26 Goals for my 26th year

For my 26th birthday I made a list of 26 goals. I'm going to attempt to use this blog to track my progress on them, and see how I did on my 27th birthday.
Here's the list:
1) Move to Nashville, TN
2) Start work on my Bachelor's degree in Business Management
3) Start a family
4) Adopt a doxie
5) Grow my hair
6) Leave my hair blonde for the entire year
7) Find a job that doesn't make me want to open a vein
8) Learn how to use my sewing machine
9) Be more organized
10) Learn how to say no
11) Be better at time management
12) Save money and start a budget
13) Read 10 books that aren't romance novels
14) Be less of a packrat
15) Go on lots of adventures
16) Maintain friendships
17) Make new friends
18) Make one thing from Pinterest a month
19) Make wedding scrapbook
20) Maintain a sappy, happy marriage
21) Write more
22) Learn to knit or crochet
23) Have more realistic expectations
24) Be a supportive and encouraging wife
25) Make more gifts
26) Learn how to make mom's green bean soup

It may not grow on trees... but it's made from trees.

TheKnot posted this image on their Facebook page today and it boggled my mind! $27,021, for ONE DAY of celebrating. It is an important day, but it is still only one day!!! Of all the things Joe and I will be spending money on as we begin our lives, I don't think a party is the most important. I shared this picture on my Facebook and found most brides in my area are much closer to where Joe and I are, spending-wise. We are going without quite a few things on here, such as a videographer, a band, ceremony music, a florist, and transportation. We've also been blessed with a cousin who offered to make us a cake for our wedding present. As stressful as wedding planning can be, it has also shown me how lucky and loved we are. One thing I am ultimately keeping in mind is that it doesn't matter if we show up to the wedding in a limo, or if the favors blow everyone's mind, all that matters is that he is going to be my husband, and those that love us dearly will be there to give us hugs and support.

Journeys

This blog has absolutely no "theme" aside from things that are important to me. And that's okay. I just missed writing as a stress release so I find it to be good for me.

Recently I've been thinking a lot about Joe & I's future once we're married. Now that the majority of wedding planning is done, it's time for me to think (read: obsess) about the next step. I've never thought I'd spend the rest of my days in Ohio, and until November it was a very real possibility that we would be spending our first year of wedded bliss in South Carolina. Alas, that is not that case. Joe was accepted to Kent State but not Clemson. In between Joe applying for Clemson and being rejected, we got engaged, and then I threw myself into our first Christmas in our apartment and wedding planning and didn't give leaving the state more than a fleeting thought... until recently. We would both like to move south, and being the researcher in our relationship, I found a good architecture school in Florida. We'll still be in Ohio for another year while Joe boosts his GPA at Kent, but then hopefully he will be re-applying at Clemson, and applying at the University of Florida. I feel like our lives are finally starting but there's so many things still holding us back. I would love to buy a house and start making little babies on June 10th, but it doesn't make sense. I don't think it's wise to buy a house until we are both completely done with school and can make an appropriate budget factoring in our astronomical student loans. I would also prefer to wait until Joe is hired as an architect somewhere, because finding a job in such a competitive field may mean another relocation for us. Before I started thinking about moving again, the plan was to move about 15 minutes away to Stow where Joe would finish the next 3-4 years of schooling at Kent. Now that we have a few more months of uncertainty as us as we play the "where will be next year?" game again, I don't want to move. Luckily, we have a nice one bedroom, and a balcony that overlooks this:

We have laundry in our apartment, and affordable rent. I think we can put up with the lack of closet space for just a little longer while we see what journey God has in store for us. I hope that I don't get so caught up in planning that I forget to see what blessings are right in front of us and miss the journey He intends for us to take. Only time will tell..

Adventures with Zulily

My first Zulily order finally came today! I can't decide how I feel about the experience yet. I placed my order on February 25th and it just arrived, which feels like a long time. I hate paying for shipping and the fact that I paid $7 for shipping and it took over 2 weeks to arrive kind of irks me. However, the shoes are so cute! I feel like they're more turquoise-y in person. I am not allowed to wear flip flops to work, much to my dismay, and it seems a bit early for sandals, so I was looking for a cute pair of sandal/flat hybirds. Unto me, this pretty floral flandal was bestowed. I wish I could find a solution for flats rubbing the back of my foot though. It seems every pair I buy do that. Oh well! I can't wait to pattern mix with these!

The Knot is EVIL

TheKnot may very well be the most evil site in the history of the internet. I look through the boards for suggestions on things I can DIY and how to handle tricky etiquette situations. By doing so, I've discovered that I am doing everything wrong. By having a small ceremony and large reception with a gap between, we are apparently being selfish and rude. I just can't believe how mean some of the people are on there, and how stressed out some of the brides are. I saw an entire thread on whether invitations should be addressed with the recipients proper name vs. their common name, ie Joe vs Joseph. Why would you worry about that? I didn't even know I should be worried about that! I just addressed them and sent them off! Now, I'm sort of developing a complex though. Do people secretly hate me because we're having a gap of time between the ceremony and reception? Are people mad that we're having a small ceremony? Ultimately it's our day, and I know that, but my inner people pleaser is having a panic attack!

It's All Happening

I've been considering starting this blog for awhile now. I figured with all the crazy adventures in my life now, there's no better time to start documenting them. The name comes from what is, arguably, the best movie that will ever be made during my life time, Almost Famous. Everytime I start to feel overwhelmed, I feel like Penny Lane saying, "It's all happening!" and I instantly calm down and smile. I intend to post random recipes I come up with, various anecdotes about finishing one degree and beginning another, and the delights of planning a wedding on a college student budget while working and going to school full time!

So to start, I'm going to post some pictures of our wedding centerpieces we just finished this weekend, with a little tutorial. I intend to keep my favorites for household decorations, that's how much I like them!

That's a finished centerpiece. They will all be a bit different. Here's a couple more I made:

Making them was pretty simple, we saved various jars, cleaned them and scraped the labels off. I then painted the lids. I glued some form of our initials onto a wooden block that I then glued to the bottom of the jar, and filled it to the top of the block with sand. I found a book of different cardstocks that matched our wedding colors to set the jars on and then surrounded the jars with tea lights and sea shells. Pretty easy, and cheap. I actually got the miniature birds from the mini-Christmas tree ornaments section for $.50!