{hair complex}

{1st update - 3 mo.} {2nd update - 4 mo.}

13" to Locks of Love, 2011

I have a complex when it comes to my hair. I go through periods of really caring, then caring little, then caring too much, and not at all. When it gets the length it is now, I get tingly and want to chop it all off.
every.single.time

All for a good cause, I love donating it. First, it's really cool that we literally grow it, and it's free to give and help others. Second, there are a lot of people who can't grow their own because of many issues and not just cancer. It started a long time ago, and I've donated five times to locks of love. It usually takes two years to grow my hair out long enough, almost always more than minimum. So let's see why I'd do such a thing:

First time, because i had just discovered you could literally donate hair. Shipped it all the way from Germany.

Second, because they spelt my last name wrong on the thank you post card the first time. (Not hard to do)

Third, because I never got a thank you post card. So let's try again.

Fourth, because I don't like odd numbers. I guess I have a complex about that too.

Fifth, because I was ready for a change after college. Why not give it to someone who needs it.

Sadly, it takes six donated pony tails to make a wig! So here we go, number six.

Now there's a new twist. I've been dying my hair for five years. That's a lot of dye. And damage. I've wanted to do this for a while, but now that we are post wedding I think I can commit. (Commitment phobia and wedding in the same sentence?)

So here we go. I'll be updating once a month, shooting for the first week of each month. 

{fail, dreams, schemes}

This past week was a week of failures.

& I’m not even being pessimistic, my coffee mug is still half full.

I, of course, would have shared all of this with you! Except…

My eggplant lasagna did not go well, I think I burnt the eggplant somehow. (by somehow, I mean baking at 450 instead of 400…)

My healthy cookies were not as fluffy and gooey delicious as said to be, probably because I used whole wheat when the recipe didn't say to. Oops.

I definitely forgot to add vanilla to my blueberry ice cream, which would have made it AMAZING, so instead it tasted good. Darn it.

So not many exciting* things going on here, except that I’m finding myself in the kitchen every day after work with this impossibly cute apron on with my new last name. After attempting eating whatever creation I've come up with, we take a walk.

Since it’s darn hot here in the south, we walk during the sunset. We follow puppy dog tails leading the way. We do newlywed talk along the way, talking about hopes and dreams. We plan out our futures, and how wonderful our life will be together. While some might call it the honeymoon stage, it’s something we've always done. 

We plan, we scheme, and we walk.

& occasionally we fill a kiddo pool with water and get a good laugh. 

She could fly with those ears.

*although we do have something "exciting" going on, stay tuned.

{planning a wedding}

Please read: I started writing this post back in November. It was really difficult to write, and ended up never publishing it. Planning a wedding is really personal, and truly depends on how you and your partner work best. We're big planners {if you couldn't tell} so this is how the process worked for us. I think it's time to share this with y'all!

Quotelife Photography

I don't talk about this much, mostly because I want it to be a huge surprise for everyone coming! Perhaps you are reading this as a bridesmaid, a mother of the bride, or the actual bride. We are about halfway through the planning process, and enjoying it!

I started planning by using The Knot checklist! I love that I can check off things that I have done, or won't do. Everything is timed by when they should be done too. I find that a lot of the items on the checklist are expected to be done early, but I am doing my best to do them even earlier. So, I can change the due date in case I know we won't be able to do it in January, and we should work on it in December. I can also add additional items to the checklist when needed. This makes future me very happy, because I know that next spring is going to be tricky since it's busy season for most accountants and I'll also still be in school.

I ended up making a big excel spreadsheet, so I could see all of my options in front of me and keep track of all my 'to do's' and all of my future appointments. This really doesn't work for everyone, I understand! Just think about how you plan best, and work off of that.

Please don't get overwhelmed!!!  This can definitely be a fun process, even if there are times when you are doing it alone! There are times where I've had to ask for help from a bridesmaid, or give my sweetheart a "honey do" list. Just smile and take a deep breathe. In the end-it's all about saying "I do." No one is going to ask why your linens didn't go with the theme of your cake or why all the different colors of blue didn't match. If you think they will, you're sure you want them to be there....right?

For us, if anything is too difficult then we just walk the other direction. If a DJ won't call me back, I don't worry about it. If a makeup artist isn't responding, then I don't worry about it! If it isn't meant to be, it isn't meant to be. 

After all, you and your sweetheart are a match made in heaven. You and your vendors should be too. It is truly that simple. If you can't trust your vendor, or have that funny knot in your stomach-walk away! This is so important, because the day of the wedding you don't want to have doubt in the back of your mind. You're going to be busy soaking in every second of your special day.

You have to decide what is most important to you. Is it money? Then list them by price, and go with the cheapest. Is it the most experience with your vision of a modern, fantastic wedding? Then ask for their portfolio! You should feel comfortable that they understand what you want, or else you're going to be very worried before the event!

Here's an example. Deciding on a DJ was one of the hardest decisions. We narrowed it down to three:

• The first DJ we met with was the owner of his own business and would be our DJ the day of the event. He was a really nice, owned his own business for many years, and also the cheapest. 
• The second was also the owner of his own business for many years and would be our DJ the day of the event, but also the most expensive and a little overly confident. 
• The third had us meet with one of the owners, but didn't meet us in a local shop or location. We drove out to their office, but they had us listen to music we liked. But we didn't get to meet our DJ for the wedding. At this point I really couldn't make a decision so we ended up meeting them again, but requested that we meet with our actual DJ for the day. This time we connected perfectly, and the price was just right!

I'm so excited for all of the future wives out there, being married has been so exciting for me! Being bonded to the person you love, and that loves you more than anything in the world, is the most incredible feeling.

Best of luck!