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 :)