Another chapter of my life has come to a close

Well, as of 5:30pm today, I no longer reside at 303 Smith St, Apt 421. That's right, folks...I turned in my keys.

Mr Jones, my parents, and I moved the rest of the big items last Friday. It was a little bittersweet closing and locking the door for the last time. Don't get me wrong, I won't miss the apartment for one split second, but this was my apartment...no one else's. I supported myself. I proved to myself that I could do it, that I didn't need help. But, it's time to look forward to the future...to my life as Mrs. Jones.

Goodbye screen door that never closed properly and let the bees in. Goodbye closet door that always came off the track (and drove me crazy). Goodbye outdated dishwasher from 1973. Goodbye Apt 421.

Paper Lanterns = LOVE

I love paper lanterns. There's just something magical about them. They create a romantic, intimate atmosphere...exactly what I want for my reception. Paper lanterns are so basic and simple, yet they are just so...perfect. What's not to love about them?!

I haven't decided if I want to hang them in a big group or spread out over the dance floor. Opinions?

Fun Day Friday - More Engagement Pictures

Because Mr Jones is a budding photographer and has a preferred photo lab, our wonderful photographer sent us the DVD of our engagement pictures to print ourselves. It took a little while, but I have all of our pictures now...and there are so many I *love*.

*** Warning: LOTS of pictures! ***












And my favorite...it's so us. Love him.

Fun Day Friday - Wedding Dress Edition

So I have my first dress fitting this afternoon. Kind of excited. Kind of nervous. What if I gained weight and I can't get the dress on? Having to stuff myself into my wedding dress is not going to help the self-esteem. Jut sayin'...

I don't want my dress to look like this on my wedding day:


P.S. That's not my dress...nor is it me. Just a picture that came up in a Google search...

Wednesday's Wedding Deal

I was browsing over at The Fussy Designer's blog and came across the cutest damask envelope wrap labels! You can find the full set of labels here. All you need to do is type your information into the template, print the labels on some full pages of STICKY paper, cut them out, and WRAP! A simple and oh so elegant way to dress up your invitations.

I think I love the brown one for my invitations...

My (baby) brother, the cop!

This past Monday, my brother was sworn in as a police officer. He has been pursuing this dream for close to 7 years and, now, his hard work has finally paid off!! Words can't describe how proud we are of him. He never gave up despite some setbacks...and look where it got him. :)

Pictures are courtesy of my sis-in-law.

Signing the paperwork


Look...he's official!


And can't forget Lexi...I'm sure she's proud of her daddy!

Blog Awards for Me!

I was feeling the blog love this week...I got two awards. Yay! :)


My new blog buddy over at If I could only find the words... gifted me with the Superior Scribbler Award...how fun!

1. Each Superior Scribbler (SS) must pass the award on to 5 most-deserving blog buds.

2. Each SS must link to the author and name of blog from whom he/she has received the award.

3. Each SS must display the award on his/her blog and link to this post which fully explains the award.
4. Each blogger who wins, must visit this post and add their name to the Mr. Linky list at the Scholastic-Scribe's blog so we can keep track of all who wins this prestigious award!

5. Each SS must post these rules on their blog.

I pass this award onto:
Ellie @ Wedding for Two
Eve @ Oh My Word!
Chanda @ Other Everyday Stuff
Shanny Shan @ Life After I "Dew"
Sweet Tea Diaries

I enjoy reading all of these ladies' blogs. They have a wonderful way of writing and always keep me smiling!

And then, one of my favorite bloggers, Jules over at Chic & Pink gifted me with the Splash Award. The Splash Award is given to alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive, and inspiring blogs. When you receive this award, you must:

• Put the logo on your blog/post.
• Nominate & link up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress, or inspire you.
• Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog.
• Remember to link to the person from whom you received your Splash Award.

I pass this award on to:
Katie @ Loves of Life
Summer @ B is for Brown
Erica @ 7.25.09 WED
Lyryn @ Breaking Through
Jess @ Living on Sweet Tea
Ashley @ Pink-ture Perfect
Sony @ Bridal Bliss
Ashley @ Bride on a Budget
Heather @ Live.Love.Laugh

These blogs are some of my absolute favorites to read...definitely ones to check out!

3 Months...and Counting

Today = 3 months until the wedding!! Eeeeeeek! If the next 3 months go as quickly as the last 3 (since we got engaged), I'm going to be walking down the aisle in about 5 minutes.

Mr Jones and I are going up to my grandparent's lakehouse for the weekend with my family and SIL's parents. It'll be nice to relax a bit and maybe (maybe!) not worry about the wedding.

All About Us - a love survey

I got this survey from Heather at Live.Love.Laugh. I love her blog - you should definitely head over and show her some love!

♥ What are your middle names?

Mine - Kay
His - Curtis

♥ How long have you been together?
3 years (as of yesterday!)

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Ummm...a couple weeks?

♥ Who asked whom out?
He asked me out. We were chatting on IM and he said he was going rollerblading at Clio Park (the city where I was living) and asked if I wanted to come along.

♥ How old are each of you?
Me - 29
Him - 28
I'm robbing the cradle - haha!

♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most?
Definitely my brother and sis-in-law. We very rarely see his brother.

♥ Do you have any children together?
Nope - not yet!

♥ What about pets?
My kitties - Sammy and Bo. Thankfully, Mr Jones likes animals. :)

♥ Did you go to the same school?
Nope - we grew up in different cities and went to different colleges.

♥ Are you from the same home town?
See above. :) We grew up about 30 miles apart from each other.

♥ Who is the smartest?
He would probably say me because I'm more "book smart". When it comes to computers though, he's the "Wizard" (as nicknamed from his Geek Squad years).

♥ Who is more sensitive?
This is kind of an obvious answer - me. After working at Best Buy (Geek Squad) for 6.5 years, he learned to not let things bother him.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
We love Mexican! There is a small, family-run restaurant nearby called Puerto Vallarta - definitely a favorite. We also like to hit up the Ruby Tuesday salad bar (warm croutons = love).

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
San Diego, CA. Come November, the furthest will be Playa Mujeres, Mexico. :) :)

♥ Who has the craziest exes?
Oy - definitely him. His ex is a total piece of work.

♥ Who has the worst temper?
Definitely me. He doesn't get mad very often.

♥ Who does the cooking?
Poor Mr Jones. I don't cook. At all. Thankfully, he loves to cook - and I let him. Why ruin a good thing? Haha!

♥ Who is more social?
Moi - I love people. Mr is a bit more reserved until he gets to know you.

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Both of us like to be organized - we hate clutter. Neither of us likes to clean though.

♥ Who is more stubborn?
Realistically, it's probably equal, but I usually win because he gives in eventually. I guess that means I'm more stubborn, huh?

♥ Who hogs the bed?
Neither of us - we share peacefully. :)

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Weekdays: It depends on the day and what time Mr needs to work. If he works at 7, he gets up before me. If he works the later shifts, I get up first.
Weekends: Always me - usually by an hour or more.

♥ Where was your first date?
Clio Park

♥ Who has the bigger family?
Definitely him. He is related to everyone (it seems like) in his hometown. His grandpa is one of 12 kids and his mom is one of 4 (all of which have families/kids).

♥ Do you get flowers often?
Not too often - Mr thinks they are silly because they just die. He prefers to buy me something that will last.

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
Thanksgiving - Usually his mom's house, but we try to trade off every year.
Christmas Eve/Christmas - We always work out a schedule to spend time with both families (i.e. Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas with his mom...or vice versa).

♥ Who is more jealous?
Neither one of us is particularly jealous, but I guess I would say me simply because I'm a girl and girls turn into green-eyed monsters every once in a while.

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
Oh, a week or so. Haha! Honestly, I would say a month or less.

♥ Who eats more?
Usually him, but it depends on the day - and how hungry I am!

♥ Who does/did the laundry?
Both of us - but I fold the shirts because he can't do it to save his life.

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Definitely him - he has a computer information systems degree and works as a Network Admin. I know how to use one and that's about it.

♥ Who drives when you are together?
Always him - unless he's physically unable (i.e. after his eye surgery).

Wednesday's Wedding Deal

Lucky for me, my reception venue provides a lot of the necessary linens (tablecloths and napkins); however, a lot of brides don't have this luxury and have to stress over where to find discounted linens so as to stay within the *gulp* budget. Thankfully, there are websites such as Table Linens for Less that offer awesome deals. I mean, can you beat $0.83 per napkin?? They have a lot of great deals so shop away, my fellow Brides-to-be!

Isn't this table setting gorgeous?? I am in love...I wish it was my table setting, but I'm not that lucky. Haha!