Thursday, August 26, 2010

Home Is Where The Heart Is..

So Phil and I have some pretty exciting news to share. See if you can guess what it is..






We bought this house! Now I will be the first to admit that the house is a dump...at the moment. When we are done with it, it's going to be awesome! I can feel it!



Here's a few "before" shots from the inside. In a few months I'll post some "after" shots and I'm sure you will be SHOCKED at the improvements. Actually I'm sure I will be too.

Here's the kitchen. It's got a FABULOUS gas stove that is probably original to the house. Not sure if it works..


The living room. GORGEOUS fire place! The water damage is not so gorgeous haha. The roof has a basketball sized hole in it.


Upstairs bathroom. The house has three bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms. I like that tile hiding under the ceiling chunks :).


Master bedroom! There is a cute little balcony on the other side of that door. Currently it has some weeds growing out of it.

And there it is! Stay tuned for more updates!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Briiiiiidezilla!


There have been a lot of weddings/engagements in my life recently (including my own!), and they've all been approached VERY differently. I was thinking about this while brainstorming about our STDs (Save The Dates. Sidenote: I thought I was super whitty and creative when I came up with that acronym and then found out it's pretty commonly used in the wedding-planning world. Bummer) and I just so happened to stumble across this funny little piece on Kadee's Wedding and thought I'd share.

How Bridezilla is Born!
Bridezilla: An engaged, spoiled princess whose every demand has always been met for her wedding. Is this you? (expert advice)

We’ve all heard the horror tales of Bridezilla and most of us have made promises to never become that unbearable bride ourselves. Now that your big day is almost here and you’re in the middle of planning the biggest event of your life – have you found yourself wondering how you’ll keep that promise and hide the Bridezilla that seems to be within us all?
Who is Bridezilla?
Some people believe that Bridezilla is a spoiled princess who’s every demand has always been met. The truth is, every single bride-to-be has the potential to become this dreaded wedding monster. The only thing on her mind is the wedding and she’s ready to destroy anything that stands in the way of her perfect day.

How is Bridezilla Born?
It usually starts with a little disorganization and the realization that time is moving much faster than the wedding planning. Once this happens, usually a few months before the big day, it won’t take much to create a new Bridezilla. The stress of planning a wedding is usually the real reason so many sweet and loving brides transform into monsters within a matter of minutes.
A few things that can trigger Bridezilla behavior:

  • A delay at the printer that holds up the invitations.
    Learning that your bridesmaid dress is only available in certain sizes – none of the ones you need.
  • Asking the groom-to-be for his portion of the guest list that still isn’t done.
  • As the big day gets closer, it will take even less to bring out Bridezilla. If the early warnings go unnoticed and nothing is done, a big wedding disaster could be in the future. I don’t know of any girl that has made it her goal to become Bridezilla, yet it happens everyday.


Bridezilla Doesn’t Have to be You
The first thing to remember is that there will never be a perfect wedding, but new brides usually never care once the day is over and most guests never even notice. The other – a bride-to-be cannot live on planning alone. Don’t neglect your friends, family, and loved ones for the sake of the wedding and don’t let the planning consume you!
You can’t hold back the appearance of Bridezilla on your own so communicate with your fiancĂ©, parents, and bridal party and enlist their support. Warn your groom-to-be of the Bridezilla warning signs and let him know his importance in the planning. Finally, when you become wedding-crazed and can’t seem to think about anything else – take a day off. No planning, no browsing, don’t even look through a wedding magazine, and definitely don’t talk about the wedding. The most important thing is to manage your stress and don’t obsess over perfection – take time for yourself and you’ll avoid the curse of Bridezilla.