Chills-The Good Kind.

It is 70 degrees outside, running with the light breeze sweeping over my face, listening to the BEST band-Coldplay all the while smiling on a Wednesday afternoon. Cars are driving by wondering what I must be listening to on my iPod as I have the biggest grin on my face. Little do they know, it's not what I am listening to, it's what I am thinking about: in less than 16 months, I get to be Mrs. Lindsey! I get chills-the good kind that run through your back all the way to your neck and arms-for almost half of a mile, not because of the breeze, but with the thought that I get to marry the man I had always dreamed about. I couldn't help but think how wonderful today was. God blessed us with wonderful, warm weather to enjoy the day outside, and He thought, well He knew, I would take advantage of it by running outside. Boy does He work miracles showing me how to enjoy the wonderful little things in my life to realize how lucky I am!

As I was running, I thought of our big day, special day, the most memorable day all the while realizing I get to spend it with all the people I love the most-family and friends-celebrating something very special with my best friend. It made me think how I am ever so grateful for my friends. They have helped me become the person I am proud of being today! They are my strength, backbone, shoulder to cry on, ear to listen to for everything and anything, and my sisters! My family-mom, dad, and little one otherwise known as "Baby Shefy"-who has shown me all the love and support one girl could receive; I would do anything and everything for them as I would with my friends. The family I soon get to be a part of-Bryan's famile (French for family); they have taught me how to love, have fun, and always follow my heart! I seriously lucked out...I know why Bryan is a gem now! And, I get three sisters (Crystal, Beth, and Brandi) and a brother (Brad) to add in a year or so! I can't wait!

The biggest blessing I was given was my best friend-Bryan, Bizzle, B, B-Ryan, or whatever else I call him. Haha. I never, EVER in my wildest dreams thought I would be getting married to someone as amazing as him. The one who is the boy-version of who I am or at least that is what we think (minus the emotions-me...haha). The one who is my world. My best friend. My other half. So few find this in their life and cherish it. And somehow I got blessed with this gift. So, I thank the man upstairs today for a wonderful gift, blessing, or whatever else you want to call it!

I have my health, I'm on my way of accomplishing my dreams, and a wonderful job...basically everything I need to lead a wonderful, awesome life! Don't ask me what brought on this post today. Maybe it is the weather. Maybe it was the run and breathing some fresh air knowing spring is around the corner. Or, maybe it is a combination of appreciating life with all of its greatness! With all the news around the world of depression, recession, war, greed, hunger, and whatever else, you have to stop, take a run, and feel the chills-the good ones-to make you realize how wonderful life is and how fortunate you are! Much love.

Lovely. Beautiful. Flowers.

Flowers are one of my absolute favorite parts of a wedding. Maybe it is because Shefali means flower. Or, perhaps, they are so stunning in their color and variation, it is hard not to look at them! Going through many of my favorite blogs and other websites, I have stumbled across some beautiful bouquets that would look beautiful to use in our wedding. I don't really care what type of flowers they are, as long as there are some lilies since they are my absolute favorite flowers...maybe stargazer lilies! Ohhh, they are so pretty! The first three pictures are ones I love for the bridesmaids; it has so many fun colors! And, the dark pink and red bouquet is for me! It is so funny because normally, brides have more white and light pink, but mine is the very opposite!

Bryan and I hope to spend some time this weekend discussing some wedding details together, concentrating more on narrowing down our guest list of our friends (it's a bit crazy...haha), so we can share some of our ideas with my parents next weekend! We are so excited for spring to come (minus the allergies on my part) because we have some fun things to look forward to. We are aiming for a celebratory engagement dinner with our parents, since the holidays had been crazy. And, Bryan's mom and Aunt Therese are trying to put together a "Girls Weekend" trip to the Lake of the Ozarks in August! How fun is that?! I am so excited! Our goal this summer is try and travel a bit more than last summer. Bryan and I hope we can make it to the Kentucky Derby (we have always wanted to go!), Chicago (possibly with some of our friends!), Arkansas to visit our dear friends, Kari and Andy (we miss them so much and wish they would move closer to all of us!), and maybe a weekend getaway to somewhere within driving distance for us to enjoy! Not to mention, who doesn't love the warmer weather?! We can finally start to run back outside instead of working out indoors! I just wish we lived near a beach...I am leaving this up to Susie of investing in a beach house! Haha! Or, maybe one day we can own one! A girl can dream, right?! Love.

Wonderful Valentine's Day.

So, there are many people who boycott Valentine's Day thinking it is a Hallmark holiday. While I do agree on the Hallmark part, I absolutely love the holiday, well I love all of them! So, Bryan and I did not boycott Valentine's day nor have we since we have started dating. This was our fifth one together, and it was quite wonderful. We spent the day running errands and picking up ingredients to make for our dinner. In the evening, we made a FABULOUS dinner for three (Bryan, Martha, and I) with mashed potatoes, green beans and asparagus, and some delicious wine! Funfetti cupcakes were our desert...YUM! He happened to get me some wonderful gifts as well...a Guess watch (which I have been wanting since high school), Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul (my first Chicken Soup to start my collection), and the Fox and the Hound (we always recite the lines about being best friends from there, but I had never seen the movie). The cards was my favorite part! He got some Dodge brake light covers for his beloved truck from me! We spent the remainder of Valentine's day watching romantic movies and having some wine (one of our favorite things to do together). It was a lovely Valentine's Day! And, Sunday, I pampered myself by getting a massage, haircut, and taking my good friend, Ashley, for a surprise lunner (in between lunch and dinner) to the Melting Pot with my roommate, Martha and another friend of ours, Taylor. It was a wonderful time!!!

Oh my goodness...wonderful news happened over the weekend. My good friend and bridesmaid, Susie, got engaged to her love, Sean, on Valentine's Day! She about gave me a heart attack calling me at 1:00 in the morning, but it was the happiest news to hear. Her proposal was very sweet, and her ring is absolutely beautiful! So, now we have two (Kathleen and Sus) of our very close friends planning a wedding together for the same year! Our friends are going to be some BUSY ladies! I can't wait! Plus, we get to all see one another more often during 2010, which is wonderful! Not much in the wedding area (can't wait to go home in two weeks to finalize a location), so I posted a fun/funny picture I came across on Laurel Denise's blog to start off the week. Too cute and funny. Love.

Discovery.

I must warn you, this is not wedding related. Haha. I have stumbled upon a wonderful website found through one of my new favorite blogs, The Little Brown Pen. First, I must tell of you of the woman who writes this blog. She is amazing, and her life is so adventurous. She is married with two little boys, I am talking younger than the age of four. She is a copywriter for a beauty product company in NY. Not long ago, her family and her moved to FRANCE-PARIS, FRANCE! Just because, no special reason! How awesome is this?! Ever since I read the book Eat, Pray, Love (which ALL of you should read if you haven't...definitely in my top five of favorite books I have read), I have wanted to move to Italy or France and live there for a few months. Bryan and I intend to do this once in our lifetime, we just have not figured out when! (A guy I work with lived in France for one year with his wife...how neat!) I think it would be an eye-opening and fun experience for us both! Needless to say, her blog is a lot of fun to read as she describes some of her experiences while living in Paris!

Now, onto the discovery I have come across. If you haven't heard of Etsy, you MUST check it out! I think I have fallen in LOVE. Anything and everything you can think of it on this website-jewelry, paper good/stationary, scarfs, shawls, etc. It's wonderful, and the prices are VERY reasonable. I found some earrings and necklaces that I am basically drooling over since it is a weakness of mine; check them out below! What a great place to go to shop for gifts and let's face it, myself! I could see my mother going crazy over this website as well! What is even better is you can sell your products/ideas on the website as well. One day, I intend to own a small business of designing invitations and other stationary goods (I have about nine or ten professions I wish to accomplish in my lifetime)...I love this stuff, but I know I couldn't enjoy doing it corporate. I plan on taking some classes in design, and then starting right out of my home (like so many others have!). Who knows where it will lead me to...but I know where I can start by selling them: Etsy! I am so excited! Maybe I can find my "Something Blue" on the website that can be fun to wear for our wedding day. Love.

Well Said.

I cannot believe it is already Monday. The weekends really do fly by! What a wonderful weekend though! I did get to see my first Monster Truck Jam...quite interesting. I can say Cute Fiance was in heaven! He told me he wishes he could drive one of those big trucks...he would be quite the handsome man out there. But, I would love to see him in one piece at the end of the day rather than worry about him flipping over in one of those monstrous trucks! Haha. It was a wonderful time. And, I got my nachos and snowcone, so I was one happy gal! Saturday, I wrote my English paper (my only school goal for the day) while watching Friends (seen every episode at least five time, but laugh and cry like it's the first...I LOVE this show!), ran outside (GORGEOUS day!) with Bryan, and finished the evening with wine while watching Rumor Has It (my pick) and Hellboy (his pick). Saturday=BLISS. I slept like a baby that night. Sunday, I did some yoga, studied a bit for Microbiology, went to see He's Just Not That Into You (not one of my favorites), worked out with Cute Fiance, and watched the Grammy's/Wedding Singer for the remainder of the evening. Coldplay won three of the seven awards they were up for, so that was exciting. And, their performance was awesome! I can't wait to see them again in July with Bryan and some of our good friends, Sus and Sean! It was the relaxing weekend I had been longing for, so it was wonderful!

I did talk to my mother yesterday for a bit about bridesmaid dresses. Apparently, my aunt in Atlanta has a designer who can design and make Indian dresses for the price range you ask of. So, I think we are going to do some fabric shopping one weekend when I am home. My mom is thinking pink and green dresses with some beading for six of the girls, and a pink and orange dress with some beading for Jess since she is my Maid of Honor! Fun fun!!! I can't wait. :) I love designing and picking out material.

Here is something I came across last week on Design Crush's blog and thought it was a good way to start this week. Cute and sweet. Love.

Centerpiece Ideas.

Who doesn't love centerpieces! Some say they can set the mood for your reception. Bryan and I agree on some level we want them to be fun, but we want them to resemble us in some way as well! I absolutely love the tall candles, tealights, and tall and short vases with some lilies! Also, I have seen some underwater flowers (idea given to me by my friend, Emily, who is getting married this June) with some floating candles on top. And, I really like the little charms to put around the vases to honor Bryan and I's grandparents we never had a chance to meet in our lifetime (we each only have one grandmother living). For table numbers, I saw this idea on another wedding done, perhaps on Snippet and Ink's blog. The table numbers were done in important years of the Bride and Groom (born, important events in their lifetime), both parents' anniversaries (big milestones), grandparents' anniversaries (25th, 50th, so on), and even when the Bride and Groom's 25, 50, and 75th anniversaries would be. I think it would be a great way to honor us and our families. Plus, it's fun! Or, we can name each table after a favorite place or event we have been together since we both love to travel and listen to all kinds of music!

One might ask the reason for our planning so early. We have both been given the advice of starting early with wedding planning. It gives you time to look out for great sales and ideas while you are at it. Plus, with my classes (loving them by the way!), both of our jobs, and other events taking place in our lives, we both keep pretty busy! I do recommend all Brides to give themselves some time to plan a wedding after getting engaged...it makes it more fun and less stressful (although in the beginning it always seems overwhelming).

P.S. I am going to my first Monster Truck event in KC this weekend. It should be very interesting, and I am really excited! Wish me luck that I leave with the same percent of hearing I entered with...basically, I hope I don't go deaf! Haha. Have a great weekend! Love.

They Said Yes...

Having a passion for graphic design, I came up with the idea a few months back to design postcards to ask my best gals to be in our wedding. I posted the design I sent them, each one with a personalized message of what they mean to me and asking them to be a bridesmaid/maid of honor! And, they all received the postcards a week ago and said YES!

My Lovely Gals Are (starting from who I have known the longest)...

Maid of Honor: Jessica Fazio
Bridesmaid: Bansi Shah
Bridesmaid: Beth Lindsey
Bridesmaid: Brandi Lindsey
Bridesmaid: Martha Leahy
Bridesmaid: Susie Phillips
Bridesmaid: Kari Sherman

I am so excited for these ladies to be a part of our wedding day! I wish I could have asked more of my best gals, but unfortunately, my mother thought I needed to cap it off somewhere. And, I guess twelve was not an ok cap. So, Bryan or shall I say, Cute Fiance, and I came to the number seven. Apparently, in both Catholics and Jains, seven is an auspicious number, and since everything in the Indian culture is done with good fortune, we are in good shape! I can't wait!!! It's surreal to think I am helping to plan this wedding, and less than 18 months from now, I will be getting married. I guess it will start to really feel real when the bridal showers, bachelorette party, and apartment hunting with Cute Fiance begins...all of which I am ecstatic for!

Nothing new other than staying busy with school, which is going great, so far! Kansas City is supposed to be getting some gorgeous weather the remainder of the week, so I plan on enjoying some of it outside! Maybe, I can start running outdoors again! Next post to come are centerpiece ideas. Very fun!

Love.

Future Glimpse Part II.

I might be a blogging queen this week b/c I have come across a lot I want to share. But, I will spread it out over the week! Earlier Tuesday, I had put pictures up of an Indian-American wedding I had seen on The Bride Cafe's blog. She happen to place more photos of their wedding I had to share! And, through their photos, I found out they did an American ceremony (like we are doing) as well! He even changed into a tux like "Cute Fiance" wants to, and she remained in her Indian outfit like I want to! How great to see that all of this is possible! I really loved the picture of her mom shedding some tears. I know how emotional I am, but where the heck do you think I get my emotions aka tearing up ALL the time from...BOTH of my parents. I can't imagine how much they will be crying that day as I will (but I know it will all be happy tears!). I just hope "Cute Fiance" (I love it) is not overwhelmed with the emotions my family and I will have! Haha. I cannot wait to see how our pictures turn out. Indian weddings are filled with rich, bold colors, which end always in beautiful photographs! And, I shall mention, we have finalized our wedding colors to pink and green (like originally planned) with a hint of orange! I think they will look gorgeous! I can only imagine the bridesmaids and my bouquet with those colors. Enjoy the pictures! I'm sure another post will be coming very soon. Love.

Something To Dream About.

My oh my! I sure have been quite the blogger in the past two days. I cannot help it. I'm finding wonderful blogs and ideas I want to share. You might remember the blog I posted yesterday of the Virginia wedding that would have been probably the kind of wedding Bryan and I pictured! Well, I came across Laurel Denise's blog today while eating lunch and absolutely love, love her work. She is a Virginia born gal who now lives in NYC as a jewlery and graphics designer! Talk about one of this girl's (me) dreams. How awesome would that be? It will happen one day...I'm just in the process of figuring out how and when. I should master one profession at at time. Haha. First of all, her wedding in VA was beautiful and makes me want to live there apart from CO. She had her bridal shower there...you have to see these pictures. What a cute, cute shower! Second of all, to be a designer in NYC working at Bryant Park and other places around the city is awesome! She has a really cute personality it seems and it shows in her work. And, I love how she refers to her fiance and now husband as "Cute Husband." Maybe I should start referring to Bryan as "Cute Fiance." Within her blog, I came across more designer blogs for wedding and other uses. I added them to my list of "Blogs I Am Lovin'."

From Decor8, I came across another Indian gal marrying a man from the islands. They're wedding must have been breathtaking from the colors and scenery as the pictures below show. Love.

Future Glimpse.

I was reading The Bride's Cafe blog, and I just had to blog about this! You would not believe what I came across...a wedding that will happen almost similar to Bryan and I's wedding! The photographer for their wedding, David Abel, was AMAZING, and you all can see just how rich the colors in Indian weddings are. For someone who wants an Indian white based dress more than a red based dress, her wedding dress was BEAUTIFUL and her bouquet is about the same colors I want for my bouquet! (For those of you who do not know, in the Indian custom, red is the traditional wedding dress color as opposed to white.) Wait until you see some of these pictures. All I can say is wow! Check these pictures out! More to come on flower bouquets I came across. Love.

Dream Wedding...

I just spent some time (taking a small break from looking at a geotech report..sounds fun, right?) looking on one of my favorite blogs, Snippet and Ink. I came across this wedding that was on an estate in Virginia...talk about the dream wedding Bryan and I wish we could have, but with traditions, it could not happen. However, I can dream through some of the pictures from it that I absolutely loved:

How CUTE!!! I love how fun the food was, the cake was beautiful, the scenery was gorgeous, the favors were caramel apples, and everything that could have been printed was cross-stitched by the bride with some help of course! How fun!!! And, what a CUTE couple! This would be exactly the kind of wedding we would have envisioned...maybe when we renew our vows we could do something like this! Also, I took a sneak peek at my other favorite blog, The Bride's Cafe. I found some awesome shoes that maybe I can hope to find to wear on my wedding day. It is a combination of the fun style I like to wear with a hint of Indian mixed. They are by L.A.M.B. Check them out. Love.

My Second Love Part II.

First of all, what a weekend. School really has been keeping me busy! But, I am learning how to stretch my work out over the course of the week rather than compiling it all in two days! Haha. So, the majority of my weekend was spent studying. We did visit Lawrence Friday night to see the older XO girls, which was a BLAST! What a fun town. And, yesterday we went to a friend's house to watch the Superbowl. What a CLOSE game...I would have loved to see the underdog team win, but what can you do?! It was a good game on both teams part. Busy, but great weekend overall!

Not much has been going on lately in the wedding planning department. Until my parents have found a few ceremony/reception sites they want narrowed down, we won't be able to do much. Although, my dad put Bryan and I incharge of investigating cake and transportation prices. Bryan found a great company, which has a party bus to hold either our wedding party+us or our wedding party+their dates+us. We're not sure what we want to do on that yet. It would be great to have their dates come with us, but it comes down to how much we can spend on transportation. I don't think we will worry about that until we have to start booking the party bus! But, I am excited they have party buses to hold either sceniro.

As far as bakeries, we found a great bakery (after about 20 phone calls between the two of us), Wedding Wonderland, which will do it for a reasonable price. We figure of the 250 guests, about 200 would eat cake, since we will have other deserts available as well. Bryan and I finalized what design we are wanting...I posted it on a earlier post. The picture is below; simple, elegant, and probably will taste a lot better without the fondant frosting-my take: if we are spending money on cake, and we might be left with the leftovers, why not choose something that will taste wonderful! The bakery will charge $1.55/serving, 4-tiered cake, each tier can be a different flavor (ex. chocolate, strawberry, white, etc.), and with delivery/set-up, the cost will come out to be around $450 max. How awesome?! We read on the Knot some reviews of past and current brides using this bakery, and how much they loved it!

Love.