Sanity and Organization

If you were to ask my closest friends for three words to describe me, they'd probably say laid-back, easygoing, and spontaneous.  I really hate planning things and I'd much rather just see how things work out on their own.

Ha! Did you believe me?

I feel like I'm a broken record here, because so many bloggers are type-A, uber-organized, and love spreadsheets lists and planning - I think that kind of comes with the territory of blogging.  Mrs. Waterfall put it the perfectly when she described herself as the combo of Monica Geller, Blair Waldorf, and Charlotte York - I aspire to live somewhere in that neighborhood.

So right after we got engaged, I was ready to step up to the planning big leagues and hit a home run on this wedding business - and I became completely overwhelmed.  I guess I just wasn't prepared for how much stuff comes at your right when you begin your wedding research.

You're simultaneously trying to Google every wedding venue in the area, read some bridal magazines, recover from sticker shock, explain to your fiance about the difference between the color ivory and white, find pictures of first looks so you can explain to your mother that you aren't doing something weird, look up weather histories in your city for the past five years and retell your proposal story to everyone you meet.

And if you're like me and got engaged around Christmas, you're probably checking your Facebook keeping tabs on everyone who just got engaged (give or take 5,000 of my friends in December).  And what does that mean? They're snatching up your vendors, that's what that means! Get your butt in gear, woman!

Unintentionally, The Muppets can explain all of my emotions./Source: WhatShouldWeCallMe

Sit-Stand-Kneel Conundrum

Even before we had settled on a church for the ceremony, my friends were asking the question we were already pondering. "You aren't going to make us sit through a full mass, right?"

We were leaning towards not having a full mass anyway.  While plenty of people in New Orleans are Catholic (which makes this a thing), obviously there are many who are not - and that's plenty of our friends and family.   And attending mass on the regular doesn't even help to make that hour go by any shorter. We realize it makes for a long ceremony.

And all you have to do is watch an episode of Four Weddings to find out that the stand-sit-kneel conundrum gets confusing to those who don't know what comes next.

Plus less time at church = more time for fun! We'd still get all of the readings, and some songs and the important stuff in there (oh, like getting married).  So for the sake of the timing of the day, and the comfort of our guests, the Pyramids were all like "YEA! Half-mass it is!"

One wedding decision down! High five! And you've seen this picture before - forgive me. 

The Bride Crafts!

We knew that this day had to come, the day when no bit of furniture was safe from paints, no hair left unsticky. Here it is - my first adventure into a DIY project (hide yo' kids, hide yo' wife).

Crafts, DIY, and being artistic are not my strong suit. However, I'm here to show you that you too can create something cute for your wedding day!  For this first experiment, I went with something that was not too valuable - a prop for the engagement photos.  I saw this inspiration a while back, and I knew that I could easily recreate. If it was a bust, I wouldn't be heartbroken. 

Fleur de Lis wedding date announcement - so cute!/Source: Lauren Carroll Photography

A Grand Shoe Adventure Concludes

Where we last left off, I was searching for my perfect pair of wedding day pumps.  I hadn't found what I was looking for at home in New Orleans, but I had gotten a little closer in Houston.

What's a girl to do?

Well, take a trip with her mom, Nanny (aunt/godmother), and sister/MOH to New York City for a shoe shopping trip, of course! 

Me, MOH Lil Sis, Momma P, and Nanny at rooftop Birreria Restaurant at Eataly.
Seriously, you must go eat there. Amazing.



Top of the Rock on a cloudy morning.  Family resemblance much? Momma P and Nanny are sisters.

"Shoes Make Me Happy. I'm Superficial. Whatever"

Post for shoe lovers ahead!/Photo from Keropok Man

Back when I was a young, starry-eyed girl graduating from college, I made a promise to myself that my first paycheck would go towards my very first pair of designer shoes.  I had worked hard in school, landed a great job, had a bonus tacked on and I was going to reward myself!
Well, as it turned out my first paycheck went to cover my credit card bills that I had racked up gallivanting around Disney World finishing up my College Program with BM M.  Ok, that's plenty rewarding enough.  I wasn't too hard on myself.


The 11th drink - margaritas in Mexico - of our EPCOT "Drink around the World"! Matching t-shirts FTW./Personal Photo

So I knew that the wedding would be the perfect excuse reason to buy some amazing designer shoes!  I'm not spending much on shopping these days, so I figured I could splurge a bit on the perfect pair.  But with so many brands now available to me, I got a little overwhelmed trying to narrow them all down!