Wedding - The Photographer

Planning a wedding can be so overwhelming with all the options out there and picking a photographer is no different. It seems like everywhere you look there are people with a nice camera claiming to be professional photographers. So when I started the search for someone to capture our day, I had to weed through lot of junk to find the perfect person. There are so many things to consider when picking a photographer: experience, price, the look you want, personality, etc.

I narrowed down my options and in the end had two companies I loved. They were similarly priced and both had very natural looking portfolios meaning that they captured the day without it looking forced. So, because I can't make a decision on my own to save my life, I asked my mom, sister, fiancé (duh!), and dad to help me pick. We decided on Woodland Fields Photography. Catherine did not disappoint. Even though we had to move the ceremony inside due to rain, she was able to capture some beautiful moments. We even mastered running outside between showers to get some outdoor shots.

Here are just a few of my favorites from the day:

Even after three months, I love looking back at that wonderful day and I can't get enough of all the great pictures she took. I hear all the time about people who were disappointed in their photographer.  Did you love your photographer??

The Blogmopolitan Quiz

Erin at Two-Thirds Hazel made up this cute quiz, so I am joining her to tell you all about me. I hope you enjoy! If you want to fill it in yourself, check it out here and then link up.

Meal Plan - July 20

I haven't been good about sharing our meal plans lately. Dave was out of town and I lived off leftovers and with it being summer, some nights I decide chips and dip on the deck sounds better than cooking a whole meal in the kitchen. This week I have some yummy stuff planned so I have to share.

Sunday - Spicy roasted veggie macaroni and cheese
Monday - Butternut squash and spinach roll ups
Tuesday - Fish tacos, sweet potato fries
Wednesday - Burrito bowls
Thursday - Spaghetti
Friday - Grilled steaks, grilled asparagus, baked potatoes
Saturday - Out to eat in Detroit before Jimmy Buffett

I am linking up with Organizing Junkie.

Five on Friday

Happy Friday! This week felt LONNNNGGG. Thank goodness it's finally here. We are going to grill out, work around the house, go to a baseball game, the farmer's market, and hit up our favorite bagel shop this weekend. What do you have going on?

1. We picked blueberries last weekend and came home with ten pounds! So what do you do when you have ten pounds of blueberries but do a search for the best blueberry muffin recipe. It did not disappoint.

2. I got a new laptop this week! Who's happy about it?...This girl! I had no idea how terrible my old one was until I got my new one. It even has a fingerprint scanner that I can use instead of having to log into all my accounts on all of my websites all over the web! I feel like I joined the 21st century!

3. I leave for the beach with my mom, sister, and grandmother in 12 days! I am so excited to get to Florida and soak up sun, seafood, and mojitos with my favorite girls!

4. I tried at home gel nails this week. I haven't tried it at the nail salon yet (I usually do my own nails) but though I would give it a try at home. Regular polish tends to come off after one shower but so far they are doing okay. I have had two showers and washed more dishes than I can count and there is just a little dulling on the edges. That sure beats how it would look with just regular polish. I used these:

5. How neat are these DIY placemats! We registered for wicker chargers from Pottery Barn but didn't get them. I think I need to make these instead!

Today I am linking up with The Farmer's Wife and Lauren Elizabeth.

Favorites

Today I am linking up with Helene to talk about some of my favorites.

Favorite restaurant: If you are local to Birmingham and have never been to 26, you need to try it immediately. It's where I fell in love with ahi tuna. They have wonderful sushi and on Wednesdays they have half price bottles of wine. It's also around the corner from my....

Favorite bar: J. Clyde in Birmingham is a beer lover's paradise. They have anything you can think of with I don't even know how many beers on tap! I love how knowledgeable their bartenders are. I usually just tell them what type of beer I am in the mood for and let them pick. They never steer me wrong.

Favorite (outside the US) vacation spot: This is a tie between Ireland and Costa Rica. They couldn't be two more different places. Ireland is so laid back with the nicest people, yummy food and drinks, and beautiful landscapes. I love getting lost exploring this great country. On the other hand, Costa Rica is a thrill-seeker's dream! You can get your heart racing doing everything from zip lining to white water rafting to waterfall repelling. The rainforest is gorgeous and there are amazing animals to see everywhere you look!

Favorite (inside the US) vacation spot: If you haven't been to the 30A/Destin area of the Florida panhandle, there is no need to check it out.....I kid though... It is an amazing place to vacation and I don't want to spoil it for myself by giving away the secret. Destin is known as The World's Luckiest Fishing Village and it doesn't disappoint. The food especially the seafood is so good and fresh. The beaches are sugar white. Head down 30A to the town of Seaside and you will feel like you just stepped back in time. I have been lucky enough to vacation in this area since I was a baby. I have seen beaches all over the world and there aren't many that compare.

Favorite picture: I love this picture of Dave and I. My sister took it of us last fall when Dave was in school in Norfolk and we met up in DC for the weekend to hang out with my sister and her husband. We were at Point of View having drinks before dinner This place has the most amazing views of DC!

Favorite Disney World ride: Everyone has a favorite Disney World ride right? Mine is definitely Soaring. Sadly I have heard that they are going to close it! If you ask anyone in my family what my favorite ride is though they will say the Carousel of Progress. I am not going to lie, I love that ride. It is so classic Disney. Plus it is a great place to sit down for a bit, cool off from the Orlando heat, and regroup.

Favorite concert: You may not know this about me but I am a Parrothead! :) I love Jimmy Buffett. Dave and I are actually going to see him next weekend in Detroit. I am so excited to introduce Dave to something I love so much. It should be a super fun time!

Favorite team: 43 days until the Crimson Tide kicks off the 2014 season! Roll Tide ya'll!

Favorite day: The day I married him!

Currently Crushing On

How is your week going so far? Things are quiet around here. There isn't much to report on, so how about a little eye candy? Anthropologie does things so right. I just can't get enough.

These gorgeous plates would make a great hostess gift. One of them would look so good sitting next to our kitchen sink to hold sponges, soap, etc.

I need this top in my closet! It would be so effortless with some skinny jeans!

Do you have a wedding to attend this summer? How perfect would this dress be?

I love a fun, unique throw. A comfy blanket laying across the couch can be pretty and useful. I need one of these ASAP.

These pajamas are adorable and so feminine. I am all about pretty nightgowns these days!

Adventures from the Weekend - Red, White, and Blah

I love the 4th of July! I know I have mentioned this. It's just a fun, patriotic, summery day to be spent with family and friends celebrating our wonderful country. Well our 4th of July weekend did not go as planned. We were going to grill out with friends, watch fireworks, then go to the lake all day Saturday...it was going to be glorious.... Instead, I got poison ivy....on my FACE! Ugh. Talk about misery. I have had it now twice in two months and before that I had never had it before in my life!

Friday morning I woke up and my right eye was all swollen and I was a broken out mess. Dave and I went to breakfast at a little "down home" type place near our house while my WONDER MOM did research (all the way from Florida!...seriously what would we do without moms?) on where we could go to find some serious stuff to straighten me out. We ended up at the neatest health food store that had several items to combat poison ivy. I can't wait to check out the store again when I am not a cranky mess!

I ended up getting Burt's Bees poison ivy soap, Boericke & Tafel Oral Ivy, and Jewelweed Lotion. I was diligent about using this stuff but still woke up Saturday morning looking like a train wreck! We decided to put off the lake until Sunday if I was feeling better. So Saturday we spent the whole day at home laying around.

Sunday morning I still wasn't much better. I actually wonder if I would have been worse if I hadn't been using those three things?! I think they slowed down or even stopped it from getting much worse but they weren't getting me better at least not at the speed I wanted them to. So we decided to let the professionals handle it and went to urgent care. I was so excited to get a steroid shot...seriously I have never been so excited to get a steroid shot in all my life! Within four hours the swelling on my face had started to go down! The itching got better and now, nearly 24 hours later, I look almost human again!

Prayers that I make it the rest of the summer without getting another case of poison ivy. I think our dogs may be the problem. They carry it in on them and then I touch them. So, I am going to keep using the poison ivy lotion to wash my hands at the kitch sink and use it in the shower just to stay proactive.

Have you ever had poison ivy? (My husband doesn't get it...I am so jealous!) How was your 4th? Did you do anything fun? Stop by tomorrow so I can show you the before and after on our garage!

5 Things I Am Good At...

I was blog hopping the other day and ran across a great post...5 things I am good at! The next week she did 5 things she is bad at. :) I thought this was a great idea so I am "borrowing" it!

1. Cleaning - My husband will be the first to say that I am slightly OCD when it comes to cleaning. I am constantly cleaning our house. However, he has discovered that I have this thing called ADCD....Attention Deficit Cleaning Disorder. Basically I'll strike out to clean our kitchen and next thing you know I have wiped out all the cabinets, cleaned on top of the cabinets, and taken the range apart. A little ten minute project can turn into half the day! What can I say, I like a clean house!

2. Cooking - I am not all that creative at inventing new recipes but I can follow any recipe and love trying new meals! I haven't heard Dave complain about a meal yet! I'll try any meal once but if I discover it takes more than about an hour to make, it won't be a repeat in our house. I love cooking flavorful, simple, unique meals.

3. List Making - I get more accomplished when I have a list and plan for my day. Working from home, it could be so easy to get distracted with silly things (ex. spending a whole day looking at recipes on Pinterest!) and let my whole slip away. So I find that if I make a list for my day the night before when we are watching TV, I am better at getting things done.

4. Shopping - I can find a deal, coupon, special, etc. for most things. I don't enjoy digging through bins of chaos at a local store but I love watching for online ads and then striking out to scoop up a good deal. I can't remember the last time I paid more than $20 for a pair of jeans and I am always finding freebies at the grocery. I will splurge on something though if it is really flattering or I know it will get lots of use!

5.Traveling - I love to travel! From a day trip to Lake Michigan to a two week exploration of Europe and everything in between. If you are looking for a travel buddy, I am your girl. I get so excited planning our next great adventure and love to have a trip to look forward to on my calendar. Usually before I go anywhere I have scouted out the best deals on any place we might potentially want to check out (museums, shows, etc.) and have read yelp reviews for the best restaurants in town. I have made lists (see #3 above) and I am prepared for anything we might want to get into. I absolutely love to travel!

What are you good at? Do you love to travel or a desire to get a great deal shopping? Are you a slightly OCD, list making, cleaning fanatic like me?