i don't get it

too many people were up in the middle of the night last night, me included. but i was being cinderella, scrubbing garbage cans (the glory of spring cleaning) and most everyone else was watching a real live princess begin her life as "happily ever after"

the royal wedding.
really?

ok before you stone me and march me to the stalks let me remind you what century it is...

didn't we get over the whole "blood line" thing ages ago?? i mean really? someone way back in the day dubbed themselves king and thereafter all their offspring got the title too? doesn't it seem silly? not to mention, this wedding is costing
"at least 60 million" ?!?!
{and where exactly is all this money coming from!? hmph!} that money could SOLVE WORLD HUNGER for crying out loud!!!

that being said her dress is gorgeous.
and i did Wikipedia her a while back (I don't read the news. I shamefully Wikipedia) and it said some pretty cool stuff about her and humanitarian service but when i went back to Wikipedia today so i could accurately repeat all those frilly things, her bio was replaced with a bunch of fluff all centered around this wedding, since that's all we need to know about her life now right?

i suppose i am happy for them, after all, marriage is a wonderful thing.
but if they are to be king and queen i'm expecting big things from them!
like solving world hunger.

happy friday!
as queen of this blog i command you to relax and take a royal nap :)

xoxox
the queen

p.s. here's a photo to sweeten this post:

{it's the only semi-fitting photo i have: documentation of the royal family's contribution to my antique tin collection.}

chops

last november B told me he was going to grow a mustache/beard for no shave november

"cool" i said. cause i'm a supportive wife and all.

when december rolled around he dropped the beard but kept the stache.

"cool" i said. cause remember, i'm supportive.

he said he just needed to keep it until christmas, get a good pic to send his brother, and then he'd bid it adieu. but by the time christmas rolled around i was hooked. i love his stache. he looks so distinguished, like Clark Gable. so i said yay to facial hair. in fact, if his facial hair growing skills were up to me i'd opt for the full lumberjack look: a manly luscious thick beard. {but i hear those who can grow such beards usually have loads of hair elsewhere. so i suppose i am grateful.}

being the supportive wife i am, i got him this book:

and i think it gave him some bad ideas....

for example, last week, after a few days of growth he did this:

not. cool.

i know it sounds dramatic but it was hard to look at him. chops? i kept thinking of ken from Freaks and Geeks. yuck.

after a night of hesitant kisses from me

he shaved the chops, kept the stache

but only after he got a decent pic.

to which i said i'd post, print ONE and delete forever from my computer.

i accept hearty mustaches and lumberjack beards

i say no to just about everything else.

facial hair.

what are your feelings?

playing house..

we kinda like being married.

it's like playing house but for reals.

you kiss each other goodbye on the way out the door,

try and tidy the house right before the other comes home,

talk about the kids you'll someday have and pick out all their names,

and you decorate your home.

last week we picked the perfect shade of grey, tonight we begin painting!

it's kinda a miracle we agreed on the color.

of all our flaws our biggest one to hurtle is we both have opinions {about decor}.

he says his sneakily.

i say mine loudly.

but for now, we agree on a grey.

and life is good.

as far as other adult-like responsiblities such as:

cooking

& paying the bills

we'd rather play pretend.

in other news there is a crowd of peeps outside my window having a little BBQ. i'm kinda offended i wasn't invited. granted i don't know a single one...but how dare someone ring in summer without me?! jk jk... but really, i'm thinking it's about time for a garden picnic party! KELSEE, BRIGHTON, i'm talking to you!!

xoxo

kitty

Easter

so far, I haven't been that homemaker who goes all out each holiday with perfectly placed decor. {although I can see myself being that person someday, when I have/am willing to take the time + have space to dec-out} One thing is for sure: I don't like my decor too contrived. I suppose it's the hopes I have as a recovering perfectionist. It's so much easier to pick tulips from your front yard and place them in coke bottles than to come up with some well crafted arrangement. And frankly, I prefer the purity in that anyway.

Hope you had a lovely sunday spent with family, getting sick off of good food and too much sugar, and spent a moment reflecting on our Savior.

xo

kitty

bangs and stress

{oldies but goodies}

scenes from my favorite sketchbook in high school.

lets call them the stress series shall we?

i made the mistake of wearing my bangs back today.

today being monday.

monday of this week.

this week being finals week.

If you had the misfortune of running into the 21 year-old in desperate need of botox, who looks like she might ram her grocery cart into innocent shoppers at harmons today I apologize.

today.

school.

finals week.

STRESS.

is the reason I have bangs.

no one should have to see my vexing brow.

{it 'aint pretty}

no one.

grateful bangs are semi-in style these days

-kitty

white & brown

meet the browns

adorable right?

and the whites

silly right?

the whites are kid-sitting the browns for the next little while :)

since it's spring break for them (and I'd really rather NOT work on finals) we decided to make some fun out of the day. Already we went to Color Me Mine to paint some mugs, ate at Marleys (maybe the second best burger I've had EVER!) went to the pet shop to get the dog groomed and looked at all the fun critters (I really want a bunny or a turtle!) and then to Blikenstaff's where we got the yummiest candies!

I'm thinking I need to add more playtime into my regular routine....

-claire

Wedding Diary: Temple

B & I are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We believe that families can be together forever, even after this mortal life. We love each other so much we didn't want our marriage to last till "death do us part", we wanted forever. We chose to be sealed for eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. It wasn't until I got really sick 3 weeks before the wedding and we strongly considered postponing the whole thing, that I realized that this truly was the only thing that mattered. Suddenly my dress, cake, reception, all seemed so silly. I could do without the frills. What I couldn't do without was Brandon. I needed him to be mine and I to be his. To be one. We made the decision to put our best efforts towards getting me better no matter what so that we could get married the day we planned, even if everything else got canceled. The 3 weeks prior to my wedding were the hardest weeks of my life. I was in and out of the hospital, bed-ridden, delirious and drugged. I dropped 15 lbs, looked completely beat, and had the energy of a sloth. Although they were the hardest days for me emotionally and physically, they were spiritually uplifting. I felt the unconditional love of my Heavenly Father and through the prayers, faith, and blessings of family and friends, I made it through a successful surgery 3 days prior to my wedding and got to be the blushing (though very exhausted) bride I'd always hoped to be.

Being in the temple with Brandon was the best part of the day

and has since proven to be the best part of my life.

{my absolute favorite photo! Jared and Mandy's faces :) }

"my little scholar"

I really probably should have checked my schedule before I promised a weeks worth of wedding wonder....

It's the second to last week of school

& I've worked 35 hours in the last 4 days.

not the week to promise blog posts.

But today is FRIDAY

no school

no work

I finally caught up on all my REMs and slept in till 12:18. yes.

{thats only semi typical of me, B and I stayed up super late last night laughing and giggling. He is a hoot}

speaking of last night:

I got a scholarship.

which is kinda a big deal considering it's ME we are talking about here, not some scholar. and the concept of people giving me money cause they believe I'll do great things because of it is just foreign. But now, I'm feeling some sort of crazy motivation to do this scholarship justice. I feel the need to create some mighty-fine art. much easier said than done {realized} but now my desire is more than intrinsic. this will be good for me.

hey MIL (mom-in-law) thanks for the photos! I'm glad I forgot to put my lens on auto, I like them all blurry like :)

grateful there are ART scholarships out there since SMART scholarships are way beyond me.

-little scholar

(B's new nick-name for me)

p.s. maybe expect some wedding diaries later? no promises though. I might just sleep the day away dreaming up art ideas. cause yes, they often come in dream form.

Wedding Diary: What We Wore

. . . . . . .

. . . . . . .

HE

brandon didn't have too much opinion about the wedding. Okay...he might have had a little {a lot} more than the average guy, after all, he is an artist and aesthetics are instinct. I'm really grateful he had such good input, it helped me make a lot of decisions and made the over-all feeling of our wedding "us" not just me :) We decided he could dress the men and I'd dress the ladies, a fair deal right? All the wedding party men wore black tuxes & bow ties.

they looked dashing

{suit from BR that he wore in our pre-wedding day pics}

SHE

{my look is a little more complex, naturally}

I incorporated 6 generations of wedding wear from my mother's side into my ensemble.

(some borrowed. Many I'm blessed to now call my own. Thank you Grandma C.)

6 Generations: wedding pin

chose to pin it to my bouquet rather than wear it.

5 Generations: Aunt Roba's wedding lace

leftover from the dress her mother made her

used some in the hairpiece (that I made the morning of my wedding!)

4 Generations: My Great Grandmother's engagement ring

did she have great taste or what?

3 Generations: My Grandma C's Handkerchief

used to wrap around my bouquet (in photo with wedding pin)

2 Generations: from my mother

lace from her wedding dress (she made) secretly stitched inside my skirt

+ her dainty diamond necklace

1 Generation: the dress!

I had plans A-Z about my dress, all of which included my mother making it. I had worked for a bridal shop before and felt I had tried on every dress in the book. I wanted something "me" not "her" ya know....typical bridzilla stuff. our hunt for the perfect lace had been a big fat failure and the wedding was getting closer. I even {almost} resorted to this idea (which I still think would have worked....maybe). But when I chanced upon a dress at JCrew.com whilst looking for the perfect hooneymoon bathing suit (which I also found)

the dress struck me:

it was simple

it was timeless

it was original

it was so me

I ordered two sizes (online mind you) and my mother and I crossed our fingers hoping it would work. When I finally tried it on, my mom and I got all waterworks and I refused to take it off for at least an hour. I said "yes" to the dress in my parents bedroom :) it was almost perfect. I still desired a handmade touch: my mother added the chiffon ruffle at the neck and bottom of skirt.

perfect.

oh and can I mention how comfortable I was all day! This dress is so light and airy! and a cinch to put on. with my homemade hairdo and self applied makeup: getting ready on my wedding day was as easy as pie. and that's just how I wanted it. No stress, no timetables, no looking like someone I'm not. Just me.

{shoes were also jcrew but from downeast outfitters}

BRIDESMAIDS

a question I got asked again and again while planning my wedding was "what are your colors?" and I had the hardest time answering. reason being: I didn't pick any. I didn't want my wedding to scream a color but instead, a feeling. Turns out that "feeling" showed itself in pastels and muted broken color. My mother found the dresses at Sundance Catelogue. I love them so much I even got one for me :) (they were a killer, knock-the-wind-outtaya, steal of a deal. but what else can you expect from my mom? :)

we hemmed the dresses so they'd hit just at the knee instead of mid-calf. I used the excess fabric to make each girl a headband (each a little different) as well as little flower poms that we attached to their matching ballet flats.

{this is how I kept myself busy during my bed-ridden weeks before the wedding}

and that is what we wore

more wedding diary entries coming soon!

***

all flowers done by this lovely lady

{minus the bouquet of all peonies, made by me}

all photos taken by this lovely lady

love and marriage

true, baby is not going to be part of the equation for some time. But heck! We've only been married 9 months! That's barely enough time to pop one out?! I'm sure that to many people in the world, mentioning baby in the first couple years of marriage is absurd! But in good ol' happy-ville, which is where I live btw, the process to parenthood is about as quick as the diddy it'self:

first comes love,

then comes marriage,

THEN comes baby in a baby carriage.

and another one

and another one

and another one

etc.

without getting into the ins and outs: it's just not our time yet :) and although the mere sight of baby booties excites me, I'm happy that our time right now is for

just us.

we've still got a lot of growing up to do...

kids shouldn't raise kids, ya know?

But I do have some REAL exciting news!

I know it's a little be-lated....

okay...it's WAY be-lated

But I, Claire White, am finally going to

post

about

the

wedding!

i know...epic right?

the dress

the temple

the place

the food

the guests

the itty-bitty details

oh....and

the groom!

{my favorite part}

I know my wedding is old news and all...

but this is a journal.

and I wouldn't be doing it justice if I completely skipped over the most important day of my life right? right!

so will this bore you?

please say no.

cause this blog is turning 100%

wedding friendly

for the next week :)

and just to whet your whistle:

isn't he dreamy?

xoxo-the bride

(yes, I am going to claim that title again, just for the week :)

p.s. photo and all upcoming wedding photos are by the amazingly talented Elise Lauren who I really can't brag enough about. She was THE BEST wedding photographer hands down! She's like a mind reader, only better. She was everything I hoped for and more! She even brought me refreshing drinks during the reception and was the only one who could successfully fix my stubborn hair. She is so passionate about her work and it shows in every photo she takes. Have you ever seen a good family photo at the temple? I mean one that does more than just make sure everyone's face is visible? I hadn't until I saw her stuff. She makes candid look like fine art. Oh I can hardly wait for you to see all the amazing photos she took! In the meantime, check out her blog and website . And if you are getting married I highly recommend Elise as your photographer! You will be nothing less than thrilled with the results! And book your wedding quick! I know she's already doing weddings left and right this summer...

things i'm already loving about today

General Conference

it always comes around when I need it most

my ranunculus that opened up this morning

more proof that spring is here!

my new calendar page for the month of"Aprile"

{that reminds me how close I am to this semester ending and the next one starting! yikes!}

a warm bath in my favorite tub

complete with the yummiest of sun light

piles of records to listen to in-between sessions

+ the loverliest blanket you ever did see

{made by my mother for christmas}

P.S. I think my mother was right in her comment on yesterdays post, I do owe you all a great giveaway! And I know just the thing :) stay tuned...

*all photos by me