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personal

Friday Etsy Love

I’ve just been loving Etsy lately. I’ve been on there more than usual as I started planning the little one’s first birthday party (yes, four months in advance). It’s going to be a small gathering at home, but I’m thoroughly enjoying the creative process anyway. Bridget didn’t have an official religious welcome to the world, so I figure it’s OK to go a little crazy for the first birthday.

Enjoy some of these fun Friday Etsy finds…

RAWR Brontosaurus Print 5x7, RSGD shop, $10

Gryffindor House 13 inch Laptop MacBook Case Sleeve Cover Harry Potter. Eco-Friendly, coollikethat shop, $38

Custom cake stand, vesselsandwares, $70

Large I Heart Books Zipper Pouch, Kukubee Shop, $14

I Love Cake Pale Turquoise And White Cushion Cover, RaineStyleHome shop, $26

personal — 1 Comment
8
Jun 11

3 Years Ago Today…

I married my favorite person on the planet, Mitchell Alan Linder. He pretty much has had my heart since I first met him at a dorm party nearly a decade ago. Along the way, we’ve had adventures great and small, and seldom does a moment go by where I don’t think to myself, “How lucky I was to have stumbled across this amazing person.” Mitch Linder, you are my rock, my comedian, my Matt Saracin, my Mr. Darcy, the one-and-only amazing dad to the adorable Bridget Elizabeth. You make every day better and you and Bridget are the very best parts of every day. I love you and I’d marry you yesterday, today, and always.

Forever can never be long enough for me

To feel like I’ve had long enough with you

June 8, 2008

June 2011

You have bewitched me body & soul

And I love, I love, I love you

personal / photography — 2 Comments
8
May 11

Happy Mother’s Day

Here’s a photographic tribute to all the mother’s out there.

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0338 Linder

And to my Bridget, it is the privilege of my life to be your Momma. I love you more than words can say, sweet baby girl.

personal — No Comments
14
Feb 11

Happy Valentine’s…

from My Heart….

other parties / personal — 1 Comment
28
Jan 11

Thank Goodness…

Sometimes when I have bloggers-block, there’s nothing else to do but say “Happy Friday” and call it a blogging day.

baby love xoxo

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31
Dec 10

Happy New Year!

2010 certainly was awesome. In fact, it was without a doubt my favorite year EVER!

Some of the highlights?

Finding out we were expecting our first child on Valentine’s Day weekend!

Spending a week in March in Ireland with my mom and my sister, surviving driving on the right side of the car on the other side of the road, and having a wonderful adventure!

Traveling in May to San Francisco, to Chicago, and to Omaha, the latter two spots I had never visited before, getting to see two different baseball stadiums and games in the process!

Celebrating my 2nd wedding anniversary in June!

Having an absolutely, unbelievably perfect wedding season that started with a bang in April and ended at the very end of September. I love all of the couples I got to work with – I truly believe wedding planners and couples find each other for a reason, and there is a perfect planner for each couple. I worked with some beyond talented vendors and enjoyed a “dream team” scenario in every wedding I planned and coordinated. I can’t pick a favorite photo from such a busy season, but this one exemplifies why I do what I do and what inspires me to keep doing it: the joy that is the essence of every wedding day I’ve ever been a part of.

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Welcoming these teeny, tiny feet into the world at the end of October. Awakening every morning to a smile that touches my heart in a way I could never imagine or describe. <3

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Planning and prepping for my 2011 couples! I cannot wait for your beautiful days! As always, thank you for inviting me along on the sweetest journey.

If I was a flower growing wild and free
All I’d want is you to be my sweet honey bee.
And if I was a tree growing tall and green
All I’d want is you to shade me and be my leaves

If you were a river in the mountains tall,
The rumble of your water would be my call.
If you were the winter, I know I’d be the snow
Just as long as you were with me, when the cold winds blow.

If you were a wink, I’d be a nod
If you were a seed, well I’d be a pod.
If you were the floor, I’d wanna be the rug
And if you were a kiss, I know I’d be a hug

All I want is you, will you be my bride
Take me by the hand and stand by my side
All I want is you, will you stay with me?
Hold me in your arms and sway me like the sea.

Photo by Tomas Flint

Happy 2011! May it bring us all lots of love, blessings, and laughter.

personal — No Comments
22
Dec 10

Happy Holidays from Better Together Events!

Photo by Images Unveiled

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overall sappiness / personal — 2 Comments
15
Dec 10

Isn’t She Lovely? – A Post on Thankfulness

So, some of my loyal readers may be wondering where I’ve been the past 7 weeks. I’ve been dying to introduce you to…

Bridget Elizabeth Linder

Born an early riser at 5:58 in the morning, she was 7 precious pounds, 5 1/2 beautiful ounces, and 19 1/2 wonderful inches long. Our girl entered the world – I kid you not – to the sound of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” I still smile when I think that out of the 75 songs and over 4 hours of music on her play-list, that was her birthday background song. As if I needed a reason to love her at first sight.

Well I thank God you came along
But you are the one
I’ve been waiting for today
And here comes the sun

…

I sat beside you and became myself
Today… today

Brand Spankin' New, 10/28/10, Photo by Soraya Hintz

The reason why I've been crying at Father-Daughter dances all season long.... Photo by Better Together Events Amateur Photography Division

2 weeks old, Photo by her Mama

5.5 weeks, Photo by Smitten Mama

First Smile, 6.5 weeks, Photo by Katlyn Cunningham

First Smiles, 6.5 weeks, Photo by Katlyn Cunningham

As I reflect on the last 7 weeks, I am supremely…

Thankful for a healthy baby.

Thankful for everyone who has offered to help us with dishes, dinner, laundry and life in the last 2 months.

Thankful for the people who read my blog.

Thankful for my family – all of them.

Thankful for a husband who after working 80+ hours a week, still wants to wake up and watch the “Bridget Stretch” at 3AM.

Thankful for the occasional bits of sleep I get and for the cries and smiles that wake me up.

Thankful for my understanding clients, their friendship, and the invitation to be a part of their beautiful weddings.

I love you, Bridget Elizabeth. Thanks for making me a Mama.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

overall sappiness / personal / sweet conconctions — 4 Comments
10
Jun 10

Anniversary Cake!

So this anniversary I was determined to pull-off a surprise of epic proportions. Too often the people I love miss out on my wedding planner skills because I’m just too tired to think of something creative. I was not going to let my wedding anniversary and the best husband ever get the brush off this year!

So Vanilla Swirl to the rescue! As you can imagine, I’ve sampled quite a bit of wedding cakes over the years. While I haven’t met a cake I haven’t liked, Vanilla Swirl is one of my all-time favorites. I emailed Tina (the owner/pastry chef) to see if she could help me out with my scheming, and she agreed!

I asked her to recreate a mini-version of our wedding cake (below).

As you can see, the design was perfect and spot-on! She even recreated the flavor of our top-tier (marble cake with chocolate ganache filling). Mmmmmm, delicious!

Thanks, Vanilla Swirl!

personal — No Comments
18
Mar 10

Unwinding with Some Good TV

I recently had a potential 2011 bride ask me what TV shows I enjoy in my downtime, and I could not have been happier to answer that question. I love TV. Thank goodness for Hulu and full episodes online to get me my fix when I have evening appointments or pass out before 9, which has been known to happen on more than one occasion.

So what am I loving right now?

In a word, LOST. When I’m not loving this show, I’m loving hating it and certain characters named Jack and Kate. My husband and I always watch together and theorizing a thousand times never gets old. Thank goodness for the DVDs when the show concludes this Spring.

Reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Gilmore Girls. All three of these shows deserve their own respective paragraphs, so I’ll give them the credit where credit is due.

Buffy is dramatic, comedic, and tragic all at the same time with amazing characters and one kick-butt sassy female lead. For these reasons and more, it’s my all-time favorite.

Angel was the handsome, noble vampire with a soul before the Cullens and R-Patz started the good vampire-craze. Critically and arguably a better show than Buffy, I was one of those obsessed fans that petitioned Fox to save Angel.

Gilmore Girls…. the show that I pop in the DVD player whenever I need to feel warm and fuzzy. I wanted to be a Gilmore Girl, or at least part of their fabulous Stars Hollow world. Their sassy, quick-witted conversations and dialogues were in my humble opinion part of some of the greatest television writing ever.

I also enjoy the Office, although I think it’s a show better enjoyed watching on DVD when you can see multiple episodes at one time. The Office almost makes me miss working in a traditional office environment… almost.

Shamefully, I watch the Real Housewives shows too… a fact that my husband just can’t wrap his head around. “Why do you like these shows? How is this entertaining?” I give him the only answer I have which is that it’s nice after a long day to just go into reality tv la-la land and laugh at the craziness and ridiculousness that is the housewives shows.