Groomsmen Gifts

I have nagged asked Rory many times to look for his groomsmen gifts.  I offered inundated Rory with several of my ideas courtesy of Pinterest because that is where I was looking for my bridesmaid gifts.  Sorry maids I won't be posting my gifts on here until after the wedding.  And I know only one of Rory's groomsmen has Facebook and I doubt he will be looking at this blog.

Rory searched long and hard (that's what she said, sorry) for his gifts.  I am really proud of his choice.  So without further ado, here are his gifts (well only one of the gifts. He just bought other parts today):

All images personal, but he got them from the Etsy seller, Twisted River Clay.  You can personalize them, order them in bulk for anyone, and pick the colors.  Awesome gift.  Plus they are really substantial!

Trip to Elko and Lamoille Canyon

This weekend we made the five hour trip to Elko, Nevada, to celebrate Rory's grandmothers passing.  She passed away almost a year ago (July 11, 2012 to be exact), so it was fitting to have a memorial/celebration for her this last weekend.  Several family members came up from Arizona, Las Vegas, Reno area, Utah and further.

Friday we made the trek, but made a stop in Winnemucca, Nevada for amazing basque food at The Martin Hotel.

This place is amazing.  I had the ribs (they were a special), plus clam chowder, salad, green beans with ham, red mashed potatoes, some yummy chicken dish, fries and lastly bread pudding.  Dang, that makes me sound like a fat kid.  So good, I don't even regret it, but my wedding dress body probably does.  Did I mention the former BEST Niners coach, George Seifert went there before he passed away?  Epic.

Then we continued the trek up to Elko.  We arrived Friday night around 11 pm.  Saturday we had the memorial at the cemetery and a luncheon to honor Grammy.  It was a great day.  Finished the day up at families hotel room for dinner.  Who brings the entire kitchen stock on a vacation?  They do, and it was amazing.

We went to the local basque festival in downtown Elko.  They have games (ax games, heavy lifting competition, dances, etc.) and yummy drinks kalimotxo which is red wine and a splash of coke.  I have never had one, but this weekend I did, and they are so good.  Also, might have had a picon punch or two.

Sunday after having a delicious breakfast, we went up to Lamoille Canyon.  It is in the foothills of Spring Creek, Nevada.  It is a must see.  Take a look for yourself.

Breath taking.  I would recommend going to see it if you are in the area (Nevada/Utah/Idaho) area.  I can't wait to go back and hike the trails up there.  Then we took the long 5 hour trek back, but not before stopping in Winnemucca again, for food, but not basque.  This time was Mexican.  Until the next trip.

Shopping Lately

I miss shopping.  Yes I probably have a problem, but it seems like all I shop for lately is wedding stuff which is fun, but I want to buy myself something.  So this weekend I did....but only because it was on sale.  Have to justify it somehow.  I only bought an outfit that I can wear anytime and to work.  I had to throw the in work there, so I could again justify it.  It was buy one, get one 50% off.  So I bought a floral skirt and white dressy tank top.

                                                               Image via Francesca's

I can't find a picture of the top, but it is similar to the one shown, but softer, white and is a partial button-up.  Then I was looking for a dress to wear to my friend Stacey's wedding and I shopped at my new favorite store, Altar 'd State I found a dress that would go with her country theme.  Now just to buy some cowboy boots in Elko this weekend.  I must have them, right?

                                                              Image via Altar 'd State

I just absolutely love it.  I got it in the mail yesterday.  I do love getting packages and they are coming in like fire right now.  I also bought a clutch to go with it since it was buy one, get one half off too.  Sadly, well maybe not for me, but for you, I bought the last one, so you have to wait to see it when I take and upload a photo.

What have you bought lately?  I have lots of fancy wedding stuff, but not as much fun stuff.

DIY Cake Topper

Back in April, I bought a cake topper on Etsy.  Big mistake.  I have bought several items on Etsy and never had any issues until I purchased a topper from CrystalLuxeGalore.  Her account has been suspended for failing to send several brides their items.  I wanted a monogram cake topper with crystals.  Simply enough.  Here is the topper I bought, but with a B instead of an A.

                                     Image via CrystalLuxeGalore (page no longer working)

She was clever enough to not respond to me or others until after the 45 day mark, so we couldn't file anything with PayPal.  I had to jump through hoops, write my credit card company a letter and documentation after filing a complaint and I am still waiting to get my money back.  I filed a complaint through Etsy, hence why her account is suspended right now.  She said after over a month of me contacting her that she would refund my money and still nothing.  So I took matters into my hands and made my own.  How hard could it be?  Not that hard.

My dad has this fancy new machine at work that cuts glass, metal, plastic, acrylic, etc.  So I asked him to cut me a B with photo inspirations I sent him.  Here is what he made for me in 5 inches and 6 inches.

                                                                    Personal Image

So I headed out to Michaels and searched for crystals.  They have all sorts of looks from cheap to super expensive.  Since I want to use this in my child's (future child that is) room, I decided to spend extra.  I used the Create Your Style Swarovski Crystal Elements in 3mm, 4mm and 5mm.  I also purchased the glue.  Here are the crystals, but not in the right color.  I used plain crystal.

                                                            Images via michaels.com

I really recommend using the glue.  It has one side where you can pick up the crystals and set it on the item of your choice.  Made my life easier and this was one of my favorite DIY projects.  So without further ado, here is my cake topper.

What do you guys think?

Wedding Nightmares and Bridal Brain

Ever since I have been engaged, I get these wedding nightmares.  They have become more frequent since it is getting closer to the wedding.  Ok, minus the last two weeks.  I haven't had one.  Maybe because I went on a mini-vaca or something, but they can range from walking down the aisle in pjs and my hair is a mess to the groom running off.  Can we say Runaway Groom! 

Even the fiance is having them.  Ok he had one that he has told me about which gave me a panic attack.  His "nightmare" was we were at our reception, about an hour in and he started looking for the photographer realizing he hadn't seen her all day.  She missed our ceremony, family and bridal photos, and an hour of our reception.  I would die if this happened.

Another wedding experience is bridal brain.  I know other ladies must have this.  It is like pregnancy brain, but for brides.  Someone will ask me to do something like email them something, go get something, etc., and I forget it within seconds.  You would think I would be happy to email a friend wedding details (vendor info, bridal party purchases, etc.), but it slips my mind right away.

Has anyone else been experiencing this? 

Graeagle

Last week, I had a break from it all, and it was AMAZING!  There wasn't any wedding planning, any work, or any stress.  Ok there was some stress because I found out a friend has bone cancer and another friend went into the hospital for over working out.  I worried about them, but other than that, stress free.  We spent the week in Graeagle, California.  Graeagle is only an hour and a half from Reno, but it felt so much further.  This trip has been in the works for over a year.

So we did work Monday, but then we drove out to Graeagle after work.  Ok we got SPOILED! Plain and simple.  We had breakfast everyday at 8 am ish and dinner everyday at 7:15 pm.  It was heaven.  Breakfast had hot items plus cereal, bread and extras.  Dinner was amazing.  I must have gained some weight this trip.  Ugh gym time will suck for the next few weeks getting this off.  We had salad or soup, an entree and dessert everyday.  And I ate pie EVERYDAY.  I don't regret it at all.

Tuesday we went on an ATV tour.  So much fun.  It was a three hour tour, up a mountain, throw the forest, and back to grandma's house we go to the starting point.  So awesome.  Wednesday we went golfing.  I sucked, ok not sucked, but didn't play as well as I hoped.  Must have been the golf lesson I took a few days before, or so says Rory.  Thursday we golfed again at the Dragon, and I loved it.  I was killing it off the tee.  Friday we rented kayaks and went to Salmon Lake.  We got to lay out, eat yummy salami and cheese, kayak around the river and even come out with a few knicks and bruises.  All in all, an amazing week.  I did manage to go on a run, a hike and some walks, to burn some calories.  Oh and running on the golf course chasing my ball.

I didn't get many photos as phones don't work up there, which is amazing.  But Rory got more than his few share.  I will need to get some of those, but here are two of my favorite shots.  One of Walter on a hike and the Dragon golf course.

Best trip, but now I am back in cubicle land.  And did I mention it is rainy, windy and cloudy?  I want to go back on vacation.

My Dude is Styling

I love my puppy.  Yes I still call him a puppy even though he is a year and half.  We love taking Walter on hikes and walks.  We noticed on our last big Mount Rose hike (last summer, I know we are slackers) that he got a bunch of dirt in his eyes which made him have a ton of eye boogers.  So after looking around for awhile and maybe forgetting about it a bit, we decided to get Walter doggles (doggie eye goggles) for our hikes.  And we were super motivated to get them because we are going camping today, ok cabin camping, but Walter is coming with us.

We are going to Graeagle for the rest of the week.  Just have to make it through seven more hours of work, and then we will be hiking, golfing, fishing, sun bathing and relaxing.  The best part...no wedding planning for the week.  I can't wait.

So yesterday we went to Scraps Dog Store to buy Walter a toy and doggles.  We tried on a few pairs to get the right sizing.  He wasn't super stoked on them and kept pawing at them, but nothing a little three treats couldn't fix.  He was all set, and we brought them home to put him in while he is eating.  Yes we had our dog eat with his doggles on because you are to reinforce the use of the doggles with treats, food or something he likes.  So without further ado, here is the cute little man sporting his doggles.