Birthday Boy

Still talking about the weekend,
We finally arrived back home and enjoyed dinner with my parents.  Chuy’s birthday is Tuesday and my family was so kind in celebrating his birthday with him while he was in town.  They made his favorite, a lemon cake.  Word to the wise: if you want something to be a surprise, do not tell my dad.  They made the cake Saturday, but we were going to celebrate on Sunday.  But as soon as Chuy walked in my dad said “Did you see your cake?” so much for surprise. 

As soon as Chuy knew there was a cake in the room he couldn’t keep his eyes off it!  He even asked my dad if we had another refrigerator which my dad replied “No” so Chuy suggested we eat the cake now because it probably won’t fit back in the fridge. 
So we ate the cake Saturday….

As the family is singing happy birthday and Chuy is ready to blow out his candles, the cameras are ready.  I step in and ask my sister to take a picture of Chuy and I with his first birthday cake at the our house.  To which my mother grabs me and pulls me out of the picture saying “It’s not your birthday!  Don’t steal the spot light Rachel!” and she makes Chuy blow out his candles while her nails dig into my skin keeping me from him as I scream “I’m going to be his wife!” and she replies “Not yet!!”  oh my, only my family, only my family….  Chuy thought it was hilarious but he did really want a picture of the two of us celebrating his birthday.  Next year I’ll be sure not to sit by my mother ;)

Following the HUGE dinner we shared, salmon, saffron rice, strawberry spinach and feta salad, lemon cake with lemon simple syrup and berry compote…we all fittingly passed out on the couches.  It was a snore-fest with Chuy, my dad and me.  I didn’t wake up and move to my bed until 11pm.  That's when you know life is good.

Living Life to the Fullest with a loving and fun family.
-Rachel

Invitation

After the diamond guy we met with our invitation designer, Liz.  Liz is actually a family friend.  She dated my dad in college and now is in the Women’s Guild with my mom at our church.  They are great friends, having all gone to college together.  So we are very blessed to have her in our life and to have her want to be an active part of our wedding.


She’s such an artist, as soon as you pull up to her house you are drawn to the creativity.  I wish I had taken some pictures….she has a huge front yard with an seating arrangement featuring a hanging chandelier…IN HER FRONT YARD. 


Amazing. 


Inside her home seems small, which I don’t understand looking at the outside.  But I think instead of small I would say it’s comfortable, inviting and intimate. 


She painted her pantry door with chalkboard paint and had a cute surprise waiting for us there…

So sweet right?  I’m excited to see where she takes my ideas for a barn, a barn brand and all our crazy requests in regards to the save the dates, invitations, rsvps, programs and thank yous.


We'll need:
- Save the Date
- Invitation with RSVP card
- Church Program
- Thank you cards


I love the chalkboard, wood grain look as seen on my pinterest wedding page.


Ahh! So much to think of and so little time!!


Living Life to the Fullest and blessed with talented friends along the way!


-Rachel

Ring Part II

Following the photoshoot we went to meet our ring designer. 


The first time we visited The gold and diamond warehouse we met with Max.  I loved Max because
 a) my dogs name is max
 b) he has a dark gottee and kinda looks like my dogs' face and
c) he was very comforting and nice to us. 


This second time Max was out of town and we met with Barry.  Barry was cool, but no Max.  And we knew what we wanted and brought the cash Max suggested we bring.  But Barry wanted a bigger deposit, so that was awkward…. Once the men started talking money, I shut up.  I’ve worked in sales and I understand where a salesman is coming from.  But my fiancé hasn’t and he gets deals on things I would have never thought possible.  I think it’s because he’s never worked in that industry and asks for things most people would never ask for.  Needless to say, we walked out getting what we wanted.  Hopefully it will be ready by August. 


I’m SUPER excited about that.  My fiance is super excited too, because he knows it means I will stop talking about the ring I don't have and I'll talk about the ring I DO have.  The ring I will LOVE forever and ever and ever.  Oh ya, I'll love him for that long too ;)


Living Life to the Fullest and patiently waiting for my dream ring.
-Rachel

Update: Here is THE ring!!

LOVE IT!!!

Engagement Photos

This weekend started with an engagement photo shoot with our photographer, Sara at Photographs by Sara.  I’ve never worked with a professional photographer taking picture of me before…other than school photos where you stand in line and turn on the charm for 10 seconds.  But we spent 2 hours with Sara on Saturday morning.  Time flew by, but it was an exhilarating  first-time experience for me! 


My initial ideas for the shoot:
-outdoor location (wheat field, tractor, etc)
- Props: fiesta party flags, chalkboard frames, boots, cowboy hats, bouquet of some sort
- photos: smiling, laughing, serious, prayerful, intimateboot shot, hat shot, walking shot


After a few back and forth e-mails with Sara we decided to shoot at the Dallas Arboretum, a flower garden in the heart of historic Dallas TX that I’ve never visited before.

We decided to meet as soon as the garden opened at 9am.  Unfortunately I forgot what month it was.  9am in July is like 3pm in July: HOT!  It probably didn’t help that the Arboretum is next to White Rock Lake.  The humidity from the lake was adding to the humidity among the plants. 

I wasn’t able to find any fiesta flags in west Texas, I’m confident Party City in Dallas has them, but we were short on time in the morning.  We drove in from west Texas and arrived in Dallas at 2am.  I’m really hoping we don’t look too exhausted in our photos because we woke up at 7am…giving us a full 5 hours of sleep!  Yikes!

I did DIY some chalkboard frames that I really liked.  We both wore our boots throughout the entire shoot.  Chuy wore his cowboy hat for a lot of the shoot which was nice for him because it blocked the sun from his eyes!  I never put on my hat, I was worried it would mess up my hair (vain, I know).  So I kinda regret not wearing it for at least a few shots. 

The Arboretum is a beautiful location with TONS of unique photo locations. 


We took the following:

- standing in green field with lake behind us
-sitting near a waterfall
- next to a giant picture frame
- on a staircase
- in a lush private garden
- sitting in an open field
- under a canopy of crepe myrtle trees

I can’t wait to see the photos!  I’m so worried I’ll look fat in them…anyone have a good arm exercise?  I’m so strong and thick in my arms, I need to thin them out.

I’ll post pictures as soon as I get them!!


Living Life to the Fullest and taking pictures along the way
-Rachel