We’ve got 8 fur babies in the house right now!

Bond & Shere Khan (our resident cats):

Jerry, Elaine & George (5 week old foster kittens):

Katara (our not-so-little resident puppy):

Cash & Romeo (7 week old foster pups – Husky & German Shepherd mix):

Our place is a ZOO and I love it! I also love that I married a man who enjoys it as much as I do and supports my habit.

Hi! Been uber busy with moving into our house (eek! OUR house!) and getting everything set up. I’m eager to have everything decorated and furnished so we can have a housewarming but I’m also trying to slow myself down with only necessities now so there’s still more to do later…and to enjoy the process. Thanks for all the great feedback on the before and afters…I’ll post more soon. Once there are no more moving boxes in the house.

But we’ve also been chugging away at the wedding planning and the big thing this month was getting out the Save the Date postcards. We used our pictures from the Engagement Shoot and put a fun twist on it. Love the way they came out…and Bear did a fabulous job on the website as well.

What do y’all think?

A couple years ago on a trip to Napa, I looked up and saw the Southwest sign and thought how cool it would be to one day take pictures at the airport with the heart and wings as a backdrop. Bear and I spent so much of the beginning of our relationship flying all over the U.S. to see each other because of work and it only seemed appropriate we honor the airline that carried us around. So my fabulous friend and wedding planner, Lush Occasions, set it up for us and with the help of Southwest and Cory Ryan, we got the photo shoot we wanted! Fun bonus: the suitcase is the same one my parents used on their honeymoon!

See more here!

I wrote to Southwest about our shoot to thank them and they tweeted about us today! Our fun 15 minutes of fame!

I’m not the biggest fan of tights. Because, well…they’re tight. I’m not a big fan of anything restricting my legs (dirty!).

No seriously, I change into pajamas the instant I get home and according to the masses on Facebook, I’m not alone.

As for tights or pantyhose…I have always found them incredibly uncomfortable. So much so that when I try them on to decide if it goes with an outfit, I’ll put only one leg on and another pair of tights on the other leg to minimize the amount of time I must wear them.

So while I find tights very versatile, cute and fun, let’s be honest: I wear them because then I don’t have to shave.

Saturday, before my birthday dinner, I went through my one-leg ritual and finally decided to just give up and shave.

Clearly I’m not a fan of shaving either. And while growing up, I was unlucky enough to have chicken legs for which I was mocked…it just meant I always wore jeans. Until college when I kicboxed and unearthed my calves.

But now, the fiance is regretting the day he told me he didn’t mind if I didn’t always shave. Muahaha…man captured…shaving ceased.

Long story short…here’s what I ended up wearing Saturday night (with my lovely new purse that I forgot to hold in these shots):

Dress – Random Store in Sydney, Australia, $14

Shoes – Bakers bought from Savers, $10

Jacket – H&M, $15

Belt – Thrifted or Garage Sale or Estate Sale, $?

I have the greatest friends. I received so many great presents that night (who knew 27 was such a special age?) including some very thoughtful clothes and books from Andrea and an adorable mug from Cathy, tons of candy and cute wallets/clutches.

And in unrelated news, I wore my new beaded tunic on a date night and was way overdressed. It happens a lot to me. I do not mind whatsoever.

Tunic – Thrifted, $8

Purse – Thrifted, $?

Jeans – AG, $100 or so?

Shoes – Aldo Outlet, $14

In even more unrelated news, how cute are these pillowcases my friend brought me from Japan? Seriously, the greatest friends!:

Hope you have a stress-free week!

My birthday is a couple days away and instead of presents (Bear wanted to get me an espresso machine to support my recent Starbucks addiction…thanks to my recent Gilmore Girls obsession. Thanks Andrea!) I asked for a morning of garage sales and thrifting. We found some amazing things including great clothes, a desk for Bear and children’s books. But my favorite was this beaded tunic (only $8 or so):

Then my parents gave me something in this pretty bag….

It was this pretty bag!

I am so incredibly spoiled. Speaking of beautiful things and being spoiled, here’s my engagement ring:

The sides aren’t diamonds – the four leaves are my birthstone (Aquamarine) and the ends are Bear’s birthstone (Alexandrite). The Alexandrite changes from light to dark green/red depending on the light…just like Bear’s personality. Damn Gemini.

My ring is gorgeous but I wouldn’t ever recommend Brilliant Earth to anyone. Stay tuned for my bitchfest on their horrible customer service and the awful experience we had.

But that’s for another entry. For now, let’s all just enjoy my birthday week.

Whee!

Oops. Looks like in all the craziness, I have missed the one-year anniversary of my blog. Just like me…I’m terrible at remembering birthdays and anniversaries.

Just as well because I don’t have anything special to commemorate the day (which was way back at the beginning of January) but I am glad to have been around for that long. I”m grateful for the creative outlet and all the things this last year has brought me through my blog.

The Style Co-Op and so many like-minded ladies to thrift and love fashion alongside especially Elia, Andrea and Amy. All my great connections - I now know about a million photographers, stylists and make-up artists. All the sweet friends I’ve met from afar (Natira!) and being able to keep up with my friends (even if you don’t leave comments).

Thanks for letting me share my life with you all!

P.S. A new addition to my shoe collection (where else would this be appreciated), that I got at a thrift store yesterday for $7.50!:

Have a wonderful weekend! Hopefully next week will be less crazy and I can get some regular updates and pictures from the trip/of my ring up!

WE’RE ENGAGED!!

Bear proposed to me on Sunday in a very sweet and romantic spot – one of the very first places we ever met (and the first place we remember ever speaking to each other) on the UT campus. He even made sure I was looking my best and someone was there to capture the moment:

I get internal tickles everytime I hear the word fiance/fiancee. And I introduced him as my boyfriend today. Oops!

I couldn’t be happier.