Hermann

Last weekend, Mike and I went to Hermann, MO to enjoy a relaxing day at the wineries. I asked for a weekend in Hermann for my birthday and we finally had the time to do it!!! Before we left, we decided on 2 rules. #1.) We were not allowed to talk about the wedding and #2.) We were not allowed to talk about the house.

It was amazing! We had such a great time enjoying each others company, great food, good wine, and beautiful scenery.First, we took a tour at Stone Hill Winery! It was great!!! I would definitely recommend it to everyone. For only $2.50 each, we enjoyed a 3o minute tour through the underground cellars and a wine tasting of EVERY WINE they had! You know I liked that :)We picked a great weekend to visit Hermann because there was a music and art festival in town. We stopped to watched Javier Mendoza and we loved it! He is WONDERFUL! He will be playing at "Live on the Levee" and he also plays at Botanical Gardens this summer and I will definitely check him out again!We then hit up Hermannhof Winery to finish listening to the festival. We were hot...and sweaty!
We had a delicious dinner at a cute restaurant named Cottage. Then went back to hang out at our Bed and Breakfast, White Roses. I had never been to a B&B before! It was very interesting. It was so beautiful, everyone was so friendly, and it was super clean and put together. However, I hate to say that I think that B&Bs are a little creepy. Not this one particularly...I just get scared easily. This couple at the top of the stairs gave me the heeby-jeebies!!!Oooooooooh. I just got scared again! Our room was so cute though...check out the tub!
The house smelled so great when we woke up the next morning. We walked downstairs and were welcomed by a beautifully set table and delicious breakfast. Yummmm...What a wonderful weekend! I recommend you all to go...it was great! Completely unlike the Oktoberfest experiences of the past!!!

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Ouch

My fingers hurt so bad. Do-it-yourself invitations SUCK!!!

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Unmotivated!

I have the biggest motivation to lose weight right now....my wedding! So WHY WHY WHY did I not go to the gym today? I planned to do it...it really was in my head. I wanted to go (kind of) but I didn't! How can I talk myself into it? Grrrr...I am so mad at myself!

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Danielle Erb

I had to give Danielle her own post! She is my makeup artist and hair stylist for my wedding and she is freaking adorable!!! I first found out about Danielle when my roommate, Mike, introduced me to Julia and her wonderful wedding. Mike showed me pictures of Julia wedding and brought me to her photographers' website...the wonderful Browers. Instantly, I booked them for my own wedding! Julia then introduced me to the fabulous Stlwed. From Stlwed, I learned that Danielle is one of the best in St. Louis. I HAD to have her and luckily, she is able to be there for my wedding. Last Thursday, I had my trial and my first fitting! I won't post pictures of me in my dress (Mike is a regular visitor of my blog) but I will post some makeup/hair pictures.

Getting my hair did....

Love the makeup! She airbrushed it on!
Check out those lashes!!! I worked hard to keep those on till Friday night!!!
More hair pictures...

Bottom line, I am so so happy with my hair and makeup. And on Thursday, when I put on my dress and veil, I finally felt like a bride...this is really happening! AHHH! I am so excited!

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YAY for the weekend!

I can't believe that it is already Friday! Tomorrow morning, Mike and I are heading to Herman for a day of winery fun (in this beautiful weather...huh)! We will be staying at a Bed and Breakfast and I am so excited...I have never done this before! I decided a few months ago that I wanted to do this for my birthday present! I had a feeling that we would need a relaxing weekend and I was right!!!

We have been doing some fix-ups in the house. Because of my lack of decision making skills, we decided to put the kitchen on hold until after the wedding. This decision makes me feel so much better...we have a lot of other things to focus on right now! Maybe our wedding invitations that should be out in a couple of weeks that we haven't even started!!!

When I was in Florida last week, Mike painted our bedroom. It was an awful blue and I just hated it! Here are the before and after pictures! BEFORE....AFTER...We still have A LOT of work to do but this was a start :)

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I need help!

Ha...that title really sums up how I am feeling all around BUT today we are going to focus on the kitchen. Many of you know that Mike moved into our new house last Monday. Here we are at our new home.Right now, our kitchen has terrible floors, white cabinets (only 4 of them) and white counter tops. We have decided to redo the kitchen but we are stuck with what to do. Our appliances are new and white and we can't afford to buy all new stainless steel. Here is the current kitchenWe want to add extra cabinets, tile the floor, and add a granite counter top. Should we buy new white cabinets (matching the appliances) and put on a black counter top? Here are some "real" kitchens with this look.... (without stainless steel)
Or, do light maple cabinets (they are a lot cheaper in price) with the white appliances and a black counter top?Now, for "real" kitchens...OR...we could do the maple cabinets with a lighter granite...Why must I over-analyze EVERYTHING!?! I know that I am driving Mike crazy but when we are spending thousands of dollars on something, I want to LOVE it!

Please help me...what are you opinions?!?!

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Who goes to Florida...

and leaves her camera at home? Seriously? WHO DOES THAT?!?! Grrrr....so so frustrating!!!
However, Leslie took some pictures so hopefully I can post some soon!

Mike painted our bedroom this weekend while I was gone! I will go to our house tomorrow and check it out. I am nervous though!!!

This weekend in Florida was so much fun! I will give the weekend its own post later...I still haven't talked about "move-in/birthday"! I just have to mention a trailer I saw this weekend before "Sex and the City."

"He's Just Not That Into You" is a wonderful book that has helped many women understand men! I don't know if I would say that this book "saved" me or "helped" me in anyway...but it was definitely enlightening! It just made everything really click in college during my single (and dating) years. Whatever...enough about the book...it is being made into a movie! I DID know that Jennifer Aniston and Scarlett Johansson were staring but everyone else?! HOLY CRAP...talk about an all-star cast! Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Ben Affleck, Justin Long, Kevin Connolly... WOO HOO! I was going to see it anyway but NOW, I am even more freaking excited. If you were sleeping all weekend and didn't see "SATC," you really need to check out this trailer...it is going to be great

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Florida, here I come!

I am off to Jacksonville, Florida for the weekend! This will be me tomorrow..I hope that everyone has a great weekend! I will be back on Sunday!!!

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Weekend Wedding Con't....Sunday

Mike and I woke up early Sunday morning to shop for furniture. We need living room furniture, outside furniture, and then furniture for our sunroom. Sadly, we didn't get any furniture...BUT...we did buy our washer, dryer, and microwave from Home Depot. WOO HOO! I got to take about a 30 minute nap until we prepared for wedding #2, Arin and Josh. It was the first Jewish wedding that I have ever been to...which is really strange, considering that I am having one! It was beautiful...amazing! The ceremony and reception were both at the Ritz and it was so nice and HUGE!!! Beautiful chuppah... Romantic decor...She looked amazing...beautiful and elegantCheck out the table...it was incredible!We had a blast, dancing the night away. They had a really interesting timeline.
Cocktails from 7-8
Everyone Dancing from 8-9
SaladsToasts/CakeCutting/Dances 9-10
Dinner 10:30ish
Dancing 11:00-1:30

It was crazy....I didn't even get into the car until 2ish. Although it seemed strange to eat so late, we were in party mode the whole time. I can't even believe that the reception went to late! It really was cool! CONGRATS, ARIN AND JOSH...it was so beautiful and we had a wonderful time!

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Wedding Hangover...Friday and Saturday!

I have survived the weekend! I can't believe that it is over...it felt like it was going to be so so far away. Friday night, I went to a rehearsal and then dinner at Harry's. It was so amazing...cocktails outside and then dinner inside. TOO MUCH FOOD!!! Beef tenderloin medallions...yummm. I really never eat or order red meat but for some reason, I just went for it!!! Shari looked beautiful and it was so much fun!

Saturday, we woke up in the Hyatt and started getting hair and makeup done. It really was a great time and Shari looked so beautifulThis wedding was really hitting home since mine is less than 100 days away! Being on the "inside" of this wedding made me notice a lot more of the little things and details. It actually started freaking me out a little bit! Shari did a wonderful job staying calm...she really amazed me! After we got ready, we drove around St. Louis in a trolley and it was a great time! The ceremony was great...Shrine of St. Joseph is a beautiful church!!! I get so nervous walking down the aisle. I am very happy that I had this opportunity to try it again. I swear, I thought that I was going to faint in my friend, Allison's, wedding a couple of years ago. I was praying that I wouldn't feel that way again but since it was a Catholic ceremony, we were able to sit through most of it! No fainting for me! After more pictures, we headed back to the Hyatt for dinner and guess what we ate! MORE BEEF! Again, it was delicious!!! I got to see Mike again after the long and crazy day! I love this one of us busting a move!!! Seriously, what song are we singing???After the long day, we were exhausted and knew that we would need to get ready for weekend wedding #2!!! Congrats, Shari and Kyle...it really was a beautiful day!

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Let the craziness begin!

Tomorrow (Friday)- Last day of school!!! WOO HOO! Rush home after school, change, get to the church for Shari's rehearsal at 5. Dinner at Harry's downtown at 6. Yum. Sleep at the Hyatt at Union Station.

Saturday- Wake up super early and get hair/makeup done. Get on a trolley and drive around St. Louis. Shari and Kyle get married! Take pictures and then go to the hotel for the reception and PARTYYYYY.

Sunday- Sleep in. Take apart Mike's bed. Get dressed and head to the Ritz for Arin and Josh's wedding. Party Party Party...so so excited!!!

Monday- Semi-sleep in! MOVING DAY! BIRTHDAY! WOOT WOOT! Go out to dinner?! Relax? Sleep maybe?!

This is going to be crazyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.....

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It is official!

We are now homeowners!!!

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Wedding Details

So, I haven't been working on the wedding lately! The house has taken over my life (along with cheerleading, school, and masters). BUT...this weekend, we did get to go pick up our wedding bands. Very exciting!!! BLING BLING!I love it! Can't wait to have both of those bad boys on my finger! Here is an example of Mike playing photographer...At first, I wasn't crazy about Mike's ring. It is titanium and has a satin finish. He loves it so then I love it!

Also, I changed my mind about my bouquet inspiration. Here is what I wanted at first... But now I love this! The problem is, peonies aren't really available in August. Hummm...I still don't know what to do with my bouquet. I keep going back and forth between doing all white or a bigger version of the bridesmaids'. What do you think???

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Weekend Round-up

So, where did I leave off? Ali's graduation.

So proud of her! Her graduation actually wasn't that bad to sit through. Senator Claire McCaskill spoke and she was wonderful. Really funny for a politician...she talked about her late nights at Harpo's and even put in a jab against KU (Mike's alma mater).

After graduation, we had a wonderful meal at the Les Bourgeois winery. I have been to this winery a million times but I have NEVER been to the restaurant. After we ate, we were treated by an amazing sunset. Check out these pictures...
This next picture really is my favorite. From left to right: Ali's adorable boyfriend, Kyle...Mike...my dad....my brother, Andrew. This wasn't even staged (except for my brother). The three of them were just standing like that and I had to tell Andrew to get his tush over there because it looked like a boyband CD cover or something!!!Up next...a night on the town! Those Mizzou folks...did you know that Shiloh moved? They took over The Colosseum restaurant and it was actually pretty cool. It was crazy getting kicked out of the bar at 1:00 with no other bars to go to! BUT...there was somewhere to go...GUMBYS!!! It was my only request...pokey sticks. And they were delish.

The next day, "we" went golfing! By "we," I mean Mike and Kyle. Ali and I hit a few...but it was not pretty. Instead, we decided to pose. Please note the color of our legs. UM...someone needs to go tanning!!! Good thing I will be in Florida in a week!!!Ew ew ew...I think that I need to end on that picture. EW.

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I love him...

and here is an example why. We laugh together...all of the time. I stole this picture from Kate's facebook album. I just think it is so "us." Completely candid, and not sober...but so "us."

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So much to say, so little time!

I am exhausted, need to get to sleep, but I have SO much to say! I haven't blogged in a while...I have been feeling crazy lately. I know that after this week, my life will have changed so so much and I just can't wait.

Mike and I had our "walk-through" at our new home today. We sign the papers on Wednesday and I couldn't be more excited. Here are a couple pictures I took today:)Seriously, I can't believe that we will be in the house next Monday! WOW!

Anyways, I had such a fun weekend. We celebrated my birthday this weekend with a fabulous night out on the town. My birthday isn't until next Monday (Memorial Day) but since this is such a crazy weekend, we decided to celebrate early. We started the night with dinner and drinks at Bar Louie in the Central West End.Then, we hit up Mandarin next door for Orlando Pace's party...don't ask...I don't even know if he was there?!?! Then, we went to one of our favorite bars. RBar. I don't care if people get killed around the area...I still love it!!! We had a wonderful time and shook it all night. I have been there TONS of times but didn't know that Fridays were 80s dance party nights!!! Love this pic of Mike and the girls breaking it down... Can you tell that we were having fun??Then, we were off the next morning to CoMo. First of all, so so so surreal watching my little sister graduate. I was so happy for her and can't wait for her to move home next week!Oh my goodness... I am so tired. I have to stop blogging! I have more pictures and things to share but I HAVE to go to bed. Today was field day at school and I am just pooped!!! More to come tomorrow!!!

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