Marriaged

First of all, I got a new favicon installed! Do you love it? It's that lil guy up at the top next to my blog address. Cute, huh? I love him.

Second, I have a couple of pretty B&Ws to share. These lovelies got married last week. Their wedding was so much fun! Annnnnd I got to check one off of my Mighty Life List! Big thanks to the new Mrs. Lacie Messerly for that. :) I hope married life is treating you well.

Oh "Chute!"

Today I was an awesome big sister. My little brother has a science fair project due tomorrow and, being from a family of mega huge procrastinators, he hadn't even started it yet. So husbandman and I decided to help him out. We ended up having a really good time!

Lil' bro's experiment involved dropping eggs strapped to parachutes off of the roof! How stinkin' fun is that?? Then we measured the splat radius to determine the effectiveness of each parachute size. We fashioned the parachutes from some trash bags and duct tape and string. The experiment worked surprisingly well. One of the eggs even survived the landing without a single crack!

(Sometimes I draw cute faces on eggs when I'm really proud of their accomplishments)

Husbandman was the brave soul who volunteered to make the journey up the ladder and launch the doomed eggs to the designated cardboard landing pad. The pad had a total area of one square foot. None of the eggs actually landed there. :) I was the designated photographer/ gooey-eggy-mess-cleaner-upper. It's funny how often those two coincide.

Check out husbandman. It's not easy to pose so well on a rooftop holding a parachute with a precariously-perched egg specimen. He's got mad posing skills.

Ok yes, we're five. But doesn't he look super cute in his new jacket? Yep, yes, yeah he does. Feel free to leave some bloggin' love just for hims. Cause you can clearly tell from these pictures that he deserves it.
Britt

*Note: Do not attempt this at home. You could be injured or seriously killed. The people in these images are untrained crazy people and it is not recommended you copy them. Doing so could be detrimental to your health. For real*

You've Got Whatever It Is

So I have this sister. She's the only one I've got. We're really different, but very much the same. She my best friend and definitely on my list of top five favorite people in the world.

Even though this morning she told me that I looked like I got dressed in the dark.

Yesterday I was testing out the lighting for a shoot and I made her model for me for a minute. She hates to have her picture taken. I think she's totally photogenic. She disagrees.

She makes faces like this on a daily basis. Sometimes she sits in a chair forever taking pictures of faces like this on her phone. It's one of my favorite things about her. She's probably going to kill me when she sees these. There were a couple even more choice pictures, but I chose life.

I love my sis. She lives in Logan now. I miss her.

Expecting an untimely death,
Britt

P.S. Yes, I did hit my head on that chandelier. 8 times. Just in case you were wondering.

My Feet Smile

I do not profess to be a fashion blogger. Far from it, in fact. I am still struggling to find my personal style. I love to read fashion blogs and see the way people can pair things together in a creative way to create an amazing outfit. The art of fashion is lost on me, however.

But I do have these great boots!

Don't you love them? I wore them today with some hot pink tights. That is definitely a new thing for me. I kind of love how they look. This post inspired me to try them out. I love Sydney's style! Sidenote: my sister thinks it's weird when I call her Sydney because, well, we don't know each other from Adam. I don't know what else to call her though, besides that one blog girl.

So I am now officially dipping my baby toe into the world of fashion. Because, let's face it, I need some serious help in that department.

I hope you all have a happy week! Wear some killer shoes that make your feet smile for me. :)
Britt

Oh Cupcake, My Cupcake

It's awkward and awesome Thursday again over at the Daybook! Sydney is so great! I'm glad we've decided to make this a weekly thing for the time being. I love reading them. Just click that cute lil' button down on the right sidebar to see everyone else's lists.

Awkward:
- When you go with your friend to the movies and you're the only two people there except for a creepy guy all alone on the second row. In a teeny-bopper chick flick. Go home, dude. For real.
- When husbandman runs to the store to get me some feminine stuff and comes back with the exact right thing without having to be told. Some of you may think this is awesome, but I feel concern over the number of times I must have inflicted this painful embarrassment on my saint-of-a-husband for him to remember this information so accurately.
- 9-year-olds who correct your grammar. Smart much, bro?
- The greeter who shouts "WELCOME TO WALMART!!!" Why, thank you. I jump every time.
- While deleting unwanted apps on my phone today, one asks, "Do you really want to kill me?" I couldn't press accept.
- Reaching into a bag of chips sitting next to me and popping one in my mouth only to realize it was actually a dog treat.
- Buying a clear shower curtain just so I can tell if there is a murderer on the other side. I am no longer permitted to watch scary movies.

Awesome:
- A Skip-It. And the very best thing of all, there's a counter on this ball! Children of the '80's, you know what I mean, right??
- Just when I thought Google couldn't get anymore awesome, I came across Dinoogle. It's just like Google, but with dinosaurs.
- Today I found out that there's a guy who dresses up as a bush and scares people for a living to draw  visitors into new parks. I don't need to look for a job anymore.
- Husbandman and I had a light saber battle with our phones. I consider this a Family Home Evening well spent.
- I found out that there is a Quidditch World Cup played by college students at universities like Harvard and Yale. I must be a part of this.
- My grandpa drives a Jeep with red racing seats. He's the shiz.
- Biggest brother and friend Randi (aka new cake decorating prodigy) came over to make cupcakes. We made the cutest owls you've ever seen (or eaten).

 Practiced my roses (I'm a little rusty)

The last one was for V-day cause I'm really excited for it! Sure am. Husbandman is not because he is not the-ultimate-present-buying-awesomeness champion of the world. I hold that title and the fame that goes along with it. If you need proof, see this post. Although my last Christmas present  from him was freaking amazing!

Did anything awkward or awesome happen to you this week?
Have a happy week!
Britt
P.S. Don't you think the owls in that first picture look like they're waiting for a worm from mama owl? :)

Think Pink!

Today's Weird Wedding Wednesday chronicles the story of a bride-to-be who looooooved pink. It was her favorite color, and as far as her wedding was concerned, it was the only color. In the entire world.


The decor was all varying shades of pink. The flowers were pink. The food was pink. Have you ever tried eating pink salad? The bridesmaids dresses were pink. The bride's dress was also a very light shade of pink. The invitations were pink. The cake was pink. She even has the horse for their getaway carriage dyed pink for the occasion.


It was all quite excessive and its close resemblance to a bottle of Pepto Bismol made me want to hurl.


Several weeks before the wedding...
Bride: Is there any way we could paint the walls pink for my day?
Me: Pardon me?
Bride: The walls. I want them to match the rest of the decor.
Me: Of course you do. However, I don't see how that would be possible.
Bride: Daddy will pay any price. We will of course have the painters paint it back right afterward.
Me: Unfortunately, we do have an event the day before and the day after your wedding.
Bride: We can have them work all night.
Me: Yes, but I'm afraid the smell of paint would make the evening rather unbearable.
Me (in my mind): Have you been sniffing paint lately?


The beige-colored walls were a constant source of aggravation for this bride, prompting her to hire a broadway lighting designer to ensure the walls were washed in a blinding pink light throughout the ceremony and reception.


Some people really know what they want. Some people could definitely benefit from intensive therapy.
Britt

Pirate O's

Yesterday I hung out with my family and we visited Pirate O's in Draper. That place is bizarre. But kinda cool. They have the most random assortment of candies ranging from chocolate filled with brandy to marzipan pigs to pickle-flavored mints. For those of you who just got the shivers at the thought of that last item, you're not alone. I feel like throwing up directly into the lap of the person who thought of those.

I got husbandman some bacon-flavored floss. :)

My siblings and I decided to be adventurous with some candies we had never tried before. I came across this intriguing yellow box whilst perusing the shelves. The "items" within the box were advertised to be the strongest mints in the world. That's a pretty lofty claim, don't you think?

The mints themselves looked suspiciously like dog food. Despite that, we threw caution to the wind and popped them into our mouths.

And that is the story of how my head exploded.

I will never have to worry about halitosis again as long as I live. That little mint killed every bad-breath germ within a 2,387 mile radius. Killed them dead. At least that should help with Brade's bacon breath.

I have the rest of them in my purse. Wanna try one? ;)
Britt

P.S. Their address is 11901 S 700 E in Draper. Picking weird candy for each other to try is a super fun and random date night activity.

Why I can occasionally tolerate winter. Occasionally...

This week's theme at I Heart Faces is "Winter Wonderland." Well let me tell you, we have LOTS of winter. It's completely frigid all the time here and we fall on our faces or our bums just walking to the car. Sometimes on a daily basis. I have oodles and gobs of winter pictures. I kept coming back to this photo though. It makes me smile. I love the bright colors and the happy expression in the dreary winter. So I think this is the one I will enter. Maybe. I'm almost positive. I'm relatively certain. I'm pretty sure. Perhaps.

This could go on for a while.

"Brade, do you think this is the one I should enter?"
"Yes. Stop overanalyzing it."
"I don't do that."
"I can actually hear the gears turning in your head. Shut them off. I can't hear the movie."

This is my final answer.

Ok, I would actually like to poll the audience. What do you think?
Stay warm!
Britt

P.S. I would like to add that yes, we do have "real" snow. Feets of it actually. I originally shot this for the paper challenge but never got a chance to enter it.

I'm awkward and awesome-- a stellar combination

It's Awkward and Awesome Thursday! Welcome back for more.

Awkward:
- Talking to my mom on the phone while frantically searching everywhere for... my phone.
- Falling out of the shower. This has happened to me a surprising number of times. I can neither confirm nor deny that I maybe might have sorta actually fallen out of the shower a couple weeks ago resulting in the entire contents of the bathroom counter being knocked into the toilet possibly including but not limited to my cell phone. 
- Having a hole in my sock so my toe pokes out. That bugs.
- Walking past the dress form husbandman got me for Christmas and our lady curves accidentally brush together. Awkward! Then I try to apologize and realize she has no head. Or legs. Or arms. She's basically just a torso. Which somehow makes it more awkward because I feel like I should apologize for that too. 
- Sending a rather sensitive text message to the wrong person. Ug. I'm gonna go scream into a pillow.
- When you're out playing in the snow all day and your scarf gets moist around your mouth area. You know what I'm talking about. Gross.


Awesome:
- Jessica's Daily Affirmation. I died. You have to check it out if you haven't already! We could all stand to be a little more like her. 
- The freaking amazing iPad cover I am currently working on. I couldn't find one I really liked that was unique so I'm making my own. Stay tuned! Pictures to come soon.
- This post and this post over at Selective Potential. Seriously changed my life twice. I'm giving myself a new body for my birthday this year.
- Comments from readers. Shameless plug for myself, I know, but they totally make my whole day every time. 
- Trips to Logan to visit my baby sister. That place still feels like home a little bit. 
- Getting the perfect lighting in a shot that just makes me go mmmm!
- Payday. No explanation needed.
- Having a free meal at Cafe Rio. Even the line cooks cheer for you on this one! "FREEEEE MEAL!"


Did anything awkward or awesome happen to you this week?
Have a happy Thursday! The third day! (Friends reference for those of you who haven't lost your life to that show... yet).
Britt

Filmmaker

Today I am a filmmaker.
I somehow talked my cousin and his cute wife into standing out in the snow and slowly freezing to death. Aren't they totally adorable?? Their noses are cute and red. I died.

So what do you think? Am I cut out for filmmaking? I want your honest (or maybe slightly sugar-coated) opinion. But, remember that this was my first attempt so try to be gentle. 

Have a fabulous day!

Britt

Days of Our Lives

Hey friends and fellow wedding enthusiasts! It's Weird Wedding Wednesday! This week's outlandish tale is brought to us by daytime television. This is the night I spent at a wedding which, as it turned out, was not actually a wedding at all, but the set of a soap opera drama. My mistake.

The bridal party enters. They are all intimidatingly beautiful people.
Bride: My maid-of-honor will be in charge this evening. That's who you should go to with any questions.
Me: That sounds just great. Which one is she?
Bride: *motioning over her shoulder* Patrick, would you come here please?
Me: ..... he *trailing off pathetically*
Bride: This is Patrick. My maid-of-honor.
I smile stupidly and shake his hand. Pretty sure Patrick was a model in another life. No, this life. In another life he was a Greek god. At this point I'm assuming (never assume, people!) that Patrick is the bride's brother because they are really close and look just like each other. Come to find out he and bride are just BFFs since middle school. Stuck like Glue I think is how he put it. So at this point wild things are running through my head like, "They are pretty adorable together. They share so much history! Why isn't she marrying him if they're best friends? Am I supposed to bring him a bouquet?" Turns out that extra bouquet was for the best man.


And by best man, I mean woman.

Groom: This is Chelsea, my best man.
Me: So nice to meet you Chelsea! Can I help you with your...
Me (in my mind): Oh my dang! Do you think she's going to be wearing a dress or a tux?
Me: ... clothes?
Chelsea: Sure. Thanks. My dress is in that garment bag over there.
Me: I'll just take that to the... bridesmaids room. *trailing off pathetically*
Chelsea: Yes, perfect. I'll go change with the ladies but then I'll head down to the groom's room. I'm friends with all the guys.

Never assume anything, people.

Now, I consider myself a reasonable person, even though I watch way too many romance movies. I'm thinking to myself at this point, "How is it these two very attractive BFF couples are not together? Maybe they tried and it didn't work out? Seems like a lot of time to spend together without anything ever happening..."

Then I met Patrick's boyfriend.

Oh.

Bride: This is my little brother, Paul. He's going to be the ringbearer.
Me: So Paul, are you excited for your big sister to get married?
Paul: I'm happy for her, but I'm gonna miss her. She and I have always been close.

The Mother-of-the-Bride pulls me aside later.
MOB: Paul is not the bride's brother. He is her son.
Me: ......................
MOB: She had him when she was in high school, and my husband and I adopted him and raised him as her brother.
Me: That was so awesome of you.
MOB: He doesn't know that though, so don't say anything.
Me: ......................

Random wedding guest #1: Who's that handsome man sitting next to the bride?
Random wedding guest #2: That's Patrick. He's her best friend.
Random wedding guest #1: Then why didn't she marry him? (that's what I said!)
Random wedding guest #2: He's gay.
Random wedding guest #1: But I thought they had a baby together.
Random wedding guest #2: Yes, they did. But that was back in high school.

Are you following all of this? I felt like my ears should be bleeding at this point. How can so much drama exist in one room? So I was right. They couldn't spend so much time together without anything happening behind the scenes. I've never felt more awkward and uncomfortable being right.

So how about the groom and the best man, you ask?
Later that evening...
Chelsea: You wanted to speak with me?
Bride: Yes, I just wanted to clear the air. I know you're really important to my new husband.
Chelsea: I hope we can be friends, too.
Bride: That's why I wanted to tell you that I'm not upset anymore about what happened between the two of you last night. I realize that  you were very sad and upset and that it was a one-time thing. That will never happen again.
Me (in my mind): Whaaaa? What happened last night???

For the record, I would like to state that I wasn't eavesdropping on this conversation. They just happened to have it right outside the office. I hope we have all learned a lesson this day. Never assume. Because you might be completely wrong and accidentally tell an 8-year-old boy that his sister is really his mom and her best friend, who apparently wasn't always gay, is his dad.

Yep. This is real life.

Kid Art

My sister recently moved away from me. *sniffle* She moved up to Logan to finish school. I'm going to visit her tonight, and I've been told that entrance to her apartment can only be gained through coercion. One must either be "dead sexy" or come bearing cookies. I was really feeling the pressure to live up to the expectation of being "dead sexy." It's not a good time for me. My hair is an awkward length and won't seem to lay right. I'm carrying several Christmas-goodie-induced lbs that my Wii Fit trainer hasn't been able to get my to let go of yet.

So last night I called in a favor from brothers #2 and 3 for help. And oh man, did those little guys come through for me!

Seeing as how the only cookie cutters I have are Christmas shapes, we decided to make a school boy using the gingerbread man cutter and the angel became a school girl.

 This is Flame Boy from the Fantastic Four. That's a 4 on his back. :)

Here we have Elvis and Shaniqua Shanaenae, the African American opera singer. This cookie's got mad style.

We decorated them all until about 11:30 (waaaaaay past brothers' bedtime!) and gave them all names and made up stories about their lives. I'll admit, this made them harder to eat, but they were super delicious nevertheless. Plus littlest brother helped me decorate them which made them look like kid art. And can we be honest, friends, what is better than that?
Britt

P.S. These photos say, "Sorry we're sub-par, but we were taken on a camera phone."

Bridal Beauty

This stunning creature is getting married at the end of the month. I had a blast shooting her bridals today! Go ahead and look at the picture again if you want. You can look a couple more times. It's ok. She won't mind. That's the wonderful thing about brides. They are too happy to care if people stare. I'm gonna stay here for a sec and marvel at her bridal beauty. *sigh*

You've got a little something on your face...

WARNING-- The following blog post contains images that may be disturbing to total wimps or those easily creeped out in general by normal people posing as the undead. 

What says love better than date night to the third annual Salt Lake City Zombie Walk? Dressing up in bloody rags with fake blood streaming down your face wandering the streets searching for brains... how romantic. Ok, the only thing romantic about it is that husbandman and I were together, having fun... even in death.

In all seriousness though, this was ridiculously fun! There were hundreds of people and so many cool costumes. I've never had so much fun creeping people out. Including myself. I screamed and fell on the floor when I walked past a mirror. Nerves of steel. I definitely wouldn't survive very long in a zombie apocalypse. 

Join us next year! I guarantee you've never seen anything like it. 

Have a creepy weekend!

Britt 

It's Awkward and Awesome Thursday!

It's Awkward and Awesome Thursday over at the Daybook! Many thanks to the oh-so-lovely Sydney for this idea. Her blog is completely fabulous so check it out if you aren't already a somewhat creeper stalker loyal follower. So this week I decided to participate.

Awkward: 
- The sole of my shoe ripped partway off at work tonight and now my shoe talks to people. Does this ever happen to anyone but me?? Sheesh! Pretty sure I've gone through six pairs of shoes at that job. The awkward was made worse by the fact that I work at a wedding reception center and I'm pretty sure shoes that talk to people are considered completely classless.
- Husbandman's creepiest face he can make. He made it for me last night. I predict the nightmares will last upwards of 16 days.
- Eating nothing but a giant Hershey's bar for breakfast.
- Admitting to you that I ate nothing but a giant Hershey's bar for breakfast.
- Somehow ending up being the one who has to hold the bride's dress while she pees. Bridesmaids were mysteriously nowhere to be found. How does this happen in real life?
- My contact falling out while I was driving home. It was my last one and I need it to last a few more days so I put it in the only thing I could find at the time that would keep it wet until I got home. My mouth.
- Making eye contact with someone through the cracks in between the stalls in a public restroom. This might be the most awkward thing I've ever experienced. Maybe.

Awesome: 
- Getting awesome reading materials in the mail. This came for me today:

- Remembering that since my work shoes died, I have an excellent excuse to go shoe shopping!
- My puppy's reaction when I get home from work. He is always super excited to see me and it makes me smile :)
- Making fun double date plans for this weekend (we never get to hang out with other couples!)
-Finding out that the Pioneer Woman, whom I fairly worship, is coming here for her next book tour!
- This super cool jungle shoot my imagination cooked up for the new year.

Aren't my models awesome? I just love them!
Did anything awkward or awesome happen to you this week?
Britt

Weird Wedding Wednesday

People always seem totally fascinated when I mention that I work in the wedding industry. Although my job is not nearly as glamorous as it sounds, it is a gold mine for good stories. I decided it would be a fun idea to write some of them down-- keep a record of the insanity so to speak. Having been to way more than my fair share of weddings, I can definitely say they are a spectacular place for people watching.

Here is a conversation I had with a bride during a rehearsal:
Me: So do you have a ring bearer that will be involved in the ceremony?
Bride: Yes. His name is Evan.
Me: Great! How old is Evan?
Bride: Two
Me: Ok, well since he's so young, I would probably suggest that the best man holds the rings and he just carries an empty pillow.
Bride: Well we figured out a way to strap them to his back. He's really well trained so he should be fine. Hopefully he doesn't get scared and pee on the carpet.
Me: Uh.... Um.... Gee....
Bride: We'll let him out of his cage right before the ceremony starts.
Me: ................................
Bride: One of the flower girls agreed to walk him down the aisle.
Me: Oh sure. That will probably help him behave.
Bride: We'll give her a treat to carry if she needs to coax him.
Me: We have some suckers for kids, but they might be sticky and get on his clothes.
Bride: What? Oh, no! Evan is my Dalmatian.

Later that evening...
Bride: Would you mind getting Evan something to eat?
Me: Not at all. What do you recommend?
Bride: Give him some of the prime rib. He can eat the groom's piece.
Me: Are you sure?
Bride: Yes, of course. And he only eats from a martini glass. I never feed him anything unless it's in a martini glass.
Me: We'll see what we can do for you.

I need to also add that Evan was part of the receiving line for the duration of the event. He sat next to the bride's mother and guests were expected to greet him warmly and make polite conversation.

Good boy, Evan.

This is my motto for 2011. Happiness is not a destination. I can be happy right now. Not when we save all our pennies and move out of this closet we call an apartment. Not when I find fame and fortune with my new business. Not when I fit into my skinny pants. Now. Life is amazing and I don't want to miss one second. 

In addition to this new life makeover, I want to try to blog at least 4 times a week. I have been the worse blog neglecter ever. I've also added my mighty life list to our blog. This is basically my bucket list. Let me know if you feel like doing any of the crazy things listed on there with me. I would love it.

Have a happy life!

Britt