travel diaries : Palestine, part 3

For part 3, I'll share details of the whole reason we made the road trip to Palestine : Kelly and Kyle's wedding!

Kelly chose the beautiful Bella Sera Ranch as her wedding location. It was on 5 acres of land but was only a short drive from our B&B, so it was country AND convenient. On the drive there for the rehearsal, we came over a large hill with the turn in to the ranch on the left and I gasped and exclaimed how beautiful it was. It looked like a movie backdrop! My gasping must have caused us to miss the turn (along with my poor directions) and I snapped this picture as we were turning around:

Horrible photography, but still gorgeous.

The grounds of this ranch were so beautiful. The whole ranch is 80 acres, 5 dedicated to the venue owner's personal property and 5 for the wedding/event grounds. It was seriously impeccable. We had a chance to talk with the owner who lives on property and she told us the story of how they got there. She is from Palestine but was living on her husbands farm in upstate New York when she declared that she wasn't a farm girl and didn't want to farm. Her husband then told her to find her passion or her hobby and so she and her sister bought the 80 acres in Palestine and built the venue. They have the cutest log cabin as their main residence and her husband also helps out with the events. They were so nice! They had plans to build more cabins and a smaller event space for smaller parties and anniversary celebrations, etc.

The reception hall in the foreground and the chapel behind it.

The cute little white chapel!

Mark and I, at the rehearsal.

I didn't take too many pictures at the wedding so I'm stealing many of these from Instagram. Thanks, people!

The site of the rehearsal dinner was Elmwood Gardens, and it was gorgeous! Kind of shabby-chic.

Getting ready!

Kelly's sister and maid of honor, Katy.

Spying on the guys (wayyyy out there in the field) getting photographed.

It was a gorgeous wedding and a really fun weekend in Palestine, Texas. Congrats Kelly and Kyle, thanks for letting us share in your special day!!!!

Traditions - Happy 4th of July!

I went to look for July 4^th photos from the past on Facebook and I was met with allllll of these below. So yeah. I'm over sharing a bit today. 

July 4th (or 4^th of July if you like saying it that way) has always been a HUGE deal in my family. It is one of the major holidays for us, on par with Thanksgiving and Christmas. We probably have the most set-in-stone plans for July 4^th over all of the other holidays.

Growing up we always did the same things: Arlington Parade in the morning with donuts, lunch at Chili’s with all parade attendees, swimming (first at my aunt’s house, now at my parent’s), and fireworks at night. Once my sister started dating her husband, we joined in on the large soiree known as ‘party at the Redman’s’ that involves fireworks, way too much food, and lots of people. It’s usually the highlight of the year! Then about 6 years ago my sister ruined it forever (jk Angela) when she broke her ankle while 5 months pregnant at the party. The Redman’s got a little gun shy about the hordes of people and general chaos, so now it seems to be a smaller party every other year or so. We then replaced the party with a night at Concerts in the Garden in Fort Worth. 

Phew. Just thinking about all of those plans overwhelms me!

Now that we are older and a solid 1 hour drive from most of those festivities (which take place in Arlington and some back country town called Rendon), we have to choose our events. We’ve opted out of the parade the last few years and will do so again this year. Mark and I are changing it up a bit and I’m excited to let today be a relaxed but super fun day to celebrate our independence. Whatever we do, we will celebrate in style! I hope you get to spend time with family and friends on this great day!

Happy fourth of July!!!


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It's been a year!

                                         

I can't even believe it! It's been one year to the day that I hit 'publish' on my first (very wordy) post. I had dreams of making it a month on this blog and I've made it a whole year and close to 150 posts. Even just a year of looking back has been an eye opener to my style of writing, quality of pictures, and even just content. Thank you all for reading along and I'm excited to keep chugging on this blogging journey, wherever it takes me!

Here's a look back...

We have really come so far after just one year, I can't imagine how we'll progress over the next several years to come. Thank you all for reading and supporting me!

xoxo

Commitment issues

People of the Internet; I need your help!

Wayyyy back in 2013 when I started blogging about our home adventure, I mentioned how excited I was for a fresh, crisp white bed and this cute orange throw. I have loved the simplicity of it over the past year (I know! a whole year!) but unfortunately my husband has not. We are horrible animal parents and our dog is "mistreated" (to steal the words out of my former neighbors mouth - yes, I'm still bitter) so much so that she sleeps in our bed, usually between us and curled up as close as possible up next to/on us. She lives a double life and spends her days as an outside dog so you do the math. Dirty dog + white bedding = grungy, not crisp. It's not HORRIBLE since I bleach it every now and then, but it's not pretty.

Anyway, Mark has muttered his disdain so here I am, trying to find new bedding. We've been using the comforter shown here, which is fine and hides the dirt well, but I know deep down its by Steve Madden "teen' and I can't get over the somewhat immature feeling it gives off.

I've brought home 2 comforters/duvet covers and since returned them, and even had one in my cart until the very last minute, but I'm pretty sure shopping for duvets is the hardest thing EVER. Worse than childbirth.

I'm going for a grown up eclectic look in our house, with some layering and relaxation thrown in. I want something that doesn't overpower the room but that will also hide some of the dirt that the dog brings in. I also love having a throw at the bottom to break up the giant piece of furniture in our small room, as well as lots of different throw pillows at the head of the bed.

Here are some that I'm liking:

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See why I went with white in the first place?

I actually have some new favorites after putting these all in one place. Hopefully I can make a decision ASAP! Unfortunately a couple of these are on final sale, so I'm super hesitant to make a purchase, especially considering my duvet commitment issues!

Please lend me your thoughts on what you think I should do! Thanks!