Friday, December 16, 2011

Waiting for ADVENTure

It's 6 days before I go home, 9 days before Christmas, 17 days before my dress fitting, and who knows how many days before our wedding! The time to set the date is getting so close I can feel it! We are definitely having it in spring or summer or early fall of 2012, so that's reassuring to know; we are just waiting to hear back from the head honchos of Alex's new squadron so that we can go ahead and put down that deposit and secure a date for our wedding. I know that I should enjoy the calm before the storm (I don't know if the 1.5 week before Christmas should necessarily be considered the calm before the storm), because as soon as we put that deposit down I'm going to BUSY BUSY BUSY. Especially because we will be uprooting to Minot, ND right in the middle of that.

Luckily I am getting some great help from Mr. Michael O'Connor. He calls himself my "personal florist" but he is so much more than that. He's going to be more like my personal ... go to guy. He's going to be helping me figure out center pieces, bouquets, and misc. floral arrangements, I am truly lucky to have such great help.

I forgot to tell you guys something about my proposed wedding venue. Chris Pontius, of Jackass fame, also had his wedding on the same spot. So you KNOW we're making good decisions .... I tried looking for pictures of the place but it's actually kind of hard to find ... who knew those guys liked their privacy so much!

Lastly I wanted to wish everyone a happy holidays. Luckily, Channukah doesn't start until the 20th this year, and we all know that Christmas isn't until the 25th, so I get to wish all my Jewish and Christian friends alike a Happy Holiday!

On a side note, it really is strange being in the South for the holidays ...

First of all, nobody plays this song over Thanksgiving


Secondly, no one plays this song over the holidays (I suppose this makes sense)



Lastly, they play THIS song



All joking aside, the holidays are such a beautiful time where people have something to celebrate, whether it's the religious meanings behind Channukah and Christmas, or simply a new or old tradition of spending time with and showing love to your family. I hope you all have a wonderful holidays, and I will see you in the new year!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Cold & Colder

I know that I promised to get better at updating this blog, and I have seriously failed at that, but I promise, I will ... no really ....

Until recently, we've been enjoying the weather here in Shreveport, it was in the 70s and the trees were changing colors, and we were getting a taste of what autumn looks like. Just a small taste though because it has suddenly become COLD. It's cold and it's wet, and cold, and I just don't know what to do with myself, cause I genuinely think I'm afraid to be outside ...

When the weather was still nice though, we took some weekend trips to the fun and exciting cities around us.  Here are some pictures from Austin:
We came upon this little creek, well it really could have once been a river before the drought, on our way to some vineyards just outside of Austin, TX.

Then we went to the state capitol, and I must say, it was a very beautiful capitol indeed.  





 "monument" on the ground of the first floor showing all the different flags that Texas has flown under. 


 Allegedly, there's bridge in Austin that bats fly out of at sunset, and it's supposed to be a magnificent sight. I say allegedly, because we waited for over an hour, and didn't see any bats, but the view was beautiful. 
 People eagerly awaiting the bats ... 

 Alex enjoying the hammock in the studio we rented. 

A few weeks after we were in Austin, we visited Lafayette, LA. We had heard that it was really fun and more "cajun" than the traditionally Southern Baptist Shreveport. It was a very small town and we went to some interesting bars, ate some delicious cajun food, and did a good amount of shopping. All in all it was a pretty fun trip to the "other side" of Louisiana. 
 Apparently Inspector Gadget lives in Lafayette .... 

We also visited the Tabasco factory on Avery Island. We got to try all kinds of tabasco products, including 2 different kinds o tabasco flavored ice creams. 

We have also been enjoying Alex's more relaxed schedule and been getting able to spend more time together at home. 

 Alex enjoying our very comfy couch and my very comfy slippers. 

 Alex enjoying my recent cookie baking kick. 

 Our tiny tiny tiny christmas tree. 



Last but not least, the news that we have been waiting for is finally here .... We're going to be moving to beautiful Minot, ND next year! I'm not exactly sure when, but I'm anticipating that it will be sometime in the late spring/early summer, which means that we are planning for our wedding to be sometime in late summer/early fall. This is really good, because now I can decide what kind of colors i want in my wedding.

Here are some pictures of flowers/centerpieces that I'm loving right now:



I love the matching shoes on this one. And the color of the dresses for that matter ... hmm ... IDEAS!





  I love the effect of the twine on the white bouquet. 


Alright folks, that's all for now. It took me a while, but I delivered with a BIG blog post! I hope to see most of you very soon when we go home for the holidays!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Standstill or Stand Still?

Ok. So I REALLY haven't written in a long time ... but I assure you it's for good reason! So, as you may or may not know, we moved to Shreveport, LA at the end of July. I got a job at a law office working as an assistant to a lawyer at a small law firm and then yesterday I quit. I told you I've been up to a lot of things!

So I'm sure many of you are wondering why it seems as though I have completely abandoned wedding planning, well here's the reason: the Air Force is doing it's very best to get in the way of me planning every and any thing I want to do. It's the truth! This isn't even like me feeling sorry for myself and taking it out on you ... I literally can not plan anything in my life right now. So why is the Air Force preventing me from planning my life? Well natural disasters of course. Ok ok. I'll stop being vague(and passive aggressive) and give you the down low. 

Alex is currently doing B-52 pilot training here in Shreveport. At the end of training(some time in the Spring of next year) some of the people get to stay here in Shreveport, and some get to go to beautiful Minot, North Dakota. There are two reasons why this is relevant. The first reason being that certain squadrons are designated to deploy at certain times. When we know what squadron Alex will be in, there lies the answer to when we can have our wedding. The second reason that the possibility of Minot throws a wrench in ... my life ... is because there have been major floods in Minot and so there isn't any housing available in the entire city. Sooooo .... they don't know what to do with people. So they haven't told people what squadrons they're in. So I have no idea what's going on with my life. 

However there are a few things that I do know. I do know that it's raining outside right now and I am loving this weather. 

I know that I picked a dress when I was at home in August! Sorry for not telling you guys, but I'm telling you now ... and let me tell you: it is beautiful. I can't go into much further detail because .. then I'll just want to tell you everything about it and this is one of those things that's supposed to be a surprise ... I hate keeping surprises ... 


I also know that I picked a wedding venue!!! The venue is CALAMIGOS RANCH!!! It is so beautiful there and the staff there has been more than accommodating when I call them every few weeks to let them know that I pretty much love the place but I have no idea what's going on in my life. PLUS the woman handling my wedding is giving me a pretty cool deal on some things, so that's pretty nice. 

Well here are some pictures of the ranch (I am so tempted to post pictures of my dress, but I won't .. I promise): 







Alright. I am signing off. I promise I will write back soon! 

Sunday, July 31, 2011

New Beginnings

It's been a while since I've updated the blog and I figured it was about time. We are all moved in to our new apartment and we have been busy unpacking and exploring our new city. The tourist board gave us a very nifty pamphlet which describes, in great detail and by location, the restaurants at which the locals eat. We have been conquering new restaurants every weekend and the food has been fantastic. We were even able to find Mexican restaurants that have mole sauce!
 In other great news, I was able to find a job at an up and coming law firm and I am very excited to start tomorrow. So I guess it'd be safe to say that things are going pretty well here.

Anyways, on with the good stuff :) I have an appointment to meet with the Special Events Coordinator at the Adamson House in a few weeks and I am very excited. I must say that I have been looking at a few other locations and do have some back ups in case things don't work out at the Adamson House. 

Villas Casa Bella in in Santa Barbara and is simply B-E-A-Utiful ... as the saying goes,  but unfortunately it is very pricey and the pictures are a little difficult to come by but here is one that I found. 

This next place is called the Rincon Beach Club. It is a beautiful, coastal location but it is a full service wedding venue, which I am a little wary of, just because I know how I'm going to want things and I want to make sure that I am full control.  Not that I'm a bridezilla or anything ... I'm also worried about the food because catered food just never seems to be very good ... anyways, here are some pictures 




I found another place in Santa Barbara which is similar to the Adamson House, except that it's a little bit smaller and a whole lot cheaper. The location is right on the water and it's got the same historic structure feeling to it. So what's the problem you ask? It's not available any of the days that we want it. Here are some pictures anyways because I love this place and I think you will too. 





And last but not least comes the real contender for my alternate wedding venue. Hartley Botanica is located in the Conejo Valley and has 2 beautiful gardens. I'm looking to possibly have my wedding in the Paliuli Gardens which is meant to have sort of a Hawaiian Garden of Eden feeling. The location is gorgeous, and local, and I would love to have my wedding here.  Don't take my word for it, here are some pictures:





That's all I've got for today. I'm going to try and sneak over to the bridal stores here in town and look at a few dresses and other things and hopefully I'll have good things to report back next time. 

Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

One would imagine that not working and living in a town with next to nothing to offer when it comes to entertainment would be stress free, but my last few weeks have been anything but stress free. I would love to just sit at my computer and pore over the endless wedding material that the world wide web has to offer, but between packing, picking up boxes for packing, catching up with friends, and trying to find a place to live, there has been little time for relaxation - let alone wedding planning. However, now that I have a few moments of down time while Mr. Kroll is occupied, I have decided to gush over what has been on my mind with all of you.

First things first, I heard back from the Adamson House(Yay! Not to mention, I am quite impressed by their quick turn around time!) They have quite a long list of "demands" and I am planning on figuring out how easy it is to actually meet those demands before I check out the grounds. I hope to go home sometime in August, check out the "House", fall in love with the "House", and resume planning my wedding at this fantastic location.

Unfortunately, I won't have a date until the "House" and I have come to an agreement on what a suitable day for my wedding may be, but I promise to let you guys know as soon as I find out!

Now, what I really want to talk to you about ... center pieces. The main colors that I want for the wedding and Green and Yellow with possible splashes of pink and purple tones. I don't want too many flowers and I do want it to have a very classy but organic feel.

I really like the look and feel of these center pieces and I think I will end up taking bits and pieces from these ideas and making my own:














I really like the idea of using the fruits in water and I would like candles too. Lots of candles. I also really like the feel that a white, yellow, and green centerpiece gives off and I also think that it matches our personalities well.
I've seen center pieces made with vegetables or a variety of cacti, but as unconventional as the fruit idea is, I'm really really into it. So .... I guess what I'm saying is I'm going to have fruit as my center pieces. 

Well the Mr. is back and I've persuaded him into watching a movie with me, so I'm going to seize the opportunity! 

Thanks for reading!