bad cat

This is my trouble child, Benson, in "time-out" yesterday. Actually, he was there on his own, I just propped him up a bit and snapped a picture. If you could punish a cat by putting them in time-out, Benson would find himself there multiple times a day. Yesterday, he knocked over a lamp and pulled the quilt I'm working on off the dining room table and into the entryway. Why?? He kept it folded, just dragging it around so when I get home and open the door, it's right there. Waiting. Looking odd and out of place (because it is). Banks, my angel, waits for me in the entryway everyday, so he was squished against the wall, much closer to the door than he feels comfortable. He, too, looked odd and out of place. Benson has also developed an extreme rags-to-riches complex. He doesn't use the litter box unless it is nearly empty. I have two boxes that I clean twice a day, and yesterday, even that wasn't enough for His Highness. There's only one brand of litter he deems acceptable. I took him to the vet last week hoping the litter box issues were medical and could be easily treated, but no. Nothing is wrong. It's a personality disorder, I was told, for a pretty penny. I find myself reminding him that he lived on the streets of Bryan for the first six months of his life and that he should appreciate his current situation. He just squeaks back at me in his high-pitched girl voice and hops away. He turns one in May, so hopefully Mr. Mischief will grow out of his "terrible two's" in the near future!

I don't normally watch How I Met Your Mother, but I saw an episode with a chart-- cute vs. crazy (or something of that nature). The higher your "cuteness" the higher amount of "crazy" guys will put up with. Unfortunately, Benson's cute factor is very high (just look at that face!!), so I'll put up with A LOT of crazy. ;)

I actually just found the image from How I Met Your Mother and it's "Hot vs. Crazy", but cute works better when referring to kittens.

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Happy Wednesday!

inspiration: cake

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven

My mom and I are going to a cake tasting on Friday morning, so I thought I'd share some inspiration :)

Hmm...anything in common? :) I'm loving the imperfection of buttercream and the ombre patterns.

How can something so pretty also be delicious?? My mom and I both have a severe sweet tooth, so we are just as excited about the tasting part. Just another perk of wedding planning!

26

We celebrated Rhett's 26th birthday this weekend with my family at our place near La Grange. It was such a fun, relaxing weekend. We have been so busy lately (in a good way), so it was nice to have a few days to lounge around in the country. My little brother got our whole family hooked on Dexter, so we planned a season 5 marathon for this weekend about a month ago. Unfortunately my brother couldn't make it because of tests, but the rest of us watched the entirety of season 5 this weekend and it was so good! Can't wait for season 6!!

Rhett's birthday cake request was chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Without realizing it, my mom and I both brought cake mix and icing, so we decided to make a really tall cake. I remembered reading a blog about a similar really tall cake with the age stenciled on top, so I tried it out and love the outcome. I think next time I'll go lighter on the powdered sugar, but overall it was a hit!

Rhett starts a new job tomorrow, and we are so excited for this transition. I'm so proud of my hard working man!

Also, we took our engagement pictures last Thursday in Calvert, and are so excited to get them back. It was a bit awkward at first, but thanks to Ana & Ivan, we were comfortable in no time. I'll save the story for the post with the actual pictures, but here is a picture I took with my iphone when Rhett and I scouted out the area :)

This is the outside of a pottery shop where the owner has taken some of the brick out and set handmade pottery into the wall. How cool is that?? The town is full of cool textures, colors, and people! Ana & Ivan were both able to make it to our engagement shoot and are both super talented, so we cannot wait to see the results.

Also, less than six months until the wedding! :) :)

progress

I've been a horrible blogger lately, so I'll give you an update on our progress (of which much has been made). We booked Ashton Gardens for October 13, 2012 and are SO excited. The chapel is stunning. This pic is from the day we booked it. Can't wait to walk through those wooden doors with my dad and see my man waiting for me at the alter :) We also booked Anna & Ivan to take our pictures and we love them. Ivan is taking our engagements tomorrow in a sleepy, quirky town outside of College Station that's full of exposed brick and brightly colored doorways (insert long, dreamy sigh). 

Rhett got a transfer to the Houston office and starts a new job next Monday, April 16! We have been praying about this for a long time now and the way it worked out is amazing. He was offered the job the same day he interviewed for it, which also happened to be the day we met with and booked our photographer and our venue.  We have been blessed with smooth sailing as we plan for this new chapter in our life together.

I said "YES" to a dress!! I can't tell you much about it for obvious reasons, but it's beautiful and fun. My mom went with me and it was such a fun and special time to share with her. I scheduled 3 appointments and bought a dress at the first place, Brickhouse Bridal, and canceled the other two appointments. 

I am so thankful for my mom and all her help. Together we are bringing total wedding planning domination. 

We also booked a DJ and photo booth for the reception. Are you loving the photo booth wedding trend as much as we are?? I still have a strip from a wedding last year hanging up in my kitchen.

So, what's left to do? A lot. Cake and florist are next on the list. Save-the-date's and invitations, too. Oh, and finish my thesis which feels like pulling teeth--my own. It's hard to work on the same project for two years, and I'm getting bored. Almost done.

Happy Wednesday! Over half way to the weekend :)

we're ENGAGED!!! (3.24.12)

This post is WAY overdue! :)

Rhett and I are officially engaged as of Saturday, March 24, 2012.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend and life has yet to slow down in the wake, but we've accomplished SO MUCH in the past few days. I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning. Well, not really the beginning. Let's start on Friday...

***

Rhett went to Houston Friday morning to help his sister move a new couch into her apartment and help his dad move some furniture upstairs to prepare for the installation of concrete flooring. I stayed Friday morning in a failed attempt to get some school work done. Friday afternoon I made my way to Houston to attend the first night of the Lifeway's Abundance conference with my mom and aunt. After the night session ended, Rhett and I met up with my best friend, Danielle, and her husband, Scott, to grab a drink and catch up. While Rhett and Scott were discussing very manly topics such as handguns, I was wining  explaining to Danielle how ready I am to get the ball rolling with the next phase in Rhett and I's relationship.

The next morning, I went to the second session of the Abundance conference and it was amazing. Eye opening. Convicting. Hilarious. Inspiring. Powerful. 
Rhett asked if I wanted to hit up the zoo that afternoon and possibly grab dinner somewhere down there afterwards. We love the zoo, and go fairly often, especially in new cities, so I agreed that would be a fun afternoon and a chance to spend some time outside. The conference got done a little late and it was 4:15pm by the time I got home expecting Rhett to be chomping at the bit to get to the zoo. They only sell tickets until 6pm and we aren't exactly next door. I walk in and Rhett is on the couch watching golf with my dad. I nicely point out the time and he shrugs it off. He still needs to shower and get ready. If I was hoping at all that this night was the night, it was shot down about now. He got ready and we made it to the zoo around 5:30pm after hitting some traffic. It was a nice evening, so the zoo was packed. We wandered around for a while and I noticed Rhett was on his phone a lot. I inquired as to who he could possibly be talking to while we were at the zoo and he replied that he was involved in several simultaneous games of words with friends. 

"Hun, can you please be present with me here?? Let's enjoy the zoo. Phone games are for when you're bored!"

We finally make it to the new and improved African Forest section of the zoo--the part I had really been waiting to see.

Giraffes have always been my favorite animal, and Rhett gave me the nickname "baby giraffe" on field camp because he thought my ankles turned so much while hiking that they touched the ground. The giraffes are the very last thing in the African Forest, so we stopped there for a long time to watch them.

After about 10 minutes, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! 

I said yes, of course!

Can't believe how beautiful the ring is!

I turn around and Brennan, Rhett's sister, is there getting it all on film! So thankful she was there to capture such a special moment!

Also, turns out there was no couch moving on Friday. It was all a ploy. Rhett and Brennan went together to the zoo to scope it out beforehand. :)

The first thing I thought was "I need to call my mom!!"
Turns out, both our families were at a restaurant nearby waiting to celebrate!

What a special night :)
I am so excited to spend the rest of my life with my best friend.
Remember how I said we  hadn't stopped since that afternoon? Well, as of yesterday we have a venue, photographer, and, of course, A DATE!
October 13, 2012
It will be a rather short engagement, so be looking for wedding updates and inspiration soon!


Oh, and check out my bling!! :) He did an excellent job with our friends at David Gardner's.

for the love of: donkeys

I've already shared how much I enjoy seeing and feeding donkeys. A few weekends ago, I went to Ft. Worth to visit Rhett on his day off and we stopped on the side of the road to love on this adorably furry mini donkey :)

Collage made using my new favorite iPhone app, diptic, and an old fave, instagram.

***

Yesterday, we went back to our local donkeys to feed them carrots. They are definitely not miniature. They may even be jumbo. Or mules? What's the difference?

They're so adorable.

as of late

With spring break and St. Patrick's Day all rolled into one this year, I've spent a lot of time with my family (extended, too!) as of late, and it's been excellent. I took two days off for spring break (since I am trying to graduate and all). The first day, we went to see Miranda Lambert at the Houston Rodeo. My dad and brother were a little overwhelmed with the whole girl power bit, but I love her songs and she's really good live.

The next day we all piled in the car and drove to Moody Gardens in Galveston to see the Bodies Revealed Exhibit. The exhibit was really cool, but maybe not worth $15/person...

That weekend, we all met back up at a shared family place for a St. Patrick's Day crawfish boil!

The guys used a metal detector to search for buried treasure. The loot? A bottle cap, some tin foil and an old stake. Winning!

We shot a rocket that went so high, you couldn't see it for a second. It had a parachute, so we followed it to the ground and shot it off again. The second time, it was lost in the tall grass. A 14 member search party looked for 20+ minutes to no avail. Sigh. You were fun, little rocket, but you better watch out. The mower shows no mercy.

Then time for the crawfish boil!

Rhett is in town now and we are finally getting the title figured out for our airstream. Can't wait to get started on the renovation! 

The weather has been absolutely beautiful lately. It rained really hard this morning, but this afternoon is cool and breezy. Perfect weather to open the windows and let kittens get some fresh air.

I may have already shared how much I like Pioneer Woman's restaurant style salsa. I made it again this afternoon to take to a friends this evening for dinner and it is GOOD. So fresh and light. Oh, and it makes a ton!

How's that for some catching up?

:)