The Big 24!

Welp, today is my 24th Birthday! The crazy thing is that it doesn't even feel like my Birthday. Is that what happens when you get older and don't have parties and stuff? I guess that also happens when you are super busy and have other things that you are planning and really looking forward too, like oh I don't know, this little thing called a WEDDING!!

The fiance and a couple of our friends are taking me to Red Robin for dinner for my free Birthday burger, whoop whoop! I am way excited for this! I can already taste the bacon burger, yum! The fiance also bought me these really pretty flowers. I love them. Especially the butterfly in them. He knows me all too well!

I have already started the whole, "It's my Birthday Week" bit too, haha! Poor Aran! We have never done the whole Birthday Week thing, but we decided to give it a go this year(this was more my idea of course). Knowing me I will probably forget about half way through the week. That's okay though, because Aran has already more than spoiled me. He made me breakfast this morning, bought me flowers, bought me concert tickets to the best concert ever and he is taking me to dinner, so I am a pretty happy girl! 

Well, it is time to get back to work(the one downside of my birthday, I had to go to work, booooo) Except that my co-workers did surprise me with a red velvet cake, can you say delicious? So I guess I can't be too angry about going to work today, haha!

I hope that everyone had a great weekend and be sure to look for my giveaway this week!

29 Days and Counting

I was planning on doing this post yesterday or the day before even, but I never got around to it. Oops! Any who, we only have 29 days until the wedding (well 28 if you don't include today) and surprisingly I am pretty calm. Everything feels like it is done, even though it isn't but right now, I am okay with that. Ask me in a few days though and that might change.

Everything is slowly starting to hit me. I can't believe this is finally happening. I mean it feels like it was just yesterday that we set a date. Where has this year gone?

We have a lot going on over the next few weeks with my Birthday, my Bachelorette party, Christmas, New Years and so on. I just hope that we can find the time to complete everything that we need to. We may be pulling some all nighters or at least some late nights(I really hope not, but I guess if we have to we have to!)

Here are the things that I still need to complete:

• Ceremony Programs
• Wishing Tree
• Final touches on favor boxes
• Affixing signs to candy jars
• Buy all the candy
• Table #'s (In the process of designing these right now)
• Call all guests who have not RSVP'd
• Seating Chart
• Place Cards
• Ceremony music
• Get those last few people to go get fitted for their suits
• Wrap gifts to girls
• Need to buy gifts for our guys
• Final counts to florist for table arrangements
• Final count to caterers
• Meet with the Father at our church(Doing this tomorrow!)
• Possibly Menu Cards(this is going to be one of those things that we do if we have time, but right now it isn't looking very good)
• Final meeting with photographers(Doing this tomorrow!)
• Final meeting with our DJ(Doing a phone conference with them next week!)
• Need to get ribbon to our cake guy for the base of our cakes

I know there is more, but this is all that I can think of right now. So as you can see, we still have quite a few things to do, but I know that quite a few people are going to be helping us with this list. Aran's mom has already offered to help with the favor boxes, the candy jars, the place cards and the seating chart, so that is already a huge help. 

Moving on to non wedding related stuff, I wanted to let you guys know that sometime next week, I will be hosting a giveaway for this awesome digital scrap booking software. I love this software and I have been using it for things other than scrap booking, but you will have to wait until next week to see what I have been using it for.

My friend Lou over at Guinn and Bare It is hosting a giveaway this week for the very same software. So if you head on over to her blog before Sunday you will have a chance to win the software, but if  you don't win, come back over to my blog next week and enter again for a second chance. That's right people, two chances to win this software. That's like double the chance of winning! (Cheesy, I know!)

I hope everyone has a great weekend! And be looking out for that giveaway next week!

Erin Condren Giveaway

I wanted to let you guys know about this awesome giveaway that is going on over at Cupcakes and Mud Puddles. Jennifer is giving away a $50 gift certificate to Erincondren.com. If you have not seen Erin Condren stuff, you have to go look at it. She has the cutest things and most of them I believe are made to be personalized by you. She has the cutest life planners and iPhone cases, and she even has wedding planning stuff.

Life Planner from the Erincondren.com website

So please go check out Jennifer's blog, it is amazing. And be sure to enter her giveaway while you are there. Hope everyone is having a good day!

Look Who Is Turning 5?

This sweet girl is!

My niece, MaKenzi is five years old today. I can't believe how big she is getting. Just thinking about it makes me cry and she isn't even my own kid,  haha!

It seems like just yesterday I received that phone call from my mom telling me to open my email. When I  opened my email and found this adorable picture, all I could do was cry because I was so excited and she was so beautiful.

Unfortunately for me, I was stuck at school for another week and was not able to race home to see this precious little girl. But, when I did finally get to go home, I didn't even stop at home first, I went straight to where my brother and sister-in-law were living so that I could finally hold her.

My brother with MaKenzi only a few weeks
after she was born.

Over the years, I have watched her grow up into this amazing little girl who is so smart and just loves life and everything about it. She became a sister before she was even two and it was so cool to see how she instantly knew that the new baby was part of her family. I think she thought that it was her new baby to play with, which is probably why my sister-in-law caught her trying to paint her sisters toe nails when she was only a few weeks old, haha! 

I have enjoyed watching this adorably sweet little girl grow up over the past five years. I can't imagine not having her in our lives and in our family. And now she is in preschool and learning more and more every day and I couldn't be more proud of her. She is so smart and she loves to learn about anything and everything that she possibly can. She can instantly brighten your day with her smile and she can always make you laugh. I hope that when I have kids, that they are like her, always a joy to have around.

Happy Birthday MaKenzi! Aunt Megan & Uncle Aran love you very much and wish you the best on your special day!

P.S. I also want to wish a very Happy Birthday to my step dad Brad whose Birthday is also today! Happy Birthday Brad!

Trial Run

This past Saturday I had my trial run for my hair. Aran's mom and I went to the appointment together, but the drive over there was not that great considering that there was about 4 inches of snow on the ground and people were driving like crazy people. You would think living in Colorado that you would know how to drive in the snow safely, but nope! Apparently that is a little too much to ask for, haha!

Once we finally arrived safely, we went on in and met with Emily, the lady that cuts my hair and now styles it. Emily just recently got married herself so she knows a lot of the stuff that I am going through right now so it is super nice to talk to someone else that has already gone through all of the planning and everything. Once we talked for a few, I showed her the pictures of the hair style that I liked and she got to work.

It actually took longer than I thought it would, and she just did a rough mock up off the style that I was wanting. I couldn't believe how well my curls held too. She used this awesome Redken stuff that held my curls in all day, even with it snowing. It is called Redken Hot Sets 22 Thermal Setting Mist. This stuff worked so well that I am going to go out and buy some for myself and for the day of the wedding, because almost all of my girls are doing their own hair, so this would really come in handy.

Via the Redken website

Overall the trial went really well and it looked great. I can't wait to actually see it the day of because she told me that she would be doing a lot more work on it to make it look the best that it could. We were also supposed to do my make up trial, but that ended up working out, which is fine because I have no idea what I want to do. I need to start looking for that. Well, I hope that everyone has a great day and hopefully you are not experiencing the cold temps that we are here in Colorado.

Do you guys have any suggestions for where I should look for simple make up styles? Did you have someone do your make up? Or did you do your own?

Dress Fitting Take Two

This past Thursday I had my second dress fitting. I was pretty excited to see how everything came out, especially the cap sleeves. I was surprised by how simple the whole process was. I went in and tried on my dress and made sure that everything that was supposed to be done was done. And that was it! Piece of cake!

Luckily, all of my alterations were done perfectly and my dress fits amazingly! And the cap sleeves are to die for! I had also taken my jewelry with me to see how it looked with my dress. I was kind of worried about this because I ordered my jewelry off Etsy and it would have really sucked to get it and to realize that even though it is way gorgeous, that it didn't go very well with my dress. Well, that was not the case at all. It looked absolutely amazing with my dress and I could not be more thrilled with that! It just gave me more of a visual of how I will look on the big day and it made me even more excited.

Thank goodness for my friend and bridesmaid Rochelle too, because she was able to come with me to my fittings and this time around they showed her how to lace up my corset and also how to do my bustle. The times that I have been able to schedule fittings my other girls haven't been able to come because of work and being out of state and things like that. Which is completely fine. They have lives ya know, haha, but it was definitely nice to be able to have someone come with me so that someone knows how to do that stuff on the day of.

I am very excited that my alterations were so quick and simple and did not cost a ton of money. Now we just have to have the dress shop steam and press my dress and my petticoat and my veil and then they will be ready for pick up the week of the wedding. Eeek! It is getting so close, I can't believe it.

Were your alterations a lengthy process? Or were they super simple?

Glasses and a Hair Do

Today has been interesting. Today I went to the eye doctor. I have been putting it off for quite some time and within the last few months my eye sight just seemed to keep getting worse and worse. Some of you may find this hard to believe, but I have never been to an eye doctor. My fiance' was shocked that I had never been, but I have never had problems seeing things, so I never took the time to go.

Any who, we went to my appointment and as I had expected, I now need glasses. Surprisingly, picking out glasses was kind of fun. I got this really cute pair of Coach glasses! Eeek!! And the eye doctor has a special going on right now that if you buy one pair you get the second one half off, so I was able to get these super cute  Coach prescription sunglasses! Double eek!!! I am way excited to get them, hopefully next week!

Tomorrow is going to be another fun day of wedding stuff. Tomorrow is my hair and make up trial. I am really excited about this. I can't wait to see myself all dolled up and how I will look on the big day. I have a particular hair style in mind that I want, which I have showed you guys before, but I will show you again. It seems like it is pretty simple and shouldn't take her too long.

Found via Pinterest

They are essentially the same hair style and this is the overall look that I am wanting to go for. As far as my make up goes, I have absolutely no idea what I want. I do know that I don't want to have so much make up on that you can't tell who I am. I want it to be simple yet gorgeous/elegant/classy at the same time. I can't wait to see it all put together. Now I knew that I needed to bring my veil to the appointment but I wasn't sure about anything else, so I erred on the side of caution and brought my jewelry with me too. Am I forgetting anything else?

The other wedding related thing we have tomorrow is that we are meeting with our wedding coordinator from the church. It should be interesting to finally discuss details about the ceremony and everything that will take place at the church because up until this point everything has really been about the reception and what everyone will be wearing and what flowers will look like, etc.. It will definitely be nice to add another piece to the puzzle of what the day will be like. 

That is all that we really have planned for this weekend. We may make a trip to Ikea(FINALLY!! It only opened like five months ago and we still haven't gone). We may be waking up to some snow too! They are calling for a few inches, so I am kind of excited about that. I hope that everyone has a great weekend and I will try to post some updates on the hair and make up trial later this weekend!

What accessories did you take to your hair and make up trial? Did you know exactly how you wanted your hair and make up going into your trial?