Confession

I realize I have not been posting here that much lately. Mainly because I have been super busy like the rest of you. I had my surgery last week and my foot is still killing me. I am happy I did the surgery but it is finally starting to set in that I will be unable to workout for like 2 months and I really miss it. I never knew how fast I would feel flabby and out of shape.

I have gained 3 pounds since the surgery, I blame my MIL's cooking and the holidays. But I am really concerned about getting fat again. I need some support and some Weight Watchers buddies to help me get back on track. I have two weddings I am in this year and I want to look fabulous for them, if anything, so I don't look like a fatty next to the beautiful brides! (Not that anyone cares what I would look like anyway)

In the mean time I also have to confess that I may have a slight addiction to my pain meds. I take one get drunk in about 5 minutes take a nap in about 40 and then feel great for 5 hours! Way easier than getting drunk. Way less calories, and I don't get a hangover! HMMM maybe I should stop taking these pills soon....

Random Acts of Kindness

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I am going to start my annual holiday mission of completing some random acts of kindness. I like to make people smile, it makes me feel good, which in turn is not really selfless, but hey, I am trying. So I do small things like buy a random person at Starbucks their coffee. I hope others pay it forward in some way after they get their special thing. I like to think I am living in my own personal "Pay It Forward" movie. 

Anyway, I suggest you all try this this holiday season. Times are tough for a lot of us out there right now and if everyone was just a bit nicer to each other than we could all have just a little bit better holiday! 

Christmas Decor Preview

I am married to Santa's "Director of Awesome Things" - Santa needs to be able to find our house on the big night so Mr. A took it upon himself to get into decorating our balcony. This is what he has done to our balcony for the big day. If you are lucky you might be able to see it from space.

There is lots more where that came from. Will post next week.

My Christmas Wishlist - Just shoes for me please!

I was very lucky to get almost everything a girl could which for for her home for our wedding this year. This is a great thing but it also makes it very hard to come up with a non-ridiculous wish list for my family this year. (God I sound like bitch. Oh poor girl who has everything, boo freaking who.) 

Well turns out what I do need is lots of shoes. I have have been battling this annoying nerve in my foot for over a year now and I am going to finally have it taken out. YEA!!! But that means that I now can't wear almost 3/4 of my shoes. So I have asked for shoes and clothing for Christmas this year. 

Behold my dream shoes: 

Steve Madden Intyce 

They are simple and stylish without being too trendy. I am hoping to get these bad boys or some sort of equestrian boot to jazz up my "flats only" shoe needs. 

From Zappos - Clarks Pump in Pewter 

I feel these bad boys as much as they are plain in style will be a comfortable but cute option for work. I now have to have rummer soles on all my shoes so I am very limited on what I can wear. Annoying! 

From Zappos - Ugg Classic Cardy Boot 

A few years back my friend Janet got these. I have been envious of them since. I need a pair of throw on shoes other than freaking sneakers for the weekends. I am hoping these will be just the shoe for that! 

From Anthropologie - Crinkled Corona Mary-Jane's

Let's face it I am never going to get these shoes. But I love them. I want them and I think my feet would look fabulous in them. 

I have also wished for some new slippers with my new initial on them. I need rubber sole house shoes, because walking on carpet even irritates my foot. Awesome times. 

I hope you guys get lots of great and fun gifts for this holiday! 

Wedding Recap - Reception Part 1

Like 17  months later here is my wedding reception recap in several parts because there are some great pictures. Our reception was in the same space as our wedding ceremony. The hotel flipped the space and I have to say it came out really pretty. I had a very strong opinion about having round tables at our wedding reception - HELL no! I attend meetings for a living, I hate those round tables. So with a little negotiation and persuading the hotel they did in fact not have to charge me double for linens because I wanted square tables I got my way. Here is the result:

Our head table was one long family style table. I wanted my wedding party to be able to sit with their husbands and wives so this worked best for us. 

I wanted pretty soft romantic feeling centerpieces. I loved the red tea lights. 

 Here are the guest tables. Loved the square look. 

 These were the centerpieces on some of the tables at the other guest tables. I bought the wine bottle table numbers on Etsy and I LOVED the way they looked. 

This was our "Gummy Bear" bar. Mr. A and his mom took months having fun picking out all the gummies to get for this. We did this instead of a grooms cake.  

This was our cake table. We had the most amazing cake. I loved the way it was simple and fun. Our coordinator did a good job putting the table together with our florist. 

I made the place card holders myself, another idea I stole from Etsy. My MIL did the names on the cards. 

And lastly our cake topper. I ordered this on Etsy as well. Mr. A loves Spiderman so I made him his favorite superhero on our cake! 

Lot's of fun dancing pictures next! 

Bad Blogger, Very Bad Bad Blogger

Sorry I have been totally MIA lately. My life has become a complete mess. Lots and lots of great messes though so I guess that is a good thing. Let me get you caught up:

First things first, Mr. A's Birthday Party Extravaganza  -

We started the weekend off with a midnight showing of Harry Potter because I am hardcore like that and it was a must. The movie was AH-MAZE-ING! Totally worth the lack of sleep that night. I also have to give it up to the HP fans, they were very entertaining and all in good spirits. There was a "Spell War" in our theater where kids started to fake fight with their fake wands, to say the least it was entertaining.

Then we headed to Fredricksburg for the weekend where we Christmas Shopped and ate tons of German food. We met up with a bunch of our friends and headed out to the wineries where we proceeded to get totally wasted. It was a great time to say the least.

Second, Thanksgiving -

We headed to Houston to see the family. Had Turkey day in H-Town with my sister's in-laws who are super nice. We played with the babies and have started to reconsider having kids after 5 days of no sleep and being pounded on. I am sure we will change our tune soon enough though. It was a lot of fun to get some good time in with the family though.

I made my first pumpkin pie all by myself and from scratch. It was really yummy if I don't say so myself. I think everyone enjoyed my cookies and treats I brought for the festivities.

I saw the movie "Love and Other Drugs", it was so good. Lots and lots of boobies in it though, so that was interesting to say the least. There were some good shots of Jakie boy's bum, I liked that very much thank you. The story was great though so all in all a good movie to go see.

Next, I got a new JOB!

Last week I found out that I got a new job. I will be working for a state agency and will be starting in January. I will be doing a lot more than I do now and I will be challenged a lot more. I think it will be a great thing for me in the long run, but right now I am still in shock and I am still really scared! In the mean time work at my current job has become very busy!

Last, I am having foot surgery!

I am getting my bum foot finally fixed. I have been in pain for over a year now and I am so ready for this bitch to be cut off. With that I am trying to prepare the house for me to be out of commission for a few weeks. I am pretty nervous because I am hosting a party, and Christmas at my house. I need to make sure everything is in order. Other than that it is a really great thing and I am super pumped that I am getting this fixed right before I get started at the new job!

So now you are all caught up on my life. I promise to not be so aloof. Sorry I have not been around!

Christmas time is almost here!

And I am just started to plan out our holidays for this year! (That rhymed I know!) Anyway, one thing I am always on top of is getting our holiday cards out. Mr. A and I have not done an official holiday card together as a family so I am especially happy about it this year. The pressure is on to make sure they look just right. Plus now that we are married we have to send them to both sides of the family and that means I have to send them to both sides of the family! I have been looking into our options and have decided that Shutterfly is the way to go! I have used Shutterfly before to make our fabulous guest book, and I have ordered holiday cards for my boss before with them. I know they come out so cute and fun! I have decided that custom made holiday cards (made by me of course) are just out of the realm of possibility this year. We have so much going on and this website takes out all the guesswork! They have so many great options for us and we love all of their products so this is a great alternative to the time consuming project it normally is.

I am totally loving their Christmas Cards, this one is a great possibility because I can use lots of pictures from the year (including some from the wedding of course) but still have our sentiment come through.

We do have many friends and family who don't celebrate Christmas though, so maybe a more generic holiday card would work best? 

And I love that I can spend some time Christmas shopping on their site too. They have really cute photo books and calendars, which are always a big hit with the family. 

I was thinking we could put together one for each set of parents as a gift. I know they would love to get something so personal.

I am so looking forward to working on this fun project this weekend! 

Attention all bloggers: Did you know you can earn 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? If you post about their products and services on your bog you can get this free gift! It only takes a minute and the free cards are a great deal. Newlyweds budgets are tight and this is a big help this holiday season! So get started today! 

Wedding Recap - Portraits

Okay her are some more pictures from our wedding. This time I am going to brag relentlessly about our portraits, and you are going to have to deal.

 This is Mr. A and his mom, I think this picture just captured the moment so well. 

The guys looking fancy at the SFA bar before the wedding. This is just before they took shots. I am so proud of my husband... 

Me and the girls at the SFA. I love the way everyone looks in this picture. 

 Us fooling around. The photographer told us to talk. Someone thought it fitting to play the penis game while we talked. It was really funny until I saw the pictures and saw that my MIL was listening (you can see her above us in the picture, dammit!)! Oh well we are locked in now. 

My sweet niece gave me a kiss before the wedding.

 Outside of the hotel on Congress. 

We stopped traffic and ran down Congress. I love these pictures! I now will brag that this was totally my idea and I am so glad I pushed to make it happen. 

 I love this shot. I totally planned for my flowers to match the Paramount sign. Totally. 

Being romantic and such. 

 A big dip in front of the capitol. I love this shot and think this one might be my favorite of just the two of us. Totally classic. 

Taking a break and loving on each other. We were actually totally hot and sweaty and I can't believe they came out this good! 

 Us fooling around before she took a serious picture. I like this one! 

Our photographer loves this one. We ran all the way back to the hotel from taking pictures and I am sure it was really funny to watch. 

Until about two weeks after we got these pictures did I even notice this picture! I love the Photoshop! This one is one of our favorite group shots of the whole day. 

So now that I have totally overwhelmed you with my portraits please take a moment to reflect on their awesomeness! (I kid, not really, no I kid) 

Confession - Don't Judge Me

I know now that my wedding dress already does not zip and/or button all the way up. I have been married for just over 65 days. I am very sad about this. I am going back to the gym tomorrow. I am sad and now I am fat.  Weird thing is I have not really gained much weight, guess I am just out of shape already.

PS - Don't ask me how I know my wedding dress does not fit. It is not like I put it on tonight while Mr. A was out of town and danced around in my living room alone. I totally did not do anything like that. That would be super weird of me. 

PPS - I am hoping this issue is really caused by the fact I am not double jointed and putting my wedding dress alone does not really work. I have like three layers of buttons and hooks on that thing. Yea that is why it does not fit, not because I am getting fat. Dammit. 

Weekend Recap

This weekend was the first in a while that we actually had at home. We took full advantage by doing as many fun things as we could!

Friday - Movie night (of course). We ordered our usual Pei Wei and hosted our great friends Jason and Amelia and there cute puppy Izzy for the night. We watched "Get Him to the Greek" and it was really funny! I honestly did not want to watch it but I am really glad we did. God I love our movie nights.

Saturday - I met with Kelly and Ginger and we took our dogs to Town Lake bight and early. The dogs seemed to be happy about this, I on the other hand was super tired. Kelly and I grabbed a large cup of coffee and then headed to HEB to get some groceries. Then Saturday night Mr. A and some other friends piled in the car and went to Wurstfest! I had never been but man we had a great time. After a lot of wandering around we finally parked our group in one of the tents. We danced to polka music and drank German beer. What a fun and silly night!

Sunday - I woke up super early to participate in the "Race for the Cure" with Kelly and Janet. Ginger and Harry were all dressed up and ready to head out in their pink outfits. We all started our morning with mimosas and muffins. The walked the race. There were so many people there! What a fun race to do. We then headed to "Iron Cactus" for a fabulous brunch with bottomless mimosas (of course). I then headed home and passed out for about 5 hours! We ended our weekend cooking dinner together and watching a movie with our puppy.

Such a fun weekend! Hope you all had a good one too!

Message in a bottle???

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Or more like color from a bottle?

Mr. A and I have been trying to cut way back on finances to save for several large purchases we would like to make next year. One being a house and the other a second honeymoon to Italy with friends. In order to reach these goals we have to cut way back on everything and I mean everything. I am couponing it up at the grocery store, no new clothing for a bit and we are for sure not doing any huge Christmas gifts (we did just get everything for the wedding anyway). We are in the process of merging all of our money and looking into everything we spend and we have realized we budget an embarrassing amount of money for my hair each month. It is almost $100 a month!!!! The reason you ask? I actually have grey hair and at 27 years old it is really embarrassing and frustrating. And no it is not just one or two hairs people I am almost 70% grey. I never want anyone to see it so I am always super diligent about getting those grey hairs covered.

Well in the spirit of cutting back I am considering doing touch ups from the store bought variety. I need suggestions on good products and techniques. I want to know what works best. Am I risking a lot by attempting this? Am I being silly? I feel like this is a thrifty way to make some cut backs but I am concerned I am going to come out looking like an old lady. I will still go see my regular girl for hair cuts and a touch up every 4 or so months but this would be a good bridge between now and then. Thoughts? Recommendations?

Confession Monday

This weekend I headed to Houston to hang out with my niece and nephew for Halloween. While watching them my niece told me she did not want me to play with her several times and chose Mr. A over me. She told me to leave and would not give me hugs or kisses. She seems to hate me because I discipline her sometimes. I was so hurt by this that I had to go to my room and hide because I was so embarrassed and sad I teared up. Is it sad that a three year old can hurt my feelings?

Wedding - Ceremony

WARNING: Very picture heavy!

Here are some more pictures from our wedding, this time of the ceremony. We got married at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel. We used half of the ballroom. It came out really pretty with the light coming in the windows behind us. All of the decor was simple and relaxed.

 We had pictures from all the weddings in our family outside the room. 

 We decorated the isle with cream rose petals and floating candles. The candelabras were rented from our florist to frame the ceremony area. 

 My mom walked down the isle with my brother-in-law and nephew. Declan is so cute! 

This was right before I walked into the ceremony. I love this picture of my dad and I. 

I did the programs my self and had them printed at Quick Print. I had the logo designed on Etsy. 

My niece, the flower girl. Harry, our dog was the ring barrer. SO CUTE!

Coming down the isle!

 My dad giving me away. 

 To join our families we did a wine ceremony. Very fitting for two wine snobs like us. I like this shot because you can see the back of my dress. The whole reason I bought it! 

 Laughing at Sam while he married us. 

Saying our vows to each other. 

Love this shot. 

Our first kiss as man and wife! 

We are married! I love this picture we both look so silly! 

More updates to come, next up are portraits! 

Items For Sale!

I have finally been able to deal with the room full of our wedding stuff. All these items are in great condition and were used during our wedding. Let me know if you are interested!

http://picasaweb.google.com/ChristineS20/ItemsForSale#

Thanks!

Finally some more pictures from the wedding!

I finally am posting some pictures from the wedding! I know it has been like 7 weeks, but life is super busy!

Thought I would start with the beginning and spread these posts out a bit so you guys don't have to take it all in at one time. We started the day off getting our hair done. Then headed to the SFA to get make up done. These few pictures are of me getting my dress on and chatting with my bridesmaids.

Getting my make up done.

My sister having a fight with Annabelle before the wedding about something cute! I love this picture. 

Kelly and Janet

Kate and Sarah

My beautiful niece Annabelle

I feel like I look like a movie star in these pictures. They are my favorites of the getting ready shots. 

For you brides out there, I got my dress from Lazaro. My bridesmaids got their dresses from JCrew and my sister got Annabelle's dress at Jack and Jill.