Vote for my favorite Cupcake Maker!
Image from cakesbysharalunn.blogspot.com
Spice Cake with Dulce De Leche Filling
and Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Cheese frosting
Even thougn I’m slacking on the wedding blog “writing” lately, I’m not slacking on the reading! Still keeping up with all my fave sites (which you can find over there on the right side of the page!) and checking out what my favorite wedding planners and vendors have going on!
Just came across a contest that Cakes by Shara has entered (if you been reading my blog for any length at all, no explanation needed! If you need to know how great she is, just check out my cupcake entries!) Better yet, if you’ve tried her yummy goodness, or just feeling being kind today- go VOTE for her in an “Iron Cupcake” contest! You can even get the recipe by visiting her blog! As I have been completely obsessed with everything “fall” flavored lately, these sound absolutely scrumptious! I’ve been making apple butter, apple crisp, caramel dip, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pancakes, and anything else I can get my hands on- enjoying this season of lots of yummy goodies! I even made my own apple cinnamom potporri! Maybe I should start blogging about that instead! Haha!
At any rate, check out her cupcakes and many other talents and click on the link in the cupcake post to vote for Shara!!
5 comments October 28, 2008
Picture problems!
I’m still having problems with my CD of pics….not sure what happened to them- maybe I was overworking them!! My parents have a copy so the rest of my recaps might have to wait until I get them! Sure don’t want to do them without pics!! 
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Add comment October 1, 2008
Our wedding- The Ceremony
The ceremony was mostly a blur of waiting, waiting, and waiting, wishing I could peek out at what was happening inside the sanctuary, but of course, that wasn’t going to happen for me! Instead I had to wait back in our dressing room NOT looking at my dad so I wouldn’t start to cry and mess up my makeup!!
Thanks to pictures (and eventually video!) I can see what happened, and so can you!
We introed with a slideshow playing about 20 min before the ceremony began, with pics of he and I separate growing up, culminating with pictures of us together through dating and our engagement! It was quite the effort but was worth it in the end- thanks to my wonderful baby bro for all his hard work! It ended with one of my favorite songs- “More than Anyone” by Gavin Degraw, which Craig very nicely edited our pics to fit with it! (you have to fast forward to 20:20 to see that part! Bad quality online because it’s so huge, but I’m still lovin it!)
Then my lovely sis-in-law, Lindsey, started things off by singing “When You Say Nothing at All” by Allison Kraus. Lindz is a great singer, and I was SOOO thankful for her singing- esp since we waited last minute to pick a song! Thanks, Lindz!!
Next came another slide-show to honor our grandparents and my first best friend, who have all passed away. Very emotional moment! As their pictures (often with Ray or I) were shown, a family member came forward and lit a candle in their honor. This was one of the most important parts for me. They would have all been by our side if they were able, and it was so important to us both to honor them. My 3 grandparents have been gone for awhile, but his both passed within the last year. I was actually kind of glad I didn’t see this carried out though, because I’m not sure the tears would’ve been held back!
Then the funniest part happened! My grandmother was escorted by my cousin’s two sons (her great-grandchildren). Well…..just look at the pictures and you’ll see that while Anthony was the perfect escort, Jordan was quite the character…..
All….
…the way…
..down!
Fortunately, she thought it was hysterical!! And of course, so did everyone else! Apparently he did it on the way out too!
Next was the seating of our mothers, and the beginning of our Sand Ceremony. After walking down the aisle, each of our mothers poured the jar of sand representing their foundation in our lives into the main jar.
Ray’s mom (escorted by his brother/best man)
My mom (escorted by my brother/groomsman)
Time for the groom!
And all his men!
Ladies turn!
Ashley
Linda
Kelley
Bridget
Kerri (not smiling!!)
Brittany
Lauren
Olivia
Kaylee, Gabby, and Caylee
And the big moment….
These pictures of the kids during the prayer, sure highlight the difference between boys and girls! )
The cutest thing was that my little ring bearer called my name a few times because he wanted me to turn around so he could take my picture! Hehe! Oh and also he tripped going up the steps to give Kerri the groom’s ring!
I absolutely loved the words that our pastor (my childhood youth pastor!) wrote for our Sand Ceremony. It was one of the most meaningful parts for me!
My lovely Aunt Joy read I Corinthians 13- The Message version, which was really pretty and different from the usual reading of this passage! (I happened to read this at BOTH of her kid’s weddings! One many years ago, and one last year!)
“I now pronouce you Mr. and Mrs………….” My favorite part!!!!!!!!
You never know how emotional you will get when the actual moment comes! I’ve shed more than my share of tears at weddings in the past, that’s for sure! I did get quite choked up and teary, but I managed to make it! (Apparently, my maids didn’t though!)
Afterwards though, I shed a few tears! Definitely tears of joy and “Oh my goodness! I can’t believe it finally happened!”
And now…..it was time to PARTY!!!!!
1 comment September 27, 2008
Our Wedding- Pre-Ceremony
You hear over and over again how time flies on your wedding day and how it’s over before you know it. I’ve been in so many weddings that I’ve lost count, but it is amazing how different the experience is from the “bride-side!”
My maids and I started the day off at a hotel where two of them and I had spent the night! I had 4 guests in my one bedroom apartment and NO BEDS (just a couch and several air mattresses!), and I was determined I was going to get a good nights sleep the night before! I’ve heard many brides don’t and I’m usually one to not sleep when there is excitement the next day, but I was EXHAUSTED!! I did however wake up about an hour before I had to, so I made use of the time by calling my best friend in Honduras who couldn’t make it up for the wedding, which really helped to calm my nerves talking to her!
Then my hairdresser arrived, and the fun begins…..
Sherri Greene has been my hairdresser since I was a kid! She is the ONLY person who has cut my hair in over 20 years, and the one I prefer to style it as well! No question I made sure before we set the date that she’d be available!! She also styled 4 of my maids as well.
My lovely cousin Amy, did my makeup as well as our cousin and my maid Ashley’s. She is a great Arbonne rep!
My cute mom!
My maids worked hard to get my dress ironed (our steamer wasn’t working!!) and to get themselves ready too!
Then it was off to the church to get dressed there, with just a slight mis-step when my MoH, Kerri, and I couldn’t find my car! (The hotel had the longest passageways and was SO confusing- my dad had parked by an outside door, but we couldn’t find it!)
Our ceremony was held at St. Paul’s Community Church. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and their blue accents inside perfectly accentuated all of the shades of blue I used!
Time to get the dress on…
Kerri slipped on my garter’s-one to throw, one to keep (it was just too cute!)
Then it was time to meet my groom!
Don’t look yet…..
Ok, now!
That moment is still so clear in my mind! All I could think of (besides how handsome he looked!) was how amazing it was to be right there in that moment all alone with him to revel in the joy of the day for a few private moments! I am so glad that we decided to do pictures beforehand. Especially since it was our only time alone until we left the reception many, many hours later! It really helped to calm both of our nerves and to help us enjoy the day more fully!
Then it was time for formals! First with my little girlies! (They were the only ones ready!!)
Then the two of us
And lots of family and friend pics!
His fam…
My fam……
Our officiating pastor and his family. They were my youth pastors growing up, and I babysat for their kids until they moved to Minnesota! Their daughter Bethany was also my lovely guest book attendant!
The Lasater family! This wedding would NOT have happened (at least not as well!) without them! The girl’s were my jr. bridesmaids and flower girl, the boys were ushers, and Chaundra made all the little girls dresses, restyled my dress, altered my maids dresses, and helped with my bridesmaid gifts! Whew!! We kept her BUSY!!!
My maids (showing off their bouquets- and my HOURS of labor!)
The boys…
Then…It was time to wait! This was the hardest part! It wasn’t the crowded little room with 11 other girls, but it was the nerves!! Knowing that all of the people I could faintly see coming in through the window were there for Ray and I! That’s a bit overwhelming to me, as I’m not used to nor do I like being the center of attention! It was only the fact of knowing how many important people I wanted to share in my happiness that drove me to have a big wedding!
Let the waiting begin…..
Next up….The Ceremony!
ALL photos by Shanell Bledsoe. Check out her site and her blog! Can’t recommend her enough!
4 comments September 25, 2008
My Wedding Recap! (Finally!!)
My two month anniversary is fast approaching, so I thought it was about time to give everyone my full recap of the day! I still have lots of little details that I want to share, and I’ve realized I’m just going to have to plug in and DO it little by little instead of waiting until I have “time!” Who ever has time?? ) Soooo….get ready…it’s coming!! )
Add comment September 25, 2008
Been busy as a bee!!
So, you would think that I’d have MORE time to write about the wedding now, right?? Hmmm, obviously-wrong!! Since I’ve hardly written anything at all besides the honeymoon!! I promise it is coming!! I’ve been INSANE with trying to get our new house together, not to mention the fact that I am nannying/housekeeping/homeschooling 5 days a week now (which is a BLAST!) for some of my little girlies from the wedding (and their bros!) while mommy is sick with baby no. 6!!! Plus, I’ve been watching my nephews a lot lately, so it’s been kid central! Even been like living with a kid with the new husband! (Although I definitely want them, sooooo not ready for our own kids!! So stop askin!!)
Not to mention allergy season is kickin my butt pretty hard already!! UGH!!! I am soooooooo happy to not be teaching this year, and love the flexibility of my schedule, but there’s been almost NO free time!! Plus, the hubby and I are taking a finanicial class….so all that to say, *hopefully* soon I’ll get my butt to writing!! I’m missing it!!!!
Add comment September 8, 2008
Walmart Bridal Clearance!
I’ve been seeing lots of bridal clearance at Walmart lately! Probably making room for their new lines- which are actually kind of nice!! Just wanted to post real quick about this- I’ll put up some pics later of stuff I just got! I got somethings before my wedding over a month ago now- cake server/knife set for one (more on that later! it was left in my car and never used!!), and somethings just yesterday!
Yesterday I got some bachelorette party stuff (somehow I’m the keeper of all bach party stuff among all my friends! even the stuff from my own!) and cute thank you notes- each item for $.50!! I’ll post pics later, but I’m off to run errands now and maybe even to check out another Walmart or two for more goodies!! Definitely need more TY notes! Still working on getting those out!!
There’s also lots of invitations, flower petals, guest book pens, and many other things on clearance. They probably aren’t the best and highest quality, but some will definitely do for the price, if you’re in a pinch or throwing a quick wedding! I even saw a really cute hankercheif with blue rhinestone hearts that I would’ve loved to have had! But I did ask my aunt last minute for an old one of hers!
I also got my ring bearer pillows from their new line! I’ll also post more on those later!! Lots to do!!!
Add comment August 30, 2008
Weddingwire.com (Free gift for reviewing vendors!)
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Add comment August 28, 2008
Honeymoon Recap Pt. 3 (Los Animales Locos!)
One of the most amazing things about Hotel Capitan Suizo was the natural scenery and wildlife. Even though El Capitan is the bustling little surfer town of Tamarindo, Costa Rica, it really feels set apart at the edge of the town and feels like it’s own little jungle/ocean paradise!
We heard there would be lots of wildlife, and there WAS!! Raccoons, geckos, iguanas, lots of different birds, squirrels, monkeys, crabs EVERYWHERE, and skunks. Yes, skunks! We only saw one of those the last night, when a baby skunk walked RIGHT THROUGH the outdoor restaurant! Everyone got completely still for a moment, but it just waltzed right through one side and out the other on its merry way! Thank goodness!!
It seemed odd to travel so far to see some of the same animals we have here, like raccoons and squirrels, but they were actually quite different- especially the squirrels.
They put out food each morning for the birds and squirrels, so that they wouldn’t come bother guests in the open-air restaurant, but there was still the occasional gutsy magpie bird that flew in begging for food!
This magpie wouldn’t leave until I fed it!
I think the same one was begging food off of our waitress a few days before!
Birds eating fruit outside the restaurant
These squirrels were soooo funny trying to “sneak” up on the fruit with no one noticing…when in fact the whole restaurant was watching!
Ray was as bad as the kiddos trying to feed the squirrels!
The best thing was all the monkeys!! The hotel actually keeps and takes care of two baby monkeys, Sophie and Alice. They are adorable! The hotel staff watches them during the day, letting them play in the trees and entertain the guests.
The first night, Sophie jumped right up on my hubby’s neck and made herself a new friend! Apparently she didn’t want to share, because the moment I reached up to pet her, she BIT ME!!! It was just a little nip on the back of my hand, and although it hurt a bit, it didn’t do any damage! It scared Ray for a moment, but then the rest of the week he was thoroughly amused that a monkey bit his wife!
Sophie would have nothing to do with me the rest of the week, but Alice was friendly enough to let me hold her some!
Alice was a cutie! She lost her tail at some point (I forget if she was born that way or something happened!) But she sure still knew how to swing in the trees!
Alice
Sophie- the little stinker!
Supposedly the BEST place in the area to see monkeys is at our hotel! We went on a jungle canopy tour and didn’t see a single monkey! However we did have lots of fun, despite looking like TOTAL dorks!
When we came back to the hotel, there were monkeys all over!!! (none of these are Sophie or Alice!)
Um…..yes, those white things are their butts….it was pretty gross!!
I’ve seen plenty of these guys before!! This gecko was hangin out above our heads on the post at the restaurant!
Pretty butterflies were all around
This blue crab was soooo big that you could see it out on the beach from the restaurant (notice what good care they take of the beach–it’s raked every morning!!)
This little crabby was hangin out in our bungalow– at least our bed was way up high!!
The raccoons searched for food at night, usually eating fallen coconuts and leftover food from the birds and squirrels. They were harmless to us, but we often heard them snarl at each other, so pretty much stayed out of their way!
Iguanas were always lounging by the pool when the sun was out in full force. Now, I’ve had these crawling on my outside walls and roofs in Honduras and they scared the daylights out of me…however, they didn’t really move around much, unless someone brought some fruit by for them, and they sort of seemed like they were on vacation themselves! So I just left them alone (other than to take pics, and they left me alone too!)
This one was peeking out from the tree at us, laying in our hammock on the beach!
Ray’s new friend!
That concludes my honeymoon recap! At least for now!! If you are at all interested in Costa Rica for a honeymoon, I highly recommend Tamarindo, and even MORE highly recommend Hotel Capitan Suizo. But don’t just take my word for it! Look it up on TripAdvisor to see all of the RAVING reviews and pictures! It’s the 3rd ranked hotel in the area, only because the first 2 are very small, exclusive resorts with very few rooms and they are both Yoga based, and one is vegetarian. We originally booked the non vegetarian one, but decided to go with El Capitan as a cheaper option. So happy with our choice since it was the only one right on the beach!
Happy Honeymooning!!
Add comment August 27, 2008
Honeymoon Recap- Pt. 2 (In love with El Capitan!)
We discovered our hotel on tripadvisor.com, and it was a GREAT decision to research hotels on that site!! I realize that many user reviewed websites may be biased by mostly people treated poorly getting on and ranting about their bad experiences, but we could hardly find one negative thing about the hotel (except for a few years back when there was lots of construction!) Practically EVERY other review completely RAVED about it, and it definitely lived true to the reviews! We were not disappointed in any way!
It was a pretty rustic place, with no TV’s, etc. but it was PARADISE!! It really provided an escape from reality, an escape from wedding madness and provided the PERFECT honeymoon experience!
We started off for the first 4 nights in a regular upstairs room with no AC. Your first thought might be, NO AC?? In a tropical climate??!! That was our first thought but the many reviews suggested that it would be ok. Plus it was cheaper, not to mention all that was available! It was actually perfect!! Our room had lots of windows with open screens to allow the jungle and ocean breezes and two ceiling fans. It was occasionally a bit humid feeling, but it truly allowed you to experience the sounds of the rain that came everyday and the lovely sounds of the jungle birds and other animals.
We forgot to take a pic of our room, so this is off tripadvisor, but this is pretty much what it looked like! Ours was an end unit though, so it had more windows on the left wall. The bathroom is through the door in the back and it was pretty nice with a window breeze too!
Here is the view from our balcony! You can slightly see the pool right behind me and to the far left by the tree you can get a peek at the ocean. It was much easier to see in person!
It was even fun hanging out on the balcony in the rain!! It was so peaceful and calming!
Our second room was the honeymoon bungalow. Although it wasn’t too expensive, it would’ve been too much to stay there the whole week! We decided to move there towards the end because we were afraid we’d be too disappointed in the smaller room second!! It was a great decision! Although the rooms are great, I highly recommend the bungalows if you can afford the higher price! They are each like their own little house! The honeymoon one is slightly different in that the bed is up a little flight of stairs, almost like a bunk bed! It was so cute!!
Isn’t it adorable!!
My hubby testing out the bed!
Our huge bathroom!
Outdoor shower that I was too scared to use because if anyone went for a walk behind the buildings, they’d discover me!!
The food was also absolutely FANTASTIC!! We both packed on quite a few pounds eating here!!
The outdoor restaurant was so much fun! It was very romantic at night by candlelight, and cheerful during the day with animals running around and a GREAT view of the ocean! It was literally two steps away from the beach!
A few nights we even had musical entertainment at the restaurant! This was really nice to hear even from our room at night while falling asleep! No, they didn’t play that late, we just went to bed that early some nights!! )
We loved the romantic candlelight that reminded us of our wedding centerpieces! And loved how they made our shiny new rings sparkle! At one point during the trip, a lady asked us if we were newlyweds, and said she could tell because our rings were still sparkly and shiny! Love it!! )
Breakfast was fantastic- included everyday- it was a huge smorgasbord of yummy fruit, pastries, and a few hot items. They also cooked food to order, but at a minimal charge.
I started everyday with a huge plate of mango, pineapple, watermelon, and cantaloupe. Best fruit ever! And because it’s all locally grown, it didn’t bother me like some fruit here in the states. It’s weird but sometimes the pesticides, etc. in fruit makes my throat itch like crazy!
Mmmmmm….my plate of fruit was always followed by this one….apple bread, eggs, gallo pinto (rice and beans), and platanos (my FAVE!!)
For dinner, we ate……
Giant shrimp
Rollitos de tilapia (Tilapia rolls)- these were soooo YUMMY!!! They were strips of tilapia, rolled up and drowned in butter, cream and spices! Soooooo good, esp when they were gone and we dipped our bread in the leftover butter! We ate these pretty much every night!
Filet Mingon (this is actually just half a serving! We split it one night!)
Chocolate Mousse! YUM!!
Banana Split! Best I’ve ever had!
And Nachos with Guac and black beans for lunch!! (I didn’t touch the guac tho! Yuck!!)
Can you see now why we packed on some pounds??!! They also had great burgers, pasta, chicken….mmmmm! Wish I was back there right now!
The pool and the beach were also amazing! Pretty much all we did was switch back and forth from laying hammocks on the beach, to lounging at the pool, to lounging on our balcony or porch! With visits to the restaurant in between! It was so relaxing, so amazing!!
Next up….a post on the amazing, funny wildlife at the hotel!!
1 comment August 27, 2008
