Pretty Little Keepsake

I came across this tonight from random image searches....I ended up on the Kenzie Kate blog called Something Old, Something New and buried in the archives somewhere was this:

It's a locket that is made to go on your wedding bouquet. You could fill it with a picture of your husband to be, or a picture of the two of you, or a monogram of your names. You could also fill it with a loved one that has passed on and cannot be with you on your wedding day or even pictures of your parents or grandparents on their wedding days. The cool thing about it is that after the wedding, you can send it back to the designer (Lost and Fawned on Etsy) and she'll make a custom chain for your locket to go on. How awesome is that? An adorable piece of your wedding that you can wear forever. 

I love personal, sentimental items....and this is right up my alley! I'd fill mine with a picture of me & Mark, along with a little design of our names and our wedding date. I'd probably like to get the outside engraved with our wedding date too! :)

...This was too cute that I couldn't help but share it for all you brides-to-be out there! 

Wedding Flowers Inspiration

I'm suppose to meet with our event design company tomorrow (Red Mountain Design), which also happen to be doing our wedding flowers. I've met with them a few times before, but tomorrow we're suppose to firm up the selections for our wedding flowers. 

To prepare for the meeting and to be able to get my ideas across visually, I created a wedding flowers inspiration board.

As you can (hopefully!) see from the board, I'm going for a loose, romantic, garden feel for the florals. I hope this helps to translate what's in my head into what appears on the day of the wedding!! :)

Jillian Michaels Kicked My Booty - Part 2, Level 2

...that's right....Level 2

I started doing the 30 Day Shred DVD by Jillian Michaels on February 3rd. I was sore the next day...quite sore. But the day after that, I was EXTREMELY sore. I mean the kind of sore that hurts to sit, to walk, to shift positions...even to move your legs while you're laying in bed. Oh yeah, I was in pain. My quads were PISSED. I knew all those squats and lunges were gonna do me in...and they did! My arms were sore too...but that soreness was hardly even noticeable compared to my legs!! So yeah, I admit it...I took a little time off from Miss Jillian. But I did still go to the gym (mostly cardio and some abs). The following Tuesday, 2/10, I popped the DVD back in and tried again. To my surprise, this time around was a LOT easier. My legs felt worked and a good level of soreness at the end. And I could walk properly the next day! Woohoo!! I can't say that I did the DVD every day that week, because I didn't, but I DID do the DVD 3 times that week (mixing it up with yoga and workouts at the gym). 

That brings us to this week. Monday, I went to the gym; Tuesday I did the Shred DVD, and today (2/18) I did something a little unexpected....I did Level 2 on the DVD. That's right!! I stepped it up! ...And man was it hard!!!!! whew! I thought I was going to die about half way through. I was POURING with sweat. Seriously. In this second level, Jillian tricks you a little bit. Her circuit is 3 minutes strength, 2 minutes cardio and 1 minute abs...right? Well in Level 1 it is just that....but in level 2, the cardio all of a sudden becomes strength/cardio. Oh yeah. She LOVES the plank position. A LOT. You get in plank, you jump your legs in out from a bent leg pike position back out to the straight legged plank position. This is considered cardio? Oh no, no, no...Our cardio was jumping jacks and jumping rope and butt kicks remember? Um, yeah...that's not the case in Level 2. Yes, there was some jump roping; Yes, there were a few jumping jacks; and Yes, there were high kicks....but guess what else you work while doing high kicks? Your abs. And your legs. I guess you could call it "smart cardio", but I call it "Jillian Michaels fooling me into doing EVEN more strength training in my workout". Whew!!

I better see some results Jillian!!!!!! I mean I better be looking like this soon:

(speaking of results...I think I've lost about 2 lbs since the beginning of Feb....so that's something right?!?)

Where in the World Would You Go....on your Honeymoon?

I think we started envisioning our honeymoon as soon as we got engaged. We both just skipped basically over the entire wedding and went straight to the honeymoon. Mark and I love to travel and we desperately want to do more of it, so planning a "once in a lifetime trip" was right up our alley! Ever since we starting envisioning it, we've had a LOT of trouble narrowing it down! We were all over the place! Bora Bora, Santorini, Hawaii, Mexico, Caribbean, Thailand, Bali, Maldives, Sechelles....you name it, we wanted to go there. Obviously (from the places i just named) we are orienting it towards beaches. We both love the water. I mean, don't get me wrong...we want to do other things too...but lying on a beach sipping a fruity cocktail is my idea of vacation! At least for the first day or two after the wedding. We do also want some adventure in there as well...like snorkeling, deep sea fishing, catamaran cruise, hiking, zip-lines, kayaking, jet ski tours...whatever! So we've made a list of our top places and now we need you guys to help us narrow it down even more! 

One & Only Palmilla -  Los Cabos, Mexico:

From the Website:

A verdant oasis on the tip of the Baja Peninsula. Where azure waters greet the mountainous desert and the Pacific Ocean merges with the Sea of Cortez. Where warm waters break onto a dramatic shoreline...and gray whales can be seen rising majestically in the distance. Here the gracious style of Old Mexico - with its red-titled roofs, whitewashed walls, and idyllic setting of exquisite fountains - is quietly nestled amidst swaying palms, bird of paradise and other tropical bloom.

French Polynesia (this one is a package):

1 night at the Radisson Plaza Resort in Tahiti

3 Nights at the Moorea Pearl Resort & Spa:

From the Website:

The Moorea Pearl Resort & Spa is situated on 7.5 acres of white sand beachfront, a short drive from arrival points on the island and two miles from the magnificent Cook's Bay.

And 3 Nights at the Bora Bora Pearl Resort & Spa:

From the Website:

At the Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort you can discover the sparkling magic of the lagoon, admire the awe-inspiring Mount Otemanu while luxuriating in the peace and tranquility of the soundings.

Four Seasons Maui at Wailea - Maui, HI:

From the Website:

One of the world's finest resorts shows how even perfect experiences can improve on perfection. Discover aloha enchantment with chic sophistication in the Island's most spacious guest rooms -- completely renewed and rewired for the 21st century. Bask in Maui's driest, sunniest weather. On a white-sand crescent of Pacific paradise, allow Four Seasons to give you Wailea at its very best.

Four Seasons Hualalai Kailua - Kona - Big Island, HI:

From the Website:

Welcome to Four Seasons Resort Hualalai at Historic Ka'upulehu. On the exclusive Kona-Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, this magical, tropical oasis captures the essence of Hawaii's golden age. It offers seclusion without isolation, complemented by an award-winning sports club and spa and a private jack Nicklaus signature golf course.

So what do you guys think? Where would you go? Pluses or Minuses to any of these?

One Year Ago Today

....we were engaged. Yep, that's right....he popped the question on Valentines day. And I had absolutely NO idea it was coming. I love surprises :) 

I can't believe it's been a year already!! Where has the time gone??

In the spirit of the day of love, here are some some *lovely* quotes:  (I LOVE quotes!) :)

"To fall in love is easy, even to remain in it is not difficult; our human loneliness is cause enough. But it is a hard quest worth making to find a comrade through whose steady presence one becomes steadily the person one desires to be." - Anna Louise Strong

"Remember tonight...for it is the beginning of always." -Dante Alighieri

"Don't wait. The time will never be just right." -Napoleon Hill

"You Know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss

"The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for." -Allan K. Chalmers

"In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities." - Janos Arnay

"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies" -Aristotle

"She walks in Beauty, like the night

Of cloudness climes and starry skies,

And all that's best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes..." 

-Lord Byron

"I love you, not only for what you are, But for what I am when I am with you." -Roy Croft

"Thou art to me a delicious torment." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I love her and that's the beginning of everything." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." -Robert Heinlein

"The hours I spend with you I look upon as sort of a perfumed garden, a dim twilight, and a fountain singing to it...you and you alone make me feel that I am alive...Other men, it is said, have seen angels, but I have seen thee and thou art enough." -George Moore

"If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you made me smile, I would have the whole night sky in the palm of my hand." -unknown

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!! Celebrate the one you love! :)

Reception Music: DJ or Band?

DJ/rupture source

For reals.

Mark and I have been talking about this subject for longer than I'd like to admit (somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 months maybe?!?) and we STILL haven't come to a decision on it. Yes, that is S-A-D. I warned you...we're indecisive! 

Here's the issue...I work in the music industry and Mark is a musician (well, I mean, he's a structural engineer...but he's also a musician). So....can you see where this is going? We're particular about music. Some might go as far as to call us music snobs, but the point is we like good music. Now, I don't think it's any secret whatsoever about how cheesy wedding bands can be. We don't want that. We wanted a good wedding band (is that an oxymoron?). We basically narrowed it down to either a "party band" (who plays everything....classic rock, pop, top 40s, hip hop, 80s...you get the idea) OR an oldies/r&b type band. Well, I finally found 1 band that I liked pretty well...they are more of a party band composed of Belmont (school of music) alums. So guess what? They're booked for our date. Of course!!! So now I've searched high and low again and I'm coming up empty handed. 

Which brings us to our next option - a DJ. I always thought that bands were more fun at weddings than DJs. That bands were more interactive and really got the party going, whereas DJs were even more cheesy and play even worse music. I know that's not always the case...but that has been my general experiences. Plus, I just like live music. I'm at the point now where I'm considering a DJ. I'm at a loss for bands and I'm thinking that if we find the right DJ then it could work out really well. We could just find someone with a good music collection (we could even supplement their collection with some of ours) and also give them a good solid "Do Not Play List" and it could totally work out. I mean, at least this way we're hearing the songs we want to hear (b/c we're not limited by what songs the band knows) and we're hearing them as they were meant to be heard (b/c some band isn't totally destroying them in their rendition of the song) and we could still play lots of stuff to get the crowd going. 

My goal basically with the reception music is just for everyone to have a good time and to literally be on the dance floor all night. I want it to be a huge party and a huge celebration and I want everyone to dance their booties off! 

So....what do you think guys?!? Should we go with a Band or a DJ? If you vote Band please provide suggestions for bands! Heck...if you vote DJ please provide suggestions too!! :)

Thanks guys!! Any feedback you can give is appreciated! We're in time crunch mode on this detail now! (less than 4 months to go!!)

Jillian Michaels Kicked My Booty

Whew! Seriously....

Last week I ordered the DVD workout video 30 Day Shred from Amazon. My plan was to start February with a workout and weight loss routine....because, well...January came up on me too fast! :) I've been working out semi-regularly since last January, but I really needed to kick it up a few notches...I want to tone everything up and loose about 10 pounds before the wedding. Yep, I'm jumping on the bridal weight loss bandwagon! I never really thought I'd be one of those brides that would stress over the way they look on their wedding day and want to change things about myself before the wedding in order to look my best....but hey, if I'm putting this much work and this much money into 1 day then I better look good! Right?!? 

So, the adventure to a healthier, more toned version of me is beginning now (well, yesterday actually...I went to the gym)! And even though I've been eating pretty healthy for a while now, I'm going to kick that up a notch as well. I'm cutting out beer completely until the wedding, drinking less coffee (and more green tea! which i love as well), eating more fruit and veggies, and cutting back some on red meat. I'm going to try to add more fish into my diet as well. I've been eating whole grains for a while now so I'll continue that as well. Oh, and I tried a Boca Burger (the vegetarian burger substitute) the other day and it was really good. For real!

Back to the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD. WOW. It finally came in the mail today and I couldn't wait to try it. If you plan to do this DVD you'll need a mat, some hand weights and a high threshold for pain! :) This DVD kicked my butt! The workout is only 20 minutes long, but damn that was a LONG 20 minutes!! Her workouts are based on a 3-2-1 pattern...3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs. Then you repeat that progression several times. NO REST in between. Seriously...one move to the next. The strength was hard...lots of squats/lunges with arm work at the same time...it made me wish my weights were 3 pound instead of 5! The cardio was mostly jumping jacks, jump rope (simulated...no rope) and a running in place sort of move. It was definitely enough to get you out of breath...especially when it comes immediately after those strength moves! The abs weren't so bad...in my opinion. But that's probably because I do ab work quite regularly. On the other hand, I do NOT do squats regularly...which I should, obviously. Now, all of that I did today, all that was described....was Level 1. That's right...there's multiple levels - 3 in fact. Once you get comfortable in one level you're suppose to move on to the next.  Oh my. 

My legs were BURNING by the time I was done and I could already feel the soreness setting it. I hope I can sit tomorrow without wincing! :) If I can do this video everyday for 30 days while progressing through the levels then I just might look like Jillian Michaels by the end! Speaking of which...I'll have to see how it goes tomorrow with my soreness to see if I can do the DVD again. If not then I'll just be going to the gym. I figure that I need to at least do the DVD 4/5 times a week until I build up my endurance and then I can begin to do it daily. Thank God I still have 4 months till the wedding!! (oh my god, I only have 4 months till the wedding!!! AHH!!!)

Engagement Pictures!

We recently got our engagement photos back from our fabulous photographers Sean and Melanie McLellan of McLellan Studios and we are so excited about them! Mark and I both were a little nervous to be in front of the camera, but with Mel and Sean being such pros you can hardly even tell! We decided to take pictures both in an urban environment and a natural environment.

We took these in downtown Franklin, TN (where our photographers are from):

 I have to say, I think the pictures in the field are some of my favorites!

Check 'em out:

Thanks again to Sean and Melanie McLellan of McLellan Studio! We love you guys and we can't wait till May!! :)