thank.ful.

So many of the bloggers I subscribe to have written a list of things they are thankful for in their lives. Well, to celebrate Thanksgiving, here's a list from me. I can't even grasp how richly God has blessed me this year. A post like that would take days and days...these are simple things that happened during the past week-

:Am thankful for a fiancee, who through doing little things throughtout the day like sending me pictures of "How Pumpkin Pies Are Made"

and YouTube links of the Muppets singing "Bohemian Rhapsody"

assure me that he is the man I'd like to have be my husband.

:Am thankful for friends like Claire, who taught me that it's okay to be head over heels in love and to talk about your wedding as much as you want. Over Starbucks' gingerbread lattes and 3 hours, she made me realize the simple things in my life and how much my family means to me.

:Am thankful for sister and a mom, who helped me so much today with wedding planning. My sister, the precise, detailed woman that she is, took over my invitation template and made it beautiful. Seriously, could not have done that without her.

:Am thankful for future plans that will take me on an Ikea adventure (finally!), on a whirlwind, romantic month of December, to a Florida beach, to a John Mayer concert...

Most of all, am thankful for this reminder:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." Ephesians 1:3


Blessed Thanksgiving to you all!

5.15: shoot.

Look what lovely package came in the mail on Friday: our engagement pictures! Many thanks to Jeff Kesterson for all his hard work creating so many beautiful photos for us. {Also-love the package that the disc arrived in...Jess, the little ribbon added such a personal touch. Thank you so much-you are one crafty goddess:)}

I'm not going to post all the pictures Jeff took {even though I could-they were done so well}, but I will give you a peek at our top 5 favorites-






With the pictures, we are planning to make our guestbook, give some out to parents and grandparents for Christmas, and keep a few to frame for the reception...lots of different possibilities.

{All images are copyright of J Kesterson Photography and can not be in any way copied or reproduced.}
To view more of Jeff's work, please visit his website or Flickr page.

posters.

I would love to frame some of these and put them in our soon-to-be apartment. They would definitely show guests who our favorite artists are. It gives an updated feel to the college dorm room look where all the posters are wrinkled and taped up to the walls with masking tape.

Speaking of music-John Mayer: Battle Studies. Bought it. Love it. Am listening to it as I type.






{found here.}

5.15: 6.

a hundred hearts would be too few, to carry all my love for you...~author unknown
Chad and I are getting married in exactly 6 months!

1. 2. and 3.

my words.

That note card should be filled with my most recent thoughts:

-I've been holed up in my room working on a science unit that was due today that went outstanding (more in a later post.)
-I've also been holed up in my room watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. (That darn show sucked me in again ever since I saw Owen.)
-I'm jealous that my m&d get to see baby UJ this weekend at my grandparents house.
-I want to start shopping for Christmas presents for my family.
-I'm nervous about the happenings going on this weekend (Friday the 13th and all.)
-The Real Housewives of Orange County are so funny...are you kidding me Lynne? You do not need a face lift.
-I have found my love again: the elliptical. This time we are going to stay together.
-My room is getting barer and barer (is that a word?) with my stuff starting to go into boxes waiting to go into Chad's house (in 6 mo. my house.)
-In six months from Sunday, I'll be a wife.

links: wedding edition

source: erin hearts court

I'm suffering from severe Wedding Brain right now. Here's what I'm thinking about:
01. This sweet proposal. So romantic.

02. Kinda want to give this book to my bridesmaids.

03. Fashionable flowers.

04. What am I going to do with all those glass jars I'm collecting for vases?

05. I want to plan the ultimate Christian wedding. {8. You hold a bachelor party but call it a “guys that love Jesus golfing together party” = +3 points...15. You receive a, “As for me and my house” plaque for a wedding gift = +1 point for each}

My "Wedding Brain" will next be bringing you invitations and wedding hair ideas

5.15: my dress.

Since C reads my blog daily, I'm not going to show you the whole dress {even though it's fabulous!}, but I'll give you a little sneak peek of my dress:

It's white. It's satin. It's got a train.

Now all I have to think about is accessories:
Veil or no veil? I've always thought of wearing a headband, but when I tried on my dress again, the saleswoman put one on me and I thought it looked pretty good.
What necklace should I wear? Chad's mother has an old glass-cut necklace that belonged to his grandmother that I think would look beautiful.
What shoes should I wear? It's definitely going to be flats and hopefully I can find some dark pink ones!

I'll have to answer these questions when I try the dress on again over Thanksgiving break...

{sunny days}

In case you didn't know, our beloved Sesame Street is 40 years old on Tuesday! Like every other American child for the past 40 years, I grew up watching SS as a preschooler. While writing this post, I went to YouTube in order to find some of my favorite clips:


{"C is for cookie, that's good enough for me"}
This song still sometimes creeps into my head.


{"To serve you is my only pleasure, sir."}
This one's dedicated to my mom-Grover is her favorite.


{Dad, watch this one. It's the spoof of Mad Men-hilarious. "This makes me mad, very, very mad...MAD MEN!"}


{I know I've already posted this one, but factory clips just fascinate me.}


{From the fabulous 'Oinker Sisters'.}

As I've gotten older, I've realized how clever these writers were. When I was a child, I never saw the connection between the current events and celebrities, as I do now. I don't know how I would do it, but I want to show my future students some Sesame Street clips. Do yourself a favor and be a child again for half an hour. Find your favorite Sesame Street clip and enjoy.

Feel free to tell me who your favorite character was/your favorite clip was in the comments-I'd love to know!

More Sesame Street love: here and here

vow to write.

source

Recently, I've discovered something: if I don't write something down, I'll forget it.
This might be due to the information overload that I'm recieving from all areas in my life (homework, wedding ideas, work). So I'm vowing to write it down. Someone tells me a good way to have candles burn longer-I'm writing it down. Someone tells me a Christmas gift wish-I'm writing it down. I see a lesson done at the daycare center-I'm writing it down.

So, now what? I have a couple notebooks taking up space in my backpack but I don't have a consistent way of gathering all the notes and lists that I write down. I have one small notebook in my purse that I carry with me, but I have random lists and snippets of information on every page. There's just no flow of thought.

Any advice? Is this something common that other people suffering from information overload think? What way do you keep everything organized?

Do share if you'd like.

P.S. I've updated my blog a little bit. Instead of having all the blogs I read out on the main page, I've put them all under Simple Blogroll. I've added new blogs to read so check it out.
(Also, it's rare for me to post this much in one week, but Chad's at seminars all week so I have to find some way to pass the time!)

This month, I am looking forward to:

-completing numerous projects due in the next few weeks, and with that
-thanksgiving break {2 whole days!}
-seeing L, E, and UJammer in 4 weeks {his 1st thanksgiving}
-completing more wedding tasks
-another pumpkin spiced latte
-curling up with my loved one
-seeing the trees in their barest form
-more football. our favorite Sunday afternoon pasttime.
-the anticipation of Christmas. the lists. the wishes. the traditions. the togetherness.

being thankful.

5.15: the chosen one.

Last week, Laura tried on the bridesmaid dress that will be the one! I'm so relieved that this decision has been made. The dresses will be ordered later this month and then will arrive late January/early February. As, I've mentioned earlier, our colors are dark charcoal, dark pink and orange, so I am overjoyed that the dresses are the color I had in mind
{see below}:

{The band/sash will be the same color as the dress.}

And while Laura was trying on dress after dress, I was able to snap pictures of cutie UJ...