The Reception {part 2}

So we took a nap and came back for the dinner and dance! We had an absolute blast and I would so gladly relive that day over and over :)

My dad's speech didn't leave a dry eye in the house!

First dance

Father/daughter dance

So many friends came that I hadn't seen in so long!

Nothing attracts the littles like a poofy princess dress.

Love this one of husband dancing with my mom!

The Reception {part 1}

I'm not just saying this because it was my wedding, but our reception was one of the most fun receptions I've ever been to. Good food, fun friends, and lots of dancing! Here are some of my favorite photos - our photographer, wedding coordinator, and I all went to high school together and they got down with the guests on a few songs! So much fun!

{Going to split this into two posts so I don't overload y'all with pics... so these are our pre-nap reception photos. Yep, we took a nap in the groom's room between the cake cutting and dinner!}

I was extremely confused about how to cut the cake.

No one got cake smashed in their face!

Groom's cake - so adorable and perfect!

Part two will be up tomorrow!

Classy & Sassy

One of my favorite Pinterest boards is my Classy & Sassy board. It's just a fun board for all things feminine and flirty :) Here are some of my favorite pics and sayings that I've pinned!

 Be fabulous :)

Designer Puppies

Just for the record, I am 100% Team Pound Puppies. I fully support getting a pet from the pound rather than a pet shop - these doggies need homes! However, designer breed puppies are just too too cute. Here are some of my favorites:

Chiweenie : chihuahua + dachshund

Maltipoo : maltese + poodle

Pomsky : pomeranian + husky

Bogle : boxer + beagle

Wowauzer : Welsh terrier + miniature schnauzer

Lhasapoo : lhasa apso + poodle

This post really has no purpose other than to fill your day with adorable puppies. So cute!! Check out www.dogbreedinfo.com for info on more hybrid puppies and head over to your local shelter if you're in the market for a new furry friend!

A Blue Shelf

I have ambitions of being a Pinterest-worthy DIYer... however, I was not blessed with the crafty gene. I love reading other people's DIY blogs and getting ideas that maybe, one day, I'll be brave enough to try :) for now, it's small projects for me!

I cleaned out some of my old clothes that I haven't worn in a while and took them to Goodwill, and decided to browse around while I was there. I much prefer antique stores and flea markets, but sometimes you can find some treasures at Goodwill, too! On this day, I found two treasures and I immediately had big plans for them. Here is treasure #1:

A basic wooden shelf. Maybe not exactly the most wonderful find in the world, but it's exactly what I need to hold my Disney figurines and some knick-knacks! Most of my stuff is still in my room at my parents' house since our apartment is too small for me to move in all of my things. It's all in boxes or just sitting on top of my old dresser (which will not be coming to live with us) so I need somewhere to store my tchotchkes.

I nabbed this shelf for $4 - definitely cheaper than buying a set of shelves from Target (which is probably where most of our house decor will come from as I am completely addicted to Target). I took it home and husband and I made a stop at Walmart the next day to get some sandpaper and paint for it.

It was a bit challenging to sand in some areas so I had to have some muscle ;)

I didn't notice this when I was in the store, but it looks like it was handmade in 1974! I'm glad I can give this piece a new life and a new home :) I insisted to husband that we not paint over the back of this shelf to preserve the writing.

I opted for a bright, cheery blue - something to give a pop of color in the room! This is after one coat.

We let it dry overnight and husband put on the second coat while I was at work the next day - love that man! This is the finished product. 

I love that it's a happy color without being too bright. I think it turned out just fabulously and I can't wait to incorporate it into our home.... wherever that will be! The whole project cost around $7 - and I still have some paint left over for my Goodwill treasure #2, which will be the subject of a future post!

The Band Life House {update}

Our home inspection was today - husband went but I had to work. He emailed me an hour later saying it was bad news. A lot of bad news. He took photos and emailed me a few at work, then showed me the rest once I got home. The photos showed some pretty major issues that we didn't notice during the showing - large cracks in the basement walls, missing parts of the siding, and parts of the brick facade that are actually pulling away from the house - in short, a whole bunch of costly repairs are needed.

The inspector sent us this full 30 page itemized list of everything he looked at, and it's not pretty. Wiring issues, mold, uneven beams, unsealed doors, ancient plumbing... It's a mess. It is starting to remind me of a "before" house on one of those home renovation shows. 

(Where are those Scott brothers when I need them?!) 

Cosmetically, it's in decent shape, but structurally... Not so much. Basically, we have two options right now: wait for the seller to make the repairs or walk away. We simply can't afford to take on a house that will more or less turn into a flip, and it's not likely that we could ever turn a profit on it if we did. We divided all of the issues into three categories: things the seller must fix for the safety of the house, things that a professional needs to take a closer look at to determine if/when repairs need to be made (and how much that will cost), and things that we are willing to fix on our own. The repairs needed to make the home safe to live in are pretty major, but I'm hoping they will willingly complete them.

This process has been pretty rocky so far with this particular house, and as much as I love it and want to move in, I also am ready for it to be over, one way or another. I don't want to spend the rest of 2014 the way we've spent the summer so far - looking at houses, putting in offers, negotiating back and forth with different sellers... I guess we will see what happens with this house and go from there, although I'm not very hopeful. We have to put in our requests by Wednesday so we should know something by the end of the week - fingers crossed!

Printable Pretties

I discovered the joy of printables when I was planning our wedding - they're cute, you can personalize them, and they're some of the most affordable decor pieces around! 

We opted to not have ushers and displayed this sign outside of the entrance to the sanctuary
{shop link here}

This is one of my favorites - one that I bought for the wedding but with the intention of hanging it in our home!
{shop link here}

So when we heard that we'd gotten the house we wanted, my thoughts immediately turned to the decor. I blame Pinterest for this. I love displaying pieces that are special, sentimental, or unique to us, so I instantly started looking up printables on Etsy. [For anyone who doesn't know how they work, you purchase the digital file from the Etsy seller and then print it yourself. The digital files usually run from $1-$5, and the cost of printing is equally as cheap - I think Walgreens does an 8x10 for around $2.] My Etsy favorites are almost entirely composed of printables that I will purchase to fill in decor gaps around the house! Here are some that I can't wait to hang:

{link}

{link}

{link}

This is from Walt Disney's Disneyland opening day speech - I think it will be perfect inside of our front door or on a living room wall!
link

So far, my finds are about 50% Disney-related, 40% scripture-related, and 10% random cute phrases. My goal is to do a gallery wall somewhere in the house and I know I will need some words to balance out the photos - at least, that's what Pinterest tells me. I'm thinking along the lines of one of these:

I'll post updates when I get it hung up!