Update on the gardening... check out Ryan's Blog for pictures of our plants.... I am super excited about the spinach! I can practically taste the yummy salads we will eat later this summer!

Found some more crazy wedding photos today on this website here is a sampling: (some are funny... and some are not)...

She looks MAD!


I can only imagine the sad story behind this face!!!

My youngest sister (Bekah) called me 18 times yesterday asking me to bring her some books to read.... she is 16 and on summer vacation, and our mother has never let us just sleep all the time or watch a lot of tv on vacations (I don't think she understands the word "vacation"), but anyways, Bekah decided to use her time to read and look busy instead of being bored and roped into doing chores and yard work (smart girl!). One book she asked for was "The Nanny Diaries"... its a pretty good book, and the movie isn't bad also... here are some of the books I gave her:

I've slowly been able to get her interested in things like Anne of Green Gables, and books of that time period... one day when I was sick I made her watch the movies with me... I grew up watching them and always cry when Matthew dies, laugh at Anne's silly stubbornness, worry when Gilbert gets sick, and cry in the end while Anne and Gil are on the bridge.... after Bekah watched them with me, I think she feels the same way! A lady at my church whom I babysit for recently gave me the WHOLE Anne series (books), and I cant wait to read them all! Bekah also asked for those to read! I bet none of those other girls at Hudson are doing that this summer... but maybe Bekah can influence them a bit! :)

The rest of today:
Finish work.
Austin moves in.
Watch 3rd Season of LOST (my new favorite show!!!).
Dinner at the Brysons.
More LOST!!!.

Kairos Garden

Ryan and I planted a garden a couple weeks back... sometimes we forget to water it (oops!) but its been raining lately, so we've been covered. We planted pumpkins, cucumbers, peppers, radishes, 5 different herbs, watermelon and spinach! We are so excited to eat fresh salads later this summer! Our cucumbers have already started to come out! I was listening to the radio today and they had people calling in giving gardening tips... and I realized there are some pretty neat ways that plants work with each other and the earth to help everything to grow, so I googled some books on this stuff and came up with:

Those two look like good starters for those who want a green thumb!

And one more thing (maybe to protect that thumb - and the other 4):

They have different sizes and colors! Check them out!

I think having something fun to wear will motivate us "gardeners" who are not always eager to go play in the dirt...

Barn Wedding reprise...

Since my post on barn weddings (see below), I have had so many people tell me they want a barn wedding! That was super encouraging... one, because that meant people were reading my blog, and two, because I may be on to something with this theme wedding idea...

There could be many variations to a barn wedding:

Totally Country: Checkered tablecloths, horse rides, square dancing at the reception...

Victorian Country: Deep colors, sweeping sheer fabric, brass table decor, ivy...

Simple Country: Barn, hay, chairs, more hay...

Life stuff:
House fire this week: 1
Police car run-ins: 4
Trips to Little Italy in Cleveland: 1
Dunkin Coffees: 2

Regarding the house fire, no one was hurt, and no structural damage (thanks to an observant hero/neighbor)... caused by a cigarette... not by a person at our house though. Through it we got to meet a couple neighbors that we hadn't known yet, so that was a good thing!

Little Italy was great, though when they say "little" they really mean it!!! It was so teeny! But fun none the less... We went out to celebrate Eric's 23rd Birthday. It was the "fab five" (Eric, Shanna, Jamie, Ryan and me) and while getting ready for the evening, it was brought to our attention that there were NO pictures with the five of us together (we have been friends for like 3 years) and we were appalled, so we made it a point to take one... however, we took it with Shanna and Eric's camera, so we may never see it again, because those two take lots of pictures, but never do anything with them!!! I'll post it if I ever get a copy :)

This is Shanna and Eric (I planned their wedding! One year ago July 14)

Disturbing photo of the day...

The other day I found a picture that
I thought was funny at first,
but then disturbing the more I looked at it:

First: what are those creepy boys doing in the back?

Second: WHAT in heaven's name is she wearing?!

Thirdly: What is the groom thinking?!!?!!

Update:

Still raining.
Number of free iced coffees yesterday: 2
Interesting website discoveries:
www.wardrobeexchange.com
One more person moved out of Kairos yesterday.
Her room was awfully empty last night.
However, someone else moved right in,
but posted no monkeys on the wall....

Free Coffee!

Yesterday was such a rainy day.

I had so many plans for what I would do after work, but because of the ridiculous rain, all the plans had to be put on hold. So instead, I drove to Dunkin Donuts because I had a Free Pepperoni Pizza coupon, but when I got there, they told me they didn't have the equipment to make them yet, but they gave me a free donut (score!) and I drove down the road to the next Dunkin Donuts (yeah, there are that many in NE Ohio) and they had the pizzas, so I got a free pizza and a 63cent Polar Pop from Circle K. I then drove home and decided I would take a "Rainy Day Nap" for like half and hour or so.... hehe. I went to sleep at 3:38 pm, and woke up 4hrs later at 7:47 pm. I couldn't believe I had slept that long... so I went downstairs where Ryan, Jamie and Mark were cooking macaroni salad, and I helped/slept while they really did all the work. Then, (naturally) I decided I wanted to make banana pudding, but I only had the bananas and the vanilla wafers, not the putting so I went to the store to get that! mm mm!! it was delicious!

Then Jamie and I watched Grey's Anatomy online... THEN took the quizzes to see which cast member we were most like... I am Izzie and McDreamy, and Jamie is Izzie and George. It was a great day, but not all was lost... I went on a walk with Mark at like 1:30 for almost 2 miles.

The real reason for this post is this website:

http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/spotlight/article/
handmade-wedding-series-eat-greener-food-with-emily-of-eco-c/1460/

The author of one of my favorite books ( Eco Chic Weddings ) and one of my favorite web pages (www.Etsy.com) came together on one page and talked about weddings going green, and how to support Fair Trade, organic, local, or handmade producers while still having the wedding you've dreamed of. Read the article and let me know what you think!

ps- Today is FREE iced coffee day at Dunkin Donuts!!!

New Ideas

Its a beautiful morning here in Ohio! The sun is shinning and the HI is 69 degrees... Today I plan on doing some gardening at Grandma and Grandpa's, then helping Ryan plant the garden at our house. Its a great day to work outside and feel the earth with your fingers! (plus, working in the sun always helps the quest for a tan) :)

I found a new blog today... http://justjaime28.wordpress.com/

So it inspired me.... I thought... "why don't I blog my findings of SWEET wedding ideas, party pictures, and creative misc!? It would be a great way of saving things I find (instead of having hundreds of bookmarks) AND a great way to share things with friends and/or clients... mmm..... :)

So here goes!

I have been talking for a while about having a Fall/Barn wedding...
and today I found this picture(from the blog listed above):

Then these pictures from this website (http://www.fearrington.com/house/weddingbarn.asp#5):

and a couple more:

What I really have in mind is a more natural feeling... dirt floors, horse tackle in stalls, a little hay lying around (like the 1st picture)... you get the idea. Its pretty exciting really!

So those are my ideas for the day... comments or suggestions welcome!

-Abby