PICTURES!!!!

Our Engagement pictures are posted! Cassie put them up on her blog today and we are THRILLED with them!! She said she will be sending me a disc of 200 edited photos. So the slideshow is still another sneak peak of more to come :)

We are so lucky......

Also, the bridesmaid dresses came in and the espresso color is PERFECT. I was a little nervous because we picked out the shade by going off a color swatch the size of my thumb nail. They really looked nice on the girls.....phew

And finally, we booked our cake lady today. We had another place in mind for the cake, but decided to check this lady out first and loved what she offered. So the fun part is next....picking out the cake and filling flavors...mmm......

I feel like things are coming together (well...they kinda have to at this point) and it's making us EXCITED!!! June 20th will be here before we know it.

Engagement Shoot

So yesterday we spent the entire afternoon/evening downtown Chicago with our wonderful photographer Cassie. Preparation started Saturday when Ryan and I went shopping for the perfect wardrobe. We packed a bag in the morning of numerous outfits we wanted to change into throughout the shoot (plus other essentials I thought we would need...like umbrella, make-up, and mirror to check the hair) but we were extremely LUCKY! The weather was perfect....and we had the best lighting, both during the afternoon and along the shore when the sun was setting. We spent 5 hours walking around Chicago looking for those creative/perfect spots.

We did experience a "minor" set back....as Ryan would call it....when I told him it was time to change his outfit. When he tossed me his jeans to put into the bag, he had stepped in something black and gooey...which got ALL over me...and somehow continued to spread as the day went on. We were looking for a place I could clean up and ended up in the first place we found.....a 7-eleven. I washed my hands in a sink that was rAnDoMlY placed in the middle of the store....and Cassie snuck me a wash cloth she had found?/...haha...I got as much cleaned off as I could and Cassie said if any of it would show in the pictures she'll just photoshop it out. She was just more worried about my clothes being ruined.

In the end, the day turned out positive for everyone:

- We drove to Westmont and hopped on the Metra...... on the way into the city we never got asked for our tickets....so we were ridin' dirty!

- Cassie parked across from Union Station in a lot that said $6.00 for 2 hours....She parked at 3:30 p.m. and her ticket said she had to be out by mid-night....sweet!

- The weather was absolutely perfect and no umbrella -ella -ella was needed....

- I got to spend the whole day with the love of my life and the best photographer around!

- We didn't expect to get pictures by the OCEAN when we planned this photoshoot in Illinois.....(kinda had to be there for that one!)

- AND....the homeless guy that received $2.00 from Ryan....he had a great day! :)

OH and how awesome is our photographer.....she drove 1 1/2 hours to take pictures of us ALL day, then drove another 1 1/2 hours back home....probably got home around 10- 10:30 p.m. and still stayed up to put the pictures on her computer and post some on her blog EARLY this morning! Check them out.... www.cassieschottphotography.blogspot.com I'm loving what I'm seeing so far!

THANKS SO MUCH CASSIE! Can't wait to see the rest!

beauty is pain

why is it that no matter how painful heels or pumps can be, women still wear them? ...well I fall in that category! I just started working at Family Video, where I have to stand my whole shift. I have some very cute outfits that I want to wear to work, but need the PERFECT shoe to add some height and flare.....this is when I scrounge through my collection (...and by collection I mean an abundance of footwear) Then...like when a pirate is searching for gold and he opens up the treasure box, to find a luminous glow.....I find the perfect/flawless shoe (or so I think!)

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

OUCH......OUCH......OUCH

but....CUTE/CUTE/CUTE

The past couple of days at work...I count down the minutes until I get to go home and allow my feet to relax....

at least i'm looking good....

Birthday

Last thursday I tured 23...Can't believe I'm that old! My family took me out for a nice supper at Bernardi's. They wanted to surprise me, so before we left the house they blindfolded me with a scarf and walked me to the van.

I opened presents after we ate and got some very nice gifts. Elizabeth gave me a shirt and underwear. Grace gave me a ring and underwear. I also got another black shirt from Maurice's (very cute) and the third book of Twilight. I still have only read the first one, but I am very anxious to read the rest.

Then we went home for some cookie cake!! Yummy.....

I had a great night :)

scrap or sleep?

Theresa and I went to an overnight scrapbooking extravaganza from fri (20) - sun (22). Theresa started scrapbooking with me when I was a freshman in HS. I love getting together with her to get more pages done. The overnight crops are the best! We rent a hotel room and scrap for 3 days straight. This past weekend we would get to bed around 12-1 a.m. and start again the next morning around 7 a.m. We always have such a great time together. I think we laugh more than we crop, but that's the best part :)

my love

Ryan and I both had Sunday (15th) off work, so this was our day to celebrate the holiday. We had set up a time to register for our wedding at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. We met with Melissa, the consultant, at 2 p.m. This was the first store we registered at and we were very anxious to play with the tag gun. She first sat us down and went over all of the features BB&B has to offer, then sent us out into the jungle of kitchen and home appliances......

We had numerous lists of things we needed....+ things in our head we wanted...... :)

Ryan in the knife section.....We had scanned a knife block, but wanted a bigger/nicer knife for all of those Rachel Ray meals we will be making.....ha

the $100 pillow Ryan wanted to scan...."put your head there and act like you are sleeping...just do it!" he told me....so yes I did it....the pillow was nice, but I had to put my foot down....it was 100 DOLLARS!

Yay!!! This is the bedding we chose....I'm such a copy cat...I scanned everything from the display...even down to the zebra throw.....I LOVE IT! So, I think we are going with grays, blacks, and reds in the bedroom.....very seductive....

We started in the kitchen appliances and ended in the bath and bedding section of the store....So by the time we starting choosing bath towels, Ryan was a little antsy and hungry as you can tell.

Our next stop was Chili's for supper.

it was great to spend all Sunday with my love

A little late...

On Valentine's Day Ryan had to work, so I spent the night with my sisters. We ate supper at Delong's and came home to watch the sappy "A Walk to Remember." (I cry everytime...) We sported the red's and pink's that night! ♥

Sisters

♥Yummy deep fried pickles......

Delong's was pretty crowded that night and we ended up sitting at a table for two and Grace sat on the window sill. It was more like a padded bench in the window, but her tiny hieny fit perfect♥

When we were watching the movie we heard a knock at the door. We ran to see who was there and our brother Rhys had made us a heart shaped pizza at work and had it delivered for his sisters♥ (Too bad we had already eaten....but it's the thought that counts!)

After posting this picture, I just realized it was half sausage and half cheese......♥.......