Let's Get This Party Started

My cousin Laura threw me a wonderful bridal shower in August at her home in south Austin. My mom, grandmother, aunts, cousins, and sister/MOH were all there.


My aunt Christine and cousins Laura, Angie and Julie.




Laura's dogs dressed festively for the occasion!


Laura giving directions to the first game, which involved creating a look for the wedding night, Project Runway-style, using only toilet paper.


Merry listening to the directions, already devising ways to subvert them.


Everyone was divided into teams for this game, while I served as the judge. My aunt Kathy and my grandmother were chosen as the models for their teams. Kathy sported a Hawaiian-inspired design, complete with lei and grass skirt, while my grandmother modeled her team's design.


Molly explains the inspiration for her team's look.


Angie models the winning outfit, which, somewhat disturbingly, was designed by my mother.


The winning team (Angie, Julie, and my mom), sans toilet paper lingerie.


My cousin Gracie and I in the classic hold-the-camera-out-in-front-and-try-to-get-both-people-in-the-shot pose.

I had such a wonderful time at the shower and really appreciate the time and effort that everyone put into making it so much fun!

Whew!

Another sizable task that we were recently able to cross off the wedding to-do list was designing and sending out our wedding invitations. We included a lot of DIY elements, and ultimately, I think we are really happy with the finished product. We have received so many complements on the map, which Justin drew by hand:



It has been so exciting to begin to receive the RSVP cards back in the mail (and yes, Merry, we did get yours first)! We are saddened when we hear from family and friends that won't be able to join us, but we know they will be there with us in spirit. It is wonderful to know that we will be surrounded by the love of all of you on that day!

Our First Wedding Gift

We received one of our first wedding gifts from Jessica's mom earlier this week. She gave us a beautiful sugar and creamer set made of sterling silver. The set was made in the early 1900s, and if you look closely (I tried to capture it in the pictures), you can see a lovely script "B" monogram on both pieces. What a wonderful gift that we will treasure always!

T-minus three months and counting...

With a little less than three months left to go until the big day, Justin and I have been trying to finalize more of our plans. Today, we met with Tanya, the wedding coordinator-extraordinaire at Green Pastures, to discuss some of the details of the ceremony and reception. Most of what we have left to figure out are some of our menu choices. It's wonderful to be able to check a few more things off the to-do list!

Chris Soliz - Photographer for Wedding

We have selected a photographer for our wedding -- Chris Soliz. Justin knew him from college. He has some experience as a wedding photographer, and he has a lot of experience shooting events so we are confident he will do a great job. Here are a few photos he has taken. Also, you can check out here for other photos Chris has taken.



And we're going to have a ferris wheel at our wedding! Not really. I just like this photo Chris took.

Shooter fails doping...

The news just came out that a North Korean shooter was disqualified from the Olympics and stripped of his medals when he failed a drug test. My initial reaction was, "Really? Steroids for air pistol? How could that possibly help? Does it mean you can pull the trigger faster? Plus, if an athlete in a sport is called a 'shooter', don't you expect them to be doing drugs?"

It turns out that he was taking propanolol, a beta blocker that apparently can help keep you from trembling. I wonder if they also test for Ritalin and pot, just in case someone is trying to focus while also calming their nerves...

For those of you wonder, "What is this sport like and what am I missing out on?", here's a little preview. Oh, and the answers to your questions are "slow" and "not much":



As for the people they show in the video about thirty seconds in, are those judges or did someone trick them by saying, "Come see women athletes in their fun outfits perform at the highest level!"?

The most wonderful time of the year...

This is a Frosty (they now make them in vanilla):



Every year, around the start of August, Wendy's runs a promotion to benefit diabetes research. If you give them $1, they give you a coupon book worth 4 small Frosties. Now, for those of you wondering, a Frosty costs $1.19 + tax. It's pretty amazing. So I bought $5 worth of Frosty coupons (those of you keeping score at home, that would be 20 Frosties). Not to mention it's for a good cause. Plus, I laugh a little inside every time I eat one knowing that the people it benefits cannot eat a Frosty themselves. But some day... some day...