saying yes to the dress

my wedding dress came in on friday

and so i went to the bridal shop the weekend for my first try-on.

i cannot wait to wear that dress!!!!

it was such a thrill to put on a dress that embodied everything

i had always wanted to feel and look like as a little girl.

i was literally so excited that i was shaking like a leaf . . .

or maybe it was because i was so cold on the day before our HUGE

unusual october snowstorm?

doesn't matter, because everything was absolutely perfect!

{unlike saturday night, when i stayed at a friend's house

to avoid commuting across town in dangerously snowy conditions,

only to lose power at her place due to a DOWN TREE ON A POWER LINE

THAT CAUSED A TREE FIRE.

we didn't get power back until late sunday afternoon

and i spent the majority of sunday at the future-in-laws.}

hope you're all safe and warm where you are, sweets.

happy monday.

p.s. what's this about beck cutting a bunch of philip glass remixes????

swoon.

john will not be lip-syncing bieber at our wedding.

but this kind of, just a little bit

makes me wish he would!

happy friday, everyone!

the day i fainted at work

ladies, these last couple of days have been odd ones . . .

first of all, my pretty little engagement ring

has been at the doctor's/jewelers for a week

and my finger feels naked naked NAKED.

let's hope i get it back tonight!

secondly, mr. wonderful and i have barely had a chance to

speak at alllllll . . . conflicting work schedules,

a one hour time difference and a surprisingly busy

week have eaten our "time together" alive.

humph.

AND THIRD!

i cut my finger with a box cutter and blacked out

at work.

let me tell you, that was fun.

i literally didn't pass out until about 10 minutes after

i hacked open my first digit during a framing project

{first time in years of framing that i've done that, too}.

i had time to cleans it, grab the first aid kit

and look for bandages and disinfectant,

see it stop bleeding, etc. before

i suddenly felt ill . . .

i even grabbed a juice box thinking

"oh, maybe my blood sugar is low?"

nope.

3 sips into my capri sun and i knew

things were headed downhill and fast.

my boss was on his phone in his office and his wife

{boss #2} was in an appointment with a client

across the studio,

so i just sat in the chair and waited

for the inevitable . . .

came to a few minutes later totally confused,

until i remembered . . .

oh, how embarrassing, especially the commotion the erupted once

the bosses realized what happened.

me, all clammy, sweaty and fainting-gross,

slumped in a swivel chair like a drunkard

in the middle of the work day.

gah.

this makes me think it's time for another massage . . .

{via}

colour of the week // black & white

colour of the week is back!

such a classic combo . . . you never can go wrong with it, i swear.

i love that no matter how icky a morning i'm having,

i can throw on a black dress with a little light accent

and feel like a million dollars.

{via}

psalm 62

sunday, bestest sang in a choir for the retirement concert of the

bishop of her childhood church.

the cathedral is an old, pretty building downtown that smells like incense

where all the elderly people speak in polish.

most of the songs of the afternoon were in polish and latin

{old faves of former choir geeks like bestest and myself}

but i was especially thrilled that the choir tackled this

lovely aaron keyes song that we learned at catalyst a few years ago.

are there better days?

new sermon series at my guy's church . . .

let me tell you, i'm really excited

to be part of this community and will definitely

be tuning into their podcasts.

check it out.

circles of influence

love this.

~~~

spent saturday with my dear momma,

trying on bridal veils for the wedding . . .

sunday, lunch at a eastern restaurant with friends after church

and then a lovely classical concert performance from bestest

at her childhood parish.

i'm cherishing these last few months with my friends and family

here in new hampshire . . . this season of my life with them

is almost over and i'm loving every last moment with them.

{via}

hearing crickets?????

i know it's been quiet around these parts . . .

work, wedding planning and time with loved ones

{i'm only around NH for another 2 months, after all}

has completely taken over my life and left

little time for my sweet blog.

i know you understand.

this is just a sweet note to let you all know

that i'm alive and well,

as evidenced by this lovely snap of myself at a

recent boston photo shoot.

please don't hate me for neglecting you . . .

i promise i'll be around soon!

just a few days . . .

my guy is coming to new hampshire for a little visit . . .

this is the first of two times we'll get to see each other

before our wedding week excitement.

we have LOADS planned for the few days he's home-

ceremony site visit, reception inn meeting,

registering, ring searching . . .

getting our marriage license???

i know; wicked exciting.

it all makes me so giddy to think that we finally get to do some

wedding planning activities together, in the same state.

here's to hoping the rest of this week flies by!

put on your wedding shoes.

happy monday, sweets!

i hope you all had a fabulous weekend . . .

mine was definitely busy,

but mr. wonderful comes home this friday for a short weekend visit

and i couldn't be more excited!

not even 3 months from our wedding date

and we have a lot to do.

soooo, let's talk shoes!

i've already purchased my wedding day shoes;

sensible yet classic and very, very sweet.

and even though i have the perfect ones,

i can't help but pour over images of other pretty shoes

that are "could-have-beens."

~~~

how about a high-heeled loafer?

kind of untraditional, but very cute and still girly, i think.

{modcloth/loeffler randall/toast/valentino}

~~~

nude flats . . . very classic and quite lady-like!

{sambag/camper/tory burch/sweet ballerina}

~~~

a gray shoe isn't your typical white,

but still pale and pretty with a white dress.

{modcloth/miu miu/tory burch/ruche}

sparkle!!!!!

what girl doesn't like sparkle???

{asos/reiss/reiss/sam edelman}

so, have you dreamed of wearing specific shoes on your special day?

if you're already married, what was your cinderella slipper?

what advice would you give to a bride-to-be?

friday sweet treat

oh my, sweets, what a day!

a small wedding invitation fiasco and angry 7 am phone calls with

priceline customer service

{and i refer to it as "customer service" with extreme distaste!}

plus a long day without time to chat with mr. wonderful at the end of it

could have brought me to the edge,

but work was so much fun this afternoon that all that crummy stuff

didn't matter so much.

during the second half of our 12 hour day,

the boss and i made a pit stop at flour bakery

before a dusky photoshoot in boston.

we sampled a chocolate cake with vanilla icing and

a vanilla cake with chocolate icing.

now, i am rarely impressed by bakery cupcakes,

but these were absolutely delicious!

isn't it great how a happy little cupcake in a pretty city

can melt away your problems in just a few bites?

a cupcake was exactly what i needed to get

psyched up for the rest of the afternoon . . .

and it was gorgeous!

we're headed back out for some saturday foliage portraits tomorrow. . .

and the temperature is supposed to be in the 80's!

a far cry from the cool snap we've had here lately

{which is definitely more autumn-like}

but it will be a beautiful day full of cheerful sunshine.

i hope you all have a relaxed and happy weekend too!

what to wear to a rehearsal dinner?

so the other night, mr. wonderful's sister sent me a text of herself

{don't you always do that from the store dressing room? i do!}

in an adorable little dress with the following words:

"with a little sweater for the rehearsal dinner?"

i happened to be with my other future-sister-in-law,

and the conversation started . . .

what are we doing for our rehearsal dinner.

gulp. uh-oh.

honestly, we haven't thought much about it.

my bestest {also one of my bridesmaids} followed this up with

"yeah, what are you doing anyway?" in the middle of church service this sunday.

truth be told, johnny and i will probably be running around like

crazy people before we get married,

and we'll all probably resort to takeout or something easy, if anything at all.

but i still couldn't help think of all the cute wardrobe possibilities

for our would-be rehearsal dinner.

okay, so maybe these are a little over the top for a night of delivery pizza

but a girl can dream, right?

for what it's worth, i'm totally sorry this is turning into a wedding blog.

i swear, it will all end in december.

promise.

{via}

a monday treat to make you cry

yeah, yeah, i know . . .

i've been absent for a bit.

sorry, sweets, just lots to do and not all that much time to blog lately.

so here is a little something adorable that brought me to tears last night . . .

hope it makes your first day back from the weekend oh-so-happy.