Must Needed Beauty Sleep

SO much has been going on these past few days. I am sure you have heard about the tragedy in Alabama. That's home to me and all the devastation is local to us. Mono was home and my parents and I were out of town (out of state actually) and I was scared to death. I am so happy he is safe and I can't wait to get home. I know it is not going to be fun being amidst the chaos and lack of power, but with all this going on, I just want to be home. I had tornado warnings yesterday, over night and more severe ones around 3 am this morning - where I am visiting now - so I have been up for quite a while. I need sleep. The day before all this happened, I was exhausted from trying to find hair/makeup people for the bridal party and flowers as well. I wish I could have someone arrange all that for me. At this point, like I said, I just want to go home. :( But, on a brighter note... The Royal Wedding is tomorrow morning! That is where the beauty part of the sleep comes in. ;) I need to look my best for the wedding. Oh wait, that's right... I didn't get an invitation. Well, that's okay. I am happy being in my pjs and cuddled in my blanket watching it from bed. :) Good night all.

I Have Proof!

Yes, I do have proof. Actually I have a proof for our invitations! 

That deserves a big Yay!! :)

I went a few days back and designed how I wanted them and I received the proof back already.

I have to go in today to meet with her and make a few changes and then I will have to wait for the second proof to come back before we can place our order. That will have to wait until the first week of May. There's a lot going on from today through the first week of May so I won't be able to make it back in to the shop before then. Thankfully we can go over things via e-mail, but I have to actually sign off on things to make it official. So exciting!

So today we are heading back down and we will take care of that. I have a few other quick places to stop as long as it is okay with my two amigos that are coming with me (Mom and Mono). There may be a few wedding updates on here this coming, but I am not sure when I will have the time to post... maybe late at night. We shall see. If not, you can look forward to some updates in that first week of May, when things settle down!

I hope you all have a very blessed and Happy Easter!!

She Said To Add Everything I Could Dream Of....

I'm not sure if she* really knew what she was saying when she said this to me tonight:

"Add Everything You Could Dream Of...."

If that is really the case, I say 

"Dear Pottery Barn, Please just truck out your entire store and deliver it to the following address. Thank you. - Mary Anne"

And no, I am not kidding.

I will be registering at the normal stores everyone seems to register at, but I have a few favorite home stores (besides places like Home Goods - you can't really register there), that will have registry wish lists as I will refer to them. I am sure most of the things on the lists won't be purchased, but I will take her advice to add everything I could dream of.

Places like Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma and Restoration Hardware hold a dear place in my heart. When I walk into Pottery Barn, I feel like I could be at home. When I walk into Williams-Sonoma, I just want to cook and bake and even... clean my kitchen. And at Restoration Hardware, well they stole my heart when I felt a certain little blanket they sell. Each place makes me want to have a very welcoming home. 

I want my home to be a place where when family and friends visit, they too feel like they are at home. I know that it's not what is in the home, but the love that fills your house that makes it a home... but these things do help set the mood, don't they? ;)

The process of registering has been all fun, exciting, a tad overwhelming and now proving to be quite dangerous. I am working with a few stores and am in the middle of editing my lists due to the lack of items in certain stores and the multitude of options on-line.

I am hoping to pretty much have my registries completed by the end of this week. Some tweaking may be made in Pottery Barn if I do end up making a list there. I would like to visit the store once more to scout out a few things to decide which of a few things I like more. I do have to limit my list a little, even if it is all dreaming. I mean, after all, I can't have 7 different sets of everyday glasses. I'd like to, but even I think that is a bit much.

*(she) will remain nameless in case her grand (and I truly mean that) advice ends up backfiring when she sees my wish lists. ;) You know who you are though. hehe- 

We're Registered... Almost!

Today we went to start registry for the wedding! It was a lot of fun, yet a little overwhelming! We got a good bulk of it done, but we are going to go back tomorrow and another day to finish and tidy up the list. We started at one store and had the greatest guy to help us get started with the process. I wish we got a picture with him... Usher. He really got into it and really was good at what he did. And no, he wasn't even gay! He'd talk to us, and when he got real serious, he'd lower his voice and continue on. It was quite funny, but honestly, we couldn't have gotten off to a better start. He's engaged too, so he was telling us stories of him and his fiance registering. He and Mono could really get the guy side of it! :) So we had fun. We took that little scanning gun and walked up each aisle and got the ball rolling! My Mom came with us too which was fun. She brought up good points and help us pick out certain things. The most overwhelming part was the linens. Oh. My. Gosh! The different types of cotton, the thread counts, the feel, how well they will wash, etc. Endless! I was so overwhelmed and I called Mono's Mom more times than I should have! She is the queen of knowing that stuff. I am going to have to have her teach me what she knows, because she is real good. I wish she could have been there with us too. Mono and I have such great Moms (and Dads!!) and I like having them all involved as much as I can. So, I am done with the first half of registering. Now I am going to go online and switch some things up that they didn't have in the store. Hopefully we made some good decisions for it!! Oh, and a random funny part: My Mom, Mono and I were walking out of one store through the mall and all of a sudden my Mom said, "OH MY GOSH! MARE! WHAT'S ON YOUR FACE!? WHAT HAPPENED?!" haha- I thought I had blood on my face or something was seriously wrong and then within seconds the two of them were hysterical laughing at me! I had black soot or something on my face. Who the heck knows how it got there, but it was there! It wouldn't just wipe off, and then my Mom gave me antibacterial sanitizer stuff from her purse and that just burned! haha- What craziness! Thankfully I got it off, but it certainly didn't help my already very tired look. I wasn't sure if I should laugh with them or just get mad at them for laughing at me. I think it was a little of both! ;) We also picked out invitations!! :) I have to go back next week though to finalize it. What excitement!!

Two Full Days Ahead!

So much has been going on these past few days! 

It's been kinda crazy and now I have a whole new area to work on ahead of me. 

Tomorrow and Friday are going to be completely full days.

I am going to have to drive down to B'ham for a meeting and also to look for invitations. I have to go to a few places to price around, see the style I'll want for our budget, etc. Lots to look at. 

After Mono gets off of work, we are going to go start registering too. When that is done, that will be a big load off! I am really excited to do that. I have a feeling we will be fighting over the little gun to scan things!! :) It will be an adventure for sure! Invitations and Registry are two biggies that we will soon be able to cross off! I am starting two DIY projects and I am working on some things for the bridesmaids. Lots to still do, but I think we are staying at a great pace!

Off to bed now!

She Was Down to the Wire!

Fabric draping above me, racks upon racks of white dresses hanging from the ceiling, tri-fold mirrors... I was sitting on a fancy chair, catching the reflection of all the wedding dresses in the surrounding mirrors when I overheard another bride shopping for her jewelry... for her wedding... only two days away. Yes, two. I thought to myself, "Boy, she's crazy! How can she leave things to the last minute!?" She still had decorations to figure out and jewelry to buy... and maybe even other things that I had not heard about.

This morning as I was taking my shower, I found my thoughts thinking about that bride. Wondering how her wedding was and if she figured out all she needed to before her special day. It also lead me to get thinking that I could be like her if I don't give myself a huge kick in the butt! I do have to wait on certain dates for certain things, but there are things I could be getting done right now. This week I have to sit down and print out a to-do list of every.single.thing I need to get done before my big day so I don't end up like the bride I overheard in the shop.