we were chosen! please vote for us!

so here it is! the secret i've been keeping [and it's been killing me]! well i guess i should say that there are a few secrets i've been holding on to. in the midst of all of the wedding planning and joy, my parents have decided to get divorced. sighs. this was not something that i planned on sharing, but either way, it has made planning a wedding [on top of everything else] very very hard. due to the financial implications, it has made discussing a wedding budget very awkward and at some point, we had to decide exactly what was to be sacrificed since we don't want anyone we love to struggle anymore than necessary when making a huge, life-altering decision. we don't ever want a day that's supposed to be the best day in our lives to be a day that brings those we love any stress or sleepless nights. we just want to be married and spend our days together always. whether that's in a courthouse or a farmhouse, us being together and celebrating our love with those we love is all that matters.

so when i saw that the amazingly talented vendors throwing the notwedding here in atlanta were having a contest for a free wedding, i figured that it was worth a shot [especially after attending this event last year and being blown away]. with the amount of stress that jason and i have been under, we could really use the help of having some awesome professionals plan our wedding, but of course i never thought we'd get picked. well guess what - we are in the final 8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i got a call today confirming that we were in the final round and that now it's up the public to vote!

i believe voting starts tomorrow at http://thenotwedding.blogspot.com so please vote for me and jason! we are so grateful for this opportunity and if chosen, we want to share this experience with all of you! if you want any information or have any questions about why you should vote for us, please email me or post a comment and i will respond immediately!

i hope you can forgive the secret-keeping, but hopefully you will vote for jason and me! i believe voting starts tomorrow so please go to the NotWedding blog and vote for jason and nicole! i promise that your vote will not be taken forgranted and that we will be eternally grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! please spread the word! i have appreciated all of the blog support that i have received in the past few months and i feel so lucky to be a part of this radical community that has inspired me every day. we love you all! xoxo

"the purpose of our lives is to be happy” - dalai lama

p.s. here's the first picture of jason and i right after he asked me to marry him. good times! story to come soon!

finally

woods and water are always a wonderful wedding combination! i love this wedding for it's amazing flower girls [can you ever go wrong with tutu's], the bride's adorable [short] wedding dress, and the awesome backdrop!











[all images via maggiemac photo's flickr site]

p.s. sorry for the small pictures!

so i have some amazing news! jason and i finished phase 1 of working on the house! the must-do repairs are completed, hardwood floors refinished, walls and trims painted, and everything has been cleaned! we finished late last night and it couldnt feel better! it is such a hugggggge relief that it still doesn't seem real! we start moving in on wednesday!!! you will have pictures very soon...i promise! i took a bunch last night and i can't wait to share!

anyways, today i am in orlando, fl for a convention for work. sighs. it is probably the worst time to be traveling but that's typically how it does, right? regardless, it'll be nice to relax a bit today and the weather being super sunny doesn't hurt!



so i have a confession - i have been keeping a secret in an attempt to not get my hopes up. i have some majjooooooorr news to share with everyone! it's VERY exciting and i can't wait to spill the beans! i hope you've all had the best weekend! stay posted...and check back very soon!

santa barbara wedding

so i decided to start off this wedding post with a picture of the couple sans their wedding attire first. with the antlers, exposed brick, and red velvet chairs - you know you're in for a treat [i mean come on]!

most of the pictures of this santa barbara wedding include priceless shots of the couple, but with a couple so cool and good-looking it should be a given. i should mention that i love the fact that their wedding seems uniquely traditional (is this an oxy-moron?) and fancy in their attire, but their table settings and locale are super laid back. the red and white checkered picnic table cloth really works surprisingly.












[all images via azuree wiitala's flickr]

i can't not get enough of her dress and hair. freaking awesome.

walk, don't run

[image via lorenzodom's flickr ]

"freedom is nothing but a chance to be better" - albert camus

flowers

this wedding is amazing! i can't get over the setting [yay for farmhouses!], the dress, the happy and stylish couple, the flowers, and the patio lit with paper lanterns! this wedding is so intimate and fun. i even love the haystacks showing through the windows of the barn! this fall wedding has so many elements that i can only dream of for my day. fingers crossed!












[all images via anne lape's flickr site]

by the way, did i mention how amazing the groom's suit is? holy. yeah.

precious

i will admit that my owl obsession has dwindled [gasp]. i started collecting owl items a few years ago in college and i have some great pieces that i will never part with [ i'm convinced that one day my grandkids will ask their parents what's up with grandma and all those damn owls - haha]. oh well. although i have had too much of my share of owls - i will always be a lover of all things bird-related and therefore this custom invitation by matthew bowers is right up my alley! so cute!

[image via matthew bowers]

tunes to get me through

after the grind of working on the house this weekend - i never want to paint trim again as long as i live. regardless, none of this makes being at work any easier today. but i will put on my ipod and i will carry on.

i'm excited about wednesday! jason and i are taking somewhat of a break from the house [ok, well maybe not all evening] but we are going to see phospherescent at the drunken unicorn venue in downtown atlanta! not only are they from athens [my college town] but one of my best friends, scott, is in the band and i haven't seen him in many years! if you haven't ever listened to them, you should definitely check them out.

in the meantime, here's a greatttt cover song to help get you through this manic monday. enjoy!

running of the brides

by the way, i thought i should mention that today was the running of the brides at the philene's basement in buckhead. on my commute to work, i listened to the local radio station outside interviewing and having contests for the girls waiting to stampede the store. although i think it's a great opportunity for girls to get a designer dress at a budget-friendly price, i couldn't be more thankful to already have a dress. i don't think i could handle the anxiety of finding the right dress within a madhouse. good luck to all you atlanta ladies who waited in lines of a thousand girls for 2 days! i hope it was worth it!



did any of you get your wedding dress at a running of the brides event? if so, was it worth it?

reunion style

i recently saw jaime and chris's wedding on offbeatbride and i was drawn to it instantly! the laidback bride and groom, park setting, pinata, and prom-style wedding dress make for great pictures [and an obvious good time]. i love seeing wedding pictures where you feel like you know the couple's personalities because it shines in every element of the wedding. plus, i love that they went for a family reunion for their wedding, because there's nothing better than having an excuse to get family that you love together and celebrate your love!








[all images via jamie andchris's flickr and b and k photography]

grateful

one of my absolute favorite blogger friends, color me green, has been so sweet to give me the kreativ blogger award! i don't necessarily feel like i deserve it these past few weeks considering everything else going on in this crazy thing they call life; however, i am eternally grateful for this awesome award.


here are the award rules: list 7 things that you love, and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you love! be sure to tag them and let them know that they have won. you can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sideboard letting the whole world know...you are kreativ!



7 things that i currently love:
1. the satisfaction of finishing a project in our new home
2. morningstar buffalo "chicken" nuggets - since i'm not vegan, these are my sinister vegetarian favorites!
3. brunch
4. listening to bon iver
5. finding unexpected new places to hike and explore that are close by
6. spending time with my favorites: j, my family [includes soon-to-be in-laws], and beth!
7. crawling into bed with j after a looong work [office and home] day to watch lost on dvd!

i want to present this award to the following talented bloggers whose blogs i can't get enough of! they are super inspirational and a necessary daily read!
vintageglamblog
wemetinabar
eastsidebride
apracticalwedding
earthfriendlywedding
steadyhappy
heart of light

sacred cow

"a man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. ideas have endurance without death" - jfk

i have been traveling on business to dallas, tx for the past few days. missing flights, not getting enough sleep, and meetings back-to-back. it feels good to be home. back to refinishing hardwood floors, calluses from painting, and still - not getting enough sleep.

but at least i'm home and working on finishing my home.

oh yeah - and back to updating! i've missed you guys!

dream of stars

i am so happy that it is friday. although this weekend will yet again be another weekend dedicated entirely to working on the house [and it's supposed to rain-ugh], hopefully we'll get a bit more sleep than we have all week. and plus i get a jason-cooked breakfast which is my favorite. i hope your weekend is full of sunshine, good friends, great laughs, and lots of peace!

now that we're [somewhat] getting closer to being able to do more cosmetic changes on the house, i can't stop thinking about how i want to decorate the house to make it feel more like home. ever since i saw emily st.clair's artwork on nicole bach's living room wall, i have been smitten! i would love to have one of these pieces hanging in our new house!








i wonder if this was the inspiration?


"rituals are important. nowadays it's hip not to be married. i'm not interested in being hip" - john lennon

closer

i saw this questionnaire on teresa's blog and thought it'd be fun to share some fun facts about j.

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? well considering we don't have cable right now this one is tough. when we did, j's faves were man vs wild, survivorman, and now we've just started watching lost season 1 - notice a trend? jason wants to live off the grid so bad it hurts.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? ranch. hands down.

3. What's one food he doesn't like? jason isn't picky at all which helps when one is vegetarian, but he isn't a fan of sweets at all. lucky.

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order? a beer. maybe heineken or a sweetwater.

5. Where did he go to high school? central gwinnett high school.

6. What size shoe does he wear? 11.5 - 12. sometimes it depends on the shoes.

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? maybe bottle caps. or banksy prints.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? he loves wraps with "bacon" tempeh strips and avocado.

9. What would he eat every day if he could? burritos or pizza.

10. What is his favorite cereal? he's not a big cereal eater. he prefers making big breakfasts with hashbrowns, bagels, or scrambled tofu.

11. What would he never wear? baggy pants or shirts that are too big

12. What is his favorite sports team? braves circa the 1990's

13. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? probably put myself down or when i get road rage [no, i'm not proud of this]

14. What is his heritage? english - if you've seen the cate blanchett "elizabeth" movie - the man who gets his hand cut off for trying to advise the queen - yeah that man was truly one of j's ancestors! crazy!

15. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? he prefers cookie cake or pound cake which his family calls "pound puppy" cake since he called it that when he was little. so cute!

16. Did he play sports in high school? yes, only for a bit. he played baseball, but then he got a ball to the jaw which resulted in having to have his mouth wired shut for 6 months.

17. What could he spend hours doing? altering photos on photoshop or planning trips

18. What is one unique talent he has? jason can write and paint extremely well. one day i'll have to post one of my favorite writings he ever wrote for me.

what are some interesting things about your guy?

p.s. happy friday!!!

sneak peek

i know i've been complaining about all of the house work recently. maybe whining would be a better description, but either way i wanted to share some of the experiences with you!

we don't have any furniture moved in so it doesn't feel like home at all really - it's weird talking about "home" and that still being 2 different places. however, we did meet some of our neighbors yesterday which makes it feel more real! exciting!

we've painted 4 of the rooms so far [we have to paint every room, trim, closet, etc.] but i want to show you the paint colors we've picked and get your input! all paints are behr brand.

for the master bedroom, we chose mocha accent.


for the office, we went with ashwood but then due to the home depot drama, it's actually has a bit more grey in it than the ashwood below.


for the art room, we went with sonata for a pop of color.


for the kitchen, feather gold to go with our blue/ teal tiles.


for the main hallway and dining room, the lovely mother nature.


for the living room, we went just a tiny bit darker than the color that was already in the room but it needed to be touched up. let me introduce you to castle path.


for the add on guest bath, we chose spring hill.


for the guest bedroom, we went with garden wall.


and last, but not least, we will have sandstone cove in the add on hallway.


fingers crossed that it looks good once it's all painted! also, fingers crossed that eventually the paint fume smell goes away!

p.s. i just noticed that jason and i were obviously biased towards browns and beiges. we were aiming for earthy organic colors. hmm...go figure.

[paint samples from http://www.myperfectcolor.com/]

words of wisdom wednesday

"any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves" - albert einstein

[photo by jethro soudant via jethro soudant's flickr]

l'introduction

so i figured that today would be as good a day as any other to tell you how jason and i met. there are some things within this story that are somewhat embarrassing, but i could never leave them out. now that all cards are on the table, here goes...

it was the my 2nd semester of my junior year of college. being a psychology major, i was taking mr. achee's class "history of psychology." all semester i had noticed this cute boy who sat in the row next to me, but one seat up. when he actually showed up to class [which was somewhat rare], he would arrive in slippers and therefore, he intrigued me. one day i noticed that he had a button on his bag for a band that i loved and i knew we'd be able to at least have somethings in common. so everyday i would try to get up the nerve to talk to him or give him a flier to my roommate's 21st birthday party, but i failed every single day.

finally it was the last week of classes before the final exam and my opportunities were running short. he didn't show up for the tuesday class which meant i had one more chance. that night i was on FB [gasp] and i clicked on the link to show people in your classes and he was the first person that showed up on the screen! this was a bit shocking considering i'd embarrsingly enough tried looking for him before with no avail. so i figured i had nothing to lose and i emailed him.

he tried to play like he didn't quite know who i was which i knew was a front, but either way we joked about how many times mr. achee had gone over the dang müller-lyer illusion and the communication door had been opened. so on thursday, the last day of class, we got out early and we walked out together and that's when he asked me to get a beer [at 10:00 in the morning]! being that i was still 20, i instead suggested lunch and it was a blast. we were instantly connected and we would end up spending each day for over 2 weeks hanging out until 6:00 AM every night/ morning to end with awkward "buddy pat" hugs. eventually we ended up making the first move for the kiss and we have been inseparable since.

here's some random/ insane things surrounding the first meeting:
1. j grew up in lawrenceville, ga and i grew up in alpharetta, ga [it is about 20-25 minutes drive between the two cities]; however, both of jason's aunts and grandparents [both on his mom's side] live on my parents' street! his one aunt lives across the street and 2 houses down from the house i grew up in [where my parents still live]!!
2. in fact there were times that j stayed with his aunt while working in atlanta during the summer and my mom saw him and thought it was a shame that i was away at college. he also heard me and some friends setting off fireworks one night across the street and complained to his mom about it over the phone.
3. j and i had both been trying to talk to eachother all semester and had both told our moms about eachother. see - i told you he knew who i was when i messaged him!
4. since he had no interest in FB, j's cousin had actually created his FB account for him only a few days before i messaged him.

anyways, i feel so lucky that our paths crossed the way they did. regardless of whether or not one believes in fate, it seems like many things aligned to have us meet exactly when we did. and i am forever thankful for mr.achee and that müller-lyer illusion drawing:

also, just for fun. here is jason and i on one of our very first dates [put-put golf at pirate's cove]:

have a wonderful day!