the perfect day

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. 

more to come, lovelies!

day 10: well this is embarrassing...

let me preface this oh, so embarrassing story with the fact that i pretty much embarrass myself on a daily basis with one thing or another. it seems that i am constantly running into something, falling down, putting my foot in my mouth, etc. and always, always in front of a group of people. because of this, it is extremely hard for me to pinpoint just one of those embarrassing moments for today's blog challenge, but here it goes. 

*sigh*

florence + the machine comes to dallas for a show, and me and two of my girlfriends decide to make it a girls' night out. (read more about the incredible force that is florence here.) as with most girls' nights out, some cocktails were involved at the concert, and throughout the night, i texted photos of the concert to my friends and parents. 

i, in my greatness, decide i wanted to buy a glow headband from this guy selling them because it just seems like the best idea ever. (please keep in mind that the headband will now forever be known as the "glow stick.") 

me, with said glow stick after the concert, but before the most embarrassing thing. ever.

as we're leaving the concert, my friend, erica, snaps a photo of me (above). i think it's cute and decide to i send it to my parents (via group text) and michael. 

we get to the car, and i decide to text michael and let him know that we're on our way home. my friend, erica, is driving, and amy is in the back seat. as i mentioned before, i had had a few drinks, and with amy's encouragement, i think it will be funny to send a little risque text to michael. what's the harm, right? WRONG!

in an effort to do a little play-on-words (because i'm soooooo literary), i make a reference to michael's "glow stick," only to realize that i accidentally entered the text into the group message i have with my parents. 

awesome.

as soon as i realize it, i scream what i've done, erica almost wrecks her car, and amy almost pees her pants laughing. i, on the other hand, am mortified. but guess what! you can't "unsend" a text, and i received the following response. thank goodness my parents have a sense of humor!

wondering why mom mom says "we are getting used to it?" don't worry. this, sadly, is not the first time this has happened. 

moral of the story? glow sticks are overrated, and group text messages are of the devil!

wicked

you guys. my mind is officially blown. 

michael has always told me that wicked is his favorite musical. ever. surprised that michael is even a fan of musicals? you shouldn't be. he was quite the thespian growing up, actually. truth be told, he went to state in one act play NOT one, NOT two, NOT three, but FOUR years in a row! he even had the lead role our senior year! (class of '06--holla!) anyway, he always told me what a great show it was, but i've never had the opportunity to see it. a few months ago, i found out that the broadway show was going on a national tour and would be making a stop in dallas. could it be fate? i think so. to my dismay, though, the tickets practically sold out as soon as they went on sale (at least the ones i could afford). 

earlier this week, my friend, jennifer, text me and said she had an extra ticket to see the show in fair park, and asked if i wanted to join. my answer? ummmm....heck yeah! jennifer's boss has season tickets to the music hall at fair park, and had already seen wicked, so he passed the tickets along to her. and THEN she invited me!!! score!!!!! 

so last night, me, jennifer, her roommate, tara, and tara's mom, all loaded up and headed to fair park. we stopped and enjoyed the quaintest little pizza place--pizza lounge! we got a couple of different personal pizzas and salads (and wine, of course!) and shared. i seriously recommend the hawaiian...it's sweet and savory, with the perfect amount of sauce. also check out the pear and gorgonzola salad. de-lish! i've always been afraid to try gorgonzola cheese because i was afraid i wouldn't like it (have i mentioned that i eat like a 5 year old?), but i was pleasantly surprised. the pears were sweet and delicious and the pear-vinaigrette was top-notch. you will not be disappointed with this place. 

so! we ate dinner and headed to the theatre. tara and her mom made their way to their seats, and jennifer and i headed to our. one word: WOW! we seriously had some of the best seats in the house--8th row, center section. it really doesn't get much better than that. obviously, you aren't allowed to take pictures during the show, but i did sneak a quick pic of the stage prior to the show's start. 

look at that crazy dragon! yikes!

me and jenny-boo before the show started.

you guys, if you ever have the chance to see this show, you have GOT to! i would go into a full synopsis of the plot, but don't want to ruin it for anyone. in a nutshell, wicked is somewhat of a prequel to the wizard of oz. it's the life story of both witches from the story, and explains how "the good witch" and "the wicked witch" became good and wicked. it was phenomenal. 

go see it! you won't regret it!

added bonus? the show featured one of the songs that we sang at chi omega's pref night at tech. PC '06, you know what i'm talkin' about. check it out...

later gators! xoxo

snapshots

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....

with my cousin, alex.

besties from junior high shae & piper

bridesmaid & bff from college, jennifer

with the best stepdad...ever, tray.

with my soul sister, amy

my best friends, natasha and jennifer

calm before the storm

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. 

count down

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.)

happy monday everyone! xoxo

an update--press play first :)

this post is to serve as a forewarning because december is quickly approaching and that means that i will be totally out of commission due to one crazzzzzzy work schedule! rooftop event spot, as of today, has 18 (yikes!) events on the books for december! i'm so excited because it shows that my hard work is paying off, but it also means that i will basically not have a life this holiday season. (*tear!) here's some of what's been going on in my life/what will be going on in the coming weeks!

i can NOT believe i was too lazy forgot to post about the florence + the machine concert i went to a few weeks ago!! my friend, erica, (who shares an obscene obsession with music like me) found pit tickets about two weeks prior to the concert for stupid cheap. we obviously couldn't refuse. erica, my bff amy, and i headed to the concert and had the most amaaaaazing time. i definitely got to cross off one of my concert bucket list items! here's some pics from the concert!

she was like a fairy goddess.

rock star.

me and the girlies!

i had my wedding dress fitting and i just know that everything is going to be perfect! the lady who did my alterations was just awesome and clearly knew her stuff. she was a little asian lady named, men, and was just a tiny little thing. call me immature (i am, sometimes...oops) but i could not stop laughing about how her name was men. no pics for this update--gotta keep the dress a secret for the big day. :)

christmas is coming up waaaaay too quickly and michael and i have only gotten presents for 3 people!! eek! also, if anyone has any cool gift ideas for soon-to-be-husbands, i'm all for recommendations! i will be juggling my events in december as well as finishing my christmas shopping...maybe i should start thanksgiving week....

benny-boy is doing just peachy. he's recovered quite nicely from the hair-cutting debacle and michael took him to the groomers this week to get beautified. he's just so cute. (benny, not mikey....juuuuuust kidding!) :) 

this post is already getting to rambly for me. gotta run!  

if you need me the week of march 17...

you will find me (and mikey) in paradise!

we booked our honeymoon to isla mujeres palace today! we'll leave the day after the wedding and get to spend 5 days in complete relaxation and paradise! i can't wait to celebrate mine and michael's marriage with my love! 

engagement pictures!

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!!

typical.

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 :)

domesticity

for those of you who know me well, and as i've mentioned before, i am not very domestic. even as i write this, sweet michael is preparing our dinner (pork chops, garlic & butter pasta and bread & butter--gotta love being from south).

because you all know how i despise domesticity, you should all be very proud to know that i, rachel rouse, made home made bread last night. and before you ask, no. michael did not help...not even once! i'm pretty proud of myself. sooooo, if you haven't put two and two together yet, the aforementioned bread we're having with dinner is my home made bread. i'm stoked.

one hour to go!

just call me mrs. baird.

by the way, we had to go to wal-mart to buy our bread maker. neat.

 

an overdue 4th of july post

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. 

flip book video and my baby brother

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.