manhattan retreat

before michelle's wedding festivities, i spent some time in manhattan. i caught up on sleep and had a great time visiting my brother (who is a freshman at K-State!). we went to the grocery store, toured campus, ate at chipotle, and visited call hall for some ice-cream! for those of you that don't know, call hall has the most bestest ice-cream. i'm convinced it's made fresh daily. so if you're in manhattan, be sure to stop by for some yummies in the little dairy shop. my granddad (mom's dad) actually worked at call hall making milk shakes back in the 1940s when he was a student in veterinary medicine.

it was quite a delicious adventure.

a beautiful bride

i had an amazing time celebrating the marriage of anthony and michelle in manhattan, ks last weekend!

it's tough work being the matron of honor. so, i thought it'd be best if i took three days off from work to be sure we were all ready for the big day. best decision, ever.

Thursday, 10.06.11:

the hard work begins. mani-pedis.

Friday, 10.07.11:

first order of business, grab coffee and a chai tea latte from radinas.

then decorate the reception site (in crazy fast speed), and stop off at the florist to see a preview of the flowers.

Saturday, 10.08.11:

step 1: hair at 9am. 9 heads of hair, 3 stylists, and 5 hours later our hairs were beautified.

i couldn't get enough of the flower girl. if you remember, i babysat this crazy little one a few months back. i love the shot of her holding her breath for the hairspray attack. she is quite the diva.

an unexpected flower delivery came to the salon, the card was "awww" worthy.

the fincham mrs.

step 2: make-up = no pictures because there was no time.

step 3: 2:15pm - get the bride in her gown and get her ready to see her groom. gorgeous.

step 4: 4:30pm - get them married!

it was an amazing experience and such an honor to stand up there with her (nic took this shot from his seat, don't judge the poor quality of the iphone camera). 

step 5: party!!!

congratulations you two!! 

Michelle's Bridal Shower

a dear friend of mine is getting married this weekend!! the bridesmaids threw her a bridal shower/bachelorette party a few weekends ago. it was my turn to start getting creative and crafty. so with the help of other bloggers i pulled together some fun crafts last minute, not sure when i slept last week. but it was well worth it.

i painted pizza pans that i purchased from the dollar shore with some chalkboard paint that the prior owner of our house left for us in the basement. total cost $4. sweet!

a little nervous for my first chalkboard paint experience:

oh, and i saw these cute little tin buckets at the dollar store and couldn't pass them up. perfect for toothpicks!

the shower started off with the gathering of friends and family, we then opened gifts, played the pre-newlywed question game and made predictions of what their lives will look like on their 1st, 5th, and 10 year anniversaries. they have been told not to open the predictions until the respective anniversary. i'm holding them to it.

one of the bridesmaids made a paper bag album that houses their predictions, so cleaver! no peaking you two!

quick banner throw together that turned out pretty well. twine, clothes pins, paper bags, cardstock, and martha stewart's fantastic font. 

took some posed shots.

going for the wine!

family

we then ate a magnificent dinner. went out on the town. and closed the evening by relaxing in our king suite. life is good.

happy 29th birthday, love.

for nic's birthday a handful of people "pitched" in and got him a tent. this particular tent is to enable him to cuddle with his bike while traveling to alaska next summer. for the record, i (along with a few other family members) will be flying to AK next summer and meeting the motorcycle travelers (nic and his dad) at their final destination (which we haven't determined yet). once we arrive, we will all tour the state together and then the boys will continue onward home. i think those are the only details we've put together so far. lots of planning yet to do.

assembly required.



our collection of motorcycle gear continues to grow as does our anticipation for the trip.

back to ballet. back to the basics.

i started taking ballet classes just before i turned four years old. my mother told me that at age three i would sit and watch at door of my older sister's ballet class waiting patiently to be old enough to get in there and try it for myself. i danced from age four through college, performing in various recitals, productions, competitions, etc. i remember multiple times wanting to quit, i despised putting my hair in a bun and dreaded the nights of ballet class (when i was little, i'm not sure how my mom put up with a screaming child in the car the whole drive to the studio). but for whatever reason i stuck with it, and now i miss it.



i've been out of ballet class for about three years now, and i think it's about time i get back into the art form as an adult. i've taken one class in the last three years. it was a couple of weeks ago when the kansas city ballet offered free dance classes as a part of the grand opening of their new space in downtown KC. the class was challenging. my body doesn't seem move in the same way, i can hardly point my feet without them cramping and my flexibility has been slowly dwindling. thus, i'm convinced that there is no better place to start than with the basics.

want to learn how to tendu? check this out. i'm scheduled to go to my first official beginner adult class this thursday. i'm excited for the painful journey ahead.

i'll leave you with a gorgeous video i came across tonight. it's an intricate and breathtaking use of classical ballet. the camera angles are amazing, bringing the audience into a unique view of the performance.

love it.

if i had a bucket list

if i had a bucket list or 101 things to do in a 1001 days list, visiting an awesome local kitchen gadgets store would be on it. i heard about this store shortly after moving to the city and due to circumstances out of my control (i.e. having a job across town from the store location and store hours), i've had the hardest time getting there. but, this weekend i did it, and i LOVED it.

look at this line up! incredible! i have a slight addiction to all things kitchen. i think i walked up and down this isle at least 15 times, seriously.

in the market for a coffee cream container. good contender.

learning to love color.

taking lots of pictures and unfortunately not buying anything, still led to a successful 2 hour-ish visit to the hardware store for the kitchen. during my time in the store i realized that kitchen gadgets and organizational storage truly is a passion of mine.

these are a few of my favorite things (and people).

for those of you that live in the midwest you know that it has been a hot summer, we have been breaking heat records left and right, but alas, today, the summer heat broke. in comes the beginnings of fall. fantabulous.

fall is my favorite season, and it is only fitting that i married a man who was born early september. i am so very thankful for my husband. he is devoted to seeking and following Christ, and as he daily clings to Him for his identity, he blesses and leads my weary heart.

we celebrated his 29th birthday yesterday. happy birthday, love.

last night dinner was with my parents at a local italian kitchen. true italian food. sangiovese wine. great conversation. pure bliss.

he said on countless occasions this weekend, "it's your day, babe. what do you want to do?" selfless? manipulative? jury is still out. fortunately for me (or for him, depending on how you look at it), we find our tastes aligning most of the time. some of my favorite things from this weekend included, spending time with those we care about, sleeping in as long as our puppy's bladder allows, a morning starbucks run, a chilly dog park morning (neosho hesitantly got in and out of a little dog pool, so proud), home cooked deliciousness, and patio lounging. AND, labor day tomorrow = no work! it has been a perfect weekend.

his birthday happened to fall on one of my very best friends going away party. this dear friend of mine just got back home from the west coast and will be traveling across the pond soon. and, i will miss her. she is incredibly funny and all together deserving of the opportunity ahead.

ciao, mmm. but, i better get to see you again before you leave, again.