Can you believe July is basically over? Summer is already coming to an end! *tears* I suppose I can’t complain about it flying by since I’ve had one helluva time. A girlfriend texted me the other day “are you on perma vacation?” and it made me laugh because that’s what it’s seemed like! But truthfully we’ve been really thrifty about our travels and it hasn’t broken the bank or set us back. One of these days we’ll do a bigger trip out of the country but for now it’s family vacation homes and keeping in the US. Here are some photos Dustin snapped as we were sweating and getting eaten by mosquitoes in Edisto, SC two weekends ago. I’m wearing a new Madewell dress that I scored for under $40!
Outfit details: Dress & Bag // Madewell, Shoes // Target, Shades // TOMS
Monthly Archives
July 2014
This past weekend Dustin and I went on a inpromptu trip with my brother and his wife down to Edisto, SC. We got in late Friday night and went to the beach all day Saturday — playing in the waves, throwing frisbees and super bouncy ocean toys and sipping island drinks. On Sunday we did a quick run through of Charleston as Dustin and I hadn’t been there before–I know, I know..HOW have we not been there?! Unsure because it’s absolutely adorable! We walked along The Battery and Rainbow Row taking in the sights. I quickly took notice to the amazing windows and the mini gardens hanging outside of them. The shutters were also super neat–even found one with crescent moons! Before it was too late and we were no longer passing along said windows, I snapped some of my favorites:
As I’m typing this Dustin is waiting in the car for me as we are leaving for yet another trip! This one has been planned for some time now. We are heading to FL to meet up with my parents and then driving down to Key Largo for a week of deep sea fishing! Have a good rest of the week!
Next up: I’ll be sharing more photos from Charleston!
As I’m sure you can imagine I’m somewhat overwhelmed (but really really excited!) with the beginning stages of wedding planning. I am thankful that we’ve decided to shoot for next Autumn so there’s time to figure things out. I have quickly learned that the first and most important task is finding a venue and that it’s something to jump on right away. That being said I’ve already scheduled one visit at a barn on a plantation outside the city with several other locations in mind! Another priority on my list is nailing down a general color scheme and theme because I want the save-the-dates and invites to follow to correspond with the colors we select.
Getting organized and started I got help from Ashleigh, who got married last October. She provided me with her Google docs and vendor list just as a reference. Dustin is excited about being involved and gives his two cents on ideas and brainstorms with me which is really nice. Can’t imagine battling to get an opinion! Also I have a personal wedding planner, my mom! She doesn’t live in Georgia but when go on vacation next week we’ll definitely knock off some of the to-dos. So far things are going good! Ask me in a few months and I hope to be thinking the same! Another thing I bet you could guess is that I’m going Pinterest crazy with wedding stuff! No shame..it’s a huge help having a digital mood board! Here are some of my favorite images and the overall vibe I’m thinking —
Stamp set by local talent, Leela of Native Bear. Would love to support local and part DIY our invitations!
This dress is actually from BHLDN and is sadly sold out. I’ve had it on my Pinterest board for a while and then spotted it worn in a real wedding via Our Labor of Love.
Really like the use of lanterns and ferns to give a camp feel. Also would like to have some green garland around the altar area, not necessarily the tent that is shown here but the draping garland is nice.
These printed bags that contain coffetti to throw after the vows are a great idea! The photos would turn out really cool too!
Dustin and I have already decided that we want long, rectangular tables vs. circle.
Not sure what car yet but we do know we want to drive away in something vintage!
Click for Image credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
There you have it, the very beginning stages of the Smith-Winchester wedding planning!
Follow along my Pinterest board www.pinterest.com/ladyflashback/omg-im-engaged/
How it happened…
A few weeks leading up to the 4th of July weekend Dustin put on our shared calendar “surprise fun” and told me not to worry he’s got something planned. I was immediately excited because while he’s daily sweet I knew something extra special was planned and hoped it was an engagement! As the weekend approached he informed me that it was a weekend trip and not just an overnight and then gave me a packing list. The list wasn’t a dead giveaway of our trip because it was so well-rounded and included things like hiking boots and swim suits, so I was extra curious! He told me that we’d be getting picked up the morning of the July 4th at 8:00am. Picked up? Talk about crazy levels of curiosity!
The morning of we got up, gathered our things and went downstairs and were greeted by Dustin’s best friend Matt and his wife Aleah. “I knew it!” I yelled and then gave them hugs. I looked at them and asked where we were going and they looked at Dustin and said the same. They didn’t know either! Dustin then pulled out two envelopes labeled “1” and “2” and said “Jess gets to pick where we’re going!” The pressure was on! Before I picked he told us that there was a catch, the catch was that whatever envelope I chose I could never know the other envelopes contents. Crazy right?! So, instead of making a tough choice I closed my eyes and grabbed for an envelope choosing number 1! I opened it and it read “We’re going to Daufuskie Island!” HELL YA! I’ve been wanting to go ever since I met Dustin because he has so many great stories from the island as does Matt and Aleah hadn’t been either so we were both very excited. After regrouping our emotions we settled into the car and went to priority number two, coffee, and then it was the open road all the way to Hilton Head.
Dustin’s parents own a home on Daufuskie but it was booked for the Forth so for the first night we stayed in Bluffton, SC which is pretty much Hilton Head. Once we got there we checked into our Air B&B spot and went to the neighborhood pool. Matt and Aleah opted out claiming they were napping but I later found out they were up to additional surprises. After getting cleaned up we took the ferry to Daufuskie Island for dinner. Once we arrived at the island we grabbed the family golf cart and Dustin gave us a tour. We had time to kill before our reservation so we parked and went to take a stroll on the beach and that’s when he paused, said really sweet things and asked if I’d marry him!!!!
Matt had rented a really great lens and put it on Dustin’s Nikon and was snapping photos as it all went down. They all went above and beyond to make this a special day that I will never forget! After Dustin and I hugged, cried and both stared at the gorgeous ring we ran over and had a group hug. We hung out on the beach for around and hour or so, looking at shells, horseshoe crabs and washed up jelly fish before heading to dinner. I can’t thank Matt and Aleah enough for all the effort they put in to the surprise. Later that night we discovered what they were up to when we were swimming. They had decorated the room at the b&b with strung lights, daisies, gifts, wine and chocolate!
Dustin and I are over the moon with excitement! It was nice being away and having privacy to enjoy the first couple of days as an engaged couple. We did a lot of staring at the ring which is super special as it was originally my grandmothers and given to us from my mom. We were given the option of keeping it as is or making changes and opted to make it our own. Dustin worked with a jeweler and did just that and together made it very much “us.” He upgraded the largest stone to a bigger more clear estate diamond, added two baguette diamonds, kept two small ones from the original and added two sapphire triangles to the underneath, side area for a total of 7 stones which is a lucky number to us. The touch of blue represents Dustin and the triangles were a little something for me. We wanted it to remain two-tone, yellow gold and white gold to be able to go with whatever I want to wear with it and It’s perfect!
I don’t think I could begin to put into words how thrilled I am that I have found my forever partner in love, crime, silliness and all things that life brings us. One last thank you to Matt, Aleah and my future husband Dustin for making this new chapter off to the best possible start!
First of all, happy long weekend and Independence Day! I wanted to share these really cool 35mm photos Dustin took several months back with a roll of Lomography film using his grandfathers camera. I posted about some regular 35mm back in April, see the photos in this post.
On our walk to the festival at Atlantic Station, the mechanical engineer couldn’t resist this smokestack from the original steel mill.
Dustin nailed this shot, we had to get permission to get this close since there was a security fence but this photo was worth bugging the security guard!
Before entering the concrete madness!
We really enjoyed our round two experience at Shaky Knees, read about it in detail in this post.
Bike love, that blue light leak is awesome!
Keeping cool at Dogwood Festival, wearing Cynthia Rowley shirt, Superga sneakers, and H&M shorts (promise I’m wearing pants!)
Flynn judging all the cyclists and runners on the Beltline. His favorite thing is to chill on the ledge of our window, which is somewhat terrifying to us because we are technically on the 4th floor. Since it’s gotten so hot we aren’t able to open the windows as much, in turn we are having less panic attacks!
On another note, I know I’ve been slacking on LF posts, I was on a roll there for a while and lately just find myself so exhausted at the end of the day. Between keeping up with the new site, I Spy Atl, and daily life I just don’t have a ton of content for this blog. Actually right this second I’m working on this post and TWO for I Spy, definitely respect ladies who juggle blogs and have a family, don’t know how they do it! I do know that it’ll come back to regularity organically like it has in the past, as I’ve always gone through phases of blog productivity, so just bare with me!
Have a safe and fun weekend!
