mmm mmm good

Last week the 5th grade team at school provided snacks for our meeting after school.  They went with a "keep your new year's resolutions" theme by providing yogurt, fruit, and homemade granola.

Well let me tell you the granola was THEBOMB.COM!

When they sent the recipe yesterday I couldn't wait to go home and make it myself!

Try it girls, you won't regret it.  And you won't carry all the extra quilt of other sweets! Best part? It's super simple!

This is all you do:

Mix together:

            3 cups rolled oats (not quick)

            ¾ to 1 cup chopped pecans    

            ¾ to 1 cup sliced almonds

Mix together:

            ¼ + 2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar (light will also work)

            ¼ + 2 Tbsp. maple syrup

            ¼ cup vegetable oil        

            1 tsp. salt

Combine the two mixtures and spread on to a cookie sheet. 

Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hr. 15 minutes, stirring every 30 minutes so that it browns evenly.  Bake a little longer for the golden brown. Store in an airtight container. 

Then...enjoy! This was breakfast this am.  SCRUMDIDDLEDIUMTIOUS! For reals.

I may even get a little crazy and try eating it like cereal covered in milk tomorrow. mmm



Slob attire right here.



On another note...I've been waking up every single morning thinking "man, glad I don't have to work today"  Seriously, I must dream I'm a house wife all night because every morning when I remember I do in fact have a job, it's a sad, sad reality.  Also, I wore pants today. I never wear pants. Jeans, yes. Pants, no thank you.  I don't know what it is but I just never feel cute in them. they make me feel frumpy and not pulled together at all. Skirts and dresses for me all the way.  However, yesterday when a student asked if I ever wear anything besides boots I figured it was time to pull out a pair of pants and flats. Ugh. I was desperate to go to bed before 11 am so I literally grabbed things with similar colors and called it night.                                               

Back to the dress/skirt boots combo tomorrow.  For sure.  

real clothes suck

First things first....

Yep, I found and purchased THE dress!!!

This weekend I headed to San Antonio to celebrate Trav's brother and new wife Heather's life together!  They got married in Cali last month and the Urbo's wanted to throw a special party for those that weren't able to make the trip.

 Friday night (after driving around aimlessly trying to find the flippin hotel) we got ready, ate on the River Walk and then headed out to Cowboys Dancehall.  Such a fun place if you have never been, go! Heather's Cali family and friends came along for a weekend in Texas! (I would just like to note that they all LOVE it here, her brother was even coming up with business plans all weekend that would keep him in the Lone Star State! ha) The west coasters all dawned new cowboys boots, some even cowboy hats and horrid Fu Manchu's - because obviously ALL Texans wear have facial hair, boots, and hats... (thanking the Lord that's not true)

Anyway...I woke up early Saturday to meet my mom and grandmother in Austin.  My grandma generously offered to help pay for the dress! I had already fallen in love with one from a couple weeks ago and had plans to go back this weekend and purchase it but I really wanted her to be a part of the action.  I knew she'd really enjoy watching me play dress up but I had ZERO intentions on actually finding a dress.

We made an appointment at this trendy little bridal shop called Unbridaled in Austin, cute name right!?  From checking out the website I knew they had a selection of dresses other larger bridal shops don't carry.  I was expecting a lot of the dresses to be very eclectic and very "Austin" but I was blown away by all the gorgeous options.  I also really appreciated that the designers they carried were mostly smaller names, some even local. 

I tried on many beautiful dresses but wasn't in love with any of them.  I was beginning to think we were wasting time until my consultant brought to me a dress. The style was exactly what I had in mind for my wedding but..

IT WAS PINK!

Obviously, I skipped right past it on the rack.  I was a little hesitant about trying it but she assured me they could make it in ivory as well.

Long story short, I put it on and didn't want to take it off! With out giving too much away, this is me in the THE dress and my mom, gma, (and every other girl in the store) agreeing it was perfect.

I stared at this dress for over 20 minutes.  I knew it was what I wanted to wear on the day I become T's wife but I was having a hard time saying "YES!" When my mom asked what I wanted to do, I began crying like a wittle babe.  I was SO sad Trav's mom and my best friends weren't there on the day I found the dress. I wanted them to be a part of the moment.  The consultant took a billion pictures and I mass texted them to the people whose opinions mattered most.  Everyone agreed it was 100% totally and compleetly "me".  Exactly what they imagined I would be wearing on my wedding day.  So I did it, I said "YES" to the dress (in ivory, even though I adored the blush color) and didn't have a doubt in my mind! I sadly put my clothes back on and reaffirmed my opinions that

REAL CLOTHES TOTALLY SUCK!

The dress is designed by best friends Ivy & Aster.  Seriously y'all, do you self a favor and check them out.  Their website alone makes me feel like I'm in a dream! Absolutely gorgeous!

via

We will go back sometime soon with Mrs. Urbo and my bffs to decide on a veil and accessories!

I highly recommend Unbridaled for all you Texas brides. The overall experience was just perfect! (minus a few absent people)

I have to say though, getting the dress was extremely bittersweet! Trying on wedding dresses was the FUNNEST thing I have ever done in my entire life.  The best imaginable game of dress up that I would repeat weekly given the chance! I am really sad it's over but I am super excited that I am one step closer to...

becoming Mrs. T. Urbo!

October 5th, GET HERE FASTER!!

attention please:

Okay, so I'm not looking for the actual cast of friends, but I do feel people with personalities, esp those similar to Rach and Joey, would suit me just fine!    

Pathetic, right? I most certianly am not above a personal ad via blogger! It is what it is...I am shamelessly seeking frienships in my future town of Uvalde.

I don't mean the people we go out to dinner with - I will interact with people plenty between events and dinners with Trav's work (even though most of them are quite a bit older than me). I'm worried I won't find real friendships. The kind of friends that find each other because of their similarities and mutual connection - not just friends by default.  (Not to say that the people we spend time with aren't great, they totally are!) But I want a bestie!! (no worries girls, you could NEVER be replaced) 

For some reason I am so worried about moving (to a place I never in my wildest dreams ever thought I'd move to) and not making friends.  Thankfully, I have made a friend in Jennifer. Phew, one friend is certainly better than none! But for real, do y'all have any awesome girl friends in the area?? Maybe even a blogger buddy?! 

Remember this girl?

She wasn't exactly given the warmest welcome when she moved in on the OC.  And while I realize I'm not relocating to a city of plastic and drama, I will be moving to a fairly small town. I don't know much about small town living but I do know that girls have their cliques, tight cliques.  They also wear crazy patterned T's with rhinestone crosses on them and lots of bling which is an entirely different story for a different day...

I can't say I've had a problem making friends, I went to school with the same people my whole life, but think about it...how many new true friends have you made since college? Some work friends, sure.  Some friends through your boyfriend/husband, sure. But have you recreated a whole new social circle from scratch? I went to college knowing very few people and was super excited about making all new friends but DUH, everyone was! It's easy when everyone is looking for forever friends! 

If only a girl could rush when moving into unfamiliar territory!  Give me a few overly cute outfits, a wornout smile, uber engery, and a thousand girls to choose from anyday.  No, seriously, if rushing was my job I would be in heaven....and constantly humming catchy little sorority songs. "I am a T, I am a T-H..."

Well, apparently, back in the stone ages when we rushed there was no facebook (say whaaa??) and I've since had probably 4 diff comps - any pics of my bid day have been lost somewhere in translation sooo I had to steal a pic of the new pc'11 via fb. But I would totes be friends with each and every one of those cute Theta babies! Ga, I miss college!

Sadly though, going through rush at age 26 only happens for the Tiffani Amber Thiessen In Saved by the Bell College Years (my personal fave of all the years) and Anna Faris in The House Bunny - they had to have been over 26 in real life.  So I have resorted to a blogland plea. Oh, and facebook stalking every shop, event, church, person Uvalde has to offer.  Ok, so I haven't exactly stalked people yet, that is well, very stalkerish...but I did "like" about 15 Uvalde things on fb last night.

I was relived, ecstatic even, to find a couple shops that I can see my self frequenting. So much so, I lamely wrote on their walls saying how excited I was to find their store.  Maybe a good hearted employee will read the desperation and ask me to a HH with all her super fun friends...

In the mean time, I'll be hoping it'll be easier than I think it will (surely, right?) and creating/planning all kinds of fun dinner parties to invite my new besties to!

SO excited, anxious, happy about a new life with Trav and a new adventure in Uvalde, TX! 

 I guess when all is really said and done, as long as my best friend (T) is there everything will be peaches and cream but a girl needs some girls, am I right? 

 

a day late

well, more like 3 days late but it is what it is...

This weekend I headed to Carrizo for a weekend with Travis.  I left after school/work/playing (whatever you want to call it - my job) and made the 4 1/2ish trip feel a little shorter by listening to this book:

Not a big reader, and when I do I usually prefer non-fiction, but I love a good girl book on audio.  This was my first Jane Green book and it did not disappoint!  Looking forward to hearing the end of the story on the way home made saying good bye on Sunday a little peachier also! Win-win! 

Friday T made a delicious meal (y'all I swear I want to be that wife that cooks every night for my man but goodness, my food will never compare to his) He even let me watch "Say Yes to the Dress" and didn't even ask to flip it back to the WWII documentary he had been glued to.  Now that's love right there. We hit the sack early, which was very much appreciated! 

I woke up Saturday to breakfast and DELISH Keurig hot chocolate (a must try, if you haven't!) and then we headed to Uvalde, our future home.  Man, I love saying that!  We spent the afternoon driving around the town and eating lunch at our favorite BBQ place which conveniently is also a really great outdoor store that T can never leave without spend at least a hundo in loves. I was bummed the sno-cone place was closed but warned T he'll probably be making lots of sno-cone runs when I'm pregs. *note to self: get knocked up in the spring so the sno-cone place is sure to be open!

I was looking forward to going out with our friends Grant and Jennifer that night in Carrizo.  Hear that?? I have a FRIEND in Carrizo.  It's greatness really!  And even though she's the almost wife of one of T's good friends she's an actual friend I'd chose on my own...not a friend by default! YESSS! more on my worries on being friendless later this week Anyway, we went dancing at the PanAmerican - and if you're picturing a shack with a sawdust floor, shaddy roughnecks, and extremely loud music you'd be accurate. But not going to lie, this place is right up my alley (and it doesn't hurt that it's BYOLiquor. Nope, not one bit.)

Sunday morning T and I slept in.  Utter bliss! Perhaps this is thanks to a handle of Vodka but we'll take late mornings however we can get them! We skipped breakfast and drove to Eagle Pass to explore all it has to offer.  Yep, Eagle Pass, this sweet little town on the Mexican border. 

See that dark line..the other side is Mexico. Literally on the border,  def clung tight to T.

We did a little shopping and had lunch. It actually wasn't as scary as I was imagining it to be and to my disappointment I didn't see one single drug smugglin' coyote (that I know of anyway) they certainly check for them though at the border patrol stations - I think it pretty apparent that the giant red head and Casper sitting shot gun are harmless. 

Highlights of the weekend:

Seeing Uvalde is constructing one of these! When you don't have much to choose from, browsing the aisles of Walgreens sounds pretty appealing! T's about to have a shampoo, eye shadow, greeting card hoarder on his hands - guess it's more cost effective than shoes! 

Realizing I have a friend in Jennifer - what a relief to at least have one friend! ha

Trav giving me this book which I have been looking forward to reading for some time now. Leach all the way! Love this man and any team he may coach in his future. GO WSU COOGS!

Spending a weekend of uninterrupted time with the man I'm going to marry and

Reading/working on this book together (out loud) on the way to EP.  So blessed to have a fiance that is willing to do anything to strengthen our current relationship and future marriage.  We were practically able to answer all the questions for the other and we laughed about our wish to answer one way even though reality says differently. This was really, really fun! I highly suggest it.

The verdict's in.  No surprises here....

This book has me wanting to read these also from Gary Chapman:

Read any of them? Any suggestions for other books on the subject?

I'm all ears! 

what the...

H-E-double hockey sticks happened to all my "subscriptions" on google reader?  I was shamefully following like at least 100 of you and now only like 20 show up!

I thought people just hadn't been blogging this past week and I was getting annoyed with my lack of reading material! Ever happend to your reader? I need this fixed NOW! What else am I supposed to do during lunch and my "planning" period?

Was I following you? Do you see my little pic in your followers?? HELP!

sa gurrr,

In case all you white home gurrrs didn't catch that, that's "say girl" in the foreign language known as: ebonics.  The only foreign language I speak or understand...

I went to Targ with my mama the other night.  On a Friday. I'm cool. I needed dog food and cranberry juice. That's all. So naturally, (even though there were 2 things on my list) I left with a whoppin' $131 bill. Damn it. Happens every dang time. 

Among the purchases were in fact, dog food, a giant bag of dog bones, probably $10 worth of note cards from the dollar spot - stationary (even cheap kind) is an obsession - bobby pins, hair ties (the ones with the rubber grip, the best), tooth paste, deodorant, some hardcore hand cream (bc this freakin' Texas weather is jackin' my skin up BIG time), tights in 3 colors (I needed those...yea right), and in a quest to find a decent product for my hair, I bought a slew of curl creams...

The verdict? ...still out, but I do know that blue bottle that claims to leave hair "crunchless" is a BIG FAT LIE (and also about 4 times the cost of the other products) The last bottle is a big crunchy mess as well but at a fraction of the cost.  Haven't gotten to the spray gels yet but hopefully one of them will the miracle I'm seeking.

Also in the basket, this bad boy...

Yep, got me a WAAAAV Enfowsa...gurr, you know, so I can get my hur did.

But for real, ya'll...this little ethnic wonder is great for smoothing my crazy curls into a teased pony. Try it, you'll want to hurry out a purchase a Wav Enforcer too.

When I threw it in the basket my mom informed me I didn't need to buy one because my (very white, very bald) dad has one.  Umm...I don't think so mama...

- - - - - 

Oh and I forgot the cranberry juice. At least that cut my total expense down by 3 bucks...

It's quite unfortunate that the city I will be moving to does NOT have a Target. It's also quite unfortunate for Trav that you have to spend $50 for free shipping. You know I'll keep adding to the shopping cart to not get robbed by shipping costs...

God bless us, and my future Target-less life. No really, say a prayer for my sad soul. 

i've been tagged

by Ashlee at On The Front Porch. Go check her out! 

[the rules...]

one\ you must post the rules.

two\ post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.

three\ answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.

four\ tag eleven people and link them on your post

five\ let them know you've tagged them!

[Eleven fun facts about this girl...]

1. I don't have a sense of smell. At all.

2. I can tell you which places have the best ice. It's my favorite food. I would forgo all wedding gifts for a Great American Cookie Company ice maker.

3. I can not sleep if I have pants or shorts on and the fan must be on.

4. I wanted to be a teacher since I was in 2nd grade. Never changed my mind.

5. I bought an amazing skirt for $27 marked down from $725.  I still have the tag. It was a proud moment. 

6. When I was a senior in high school a radio station caught wind of "a situation I was involved in" involving the Secret Service and I won the "Dumbass of the Decade" award.

7. I am completely fascinated by bees and hope I can convince T to buy me a starter kit when we find a house.

8. I have 4 brothers. No sisters (except new sis in laws!!!)

9. I've never been on a ferris wheel. 

10. One of my main goals in life is to teach an adult how to read. 

11. In high school I coached Special Olympics volleyball and we were state champs.

[questions from Lindsay]

one\Since you know will soon know what I am looking forward to in the new year, What are you looking forward to? Wedding, honeymoon, decorating our home, making dinner, doing laundry, playing husband and wife!

two\What must always be in your purse/bag when you leave the house? Other than my iPhone...Soft Lips or EOS lip balm, nail polish

three\What did you want to be as a child, is that who you are today? Nope, not a dolphin trainer...or a mom YET!

four\What is your favorite TV show at the moment? I really don't watch much TV but it's always on HGTV or Food Network unless Say Yes to the Dress is on.

five\What is your greatest fear? Not being able to have my own children.

six\What is one thing you would want in your dream home? My husband and sweet babies. And lots and LOTS of love! 

seven\I am borrowing this from a question I saw once, Is there a certain trend you wish you could pull off? big scarves as headbands (around head hippie style)

eight\ Why did you start your blog? to document all the changes that are about to happen!

nine\If you could meet anyone, past or present, who would it be? Why? Paula Deen. She's fun, and funny, and beautiful, and I don't think T would mind if I picked up some of her skills in the kitchen.

ten\Favorite vacation spot? Does Rockport count? Clearly I don't get out much.

eleven\What are your feelings about macaroni and cheese? umm it's freakin delicious.

[Questions from Ashley]

one\ Is there a word you don't like? ugh I don't even want to type it...douche bag. Hate it.

two\ If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what would it be? 18. Graduating HS, college, rush, new friends, new experiences. And repeat it all year after year.

four\ What would you name the autobiography of your life? Mandell...stories from a girl with a weird f-ing name.

five\ What story does your family always tell about you?  more recently, the time I thought my dad was dead (this is actually still not very funny to me but it is quite a funny story to hear others tell)

six\ What's your favorite season? I don't have a favorite. My favorite time of the year is anytime the seasons begin to change.

seven\ What would your ideal job be? Let's get real. Stay at home wife then mom.

eight\ What's one thing you regret? Do you have regrets? geez...regret is such a strong word. If I could do something differently I would go back and spend more time with my sorority sis' and maybe a smidge less time with my college bf. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed every moment we spent together.

nine\ What is your favorite food? corndogs. No competition unless ice is a food. I once ate like 14 corndogs in one weekend.  Gah, I'm def the epitome of health.

ten\ Are you a morning or night person? I like both just fine but I don't want to talk to anyone or hear anyone talking to me (radio included) on work days until my kinders walk through my door. Weekends anythings fine.

eleven\ If you could live anywhere, where would you live? I don't ever want to leave TEXAS!

[Questions from Megan]  

one\ If you could travel anywhere for 10 days, would you spend all 10 days at 1 location or 1 day at 10 locations?  Where? Currently, I want to spend 10 plus days driving from San Diego to Napa Valley on Hwy 1.

two\ Favorite accessory (don't say phone)? engagement ring. 

three\ Favorite Breakfast Food? My grandpas pecan waffles and bacon.

four\ Do you really use recipes/ideas from Pinterest? I have but I when we get married I will on the reg.

five\ Biggest pet peeve to fellow bloggers?  Too many product reviews or giveaways with crap I could careless about.

six\ Favorite US city other than your home area? Rockport, TX New Orleans, LA

seven\ Do you use cash (daily, not event related)? nope. 

eight\ What celebrity would you like to be and why? Leslie Mann...she is hysterical.

nine\ If you could have a chef cook all your meals would you use him/her or still cook yourself? If I didn't feel like cooking.

ten\ What website (other than GR or Blogger) would you say you never go a single day without viewing it? Probs Weather Channel. The app not the actual website.

eleven\ Single or Married ladies...what is your best advice to the single ladies? Don't set absurd standards. If he wears ugly shoes or cargo shorts it's likely no one has ever told them they look stupid. You can change the little things like that. On that same note though, don't over look big things like family, ideas on finances, opinions on major issues, etc.

[Questions from Ashlee]

one\ What is your most embarrassing moment? Probs the incident with the Secret Service - although honestly I was so clueless about it all it wasn't that embarrassing to me.

two\ Favorite thing in your closet? I could never choose. Not ever.

three\ Favorite blog post? My 2011 recap. It's nice to have all your memories in one spot. Also love this one about T. 

four\If you could pick any car to have, what would it be? A cream colored Escalade full of sweet dirty boys after football practice.

five\One store that you can go a week without shopping at? any of them...

six\What is your favorite kitchen tool? cookie cutters!

seven\ If you had to wear one color for a month what color would you choose? black

eight\What is your least favorite thing about flying? ears popping

nine\ What is your current magazine of choice? People Style Watch

ten\ Do you follow celebrities on Twitter? If so who is your favorite? I follow like every bachelorette. Lame, I know! probs...Lauren Conrad

eleven\What is your least favorite chore? Taking out the trash. Hands down. 

[Questions from Mandell]

one\What is your middle name?

two\Favorite baby names, boy and girl. GO!

three\Best surprise you've ever been given?

four\Number one thing on your bucket list?

five\Whats's your favorite color? Fave color for your home? In your closet?

six\A popular city you never wish to visit? Or a trip you were disappointed with?

seven\Favorite way to spend a Sunday?

eight\Natural nails or falsies? Shellac or reg polish?

nine\Wedding - future or do-over. Destination? Local? Big? Small?

ten\If you could go to a different college which one? Why?

eleven\Gift card to Victoria's Secret. What do you spend it on?

 and now you're tagged!

 taylor @ Hotchkiss and Hugs
casey @ Life As We Know It
glenna @ Keep Calm and Carry On
lindsey @ Life, Loves, and Lindsey
mandy @ Orange Autumn 
shannon @ Page Twenty Two
brittany @ The Badorable Life
jenna @ The Jenna Juice
emcain @ The Life of EmCain
alex @ Mutual Weirdness
lindsay @ Our Lovely Life


Not gunna lie....I felt like I was in 8th grade filling out this "survey" but they are fun!

the "plan"

Our wedding plan, that is. Sort of anyway...

...a random gathering of not so much ideas but "elements" that will be included in our wedding. 

My closet is full of neutral colors, my apartment was filled with neutral colors. It doesn't make much sense for me to change my personal style for my wedding so...neutrals it is! I want to look around our home in 20 years and say, "Oh, I love this. This was in our wedding." So using things that will be re-used in our home is important to me. While this pin board of sorts is kind of all over the place, the wedding decor will be fairly uniform, I guess you could say.  I definitely have an eclectic side (thanks mom) and there's no doubt some of that will show through but the plan in my head is fairly concise. 

Here it is...

I don't know exactly what I'd "call" this. Maybe casual/comfortable/natural? Warm? Rustic chic? Rustic chic probably sounds the best though. And the venue is definitely rustic chic. (and absolutely gorgeous)

Also, these images make it seem kind of dark but I'm going for lots of whites, tans, and creams with touches of the other colors and textures. Oh, and al the flowers will be white.

If it's something you typically see at a wedding it is likely you will not be seeing it at mine. A generic wedding? I do not want. I am all about the little details so those will very much be present as will a lot of other fun touches. (By fun I mean things related to a BA party!) I've mentioned this before and it could possibly be one of my biggest faults but if I have a set vision for something I like to do it myself . At the moment my hope is to be a semi-DIY bride and I would like to implement as many of those little details and plans as possible (with help from some trusted friends/fam obvi). This, however, could all change when I realize the time and energy it will take...

My hope is that the day after our wedding we will hear some of the following feedback in regards to our reception:

"That was totally Mandell and Travis."

"A perfect day for M and T."

"Wow, best party ever."

I would also be okay with anything along the lines of:

"Damn, I need an Advil. Bad." or

"OMG, I want another corndog..."

So folks, that's it. That's a few things this little mind of mine has been swirling around for the last few years. 

Possibly more details to come but you may have to wait it out until the wedding has come and gone.
Don't want to spoil any of the fun stuff!

  

all dressed in white

WEDDING DRESSES!! 

I have mixed feelings about this actually.  I have a couple particular styles I have always loved, I just love trying on clothes in general so I know this will be fun but honestly, this part is stressing me out.  There are a ton of stores and a billion dresses. I typically have no problem committing to attire but I have NO idea how I'm going to commit to a dress for my wedding! I also am not exactly where I want to be as far as "body" goes. I'm not too thrilled about the idea of sample sizes not zipping...

Deciding who to take with me was a small stress factor this week also.  Obviously my mom and MOH, Casey. I really want Mrs. Urbo to be there as well but I don't want to take away from my mom's experience - I am her only daughter after all.  And I want the opinions of my other besties but I don't want too many opinions... I usually wind up doing what I want regardless but I could def be swayed by others opinions. I don't want to decide on a dress because everyone else loved it and try it on again later and not like it...

There's also a couple dresses that I have been in love with for some time now. Problem is, the closest store that carries them is in Georgia! My mom is all about a trip but I want to try on some others before we go that route. I just have a feeling I won't be able to say "yes" to any dress before I try these on. I'm especially loving the first one.

J.Crew

Although the more I look at flowy styles the more I think I want fitted!

Oh, delimas, delimas, delimas... 

I have told myself that this first trip will just be fun. I've asked the besties and Mrs. Urbo to come and "play", get some ideas, opinions, etc. and then when I feel ready, I'll go back with my mom and make a final decision. I think it sounds like a pretty solid plan and I am pretty excited about this whole process!

Here are a few dresses I love, love, love.

These are all random google pics, I have no idea who the designers are. Bum.

Where in Houston did you find your perfect dress??

dressing my fave ladies

Bridesmaid's dresses. Finding one is such a feat, isn't it?

This is one of the most important aspects of our wedding to me. As far as attire and "feel" go anyway. I have chosen a color scheme of neutrals specifically to accommodate any dress we may find. I really have tried to take in to account the different body types of my girls. I want everyone to be comfortable, feel cute, and most importantly, party their asses off!

I am totally against typical "bridesmaids" dresses. I hate spending so much money on them, you NEVER wear them again, I don't typically love structured clothing, they just don't fit my "style" or how I picture my wedding "feeling". I've always wanted something off the rack, something that isn't $220+, something that even if you don't, you could actually wear again.  I fell in total love with these dresses by Gianni Bini sometime over the summer.  

In the orange color.

Love the sleeves. Love the ruffles. Love the style. Love the look with brownish heels/wedges (of the girls choice) for the ceremony. And they would be adorbs with our dancing shoes aka cowboy boots and fun belts when the real party gets started at our reception!

Well, days after the proposal I was SUPER excited to find them on major sale and bought them right up!

Unfortunately, they won't work for a couple of my girls. Very, very sad. I was certain this was a sure bet. Now I'm stuck with 8 dresses in various sizes that I can't return. Anyone interested in buying them? They would be oh, so cute with heels for a wedding, boots and tights, or cowboy boots! I am def still keeping one for myself - which means I can wear it now. (silver lining)

So the quest continues.  We have tried a couple dresses since and nothing has worked out quite right so the search continues.  I've even considered letting the girls choose from a color palette ala Miranda Lambert, but I am such a symmetrical person and I will certainly there's a chance I might lose my mind if not all the dresses coordinate perfectly. 

Another one on the drawing board are these dresses I found at Target of all places! They now carry BM dresses apparently, gah, they think of everything. What do you think?

I LOVE the color and ruffles but it's still a little too "bridesmaid-y" for me. Bridesmaid dress may have to ultimately be the route I'll have to take though to find something that suits everyone. 

How did you choose your bridesmaids dresses? 

Did you have mismatched dresses? I want to see pics! 

If you're interested in buying one of the orange dresses above, shoot me an email.  I have sizes, XS, S, M, and L available.  I wear a size M if that helps.  I am 5'8 and these hit a few inches above the knee. And they are SO cute!

Retail: $118

Selling for: $45

I said "YES!" to the dress!

Flower girl dresses that is! 

First of all, the sweeties that will be wearing them would look adorbs in a paper sack, just look....

Trav's cousin's little girls, Elizabeth and Christine. So cute!

Elizabeth was born to be a flower girl. Really, it's the perfect job for her. She will be in her first wedding when Trav's brother Chris gets married in March and 3 after that so by our wedding she'll have it down pat! Christine will be making her FG debut in our wedding and will have just turned 2 but I have no doubt Elizabeth will steer her in the right direction. 

Anyway, back to the dresses! I had been eyeing these dresses forever. Literally months and months before we got engaged so I was super excited to see they not only still had them but that they were on sale! 

I found them online at J.Crew.  CrewCuts seriously has the cutest clothes ever - I would give my left arm to be a girls size 16 so I could wear ever.single.thing. they have on their website. Alas, I am not so instead I wish and pray all my friends have presh little babes I can buy clothes for.

I just realized I haven't talked one bit about color schemes or plans for our wedding.  Funny considering they have been in the works for about 20 years now! Don't you worry though, I have exact ideas in Publisher for each aspect of the wedding. (Started working on that oh, I don't know five a year ago...) I also just realized this post is sort all over the place so without further adieu...the dresses!  

J.Crew

AHHH!! I love them SO much! I can not wait to see those cuties wearing them with a big ole flower on their head! So girly! So perfect!

And I need your help. Here they are (a complete wrinkled mess) with 2 different colored ribbons. Which do you like best? I'm kind of digging the contrast.  Plus, the flower they wear will likely be that cream color. Thoughts??

MAN, I wish finding bridesmaids dresses was this easy! That little quest is coming up soon.  

On another dress note, I am going shopping for mine a week from today! More on that later as well.

Be on the look out for posts completely devoted to dresses momentarily! YAY!