Happy Valentine's Day, Y'all!

I normally loathe Valentine's Day.  It's full of hearts and flowers and lace doilies and hard feelings for those who don't celebrate it.  But this year I guess the impending wedding has made Nick and I both a little more romantic.  Friday we went shopping in Castle Rock for shoes for him.  I came away with boot and panties.  Luckily he found shoes too.  But seriously, the Lane Bryant outlet was great for me.  Sure, they're shorter boots, but I can't believe I found boots that fit.  And frankly, finding shoes that fit Nick is a chore as well.  But I got a strawberry cheesecake caramel apple out of the deal and he seems to be happy right now.

Yesterday I spent most of the day doing taxes.  I seriously did them between 3 and 6 times.  No jokes.  Some were charging too much, some wouldn't let me do two states at once (blame H&M), so yeah...several friggin' times of doing taxes.  By the end of it I was a blithering, inarticulate mess.  And what does Nick do?  Offer to take me to dinner.  We picked Olive Garden (I know, I know...how romantic) just because we hadn't been in a really long time.  And, ya know, because Hacienda usually ends up pissing both of us off.  The meal was good, but sitting with him and just enjoying quiet company was better.  We piled the kitten in the bed with us and again it made me thankful for my tiny little family.  Sometimes you just need a reminder during all the layers of wedding bullshit that you have made the right choice.

So when I have staggering piles of laundry and he's yelling at a game on TV, we can forgive and (try to) forget. I couldn't have asked for a better Valentine than Nick.

There's a drumming noise inside my head that starts when you're around...

 I know it's been a while, so I'm going to attempt to make up for that by having a pretty picture-heavy post laden with pertinent details.  Without further ado...

Of course the most important detail is....the dress.  I could have been nice and said "the groom", but we know better.  I've had my dress for a few months now and I love every little beaded detail except for the plain satin band on it.  It will be replaced with something significantly snazzier (as soon as I figure out what that something is).  I don't want to broadcast a pic of myself in the dress yet (that's what bridal portraits are for).  But, I can give you the next best thing.

She is all lace and covered in tiny beads to boot.  And no, I won't be donning that floofy thing on my head.  That's just distracting...

So as far as accessories go, I haven't purchased any yet.  I scout online every so often for new things and add them to My Pinterest.  I'm thinking of going with black accessories, just because I think they'd be really pretty set off by all the bright green I plan to incorporate.

I may have finally found a headpiece that I like.  Luckily, my girl Haley and I can probably come up with something similar that's a little more affordable for the likes of...well...me.  You can find amazing Haley creations at Button + Bloom.  Oh, you wanna see it?  Duh.  Sorry.

I mean, her pretty little face hiding behind that blusher is gorgeous as is, but look at that thing.  Somehow it melds sweetness with drama and in my head, that's how I see myself.  Hey, it is my day after all.

I have bought a handful of things.  Only things that were such a great deal I couldn't pass up.  Like apple green cocktail/regular napkins at 47 cents a pack.  Thanks, Target.  Oh, and my favorite (that I'm eagerly awaiting by mail):

Oh, yes.  That is a ridiculously over-sized cake cutter.  I hate all of the cake cutters and servers that I find that are supposed to be saved (for what???).  This  I will actually use again.  Birthday cakes.  Pies.  Chasing the cat.  My only regret is that I had to pay double its cost just for shipping.  Ouch.  No bueno, Fred Flare.

I have started trying to work out makeup looks.  I'm hoping one of my amazing makeup artist friends will be on hand to help me out.  These are the eye shadows I picked up yesterday from the cosmetics outlet.

Gorgeous, right?  I'm going to try a really pretty smokey eye with these to see if they are the shadows I want to go with.  If not, they'll be perfect for some other day.  They're a little more demure than my normal looks, but I think the chartreuse green adds something fabulous.

We are working with The Holiday Chalet on Colfax right now to book a place for the wedding.  It's a beautiful Victorian brownstone that you can find more details about Here.  The other possible venue will be the boathouse in Wash Park.  It's a pretty little place that is going to be our go-to if we do host a larger wedding.  The boathouse looks like this: 

Right now we are trying to assess as accurately as possible how many people will be able to come to the wedding.  Of course we would love to see everyone, and I don't mind sending out lots of announcements.  But I can't invite 50 people and have 100 show up.  And vice versa.  If we go with about 50 guests, we are holding it at the Holiday Chalet because it's extremely affordable, beautiful, and guests can stay there (provided they have rooms & accommodating dates). 

I am still on the lookout for a bright green or charcoal grey bridesmaid dress for Cynthia.  I found beautiful ties for Nick and whomever he chooses as his groomsman on a wedding site online.  I'm currently waiting to hear back from a Craigslist poster about a cupcake tray that she's selling.  It's perfect and already painted my exact green color.  I want it REALLY badly and I wish she'd just get back to me about it...

We have decided to hire a caterer if Holiday Chalet doesn't provide one.  Although making food for 50 people sure beats making food for 100.  That detail is a little up in the air at this point. 

I found some gorgeous invitations with cymbidium orchids on them on Bed Bath & Beyond's website.  I am also in love with these flowers (real or fake) for bouquets.  Check them out:

Just gorgeous.  I'm pretty much in love with them. They are exotic, yet still classy.  I like that they look beautiful by themselves and don't need a lot of other flowers to back them up, so to speak.  And the fake ones made up into bouquets are decently affordable!

That's all I've got for you so far.  I'm always open to new ideas and maybe I should start blogging more often.  I'm a bad blogger, what can I say.  Thanks for reading!