Juliet's Wedding Weekend! // May 2017

Whew! How was your weekend?! KC and I were lucky in that we got Monday off as a holiday. Thank you to all who served and serve our country, and those who gave their life for our freedom. As with every Memorial Day (and Veteran's Day), I'll share one of my favorite organizations that helps veterans: Companions for Heroes. Shelter pets + veterans = a great cause in my book. Check out their website!

Moving right along, last week/weekend was super busy for us, but for an exciting reason: one of my very best friends got married! :)

Thursday: The Bachelorette Party!

Thursday I left work a little early with my friend Jessica and we drove into KCMO for a bachelorette evening. We started the night at Escape KC - another break out room in town. We did the 221b (Sherlock) themed room, and it was pretty fun, but very different from the other three rooms I've done. We broke out with 10 minutes to spare like pros. At one point they wouldn't give us a clue because we were doing "too well'. - rude.

After that we went to dinner at Oliver, which I had never been to. It was lovely and the food was great! I got the yummiest cocktail (The Namedropper - gin and grapefruit) and then I got the Hanger Steak with roasted veggies. Both were AMAZING! We had a great time chatting and eating.

Then we ubered out to Westport to get some drinks. We went to several places, Ca Va (a champagne bar), Off Key (a Karaoke bar) and Westport Saloon (a hipstery country bar...?) had some great drinks and laughs. The night got pretty wild, which is not my thing... but we were all there for Juliet.

We ended the night at a hotel on the plaza. It was a great if not rough night for everyone! A big thanks to Jessie, the groom's sister for all of the planning! :)

Friday: The Rehearsal Dinner!

Around 3 on Friday we met at Bon Bon! near the venue for drinks and then walked over for the rehearsal. I tried some sort of tropical coconut/pineapple drink and it was completely amazing. We did the rehearsal at the wedding venue. It was good to know what was expected, and was pretty much like a typical wedding rehearsal.

Then we went to The Eldridge for the dinner. We had the chicken, which was lovely, and enjoyed a nice meal with friends. :)

Saturday: The Wedding!

Stole this from Facebook, so it's not super high quality....! Photo credit to Lauren Elaine Pearson

The makeup/hair/etc. began at noon on Saturday, and we had a great time hanging out ahead of photos and the wedding. Juliet brought back pretty robes for each of us from Taiwan. :)

OMG IS SHE NOT THE PRETTIEST BRIDE EVER?!?!?! GORGEOUS!!

Also from Lauren Elaine Pearson, stolen from FB.

We took lots of photos (that I can't wait to see!) and then it was time for the wedding!

The ceremony was lovely and so unique to the two of them. I loved seeing and hearing all of the little touches that they specifically chose for the occasion! The officiant was a Wiccan friend of the family, and so the ceremony was really filled with so many interesting traditions. It was perfect for the two of them and their unique relationship and interests.

The reception was great as well. So much dancing and fun!

Friends and family contributed hugely to the decor, music, toasts, etc. It was really cool to see how everyone came together.

The space was lovely, and the whole night was so happy. The night ended with dancing and a sparkler send off.

I asked Lauren Elaine Pearson to take a quick photo of us, she went above and beyond! I love this!! Next time we do a shoot, I want to do one with her! :) 

On Sunday and Monday we just vegged because it was a long (but fun!) weekend! :) We watched Big Little Lies, played games, and read a lot. :)

Looking for a great KC/NE KS photographer? Get in touch with Lauren at lauren[DOT]elaine[DOT]pearson[AT]gmail[DOT]com. She's amazing and will make you feel so so comfortable!

What did you guys do this weekend? 

Have you ever been in a best friend's wedding? 

XO,

Alexandra

Longest Friends // Mirror Image

Hi everyone! I hope you had an excellent weekend and a good start to this week. I can't believe it's almost Wednesday again. :)

Nashville was so much fun, I can't wait to share some about it. There's nothing like two days away to make everything feel new again. :) It's so nice being on the road too, very different from flying. :)

This week The Creative Closet is linking up with the theme 'Mirror Image'. So I thought I would share a look that I wore at one of my longest friends' wedding over the summer!

As soon as I purchased this maxi skirt I was on Pinterest for hours searching combinations. These were two of my favorite, and sort of morphed to form what I chose to wear. :)

I just love this mustard maxi skirt. It's so comfy and always makes me feel pulled together. Pairing it with the black lace peplum top gave me some contrast in texture, but also defined my waist... which is always a plus!

Blouse: TJMaxx, $20, Old, similar.

Skirt: TJMaxx, $37, Old, similar.

Sandals: Kohls, $20, Old, similar.

Statement Necklace: $26, Francesca's, similar.

Earrings: Target, $8, similar 1 & 2.
Bag: Gap, gift, old.

Outfit Total: $111
Recent Total: $46

Because my friend Hannah is so artistic, I wanted to wear something fun to her wedding. This fit the bill, adding the light turquoise accessories made it just a little more colorful. :)

Hannah and I met in preschool and were the very best of friends through 4th grade. Then her family moved to Iowa, and we kept in touch via snail mail and later social media. She's one of those amazing friends that you can pick up with right where you left off! I was so glad that we got to go to her wedding!

Her wedding was one of my favorites I've been to. It was so special to see someone I have known for so long say 'I do'. 

It was doubly special because she and her parents made the same 4 hour drive to our wedding a few years ago. :) 

It was also particularly awesome that they had a morning wedding.

A beautiful outdoor ceremony followed by a breakfast buffet, complete with a donut cake.

Just adorable. If I could do it again, I think a morning wedding would be the way to go!

Do you also have a love of maxi skirts? 

Have you ever gone to a wedding that was especially special to you?

XO,

Alexandra 

The Two Sweetest People in Minneapolis // Emy & Matthew // October 2014

Last weekend was my dear friend Emy's birthday. So I thought I would share this with you guys today. :)

We met in college and lived in the same scholarship hall. We bonded over our love of books, travel, and the fact that we were both in very happy (and rare!) long-term relationships. We had fun movie and TV nights together.... there's nothing like watching a funny movie with Emy! (I will never forget how hard she laughed when Hugh Jackman took off his shirt and poured water on himself in 'Australia' .. priceless! ). The list goes on and on.

Later when Matthew moved to the same city, the four of us began having double dates. He likes architecture, comics, and music. We got to go to one of his band's concerts before they moved away, and it was awesome.

Together they are the sweetest couple. They like getting sushi late at night, watching Bob's Burgers, and playing scrabble. They run, listen to vinyl, and love going to movies out. You can tell how good they are for each other. :)

The two of them moved to Minneapolis a little over a year ago, and I miss them dearly. But since they have moved we have managed to drive up and see them twice! They offered up their spare bedroom to us, and spending time with them has been lovely. I think that we know them better now than we did when they lived here!

After we returned from Seattle, we drove up to Minneapolis for a concert, and to spend time with the two of them. We had some great meals out, enjoyed long talks about futures, families, travels, and school, and we got to see some of their favorite places in the Twin Cities.

I captured some shots of Emy and Matthew that day, I hope you enjoy them. - aren't they just the cutest!?

I hope that you enjoyed these pictures! I'll share more photos from this trip soon!

Happy Wednesday!

Alexandra

Relishing Life // A Book Review

When I picked up Daphne Oz’s book, Relish: An Adventure in Food, Style, and Everyday Fun (purchase here), I was instantly intrigued by the idea behind the book (making the most of your everyday life) and the gorgeous glossy photos inside. It was still in hard back, and contained a LOT of content, a little more expensive than I (the thrift-a-holic) prefers to spend on books… but somehow I couldn’t keep from buying it, or make myself return it. For some reason I needed to keep this book. Even after I bought it I kept it on my shelf for several months before I finally started reading it on the flight home from our most recent vacation. Once I dove in, I couldn’t stop reading. I think I read about half of it on the two hour flight and then about another fourth in the week following. I took a break while packing and moving… but once I felt relatively settled I picked it back up and the end of the journey flew by. I truly relished this book.Relish is part cookbook part lifestyle guide and all very interesting. Oz ranges from the topics of cooking to maintaining friendships, Beauty to Travel and many places in between. I felt that I could really relate to Oz and her zest for life. I loved her positive outlook and her desire to make the most of even the most ordinary day. She advocates for indulging in wholesome delicious food, including dessert and taking time to relax and try new things … not just on the weekends.The recipes are partially exotic, slightly gourmet, a little bit healthy with some home-style thrown in there. Some are a little too out there for me to start with, but others I can’t wait to try like the Chile Jam Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Peaches, Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies and Fudgy Banana Muffins.  I'm guessing that the more I cook from the book, the more I will branch out and try the recipes that are farther from my comfort zone!! She gives tips and tricks with each recipe and a description of why she included the particular recipe. I can’t wait to try some of them out and review them for you! I hope that it will add some new favorites to my rotation.Oz is a girl after my own heart, in the lifestyle sections of the book she shares her love of shopping in flea markets, entertaining her loved ones and exploring the world around her both near and far. I loved the way she designed her sections, because it wasn’t just cut-and-dry tips and tricks, it was filled with stories of her actual experiences both funny and insightful along the way. She shares a lot about her family, which I loved. There is nothing quite like the wisdom that we inherit from our relatives. I especially loved her story about her mother holding a dinner party when the family cat decided to come inside with a snake in his mouth. She turned it into one of the most memorable parties that they had because she went with it, and didn't let it ruin her evening. I loved that, and hope that I can remember the story when I feel the panic of imperfection seeping into my everyday life. (I’m a panic-er… I’m working on it..). These moments don't have to set a negative tone for the rest of the day! :)One section that I honestly didn’t expect to get much out of was the one on friends, family and romantic relationships. In general I feel like I’ve got a solid family life, definitely an extremely solid marriage and my friendships have been pretty inconsistent and oftentimes frustrating. So I just wasn’t really interested, but it turned out being one of the chapters that I’ve reflected on the most, specifically the friendship part.Oz explains the difference between having standards and having expectations of your friends (and other relationships). This is honestly something I’d never thought about before, but I found extremely helpful in my own relationship struggles. You’ve got to have standards for the people in your life (ex. My friends will not steal from me, my friends won’t insult me etc.), if they don’t meet them then they aren’t good for you. If you have a friend who breaks a standard that is really important to you, then that person doesn’t make the cut as a great friend! That might sound harsh, but really it helps you take care of yourself. That is a choice that you can make and a situation that you can control. But expectations are a whole different thing. Expectations are based on the actions of others, and the end results are not cut-and-dry. There is too much wiggle room that leaves you disappointed or hurt by others, you’ve lost the power of your own happiness. For example, if you expect your friend to show up for every get-together you have, and she doesn’t, YOU will end up feeling hurt, when the expectation is not something that you can control the outcome of, you're stuck upset and wondering what to do! I don’t know about you guys, but I tend to set expectations all the time, for me, for others and they are rarely fair… and almost never within my control. Reading this section actually helped me feel really free about a difficult situation going on in my own life! I no longer feel torn about how to act, feel or interact with someone who betrayed my friendship standards in the past (even if I didn’t know about this idea at the time). I really wish I’d read this back then...but I’m feeling so good about finding it now! It’s very interesting. In addition I read a great post by a blogger (& Singer/Songwriter, Brooke White) I follow that was related and just as helpful! The combo has really made me feel better. You can read her post on friendship break-ups here.Ultimately I think that I was meant to find this book even if just for this one passage. It has been so tremendously helpful in my healing process. 

Check out Daphne Oz's book Relish, you'll learn so much and really enjoy it!

Have you read Relish? What did you think?

Have you tried out any of her recipes yet?!?

What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading! :) 

Alexandra