Believe it or not, I am not very crafty. Creative and crafty do not always go hand-in-hand.

I looking for a crafty person to design/put together a wedding card box for me. I found one I really like (I have a picture), but it is like $60 and I am pretty sure we can achieve the same effect for less than that. I am willing to buy the supplies if someone would take on the task of assembly and creating.

Please let me know if you would help me on this task. I really appreciate it!!!

UPDATE: Challenge has been accepted!

Being a “Bride-to-be” I came across a lot of cool ideas that don’t really work for our wedding, but I still really loved, so I thought I would share.

I’m a little late on this article, but better late than never.

This halloween we headed to Aurora to spend the weekend with the Leepers. We left our sweet, limping dog with my brother (who was slightly annoyed with all the love she gives). Friday night we went to downtown Naperville which reminds me of a bigger Valley Junction, cute stores, yummy eateries. We ate some mexican food and then did a “ghost walk” around town. The guide took us to the most haunted places in Naperville. It was really fascinating, especially the “smashed bananas/zombie chicken” story, I’m not making this shit up! Afterwards we headed home and I crashed.

The next morning Kari had a wonderful morning planned. Starbucks in hand we headed downtown Chicago for some magenta shoe shopping (for my wedding). We went to bucktown/wicker park and lincoln park, however, we arrived about an hour too early before stores even opened. We walked around a little and it is a cute area, loved it. So, instead of waiting we headed to Michigan Ave/Water Tower Place. We went to all the big named stores and came up with nothing. Everything was brown, black and purple. Apparently we are in the wrong season for magenta. Sad. So instead I did some emotional shopping and bought my first Betsyville bag 70% off. Then we were going to have lunch at the John Hancock building (95th floor), but there was a line just to get on the elevator, so we nixed that and headed into the ‘burbs. We had lunch at the White Chocolate Grill and let me tell you this was the first time I ever wanted to cry over food it was that delicious. First let me say the service was awesome. The atmosphere was very Frank Lloyd Wright. We ordered martinis (mine was a white chocolate martini) halfway through lunch our server brought us over freshly chilled glasses and changed our martinis. That was awesome. Then our lunch came, I had the most delicious prime rib french dip. Holy cow, the meat was perfectly cooked and tender the au jus was so amazing. I wanted to contain myself and be proper just eating half my sandwich, nope I couldn’t help myself it was too good to go to waste. We then headed home.

They don’t do beggars night, kids just trick-or-treat on halloween, so Andie was getting ready when we got home. She was a zombie-prom-girl. Also, it seems that Iowa kids are the only ones who say jokes for their candy. I think this is so wrong! Kids need to earn that candy. After trick-or-treating we went to Eric’s new apartment and watched a little Evil Dead 2. Headed back to Terry and Kari’s where Andie made us a Halloween-themed dinner with dessert. We played some games and then went to bed.

Had a fabulous weekend shopping and spending time with family. Didn’t find the shoes there, however the awesome internet found them thanks to Kari’s searching. So, another awesome wedding item crossed off the list!

Three weeks ago mom and I started the crazy adventure of finding my wedding dress. What I had in my head was something unique with color and nothing traditional…however, what I ended up loving was something fairly traditional, go figure. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Our first stop was in Ankeny and the service was really great and the dresses were very fun and unique, but the store really offered nothing to plus-size girls. It was pretty frustrating trying to squeeze my size 16 body into a size 6/8 dress. Not pretty. Even with a good imagination it was hard to see what the dress would really look like in my size.

Moving on to David’s Bridal and I ruled them out completely due to too many horror stories I’ve heard. However, they had this one dress that had pockets that I did want to try. While I was there I tried on three other dresses. To my surprise the service was really nice and the dresses fit to size and they had a lot of selection. However, the dresses didn’t “wow” me or they seemed cheaply made, which I’m sure they are since the prices were very low.

Feeling frustrated and exhausted we headed home. One thing I never realized is wedding dresses are HEAVY and extremely HOT. I was sweating trying these things on.

That weekend we headed to Perry, yes, Perry Iowa. I’ve heard from multiple people this place is awesome. They were not kidding. This was the first time I tried on a dress and felt like I was a bride. I’m not the sappy person, but it felt really good. I tried on about ten dresses and narrowed it down to four that mom and I really liked. However, mom felt a little stressed being the only opinion and needed more support. The call was made. Support was on its way in the names of Jan, Jen, Joy, Dee and Deb (Kari Brooks was there in spirit and gave her honest, good input the night before at dinner).

So we headed to lunch first at The Radish in Grimes, it was a cute little place. We took some embarrassing photos while people honked at us. Finally, we headed to Perry. I tried on all four again and this dress seemed to be everyone’s favorite. However, I ruled it out right there. I think it made me look short and the belt made me think “80’s” and I don’t know why. Taking that one out of the equation left Jenni’s favorite (which I don’t have a picture of). It was very extravagant with a very full bottom. It seemed she was the only one who loved it, so it got cut. That left the “unique one” and “the winner”. The unique one was a very flowy, empire waist with a big bow. No one loved this dress. I could hear crickets. Now the “winner” does have some unique features, but also brings in traditional flare so Grandma Rose won’t hate me forever and it is very flattering. Let me tell you the stress lifted on finding this dress is phenomenal. However, I could barely talk on the drive home I was so mentally exhausted trying to make this decision. I got home, told Nick not to speak and promptly took the most amazing nap I’ve ever had.

So there it is, I found “the dress” and I couldn’t be happier. I must thank the ladies who joined me on this journey and being such good sports, I can be such a pain in the ass, I am not comfortable being the center of attention. And a BIG THANK YOU to my wonderful mother who supported me no matter what I chose and dealt with my frustrations, you’ll never know how grateful I am for you.

Pictures from Perry

Back again and again life has gone screaming by.

Here is a very brief update on life with the Leeperlands.

We saw Matt Nathanson again, at the Fair this time and I must say it was one of my favorite shows. The greatest moment was Matt started the intro to “Lose Yourelf” by Eminem for kicks and challenged someone in the audience to come up and rap. He grabs this chick and she did the first half of the song and chorus, it was awesome.

We did Jasper Winery/Brother Trucker for Deb’s birthday. It was a perfect night, afterwards Chad, Nick and I hit up Mezzodis on the South side for yummy Italian food. Recommended!

Mom and I hit up the Bridal Fairs which were out-of-control. I hate those things and thankfully that should be my last ones. And wedding plans are still going on, just when I think I’ve got them all wrapped up, fifteen other things pop up. Dress shopping is happening mid-October and we are still looking for a videographer. Other than that plugging away at some little things.

And last weekend we celebrated four birthdays! Nick’s cousin Lauren is turning 16 so they had a gathering at Cherry Glen which was really nice. And my uncle Rick, cousin Joy and Grandma Rose all had birthdays close together so we went out to Walnut Woods this Sunday to celebrate. It was a super nice day and a super great time. So chill and fun.

Engagement photos are this week and I am super jazzed. I love our photographer and she is really trying to incorporate what we are about as a couple. I love photography!