Wedding Wednesday: Sweetheart tables

oh sweetheart tables... my opinion on this subject usually goes back and forth but for the most part I always end up leaning toward not wanting one. i love the fact that you can decorate the sweet heart table super cute and have fun little personalized touches but for the most im not a total fan of being secluded from the rest of the wedding guests. I totally understand the reasoning behind wanting a sweetheart table. I mean most of the wedding you are always with a group of people and taking part in the festivities and that this table allows for just the two of you to sit and enjoy each others company just the two of you. And I totally understand that point. However, I personally think that I would rather be in the company of my new husband along with the people we love the most so we can all enjoy the night together. Your whole wedding is going to be full of the little moments. I feel like I am going to be so happy to be married to the love of my life that i don't need to be secluded to have those special moments. I'm going to have them regardless. And not to mention there are fantastic, cute ideas to personalize the chairs of the bride and groom. Anyways those are just my thoughts. I have nothing against the sweetheart table. Because lets be honest the idea behind them is fantastic, and it makes for a great photo opportunity. Here are some great sweetheart tables along with some great ideas to personalize the bride and groom chairs at a regular table. 

Thank you Pintrest for the great pics!

Hope you have a simply wonderful Wednesday! 

19 days?

Most of you already know but if you don't in 19 days I am off to Indonesia...for 3 weeks!!! My mamma and I are heading out on Christmas day to visit friends and family in Indonesia. If you didn't know I am half Indonesian and my moms whole side of the family is there. It is a loonnngg trip. Just to get to the continent we have three flights and one of them is 14 hours long. woo hoo for me! And from there it's more flying to get to our final destination. If you are wondering where indonesia is it is right above Australia...see map below :)

I was kind of curious what the weather has been looking like...it's usually hot and humid...and looks like that is exactly what it is 90s...along with thunder and lightning and apparently rain to go with it :/ 

To be honest it doesn't seem real that in 19 days i will be flying out. I'm sure it really won't be real until I am packing and actually at the airport. I am excited to finally have some much needed time off from work. This is the first big chunk of time I have had off in...well....years.. Long overdue. I'm hoping to still blog and share lots of pictures while I am there. I'll temporarily turn into a little mini travel blog :)

Anyone else going anywhere for the Holidays? 

Hope you have a simply wonderful Tuesday! 

oh hello

hello there. sorry i went MIA this last week. Here i thought i would just skip tmonday then next thing you know it's friday!!! i've missed my little blog. but i promise to be better this week. 

it was a crraaazzzyyy weekend. Full of Christmas Cheer and parties. Here are some pics from my White Elephant Party and Dinner Party for one of the deans on campus.

 White Elephant Party. 

One of my gifts were some fireworks...haha...so I let the boys set them off :)

 And here are a couple food pics from the Dinner party last night. 

 Thanks Alissa for being my amazing photographer :) 

Hope you have a simply wonderful Monday. 

Happy Thanksgiving

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving day is already here! 

I have so much to be grateful for and am truly simply just blessed. 

Today I am thankful for...

A mother who has stood by me through it all. Who has supported me in more ways then i could have ever asked for. For never putting me down for following my dreams and who is always my number one fan. I can't function without you and just thank you for being you.

To my amazing support group of friends. I am so thankful for all of you. 

You fill my life with joy, laughter and way to much fun. 

I am thankful for the roof over my head, the car to get me places, my grey nail polish, and this amazing fire im sitting in front of right now. 

I am thankful for a life that may have it's hard moments but through 

hard work and a lot of faith truly it all will always work out. 

I hope everyone enjoys their day with family and friends. Eat lots, watch football, and go shopping :) 

Have a Simply Thankful Thanksgiving.

the secrets to black friday

Oh BLACK FRIDAY....how i love thee. Black friday is not for the faintest of hearts. This is not an event to take lightly. Black friday is for the most skilled shoppers. And trust me a skilled black friday shopper can always point out the amateur. If you haven't gotten the clue that i am a little obsessed with black friday... I love it! And to be honest most of the time i'm not really doing hard core Christmas shopping. I am getting my yearly christmas decor, dvds, slippers, and other fantastic deals that all of these stores have. I have a system, a plan, and never stay in a store longer then i need to. This is not about browsing this is about hard core shopping. So here are my tips and tricks...

1. Ad Sorting: one of my favorite thanksgiving traditions is waking up going to get the paper and my starbucks and sitting in front of the fire digging through  ads. It is vital you sort through and pick out what store have good stuff and the ads you don't really care about. There usually is a few rounds of sorting.
2. After sorting comes PLANNING. You cannot attempt the black friday rush without a plan. You must decide what deals you just gotta have. That usually is the first place you will end up going. Decide what is important and what you realistically will be able to get. Electronics will unbelievable prices take much more dedication if you really want them. If you are the first person in line you will obviously get one, but if you show up to best buy an hour before they open...well just forget it...
3. Partner in crime: i think it is always best to have someone with you when partaking in black friday..however, DO NOT bring a whole group of people. They will only slow you down. 
4. Once in the store split up and find what you are there for. Some of the big ticket items and great deals will be in the isles or near the area they normally would be found. Sometimes it takes a little bit of searching but if you can't find it ASK. you don't have time to browse the store for 20 min. 
5. Lines: everyone always complains about the lines. However, most stores are prepared for this day more then we are. they have every checker open and usually will keep moving. However a good trick...go to the pharmacy or jewelry counter. People usually forget about these counters and most of them you can pay at! if they aren't allowing that..have one person wait in line while the other one finishes up the shopping 
6. The biggest tip of all is GET IN and GET OUT. Last year I was in and out of Target in 20 minutes. It is doable. Plan what you want..get it and get out. 
7. Don't forget to have fun! I always love the rush of all the people and getting that good deal. And although i put a lot of though into this you still have to remember it's all in fun. 
8. Be kind. yes there are those extreme moms and dads fighting to make sure they get the good deal on the video game but please be kind to others. Cutting and fighting is just not worth it and does not show any holiday cheer.

So hope you have fun this friday. Looks like stores are getting more crazy and opening doors at 12am...sigh... kind of puts a wrench in my normal black friday plan but im sure i'll come up with something :) Happy Shopping everyone!!

Have a simply wonderful Tuesday! 

i've been weekending since tuesday

This last week was a little crazy...i pretty much had something going on every night which normally doesn't happen. and although it was a pretty good week with so much fun stuff going on i am pretty much just tired right now. haha. and i literately cannot believe that THIS week is THANKSGIVING!? uhh whoa holidays! Way to sneak up on me! I am baffled that by this time next week my house will have a Christmas tree in it...sigh... Anyways here is what i've been doing this last week! 

Starting on TUESDAY we had the OSU Gymnastics preview. Goodness...i love gymnastics and i love these girls! i can't believe season is just right around the corner. and they looked great! I can't wait to see all the new floor routines the girls have this year. Going to be amazing!!! 

Wednesday I headed up to Portland for a concert. We went to see White Buffalo...he kinda looks like a mountain man..but his voice is so powerful and it was an AMAZING concert! 

Thursday I attempted to keep things low key with a house lit in candles, a glass of wine and a delish dinner...my favorite way to spend a night in..

however my quiet night ended up with going out to cocktails...shocking right?

Friday and saturday was filled with dad's weekend activities, football, more football, and more dads weekend cocktails. 

Thankfully sunday was much calmer then the rest of my week.

 I had this cute little mini donut from starbucks! love! 

spent the rest of the day cleaning and doing some crafty things around the house.

Trying to get a head start on all of the DIY christmas gifts i'm doing this year! More on this later! 

Over all a hectic week/ weekend...and let me tell you I am tired. Hopefully this week will be a little calmer...at least until black friday madness :) 

Stay tuned for my tips and tricks of black friday coming tomorrow! 

Hope you have a simply wonderful Monday! 

Thankful Thursday's

Today i am thankful for many things. number one being friendship. and number two being forgiveness. 

Friendship. what would we do without the friendships we have in our lives? I know for a fact that i wouldn't be able to get through half of the things i've had to deal with without a friend there to help or listen or just be there for me. They are the people who make us better, challenge us, encourage, and push you to be better. So thank you to all of my friends who have put up with me, listen to me rant and rave, and who have just been there. I truly would not function without you! 

Today I am also thankful for forgiveness. Forgiveness is always one of those tricky concepts. It seems so simple and yet sometimes it can be so hard to let go of something.  The last couple weeks i've been dealing with forgiving and being forgiven...yea...been a great couple weeks. But i am so thankful for a strong enough friendship that was able to work through the situation and end up in once piece on the other side. I am surly not perfect and I have made my mistakes, but forgiveness is truly a gift. it takes courage and it takes work. It's never easy and yet is so meaningful. It's something we will always have to work on. But I am so thankful that the people in my life are forgiving. 

On a lighter note here are a few other things i've been thankful for this last week :) 

boots to keep me dry and warm, homemade scarves, breakfast with the fam, Starbucks decking the halls with red cups and christmas decor, a phone to get me un lost or more lost...roommates who have to good of a time being silly sitting at home or out to cocktails, warm blankets and fuzzy slippers. 

Hope everyone has a simply Thankful Thursday. 

pinterest love

i think it's time for a little pinterest love. because let's be honest, who doesn't love pinterest!?! Here are some of my favorites at the moment! 

I just love this first one. Keep Calm and SPARKLE! great saying :)

how can you not just laugh when you see this picture. if you have twins this costume is pure perfection.

 obsessed with these pillows. love. 

a little over the top but it's totally me. :)

do i really need words for this mirror?

gotta love the big jewelry right now!

i do live in rainy oregon...gotta have a pair of cute rain boots in my favorite color of the moment 

check out my pinterest boards for the sources!! 

Hope you have a Simply Wonderful Tuesday! 

apparently its a new week

This weekend was kind of all over the place..but it was over all a pretty good weekend.

 Here is my life in some pictures.

 Friday I headed up to Portland to celebrate a friends birthday at Bar XV! Happy Birthday Mike!

Got my craft on and started a couple christmas projects.

Trying to make most of my gifts by hand this year! 

Finally saw the last Harry Potter movie. OMG. craziness. loved it. 

Made this awesome scarf that i am super proud of and was almost to easy to make. 

(horrible iphone pic.  im so yellow)

I also headed to Salem Sunday for a little fam time for lunch and then met up with some good ole friends from high school to catch up. It was great to all be together again. A few years have gone by but it is still so fun to get together and see whats going on with everyone. 

Over all a pretty good weekend. Sadly it is monday again but I actually have some fun things going on this week so it shouldn't be to bad. :)

Hope everyone has a simply fantastic Monday! 

and its finally friday!!! actually this week went by super fast! which i am totally okay with! but you know what happens on fridays! blank time! link up yourself here! 

1.   My favorite new blog of the moment is    Urban Nester...its super cute  .

2.   Something I am thankful for is   my mamma. can always make a blah day turn into a good day      .

3.  Something that made me laugh this week was   when am i not laughing...but i had some good nights in with the roomies this week and we always end up being really silly then laughing for 20min about it   .

4. An item that is currently on my wish list is    this sequin tank from old navy..sadly paying $40 for a tank top is not in the cards for me but i am meant to have it so hopefully it goes on sale soon  .

5.  I am excited about    heading up to Portland tonight..sigh...i heart portland .

6.  If I were a color I would be     yellow...bright, bold and happy  .

7.  My favorite way to spend a chilly fall day is by    starbucks in hand on the couch bundled in a blanket with a pile of dvds  .

Hope everyone has a simply fantastic weekend!