Mood Board Monday - Moss Green & Chocolate Brown

Welcome back to Mood Board Monday!

This combo might be so 2008, since it was in fact my wedding color combo (along with orange) way back then ;-) But I still love the combination of a mossy green and chocolate brown. It's so earthy, retro and modern all at once.

Here are the sources of my inspiration...

Top (from left to right):
1. Moss Monogram from my wedding, photo by Jon Koch
2. Onesies with a green and brown striped necktie, by SuperSweetCreations, etsy seller
3. Tree at the Chicago Botanic Garden, photo by me, on flickr
4. Missouri, by Frank Chimero, on flickr (I own the Missouri and Illinois print and LOVE them).
5. Geometry 20" Pillow, from Crate & Barrel
6. Tetra Bowl, Scales, from Anthropologie
7. Green Lotus Fabric Note Cards, by Lockette, etsy seller
8. Eat Good Food print, by LuckyBluebirdArt, etsy seller

Enjoy!

Our First Wedding Anniversary: 11-08-09

The weekend of our first wedding anniversary, was a gorgeous, sunny November weekend in Chicago. So Dave and I headed to the beach with the camera to just enjoy the last of the warm weather.

That evening, we finally used my Christmas gift card from last year and went to The Chopping Block for a "Wine & Dine!" cooking class. There we learned how to prepare (and devour) Wild Mushroom and Bacon Puff Pastry Tart, Herb Roasted Chicken with Caramelized Potatoes & Root Vegetables and Chocolate Ganache Tart. Oh, and the class included wine :-) Everything was DELICIOUS. And roasting a whole chicken for the first time was a good "dry run" of sorts for our turkey we were about to prepare a few weeks later for our first Thanksgiving.

The next morning, Sunday 11-08-09, was our actual anniversary and we decided to head to the Chicago Botanic Garden. There we enjoyed a leisurely stroll, nature and each other's company.

See autumn is beautiful, too:

Peek-a-boo:

I also got a great shot of my anniversary gift, this gorgeous Tiffany Sparklers Smoky Quartz cocktail ring!

And also a shot of our wedding rings one year later:

Overall it was a wonderful weekend!

What are you getting your dad for Father's Day?

Father's Day is just around the corner and I need help thinking of a gift! 

I could do something wedding related, like a framed photo of us from the wedding:

And I could get him the Loudon Wainwright CD with the song "Daughter" that we danced to at my wedding:

But I also feel like I need something else from both me and Dave. Plus, I have a Father-in-Law to buy for as well...Any ideas?

Tea Inspired Bridal Shower Gift for "T"

First, of all I don't think that my coworker Tonya reads my blog, or even knows I have a blog, but T if you are somehow reading this, please stop now or you'll ruin your bridal shower surprise!

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Ok, now that that's settled, I want to show off the cute little "tea themed" gift that I put together for my friend Tonya's bridal shower. Not only does she LOVE tea, we also call her T so I think it's fitting.

First, T registered for this Bamboo Tea Bag Box from Crate and Barrel so I picked that up off her registry:

Then, I added two of these cute little Teapot Teabag Rests from Crate and Barrel:

Next, I ordered this great book on Amazon, called All the Tea in Chicago . It is basically a super-cute Zagat style guide to all the tea spots around town:

And last but not least, I couldn't complete a personalized gift without heading to Etsy to see what I could find. And low and behold, I found this adorable high tea stationary to complete the gift from Etsy seller Three Wheels Design + Paper :

I can't wait to wrap it up for T and give it to her next weekend!

Birdcage Veils

While I was trying on veils during the wedding planning process, I never tried on a traditional veil that I thought looked right on me. I like veils. I like them on other people, but on me they felt out of place. Either too poofy, or not the right length, color, etc. I thought about going veil-less with just a clip or flower, but with a big, traditional Catholic mass and a longer trained a-line gown, I felt I'd look naked without something on my head. So I went on the search for a birdcage veil and ran into a lovely website: birdcageveils.com ran by Melody Ginn.

Her photo gallery of real brides, was so helpful when I was deciding what type of netting and length I would like, so I had sent her some of my own to hopefully help other brides around the country. Last night, she added some photos of me in my veil to the photo gallery section of her site and you can see them here (one below) if you are interested.

If you are a bride considering a birdcage style veil, I cannot recommend her site enough. It is very affordable (seriously, don't pay bridal boutique prices for these!) AND you get personal emails and attention from her. She makes the veils herself, too!

2008 was Great...Bring on 2009!

Happy New Year everyone!

2008 was filled with many great memories for me, especially on the wedding front. Not only did I marry my best friend in November, but two of my best friends also got married this year. I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid in both weddings.

Steph & Trey: May 31, 2008

Julie & Kyle: October 11, 2008

And of course the highlight ;-)

Me & Dave: November 8, 2008

A little background on my group of friends. There are 7 of us girls that have been friends since freshman year of high school (with the exception of Julie & I who have been friends since 3rd grade!). Until I entered the professional world, I never really realized how highly uncommon it is to still be so very close to a group of people that you began your friendship with so long ago. Out of the 7 of us, we live in 5 different states and are each in the same city altogether only once, maybe twice a year. One of those rare times was at my wedding this year. I felt so very lucky that everyone was able to travel to be there for us so close to the holidays:

While our distance is great, these are the type of friends that still never miss a beat when we finally do get together, no matter how long it has been and I am truly blessed and grateful to have them in my life.

So now in 2009, we will celebrate many milestones together. Our 10 year HS reunion is in August (yikes), as well as the wedding of Susan and Carlos in the Fall:

...which will make all seven of us officially "old" married ladies!

So here's to good friends and good times in 2009. I can't wait to see what else this year brings to our marriage, and also our family & friends.

My Wedding Photos: Jon Koch's Blog

The time is finally here! Jon Koch posted a "sneak peak" of our wedding photos on his blog tonight, and I love them. He did such a great job. And if the 700+ photos to come are anything like these 30 photos I will be a very happy bride (can I call myself that anymore?).

I'll post a few below, but be sure to click on the link above to see all of them.

Hope you all like them!

One Month Anniversary & Fun Mail

Today is our one month wedding anniversary. I know, it's not THAT long and in some ways it seems like just yesterday and in other ways it feels like forever. But either way it feels great... I love you hubby!

To top it off both the bank AND the Social Security office decided to send us a gift today... my new debit cards and my new SS card with my new name! I was torn about this name change as I had mentioned before the wedding, but now that we are married I am actually really excited about changing it. It feels official now. At work I kept my name Stephanie Maiden Married so that I can slowly transition and my clients can get used to it, but at home I am now happy as a clam being Stephanie C instead of L.

Now I just need to battle the IL DMV before mid-January when my MO license expires, but this requires a written IL drivers test to transfer states AND names, so it will not be as fun :-(

I'm a Mrs!

The dust has settled, the honeymoon is over and today was my first day back at work as a MRS.! Today was actually weird going back to work after being off for 2 whole weeks. Dave has much more vacation than me so he took 3 weeks off and got to sleep in today while I braved the cold and took the train to work :-(

It was strange today, I actually woke up nervous to go to work today, like I was starting a new job or something, only I have had this one for 2.5 years! I wonder if this is normal? My whole schedule has been out of whack too, I couldn't even remember what time to set my alarm for or how long it takes me to walk to the train in the morning...what did the wedding do to my brain!

Also, this is kind of sappy, but it would be the first time in over a week that I would spend my days without my new husband, or with anyone except for him. When did I become a needy wife? Oh yeah, just 11 days ago.

Once I got to work, it was just like old times and my co-workers (that attended) had lovely things to say about our day which was great.

I promise to post various photos and other details in posts along the way, but overall our day was wonderful. Wonderfully chilly, but I was warm off of adrenaline so I didn't seem to mind as much as the guests and the bridal party did. Here are a few photos to hold you over and I promise to post more soon!

Just Married!:

Our Exit Kiss:

Pretty Maids all in a Row:

Me with the Maids:

The Cake:

Centerpieces:

Farewell from the new Mr. & Mrs.:

More to come!

Sixteen

Sixteen has always been my lucky/favorite number. I'm not sure why, I just always picked it as a uniform number in sports growing up and then it stuck. Dave has adopted my lucky number over the years and today, 16 days before our wedding, he sent me flowers to work. Calla Lillies, my fave! Very sweet and thoughtful of him, I just wish I would have taken a photo!

So now, 16 days away from our wedding, I find myself at least 16 pounds heavier than I wanted to be...lol, but also 16 times more excited for the big day to come. 

This inspired me to catch up on my blog and think of 16 things I have discovered during the wedding planning process so far...

16. Men will never understand the need for chair covers.

15. That even in a bad economy, people are spending more on weddings than ever before... Maybe I need to find a way to go into the wedding business!

14. Common courtesy is not very common (in regards to many things, like RSVPing to an invite on time for example)

13. The web is an invaluable tool in the research process, but don't let it replace personal contact with vendors.

12. Opinions are like...let's say eyeballs, everyone has got 'em! Luckily, I learned that you really only have to listen to the ones of those who are paying ;-)

11. Hiring a Day Of Coordinator probably would have been a good idea, but it's too late now.

10.  When you begin planning, make a list of what you THINK things will cost, then double or triple it and you have your ACTUAL cost.

9. I love researching for the best deal around, but sometimes I think you get what you pay for... in my case I found this out when it came to an affordable but completely inflexible DJ.

8. Showers are AWKWARD! I thought since I was outgoing, I wouldn't mind being the center of attention but I did. I was sweating profusely at each shower as I opened gifts and found the experience surprisingly unsettling.

7. Let someone else in on the details of the wedding BEFORE it's only two weeks away. I'm a control freak so I did it all, but now as it is closer I find it hard to get everyone up to speed that will need to help me on the actual day.

6.  That my photographer was still my best investment hands down! I still love my e-pics and can't wait for Jon Koch to document our wedding day. Every time I see his recent work I get giddy.

5. I'm happy I'm in a place where I can help contribute to my own wedding. I'd hate to see my parents go broke and I also love that I can have all the extras I'd otherwise have to cut out.

4. I never should have impulse bought 325 sets of glass photo coasters off of theknot.com as soon as I got engaged. Now I have to figure out a way to stuff 300+ favors and carry the HEAVY boxes to the reception. If I had it to do over again I'd donate to a charity in the name of my guests.

3. My fiance Dave has very few opinions about the wedding, so when he had one I listened! (He is adamant that my hair is "up", so you bet it will be)

2. My dad is a sentimental schmuck and he has already teared up multiple times in these months before the wedding. I better wear waterproof mascara the day of!

1. I love my fiance more than anything in the world and cannot wait to finally call him HUSBAND!

What's in a name?

Ok, I know I am a bad blogger. One month between posts is unacceptable, so I'll try to be better!

But as I inch closer and closer to my wedding day, I realize there are some decisions that are bigger than centerpieces and hors d' oeuvres. For instance, in 90+ days I will become "Stephanie Married" instead of "Stephanie Maiden". Yikes!

I really struggle with the name change dilemma and feel different about it daily. I want to take my fiance's last name legally and for our eventual family, but I do feel like I have made SOMEWHAT of a name for myself professionally and am unsure of how a sudden change will effect it. (FYI: I am a recruiter and often times candidates find me thru searching linkedIn and referrals, etc.)

So should I change it legally and just transition into calling myself Stephanie Maiden Married for a while? Then eventually drop the Maiden?

Or do I stay Stephanie Maiden at work and Stephanie Married elsewhere?

I'd hate to make it all confusing, but then again what isn't confusing about living 27 years as a Maiden and then suddenly being called a Married??

Just one of the many struggles that ladies face, that men never even have to ponder.

Leg Press & Letterpress

Today is the first day, in over 2 years, that I stepped foot in a gym-like arena and technically worked out. Yes, today was my first day of Wedding Bootcamp. Sure I've played softball and went on long walks, but I haven't actually pushed myself in quite some time.

This class is one month long and 3 days per week in the top floor of my work building. I signed up with 2 coworkers, but of course they flaked on day-one and I had to go at it alone. It took a lot of courage to even show up, but let me just say that while I felt like I was going to puke 10 minutes in to the class, I felt really good as I walked out of there today. Hopefully this means I'll feel much better in my wedding dress in a few months as well.

So after I soaked myself in sweat, I hopped in a cab and went across town to meet my new wedding invitation designer at Starbucks. I knew I loved her design aesthetic, but what I didn't know is that I hit the JACKPOT. Kate can do LETTERPRESS, she has studio space and can do it for fraction of the cost. WOO HOO. More to come, once I see the initial designs next week.

My First Blog Post...ever!

Hello! Welcome to my first blog...ever!

I am writer gone lazy and figured I spend so much time on the computer that I might as well chronicle my crazy days and not so crazy nights, for whomever cares to read about it.

I created my blog name after using this nifty Invent-a-Word site: http://www.degraeve.com/invent-a-word/index.php

I entered Chicago and came up with many glorious compound words of sorts, that share a suffix or prefix with the word Chicago. Kitsch fit me well. It says creative, crafty and a little cheesy all rolled in to one, that's me :-)

Right now, 4 months away from my wedding, my life consists of planning my St. Louis wedding from Chicago and working. That's about it. But I promise to try to make my life more exciting now that I know readers may hold me accountable to it.

Stay tuned for more to come as I learn all there is to know about the wonderful world of blogging.