**Ooh, don't forget....**

November 8th, y'all.

Seriously.

Greensboro.

Be there. Do it.

Wedding Invitations

My wedding invitations are taking over my life a little bit. Why? Because my name is World's-Worst-Procrastinator. They need to be in the mail this Saturday. I didn't bother to order any of the parts and pieces until last week. Someone told me a while ago, "Don't try to make your own invitations, it will take alot of time, and will stress you out." Why didn't I listen to them? It takes a long time to design, print, assemble and address 175 invitations.

I should stop being Negative Nancy.

The invitations are turning out beautifully, thanks to the wonderful graphic design talent of my friend, Kate. She is spending hour upon hour with me, making sure they look good and designerly. I thought about giving you photos of the process of assembling them, but that would be boring. Seriously, who wants to see shots of the 14 rolls of double sided tape I've gone through already? I pinky promise that I'll show you pictures when I'm done.

And because Molly says a post is boring without photos, I'll leave you with a funny photo of my hubby-to-be dancing at a friend's wedding a few weeks ago. He is so funny and cute sometimes I just can't stand it :) This one is called "OW! I'M TOO HOT TO HANDLE ON THE DANCEFLOOR"

Boring Post Alert

I feel like I have to be a good steward of my time over the next 9.5 weeks until the wedding. That's why I'm not being a super craftaholic like all of you. I am really trying to get wedding things DONE. So please don't abandon my blog. Don't forget about me amongst all the nesters and emilys and kimbas and jens and lizs and kendras and junes out there. (See, I don't even have enough time to link to you all!) I promise that I will be interesting again someday...
So I leave you today with this bit of excitement....
it is CHILLY outside today. That's why I'm wearing SKINNY JEANS tucked into RIDING BOOTS and a LONG SWEATER. hate me.

You are not going to believe this...

Are you busy on November 8th?

Before I tell you what you are not going to believe, here are a few fun facts about November 8th.

1. November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 53 days remaining until the end of the year. There are 28 days remaining until my wedding.

2. In 1889, Montana was admitted as the 41st U.S. state. (Let's give it up for Montana, y'all!! woo hoo!)

3. It's Parker Posey's birthday.... (Go Parker, it's your birthday, gonna party like it's your birthday....) And it's Tara Reid's birthday (she's gross).

Well, if these fun facts haven't brought you to the edge of your seat, then hopefully this will. Something is happening on November 8th in Greensboro. It is going to rock the crafty blog world. It is going to rock the food blog world. And the stained glass blog world. and the jewelry blog world. and the all-about-nothing blog world. All I'm saying is keep that day free, and stay tuned until we reveal the big surprise.

Amelia Kay

She really is the love of our lives right now. (If being an aunt or uncle feels like this, we can't imagine what parents feel like!)

She's almost here!

Sorry, peeps. No comment love for you all today. Wanna know why? Because my niece will be born any second now, and I plan on spending every minute I can OOHING and AAHING over her sweet little self. Look for pics of her next week :)

Heart Her.

I know alot of other people heart her, too.

I used to babysit her kids, when it was only the boys :) From the first second I met her 2nd son, in the toddler class in the nursery at church, I was in love. He was the sweetest, most cuddly baby of them all. He was my favorite of all the kids in his class. I can remember when baby #3 was born, and even when he first learned to crawl. She and her hubby were always SO kind and joyful and loving.

I am so glad to reconnect with Jennifer in blogworld. She is an amazing woman, and you all should go check out her blog... Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Oh and one more thing, she is GORGEOUS.

Ragamuffin Garland

Do you guys remember when Nester taught us how to make Ragamuffin Garlands? (I wanted to link to her garland post, but I couldn't find it... sorry) Well ever since I read that post, I wanted to make one. I made Ragamuffin Flip Flops, that turned out uber-cute. My sister-in-law-to-be was preggers, so that was the perfect opportunity to make a sweet garland for my sweet niece-to-be.

Now, my sister-in-law-to-be and her hubby are TOTALLY adorable, and very modern, so pink and white froo-froo garland would probably not go over so well. Here is the bedding that is in the nursery, looking all cute and just waiting for that baby to come out.I decided my garland would be all the colors of the bedding - blue, brown, green, red, a little yellow, and a little white. Here's what it looked like last night....

It looks a little boyish, but I think it will end up being OK. I may add a little bit of white tulle throughout to make it a little more girly and fluffy. I have lots of these hidden inside of it...

And from these ring clips (that I found on clearance - $2/pack of 7) I will hang these ...

Don't know why this photo isn't rotated. I'm sorry. The letters are painted brown, and will hang from some cute polka-dot carolina blue ribbon.

Are you thinking "WHY HAVEN'T WE SEEN PHOTOS OF THIS DARLING BABY??" Well, that's because she hasn't been born yet! Her mommy was due on Saturday, September 13th. She still isn't here. Her mommy and daddy are getting cranky in anticipation. Justin and I are waiting as patiently as we can for a phone call so we can SPEED to Raleigh to welcome our niece to the world. Believe me, there will be plenty of photos once she decides to show her face.

**And thanks to everyone for all the sweet comments about the florist fiasco. Nothing has been worked out yet, but hopefully it will be by next week. Keep your fingers crossed!**

No Time to Post

...because my florist just cancelled on me for the wedding.

help.

i heart tjmaxx...

...for giving me a great deal on 3 new friends.

Meet Larry, Curly and Moe...They are a little camera-shy, but might be a little more friendly once their bellies are full - Hopefully they love things like pumpkins, moss, cranberries, ornaments, coffee beans, sand, and shells. They were only $9 each. And if you were wondering what the white blob at the base of the photo is... that's a white trash bag that has made its home on my kitchen table to protect the wood from gold glitter from the wedding favors.

Aren't they a sweet trio? They aren't even scared of the mess in the kitchen!

that day...

I was in Spanish class, my senior year of high school. A teacher literally ran down the hall, threw the door open, and yelled, "TURN THE TV ON NOW." My teacher turned of "Destinos" and turned on Good Morning America. The first tower had been hit. We watched the second plane hit the second building. My stomach dropped. We watched the buildings fall, and the smoke rise. At that moment, my teacher said, "America will never be the same," in her cute Costa Rican accent. I was so sad, and so scared. Sad for all those men, women, husbands, wives, daddies, mommies, sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters. Scared that these attacks may happen all over America. Scared to drive home. Scared for my friends in NYC.

A year later, I sat on a grassy hill in Boone, looking at the clouds and thinking about the year that had passed. In that year, alot of things changed. I graduated high school, went to college, gained a pride in my country that I had never known before, and I also stood silent behind a chain link fence while peering through a collage of notes, flowers, and photos into a canyon of debris and death juxtaposed in a vibrant city. I couldn't believe a year had passed.

This morning, I had no clue it was September 11. I am so sorry I let the time slip by me. And as I sit behind a computer in my office, instead of on a grassy hill in Boone, I can't believe that seven years have passed.

Awaken

Every Tuesday night, some of my best friends in the world come to my house. We talk, eat, listen and laugh. We are a Life Community group of Awaken Church. Actually, we ARE Awaken Church. We are new, we are really small, and we are committed to our relationships with each other and with Jesus. We are really honest with each other. We share all the junk and all the joy of each other's lives. We love people that love Jesus. We love people that don't love Jesus. We love people that don't know what or who they love. We also really love babies, especially Hannah Elizabeth. We welcome people from all walks of life, no matter where they are in their spiritual journey and desire for our community to be a place to truly belong.

We meet on Sundays, too.

We have been through some really great times, some really tough times, and all the times in between - and would wouldn't trade a single moment of it all. We are family, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

I would love for any and all of you to meet my family. Just let me know, and we'll hook you up.

The Laundry Room I

Have you noticed the increasing number of laundry rooms being dressed up and showcased in blogland? Well, I'm jumping on the bandwagon. Not to show off my laundry room, but to make myself expose some of the "dirty laundry" in my life.

You see, I really WANT to be organized and put together. I really TRY to make people believe that I am organized and put together. Every Tuesday night, I host our Life Community group at our house (which will be the focus of my post tomorrow). It is so important to me that the parts of my home that people see are clean and neat and pretty. After work, I will furiously straighten, clean and stuff things behind closed doors... All of this just so the people that I am supposed to be the most transparent with don't see my mess.

I am a messy and disorganized person on the outside and the inside.

Honestly, you are, too.

Maybe you aren't messy on the outside - maybe your cabinets are the picture of perfection and you catch the dust before it dares to hit the furniture - but the inside is probably cluttered and piled and dirty. I am so passionate about living authentically and honestly, and it just does not sit right for me to try to hide the mess anymore.

That is not the way we were created to live.

So, the laundry room is the first room to be cleaned out. I have to open the door, face the mess, and starting straightening. This journey began with the help of my sweet man this weekend, and I'll show you the final product when it is finished. I don't really want to have to learn this lesson again, so I'm going to try to do it right this time.

Craft Corner Deathmatch

Did you ever watch that show? I had my very own Craft Corner Deathmatch last night with some great coworkers that are also my friends.

Justin and I quickly cleaned the house and cooked before Blair, Andy, Danielle and Jason came over. Wait, I have to be honest here. We did not cook - we heated up and sliced. There was no cooking in the Kendra sense going on. We put frozen lasagna in the oven and combined spinach, peppers, tomatoes, cheese and walnuts for a salad. Ok, I feel better now - just had to get that off my chest.

Anyway, our friends came over, we ate, drank and were merry. Then the girls piled in the car to make the trek to Michael's. We didn't go just because we had nothing to do, and crafting seemed like the only option. WE WERE ON A MISSION FROM GOD. (Maybe... just a mission from Lauren.) There were 300 wedding favors in my attic just WAITING to be dressed up, and Michael's could help make that happen. So, in the World's Fastest Michael's Trip (approximately 10 minutes) we scored lots of ribbon and an affirmation that the Martha Stewart monopoly on cute stuff at Michael's is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE. (Anyone know a cute way to make "gift tags" that isn't going to cost an arm and a leg and my first child?)

We returned home and Craft Corner Deathmatch continued, while our men watched "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" and Phoebe slept upside down on her back. It took us over an hour to figure out how to tie this ding dang ribbon, and we finally just had to settle. We were tired and covered in glitter. By midnight, there were a grand total of 4 favors finished... only 296 to go. Do you guys have any suggestions on how to spruce these up?

To me, they look like they've had makeovers, but Tyra makeovers, rather than Oprah makeovers... just not classy enough. So ladies, START YOUR COMMENTS... and if all 300 of these don't make it to their new homes after the wedding, we are going to have a big ole fun bloggy giveaway.

Playing Tag

So, sweet little Molly tagged me. We have to name 6 things that are unspectacular about ourselves.

Here are Justin's Six....
1. I own nine pairs of shoes
2. I am nearsighted
3. I can only do 14 pushups
4. I am allergic to dust
5. I was born on a weekend
6. I find it hard to pronounce "rural"

Here are Lauren's Six....
1. I am entirely too busy
2. I hate it when people put shoes on upholstered furniture or on the bed.
3. I am a Certified Pilates teacher, but I am not teaching at the moment.
4. I am unorganized and messy deep down.
5. I am afraid of ET
6. I am dangerously addicted to sweets

There you have it folks, we are boring.

Now I'm tagging some of YOU.
how's about...
1. Petersons Go Public
2. Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
3. Wilson Ramblings
4. Beautifully Imperfect
5. Bits and Pieces

Have Fun, Girls!

long weekend = long post

I hope your Labor Day Weekend was as wonderful as mine was.

Our road trip began Friday evening...(if you didn't know already, Justin likes to make scary faces in photos...)

We weren't quite as hyper once we hit bumper to bumper traffic in Atlanta, but what can you do? We decided to pass the time by only listening to our favorite '90s songs on the iPod. We're talking Semi-Charmed Life, Alanis Morisette, Boyz II Men, Hootie and the Blowfish, 10,000 Maniacs and anything else from the '90s from CHARLOTTE TO ATLANTA. We arrived in Atlanta closer to midnight, and were thrilled to see Emily and Rob (AND their new home!) They have recently bought a new to them, but old in reality condo on the edge of an EXPENSIVE history neighborhood. Their condo is basically what dreams are made of... high ceilings, huge windows, hardwood floors, state of the art kitchen and retro bathrooms. Here is a very poor quality photo of their dining room and screened in porch from their living room.After staying up till the wee hours of the morning, we slept in on Saturday morning, ate a wonderful breakfast together (oatmeal pancakes, berry compote, scrambled cheddar eggs and bacon), then headed into midtown (I think that's what they call it) for a little SHOPPING. My heart skipped a beat when I saw this...

It was Justin's first time at the big blue and yellow box of bargains and fun. I was so excited to spend my recently earned fun money...Four hours later, I had finished my shopping, with a final score of: 1 coke float, 1 hot dog, 2 cases of shelving for my laundry room/pantry, 1 accent pillow for the guest room, 1 pair of curtains for the guest room, 1 roll of drawing paper for Justin's classroom, 1 metal planting box, 1 clock, ALL of the candles for the wedding, and ALL of the candle holders for the wedding. Considering that we are having candles EVERYWHERE at the wedding, scoring the last two items on that list are like finding the Golden Snitch at Hogwarts. After the day-o-shopping, Justin and the car looked like this...We only had to fold the middle seat down :) We had dinner at a sweet little Thai restaurant, then went home at watched Planet Earth.

Sunday morning, we decided to celebrate God's creation by trying to be the first in line at the Georgia Aquarium. Holy moly. That place was nothing short of amazing.

(that's a BELUGA WHALE... baby beluga...)

I have so many photos and videos of the fish and WHALE SHARKS, that it would take me years to post them on here. You all should just go to Georgia and see them for yourself. Sunday night we went to FOOD 101, an unbelievable restaurant in Atlanta. We all stuffed ourselves, and were quite satisfied, especially after the after-dinner drinks...

Again, after dinner we went home and watched more Planet Earth - this time the "Shallow Seas" disc to finish off our ocean-inspired day. Monday we woke up, packed up, and drove home so that I could teach a class. However, this did not keep me from stopping at the Pottery Barn Outlet in SC, and doing my part to help out at their Labor Day Sale. 70% off clearance = New Organic Duvet, and 4 Pillow Shams for our new bed!! (The same bed that I'm not allowed to sleep in until we're married... at least it will look pretty for 3 more months)

I cannot WAIT to show you all the stuff and fun design projects that I am going to do in the coming weeks, thanks to IKEA and PB Outlet... Guest Bedroom Redo and Laundry Room Redo comin' up. Oh yeah, and I'll refinish that hutch sometime, too.