Happy 2013

Time sure has gone by since the last time I posted! And we are already in the new year (by 2 months).
I am in the stages of planning our wedding, which is fun (I guess) but also a bit time consuming. We will hopefully have our venue officially chosen this weekend which will allow us to move forward with so many other plans.

I do have some new designs to showcase, but will have to upload those at a later time :)
Wedding season is in full swing for invites; I'm working on my 4th set for this upcoming 2013 summer/fall! And I'm taking in ideas for my own set.

Luckily I have also had extra freelance work for other things besides wedding stationary (WHAT?!). Yes, it's true, although I do love wedding invites it is always nice to have a few other outlets to design for.

We also just got back from Vail, Co a few weeks ago for a friend's wedding. I skied for the first time in close to 10 years, and didn't do too awful, but definitely slowed the pack down. I left with a few bruises but nothing out of control.

New Beginnings :)

I recently put in my 2-week notice at my current job, and am very excited to be starting on a new path in the next two weeks! My position will be similar; graphic design and project management, but I am looking forward to working at and agency with a lot more creatives. I think it will be a great learning experience for me and it couldn't be at a better time.

Other news: We still have not started wedding planning.  Woops! :)
We did decide to go with the traditional wedding route instead of destination, so that was our very first decision. Hopefully at the beginning of October we will start looking at venues...

I do have more invites to upload and show off to the world. Luckily other brides have not ceased planning their weddings and still need stationary sets!

Summer Weddings!

I have been finishing up a few different wedding invitation sets over the past 2 months and have recently been working on a brand new set of designs. Aside from wedding invitations, the beginning of the summer is already flying by! We have a few trips planned that are coming up and I cannot wait for the vacation! Our first trip will be to Denver during the 4th of July week/weekend where we will meet up with friends to go camping, rafting, and hiking. I also have a bachelorette party at the end of July to attend; I fly into DC and we head out to a beach on the coast of Delaware for the weekend. That will be a fun in the sun weekend!

Here are the newest beauties!

Congratulations to me!

Yes, it's true...I am officially engaged :)
Just under a week ago, my boyfriend popped the question after we had just gotten home from our dinner out to celebrate our 4 year anniversary! He sent me on a scavenger hunt to find my anniversary present only to come up empty handed. I could hear him laughing upstairs while I was rummaging through cabinets in the basement. I yelled upstairs to him "There is nothing in here," and he laughed "Yeah, I know." I was a little bummed, but walked up the stairs to find him on one knee with the ring in his hand. I immediately starting saying "Oh my gosh, This is really happening, Oh my gosh, This is real..." I repeated something along those lines a few times and then started crying. I did say "YES, of course!"

So, what's next? I am not really sure I want to plan a whole wedding yet. Honestly, I was able to wear my ring for one whole day and then had to take it to the jeweler to get resized (it was just a bit too small). Yeah, I shoved that diamond on my finger and wore it! I have been waiting 4 days to get it back! I'm so excited to see it again tonight :) Now that I will have my ring back it will feel more official and I can let the thought of being engaged and planning a wedding sink in.

P.S. He picked out the ring all on his own! and I absolutely LOVE it!

Summertime!

Eeeeee! I'm so excited that it's 75-80 degrees outside :)
I love being outside as much as possible, and since I live in Minnesota my outdoor time is more limited. We have a fun weekend ahead; we are celebrating our 4 year anniversary on Friday (tomorrow) with a nice evening out, on Saturday we have a Kentucky Derby party to attend (dress-up style), and then my parents are in town Saturday evening (grilling out), and Sunday will be a nice relax/catch up day. I wish I had a picture to post of my floppy derby hat that I'll be wearing on Saturday, but you will just have to wait until after the occasion once I get around to uploading pictures from the weekend.

Our softball season also started last week; we tied our first game and won our second game. Not a bad start to the season :)

I do have some new designs to upload, but have been a bit lazy on getting them organized into a nice format for your viewing pleasure.
Happy Kentucky Derby & Cinco de Mayo!

RANT

I work for a company where I am one of the few females in the office, and unfortunately the men in the office seem to take advantage of that. I'm not sure if all of them were raised to completely rely on women to do everything for them, but that is how it feels! I mean, honestly, you have two hands and two feet, like myself you should be able to print something and pick it up at the printer all by yourself. You should also be able to set your own out of office auto-reply for your phone and email (especially since I've written directions down several times for you), and figure out how to make an excel spreadsheet. For goodness sakes, you work in an office; the Microsoft Suite should be a staple in your work skills. Also, please learn to type with both hands as I was taught in school. You finger-typers are loud and inefficient (although I have seen some pretty quick one-fingered typers). Another thought: I am not your secretary, please do not treat me like one. If I was your secretary I would gladly offer to make you copies and send emails for you. Unfortunately for you, I have my own emails and copies to make! We all know how to properly answer the phone, so if it is ringing you can feel free to answer it. I know that I do an amazing job at covering the receptionist duties when she is away to the bathroom or out of the office, but again I am not the receptionist-you are welcome to help out.

Alright, I already feel better. Thank goodness.
I should write a book about the lack of etiquette in my office.
How often do you hear coworkers burp and fart outloud? On a daily basis, I'd say I hear at least 4 loud burps a day and about 2 toots (that can be heard from two offices away. I will mention that most of this is a difference in cultures, where I am used to people at least covering their mouths and saying "excuse me", whereas they are used to these outbursts as letting others know that their meals were tasty and enjoyable.

I'll end on a good note...It's Friday, which means I am almost free for the weekend, and it's supposed to be a glorious 70 degrees and sunny! I'm looking forward to yard work (yes, I know it sounds unrealistic), being outside, and hopefully finishing the 2nd book in the Hunger Games series (yes, I hopped on that bandwagon).

This is my dog, Bella; she really knows how to enjoy the little things!

Bridal Shower

This past weekend a friend of mine celebrated her bridal shower in the Washington, DC area. Unfortunately I was unable to attend, but I did get to contribute a thing or two.
I coordinated her Bridal Shower invitations to match the event itself; her main wedding color is a berry/sangria color which is nice and vibrant. She is also a huge fan of cooking/baking, so our theme was sparked from her interests. Aside from her invitations, there were matching Thank you cards and partying gifts. The gifts were spatulas that had an attached recipe for love.

Take a peak!