A DC Anniversary Shoot + Why Can't Beef Cake Put ANYTHING away?

If there is anyone out there who has a remedy for Untidy Husband Syndrome (coined UHS for short), PLEASE...I beg of you...send me the recipe.  I'll get back to this in a minute though.

First, let's chat about this lovely anniversary shoot in Washington DC.  Ileana and Jon had plans to celebrate their 5 year anniversary in our nations capital so they contacted Janice Cui at Janice C Photography to photograph this special occasion.  What a great idea!  And I think it's even more special since they shot at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial where Jon proposed to Ileana years ago.  Oh how I would love to do something like this!  BC and I haven't had photographs taken of us together since our wedding and I think it's about time to update.  And the idea of going to the place where you got engaged to take anniversary portraits, brilliant I tell ya.  That means I need to start planning a trip to Paris!  Ahhh...I knew I could get us back there someday :-)

Anyhow, Happy Anniversary Illeana and Jon and thank you Janice C Photography for sharing these beautiful and special images with us.

Photography by Janice C Photography:  Venue:  Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the Mandarin Hotel:  Submission via Two Bright Lights 

Okay...now to my issue with Beef Cake.  BC and I are quite possibly two of THE most compatible people...except for when it comes to keeping the house clean.  I suspect this is a common problem among married and co-habitating couples, but you'd think after all my nagging and complaining and asking him to pick up after himself that maybe...just MAYBE...he might consider actually doing it.  I mean, it's not like I'm asking him to put on a blue dress with a white apron and scourer the house from ceiling to floor.  Although that would be pretty funny to see.  No...I'm simply asking for him to put away what he takes out.  Put away the ice chest when you remove it from your truck...put away the camp chairs when you take them out of the garage...put away the tools and fishing stuff you take out to fiddle with...and most importantly...put away ANYTHING you leave on the kitchen counter.  Pretty simple, right?  But no...that is too much to ask.  And now with a brand new kitchen on the way, I fear this battle is about to get SUPER-SIZED.

Like most couples, we each have our little quirks that drive the other nuts...I get that. I know I'm not perfect.  And even though there are no books or magazines or blogs or learning centers to give engaged couples or newlyweds a glimpse at what it is REALLY like to live with another person, no light hearted place to tell you, "Hey...how about sticking your toe in this scalding hot water".  No heads-up when it comes to the things your partner does that WILL drive you insane.  Nope...people may give you warnings, but ultimately...you have to figure it all out yourself.  And it's all about compromise on both parts.

Like I said, I get that there are things I do that probably drive him nuts too.  Case in point...I'm pretty happy that even after all these years of looking at me in the morning BC still wants to go to sleep with me at night.  That's a definite plus! 

But what I would give to find a solution to this constant untidiness.  Like I said, any ideas are more than welcome!

Have a Fab You Bliss Thursday!

xoxo

Stephanie

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America Ferrera "Married" + My CONSTRUCTION Puppawg

I'm switching things up a bit this week...instead of posting Wednesday's Fab You Bliss Finds...today it's a SURPRISE! wedding image of, (in my opinion), one of today's most talented young actresses.  I mean, who didn't love Ugly Betty...and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants?  Seriously such a fun movie.  America Ferrera and longtime boyfriend Piers Williams married on June 27th in an intimate setting amongst close friends and family.  And the young actress looked stunning in a dress by Amsale's Christos label.  Isn't her dress just gorgeous?  I just love how some celebrities are able to fly under-the-radar so to speak and pull off a wedding like this without anyone knowing until it's over.  Class act I tell ya!

Image courtesy of People Magazine

And now for a quick update on our construction.  So...we're about half way through the kitchen remodel and things are REALLY looking good...aside from a few minor issues that need to be fixed.  Beef Cake is a real nit-picker when it comes to spending as much money as we are doing here...and I don't blame him except that some of the things are a little too critical if you ask me.  Like little dings in the underside of the cabinet doors that no one will EVER see that can be filled with wood filler before its painted. 

Annnnnyyywhoooo, I swear, all the planning it took to get here was so much like planning our wedding, so many details and decisions to make that are so very important.  Yesterday I went down to the San Fernando Valley to pick out the granite we're going to install and as I mentioned on Twitter last light, I seriously felt the same as I did when I went shopping for my wedding dress!  So much pressure.  Has anyone else felt this way?

And here's our Puppawg...without a care in the world about all the drywall dust and paint everywhere...just happy as always.  Isn't she just the cutest?



Happy Wednesday!

xoxo

Stephanie

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A SPECIAL Better Late Than Never Shoot + Dun, Dun, Dun...You Guessed it, The Ridiculousness that is...The Bachelorette

OH Boy...last night's Bachelorette...CRAAAAAZY!!!  I'll get to that in a minute though.

First I want to share this Fab You Bliss after wedding shoot with you.  And I must say I LOVE...LOVE...LOVE the story behind it.  Lisha and Matt were married a few years ago but they couldn't afford a wedding photographer at the time so unfortunately they went without.  Fast forward a few years later and enter photographer extraordinaire Diana Camacho with Simply D. Photography who together with Lisha cooked up this stylized "Day After", or in this case..."Years After" shoot, to make up for the wedding images they didn't have.  I think this is a marvelous idea!  And I adore the images they captured.

Both Lisha's dress and Matt's trousers, shirt, tie and suspenders are what they wore on their wedding day and Lisha actually asked Matt to grow his hair so it would be the same length as it was when they married.  So cute!  Lisha's gorgeous strapless lace gown from Bella Rose Bridal in Oklahoma City looks stunning and perfect for this lovely field setting in Wake Forest, North Carolina with the vintage look they created. 

I say great job guys, these images are absolutely lovely and I just know you'll treasure them always.

Photography by Simply D. Photography;  Venue:  Wake Forest, North Carolina;  Dress:  Bella Rose Bridal, Oklahoma City:  Submission via Two Bright Lights

Now...if you're anything like me you probably spent a good part of yesterday anticipating a really juicy episode of last night's Bachelorette.  I mean...the popcorn was made and Beef Cake and I cozied up in our construction induced make-shift living room with great hopes for some real-life...wink, wink...entertainment.  Yet again, if you're like me, you were most likely let down after all the Bentley hype and fizzle of a show.  So let's talk about the stupidity of what was.  I swear this morning I woke up with a splitting headache and not because of anything I drank, rather my head hurts because I shook it so many times in disbelief of what I was seeing.  I also covered my eyes and curled my knees into my chest in complete embarrassment for Ashley as I cannot believe ANYONE would be so stupid as to actually beg the producers of the show to fly a jacka$$ like Bentley half way around the world for him to give her a period instead of a dot, dot, dot.  Absolutely ridiculous I tell ya.  I mean...shouldn't the fact that he left the show in the first place give you the closure you should have taken weeks ago?  DUHHHHHH!!!!  Oh, she makes me so embarrassed to be a woman!

So now...Bentley is gone and like I said last week, I predict the show will sink into the nothingness it is without his Super-Ratings-Dude antics. I think they're tyring to make Ryan take his place as someone who will draw viewers in with controversy, but we all know there's absolutely nothing juicy about the show now.  And as Ashley continues her McDonald's-like interview process with the remaining men now that Mickey walked out and Blake was sent home, I predict the winner will be Ben and he and Ashley will live happily ever after within the couple of months of most Bachelor and Bachelorette's happily-ever-afters.  The End!

If you are as disappointed with the show as I am, please share your thoughts.  And what do you think of Lisha and Matt's after wedding stylized shoot?

Have a Fab You Bliss Tuesday!

xoxo

Stephanie

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A Belvoir Winery Wedding + My Circa 1990's Day Planner

It’s funny, with all the fancy techno-gadgets and gizmos we have these days for keeping track of schedules and being all…well, organized and stuff, I almost...(and I mean almost in the smallest, tiniest, itsy-bitsy grain of salt kind of way), feel bad admitting I still really like to keep a hand written calendar in an old fashioned, straight from the 1990’s Day Planner.   I know…go ahead...make fun...call me “old-school”.   Beef Cake thinks I'm nutso, but he's a SUPER techno geek so I don't think his opinion on this matter counts.  Besides...I AM nutso, everyone knows that...but it's not because of my pre-historic calendar keeping methods.  Don’t get me wrong, I am all for technology…I mean I think I’d die if I didn’t have my cell phone, computer or...heaven forbid, access to Twitter or Facebook...seriously, what would I do?  The thought of that, being completely disconnected...so foreign and scary.

Anyhoo...the reason I bring up my circa 1990 Day Planner is I need to go get a new one and I found it funny that yesterday after having looked for one in two different stores...I couldn't find one.  Then I thought, do people not write anymore?  Which kind of makes me think, maybe this method will be obsolete soon.  So I decided to ask you, my friends, your thoughts on the matter. 

What do you think?  How do you prefer to keep track of your schedule?  And what about wedding planning...do you go for the super easy everything in one place software style or old fashioned hand written in a keep sake book? 

Photography by Heather Brulez Photography:  Venue:  Belvoir Winery:  Catering:  Affordable Catering:  Floral Designer: D'Agee & Co Florist:  Dress Store: Teresa's Bridal Boutique:  Heirlooms and extras: Rosebud Lips:  DJ: Professional Sound Service:  Submission via Two Bright Lights

Amanda and James were married on May 21, 2011 at Belvoir Winery in a lovely outdoor ceremony with gorgeous yellow roses enhancing the beauty of the grounds and blissful glow of the bride.  Heather Brulez Photography provided these amazing photographs via Two Bright lights which show the happy couple tying the knot just weeks before James was scheduled to leave town for his U.S. Army position. 

I'm loving the little touches they put into all the details, the wine cork place card holders, the wine bottles used for table numbers, the candy station and the oh-so appropriate U.S. Army Grooms cake.  What a lovely wedding!

Now getting back to my circa 1990 day planner, what do you think?  I'd love to hear what quirky obsessions you have.

Have a Fab You Bliss Monday!

Stephanie 

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