Lingerie Shower

Some dear friends planned a wonderful, laid back lingerie shower for me a few weeks ago. It was such a treat and a bittersweet day. Bitter because I learned of the passing of my precious Grandpa in the middle of the shower, and sweet because I had a group of wonderful, loving women to give me a warm, loving, supportive hug for a few hours {figuratively speaking}...

My bridesmaids spoiled me!

Amber and me

Taylor and me

Gina and moi

Whitney and moi

The cupcakes!

How fitting, with butterflies to represent my grandpa:)

The food and wine was a-mazing! I'll devote a post to that;)

I was a lucky girl, spending a tough day with these great ladies.

Presents!

The frilly loot!

Whether a guest, or the person to be showered, I love showers! What a happy time of celebration! As fall approaches, these are some dresses I'd snatch up to wear to a shower :)

Jenny Han sweater dress

Law of the Land

{lulus}

Marble-ous

{lulus}

Tucker

Milly

DVF

~Mrs.E~

More Bachelorette weekend

Days 2 and 3 in Vegas did not disappoint!

6) a fun polish color {I chose pompeii purple}

and spray tan combo will never steer you wrong ;)

7) Take advantage of strangers in the pool to get a cute group photo!

8) Roll with the punches. There will be single, fun-loving girls, and attached fun-loving girls. If this leads people to split at a fork in the vegas strip at one point in the night/early morning, C'est la vie. Have fun!

This group took in the ever-amazing Bellagio atrium

We got every.single.photo opp. in this joint.

I spared you allll the photos, but I never tire of the Bellagio :)

Love me some Taylor!

Gina's fave flower!

Then we headed to Serendipity for frozen hot chocolate!

Unfortunately, we ordered EVERYTHING ELSE on the menu before dessert

and were too full.

Next time;)

9) Safety in numbers. 2 or more is good. You can watch each other's backs/ drink preparation plus who will appreciate your "awesome" dance moves like your friends?

SO ready to see "O"

O-mazing

Working up our appetite before dinner at Yellow Tail

10)When given the option of pop-rock sushi...ORDER the pop-rock sushi!

One last rehydration and relaxation session at the pool

before heading home to my sweet boy!

Vegas,

As always, you were a blast. Thanks for helping me say goodbye to single life in style. Things between us will be different now, but I will always love you.

~Mrs. E~

Bachelorette Weekend

Along with too many pictures, I will list 10 steps to a successful bachelorette weekend, in the opinion of moi :)

10 steps to a successful Bachelorette party!

1) Don't expect perfectly framed photo opps. that's just the nature of the beast. Celebrations revolving around ooey gooey love feelings and alcohol is not a recipe for professional photography.

-(It's never to early to start irritating everyone else on the flight)-

2)When a friend alerts the flight crew of a bachelorette situation, free drinks ensue. And clapping...and blushing. How many times do you get married? Soak in every second :)

-Amber, Whitney, Ana-

3) Packing a minimum of 4 girls to a room is a recipe for fun and non-optional bonding ;)

-The group waiting for Katie's flight!-

-Gina, MOH-

Limos are a wash with Taxis in large groups ;)

-On the way to In and Out Burger, a tradition!-

-Where we recharged our batteries-

4) Get your beauty sleep at the pool. Birds:2 Stone:1

My sister-in-law, Ashley and me:)

-Embracing a big bootay-

-Me and bombshell Whit-

-me and bombshell Ana-

-an addition to the loveliness, Amber-

5) If you are far past the age of 22 (ie:the natural cushion the ball of your foot builds as you traipse through campus in heels...is no longer there) pack flats in your going our bag. You will be a nicer person :)

-It hard, even for strangers to get us all in one photo-

Day 2 and steps 5-10 to come!

~Mrs. E~

Wedding Cake fun!

Before I start chronicling the last several weeks, I couldn't pass up the chance to brag on our AMAZING cake artist/baker/fabulous girl.

Rachael, the owner of Intricate Icings, made our wedding and groom's cake and was also a contestant on the newest episode of Food Network Challenge which aired last night!

Our gorgeous wedding cake

(equally as tasty, but we'll get to that later;))

doves hung ribbons of fandant

Bevo! The groom's cake

Cute little rump!

The roller dolls challenge cake

Rachael did such a great job with our cakes, as well as the food network challenge cake, she is such a perfectionist and a pleasure to work with! I will cover the cakes more later, but if you are in the area and looking for an irresistibly tasty treat for your wedding or anything else (I need no special occasion for cake) I highly recommend Intricate Icings!

~sugar coma monday~

I went to the Chapel and I got married!!!

As soon as things slow down a bit, I can't wait to re-live the last several weeks in blog form :)

I am floating on cloud 9 and thank you all sooo much for your warm messages and support!

Until then, I just have to share a preview that my sister-in-law shot in the middle of the action!

love to you all!

~Mrs.E~

Butterflies are free

Someone once told me-or maybe I just choose to believe- that when you lose someone close to you, you never really lose them. They go on to live with you in another form. You can see them in a sunset, feel them in a warm breeze, or my favorite: a butterfly.

I feel selfish because as much as I know you are happy and whole with the Lord, I want to see you and hug you and hear your familiar comforting voice call "dolly!".

As my wedding is coming closer, I just have to keep telling myself that you will be there along with all our other loved ones because I know that's what you wanted more than anything, and that it's okay to celebrate.

Grandpa, you've done and meant more to me than I ever could have been bold enough to hope for. You've had a huge role in shaping the person that I am to this day and I will forever be grateful for it.

My love, always always.

I'm looking forward to that mountain breeze, the sun setting through the trees, and maybe even a butterfly. Those will be our hugs from now on, and that, too is a blessing :)

John Gregory Schneider

10/22/29-8/1/10

~Love~