beach party!

although j and i are really feeling land-locked these days and keep wishing to be on a beach somewhere, feeling the sand between our toes...

...well we may not be there yet, BUT this is pretty close!

tonight is the annual decatur beach party in downtown! this consists of 60 TONS of sand being spread all over downtown decatur! so fun! i love summer and i love festivals!



should be a good time and we may even ride our bikes to the festivities (see below post)! and now that i'm back on my diet for the last 4 month stretch, the bike ride will definitely help this mission (if the heat in georgia doesn't kill me first).

and speaking of beaches, j and i have been researching honeymoon spots - which isn't easy with the constant threat of rain and/ or hurricanes in october, but this is worth the risk:







[images via cocobayresort.com]

although i know these beach pictures don't make the work day end any quicker - i hope you all have a great weekend!

"if you want others to be happy, practice compassion. if you want to be happy, practice compassion" - hh the dalai lama

i want to ride my bicycle

j and i finally bit the bullet and bought ourselves new bikes! now that we are living in a bike-friendly (well about as bike-friendly as it gets in metro atlanta) area, we wanted dependable bikes! we ended up buying hybrids (yay for comfort and performance). although atlanta weather has been very tempermental which has kept us from riding as much as we'd like, we can't wait to be able to ride around town! jason will actually be using his bike to commute to work which helps lower our carbon footprint!! and decatur has just completed the PATH trail near our house between 2 parks which is for runners, walkers, and bikes! it's beautiful (just see for yourself):


the only downside (there's always a rub) is our neighborhood is verrrry hilly. we took a ride for an hour on wednesday and the hills were almost the end of me. my thighs almost fell off. true story.

anyways, we got our bikes from the local bicycle south shop (they are great if you're in the market for a bike! very great prices and laid back and knowledgeable staff). we couldn't be happier!

j got a 2008 raleigh detour hybrid. only it's grey, not green. he looooves it. now we just need to add a rack and fenders for his commute.

i got a giant brand hybrid that came with a rack, fender, compass (and bell!) already included. only it is blue, not black. good times!



i will get you guys some pics of our actual bikes because they are way cuter. there's nothing like a bike ride to make you feel 10 years old again and unstoppable. i can't wait to ride our bikes towards little 5 points for a snowball (in trying to relive the new orleans trip)!

summer is here, my friends.

[image via the london transport museum]

p.s. the london transport museum has some wonderful posters/ prints. we are actually thinking of using one for our invitation. more on that to follow.

confessions

hello. my name is coley and i've had a lot on my plate these days. but i want to come back. a lot has happened since we last spoke, but i'm not ready to end this. i want to make this work.

wedding planning has been back in full swing now that our house is now liveable. here are some long overdue pics chez nous - mostly of the outside because we're still unpacking and making design changes. before and after shots to come soon (we didn't take near enough unfortunately).














we also took a trip to new orleans, la to celebrate our 4 year anniversary/ 1 year anniversary of being engaged and it was awesome. and although we were there to celebrate mostly, we also took the trip to take a breather and get refreshed to help get on the right track. we walked the french quarter, took the trolley to the garden district to walk magazine street, went to the french market, got snowballs, we ate at cafe du monde (chickory coffee and beignets!), took the nanchez river boat cruise, and did an awesome "haunted" tour. we had a great time all around and enjoyed the big easy (although it's good to note that it is not a vegetarian-friendly city for the majority, however angeli's on decatur street was ggggrreat)!








oh, and on a final note, i have decided i need this:

[cake topper from etsy seller, melabo]

i should also tell you...i've missed you [all]. how's things?
xo

nightmare

[image via alyssa giannini's flickr]

i had a nightmare last night and i'm still feeling very anxious about it.

it was our wedding day. everyone was there. but there was no food. cake. photographer. nothing. and randomly i was in a black dress. this is a sign that i have not been productive AT ALL with our wedding planning. as of last friday, we are exactly 6 months away from our wedding! save the dates haven't even been sent! gasp.

this weekend it's time to get serious.

i have been failing at finding a healthy balance.

how do you find time to balance work, relationships, sleep, and work?

distractions and fractions

helllllloooooooooo!

happy monday! i hope everyone out there had an awesome weekend! this was the first weekend in almost 2 months that was not completely booked up by the house - weird, but awesome feeling!

outside of the standard numerous family commitments surrounding holidays, jason and i got to cook our favorite breakfast in the new house (2 days in a row!) for the first time! scramled tofu + guacamole + wheat toast + raspberry with pear brandy preserves! omg.



also, my favorite best friend in the world was super awesome and put j and i on the sub pop guest list (she's amazing like that and lucky enough to work for sub pop!) to see flight of the conchords at the fox theater. omg again. we laughed until we cried and just had a blast. it was officially our first night out together, alone, doing something really fun since the stress of the house. for this awesome night, i am forever indebted to sasha (even though i think i'm sure that was already the case, determined at some point in college). either way, thank you sash. as soon as i get fully situated, expect a surprise! and i hope you don't kill me, but here's the infamous picture where people for some reason think we look like sisters - good times. haha.


p.s. since moving our internet has yet to be turned on. after this wednesday, i will be able to update more! also, so far (knock on wood) the only item that we have discovered that did not survive the move was my brand new computer sadly. thank goodness for warranties, but the delay has been torturous and painful. i've been trying to stay positivee and i'm hoping that they will be able to salvage the computer and everything on it *fingers crossed*. this may not fully excuse my gaps in posts, but it is what it is.

back to reality

first off, i wanted to start today by saying thank you (x infinity) to any and all of you that stepped up last week to help show your love and support for jason and me! we are forever in awe and grateful. i also want to congratulate sam and kaitlyn on their upcoming free wedding!!! they are such an adorable couple (with a ridiculously cute little boy) and i hope that their wedding is all they could dream of and more!

j and i had a blast participating in the contest, but at the end of the day, we are super stoked to be able to plan our own wedding that is all about the things we love. and we will continue to do just that and share those plans with you guys! the save the dates will be going out this month and i can't wait to show everyone!

now that we're back in the mindset of that fall wedding (which i'll be honest, a fall wedding instead of a may wedding allows for me to get in back in shape before putting on a wedding dress so that's another plus!), i found a wonderful wedding to pull inspiration from!







[all images via fifth business's flickr]

i love the leaves on the ground with the huge trees in the background! the bike signs are so perfect and i love the streamers and tin cans. these bikes can give tandem bikes a run for their money any day.

happy monday!

p.s. jason and i are fully out of the apartment (yay for not being responsible for 2 residences) and made the commute to work from our house for the first time this morning! weird. also, it's so easy to forget that unpacking takes even longer than packing. sighs. at least there are no time contraints!

normalcy

it's amazing how much we crave stability. jason and i have almost fully packed up every pen, pot, and pillow. we are in the final stretch.

all we can daydream about is sleeping in, cooking dinner together, reading our daily dalai lama quotes (we have A LOT of catching up to do), listening to the birds in our backyard while eating breakfast, gardening, laying around while jason plays the harmonica, planning our next tallulah gorge hike, watching movies, going camping, riding bikes, and just being able to hang out with our friends and eachother. our lives have been so hectic that our brains and our bodies are just simply exhausted. i know that nothing can prepare you for times like this, but the good news is that we are so adaptable and we'll get through it like we always do. one day this will all just be a memory...and a damn good one at that.

this phosporescent video says it all. we may not technically be a-roaming, but we sure are ready to be home.


have a wonderful weekend and i promise to be back with some awesome wedding-related info next week. xo

p.s. only 2 more days to vote, so if you want to help out some folks who could sure use a free wedding, please vote for jason and me here!!!! i know we're awfully behind, but apparently votes won't fully determine the winner so every vote counts. it's not over 'til it's over, right?

go figure

so now that i'm home from the retailer convention that i attended this week, i am sick. super sick.

i guess when you're on your feet, giving the same presentation every 8 minutes for 11 hours within 2 days (no, i'm not kidding and somehow i still have my voice), getting sick seems pretty inevitable!

with that being said, jason and i now have to move tonight!!! hopefully we'll miss the rain! fingers crossed.

life will be normal soon. life will be normal soon. or so i keep telling myself.

it still hasn't hit me that last night was the last time we'll be sleeping in our apartment. good things to come...

broken record

[image via susan's flickr page and poster via buyolympia]

"people often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. of course, this is not true. decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote - a very different thing" - walter h. judd

with that being said, please go to http://www.thenotwedding.blogspot.com/ and VOTE for nicole (me) and jason to win a FREEEEE wedding! we have fallen a good bit behind, so we could every vote we could get! please spread the word! tell your mom, your best friend, and your brother's girlfriend's niece! apparently, the final decision won't be solely based on votes (fingers crossed), but every vote helps! xoxo


[image via thenotwedding.com]

p.s. for all of those who have already voted, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! i think jason said it best when he told me that even if we don't win - after seeing all of the support from our friends and family and by having eachother, we've already won...he couldn't be more right.

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.