Pumpkins on Parade

To get everyone in the Halloween spirit, Andrew and Annie invited friends over to carve pumpkins this weekend. My family never really participated in this ritual but I have to say it was pretty enjoyable. I'm generally kind of leery of any activity that involves wielding a knife, however it turned out to be quite fun.

Everyone hard at work at their creations.

Naturally, Josh insisted on buying the biggest pumpkin from one of the local farmers market vendors. I think we might need a pillar candle instead of votives or tealights to make it glow. And what was the design we chose? We decided to forgo the typical jack-o-lantern face and try our hand at something more creative. Still embracing my role as the blushing bride, I suggested our initials. See what we ended up carving below...

From left to right, starting at the top: Spider (Annie), Smushface (Rudens), Cubs (ours, go figure). Second row, left to right: Slap Happy (Ortiguerras), Autobots (Andrew), Scare"d" Crow (Rudens, part deux)

I'm full. What else can I eat?

I confess to uttering that contradictory phrase but in my defense, Josh and I spent our entire honeymoon surrounded by delicious food. Scallops, hash browns, Uno's Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, hot dogs from Wrigley, chicken wings, bread pudding! However, the one food that I think I'll always remember fondly is from our last meal in Chicago. It was at the Grand Lux Cafe that I met "one potato to rule them all". Their menu describes it like this...

Double Stuffed Potato Spring Rolls

Creamy Mashed Potatoes with a Touch of Green Onion, Rolled in Crispy Asian Wrappers Topped with Melted Cheddar, Applewood Smoked Bacon and Green Onion. Served with Sour Cream

Shakespeare couldn't have wrote it better himself.

Josh and I are all smiles after a delicious feast at Grand Lux Cafe.

Josh and Lora Day

Done and done. After months, (and what sometimes felt like years), of planning, Josh and I managed to make our stroll down the aisle and into wedded bliss without too much incident. Of course, there were a few classic moments that will forever be part of our wedding day memories--my photographer playing cut man as he feverishly tried to get my lip to stop bleeding so I could be in family pictures, an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction during pictures with best man and now brother-in-law, Nick and last but not least, "the running man", a dance move that could put a person out of commission for a day or two.

Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us in person or in spirit! We love you all!

Oh, and I'd like to make a public plea to anyone who took pictures of the wedding or reception to please send those my way. I just can't wait for the professional ones, and we all know that candid ones are the funniest. :)

Labor of Love

We had a wonderful wedding day! Thank you to everyone for making this time so special. As many of you know, I had been raving about the slideshow for weeks on end but unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, we weren't able to fully share this labor of love with you. But all hope is not lost, because now you can see it right here on my blog. Click below and pretend you're still in your fancy clothes at Hy-Vee Hall, feeling stuffed full with booze, cupcakes and lasagna.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

End of Summer in a Nutshell

I think it's pretty evident that I won't be blogging between now and the wedding so here's a few snapshots of what's been happening the last month and a half.

Suds is much better at riding in the car. Here we are on our way back to Davenport for our first wedding shower.

As a wife, I intend to rule the roost with an iron fist and the Thiessens gave me a giant whistle to help reaffirm my authority.

Our state fair is a great state fair. I love me some cheese curds, Cup of Cookies and Grater Taters...maybe it's a good thing it only comes around once a year.

Suds celebrated his first birthday, hooray! Here he is with a doggie teacake.

BJ and Jill Day! We took a little mini-vacay for their wedding in Okoboji. Josh must be going for some kind of world record for "Most Times as a Groomsmen". This is his 5th time standing up with the groom.

Get it girl! My bridesmaids threw a fabulous bachelorette party and gave me all the necessary accessories for a night out on the town, including a giant flashing ring and pink furry handcuffs. Unfortunately, I was too busy bellying up to the bar or dancing in circles to complete any of my bachelorette dares.

Project Finish that Basement Before the Wedding is still underway. Overhead lighting, check. Drywall up, check. Textured ceiling, check. Painting, in progress.

You've Got Mail

Generally, the mailman brings a lot of credit card applications (ew), and bills (yuck). However, since the wedding invites have been sent out, checking the mail has become quite the exciting activity for me and Josh. The RSVPs are trickling in slowly. Granted, most of them are from people that are in the wedding or are related to us but still it's all very exciting.

And for those of you who are interested in seeing the magic behind the creation of the invitations see below...

The gluing, stuffing and envelope seals were handled with care by Dawn, Kelly and Annie. Thanks, girls!

Josh, Tom and Dean balked at using a glue stick so they took care of the postage.

Phoenix, it's 104...but it's a Dry Heat

I've been very delinquent with my blogging but my excuses are three-fold; first, I've been spending most of my time on the computer googling and shopping online for wedding related things, second my camera's broke and third, I was in Phoenix for a work conference for an entire week.

Typically, I don't blog about work because I feel like I spend way too much time thinking about it as it is. However, since a non-profit organization only sends a girl like myself to Phoenix once in a blue moon, I thought I should share a photo or two to honor the special occasion. And what an occasion it was, complete with celebrities, karaoke and an awards ceremony.

During our first day at the conference, the Iowa Chapter was honored with a "Chapter of the Year" award for Communications-yea! However, I didn't realize that they would be blowing up our faces for all the world to see while we were on stage accepting our award-boo.

OMG, is that Dee Snider from Twisted Sister?! What can I say? The March of Dimes knows how to rock.