The Buttons' Wedding Shower #1

For the Buttons' nuptials, I was given two wonderful showers. I'll be honest, the first one took place a few months ago...so I'm way way way behind in telling you about it! Truthfully, my new camera was holding my photos captive until recently, so that is my (poor) excuse...

In early March, my Aunt S and Mommy Buttons' friend Ms. Z threw me an absolutely wonderful bridal shower! It took place at my parents' house, and we had quite a lovely turnout!

Guests arrived, mingled, drank iced tea or homemade sangria, and proceeded to have their gifts attacked/inspected by Theo (he loves tissue paper).

Aunt S introduced herself, and guests went around the room and explained how each of them knew me. Then it was time to eat!

Aunt S, my mom, my grandma, and Ms. Z made a lovely spread: we had 3 types of quiche: traditional quiche lorraine, one with red peppers, spinach, and bacon, and another one with red peppers, spinach, bacon, and mushrooms! Talk about delicious...

And...what was even better: my mom made sure they used low fat half & half in the recipe so that it would be guilt-free! Everything was served with your choice of two salads and fruit.

At the shower, we were able to get a small "preview" of some of the reception decor; we were glad to have an opportunity to utilize some of our birds and vases before the wedding day!

After we ate, it was time to open presents.

I was blown away by everyone's generosity, and I am so excited to use everything! Some of the things we received that I was pumped about (although, I was really excited about everything, to be honest):

• Memory foam mattress topper from Mr. Buttons' Aunt Punch
• OXO pop container set from Aunt S - oh man...I love these sooo much!
• Part of our place settings from Crate & Barrel from Mommy Buttons
• TONS of kitchen gadgets - YAY!
• Knife set from Mr. Buttons' parents - the set we'd been using was SO dull...

After presents (and getting lost in a sea of wrapping/tissue paper), it was time to cut the cake!

Now, this was a ridiculously amazing cake. A local bakery, J.J. Gandy's, makes a famous key lime pie. I seriously dream about it; it is the most perfect key lime pie ever. Well, J.J. Gandy's also makes key lime CAKES! The cake itself is a white cake; they drizzle a key lime liqueur over it as soon as the cake leaves the oven. The filling in the cake is their key lime pie filling, and the cake is frosted with buttercream. Oh...my...gosh...the cake was so delicious it should be outlawed. Seriously. If Mr. Buttons didn't hate key lime pie, I would have demanded it as a wedding cake. But...I digress...

Ack! I didn't want to ruin the beautiful cake design!

Once the guests chowed down on cake, we began saying our goodbyes. I had such a lovely time, and I was elated that so many wonderful women were able to join us for the occasion!

Were you overwhelmed by the love that was showered on you at a bridal shower?

Button invites: the assembly

Now that the wedding is over, I realized that I never fully revealed our beautiful invitations and how I assembled them! Many apologies...

Once I procured my invitation files from Mrs. Gloss, it was time to determine my printing and assembly options!

After driving back and forth to a number of printing locations (Office Max, Staples, Kinkos, etc.), I decided to use Kinko's. They offered a variety of colors of cardstock, and their "mesa white" was a perfect color of eggshell with some natural colored flecks in the paper. We had the invites run off, and I paid an extra fee to have the main invitation cut on their laser cutter. I was confident with cutting the rsvp cards myself though!

I ordered my beautiful envelopes from Cards and Pockets. They had a huge array of different color and size options, and the prices were incredibly reasonable! I also loved that you were able to order samples for $1 a piece (which I did), and you are able to order an exact number of envelopes...thank goodness for not having tons of leftovers! I selected a color called "meadow" for both my invitation and response envelopes. They have a slight metallic sheen to them and are so pretty!

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Once again, I downloaded a free font from Fontspace to use for addressing my envelopes. Yes, I did take the easy way out, but I didn't have the patience to handwrite all of my invitations! I selected a font called akaDora:

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I printed each envelope and then lined it with one of Mrs. Gloss' beautifully designed liners! For the rsvp envelope, we had designed a wrap around label that I glued on. I used a corner rounder for both the invitation and the rsvp, just to create a more finished look!

Traditionally, invitations feature an inner envelope that features the names of the individuals that are invited. Well, I really didn't care to purchase MORE envelopes on top of the ones I already had, so I wanted to come up with an alternative. For inspiration, I walked the aisles of Michaels until I found a wonderful solution! I purchased a tag punch and a bag of raffia to complete my invites.

I had purchased some extra pages of blank cardstock from Kinkos when I printed my invites. I used a 2x4 label template to print my guests' names. After they came out of the printer, I used the punch to make tags. The tag served as the "inner envelope" in my case! Also - to add a bit more detail, I used a stamp to create a design on the back of the tag.

I used a piece of raffia to tie the invite and rsvp together. I added a few extra pieces of raffia to the knot to make it look fuller, and tied the tag to the top. Annnd voila! The invitation was complete! I was very satisfied with how it turned out!

From there, it was time to stuff, seal, and stamp...and then fight with some US Postal Service workers...but that story is for another day...

How long did it take you to assemble your invitations?

The PWC: I'm a new woman!

Well, it is official: I am a new woman! My PWC (aka post-wedding-chop) was yesterday, and I definitely feel like I'm about 10 pounds lighter!

To be honest, any hair cut at all would probably have made me feel amazing, but it feels SO good to have a bit of style back in my hair!

For perspective, I took a few photos before I left for the salon. It isn't that my hair looked awful, per se, but it was just...blah...and long...see?

Excuse my serious face; it is hard to take your own picture reflected in the bathroom mirror!

Check out how long it was in the back! About 3 inches for sure!

My wonderful stylist agreed that a slight inversion would be good, and proceeded to give me a razor cut (because my hair loves razor cuts...true life). We removed almost 3 inches of hair in the back, left it SLIGHTLY longer in the front, and then gave me back my long bangs! Yay bangs! Ok ok, I'll stop talking and start showing you the photos:

I was soooo happy; can't you tell???

A view of the side/back:

My bangs are back at around lip-level...much better than at chin level!

I know it isn't a drastic cut, but I am so happy! When I first started growing out my hair, I was so certain that I would want to return to something short and spunky when the wedding was over, but I found myself getting slightly attached to my longer locks as time went by. This cut was a big relief: it is much shorter/has texture, but it is still long enough to pull back if needed (yes, if you are wondering, I can get it into a ponytail!). Anyway...I LOVE IT!

How excited were you/are you for the PWC?

Contemplating the PWC

I'll be honest: I've been thinking about this day almost as long as I was planning the wedding.

I'm talking about the PWC. Oh, the glorious PWC...how I've dreamed about it longingly. I started growing my hair out in February of 2009; around the time when the chatter of engagement began with Mr. Buttons. I knew I'd want to sport an updo of some sort on the wedding day, and I knew that I'd need to start early to get the length necessary. This is how my hair looked after my last REAL haircut...a chin length inverted bob with long bangs:

This is how it looked about one year after that (in November 2009) - my bangs had grown out, and my hair was at shoulder level:

And this is what it looked like 2 weeks ago...right before the wedding:

It is LONG (for me at least)! I've joked around with many people that I was about ready to take a pair of kitchen scissors to it on a daily basis. I'm SO ready for a new look!

But...what should I do? It has been about a year and a half since I tried to have some sort of "style" with my hair cut. I am not sure which direction I should go now! I have grown somewhat attached to the "longer" length of my hair; it is useful to have the ability to put my hair in a ponytail/clip because of the heat in Florida. However, I need some SHAPE in it, and Mr. Buttons agrees.

I have an appointment for my PWC tomorrow afternoon (eek!), and I am desperately searching the Internet for some inspiration! Come on hive, help me out! Lets find some inspiration photos for medium length, straight hair! Here is what I've compiled so far...

This reminds me of my old haircut...I like the long bangs swept to the side...

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I am fond of the layers in Sienna Miller's hair; even though it is long, it does have some shape!

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I'm also throwing around the idea of shorter bangs...I've had them in the past as well. I rather like the look of Anne Hathaway's in this photo:

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Again, the sideswept bangs...

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Finally, what I think is one of my favorite photos so far - a "long version" of the inverted bob (aka shorter in the back than in the front) with long sideswept bangs

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So...what do you think? Do you have any inspiration photos to share? Send them along!

Did you have a PWC? How did it feel and did you have a hard time finding some inspiration???

I think its safe to say we had a good time...

Oh hey there hive! Guess what!?!

Chicken butt!

Ok, ok...I swear I'm not 6 years old. But I'm oh so happy to return to you as a MARRIED woman! Woo hoo! It feels good...it feels really good!

Mr. Buttons and I have been pretty busy in the past week (moving into a new apartment is exhausting!). And, as I am (im)patiently waiting to see our pro photos, I did want to take some time to complete some of the posts that I didn't have the chance to share with you in the weeks before the wedding! I was a busy little bee, constructing a good deal of DIY projects, having a lovely bachelorette party/wedding shower, and the like!

And, I wouldn't leave you hanging without at least ONE teaser of the fun we had at our wedding! The following photo is cropped, because I can't possibly give away the awesomeness that is happening in the other half of the photo until I have the time to fully describe the scene. I promise to show you the full picture (excuse the poor quality for now), but you're going to have to wait...just a little longer!

Ok, I think we can also have some fun with this - leave a comment and guess what is actually happening in this photo! Gosh, I've missed you guys - it is great to be back! :)