I don't even know where to start!

I have so many things to share with you I might have to spread them out over a couple posts so you're not still reading this a hour and a half later. I'll start off with saying Joe and I had a busy but at the same time not busy Memorial Day weekend. We got a lot accomplished and I found myself still in my PJ's until noon the whole weekend. It was glorious!

Saturday Joe and I knocked a lot of things off our "Ultimate To Do List" like getting Joe's suit fitted again. He no longer sports the constant "weggie" look. Back off ladies, he's all mine:) He also picked up some new shoes for the big day. I'm telling you...you're going to want him but he's still MINE!

We also stopped by JCPenny's to check out their tie selection. For the groomsmen and usher gifts, Joe is giving them a shirt and a tie to go with the gray suits they already bought for the wedding. We found $36 ties on sale, plus we got an additional $20 off so each tie came to $17.77. Score! The three ushers have the same time and then the five groomsmen and Joe have the same time. I wish I could find a picture but I'm having little luck. I guess it will be a surprise then!

Joe and I also returned a few duplicates we had from the showers. We had about $120 worth of stuff to return so we picked up a few things we needed for the wedding like, pens for the guest book, lighters for the candles, vases for our sand and a huge bin with wheels for our plates. Joe also reminded me once again that I am very indecisive when it comes to making decisions. I've changed how I want to do the centerpieces about ten times (no joke) and all the little details I want to do are getting pushed off because I want to explore all my options before making the call. According to Joe (and I'm begining to slowly realize this too) I'm not going to have enough time to do everything I would like to do. And that fact that we have 53 days left is not helping either. So I'll either have to make decisions faster or not do it at all. Ah man!

P.S...I finished my Grandma's slides today!!! Next up on the scanner, pictures of Joe and I growing up!

Long weekend ahead...Yippee!!

I am so ready for this three day weekend to start up in about four hours!! I am excited to have a few days to relax and for the first time in two weekends, I don't have to make the drive back home. Joe and I don't have any plans but that's alright with me. I'm all for staying home, working on the yard and getting outside a bit.

I've already spent the majority of my day scanning in my Grandma's slides and I have lots more to do. I am seriously having the time of my life and it's been a lot of fun seeing my grandparent's wedding picture or my Mom when she was little. My grandparents still have the wood paneling on their walls from 1963 and my Grandpa still wears his red vest at Christmas from 1965 (which there's a good chance he had it before then - possibly:) Yep, I love these pictures!! These are only a few pictures of the hundreds I've already done. Each one shares a memory and tells a story.



My Grandparent's at Park Point

Their wedding day

 

My Mom (on the left) and my aunt Theresa

In other news, Joe and I needed to find cups for coffee and the lemonade and wine during the reception. And with the barn being Earth friendly, they had to biodegradable. After browsing the 'ol web, I came across this company based out of New York called Susty Party. They have everything from plates and silverware to the cups we needed and the company sounds pretty awesome themselves. We can return anything we don't use for 100% of our money back and if only we were close enough, they would pick up our cups and make sure they were recycled. How cool is that?! If you ever want to throw a "Let's Be Green" party, check them out!

After going back on how many cups we wanted to get, we decided on 3,000 9oz tumblers for the lemonade, water and wine and 100 8oz coffee cups. We figured there weren't be too many coffee drinkers on a hot July day. Hopefully. So we placed our order and they arrived yesterday!!

Drink up my friends.

We should have enough cups to go around:)

And if not, head straight for the bottle itself.

Happy Memorial Day!!!

She finally came!

Meet our new CanoScan 9000F. Isn't she a beaut?! There were a couple reasons we wanted her. Joe and I plan on doing a slideshow of our yesteryears and although we have a scanner at home, I really didn't want to sit upstairs after work and on the weekends to scan one picture after another (because we all know I would be the only one scanning). Plus, the one we have is pretty bulky and it's our only printer for the house. Also, not only can you scan pictures, documents, etc but it also does negatives and 35 mm slides! My Grandma had a ton of slides so I thought I'd scan those in for her and put them on disc so she can look at them without sitting in a dark room in the basement with the slide projector going. It's been really fun going through her old pictures - she was (and still is) so pretty!

As soon as I get done with her slides (Grandma comes first since she gave me these to do at Christmas!!) I'll start working on pictures of Joe and I. If I find any good ones I'll be sure to share:) It's also really nice that I'm able to do this at work. Now that the weather is getting nice, I can scan at work and play at night. I'm going to have a rude awakening when I actually have to "work" for a living. Haha... All in good timing. Back to scanning I go!!!

I found one!

Can I just start out by saying Joe and I have 59 days before we tie the knot?! Days 100-300+ went by so terribly slow and now they're racing by! I better get going on all the little details I want to do before time runs out!

Anywho... I've been on the search for a wine barrel to use during our ceremony. I came across these pictures and instantly knew I had to get one myself.

I know our wedding isn't taking place in wine country but I love the rustic charm of these barrels. I started looking around down here in the cities and found a couple promising sites. They were mostly sold to use as rain barrels (which I totally want one but Joe doesn't want to put gutters up on our garage) however, they were a bit pricey - $130-$170 per barrel. I didn't really want to spend that much but I really wanted a barrel. Then fate stepped in....

I was home a couple weekends ago and my Mom and I had to run to a store to return some buckets and pick up more mason jars (story of my life ha.:) And on our way into the store, this bright light from the sky came down and pointed me in the direction of this...

And then the angels sang. AHHHH!!! Just kidding. But I was super pumped!! One look at the price and I was sold, "$69.95. Way cheaper than what I had been finding back in the cities and I loved how weathered it looked. It's actually a whiskey barrel but whiskey or wine they all look the same to me.

So the plan for the barrel is to use it out at the ceremony. As I mentioned before, Joe and I are pouring sand into a vase to represent our "unity" as we come together and I wanted to find a vintage type table of some sort to use for this part of the ceremony. Then lo and behold, I found a barrel.

I didn't tell Joe I bought it until I asked him to come out to the car to help me with something. The barrel is really heavy so I couldn't unload it myself. And I was really glad to get it out of the car because it made the whole car smell like glue! I had to crack the windows open a bit on the way home because it was so strong! Haha. Joe loved it and thought it was perfect. I'm glad Joe is trusting me to create the vintage/rustic theme for our wedding. Hopefully I can "wow" him with my ideas!

Mr. Brody

As I mentioned before, my nephew Brody was up for the weekend until Andrea was able to come up on Sunday. Let me tell you, it was wild in our house. As soon as he would get up in the morning we all would be playing and laughing together. My parents acted like they were tired but I think they secretly were having a blast. Especially my Dad. Every five minutes Brody would yell, "Papa!! Papa!!" and my Dad would come right over to him. They are best buds. Brody and I also had our special time together. We'd skip and gallop around the house or we'd hide under the covers on the bed until Sadie came and found us. Yep, I'm 25 and I acted like a little kid the whole weekend. It was awesome. Thanks for coming over Brody!!! Can't wait to see you again:)

Bridal Shower Weekend Extravaganza!

I honestly don't know where to start in telling you about this past weekend. I couldn't even sum it up in three words if I tried. All I know is that I am so thankful for my family and soon-to-be family. For the past three days I have been showered with gifts, surrounded by amazing families and running on low numbers of sleep but it's all been worth it:) Bear with me, this post is going to be long. You've been warned:)

Friday night Joe picked me up from work and we headed toward shower number one. I arrived about 45 minutes late due to traffic, rain and construction but nonetheless I finally made it. Thankfully the guests knew I would be arriving somewhat late so the shower was going to be pretty casual. Just my type:) Soon after Joe dropped me off, Jenna and I started opening our gifts. Joe and I got a lot of goodies and Jenna got quite a bit too! It was fun to meet a lot of Sue's friends - ladies I have heard about but haven't had the chance to meet yet. They welcomed me with open arms and I even got to hear a few stories of Joe when he was a little boy. After the shower ended, I went home, spoke with my Mom who was waiting to hear how it went and soon hit the hay. The next day would be busy, start to finish.

Saturday I unfortunately woke up at 5 AM (meaning only five hours of sleep for the night)! I have no clue why but I was wide awake and ready to start the excitement. I crawled into my parent's bed and anxiously waited for my nephew Brody to wake up. Before 9 am approached, I had already had a french toast breakfast, went skipping and galloping through my parent's house with Brody and was already ready for a nap. My Mom and I met up with Jenna and Sue for our dress fittings. Thankfully this gal is going to cost me a lot less than the first time I tried so I appreciated that.

After, we went to Duluth for shower number two. Joe's aunt and cousin, Sharon and Kristy put on a lovely shower for Jenna and I. I felt so special. We played games, which my Mom won one, ate delicious food and cake and opened another round of gifts. Here's some pictures from the day.



Cake!



The lunch!



Cutting our cakes!



My Mom and I



My soon to be Mother-in-law, Sue and I



After the shower, I made it home to take about a 15 minute nap before Brody started laughing/screaming again. Then I was off to Joe's grandma, Pat's 70th Birthday Surprise Party. She had no clue! During that time, I was able to meet his cousin Kallie's new little daughter, Adelyn. She was so precious and as soon as I got her in my arms the whole family started saying, "Sarah, you're looking pretty good holding that baby" or "When are you having kids?". When I sat down next to Joe's dad to order dinner he asked me too! Then said, "You looked good holding the baby." Ahh...I thought that was the sweetest thing. I took it to heart:)

Sunday I slept a little longer but was still running around with Brody before 8 am. It's hard not to act like a kid and be goofy when you have a little boy running around with you:) Soon my sister's Mel and Andrea arrived, then my aunts and cousins, grandma and even more guests. The final shower was kicking into gear by 11 am and were off! We had a bridal shower brunch with cinnamon rolls, bagels, muffins and amazing desserts my grandma made. Here's a few more pictures for you...

I asked everyone to give me some advice for marriage.



So good!!

My family shower was so great. The weather warmed up, the rain stopped and the sun even stopped by. Joe came over after most everyone had left and he finally saw all of the "stuff" we had received over the past three days. He was really impressed and just as excited as I had been! My mom filled him up with food and then we packed my car up to the brim.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Forty-seven thank you's already done and we cannot wait to start using all of our new things! We couldn't be more thankful for everyone you came out to the showers and those who couldn't make it too.

By the way, did you know today is two months until the wedding?!!

61 days!!!!

We're in the newspaper!

Our engagement announcements ran in two of our home papers this week! You can see the Duluth News Tribune one here and the Cloquet Pine Journal one here. I've received a few comments on them as well as our parents. It's quite an exciting time!!

Tonight starts my Bridal Shower Marathon Weekend and I'm very excited to enjoy one of the "perks" of getting married. It will be so great to see friends and family and take some time to celebrate! Here's how my weekend is looking...brace yourself...

Friday:

**Shower #1, 7pm.

Joe dropped me off at work this morning and is picking me up to help save some time.

Hopefully we can make it close to the 7pm start. Meanwhile, my parents are picking up my nephew Brody this morning and we'll have him to ourselves until my sister makes it up on Sunday. He's always on the go!!

Saturday:

**Alterations at 10am

**Shower #2, Noon

**Joe's grandma, Pat's Surprise Birthday Party

Sunday:

**Shower #3, 11am Brunch

I might be a little worn out by the time we head back home on Sunday but it's going to be so much fun! I told Joe he'll have to drive home since I might be sleeping from exhaustion. I'll be sure to post pictures of this weekend's festivities next week.

And on another note, last night I met my friends, Alsie & Josh's little addition to their family. Grayson Ray Nelson was born on Monday and I finally got to see him! Joe stayed home as he is on the last leg of his cold but that just means I'll get to see him again soon so Joe can meet him as well. Here he is!!

Spring is Here!

I've been starring at my computer for about 15 minutes now, not knowing what I should blog about today. I have "wedding things" I could talk about but just don't feel like it for some reason. Not today at least. So I'll share some pictures I took around the yard the other day. 



My first flower planter EVER! Hopefully I don't kill them.



 

Our neighbor's tree smell soooo good:)

 

Wish more were blooming but I don't think I have them in the best spot.

 

New beginnings! How appropriate for the events coming up in life:)

 

The never ending pile of mason jars....

Some of you may have seen this picture before. The famous wedding pile downstairs that has grown since I took this picture last fall. There's about seven dozen mason jars in that pile. 

And now I have added to it in our spare bedroom...

Another 102 mason jars. I brought them back with me because my friend Kelly is going to help me with a little project.

See that little twine string aroud the neck of the jar? That is what we're going to do on all the mason jars. Because there is going to be so much white (table cloths, napkins, clear jars, white candles) and after talking with her, we decided to do this as well. It will give the jars a little something extra and I think it will look really nice with our rustic setting. Plus, with the extra help (thanks Kelly!) it shouldn't take to long.

Lanterns

Back in December I talked about using lanterns as our centerpieces. I wanted to find those old barn/railroad lanterns and put them on some of our tables but finding them was hard to do. And I didn't want to buy brand news either because they were either a) too shiny and new looking or b) expensive. Plus, red is a popular color of those news ones and it doesn't really go with our color scheme. Anyway, my grandpa had two old lanterns and I'm still going to use them at our gift table or dessert table for that vintage flair. I snapped a few pictures of them last night in poor lighting, sorry! but they are so cool. Everyone keeps telling me that I should wipe them down a bit but I love how they look! Happy Lanterns!

Bridesmaids

If you haven't seen this movie yet I highly recommend it! Click here if you want to see the trailer. When I got home on Friday night my Mom, Dad and Sadie went to the 9:20pm movie which if you know my parents, you know they are usually in bed by then. The movie was little edgy, especially when you're watching it with you family but even my Dad enjoyed it. I was laughing the whole time.

On Saturday I had my friend Jenny's wedding in Duluth. It was a lovely day filled with catching up with friends and sharing in the celebration of Jenny and Dustin's marriage. I had a little moment during the dance when I thought to myself, the next time I out on a dance floor, I'll be the one in the wedding dress and it will be our friends and family shakin' it to the music! It's coming up quickly! Their pastor used a few concepts from the movie "Bridesmaids" oddly enough but it worked. Here's a picture of the newlyweds I took from Facebook since I forgot my camera. P.S...I love her dress!

Congratulations Jenny and Dustin! Wishing you a life of love and happiness!