Wedding Planning

I'm not going to lie, jumping into the whole list of everything that had to be accomplished was extremely scary. A month into our engagement, we were able to narrow down from several venues in the area (and some a little bit more on the outskirts of town) to decide our 'perfect' place. There's probably no harm no foul in creating a list of venues that we were considering right? I just won't mention where we have chosen (just yet)!

1. Event 1013 - This location was so unique and we loved that it was in downtown Plano. While we didn't entirely want a hotel ballroom feel, we felt like perhaps we could meet in the middle a little bit more with the upscaleness. This venue also let's you decide on how hands-on or hands-off you'd like to be with their package choices.

2. Noah's - Such a close contender! The facility itself is gorgeous - we loved the ballroom, gameroom/guy's room (there's a pool and shuffle table!), and the ceiling options. The only downside was that this place is pretty much completely hands off and again, we wanted just a little more service provided. They also have multiple locations available, with some even being built as we speak.

3. The Oasis on Lake Travis - While we have always dreamed of getting married in Austin, it would be so much easier to be able to plan a wedding in town so I could make tastings and trials. First of all, Kelsey Shipman (the coordinator) is pretty much amazing and provided us all the information we needed. It came down to be much more affordable here since they're an actual restaurant so you don't have to hire additional service. Let's just say that this is where we're leaving our hearts for more convenience.

4. Food minimums/all-inclusive packages helped us narrow down from these amazing venues that we considered: Marie Gabrielle Restaurant, The Milestone, Chapel at Ana Villa, and Ashton Gardens. All four of these locations had stunning decor and would be lovely to have a ceremony at. Keep in mind, I believe that most of these choices are still able to work with their clients to possibly be flexible with their options.

5. Our special venue. It's just perfect for us. We were looking for a place that still worked closely with vendors and could provide us a list but did not require any sort of food or beverage minimum! There's also plenty of  not awkward spaces for our guests to mingle between the ceremony and reception. We personally hate nothing more than going to events where we're all stuck in a certain area with strangers. This is when our inner-introverts come out! Another important priority was having a location convenient for our guests and plenty of parking. I'll say more at another time.

High Stress!

This past month has been an extremely intense time, and not necessarily in the best way. Before our trip, I'll be going to a conference for my job, taking a comprehensive exam, and a midterm exam for my graduate school program. We're also having the floors re-done, so in the meantime, we went ahead and tore up the carpet and are prepping it with Kilz to get rid of any of the pet urine smells (apparently this works?) from both the previous owner as well as the little brat who lives at home. In addition, my dental appointment has been postponed yet another week and I never realized how annoying and exhausting it is to be done with any work for the teeth. I need the next couple weeks to fly by smoothly!

Getting in the Christmas spirit

Since we were iced in for a few days last week, Alex and I found time to bust out those cans of paint and finish the living room walls. For the living room, we used Behr in Manhattan Mist to contrast the slightly darker Behr in Timberwolf Grey in the kitchen (photos to come soon). I was so happy to be able to put up the Christmas decorations on the mantle since the paint was all set!

I found both frames (and the lantern) at HomeGoods a while back and have been alternating the pictures inside. I found some great printables on Pinterest for Halloween and Thanksgiving but I thought I'd try my hand at creating my own for Christmas that you can download here. For the 8x10 printables, I usually get them printed at Walgreens for a quick and affordable way to change up the home. 

The stockings can be found at Target but I know a lot of people can't find the letters they need. Luckily the boyfriend, dog, and I all have first letters that were available there! Christmas is right around the corner and I hope you're not stressing out too much about decorating. Just a few touches here and there will make all the difference :) 

  

Black Friday Steal

Although I cringed at the fact that many stores were opening for Black Friday shopping at a time when people should be hanging out with their families, we were all done eating and decided to check out Target and Best Buy for any good deals. We were able to get Star Trek: Into Darkness for only $7 on Blu-Ray at Best Buy - score! Such a good movie too.

My other proud purchase would be the Christmas tree that is currently sitting in our livingroom. It took a while to get over the fact that it was pre-lit with colored lights instead of white lights, but since we're getting the hand-me-down bigger tree from Alex's parents next year, $30 for this six-footer wasn't a bad deal!

Most of our decorations came from Target. Isn't the plaid tree skirt adorable? 

Last Minute Details

Whoa, where has the past couple of months gone? My sister's wedding was a lot of fun and although I should have started memorizing my speech earlier, I think it went just fine! I volunteered to create the placement cards for the tables as well as the menu signs.

The dinner was held at a delicious Chinese restaurant and each table had family-styled serving so we made one of these menu signs at each table. You can see that the menu and the house signs are in boxed frames that we got at Ikea here, except we took out the matting for the time-being to fit the 5x7 photos. I had a GRAND idea for the placement cards and attempted to make all of them on chalkboard background and similar fonts as the menus and the house signs. They ALL turned out blurry so I scrapped the idea and went with the simple Avery templates which my sister actually liked a lot! One of those Keep It Simple, Stupid moments... If you're liking the fonts, I found it from this blogger: here. The fonts are Return to Sender and Chalkhand Lettering.

Bridal Shower Banner

Another decoration project for my sister's bridal shower: the banner that reminds all the beautiful guests why they're at my mother's house with gifts, dessert, and mimosas (well that's what I plan to serve).

I remember coming across the idea of pretty burlap from a friend's wedding last year so I was determined to start playing around with it! Joann was having a discount on their various burlap colors, so I'm even tempted to return and get others just to hang on to.

I cut out nine rectangular pieces of the fabric and then folded each piece in half. Measure about an inch at the end and just cut towards the corner. Voila -You've got yourself a beautiful, flag-shaped, but scratchy canvas!

For the letters, I used the EK Scallop paper punch tool on textured cardstock paper and practiced more of the fake calligraphy that can be found here.  

I used a hot glue gun for the majority of the banner, but I actually think that tacky glue worked a lot better, or at least it wasn't as messy! 

DIY Coasters

Now that we got new furniture, it was time to shape up and start using coasters more religiously. We were on the hunt for affordable coasters but we kept bumping into having to pay at least $40 for eight coasters. No thanks! We finally found a cheaper solution - using backsplash tiles and cork boards to create your own. If you're wondering where you can get this awesome glass, look no further. I don't even like cats and I love this! 

I can't remember exactly how much we paid for the backsplash tile at Home Depot, but we got a 10 x 10 in. sheet from anywhere between $4-8. The smaller tiles should work just fine too. Go ahead and cut them into 2 x 2's.

Find cork boards like the one below at Michael's and cut into the same sizes as your 4 x 4 tile pieces. We used hot glue to stick them together. Set aside to dry. Mix grout in a small container and brush the mixture onto your coaster. It's going to look dirty, but when it's dry, you can easily rub it off the tile portions and that's it! You got yourself a nice stack of awesome and customizable coasters!