Sunday Best: Shoulda Coulda Woulda

dress: Modcloth, leggings: JCPenny, heels: Kmart, necklace: Buckle, earrings: Claire's, headband: ?

I shoulda started packing for this Vegas trip days ago because then I would be in bed right now. I'll never learn. 

This lovely mustard item coulda been a bridesmaid dress for my wedding. I had all my bridesmaids mismatched but they all wore mustard yellow. We ordered this dress and when it came in the mail, we realized it would be way too short. And leggings were a no go since BWell and I were married in early August (heat wave). But instead of sending it back, my mom just said, "Keep it. It's cute." And now it's a forever favorite. Mustard yellow just makes my heart go pitter-patter. Swoon. 

I woulda worn boots with this outfit if I had known how blustery of a day it would turn out to be. The whole week was sunny and delightful. So on Friday, I got brave and let my white feet blind the world by wearing these heels. It was still sunny(ish) but a cold wind blew all day. It's not my fault I go into work at 5:30 every morning. It's hard to predict weather conditions when you leave your house to stars and moon still in the sky. Oh well. Life goes on. And by the end of this week, let's hope my ghostly feet shall be a few shades darker. 

Happy Spring Break. See ya'll later this week. 

Bride-to-"Bee"

My bff, Shay Baybay (aka Shayla) is getting married A WEEK FROM TOMORROW!! Talk about exciting. I recently threw her a bridal shower and it was seriously a delight for me. I have this little obsession with planning parties. I get a lot of joy out of it. Anyway, after making all the invitations by hand (not my best idea ever) I got to work on planning all the little party details.

I went with a honey theme. The theme was pretty loose though. I mean, we're celebrating the marriage of a woman in her twenties, not a birthday party for a six year old. On the invitations I put something about Shayla finding her "honey" and to come celebrate the "bride-to-bee". Cheesy, but it worked.

I decided to decorate with a rosy pink and accent with golds. I followed this tutorial for the fabric tassel garland. It was so much fun to make, pretty easy, but it did take more time than I initially thought it would. I love it though and will probably keep it to hang in our spare room.

For the treat table centerpiece, I took some empty honey bear bottles and spray painted them gold. Super easy. I then used them to display flowers. I love these little bears. I may just have to place some poinsettias in them soon. Christmas bears? I think yes.

For the treats, I decided to put them out on a variety of floral vintage plates. I think it really dressed up the treats. Even the teddy grahams looked fancy! I made red velvet cupcakes and then the rest of the treats sort of went with the honey theme. There were cinnamon bears, teddy grahams, and Bit-O-Honey. I also made honey and nutella rice crispy treats (recipe found here). It's the easiest recipe ever and since I love nutella, I'm definitely a fan. I've made them a couple times since the shower, in fact. Brian was also kind enough to whip up some delectable punch. I failed to take a picture of his talent though. I think he was busy making it when I snapped the other pictures.

We played a few simple games that I think everyone enjoyed. On the invites, I asked everyone to bring a pair of panties that displayed their own style or personality for the bride. I then hung all the panties up with numbers attached. It was then Shayla's job to guess who brought which pair. We got plenty of laughs out of this game. Especially when it came time for Shay to guess who brought #3 grandma underwear.

I also wrote up a quiz for the guests to take. All the questions had to do with Jace (the groom) and Shayla's relationship. Those who scored the highest on the quiz received Burt's Bees products (again, the honey theme).

Then we played the classic bubble gum game. You know, where I ask Jace a million weird questions and Shayla then has to guess what Jace's answers were. If she guesses wrong, she has to chew a piece of bubble gum. I decided to really bring the game to life though and I interviewed Jace on camera. Then I made a little video out of it. I would hit pause when we came to the question, Shay would answer, then I would push play and we would see what Jace actually answered. This was fun because I felt like it gave some girls who didn't know Jace a chance to see what he's like. I asked all kinds of questions too. Some were normal like, "What's Jace's favorite movie?". Some were totally off the wall like, "If Shayla made you wear an article of her clothing, what would it be?" The crazy questions were definitely more entertaining. . .and they are more likely to make the bride's wad of bubble gum a lot bigger. Don't worry, I rewarded Shayla with a big jar of honey for letting us pick on her through the course of this game.

I can't wait for Shayla's wedding. She is going to be one lovely bride and we are excited to have some more awesome married friends! I also made a little engagement video for the lovebirds. Hopefully after the wedding, I'll get around to sharing it on the blog. It was my first ever engagement video so I'm happy they let me use them as my guinea pigs. Love you, Shayla! And love you too, Jace. Welcome to the family.

Instagrams & Milk

My life has been crazy busy lately. But between all the busy, I've been trying to find more time to grasp a hold of the small and simple moments in life. Like when I wake up in the morning and Luna is snuggled against me, or when I go on lunch dates with my mom, or when my best friend gets engaged and I get to be a part of the proposal. All those special things have been happening along with the craziness and those moments really help me stay sane.

Here are a few of the simple moments in my life captured through good ol' Instagram. . .

 This is what college football does to us. . 

Hikes with my sis and the rest of the family.

 Luna, balancing on the door. Just call her an "acrocat". 

 My university is so great. Always an Aggie!

 We have a ghost family "hanging" around our house.

 I love weekends with this guy.

 Conference crafts. I made these for our bathroom during the Sunday morning session.

 I shot my first wedding. It was scary and also really fun.

 Brian left me to go camping with a bunch of boy scouts. Yes, one of the boys brought a wooden sword.

 While Brian camped in the rain, my girl Shayla and I made necklaces.

 And we also ate lots of delicious food from Olive Garden.

 Celebrating my baby sister's birthday. We wore matching glasses for the occasion.

 Love my new necklace.

 Nature could win any beauty contest. Hands down.

 Lunch dates with my mom and brother. Such a needed break from classes.

 Zucchini and mushrooms to go with our steaks.

My best friend is engaged!!! Love you, Shayla. 

Sorry for the overload. I just couldn't narrow it down. Now sleep is calling. Especially since the husband is quietly snoring next to me and Luna is on my chest purring in her sleep. I guess I'll join the club. Tomorrow we leave for San Francisco! I can't wait! Thanks to everyone who gave me and Brian tips of where to go and what to do. We will be busy bees trying to get everything done we want to during our short time in the city. Luna is going to hold down the fort while we're away. Don't worry, one of our Primary girls is going to watch her. We wouldn't just leave her unchaperoned. What horrible parents we would be. 

Instagrams & Milk: Cedar City Edition

This past Saturday consisted of one fun thing after another. On Friday afternoon, Brian came home a bit early from work, we packed a bag and jumped in the truck to take off for Southern Utah.

 Months ago, we purchased tickets to Les Miserables which is showing in Cedar City as a part of the Shakespearean Festival. We figured it could be a little gift for our anniversary. The show was Saturday afternoon, so we drove up Friday to stay with my great uncle and aunt.

Saturday morning, we went on a fantastic hike nearby. It consisted of splashing through water, walking through slot canyons, and scaling up waterfalls (and maybe some lizard chasing too).

Then we cleaned up and watched Les Miserables. And that consisted of beautiful music and me bawling (I won't mention if Brian bawled or not). This was my first time seeing the musical and it was just lovely. Now I just want to read the book again.

Then we ate dinner at Applebees and used gift cards from our wedding to pay for it. That consisted of a yummy burger and fries, all complete with chocolaty cake for dessert. Oh, and we ended up having 14 dollars left from our gift cards, so we decided to act like high rollers and give it all to our waitress as a tip.

Then on the way home, we stopped by a beautiful wedding reception. Which consisted of hugging our friends, Jade and Bailey and then taking a bag of colorful candy for the road. Oh, and we may or may not have given them a cactus for their gift. Who gets awarded most original gift-givers? I think it's the Wellers!

Well, there, I just summed up our busy (yet fantastic) Saturday. I'll shut up now and just leave you with all the pictures I instagrammed on the four hour ride home.

This is my face that says, "I'd rather have diarrhea than drive through Utah County." 

Oh hi, crazy cool sunset 

Oh hi, crazy cool hike 

Kanarraville Falls 

Brian talked me into doing this pose. 

Exploring ze wilderness

That water was chilly! Yet refreshing. 

Standing by a gushing waterfall. And yes, sometimes I wear belly shirts. 

Lover boy 

Perfectly content

Aaahhh, it was so good! 

Bailey Rae, doing her thing, being a beautiful bride. 

You can follow me on Instagram @mrskellwell. It'll be a parrrrr-tay!

6 Months Later . . .

Sunday marked six months of marriage for Brian and I. Which is crazy. I know six months isn't very long in the grand scheme of things, but it's still just strange. It feels like our wedding was merely weeks ago. Yet, at the same time it feels as if Brian and I are ancient and have known each other's souls for ages and ages.

And six months later . . . we are just getting our thank yous done and hopefully they'll start being sent in the mail promptly. Sorry about the delay to those of you who were thinking we were rude and ungrateful. It's just taken us a while. And I felt like I had to write everyone a special message besides just, "Thanks for the egg beater." And well, things like school and work sadly had to come before things like being gracious and thoughtful. What is this world coming to, right?

Now to end with a mushy message for Brian, and to make everyone that is not Brian squirm in their seats. . .


Brian Grant Weller,

I love you.

I love the way you lock the door to our apartment when you leave me there alone. I like to think that's you wanting to keep me safe (if it's really not, then let's just pretend, k?)

I love how you make me laugh.

I love it when you wake up in the middle of the night just to go get me an extra blanket. Not because I said I was cold, but you just assume I am. It's cute.

I love how ambitious you are. You believe in yourself and you believe in me. And you believe in all our crazy dreams.

I love it when you don't rush me to get ready, but instead just start playing on your guitar right by the bathroom door. It's a much better sign than complaining.

I love it when you just play your guitar. Anytime. Anywhere.

I love how hard you tried to make me happy today after we lost my SD card. We'll probably never find it. But I guess there are more important things. Like loving each other. And making each other happy.

Thanks for being in my life to remind me of the important things.

With Love,
Kels

Little Girl

Last night, while reading through all my friends' latest blog posts, a song popped up on one particular friend's blog. This song is a very special song to me, and it floods back memories of my wedding day (which was almost six months ago). Even though six months isn't all that long, I hope I will feel the same way when I hear this song after being married for many, many years. And I hope I will always think of the same moment when I stood on the dance floor wearing a dress of pretty white lace with yellow flowers draped around my head, feeling so happy and young and free as I held hands and danced with the very first man I ever fell in love with . . . my dad.

The song is Tim Mcgraw's My Little Girl. Brian played it on his guitar and sang the words for my dad and I. We had planned it without my dad knowing, so when Brian played some chords on his guitar and called my dad to the front of the room, my dad was pretty surprised. Brian told me afterwards that he was so afraid he would choke up while he sang the words, because they just really hit home.


I am the oldest child in my family. I take some pride in that. I was the first baby my dad ever took into his arms and could call his own. I was the first one who gave him a Father's Day card that was probably made out of crooked paper and colored carefully with crayons. I was the first one he sent off to college. I was the first one to call him up and say, "Dad, Brian proposed," Although he already knew weeks in advance that it was going to happen. I was his little girl. And I always will be.


I'll never forget that summer evening of dancing with my dad, when he whispered in my ear, "This will be my favorite part of the whole day."

Listen to this song, and then go give your dad a hug and tell him how much you love him, because dads are special.   

Close Your Eyes and 1, 2, 3

Three months. 

It has been three months today since Brian and I began this adventure called marriage. I got some wedding pictures back and after looking through them, I found myself reflecting on our wedding day and just mine and Bri's relationship. 

The other night while curled under the covers and just before fading off into sleep, I whispered to the darkness, "Brian, are you still awake?" 

He made some sort of a mumbled noise so I went on and asked him my question,

"Do you feel like we're newlyweds."

He turned to me with tired blue eyes and said, "Not really." 

I pulled the sheets up over my chin and replied quietly, "Me neither. . .do you think that's a bad thing?"

"Why would it be a bad thing, Kels?"

"I dunno. Aren't we supposed to feel like we're in some magical world and that we're learning new things about each other every day?" 

As soon as I said it, I realized how dumb it sounded. 

The thing is, Brian and I know each other. There aren't any surprises. There aren't any new things we're learning every day. I haven't discovered anything weird he likes to eat that I didn't already know about before. We are not living in some fantasy land where everything is mushy gushy. And I'm alright with that. That's what dating is for. Because honestly, that would be very strange to be living with a man you didn't know very well. I'm so glad we took our time dating and I'm so glad we have a strong friendship. Marriage isn't about learning new things about each other; it's about learning new things together. 

And together is just where I like to be.

 {You can't really tell, but in this picture our friends and family are pulling confetti poppers as we're leaving. It was awesome at the time. My sister and I wrapped each popper in cute scrapbook paper too which took bloody forever}

 

BWell, 

Thanks for being my best pal who I can talk to about anything. Thanks for putting up with all the embarrassing  things I do. Thanks for letting me beat you in pool. Thanks for letting me throw a snowball at your head. Thanks for going in old book stores with me. Thanks for letting us have a cat. Thanks for staying up late to play cards at the kitchen table with me. Thanks for reminding me how special I am on the days I forget. Thanks for making me feel beautiful on days I need it most. Thanks for a lot of things, but if I kept thanking you, the list would go on forever and I'm fairly sure everyone would stop reading.   

xoxo

Your Kelsey Girl 

 

 

Anchor Me Back Down

An eerie silence falls across the barn as I sit at the piano and begin to play a song by Mindy Gledhill called "Anchor". The minute I had first heard it, I instantly thought of Brian. He is my anchor. He is the one who brings me back down when my head is in the clouds and keeps me safe. 

Here are the words to the song:

When all the world is spinning ˜round
Like a red balloon way up in the clouds
And my feet will not stay on the ground
You anchor me back down


I am nearly world renowned
As a restless soul who always skips town
But I look for you to come around
And anchor me back down


There are those who think that I'm strange
They would box me up and tell me to change
But you hold me close and softly say
That you wouldn't have me any other way


When people pin me as a clown
You behave as though I'm wearing a crown
When I'm lost I feel so very found
When you anchor me back down


When all the world is spinning 'round
Like a red balloon way up in the clouds
And my feet will not stay on the ground
You anchor me back down

Our wedding day was wonderful. It almost all seemed like a dream. I still look back and think about it, and I have to ask myself, "Did that really happen? Oh yeah, it sure did!"

Everything turned out really nice. My dress was nice. Brian looked nice. The decorations were nice, the food was nice. But the best part of all wasn't all the things that were so nice, but the people that made everything nice.

I will never forget walking into the room to be married together forever, I was excited and slightly nervous, as Brian walked beside me gently holding my hand. And when I looked in the room, I saw all the people who cared about Brian and I the very most. They were all smiling at me and I absolutely knew they all loved me. There is no better feeling in the world than knowing you are loved and then wanting to love right back completely and earnestly.

I will never forget all the people that showed up the night before the wedding to help me and my mom decorate. What could have been a major pain only took a few hours and was actually pretty fun.

I will never forget the beautiful luncheon out on Cafe Sabor's patio. Brian's mom wanted it to be perfect for us. And it was indeed perfect for us. I wouldn't have it any other way. Sitting under that umbrella, flowers in bloom around us, drinking smoothies and eating tortillas.

And I will never forget all the hugs and handshakes I received during our reception. I loved standing there, greeting people and hearing all around me in that barn the roars of conversation and laughter as folks ate ice cream and children ran around dancing on a sugar high.

That night after the reception ended, just before Brian and I made our big exit, my sister came up to me and told me goodbye. She gave me the biggest and tightest hug. That's when it dawned on me that I was really growing up.

Brian and I were starting our own family now. Kind of bittersweet. But mostly just sweet.

I feel blessed to have so many people in my life to love.

I will post pictures of the wedding as soon as I can! :)

I Feel Like a Silly School Girl. . .

 

because I made a paper chain counting down the days until our wedding day. Remember those ones you made in grade school out of red and green paper to count down until Christmas? Yes, I made one of those.

I also made a special paper marking the day Brian gets back to the country and to my arms. When I first created the paper chain, this paper was toward the middle. It is now getting oh so close to the edge.

Only 12 more days and he is home!

Another reason I feel like a silly school girl is because I blush and giggle each time I think about these flowers. . .

BWell still loves me after all. He sent me flowers in the mail. They are starting to die now, but I don't have the heart to throw them away.

So as you can see, it had been a while since I posted a mushy Brian post. I thought it was due time. Besides you're only engaged once (well, in mine and Brian's case any ways) so I need to make as many people gag as possible. And I only have 46 more days left to keep the gagging coming. I know this count of days because I have a paper chain.

Now take a peek at this picture and feel sick over how in love we are. . .

See? So so much love.