What I've been up to...

Ok, so you may have noticed that my blogging has been rather infrequent in the past weeks. Yes, that is partly due to the fact that I'm waiting (im)patiently for my professional wedding photos to arrive in my hot little hands.

But of course, that isn't the only thing. Changes are a-comin! If you follow me on Twitter, you might have noticed a mysterious name change over the weekend. I promised that it would all make sense eventually.

You see, I've been working on something else. Yep. A new site. My own domain. My little piece of the Internet that belongs to me. I'm pretty pumped. It is slightly light on content at the moment, but I'm working on it. However, it is ridiculously good looking, thanks to Lauren (aka Mrs. Scissors), who did an incredibly wonderful job with the design.

So everyone...I present to you: she likes ruffles, he likes truffles

I encourage you to stop by, say hello...and you know...become a follower? I'll be transitioning to the site permanently after my wedding recaps are completed, so get ahead of the game and subscribe now! You know you want to.

Enabling your online shopping...

I love shopping. A lot. When I have free time, it is likely that I turn to the world of online shopping. It makes me happy. And do you know what else makes me deliriously happy? Fabulous deals.

Enter: RueLaLa. The sales are short, but the deals can be awesome! Want an example?

I snagged these Betsey Johnson bad boys from RueLaLa for around $70. Original retail price? $169. They arrived in pristine condition and in a timely manner. They even include a pre-paid shipping label if you aren't happy with the product; returns are a cinch.

So...you know you want to have access to this site, right? Well, to do so, you're going to need an invitation. Annnnd guess what? Today is your lucky day, because I have them.

CLICK HERE! GET YOUR INVITE NOW! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?!

AND if you sign up with my invite before August 8, YOU get a $10 credit in your account! Free money...how can you NOT pass that up?

You...are...welcome.

The Bachelorette: A sunset bridal shower

Once our busy day of nail salons and flower previews seemed to be complete, the bridesmaids and I had one last activity! The girls had put together a small bridal shower for that evening - how fun! We were joined by sorority sister J, who had flown in that afternoon, as well as my mom, both my grandmothers, and my Aunt J!

The girls laid out quite a lovely spread of appetizers: hummus, pita chips, assorted veggies, homemade guacamole (YUM), baked brie, spinach dip, fruit salad, and some yummy desserts.

The big hit of the dessert spread was definitely MOH L's apple dip - it consisted of a whipped cream cheese layer, caramel apple dip, and heath bar crunch topping. My mom also discovered that it tasted ridiculously good when spread on top of a brownie. We are so healthy...

And of course, there were drinks...MOH L crafted some adorable drink tags for the guests.

Each came with a beautiful handmade wine charm from an Etsy artisan. I loved them: each featured a different combination of beads and bird charms...they matched our wedding theme wonderfully! We had a spread of assorted wines, champagne, and even some champagne punch that the ladies whipped up!

We made some quick work of that champagne punch though...

After we stuffed ourselves silly, it was time to play a few games. For one, MOH L had contacted Justin and put together a list of questions/answers about himself that I had to answer.

For the most part, I did well. However, we all had a good laugh when MOH L asked me who Justin's best friend is. Of course, I confidently said it was me (yep, I'm vain)! But...apparently Justin had answered that his friend/groomsman J was! Sheesh! Of course, with the most perfect of timing, my phone rang right after that question was answered. It was Justin...and you can clearly see that I had to give him the 3rd degree about it...just kidding...a little teasing WAS an order though.

During our "game time," the beach house had some visitors. BM K's fiance and sorority sister J's boyfriend had spent the afternoon down at the beach, and returned to the house to retrieve their belongings. My grandmothers and Aunt J were excited that the "entertainment" had arrived, and requested that they perform a little dance for all of the ladies. Needless to say, they weren't biting at that offer...but it didn't stop my relatives from trying to persuade them!

We all found it pretty amusing...

Finally, the sun was setting, and it was time for a champagne toast! We trekked down to the beach with our fancy schmancy plastic champagne glasses for some sunset photos! BM A apparently wanted two glasses...

MOH L gave a short and sweet toast to the upcoming wedding weekend...

And we all enjoyed the beautiful sunset the evening had in store for us. We couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous night!

Need to catch up on the wedding week festivities?

The bachelorette party commenced

We had a night out on the town

Relaxation, excitement, and slight panic

Something went awry with our rehearsal dinner

It wouldn't be a wedding without something going awry...

I already alluded to the fact that when BM L, A, and I drove past the rehearsal dinner location, I thought something looked strange. At that moment, I put it out of my mind, but nevertheless, it kept bugging me.

When we returned to the beach house, my cell phone rang. It was my mom, and she had some interesting news. Justin's mom had arranged with the rehearsal dinner restaurant to drop off the centerpieces on Friday morning so she wouldn't have to worry about them on Saturday. She had arrived at the restaurant that morning to discover the doors were closed, chained, and padlocked! She had spoken with the manager that Tuesday, only 3 days earlier...and there seemed to be nothing wrong at that time. However, at some point between Tuesday and Friday, the restaurant had closed. And, of course...they hadn't informed Justin's mother of this.

Source

So...there we were...without a rehearsal dinner location for the following evening. If it was a small dinner, I might not have been concerned. However, our rehearsal dinner was scheduled for 60 guests, and it was being held on a Saturday night....on a holiday weekend. As soon as my mom told me the news about our original restaurant closing, I could feel my heart (and stomach) drop down to my toes. This...was...not...good!

Now, I'm going to pause the story for a moment. During my planning process, I constantly was hearing how there really is no way to avoid at least one thing from going wrong in relation to your wedding day. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. Something IS going to go wrong at SOME point during your wedding festivities. But, you know what? Things have a way of working themselves out. Breathe in...breathe out...

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At first, I thought that our rehearsal dinner was going to be a catastrophe. How in the world were we going to resolve this problem in less than 24 hours? I figured that we would have to order pizzas and eat them in our hotel lounge, or something to that accord. Well, luck happened to be on our side. Justin's mother had frantically searched around the area, and ended up visiting a restaurant where Justin's brother had held his rehearsal dinner a few years back. They were able to accommodate the size of our group, AND they were willing to recreate our menu to the best of their ability (our guests had already pre-selected their dinner choice for the evening). Problem solved! The only thing we had to do now was to inform our guests of the new location, and give them directions! Sigh of relief? Indeed. Crisis...averted!

Have you had a moment of panic during your wedding planning?

The Bachelorette Festivities: Relaxation, excitement, and slight panic sets in

After a day at the aquarium followed by a night on the town, the bridesmaids and I decided that the next day would be one of relaxation. Well, sort of! We slept in a little later than usual, then quickly dressed and ran out the door to get to the nail salon.

We picked up some sustenance in the form of Panera sandwiches and coffee, and proceeded to the nail salon for manicures and pedicures. It was definitely nice to sit in a comfy massage chair for an hour or so...with the hustle and bustle of pre-wedding excitement, it can sometimes be difficult to take a moment to relax and take everything in. However, I highly recommend taking some time to yourself before your wedding day if at all possible!

After the nail salon, the bridesmaids and I headed over to my parents' house. Some of my relatives had arrived the previous afternoon, and I was eager to say "hello!" Do you remember how I mentioned that I had committed my relatives to slave labor on my behalf? Well, my mom, both my grandmothers, my aunt, AND my grandfather had been hard at work on our favors into the wee hours of the night. They must love me...

They look happy enough, right?

The idea for our favor came up randomly one night. I was at dinner with my parents, and we were discussing some wedding details. My mom and I were commiserating about the situation. The original idea was to bag up some yummy key lime cookies from a local bakery. However, something about it was just not exciting us. Then, out of nowhere, my dad came up with a brilliant idea! If you recall, Justin and I met because of our pups. When I was a kid, my mom used to make a delicious snack called "puppy chow" all the time - a combo of Crispix cereal, peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar. Why not bag up some "puppy chow" for our guests as a nod to the furry friends that brought us together? The decision was made on the spot. So, a few days before the wedding, my family members were wrangled into melting peanut butter and chocolate, shaking bags filled with powdered sugar, and portioning each treat into white coffee bags that I had affixed monogrammed stickers to.

Things were incredibly busy at our household when we arrived; bags had to be packed, supplies had to be delivered, and we still had an important appointment to go to that afternoon! Do you remember how I said my florist would give me a flower preview? It was time for mine! When we walked into my appointment, I was bracing myself...even though I knew that Debbie had a firm grasp on my vision, I was very anxious to see if it was realized!

Oh boy, was I ever excited! As soon as my eyes landed on our flowers, a huge grin spread across my face. They were perfect. No, more than perfect, if that is even possible! Ok, so I am going to go ahead and spoil my pro pics by showing you my flowers now...but I just can't help myself! Can you see why I was about ready to jump for joy?

Fun fact: I don't know that we ever discussed the size of my bouquet in our meetings. My bridal bouquet was LARGE and IN CHARGE! Seriously: look at it next to me!

However, it was perfect. Absolutely perfect. The peonies and cabbage roses looked stunning together, especially with the seeded eucalyptus.

Debbie even added sprigs of rosemary, as it is a calming herb (and what bride doesn't need a little bit of calm on her wedding day?). The bridesmaids' bouquets turned out beautifully as well; they were created with cabbage roses, creamy stock, lisianthus, white cymbidium orchids, and seeded eucalyptus.

Gorgeous. I pretty much did not want to leave my flowers at that point; I was infatuated. But alas, there were things to do and people to see, so BM L, A, and I headed back to Clearwater. Bye bye my lovelies...

On the way back to the beach house, I took BM L and A through some back roads near the water. It was a lovely scenic drive. I also wanted to point out to them where our rehearsal dinner was going to take place the following evening. When we drove through downtown Clearwater, I saw the restaurant up ahead. As we passed by, I made a comment that something looked strange...but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Little did I know what was to come...

Happy Monday - and we have a winner!

Well, I hope everyone's week is off to a good start! I know that it certainly will be for one lucky individual, since it is time to announce the winner of the Uprinting custom notecard giveaway!

Drumroll please....

Congratulations to Ali from His Birdie's Nest! Woo hoo! If you don't already follow her blog, I highly recommend you click over and start to. She is always posting scrumptious looking recipes, and darn it, she is just an all-around lovely individual!

Again, thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway; I'm looking forward to the next one soon!

Bachelorette festivities: a night on the town!

After our trip to the aquarium and soaking up the sun all afternoon, it was time to get ready for a night out! The bridesmaids and I got gussied up and headed out for a delicious dinner at Island Way Grill. We shared some edamame, drank a few cocktails, and noshed on some delicious dinner (mmm wasabi mashed potatoes? Yes yes yes). We did have to keep our eye on the clock however, because a sweet ride was coming to meet us!

We hurried back to the beach house after dinner to meet up with our limo for the evening! Mommy Buttons has clued MOH E in on a great Groupon that a limo company was offering, and she snatched it up for the night!

After getting settled in our limo, I was handed our itinerary for the evening. It involved some bar hopping in a few different locations. Fun! Of course, on the way there we had to pop open some bubbly. Well, not "we," more like "me," since none of the other girls were willing to open a champagne bottle in fear of taking someone's eye out! Thankfully, I have opened quite a few champagne bottles in my day, so I was able to help them out...

The girls even brought some sliced strawberries to add to the champagne! And, check out MOH E's fancy work on the champagne glasses! She made one for each of us; don't they look great?

We also bejeweled ourselves with some fabulous light up engagement rings - you twist the top and it lights up like a flashlight! Very useful...

I opened a few presents at this time too, which might have included a few "unmentionables." And...this is probably very messed up, but is it sad that I got THIS excited over a bag of pretzel M&M's that BM L got me? They are so good.

BM K made me an amazing bachelorette sash - how crafty is she?!?! I was so impressed with her handiwork, and it even matched my outfit pretty well! Score!

Well, it turned out that the limo driver was unable to locate our first destination on the list, so after driving around for about an hour, we finally made it to our second location. We were dropped off in the Channelside district in Tampa, where we headed into Howl at the Moon for some live piano music and a bucket of...alcohol. I'll be honest - the bar scene wasn't exactly hopping on a Thursday evening, but there WERE two other bachelorette parties taking place in the bar, so that was pretty entertaining!

We sipped on our enormous drink, sang along with the music, and even might have danced on stage for a bit. The girls even paid to have a message written on the mirror behind the piano...ha...ha...ha...verrrry funny ladies...

When it came time to return to our limo, we were tired. When we returned to the beach house, we promptly crashed in our beds. It had been a great night!

Are you planning a fun night out on the town/did you have a fun night out for your bachelorette party?

Giveaway Time Once Again!

Get excited, it is time for another giveaway, sponsored by the printing company UPrinting!

What is up for grabs this time?

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50 5x7 folded note cards with plain envelopes for your greeting card printing needs!

Details:
The note cards are printed on 14pt cardstock gloss, with 4 color front and blank back.

The set comes with 4 Baronial blank envelopes.

The notes are half fold (scoring only)

Shipping: FREE UPS Ground Shipping

Eligibility: Limited to US Residents only. Must be 18 years old and up.


How to enter:

1. Leave a comment and let me know what you would use the note cards for. (1 entry)

2. Follow my blog, or if you are already a follower, make sure you remind me in your comment! (1 entry)

3. Follow me on Twitter @QueButtons, and send out this tweet about the contest (and then remind me when you've done so!): I just entered a #giveaway for 50 custom note cards on @QueButtons blog- http://bit.ly/9Wru2F (1 entry)

The contest closes at 11:59PM Eastern time on Friday, July 16. I will then select a winner at random after compiling all of your entries!

***As a sponsored post, I am also receiving note cards from Uprinting.com for hosting this giveaway.

Lovely Tonight: A Sneak Peek

You've been waiting for them. I've been waiting for them. Well...more like dreaming about them and pining after them in a rather impatient manner. I will explain the reason for the delay soon (trust me, there is quite a story behind it), but for now I'd like you to get excited because I have finally seen some photos from our wedding day! Insert trumpets and angels and musical instruments here...

Are you ready??? Drumroll please....

All photos by the wonderful Pilster Photography

Ok, so now that I've thoroughly teased you, you're going to have to wait...again! I still do not have the rest of the photos in my possession, so we are all going to have to practice the fine art of patience. However, it WILL be worth the wait; judging by how beautiful our teasers were, I just know that there are many many more gorgeous images to come!

Were you on the edge of your seat while waiting to see images from your photographer?