Engagement Pictures

What a glorious and fun-filled day this was! After my stressful journey for finding the perfect outfits, Brandon getting contagiously ill just days before, leaving at 5am on Saturday to drive to Springfield, MO before our 12:30 appointment, and Brandon forgetting his pants, we were relaxed and carefree during our session.

Now to brag about our photographer. Katie Day is a college friend of Brandon. They did comedy improv and SOAR (MSU Summer Orientation) together and have a long friendship history. When we got engaged I contacted her about being our wedding photographer, but she recently just became a mommy for the second time (little boy born 12-12-12 --how cool!), putting her on maternity leave. Which led us to find another photographer, who I also love and can't wait to use, but Katie offered to do an ale cart engagement session. I couldn't pass that up. Not only would a good friend of Brandon's get to take our pictures, but we would get to take them in Springfield, where we both went to college, met, and began our relationship. 

She has the best personality, even being eight months pregnant she walked us all over downtown and kept us laughing the whole time. 

Also, when I asked her what she thought of a paint war, I got the best response: 

LET'S DO IT!

I knew I didn't want to have a set of normal engagement pictures and doing the color run this past summer, a paint war seemed like the way to make memories.

Here are some of our favorites (out of over 100 pictures taken, this was tough!)

Please visit her website HERE Katie Day Photo 

and "like" her facebook page HERE Facebook

She does engagement, weddings, families, couples, and parties.

All photographs property of Katie Day Photography(C)

Katie Day Photography

Katie Day Photography

Katie Day Photography

Katie Day Photography

Katie Day Photography

Katie Day Photography

For the Wall

I have a hard time with bare walls, they are like a blank canvas ready for me to nail something to it, no wall in our apartment is left untouched!

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Blank Frames

We have an accent wall in our kitchen/dining room that was perfect for a blank frames. All the frames were purchased from Goodwills and thrift shops and in total, cost was under $11. Remove all the glass and pictures so only the frames are left. I bought Krylon Spray paint in primer and ivory. 

This frame used to be a mirror I bought for $10. I removed the mirror and spray painted with primer. I originally used Navy Blue, but changed it to orange after we moved into our apartment.

Chicken wire was purchased from Home Depot and hot glued inside the large frame to hold announcements, important information, wedding invites, and now Christmas Cards :-) 

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Gallery Wall

Like I said, no wall is left untouched. Including our hallway. My dad always had a gallery wall in our house and after we got our engagement pictures we had good ones to work with.

JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby had a sale on their fames for 50% off, so I bought an assortment.

Nailing frames into the wall usually includes me making many pencils marks on the wall and guestimation {my favorite not real word} of where things should go...leaving plenty of holes.

But I've learned a thing or two from Pinterest and pulled out all the tricks, making this project so much easier!

Using the paper from inside the frames I taped them to the wall to see how I wanted it to be organized.

I put toothpaste on the back of the frame hooks and pushed them to the wall to leave a mark where the nail should go.

Blank wall before

Added a proposal picture & our Florida trip

I had my first snow day today! Although, I didn't particularly want this one, being two days before break and having a lot to get done at school, I did enjoy sleeping in and relaxing with this guy all day. But it was pretty, freakin' cold out!

Ruffle Tree Skirt & Christmas Traditions

Ruffle Tree Skirt DIY

You will need:

Cheap Tree Skirt: Dollar Store

Muslin-JoAnns-2 yards

Burlap-JoAnns-2 yards

Glue Gun

Optional:

Sewing Machine

Rotary board & cutter

This can be done as a no sew, using only a glue gun, but I used my sewing machine. 

Cut the fabric into 3 inch strips.

Line your skirt with hot glue and start laying down the muslin. Pinch the fabric between your fingers and press down onto the other to make a ruffle.

Next, I did the same with in the burlap, use fabric pins to help hold it down. I found using a glue gun difficult, as it comes through the fabric and burns {ouch!}. So I used my sewing machine to sew the burlap, and went back to the gun for the muslin.

Give yourself plenty of time for this project, it took me a little over four hours.

Under the tree!

Christmas Traditions

My mom started a tradition with my brother and I starting with our very first Christmas and it's one I'm excited to continue. Every year my mom would buy us one ornament that signified something important in the past year. Whether that was our favorite movie, a new sport we played, or something big that happened to us. Something to remember that year by.  Included in that is The Lion King for 1994, my pacifier from 1988, or Missouri State ornament for 2004 when I got accepted to college. Under each ornament she wrote our initial and the year we got the ornament.

Brandon and I had our first Christmas in our own home and with our own tree last year and I started the tradition again. His memorable event was traveling to Mexico for a mission trip with his school and he got me a house for moving into together. If we had an important event/memory together it deserves an ornament too, so I found one for our first Christmas in our New Home and a picture from our move in day. This year I have been on the search for an engagement ornament that doesn't look cheap or having kissing teddy bears with doves...so far unsuccessful.

Trees with themes or all similar, colored coordinated ornaments look beautiful, but personally I love my tree with all it's mismatch ornaments; with each one I am taken back to that year and that moment and our tree tells a story. I can't wait for 10 years to go by and have a tree filled with Brandon and I's {&family} life events. 

New Chalkboard & 6 months countdown

The Hardest Part: Engagement Picture Outfit

Seriously, the hardest part of my engagement so far has not been where we would get married, what kind of food to get, what wedding dress was the perfect one, but what I would wear for our engagement pictures....

It was awful. Everyone will see these pictures; you dream about having these pictures. I wanted to look back on these photos and not go---what was I thinking? 

{flashback 2004: senior pictures with Hollister shirts that showed our midriff, or jean skirts with Birkenstocks}

Yikes.

I would lie awake at night stressing about it, stress out whenever I looked at my closet, worried int he shower...it was awful. Did I say that already?

Because Brandon was going to be out of town for rotations for two months in August we planned our engagement pictures for November 3rd. And giving me that much time to think about what my outfits would be was dangerous. I immediately started searching and thought I decided on the perfect two ensembles. This was my original vision:

Not necessarily Chevron, but I wanted a dress in that shape and paired with boots. I then on impulse ordered this dress found from Urban Outfitters: Kimchi Blue Alabama Dress                                                                                                I LOVE my mint green cords from J.Crew and really wanted to wear them. I thought it would be a fun statement piece while still not being too trendy. I had planned on wearing heels and pairing it with the Long Convertible Sleeve Soft Shirt in black from Express.

J.Crew Factory Outlet: Toothpick Stretch Vintage Cords

In my head these outfits looked great...but I started second guessing myself and losing confidence the closer and closer November 3rd got. The last thing I wanted was to not feel comfortable and confident in these pictures. 

I talked with a colleague about it and she said she stressed forever on her outfits, bought all new outfits and in the end, she reached into her closet and picked out something she already owned and it turned out perfect.

I reached out to my fashion professional friend in NYC for her help and she was very blunt {in a good way} about my outfits. While she loved them {or parts of them} I didn't get the OMG, your outfits are perfect, go for it!

Ok, I changed it all. Two weeks before the pics I decided to pitch the dress and mint pants and start from scratch and it was back to the drawing board Pinterest. 

I search for days, saved pictures to my phone and computer, and creeped on friends own engagement pictures. One afternoon, I decided to head to The Legends--an AMAZING outdoor outlet located in KS by the LiveStrong Stadium/Legends=danger for the wallet----I was determined to find an outfit and whatever I found I was wearing.

These are some of my pin-spirations:

Remember, I love stripes

 I read that the more layers the better, stay with solids but look for a pop of a pattern or color.

And this is what I found. I made my decision and I was done. 

Dress: Old Navy - Similar                                              Jacket: Banana Republic Factory Outlet

Necklace: Charming Charlie                                                       Scarf: Charming Charlie: $14           

                                                                                           (saw the same exact one on sale at Macys for $24)

                                                                                                                                      White Shirt: BR Factory Outlet

 And this is how they turned out, perfect.

Katie Day Photography
Scarf was LITERALLY purchased right before at our pit stop to Target because SOMEBODY forgot their pants in KC.

Katie Day Photography

It helps a lot to have such handsome arm candy too.
In the end it was so silly to stress about, the simpler the better.
Nobody is looking at your outfit.

{engagement pictures taken by Katie Day at katiedayphoto she's freakin' amazing}

Project: Second Bedroom

Our apartment is a two bedroom space and I had many plans for that second bedroom before we moved in last year. 

My dream was a guest room/office/music room with the space to display Brandon's music memorabilia, instruments, and our sport knick-knacks, with an extra closet for storage.

A girl can dream...right?

In reality? This is what our second bedroom has become:

First time using my Panorama, cool huh?

Spacious right?

Brandon really wanted a corner desk and found this one for a good deal at Staples, so it was purchased without any measurements, or the realization that it can only fit in one of the corners. 

I had planned to have the bed in one corner and the desk in the other..unsuccessful again. We had everything set up and it left about an inch of movement space, so we attempted to try another way, and that led to my mom and I having to move each piece of furniture just an inch at a time before we had it repositioned. Think tetris. Again...very little space.

Plan B: We neither had the space nor desire to get rid of the bed. I dissembled the bed frame and headboard and it is currently in the storage room. We turned the mattress and box spring into a "hid-a-bed"-ish situation. When the bed is not being used we push it up against the wall behind the door, it fits perfectly and we have an open floor again. But the bed has been down for awhile and this kid has moved in and made it his own. 

You may say I felt bad-mom while Brandon was gone for 2 months and he's not allowed in our room. He now responds to "go to your room."

I swear this room has been clean and one time or another, but over the last four months it has become the overflow or vomit room of our things. 

The desk, which hasn't been used for studying since June now holds text books, papers, bills, HS plagues, Christmas ornaments, board games, planting pots, runners bibs...just to name a few pieces of crap.

Just checked & that calendar reads April 2012. Seriously?

The craft closet:

I have made a few attempts at organizing, my future hubby also purchased me a plastic "craft" organizer from Joann's for an anniversary gift, which it is organized on the inside, but I have overflowed again.

With the anticipation of our wedding coming, I know more wonderful things will be filling our apartment and I need an organized place to keep it ASAP! Brandon is on a rotation in Dallas for four weeks so it has become my goal, and I made the first move with these purchases:

3 large weave baskets

2 medium weave baskets

2 small weave baskets

Wooden labels

All from Joann Fabrics {thank goodness for coupons}

4-tiered iron shelf from Lowes

I will be keeping you updated on the progress of redeeming myself on the disaster that is our second bedroom.

Till then I'll leave you with two spirited printables in my home from one of the best Christmas movies ever...ELF! Printables are my new favorite {& cheap!} decor!

Christmas Cheer printable from HERE : I saved it to my computer and printed it as an 8x10. It looks purple in the picture, but it is actually grey. Frame is from Hobby Lobby and was originally gold that I spray painted with primer.

Code of the Elves free printable found here. Frame is from Hobby Lobby was originally black and I spray painted red.