Today I write as Mrs. Angela Putt. And holy wow, does that feel AWESOME! Last weekend was so incredibly amazing, I'm not even sure there are words in the English language to describe it. 

But I'll try! 

Our wedding weekend kicked off on Friday with our rehearsal at Church of Our Lady of Loretto at Saint Mary's College. I was so nervous, I couldn't stop shaking -- way too much adrenalin in my veins at that point! Luckily, I had some little cuties to hang out with! 

Pre-walk down the aisle pep talk. They had really great advice for me! ;)

The rehearsal went smoothly, thanks to Father Paul and Pastor Gordie. The church is totally different from any other Catholic church I've been in because it's in the round. I liked the idea of our wedding guests surrounding us as we got married, and was even more excited after the rehearsal! 

After we had finished, we all headed over to Parisi's for dinner. (Sidenote: We almost booked The Vine for our rehearsal, and the night before the wedding, the City of South Bend changed the locks on the door, shutting the business down (at least temporarily). THAT could have been a major crisis, so I'm convinced God was watching out for us on that one!) Dinner was fabulous, and it was so great to have so many people we love and care about crammed in to one space! 

Andrea, me, and Teresa, getting ready to eat some delicious Italian food

The highlight, I mean, besides the food and the company was the AMAZING cake made for Dan (in secret) by our friend Brigitte! Dan had been working so incredibly hard to finish his GTO, but it couldn't get done without him cutting corners, and after having worked on it for 18 years, we didn't want that to be the way it got done! As soon as I get a picture of it, I'll post it here because it is GLORIOUS! 

I'm off to write thank yous and grade research papers, but I have lots more wedding babble coming your way! :)

Idle thoughts from an almost wedded wife

It is so incredibly surreal to me that we're getting married this week. 

THIS WEEK! 

Clearly, I knew this week was coming, but now that it's here, it's just totally different than I imagined it. Case in point, today I went to work on a Monday. Like everything is normal. Like the biggest day of my life isn't just a few short days away. 

Sur-real. 

And as we finally (FINALLY!) finish up all our wedding prep, I've realized a few incredibly important things. 

1. It doesn't matter how organized you are, you will feel stressed. Yesterday, despite knowing exactly where we had placed our cake servingware, it took two of us about 40 minutes and a head lamp flashlight to find it (don't ask). We found it, and essentially reorganized the house in the process! 

2. Everything will take longer than you think it will. Oh, you wanted to make a simple program? Great, that'll be 15 hours and about five drafts before you get it perfect. Oh, you wanted to put together a short itinerary for the day of the wedding? About another two hours to figure it all out. And then maybe change it a few times. 

3. Teenagers are really patient. My brain is like a sieve right now. And yet, my students are loving, supportive, and patient when I totally forget what we're supposed to be doing. LOVE those kids! 

4. People are friggin' fantastic. Yesterday, I called in the troops to help me tie ribbons on programs and seating cards. And sure enough, there they were! It is incredible the people who will help and support you with advice, love, and mad ribbon tying skills. 

Okay, I have to keep this short. I have a wedding to finish planning! 

Bachelorette Party or Bust!

This past Saturday was abso-freaking-lutely amazing. Seriously, one of the most fun days of my whole life! On Saturday, my amazing bridesmaids threw me a bachelorette party that I'll never forget! 

I've been joking this week that I think the idea of the bachelorette party changes when you're 31. No longer is the idea to go out until 5 a.m. to dance the night away and take shots with strangers while wearing parts of male anatomy (that light up!) on your person. Instead, the focus becomes being with your friends. Period. 

In that case, my girls knocked it out of the PARK! 

On Sunday at noon, everyone gathered at my house for lunch (read: sustenance for the afternoon). And at 1 p.m., our bus and bus driver named Bill showed up to chauffeur us around for the day! 

Oh HI bus!

Everybody had to lean in!

We went to four amazing wineries: Tabor Hill, Lemon Creek, Gravity, and Round Barn. Each of them offered awesome sips, great conversations, and a TON of laughter! 

My amazing bridesmaids and I at Tabor Hill!

My beautiful coworkers at Lemon Creek!

Favorite photo of the day at Round Barn!

The evening ended with a fantastic dinner at Cafe Navarre in downtown South Bend and a lot of girl time back at my house. 

It was the most perfect day ever. I honestly don't think I stopped smiling the entire day, and by the end of it, I was sad it was over. The fact that my friends took time out to spend a whole day with me, celebrating and smiling and laughing just makes it that much more special. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by the most loving, generous people in the whole world. Thank you for being a part of that! 

The Challenge: 100 Happy Days

I am SO excited for today! Even though it's a Saturday, and I could have slept in, my body was WIDE awake at 6:18 a.m. After a morning run and strength training workout, a few loads of laundry, cleaning the house, grading Huck Finn essay tests, and making breakfast, it's only 10:26! Why am I so excited?

Because today is my Bachelorette Party! 

I've been waiting for forever to celebrate our upcoming marriage (two more weeks!!!) with my friends. And my bridesmaids have gone ABOVE and BEYOND for today, planning a lunch, a full day of winery tours in Southwest Michigan, and an amazing dinner tonight in downtown South Bend! I can't wait to spend a day with the ladies I love! 

There are so many thoughts swimming in my head all the time lately, and more often than not, I can feel all the anxiety of this time in my life in my stomach. I'm constantly on the go! And it all gets a little bit overwhelming! 

I've seen many of my friends on Facebook starting to get involved in the 100 Happy Days Challenge which you can read about here. The premise is super simple: Can you be happy for 100 days in a row? And because I have fourteen seconds to stop moving this morning, I've decided to take the challenge too! There is just FAR too much negativity out there, and since I want this to be the happiest time in my life, I'm embarking on the challenge (as of today!)! I would love it if you would join me. 

My #100HappyDays pictures will be posted to Twitter, and I'm also going to attempt to post them on the blog weekly. 

Today's picture actually comes from two days ago. But, since I'm marrying the man in two weeks, I decided it gets to count today too! 

Thank you, Janet, for our new favorite shirts! #100HappyDays

Confession: I'm addicted

If you've ever personally met me, you probably know that I have an addiction to Diet Coke. And peanut butter. And coffee. And anything salted caramel flavored. And naps. 

But I digress. Today's discussion is just about the Diet Coke. For as long as I can remember, I have LOVED that carbonated aspartame-y flavor. It has served well as part of my afternoon routine -- a Diet Coke after lunch to get me to the end of the school day. Sweet, delicious, glorious Diet Coke! 

See! Glorious! 

So when Lent rolled around this year, I wanted to give up something that would actually make me feel a sacrifice. In years past, I've done the same (a few years ago, I gave up peanut butter and then BINGE ATE an ENTIRE BAG of peanut butter M&M's on Easter. Mistake.), but I knew Diet Coke would be a toughy this year, especially since I've been lacking on sleep due to all the planning going on lately. 

And so I gave it up. March 5 to April 20 Diet Coke free. I could practically hear the sound of my afternoon exhaustion wiping me out the first week. My students may have noticed a new brand of grumpy passing through my system. 

I wish I could say it got easier after the first week. Friends, it did not. In fact, it didn't really feel easy until, oh, this past Monday when I knew that my sweet reward was only a few short days away. 

Did I feel the sacrifice? Oh yes. Did I end up replacing my afternoon Diet Coke with other things, like afternoon coffee? Oh yes. But overall, it was a good experience for me. 

As an aside, at my last bridal gown fitting, the seamstress and store owner both asked me if I'd lost weight (the dress seemed larger than it had at my previous fitting). I assured both of them that, no, I am the same weight now as when I bought the dress and the same weight I was when we started the fitting process. But they swear I seemed slimmer. The only change I've really made is cutting out the Diet Coke (if anything, I've probably been eating more calories lately (example: cake every day this past week)), so perhaps there is truth to the notion that diet soda can be bloating. Food for thought. 

We had the good fortune of having my bestie Teresa spend the first part of the weekend with us, and she had mentioned that she was trying to watch less TV so that she had time to do more reading. It made me think about how I'm always complaining that there is SO much to do and yet so little time to do it. And then I remembered how much TV watching I've been doing lately. It's about... a lot. So, for the next few weeks, I'm hoping to tune out a bit more so that I can be more productive at home, with wedding planning, and with catching up on some zzzzz's. Heck, I might even be able to find the time to read the GIANT stack of magazines piling up near the coffee table that I haven't had time to slug through yet. 

Maybe there's something to be said for letting go of the addictions after all. 

T-minus four weeks (AKA the blog where I talk about stress and have a cartoon mullet)

Well, it's about that time that spring break comes to a close. Let's review, shall we? 

1. I did a TON of wedding planning. 
2. When I felt like I could do no more, I did even more wedding planning. 
3. No matter how on top of things you might feel, the last month of wedding planning seems to be pretty friggin' stressful. 
4. I think I've cried every single day. Not because I'm sad. Not because I'm angry. But because I'm stressed.

Do I have a mullet in this stressed out cartoon picture?

Case in point... today I was in the middle of crying when my tissue fell out of my hand and off my bed. That made me cry even more! 

To be fair, we'd literally spent almost five hours trying to figure out the wedding seating assignments. 

And, I hadn't eaten in, like, six hours. 

And I'd really only eaten donuts today, so... so much for that healthy eating before the wedding plan. 

It's seriously incredible how many emotions run through me every minute. I'm hyper-sensitive and overly emotional (lucky Dan! lucky everyone who has to deal with me!). I'm tired and excited and overwhelmed all at the same time. The to-do list is getting longer, not shorter, and I can't tell you how many times I've Googled "wedding etiquette for..." in the past three days. 

But what I DO know is that four weeks from now, I'll be dancing with my husband at our wedding reception. And that thought alone makes all the insanity, stress, tears, and tissue dropping totally worth it. 

Stitch Fix #4: If the clothes fit, wear them!

TWO fashion posts back to back?! Yes, it's true! 

Spring Break kicked off on Friday at 2:39 p.m. CST, and I for one couldn't be happier! It's not that I don't love my job and my time with my kiddos (because I DO!), but I am desperately in need of some down time to recharge my batteries. Furthermore, I'm in need of some down time to GET OUR WEDDING PLANNED. So, there will be lots of wedding related goodnessy things happening this week (five weeks and counting!)! 

When I got home from school on Friday, my latest Stitch Fix was waiting for me on the porch (a day before it was scheduled to get here!)! I was so excited to see it, and I rushed into the house to get it open. I'd peeked online and knew I was getting a pair of jeans, a top, a sweater, a dress, and a handbag! 

If you haven't heard of Stitch Fix yet, let me explain a little! Basically, Stitch Fix is a subscription service that will send you five clothing or accessory pieces for you to try on in the comfort of your own home and with your own clothing to pair with it. Each Fix costs $20, but that fee is credited toward whatever you decide to keep. When you've decided what you don't want, you drop it in the prepaid mailing envelope, stick it in any mailbox, and mail it back to the company. You only get charged for what you keep, and you can get Fixes as often or as infrequently as you'd like. Shipping is free both ways. AND, if someone signs up through your referral link (mine is linked above!), you get a $25 credit to use toward your next purchase. Not a bad deal, huh? 

I love this service because it pushes me outside my comfort zone! You can check out my other Stitch Fix Reviews here: 
Stitch Fix #1
Stitch Fix #2
Stitch Fix #3

All sorts of yummy spring colors!

I waited until today to try everything on (on Friday, I was too tired, and Saturday I was covered in paint from helping our friends!). This service is so great because I ended up loving items that I never would have probably picked up in a store! I think that's my favorite part of Stitch Fix -- getting outside my comfort zone and trying new things! 

1. Under Skies Abrial Floral Print Sleeveless Blouse ($54)
2. Kensie Jeans Kaleigh Ankle Biter Skinny Jeans ($88)

Right away, I was excited about these pieces because they're not items I would normally try. I really loved the pop of hot pink in the top, and the button details on the front were gold (love gold accents), but the fiance/photographer commented that he thought it was borderline mu-muish, and that was about it for me. I liked it, but I didn't love it, and for that price, I really want to love anything I'm buying.

I really want to get a fun spring colored pant (i.e. light pink, mint green), and I've seen these pants on other Stitch Fix blogs, so I was excited they were being sent my way! The color I think is a little too close to my skin tone, but rationalized that since I'd be wearing them on my lower half, I could wear something more skin tone flattering on top. The pants fit very nice in the waist... but, for lack of a classier way to say this... they're about an inch and a half too long in the groin area. If I pulled them up so that they fit in that area, they then become too short. Conundrum. But, maybe it's okay that I don't love them since they're a little more than I'd like to pay! 

3. THML Myrinda Cap Sleeve Cotton Striped Dress ($58) 

Officially a believer in Stitch Fix because of this dress! When I pulled it out of the box, I didn't think I was going to like it. It seemed a little country-ish in the material, and I thought cap sleeves wouldn't be flattering on me. Then I put it on, and I friggin' love it! The dress is totally figure flattering and can easily be dressed up or dressed down! It's work appropriate, but I could also see myself wearing it to other events too. I think I had it on all of two seconds before I knew I'd be getting this dress! 

4. Under Skies Aries Airy Kint Drape Front Cardigan ($58)

Ehhh. This just doesn't do a whole lot for me. While I love a good cardigan, I'm not a huge fan of the handkerchief hemline (the darts are in the back and around the front). It's cute, but it's a lot of material and seems to overwhelm me a bit. Plus, as the queen of cardigans, I have a few (read: eight) of these in different colors that I could substitute for it. 

5. Urban Expressions Booker Fold Over Crossbody Bag with Zip Detail ($54)

I am so picky when it comes to purses, it's not even funny. I'm pretty much a Coach girl through and through, so when I saw there was a handbag in this order, I didn't know if I would like it. 

But then it came. 

And it's a beautiful Teal Green. And it has gold hardware. And it has a beautiful lining. And it feels super luxurious. And there's an extra strap that can make it a shoulder bag OR a crossbody bag (ideal for European travel!)! 

And there really wasn't much more I could say about it after that. I had to keep checking my invoice because I couldn't believe a purse THIS nice and THIS well made would go for only $54! And what do you know? It goes perfectly with this new dress! 

So, I kept two of my five items this time! Every single time I use this service, I like it more and more! If you've been thinking about trying it, spring is a GREAT time to update your wardrobe (out with the old, in with the new!)! I would be forever grateful if you used this referral link so that we can both benefit from your awesome decision to try this service!