It's raining, it's pouring.

The old man is definitely snoring.

The bridesmaid dresses were delivered bright and early this morning and they are SO cute! They are the perfect shade of yellow AND they have... are you ready... POCKETS!!! I love them so much, and I'm still trying to convince Pete that I need one for myself. We are so happy to have so many things crossed off the list. Now we just have to worry about finding a DJ, and we'll be starting some DIY projects very berry soon! Yay!

Here's one of the things I need to figure out how to make:

Photo from Style Me Pretty

It's a cake topper that I (Steph) would KILL to have for our wedding. It looks easy enough to make, and I'm going to start it this weekend. I feel like all I really need is a hot glue gun and everything else will fall magically into place. If I fail, I will just sit and cry because I've seen similar ones on Etsy selling for $100-150 which is more than what I can justify to Pete for a cake topper. It'll be a nice keepsake, though. Maybe one of our kids will use it at their wedding too!

Etsy is seriously my new favorite site. You guys need to check it out! Pete and I bought our invitations off Etsy from a shop called Captured Moments by Amy. It comes with an RSVP postcard, and we ordered similar save-the-dates. Here's a photo of the invitation we chose and just ordered:

photo from Captured Moments by Amy

Another thing I found off one of my FAVORITE local Etsy shops, Freshy Fig, is this blue locket with a little birdie on it. I was planning on putting a picture of my grandmother in it so that she could be with us on our wedding too. How I wish she could be here today. I know she'd absolutely ADORE Pete. I was thinking about wearing it, but I wasn't sure it'd match my other jewelry so I'm going to ask our florists to tie it around my bouquet. Isn't it cute?

photo taken from Freshy Fig

A lot of people have asked if we have a theme for our wedding, and at first, I didn't think we had one. I thought the only theme we had was our color scheme of yellow, steel, and white, but now that I'm looking at all the things Pete and I are drawn to, it's mostly nature-themed with trees and birds. Where did that come from?

I hadn't the slightest idea. That is, until earlier today... I had a text conversation with one of my favorite cousins (*wink wink*), and I told her how Pete and I wanted our wedding to be simple yet whimsical and romantic. I was about ready to vomit after having realized how cheesy I sounded when she replied with, "Whimsical, goofy. Romantic, gushy. It's just like u guys!" I sat there and thought to myself how accurate Pete and I had been in following through with our unintentional "theme." I am so lucky to have a partner who I can be goofy and gushy with. He and I have very little in common, but we make it work by allowing ourselves humility. We laugh a lot, and even though I hate to admit it, I feel like a girl trapped inside this beautiful and elaborate fairy tale filled with flowers blooming, birds chirping, and butterflies fluttering. So THAT is why we've been drawn to the nature-y things. We are just two lovebirds excited to get married. Hahahaha, gross, but true.

ANYWAY, before I make you guys gouge your eyes out, I wanted to tell you guys how excited I am for Thanksgiving!! Peter's entire family will be here visiting, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Mostly because this is my favorite time of year, but also because every year, we always have to decide where we want to celebrate what and when, and this year, for Thanksgiving, we don't have to choose! Our families will both be together which can only mean twice the amount of fun, love, and food! Here's something I'm going to TRY to make:

photo taken from Taste of Home

It's chocolate chip pumpkin cake from Taste of Home. Click on the link under the photo for the recipe. Doesn't it look delicious? I should probably do a test-run before I shove it down my family's throats. Haha. I love the holidays!

Stay warm out there! It's going to be a very cold, cold Winter!

p.s. :):)