Better Together

Last Saturday, Elizabeth and Ashley threw us an AMAZING couple's shower at The Drop in Kansas City. Our closest friends and family helped us celebrate our very first shower together, and we couldn't be more thrilled. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful gifts and your presence at this time in our lives. We couldn't be more thankful for you all. A special thank you to Ashley and Michael, Ashley Fisher and Emily Baker and Ryan Stackhouse for traveling so many miles to be there with us. We love you!

Our fabulous hostesses for the evening!

Bridesmaids!

Group shot! Can't wait to have Michael and Ashley with us in KC!

Holidays

I just wanted to share a few photos from Thanksgiving and our Christmas Tree. Matthew and I have been quite the flea market shoppers and have scored this AWESOME yellow loveseat and bar. No fireplace just yet, so our stockings are hung on a brick wall. :)

We spent Thanksgiving in Nixa again this year with my family. We had the brilliant idea to make pilgrim and indian hats for everyone at dinner. It turned out so cute!

Twas the night before our couple's shower

And we're so excited we can't sleep! Here's a photo of Matthew with our first gift-thanks Bryan and Lindsey!! We love the salad bowl and servers.

Registering is Fun

I might not know what half the kitchen items are and I especially don't know how to use them, but I can't wait to get them!

We made it through the first year...

Last week we celebrated an important milestone-Stewart's first birthday! It's hard to believe that we survived a year of this puppy. I still remember (very vividly) the breakdowns and tears I suffered those first few months. Now our life seems to be slowing down and we're cuddling with him every chance we get (when he's not biting at us). Check out the photos of Stewart enjoying his birthday cake from Three Dog Bakery. Yum!

Engagement photos!

Well our photographer, Chelsea Donoho, could not have captured Matthew, Stewart and I any better. We think she did a fabulous job during our e-session, and we're so happy with the results. Who knew we had such a photogenic dog!

Aren't they awesome? You can find more on Chelsea's blog.

278 days to go!

It's been a loonnnggg time since I've posted anything on here. Truth is, things have been a little slow in my wedding world. We checked caterer off the list of to-dos. Now on to DJ and finalizing the invitations.

If you haven't checked out our wedding Web site yet, it's www.projectwedding.com/ourwedding/blandtobe. It will house all the information for our big day. We'll still keep updating this blog with fun, not-so-important info, but you'll want to check the other site for hotel, directions-that sort of thing.

Next up: Matthew and I have our engagement photos next weekend!

Thanks for Coming!

A HUGE thank you to everyone (especially Kara) who came to our engagement party last Saturday. We had a wonderful weekend with Matthew's mom. Here are a few pictures from the night.

Engagement Party!

Matthew and I are so excited to have our friends and family coming in town for our Engagement party this Saturday.

It's hard to believe that only 10 months ago, I met Matthew for the first time at Lews Sports Bar in Waldo. He was wearing a North Carolina Panthers jersey (Gasp!). We made small talk. I told him I had just gotten back from Italy, where I managed to avoid all art museums and drank my way through Rome, Florence and Cinque Terre with Emily. It was after I went on and on about how I hate art and love to drink, that he tells me that he studied in Italy--ART HISTORY!

See, first impressions aren't THAT big of a deal! :) He owe's his happiness to me because I made the first move. So, we'll be toasting to me on Saturday night!

Family Affair

It's been a little while since I've written anything. And a long while for Matthew. :)

We've been pretty busy with planning, work and school, but we're so excited to have Mary, Matthew's mom, come visit us next weekend. This will be the first meeting of the parents and know everyone is excited!

We've also made plans to visit Miss Mabel, Matthew's niece, in September. We'll be heading to D.C. on September 18 to spend the weekend with Michael, Ashley and Mabel.

Isn't she sweet?!

L.O.V.E.

My dear friend Gwyneth Paltrow :) sent out an email from her GOOP newsletter about the fraility and power of a long-term relationship. I won't copy all of it, but I will insert a passage that I think is really beautiful. Enjoy!

Kahlil Gibran in his essay on marriage states, “Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other’s cup, but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping; For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together yet not too near together; For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.”

Florist Update

My mom and I had a WONDERFUL appointment with Bridget from Ornamental Petal last night. We ended up sitting outside of Latte Land for 2 hours talking about centerpieces. It was great. :) We definitely clicked, and I can't wait to get started looking for things. I won't give out too many details because I want our guests to be surprised, but I will tell you that every table is going to be entirely unique and special with some very fun additions to the table!

Check out Ornamental Petal online!

Inspiration

I've been working hard to narrow down a specific theme and overall feel for the wedding, and I continually come back to the blog, Green Wedding Shoes. Thanks to my wedding dress sales associate for introducing me. This blog has so many dreamy, vintage-feel ideas. I love, love, love it!

My head is totally into this "eclectic vintage garden scene" with shades of yellow, gray and navy. I can't wait to share these ideas with my PT (potential florist) tonight!

I heart billy buttons!

In Love

With this music.

Happy Feet

In need of some serious pampering for my feet, I walked in to Polished nail salon yesterday after work. I casually mentioned to Matthew that I was going there straight after work, so he'd make sure to let Stewart out before class.

Lucky for me and my feet, I have the most amazing, thoughtful fiancé ever. I'm sitting in the chair, getting my feet buffed when a lady walks over and asks if my name is Melina. I tell her yes, and she just walks off. I'm thinking I probably dropped a receipt with my name on it or a business card, I have no clue.

When I'm finished with my pedicure and pulling out my card to pay, the lady looks at me and says in a thick Asian accent, "Oh no...your husband call an pay for your feet!"

So funny. :) Thanks babe.

Welcome to the World, Nora Annabel Cowie!

Nora Annabel was born on July 2 at roughly 2:10 p.m. She weight a whopping 8 lbs 11 oz and has TONS of dark hair with big chubby cheeks!

Here's Matthew holding Nora.

Nora with big sis Evie!

I'm About to be an Aunt AGAIN!

Hi Everyone!

Kara checked into the hospital this morning at 6 a.m. to be induced today. They broke her water at 8:30, and as I type, she's in labor! I'm leaving work early today to welcome my new niece. Can't wait to see Miss Nora Annabel Cowie!

Kind of strange, but Nora is born the day before my dad's birthday and Evie was born the day before mine. These Cowie kids are trying to steal some birthday thunder! Not cool. :)

Club 1000

Most of you know that we selected a venue a few weeks ago. We're really excited about the space. There's so much to work with! Here are a few pictures. Let me know if these spark any creative decor ideas! I could use the help. :)

An addition to our wedding

Matthew thinks that if he has Stewart trained well enough next year, that I'm going to let Stewart be in the wedding. Ha! But here are some cute pictures of Stewart being calm, a rare occurrence. Look how big he's getting!

Cause your growns up! And your growns up!

Our little Stewart is all growns up! Stewart completed a week of training and his parents are better off for it. While we still deal with the occasional "waking up at 5 in the morning" or "grabbing chicken bones out of the trash can," Stewart can sit in an elevator without mauling people with groceries. He can lay down while we eat dinner and he knows not to get up until we say "free." His trainer was a woman who said "free" like you would expect from an overzealous female dog trainer. So when I say "free" in my monotone voice with an expressionless face, Stewart tilts his head in confusion, begging me to let out a high pitched "freeeeeeeeee." We still have a long way to go, but I have a feeling that the more he grows up, the more we will miss the puppy in him.

Wedding Dress

Sorry, it's been about a week since I've posted anything. My parents were in town this weekend, so I booked an appointment for them to see a few wedding dresses that I had picked out the week before. Mom, Dad, Kara and Yiayia all accompanied me to my appointment. They LOVED the dress I picked out, and I was so happy. Sad that I won't see it for another six months. :(

Immediately after we bought my dress, my Dad insisted we start shopping for him. We got him a light gray suit so he'd match Matthew and the groomsmen. He was stylin. :)

Up next, we have a photographer appointment this Friday with Chelsea Donoho. We really love her work, so I'm hoping everything goes well and we book her.

Saturday, July 11 we have our first tasting with Brancatos catering. I'm sure this will be one appointment that Matthew won't miss!

Photographers, Florists, Wedding Dress, Oh My!

I think I might have this wedding planned by the end of the month! We have two appointments scheduled with photographers coming up soon. We're meeting with Imagine It KC this Friday, which was recommended by a coworker and then with Chelsea Donoho in two weeks. Both look amazing, so I'm excited to see what they have to offer. We have to get our engagement pictures taken soon.

I also have my first appointment today at 6:30 to try on wedding dresses at Bridal Extraordinaire. I can't wait! Although, I absolutely hate being bothered by sales associates, so this should be quite interesting. :)

Anyone have any good honeymoon recommendations? We want to go someplace that has a winery and a beach!

Family Update

Hope everyone is having a good week. I can't believe it's only Tuesday! It feels like Thursday or Friday for sure.

Stewart started school this week-obedience school. :) Our biggest concern is jumping up on people. Matthew and I have become accustomed to him tearing holes in our clothes, but we feel terrible when he does it to strangers just because he's so excited! Hopefully, they can help fix that problem so he can love on people in a calm, gentle way. Ha-yea right.

Kara and Mark moved into their new house yesterday and Kara is due to have the new baby pretty much any day now. I can't believe I'm about to have another little niece!

As far as the wedding goes, Matthew and I are looking into photographers for our engagement photos. I hate the cheesy portraits, so this might be tough!

More updates soon...

Bridesmaid Dresses

We were casually shopping at J. Crew yesterday and found our bridesmaid dresses! It was really important to me that I get dresses that my bridesmaids can really wear. These are super cute and flattering!

It also solidified our wedding colors. Navy, lemon and gray.

We Found a Venue!

Matthew and I are so happy to announce that we've found a ceremony and reception site for our wedding! In doing this, we've had to change the date of our wedding too. We're now getting married on Saturday, May 29 (Memorial Day Weekend) at Club 1000.

The ceremony is being held on the third floor. It's very clean and simple with large windows and lots of small white lights on the ceiling. Their is also a HUGE bridal suite in the back for the bridal party to hang out and get ready before the ceremony.

The reception will be held one floor down. It's a spacious room with more large windows and great hard wood floors. It's pretty much a blank canvas, so we're excited to personalize it and bring in gorgeous flowers. :)

We hope Memorial Day weekend will be a benefit for all our out of town guests. We're excited to spend that extra day with friends and family. Can't wait!!!

Head Case

Those who know me best, know I'm very picky on what goes on my head. I have an unhealthy obsession with hats and headbands, and now I'm fortunate enough to be engaged to a man that encourages my indulgences. (best xmas present...ever.)

I have a TON of decisions to make about our wedding, but I've already made one. My head piece is coming from Court & Plume. Check out their gorgeous headbands.

First Venue Appointments!

Just got back from looking a few spaces for the ceremony/reception. Cellar 222 was gorgeous. It was a Tuscan style wine cellar downstairs with an amazing stone fireplace to get married in front of, BUT it holds about 130 people-won't do.

We also checked out the Bistro at Union Station. It's a bit pricey, but you're paying for the history. I loved the layout, but am having trouble getting over the fact that the place is still open to the public during our reception AND they schedule other receptions just down the hallway.

I guess we're still on the hunt!

Stewart vs. the Tomato

I have to share a funny Stewart story with everyone because if I don't embrace the random, funny things he does, I'll just cry with frustration over how he acts 90% of the time. :)

Yesterday, I was attempting to cook dinner while Matthew was at school. Stewart would not leave me alone and kept jumping, biting and mauling me. Matthew and I usually don't give him table food, but I was cutting up a tomato and thought if I just fed him all evening, I might come out of the night sane.

So, I dropped a small piece of tomato on the ground for Stewart, and his reaction was hilarious. First, he jumped back, scared. Then, he start sniffing at it and running away. As he got more courage he began to paw at it, not touching it ever, just pawing in its vicinity. He did this for a good 20 minutes til he lost interest. I was laughing hysterically the entire time.

It's amazing how he'd rather eat his own poop then touch a tomato.

Tradition: Important to us both.

When my father married my mother, he had a beard.  When my brother married his wife, he had a beard.  Therefore....

I will without a doubt....

Not have a beard at my wedding (Since it is more of a tradition to look good at one's wedding).  The beard might make an appearance on the honeymoon though.

Engagement Prank

So, Kara told me I just had to share this prank that Chris Vukas played on Matthew and I. For those of who don't know, Chris works with Matthew at Travois. He got a hold of the photo of Matthew and I with Evie on the night of our engagement, and he emailed the pic out to all of Travois, with the subject line reading: The REAL Reason Matthew and Melina Got Engaged.

Of course, after the photo, he added "KIDDING!!" but it was pretty funny.

We have a date!

Matthew and I have set a date for the wedding.

June 5, 2010

The wedding will be in Kansas City, and we're hoping to have everything (rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception) all downtown.

This Saturday, I'll be hosting a baby shower for my sister, and then Matthew and I are going to look at our first venue, Clubhouse on Baltimore. So exciting!

We're Engaged!

On Wednesday, June 3, 2009, Matthew asked me to marry him. My friend Catherine thinks this date is lucky since all the numbers (6/3/09) are multiples of 3. :) I think she may be right because I do feel the luckiest.

After a champagne toast to our new life together, we headed over to Kara and Mark's to share our good news. I pulled Evie right out of bed and made her celebrate with us. Evie even started dancing as Kara and I sang, "Here Comes the Bride!"