Hair.

As some of you may or may not know, a (strangely) significant thing leading up to the wedding has been the growing out of my bangs and whether Tim will trim his ever growing beard. 

Truth be told, Tim loves his beard (I like it too, but I also like the close-shaven look) and would let it grow into a full blown Civil-war looking thing if allowed. Here's what it currently looks like:

I on the other do not love being without my bangs (and I can't wait to get them back!) but I vowed not to cut them until after the wedding. Tim would love it if I let them grow forever, but ..... mmm not sure about that. Here is a picture of me and my beloved bangs in all their glory:

Our First (Real) Shower.

Yesterday we spent a wonderful afternoon with the women on Tim's mom's side of the family.  

I love those ladies! They are so fun! I was so touched last month when I was invited to their annual cards night, and they all made me feel so welcomed and comfortable and a part of the family. So it was lovely to see them all again, and to grow in my anticipation of getting to know everyone better in the years to come. I was also glad to have some of our close friends there, as well as my mom and oldest sister. I was especially excited that Tim's sister Katie made the trip down - in very cold driving conditions nonetheless - from college to be there.  

While Tim spent most of his time upstairs (no guys allowed) he did come down when it was time to open gifts (as well as when it was time to eat :D ) which was a lot of fun. It was very exciting to see all the various things people had picked out from our registry to bless our home with. We can't wait to decorate and use all of our lovely things! 

I feel like there aren't enough ways to say thank you. Being at the receiving end of such endless giving is .... well, its a humbling experience. We are continually blessed and beyond grateful for the outpouring of love and generosity from those around us in support of our marriage. Thanks and appreciation especially goes to Tim's Aunt Kim and Aunt Pam who hosted the shower, and to both of our mothers who have given of themselves in the most incredible way to make our wedding day a special one.

Only 40 days left until its official!

Can't wait,

lauren.

Nesting.

Ever since getting engaged (maybe even a little before that) Tim and I have been collecting odds and ends for our future home. The first few pieces we found were from the huge church garage sale my mom helps put on every year. My favorite is a tiny little cupboard that we keep some games in. 

We recently went to an antique mall about 30 minutes from where we are and picked up some more vintage christmas balls as well as a pair of salt and pepper shakers (a nick-nack with character I've been wanting to find for a while). I'll try to post some pictures for added interest next chance I get. 

Yesterday I had my first experience as a craigslist.com buyer: we've been wondering what to do about a dining table as we can't afford anything brand new. We've both had our eye on the counter-height/pub style tables but again, they all seem to be quite pricey. Well praise be to God, I found one (with all four chairs included!) that we'd seen at Target of all places that a couple in east-Cleveland were selling for half the price of what we found in stores. It was an interesting interaction - to just go into a strangers home and take their table (after paying of course). I guess it's the same as a garage sale, but anyways - it was a blessing to find something so affordable. Here is a picture of what it looks like:

Tim and I have been good about keeping our heads on and not going nuts trying to buy all new stuff, especially since we know that material things are not what makes a happy home. But we do enjoy adding our personal touches to the space we live in - and its been a lot of fun so far getting things started :)

Happy New Year!

The year of our wedding is finally here!!!

We are so excited that in just under 8 weeks we will be a married couple :) Plans are all coming together nicely, though I'm only just beginning to realize that time is of the essence and that things like dress alternations and floral arrangements need to start happening SOON! 

My mom and I went out last week to look at a few options for flowers and it was a pretty successful mission. As much as we both love fresh flowers, the cost can get a bit out of hand so we are keeping things fairly simple and aside from the hand held bouquet(s) we are going to do two silk arrangements that will (hopefully) look very similar to the arrangement above, though not quite as extravagant. We also got a quote on what my bouquet would cost and it was very reasonable which was exciting. I'm going for a classic, "1940's" feel to the wedding and staying with the traditional rose arrangements - although we'll see if that theme truly translates the day of!

We also had dinner with Tim's family last night to go over wedding invitation designs and layouts. Susan tweaked her original idea just a tad and they are even more stunning than before. I'm very excited for everyone to start receiving them!

Tonight Tim and I are having a bit of a date night which we're both very excited about. We'll be ordering in from Aladdin's - our favorite restaurant - and watching a movie. Nothing fancy - but definitely one of my favorite ways to spend time with my amazing guy :)

54 more days to go!!!

lauren.

Christmas!!!!

So, I have been politely (albeit sternly) informed that it is my turn and responsibility to post on the site. At least I get the easy topic of telling you all how our Christmas was.

We started our morning nice and early at Lauren's house. Lauren and I got up and exchanged our gifts to each other first. She got me some awesome guitar equipment that I really wanted and am VERY excited about. She also got me a CD, a sock monkey, some trail mix, and some awesome christmas ornaments. She also got me the Office season 3 and a really hard to find Muppets/Sesame Street/Fraggle Rock christmas movie that I watched when I was a kid. She did a great job!

I got her some scarves, a purse and wallet, some shoes, Aveda hairspray (so she'll stop "borrowing" her mom's), some lip gloss stuff, and the big thing was a bunch of paints and new really nice paint brushes and some blank canvases. She is an awesome artist and I'm excited for her to get back to painting and paint some cool things for our apartment once we move in!!

So after that we gave her parents their presents and got some nice things from them. Then we headed over to my mom's house for christmas morning. The kids were all ready and waiting in the living room for us when we got there so they could start opening their presents. Katie and her boyfriend Dustin were there too which was really nice. It felt like a great family christmas, it just would have been a little better if Chris would have been able to be there. So we opened all our gifts and then had mom's traditional HUGE christmas brunch. Sausage, bacon, hash browns, egg casserole, raspberry bars, cinnamon rolls, fruit salad.... needless to say, I ate waaaaay too much. It was totally worth it.

After brunch we watched the christmas movie that Lauren had got me and then after a quick stop at the Bradford's to drop off a present, we packed up and headed back over to Lauren's. Her sister and brother-in-law were over with the kids and we had a very nice christmas dinner. Judy made one of the biggest turkey's that I had ever seen. There is TONS of it left in fridge which is good for me because that means turkey sandwiches and turkey soup for a nice while :)

After that we watched some basketball for a few hours, including a nail-biter Cleveland Cavs game (which they won) and then settled our brains for a nice christmas sleep.

So... that was the very first christmas "Tim and Lauren"-style. The first of many to come. 

I can't wait.

-Tim

3 days till Christmas!

Tim and I are SO excited to celebrate Christmas together! I can't wait for all the holiday festivities to begin in a few days :) Tim can't wait to watch Charlie Brown Christmas (which I still haven't seen) and has been talking about it for a few months now.

Last week we visited with some friends who just had a baby - so cute! - and watched the Nightmare Before Christmas (I'm trying to get all holiday movie viewings in to make up for last year.) We also just saw Wall*E for the first time and LOVED it. We watched it 3 times in 48 hours!

I also recently had to deal with another flat tire - my second this year. I think it was due in part to the fact that I bent the rim on the same wheel, last time I had a flat. So Timmy came to the rescue and changed it for me, and then I discovered that you could order a new tire rim online, which I did. I don't know why I find that odd, but....it just is.

This weekend we were supposed to be in Canada for my first wedding shower, but unfortunately they were calling for snow storms. So instead we drove up to Fort Erie where we met a few family members and had lunch at Kelsey's. In true form I ordered a Sonoma Valley Chicken Salad - hold the chicken - and a side order of pickles. SO good. About 7 hours driving time for a 2 hour lunch! Tim and I had it fairly easy though since we just sat in the back and slept or watched Arrested Development. We also received the world's best salad spinner from my parents and some other great gifts...not to mention the chance to see the family...so I suppose it was all worth it in the end!

Today two of my bridesmaids confirmed they have their plane tickets for the wedding! I am SO excited because they are two of my oldest, dearest friends from England, and we haven't seen each other since I moved back to the States two years ago. I am trying to think of some fun activities we can do while they're here - though Cleveland in February doesn't exactly lend itself to many entertaining possibilities.

Just over two months before the big day!! It feels like it's never going to get here!

I can't wait!

lauren.

Festive Weekend

This weekend was full of Christmas activities - some better than others!

The first was a Christmas concert we took Tim's family to at a local church. There'd been a lot of buzz surrounding the concert and it seems to be known as one of the best Christmas shows in our area. 

We hated it. 

It was hands down the worst Christmas concert I've ever been to and in some ways one of the worst Church events either of us have witnessed. We felt so bad that Tim's family had to endure the same painful experience - on so many levels. Bahhhhhhhhhh what a waste of time and money. That said - a lot of people there looked like they were having a blast (though we can't understand it) - so perhaps it's just us.

Next on the agenda was the Ugly Sweater Party at our friends Ashley and Jason's. Tim and I had gone out earlier in the day to find some hideous sweaters at the Salvation army. And for less than $10 we got the lovely outfits you see above. While Tim's, in some contexts, might be considered old school vintage, mine was just downright ugly. It was straight out of the eighties - complete with shoulder pads! - and the definition of tacky with little plastic jewels sewn on and the added touch of angora detailing on one arm. It even smelled like outdated perfume....which is actually pretty gross. Needless to say, whenever I put it on I did my best to not allow the fabric to touch my face. Unwashed, used clothing creeps me out.

This coming weekend we are headed to Canada again for the first of the wedding showers!! We can't wait. It'll be good to see our family and friends again before the holidays.

10 more days till Christmas!

love lauren.