The planning is the most fun.

Apparently, unlike some girls, I had no idea what my wedding would one day look like. Literally, no idea. I have always felt like I wanted for it to be outside, but without any real ties to a particular area (state/ city) or place, I never had a site in mind. Until one fateful evening. J and I took two of our really good friends to an outdoor concert at The Hermitage. We packed up our picnic basket full of treats (dinner), and headed to see the Town Mountain Band. Which, by the way, was really good.

The second we walked on the grounds, I knew. We knew. I'd figure out how to make it work with my budget. Regardless. Our wedding (and reception) had to be there. And the ideas started forming. The magnolia tree practically begged me to put low-hanging lights on it. And basically, everything about the site wanted to have an ethereal, magical feel.

So I went with it. The ideas/ mood board:

I enlised a dear friend of mine to start throwing out ideas. Any idea was accepted. And pinned. After a few weeks of brain-dumps, a clear direction emerged. Mostly because the both of us get distracted by shiny things. See below:

J and I are also drawn to slightly whimsical things. And I want this wedding to be about US. This wasn't just my wedding. It was our wedding. So he had say in quite a few things. Like what his groomsmen and him would wear. (Shopping with J for his wedding suit was hilarious, btw.... "BABE. I LOOK AMAZING IN THIS SUIT.")

Anyway. 

Color palette: Gold glitter.
Flower: Baby's breath.
Food: Traditions Catering. (AMAZING)
Lighting: Blue Steel Lighting. (Pricey, but soooo worth it.)
Site: The Hermitage. (Also pricey, but soooo worth it.)

So there you go. The ideas. They'll come to fruition in the next post.

My fingers hurt. But they're pretty.

One of my most favorite crafting projects seems to be making fabric flowers. I made them for Meghan to cheer her up, I made (a ton of) them for a friend's wedding as table decor, and I knew I would be bringing them in to my wedding somehow. (friend's wedding setup below...)

I started playing around with a bunch of types of fabric: laces, silks, and even a good bit of muslin just for the sake of fun (and to see how the fabrics responded to being made in to flowers). I took inspiration from these bouquets, but I wasn't quite bowled over with the idea of an all-brooch bouquet. But I still wanted a good bit of bling represented. So off I went on some thrifting adventures to purchase brooches, with a $5ish limit!The inspirations:

I used fabrics from a good friend's wedding dress remnants (little did she know), lace inserts from my mom's wedding bouquet, and some plain ol' good and simple fabrics I found at Jo-Anns. (I later added some pearl sprig-things for a bit more texture.)

After each flower was crafted (sewed), I glued on a circle of felt (with two holes cut) to the back, inserted the wire stem, and glue-gunned the heck out of them. Some of them got brooches, some of them were just fine without. I made enough of these flowers to start forming my bunch, saw what was missing, and filled in the rest.

From past weddings, I knew that heavy bouquets are THE WORST. Especially for the maid/ matron of honor. So I wanted it to be fairly small. Hand-size, if you will. So, um, yeah. Here she is.

The best year ever in the history of ever.

Yes. I'm very late on any kind of blog post wedding-related. It feels like life has (kind of) started to settle down a bit. We live in a tiny two-bedroom apartment with three dogs crammed with two houses worth of furniture. Soooo needless to say, things are rarely organized and always cramped. That shouldn't last for too long, though. ANYWAY. Wedding. Right.

I knew quite some time ago that most of my wedding-related paraphernalia would be crafted, and I also knew that J and I planned on getting hitched sometime in August. So when we started talking... really talking... about getting marriaged, I started crafting. Yes, wedding planning started before we actually got engaged. Don't hate. Pinterest came in extremely handy throughout this process, but I had to be stealth about my pins. I couldn't exactly create a "wedding" board, seeing as how I wasn't exactly engaged yet. So I made a "party" board. Naturally. I'm so sneaky. (Not really at all, though.) After the engagement, the official board was created, though. (See here.)

Knowing that I wanted this wedding to be about J and I's future lives together, and our guests' involvement throughout our lives, I wanted them to feel welcome and special. Oftentimes, guests attend weddings without much interaction with the bride and groom... I wanted our friends and families to know how appreciative we are of them, and I wanted them to feel like we understood how big of a deal it can be to travel and come to a wedding. Ergo, I decided to sew their gift bags... aka, reusable shopping bags for them to have for years.

I found the free pattern here, and got to sewing. I believe I ended up sewing around 15 of these bags, and was able to do it in a couple weeks by cutting out all the pieces and going at it assembly-line-style. And knowing the importance of delegation, I asked Mom to fill them with treats for our guests.

Next on the crafting list? My bouquet. Stay tuned.

Almadean-y

This post actually started in 2000(ish). Big Poppa's Mom (Almadean) passed away around the time I was graduating/ going to Baylor. (Sic 'em Bears.) And, as families do, we had to go through all of her things and pick what stayed and what went. I chose a few baubles-- costume jewelry, mostly-- to keep. A few of those were kept in a special place-- to one day be used at my wedding. Namely, a necklace that I (eventually) re-fashioned into a headband, and two necklaces I strung into one. 

I woke up on the morning of the wedding and headed to brunch with all my fave ladies (hey-oooo)!! Lo and behold, Aunt Amy (Big Poppa's twin brother's wife... catch that?), showed up with a GIANT box and demanded I open it immediately. And to my complete surprise and amazement, I found the rest of her jewelry. Things that I figured had been sent to the thrift store for some other person just like me to find and enjoy. But noooo. IGETITALL. It was probably one of the best presents I have ever gotten in my whole entire life. I found rings, necklaces, bracelets, clip-on earings (BOOM.), and in just about every color combination possible. I was in heaven. 

I returned from the honeymoon to a (merged) home with junk in seemingly every crevice (still feels like that at times). And the one small hope for the second bedroom is that it would one day turn into a relaxing, homey, wonderful place that would (somehow) showcase Almadean's jewels. (I say jewels loosely. They're all fake. DON'TEVENTHINKABOUTSTEALINGTHEM. Amidst all the clutter (seriously, embarrassed to show you a picture of the rest of the room), I find respite on top of my dresser and on the walls (trying not to turn around to piles of clothes and/or dogs and/or dogs on top of the piles of clothes). 

This is my new favorite place to be. (Other than in my lover's arms. OOOOOHYEAHIJUSTDIDTHAT.)

Last Night.

As we prepare for domestication, we spend most of our nights cooking (and eating) dinners together, followed by crossing things off our to-do list.

Last night's to-do list was as follows:
Work out (body by Heath for me!)
Grocery Shopping (J's favorite chore)
Cut J's hair (my third attempt, with successful results.)
Practice songs for a wedding this weekend (obviously, this was not my task.)
Wrap wedding presents (obviously, this was not J's task.)
Wash dishes from dinner

It was in the last task where we arrive to our story. My house is about 40ish years old, on a crawl space, and near the beach. Aka, I have bugs. Lots of them. Big ones. Frequently. I've been pretty good about killing them myself, always having a flip flop around with which to kill them, and disposing of dead bugs. Except for last night. Conversation was as follows:

GAHHHHHH! COME HERE! BRING YOUR SHOE! HURRY!
what? OMG THAT THING IS HUGE!... WHERE DID IT GO?
BEHIND THE SHELF. Hold on. I'll move this stuff out of the way. (pause. pause. pause.) THERE HE IS!
WHERE DID HE GO?
OGIAOIGNSGOIN!!!! (flick giant cockroach to the floor)
WHY DID YOU TOUCH HIM?!?! (smash)
Gross. His head and his body are in two different places.

Welcome to the House of Gold.

a little more about him...

Shortly after getting engaged (as in about 2.5 hours after), I was asked by a girlfriend how I knew he was "the one."

Imagine, for a second, what it might feel like to continue to want to be around someone after a few months. And not only that, but be constantly delighted by them. A man that recognizes if you are unhappy and encourages you to talk about it with him, even if that involves tears. A man that will carry you over a puddle, getting his feet wet, so you don't get your running shoes wet. A man that repeatedly makes you proud to be associated with. Someone that makes you laugh when you're cranky, makes you smile when you're sad, and makes your heart bounce around inside your chest whenever you think about seeing him next.

I knew, within weeks, that this was the man I was to marry. There was never a doubt in my head that, for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and health, this man is to be my other half. He makes my life better, richer, healthier.

This man makes me proud of him on a daily basis. He is excellent at everything he does. Or, if not, strives for excellence in everything he does. He is a gifted musician, incredibly intelligent, compassionate, diligent, caring, strong, manly, and worth my respect. He has been through much, and has proved himself to be a man that seeks after God regardless of his circumstances.

I have 47 days until I can call this man my husband. It is a fantastic thing that I will be able to spend the rest of my life loving and caring for him.

My friends.

I have some very funny friends.

 me:  i want stretchy pants tonight.

so bad.

unnamed friend:d:: i'm not even wearing pants....

ha

May 27, 2012

The day started in a typical vacation-y fashion. I woke up in the RV after sleeping in a bit, and received a text from J... "Good morning love! It's a beautiful day in paradise!" This immediately triggered my spidey senses, seeing as how I normally wake up to a text of... "I feel like crap", "I'm so tired", or (my personal favorite) "It tastes like a cat took a dump in my mouth." I replied with a hearty "You're all sunshiney today", replied with a "Because you're in my life shuger face britches head." (side note... I love this man.)

I went ahead and got ready for church, along with Mom and Dad, where we met J and his 3 besties from out of town. They came over for a cookout at the RV after church (but not before J's car broke and I had to go rescue them), which consisted of about 3ish hours of hanging out. (side note... the car was fixed in 10ish minutes by our amazing mechanic-friend.)

J started the whole process by telling me Saturday night that he wanted me to go with him to the beach Sunday night, so we could hang out... just the two of us. No bros. I was hesitant then, seeing as how I enjoy my quiet time. He persisted on Sunday afternoon, telling me that the bros were all going to go to the beach and fish, inviting me to go along. I was not interested in doing that. He asked again, saying it'd be fun. I thought it would be more fun to go back home, put on some stretchy pants, and scratch Ed. Finally, minutes before the bros were to leave, J swiped my keys and informed me that he would be driving me back to his house, where we'd all change and go to the beach. I had no choice.

Mysteriously, all the bros had to go to Kroger to get shrimpbait for their fishing escapades. I sighed with some relief, knowing that I'd have some alone time with J. We went to one of our favorite beaches that had zero people on the shore, set up our blanket and chairs, and spent some time just catching up. (side note... he kept checking his pockets on the drive over there. Spidey senses were once again raised.)

He pulled a note out of his pocket (one of my favorite things to get from him is notes), and had me read it. (It was real nice and even had a drawing of the two of us and our dogs. The man knows how to draw his stick figures.) Then we chatted some more, and he pulled a second note out of his pocket. (Spidey senses on code red high alert at this point.) It said... "Will you marry me?" and had three boxes to check... all of which were variations of "yes". Then he pulled out the ring (the exact one I was hoping for). Through happy tears, I said yes.

Then all the bros popped up over the sand dunes like prairie dogs and congratulated us.

It was a good day, spent with some of my favorite people.

I can't wait to marry this man.

So. This boy...

So I've been dating J a little over six months now. A record holder, if you will. And it was his birthday this past week, which meant that I had to think of something AMAZING to give him. I mean, this guy is something special. Present must reflect that special-ness of the glitter and sunshine feelings he gives me. Right? RIGHT?

I thought about this present for a few weeks. Brainstormed with myself, essentially. And finally decided that since he moved from GA a year ago, he needs to immerse himself in beach culture. Which essentially meant... he needed a cruiser. I set off to craigslist and found this monster.

Not even a little rough around the edges... this guy needed some work. Luckily for me and my under-preparedness, my parents are in town and offered their help. I began by sanding the white paint down and disassembling the ENTIRE bike. (Tires were removed completely, bike rack taken off and thrown away, old grips were thrown away, pedals were thrown away, and cup holder was tossed.)

Then we got to the fun part... paint. You know me and my love for some spray paint. So, naturally, the bike had to be gold.  Tires, rims, and all accessories had to be black. The only original things left on this bike are the chain and the seat. (Chain to be changed as soon as I figure out how to get the old one off and a new one put on.)

And... well... this beauty emerged!

Annnnd he loves it. 

Awkward moments with me.

I get really uncomfortable when people ask questions like the following:

Sooo what have you been up to lately?
What do you do for fun?
What hobbies do you have?

I mean, they're just really vague questions that people ask when they really have no knowledge of your life whatsoever and are just fishing for information.

So braintrust and I had an informational brainstorming session a few weeks ago, and it finally paid off.

I played golf with some Marketing-y folks yesterday, and... well... read for yourselves.

"soooo kelly. what have you been up to?"

"i've been working on my taxidermy skills."
 "okay, i'll give you another chance. what have you been up to?"

"i've been taking my dog's fur and making pillows."

FINALLY!!!

In more ways than one, this post is a big ol sigh of relief. First, I haven't updated in a looong time, and yet I've had PLENTY of things to post about. I've sewn LOTS of flowers, decorated the churchy (getting ready to redecorate for spring this weekend), made reusable shopping bags, dyed old dresses, spray painted no less than 75 items... and that's probably not an exxageration, helped J redecorate his place, and traveled to just about everywhere, it seems. Sooooo needless to say, it's been a busy time... but really fun time. I've come to a place of such hope and peace and happiness, and my life just feels settled right now. It's pretty fun.

*Disclaimer. The pics aren't that great. Iphones are great, until you want nice pictures to put on a blog. Then they're useful in conveying information, but not in getting a fancypants picture.*

Soooo along with all those projects, J had this tv cabinet. I didn't particularly care for the cabinet, as it was, and... well... it needed to be painted. And sanded. And remade.

We took our happy little selves to home depot for some supplies (screws, nails, magnet closures, quarter round, flat trim, mdf, something to wrap fabric around for the door inserts, new feet- we saved about $20 by using fencepost toppers instead of actual furniture feet- and kilz), and started hacking away. Suprisingly, the supplies cost us somewheres around the $50-60 range, which was WAY more than we were expecting. But I took a few things back that I decided I didn't need, including the kilz (because we bought an entire gallon, and I wasn't convinced we'd need it), we probably still had around $40 invested. And then lo and behold Ace had a free giveaway of a quart of paint... so J and I marched our little selves to the store and picked up two free quarts, color matched to the shade of grey we had already picked out. (And we still have about 1.5 quarts leftover! What else can we paint??!?!?)

Essentially, all the front panels needed to come off- the two interior ones were operable, while the two exterior ones were fixed. This made no sense to me, so I decided to have the interior open, with the two end doors operable. Which also meant I had to finish out the interiors to make it an actual compartment. (It was completely open on the inside.) Lots of cutting, adding quarter round (worst day(s) ever were figuring out how to get the angles correct for that), caulking, sanding, gorilla-glue-ing, screwing (into pressboard, which is no easy task), and general frustration ensued. In all my years of constructing and crafting, I don't think I've ever come across pressboard as hard as this. I broke off two screw heads attempting to get the feet secured. Which, btw, don't use drywall screws for these kinds of jobs. Duh.

Anyway, I think I was more anxious to get this finished than to do everything 100%- there are things that will either get fixed or will fall into the "nobody else besides us will know" category. But... THE GRAND REVEAL!! I'm real excited to have this complete.

But now we need to change up some other things to go with the new tv cabinet. :)

Also, two things to note: I won the office pool for March Madness, by selecting the winner on team colors and mascots. FINALLY, my methods paid off! And also, Sic 'em LadyBears.

I get it...

Nobody really cares as much about your kids as much as you do. I get that. But really. This is Ed. Everyone should love him just as much as I do. He just wants to learn how to Dougie. And really, you can't blame him.

this is basically it.

I read this article this morning, and I got confused... I didn't remember writing anything for Relevant Magazine, but it's basically my story? (Except for the part about marrying a guy named Marc.)

When my husband and I got married, I was ticked at how many people threw marriage books at us. We accumulated at least 15 books within a matter of one month—and it made me feel like I didn’t matter before as a single person. Not once had anyone given me a book to help me navigate life as a single girl. Sure, I bought I Kissed Dating Goodbye for myself because it was popular, but the concept only confirmed my worst fear: I would be single forever.

My whole life I tried hard not to believe the lie that only married people matter. Whenever I would visit a Christian bookstore, I noticed there were many shelves dedicated to marriage books. But for the single person, the books took up only one shelf.

This seems unbalanced to me. Married people are not the only ones deserving of life guidance; singles are making quality decisions that determine the direction of their life, and not just one decision, but many: Who are you going to befriend? What school will you go to? How are you going to pay for it? What job are you going to pursue? Where will you live and travel? What church will you invest into?

"Who are you going to marry?" is neither the only nor the most important question on that list.


Clichés That Make Us Cringe

If you’re single, chances are you’ve heard the clichés. You’ve heard so many you could probably fill a book with them. In my opinion, these two are the absolute worst when it comes to relationships: “Until you learn to be content in your singleness, God won’t bring you a spouse,” and, “Until you stop looking for your spouse, there he/she will be.”

But let’s be honest: Clichés don’t work. I spent most of my 20s as a single woman, and if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that love stories differ. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to romance.

I don’t know about you, but I hated being single. I hated advertising my relationship status on Facebook. At the very least, I thought I deserved a boyfriend. Didn’t following God, starting my own ministry and helping churches across America at least deserve a first date with someone?

I remember many dateless Valentine's Days on which I prayed: "Come on, God. Help me write my own love story!"

I read dating books to find my spouse sooner. I tried online dating. I followed the rules, advice and clichés from older women who had been there, done that. Nothing I did worked. However—and I hope you hear me on this—I’m so glad I waited because God needed to school me in a few areas. I had a lot to learn through my singleness. It wasn’t just a time of waiting around for the phone to ring.

Waiting Actively

I used my single years to figure out where I wanted to go and what made me tick. I pursued my passions. I finished my education. I managed my finances. I paid off all my debts. (Except for my student loans—those are going to take a while.)

Changes occurred internally as well. I discovered my worth as a singular person. I chose to no longer believe the lie that I was too fat to be in a relationship. I learned to let go of the media’s portrayal of the perfect man would take my breath away and fill me with purpose, and God taught me how to find my significance in Him.

I’ll be honest: It was a struggle. As I entered my late 20s, it had been eight years since my last long-term relationship. But instead of waiting around passively, I learned to pursue life. I traveled, spoke, wrote books, created and had fun. I saw life from the viewpoint of contentment. For the first time, that rosy hue wasn’t because I was drinking someone else’s Kool Aid. I clearly saw my single life as worth something. I loved the thought that God was positioning me—whether single or married—to bring glory to Him through my life, ministry and work.

Serving God Solo or Together

During those single years of discovering my passion for life, I still thought how great it would be to bring God glory together with another. And perhaps, when God brought Marc into my life, it was because my "singleness-to-glory ratio" was now fully maximized; for me, it was time to partner with someone and learn how to bring God glory together.

I know firsthand clichés don’t work in the moment—they never do. If you’re single, the last thing you want to hear is someone telling you how to find an easy answer. Clichés are never enough and they rarely comfort or encourage. What I appreciated most from people when I was single was giving me their time. I needed someone to talk to and listen to me and my complaints. I needed to know that all my dating crises were going to be worth it someday, and that I hadn’t completely messed up so badly that God couldn’t bring someone into my life, or fulfill me on my own. I needed to be reminded that I could even take advantage of all God had for me during any time.

Even if you feel like you don’t matter—or you wish you were having marriage books thrown at you instead of tired clichés—you’re worth it. Maybe God does write love stories—but the bigger, greater story is open to everyone, no matter what stage of life they are in.



Renee Johnson Fisher is a spirited speaker and writer to twentysomethings. Her second book, Not Another Dating Book (Harvest House), releases February 2012, and you can find Renee blogging at DevotionalDiva.com.

Sunshine & Glitter

He makes bad days better.