Do All the Things

June is almost over. Oh-Em-Gee. This year is flying by ...

I'm beginning to wonder how I had time to do everything I did for our wedding, work and keep "real life" things going simultaneously. Sometimes, having an end goal really propels you and gives you the momentum necessary to complete a task. I find myself hoarding DIY projects like a squirrel hoards nuts for winter. I stick them all in a spare bedroom and close the door and say "one day soon, I'll finish them."

I was determined to wrap up all things wedding before the end of this month. That was a bit too ambitious on my part.

I'm still trying to order prints for our moms, enlargements for us and custom framing of special things, like invitations and programs. But, 8 months later, we have one wedding picture hanging up and our faces aren't even in it. 8 months after our wedding, my dress still hasn't been cleaned (or sold or moved). I haven't even started on our photo book, which, by the way, has an expiration date of October 28th (it's a Groupon).

Someone please tell me that it isn't just me, that I'm not as lazy as this sounds and that you were all still surrounded with post-wedding "chores"?

Knowing that I will be starting a new job next week - almost completely unrelated to what I've been doing for the past 7 years - is exciting and scary. It's going to be time-consuming and I'm worried that all my "to-dos" will go from "one day soon" to "someday".

Busy Little Spoon

Well, hello there! It's been two months today since I've had time enough to even think about our blog. We've had a lot of things happen in 2011 already and I'm going to catch you up on life a Mr. & Mrs. Spoon.

February - I hosted a baby shower for my little sister to celebrate the upcoming birth of her first child and my new nephew. The very same weekend we got a new sister-in-law and step-niece, which was a complete surprise. My brother and his wife were married in Missouri in a private ceremony on Feb 18, 2011. Big Spoon and I were incredibly busy with our jobs. I picked up some freelance work and began a web design class.

March - I painted a mural in my soon-to-be nephew's nursery and on March 31, 2011, we welcomed baby Jayden into the world. I also sold a bunch of left over wedding stuff that month and made back around $200.

April - We purged the house of unwanted/unused items and took a car load full of stuff to Goodwill. My parents came down and helped me strip the kitchen of 16-year-old wallpaper. We painted, hung new curtains and began "refreshing" our home. I picked up another freelance job.

May - Big Spoon left for a five day conference in Canada and his parents came to visit over Memorial Day weekend. I got my portfolio together and went on a job interview (no small task, I assure you).

And here we are in June. Already?! I can't believe it. Big Spoon and I have been married for 8 months, I turn 29 tomorrow and best of all .... I HAVE A NEW JOB!

So, all in all, two months of being busy and not blogging has paid off. I hope to get back in the blogging groove soon, so if you're interested in newlywed life and hopefully a few home decor DIYs, we'll be here!

Nesting Spoons: Happy Six Months

Six months ago today, we were doing this ... And this ... I love Big Spoon and I'm so happy to be his wife.

Nesting Spoons: Parting Ways With Wedding Stuff

{© renjith krishnan}

On Friday night, I posted a Craigslist ad in order to sell some of our wedding "stuff." Selling things that might help others have a more budget friendly wedding and getting rid of some clutter makes me feel fabulous and lighter. There's just so much stuff left over. What are you supposed to do with it?

Today, we sold almost all the white table linens. I say almost because Big Spoon and I nearly killed one another trying to get them counted, sorted, folded and in the car. When we got to Antioch, the person informed me that they, in fact, only wanted the white linens, not the satin runners. This was definitely not part of the email correspondence, but we managed to strike a deal that made everyone happy.

It is a goal of mine to have all things wedding wrapped up by our first anniversary. I want to have pictures hanging, prints in albums, scrapbook underway and keepsakes tucked away. I don't want to find myself trying to sort and sell this stuff 5 years from now when no one will want. I'm making space now, so I am making the wedding stuff sell-off, a total house purge and an upcoming yard sale priority numero uno.

The big thing is deciding whether or not to sell my dress.

It's a touchy subject. On one hand, why not? I'll never wear it again when someone else could and get a great price, too. Then again, I don't want to give it away and a big part of me doesn't want to let it go. I'm still deciding.

What did you do with your dress?

A Short & Sweet Update

Hi y'all! I'm still here ... as life tends to get, we've both been extremely busy and I haven't made much time for blog content. I have several posts drafted and I'm working on wrapping those up. They include our reception and thoughts on our wedding day as well as a couple of DIY wedding tutorials I never got around to before the big day.

We've been married 5 months now, believe it or not. I'm still in the process of re-editing photos and getting some enlarged to hang around the house. I have a Canvas On Demand Groupon and a Picaboo photo book Groupon I'm anxious to use on our wedding photos. Oh, and that whole starting a small business thing while simultaneously living life, working full time and doing minor home renovations.

My goal is to have all the "wedding" related stuff sold, put away, ordered and organized by our 1st anniversary. It seems like a long time for such a small goal, but believe me, it is sneaking up on me!

Nesting Spoons: Wedded Bliss

I was recently asked to talk about our wedding in an interview for the locally based magazine HER Nashville. The article was titled "Reclaim Your Wedding" and features floral designer and bride-to-be Hillary Robson of Brocade Designs as well as Marie McKinney-Oates of Nashville Marriage Studio.

The article explores the darker side of wedding planning - people pleasing, hurting feelings, feeling overwhelmed or alone, inadequate or just plain bad. It's a great read for those brides out there who may be feeling some self-doubt and second-guessing when they see beautifully photographed weddings everywhere.

Almost four months after our wedding, I really enjoyed reading this article and reflecting on my own journey, a small part of which was shared for the article. Simply put, our wedding wasn't everything I'd hoped it would be. There were some issues and some let-downs. As an American bride, one has been inundated with the idea of "perfect" since childhood. When I did this interview, I was still ankle-deep in post-wedding blues. Even though I attempted to mentally prepare myself for less-than-perfect, it was still difficult for me to let go of some things that went wrong ... until lately.

What changed?

Well, life. Really. I'm married! I'm married to the most amazing, brilliant, funny man I've ever known. Some days, it just hits me out of the blue how incredibly lucky I am to have him and the life we're building. Do you know what I don't think about in those moments? The things that went wrong at our wedding. I think about the last Saturday when we spent two hours just talking. I think about his face as I read my vows to him. I think about how much we laughed driving away from the venue to our wedding night hotel.

I'm so proud of the fact that we planned our wedding together and that ultimately, it was a reflection of who we are as a couple - regardless of the things I wasn't happy with. We did it on a budget because that mattered a lot to us. But I'll let you in on a little secret ... we're just as married as the couple who spent $95 on a marriage license and eloped. We're just as married as the couple who spent $30K and got featured on a big name wedding website.

The day after our wedding, I was so pissed off at myself for not spending more money on X or Y thing. I even talked about it at the Smart Bride Workshop. (What I said to those brides is still true - be careful who you hire to provide services for your wedding.) However ... Big Spoon and I did something really big last week. REALLY. BIG. And it made us feel like rock stars. All the wedding stuff floated away, sealed tightly in a little compartment in my mind where I'll go to reflect and remember.

We paid off our second mortgage.

We felt awesome. I felt like, "Wow, I'm really glad we didn't spend more than that on the wedding. This is great!" He felt like, "Wow, I'm really glad my wife is okay with doing something practical with our money and not blowing it on something fun, but unnecessary!"

I truly believe that planning a budget wedding helped lead us to marital bliss. We spent below our means and discussed every purchase. We chose to use the money we could have spent on more important things. After a tough first couple of months of marriage for me (I had the post-wedding blues pretty darn bad), I've settled in to being blissfully wed. I love my husband. I love our life.

Nesting Spoons: The Great Dinnerware Fiasco

Big Spoon and I knew going in to our wedding registry that we were NOT registering for fine china. Let's get real, we weren't going to receive even a majority of place settings and worse, it would get used once every five to ten years. Plus, my sweet maternal grandmother had been saving a set of china for me since I was a wee lass. 

With that in mind, I decided on plain, white everyday dinnerware. White is super versatile and food looks so pretty on them! I wanted something that would last us many years and so I registered for Pottery Barn's Great White Dinnerware. They have a good reputation for quality product. The price was a small deterrent, but in the end, I decided it was better to spend the $400 up front for something of quality.

{Pottery Barn Great White Dinnerware}

I was dead WRONG. I waited until a free shipping promotion and ordered the 5-piece set as well as cereal bowls - service for 12. It came in 4 large, heavy boxes and I was jumping up and down as I opened them. However, I soon discovered that they were bubbled, scratched, chipped or otherwise not the pristine white dishes I was expecting. I slept on it and then took them all back to the store for a refund. 

Ultimately, Pottery Barn's customer service smoothed everything over. I received partial debit refund and the rest on store credit. The catalog reps were great about communicating with me through the process. I just wasn't happy with the product. I used the store credit on something else for our house.

During the PB return situation, I purchased a much cheaper set of dishes during a macys.com after Christmas promotional. I got the White Elements 41-piece set (service for 6) for $34.99! I ordered two and they were on my doorstep when we got home from our Colorado Christmas. AND ... they were the wrong ones. The distribution center sent me square instead of round. Grr .... I loaded them up and took them back to the Macy's in Rivergate.

The Macy's return experience was much more pleasant than the one I had at PB. They were super helpful and only one thing was broken (I haven't returned it because I have two of them.) These are SO MUCH BETTER in every way. I'm not afraid to move them or put them in the dishwasher, the quality is great for the price paid and they actually fit in my cabinet (the PB dishes didn't - they were huge.)

I got 6 dinner plates, 6 salad plates, 6 bread plates, 6 dipping bowls, 6 cereal bows, 6 mugs, a sugar bowl, a creamer and a serving bowl in each set. For less than $100 compared to Pottery Barn dishes at $400. 

Yeah, I'll take my bargain dishes. Thanks.

Additionally, my grandmother gave me the fine china she's been saving for me. It's very girly and old-fashioned, but I love it anyway. Happy dining, y'all!

{Johann Havilland "Moss Rose" Reproduction Fine China}

Nesting Spoons: A Series About Our Newlywed Life

{via www.funkmelbourne.com.au}

In order to bring our blog into the here and now and transition out of all-things-wedding, I will be starting a new series about being newly wed. Some of the posts will center around my adventures in home decoration (DIY, renovations and otherwise), some will be about our challenges and joys of our first year together, others may detail how we stay fit and healthy together.

I still fully intend to give you a pictorial review of our wedding day, talk about the things we did right, the things that went wrong and do some vendor reviews. BUT ... at some point later this year, our blog will cease to be wedding-central. Why? Because that isn't what we're about as a couple. A wedding is one day in an ocean of days in your life. It is a meaningful right of passage, a new chapter and all those fun clichés, but ultimately, it is but one day. I have to let go of it and move on. We're a couple who planned a wedding on a modest budget together. That's pretty cool to me in and of itself.

I am starting a brand-new blog that will be quite wedding-heavy. I'll post more details as they develop :)

Have a happy, snowy day!