Wow......I've Really Been Slacking.....

Where have I been?? What have I been doing?? Well, nothing and everything, I suppose. I've been feeling very uninspired to post, and I've been busy with my wedding and our day to day lives.

We jumped on a plane and got married in the mediocre (more on this later) city of Las Vegas!

I did make my wedding dress, and plan to do a separate post about it.

Yes, we got married by the King!

We accomplished what we set out to do: Get married. However, we overstayed our welcome-or perhaps Vegas overstayed its welcome with us. We were there for 8 day-far too long for people who don't really gamble. It was a far more expensive trip than we had previously thought it was going to be, and there were bumps along the way that didn't help our financial situation. BUT! the weather was perfect, and the days that we did find ourselves beside the pool were the best.

AND THEN WE GOT SICK! now we don't know if it was food poisoning or a stomach bug, but 10 or so of the people who came out with us also got sick. Nothing like spending the first days as a married couple miserable in your hotel bed taking turns for the bathroom. :/ We laugh about it, because honestly, that's our luck. In sickness and in health, right?! and isn't the point of a good vacation yearning for home by the end nears? I was seriously happy to be home with my husband and our kitties, it was a wonderful feeling of family and togetherness that started off our marriage.

My Side Work

Just recently, I decided to turn one of my hobbies into a somewhat "professional" side job. In this decision (read: talking myself into it and getting over the fear of it), I felt that it was something to make a little money and, more importantly, a way to hone my skill. I specialize in pencil (graphite) portraits. I find myself fascinated by drawing the little details. I LOVE drawing ears, and I LOVE how the eyes really breathe life into the portrait. So, I've been a little busy. Surprisingly so. And, for the most part, it's all been word of mouth. I do a portrait for one person, then someone sees that portrait and contacts me. It's been pretty steady :)

Look at that messy mirror :/ It was a hot day and I felt that I was having a unusually good hair day. I HAD to document it.

I found my way back....

Whoops! I didn't intend to have such a pause.... We just got back from a rather busy (for us) weekend. We attended my friends' wedding reception, and decided to take the entire weekend off to enjoy and relax.

Thursday was our 1 year anniversary of when we started "officially" dating, and I believe it's the day we made it "Facebook Official."  (slight cringe on my part because saying that makes me feel like I'm back in middle school, or that to announce it on Facebook somehow makes it more real....)

Anyway.....since we are getting married soon, we chose not to do any gift exchange. But, the Man surprised me with taking me to restaurant with one of my *favorite* foods: SUSHI!

We sat at the Habatchi. And he put on a little show for 2. I will admit that he did seem rather....jaded? by the job, but we enjoyed it, regardless.

In turn with his little surprise, I also surprised him with a little something

I found a little notebook, originally for writing music, for us to write little love notes back and forth to each other. I wrote him a little message and since it was our anniversary, I wrote out 52 reasons I love him.

On Friday, it was off to my parents' house, a 2 hour drive for us. It's mostly a country drive and the weather was perfect. It made us long to go on a road trip again.

I had my hair in curlers and tied it all up with a scarf.

He never just lets me take a picture of him, he has to make that face!

*gratuitous selfie*

Our little dancing skeleton

Once at my parents', we all piled in the car and headed to my work for Fish Fry. In Wisconsin, it's expected for restaurants to have a Friday Night Fish Fry. It's a tradition. It's delicious.

The MUST drink: Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet

I think my mom knew her picture was being taken....

We went back home and played the dice game 10,000. The Man came from behind and won the first game....I didn't win any....

Then it was off to the wedding reception, which was in a different town 40 miles away.

 

We found the perfect place to stay:

ugh....no make up....

An apple and zip ties...curious...

 And of course, we immediately bought beer.

Then it was off to the reception, that was at a police station...even curiouser...

Out in the parking lot trying to smoke a cigar with the boys...you can see how well it went...

Ok, I'll just pose, like a turd.

I had to do an impromptu speech. I was told I did well. I also had to sing a karaoke song. I was told I did well, I don't believe them....

The dress I wore for the reception is from Trashy Diva. I picked it up on our road trip this summer. I can't recall the name for the print, but it is a 1940's cut.

Oops, I forgot I'm almost 30.....

....and I shouldn't be delusional enough to think that I can still drink like I'm 21.  This hangover business is BUNK! BUNK I SAY! I was innocently looking to have a relaxed good time with the Man and now I am punished with a 2 day hangover! All because I'm getting older....boo.

Dry rolled my hair last night, so this is what I was sporting while knocking back the gin & tonics.

My 1990 Sturgis t-shirt that he hates and I love

Anyway, we tried to be productive today. Run to the bank, look for a tux/suit, get food into our bellies. Here's a pathetic OOTD and shot of my hair:

We're getting married in Vegas in 8 or so months and beginning to look for our attire. There's a place in town, Mike Bjorn's, that has vintage and all around wacky suits, jackets and tuxes, so we figured to head there first.

Lots of taxidermy :/. And suits if you were to be in a do-wop band. All very stage-worthy, but not wedding material. (pun intended)

I need to go back to bed.

I Jinxed It

Well....everyone can rest easy and know that I am, in fact, the one to blame for the heatwave. I wrote a couple of days early, exclaiming that it's been a mild summer and now the weather gods have punished us all.....sorry.

Now, I know that according to this map, it looks as though Wisconsin is only in the 90's (hahaha...only). HOWEVER, when we add humidity to the equation, the whole thing is turned on it's head! Today's "feels like" forecast was 103! ANNDDD humid!!!

Sooo....with all that said, we were rather sluggish. We cruised around in the convertible, attempting to beat the heat, stopped at St. Vincent de Paul's where the Man had a successful shopping trip and then headed to Tenuta's to grab some paninis and tomato salad. Hot, humid weather calls for no-muss, no-fuss outfits.

I swear, one of these days I'll get pictures that are in focus....I'm cursed.

 The top is a mens' small work shirt that has be worn in to perfection. It's nice and airy and light and oh-so-cozy. The bottoms are stretchy leggings from ages ago that I don't know how I feel about walking around in public. They are VERY form fitting, but the Man likes 'em, so I'm learning to like them. The shoes, of course, have to be the unpractical element. Wooden wedges that make me feel like a fancy housewife who has nothing better to do than smoke cigarettes while reading Cosmo.

Hair and make up-wise, I pulled my hair back into a sloppy french twist and then rolled my fringe. Up and off my face, nice and easy. No eyeliner, no bronzer, just a little blush, mascara and bright pink lipstick to distract and pull the whole thing together.

Top: Men's Wedgefield, thrifted

Capris: Label long gone, Forever 21

Sandals: Nine West, thrifted

Lemme See

Well, I didn't intend on doing 2 posts in one day (especially after not posting for a couple of days), but, I ended up dying my hair. Really, I just bleached my roots-they really needed it! I ended up doing a dry curling set and wanted to post the rather successful results.

With my hair still wet from dying it, I sprayed it down with gel and let it air dry as much as possible. For me, that means about 50% until I go crazy and have to blow dry it on low.  Once it looks like I stuck my finger in a socket, I roughly sectioned out my hair and added a small amount of wax/pomade. I curled my hair in foam rollers and then had every intention to let it set overnight.

I didn't.

I let it sit for about 3 hours or so until I finally had enough. I didn't think it was going to turn out very well.

No make up....yikes!

After some brushing and coaxing, it actually turned out quite well. It's a little shorter than I'd like it to be, but with beaching it comes damage. And I had to cut that damage off, as much as it killed me to do so. 

BUUTTT...in the middle of my Glamour Shots, along came this guy!

Bernard: Always the attention hog.

I like my fringe and how well it got height and flipped out. And curling it makes it not look so damaged!

Back to being serious.

Two Steps Forward

This summer has been so odd with it's weather. This time last year we had already reached (and surpassed) 100 degrees! This year, I think we've had only a handful of days that touched the 90's. Now, I'm not complaining. Low temperatures usually mean low humidity, and we have been lucky this year with humidity (so far....I am literally knocking on my wood desk right now).

Over the past couple of days, the Man and I haven't been tooooo busy.  The weather has made for some lazy days. Mornings have started out groggy and gray, waking up to the low rumble of storms on the horizon. Throughout the day, flash down pours have kept us indoors. The rain comes out of nowhere, and down hard. (My poor little Dilly cat gets so anxious and hides under the couch at the first sign of a storm.) It's hard to determine the time on days like these. You wake up thinking it should be evening, and in the afternoon you swear it should be 8 or 9 in the evening. There is no sun to guide you.

The last few days have been filled in with little projects here and there, with nothing coming to actual completion. A little more work on the record player. Trying to finish a skirt (I HATE zippers and hems). Weeding the garden.

BUTTTT on a fun note! I got new glasses and hair cut!!

As is typical with my luck (or lack there of) , today is gorgeous! Sunny, high 70's, low humidity....and I have a weekend of work ahead of me :(