Lately...

Let's face it, not much is going with the wedding planning these days. And since this blog is about real life, personal style and stuff that's kinda funny sometimes I'm gonna go off topic and tell ya what my life has looked like lately.

I celebrated my 33rd birthday a few weeks ago and met up with a few friends at Top Golf in Allen. If you've never been, you need to go! And try the chocolate chip cookies, they're THE best! (Thanks Allison!)

Nicole, Me & Allison

Made a new friend on my birthday and when I went to hang out with her the next day she brought me flowers as a belated birthday gift.

Thanks Nicole!

Continued the birthday celebrations and partied it up at the Gentleman Jack Arts, Beats & Lyric event here in Dallas last Thursday !

I hung with Miss Kelsey! Can you believe she's 7 months old already?? Time flies.

Showed my support for my future mister while he DJ'ed a block party last Friday for the City of Dallas.

He's doing big thangs y'all!!

Kawon took Kameron on his first fishing trip at White Rock Lake last Sunday while I worked.

Taken by Kawon w/his Blackberry

And, us just being us.

Sorry for the crappy photo.

One Last Fling Before the Ring!

Since there isn't much to be done right now for the wedding, I'm trying to stay excited about the planning process and have recently started thinking about my bachelorette party.

I've only been to two bachelorette parties before and there were both very different. Neither being the typical. When my cousin got married a few years back it was very small. She invited just her closest girlfriends and we made a day out of it. Starting off with mani's & pedi's, then lunch before heading out to dinner at a swanky restaurant and have drinks at the adjoining bar.

A few months ago my friend Mrs. K made a day of her party events as well but hand a ton of girlfriends on hand to celebrate with her. We started the afternoon off at Painting with a Twist, then headed to a downtown hotel to lounge out by the pool for a few hours. I skipped the pool party but met back up with her & her girlfriends for dinner that night before heading to a drag show that night. Fun times indeed.

For my party bachelorette party, I'd like something a little different but I haven't quite figured out exactly what though. If money were no object I had always envisioned having a GLAMOROUS themed party inspired by Fergie's hit song. Donned in hot pink and black & white attire, lots of bling, feather boas and sashes we'd party it up in Vegas. We'd make a weekend out of it flying in from Dallas to stay in a trendy hotel on the strip. We'd lounge by the pool during the day w/cocktails then get dolled up and dine at 4-star restaurants at night before heading out to drink & party until we were white girl wasted or the sun came up. LOL!

[caption id="attachment_196" align="alignright" width="167"] Source: Etsy[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_193" align="alignleft" width="215"] Source: The House of Bachelorette[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_195" align="alignleft" width="265"] Source: Dictoot[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_194" align="alignright" width="176"] Source: Bachelorette Party Supplies[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_197" align="aligncenter" width="196"] Source: Google[/caption]

While searching the web recently I found this baseball themed bachelorette party. It was planned based on the bride and who she wanted to invite and it really fit her personality.

I've also though about having it on a charter boat on a nearby lake. Recently, I photographed an event for my church on a catamaran boat and thought what a fun idea it would be to host a bachelorette party on the water.  We could simply pack a few coolers w/plenty of drinks and a picnic lunch and head out on the water. Add some music for a little dancing, or we can simply spend the day sharing gossip, reminiscing and planning for the wedding.

Maybe a road trip to a hot spring or even an old fashion slumber party. I could get the gang together and splurge on a hotel suite and enjoy a classic sleepover party like we did when you were teens.

Since were having a destination wedding and people are being so generous to join us on our special day, I don't want to plan something where people have to come out of their pocket even more. But since I only plan on doing this one, I want a night to remember.

The wedding's not til next year so make sure to come back to see what kind of party I have. If you have any fun suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

I Found a Wedding Dress...

My mother, future mother-in-law, maid of honor & I made our way to David's Bridal in Mesquite for my appoinment on my birthday 9/16 and the search for my wedding dress began.

My wedding consultant was pleasant but didn't really add much to my overall experience. I showed her what styles I was interested in and she brought a few dresses that were similar to start off with. I was alittle bummed that that store didn't carry the DB Studio line, but I was game to try on different dress styles anyways.

I will say that I was open to either an ivory or white dress but after trying on my first dress in ivory I quickly realized that it didn't work with my skin tone. The white dresses looked much, much better on me. The selection of dresses the store had in stick was alrigh, but I didn't like that they didn't have very many options of one shoulder dresses which I really wanted to try on.

After trying on about the fifth dress and still not loving anything, with the consultants permission I made my way around the store to pick a few out myself. And found two or three that I liked and wanted to try on.

My appointment was coming to an end and I was down to my last dress and still hadn't found something that I loved. As I walked out of the room with my finally dress on I loved it. I felt pretty. I felt like a bride. And then they 'jacked' me up with a headband and jewelry and I was sold. Kinda. I asked if I could walk around the store in the dress to get a feel for the dress and see how comfy it was. When I came back from my tour around the store, I said YES TO THE DRESS! And I bought it.

Two days later though, I woke up and thought to myself what had I done. I had a picture of myself in the dress and when I looked at it I knew it wasn't me. I looked the dress up online and hated it. It's a VERY pretty dress, but it isn't me. It's not something I would normally pick and I'm not sure why I did that day. Since we're planning a destination wedding, this was the first experience with anything wedding related that wasn't online or in a magazine. Plus, it was my birthday and I thought it was the coolest thing to have my wedding dress as the best birthday present ever.

Soooo I still need to find MY wedding dress and within the next few months I'll be at it again. But this time, I know not to get something unless I absolutely love it. And since I tend to get buyers remorse, I might have to leave it at the store and if I can't stop thinking about it go back and get it days later.









Sorry for the picture quality, they were taken with my iPhone. (Non of these dresses are the one that I bought)

Wedding Inspiration & Colors

Here's an inspiration board I created using the colors we chose for the wedding.

Photos by:

Ayleigh Designs Invitations, Chyna Darner Photography, Kenneth Winston, Minted, Moon Dance Cliffs, Rosette Photography, Sorella Vita, WeddingFavors.org, WeddingWire, WeddingWire

Wedding Dress Shopping

I finally made an appointment to go wedding dress shopping in two weeks on my birthday weekend and I'm super excited, yet nervous. I think I know what style of dress I want, but then again I'm going to remain open-minded to other options.

I say that I don't want a strapless gown, but they might look amazing on me. I'm interested in a one shoulder dress, but they might look horrible on me. I always loved the look of lace, but don't know that it will be right for a beach wedding. There's just so many options to choose from and I haven't even made to a dress store yet. I fear that I'm gonna be like one of the girls on Say Yes to the Dress that has to try on tons and tons of dress and still not feel like I've found 'THE ONE'.

Or what about the color of the dress? There's white, off white, ivory, blush or even a colored wedding dress.

[caption id="attachment_150" align="aligncenter" width="264"] Source: Style Me Pretty[/caption]

How gorgeous is this dress?!? And the color is so fitting for a beach location. Ahh, there's just so many options!

I plan on taking my mother, maid of honor, future mother & sister-in-law with me, so it should be fun. I know you can't take photos inside the bridal boutique, but I'll try to have something to share.

The Icing on the Cake

Since we're having a destination wedding I don't get the luxury of cake tasting but I still get to decide what I want me cake to look like. And even though the cake is a minor detail in terms of my wants I would like to it be a nice focal point at the reception. Actually I'd prefer to have cakeballs or cupcakes, but a cake will do just fine.

One thing I do know is that I plan on bringing my own cake stand. I like the look better than just having the cake sitting on the table. And I'm also leaning towards a cake that is square instead of a circular cake.

I'm not quite sure exactly what I want just yet, but here's some inspiration that I like! They each cake has some different elements that I love, but thankfully I still have plenty of time to make up my mind : ) .

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="205"] Source: Sweet & Saucy Shop[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="182"] Source: Pinterest[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="176"] Source Unknown[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="234"] Source Unknown[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="283"] Source: Delightfully Engaged[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="204"] Source: One Wed[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="324"] Source: Paradise Getaways[/caption]

And this would be the perfect grooms cake for the Mister if we were having an a reception at home!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="338"] Source: One Wed[/caption]