diy ---- take one.

once upon a time, sarah learned about pintrest from her dear bridesmaid kara. as soon as she discovered the world of searching & pinning .... saying she was hooked would be an understatement. who knew that searching for "lace" would produce fabulous upon fabulous photos and ideas. and then she saw it ------ "do it yourself" doily lanterns. visions of these lanterns danced in her dreams. this is just what the oak ballroom needs! stunning doily lanterns! it couldn't be that hard, correct? for pete's sake --- the blog from which the pintrest photo was taken showed a CHILD doing this.

and so it began...the search for doilies. who knew they'd be such a pain, and such an expensive paint at that, to find. plan B, here we come. i have had marvelous help in tracking down lace...my darling bridesmaid hanson found lace tablecloths and curtains in fairbury, nebraska. roxanne & i have been goodwill & fabric store shopping for lace curtains & lace fabric. my mother has dug out some of grandma rosie's old lace valances & curtains. needless to say, this bride is swimming in lace. and couldn't be happier about it.

time to jump on the DIY bandwagon....it can't be THAT hard, right??

i brought out my bags of ultra fine & luxurious lace and considered my approach.

i know you can make string lanterns...and roxanne mentioned the idea of using strips of lace. so i spread out one of my curtain panels & began to cut. did i mention that i had some help?

i started with the smallest balloon since i thought it would most manageable. umm....let's just say it wasn't starting off so well..... this DEFINITELY is NOT what the easy peasy blog looked like.... i mean, what kind of freak of nature gifted child WAS that little girl?!!??

what is a bride to do? stress out & start over? nah --- i just wallpaper pasted the bejeezers out of that balloon & used thinner strips. it looked better at the end, but still not DIY-blog worthy.

mind you----that sucker took me about an hour. major HMPH to a nice & fun sunday evening arts & crafts project. ;)

okay...time to pull out the big balloon: one of those punch ball balloons i loved when i was a kid. for this round, i decided to cut small squares & circles from the various curtains that i had:

let me tell you, when you add a bunch of lace & a quart of wallpaper paste to a balloon, it isn't exactly light or manageable anymore! i'm not quite sure how they will dry, but hopefully (a) the lace won't stick to the balloon when it's popped or (b) collapse if i do manage to successfully remove the balloon when it all hardens.

so, at this moment, i call it a tie in the battle of the DIY doily lanterns versus the bride-to-be. we shall see what daylight brings!

six months, folks!

six months from today, i will be walking down the aisle toward my one.

i received a phone call at my desk this morning:
"sarah engelbert, this is ralph from the security desk downstairs. there are some beautiful flowers down here with your name on them!".

be

right

down

!!

what girl doesn't love flowers at work??

i eagerly tore off the tissue paper & read (something to the tune of):

six months until the best wedding ever! counting the days!

your matron of honor

isn't she the best, cutest, most wonderful matron in the world??!!

i love her to pieces.

it's arts & crafts weekend! i'm going to attempt to work on some reception flair. stay tuned.

six months, people!! holy cow.

epitome of overthinking

well ladies & gents,

this week i began a pesky little list item i have been avoiding. i even scrapped the half-done 'save the date' postcards (and let me tell you, they were CUUU-UTE) to prolong the inevitable....

caterers? sure. cake samples? bring it on! bridesmaid dress shopping, engagement pic taking, DIY website and wedding blog stalking....check, check & check.

guest list?

dun dun dun.....

first of all, let me preface this by saying that typing out a guest list with proper names, street numbers, zip codes, and childrens' names is no easy task. throw in the fact that you only have a laptop with that mystery pad that shoots the little cursor all over the place? cue random temper tantrums by this bride-to-be.

i digress.

i was (by the way -- it just did the mouse thing to me again), no joke, given a typed guest list by my mother the first weekend we were back in columbus. Neatly, next to each name in her perfect penmanship, was the respective address.

the first trip to iowa by joel's parents following the proposal, roxanne comes prepared with several pages of yellow loose-leaf paper with perfect (cough cough, ahem) penmanship spelling out names & address of their friends & family. (i have a lot of highlighted items in the spreadsheet after going through this sucker - on a mission for NO typos!) ;)

alas, nearly three months later, i am compiling this little beast of a spreadsheet.

for those of you unfamiliar with the engelbert/kurtenbach family....it is large. throw into the mix that i am a late (SURPRISE!) child & my first cousins are in their mid forties....well...that means the cousins i grew up with are my first-cousins-once-removed. thus adding an exponential tier to the possible guest list. needless to say, minnesota family & friends....get ready for nebraska overload. you're going to love them. :)

then you start to go through all the weddings you've been invited to & those whom you want to invite because you obviously value their friendship & want to share the news, YET, you don't want them to feel obligated to (a) make the long journey & (b) purchase a gift. co-workers, neighbors, facebook friends, the mailman.....what if we miss someone?

and you know what? my darling groom thinks i'm getting a LITTLE too stressed about the guest list.

as if him dissing my favorite shirt for the engagement pics wasn't enough...

sigh.

:)

cheese!

hello my dear friends! and so ends another busy weekend...

first of all, i must wish my most fabulous papa the happiest of birthdays!!! he turned the big 7-3 today....crazy to think that handsome devil is a day over 50. :)

let me preface this blog by apologizing in advance for the cheesy cheese references. i'm new at this.

say cheese.

that's what we did this weekend!! we gussied ourselves up on saturday afternoon for our public display of LOVE. aka: engagement pictures.

Joel's fabulous cousins Stacey and Anna are photographing our wedding! They started their own little business in Minnesota called Buckett Photography (http://www.BuckettPhotography.com). Check them out!

one thing i have come to appreciate (i'm also learning to use happy & in-love & always & forever alternatives to OTHER words females sometimes think when it comes to man & woman on the same page...) is that i will probably be planning/packing for two for the rest of my life. :) That being said, i not only had to fret about MY outfits for these much-anticipated photos that will be cherished and smiled upon when we're 80 years old and sitting on our porch swing...but i also had to analyze my darling's closet and pick his complimentary apparel. i carefully hang my outfit choices and sift through his clothing. i pick out some ideal shirts and set them out -- only to have him (the man who rarely has an opinion on anything clothing-related outside of his coveted baseball caps) say:

"i don't like that shirt"

what do you mean you don't like this shirt? i bought this shirt & i think it will look perfect with sarah outfit #1.

"that's my least favorite shirt"

why?? i think it's really dressy!

"i think it looks like a farmer"

a WHAT?!!? did you really just tell me this about my shirt purchase?

"just pick out any other shirt in the closet"

(hmph --- i don't want to pick out any other shirt in the closet -- pout)

he won. i picked out a different shirt, but i'm still a little offended he doesn't like one of my favorite shirts.

i digress....

:)

have i told you that we are are OH SO IN LOVE??!

but in all seriousness --- it was such great fun to revisit Bush Lake where the proposal occurred. to sit on the bench again. to walk hand in hand. to have him spin me around and dip me. all while the cameras are clicking away. stacey & anna were so much fun to work with ---- they had great vision, countless different photo op places, a COUCH in some tall grass (i can't WAIT to see those shots) and smiles that matched ours. it truly was a lovely afternoon. of love. see? i warned you about all the cheese.

speaking of -- the lovely day came to a totally rotten moldy wisconsin cheese end when my beloved cornhuskers were pummeled on the football field saturday eve. my darling and i went to a nebraska bar to watch the game. it is the perfect locale for any die-hard big red fan unable to make the trek to an away game because they bring in their own little pep band complete with a tuba, trombone, trumpet & drums. every first down, we get a little husker ditty. every score is a rendition of hail varsity. this bride-to-be was happy as a clam the first quarter or so. even her fiance is coming around...clapping along in his herbie husker shirt & red N cap. now THAT'S

something to smile about.

:)

and so is this...two little sleepyheads on the way home today: