BRIDESMAIDS

Whoever said planning the wedding was the hard part was wrong. Finalizing my bridesmaids has been the hardest thing, ever. Ryan, however, knew who his groomsmen were going to be and pretty much in what order they would be standing from the moment we got engaged. You would have thought he had spent his childhood dreaming of his wedding day. Finally after a month of engagement, I had made a decision of four beautiful gals that mean so much to me. At this point, I was just crossing my fingers and saying my prayers that they would say yes.

I figured with such a grand decision, I needed a grand proposal. So after shopping throughout some craft stores, this is what I came up with. By the way, Carly shopped for this stuff with me during a "girls day" and how I kept the use for the materials a secret baffles me. I had to lie all day to her. To those that personally know me, know I can't lie to save my life. But...I don't think she knew! Wooo! Go me!

Now for the line up...

Matron of Honor: (I know I put maid...my bad) Ashley, cousin

Bridesmaid 1: Carly, BFF--She is getting married in August!

Bridesmaid 2: Madi, cousin

Bridesmaid 3: Robyn, Ryan's sister--Does this count as not being an only child now?! I am super excited to gain a sister!

Each box had...

• A black with gold sharpie mug labeled with "Bridesmaid" or "Maid of Honor", the wedding date, and the girl's name.
• A paper chain of "bridesmaids" with the name of the corresponding bridesmaid.
• A personalized card that popped the question.

Ryan's groomsmen are three boys he grew up with and then, my pick, C.J. This past weekend we finally finished asking everyone in our wedding party, including the kids. Aside from how I asked my bridesmaids, I loved how we asked our flower girls. Over Christmas break Ryan "proposed" to my cousin Graci, 2 years old, with a ring pop. It involved candy so that was an easy answer "I want the sucker." Then he proposed to my bold, outgoing cousin, Lily, 6 years old, with a small, gold, flower ring. Adorable.

The video shows just how shy she was, it was so cute. Oh, and ignore the P.J.'s, it was during our Christmas breakfast.

xo
Miss Mal

#studebakerwedding

Snow, snow, snow, snow.  ...I want to wash my hands, my face, and hair with snow.
Is this what it is like in Vermont during the winter? I can't stop singing Bing Crosby's, "Snow," from White Christmas with all of this angelic-like, pure, white snow surrounding us here in Kansas.  However, snow can be a good thing for us teachers...snow day! I took a sick day on Monday and as I was calling in for another sick day on Tuesday, I was notified that school was cancelled. Thank you God. Today was also cancelled. Can you guess how I've spent my past few days, besides listening to my record player? Pinteresting, of course.

And by Pinteresting, I mean planning for my wedding. My mom used to own her own wedding shop and so I feel like I have practically had most of my wedding planned out for awhile, just had to wait for a groom (found him!). She had a great business and did amazing, but it still makes me wonder, what did we do before Pinterest? There are so many really cool (and odd) ideas that I have gotten from the site.

I have sooo many ideas on my "Winter Wedding-Secret Board" and quite frankly, I can't keep them all a secret. So here's a small sneak peek! I have always loved the richness and boldness in black and gold sparkly things. Then after I watched the movie The Great Gatsby earlier this year, I knew I wanted a party like that. Perfect combo and fitting for winter, if I do say so myself. Formal, fun, and classy. My favorite.
I love pictures and constantly post to Instagram, daily. If you follow me, I am sure you are fully aware. Anyway, I love the idea of guests sharing their photos via IG! Then, the parinoid person I am, I was scared someone would already call dibs on the hashtagname I wanted, so I have already been hashtagging my posts. DIBS! #studebakerwedding

Aside from Pinterest, my Erin Condren wedding planner has been awesome for the planning process and organizing all of the dates, phone numbers, to-do lists, the budget, my scattered thoughts, and much more.

***If you are a "Bride to Be" and in need of a planner, here is a code for 25% off your wedding planner! Code:BRIDE2BE25 offer expires on 2/14/14***

IMPORTANT: I have decided on my reception venue and was able to find a place in my hometown. The kicker, it's in the process of being renovated. It is a historic sight downtown and would bring in a lot of business to our small town if the owners were able to finish the project. Money is an issue though so they are trying to get a grant to help the process go by quicker. Please visit this website and vote daily>>> Small Business Grant from Fedex. You can vote daily from each device (phone, iPad/tablet, laptop, etc.). I have faith in them and that it will be BEAUTIFUL! My only other option is to have a reception hall that is out of town and could possibly not work out if a winter storm rolls through next winter. Thanks a million for your vote! :)

10 months and 3 weeks until I become a MRS.! Also, a quick shout out to my main man, Superman, first love--my daddy. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

xo
Miss Mal

Planning OCD

Today started out normal, as usual. Hit the snooze about 3 times, decide I can go without fixing my hair and putting on too much make up (reset alarm for about 45 minutes later), throw something in the microwave for breakfast and flip on the Keurig while brushing my teeth and rushing to get dressed, blah, blah, blah. I arrived to yet another training (which was actually really great) for a long day, worked a bit in my classroom and then headed home.

Normal, right?

Then.... I stopped by the post office (there had been some mix ups with my mail) and they ever so cheerfully handed me this.....

I felt like a kid, wait, scratch that...I do on Christmas morning. I wanted to hug the mail lady myself! My Erin Condren lesson planner finallyyy came in the mail! ...and don't you just love when things come wrapped all pretty? Like I said, Christmas morning :) Each planner is personalized to your liking. You can even request specific things you would like on it, in it, or about it. I am telling you, this Erin girl is awesome!

I chose the "chalkboard" style and you can see how I personalized it. One silly thing I was excited about was the aluminum coil they used to bind the book instead of the plastic one previously used. The inside is filled with colorful tabs and is very organized (which is crucial to my OCD). The inside also consists of page protectors for important papers, folders, a bookmark, an absentee log, a student checklist, pages for notes, and of course, a super easy lesson plan layout. My camera on my phone stopped working right after I snapped the above photo or I would have more amazing photos to share. You can check all of this out, including a video showing you the inside, here. Teachers....this is a MUST have! Seriously! Oh...and right now on anything under Tools for School on her site is 10% off until the 23rd!

On her website, she also has tons, I mean tons of other stuff too! Life planners, wedding planners, stationary, prints, recipe cards, iPad/iPhone cases and stickers, and lots more. CHECK IT OUT! It is not just for teachers. Did I mention when I received my package, there were FOUR discount codes inside?! Score!

Anyway, enough of my rant. As you can tell, I am super pumped for this and the planner has me really excited about lesson planning. I better finish as much of that as I can while I still feel so happy about it ;)
ENJOY!


xo
Miss Mal