Fall Themed Bridal Shower

On Sunday, October 23rd, we had our first bridal shower!  My mom (MOB), MOH Sister and Bridesmaid L hosted the event at my dad's Masonic Lodge in Michigan City.

Mr. Ball Cap and I arrived a little early and I was greeted with a huge surprise!  My Aunt from South Carolina (and Uncle) had surprised everyone and drove up the day before.  It was so good to see them!  We were blessed enough to have guests travel from all over including Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania.  I couldn't thank these people enough for the effort they made to be there with us!

There were two games played during the shower:  What's in Your Purse and Bridal Bingo.  For the first game, my mom asked about random items that may be found in your purse (a bobby pin, toilet paper, screwdriver!) and you received points based upon the items you had.  Most points wins.  My one Aunt had a wrench in her purse for some reason!  Bridal Bingo was played while we opened our gifts.  Everyone filled out their own bingo sheet with gifts they thought we would receive that day.  Mr. Ball Cap and I were lucky enough to receive a little prize every time someone else won a game or yelled Bingo!

So enough with the details - you want to see pictures right?!

The shower was fall themed and each table had its own pumpkin as a centerpiece.  Bridesmaid K's mom wiped down the pumpkins with cooking oil to shine them up!

Hair on Trial

Yesterday was our first bridal shower so I thought it would be the perfect time to have a hair trial.  Not only would I be testing out a wedding day look, but my hair would look great for the shower!

Mr. Ball Cap's cousin, L, has been doing my hair since I moved to Dyer.  She recently had a baby and now works out of her home.  I take every chance I can to get over there for a baby fix!

At my last appointment with her, I gave her a print out of looks I had found online.  I was drawn to a similar style over and over again.

Image via TheKnot.com

Stamp Price Hike

On Tuesday, October 18th, the U.S. Postal Service announced that on January 22, 2012, the cost of a first-class mail postage stamp would increase from 44 cents to 45 cents.  Now while a one penny increase may not seem a lot, when you are mailing hundreds of STD's, wedding invitations, and thank you cards, it could have an impact.

When I created my wedding invites, I knew from the start that my postage would be more expensive due to the 6 x 6 size I chose.  Mailing a square envelope costs more.  What I didn't think about was that the gorgeous card stock we used was a little heavier than most invitations.  Put those two together and you have one heavy and oddly sized invite.

When I took an invite in for a preliminary weigh-in, the postman had a yikes look on his face when he saw how much it would be.  I honestly think he was scared to tell me!  I told him I knew it would be pricey due to the size but I was not expecting over $1.00 a piece!  Thankfully I have saved a ton of money in other areas of the wedding so this isn't going to hurt aour budget, but I still don't like the idea of having to pay that much either!  Oh the price of fabulous invites.

I can't wait to share the finished product with you all!  They should be on their merry way on Monday.

The Ideal Me

Preface:  This is a wordy post but please hang in there with me if you can!  I'm in no way offering any medical advice or promoting or advocating any weight loss program.  This is simply my experience. 

I've been debating writing this post but I want to be open and honest with my fellow bees.

It is no secret that I am a plus-sized gal.  I've struggled with my weight most of my life.  My weight gain really started my freshman year of high school.  Having the freedom to buy whatever I wanted for lunch and the fact that I no longer played sports (I was a cheerleader, played volleyball, softball and was a dancer in grade school) was a dangerous mix that resulted in way too many calories consumed and hardly any being burned. 

I was still under 200 pounds when I started college, but each year, more and more weight was added.  I went to school full time and worked a part time job and left no time to take care of myself.  My senior year, I lived in an apartment with three other girls.  One of those girls, D, was super into eating healthy and exercising.  We started working out together (Tae Bo!) and soon enough, I had lost some weight and really toned up.  I was so happy the day I could make it through the entire tape without stopping for a break!

Three, Two, One . . . Happy New Year!

If you remember way back in one of my earlier posts, I had found some New Year's Eve inspiration in the form of a clock.

Image via Miller + Miller

MOB came through and found the perfect clock for me to attempt my own DIY project.  The Walmart clock was a great find and will look so nice hanging in our home after the wedding.

90210 - Zip Code Woes

I miss this show, don't you?  And not the re-make either, although I haven't watched it so I don't have much of an opinion on it.  I miss Brenda, Brandon, Dylan, Kelly, Donna, David, Andrea and even Steve. 

Image via Tatertotsandjello.com

But this post really has nothing to do with that famous zip code and instead deals with my own zip code issues.

Circle of Love

Six to five months before our engagement, Mr. Ball Cap and I decided we should probably visit a jewelry store to educate ourselves about engagement rings and the styles we liked.  We knew our first stop had to be Albert's Diamond Jewelers.

Albert's has been in business serving Northwest Indiana for over 100 years.  Also, their local commercials crack us up!  As soon as you walk in the door, they make you feel right at home and you aren't pressured or hounded to buy.  Our consultant, Emery, was awesome.  I gave him an idea of what I liked and didn't like in rings and he was great at steering us towards different styles based on our reactions to what he showed us.

My only firm criteria was that I wanted silver vs. gold and I disliked heart-shaped diamonds.  I tended to favor a little more vintage look and didn't want a super thin band.  I got to try on a lot of different styles and I was surprised at how opinionated Mr. BC was about things! 

After we left, we both felt there was no need to visit anywhere else.  I told Mr. Ball Cap he was on his own from here on out and I wanted the final choice to be all his.

Ladies, he couldn't have done a better job!

That 70's Wedding

Miss Fox and I were recently on the same wavelength.  She wrote this post about her parent's wedding photos and as I read it, I had my parent's wedding album spread out on the living room floor!

I was going through their wedding pictures trying to decide if I was going to use them in any way on our day.  I've looked at their wedding photos many many times over the years, but I had completely forgotten an element of their wedding hits close to home as my life as a Bee.