My brother just got his license on Monday. How is he that old??? This photo is from this winter (I'm dreaming of a….slightly cooler temperature…?) when he was my date to see "Catching Fire", which is a very good movie by the way. I saw it twice in theatre because I'm that much of a nerd, and I also now own it.

Speaking of our theatre, I live in an historic little city. Our theatre was built in 1938 and was, at that time, "ultra-modern with the finest projection and speakers". Maybe back then, but they ended up closing down in 2005 because it was just plain crappy and no one went to movies. Fast forward to 2011, when a group of volunteers decided to restore the theatre. All by donation, the theatre finally reopened it's doors on December 7, 2014, just in time for "Catching Fire". They not only have cheap ticket prices, but also cheap popcorn, drinks, and snacks! AND it's run purely by volunteers. Crazy. They're not completely done remodeling it, but they at least have two theatre rooms open, which definitely helps them make money :)

All the pictures in this post are from one I was supposed to have done in December, but I figured, why not do it now since I was too lazy to back then?

This is from Tim's birthday (December 18). We went out to Applebee's for dinner and watched "The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug", which was good, but Tim and I liked the first movie better.

This picture is so awkward, what with his hand placement haha 

Can you tell he hates getting his picture taken? 

I got their chicken with mac & cheese and breadsticks. Very yummy.

A couple of weeks later, our Applebee's burnt down. They're in the process of rebuilding and are reopening this summer, so Tim and I will be able to use the gift card I got about two years ago when I left my previous job (not because they were so happy to get rid of me, but because it was around Christmas, and they were nice). 

Bye bye blonde...

 Two weeks ago, I did the unthinkable….I dyed my hair brown. About seven years ago, for the first time, I dyed my hair brown. Back then I had used a permanent dye, so once every month, I was dying my hair. After about three/four years, I was so sick of having to dye my hair. Annnnndddddd, it was also almost black from dying it so much. I found a hair stylist who took my hair into her own hands (haha); and over the course of three years, she got my hair back to my natural color, dirty blonde. 

It took me a couple years before I liked my natural hair color again. I've never really been in love with it, but it sure was nice to not have to dye it all the time.

So why the heck did I dye it again???

Because of this guy:

erikamariephotography

Tim loves me as a brunette. Don't get me wrong--he loves me no matter what, but I know he loves my hair brown (I feel prettier as a brunette too, honestly). He didn't even ask me to dye my hair again; but with our wedding coming up, I wanted to look my best in his eyes. His opinion is really the only opinion that matters, right (besides my sister's :D)??? So I did it.

It's now been two weeks….and my roots are showing. Here we go again. Apparently I should have started with a lighter brown dye haha. Oh well. It's demi-permanent, so hopefully it'll fade a bit?

I have the best mom in the world.

So every time her birthday comes around, I try to make sure she knows she's loved (so does the rest of my family :D).

My sister and I for the past couple of years have made dinner, and this year was no exception. We had delicious chili and honey cornmeal muffins that my sister made; and for dessert, my mom asked for chocolate cheesecake:

 Have I ever mentioned the joy I get by baking for other people? I swear, one day, I will either work in or own a bakery.

 Have I also ever mentioned that my nephew is absolutely adorable???

 Have I also ever mentioned that my sister and I are very much alike??? We bought the exact same card for my mom, at separate times, at completely separate stores haha!

My mom just got back from a trip to Texas with a few of her siblings to celebrate one of her sister's 50th wedding anniversaries. I talked to her a few days ago, and she said her stomach hurt from laughing so much. I'm SO glad she got the opportunity to go. I don't think her and my dad have been apart for more than a couple nights in probably 20 years!

T minus 134 days until our wedding!!!

Yikes!!! Bikes!!! (What movie is that from??? ;D)

I can't believe we're getting married in less than five months!
I figured I'd give a bit of a wedding update, seeing as I really haven't written much about our wedding yet :)

• Date? Check

              Saturday, October 11, 2014

• Location? Check

We decided on this gorgeous pavilion that is at a local state park for our ceremony and reception. We only spent $220 for TWO DAYS, 8am-10pm…it's worth getting married at a park if you're trying to save money :)

• Dress? Check!

           No picture though, you're going to have to wait until the wedding like everyone else to see it :)

• Caterer? Check (today)!

        We just finalized the plans for our caterer. One of my best friends (and bridesmaids) Heather's husband Josiah is currently in the process of opening his very own food truck, and he said he would LOVE to cater our reception! So not only is he going to pastor our wedding, but he'll also be catering it :) I'm so excited! We're planning on having pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs with apple chutney, cole slaw, corn on the cob…etc…I think it'll be really different and fun :)

That's it for now-I'll keep writing in here as things progress :)

Did I say YES to the dress?

Last month, my matron of honor (my sister), bridesmaids, my mom, and I went to Grand Rapids to David's Bridal to try on wedding dresses :)

 I did end up finding my dress on this trip, but it wasn't until a SECOND trip to David's Bridal that I actually confirmed I wanted it. I then looked on tradesy, where I ended up getting the $799 dress for only $328 :)

Here were some contenders:

This first dress was the dress I went to David's Bridal expecting to purchase, but it just didn't fit me right. I don't know, something about the bust area or something looked a little funny. So, no go for that one...

 This one was okaaaaayyyyyy….but I didn't really care for the added fabric on top. Made me feel kind of stupid wearing it?

 I don't remember what was wrong with this one, but I'm glad I didn't buy it. Let me tell you though, it sure is hard trying to "see" yourself in your dress when the dress you're trying on is 3 sizes too big...

 This was another no, as you can tell by my face haha :) It also was too big, so I couldn't really get the feel for the dress.

 Yeah, no. I just didn't like this dress.

 I liked the back of this dress, but the front was too plain. And the neckline looked awful on me.

I don't know who the heck would wear this dress with those little "tassels" on the sleeves??? Besides being huge, other than the tassels, this was an okaaayyyyy dress.

 This dress reminded me of The Great Gatsby. I would love wearing it somewhere where absolutely no one knows me---it was a bit too low for me, but it was fun to try on :)

This was the one poofy dress I tried on. It was cute, but I'm not a poofy dress kind of girl.

 This dress was my second favorite. I was THIS CLOSE to purchasing it; however, the feel of the dress (maybe the shape of it?) reminded me of a dress I could wear all the time. I was looking for my wedding dress, something unique. Something that really made me feel like a bride. I do still love this dress though. It was so comfortable and cute. And it had leaves on it :)

 I didn't really get a "feeling" of being a bride towards anything until they put this blusher veil on me. That did it. I started crying. So just so you know, I will be wearing a blusher veil on my wedding day.

After dress shopping, we went to the Olive Garden, where I, like always, had the chicken gnocchi soup with salad and breadsticks. Actually, all of us had some sort of soup with salad and breadsticks. It was pure heaven. We then went to the World Market and did a bit of shopping before heading home. It was such a great day.