5 years!

high fives all around for 5 years of marriage!

on september 1, dave & i celebrated our 5 year anniversary.  we decided not to go all out on anniversary gifts this year.  we were bummed out because my bff and her husband were going to mexico that week and invited us along- but we had no passports and most importantly no one to watch ian- so the trip was out of the question.  since we have not been on a real live vacation SINCE OUR HONEYMOON (so seriously stop talking about your 5th vacay of the summer everyone else), we decided that maybe we can save up for one...  but who are we kidding?  our priority is to get out of debt- and that means those student loans need to be paid off... so one day.  i also haven't seen aforementioned bff in, oh, 3.5 years.  we're not bitter...  ;)

so, of course, we say we aren't getting each other gifts and we do anyway...  i got dave a cd he wanted & he got me a new pepper grinder since the traditional 5 year anniversary gift is wood.  i told him his "wooden" gift would arrive on sept. 11 when the avett brothers' new album "the carpenter" come out... get it?

anyway, our friend offered to watch ian (which is perfect because they love each other dearly) so we could hit the town to celebrate our day.  we went to a local restaurant that we had never been to before that came highly recommended- and, man, was it good.  it was recommended because of it's crazy beer selection, but we fell in love with it because of the food/mission- everything is local- the meat, the bread, the veggies- heck, even the pickles.  all the food comes from farms located in various parts of illinois.  it's sustainable living at its best.  the food was amazing.  you could really tell everything was fresh.  yum.  if you live in this area- check it out!  dinner was amazing from start to finish & we were even feeling a little sentimental & split a piece of carrot cake for dessert (we had carrot cake as part of our wedding cake).  we then spent the rest of our evening at buy buy baby- so any cool points went out the window...

dress:  modcloth "good enough to premiere"

heels:  seychelles via amazon (can usually find a good deal there)!

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happy anniversary

image

it keeps getting better.  

sorry i'm a week late... you know, we were out of town.

i love you.

alright, you win

that's it, i give up.

it's been at least a year now.

by this time last year i had gained almost all my pregnancy weight.

currently i have lost almost all my pregnancy weight.

so i'm smaller than i was this time last year....yet i still can't get my engagement or wedding rings on my finger. 

so i'm biting the bullet and having the things re-sized.  my fingers are tired of being naked, and i keep thinking everyone thinks i'm teen mom... 

so goodbye size 4.5 rings.  we'll see what new size awaits

borrrrrrrrrring

is what my blog design has been as of late.  i've exhausted just about all the blogger designs i like, and i can't really find any free backgrounds that i love.  do people pay to have a blog design created for them?  would it be worth it?  i'm definitely not enjoying anything i'm picking from blogger. 

my time in atlanta is going by fast, but has been enjoyable.  too bad we miss daddy like crazy!  i'm looking forward to being back & having a nice family weekend with him, but alas, our friend is getting married on friday, and 2 of my friends from college (dave's study abroad friends- ie: the ones who set us up) are flying in for the wedding.  it's looking to be a busy 4 days as we spend time with him, and leave ian overnight for the first time (aaahh). 

speaking of which, 3 dresses have arrived at my mom & dad's and i am 0 for 3.  as expected.  the last 2 dresses are arriving tomorrow- and one of them is a size small, so you can already count that out from the way the other dresses are going.  seriously, i need to stop eating because i see where this is headed...

hope everyone is enjoying their week!!

what to wear to the wedding

so the wedding we are attending is just 2 weeks away, and after spending the last month searching the internet high & low, i have narrowed it down to 14 lucky finalists.  yes, 14.  ugh.  i'm suffering from a case of abulia!

so excited about this weekend, but a little nervous too.  the wedding is on a friday in the late afternoon, so we will be dropping ian off with...?  and not picking him up until the next morning.  *i was just joking w\ my mil about how they need to consult with us before making plans- we were going to have them keep ian on our anniversary, but they were out of town.  now, we wanted them to keep ian this- and guess what- out of town.  we can't bring him to the wedding, so now we need to enlist an overnight babysitter.  aaaaaah!*

so excited-  1.  i get a pretty dress to wear, and it can be any kind of dress i'd like b\c it doesn't have to be made to allow for breastfeeding (!!), 2.  we get to go downtown to a beautiful church and a reception at the chicago history museum, 3.  we get to stay at a beautiful hotel downtown (i'm pretty sure we're splitting this hotel with at least 2, if not 3 of our single male friends- this should be interesting). 

so, onto the dresses.  i did a lot of searching on a LOT of sites.  so i hope i've picked some things that are cocktail wedding appropriate.  my goals are to keep the girls intact, keep my butt covered, look awesome, and not attract unnecessary attention.  duh.  without further ado...

photo cred:

Bright Young Things Dress- ModCloth

Ascending Pleats Dress- Ruche

Sleeveless Tulle Neckline Dress- Loft

When the Night Falls Dress- ModCloth (thanks, girls)

The Dress I've Been Telling You About- ModCloth

Berry Abstract Print Dress- Loft

and...

Chocolate Souffle Dress- Lulu's

Lost In Your Eyes Dress- Lulu's

Andalusia Silk Dress- Lulu's

Mesh Insert Bandage Dress- asos

Folded Flower Dress- asos

Frill Front Slinky Dress- asos

aaand..

Celebrate Good Times Dress- ModCloth
Kirigami Craft Tube Dress- Ruche

so, how did i do?  did i pick anything out that's early fall cocktail wedding appropriate?  anything you love?  i have some definite faves, and some that i'm on the fence about, but would love to hear your opinions.  so opine away....  

change of a-dress

har.

husband and i have been invited to a fancy wedding in october.  it's an evening wedding with a cocktail hour and the reception is here ::swoon::  it's going to be all kinds of fancy, and i want to look really nice as it will be a night out without baby.  i've already started looking for dresses, and i'm searching high and low on the internet for the dress. 

so where are your favorite places online to shop for dresses?