Lots Can Happen in Two Days' Time

Hello Friends! It's Friday, Let's party!

So usually I don't need to do much re-capping until Monday, but man oh man has it been a crazy few days. Some of the news we had planned, but some was a surprise to us. I'm feeling a bit on the emotionally drained side of things. TGIF for sure this week. 

In honor of the craziness of the past few days let's start with the end....

RED CUPS!!!

They're baaaaaack! Yay. Totally my "It's the holidays when..." moment. 

My first red cup of the 2013 season.

I try so very hard to limit my trips to Starby's as much as possible. It is definitely a habit I'm not ready to pay for at the moment  But there are certain times when you just have to break your rules and do what makes you feel good. $6 might seem like a lot for a peppermint mocha, but what's the price of that giggly "omg, it's really Christmas time again" feeling. For a nice morning treat after a long week, $6 feels like a bargain.

Here's the other thing about the red cup: Nostalgia. This lovely red cup makes me think back to all my red cups of the past, but specifically my 2011 red cups. This was back when Mike was just my bf and I was working on a long-term project in NYC. It was a lovely time in my life. I was surrounded by friends at work. I was living in an awesome city. Everything was la la la, lu lu lu. And the Starbucks holiday motto that year: 

Source

Now when the red cups first showed up with that motto I feel like my friend H and I gave each other long-distance googly-eyes. We both had boys that we suspected had rings in their possession...what a lovely hint, hint. "Look, even Starby's wants you to propose" Not as sly as we thought, but guess what? Before the year was up, we both had shiny new bling on our left-hands. There's magic in those red cups.

The Unexpected Surprise

Mike was tutoring Wednesday night. I was taking a luxurious pink bubble bath thanks to my lunchtime Lush run. And Luca was eating an entire pack of Trident. FYI the artificial sweetener, Xylitol, found in Trident and in most other sugar-free gums and candies is toxic for dogs. What resulted was a late night run to the animal ER where Luke stayed for the night, a not so restful night of sleep for Mike and myself, and a follow-up day stay with our regular vet. One massive vet bill later, Luca is 100% fine. Knowing that you can now giggle at his cone of shame pic.

The beautiful Luca flower in full bloom.

The Expected Surprise

This one's  a surprise for you, my lovely readers. Mike and I got inked up last night.

43.07423° N, 89.38793° W        

Curious where the coordinates land you? Overture Center, Main Lobby. The location of this glorious life event:

Special thanks to Rebecca at Studio Noveau for beautifully capturing our special day. Check out  more pics here.

Lovely. 

As I said it's been a whirlwind week. Nothing a little Peppermint Mocha can't soothe.

Cheers to weekends, and red cups, and holiday memories to keep you warm.

And We're back!

Back home safe and sound in the ATL.

I was a bit worried that the trip to KC would eat up the weekend and leave me feeling uber drained this morning, but it was quite the opposite. Hip hip hooray! I think something about flying to and from a place in such a small time frame messed with our heads or something. Mix that with an active Friday night and an early Sunday flight and it was like we snuck in a long weekend. Score!

Friday after work I meet up with Mike and his classmates for some drinks at Ormsby's. 

Mike destroyed me in shuffleboard. What a jerk.

This bar is seriously awesome. They have darts and shuffleboard and BOCCE...in a BAR! How cool is that?? Well, not as cool as the hook and ring game we ended up playing obsessively.

I think Dave is trying to coach me in the bottom pic. No luck.

If you aren't familiar with this one, let me break it down for you. There's a hook on the wall and ring attached to a string hanging from the ceiling. Your goal is to swing the ring forward and hook it on the hook. Now there's a very subtle art to this game, but the addictive part comes from the built-in rebouding every time you miss. It's like,"Oh you missed? No worries. Here, try again....and again...and again..."

Saturday we got into KC right in time for lunch and went with my parents to Fud in KC, MO. 

Check out the gold walls. Pretty snazzy.

An entirely vegan menu,Yay! The unanimous favorite dish was our appetizer, the nachos with jack chckn.

Om, nom, nom

And for dessert a Tiger shake: caramel ice cream with a chocolate swirl :)

After lunch and a quick stroll around the hood, we made our way back to the hotel. Our room was epic!

I've never had a corner hotel room before. That means two views, guys.

Campus and Kansas.

We were right on the Kansas campus (Rock Chalk Jayhawk). So much so that our room came with a sound machine and earplugs. Though neither were needed, check out the cute note on the plugs.

It was an awesome day for a wedding. Sunny and 60, a perfect fall day. Everything was beautiful  Mike and I were able to kick back, enjoy some drinks, and cut loose on the dance floor.

Oh and I still let out an "eeeeeeeee!" whenever I see my new name anywhere official.

Hope you had a happy weekend and made back to the week safe and sound as well!

My First OOTD: Look What I Made!

FRIDAY!!! And boy do I need it :)

Greetings bff's. Today I've got a special treat for you...My first ever OOTD!!!

What's an OOTD you ask? Outfit Of The Day of course! And this outfit is extra special because I made the dress myself! So without further ado...or bragging... here's how I'm looking today:

Schoolhouse Tunic dress pattern from Sew Liberated . Plaid fabric from Hancock Fabrics. Boots and tights from Target. (faux leather btw)

Easy bun and light make-up to finish it off.

I love how comfy this tunic dress is. I'm thinking I could have perhaps gone down a size, but I like the bagginess, and the pleating details on the skirt add some structure. As you can see it's super cute with tights and boots. I think it would also look great dressed down with leggings and converse-style tennies. Or I think you could dress it up with tights, flats, and a belt to cinch in the waist. I have a thin gold belt that I think would do the trick and would be festive for the holidays.

I'm wearing the tunic layered with a simple white cami, but there's plenty of space in bodice and sleeves to layer it with a long sleeve thermal or maybe even a turtleneck as I've heard those are back in vogue this season. Special thanks to Daily Grace for keeping me current on fashion trends.

Pattern and Class Review

First, a shoutout to Brooke at Beehive Atlanta for being a super awesome instructor. I'm confident that the dress would have had a few more boo boos without her help.

The pattern itself was really well made and super easy to follow, with only a couple steps that I needed guidance on. This was my first time completing what Brooke called an "independent pattern" meaning it wasn't from one of the big name pattern makers. Here's what I see as the major reasons to buy independent: 1.) Easier to understand instructions. 2.) Trendier styles. 3.) Supporting small business.

The class was awesome. It was my first time having someone professionally trained watch me as I sewed. I picked up a lot of great tips and tricks and definitely improved on my skill set. Last night one of the other ladies in the class mentioned how sewing isn't really a money saver the way it used to be, which is true. Fabrics and patterns can be pretty expensive, not to mention the cost of a class or two, but for me the class and sewing in general is an awesome hobby with totally usable results. See above ;)

Friday Forecast

Mike and I have a pretty exciting weekend planned. So exciting that it involves air travel! We are heading to Kansas City, Lawrence to be more precise, for my godbrother's wedding. It's our first time in KC and our first wedding now that we are on the other side :) Looking forward to kicking back and relaxing at this one.

Cheers to a fabulous weekend!

Everything Starts Somewhere

If you've ever planned a wedding, you know that it's a pretty big project. Some of it is fun, some of it makes you feel spoiled rotten, and some it is like pulling teeth with certain tasks never quite making it to the top of the to-do list until the very last possible minute (escort cards, I'm looking at you).

Almost two weeks ago I saw all my planning come to life. It was beautiful and perfect and everything we wanted. Once again I felt spoiled with love, which really is the best sort of spoiled to be.

The Ding, Overture Center for the Arts, Madison,WI - photographed by Studio Noveau

I'm not a terribly outgoing person. A proud introvert, I'm more than happy to sit back and let someone else take center stage. I barely ate on my wedding day. luckily had my wits about me enough to barely drink as well. Though I was racked with nerves the whole week leading up to and including the big day, nothing beats the feeling of an entire room of people happy to be witness to one of your life's big moments. The out pour of love continued for a few days after then slowed, facebook ceased to be the Mike & Allie page, and my inbox went back to sea of promotions.

Me and Bee in our getting ready robes. 

While planning I had heard stories of the bridal blues, bride's who put so much into all the planning and dreaming that after the wedding was done they spiraled into a post-nuptial depression. Every time I heard one of these stories a had exactly two thoughts: 1) I totally get it, and 2) Please, please don't let that be me.


I'm a firm believer in the power of intention and in every moment being what you make of it. That's were this blog comes in. A sort of gratitude journal, scrapbook combo to document our lives and fill the gap the wedding planning has left behind.

Hedgehog bride says, "Go home and make husband hearty meal!"