West Elm Mirror and Banana Pudding

Project #3

I am so very thankful to have a crafty husband. I absolutely LOVE West Elm’s Parson Floor Length Mirror, but right now I have way too many “want list items” for the new house to justify spending $399 on a mirror.
Instead of ordering the mirror, Chad and I went to Home Depot and Lowe’s for an unframed mirror, wood, and a can of stain (for the wood). After barely getting everything to fit in the SUV, we made it home and Chad started building our mirror! I can’t say I was much help at all with this project.

I think the mirror turned out perfect and we spent under $75 on all the supplies to make it!  I am one proud wife and getting dressed in the mornings for work is so much easier with my new full length mirror!

Also this past week, Chad’s mom was in town. Ms. Lisa, John, and Leah all came over to see the new house on Sunday. I made a Banana Pudding Poke Cake from a recipe on Pinterest. This cake is now one of Chad’s favorite desserts and this was my second time making it this summer. Since everyone was over at the house for dessert, we decided to use our Lenox - Butler's Pantry Gourmet china for the very first time.

 
Project #4

Our next project is going to be making a barn door into a headboard for our new king size mattress and frame.

Weekend Recap - New House, Red Chair Project

Our home is complete! We closed on our house on June 11th and officially moved in June 14th! Being first time home-buyers is very exciting and we are definitely learning a lot.

Now that we are somewhat moved in, the Weekend Projects have started and Chad is probably already wanting to kill me.  He is either going to regret telling me that he likes to build things or put me on restrictions from watching HGTV.

Project #1

I’m not sure this really counts as a project. All I did was paint the monogram I ordered, add some burlap ribbon and hang the monogram from our front door. Either way (project or not), I think it adds some character to our home.

Project #2

When we went to pick up the barn door we purchased back in April from Perfectly Imperfect, I noticed two old kitchen bar stools in the back storage room. The stools were black and missing some dowels. I had one of the workers call the owner to see if she was interested in selling them “as is”. We purchased the stools for $30 each and a can of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Emperor’s Silk (red).

We finished our new (to us) red kitchen stools for right at $100 and they look just as good as the Pottery Barn red stools that are over $200 a piece! Saving on some pieces make us feel so much better about splurging on others.

Before

 

After Picture

Project #3

I fell in LOVE with the West Elm large wood mirrors. Chad started on our West Elm inspired mirror this weekend and I’ll post pictures as soon as it is complete.

Wedding Week

Wedding Week

The week before the wedding, Chad and I both worked every day except Friday. We got all of his stuff moved into the apartment so we would not have to do that after the honeymoon. It was not fun, but we knew it would be so nice to return to Birmingham completely moved! 

I left work a little early Thursday to get my nails painted, eyebrows waxed, and begin packing. I packed for the wedding in Troy and for the honeymoon. At this point, I still wasn’t sure where we would be going for the honeymoon but Chad did tell me to pack for lows in the 70s and highs in the 80s. Some people would be nervous letting their fiancé surprise them with the honeymoon destination, but Chad loves traveling as much as I do so I wasn’t nervous at all. I just thought of it as one less wedding decision I would have to make. 

I thought I would be a little nervous the week of the wedding, but I never got cold feet. We left for Troy on Friday and stopped in Montgomery for my makeup lady to do a trial run on my makeup. She did an amazing job! We got to Troy around lunch and took a car load of stuff (monogram, old window seal, monogram cups, sparklers, wedding advice box, etc) to the Country Club for the wedding reception. After that we stopped by the university to see Chad’s mom. She was there with a few friends setting up for the rehearsal dinner. 

We headed back home to get dressed for the rehearsal at the church. Here I am with my dad, mom and Millie before the rehearsal.

 

Mrs. Betty Wagoner and the preacher led the rehearsal at the church. When Mrs. Wag talks, everyone listens. 

At the rehearsal with my BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS.

I saved tons of bows from some of my showers and my roommate / Maid of Honor (Allise) used them to make my bouquet for the rehearsal. I thought it turned our adorable!

After the rehearsal, we went to the new dining hall at the university. Mrs. Lisa rented out a dining room for the rehearsal dinner. Everyone had already RSVPed to the dinner selecting beef tenderloin or sea bass. Chad and I each picked our favorite desserts and those were the two desserts served. Chad selected banana pudding and I chose caramel cake. His mom had someone prepare a slide show and we each had 30 pictures from our childhood and 30 pictures together. Our slideshow songs were: Mumford and Sons – I Wait, Phillip Phillips – Home, and Brad Paisley – Then. 

The first picture from my childhood on the slideshow.

After the slideshow some of our friends and family gave a toast to us. The toasts were all so personal and meaningful. The rehearsal went great and the decorations were perfect. I loved the 'G' monograms on the doors.

 

When the dinner was over, the wedding party went to the Half Shell. I went home a little early to get plenty of sleep before waking up for the big day!

Bachelorette Weekend - St. Patty's Day

Bachelorette Weekend

St. Patty’s Day is one of my favorite holidays! My roommate/Maid of Honor decided that would be a good time to have my Bachelorette Party! We started with a Luncheon Bridal Shower at Rogue Tavern and then all headed to the brand new Marriot. 

All the girls changed into pink pajamas and threw a Surprise Lingerie Shower for me. Crystal and Allise ordered me a hot pink, polka dot BRIDE button up nightgown with my new ‘G’ initial to wear. The decorations were too cute and I loved the surprise!

That night we all got dressed. Everyone had a green tie dye shirt to wear however they wanted that night. Leah helped cut mine into a scarf. We ate at Todd’s English Pub. Dinner was delicious and our table received two complimentary appetizers that the chef was trying out and we all received a glass of champagne, my favorite celebration drink.

After dinner we all took the party bus to a few local bars. I had so much fun with everyone and we ended the night dancing. I feel so lucky to have shared this weekend with so many of my close friends! They almost all had to travel and the girls came in from all over (even Baton Rouge, Atlanta, Nashville)!

We woke up Sunday for a brunch at Silvertron before everyone headed home. 

 A few of us continued celebrating St. Patty’s Day at Black Market Bar where they had green beer and green mimosas. We tried some maple syrup sausage balls and Chad joined us when he returned from his Bachelor Weekend at Chris’s Cabin.

I love my friends and had an amazing Bachelorette Weekend!