Today Show features a couple's FUNtastic entrance!

So so so cute! My favorite part (besides the beautiful bride's entrance) is when the groom pops out of the wedding party dancing down the aisle. It really is a celebration!!!

Sooo glad I didn't see this six months ago....

or I would have insisted on doing this!!! Isn't this amazing? It reminds me of the moving photographs in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels. This would have tied into my theme perfectly as I have wanted photo frames with my grandparent's vintage photographs covering the fireplace mantles at the reception from the beginning. I just love it!!! If you want to see how this was created and more cute pictures of the guests having fun check out Kiss the Groom. I must classify this as my "favorite find" and photobooth idea ever.

Focusing on Eye Candy.....

{Photo: Amy Atlas}

Too much to do, too little time to do it. So except the rare occasion I have some news, I will just be sharing with you all of the great "eye candy" I run into. Here is the first with a great site to peruse as well.

Check out Amy Atlas and all of the amazing ways she displays her homemade goodies. She has some great Halloween party candy and treat ideas, birthday treats, and wedding candy displays so make sure you visit her site!

Ramblings of Renovating Part III: Front Porch

Time for the front porch. I fell in love with the potential of the front porch the moment I first walked into my house, but after several failed attempts at painting the floor without it chipping, I gave up. Now, I have a wonderful place to sit back and enjoy a book and a glass (or bottle) of wine with friends.

The only "before" picture I have is one of Dingo chasing a mouse out the door. But you can see, there was nothing spectacular going on.

We painted the natural wood slate walls and red brick, a sage green. On the floor we used garage floor epoxy in a color called cedar. The trim and natural wood ceiling were painted (12 times) a bright white. Note: When painting never before treated wood and covering water stains, you MUST use oil based paint. Second Note: Oil base paint is the messiest stuff on the planet.

Dingo added the blinds which really makes it feel secluded from the neighbors and I added many plants, my grandmothers old dry sink and her Queen Anne's Lace painting she bought while vactioning with my Grandfather in the Smokey Mountains.

I don't know why I like the glass chessboard so much, but when the light hits it during the day, it makes some incredible shadows on the wall. Dingo loves the fountain but I think we need to hit Goodwill to find something more "natural" versus "modern". Natalie, Dingo's cat has found a new watering hole.

We covered Dingo's ugly, old, orange chair with a comfy blanket and I added curtains made of Floursack Towels, screws, picture wire, and no-sew clips. I had held on to this super cool 1970's style orange light for years and it has finally found a purpose. And my new collection of cacti donated my MIL t0-be goes perfectly.

Ramblings of Renovating Part 2: Bedroom

Onto the bedroom! I got the bright idea of before and after pictures right when we were finishing up preparing the bedroom. So here is the bedroom as a nice blank canvas.

Not much to look at.

The finished product: MIL to-be once again helped repaint the room and bought the quilt set, IKEA bedside table lamps and painted my old endtables white. We found a way to fit a huge bed into a small room without overwhelming it.

FIL to-be added the mirror to the door to help make the room appear big. It worked!

Love my Harry Potter broom accent in case I need to get somewhere fast!

Ramblings of Renovating Part I: Bathroom

Well my friends, I am beginning to wrap up the major house renovations Dingo and I have undertaken the past few months. I am in love with the results and with a few tweaks here and there (with a little help from our registry) I think everything will be like a brand new home for newlyweds to enjoy. Even the garden coming along quite nicely. But first, I will share the newly renovated bathroom. It was so gross (the color) that I couldn't post the before pics because I just didn't take any. So here you have the result.

FIL to-be added a new light fixture, taking out some ugly outdated old ones and created a better fixture for curling irons and such.

My MIL to-be bought the IKEA extendable mirror and had the best idea of using brighter lights to take the struggle out of putting on my make up.

I used a frame found at Goodwill by MIL to-be and reframed a print of Chicago's Water Tower and the two of us painted the ceilings a sandy brown. I INSISTED the blue ceiling so that it would feel like I was sitting at the ocean while taking a bath. I love it.

Urban Outfitter's additions to Mimi's Online Registry

I have strange tastes at times so I am continuing my own Online Registry with some selections for Urban Outfitters. LOVE this site!

Fantastic pillow that incorporates all of the colors of our newly renovated "den"... the Underground Sign is too good to pass up.
Yes, I love Pac Man (it's and oven mitt!) and anything
that makes cooking fun is good in my book.

For Dingo, a nice "iced invaders" ice cube tray... these seems to be the perfect size cubes too.

I better learn to darn my husband's stockings.... better get this too.

Thanks you Ladies!!!!

To thank all the women in my bridal party, (and for selfish reasons as well) I am throwing a 1154 Lill Studio purse party! This is just like your Grandmother's Tupperware partys except you design your own hand bag. They have many styles to choose from including, hobos, makeup bags, diaper bags, and jewelry roll ups. I am so excited to be doing this because I think it will be a hit! Take a look at what you can do and a few of my favorite styles.....

1154 Lill Studio

Charlotte

Breanna

Christie
Grace (my own design)

Flowers for the bride and bridesmaids....

I fell in love with this bouquet from a wedding featured on Snippet and Ink from Brooklyn Bride over six months ago when we started planning. The only difference is that mine will have tiny sunflowers for my golden highlights and thistle to pull in some lavendar.

THE bouquet I love....

Thistle

Sunflowers!

{images: Brooklyn Bride, unknown, unknown.}

Pretty Bridesmaids.....

Well, my bridesmaid's are finished choosing their attire and I am so excited that they will be ordered soon that I had to post the ladies' choices. Each dress will is made by Bill Levkoff and is made of tissue taffeta. Our colors are garnet and champagne so each dress will be in their wine color.

Lish, Bridesmaid

Mrs. B, Bridesmaid

Sweet 'n Low, Bridesmaid

Y-Mar, the Matron of Honor

{images: Best Bridal Prices}

Hump Day....

" Spring is here! On with the weekend already!"

A quick glimpse at another photo from my Fantastic Mysterious Forward. Again, I don't know who to give kudos to on this one, other than one of my bridesmaid's who sent it to me, but here it is. I will be busy for a couple days getting outside and getting my hands dirty so please forgive the short posts. Cheers!

OfficeTally Giveaway

"What are these Dunder Mifflinites looking at?"

Head to OfficeTally, my favorite blog of all time if you know the answer and are interested in winning a shirt worn by the cast during the taping of the season finale. Good Luck! But, not too good, cause I AM GONNA WIN!!! Check out the site for specific details.... I don't won't to mess those up on ya.

Etsy Finds: Party darn cute cake toppers....

I love spending hours on Esty. So many unique handmade items. I love all the personalities of custome cake toppers out there and though I myself and going with something quite traditional I wanted to share may favorite's of my Etsy "Favorite Finds". Enjoy!

{image:buildersstudio @ Etsy}

{image: CornFlakeGirl @ Etsy}

{image: nakedpeggies @ Etsy}

Not much to say...

... so I'll take the time to a share a series of photos I received in a Fantastic Mysterious Forward. I don't have any idea who took some of these shots, so if you do... please comment so I can give kudos. This one is just precious. Such a sucker for animals, I am. This reminds me of something you would see in a "pick me up" book such as the Blue Day book that hit stands years ago.


{image: fantastic mysterious forward}

Take joy in registering....

Sigh... I thought I would love registering. As it turns out, I don't. Dingo and I take quite some time coming to some really basic decisions and it is one time I feel like those feuding couple you see in the mall. My solutions.... ONLINE registering. However, because there are just some things you would love I think I will create an online registry on this here blog. Starting with all of the things I love from Bas Bleu: Bookseller by Post. The gift that keeps giving is of course their membership!

Dingo and I really want to travel the world, and I have become a bit competitive about seeing as many places as he has so I think this handsomely framed Map of Travels would be pretty neat on the "study" wall.

I just love the cards of kissing animals so I had to post them. I want to get good ol' snail mail back in style so I get more than bills in the mail.

{images:basbleu.com}

Erin + Todd

Two great friends, Erin and Todd tied the knot last March. I have been working on getting this wedding just right for so long and am thrilled beyond belief to be sharing it. In honor of that, we MUST have a Freaky Friday Happenstance. So here it is... a wedding I have been drooling to post. Take a look at how Erin just allowed her spontaneous nature and ability to follow her instincts lead her to a fabulous wedding that THIS guest sure enjoyed. You'll love it too! Love ya Erin and Todd!

When and where was your wedding?
March 22, 2008-Our first anniversary is this weekend! Hotel Boulderado, Boulder, Colorado

Snow and pretty cover ups.... and the sweetest kiss.

Was there any reason for choosing that particular date or location?
We wanted to be near a major airport so it would be easier for our friends and family to get in. We also love the mountains and were hoping for snow on the wedding day (which we were lucky enough to get)! When we saw the Hotel Boulderado we had to have the wedding there. We love historic hotels and the Boulderado is absolutely beautiful.

How many guests were invited?
100

The Todd's sister steals all the lollipops for herself.

This closeup of Erin's bouquet is amazing.

That would you say was your inspiration for planning your wedding? For instance, was it the season of the year that guided your choice in décor, a grouping of colors, or a theme?
I took an eclectic approach to wedding planning. I knew that I wanted the bridesmaids to wear red dresses, because it would look good at the location and I love the contrast with the red and white. The bright color mix of flowers was fabulous and then I got inspired when I saw someone use lollipops as favors, so I decided to do lollipops as seat cards. After that I just ran with the candy theme for the jelly bean centerpieces. I couldn't have been happier with how things turned out.

Chocolate, Strawberries, Cake.... and "Cars" for Todd

If you had 1 (or 2) “redo’s” what would you use them on? (i.e. cake, décor, programs, etc.)
Nothing. Our wedding was perfect!

Inside the beautiful Hotel Boulderado

What were you most pleased with during your planning experience?
Everything just fell together perfectly. I only made three trips to Boulder and arranged everything in those three days. I never really had a big desire to plan all the details so it was nice that the hotel took care of the linens, catering, bar, and placement of flowers and centerpieces. Once we got there we dropped things off with the wedding coordinator at the hotel and we got to spend the rest of our time with friends and family, which is how it should be.
What advice do you have for a bride or groom to be?
Marriage is a partnership. There are good times and bad and it won't always be the intoxicating kind of love that brought you together in the first place. The lasting love and committment of sharing your life with one person is what marriage is about.

Frak! Battlestar Galactica is OVER!!!

My sister-in-law-to-be (and Dingo's Groomswoman) throws some of the BEST theme parties. My personal favorites are the annual Harry Potter celebrations but her get together to say farwell to Battlestar Galactica (Reimagined) was fun too. We ate, tried to play a BSG board game that was super fun but pretty difficult and said goodbye to Laura, Adama, Lee, Starbuck, Sam, Caprica 6, Good Ol' Baltar and poor ol' Chief.

That's Lego Lee on the cake

While we were not short on paper (inside joke for you BSG geeks), we decided to dine on Cylon Raiders, Barbecue Starbucks......... and......

Nachoes from the Nebula!

Organizing CAN be fun....

Many of you know I have been trying to reorganize and redecorate my home so it is brand spanking new when Dingo and I become husband and wife. It has been a pleasure and a pain. However, running into this Present&Correct was pure delight. Take a look at a few of my favorite finds.

Numbered Dishes


Retro Time Clocks


Even more retro alarm clock

{images: Present&Correct}