Bloggy-versary Giveaway!

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Last year I started blogging on THIS DAY!
Read the first post here!


Looking forward to the new year... 

 To celebrate I have decided to do another giveaway!!! This time it will be a little different. Instead of giving away a sock monkey YOU tell ME what you get! There's a choice of between a HiLLjO-made  amigurumi crochet animal of your choice; a standard-size sock monkey; or even a crochet accessory of your choice like a hat, socks, gloves or corset-style arm warmers!

Value of ths giveaway is $20USD and is open to International entries. Giveaway closes 12/26/11.

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Good Luck and Thanks for the Great Year!!!

Bunnies has house keys... to our new home together.

Need some family crest animals?

Godfamily

I was born in Michigan, and I am an only child.

The fact I was an only made it very important to my parents to select Godparents for me when I was very young, should something ever happen to them before I grew up. They picked a couple who had 2 daughters of their own, who they had known for a long time. I grew up with their girls, we had Christmases together at their log cabin home, and have played dress-up with them many, many times with their (amazing) dress-up collection.

Our families were best-friends. I loved their kids and them, and we all loved each other like, well, family. Then we moved out to Nebraska. I hadn't talked to the family for a long while when Shawn + I got engaged; I never expected them to come to the wedding, especially not all of them. But they did! And they gave us lovely gifts to boot.

Cheyenne, Me, Marissa

D.Pohlen

Uncle Tom

D.Pohlen

That day a lot of my family and friends surprised me by showing me just how much they loved us. And I learned what family really is and how large ours is now. It's wonderful!

LoLz...Bun can u beleevs we were at teh zoo last year today?

Indeedz... I do haz a happy!

Shawn and I were engaged precisely a year ago, give or take a half hour!!! Here's the story that you can find on the proposal page, in honor of today!

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Shawn had asked me the previous week to take off the 9th and 10th of August to "look at some houses to buy." The plan was to both have two weekdays together to drive by some houses and then Tuesday hopefully look through some. Shawn also said there would be more than enough time to go to the zoo on that Monday, as we LOVE to frequent the zoo.

He dressed up a little, which made me dress up a little, and we left for the day. We got there and looked at several exhibits before Shawn made the suggestion to me that we go to the butterfly house, which is my favorite. I happily agreed and we made the long journey up the giraffe hill, sweating all the way.

When we arrived there, we were the only two entering the exhibit. We walked in and I started down the path to take a closer look at a larger butterfly while Shawn appeared to be looking at the large pond in the middle of the pavillion.

Happened right here, people!!!

He called me over all excitedly to the pond where he was bent down over the water. As I went over to him, he held his cupped hands out to me and said "I got one!" As I looked at his hands, he opened them slowly leaving me to find the strangest butterfly I'd ever seen... an engagement ring!
I looked at him with tearfilled eyes and we hugged as I said "YES!" over and over. It was perfect.

How to Read Wedding Magazines

There was nothing I throuroughly enjoyed more than taking a crisp $20 bill down to the bookstore to purchase 3 or 4 wedding magazines when we got engaged. I bought them a couple different times and took any free ones laying out in places we registered--duplicate or not.
Now I'm not the average Midwestern bride that gets married in a church and has a reception in a hotel. If you are, I wouldn't have to tell you how to read magazines! They are made for that kind of awesome experience. For those who are more like me, or want something that isn't in the magazines, don't write the Knot off quite yet; there's still things the mags are good for.

Inspiration
The books are filled with pictures and ads (also pictures). Don't skip over them; this is not a magazine. It is a wedding magazine. The pic of the centerpiece you skip over could be the One. Don't pore over every page, but be objective and look at each photo for a good amount of time.

"NO" ideas

What DON'T you like about the magazine? In the magazine? Is there a photo of a reception you think is the ultimate tacky festival? Cut it out! Making an antonym inspiration board when you're first planning is actually a lot more helpful; at that point you're bombarded with ideas you like. If you find one you don't like, there's a definite no. We must learn to celebrate this word later, so start now!



Read it Backwards
The only thing you should skip in wedding magazines is the table of contents. Don't expect what's coming next. Take no context with any photos. One thing that helps me with this is actually a funny habit of mine: I read magazines backwards. I don't know why, I just start in the back cover and read to the front.
Read your magazine front to back, read a new one, and then pick up the first one and read it backwards. You'll be like, "Did I see this?! I don't remember that!" It's like having fresh eyes when it's in a new order!
Remember that the Wedding Industry pays a ton of money to put their interpretations of being married into these mags. Only you can tell what being married/getting married will look and feel like to you. Most of my wedding magazines were for gathering "NO ideas" and it helped us a lot!

After you read them, I suggest giving them to a friend who would be interested or is getting married. Just because it's a new month doesn't mean the ideas from last month won't work anymore! What are some of your favorite magazines? Do you cut them up, give them away or save them?

On My Wedding Day to you, Bride-to-be

bridesupnorth.com

I have but one regret during our entire engagement: I wish I had been more overt about me being a Bride.
Sure you have the engagement ring (probably) and the glow, but lots of teeny-boppers wear fake engagement rings now for "fashion." When you're young-looking like me, no one can "tell" for sure, even though my ring doesn't look like a cheap cocktail ring from Walmart. If it does look real, you simply look too young for that to be so.
I would wait for people to ask me if I was engaged when getting a manicure instead of exclaiming it like I wish I had. I would never talk about more than what was asked about concerning the wedding. I just figured that no one cared as much as I did, right? I'd probably annoy them...
Well from my experience on my Blog and the Weddzilla blog, I'd say people are pretty happy for you when you blurt it out to them. They get very interested. This month I was a little more flamboyant about being a bride and I've really enjoyed it; to the point I wish I'd done it all along.
So REVEL, you brides-to-be!!! REVEL!!!

1 Day

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Here I am.

I will be married tomorrow forever after. I am not nervous, but the butterflies in my tummy are Amazonian.

I feel so many, many things.
I am happy to tears constantly; I am so excited; and I am so sure of Shawn and Me.

I just know that Shawn is the right man for me; everyday I am reminded when we discuss everything from having kids to what to eat for dinner. It helps that we agree on most things, but it is nice that even if we don't agree we always work through everything in a respectful and loving way.
We have worked so hard for so long at this wedding that we are strangely ready to be over it! Don't get us wrong; we are looking forward to the wedding more than anything we have anticipated thus far in our lives, but we're ready for the marriage. We want life to be quiet again so we can snuggle down like bunnies with our animals and watch Adult Swim at night until we fall asleep.
Honestly, we're just ready to take our life back from wedding planning! Before wedding planning, being bunnies daily was our Common law Status. After we're married things will go back to that status but we'll be able to do things we want to do like fix up our (soon-to-be found)New House together and get scars from it. We want to have babies and raise them into big people. We want to walk together, holding hands forever. We'll be living just like it was, but now it's in 3-D! WE are not changing, the status of the RELATIONSHIP will be.
We are making a promise to be together forever no matter what. Just as people change, feelings change; you cannot simply marry for emotional reasons alone. It is not enough. Marriages go through periods of YEARS where things might be just "not the same as before" but the couples who stay together during those rough spots usually fall in love with their spouses all over again.
My only advice to married people: love the other person as you want to be loved, and stay together. For better or worse.
You swore!

So on this day, my last day as a single lady, to all my single ladies: Just don't rush your life to get to any point, whether it be married or any other status. Waiting forever for Mr. Right is better than having a beautiful short-lived wedding with Mr. RightNow.
And always remember that everything happens for a reason! Everything.

I love you all, and all your words of support and kindness have really changed my life. I wish I could hug you all in person and share what you each have personally given me. You're beautiful!

Vintage Dress Alteration

BEFORE

Shawn and I have been "married" to each other for a few years now. We have lived and conducted ourselves in a way that if Nebraska recognized it, it would be commonlaw marriage. In light of our upcoming legal marriage we want to make a stand with Nature that we were married first, before the State said so!
That being said, we will wake up around Dawn on Thursday, pack up and hike out into the woods we love. We are going to pack my vintage dress, an outfit for him, and his camera equipment. We have found a spot already that we wanted to get married at. It is so beautiful with a sunken in creek bed and trees everywhere. Once there, we'll change, take some photos and privately discuss what we only want the other to hear. Some stuff I don't think everyone would care to see us get all mushy over at the Friday wedding!
So what do you think of the vintage dress's real purpose now?

AFTER

Very understandibly my alteration lady is too busy leaving for her Summer trip to finish up the hem shortening. So being the HiLLjO, I did it myself!And what do you think of its new length?

How Am I?



"I'M IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION!!!"



People I have been talking to and seeing lately always ask me the same question "How are you feeling?"
Let's see... I'm at 7 days to the wedding... but I appear mostly normal. Let me tell you how it really feels!!!
Underneath my ebbing surface glow, there is a mountainous mound of stress and cautious anticipation. Every worry, every tear not currently streaming down my face, every nervous giggle, every gift letter, everything to do with this wedding is settling under the surface and in the back of my mind. Like a wedding glacier, right Diana?

I am a highly emotional being, that I have realized. I only recently learned to be master over my emotion that displays in the last couple of years. I am so glad for that this this week because I feel crazy but I can keep it in check. I think I'm not outwardly crazy too because of all the steps we have taken to be really organized! I have EVERY SINGLE PAPER or thought that we will need in our wedding binder. I think for safety I should duct-tape it to my leg as a garter on the wedding day.

But honestly, I am SO ready to just sit back and enjoy the shew on Friday the 10th, and watch all our hard work planning and organizing play out. And I want to promise something here and now: I will not abandon this blog! I may not have the most followers, but damn do I ever have THE BEST.

Thank YOU, personally, for all the warm wishes!!! You guys make me well up daily.

Big Mo' is Flooding, but it's all good!

Although our specific venue location is undisclosed for another 8 days(!) I have shared that it is on the Missouri River. Well, folks when all the snow melts, where do you think it goes? In the river!

Photo by Josh Korth for KVNO

Due to the incredible amount of snow and rain we have experienced in our region, the Missouri River is expected to rise to a depth of around 36 feet by the end of June. There is a landing near our venue that is currently flooded! It has been shut down and all its events through July canceled. We are so lucky that the flood gates line the area directly between that landing and our venue! They are designed to hold the water that is surely and swiftly coming!

Photo by Josh Korth for KVNO

We are also in the upstairs of the venue so we are on higher ground and will not be flooded out! We are so fortunate because I have heard of area brides having to move their venues already.
Keep Calm and Marry On, right?!

Colored Wedding Dress Crinoline Part 2: Mere Mortals Dye Poly Tulle

So I tried to dye my ivory crinoline yellow about 2 weeks ago with regular Tulip Dye... FAIL. The deeper shade of ivory it turned rinsed right out!
Upon investigation into the material contents of the crinoline, (Read: I did online research, called the shop I bought my dress from, and then FINALLY called my dress designer's world headquarters) I found that it is Poly-tulle. It is made of Polyester.
Now folks, no mere mortal can dye polyester fabric. However, I do not take kindly to the idea of a white crinoline I could have just left attached to the damn dress!
So I did some more research into what WOULD dye polyester. Apparently there is a poylester dye that comes in its very own packet and everything. It is called iDye Poly and although it comes in limited colors, it comes in yellow and it works! Shawnie did most of the work and I stood by with my nervously bitten lip.

We put a stainless steel bucket on the stove with warm-to-hot water in it. We put it up to level 4 on the burner to get it simmering. We added the skirt and Shawn stirred it constantly to keep the color even and to keep the crinoline from cooking!

It got gradually darker over the course of 30 minutes.

Before

5 Minutes

10 Minutes! Soaked up a lot of color!!!

Woohoo! Results!!!

I'd like to thank Shawn (for dying and emotional support), Grandpa (for using his bathtub and carwashing bucket without fear of stains) and my mom (for listening to me bitch when it wouldn't work and I couldn't figure out how to make it work!). I will have a colored crinoline for under my dress.

There is a downside to this DIY: it took SO. FREAKING. LONG. that I handed it off to my alterations lady for Part 3 : the elastic waist. All I will have is after-after pics! Hang in there!

Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Memorial Day Monday to everyone, including those who are serving or whose familes are!!!
Over the weekend we did something for sheer delight that will shock all my readers: We went to WWE Monday Night Raw in Omaha!!!
The picture above was us outside of Omaha's Qwest Center before we went in. The stripe of flourescent orange and yellow are our signs we made. Mine said "HI GRANDPA & JAZZY!" on one side and "Shawn + Hillary Get Married in 11 DAYS!!!" We weren't on TV, but we still represented. We are huge WWE fans! This is a new development that Shawn's Grandpa is almost entirely responsible for. Shawn and his dad were into it when Shawn was younger, but now we don't miss it! Since we started renting Grandpa's basement to save up wedding money we have had dinner and watched wrestling every night that it is on. At first I was opposed, but now I'm the first one on the couch Mondays and Fridays!
We had a really nice, fun time and escaped from the wedding even though we're thisclose!

Results of Last Minute Veil DIY!

Hello, lovelies.
So yesterday I described how all the while that I have been planning my Wedding Day ensemble, I simply knew I did not want a traditional veil. I thought the answer for me was a hair wreath. I tried to make one for 6 WEEKS until I finally designed one I like. While that was failing previously I tried a simple flower in the hair, which I love, too.
I took all my accessories with me to my final fitting last Saturday only to discover that I don't like my accessories with my wedding gown! The shoes are too bulky with the dainty dress and the hair wreath only perpetuates my young-as-hell looks. I want to look grown up and womanly like all the brides I see at their weddings. I'm okay with looking like my young-faced self everyday but on my wedding day I want to look like a woman. The hair wreath is lovely, but not for me.

I don't recall where I saw it but recently there was a bride featured on one of my favorite blogs who had a version of a birdcage where the netting was in a crescent shape across only her eyes. I wanted to try one of those, but I had to find a good picture and find out what it was called!
After much googling of terms like "mini birdcage" and "eye veil" I found out that they are called bandeau veils or visor veils.
I googled up some good reference and inspiration photos and got to work making a diagram and list of supplies for myself (I have become VERY organized whilst planning!). I had everything but mini combs to attach it in my hair. After going to Sally Beauty I didn't find mini combs, but I got the 2-prong pincurl clips that looked like they would work, too.

I went home and laid out my supplies and got to work. It took around 5 minutes. Ava helped me mark my tulle; she bit it! But it was actually just where I needed to cut it... odd, yet wonderful! I cut a double-length to make a double layer of tulle by folding it in half. Then I folded the outside corners on each end to the center, pinching the layers together as I folded. Then I sewed a stitch and knot into the layers to keep it together before attaching it to the clip. The clip felt most secure in my hair with the prongs pointing down towards the floor, so I sewed each one onto the backside of sewn tulle clusters. The veil itself was "done" after that. I chose to add a sunflower barrette on the left side of it for my flower in the hair.

Which do you like better?

Why do I do this to myself?!

After my final dress fitting on Saturday with all my extras, I came to a hard realization: I love my dress and I love my accessories, just not together! I think I am lucky because I still have time and I am not discovering this the day-of. I also feel lucky because it is freaky-common for brides to start hating their dress around the point we are at in wedding planning. Neither of those things happened so I am just focused on fixing my accessories at this point.
I am going to go barefoot until someone tells me to put shoes on that day. I love my sandals, but I REALLY love how my dress looks with me barefoot. It's so right.
The headpiece makes me look like a little girl in a big wedding dress. I do not appreciate looking younger when I already look like a baby! I want to look like a woman on my wedding day for my Shawnie.


lifespringphotography.com

 So, having said all this I go forth to make something new. Yes, at 16 days to the wedding, a new project.

The Last-Minute DIY Visor Veil

Inspiration:

Check back tomorrow for the results and a whole good lot of photos!!!

It's raining outside... but I feel all kinds of sunshine.

This morning it was raining for me, but about a half hour ago, the sun poked out and all was well again.

Last week I tried to schedule MOH Meaghan and my hair/nail/toes appointments when I got my awesome haircut. The next day I called to make it 2 nail/toe appointments and they said they'd call back. I never heard back so I called again today and they told me Kristin, my personal hair dresser, is booked for my wedding day.
CRASH. BOOM. BANG.
My world fell down around me. I finally decided not to DIY my own hair with my DIY makeup and I can't have it? The one lady besides myself I let touch my hair is busy on my wedding day?
I intermittently cried as it showered outside.

At 12:45 I decided to go see Shawn at lunch and cry to him. He made me feel better and told me, just as my mom did when I called her on the way, "Everything will be ok."

And it was.

At 3:21 PM Kristin called me herself to say that since she is doing my pedicure, she'll just steal me away to do my hair!
Isn't she amazing? Anytime I need anything for my hair whether it's Tuesday or my wedding day, she gets it done and it's done how I see it in my head. That is why I only let her touch my hair!
So even though it's rumbling thunder outside still, I am all sunshiney and happy again.
I'm still crying, but I'm happy now!

Everyone go say Congratulations to Laura of Saying I Do. She's getting hitched tomorrow!!! We love you, Laura!!!

Verbal RSVP's - Painful!

24 Days!!!

Shawn and I made and sent around 115 invites total. Of those, around 80 were mailed with stamps but all 115 included RSVP cards with pre-stamped envelopes with which to mail them back. Currently I believe we have around 80 RSVP's total. Shawn's friends and some of our family members are not RSVP'ing! We spent SO much on stamps for all those RSVP envelopes because we need a headcount for food! I thought it'd be no problem having the cards returned by including a pre-stamped envelope, no matter what the answer is.
Verbal RSVP's are only okay for immediate family like our parents because they only got keepsake invitations and I don't expect those RSVP's back.
It is much more thoughtful not to verbally RSVP to someone who is less than a month away from getting married and tying up the ends of the wedding and purchasing a home. I can't keep track of 20 verbal RSVP's; my mom needs those RSVP cards!

Bunnays is Licensed!

We have officially gotten our Marriage License from the State of Nebraska!!! We got out of work early last Thursday and made the trek to the courthouse!

You need a form of identification, to know your parents' places of birth and mom's maiden name... and $15! $20 will get you pre-paid for a certified copy with which to change your name. Funny thing about changing your name... to do it ladies, take your marriage license copy to the Social Security office and tell them you'd like to change it. That is the straight answer on the "how?"

Us with the pretty keepsake copy in the courthouse!!! YEEEEE!!!! 24 Days!

see the girl with the diamond ring... she knows how to twist that thing

When I was first engaged, I would take about 100 pictures a day of my hand with my new engagement ring. Ok, so it wasn't quite that many, but I saved these photos and now have a collection of them. I'm sure it's something we all are doing/did at one time!

JUST ENGAGED!!! Like 5 minutes prior!

The Photo everyone MMS'd me for!

Summer love and an engagement ring!

It looks super good in the Beetle while I'm driving, too!

In comments, link to your photos of your ring!!!

Aisle Runner FAIL comme Headpiece FAIL

Last weekend we got a lot of things done. We were wiped out, but we had a general feeling of well-being from things being taken off our backs. One thing we tried to do that was a FAIL was the aisle runner. These DIY's that are repeat-FAILS astound me. I never expect them to be so difficult to execute! The other hard DIY was the headpiece... unfortunately that took 6 weeks and we don't have half that time. I might just be painting one or several large flowers on it near the personalization and then call it good. It's only 40ft long, how much can I do in under a month?!
The biggest struggle is laying out the runner in an area that is clean enough and long enough to paint it. Outside is a no. Our hallway turned out to be a no. Upstairs might work but we'll have to lock Grandpa's dog away... *shudder.* She's wild.
The thickness... well thin-ness rather, of the runner itself is a challenge as well. It's SO thin. I'd venture to say it's paper-thin. Good thing about that: minimal paint required. Bad thing about that: My fingernail could tear it. We'll keep those fingernails crossed that it stays in one piece and looking nice.
Shawn tried to help me roll it out, roll it up, everything. Poor thing is probably so sick of me! He helps me sooo much. I'm lucky.

I'll be sure to keep that topic updated on here. I hope we get it done!

I'm keeping this FOREVAR!

You can see this on the left sidebar below!!!