a lost art.

i went to work today & found this in my lunch box:

a love letter.  major sigh.

joel and i used to mail each other letters from time to time.  we would get out a pen & paper and write what our hearts said (cheesy?  maybe.  totally & utterly enchanting?  without a doubt).  we would address an envelope, place a stamp on it & take it to a mailbox.  my heart always smiled when i would see his handwriting in my mailbox.  even if we had just spoken on the phone, or over text, or over facebook.... handwriting...real, true INK words always seem to mean just a little bit more.  perhaps it's the old soul in me.

one of my co-workers told me that his grandpa mails his grandmother a letter every week.  every.single.week.  how incredibly awwww-worthy & beautiful is that?!!!

my love letter today (which i have read at LEAST six times --- and smiled inside & out) made me feel so very blessed.  so very loved.  so very very lucky.  i can't wait to marry this man.  my one.  :)

now ... y'all get out some paper & a writing utensil and get some sort of letter in the mail today.  to your parents, grandparents, a sibling, or to your own darling--- even if you're under the same roof.  scrounge up 44 cents and send some love.  it's SO worth it.

turkey, pie & big red earmuffs

hello dear friends!

i hope your thanksgiving was filled with blessings and fantastic food.  joel, ethan & i went to columbus for the holiday to attend our annual kurtenbach side christmas at the st. bon's social hall.  it was ethan's first trip to nebraska, but i just knew he would have a fabulous time ----- and thanks to my super incredible parents & nieces & nephews, he is ready to go back.....tomorrow.  :)  we also had a special guest appearance by mike & roxanne!  they drove six hours from minnesota to partake in our crazy family festivities.  we also were able to show them the church & oak ballroom.

insert curve balls:  two incredibly generous donors decided they would like the church repainted.  and by repainted, i don't mean a little touch up here and there.  i'm talking a complete upheaval of the now earthy/golden gorgeous-ness that is what i have known for the last 20 years.  they have begun to introduce blues & siennas on the ceilings & pillars.  estimated completion date?  easter.  wedding date?  the friday after easter.  holy crapola!  (bad pun...i know).

additionally -- this was the first time the bride-to-be has seen the oak ballroom.  and let me tell you, folks.  it's a lot of oak.  :)  but it is wide open & completely different than any reception hall i have ever seen.  i'll have to find a decorator that will turn this into the elegant vintage 1930s ballroom it yearns to be.  ;)  the gal that manages the property & allowed us to sneak in made mention of tool & twinkle lights.  i digress....there will be no tool & twinkle lights.

amid the incredible feast of homemade turkey, stuffing & the most wonderful apple cream pie that one can only dream about (i made an important phone call on tuesday evening to my aunt jeanie b to make sure this would be on the dessert table ---- a bride needs a final hurrah before working on that dress fitting shape, right??!!!), roxanne said we could sneak out to see the invitation samples that aunt tricia put together.

brace yourselves......they are going to be the most fab things you've ever laid eyes on.  i'm SO very excited!!!

friday brought grand finale game day in lincoln -- major sigh of relief at the final score.  i was almost as excited about my ear muffs as the game.  thanks to my sis-in-law's mom for letting me wear this new fave accessory!!

we drove home on saturday & started decorating!!  i truly am grinning-from-ear-to-ear in love with this season.  i have been cheating & listening to carols for a couple weeks now....but now i can play my pandora christmas station without joel having a minor tantrum.  :)  christmastime is here, folks!  we were able to get our  indoor decorations up when we came home ------ all of them were brand new as of the day after christmas LAST year.  roxanne helped me pick out a tree, a huge wreath & more ornaments, garland, lights & flowers than you could even imagine.  joel thought i was out of my mind.  roxanne thought i was the daughter she never had.  ;)

ps - i am now the proud owner of clothes line posts!!!  (although now i'm not sure what will replace them as THE first item we register for!)  we dug them up last weekend when my parents were here.  joel's dad has already accused me of using the proverbial "we" when it comes to things joel (and my dad) fully did themselves.  i think moral support is of sound importance & thus entitles me to the "we".

happy christmastime!

diy ---- after. and others...

it has been far too long!  where does the time go when a girl is trying to plan her wedding?
it has been ages since i typed, so...what is it that i've accomplished, you ask?
hmmm.... that's a wonderful question when we're talking about approximately FIVE MONTHS til 'i do' day.

insert calming yoga zen breaths here.

the past month-ish in pics:

joel takes ethan out on the ice for the first time in his sweet columbus, nebraska salvation army ice skates.  :)  that smile never left joel's face.  i loved it.

to minnesota we go for the cornhusker/gopher showdown.  joel's uncle johnny scored us some fabulous seats with his buddies.  they left for the bar at halftime. ;)

we cheers'd to our friends trisha & andrew as they walked down the aisle the last weekend in october --- beautiful ceremony & beautiful real china & plate service at their reception.  ahhh the luxuries of weddings in a booming metropolis.

the second pic is a random my brother sent of sweet little lizzie.  she certainly has the life, doesn't she?  i can tell you this wedding planning isn't stressing her out one teeny bit.

 

and here we are.  DIY results revealed.
dun dun dun..............................................
epic fail on the first big balloons.  major frowny.

cue a pep talk from roxanne.  for those of you who know this computer-savvy gal, you would be very impressed to know all the extra research she has put into these blasted lanterns on which i have my heart set.  she's convinced that once we can get ONE to work out, the rest will be a @#%ing cake walk!  :)  she clued me in on a specific wallpaper paste sold at ace hardware that lantern lady extraordinaire swears by.  refusing to be defeated by a lantern that, if you recall from the earlier post, a CHILD can make (seriously, i could hear that little brat laughing at me while my lace crumbled before my eyes), i marched right into ace hardware & asked the nice gentleman where to find harvest gold (or something of the like) paste.  although the wallpaper market has been on a slight decline since the early 1990s, ace did not disappoint.  i happily paid my $4 and all but pranced out of the place.  game on. 

DIY take three & four are as follows:

two down --- three curtains, two table cloths, a few valances & 10 yards of curtain lace to go.  :)

our little angel has also been keeping life interesting.  joel said harvey wanted no part of his kennel one day, so he gated him in the kitchen.  among the casualties...an entire sunday newspaper, many many engagement cards :(, photos from the fridge, a paring knife from germany, and a number of paint pens (to which joel had a **hint** of disappointment in his voice while discovering they were NON-toxic).

we also went to the orchard with joel's parents.  that place will put anyone in the mood for apple cider and pumpkin carving.  it was a bit of fall heaven (not to be confused with the "heaven" kim kardashian proclaimed on her wedding day, but that is a WHOLE other blog....eye roll).

long on pictures, short on words.

the next blog shall cover:
invitations -- lace trim is en route to aunt tricia as i type!
gift registry -- i kid you not when i say the first item we're scanning is a clothesline.
faux china for the reception -- the next best thing to real plates!  eek!