Beautiful Summer Wedding Inspiration

So as we're gearing up for our own wedding, I am still finding other weddings as sources for inspiration. It allows me to look through each step of their event to be sure we're not missing any fun details that could add a lot of "oomph!" to ours. The wedding featured today on Martha Stewart's wedding site, is simply lovely and elegant, and screams "summer" to me. It is not overly fussy, and seems to focus on doing things the right way. Plus, I think a day wedding with a lunch reception would be lovely! Enjoy a few of my favorite pics from Lily and John's "Real Wedding" ...

Happy dance, happy dance!!

So as long as I have been a blogger (which is not that long...since February or so...just 60 postings worth), I have done so to share my thoughts and experiences, and to get to know wonderful, inspiring, and unbelievably kind people around the world with similar interests to me. It's turned into a fun little obsession, and a great hobby from which I really and truly have learned a lot!

This evening, I came home from work, walked Daisy, and settled down to take a little looksie at the ol' blog-roll. I was so surprised and excited to notice that I was nominated for my first TWO blog awards ever....and in the same day at that!!! Yep, totally worthy of doing a happy dance!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Angela at Sweet Tea Diaries and Beth Dunn at Social Climbers!! I am happy that I'm able to pass along the awards to the lovely ladies who are following my blog now.....some since the first day, and some since - well just a few minutes ago :) It is quite a pleasure to read your blogs, and to read your comments on my blog....so for that - thank you! Now on to the awards...

First, THANKS to Angela at Sweet Tea Diaries for the Queen of All Thiings Awe-summm Award!!! Here are the first steps to being a Queen: 1. List seven things that make you awe-summm 2. Pass the award on to seven bloggers you read religiously 3. Tag those 7 bloggers 4. Don't forget to link the Queen that tagged you 5. Copy the pic and put it on your sidebar

7 Things That Make Me Awe-summm
1. I am getting MARRIED in 54 days!
2. I am a tennis maniac
3. I have two siblings, two siblings-in-law, 3 nieces, and 3 nephews that I love dearly
4. I can make a mean chocolate chip cookie bar!
5. I ran a half-marathon in March
6. I am a firm believer in the golden rule....do unto others as you would have them do unto you. No exceptions.
7. I take pride in having good manners

Next up....I tag 7 amazing ladies whose blogs I read religiously:
Lis Loves
All Things Kimba
Up North Preppy
Just Another Day in Paradise
Preppy 101
Always A Northerner
Social Climbers

Ok, now Award #2 (I can't believe I'm typing that....2 awards in one day....so exciting!).....One Lovely Blog Award ... THANKS again to Beth at Social Climbers.

Here are the rules:
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here are the newly appointed winners of the "One Lovely Blog Award:"
From the Land of Cotton
Prep-E Girl
Green Magsterpie
French Kiss
Chic & Pink
Sweet Tea Diaries
The Cape House
Southern Daze
Windowboxes and Weissbier
Peachy Keen
Eat.Drink.Be.Meredith
Marci's Musings & Misadventures
Southern Hospitality

Phew, what a night! Lots of links. But truly, thanks for your interest in my blog -- and I hope you enjoy those awards as much as I am right now :)

In other news...

....my excitement for Friday, and for the gorgeous clutches is dulled a bit by an awful, horrible, disgusting sinus infection. I've had it since Monday and I am so ready to be able to breathe through both nostrils, it is not even funny!!

...how about the Thursday lineup of TV last night!? The Office was hilarious (the volleyball game alone was laugh-out-loud funny), and Grey's Anatomy (which I watched between 1:15-2:30am after not being able to sleep) was riveting. I'm not totally opposed to the latest twists and turns in the plot...minus Callie's not-so-believable relationship (first George, then McDreamy, then 2 female doctors...I don't buy it).

...I'm still kind of stuck on the news about the Gosselin family. It seriously is so disturbing that this family that has such an uphill fight with raising 8 kids (6 of which are the same age), now has to struggle with fidelity issues in the public. Seriously? I mean, if you have 8 kids, here's an idea: stick together as a team to provide a solid parental unit. I'm not a parent myself, but from my sister, I know it's very demanding, expecially x8. Maybe you shouldn't hang out with "friends" at 2:30am, when your kids will wake up in like 3 hours.

...I love Oprah. Love. Love. Love. Today's show is about a program for inmates to train puppies to become working dogs to help serve wounded veterans (Puppies Behind Bars). The program teaches the inmates responsibility, provides them with a skill, and provides society with dogs that are much needed. In all, I think it gives them hope, and shows them they can do better in the world. Thanks to Oprah for sharing this story!

The clutches are HERE! Wedding Details 5

They're here and they're beautiful! I am an Etsy believer, and I can't believe that I found these at such a great price. It will take a lot for me to not leak my excitement to my sister.


In other gifting news, I finished the pearl bracelets for my little flower girls. I packaged them with a bunch of stickers, a little photo album and fun bouncy balls, and then wrapped them in cute polka-dot wrapping paper, tied it all with a light blue grosgrain ribbon (I should have taken pics!!). My little nephew (ring bearer) will be extra excited for his gift too....a Caps puck signed by #8 Alex Ovechkin. He's a HUGE hockey fan!


***PS: THANKS for your sweet comments! Click here for Hope's Etsy site. (the clutches are a great price, you can pick ANY print in the world, and she is a DREAM to work with)

Wedding Details, Part 4

Yes, friends....I have the wedding on my mind 24/7!! So to share a little more about the decisions we've made, and the decisions we have yet to make, this post will feature our Save The Dates and our Ring Bearer.

Here is the inspiration for our Save the Dates, from Minnie and Emma. I just loved the classic simplicity, and the palm tree (and the coloring works perfectly for our wedding!). The palm tree is one of our main motifs for the wedding (for programs, Out of Town Guest Bags, and potentially a few more goodies). The patterns on the right are the envelope liners...we chose the top one, though they are all so cute!

Our ring bearer is my 5-year-old nephew. He'll be wearing seersucker pants, a navy blazer, suede bucks, white button-up shirt, and a Vineyard Vines bow-tie. He will be majorly prep-tastic....I can't wait to see him all dressed up!!!! One of the remaining details that we need to figure out is the item that he will use to carry the rings. Right now the top contenders are shown below.....a shell with a ribbon attached to the rings to ensure we don't lose them..... a preppy pillow like the seersucker number below (love it)...... or a chocolate lab stuffed animal with a ribbon around the neck, and our rings attached to the ribbon (we've gotta work Daisy into the festivities somehow).

2 Months To Go!!

Our big day is really coming up. Like it's in 61 days....it feels like it's basically tomorrow....which is AWESOME but slightly nerve-wracking at the same time b/c we still have a lot to do (or at least it feels that way....we're well ahead of our "The Knot" checklist). We're knocking out as many of the details as possible, and this weekend was especially productive. 99% of our guests will be traveling for the festivities, and they'll all receive "Out-of-Town Guest Bags" upon check-in to the various hotels and rental properties in the area. The bags will have 2 bottles of water, something salty, something sugary, the schedule of events for the weekend, some restaurant/activity recommendations, a map of the area, and maybe a few surprises that I will wait to reveal till later. I had been looking to do a personalized sticker for each bag, but then discovered this idea after a trip to Paper Source (I looooooove Paper Source):




(each tag with a message of "Welcome to Ponte Vedra Beach! Love, SB & Emily")

Happy Mother's Day!

To all of you moms out there, I hope you have had a wonderfully relaxing day with your loved ones....you most certainly deserve it! Mothering is one of the most difficult jobs out there -- though it is certainly rewarding, and I look forward to experiencing it myself one day!

When my brother, sister and I were kids, my mom worked tirelessly to ensure that we were well cared for, that we were given all the resources possible to explore our interests and passions, and she instilled great values and an unending curiosity to learn in each of us. She is one of the smartest women I know (she is killer at Scrabble and Trivial Pursuits...and also happens to be a Duke grad), and always gives the best advice. Shopping trips with my mom are amazing. Her main philosophy is if it looks good, buy it because a day will come when you will need it (and I wholeheartedly agree....though SB may not entirely like it...hehehe). I grew up playing tennis tournaments, and she drove me all over Wisconsin every summer, and she always presented a calm, encouraging face to look to in the crowd. She never pushed too hard (like some tennis parents), but she always was there, and always pushed me to do my very best.

In honor of my mom, here are a few of my favorite pictures of her. I wish I could be with her to celebrate in Wisconsin today....but I will give her a big bear hug when I see her for the wedding festivities in exactly 2 months and 1 day!!! I love you, Mom!!!

Peachy Keen Giveaway

Hey all! I just found a fun new blog, Peachy Keen (ok, so it's not new...just new to me!) She's hosting a giveaway in honor of her 200th post! Congrats to K.C. on 200!!!...and go check out her blog and sign up to win this awesome, preppy overnight bag:

Weekend Update

Despite the rainy weather, we had a GREAT weekend! Here's a quick recap on all my activities:

• USTA match....I won and our team won! Yay!
• The Caps won!! It was an intense and amazing game. It felt a touch lucky to get a "W" after it all...the Pens played tough, but the Caps managed to end up 1 goal ahead.
• 5k (Race for Hope).....I set a personal record :) I ran it in 27:11. Now here's the exciting thing that only a bride-to-be would notice....our wedding date is July 11 (aka 7/11)....and my time was 27:11 -- is that amazing, or what!?! I hope to have a few pictures eventually, but I'll need to wait till our friends send them around.
  
• Tennis league....nothing too exciting to report here, though I did manage to win (though the win doesn't really count towards anything like in USTA).
• Yesterday we also went to see "I love you, man" -- and it is soooo funny! I highly recommend it, especially if you're getting married soon (and even if you're not). "Totes magotes" and "Bro Montana" are a few fave phrases from the movie. If you live in a new city and are in the friend-making mode....this will feel familiar! Yes, I have been on a few "girl dates" with random friends of friends with the hopes of making friends (thankfully for me, it was obvious for both people that they were not actual date dates....not so for Paul Rudd in the movie). The wedding scenes at the end were nice and elegant....with a pretty relaxed feel. Here are a few pics:
  

A J.Crew wedding dress!

Tonight I'm home watching the Caps on tv (we gave our tix to the brother of one of our good friends), and watching today's tivo'd version of Oprah (I'm a big Oprah fan...and let's just say SB isn't... so I wait to watch when he's not home ;)

Happy May Day!

The weather is a bit cloudy today here in DC, but hopefully May will hold many bright, beautiful sunny days :)
We have a pretty hectic weekend....with the following activities on tap:

• First USTA tennis match of the season tonight (yay!)
• Caps game tomorrow (and a friend in town to join me at the game)
• Post-game Kentucky Derby watching (or so I hope!)
  
• 5k Race on Sunday morning
• Tennis league Sunday evening
  

I have a feeling I'll sleep really well Sunday night! TGIF :)