Christopher Helm (our photographer)


The hiccup was that Trumps does not allow sparklers to be used at the Georgian location. Uh oh. This is because there have been two weddings in the past where people have lit them inside the building causing the smoke alarm to go off and all of the people that live in the apartments above the ballroom to come downstairs. Obviously, they were not happy. So to make everyone happy, we agreed that the sparklers will never enter the building but will be handed to people as they walk out the door with the instructions to not light them until the Georgian doors are shut. I will have people in charge of making sure that the doors are shut and that no sparklers or smoke enter that building. Here is a plea to anyone that is invited to the wedding, PLEASE help us out by making sure you are away from the doors before lighting the sparklers and don't light them until told to do so, that way we can get a cool walking out picture :)

Other wedding activities included booking the Bridesmaid luncheon at one of my absolute favorite places in Athens and going by the Gameday Center to get a count on how many rooms we have and to book the shuttle for wedding guests.









All in all, it was a very productive day. Everything is falling into place better than I ever could of imagined and I am getting very excited! We even had a productive planning day last weekend while we were in Jasper and got the ceremony lined up :) It will be a very special service!

Can't wait!

Flatware and China and Stemware, oh my!

I have definitely realized that picking out your china pattern as a bride-to-be is not something that is particularly easy. First of all, everyone around you has a different opinion about Fine China... Some people say, "Don't get it. You will never use it. Money wasted." While others say, "You have to register for China! It is your wedding!!! What will you use if you have a fancy dinner?!? It's tradition!"

With the opinions of everyone else floating around, I finally figured out what I wanted. I want china. No, I don't expect to have collected a full set of china by the time we get married. This is something I want to start collecting now and then grow my collection over the many, many years of marriage to come.

I have always loved my parent's china and getting to pull it out of the china cabinet and use it on special occasions just makes those occasions feel even more special... birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, nice dinners, etc. I also like to entertain and I hope to be able to use this china for many dinner parties in the future.

So now that I have decided that I do want fine china, I have to decide which pattern I want to collect. Not only do I have to pick a china pattern, but a stemware and flatware pattern, as well. If you know me at all, you would know that I do not like to make decisions. Especially decisions I have to live with for a long time. This is why I could never get a tattoo... too final. I would change my mind the next day that I wanted something different. Soooo, this was a big decision for me because let's face it.... I'm probably going to have this china for the rest of my life.

After many hours spent online and numerous lunch visits to Macy's, I finally found a pattern that suits me. Lenox Pearl Platinum. Many, many thanks to Debrah from Macy's and her patience and helpful attitude last week. She helped me build a place setting that I really like. Here is a peek:












































One side note, the accent plate in the place setting photo is not the actual accent plate that goes
with the pattern but is the single plate above.

Vera Wang Fidelity Stemware... really only want the iced beverage and a wine glass... and Wedgwood Knightsbridge Flatware.

Simple, elegant, and timeless in my book. Hopefully, I will still feel that way when it is sitting on my table in many years to come!