Pittsburgh Wedding: A few days before it all went down...

A few days before the wedding, hubby-to-be arrived from Baltimore (I had flown up 2 weeks before the wedding to get everything done).  Our best man and matron of honor had a little get together to hang out and BBQ.

Hubby-to-be being his usual goofy self!

Best man grillin' it up!

My awesome matron of honor...isn't she just the cutest?!

All of us at the end of the night hanging out watching old times.

The next day was rehearsal day!  We all met at the church after getting all the supplies packed into the in-laws trailer for the next day.

Here are some shots from the rehearsal!

My baby brother and his girlfriend

Best man and Matron of honor!

Amie, our reader...we love her!

And of course, the yummy grub time after the tearful rehearsal (all good tears, just emotional)

Hubby-to-be with his two BFF's!

Luke and Sarah...they're next!

Me and MOH

Silly hubby!

 So after our bellies were full and gifts and speeches were given, we all went back to the hotel to relax before the big day...

or so we thought...

Here's what the boys decided to do:

This one was staged...the guys wouldn't let hubby jump on the bed for fear that he would break a leg or an arm...gee, thanks guys!

Stay tuned for the BIG DAY!

(All photos taken by dear hubby)

Meet Ollie!

Happy Valentine's Day!  We got a new puppy!  His name is Oliver "Ollie" Fensch and he is 8 weeks old.  So precious but soooooo ornery!

Here is a photo with his big "brother", Tugger!

They love to wrestle!

Stay tuned for some occasional photo shoots!

DIY Display Ladder: A great way to display some fun stuff!

I built this ladder last week and wish I would have done a tutorial on it.  It was so easy to make and is sturdy, adorable and will be super versatile in all my decorating escapades!

 I used (2) 1x2's for the outside arms and then used (3) 5/8 inch dowel rods to construct the rungs.

I predrilled holes for each rung and screwed them in to make everything sturdy with wood screws. 

Then the whole thing got a coat of vintage white paint.

I wanted the ladder to have an antique, worn look, so I tried an antiquing medium from FolkArt and it worked great!

Now I plan on making a bigger one with thick rungs so I can display some throws or blankets on it in the bedroom or living room.

Look for more posts featuring this ladder in the coming months...I plan on using it in more of my holiday decor!

Pittsburgh Wedding: Pre-party time!

I had followed some really great blogs when I was wedding planning and I loved it when they did a recap of their wedding day.  So I figured I would do the same...hopefully these posts won't be too sporadic (since I'm starting up school again soon), but be sure that they will include some great stuff!

June 25, 2011--bridal shower day! (also hubby's bachelor party!)

My bridesmaids' mothers (hubby's aunts) hosted the shower at the family church in the social hall.  It was a nice big room with lots of space to spread out and be comfy!

The pretty (and delicious!) cake

The tables were all decked out in our wedding colors and were so pretty

See how much room we had!

They added "baby" pictures of hubby and me to each table...what a nice touch!

All the great gifts!

Raffle baskets

More raffle baskets (there were some good ones!)

My (late) arrival!  I always have crap in my hands!

 After eating and some fun games (couples match, 20 questions about Mr. F), we opened gifts.  As I opened gifts, the guests played bridal bingo and tried to get as many gifts matched.

My fabulous Matron of Honor was a big help!

And so begins the ribbon bouquet!

uh oh, a naughty gift!

The title was a tad inappropriate!

Somehow, we received 3 of these!

Another naughty gift!

Of course, I had to model it!

Some super soft towels...

Our really pretty cake servers...

I tried so hard not to break bows (for every broken bow that's one more kid to add to the womb!)

A very heartfelt gift from my MOH...with explanations of  the personal meaning of each piece...so perfect!

My honey showed up (from his party!) with my favorite flowers, daisies!

Thanks sweetie!

Aren't we just the cutest?!

And then we opened the rest.

The shower was so great and everyone was so generous!

Meanwhile, back at hubby's parents' house...

Mr. F was having fun with all the men in his life playing Minute to Win It games...jumbo beer pong, high jump, rock/paper/scissors; you name it, they played it.  Sorry, no pics of that...hubby can't find them!

After the shower, the bridesmaids, me, my mom and a few other friends went out for my bachelorette party!

I'm the one with the black sash and denim bermudas.

My MOH and me (love her!)

Me and the girls!

We had a blast!  Lots of dancing and lots of "dares"!

A few days later, hubby and I lugged as many gifts as we could fit in our poor car back to B'more and waited patiently for our wedding day to arrive!

(All photos taken by dear hubby and one of my bridesmaids)

Snow may not be falling in Baltimore....

but it's a winter wonderland in our house!

More to follow once hubby gets them ready for me!

New year, new plans!

I'm a very goal-oriented person and I love to-do lists, but when it comes to New Years' Resolutions, I don't usually make one.  I have done it maybe once or twice and it never works out because I forget or just give up.  Since I am always making lists of stuff I want to do anyway, I figured it's no big deal that I don't make resolutions.  

This past July, Mr. F and I got married and soon after, the beloved question came along..."So when are you guys gonna start having kids?!" (why does that question ALWAYS get asked as soon as your first dance is over!?!?) Give us some time!!!

So we know we want kids, but we want to enjoy at least a little bit of marriage before kids come along.  Granted, we have been living together for about 5 and a half years, but it's important to us to have a little bit of married life to ourselves before we have children.  

So we have decided (i think) ;) to start trying right around our 1 year anniversary mark.  We're both almost 30, so we don't want to wait too long.  So that's to-do number 1.

To-do number 2 is to start thinking about buying a house.  We are running out of room in our little tiny box apartment and need more space.  Plus, we are missing the luxuries of our own laundry room, a yard for the dog, storage space, more space in general and a neighborhood.  This is our first apartment since we moved in together...we used to live in a big house with hubby's cousin and then moved into our own townhouse (the best 6 months of our lives! The place was AWESOME!!).  So we know what it's like to live in a stand alone building with our own everything and we MISS IT BAD!!!  So it's time to start super saving and looking at our options for homes!

To-do number 3 is really just for me, but it will better our little family in the long run...I got accepted to GRADUATE SCHOOL! I start at the end of this month and will be in school for 2 years.  So that's exciting!

To-do number 4 is for the hubby, but again, it will better our family in the long run...time to get his photography business up and running for real!  Book more weddings, sessions, etc and really make an income from it!  Yes, this takes time to develop, but it's time to get the ball rolling fast!

What are your to-do's this year?

Christmas at the Fensch's

This marks our third Christmas at our little apartment here in Baltimore, our first as a married couple.  Here are some pictures of our decor this Christmas (taken by hubb, of course!).

Our pretty little tree

Close up of the "gifts" and my holly jolly printable from two twenty one

One of my end table vignettes...I love the framed bulbs.

The other end table vignette...my fave is the jar on the right with snow and ornaments.

Cute bulbs and candle display on a stool next to the tree

Our Christmas Card display (lights with twisty ties attaching the cards to the light string)

My Christmas "canvases" made from pizza boxes

the Christmas "mantel"

Close up of a shelf

And that was Christmas at the Fensch's! Unfortunately, we go home to the Burgh for Christmas so we don't get to open gifts under this tree, but it is nice to enjoy a Christmas special by the light of the tree and Christmas candles!