Image Map

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

housewife status

We'll it's official.  I'm a housewifefiance.

This is what I did last week.
Yep, I resigned from the only real job I've ever had
unless you count watching the tyra banks show, daytime tv, and raiding the fridge nannying two precious boys in college

July 10th marked the day I became a housewife. Take a look at my new job....

Cleaning...

Cooking...

Working out...

Going to lunch with girlfriends...

Crafting...

You know, wash the dogs...
the usu housewife stuff.

Not too shabby, huh? Especially since the new title will totally make me look like all those girls.

Who am I kidding.  I only wish "housewife" was my actual title. 

Truth is, I'm just straight unemployed...jobless...income-less. 

While I will have all of those duties shown above, those won't be my only duties.  There's just no way I could actually justify being a housewife without any real responsibilities {kids} until then I will be doing something.  Not exactly sure what yet, I only have about a billion ideas up my sleeve, but subbing will likely be how I spend my days until I trick Trav into having a babe.

Honestly, I couldn't be more excited about it all.  There was something so freeing about quitting my job.  I'm sure I'll stay busy but I feel like I'll really get a lot of time to "play" housewife also.

But I must say...as glamorous as being a housewife sounds, it'd actually be a pretty big job. If I didn't have a real job outside the house I would feel like I'd have to keep the house spotless, always have an amazing meal on the table, laundry done, beds made, groceries bought, the list goes on... 

no real job + no kids = NO excuses

Let's be real, that doesn't sound so appealing. At least having some sort of job will give me an excuse to pick up to-go once a week and leave a pile pf laundry on the floor from time to time,  and not immediately load the dishwasher all the time.

On the flip side, resigning was possibly the saddest thing I've ever had to do. A true testament to how much I love T. I absolutely LOVED my job.  It truly was my dream job. I knew I'd be really sad leaving but I didn't know I'd be as sad as I was. 

See this...

I had to shake tears off my paperwork as I handed it to the women working in the office. They surely thought I was out of my mind. I just couldn't stop crying.  As I was walking out people we're looking at me and I'm certain they thought I had been fired. I sat in my car and tried to pull myself together.  Luckily I had a mani/pedi date with my bff Casey.  I killed a little bit of time at Forever 21 adding some new fun accessories to my collection.  Always makes a girl feel better! 

Oh yea, add a smidge of nervous to the emotion list also. Resigning made getting married, moving, and completely changing so many parts of my life become SO incredibly real! 

So in one day, at one time I managed extreme excitement, extreme sadness, and just a little nervous

But that's what it's all about! Cheers to new adventures! 


Monday, July 16, 2012

wedding wishes

You know what's fun?? Registering for wedding gifts. 


I would like to shake hands with the person who thought, "man it'd be really great if we made a wish list for wedding guests to choose from instead of getting random crap and 100 platters"

That person is a genius

It was just a week after being sick with pneumonia so I wasn't feeling my normal perky self but we still managed to have SO much fun zapping all kinds of great things! Travis and I not only agreed on everything we registered for but I think we both truly love it all.

Trav was a scanning pro and I, well, I was good at pointing at stuff.

If you're a total creeper like me and head to bedbathandbeyond.com to judge people's registries (even if you hardly know them) than this is for you...

Judge away!
Trav may have fallen in love with a $400 freakin' lamp at PB and I'm a little embarrassed about such an unnecessary big ticket item but he was being such a good sport, I let him scan that baby. 








and I threw this in for good measure...T may or may not know about this one...



Now we just need a stinkin' house to put all our goodies in. Hear that house fairy??


QUESTION TIME:
Should I register for the Dyson Ball?? Just seems a little pricey for a flippin' vacuum buuut it's what all the wives use, right? There must be a reason. So tell me, does it live up to the hype?



Thursday, July 12, 2012

dress obsess

I got it! My dress is in!


{It's taking every ounce of will power in me to see the dress hanging and not put it on. I want to wear this all.the.time.}

The first week of my summer, after semi recovering from pneumonia, my mom and I met my future MIL and SIL in Austin to pick up my dress! 


Let me just tell you how amazing this shop is. If you're a Texas bride it's worth the trip to Unbridaled. Suuuch a cute boutique.  They have a great selection of unique gowns and designers. The girls working there are also so super sweet, and very "Austin-cool".

{There's also a really awesome fabric store next door, which is an added bonus!}

I was having some serious anxiety before hand. Shortly after ordering my dress I thought I may have made the wrong choice.  I kept comparing pictures of myself in one dress I fell in love with (that fit me perfectly) with the one I actually purchased (that didn't fit at all) and I had convinced myself it was completely unflattering. The sweet stylist who dealt with this crazy, unsure bride was so great, answered all my emails quickly, and assured me it was the perfect choice and that it was totally normal for me to feel a little nervous about the choice. 

 **Future brides....delete ALL pictures of past dresses once you've made your choice!** 

Reality was though, the second I saw the dress hanging I knew it was exactly what I had envisioned. I was incredibly worried that I would hate it once MY actual ordered dress was in my hand but I loved it when I tried it on the first time and thankfully...I am now totally obsessed with it! 


After getting the dress nipped and tucked it will be everything I have ever wanted.  It is definitely the perfect dress for our day.  I am so excited that it is what I'll be wearing when I marry T! 

I am dying to give you more info but I'm going to resist. You should however, head over to Ivy & Aster's site and feast your eyes on some major eye candy.

such stunning dresses!

We went ahead and ordered the veil and sashes too {I decided to go with 2 for a two-tone double layer effect} 

Alright, alright, I give in! I'll give you a sneak of the sash I chose.

This sash will be layered over a wider taupe colored satin ribbon.


LOVE, LOVE!

Normally I would end by saying something along the lines of "now hurry up October 5th!" but I'm actually really enjoying these last few months of wedding day prep and Houston fam/friends fun before I settle into married life. 


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

be there

Our save the dates have been printed, addressed, stamped, and mailed!

{they were actually mailed over a month ago but because my blog skills have been seriously lacking this is far overdue}

I LOVE how they came out!

My friend Amanda at Swoon Design (who still doesn't have a website or etsy) was able to take my -very specific- ideas and turn them into reality! This is what I sent her.

see that little horseshoe? that was my favorite touch!

See, told you they were specific.  And I got to be honest, I absolutely LOVE the work Amanda does and am so thrilled to have someone I know and trust to do these fun touches for me but when in my mind I have something so very specific I have a hard time seeing something that isn't exactly how I pictured it.  We all do this right?  Gosh darnit, I want to learn Photoshop! I think it's about dang time! 

Well, here is the amazingness Amanda interpreted from my drawings.

 Clearly I need to add "learn photography" to my list along with photoshop. This is not ok. 

And upclose.

 I didn't notice until after printing that my ear is sticking out through my hair, guess I sent the wrong pic...ooops!


Not exactly like my sketch but she did an amazing job! The printer even printed multiple for her business to show as examples! This is the perfect "first impression" for our wedding.  I couldn't be happier! 

I was so obsessed with the little horseshoe detail I incorporated into the sketch that we decided to make it a "brand" for the whole wedding! I seriously love it! 

Get it? A horseshoe is a "U"...for Urbanovsky...and luck...gah, love it

"Lucky us!"



Monday, July 9, 2012

NAWLINS + pneumonia

Alright, I'll start where I left off back in May.

Memorial Day weekend, I road tripped it to New Orleans, my favorite city in 'merica.

Reason? To Celebrate Cajun Kati's bachelorette party!


A bach party is my favorite excuse to party and an even better excuse to truck it to NO {as if I need an excuse} 

We left out on a Friday. I had started not feeling that great at school that afternoon.  By the time I got home I had a touch of fever. A bunch of kids had been out so I figured I was probably getting sick but after about .5 seconds of considering not going I threw those thoughts out, stocked up on Tylenol flu, and put on my party panties. 

Our first night we "wigged out" on Bourbon!


Theme? SUPER fun! But word of the wise: wigs are NOT cute. Especially when you buy the cheapest you can. {Ashley's teal wig was pretty dang cute though and the cut inspired her newest Posh styled haircut}

And another warning: every nasty person on Bourbon, and trust me there are plenty, will want to touch your head. Weird. BUUUT....whatever! It's NOLA! 

I was happy to find out that the other engaged/married girls on the trips didn't trust themselves with their real rocks either...Amanda and I were sportin' Walmart stunnas! (and green fingers)

NOLA is notorious for photo bombers and pictures with the most random people you can find.
Example A.

By the end of the night the bride found her way to the curb, which means the evening was a success!
Example B. Just who the heck are those people?! yuck.

Day two we shopped and walked around the French Quarter...with drinks in hand of course. 

By this point I was starting to seriously not feel well, but nothing a little Bloody Mary/Tylenol cocktail couldn't fix. If it's a party I usually am not one to back down.

Oh yea, that day while taking a walking break these Aussie boys stumbled upon us.  I am not one for an accent, except southern, but many girls thought these boys were the bees knees.  Several school girl crushes were formed so I felt it worthy of a picture. If I'm remembering correctly they were actually quite friendly. Nice guys they got down under.

Can someone please inform me when the next NFL lineman conference is taking place in NO? Now that's a weekend I'd like to visit! You can keep your Aussies. 

We went out to a fun private dinner that night. Well, private until some total crackheads came to chat up our table.  Ooohh, sweet NO!

And, my favorite NOLA weekend activity....stealing instruments at Tropical Isle.

Now, I've done this every trip I've ever taken to Bourbon but I have never successfully stolen a SQUEEZEBOX! {second fav instrument next to a harmonica}

HOLY COW! I was so stoked! And a little shocked considering accordions are very, very expensive and the nice guy, who basically knows me by name now, just let me take it! I spent the rest of the night getting lessons. In the event you'd like to book me for your next gathering I'll warn you, my skills are a little rough...

By day 3 I was basically feeling like death but I pulled myself together for another day on Bourbon. I lasted until about 5 and had to go back to the hotel.  My chest was killing me with each breath I took and by the time I fell into bed my fever was up to 104! We were heading home the next day but I couldn't bare the thought of making the 6+ hour drive back the next morning feeling like I was.  I left my bags for my sweet friends to lug back, booked a flight, and went straight to the ER when my parents picked me up from the airport.

I was SO sad to leave early but it was a wise choice....

Turns out a weekend of trooping lead to pneumonia.
worst.news.ever.


I left the ER with some heavy meds and strict orders not to go back to work for at least 5 days. When the doctor informed me of this I cried.  She was very confused as most people love a great excuse to miss work but for me this was devastating. It was not only possibly my very last week as a real teacher but the very last days of my sweet kinder babes first year in school and I wasn't going to be there for the last days of school fun, for awards day, or to tell them good-bye! 

On a happier note my other babe sure didn't mind me being posted up on the couch for 6 solid days.  She's a great little caretaker!
 

MORAL OF THE STORY:
If you feel like you're getting really sick, don't go out of town and party all weekend.  You WILL get sicker, mark my words, and you may be unable to breathe with any type of ease, have an additional plane flight to purchase, a ridic ER bill, and 23 sad kinder babes...

BUUUT, you may also have one happy pup, another fun weekend to add to the books, and about 7 pounds deducted from the scale from a week of not eating...
(just in time to try on your wedding dress)

You win some you lose some. I'll take it! 

Friday, July 6, 2012

Can I just say

how frickin' excited I am to marry this guy...



and have his babies. 

20 of 'em maybe. but probs more like 3.

T, see the amount of joy you're bringing to Eli's life in this pic? Not only does it melt my heart like a Paula Deen sized scoop of butter but it just about sums up how I feel every single almost every single second I spend with you. 
(but even when you aggravate me I still love you 100x more than imaginable!)


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

not HGTV

Hi!! I'm back (I think). Things have been a whirlwind for sometime now. I have LOTS of things to update and albeit delayed they are coming! 

Let me pick up with something I've learned lately...
buying a house is not as entertaining as it's perceived on House Hunters.


Travis and I are in the process of finding our perfect first home.

I have dreamed of being a homeowner for as long as I can remember. For more years than I can count I have resisted the urge and not resisted the urge, collecting quite a stockpile to purchase every cutesey home accessory, kitchen ware, decor, etc. I lay my eyes on. I've even blogged about being a homeowner here, here, and here

I have watched House Hunters for ages and dreamed of being that giddy, engaged couple walking through homes and agreeing on "the perfect one". That my friends, is not real life, not for us anyway. 
{and also not for the couples on House Hunters either according to the website that clearly states it is semi scripted and to be a part of the show you must already have a contract on one of the houses featured... - sadly for some reason this crushed my little heart, I've been in love with a lie.}

Let me preface all this by saying that the town we are moving to is a major boom town right now.  The oil has brought people from literally everywhere and Uvalde is the hot place to live. This is amazing for several reason, mainly because it has given Travis a great opportunity but also because it has brought many, many young couple just like T and I to the town. I am ecstatic to get settled and begin life in a new town with a new husband and new friendships. 

This oil boom however has made purchasing our first home very, very hard. 

It is absolutely a sellers market. Houses are listed at the highest prices the town has ever seen and many are listed and sold with in days. DAYS people! If you see something you like you have to jump on it, like yesterday. 

Neither one of us living in Uvalde hasn't made this process any easier. When we see something we're interested in we have literally hours to decide if it's worth me making the trip and logically it just doesn't always work out. Luckily, we have a great realtor who we really like and trust to guide us on the one's worth a look. 

Let me give you a little run down on what's been happening on the house front, even though it makes me oh, so sad.  

First we pinned down an area. We're sticking to the "downtown historic" area, very similar to the area of the Heights for all you Houston peeps. Most of the houses are the original charmers built anywhere from the late 1800s to the mid 1970s but there a newer builds being thrown in the mix as well.  We love this location, the younger families, the big lots, the restaurants and cute shops in close proximity, and we were told that "all the cool neighbors" take evening strolls to each others homes on golf carts - because obviously walking is just too difficult when you have wine in tow. Sold. 

We really loved one house.

The Pecos St House
This house was great.  Open floor plan, charming features like built ins, huge wood pane windows, adorable shutters in the rooms, great patio, separate office space outside, huge corner lot, AND chickens. Yes, chickens! The most adorable chicken coop you ever did see. Add bees and it'd be made for me. My wheels were immediately spinning with ideas of how to make this already precious house our home. We "slept" on it for a couple days.  We weren't worried because unlike most houses we'd liked, this house had been on the market for like 187 days. Well, when we called to officially work up a contract we were informed that literally hours before an offer had been made and accepted on the house. Damn. We put in a back up offer, prayed the first offer would fall through, and kept looking. First offer has not fallen through yet. Big fat bummer. 

SO...onward with the house search. 

Last Monday I got an automatic listing in my inbox. I just happened to get the email right when it came in, read it over, checked out the pics and was just about to email our realtor when she called to tell me we shouldn't waste anytime on this house. We arranged to see the house (and a few others, including an ah-mazing but surely haunted house that I've just got to share with you later). 

Enter Black St House
Like the Pecos house, the curb appeal leaves a little to be desired but the inside is just as charming! We fell in love with the cozy feel, the windows, the sunroom, covered patio, brick wood burning fireplace, the great price which would allow for some immediate TLC, and the converted garage which would lend itself perfectly to Saturday football game watching parties. This house was truly a "perfect first home". We found out there were already 4 other offers on the table (and this house had been on the market just about 48 hours) We didn't want to be second best again.  We put in an offer and waited excitedly.  I had every square inch of this house mentally decorated - and let me tell y'all...it was CA-UTE!

When we got the call informing us we didn't get the house I fought back serious tears. How could this happen?! Well, I'll tell you. It blew our realtors mind too. We presented the best offer but the sellers went with a lower offer from a "more established couple(which I for some reason took offense to) who are getting financed through a local lender. Small town for ya. We later found out that we never really had a chance anyway, the seller's mother was their realtor who sold this house to her friends, the more "est. couple". BS if you ask me. 

{why does blogger randomly change your layout sometimes? grr.}

And now here's another screwball . When putting the contract in on the Black St house we were informed that Travis already owns a house! SAY WHA!? Yep, he had completely forgotten that his name is on the house he lived in in college. A house his parents are paying for. A house they still own. So the bank sees that we would now own two homes on one income, which means we were approved for much less than we had originally assumed. 

Hopefully we can get this all sorted out very soon but until then we've decided to put things on hold for about a week or so.
(and darling houses are being scooped off the market as we unpatiently wait)


The good news is, the second home we put a contract on, I think was more perfect than the first one so that only means the next will be even more perfect for us, right?

And Travis' silver lining? "Well babe, this is actually a good thing, now we know what we have to spend on a bayhouse on one income!" (newsflash T, a bayhouse is just about the last thing we will be purchasing! got two of those between us already bud.)

My moms (mine and T's) keep reminding me that everything happens for a reason. Obviously, I know this and 100% believe it's truth, I preach it all the time in fact, but when all we want (and need) right now is to be together and settled, understanding this has proven to be extremely difficult.

Third times a charm! 
I hope and pray it is, anyway!



We don't need it all, just something.

After all, what's a home anyway? I suppose as long as I'm with the ginger bear, I'll always be home. 

{but a 3+ bedroom, 2+ bath, 2 living spaces, dining room, great outdoor living space, wood floor, charming, high ceiling-ed roof over our heads sure would be nice}

or....maybe we should move into the house T already owns in Lubbock! Couldn't be more perfect, Tech football starts in just about 60 days! WRECK 'EM!


be back soon!  lots of updating to do!