they got married...

and I don't even have pictures of them...

wow, I'm a terrible friend!

That's right though, after months years of planning, this wedding thing finally happened! And it was sooooo worth it! I barely budged my camera out of it's place in my big giraffe D&G bag not just because I was too busy dancing my butt off, but because we were in the hands of an amazing photographer. I had and have no doubts that the pictures captured that day are going to be phenominal :D

I did manage to sneak in a few pics here and there. Mostly, I wanted to capture my mom and dad dancing during the anniversary dance.



But more than a little dancing occurred this weekend. I love that weddings can often last for days. Especially when you're a part of them... half the fun is the getting ready, and winding down :)

So I'll start at the beginning. I'm sure Melissa is going to love me for all the details I'll include here ;)

Friday afternoon began with a trip to high falls to drop off Andy (who i only have for 3 more days!) (that's both happy and sad, and more about that later) to his mom whereupon i got lost in downtown AGAIN. I can't seem to go up there without getting lost. It's like, I know so many streets, I even know what connects to what in many parts... but it's like all the streets go crooked and I get so confused!

After finally figuring my way out I booked it to the nail salon where Amy, Bunny and I all got pedi's. Whilst picking out a nail color, the two of them noticed a bug bite on the back of my arm that appeared to be growing with a fierce intensity.

I had noticed the bite before, as I was annoyed about getting a bite just days before the wedding and it would for sure show in my strapless dress if it didn't subside quickly. But up to that point it hadn't warranted any kind of attention. The spot began warming up and getting quite hot. All of a sudden, this random lady grabs my arm and starts gushing about what happened to me. I was like, "omg, i can't believe she is squeezing my bug bite like a pimple." but was too shocked that this was even happening to do anything about it. She said to me, "it's ok, I'm a mom."

OH! Really? Ok, well, ya know, then I guess this is all ok. LOL! She seriously said that to me.

Anyways, after her inspection was complete, i was instructed to put some ice on it and take some benadryl if it seemed to worsen. Bunny so kindly measured the bite using her middle finger as a measuring instrument and I went along my merry way getting my disgusting feet cleaned and polished.

After leaving the nail salon I only had a couple things to finish up before going to Melissa's and getting ready for the rehearsal. When I arrived at her apartment she was also in the process of getting ready and after we had both showered, we began dressing. Only to find that the bra she bought for the wedding and was planning to wear it to the rehearsal as well didn't fit. Trauma ensues. Jim was immediately called upon out of desperation to go to Victoria's Secret and exchange the bra but when reality set in that plan was schnixed. Seriously, sending a boy to exchange a bra for the correct size with only a half hour before we needed to leave the house? Simply put, it wasn't happening.

We, however, were able to find something that would work for the evening and resolved that Bunny and I would find the right bra in the morning.

Anyways, the rehearsal went on... it was long and somewhat laborious, but hey, that's what rehearsals are. Only one moment of almost trauma/drama from the groom's mother... but that was quickly squashed by the minister... thank God for him.

After it was over we headed to the restaurant for the dinner where I began noticing that my arm was heating up considerably and my entire arm was beginning to hurt. Not just the spot where I'd been bitten 4 days prior. It seemed very odd to me that I would be having a reaction to something that happened so many days ago, but to be on the safe side, I went to the rite-aid nearby and stocked up on benadryl lotion and the pills.

By the time we got in the car... here



to head to the beach... I was startin to feel the effects of the antihistamine. I was a freaking zombie by the time we got there. It was about all I could do to muster one word answers... ARGH!

That night, i put ice on it and took some more benadryl before finally letting myself collapse into a heap. I slept like a rock all night and woke up in the morning with not so much pain in my entire arm, but it had seemed to settle in just my wrist.

What a night. I mean, I'm so glad I didn't end up having to go to the hospital, but i was really close to making that call. And then waking up with it still hot and a lot of pain in my wrist... what the heck?

The day wasn't about me though! and I could have cared less if I had a migraine that day! Melissa and Jim were getting married and that was all that mattered!!!

We began the day so nice and relaxed. With only 4 of us who spent the night at the apartment and our estimated hour of awakening at 8am we were able to just lay back and enjoy eachother's company. We made strawberry banana smoothies and ate bagels... sat around wrapped in blankets as the a/c had to stay on for the sake of the flowers.



At 10 o'clock the hair stylists arrived and the age-old ritual of getting ready officially began :D I only took a moment to snap a couple pictures of the beautiful bride while she was getting ready.

About 11 we all realized that lunch was essential. Amy and I made our way to the east ave wegmans and got some subs... along with some coffee and chocolate. you know, the necessities. We both had our hair done at this point but were definitely not dressed. Amy's "running shorts" are a sight i'll not soon forget...

Once we returned, I took Melissa's dress outside to take some pictures of it as the photographer wasn't coming until it was actually time to get in the dress. I couldn't have been happier to do it!



This is by far my favorite kind of photography :) Alicia stood by and helped while I climbed the tree outside her apartment building to get these shots, and the rest of them stood watching out the window yelling at me that i was crazy. I already knew that ;)



I love these shoes!



and I LOVE this dress :D

Once we were all done getting ready, the limo arrived and we were off to the canal to take some bridal party pictures. I simply cannot wait to see them! Amazingly enough, i think the 5 of us were more nervous (or was it just me?) about the wedding than Melissa. On the drive to the ceremony, my stomach was all in knots and I almost started crying more than once.

As we all made our way to the altar, I realized that my tears were amazingly few. I appreciate a good cry now and then, but I really didn't want to be a blithering mess up there! The ceremony and vows were perfectly beautiful.



Once the ceremony was over, there was plenty of time for bridal party pictures, but let me tell you, once we got in to the reception, that's when the real fun began :D

The details of all that went on are best left unwritten, but I will say this. My calves still hurt today and they haven't hurt from running since about my second week in. YAH.

We partied hard until about 10 when things began to wind down and Melissa and Jim prepared to leave for their first night as a married couple! The night was still young so a bunch of us decided to head downtown for a little more fun. We settled on meeting at one of the bars on Monroe and subsequently brought all the leftover wedding cake with us. There wasn't like a little smidgen on cake left. Oh no. There was literally only the small piece that Melissa and Jim had cut off to feed eachother missing. The crowd was fed by the extra sheet cake. So, we took it upon ourselves to share this cake love with anyone who would partake. Unfortunately, not much was eaten... but that's ok, we had fun trying :)

By that point, it was around midnight and I was about beat. Besides almost having a slight panic attack when I realized that the cake that had cost a small fortune was about to have multiple faces planted into it... i was beat. Alicia and I piled ourselves and the cake into her car and made our way back to the apartment where we unloaded everything and shortly thereafter passed out. Well, she did. I couldn't sleep. I laid there for the better part of 2 hours awake before finally hitting a fitful state of sleep. When I still hadn't really slept by 6, I got up, showered, packed up and left for home. Amazingly enough, I made it to church that morning and managed to stay awake well into the afternoon.

Long about 4pm I realized that there was no way I was going to make it through the rest of the day awake. So I went for a run. That ended pathetically, but I looked like a superstar sprinting down main st. Moreso because I wanted to get home for some water than to show off my mad athletic abilities *wink*

And in case you're not sick of hearing about my entire weekend yet, I'll add-on. After my short little excuse for a run, I packed myself into my little civic and headed over to Amy and Brian's whereupon I stopped to give Jim's little brother Mike some of the leftover wedding cake and traipsed around walmart for awhile. Amy, Brian, Possum and I all sat around Brian's backyard burning scrap wood and having a good time. You know, the kind of times when nothing but good memories are made :)

I'm so glad that this is all over, but now that it is, I wouldn't have traded any of it for anything. All the drama and tears, heartache and hard decisions that had to be made... it was all worth it in the end. And one of the reasons i've come to love melissa so much is her ability to love so many people at once :) I love the friends i've made because of her and wouldn't trade the time i've spent knowing her for anything.

autumn favorites

I read a post the other day about autumn. This girl is such a sweetheart and was explaining how she prefers the word autumn over fall.

I think that is so romantical :)

Anyways, it got me thinking about why I love autumn...

As much as I love summer and the warm weather, there is something intoxicating about the smells that you start noticing when the windows close as the colder months approach.

All year round, I enjoy a good frappacino every once in awihle... but only when it starts cooling down do I really enjoy the lattes... I especially love the chatting that occurs while said drink is consumed :)



Now's also about the time the fire's start burnin in the wood stove. One of the best feelings in the world is curling up on the couch with my WIRELESS internet that now WORKS! and doing my lovely internet activities such as blogging, or chatting or emailing or photo editing... all whilst enjoying the burning flames of the fireplace and possibly multi-tasking even further and watching a movie.

I gotta take my breaks where i get 'em ya know!

Each season brings its own unique colors... but autumn... mmmmm... autumn brings the most vibrant array of colors. I think I appreciate it more because we only see these colors for a very short time.



In the early autumn i love watching the colors change daily. Then as the season shifts the leaves begin to fall and cover the ground with their amazing color. Then... they start drying up... and make that super amazing crunchy sound under your feet.

Yah, and then there's the fact that i'm allergic to leaf mold and dust etc... so playing too long in the leaves results in sinus pressure... that's always fun haha

What else do i love about autumn... oh! I almost forgot the BEST PART! the day that daylight savings ENDS! A whole extra hour to sleep... does that ever happen... mmm, not really :) but it's the psychological part that helps :)



When I was little, my mom would take us to mendon ponds at different times through the year. but my favorite and most memorable time was in the autumn when the cattails turned and the milkweeds were popped. I tried doing that again about 3 years ago and ended up with enormously puffy eyes and a runny nose that wouldn't quit. It was pretty sick. I'll just let that one stay a nice memory :)

So what do you love about this time of year? Is it the on-set of the new holiday season or maybe the diligence that is inherent as school sets in? Do you have memories of what makes this time special? it's important to remember these things... and write them down so when you feel like you don't have good memories, you can look back and remind yourself that "oh yah!" you really do! :)


post from one year ago today: fall appreciation

Wordless Wednesday with a Twist - part 3

Since I had a hard time figuring out how to put this one together, it has ended up being a mix up of pictures and being categorized as "my favorite colors" :)

And just as a little forewarning... when i'm asked what my favorite color is, I tell them "rainbow." I'm dead serious, I love so many things about all colors, I couldn't possibly choose one. I tend to gravitate towards the brighter colors, but I try to keep the color pallette of my mind wide open!

So I went on an adventure to find things that were aesthitically pleasing to my eye, and hopefully they are to yours as well!

some of my favorite people

In addition to this being my so far favorite photo shoot, it also happens to be of one of my favorite people... who also happens to be mommy of a little boy named Samuel who holds a special place in my heart... and always will :) I was really glad to have the opportunity to take some pictures for Michelle while she is still pregnant with their second baby... and she's letting me share a few with you.








This is my very favorite of them all. When I took it, i didn't think that it would come out at all... but it captures the two of them in such a natural and perfect way. plus it helps that i get to see sam's smiling face when I look at this one. Honestly, my favorite thing to do with him was find new ways to make him laugh and smile... and it wasn't hard :)

i wish

that i had some pictures to post. But since I don't, I am going to write about the things that make me feel good. And since I don't feel really good right now, it will be easy to come up with a list of things that do :)


The very top of the list will be...

Days like today. When I walk out of the house, and the sun is completely up... and i didn't wear a jacket (just a stolen sweatshirt from my brother), i could hear the birdies, and although there is snow on the ground, it's just warm enough that it's starting to melt promising more days to come like this one.

Afternoons and coffee spoons, one of the songs on my playlist right now. I looked up the lyrics, and they don't make a whole lotta sense, but i like the melody. it makes me feel better... and i think it's about being sick haha!

Scrapbooking. I got all my stuff out today and did 2 whole pages! I guess if i had my camera, that's something I could post... but i don't!

the color green.

the color pink.

the color green and pink together.

flowers that are green and pink.

Flowers. Especially when they are popping through the soil in the spring. It's just the beginning of my love affair with them though. the few months of winter where they are scarce are what make them such a treat when they come back!

I love laying in the grass in the summer. Especially this last summer with the kids. We would take a blanket out in the yard and the girls and I would lay on it and read... or just talk. I love that.

Reading a good book.

When the sun is shining like it is today, I make sure to go out on the porch for a few minutes and ingest some vitamin D. It does the body... and the soul good.


There's a lot more I could come up with, but those are top on the list right now. What are some of the things that make you feel better?

winter favorites

i've read a few blogs lately that are a list of "favorites." at first, i really didn't want to do it, since it'd been done, and redone... but i have been thinking lately about the things I love about the different seasons. So i decided to list out the things that i actually DO like about winter.

There are just so many days when the sun doesn't shine here that it is hard for me to think of the things that i love. But when i think about the things that make me feel warm, i start to remember what they are...



my kitty cat sleeping next to my face because it's warmer there :)

going to sleep in a nest of blankets and pillows (honestly, I would do this year round, however, it is just too warm in the summer to make that comfortable)

putting on my slippers in the morning (it helps make getting out of bed a little more bearable)

hot chocolate with coffee flavor (notice this is not coffee with chocolate flavor... i'm talking mocha EXTREME)

getting into a hott shower in the morning and finally shaking off all the cold from getting up

sitting in front of the fireplace doing varying activities... such as reading, watching tv or scrapbooking

Notice, most of these have to do with sleep, bed, resting or waking up. Winter is truly a time to hibernate for me. I am extremely reflective year round, but i hold a certain fondness for the season of winter... it seems like I have to try harder to be happy so it helps me to see the beauty all around me. I love when it snows new and all the dirty snow gets covered up and all you can see is white... yah I like that too :)