Author: xapatotheworld

  • Getting Married: 21 Weeks – Happy New Year!

    It’s a new year! 2013 has arrived and I can’t even begin to express how excited I am for it. Last year, I will admit, that I had a bit of hope that Matt and I would be together and would be together forever. I don’t know how I knew; everything just seemed to be going that way. We weren’t an official couple yet, but I started a daily calendar, a tweet-like journal if you will, to keep track of all the wonderful happenings of 2012 and to add to it throughout the following years.

    I got the idea off of Pinterest, of course. The idea is to use vintage postcards and index cards as dividers and calendar pages.  I tweaked mine from the website and didn’t use a fruit box. Instead, I found a pretty box at Michael’s and used that.

    week21 box calendar 03

    I started mine mid-January, after, I think, Matt and I became an official couple. We went to the nearby Antique Mall and I found the postcards I was looking for – there are a ton there! The postcards represent a month of the year and serve to keep the index cards organized.

    week21 box calendar 02

    Some of them matched the month I planned to used them, and others were just sites that I really enjoyed, like mountains and elephants and beautiful homes or farmsteads. The ones pictured above are (left to right) for February, May and June. So, with my months sorted out, it was time to put together the index cards.

    The tutorial has the index cards being cut down a lot more than I wanted to, mostly because I didn’t want to cut down my post cards too much to “match.” So, I decided to get the index cards without lines to keep track of the days. This rule applies to most of my journaling; I prefer not to have lines because I like to have freedom to move all over the page. 🙂 I bought a date stamp and began stamping the cards with each day of the year, even throwing in February 29th – hey, it’s a day too!

    week21 box calendar 01

    And then, you just write. Try to keep the details short and sweet – just enough to jog the memory of the event. I had a lot of fun putting it together last year. The headings can be super big and important or just something trivial. Last January, I was pretty sick for about 3 days in a row…and each day I said so. In August, Matt and I sat down and looked through the ones i had for the year so far, he was really glad that I included that he was my very first kiss ever. I’m really glad for that too. I may post about it in the future.

    In other news, I’m pretty sure we finished our wedding registry at Menard’s. We hadn’t even started it yet, but it was a lot of fun running around that huge place adding things to our list. Word of advice, don’t freak out, but when they give you the scanner gun, they will take and keep one of your driver’s licenses until you return it. Matt was all excited that he beat me in getting his out to show the guy and then he had to fork it over for the 2+ hours we were in there.

    week21 yardsport
    Matt really wanted to register for this $5,000 cart, but we couldn’t find a SKU for it anywhere. (ahem…totally as a gag)

    I told Matt that we should probably plan a groom’s shower for him so that he can get all the tools and stuff and then I can get the other homey girlie stuff. Note that it was I who registered for the hammer, though, and plan to use it. Matt says it’s too big for me, but I’m sure I can handle it! Hope you have a great week!

    Menard’s registry!

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    I’m getting married to my, you guessed it, best friend on June 1st, 2013! Matt and I are super-excited and since we have quite a bit of time to plan this thing, I decided it’d be fun to blog about it. Well, maybe not always fun, but at least informative and it might give me a welcome distraction. You can find all the posts by clicking the “Getting Married” tab on the right of this page, or by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!

    My Pinterest Wedding Board

    Our Wedding Website on WeddingWire.com

     

  • Getting Married: Countdown Post

    I’ve been having trouble finding specific posts in this category, so I thought I’d just list them all here as I go.

    Week 48: Engaged

    Week 47: Booked!

    Week 46

    Week 45: Guestlisting

    Week 44: The Church

    Week 43: Bridalrama

    Week 42: Making “The House” Our Home

    Week 41: Interests, Hobbies, and Dates

    Week 40: Flowers!

    Week 39: The Dress

    Week 38: Road Trip

    Week 37: DIY Invitations

    Week 36: 20 Thoughts

    Week 35: Engagement Photos

    Week 34: Combining Forces

    Week 33: Dearly Beloved

    Week 32: Silent Auction

    Week 31: Halloween

    Week 30: Holidays and Traditions

    Week 29: Engagement Photos #2

    Week 28: Cake: Not the Band, But They’re Cool Too

    Week 27: Thankful

    Week 26: O Christmas Tree

    Week 25: Anniversary

    Week 24: Christmas Baking

    Week 23: End of the World…Psh, I Got This

    Week 22: Festivities

    Week 21: Happy New Year!

    Week 20 – DIY Invitations #2

    Week 19: Single Advice

    Week 18: Visits

    Week 17: Prep Work

    Week 16: More Random

    Week 15: Review: The Darkroom – Fairfield, OH

    Week 14: Registries

    Week 13: T Minus 90 Days

    Week 12: Missing Week

    Week 11: DIY Invitations #3

    Week 10: Fitting in Lithuanian

    Week 9: Shopping

    Week 8: Workin and Weather

    Week 7: Postcards, Painting, and Spring

    Week 6: Shower #1

    Week 5: Marriage License and Blogs

    Week 4: One Month Mark

    Week 3: Shower #2

    Week 2: I Don’t Even Know

    Week 1: I’m Really Glad That…

    Week 0: Wedding Day

    Homeymoon

    Review: Wedding Details – Ceremony

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    I’m getting married to my, you guessed it, best friend on June 1st, 2013! Matt and I are super-excited and since we have quite a bit of time to plan this thing, I decided it’d be fun to blog about it. Well, maybe not always fun, but at least informative and it might give me a welcome distraction. You can find all the posts by clicking the “Getting Married” tab on the right of this page, or by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!

    My Pinterest Wedding Board

    Our Wedding Website on WeddingWire.com

  • Getting Married: 22 Weeks – Festivities

    Wow! So, I think I made it through my first “couples” holiday season! Quite a ride though. Let’s see, there were 4 official family events going on. Saturday afternoon was at my sister’s house with my mom and sisters and family. Sunday afternoon was at my dad’s home with the sisters and family. Monday prevening/evening was with Matt’s father’s extended family. Tuesday started off at my house with my mom and then I headed out to Matt’s parents’ house for some more Christmas and is mother’s sister’s family came over.

    We had a lot of fun and it was so nice to have Matt there for all of it. He works such a goofy schedule, but he finished his last day on 1st shift on Friday and then had 5 days off! It was perfect. 🙂 And the weather was real cooperative until the day after Christmas. The news called for a blizzard and boy was that fun, but that’s another story.

    snowflake lights

    For Christmas with Mom, we have started exchanging names between the adults, but then all getting something for the kids. It’s been fun and Mom usually finds something goofy for all of us to have and enjoy. This year were glasses that changed the shape of lights when you wore them. I tried to capture the sight as much as possible through my camera. Above is the best I could do, but I think you can get the idea.

    Sunday, we had a really sweet service at my church. We were scheduled to have communion and Pastor Tim came up with a creative way to tie all of the life of Christ together in one service. It was a blessing for the morning.

    week 22 church

    After church, we headed over to Dad’s house for the next Christmas party. They just got a new puppy named Casper. He’s a Maltese, which means he doesn’t shed so there are no allergies. He was teeny tiny and a frisky little ball of fluff. I love dogs, bigger dogs though, but Casper is a cutie.

    week 22 casper

    I had to work half a day on Monday, but after work, I drove up to The House and hung out there until it was time to go to his grandpa’s house. Matt’s dad’s family is all over this area, and so there are frequent get-togethers with his aunts’ families and cousins and such. Most of them are married and there are some young kids that run around. They’re pretty cute (the kids, anyway) and I’m enjoying getting to know all of them.

    On Christmas Day, I woke up at my house with Mom and we opened gifts – I got a slew of kitchen utensils and sewing supplies. Just what I was wanting! Plus, the kitchen utensils are yellow 😀 After a while, I drove up to Matt’s parents’ house and spent the rest of the day there. Oh my word, I had a haul there! Here are some things I got for Christmas:

    week 22 elephant

    I’ve been eyeing this jewelry bowl for a while now. I pinned it to my Elephant board on Pinterest a while ago. It is so sweet, I just love it!

    week 22 darth

    Yep, the Boy got this for me. When you press Vader’s head, the screen lights up red. So cool. 🙂

    week22 sewing machine

    I.AM.SO.EXCITED.FOR.THIS!!! I have been worried about how I’m going to get all my sewing stuff done once I’m married without a machine, and I hate the idea of borrowing someone else’s. This Kenmore and I are going to spend lots of time together. Don’t worry Matt, not as much as you and me. 😀

    On Christmas Day, I got a message from a dear friend on Facebook that another of our friends, Chris Rushing, had not shown up to his family Christmas party. They tried to contact him and when he didn’t respond, they went to his place and found him. He had died suddenly and left such an ache in the hearts of all our friends. I head over to his profile every so often and read the messages to and about him from loved ones. He was one of the sweetest and most encouraging guys I’ve known. And hilarious! I can remember all the great convos we’ve had over the years and how much laughter there was in them. He will be so missed, but I take such comfort in knowing that he is now with Jesus – probably singing karaoke, or getting a road trip coordinated. I bet there are road trips in heaven, yeah? 🙂 I don’t know what he’s up to, but I know that he’s with our Saviour now. Please pray for his family and friends as they start the new year without this man.

    Chris01
    Chris Rushing
    September 25, 1982 – December 25, 2012
    “War Eagle”

    On a happier note, I also got a message from my step-brother that my newest niece was born on Christmas Eve! She is gorgeous and I’m in love with her already. I can’t wait to meet her. Her name is Evangeline Grace. I don’t get to see my step-bro and his family nearly enough, but I love being an aunt. It’s one of my favorite things ever. Matt and I were talking about how, when we’re married, he’ll be an instant uncle – 14 times! That’s right! I’ve got 7 nephews and 7 nieces! Seems wild to think about, but it’s a blast!

    EvieGrace
    Evangeline “Evie” Grace
    December 24th, 2012; 5:17 pm CST
    7 lbs 9 oz; 20.25 in

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    I’m getting married to my, you guessed it, best friend on June 1st, 2013! Matt and I are super-excited and since we have quite a bit of time to plan this thing, I decided it’d be fun to blog about it. Well, maybe not always fun, but at least informative and it might give me a welcome distraction. You can find all the posts by clicking the “Getting Married” tab on the right of this page, or by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!

    My Pinterest Wedding Board

    Our Wedding Website on WeddingWire.com