And We're Done!

Well friends, as of two days ago, this funky junkie is officially a Penn State alum!

And, as of yesterday, my man is officially a master of education. That's right, I'm marrying a master. You can be jealous.
**Editor's note: it took the author several tries to spell 'education' right and she resorted to automatic spell check.

And just like that, our college days are over. I tried to be sentimental, but I think that after a three long weeks of 'lasts' (Last week of class! Last finals week! Last week before graduation!) I was ready to just move on.

Now that's not to say that I haven't had a fantastic four years. Because when I came to Penn State, all the way up the street from my parents house, I had second thoughts of whether I had made the right decision to stay in town. But in these four years, I have met incredible people in my major, in my a cappella group, and I was able to maintain the balance with my best childhood girlfriends who both stayed here and went away for college. 

Not to mention I met this guy when I was just a slouchy little 18 year old...

But yes, after several graduation ceremonies and boring speakers, I officially decided that I am more than ready for the next adventure. But first, we needed some food, and we were lucky enough to snag a table at The Tavern, Ian's old stomping grounds and the place for many-a-first dates.

Overall, it was a weekend that reminded me of the many ways I have been blessed in life.

Next order of business? 

Bring these photo inspirations to life. In the next 2 months.

Let's do this.

Unique: Just Like Everybody Else

Ever since my fascination with thrifty delights began in high school, I've had a constant obsession with being unique in my clothes and style. This isn't to say that I am the only person who shops at vintage stores, wears pearls one day and 80s earrings the next, and writes a blog about wedding planning; obviously wearing used clothes means that they have already been worn at some point or another by someone else. But the awesome thing about having a style that doesn't come straight from the mall (most of the time) means that while I get my inspiration from style icons in the past and other thrifty gals I see, the things I do wear are unique in my own way!

So if you've been reading my blog for some time now, you'll know that I am set on making my wedding be the perfect embodiment of my thrifted and multi-decade style. The awesome thing about this is that the DIY wedding movement has taken the country by storm. With all the blogs and wedding websites out there, sharing ideas and getting inspiration has become incredibly easy and planning a wedding with its own unique touches seems to be overtaking the cookie-cutter, traditional nuptials. However, with all the unique ideas out there, I've been running into this problem: when you get inspiration from another crafty bride, where's the line between 'inspiration' and 'stealing'?

http://www.sarahrhoads.com/

Throughout the whole wedding process, I have tended to become so fixated on making my wedding incredibly unique that it sometimes is impractical. For instance, I originally wanted a one-of-a-kind vintage wedding dress. I didn't want to wear something that there are photos of other brides wearing. But getting a dress like this comes with a slew of complications--finding one that's in good shape, one that fits me right, paying top-dollar to have one shipped and altered. Was it worth it?

But guess wear I got my dress? David's Bridal in Altoona. And I absolutely love it.

Then came finding the location. I didn't want to get married and have my reception in the same place that thousands of other people have, which was kind of ridiculous considering the size of my town and the limited wedding venue options. But when it came down to costs associated with renting a less-traditional venue, combined with the burden of buying tables, chairs, and a caterer, there came the questions again...worth it?

But Ian and I are getting married at a beautiful church that holds incredible memories throughout my lifetime, and holding the reception at an awesome country club with a beautiful view of a golf course. Yes, there are other brides who have had the 'same wedding', if you judge by location. But by no means will our wedding be the same as the ones that have come before.

Yes, my inspiration for the style and decor has definitely come from the wedding blog world, but the awesome thing about a DIY wedding is that like having a thrifty and vintage style, no two weddings are truly the same. Sure, they have similar styles and inspirations from other weddings and eras, but each one takes these ideas and injects her own personality into it to make them one-of-a-kind.

I am getting married in 97 days, and with a mile long checklist, I am so excited to begin bringing our unique wedding details to life!

This week's task: decide what song to walk down the aisle to. Because it would just be the end of the world to walk to the same song as every other bride, right?

A Winter Funk

Oh hello! Remember me? I used to blog around here sometimes?

January has come and gone--a darn good thing for a gal who wants the 9th of July to be here ASAP-- but great scott, has it been more busy than I would have liked.

I suppose you could say it has also been frustrating. See, here's the thing: I like to be in control of things. I like to know my schedule every day. I like to write and see my ideas come to fruition and to share them with other people. I like that I can make my coffee as weak or strong as I want.

So then there's the big things that I have little to no control over, like where Ian and I will get jobs, where we'll find a place to live, our opposite schedules that only leave so much time for each other during the week. That's not quite so much fun.

Last week I was one of 20 selected out of 70 applicants for an interview with Marriott, only to be rejected by the next two hotel companies that I thought for sure I had a shot at. I'm in a class where, in groups, we are responsible for developing, planning, and opening up our own restaurant for a night at our student run cafe on campus. A ton of work, and a ton of attitude adjustment is needed there, seeing as how I'm not much into restaurants and stressful situations. I'm also in an English class that requires three weekend field trips, something I thought would be awesome at first but now that I see the grind of my week, I really need those Saturdays to relax and catch up. And, on top of that, the weather around here as been as lame as can be! I'm talking snow, rain, ice, sleet...the whole nine yards. So with a sniffly and sneezy Bren, no cancelled classes, one too many lattes and lack of time for blogging and fun things...let's just say this funky junkie has had better days.

So you know what? This morning, I slept through class, made myself some Starbucks coffee, and am sitting by the window with the sun pouring in. And the window open, to counterbalance the overactive radiator.

You might say, " and on top of all THAT, you have a wedding to plan!" Friends, wedding planning is the least of my stress! Seriously. I have amazing friends, amazing family, and an amazing fiance that has made this whole wedding planning thing so much fun. In fact, it's definitely a much-needed escape from the stressful things of college and life.

So on a happier note, we have indeed found time to start bringing the details of our wedding together. Several weeks ago, we spent a Sunday afternoon at our reception site tasting some delicious food to decided on our menu. This past Saturday, we braved the snow to travel over the mountain to the flower shop to decide on flowers. This weekend holds (in addition to the Super Bowl...meh) more invitation making, and possibly table numbers?

Winter blues, begone!

P.S. I did my first guest post on another blog a few weeks ago! My beautiful fellow vintage-loving friends at miskabelle were so nice and let me share some of my favorite thrifted items. You can read the post here. Be sure to check out their blog and etsy store too!

How To Have The Perfect Wedding: No Liposuction Needed

Even though New Years Eve is annually the lamest holiday of the year, I sincerely hope you had a more eventful one than I did. This year, my glamourous evening consisted of throwing up all night, sipping gatorade all day, and sprawling on the couch, dozing in and out with my man watching all three Back To The Future movies, only changing the channel to watch the ball drop and toast to the new year with a wine glass of ginger ale. Yep, after avoiding it for so long, the stomach bug made its way to me on New Years Eve. Happy freakin' 2011.

But hey...with a year of graduation, weddings, and moving upon us, it can only get better, right?

After the stomach flu made it's grand entrance and exit, I spent a lot of time in front of the TV recovering/taking advantage of being lazy for my last winter break ever. (Being waited on by mom and dad only lasted so long, though.) Among the junk that is daytime television, I definitely had my fix of trashy reality TV. And wouldn't you know, weddings are a hot topic these days.


Say Yes to the Dress. Bridalplasty. Four Weddings. Different shows, but they all say the same thing: Weddings need to be extravagant. If they want it, brides can be talked into spending $500 dollars more on a dress when their budget was $2000--it's OK, because Daddy will pay. Every girl's wedding will not be perfect unless she wins a liposuction-facelift-boob job makeover. It's all just a big competition to see whose wedding is the biggest and the best. Winning= a lifetime of love and happiness. And if they lose? Well, at least they got to be on TV.

It makes me think: whether you spend $5,000 or $50,000 on your wedding, everyone has the same thing to show for it: marriage. The flowers will wilt, the dress will go back into the closet, and the cheesy DJ will pack up his speakers and drive over to the next reception. Have the girls on these shows lost sight of the reason for all the glam and glitz?

Today marks the 7 month countdown to me and Ian's big day (and also our two year and eleven month anniversary of dating!) and I know that as the planning and crafting (and working more hours to pay for all the planning and crafting) begins to take form, it will be easy to get caught up in the details. But as long as I keep my sights on the most important thing, everything will be perfect. Even without plastic surgery.

It's Time for Mistletoe and Holly...Especially Mistletoe.

With seven semesters of college down and one to go, I am officially on CHRISTMAS BREAK! My last one ever. Woah.

With Christmas classics on Grooveshark radio, I'm sitting in my kitchen at home waiting for mom and sister to get home so that the Christmas cookie baking marathon can begin. Meanwhile, I'm relishing in that fact that I can now shamelessly stalk wedding blogs without guilt. Because I have no projects, papers, or exams. Schooool's out. For. Winter.

These next few weeks of freedom will hopefully mean lots of time to get the ball rolling on some wedding crafts and decorations! Namely, invitations, gifts for my bridesmaids, and most of all, sifting through the masses of photos and ideas stored on the computer and narrowing it down to which things I want to be on the look out for in my antique and thrifting adventures (which there will hopefully be one or two to tell about by the time break is over!)

But until then, feast your eyes on some of my latest inspirations:

 

-Bren

Funky Junkie Wedding Inspirations

For your visual pleasure (depending on who you are, I suppose), some of my latest wedding inspirations...

Love these twinkling lights. I'm thinking it might look neat with old fashioned Christmas bulb lights.

I guess if I never find the antique topper there is always the crafty route!

We've got dozens of these lying around our house...

I know I haven't had a good wedding update recently, but everything is moving along just swimmingly. After the initial frenzy to get the church and reception booked, the rest has been falling into place-- and I am loving every second of it.

The bridesmaid dresses are bought. The only thing I'll tell you is that they were cheap ($55 dollars from Macy's, baby!), and are purple and funky--and my gals all look INCREDIBLY adorable in them.

Ian and I enlisted my dad to take some engagement photos, which turned out fantastic.

Also, my dress has arrived and is currently residing in my former bedroom at my parents house. A lot of people were surprised to hear that I bought it so soon after the engagement--how did I know it was the one? Didn't I want to look anywhere else? What if I found something that I liked better?

Because, I say, I walked out of the dressing room that night and saw my mom, aunt, sister, and bridesmaid erupt in smiles. I looked at myself in the mirror and just knew--I knew that the dress could not fit me better (both physically AND style-wise!) and that I didn't want to look any farther. I had found it. Come on--this was my face when I knew it was the one:

Speaking of weddings and things I love, the fiance should be arriving soon for our weekly Monday night dinner date. On tonight's menu: pasta with broccoli and a side of mashed sweet potatoes. Yes, he is practically marrying Julia Child.

-Bren

Here's What You've Missed...

Two weekends ago, my mom and I traveled to Allentown to visit some friends and family, and to hit up the thrift store circuit. First thing you think of when you think of Allentown, right? Well, we had some major scores and some major steals. Among my favorite purchases, which mostly included an array of fall jackets and offbeat jewelry, were some fabulous dangling earrings that look like something you might have hung on your Christmas tree in the 1950s:

A sweatshirt-fabric fall blazer and an 'out there' necklace:




However, it's been a little difficult lately to pull off my cozy fall fashions due to the weather going from this:

To this:

  

But it's OK, because my fiance (!!!!!!!!!) is the best, most wonderful, handsomest man of all time. OF ALL TIME. Despite our crazy busy schedules, Monday nights are our night for each other. This week I made stuffed green peppers (fresh from the Saylor garden!) and there was slow dancing to Queen in the living room, back rubbing, and trying to form our own two-person acapella band to various songs...while a thunderstorm raged outside. It was all very romantic.
Also. One of my best friends (and bridesmaids!!) was on the PSU Homecoming Court. No big.

With all this excitement, the only things getting me through the drudges of school are excessive wedding blog stalking and lots and lots of pumpkin things. Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin butter, pumpkin margaritas (beats the apple cider margarita by a landslide), pumpkin beer, and pumpkin donuts. I may just turn into a pumpkin.

And that's what you missed.