Invitations

Check out that concentration!

I never thought paper and stationary was that big of a deal.  When checking out other brides' websites I always wondered why they included a section on paper goods.  I mean come on, its just paper!  I was wrong.  Who knew something so simple could be so stressful! At first I was convinced I could do our own invitations or at least part of them.  And then as the date to send them out got closer and closer, this idea went out the window.  Luckily, there is a great local store that specializes in invitations. It took us a about a week and multiple trips back and forth to the store to finally choose a design and place an order.  They came in almost a week earlier than scheduled so we were able to get started on addressing them and stuffing them right away.  Since we were (ok, I was) so excited to get them out we stayed up well past midnight getting everything ready to be sent out and mailed them the next day.

Guess who wanted to help?

Off to the post office!

And this is what I found when I got home...

Cakes by Triz

Some of you may not know that Mike has a small side business with his mother creating custom cakes.  They have been working together for years making cakes for any occasion from birthdays to bachelor parties.  Not only are they imaginative works of art, but they are also delicious.  Here are a few recent creations from this past week:

Happy Father's Day!

Father’s Day is especially important to me so I wanted to take a minute to say thanks to all the dads out there.  And to my dad, thank you for being you.  I haven’t always made things easy for you (sorry for those gray hairs!) but through it all you have been a constant source of love, understanding and support.  I remember a lullaby that was sung to me when I was young that had a line about being a “lucky little girl” and I truly am.  Thank you for everything.

Save the Date!

Our Save the Date cards for the wedding have arrived!  They should be coming to a mailbox near you soon!

Outdoors at Last!

Mike and I used to hike and camp quite often (and even when the weather wasn't exactly optimal).  However, the house and repairs have taken over our lives and we have not been able to tear ourselves away for a long time.  That finally changed today as we got a chance to take a quick hike with very good friends.  It was so nice to be outside and enjoying the fresh air and good company.  I'm really looking forward to exploring new places and have even started researching more trails to check out.  Hopefully this summer we will be able to go on more and more outings...outings that don't include Lowe's or Home Depot. 

Hiking White Clay Creek State Park:

Dave and Mike discussing manly things while sporting their stylish backpacks.

I'm pretty sure this was right after we took a wrong turn and had to back track.

Dave and Lauren- 1/4 of our bridal party!

Of course Dave found something to climb.

Surprise! Happy Birthday Mike!

Mike turned 32 today!  Since he has been working incredibly hard, I wanted to do something special for him for his birthday this year.  I decided I wanted to get Mike a grill as a present and that it would be fun to arrange for all of our friends to come over for a BBQ.  The fun part was, I didn't plan on telling Mike any of this.  Instead, he would think people are just randomly showing up until I admitted that it was all planned and everyone was here to celebrate.  The tricky part was going to be that the house is in complete disarray and not exactly in any shape to be a party site. Luckily, we have very understanding friends. So after weeks of planning (and lots of fibs) everything came together on Sunday.  Between trying to get the backyard in shape and the house somewhat presentable, I was driving Mike completely insane.  He couldn't understand why I was out late every night, why I was leaving him lists of things to do that he didn't think were priorities at all, or why I was completely stressing.  However being Mike, he was extremely patient and I am still shocked he put up with me!  Everything worked out (almost) perfectly.  Mike was definitely surprised and we all had a good time.  Thank you so much to everyone who helped me pull it off!

Here are some pictures:

"Can you help me get something out of the car?"

The grill master with his shiny new toy!

Cars always make him giddy!

Countertops!

After months of installing cabinets, it took mere weeks to get the countertop installed.  The installers came out yesterday to deliver and attach the countertop.  Things didn't exactly go as planned- neither the main piece nor the peninsula was cut correctly and they put more than a couple holes in the wall.  There are a few more serious issues and we are currently working with Lowe's to correct everything.  Still, it was nice to see most of the countertops on the cabinets and get an idea of what everything will eventually look like.  It will probably be a little bit before we know exactly how everything will work out.  All in all, it isn't great, but its a minor setback and goodness knows, we have plenty to do to keep us busy in the mean time!

The main section of countertop

The sink and sink base.

Close up of the countertop.