my first bridal shower

I went home this weekend for my first bridal shower! It was so much fun! Loving all things girly and party planning, I could not wait to actually have MY bridal shower! This is literally a once-in-a-lifetime thing :) I was so impressed with the hardwork that that my hostesses did! 

My sister-in-law personally made Cody and I this grey/white/navy quilt :) I LOVE it! And she even embroidered a little "Stephanie and Cody 2013" on the edge!

I got all kinds of goodies (including a kitchenaid mixer!!!!) and homeade gifts too!

They had the perfect girly, bridal shower set-up! Complete with sandwiches, salad, veggie chips, punch, coffee, and a sugar cookie "pizza" bar!

my sweet hostesses and I

After the shower, we just hung out at home in the pool. It was so nice to have both my fiance Cody at home as well as my brother, Cody. That has never happened, so it was so much fun!

turning 22 and life lately

Life has been super busy lately! Here's a quick summary of the last 2-3 weeks :)

1,2,3,5. I turned 22! I knew I'd be working on my birthday but with Cody having school all day and alot of my friends being out of town, I wasn't too bummed. Cody surprised me with lunch at work and we ate in the lobby. After work I got to my apartment to find Cody standing outside with a balloon. He told me we should go to our favorite restaurant in Lubbock, Manna Bread and Wine. When we got there, I saw a table full of our closest friends! I was so excited because I was not expecting it! He had tied balloons to the chairs and our waiter brought me a vase of beautiful flowers (from Cody). It was so great!
4. After dinner we went to Codys and ate ice cream cake :) (Cody listened well when I mentioned ice cream cake sounded really good the other day!)
6. I had my first day on my actual unit at work. I could've cried when I checked my box and saw all these notes, starbursts, and a devotional book waiting for me for my birthday/passing NCLEX!
7. As mentioned above, I passed a monumental test in the nursing world so I am officially a nurse! All my hard work is done and paid off!!
8. I had intended on a craft night to conquer the 18 boutonnieres I needed for the wedding. But, one night when Cody was over here studying I just sat down and made them all! I'm very pleased with the results!
9. Our invitations are in! Next step is finalizing addresses, printing address stickers, stuffing them and sending them out :)




Wedding planning update:
guestbook
invitations to be ordered
boutonnieres to be made
get aisle runner
order bride/groom cake
make photobooth backdrop
make alllllll DIY stuff

breakfast for dinner

Our best friends, morgan and garrett got engaged on Sunday! We couldn't make it to the actual proposal, so I wanted to plan a surprise engagement party for when they got back! Since they got engaged in Colorado, I went with that type of theme for the party. Also, since their favorite food is breakfast, we had breakfast for dinner :) We are so so excited for them and looking forward to the next 4.5 months of WEDDINGS, weddings, and weddings! 

DIY Marquee Letter

I made this easy-6-step marquee letter for my wedding, but am also using it for various other things in the meantime. I had some leftover cardboard boxes from moving so I used that for the supplies, along with some bronze spray paint and big lightbulbs.

1. I free handed the "M", I suggest making it a bold letter. I know that the point is crooked here, I fixed it in the next step :)

2. Cut it out (see, I fixed it!) and make the holes for the lightbulbs. I made mine 2" apart, using the point of scissors. 

3. I cut the cardboard into smaller, manageable pieces then put them up against the "M" frame. I measured and decided how thick/wide/tall/etc. I wanted to the frame and cut the cardboard accordingly. I used the first piece as a model for the rest of the pieces. I ended up with 10 pieces of cardboard total to cover all the sides. Theres about a 1 1/2-2" border of cardboard on each side of the "M". 

4. I began hot gluing it all together. Just making sure that it all lined up!

5. This is the final product, pre-paint and lightbulbs.

6. I painted it a bronze color and then got big light bulbs, unscrewed the bulb from the cord and popped it through the hole then went back and connected the cord to the backing! 

engagement pictures

We are so so so thrilled with our engagement pictures turned out! These are taken by Morgan and Garrett :)

thanks so much www.photobygarrett.com :)

the fourth

This year, just a small group of our friends stayed in Lubbock for the holiday. But, we made the most of the small group with a day full of events.

That morning, Ashley, Kate, and I went to the Lubbock parade. After that we got our stuff together, met up with the boys and headed to the lake. We pre-cooked hotdogs, brought chips, watermelon, and Ashley and Kate made a fruit pizza! The boys enjoyed playing football while us girls laid out :)

that night we all went to the Josh Abbott Band concert in downtown Lubbock. We could see the big fireworks going off above us all throughout Lubbock. After that, we went over to Cody's for some smaller fireworks.