Wedding Details

So it's been a little while since I posted anything. We've accomplished a few things since that time.

The Venue: We have booked the venue. The Old Bedford School is ours on September 24, 2011. I'm so excited that it was available for the date we wanted!

The Flowers: I went to Mississippi Oct 31 through Nov 2 with my family. On the way back home we stopped in Arkansas at the place where my aunt buys flowers. We bought enough flowers for my bouquet, my bridesmaids' bouquets, table decorations, and arrangements for the stage. Now my aunt just needs to put them together.

The Dress: I bought my dress! On the block where we stopped to buy flowers there is also a bridal shop. While we were there we decided we might as well check it out. I found 2 dresses there that I liked. I tried the first one on and I loved it! I tried the other one also, but I didn't like it as well. So we bought the first one! And it was only $250, which is all I was hoping to spend on a dress. It is a little big, but that's fairly easy to get fixed.

The Pics: On November 6, Jay's friend Adam took engagement pictures for us. It was a lot of fun. First, we went to the Old Bedford School and took a few pictures outside. Here are my favorites from there:

Then we changed clothes and went to the Grapevine Botanic Gardens. Here's the best of those:

Our next steps are to finalize our guest list, send out Save the Dates, and start looking for a photographer since Adam is a groomsman. A little over 9 months to go. I'm so excited!

Wedding Details: The Venue

We have been looking for a venue for about 2 months. First we talked about my parents' church, but they have a service on Saturday afternoon, so they want you to be finished by noon. Yeah right. The church is building a second campus which is almost finished. We asked about it and they said they are reworking the fees, so they're not sure how much they will charge. We didn't want to wait until they figured it out, because who knows when that will be?

Next we looked at my mom's work. They have a building that used to be a gym when it was an elementary school. Now they use it for board meetings and they rent it out for parties. They also have a set of 4 rooms that opens up into one big room that we thought we could use for the reception. However, one of their rules is that if one of the administrators decides they want to use the building on that day, they automatically get first dibs. And they could decide the day before the event. That's not a risk we are willing to take with our wedding.

BUT...I think we found our venue on Friday. I saw this place at the Fort Worth Bridal Show last March and I wanted to check it out. It's the Old Bedford School.

It was built in 1915 and served as a public school in the HEB school district until 1969. It then served as a garage, warehouse, and maintenance facility for the City of Bedford. In 1991 two sixteen-year-olds set the building on fire. Restoration began in 1993 and was completed in 1995. In 1997 the school was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

We visited the school Friday morning. I just love the history of the building! They have pictures of some of the students that attended the school, along with other artifacts such as a report card, clothing, and books on display. As soon as we walked into the building I knew I wanted to get married there.

This is the auditorium where the ceremony will actually take place. After seeing this room, we got an idea of a wedding theme that is perfect for us. I can't wait to actually start planning everything, and then to see it all at the wedding.

So now we just have to get the deposit together and book our date. I really want this place, so I am praying that one of our chosen dates will be available when we try to book it.

Kids crack me up...

Today at work we were playing a puzzle relay game. Two kids cme up, a question is asked, and the first one to ring the bell answers the question.

Haley and Sophia come up.
Haley: "You're going down!"
Cheryl: "What organ pumps blood through your body?"
Haley rings the bell first.
Haley: "Hospital!"

Abby and Derick come up.
Cheryl: "What comes out at nighttime?"
Abby rings the bell first.
Abby: "Skunks!"

Kids are so funny.

I'm getting married!

So it actually happened about a month ago, but I haven't had time to write it up on here.

 We've been together for a year and four months on Wednesday. We are so perfect together. He is so sweet and caring. He's handsome, he makes me smile and laugh, and I love him so much.

We have been talking a while about getting married. He had a ring that belonged to his great grandmother. It had some wear and some damage that he had to fixed, but it is so beautiful. He got it fixed back in March and April, so I've just been waiting for when it would happen.

On June 20, it did! We went to see Toy Story 3 with his grandparents and his mom. Afterward he drove me to my car and we were talking. I started to get out of the car, and he said "wait, close your eyes." I asked him why and he said that he bought me something that day. Then he handed me a box, I opened it, and the ring was inside. He asked if I would marry him and I said yes, of course.

He kept trying to figure when, where, and how to ask me, but he just couldn't wait any longer. I'm glad he didn't. It was perfectly for us. We're not really the plan it out, do something fancy kind of people. It was nice.

Afterward, we went to get a snow cone, and of course we texted all the people that needed to know first. It was a perfect night.

The ring was a little tight, especially with the summer heat, so we took it yesterday to get resized. The jeweler is making it a half a size bigger and I should have it back next Saturday. I can't wait to get it back and be able to wear it comfortably.

Right now we are looking at September 24, 2011 as our wedding date. It seems so far away, but we need the time to figure out job situations and all of that stuff. Plus, it will probably take me that long to make all of the decisions.

As for now, we are enjoying being engaged and discussing the wedding details. I'm sure I will be posting details here, so stay tuned for all of the wedding happenings.

Two awesome shows

On Thursday, we went to see Beauty and the Beast at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas.

Tale as old as time... by Miss Kari featuring BC Footwear shoes

This was the first time that I have been to the AT&T Center. It really is gorgeous. There is a patio balcony on the 5th floor that looks out over the Arts District.

Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favorite movies. I have never seen the musical though. It was AMAZING! The set was beautiful, and the cast was incredible! I couldn't believe some of the dance numbers. During the song Gaston, where they are singing at the Tavern, the cast performed a dance using metal beer steins. They would clink them together like they were clapping, reach under the leg and clank the next person's stein. It was really cool. The Be Our Guest number was awesome too. The costumes for all of the dishes were very well done, and the dancing was awesome, including a can-can line.


I was a little concerned about how they would do the part where Beast becomes the prince again, but they actually pulled it off very well. I loved this musical. It was so much fun to see. I would definitely recommend it to everyone, especially fans of the movie.

On Friday night, we went to see Weird Al Yankovic perform at Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie.

He was hilarious. I don't know very many of his songs, but I went anyways. I am glad I did. It really was a good show. He had so many costume changes it was crazy. While he was changing costumes, they had videos playing clips from the movie he made, his name mentioned in different tv shows, and some of his music videos.

Both of these shows were awesome. A great ending to my week.

Polyvore Creations- Prom Edition

Prom Dresses by Kari Spence featuring Lipsy dresses

For a lot of girls prom is a really big deal. Aside from their wedding day, prom is something that they have looked forward to for a long time. Prom is a last big celebration for seniors to share with each other before graduation. I graduated the summer before my senior year, so prom wasn't a big deal for me. But every year around this time, I see prom dresses in department stores and all over magazines at the grocery store, and it makes think about what kind of dress I would wear if I were going to prom. With my new obsession with Polyvore.com, I have been able to create a few sets to show my prom ideas.


This first set is a color combination that I absolutely adore.

Red, Black,

Pink and Black Prom by Kari Spence featuring PPQ dresses

I picture the high school bad girl wearing this dress. someone kind of like Santana from Glee.

I would definitely wear this third set to prom. It may be a little less formal to some people, but I am all about comfort. A short dress to allow more dancing potential, and converse for comfortable feet. Everyone takes their shoes off anyway right? Plus, there's not a lot of need to accessorize this look.

Vintage Prom by Kari Spence featuring BC Footwear shoes

For the girl who likes to go vintage.



And lastly, just because I'm totally obsessed with it: A Glee Prom.

McKinley High Prom by

My Top 10 Obsessions

Let's start off with the 10 things that I am most obsessed about right now (in no particular order).

1. GLEE Ever since Fox aired the first episode last May, I have absolutely loved this show! The characters, the music, the fashions, the guest stars...There's just so much to love.

2. EMMA PILLSBURY Some people would probably think Emma should be included in the first obsession, but she deserves her own obsession. Emma Pillsbury is a fashion icon. She is adorable and funny. I want her to be my best friend.

3. POLYVORE.COM This website has become an addiction for me. It is a fashion, shopping, and interior design website that offers a virtual styling tool, where you can mix and match products from online stores to create collages. I find so many awesome products on this site. Now if I only had the money to buy all of those products!

4. TEENNICK AND DISNEY CHANNEL SHOWS Many people would say I am too old for these shows, and to be honest they are probably right. I started watching shows like iCarly, Wizards of Waverly Place, and even Hannah Montana because I work with kids and talking about these shows is a great way to connect with them. I soon found out that I actually enjoy watching the shows. They are good, clean, silly entertainment, and sometimes you just need that in your life. 

5. BARBIE AND BARBIECOLLECTOR.COM I love Barbie! I love collecting these dolls and recently a friend of mine introduced me to this site. Not only does it offer community with other collectors, it also sells some amazing dolls. There are Barbies designed by Christian Louboutin, Jonathan Adler, Bob Mackie, and many more. I love all of them and can't wait to add them to my collection.

6. BOOK CLUB My two friends and I have started a book club this year. It's just the three of us right now, but we have so much fun that it doesn't matter. My best friend and I have been trying to start a book club for years, but we could never get anyone to commit to it. Now that it has actually happened, we are so excited.

7. CARDIGANS These have been an obsession of mine for awhile. I am always cold, so I usually always have a cardi or a hoodie with me. Cardigans are so much more fun than hoodies though. They can dress up an outfit so easily and you can find so many different styles and colors. And thanks to Emma Pillsbury, I have been introduced to sweater clips/guards, which help to dress up my cardis even more.

8. VINTAGE I have recently come across two websites that I find fantastic: rubylane.com and esty.com. I love vintage jewelry, home decor, and apparel. These two sites are online communities of sellers from around the globe who sell vintage and handmade pieces. I have found so many items, my wish list is about to burst.

9. SCRAPBOOKING This has been a passion for a long time. I love to decorate pages and add quotes and captions. It's so much fun to look back on all the memories, especially when they look so pretty. I have been working on a scrapbook of my niece and nephews, who are 10, 9, and 8 now. It is so much fun to go back in time while putting these pages together. I have also been working on one for my boyfriend and me. I love to think that someday our kids will be able to look through these books and see a glimpse into how our relationship formed.

10. SHOES, SHOES, SHOES This is probably my greatest and longest-lasting obsession. I have loved shoes as long as I can remember. I cannot go into a store without looking at the shoe department. My boyfriend graciously obliges this obsession and I love him all the more for it. I'm afraid though that he does not quite understand how deep this obsession truly is.

So there they are. My Top 10 Obsessions. I'm sure I will be writing about most, if not all, of these at one point or another. They are obsessions after all. Some of them will probably have their own feature of the week on the blog. We'll see.

Adios!