Trying out Suzie Homemaker...

I have been loving every minute of the fall weather!!

When the air is slightly chilly but the sun is out...perfect.

I have my pumpkin spice candles lit every night, fire in the fireplace,

our plug-in pumpkin

(yes, we were very lazy this year)

blankets and hot chocolate!

Could that photo be any cheesier? HAHA.

This weather also makes me feel a bit homey

and I've been baking pumpkin bread and trying different recipes.

Last Friday, we invited my brother and his girlfriend over for dinner.

I decided to attempt chili one more time

{last years was a huge flop.}

I got a recipe from my friend Shavonda

and threw it all in the crockpot on Friday morning.

It is SO nice to walk in the door after work

and have the house smelling delicious and dinner made!

I whipped up some Jiffy cornbread muffins to go with dinner 

and we topped the chili with sourcream, avocado slices, onions and cheese.

Mmmm, this year was much better!

Unfortunately for this new hostess,

I totally didn't make enough...so the hubby got the shaft.

He made a turkey dog, and I gave him a tiny scoop of chili to put on top.

Lesson learned, make more than you think you'll need.

{I figured I would add some festive spirit to the cornbread muffins}

Our good friends -- The Obamas

Yes, I sent the Obamas a wedding invitation.

No, I didn't really think they were going to come.

But I wanted this congratulatory note with the official white house seal 

{which you can't see in the picture but is at the very top of the note in the 3rd picture}

Want your own? Send your wedding invite to:

The Honorable Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama

The White House

Greetings Office Rm. 39

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington, DC 20500

Subtle hint?

So I haven't mentioned this, but a few weeks ago all of my make-up was lost or stolen

{I'm now leaning towards stolen}

I mean every.single.stitch.of.makeup.

It's my fault for keeping everything I own in one makeup bag

but it's how I roll.

Quite often I would take my makeup bag to work with me

and sit and do it at my desk

since I get in so much earlier than everyone else.

Well one morning, I came in and it wasn't sitting there like it always is. 

Hmm, I think, it must be at the house.

I tore the house apart that night looking for it.

Nowhere.

Okay, it must be somewhere on my desk and I didn't look hard enough for it.

NOPE.

It's not in my car, it's not at my house, it's not at my office.

I am now convinced that someone snatched it off of my desk when I left for the day.

Hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of MAC makeup.

I've had some of the eyeshadows since I was 17.

All of my brushes. My favorite lip glosses.

So needless to say, I've been makeup-less for a few weeks.

I did go and buy mascara from the drug store,

and finally caved and bought my two favorite eyeshadows from the MAC counter

{Print and Electra}

but it's expensive and is going to take time to rebuild.

Two nights ago, I was making spaghetti for dinner

and waiting for Brandon to come home.

I was getting kinda worried since it was raining so hard outside

and he was later than he said he was going to be.

45 minutes later he comes through the door wearing my favorite argyle sweater

{that has nothing to do with this story, but I love when he wears it}

and holding a little silver, wrapped gift with a bow.

"Here, this is for you."

Well, it's not everyday he comes home with a gift so I was thrilled.

I can't open it fast enough.

It's a Nordstrom's gift card.

"The lady said they have MAC counters at almost every Nordstroms."

I couldn't believe how thoughtful this was.

$100 dollars to spend.

My mind was racing with which shades of eyeshadow I would get first.

And then, I start laughing and he looks so confused.

I hug him and tell him that I'm so happy, and it's so thoughtful,

and then say through a smile,

 "you must be ready for me to start wearing makeup again hah? 

Getting tired of the au naturale look?"

He thought that was pretty funny

{but swears he can't really tell the difference and just knew I was bummed about my loss.}

Either way, I'm swinging by the MAC counter after work today :-)

Mini-moon?

Can you call two days a honeymoon?

Since Brandon is still in Law School,

we won't be taking our honeymoon until December.

We were both kind of bummed at the thought of coming home on Sunday

and going back to work/school on Tuesday morning

but what are ya gonna do?

As a "wedding gift" Brandon reserved a hotel room

at the Hilton downtown for Sunday night :-)

So after the wedding, we came home,

packed a small bag and headed downtown.

We were both pretty exhausted and enjoyed laying in the big, comfy bed,

watching the Charger game

and spending time together.

For dinner we walked a few blocks to Royal India,

the food was delicious!

Like I said, I can't stop admiring Brandon's wedding ring

{which used to be his grandpa's wedding ring}

Then it was back to the Hilton where we watched a few movies and fell fast asleep...

 Oh December, you can't get here quick enough!

Cliche but true...

Well, the wedding has come and gone and we're officially married :-) 

I feel like I haven't stopped smiling! 

{my cheeks really are hurting}

The day was more perfect than I could have ever imagined. 

It sounds so terribly cliche to say that it was 

the best night of my life

but it absolutely was. 

I don't remember the last time I had so much fun.

It was such an incredible feeling to be surrounded by
all of our closest friends and family who were there solely 

to celebrate the love and commitment
between little ol' me and Brandon.

And let me tell you, 

I was NERVOUS. 

It pretty much rained every day up until Friday 

{when does it rain in Temecula in October?!}

I knew that worst-case-scenario we could put up a tent

but that seemed to defeat the whole purpose in choosing
the outdoor venue that we did. 

Somehow, the stars aligned, my prayers were answered 

and we got a beautiful, sunny day  

{80 degrees at the hottest point in the day}

I could not sleep the night before.

not

even

one

wink.

I was just too excited and wanted the day to be there so badly.

I was trying to decide what my favorite memory of the day was 

and one of them was definitely the hour that 

Brandon and I got to spend together before the ceremony. 

We did the First Look

which gave us a chance to soak up the moment and really take it all in 

just the two of us 

{and our photographers}

with no distractions. 

This made me so much less nervous to walk down the aisle!

The "first look" :-)  I think I was telling him I was about to throw up at this moment, ha!

We had one minor issue...

as we were waiting to take Bridal Party pictures 

{also before the ceremony}

I realized my bridesmaids were taking a really long time. 

We had already finished family pictures, 

and pictures with all of the groomsmen

and were waiting on the girls. 

A few minutes later
Kandi lets me know that Kelly's zipper broke 

and she was currently being 

.sewn.into.her.dress. 

I had a tiny, internal moment of panic but it ended up fine. 

(Although, she had to be cut out of it at the end of the night 
and will certainly be returning it to Anthropologie!) 

We took our girly pics and then I was able to go back to the room 

with my closest friends and relax for about 45 minutes before the ceremony.

Bridal Party

Once the shuttle picked us up, we quickly entered the Stone House 

{which is where we started before making the walk over the bridge and down the aisle}

Our bridal party left

two-by-two

and soon
it was just me and my dad. 

I got to really take in all of the flowers and arrangements in the stone house...

 and the dessert table

and peek out of the window at everyone sitting outside...

Before long, I heard our song start and took my dad's arm.

We were both pretty nervous I think.

could.not.have.been.happier.

The ceremony was slightly a blur.

I do remember seeing a few faces in the seats 

{Chelsea and Sarah especially stand out for some reason}

and then I found Brandon's eyes.

 {there was lots of laughing}

A few minutes later

Signed, Sealed, Delivered
I'm yours!

We got to walk back down the aisle as husband and wife.

I think this is when the huge weight lifted from my shoulders.

I was on a "high" the rest of the night.

Our first dance was to Eva Cassidy's Songbird

and the songbirds keep singing like they know the score
and I love you, I love you, I love you
like never before.

My dad's speech
{and view of the adorable stone house} 

At the end of my dad's speech
he invited me to dance.
Brandon and his mom joined in a few minutes later... 

At last my love has come along...

I loved the food {we had Italian} 
and our DJ kept us dancing all night long.
I kept catching glimpses of the ring on Brandon's finger and smiling.
It's something that I hope will always make me smile. 

Dance till the stars come down from the rafters
Dance, Dance, Dance till you drop.
~W.H. Auden

 Some of the fun :details:

The Escort Cards:

 

Lucky penny stamped with our wedding date:

Dessert Table:

Two weeks 'til the big day

So last weekend, it was time for me and Brandon to bring out

all of the containers that I've been collecting for the past 6 months

and clean them all.

We brought them to our florist on Sunday.

This picture is about 2/3 of all of them. I think there were around 50 containers.

The plan is to have about three on each table: 

a glass pitcher, a mason jar and a wine bottle.

This will have a very eclectic look but I like all of the varying heights.

After we washed and dried them, it was time to wrap 'em up and box 'em.

It felt like such a big check-off on my slowly dwindling "to-do" list.

Yesterday

{1.5 weeks before the big day}

I picked Brandon up from school downtown

and then we headed to our final DJ appointment.

It was finally time to turn in our thick packet of musical choices.

Family processional, bridal party processional,

bride's processional, recessional, cocktail hour theme,

grand entrance songs, first dance song, father-daughter song,

dinner music, bouquet toss and garter song, last song...

my head was spinning.

Our DJ is amazing and really helped us nail down what we wanted.

He was able to take a song we wanted parts of,

and he cut out the verses and looped the chorus and the instrumentals

in just a matter of minutes.

He's also so organized which really puts my mind at ease.

He assured me that he will be keeping everything running on time.

That's one thing I will not need to worry about at the wedding.

Love is in the air

So with only two weeks left before the big day, and Fall quickly approaching I've been overwhelmed with emotions. I love the Fall, and the way it smells and the things it brings with it. The air is turning slightly more crisp and it's bringing to mind sipping Pumpkin Spice Lattes, going to Bates Nut farm to search for the perfect pumpkin, making donuts (a tradition Brandon and I have been doing for a few years now while we carve our pumpkins) and wearing sweaters and boots. And although I can't explain why, I always feel more in love during the Fall :-)

I am about to marry my best friend, one of the kindest people I know. Have I fully registered that yet? Not quite. I still kind of feel like it's this dream I might wake up from...



-At Holland's cowboy party last Fall-

Love Birds

So I just ordered our wedding cake topper

{we're only having a small top-tier so we have something to cut}

and I couldn't resist sharing.

I just thought they were so adorable.

The handmade lovebirds were crafted by Strawberries and Cream Etsy shop.

Have I mentioned how much I love Etsy?

It's a dream come true for a planning bride

who appreciates unique, handmade touches.

I have purchased my wedding invitations, wooden signs, frames,

vases, my garter, petal cones and now my cake topper

and so much more from this amazing site.

Bachelorette Party!

Well this weekend was an absolute blast.

It was truly everything I'd ever dreamed my bachelorette party would be.

Early Friday afternoon, Kandi and Kelly picked me up

{they pulled up with rap music blasting, and bachelorette stickers and flags all over the car}

 and we drove a few hours to Palm Springs.

We were so impressed with the adorable house when we pulled up.

Jess has a connection, and was able to get us the place for the weekend.

It was a three bedroom house right on the golf course.

After Kandi had set up a little bit, we went to Trader Joe's down the street

and bought a bunch of food and wine for the night.

When we got back the other girls arrived.

Stephanie drove from Carlsbad, and Jessica came from the LA airport

where she picked up Brittney and Chelsea {who came from San Francisco}

Melanie arrived later that evening from Temecula also.

Friday night we enjoyed sitting on the patio with a glass of wine

chatting and trying to soak up the warm air.

{It's been an especially cool, overcast summer for those of us along the coast.}

Friday ended up being one big slumber party

complete with food, games, gifts and prizes.

I don't think I ever laugh as much as I do when I'm with these girls!

Yes, we had a playdough penis making contest.



The next morning, we woke up and went to breakfast at this adorable restaurant

right along "the river" which was very close to where we were staying.

Afterwards, we headed to River Nails where we got manicures and pedicures.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool!

It was so refreshing to lounge around on a hot sunny day

in my bathing suit with my closest friends.

And, I even got to wear  my "bride" visor that Chelsea passed down to me :-)

I'll have to pass it down to the next of our friends to get engaged...

After a day in the hot desert sun, it was delightful to be greeted by an air conditioned house.

We all took short naps, and then it was time to get ready for dinner.

Kandi made sure that I had all the cheesy, traditional gear before our night out.

I had a huge ring that flashed a blue light when I turned it on,

a bachelorette sash, and a tiara/veil.

Chels just got married a few weeks ago!!

Dinner at Don Diego's was a blast!

Kevin, Johnny and his boyfriend Joe met us for dinner.

The food was great, and the girls even coerced me into having a strawberry margarita.

A few of the girls bet me that if I had TWO alcoholic drinks

{I'm clearly not that big of a drinker}

that they would go streaking through the golf course later that night.

{Yes, we are in our late twenties and not our teens.}

So after dinner, we went across the street to The Yard House,

where I took my first shot!!!

Man, was it strong...but I think as far as shots go,

one with whipped cream and chocolate is the way to go :-)



Before

After



Needless to say, a few of the girls had to "pay up."

Hopefully no one saw two half-naked girls running through the golf course :-)