Engagement Sneak Peak

Whoa.  That's hot, right?  Lol, it actually it makes me blush a little so it's funny that I'm sharing it with all of y'all.  Hooman, our photographer, already put it on facebook for the world to see, so, whatever, why not this blog too? :-)  This is one of the photo's from our engagement session with Hooman 2 days ago.  But let me start the story from the beginning...

Wednesday-after being stood up by a hair dresser in VA, I now had 3 things on my to-do list: salon, spa & shopping.  Normally heavenly, but I was a bit pressed for time, so it wasn't perfect.  I went to Massage Envy for an intro massage, loved it, but unfortunately had to hurry to a hair appointment at the mall afterwards, followed by 4 hours of scouring the mall for a dress for our engagement shoot the next day.  At the literally the last store I went to, about to give up, I found a dress.  I was at Urban Outfitters and loved the crocheted top, but other similar dresses I had tried on hadn't worked out, so I was skeptical.  But Aaron's eyes lit up when I came out the dressing room...then my eyes lit up when I saw the price tag haha.  But I bought it, it was the perfect dress and at $80, it could have been worse.

Thursday-Pedis with Aaron at La Therapie Day Spa.  2 spas in 2 days!  I bought Aaron a gift certificate to the spa years ago, threatened to take it back if he didn't use it, so we finally went for some pampering before our photoshoot.  I scheduled a massage at Massage Envy the day prior because I didn't want to pay double for a massage at La Therapie, it ended up being a good thing that allowed me to extend my pampering into 2 days.  Afterwards, I did some last minute shopping at TJ Maxx and bought the turquoise dress seen in the picture above.  Both of the dresses I bought Hooman picked for me to wear during the shoot, so my last minute hard work paid off.  After TJ Maxx, I went to the MAC counter Crabtree for make-up ($50 purchase requirement), then I rushed home, grabbed my clothes and it was off to Louisburg for the engagement shoot!

There's so much I have to say about Purpleberry Plantation (where we shot), shooting with Homan and lots of surprises, however I'm going to wait until I have more photos to share. :-) Get excited!

Finally free!!

My board exam, Step 2, is behind me!!!  Thank goodness.  In medical school, we start our boards during school with Step 1 and Step 2.  Then during our intern year (year 1 of residency) we take Step 3 and with the passing of that we are licensed in general practice medicine.  After you complete your residency (psychiatry for me!), you can become licensed in specialty.  Those are the details in a nutshell.  Before Step 1, I was so nervous, I had a mini-mental breakdown.  There were tears, I couldn't eat.  It was god-awful.  For Step 2, I thought I had overcome most of the nerves, but then I vomited before the exam yesterday morning.  I've never had anxiety like this before.  That's what medical school does to you, folks!  It's definitely not easy.  I share these details because I dislike people who pretend everything is so easy. :-)

What's up next??  One week of vacation before returning back to school for my last year!  Here's the schedule.

Today:  Travel to my aunt and uncle's place in Charles City, VA this evening

Sunday: Church, where Aaron will get to meet Pastor Johnson!  Aaron hasn't met him yet and I'm excited to get marriage counseling off the ground.  Then that evening we're going to Latoya & Geathan's wedding!  So many weddings we go to are Aaron's friends (he's 2 years older), Latoya's one of the first out of my friends to get married!  So excited!

Monday: Water Country USA with Aaron and Blaire!

Tuesday: Visit family in VA, meet privately with Pastor, travel back home that evening.

Next week is filled with fun too, massages and pedicures, engagement shoot, bridesmaid dress shopping!  I know it seems like a lot, but after a year of rotations and 4 weeks of studying non-stop I need to cram in as much fun and relaxation as possible.  They'll be some new blog updates, too!

So in love are we two, that we don't know what to do...

No more posts this week because I have a HUGE test Friday!!! Ahhh!!!
So I'll leave you with this so sweet video of the first family instead!

Do the lyrics from the post title sound familar?  Listen to the song on YouTube here :-)

The V Card...Veils :-)

Veils, veils, veils.  Sheer, full, fingertip, cathedral, birdcage. To wear a blusher or not wear a blusher. If a blusher-when to lift the veil?  When my dad gives me away or before the kiss?  Or should I bother with one at all?

I did some research on www.occanseydesigns.com last night and underwent Veils 101.  Then I realized that every one of the veil inspiration pictures I had saved on my computer was the same type of veil!  I'm pretty sure it will go perfectly with my dress, yup, this is what I'm going to walk down the aisle in.  What type do you ask?  Well, Aaron reads this blog so you'll have to find out on my wedding day! :-)

DIY...Not.

I am so not a DIY girl.  I wish I was.  I wish I was super crafty, knew how to sew, altered my own clothes and sewed upholstery for my couch and chairs.  But I am so not.  I don't know how and, in my life right now, I don't have the time.  I guess it's good I'm going to be a doctor, so I can overpay someone to do these things for me.  Maybe in my part-time stay-at-home Mom life I'll learn these tasks, but probably not since I'll be busy mothering.  At least I can cook.

So for the wedding, do I plan on printing my own Save the Dates? Invitations?  No.  I've seen some nice home-printed ones, unfortunately I don't completely trust my printer.  That and I just don't want to!  Lol, I'm sad.  However, I'm thinking of tackling a few DIYs...

I love these lace garters.  I can't remember what site I saw them on, but I probably didn't save the link because they were priced around $65.  For once, a search on Etsy did not provide a comparable substitute (or rather, an affordable substitute).  So I've been thinking about making my own.  I found the instructions here and it doesn't seem too bad.  However, remember, I can't sew.  So by making it myself I guess I mean buying the pieces and asking my aunt to make it for me. :-(  Well, that's a step in the right direction.

I think flower crowns are adorable!  I don't care what other people think (too cutesy?), I want our flower girl to have one.  Also, I really want it to be made with fresh flowers.  So I'm thinking about purchasing the green wire and tape, and buying some baby's breath and flowers a day or two before the wedding and putting this together.  Problem here? The best results probably happen if it's done the day before, when I'll be running around doing 1001 other prewedding things, hanging out with my bridesmaids.  So...perhaps another task I may have to delegate.  Well, at least I'm trying!

So it doesn't look like DIY is working out too well for me right now.  We'll see.  I'm sure many more tasks will come along.  Baroque-style picture frames maybe?  I'm thinking you spray paint the frame and then paint the glass with chalkboard paint. I don't want this for all the table numbers, but I was thinking of mixing it up with some more traditional numbering.  We'll see. 

Girls/brides/future brides are you DIY heavy?  Or if you're already married, were you?  Let me know and share tips!!!

What's Been on My Mind Lately

Dinner at Acme with Aaron on 6/26, our anniversary!

That's a plate of fried green tomatoes you see-best in the South.

A fraction of the glassware my mother brought home from 

my grandmother's house for me. These will be perfect for centerpieces! 

There's alot more and a ton a crochet doilies too. Being able to use my

grandmother's possessions makes things so special, I'm very excited.

Dinner I made for Aaron this weekend.  

Get the recipe here-one of my favorite blogs.  

Super cute cake topper I am considering.

I hope to have some baroque-style picture frames enclosing 

chalkboards for some of the table numbers and this will match.

I love Revlon lip butter!  It's hard wearing lipstick without looking overdone.

This is a mix of lipstick and lip balm with a long lasting color and some shimmer.

Photo credit

Last, but not least, a book I'm totally sick of looking of at.

I have my board exam on 7/20...pray for me!

Stationary

Writing letters and thank you notes is becoming a lost art. While email and text messaging are taking over,  letter writing still has a special purpose. There is nothing like getting a handwritten letter when you are away to home. Situations where I have picked up a pen and paper include writing to my grandparents when they were in an assisted living home and writing to my friends overseas. As for thank you notes, there's always a time for that! I don't usually send thank you notes after Christmas (should I?), but I do send them after birthday gifts, graduation gifts and rotations where I work specifically under one doctor. My family recently received a typed thank you note from a misguided young lady who we had sent a high school graduation gift. Not only was the note typed, but it wasn't even signed! I bet her mother did them. I find typed, mass mailed thank you notes unacceptable.

Note writing is much more enjoyable when you have pretty stationary, so I'll share what I've used, what I'm using and what's on my wish list

This Andy Warhol stationary was the first stationary I ever purchased independently. I used to send this crazy stationary to my grandpa! I remember visiting him once and seeing old letters tucked away in his nightstand. :-)

This is my new sophisticated stationary. :-) The cards are by Russell + Hazel and read "fancy that". They are a little expensive, but the heavy weight of the cards and lined envelopes is worth it IMO. I also have a shimmery gold pen I use to write my notes on these cards, all in all it makes for a pretty sweet note.

I love these letterpress notecards by Haute Paper on Etsy. Getting into wedding stuff has caused me to appreciate the art of letterpress. Yup, these are definitely on my wish list.

Pictures like these are pretty popular to use on the cover of thank you cards after the wedding.  No idea what Aaron and I will do yet, but the photo cards give guests a cute way to remember the wedding.

After a quick google search, I've decided thank you notes should be sent for Christmas gifts where the exchange was not done in person. Wahoo, another occasion to send cards!

Things I Get Really Excited About

-Next month, when I won't have to study for boards anymore or have to take evil shelf tests at the end of every rotation
-Being able to devote my life to helping mentally disabled patients and knowing I have the patience for it
-Shopping, scouring yard sales, TJ Maxx, Homegoods and Bed, Bath and Beyond for great deals and home pieces for Aaron & I
-Bachelorette party and time spent giggling and staying up late with girlfriends
-Our wedding <3
-Having 2 months off of school to be a perfect wife, cook and cleaner. Followed by 4 years of imperfection AKA residency (no worries, Aaron cooks and cleans too)
-Wine on the porch with Aaron, any day, knowing that I have a moment to relax despite whatever's going on in life

table for 2 :-)

Flowers

After yesterday's heavy post, today needs something lighthearted and pretty. Flowers!

The floral color scheme-cream, pink and peach!

fluffy flowers

I've already started collecting milk glasses and vintage jars for centerpieces :-)

I plan for my bouquet to have a dark accent flower, like purple salvia, so it will stand out from the bridesmaids.

I have no idea what type of flowers I want yet-I just know what looks pretty! Peonies seem to be really popular in weddings, they are beautiful but I think they may be expensive and I'm not sure if they're in season in April.  I don't care to spend the extra money if they're out of season.  I think garden roses and ranunculus are gorgeous as well.  However, the flowers in the last picture are not the typical wedding flowers you see in the blogs and they still look awesome.  My plan is just to listen to my florist (my friend Dawn) and take her advice!

What Really Matters

Anyone who knows me knows that I am classic for inserting in my foot in mouth. Not all the time, thank goodness, but more often then I would like, I'm the type to say the wrong thing. Some examples would be to mention a girl's lack of fidelity in front of her ex, to criticize a store that a friend shops at (and is most likely wearing). I felt especially guilty after watching House Hunters with a friend last week and criticizing a couple's decision to buy a house with one bathroom. One bathroom?! I told Aaron I couldn't imagine living with one bathroom and having to share with children and guests. Then I remembered-Aaron grew up in a house with only bathroom. Oops. Count your blessings, Lauren, realize some of your must-haves are not really as crucial, important and impossible to live without as you think...like this wedding.

Weddings are so over-hyped these days, I think it makes it especially hard to be thankful when planning a wedding. Shows like Four Weddings make every detail seem so crucial. The girls criticize each other over the food at cocktail hour, the wedding isn't extravagant enough. It's enough to put a budget-minded girl like me in a frenzy-we must serve hors d'oeuvres at cocktail hour, the invitations must be letterpress. Come to think of it, I haven't even been to a wedding as frilly and detailed as the ones I've see on tv or blogs (okay-well there was one).  Yet, I've never been to a bad wedding either-what is that? Weddings are about congratulating the couple, seeing your friends and family. The only thing that could truly make a wedding bad would be if the couple broke up before the night was over! An added perk to a wedding is being able to get down on the dance floor...but aside from that, I'm not judgmental of the venue or food, just grateful to be invited. So why am I getting worked up over all of these insignificant details?

Sometimes the things I read in magazines are so ridiculous they're laughable. Like a suggestion I have a gospel choir sing at my wedding or that I have a band lead a parade from the ceremony to the reception. It's a wedding, not a circus! It's not my job for my wedding to be the best day of my guests' lives-it's not in my budget, either! The most important thing I will be doing at my wedding is committing my life and heart to Aaron.

Do I still want nice things at my wedding? Yes, of course. I'd appreciate a few ooh's and aah's over the centerpieces. However, I will orchestrate these things within reason and within a budget. I've heard of couples racking up credit card debt, some even emptying their 401ks to pay for weddings. No thank you, I have a life to live after my wedding. And so do my parents. So I am thankful to everything they are affording me, I know some girls are not as fortunate to have their parents provide them with a wedding. I know there will be times in the future I will be disappointed by finding out something is outside of my budget, I may have to settle. However, I am super excited about seeing my groom waiting for me at the end of my aisle on my wedding day and our family and friends being able to share the moment with us. It isn't a production, it's a wedding!