Author Archives: amanda

broken bones

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I have some news: I broke one of the metatarsal bones in my right foot! How did this all happen? It really is a funny story. I was at home on Monday working on the computer. I had been sitting on my right foot, like I always do, and then got up. I went to step down, but I couldn’t feel my foot, it dawned on me in that moment that it had fallen asleep. It was too late, all of my weight landed on the lateral part of my foot and I fell to the floor.

I knew it wasn’t good. I could somewhat move my foot so I figured it was just a sprain. I took the next two days off of work to heal my injury. Fast forward to Thursday… I had a meeting and had to go in to work. I wrapped my foot up in a bandage and hobbled in. I was fine at first. I was walking on my heel (probably not a good idea) but where I work and what I do, requires a lot of standing (and walking and lifting, and what not). So by lunch time, I was hobbling at a snail’s pace. A few people told me I should go see a doctor because it could in fact be something a bit more serious than a sprain. I started to think it could be something else as well. Plus, I wanted to make sure that whatever was wrong with my foot, I was taking proper care so that it healed correctly.

So after work I drove to the local hospital and admitted myself into the ER. It wasn’t busy and I was only there a few hours. Eric, being the completely loving fiance that he is, left work early to meet me. He got there just after I had my right foot x-rayed. When the doctor came in he told us the news: I had broken one of my metatarsal bones and would need a special boot and crunches!! It will heal in 6-8 weeks and until I see an orthopedic specialist I am to remian off of the foot completely! We are traveling down to Miami in two weeks for our engagement photos (how crazy is that trip going to be if I can’t walk?)! I’m not too concerned about the photos though…. I’ll cross that bridge when it happens. I’m not going to worry about the little things, you have to take what life gives you and if it’s lemons, well, than you got to make the best darn lemonade!

My right foot (and right hand with my ER admittance band)
It’s a good thing I recently painted my toes!

I’ve been on crutches for two days now and I have to say, it is one of the hardest things I have ever had to endure. I can’t go to work. I can’t walk. The crutches are so exhasuting. I get completely out of breathe walking a short distance! I go to the Orthapedic specialist on Monday and am hoping I am able to walk and return to work shortly there after.

This whole experinece is very eye-opening. It really makes me realize how much we take for granted on a daily basis. Even the very easy and mundane tasks I used to do without a second thought, I find close to impossible. I can’t put any weight or pressure on my foot so my only way to move is either using the crutches or wheeling myself around in a chair. I have to calculate everything I want to do before I do it because once I am sitting it’s so hard to get back up to grab that straw I forgot on the counter or the magazine in the bedroom. I have never been so tired or physically exhausted before.

As I sit here on the sofa, the lyrics to a Kelly Clarkson song play in my head, “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger!”  So true!

Hungry?!? I’m starving!!!

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The Hunger Games comes out today… actually tomorrow (but I know there are a few sneak previews this evening). The company that Eric works for (who happens to be one of the BIGGEST movie production companies out there) rented out a theater for a special advanced screening of the movie for all of their employees (how cool is that?!?)  I seriously flipped! I am a HUGE Hunger Games fan. I read all of the books and got lost in the pages as I read about Katniss and her struggle to choose Gale or Peeta as they fought the Capitol. *Team Gale right here!* But as luck would have it, I can’t go (I have a prior work commitment). I am trying so hard not to be completely bummed out by this devastation, but let me tell you… it’s hard! It’s actually funny (yes, I’m trying to look on the bright side and find humor in my time of pain), but Eric has never even read the books and he gets to go… and here I am a huge fan and I can’t! Ok, I know, I sounded like a complete baby there (totally playing the “woe is me” card). But come on… it’s The Hunger Games!!! And a special rented out theater for an advanced screening that I can’t go to! Okay enough of me ranting. I know I will be seeing it soon. I plan on going this weekend! With that said, I’m out!

hunger games book coverPeeta MellarkPeeta Mellark (team Peeta bread)

the Hunger Games Katniss and Gale*all images via Google and Entertainment Weekly

websites and such

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I love design and I love designing. I am currently working on several little projects (one print… for the wedding; and one web related). The web related project is a redesign for this blog. I’ve been working on it for a while now, and the plan is when it is done to have my fiance code it. Easier said than done. I design, as he says, as a graphic designer (meaning I pay attention to the overall look and feel of the design) as opposed to web developers who design from a more practical and analytical standpoint. Everything you design must be coded and I’ve learned not everything is easily transformed into this language. Even something as simple as a background must be created with exact measurements and sizes so that when it is placed in the site and repeated, it is flawless. This website is all me, no help from anyone and I am very proud of the outcome. I designed it (and coded it slightly) all in an evening. But in my opinion it could be better, but for what it is and how I created it, I am happy. The first website I ever had was designed and coded by myself as well (it’s actually still up… I’m sentimental and don’t think I’ll ever want to take it down)!

Our wedding website was just launched about a week ago. Another labor of love. It was designed and coded by Eric and he did an amazing job! I couldn’t be happier. It took some time to get it built, we even contemplated using a prefabricated site but of course opted not to venture down that road (it just didn’t seem right for us. Plus, as you all know, I’m huge in DIY and therefore why buy when you can DIY?!? And DIY is what we did. It was only suiting, seeing as he works as a web developer and codes for a living)! I did contribute a bit to the site. I wrote all of the content and coded some parts (all of the unordered lists and typographic styling was thanks to me)!

spring has sprung

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Goodbye winter, hello Spring! I could not be happier with the new season that is here. Being from South Florida I am not a huge lover of cold weather. Bundling up in 10 layers to stay warm is not my thing. Being from the sunshine state I’m used to sunny skies all year long (which meant this girl had a tan all year long! My skin right now is so white. I definitely need some sun)! In college, I remember I would come home from school and do my homework while in the pool (that was amazing! And proved to be an effective study spot because I graduated with high honors… yes, I was a nerd, and proud of it)! This past winter was quite nice… very mild. I can count the times it snowed on one hand! However, I do like the snow and would’ve liked a few more snowstorms this year. I didn’t even get a chance to bring out my ice skates or snowshoes! I am glad winter is a thing of the past. I can stop layering my clothes and no more wearing sweaters and coats. Now it is time to let my summer clothes have some fun! Oh, how I adore sweet little sundresses and wedge sandals.

 

wax seals… the 411

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Wax seals…. a great little detail to add some character to letters, cards, or even invitations. I bought a cute bird seal from Paper Source to stamp onto the back of our save-the-dates. Birds and birdhouses is a recurring element for our October wedding… the reason? I love birds! So does my dad, growing up we had an aviary in the backyard filled with birds and then while I was in high school we got a double-yellow headed Amazon parrot (who lives in the house). So birds seemed necessary to be a part of our wedding. I bought the bird seal and picked out a gorgeous bronze colored wax. The wax said it was for a glue gun, but Eric said we didn’t need it. He was trying to be helpful and resourceful by saying we could use a lighter. I agreed with him and left the store sans a glue gun. When the time finally came to seal our envelopes, I took out a sheet of paper and practiced making seals. I lit the wax and within a few seconds it was burning, so I dripped some wax down and sealed it. It came out okay. It was inconsistent and a tad messy. I wasn’t pleased (plus I didn’t like the fact that the whole thing caught on fire)! “There must be an easier way,” I thought to myself. It dawned on me… get a glue gun! So earlier today I went to Michael’s (with a 40% coupon in hand, of course!) and picked out a cheap mini glue gun (oh, and I got two adorable mini birdhouses that I plan to paint and create something beautiful out of). I came home, and unpacked my new glue gun. I took my wax and began to insert it, only it would not go in! It was too big! How could that be?!?! I was a tad annoyed, but I am trying to be more carefree, so I decided to just “go with the flow” and head back to Michael’s (not before printing another coupon, just in case I needed it). I had every intention of buying a regular sized glue gun but when I inspected it, it seemed to hold the same size glue sticks as the one I was returning so I opted not to get one. I really did not want to drive to Paper Source in the rain to buy the glue gun there because I knew there’s was bound to work with the wax. Instead I decided to buy sealing wax at Michael’s after i returned the gun. The wax they sell is the kind you light like a candle. I figured it’d be easy enough. Twenty minutes later (and after another trip back inside Michael’s after realizing the cashier charged me for the glue gun instead of returning it) I was home and trying out my wax. I lit the wick and let the wax drip onto some scratch paper. Next I blew it out, this created a smokey mess, and happened every time I blew the wax out. I was paranoid I would burn my place down so I decided to to check YouTube for some tutorials to see if they had some advice to avoid the smoke. I’m so glad I did that, instead of finding what I was looking for, I found a guy who used a stick of wax (similar to the wax I had bought from Paper Source) and a lighter to create wax seals! The trick I discovered was in how you hold the wax. You have to keep it spinning or turning so that it doesn’t catch on fire (that explains it)! I was ecstatic and began to seal all of my envelopes! Some turned out better than others, but I’m okay with that because they all have that handmade look I was going for! By the way, I love the way they came out!

a look at wax seals*all images are personal




inspiring

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Colors. Dresses. Themes. Cakes. All things a bride must decide upon when she is planning her wedding. Something that I have see a lot of brides-to-be do as soon as they get engaged and begin their planning process is, is create an inspiration board. I can honestly say that is not something that I did. I credit myself as a very visual person. I prefer  to mentally plan the outfits I am going to wear the night before. When I write, I can see the stories so clearly in my mind before they are even written down. So why did I opt not to create an inspiration board? Truth be told, I don’t know why I didn’t do one. It just wasn’t something I felt compelled to do… until now. As I said in an earlier post, I use Pinterest a TON, and even before that I would take screen shots of inspiring images I found online that I wanted to keep. I filed all of my beloved photos into a “wedding inspiration” folder. But lately, after reading countless blogs, I decided I needed to create a board of my own. I tackled Pinterest first. See, as much as I use the site, I never dictated a specific board to my OWN wedding. I had boards on cakes, flowers, stationary, altars… basically everything but my own wedding! So I finally created one for me and Eric! But you know what?! I wasn’t that pleased! It seemed a bit hodge podge. I can see our wedding so clearly in my mind and I am convinced I can take all of my ideas and create a wedding fairy tale with them. Perhaps that’s why the whole wedding inspiration board thing didn’t work out so well for me… I already know what my wedding is going to look like so therefore if I can’t find images that are like the ones in my head, why use any then? Did I even make sense with that sentence?!? You understand what I am saying though… I feel because I have such a clear vision, that a board is useless for me. Maybe wedding inspiration boards are more for brides who need help fine-tuning their ideas?!? Either way, I think I’ll stick to organizing my ideas via various Pinterest boards.

By the way, for all of you inspiration board loving brides, do check out Dessy.com and theknot.com…. both sites have tools for girls to create boards using their collection of photos (and if you don’t see what you’re looking for? Upload your own)! Should be noted, I did try both sites, and it just was taking too long to scroll through the gazillion photos and I wasn’t even seeing images that pertained to my vision!

product review: Friskars Corner Punch

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A month or so ago, I bought a corner punch. I knew it was exactly what I needed to give all of my wedding paper goods that extra wow factor. Plus, I knew I would totally use it in the future for holiday cards to gift tags. I did a little research on-line (Weddingbee and Amazon) and decided to get the Fiskars Twist & Flip Round Corner punch.

fiskars twist n flip corner punch*photo via the Fiskars website

What drew me to this particular item was the ability to twist the top and change the size of the corner (you could do 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch… LOVED having the options). Went to Michaels (where else would I go for my crafting needs?) and bought it. As soon as I started to use it, I realized this hole punch wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. It was very difficult to line the paper up so that the corner hit the punch just right (not getting this part exact resulted in uneven rounded corners). It was awkward in my hand and therefore clamping down felt very strange. This particular hole punch was also next to impossible to use and get seamless rounded edges! Every corner may have been slightly rounded by the device, but it was obvious that the paper had been altered (something I hated)! What I love about rounded corners is the fact that it looks so effortless, almost as though the paper came that way! I tried and tried and tried some more to get this little guy to behave and work the way I wanted it to, but I lost the battle (even after trying both sizes; 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch). I do, what I always do in these situations, I went back online and researched some more. I decided to give Fiskars another try and buy buy their corner Squeeze Punch.

Fiskars Corner-Squeeze-Punch 1/4 Round*photo via the Fiskars website

This device you hold as though you are holding pliers. It felt much more natural in my hand and guess what?!? It produced the most beautiful rounded corners! I couldn’t be happier with the end result. I was able to punch multiple sheets at a time and all yielded amazing results! I had gotten the 1/4 inch version, but may get the 1/2 as well.

Fiskars corner hole punch

Words of wisdom

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Smile. Always look on the bright side…. Remember life is far too short to sweat the small stuff (easier said than done, I know! Especially when one is planning a wedding)! Relax. Walk a little slower so that you fully enjoy the journey. Breathe. Find something you love and do it every day (create art? Sing? Bake cupcakes? I’ll gladly do any one of those each day… Even if I can’t carry a tune)! Hydrate your skin and your lips. Sleep in every blue moon. Just be.