.

So, I'm doing the Body By Vi 90-Day Challenge! I need to get into "wedding shape", and I have 7 months to do it. My main goal is to slim down and tone up. I'd like to be ready to wear my bikini in the Bahamas! :D 

Coffee/Mocha

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Robin and I have set aside a few days to take a trip down to New Orleans to start preparing for the wedding. It's one thing to sit at home, 600 miles away from the location, and try to plan everything out. It's another entirely to go down there and see everything in person. Soooo, that's what we're gonna do! We also wanted it to be around our 1-year date-a-versary, so we started planning to go around the weekend of March 17th (yes, St. Patrick's Day :P)


I had checked out our hotel's rates for that weekend and it was up to $300 a night! Uh...no thank you? So we had originally planned to stay at a Motel 6 or whatever was available outside of the French Quarter and just drive everywhere. 


Well, last week I called the hotel to make sure we could come by and take pictures of the courtyard where the ceremony will be. The amazing woman helping me out with all of this, asked if we would like to stay there COMPLIMENTARY. Complimentary = FREE. The only catch was that we couldn't stay on the weekend we wanted to, we would have to push it back a few days. Bu that's fine by me!!


So, Robin and I are set to stay down in NOLA in 2 weeks :) I called the restaurant we're looking at as a possible reception location and got a dinner reservation set up. I also set up a proposed reception menu and they're going to serve us samples of the dishes when we go, so we're basically having a tasting! 


Another thing I needed to set up was hair and makeup. Some might see this as an unnecessary expense, but it's something I'd really like to do. I'm awful at fixing my own hair and would prefer a professional to do it. And while I do love makeup, I'd prefer not worrying about doing it myself on my wedding day. Plus, a lot of companies do airbrush makeup so it lasts longer and looks better in pictures :)


I explored TheKnot for suggestions and e-mailed around until I found a few places. The first one: Booked. The second one: Booked. I was starting to sweat. The third one: Available! 


Now I just need them to confirm a trial for when we're down there and we're set! 


So excited about getting everything together. Once we go down there and start crossing off the big stuff, we can begin focusing on other details: ceremony decorations, scripts, vows, reception decorations, honeymoon details, etc etc. I am more thankful each and every day that I gave myself a year to plan this wedding. More prep and less stress!




Come on, Nawluns!!

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Last weekend, I had a bridal dress appointment at Lowe's Bridal in Brinkley, AR (one of the top rated boutiques in the south!) Robin and I drove down to Little Rock on Friday since he had a show that night. On Saturday my mom and step-dad picked me up for the hour drive to Brinkley. I was so nervous it was ridiculous. When we finally got there I was dizzy, light-headed, and shaking. Nervous and excited. Unlike my experience at David's Bridal where the sales consultant left me numerous times and eventually completely forgot about me, at Lowe's I was assigned a sales consultant for the entire appointment. Tiffany, my consultant, was awesome! She asked me what kind of dress style I was looking for. Previously, I had printed off some of the styles that I liked a lot:

I later learned that this is called a "slip/lace dress". I went in wanting sleeves, lace, no poof, and no tulle.

So we started browsing the dress racks and grabbing anything that looked pretty. I had my mom and boss with me and told everyone, "If it looks like a doily, I'm probably gonna love it."

We went into a dressing room and I began trying on the dresses. One by one I continued to be disappointed. This slip-style of dress was very unforgiving. The thin, loose material hung snugly to every unwanted curve and cranny. My "vintage, lace" dream dress idea was slowly starting to fade.

Tiffany then brought into the dressing room this...this...cupcake looking thing. When sat on the grown, the damn thing stood up by itself! That's how much "poof" was in the skirt. Feeling defeated from the lace gowns, I decided what the hell, I'll try it out. So Tiffany helped me pull, tuck, and zip my way into the cupcake. Walking outside towards the mirrors and my family, I was unsure. But when I stood in front of the 3 full-length mirrors I was floored. The dress was gorgeous! I spun and twirled and laughed as my dress took a full minute to catch up and stop swishing. I WANTED THIS DRESS. My mom and boss had their jaws dropped and thought it was just as beautiful.

Could it be?? Had I found the dress?? All of a sudden something struck me. Something ugly, horrible, that no bride wants to think about when dress shopping but knows she has to.

What's the price?

I pulled out the tag that was stuffed into my side and read those awful numbers printed on it. 

$1,350

Tears instantly filled my eyes as disappointment washed over me. There was no way in hell I was going to spend that kind of money on a dress. I told my mom the price and she tried to reassure me by reminding me how she and my dad were going to pay for it and if I really loved it I should get it.

But, for anyone who knows me, I just can't do that. I'm a massive penny pincher and this was just too much of a cost.

I trudged back to the dressing room, my poofy skirt mocking me as it swished. And once back in the room, I realized that I hadn't even been looking at price tags. My consultant had never even asked for a price point to start from. I instantly began pulling out the tags on all of the dresses in the room with me.

$1,100. $1,675. $2,050.

One by one I ruled out the dresses. My appointment was already an hour in and I had nothing but sticker shock to show for it.

And then I remembered something: It was their half off annual sale!

I asked Tiffany which dresses were half off. "Those are on the second floor." she informed me. "Well, then we're going to the second floor!" Barefoot, and clad in nothing but a thin, silk blue robe, I grabbed my consultant and mother and headed up to the second floor sales area.

The "sales room" was a tiny room off to the side of more dressing rooms crammed full of wedding dresses. Women were everywhere clawing their way through pounds of lace and miles of train searching for that perfect/affordable dress. Eagerly, I joined the masses. Working quickly because of my appointment time, I tore through the plastic bags, ripped open zippers to quickly look inside at the dresses, and flung my selections on a pole nearby. I went through a few sizes just to see the selection. Hey, dresses can be taken in or let out. I wasn't about to let sizing being a deciding factor.

After I had about 8 dresses selected, I asked Tiffany if we could go back downstairs to my dressing room to try them on.

"Actually, you have to try them on here. That's part of the guidelines for the sale."

Oh, I had to stay on the 2nd floor? That's ok. So I turned my head and looked for a dressing room somewhere. Noticing my searching eyes, Tiffany informed me, "No. I mean right here." and pointed to the floor beneath her feet.

I had to change here? Right here? In front of all of these random strangers??

I weighed my options for a brief moment. Modesty or a damn good deal? Again, if you know me, you know this option wasn't weighed for very long.

Throwing off my robe, bared to all who dared to look, I began jumping into dresses as fast as I could. My mom tried to hold up some bagged wedding dresses to create a sort of barrier from prying eyes, but my goodies ended up on display anyways. I turned down dress after dress. This one has too many beads, this one makes me look pregnant, this one would be great...if I were on a balcony with Romeo beneath me.

Finally, I put on a dress and stood to show my mom. She stopped in her tracks and gasped slightly, "It's beautiful!" she told me. My heart skipped a beat. Had I found my dress??

I ran to a mirror and looked excitedly at my reflection. It really was gorgeous! It had sleeves (check), lace (check), and a long train (eh, I'd work with it). My mom's eyes filled with tears and I honestly thought this was my dress. I looked back at my reflection. I really did love it. It was beautiful. Then why wasn't I crying? Even Tiffany kept telling me how amazing it was. I looked at the price tag. $400. That should have been the selling point right there, but I still had some doubt. Going back to my mound of dresses, I asked if I could try on just one more dress. Just to make sure that the one I was wearing truly was "my dress".

I stepped into my very last dress, curious as to what may happen. Walking over to my mom, she stopped in her tracks yet again and informed me that this one was also very gorgeous.

Crap.

So I went over to the mirror and gasped.

Strapless, sweetheart neckline, fitted waist with draped silk, corset, lace-up back, and the skirt. My god the skirt! It was composed of hundreds of bunches of tulle cascading all the way down the 3 feet of train. Pretty much everything that I had previously not wanted, but now couldn't imagine living without. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. And when I looked at myself in it. I looked so....so....pretty.

I knew this was my dress. My eyes started watering as I envisioned myself walking down the aisle in this.

A group of women and their daughters were standing nearby also trying on dresses. I noticed them looking at me and asked, "So, what do you think?"

They gave their happy opinions and told me the dress was interesting *and* gorgeous. A fantastic combination in my book.

I turned to Tiffany and said, "This is my dress." One of the women from the group says, "Are you saying yes to the dress??" I replied:

"I'm saying yes to the dress!"

Everyone clapped and I had a cheesy life moment accomplished! 

The price after the half off sale was $800 (plus tax and tip). This was still an incredibly high price to pay for a dress that you'd wear for one day, but I was in love and had to have it.

I left the store with dress in hand and a smile that just wouldn't stop. What had started off as a dreary experience looking very lacking in hope, turned into something incredible.

I had found my wedding dress. 

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This past Friday my mom and I went to David's Bridal to try on wedding gowns! This was my first time ever to do so and I was extremely excited :) In fact, when we walked in and I had to fill out my paperwork, my hand wouldn't stop shaking, haha. So we go to the back and I'm assigned a sales consultant and tiny dressing room (seriously, my apartment closet is 3x bigger than this room was) We go into the dressing room, just the two of us, and she closes the door. Standing a sneeze away from me she smiles and goes, "Ok. Now take off your clothes." Uhh... So I literally stripped to my undies and tried to turn away from her. She grabs a bustiere and "assists" me in putting it on. I mean, I know the lady sees titties 20 times a day, but that still didn't stop me from feeling awkward as she stuffed my boobs into the cups. 


Ok, odd part over, time for dresses! She brings in a few dresses and I start trying them on. My mom took some pictures but I'm not going to post them so Robin can't see. I don't want him to see me in a wedding dress until our wedding day :) So, anywhoo, I must have tried on around 10 dresses in our hour slot that creeped into an hour an a half. It took so incredibly long because halfway through, another bride and her family had an additional appointment with the consultant. So one consultant and two brides. Not such a good idea. Between trying on dresses, I stood in the waiting room, in practically nothing, and waited....and waited......and waited some more until she'd finally come back with a dress. And I could tell she was starting to get tired of me around the 7th dress. That bright luster of commission was slowly starting to dim in her eyes, along with her patience. This is pretty much how each review went:




Dress 1: My boobs are about to fall out.
Dress 2: This makes me have back fat bulge.
Dress 3: Too much train.
Dress 4: Too much dress. 
Dress 5: Are Zack and Kelly coming this wedding?




Thumbs down after thumbs down. I was starting to get depressed. And, to make matters worse, around dress 8, my mom and I are critiquing when the family next to us just starts crying, "That's the dress! You're so beautiful! That's the wedding dress!". Apparently bride #2 struck gold. Cue tears, hugs, and me standing awkwardly next to her mumbling congratulations. In my defense, however, this was her second time to try on dresses. She said her first time around she did as I did; try on everything in the store to get a better idea of what the hell you want. Because I really don't have a clue. Mermaids? Fit and flares? A-lines? Sweethearts? Ugh. I thought I was doing well by overdosing on "Say Yes to the Dress" but apparently not well enough. 


And so we left the store empty-handed. It's not a complete bust, however. I got to try on pretty dresses (fo' free) and get a better idea of what I'm looking for. I have an appointment with Lowe's Bridal in Brinkley, AR this January. Semi-annual sale, wut wut! Hopefully gonna get a purdy dress for cheap :) Fingers crossed!

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I have always had the immune system of a newborn. Every year I catch anything and everything that's going around. Colds, coughs, flu's, and bronchitis so badly that I was a day away from hospitalization from pneumonia (Christmas '09 was spent in bed). So last year I made the pledge to get my immune system into check.

As of now, I take a number of vitamins, drink Emergen-C twice a day, am trying to cut down on alcohol intake (it really does a number on your immune system) and processed sugars (easier said than done), and maintain a regular exercise regime.

I was researching additional methods to help with the immune system and came across the Green Smoothie. Leafy greens are a jackpot for immune systems. They contain proteins, fibers, vitamins, and minerals. They also are one of the most alkaline of all foods and raising your body's pH by eating an alkaline diet is one of the best ways to boost your immune system. 


Curious, I decided to try it out. The ingredients are as follows:


2 leaves of kale
2 leaves of collard greens
1 leaf of red chard
1 cup parsley
1 banana
1 cup blueberries
2 cups filtered water
1 cup ice cubes


This makes 2 large smoothies, so you can appropriate ingredients as needed.




So, off to the natural food store I went:

Leafy greens!! :)

Oh man, this is going to be interesting.

My banana was frozen and I microwaved it hence the brown :P

Oh wow, that really is green! And frothy, haha.

Green smoothie!!!

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Planning is coming along quite smoothly :) Have a lot planned out! Only...364 days to go?? Yeesh...

Anywho, we've found and secured our lodging and ceremony site. I was browsing hotels online and I came across some pictures of a really pretty place. I was looking through the photos and started to think the hotel looked strangely familiar. That's when it hit me, this is the placed I just stayed at! You see, this past December my mom, step-dad, step-brother and myself all went down to New Orleans (my first time). We took a Carnival cruise then came back to spend a few days in the Big Easy. We stayed at this hotel called Hotel Provincial and it was amazing. So you can imagine how excited I was when I realized it was the same place I was looking to have my wedding! The hotel offers their beautiful courtyard for wedding ceremonies so this was a perfect lodging and ceremony site combination.

Robin and I will go down on Wednesday, October 3 to register for the marriage license (it has to be done 72 hours before the wedding). And we'll stay through Sunday morning when we will ship off on our honeymoon cruise. Guests will probably arrive around Friday, October 5, and stay through Sunday morning as well.

The hotel is beautiful and we couldn't be happier about it all :)

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Yay! We decided on a color palette for the wedding :)

Cranberry/Slate Gray/Cream

It's so pretty and helps incorporate a more vintage theme, which I'll be adding to quite a bit!

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