i was so excited to get my wedding pictures back from our photographer, shelley, a few weeks back. unfortunately, though, i have also been swaaaaaamped with work and haven't even had a chance to really look through them and/or post them here or on facebook. things at work haven't slowed down a single bit, but i did make time tonight to really look at them and i just had to share a couple of my favorites from before the ceremony...enjoy! :) **disclaimer: i have sooo many more favorites, i just can't show them all because i'm using some for some gifts for friends and family. i'll post more soon!
our "first look." lol.
this just cracks me up. christi, the girl with the disgusted look on her face, is michael's sister and couldn't bear giving him a kiss. haha.
"cheers" with our best friends.
he's stupid good-looking. i am waaaaay too lucky. ;)
with my sister.
best looking bridal party. ever.
our rings :)
my bouquet (which was perfect and rustic and gorgeous). the tie around it is my mimi's (my dad's mom) garter that she wore when she married my papa 65 years ago. such a sweet "something blue" for my big day.
of the best day of my life. i know, so cliche, but sometimes, just because something is trite, doesn't make it any less true. in short, everything was perfect, and michael and i were surrounded by the ones we love and we celebrated, and laughed, and danced, and had the happiest of times. more coming soon, but until then....
i really can't explain why or how i'm feeling so calm right now. wedding weekend is upon me and i am feeling pretty great. of course, i've had a few meltdowns hiccups over the last 24 hours, but over all, i've been pretty good. in all honesty, i'm really hoping i haven't just been internalizing all of the typical wedding stress causing a faux-calm, only to have a total breakdown at a really crucial moment. fingers crossed that doesn't go down! my anxiety level (which has been known to totally max out) has been hovering somewhere between nonexistent and barely there, which likely because of this guy...
truth is, until about two or three weeks ago, the fact that we're getting married really hadn't sunken in. i still felt like i was planning some event that was in the far distant future or for some other person or something. weird, i know. over the last couple of weeks, though, reality has started to set in, and i couldn't be happier. i love a man who is compassionate, loving and understanding; someone who puts me in my place when i need it (which, lets be serious...that happens more often than not), and challenges me to be the best person i can possibly be. he also drives me absolutely insane. i think the funniest part of all of this, is that he thinks he's the lucky one.
HO-LY crap, y'all! we're officially 40 days out from our wedding. seriously, WHERE did the time go?? luckily, i feel like i'm pretty on top of everything on my checklist...venues-check! bridesmaid dresses-check! table linens-check! centerpieces-half check! groom-check! and that last one--the groom--is the most important part. i think that sometimes, brides get so caught up in all the little details, they totally neglect the most important part of the big day, the person they're promising to spend their life with. now, i know i'm not perfect (i know, shocker!) but i do know that i constantly try to give michael love and attention whenever i can. i want to make sure that he knows that he is the one that is most important to me; not some silly centerpiece or catering decision. so, bridezillas ladies, let's take some time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. contrary to popular belief, the apocalypse will not begin if every little detail on your wedding day is not perfect. that's life, honey! now that i'm off of my little soap box (you think i've been dealing with enough brides lately, or what? lol), i can catch you up on what's been going on in my life. here's the stats: 2: the number of attempts at bridal portraits i had to do. i truly have the worst luck with weather. my amazing photographer, shelley (you can find more about her here), was able to meet with me yesterday when the weather finally decided to cooperate. i can't wait to see the photos! she always does an awesome job. 13: the number of days until my bridal shower! amy, my oldest, sweetest, best friend, and her cute mom, nancy, are throwing me a bridal shower in dallas on feb. 17. they are such dolls! i'm so excited to get to have my close friends and family together to celebrate me and mikey-poo getting married! (the gifts won't be half bad, either. ;) ) but seriously, i am so so blessed to have a friend like amy. it's few, and far between, when you find a friend who you not only remain friends with, but manage to not screw each other over at some point during that friendship. love her! 19: the number, so far, of wedding related events we have booked at rooftop. eeeeeek! i'm so excited, i could just die! seriously, i am so grateful for the positive response that the venue has received so far. it's just amazing! 55: the number of "yes" RSVPs we've received! yippie! and to everyone reading this who has not RSVPd...you BETTER! 32,165,498,413: the number of times i've listened to this song in the past week. can't. get. enough! (and yes, erica, i'm aware that i'm on a total mackelmore band wagon because this is the only song i know by him. sue me. lol.)
you guys! i don't even know where to start! as some of you know--and you may have to think reeeeeeeeaaaaaal hard since it's been a lifetime since i've been a "good blogger"-- mikey-poo and i went and got our engagement pictures done a couple of weeks ago. our amazing photographer, shelley walker, met with us on a day that was a) fighting off rain, b) colder than a usual september day, and c) coincidentally had perfect lighting (thanks to the almost-rain). shelley went to high school with michael and me (she is two years older than us) and has done several wedding/bridal/engagement shoots for my friends. long story short--she. is. awesome! mike was a champ and we seemed to get the shoot done pretty quickly. we were out at shelley's aunt and uncle's house where they have the most gorgeous land. there was an old barn, tractor, small pond, hay bales and more...basically everything to make a perfect rustic-type photo shoot a success! here's a couple of my personal favorites (complete with super-sappy-but-totally-true love quotes that i can't get enough of)! :)
on the way to the shoot. mike was clearly pumped about it. lol.
"he's more myself than i am. whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." -emily bronte
"anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly." -rose franken
"in all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. in all the world, there is no love for you like mine." -maya angelou
shelley- thank you so much for doing such an amazing job on our photos! you are wonderful and they turned out perfect!!
good news, everyone. i reached a milestone in my wedding planning this weekend. i found THE dress! :)
saturday afternoon, my mom, sister, amy, and michael's sister, christi, loaded up and headed out to find my wedding dress. i had looked online at david's bridal and found several dresses that i knew i wanted to try on, so we went there first. amy said it best when i gave her "the plan." "it's really big, so it will give you a lot of options. and if we get there and it's too overwhelming, we'll bounce and go somewhere else."
we arrived at david's bridal, checked in, and let the madness ensue. alicia, our trusty consultant, did an awesome job. she was so helpful and way on top of her game. she knew those dresses! after trying on several (read: TONS) of dresses, christi and amy started looking around to dresses they thought i'd like. christi ended up finding the winner!
of course, i won't post a photo of the actual dress, but i can tell you this...it's lovely. it's vintage looking and classic and wonderful. :)
here's a sneak peak of some other ones that were front-runners but ended up not making the cut.
i had to crop my head out of this one...i had one
gnarly facial expression going on. lol.
also, fear not. my work-out regimen begins today! fyi: "work-out regimen" is simply my way of saying "stop-eating-like-a-little-piggy-and-try-and-get-some-kind-of-physical-activity-in-each-day." people are only going to believe that my armpit fat is an extension of my overly-humongous boobs for so long. and i can't do the "hand on my hip" pose in every picture on my wedding day. in short, it's gotta go!
hope you all have the happiest week! and wish me luck on this torturous new adventure to work out more. y'all know how i feel about working out. womp!
want to know what a typical night at the rouse-lee household is like? look no further. feast your eyes on this little jewel and take a look at just one of the reasons I love our little life together so much. mike's just relaxing, playing his mlb game; benny boy is sleeping soundly (as usual); and I'm just hangin' out watching a little tv. there's something so nice about the comfort of our sweet little life. i love it :)
okay, okay, okay. before you start scolding me for being, like, the worst. blogger. ever. i have to make excuses tell you--i'm just so damn busy! while i'm still obsessed with blogging, i'm really struggling with making time to do it. i mean, even as i write this, i'm juggling client emails and setting up appointments for later this week!
so anyway, fourth of july was great! michael and i headed down to mt. vernon on tuesday afternoon. on the way, we stopped in charelston and visited my aunt anna and uncle shayne, which is always a good time. we talked weddings and new apartments and old times and laughed and laughed and laughed. i always enjoy getting to spend time with them! they also got to meet benny-boy, which i know they were extremely grateful. :)
we then headed into mt. vernon, where we went and visited with michael's dad, scott, and his sister, christi, and her son, rylan. he is such a chunk and the cutest little thing everrrrr! my sister also was in town, so we (me, bec, mike, and christi) went and ate at the best place in mt. vernon. it was, of course, fabulous. after dinner we headed to anna's mt. vernon house to spend the night. christi headed home later on and mike, bec, and me popped some fire works. (illegally...oops!)
the next day, we got our things together and headed out to heaven amy's house. :) we spent our fourth of july getting funky on bunky by eating tons of delicious food, enjoying some ice-cold brewskis, and getting our tan on. not a bad way to celebrate freedom. :)
hangin' out at anna and shayne's house. not sure what's up with that scowl on mikey's face, though.
mike with his sparkler (i made him buy these.) he's so nice to me. :)
always love my sister time!
becca, me and amy. again, always love my sister time. :)
the following videos are of our rebellious firework-popping activity. we thought it was pretty funny. the first one scared the crap out of us because we didn't know what it was going to do. on the second one, mike assured us that "it wouldn't be that loud" because we were worried about being in the city limits. riiiiiiight.
so, if you'll remember, i talked about this super cool flip book booth that our friends--justin and ashley--had at their wedding. if you don't remember this, you can read about it here.
anyway, i got the best text EVER earlier from ashley. she sent me mine and mikey's video that we made in order to make our flip book at their wedding! so at the wedding, we were recorded for 7 seconds and then the guys from flip pics printed out the frames and made it into a little flip book for us. so. cool! i posted the video below and though i'm probably a liiiiiiiiiiittle bit biased, i have to say i think it's just the cutest thing ever!
in other news, my baby brother, christian, posted the most amazing pictures on his facebook, and i just had to share some of them with you. a little bit about my brother:
he's 20 years old.
he's a navy hospital corpsman for the marines.
he's been based in twentynine palms, ca.
currently, he's deployed in afghanistan, and got to celebrate his 20th birthday (on june 11) over there.
he and i have been keeping up with each other via email and facebook since he left back in march. he's very positive and just such a sweetheart. he told my mom (who in turn told me, which is just like him telling me, right?) that for his birthday gift, his commanding officer gave him the american flag that had been hanging over their base in afghanistan. what an amazing honor! i'm just so proud of my brother. he's found something that he's very good at (medical-type stuff) and is using it to truly better the world. he goes out each day with his marines knowing that he could possibly have to save their lives at some point. the coolest part about it? if something bad did happen to one of them, he has the knowledge to actually do it. i know that heroes come in all shapes, sizes and walks of life. to me, 'hero' equals my baby brother, christian.
here's some of the pictures he's put up since he's been deployed (some from his birthday, some not).
that's him on the front row, second from the right end.
silly boy. i think this was for his birthday party?
receiving the flag from his commanding officer.
christian with his flag.
with the afghani locals.
i love this picture.
in the camp.
another birthday shot.
out on patrol.
my other favorite photo. with some of the afghani children.
is it just me, or do the giant guns and weapons in these photos kind of freak you out, too? i don't think i'll ever get used to seeing my baby brother holding them, especially like it's no big deal. can you imagine walking outside your house and people are just walking around with giant guns?? i can't. i'm so grateful to live in america.
christian- i love and miss you! and like i said before you left, if you don't come home safely, i'll kill you.
saturday, michael and i, along with several of our close friends from high school, got to attend our friends--justin and ashley's--wedding. for those of you who don't know, justin, michael and i, all grew up together. as a matter of fact, justin and michael have been friends ever since they were born, as their dads were both state troopers and partners. fast forward to college when justin met ashley. they began dating and were pretty much inseparable after that. that's how i met and got to know her, and we've become better friends since michael and i started dating again. she is the sweetest person, so i can totally see how justin fell for her. she also has impeccable taste when it comes to event decor.
it was the most beautiful wedding. i spoke to ashley about a week or so before the big day and asked how it was going (aka: have you got totally nuts yet?). the one thing she told me that stuck out was 'well, let's see if my pinterest dreams come true.' i can totally relate because i have been getting pretty pin happy here lately.
well, ashley, i don't know if your pinterest dreams came true, but mine did. the wedding was the sweetest, most adorable, thing. every last detail was very rustic and vintage and wonderful and romantic and just lovely. unfortunately, i was having too good of a time and totally spaced on taking pictures of all the decor. what's wrong with me?!
they had the coolest thing at their reception, too! i've been to many parties/wedding receptions/events where there's a photo booth. justin and ashley had a photo booth by flip pics that created a flip book for you! you got in front of the camera (with whatever props you'd like) and it recorded you for 7 seconds. then, it immediately printed out all the stills and the staff working the booth would staple them together into a book. their website explains it best..."think back to the days when you began doodling on the side of your notebook. one page of a ball bouncing...the next of the ball slightly lower on the page...then hitting the ground...the next page bouncing a little higher. this went on for a while until you flipped the pages back and watched the ball bounce up and down via animation." it was the coolest party favor i've seen. well done, justin and ashley!
it was so good catching up with several friends i hadn't seen in so long, and getting to celebrate with justin and ashley. me and michael even hit the dance floor a few times. let me just tell you, there is absolutely nothing better than a man who can dance...and the real kind of dancing. the kind where you get to hold each other and your feet barely touch the ground and it makes you feel like you're the only people in the room...not that crap where the guy just holds on to a girl's hips while she grinds her ass on their crotch. womp!
anyway, here's a couple of highlights from our night on saturday. we had a blast!
