Popping The Question...to my bridesmaids!

...the important question! "Will you be my bridesmaid?"

4 out of 7 of the ladies in my bridal party live out of state, so I knew I wanted to do something significant to show them how much they mean to me and how excited I am to have these ladies spend the day with me! I of course wanted to do something crafty and fun, so I did this:

Meet my friends!

Macey: Macey is my younger sister, my only sister. Of course I couldn't get married without my sister by my side. Even though she's quite a bit younger than me, the older we get, the closer we become. I think she is excited to be in her first wedding :) Right, Mace?


Andrea: Andrea is a dear friend of mine and was my roommate last year. We met through a boy I went to high school with, whom she is currently dating! I love my talks with Andrea, we can talk for hours and we have the same sarcastic sense of humor. 


Erin: I met Erin the day we moved into the dorms our freshman year! We have had a ton of classes together and spent a lot of time together in college. We have a ton of things in common and know each other very well. Erin is now a Mrs. and lives in Dallas, TX with her hubby, Luke, creating another vacation spot for me :). 


Tonia: Tonia is the reason Kevin and I even met in the first place! Tonia and I first met in our education classes at UNI and soon became friends outside of class. She introduced me to Kevin and we all spent many nights at our karaoke bar. Tonia and Kevin are first cousins, so Tonia is at all our family Christmas's, Thanksgivings, etc! Tonia and I have a freakish amount of things in common, which makes our relationship very easy and awesome. 


Maddy: Maddy and I worked together in college, and it didn't take long for us to develop a friendship outside of work. I always have a great time with Maddy and she is a very dear friend to me. I don't know anyone who has been in as many weddings as Maddy, which speaks to how great of a friend she is :).

Heather: Heather is Kevin's sister, but I also consider her a friend! Heather and I have very similar personalities (Kevin says that's why he likes me) and I always love my conversations with her. I am very excited to gain Heather as a sister-in-law!

Lindsey: Lindsey is Kevin's other sister and also a friend of mine. She is also a teacher so I always love talking to Lindsey about teaching things (she's a pretty awesome teacher!) Lindsey is always a lot of fun to hang out with and I'm excited to have such a great sister-in-law!

I thought this would be a fun little way to ask my ladies to accompany me on my wedding day, as well as give them some of the details I had envisioned for the wedding. I mailed all the boxes to the girls, and here are the contents of the boxes:

I used paper maché boxes from Hobby Lobby. Remember my Chevron Make Up Box? This is the same type of box, but lots smaller! Other supplies were acrylic paint, lace, a heart paper punch, paint swatches, mod podge, and hot glue. I used the paint swatches for all the paper inside the box.

To assemble the box, I first painted all my boxes in an assortment of colors. I still haven't decided on colors, so I just included them all! Which is honestly what I'll probably end up doing for the wedding :). I typed up my info and printed it out. I cut and glued it to paint swatches. I used my heart punch to cut out a bunch of hearts (which Tonia graciously called anthrax hearts when she received it in the mail.) I put it all in there nicely with lace, then hot glued lace to the outside of the box and stamped the names on the top.

Info included general details, their roles, their dresses, and then finally...the question! (If you're interested in the details, you can click to enlarge.)

I put 'em in envelopes, mailed them out, and eagerly awaited responses! (I know you're waiting on the edge of your seat. Yes, everyone said yes.) :)

Lindsey and Heather have a slightly different role but are equally important. Since my two brothers are ushers, and Kevin has 5 groomsmen, I thought it would work perfectly if Lindsey and Heather are "usherettes." You may be wondering...

The rest of their boxes were the same as the ones above (except obviously insert usherette for bridesmaid).

It works out perfectly and our wedding party is very symmetric... 5 bridesmaids, 5 groomsmen, 2 sibling ushers, 2 sibling usherettes. Between the 4 of them, all guests should see a familiar face to show them to their seat when they arrive at the ceremony.

Yep, we have a pretty awesome wedding party (I'd tell you the groomsment Kevin won't let me reveal his because he hasn't asked everyone yet. He says he hasn't "thought up a craft to do.") I know we are going to have a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to our party bus from the ceremony to the reception, stopping at our favorite bars :). And the whole getting married part, too. 

I am so happy I took the time to pop the question properly and I'm so glad to have such awesome friends!!! Only 470 more days! June 22nd, 2013 CANNOT come soon enough!

KONY 2012

If you do nothing else today, watch this video. This is an incredibly important cause that I feel very strongly about after watching this video. (The video is 30 minutes long. I passed up watching it a few times because of the length. I promise you, it's worth it. Take 30 minutes out of your day to get a glimpse into a completely different world.)

Kony 2012 is a campaign against the #1 most wanted war criminal, Joseph Kony, wanted by the ICC. Kony is going strong on 26 years worth of crimes in Uganda, now spilling over into surrounding countries. These crimes include abducting children from their homes, turning them into child soldiers, forcing them to kill their parents, turning girls into sex slaves, mutilating faces, and killing thousands. To date he has abducted over 30,000 children right from their homes.

Why has this gone on for 26 years? Nobody knows Kony. That is what this campaign is for. To make Kony a household name, not to celebrate him, but to make him known and bring the issue to the forefront.

This video is incredibly sad and incredibly moving. To me, it was very inspirational to see what a united group of young people can do.

You can go to the Kony 2012 website to get your Action Kit, bracelet, or donate to TRI. At the very least, watch the video.

DIY Bookmarks

Tonight I was finally feeling crafty after a few weeks of lacking inspiration! So I perused the pins on my Crafts pinboard on Pinterest and my craft drawers to see what kind of supplies I had on hand. I found a website for 50 things to do with paint chips, and luckily I had just picked up a bunch at Home Depot. Given yesterday's post about my new-found (or, found-again rather) love of reading, I thought a paint chip bookmark was appropriate.

I set out to make one bookmark and I got a little carried away. An hour later, I have 6 lovely bookmarks to choose from. Here are the supplies I gathered to start:

(I swapped the exacto-knife for scissors. I don't know what I was thinking.)

 And here are my final products!

 #1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

Which one is your favorite? I think I like #1 (geometric squares and ric rac) and #5 (blue and book circles) the best. Who wants a bookmark?? I've got extra!

Aaand here is my bed after this project was over :)

Bookworm

I'm in a rut. I feel so unproductive, and here's why. I spent 4 years of college never having free time, always having something "due." I always had a paper to write, a test to study for, or a project to start. Then, student teaching. My 50 page Teacher Work Sample, daily writing of lesson plans and grading kept me busy. Then, I dove into subbing, applying to different districts every night, updating my cover letter and resumé constantly.

Now, I finally have some time to myself, and I'm just not so sure what to do with it. I just don't feel like crafting every night, there's not enough room in my apartment for all my projects! I try and blog every night, but I don't always have something inspiring to write about and don't want to post something just for the sake of doing it. Kevin doesn't get home till 8 and then needs his own time to unwind and relax. That leaves me to watch crappy TV, peruse my favorite blogs and Pinterest, and waste time on Facebook. I need something more fulfilling in my life.

So, I've decided to read. Why haven't I been reading all this time? I used to read ALL the time. I always have a book going and one waiting in the wings. Then college came and I stopped. Now, I am going to start again. I put a call out to my facebook friends asking for recommendations. It is always so difficult for me to find a book to read. Here are a few of their suggestions, if you are looking for a book, too: The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games, Wicked, The Help, Life As We Knew It, An Unquiet Mind, and oh, The Hunger Games.

For those of you who really know me, you know I will avoid fads at all cost. I went to Barnes and Noble tonight, half planning on getting The Hunger Games just to see what all the fuss was about. Read the back, not interested. Saw this display, definitely not interested. Called my mom, who has read it, she said I wouldn't like it. Mother's know best. Speaking of which, Kevin's mom recommended The Help. The Help is what I got. I love historical fiction type books, books that make you think, and books with a great story. I haven't seen the movie, I'll read the book first.

(I also want to recommend Sarah's Key. I read it this summer and I absolutely loved it. Then I come to find out they made it into a movie. The movie is pretty good. Kevin even liked it. Read the book. Trust me.)

I am excited to spend an hour or so every night enthralled in a good book. Kevin has been reading this book. What a lame-o. Am I engaged to a CPA, or what?

If you have any recommendations of books, I'd LOVE to hear.

My week in Instagram

Hi friends! As you may see, I spent a lot of time this weekend giving my blog a facelift. I was going for a clean-lined, less cluttered look. I am very happy with the outcome and I think this design will stick around for awhile! I will be updating my navigation links on the right with brand new pages this week. I have found that making the little link to individual posts is too time consuming and I easily fall behind keeping up with them. Thanks for being patient with me!

I think I am suffering from seasonal depression. I seem to be extra affected by the weather as of late. I am ready for spring and nicer weather and sunshine. I have zero motivation to do ANYTHING during those grey, dreary days of winter. I had so many crafts planned for this weekend but didn't do any :(. Hopefully this week will bring a change of mood for me.

Here is what I did this week via Instagram:

Had a long day of school, potatoes and peas always make that better. Anyone else mix their spuds and veggies?

My favorite episode of Boy Meets World ever was on. Remember Eric "Plays With Squirrels?" His manifesto? "Lose one friend, lose all friends, lose yourself." Love this show!

Been working out and eating right! This is what my evenings consist of.

How is it I stepped foot inside Ulta for the first time this week? This store is like heaven! I was killing time at the mall before I met Kevin and his co-workers for happy hour. I didn't buy anything unfortunately, but now I know where to find any beauty product I would ever want.

We tried a new restaurant, Corigliano's Pizza (thanks to Groupon!) The decor was very old-school and cozy. The pizza was unfortunately not so good.

We took a trip to Home Depot and I greatly embarrassed Kevin by helping myself to a bunch of paint swatches! I also got pipe insulation (the grey tube in the picture) for $1 to make a wreath. DIY to come this week!

We bought plane tickets to San Diego! We are going to SD at the very end of May with Kevin's sister, Heather. Now that the painfully pricey tickets are purchased, I am looking forward to researching the must-see and experience attractions. I am most looking forward to frolicking in the ocean and experiencing the culture of San Diego. Have any of you been there before? Any recommendations?

Loved this fortune in my fortune cookie :)

Not an exciting week but that's ok! Not stressful and lots of "me" time. 

You can find me on Instagram (@startactinmyage), and if you don't have Instagram, you can follow my here.

Have a happy Monday!

P.S. I have a wedding craft/announcement coming this week that I have been DYING to post! Check back later this week!

Frozen Yogurt Bites

I saw this idea on Pinterest and decided to give it a try! I have been on a bit of a health kick as of late, but I also have been craving frozen yummies. Rather than ruin all my hard work in boot camp, I thought I'd try a healthier option. And booooy, was it good!

All you need is yogurt, wax paper, and a freezer. I decided to try out the light and regular versions. I used Strawberry Kiwi Original and Strawberry Orange Sunrise in Light.

Just scoop some out with your spoon and plop it on the wax paper.

Put it in the freezer for a few hours...


And then enjoy! They were good to go after about 3 hours in the freezer. I preferred the Strawberry Kiwi, it was a little more flavorful. They were also waaaay too cold to eat when I pulled them out of the freezer, so I'd recommend waiting a bit to bite into them.

I will definitely be making these again. I also think this batch of 2 containers of yogurt will last me awhile. About 3 at a time is a good serving.

Here's to kicking the ice cream cravings with a healthier option!

P.S. My blog is currently under a little bit of construction... I'm going for a cleaner, less cluttered look. My links don't work at the moment but I'll work out all the kinks this weekend!

Music Notes

WOW! I can't believe how many people read my 2¢on the budget cuts at UNI. I woke up this morning to that post soaring to the #1 most read post on my blog, which is a little sad because it beat out our engagement story, which is of course my favorite post on my blog. (Quick! Go read our engagement story for my own peace of mind... just kidding. Kind of. Haha) Thanks for the feedback on my thoughts. I always appreciate it!

Here is a little music for your Thursday. I haven't posted music in awhile, and I am currently loving this video. Tonia sent me the link yesterday and I have watched it a few times since then. This is dedicated to Tonia :) Hoping you have a better day today, love!!

This is Max Bemis of Say Anything singing his song "Cemetery" alongside his wife Sherri Dupree Bemis of Eisley (one of my favorite bands ever.) I think this is just such a precious duet and I love the contrast of their voices together.

I will (hopefully, if it works) be back later with a post on a yummy treat you can make yourself! 

Happy Thursday, Friends!