446 Days Until I Say "I DO" to the Most Amazing Man I know

Seriously, 446 days?! I am beyond thrilled to be marrying my best friend after almost 7 years of dating, but I hate the anticipation. I want so badly to be his wife!

We took a little hiatus from planning; by accident really. We were so focused on our move that once we moved in we were just excited that we got to see each other everyday and start sharing our life together. Living together has been better than I could have ever imagined. I honestly cannot think back to what it was like before.

 

But now we are getting back to some of the wedding planning, mainly because I start back to school in a few weeks and we want to get some of the details taken care of to take a load off of me while in my last semester. Ryan has been really involved in all the details, which is great for me! It is nice that we are on the same page with all the wedding ideas.

 

We still have a lot left to do. I am doing a lot of DIY projects that can wait until closer, if I can contain myself.

 

Here's to hoping the next 446 days get here soon, so I finally say "I Do."

 

Shannon & Ryan

October 17, 2015 • 446 days to go!

Somersaults

I went to Target this past weekend for one item, which was my first mistake. I never go for just one item; who am I kidding? My second mistake was going before Ryan and I stopped for dinner. So, naturally Ryan and I hit up the food isles. We said we were just looking to see what they had. Before I knew it my hand was reading for a snack that read cinnamon, and that was enough for me. I love anything cinnamon or even a hint of cinnamon.  I had never heard of the snack food Somersaults. It a "crunchy nuggets basked with sunflower seeds and toasted grains." So, not only are they delicious, but very health, 100% natural,and non-GMO.

 

If you are making your way to Target anytime soon, I suggest you pick up a bag to try.

 

Homemade Hickory Smoke BBQ Sauce

Originally for our wedding favors we were going to do an apple cider mix and pumpkin cake in a jar. Then I got an even batter idea; homemade bbq sauce! Up until this weekend I had never made bbq sauce, but I am so glad I did. It turned out to be AMAZING!! I took a jar to Ryan's parents, my parents, and our good friends. All said it was "over the moon" good and they even asked when I would be making more.

 

What you will need:

INGREDIENTS

2 cups ketchup

⅔ cup dark or light brown sugar (dark for sweeter)

4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

¼ cup worcestershire sauce

 3 tbsp. white or cider vinegar

 2 tsp. bbq spice

  freshly ground black pepper

Salt

Liquid Smoke

INSTRUCTIONS

 

1. Put ketchup, sugar, garlic, worcestershire, vinegar, barbecue spice, salt, liquid smoke, and pepper into a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir until well combined. Simmer over medium-low heat to maintain a gentle simmer, 25 for  minutes. If not using sauce right away, allow to cool, then store in a clean jar, tightly sealed, in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

 

 

So now we are going to have homemade pumpkin cake and homemade bbq sauce for our wedding favors.

 

If you decide to try this recipe, let me know what you think or if you made any modifications.

 

DIY Bullentin Board

A few weeks ago I mentioned I did a quick DIY bulletin board for my office and kitchen. Here is a tutorial for the project. It is really inexpensive and takes maybe ten minutes.

What you will need:

- a bulletin board. I got mine from Hobby Lobby .

- I didn't use the sticky pads it came with because it will pull the paint off the wall. Instead I used twine to hang it on the wall.

- fabric

-stapler

What you will need to do:

-lay the bulletin board on the back of the fabric and trace enough that you can pull the fabric around to the back of the bulletin.

-after you cut the fabric, pull it tight to the back of the bulletin board and staple

-attached the twine {I used a hot glue gun to attach the twine}

I didn't think to do a step-by-step while I was making them. I thought of it last minute and just went with it. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me! 

{ this is our kitchen bulletin}

{ my office bulletin} 

I hope my intrusions are helpful. 

Oh Hey Friday | Link Up

Friday already?! I am very much ready for a nice relaxing weekend. We have diner with Ryan's family tonight, tomorrow we are celebrating my mom's birthday and on Sunday we are spending time at the farm.

Well, let me get straight to my five:

1| Ryan's sister is having her first baby, so I offered to purchase her diaper bag.I found it while visiting Carolina Charm. Well worth the money!

2| I came home to the mouse pad I ordered for my office from Shutterfly. 

3| I finally made a booklet from all the house warming cards we were given. 

4| Ryan's mom got me this really cute and really big tote. It goes great with our grey and white color scheme guest room. 

5| We have been in our house for a few months now and we are starting to hang pictures. 

         

S.O.S {Engagement Photo Dress}

Hey Y'all!

 

It just hit me that we are taking our engagement photos in a few months. I am super excited, but I have nothing to wear! We are wearing our boots; of course; and I need the perfect dress. I am hoping that anyone who takes the time to read my blog might be able to help me find the perfect dress. If you have any ideas, leave the link in the comment section or send me an email. Any advice on a dress is much appreciated!

 

Here are some of the ideas I had, but I cannot find a similar dress:

 

For those of you who read my blog, but do not have a blog, I made it so anyone can comment.
Thanks for stopping by!

Oh Hey Friday | Link Up

Happy Friday!

Opps!! I could have sworn I clicked publish last night. Sorry this is a little late. So this week I am linking up with a blog I came across yesterday, September FARM .

I'll get right to it, here five things that are great:

1| Our good friend, Zach, brought a 1952 John Deere. I couldn't resist taking a "ride on the big green tractor."

2| My office was feeling very empty, so I made this quick and simple bulletin board to brighten up my office. I also made one for our kitchen.

3| I have an obsession with Hobby Lobby. I always hit the 90% section and I am so glad I did. I found this tray for our bedroom and...wait for it...its was only $2!!! It holds all of Ryan's daily items (9MM, Buck Knife, Pen, Sunglasses, Work Phone, etc.).

4| This is the latest edition to our kitchen; as in a few hours ago. We came across this little county store and I found this sign. How cute is this?! I couldn't pass it up!

5| Finally, after a long work week it was nice to come home and wind down with a glass of wine. My mom got me this wine, I like it, but I love much sweeter wine. Any suggestions for a really sweet wine?  

Engement Gift

Good Morning!

 

My cousin, Britney,  got engaged last week and I am so excited for her and Ethan! To help kickoff her engagement I made a wedding planning binder, equipped with a pink pen, pink heart shaped sticky notes, and a wedding magazine. 

 

I used this setup for my wedding planning blinder and it has been extremely helpful:

 

 

Sections in the Binder:

 

Important

Budget

Guest

Rehearsal

Ceremony (decorations are included in this tab)

Reception (decorations, food and drinks are included in this tab)

Flowers 

Music 

Photography 

Registry 

Bride (attire)

Groom(attire)

Miscellaneous (favors, honeymoon)

 

 If you are interested in making a binder like this one, I saved the templates I used and I will be more than happy to share with you.

 

Let me know what you found helpful when planning your wedding.

 

Have a nice day and please feel free to say hello or follow me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farmer's Market

Hey Y'all!

 

There is nothing quite like going to the local Farmer's Market on a beautiful summer morning, which is exactly what I did Saturday morning. I needed some fresh vegetables and I prefer fresh potatoes to make potato salad, which is what I made for our friend's cookout Saturday evening. I also got a few of the cutest homemade dog biscuits for my sister's dogs.

 

I prefer going to the Farmer's Market over the supermarket for a few reasons; one the fruits and vegetables are fresh and two it helps support local farmers and small businesses.  

 

If you enjoy going to your local Farmer's Market, you may enjoy this little Farmer's Market Guide I read on The Sweet Tea Sipper monthly newsletter.

 

 

{What I got from the Farmer's Market}

 

Thanks for Reading and Please Feel Free to Say Hello!

Dinner with the in-laws

Ryan and I had not seen his parents for some time, so we thought it would be nice to have dinner with them. Dinner was steak with some great sides. But on top of dinner, my soon to be father-in-law was in Italy and Germany for work and brought me back beautiful cashmere/silk fashion scarves. I have a huge collection so I am so excited to add to it! He also got us magnets from Germany to add to our world and US travel collection of magnets on our fridge. 

That's not all...my soon to be mother-in- law was loves candles and got me the summer edition of the Diamond Candle. Now I have to be patient and wait for it to burn down to the ring... we will see how long that last. 

Needless to say it was a great family dinner and it's always nice to see both sets of our parents for dinner.