Crazy!

I got this email from PB today:
10% Discount Offer on Pottery Barn Wedding & Gift Registry Expires in One Month


Which means that we have been married for five months come Christmas Eve! It is hard to believe and quite crazy how time flies once you grow older. Anyone else noticed this?

Is everyone ready for Christmas?

We are all decorated, wrapped, and will be packed in two days for the beach! Merry Christmas!

My sweet husband.

He gives me too much credit...

Click on the link below to see what it's like for me to be behind the camera! It's rare!

Grant's thoughts about our Christmas decor...

My students.

Have I mentioned how sweet and fun my group of second graders is?

We have a great time together. Our class has created a blog so we can share our creative writings and other activities with friends and family virtually!

Mrs. Linderman's Little Learners

PS -- the lovely group picture of us was taken when North Carolina had that brief spurt of autumn. How I miss the warm sunshine...

I think I've whined enough about the cold, biting weather this week...

Family.

Every year my daddy's side of the family gathers together for days on end to celebrate our blessings. This year, we had our dinner at my parent's house instead of my grandparents -- it was exciting to start a new tradition!

My MaMa wanted a picture made of the grandchildren...and it was quite a feat! We had a blessed time and it was fun to visit with everyone since Grant and I make it home only once a month or less.




How was your Thanksgiving holiday?

Proud.

I am so proud of my husband. He is amazingly talented! I can brag because I'm the blessed gal that married him...

www.grantlinderman.com

The Dress

I've been able to share my wedding dress "hunt" with few friends...but not yet with all you wonderful people! I received many compliments on the last wedding post so I thought I would go into more detail on my most favorite dress of all time.




I was in one of my best friend's wedding in January (only two weeks after being engaged!) when another friend in the bridal party showed me a picture of a bride on her smartphone. She told me I HAD to see this bride because her dress was "so Averi". It was love at first sight. I emailed the bride to inquire...and putting out a disclaimer that I would buy the dress from her...if I could not find it on my own. Luckily for me, her dress was a custom made LulaKate, the Christy.

I immediately searched their website to find the closest store that carried the LulaKate line. Sure enough, a boutique in Raleigh had just started carrying this fabulous line. They specialize in bridal parties but also create wedding gowns for those classic, yet flirty brides. I made an appointment with Erin at Bella Bridesmaid in Raleigh and made sure that my mother, sister, future MIL, and at least one of my beautiful bridesmaid could attend! January 10th, dress purchased, after twenty minutes of looking at fabric swatches (silk shantung was the winner), getting measured, and trying on a few of the LulaKate styles, I knew the Christy dress was perfect for me. The entire appointment was less than thirty minutes. Record timing. For sure...



The ruffle, the bow, and the swish of the fabric had me at hello. So add my mother's veil that I tweaked slightly (removed the 1980's Juliet cap), yellow shoes thanks to Chiara (bridesmaid), vintage pearl earrings thanks to Corinne (one of the lovely maids of honor), and a sweet diamond cross from my father in law, and we had a BRIDE!


Still can't believe I'm married...!

100th Day!

Yesterday, Grant and I celebrated our 100th day of marriage. I could hardly believe it. Our celebration included a quick ChickFilA dinner, bible study, and then an episode of HIMYM, with some laundry thrown in. I guess we are already becoming old married folk?!


{image by my Aunt De from Summer 2009)}

I have been overwhelmed lately with missing my family at the beach...we are attempting to make Thanksgiving plans during which we will juggle being at the beach and traveling to the lake. I am blessed to have such wonderful aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents, and cousins that will allll be in the same place for the week of Thanksgiving. Grant and I also love spending time with his family. Sadly and unlike how I was raised, families are clear across the state...

Summer?

Today I dressed for the weather...

Shorts. V neck tee. Sperry's. I threw on a pashmina for a seasonal touch...

Wait. It is fall right? I later removed the scarf.

Because it was definately 82 degrees, sunny, and humid today...with a touch of "balmy"...

It is almost November! And happy birthday to the bride to be, Stately Lady!

Wedding Photography! Getting Ready.

We have finally received the digital files of our wedding day photography. We are patiently waiting for the video coverage! :)

I wanted to share a few of my favorites from the morning of our special day.


My bridesmaids and family can attest that I stayed calm, collected, and slightly nostalgic the entire morning. We were able to sleep in at the hotel and put on ptretty dresses for a bridesmaids' breakfast at the club. After our brunch, we slipped downstairs to begin getting ready. My sweet friend Meredith, bridesmaid as well, did my hair after a few trial runs from the night before. I did my eye make up and lips while Mere did my foundation. Surprisingly, it didn't all sweat away!

I will post more pictures in chronological order with little details as we go!

Weight.

In second grade this morning, we were defining the word "scale" and I used the word in a sentence.

I told them the following: "When I got on the scale to measure my weight this morning, I had lost two pounds."

My sweet comedian Wade's response: Congratulations Mrs. Linderman!

Welcome!

Our home is slowly becoming more cozy! Take a peek at a few of our rooms...








We plan to add an area rug to our kitchen/breakfast area!
Grant and I love our house. God is good!

Hope.

This video will speak for itself.

Bow ties!

My phenomenal husband designed the sweet bow ties for our wedding and now we have Vineyard Vines custom bow ties for sale! If you like them, comment on this post and I can get you squared away for a great price of $55.00.


Let me know!

Married!

Wow. Well, I guess I didn't get many details blogged BEFORE the wedding...so you all get to see the results when we receive our wedding photography files!

Grant did post a honeymoon post -- my laptop died about a month before the wedding so...I'm borrowing his in the mean time!

Check out Martha's Vineyard!

www.grantlinderman.com


I'm a Linderman now! YAHOOOO!

And school starts next Monday :)

Attire

Here begins some detailing of our wedding as we lead up to the big day!

Bridesmaids: With ten beautiful women needing to be dressed in something light, airy, summery, and classic, I chose the J. Crew Sophia Short dress in silk tricotine. We got an amazing deal on the dresses because they were on final clearance. I was super nervous as we ordered them but they all look wonderful on each friend/sister. The color is Mediterranean Blue.



Groomsmen and Grant: The guys will be donning sweet black tuxedos each with a black cummerbund. Here comes the sass: Grant and I knew we wanted something original for the bow tie. Naturally, we talked with a friend at Southern Proper and thought we had picked out the perfect pattern and scored a great deal on all 12. This fell through.

Via new friends in Elizabethtown, we know own close to 40 bow ties through Vineyard Vines. Grant created a custom logo and they put it into print for us! We are really excited because the yellow in the tie and blue in the tie coordinate well with our wedding day color scheme.



Bridal Gown: Going to keep this one under wraps BUT I will share that I went to Bella Bridesmaid in January and already knew the dress design for me. I went with a LulaKate design, the fabric in a silk shantung and the dress is floor length. I'm also wearing my mother's veil!

Going Away Garb: This is potentially my new favorite aspect of our attire for the day! I recently received my new Hems & Hers dress, designed by Caroline (bridesmaid) with "fabric print selection assistance" by another one of my bridesmaids. I am so blessed with talented friends! The dress fits like a glove and Grant is going to love it! He will be wearing khaki pants, loafers, a navy suit jacket, and white oxford.

Confession.

Throughout the wedding planning process, I have had so many wonderful blogs for inspiration! I have to admit, I have been slightly intimidated to post any specifics about our wedding and I had no idea where to begin.

Anything that you guys want to know about our special day?

In Progress

Hello friends!

So we are almost two weeks away to our wedding day. I'm so excited that I can hardly stand it...

This picture from our engagement session says it all:


{Image by Jessica Key Fine Photography}

And once we return from our honeymoon, we will get settled into our new home.

J-O-B

Friends!

I'm officially employed! Grant and I are making sweet progress on our check off list!

I will start teaching second grade at St. David's School in August!


We've also booked our honeymoon -- we are staying at The Kelley House Hotel in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard!

Absurd.

Grant and I are homeowners! We have created our own rendition to the tune of We Got a Dollar from the movie the Little Rascals. Check out these kiddos...

We Got a Dollar

And now see our lyrics:

We bought a house, we bought a house,
We bought a house, HEY HEY HEY HEY!

You may now proceed to imagine us belting out this tune in our new, spacious North Raleigh home...yep, funny.

Today!

11 days before my bridesmaids weekend here in Morehead City!
14 days before school is out!
21 days before we close on our home in Raleigh!
61 days before Grant and I get married!

Guess who may have a job interview coming up for a GREAT teaching job in Raleigh?
ME!
Oh happy day...

Poolside

This is how we spent Mother's Day: relaxing by our pool. Nice, yes?


However, Monday morning came full force...and these kids have forgotten everything they know...just in time for the End of Grade cumulative test. Yay. Not.

Summer

Ladies (and gentlemen?),

Summer is in reach. I can smell it. Because of this beautiful fact, it is all I can do to get through this school year, keep pulling all details together for our wedding, and remain patient.

Since I am a pitiful blogger because of said reasons, here is my future husband's post from this last weekend. I thought you might enjoy knowing that I didn't fall off the earth.

CGL II

81 days until I'm marrying my best friend. Ecstatic! And -- every weekend until 07.24.10 is booked. Crazy!

Vacuum.

I have to say I don't mind having to vacuum the sand out of my car almost daily. I love the beach. I love the sun. Life is good.


And praying for my dear friend Line.

Honeymoon Help!

We've narrowed it down to either Edgartown or Nantucket.

Grant and I have never been to either New England destination so what are the perks of each? Do you all have honeymoon advice for us soon-to-be newlyweds?

Only in my class...

Today, four of my boys had "Lunch with a Buddy" and only in my classroom would I overhear the following topics:

"first big fish"
"best fishing line"
"best bait"
fish for dinner"
"biggest red drum caught this year"
"fish got off the line"
"you're lucky you caught that drum"
"worms for the small fish"
"caught my king mackerel with a little tuna"


Notice a trend?
Three cheers for teaching at the Crystal Coast.

Whew!

Finally :)

www.grantandaveri.com