Show Me Art, Show Me Hope

Something I didn't mention in my last post that also happened on my birthday was the disastrous tornado in Joplin, Missouri. Joplin is clear across the state from me, but I do know people that live there and whose homes were destroyed in the storm. Aside from that, I'll be the first person to admit being terrified of tornadoes (good thing I live in the midwest, eh?) and I can't help but empathize with with the people who have lost their families, homes and lives due to this catastrophe.

Recently my friend Laura shared a link on Facebook yesterday that I'm hoping goes viral. She works for a design firm in town called Moosylvania, and they recently started a project called Show Me Art, Show Me Hope that benefits the United Way Small Business Fund for Joplin. Not only is it awesome art (and it comes signed by the designer!) but all the proceeds go to helping rebuild the city of Joplin. Do me a favor and head over to their shop right now.

All images via Moosylvania. Designed by Laura Hoeman, Jacob Etter, Skylar Salisbury, Hilary Clements and Rachel Hamblin

Happy Birthday To Me

Last Sunday was my 25th birthday. We celebrated by heading to Maifest in Hermann, MO, which I've talked about before in reference to Oktoberfest, but have somehow never actually posted a recap about it. I'm sure you can imagine why... Anyway, it's been a tradition to go to Oktoberfest and Maifest since I've been of legal age to do so. That really hasn't been that long in the grand scheme of things, but I can definitely say that Hermann is one of my favorite places to visit.

 Near Hermanhoff winery on our way to Tin Mill Brewery

Grape vines at Stone Hill

This is what Sean would look like if he actually drank that giant glass of wine and wore liederhosen

First of all, I must say that I can't believe the amount of time we were there. Hermann is a little over an hour away from where we live in St. Louis. We left at 10:30 am. We got back right around 11:30 PM. 11:30 PM! Second, I have to thank all of the people who were there, and especially those who stuck it out for the entire day to celebrate. It was such a fun time, and though I tend to not like being the center of attention, everyone made me feel quite loved on my 25th.

Most of the gang that came... somebody was looking ready to go home (that's our best man, Brett)

Me, Emily and Crista (maid of honor and bridesmaid) at Tin Mill Brewery

We went to a few wineries, ate a ton of cheese, crackers and cookies, hit up one brewery, had our fill of bratwurst and German potato salad, as if that wasn't enough, headed to the bier deck in Washington, MO on our way back for a little more celebrating and a ton of appetizers. (Sean's cousin's own John G's!)

Crista and I both decided to wear yellow dresses for the day. I have no idea what's going on in this photo but I thought it was funny.

I finally got a photo of Mary's baby bump! Me with my (soon to be) sister in law and cousin in law Monica.

What a perfect way to celebrate a quarter of a century :)

Long Time No See

Hi Friends! How've you been? For the past few weeks my schedule has been jam packed, and mostly with fun stuff.

Last weekend we attended Anna's rehearsal dinner and wedding. They held the rehearsal dinner at their house and served Pappy's barbecue. If you're not familiar with Pappy's, you should probably make your way to St. Louis sometime soon. (Beware the music if you click on the Pappy's link)

Their wedding was absolutely gorgeous. It rained the day of so it had to be moved inside, but if it bothered the bride and groom you certainly couldn't tell. They were both beaming the entire night. This is my favorite photo of the day... taken by Sean:

Seriously I can't even crop the darn thing without tearing up. Anna was beautiful, her dad looked so happy... the flowers (arranged by Emily, in yellow in the above photo) were so perfect.

 Anna's niece was a flower girl and she was adorable with a capital A. Everyone awww-ed when she walked down the aisle and she knew she was workin' the crowd with that pretty little smile.

Everyone signed their guestbook with a thumbprint during the cocktail hour. Then we ate, danced, drank, and had an amazing time.

The photo below is near the end of the night. Sean and I had a little fun with reflections on the outdoor patio (where the ceremony was going to be held... it stopped raining eventually) Check it out... I'm floating over I-70. In hindsight we should have taken the pictures in the windows that were facing east instead of north so we could get the St. Louis Arch in there... but still cool nonetheless.

Such a fun weekend. Anna and Andrew left for their honeymoon soon after and should be back in the next few days. I can't wait to share photos and reminisce, and hear all about their travels!

Roundup

You may have noticed that more and more days are coming between posts here on the blog. Unfortunately I think that's going to be about the norm for a while as I continue to plan our wedding, start grad school, continue to work at my day job and try to run the shop when I can. I'm ok with that though... I am only one person! So for the most part, I hope to keep you up to date with what's going on in my life and will try to do the usual columns when I can.

Speaking of updates, this past weekend was really the kickoff for "wedding season" for me. I attended my friend Anna's bachelorette party, and though I haven't yet asked permission to share photos, I will tell you that the weekend involved a handful of wineries and bars, delicious pizza, bagels from a street cart, an arm wrestle showdown between our bride and another (Anna won!) and a visit to a house that my mom used to live in during the 70's. You can just use your imagination for the rest :) It was an excellent weekend to celebrate the marriage of our good friend, and I look forward to her quickly approaching wedding day!

Moving on, I'd like to share a few of my favorite posts of recent from around the internet:
Pop Up Cards at The Crafts Dept.
Wise Words at Little Reminders of Love
Sean and Lauren at Style Me Pretty!
Lovin' Yourself at Not Your Average Ordinary
Etsy Finds at Lauren Elise Crafted
Printing Process Series at Oh So Beautiful Paper
Sweet Home Alabama at Playing Grown Up

Secrets, secrets

No doubt you've seen at least part of the royal wedding coverage today. If you haven't you should probably head on over to CNN asap. For me, the most intriguing part of it all was finally getting to see Kate's oh so secretive wedding gown.

Oh, the lace... I wish I could see this gown in person to examine all the little details. Though it's not exactly what I had imagined her wearing (I kind of imagined a dressed up version of what her sister and Maid of Honor Pippa wore to the wedding) Does Kate's gown remind you of another historic bride's notable gown?

(Grace Kelly)

And just for kicks... remember when I went shopping for my own wedding dress? Well I'm still not going to show you my actual dress until after the wedding, but I will show you one that I didn't end up choosing. I think this gown could turn into a top contender for brides who are going for a Duchess of Cambridge look as they pick their own gowns:

As beautiful as this gown is, when I put it on I kind of felt like a little girl who was playing dress up in her mother's closet. This gown has to be owned by the bride wearing it for sure, and as a 25 year old bride planning an outdoor wedding, I felt a bit too modest and formal in it. Perhaps if we were having a ballroom wedding it would have made sense. I do think I remember it having pockets though, which I think is an excellent trend in wedding gowns. I look forward to seeing the Watters Escalante on other brides on my favorite wedding blogs!


What did you think of the royal wedding? What about the criticisms you may have heard about Kate's (small) bouquet and their (short) kiss on the balcony at Buckingham Palace?


Oh and PS, I would be 100% thrilled if my wedding guests decided to go the British route and wear an assortment of fabulous hats and headpieces in October :)