Wishful Wednesday: pets

'I wish' .... My pet could talk because I have been dying to know _____!

Marley, why must you wake us up at 3am everyday to get fed? Can you not wait 3 more hours until we get up for the day?

My cat is a big dude and loves his food but this 3am wake up call everyday is so annoying. He will make as much noise as possible, jump on the bed, and meow until we get annoyed enough and get up and feed him. Not sure what the extra 3 hours does, especially when he always has dry food. He just wants the yummy wet food I guess. This is one habit I wish would stop!!


Bella, why do you eat your poo?

This really is disgusting!! If we don't clean up the poo within a few seconds of her going, it will likely be gone. Yup, back into the stomach. SO GROSS, but she apparently thinks it tastes really good! We are looking into options to put on her food that makes her poo tastes bad to her...?? Hope this works because poo breath on your dog...not so fun!


Play along with Wishful Wednesday...head over to Seattle Smith's

I've turned into an obsessed dog owner!!

I totally have!! I adore Bella and all things Doxie now. She is such a doll.

I ordered this last week from Chloe and the hog dog friends on Etsy. It's super cute, I love it!! She has great Doxie stuff for all my Doxie owner followers, I know I have a few.



One of whom is: Caroline at Simply Smithwick, she has a Doxie named Knox, who is a cutie.

How could you not love them, they are so adorable and slightly funny looking...LOL!!

And the winner is....

Miss Kris

(I used random number generator to pick the winner)

You have won a ring dish of your choice from Wise Impressions Etsy shop.

Miss Kris commented that she loved the palm tree dish for her beach wedding:


Please send me an email with your info and I will get it sent out to you (can also add names and dates)!!

livelovelaughblog@yahoo.com

CONGRATS!!

Weekend recap: wedding and Fall fun

D and I had a great weekend. A busy one but really fun. Saturday our co-worker Kelly got married to her high school sweet heart. It was a beautiful event. It definitely made me very anxious for my own wedding.


Sunday was my mom's birthday and she wanted to go visit the apple orchard and go raspberry picking. It was a gorgeous sunny day in northern Illinois. Picking raspberries was actually really fun, I had never done that before. We brought Bella along for the day and she enjoyed herself. We go to the apple orchard every year in Fall and buy their Honey Crisp apples, they are SO yummy!!

Why I love this week

My super talented graphic designer at my office made me this cool graphic for my weekly posts I have been doing. I think it's a great way to start your week off with a positive spin on the happenings in your life (a positive attitude can truly change your outlook). Feel free to steel and pass around, I think it's really cute!!

So this week I love....

*Thursday is officially October, Our Wedding Month!

*My (future) SIL baby shower is on Sunday.

*I have Reflexology on Sat to de-stress me, compliments of mom.

*Thursday is my 3rd dress fitting...please please fit!!

*Pay Day week, always a good thing.

*My wedding countdown pull off calendar says '19 days' today. We are in the teens now!

FYI: Today is the last day to sign up for my ring dish giveaway. Click here to enter!! Winner announced tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. Happy B-day mom!! Love you.

Time for the beach

I was browsing on line to find a beach bag (somehow I do not own one) for Hawaii. I found one I liked on sale at New Port News.

I got it in red. Found here.


I decided to take a quick look at there swim stuff on sale. I have a few swim suits but I have been wanting a one piece for a while (hide the tummy pooch). I decided to purchase this one because it was white...perfect for the bride in Hawaii...and it's on sale.

Let me first say I am not a huge one piece fan, I hate my stomach and the stretch marks I have from loosing 80 lbs in college but one pieces to me feel old and frumpy. So every year I cram into a two piece or tankini and suffer through summer (well maybe not suffer but I hate suits).

I get this one I ordered in the mail and try it on and it's AMAZING...no joke!! I have never loved a suit more. It has this fx shape stuff that totally sucks you in and shapes your waste to like 2 sizes smaller. And the back and front are really low so it's still sexy and cute. I am never taking this thing off while in Hawaii!! So happy I made the random purchase. My view on one pieces has def been changed.


Suit can be found here.

Show us your life: Desserts

Today for Kelly's Korner show us your life is desserts. I have read a few blogger posts and seen all these yummy home baked desserts. My favorite dessert however comes from a restaurant...only the best restaurant ever!! Claim Jumpers!

They have the largest, yummiest, most sinful dessert...Ice Cream Mud Pie!! It comes in 4 flavors and my favorite is the cookies and cream. SO SO yummy!! It literally can feed 4 hungry adults...although my mom and I have polished one off before between the two of us...LOL.



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Thanks for all the comments on my post this morning. I love the support I get from the blog world. It really helps me :-)

The bridal meltdown...!?!

So, I thought I had already experienced the bridal meltdown with my bridesmaid dresses fiasco, here. When in all reality I learned Thursday night I definitely had not!

I have been working a ton, planning my Nov reception, finishing up last minute stuff for Hawaii in less than 3 weeks and I am exhausted!! Mentally and physically. I had my 2nd dress fitting Thursday night and it didn't go so well (still doesn't fit right...worried!!). I got home and I think it all just hits me at once...10 months of planning and preparing and weddings and organizing and I loose it. I cry and freak out and cry some more. Poor D, he is so great and supportive, but he had to be thinking I am totally nuts...LOL.

So after an hour of venting and D helping me relax I finally sleep and the next day I feel way better. Thank god because I was nervous I really had lost it!!

Hopefully this is the final and only meltdown. The last month really is the hardest. All this build up and it's so close!!

Please tell me I'm not alone in my meltdown, I'm sure with the stress and all the planning it is quite common. Have you experienced a similar meltdown during your wedding process??

Luckily a good cry will always make you feel better....right ladies...

GUEST BLOG: Engagement thru D's eyes

Heather asked me if I had any interest to do a guest blog and I decided, after a few gentle nudges from heather, it would be fun to share my point of view on our wedding and our life together. So here are a few random thoughts and funny experiences we have gone through in this whole wonderful process they call engagement…

The Start-
Our relationship started very fast….after meeting each other on a Friday night, we went on to have our first 3 ‘dates’ in one weekend and I even met her parents and grandmother within the first week of us dating! Even with how fast it was going, I knew she was something special from the moment we met and I was hooked.

The Proposal-
I had the idea that she was ‘the one’ in my head from very early on in our relationship, and decided after about 15 months of dating it was the right time. Now, I was a collegiate athlete at SIU and been involved in sports my whole life, so I have been put in many highly competitive/high anxiety situations before…. but making the proposal was one of the most nerve racking things I have ever done. I wasn’t as worried about her saying ‘yes’ (I was pretty confident she would, or at the least I could convince her to say yes), what was nerve racking for me was the lead up to it.

What I was up against….
*Trying to keep it a surprise and not let on.
*The ring burning a hole in my pocket since October (I proposed in December)
*Heather being very sick the few days before I proposed and possibly not being able to make it to the dinner. (been planning since October, and did not have a back-up plan in place)

Well, to sum it up, we made it through. Everything worked out perfectly and we had a great night. And luckily she said yes!!

The Engagement/Wedding-
I literally am one of the luckiest guys alive, not only am I marrying my best friend…she just so happens to have a career as a project manager. So needless to say she has been super organized and has handled the stress and planning of two weddings in ten months very well! She has done a wonderful job of keeping me involved and we have worked together to make sure we are both satisfied. There have definitely been the bumps in the road but we have been able to work through them and are now in the home stretch. We are so excited to be on a beach in Hawaii in less than three weeks!

Well, thanks for letting me share my insight into the relationship we so lovingly call Deather. I hope to blog again soon (if my lovely bride would like) and share more.

D.

GIVEAWAY!!

It's time for my first Giveaway.....

I have been working with Cindy at her Etsy shop Wise Impressions. She has beautiful hand made and hand painted items.

The item we are giving away is a ring dish of your choice from her Etsy shop.

In addition to many hand made items she has these beautiful ring dishes. There is a large range of different dishes to choose from. All can be personalized and the colors changed as well. Here are a few examples of her ring dishes. The first one I ordered for myself for my upcoming wedding, I love it!!

To Enter:

Check out her shop: Wise Impressions and find the ring dish you would pick if you won.

(1 Entry) Leave me a comment and let me know which one you love.

(1 Entry) Follow my blog, if you are already a follower let me know so.

(2 Entries) Post a blog about my giveaway and link back to my blog. Please let me know when you post.

You have until Monday 9-28 to get your entries in. Good Luck...it's a great gift!!

The winner will be announced TUESDAY 9-29

One Letter at a time

I got this cute idea from Emily at Martinis and Madness. She is great, check her out!!


One Letter at a Time...

A - Age: 26 (soon to be 27 in Dec)

B - Bed Size: King and love it. Especially with a fiance, dog, and cat in it with me.

C - Chore you hate: Emptying the dishwasher and laundry. Luckily my wonder fiance does these for me :-) yup he does ALL the laundry!

D - Dog's Name: Bella

E - Essential start your day item: Starbucks green ice tea-venti

F - Favorite Color: Red

G - Gold or Silver or Platinum: White gold

H - Height: 5'9"

I - Instruments you play: None

J - Job Title: Project Manager

K - Kid(s): Soon

L - Living Arrangements: D and I own a condo downtown Chicago-2 bed/ 2 bath

M - Mom's Name: Pamela

N - Nickname(s): Heth, Heether, Missy

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None

P - Pet Peeve: People who drive with blinker on, people who cut you off then turn left and take forever, lying, when my tivo does not record as scheduled and the show is not in the in box.

Q - Quote from a movie: "It's so damn hot, milk was a bad choice" Anchorman

R - Right or Left Handed: Right

S - Siblings: Just me

T - Time you wake up: 5:30-6am

U - Underwear: Victoria Secrets boy shorts or their new lacies

V - Vegetable you dislike: Okra, sicknastygross!

W - Ways you run late: Usually never late, if late it's most likely traffic related

X - X-rays you've had: Left hand, crashed a motorcycle (not as bad as it sounds). Stomach, acid reflux.

Y - Yummy food you make: Homemade mac and cheese...YUM!

Z - Zoo Favorite: Big cats. Love them! Especially Tigers.

New digs and a new treat

Bella's little t-shirt arrived and is super cute! Slightly big but still adorable on her. She really didn't mind wearing it too much.

Her new chew toy, a cows ear. Gross I know but she LOVES this thing. We even got some growls when we tried to take it away.

This pic cracks me up, I think Bella thought Marley was trying to steel her be-loved cows ear when he was just smelling her. I hope they will be BFF someday...now they just chase and torture each other in the non violent sense.

Why I love this week

*My co-workers wedding is on Saturday. I love weddings!

*Doing a final walk through with our DJ for Nov Reception today.

*New season of Grey's premiers on Thursday night!

*Reception invites are in the mail!

*My mom's birthday is Sunday. We are going to a pumpkin patch!

*It's almost October...can you believe it?!?

*I am 92.5% done with wedding stuff...for both events!

*Finally get to do my 2nd fitting on Wednesday.

*D's guest blog is this week, I am so lucky to have a (future) hubby that shows interest is something I love.

Have a great week!!

Weekend Recap:cameras, hair, and Doxies

Friday:
Bought a new (cheap and on sale) small camera. We wanted a portable one so we don't have to lug around our Canon with the large lens. Though we love our Canon Rebel, it is quite large, so now we have both for Hawaii and after.

We got the Nikon CoolPix S560 (black) at Best Buy


Saturday:
I had an appointment for my 2nd dress fitting. Had being the key word here. My dress shop that I chose has been a nightmare!! For my first fitting they made us wait 1 hour and 20 min and there customer service is horrible. So on Saturday my mom and I arrive and they had written down our appt for 2pm instead of 12 and the dress wasn't even done being sewed. (Seriously, you've had it for 2 weeks and you wait till the hour before you think I'm coming to sew it??!!). So after more bad customer service we had to re-schedule and leave to get to my hair trial appt. The angry frustrated part of me wants to post all there info online and warn brides to NEVER use there shop!! But the classy bride will not. I just wish my dress experience was a great one but sadly so far it's pretty awful!



After the dress experience my mom and I headed back to the city for my hair trial. I'm in a much better mood by then because I LOVE my hair dresser. If I could I would fly him to Hawaii with me. So we came up with a beautiful low do for my wedding and took TONS of pictures for my stylists in Hawaii to copy it. We decided we'd do some edited version for the reception. He is awesome so I feel comfortable not doing a separate trial for the reception do.

Here is me being silly with John, best hair guy ever!!!



Sunday:
D and I went to the Chicago Dachshund Lovers Club once a month Doxie meet up. They all get together with pot luck food and let there Doxies all run around and play together. We were definitely one of the youngest couples there but it was cute to see all the weenies running around playing together. There were about 25 Doxies and Bella had a great time. She is luckily very social and very good with other dogs. She pooped out after about and hour and a half and came and sat by my feet. This something I would definitely do again.

Guest Blog...coming soon

My fiance Derek has shown some interest in doing some guest blogging on my page. I welcomed the idea, with some topic approval of course...LOL. So keep an eye out for my other half to be guest blogging soon!! Show him some love!

My cartoon 'bride' self

I created this cute cartoon bride of myself at The Knot online. I got it to look like me the best I could, the dress is off but still super cute. I love doing fun bride stuff like this. I only have one month left to eat up being a bride...and I will do my best!!

THANK YOU CARDS....the winner is

We chose this one. This one got lots of votes from you guys too. Thanks for helping out, I love all the opinions you guys give.

30 days to go

Only 30 more short days till the big day!! Or as D says, 27 days till we are in Hawaii. So excited. It really has flown by for me. I am so ready to be in Hawaii for my wedding and have an amazing vacation!

My second (and hopefully final) fitting is this weekend as well as my hair trial for both my reception and my wedding.

Tonight we are meeting with our florist for the Nov reception. 65 days till that!!

Now is when my stress management tools come into play and I try not to freak out...LOL!!!

Turning into Bridezilla would be bad....

Wishful Wednesday: TV star

This weeks topic:

'I wish' .... I could be ________!

(Name that TV star!! Post a picture and tell us why)


I would be Evangeline Lilly from the TV show LOST. Only the best show ever!!

I love love this show. It has been my favorite since season 2 a few years ago and now I am hooked. I love Evangeline's character on the show, Kate. She is gorgeous, complex, strong, feminine, and vulnerable at times. She is like the complete women! I am sad that this Jan 2010 will be the final season but there is always the DVD's!

Pumpkin carving time!!

I found these cute pumpkin stencils at Better Homes and Gardens online. They have about 16 dog breeds to choose from and of course I had to download the Dachshund one. I have totally turned into an obsessed dog owner, and proud of it. We love our little Doxie! I am def going to carve this for my pumpkin this year. I love Halloween and carving pumpkins!!

Check them out. They are super cute...and FREE!!!

I want to THANK YOU

I have been looking for Thank You cards for my Reception and my Wedding. I will use the same for both events. I used Wedding Paper Divas for my Bridal Shower invites and thank you cards and loved them, so I wanted to use them again. I browsed there site and found a few options I like. The colors are red/black/white for the event so I wanted a simple card with similar colors.

Here are the 3 front runners. What's your vote??

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3
(currently our fav)