Light Bright!

Sunday when we got back into town, Joe and I stopped at Target and headed straight for their Christmas sale. If we were going to get any sort of lights for the reception, now would be the time. And we did. We cleared out their white christmas lights and went home with 11 boxes, 2200 light bulbs, and who knows how many feet. I think it's safe to assume have plenty of lights. Plus, you can't beat getting $120 worth of lights for $60! Next Christmas our house will probably look like this...

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy New Year! I am SO EXCITED for 2011!!!

Happy Birthday Joe!

The Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday dear Joe, Happy Birthday to You! My soon-to-be husband is turning the big 2-5 today and I'm so excited for him! I've been leaving him little surprises - note on his car, a "Happy Birthday" sign and wrapped presents for when he comes home after work, finished his cake, probably send him a few more texts today:) I love celebrating birthdays so hopefully he doesn't mind my enthusiasm! I made dinner reservations for us at an Italian restaurant nearby and I can't wait to see the look on his face when he opens his gifts.



Joe and his two sisters, Jenna & Kate



Since he doesn't read this blog, at least that's what he tells me, I'll let you in on what I got him. He loves trying new beers and particularly beers that aren't mainstream like Mich Light or the ones you see during commercials. Plus, he's been wanting to make his own beer for a while now. His coworker is really into it and ever since we started making the wine for the wedding, his desire to make it has gone from "that would be fun" to "I really, really want to do this!" 

Seeing that I would never pick out the right kits/accessories he needs/wants and after searching around for a bit, I found a Mr. Beer Kit at Sears that I figured he could try out. It's nothing fancy but after reading some of the reviews, it looks like the perfect "first time brewer" kit. I also got him a book, "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing", that looks like a must have when it comes to starting this new hobby. Unfortunately the book won't come in the mail until tomorrow but he'll just have two days to open gifts instead of one. 

Now I would like to make a toast, here's to turning 25! May this year bring you happiness and lots of laughter, many memories and special moments. I love you Joe, to another 25+ wonderful years:)

Christmas 2010

Bentleyville

In the words of my late great grandfather, "Well, it's over!" Christmas has come and gone but thankfully I now have time to actually sit and be still. Joe and I were all over the place visiting both of our families so by the end of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I was more than ready to crawl into bed and rest my exhausted body. This was actually the first year I was able to be with Joe's family for the holidays too since last year we had a big snow storm that kept us from seeing each other. The Sheleruds' & Wallis' are amazing and I am one lucky girl to be a part of their family! Now we're gearing up for New Year's and hopefully the snow/ice storm that's on its way changes direction!

Sadie got me a travel book for Vancouver, Victoria, Vancouver Island and a few other places in Canada that we can use for our Honeymoon! I've already been reading about different places and travel trips and it's making me that much more excited for our trip! And one of the best parts is that whales are frequently seen in the area:) Ha...I love whales.

But anyway, Christmas was amazing being surrounded by our families. We are truly blessed to have every individual in our lives and I am so excited for all that's to come in 2011! It's going to be a very, very good year!

I spoke to soon

Here I was yesterday complaining about how it was so hard to find letters and every time I did they didn't have the right letters we needed, yada yada yada. Literally 10 minutes after I posted that I found these letters!

I found them online at Kohl's and they were on sale too! I ordered a "J", "&" and a "S". They are made out of metal, brown in color, and stand about 6" high. I'm excited and Joe liked them too!! Unfortunately it means I may have one less wedding project to do but who are we kidding, I haven't done any yet anyways.

On a more Christmasy note, Joe and I are headed back home after work tonight! Last night we, I, started and finished wrapping our gifts while watching Christmas Vacation. I even put up a few Christmas decorations around the house. We are taking this year "off" with Christmas and are saving next year as our full blown Winter Wonderland Spectacular, tree & decorations galore, since it will be our first Christmas as husband and wife:) Yippee!!

Merry Christmas and blessings to you all!

Santa is coming!!!

Two more days until the holiday festivities start!! My attempt to wrap presents last night did not go so well. But tonight will be the night... and it kind of has too:) I have no other options.

Now on the wedding front, I may have found a project to tackle. And my inspiration comes from this picture.

Finding letters is a harder task than you would think. And when I do find something I like they don't have any of the letters I need or they are terribly expensive. S's are very popular apparently. However, I did find this DIY site where they actually made these letters. See Here. I think I could handle this self project without any glitches (possibly) and even have some fun while doing it.

Can I go back?



To here? I feel like I've been scrambling for time ever since we started our drive home on Sunday. When we pulled up to the house the plows had come through over the weekend and we had to once again park on the road and get the snow blower going before we could pull in. Then it snowed again all day yesterday making for a lovely long ride home and I pulled in just in time to shovel our walkway before our friends game over to watch the not so good Vikings game. Umph.

I'm hoping tonight when Joe and I wrap our Christmas gifts for our families, I'll finally have the "It's Christmas!" feeling. My favorite holiday kind of got away from me this year and we didn't have time to get a tree or put up holiday decorations. However, I am determined to spread holiday cheer even if it's starting five days before Christmas!

On the wedding front, scanning pictures did not go very well yesterday. The scanner I was going to use scanned the pictures very dark so I need to work on a plan B. Also, I'm waiting until after the holidays to buckle down on some projects. Major things to do are: get suits for the guys, find a musician, get any rental supplies we may need and invites!

Ahhhh.....

I'd like to introduce to you my view from this past weekend. Isn't it glorious!? 

Joe and I spent Thursday - Sunday up north to get away for a little R & R. We ate tons of food, went for a snowshoe hike, spent a day at Lutsen, and hours in the outdoor hot tub. Thankfully I am still in one piece and have no broken bones from our ski day! Joe was a pro on the slopes and he enjoyed his black diamond runs while I watched from the bottom:)

Our rule for the weekend: relax and NO WEDDING TALK! It was so nice to get away from our busy lives and enjoy one another's company and lose track of time which we successfully did.

Now back to Monday.

Since I'm officially done with school until January, today I'm going to start scanning in pictures from mine and Joe's childhood for our slide show! I love looking back at old pictures and seeing where we've been to where we are now. Joe has some great pictures of his comb over he he:) He was such a cutie! This should be a fun wedding project!!