Amy Jo On The Go!

Archive for the ‘sister’ Category

I can’t remember if I told you about our DIY wedding photo booth.  Actually, I know I haven’t told you because my sister reminds me about it quite often….Thanks Rach! 

After getting engaged I went to my first-ever Bridal Expo!  It was so overwhelming….But, nonetheless I walked out of there knowing I wanted a photo booth at our reception.  Well, come to find out…photo booths are freaking expensive!!  And then I fell upon the following pictures and knew that a custom photo booth was the answer.

Having a photo booth at our wedding reception is going to be a fun way to get guests to interact with each other.  And since there was no room in our budget we had to “do it ourselves”.  I bribed…errr, I mean begged my brother in law to help me and we (he) was able to bust out this project in one afternoon.

We simply purchased a piece of plywood and made a freestanding wall to be used as the photo booth.  It will be covered in Damask fabric and the frames will then be (re)attached.  Voila….

A big thank you to my sister, brother in law, brother and nephew for assisting with this project….I think it’s going to be my favorite part of the wedding

After 17 months we finally got some engagement pictures taken.  The weather was horrible as Michigan got hit with another major snow storm on Friday night, so that put a little kink in our plans, but I still think they turned out totally awesome.  Here is a sneak preview….

As you can tell, the dog was much more cooperative then the cats….It was so much fun.  And I’m so impressed with the Mister.  He hates his picture being taken but he did really well.  He even impressed himself!  I think he feels better about our wedding pictures now.  He has been so stressed about being in front of a camera.

Thanks again Rachel….the pics are awesome and you are awesome!!

White Milk Glass Vases for Centerpieces

 I’ve been collecting white milk glass vases and clear vases from thrift stores, goodwill and ebay (along with the help of my mom and sister). 

The white milk glass vases (seen above) will hold all of the red centerpieces and the clear vases (seen below) will hold all of the white centerpieces.

Clear Glass Vases for Centerpieces

 My sister cut all of the flowers and I did the glueing….we had quite the system down!  I’ll admit, my job was much easier than my sister’s.  She ended up with many blisters (and even a bruised leg) from the cutting process…..Sorry sister!!

Hard at work

What a Disaster!!

 Here are a couple of the white centerpieces up close

Close-up of white centerpieces

 And here is a photo of the many white centerpieces that got finished.   It doesn’t look like much, but it was a huge accomplishment in my book.

Finished White Centerpieces

 And here are the few red centerpieces that got finished.  We worked for almost 12 hours that day and I ran out of steam about 11:30pm.  But, the good news is that my sister cut so many flowers that they are ready for me the next time I want to work on these. 

Finished Red Centerpieces

My sister (matron of honor) is coming this weekend. We are going to work on wedding stuff on Saturday and attend a bridal show on Sunday.

She hasn’t seen my “new” wedding dress yet and I can’t wait to try it on for her. I am so in love with this dress!!! Although, I’ve gained a few pounds the last couple of weeks so I hope it still fits.

So, I had my first wedding dream (nightmare) last night! Don’t you think it’s a little early for me to be dreaming about the wedding? Most likely it’s because there has been nothing but wedding talk around my house for a couple weeks now. As soon as the clock struck twelve and it was 2010 we realized we need to get on the ball and start moving. We get married in 186 days so the checklist has been brought back out along with a to-do list that’s a mile long.

Anyway, back to my story. So in my dream I woke up the day of my wedding to find that I had slept in my wedding dress and it was all wrinkly. Well, as always, my sister Rachel was there to save me. She had a “spare” dress that was identical to my dress and she simply slipped the new dress on me and away we went.

I know it doesn’t seem like much to those of you who don’t know me, but that dream just solidifies the fact that I could NEVER face anything as big as my wedding day without my sister by my side. She has been, and always will be, my saviour.

Can you believe it’s only 2 weeks away from Thanksgiving? Where did the year go? I guess most of it, for me, was spent wedding planning. And let me tell you….this break I’ve been on has been wonderful, but as of next week I will be back in wedding planning mode once again.

Not only is Thanksgiving only 2 weeks away, but my sister’s birthday is on the same day. I can’t wait to spend time with the family, relax, and of course, do a little Christmas shopping. I’m already totally pumped up for Black Friday! I love the adrenaline rush of waking up early to stand in the freezing cold just to try and beat the person behind you to the best deals possible.

But to be totally honest, I’m most excited about having some much needed time off work. I will not be working the Wednesday before Thanksgiving or the Monday after….yes, you do the math…that’s 6 days of nothing but total awesomeness!! Sleeping in, decorating the house, shopping, spending time with family…….I can’t think of a better way to spend my mini-vacation.

I’ve been having a crappy week….okay, I’ll be honest, I’ve been having a crappy few weeks. But today, I feel happy!

My sister called me today with some very good news and since our phone call I can’t stop smiling. I am so happy for her. It is the best feeling in the world to know that someone you love is so happy, so excited, so full of life! She has always been my inspiration and today she inspired me to be happy!

I couldn’t be more proud of my sister and I hope she knows that.

CONGRATS RACH!

So the weekend was a whirl-wind……. I worked until 3pm on Friday and then headed to my sisters house so we could load up her vehicle and head to Newell, WV for the FiestaWare Tent Sale. We arrived at our destination about 10:30pm, checked into the hotel and got some shut-eye! Saturday was the tent sale and it was totally worth the trip…..Well, some may beg to differ considering the cost of the trip (including gas, hotel, food) was about 2-3 times more then what we spent at the sale.

Anywho……..I got some great finds and I can’t wait to go back next year!

Here we are waiting in line for our tickets…..it was mighty chilly out…..I think in my picture my teeth are actuallly chattering!!

And here are all my goodies…….I ended up with 32 pieces of FiestaWare so not a bad trip!! (and in case you can’t tell….most of my kitchen dishes are ORANGE)

A HUGE thank you to my sister for such wonderful memories……I had a blast, I hope you did!