6 Months...

I can't believe it's been six months since I had surgery. After a couple of months of physical therapy, I feel that I am doing really well. I recenlty got a gym membership and have been working out as much as I can. I'm pretty sure my legs are about the same size now.

My scar is looking good, although I think it may have gotten darker while I was outside one day. I don't really have much pain anymore, here and there I'll get a pins and needle feeling on the area that is still numb. My ankle feels a little tight some times in the morning but as I go throughout the day, it lossens up.

xoxo,
Megs

And The Winner Is...

A while ago, I posted here about how I was undecided about my centerpieces. You'll also see that I posted here about how my decision may become easier. Well I am proud to tell you that I think I have finally decided on what will be on the tables. And the winner is.....Lemons & Vases! Thanks to all who voted and gave me in put. After months of trying to decide, I found yet another BEAUTIFUL inspiration and decided to model my own centerpieces after it.

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See...isn't is so cute!!! I found this picture one day and the next week, Hobby Lobby decided to have a HUGE sale on all of their glassware! OMG! Of course I had to go check it out. When I made my way over to the nearest store, I was pleased to find plenty of affordable vases! How affordable you ask?! Well I only paid $2 for each vase! I saved $20 on vases alone. I know, I know....in an earlier post I had mentioned that I may just barrow some vases, which = FREE so why did I go out and buy 10 vases?! Well truth be told, I'm kind of a control freak....and my DOC (Day of Coordinator) has been kind of flaky lately (that's another post for another day).

Anyways, I got totally excited about those vases that today, I bought a bunch of lemons to make a mock up! Here it is:

*Personal Photograph*

Matthew thinks that there needs to be a little "something else" but can't quite put his finger on it. I like the way they look and think that once they are in the actual reception, they will look great. I'm open to any suggestions you may have about how to make it look "better." 

Breakdown of Items & Costs

Vase $4 ea - 50% = $2 ea

Curly Twigs $10 - 50% = $5 for 100 pieces

Lemons $.39 ea x 6 = $2.34

Ribbon *Already had from another project*

Total projected cost for centerpieces = About $50 to make 10

xoxo

Megs

The Venue

I've realized with all this wedding talk, I've never shown any pictures of what our venue looks like. We booked our venue, Chapel at the Farm, in December of last year. After months of searching for a decent priced venue in Arizona, I stumped across this little gem. It's not anything spectacular, but I think it's perfect for our vintage, homade wedding. One of the biggest reason I wanted to check this place out was the fact that you were allowed to supply just about everything. The only required vendor we had to choose was our DJ and we still got an amazing price!

Matthew & I decided to go check the place out in person one day. So we drove out to Gilbert and were quite pleased with what there was to offer. The venue is set up in a park like setting. There is a pavilion towards that back where larger receptions and ceremonies can be held. This is where everything will take place for our wedding. Also, the farm house has rooms for the bridal party to get ready. Since we have a larger bridal party, we'll only be staging pictures in these areas because they are kind of on the smaller part. All in all, we are very excited to get married there. Amy, the woman who runs the venue, is an amazingly sweet lady! She has been helpful throughout this whole process! With that said, I'll leave you with a few pictures.

View from the Farm House

The Farm House

Back part of the Pavilion

Side View

xoxo

Megs

*All Personal Photographs*

It's All In The Details: Lighting Up The Night

Decorations are something that I've been stressing about. Mostly because I plan on DIY-ing as much as possible. I've shared my inspirations for centerpieces here. I'm still not 100% sure which one I'll choose but in a recent conversation I had with my Day of Coordinator, she mentioned that she had a ton of vases and her friend also has a lemon tree....so that is swaying my decision a bit :)

Anyways, I wanted to share the inspiration pictures for lighting that may appear on the big day. The first one up, paper lanterns. From day one, I knew that I wanted some paper lanterns some where in the mix. While searching on google, I found these delightful ideas:

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Paper lanterns are an easy way to add beautiful lighting and random pops of color! I'm trying to decide if I just want to stick with white because I may have another idea for adding color in...you'll just have to keep an eye out for that post! :)

Next up....luminaries. I'm thinking about using these to line the side walks. Since we our ceremony will begin around sunset, it will be nice you look out during the reception and see some soft glowing lights. Here are a few inspiration ideas.

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Aren't the last ones just adorable! Maybe I can sprinkle a few around the reception to tie in our vintage feel. I think that the first two ideas were be relatively easy to create. All you would need is a white paper bag and some creativity!

xoxo

Megs

 

The Weight Loss Chronicles: Sweating Like An Oldie

A couple of weeks ago, I bit the bullet and joined a gym. I know...I know...I said I would never join a gym again, but the reality of it is that I needed better exercise equipment because the sorry excuse for a "gym" we have at our apartment complex just wasn't cutting it! Also, I joined a local, family owned gym...no corporate BS here! Just friendly people!

This week was the first week I worked out there. As usual, I received a free personal training lesson just for joining. And of course I used it asap! From my previous experience with a personal trainer, it is totally worth the money! I mean think about it...in about six months I lost around 30lbs, dropped 4 pants sizes, and two cup sizes. I was in great shape! Anyways, the initial consultation basically shows you some exercises that help strengthen certain areas of your body. All the exercises I was shown, I was very familiar with. I was actually quite surprised that I hadn't lost as much muscle as I thought I had. For example, on the leg press machine, the weight was set around 110lbs and I did 3 reps of 12. When I was in great shape, I believe I could do around 200lbs or maybe even more. Finding out that I wasn't as weak as I thought I was going to be was good motivator for me. I'm pretty sure I'm going to sign up for some type of personal training, their prices are pretty decent. Depending on how many you buy, you can get them as low as $30 per an hour session. I just haven't decided on how many session I want will need.

 On another note, as I've been attending this gym more and more, I've noticed a plethora of older people. I think this is another reason I feel more motivated to work out. I don't have to worry about being hit on while using a machine or feel self conscious about how I look in my clothes. I just go and sweat with the oldies!

Today was a great day of working out. I lifted weights for about an hour and then hit up the elliptical for cardio. I stayed on the elliptical for 30 minutes and burned around 240 calories. That's an average of eight calories a minute! Go me! And I felt like I could keep going! So this brought me to my next question, How many calories would I need to burn per a day to lose 1-2lbs in a week. Once I got home, I googled this of course. I found this website, which states that you need to burn 3500 calories a week or 500 calories a day (3500/7) to lose about 1lb of fat a week. Remember that it must be 500 calories above what you are taking in. To keep track of how much I'm taking in vs burning, I've been using this app. So far today, I've burned roughly 2,629 calories and eaten about 1,607 calories. That means today I've burned around 1,022 calories! Holy Smokes! I'm so proud of myself and can't wait to see what I can do tomorrow.

Until next time....

xoxo

Megs

Sharp Dressed Men...

Dressing the men of the wedding was by far the easiest decision for me...because I didn't have to make it! haha! I left this one completely up to Matthew. Since one of our colors is Grey (and it's his favorite color), he decided that he wanted to wear a Grey suit. So a couple of weekends ago, we ventured over to the mall. Our officiant had recommend a store that had great prices.

We walked into Nick's Menswear and were greeted by a gentleman who was quite knowledgeable. Since Matthew is so tall and skinny, he recommended a slim fit suit. We browsed around the slim fits while he attended to another customer. When he came back over to us, Matthew had found a suit that he liked. It came in a few different colors. He settled on the a medium Grey with white pin-striping. Matthew was hoping he get to have a vest underneath but the store rep told us vests aren't worn with slim fit suits because they add bulk. After placing his order, he got measured for alterations. The only thing that needed to be done was shortening the length of the pants. After the measurements were taken, the store rep told us it would be done in two days!

Don't mind the goofy look on his face! :)  (Personal Photograph)

Although we still haven't settled on what the groomsmen will be wearing, here are a few inspiration looks we've come across in our search.

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Hopefully we Matthew can decide on the final look for the groomsmen soon. October keeps inching closer and closer!

xoxo

Megs

The Weight Loss Chronicles: And So The Journey Begins

Like most women out there, I like to think there is a way to wish yourself thin. Or perhaps there is a magic pill that I can take and make all this weight magically disappear. It's hard to think that the 30lbs I worked so hard to loose a couple years ago has magically returned. But then again, I also thought I could quit working out and some how manage to stay thin. Don't get me wrong, most days I am ok with the way I look. Even with the wedding less than five months away, I still manage to feel confident in myself (most days). Perhaps it has to do with my awesome fiancé who will always love me no matter what I look like or the fact that most days I don't feel as overweight as I am.

It wasn't until recently that I finally started to feel motivated to get in shape again. Why all of a sudden become motivated you ask? I just happened to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror the other day while at work and I had to do a double take because I could've sworn they replaced the real mirror with a fun house mirror! Although I'd like to think I'll be at an ideal weight soon, I know that it will take a lot of hard work, sweat, and determination. I'm not trying to be model thin or anything crazy, I just want to be healthy again. I want to be able to walk around without my thighs rubbing together or getting winded from jogging for a few minutes. I want to be healthy! I want to feel confident in myself again. I want to enjoy summer without feeling like a beach whale.

To start my weight loss journey, I decided that I needed to dedicate four days to working before I knew I was serious. Last week I accomplished that! I worked out four days out of the week and also kept track of what I was eating. I'd like to say that I was able to work out for at least an hour but I think forty five minutes was pretty good for my first week. This week I have started using Isagenix again. While I'm not doing a complete 30 Day Cleanse, I will be replacing two meals each day with a Isalean Shake. Also I've added a supplement that helps kick start your metabolism. For the first two weeks, I'm going to drink the Isagenix Cleanse twice a day (once in the morning and again in the evening). Since I have a hard time not eating, I'm hoping this will be easier and still beneficial. The next two weeks I'm going to try setting aside a day that I can actually cleanse all day. Cleansing your body not only rids it of harmful toxins, it can also help reduce water weight and generally make you feel better all around.

Since it's hard to see results day after day, I have taken my measurements and some pictures (that I'm to embaressed to post now) for reference. My hope is that by the end of this journey, I can lose the 40lbs I've gained over the last few years. I also want to be able to fit in all my old clothes again, since they are just taking up space right now. I know that this will not be an easy or short process, but I know in the end it will be worth it again. I hope that anyone who is reading this series will be able to find motivation or information that is helpful to them.

Starting Weight: 160(ish)lbs                  

Goal Weight: 125(ish)lbs

Height: 5' 2" [on a good day :) ]

Starting Measurements

Bust: 38"

Hips: 40"

Waist: 34"

Neck: 14"

Until next time.....

xoxo

Megs