Befores and Afters of my Home

I just wanted to show what an awesome job my (soon to be) brother in law did on my kitchen and bathroom. I think that it has really taken the place from the 1970s up to modern times. In the kitchen we replaced the tile (it was SO old and gross) with brown 6" square tiles and a brown and beige back splash. We also painted the cabinets an "ivory mist." I really love paint names.


This is the living room painting that my fiance and I did when I moved in a couple of years ago. Yes, the mirror wasn't removed (I think they stuck it on with super glue!) and just painted (a couple of coats over the mirror. No one would ever guess that there was mirror under there.


I still need to put on the hardware (brushed nickel knobs) but I love it. I'm so glad I get to enjoy it for a couple of months until I move out in May.


I am so sad that I don't have a before of this bathroom because the difference is huge. There is a new counter top and faucet changed out from the old circa 1979 yellow top that was on there before. The cabinet went from the same goldy brown that was in the kitchen to ivory mist as well. We also added the border around the mirror. What a difference!!


So I hope all of these changes will help my very loved condo sell in a couple of months. If you know anyone who is looking to buy a beauty of a condo in soon--send them my way!

Under the Three Month Mark!

And I am not talking about the wedding! Less than three months until Grant and I are no longer a long distance couple. Yes, it is only 2 hour away, but I don't care--I can't wait to not have to drive (and no more classes only clinicals for me and graduation for Grant).

The Food (my favorite part!)

I realized today that we decided on a wedding location but I haven’t given any more information on it. It is about 20 minutes outside of San Antonio in the adorable community of Castroville. They really have some cute shops and places to eat including…The Castroville Café. They also provide all of the catering for the Hofmann Ranch. So after touring the ranch (and falling in love with it), we headed into Castroville for lunch. Super yum. I am really excited to have the wedding food in their capable hands. For weddings they do three options:
1. Formal seated meals.
2. Banquet service (buffet).
3. Family style.
I knew I didn’t really want formal seated because it doesn’t fit with the wedding and people can’t change their minds when they see all of the awesome food. Banquet is good, but you see it everywhere and Grant and I LOVED the idea of family style when we were first introduced to it at the Salt Lick many moons ago. We probably won’t have anyone at the wedding with crazy food requests (vegetarian, vegan, only free range chicken ☺) so family style it is. The number of menus that Gary Carter (owner of The Castroville Café) has is awesome. Here are some of my favorite options:
• Chicken cordon Bleu with White Wine Cream Sauce
• Grilled Pork Loin Chop
• Pecan Crusted Chicken Breast
• Beef Tenderloin
• Confetti Chicken (didn’t know what this one was but he described it, it sounded awesome)
We can easily do two options with family style and then people get what they want (aka both options). Any ideas on which two to pick?

Dog Days of Summer..

When looking at wedding venues, I was quite obsessed with having a good rain plan. I really wanted an outdoor wedding and didn't settle until I picked a great place that has a wonderful plan. What I didn't think about as much was, what if the wedding was a typical Texas day in June: HOT, HOT, HOT! I think that I am going to have to do fans at the ceremony. Here are some ideas I love. I really don't want anything with our picture on (I just don't want our faces waving back and forth to keep people from sweating it up).

I heart sandalwood fans. At about $0.90 they may or may not be to much (they would double as a great favor)
knot.com

theknot.com

www.theknot.com (I like the matching bottle of water. I probably will just do grocery store bottled water.)

theknot.com

Pinching Pennies!

I have a little confession: I'm cheap and with a move (Austin --> Dallas!) and a wedding in the future, I know I will have to shell out some big bucks! I am always looking for a good deal and if you got one send it my way! I read this post at This Young House (take a look, it is an awesome site and look at their backyard wedding--too cute!) and wanted to share my online money saving ways.

1. Online Coupons (all are links. Click , print and SAVE!!)

40% off at Hobby Lobby and Micheal’s





10% off at Lowe’s and Home Depot if you register on their websites

2. Craigslist.com—Check here before even venturing to Ebay (it takes too much patience for me) or Amazon (local=no shipping and no waiting :) )

3. Slickdeals.com—my fiancé is always finding me great deals here.

4. Do it yourself if possible. I am lucky that my fiancé is a DIYer. While I am homemaking cards, dog beds, and anything that has instructions, he is changing the oil, laying wood floors and building awesome furniture (pictures of the goods later this week hopefully).

Pockets

Pockets in wedding gowns are awesome. There is no reason for them (like many things wedding related) but I'm still in love.


www.amsale.com -- I love their blue collection..

www.amsale.com

http://www.jcrew.com -- Great wedding dresses here that I would have NEVER expected!

Rusty's New Bed!

So I had a fun crafty weekend! I also make Rusty a cover for a dog bed that Grant got him at Cabela's! If anyone had tried to get a large nice dog bed, you know how expensive they are (see here). Grant wanted camo, so I obliged (he did paint part of my desk yellow when I asked him to :) ). Anyways, I don't have a sewing machine so I had to hand sew it (yuck!). It turned out pretty good (hey it is a dog bed) and I think that it is strong (everything is double stitched).

Huge mark-off = happy Rusty!


Huge bed = no so happy sewer!


I put buttons in because I hate zippers big time.


And here is the finished product--I really hope that Rusty like it!!

Card Making

Since Grant and I decided that we are going to make our own invites for the wedding, I have been looking at different ways or creating cards/invites. When I heard that one of my best friends from high school was engaged and I needed to send a card, I decided that we should try out card making. I have been making cards for a while, just with my printer but really was ready to turn it up to 11 (what movie?!?). Today, we tried heat embossing for the first time. We got the materials at Joann Fabrics (one of my favorite stores!) and away we went!

1. Stamp on the image you like (no image :( sorry)

2. Cover with embossing powder and dust off when dry. Don't be stingy here, you get to keep it!



3. Decorate the envelope too!


4. Heat gun time.. Just heat up the design until the color changed to shiny.

I loved all of the cards I made. It is a really easy project and turn out great.


You can't see the 3D of these cards. They really look expensive but aren't at all. Overall--great project and can't wait to do it for the invites! Next up is the dog bed project--Rusty is excited....

The Date Game is Over!

Well, big news! We finally picked a date! We are getting married June 5, 2010! It is also my brother's birthday but over a LONG distance phone call (he is stationed in Afghanistan), he said we could borrow the date.

Decision Day

One day late ain't too shabby (after a little schedule alteration, hehe). Drum roll please.....and our pick is.....






I'm in love with the place and our finalized date will be up as soon as Hofmann Ranch gets our green backs :)

http://www.hofmannranch.com/