the wedding

all photos by paige schaberg

Happy Thanksgiving

our wedding invitations

So I thought I'd share our wedding invitations on here since I spent a lot of time on these and I'm really happy with how they turned out.  I blurred out some information (kind of scared me a little to share all the details online).  I ended up designing these myself, using the silhouettes (this post is from 2009!) I took of us when Chaz and I first starting dating.  I took the silhouettes, decorated them with lace, paper, dried flower, twigs, twine and embroidered our wedding date then photographed that and edited the image and added the text on my computer.  I used this on-line printer for the invitations and RSVP cards which turned out nicely.  Their uncoated paper is pretty nice and they aren't too expensive.  I printed the direction cards at home on card stock to save some money and had my wonderful sister in Florida address them all since her handwriting is a million times better than mine.  It was the prefect touch!  Overall I'm happy with the design and I'm glad I stuck with it.  It's very 'us' and in the end that's all I really wanted.

Sesame

Fried pickles, beer, Chaz and Bean at Sesame. I love them.

An Experiment

So Chaz and I have started a year long experiment called, "Consumer Whore No More". For this experiment we have decided not buy anything new for the next year. This means no video games, movies, CDs, clothes, shoes, home decor, etc. We started this experiment for a few reasons. First of all we want to see if we can actually do it but really we want to start appreciating the things we already have and to start saving more money while living less frivolously. In addition to not buying anything new we've also limited the amount of times we can eat out (which is the difficult part, for me at least). Here are the rules we made up:

What is NOT Allowed

-No new items

What is Allowed

-Groceries (we might invest in a CSA share this fall)

-Medicine

-Items required for school and/or artistic endeavors

-Gifts for others & each other (such as birthdays and Christmas)

-Accepting gifts from others & each other

-Eating out

Chaz - 18x per year

Chaz & Nina - 12x per year

Nina - 12x per year

-Thrift store/ 2nd hand

-Pet items as needed

-Important Home Improvements

-Preexisting magazine or online subscriptions but no re-subscribing once expired

-Recreational activities, such as the movies or bowling

-Garden supplies

-Anything that is not frivolous, unnecessary, or junk.

So, over the next couple months or so I might limit myself on how much time I spend on the internet since most of my time is spent looking at fashion/style blogs or on-line window shopping. It's probably best I don't tempt myself or make myself depressed. But overall I think we can do it and that this experiment will be good for us.

Wish us Luck!

be back soon...

(in AL next to the Tenn River.)
Chaz and I have been on vacation for a week. Sorry about the lack of posts. I'll start up again soon, I promise.

the 4th

From our Fourth of July festivities. I forgot to post these before. We had a nice time...grilled in the backyard and then shot off fireworks. Oh, and we watched 'The Fly' which was really gross and entertaining. If you haven't seen it you should.

triangles and kittens

Last night Chaz and I ate cookies and played scrabble with some friends. We had a pleasant time at their place. They have two adorable kids and two adorable cats. It was almost too much! I'm definitely looking forward to doing it again soon!

Us

snow

Last night it snowed in Charleston. It hasn't snowed here in ten years! I was so happy, like a little kid. Chaz and I played around in the snow and made a snow bear. Of course, this morning all the snow melted but our snow bear is still kickin' it.

Counting down the days

Christmas is so soon!

A bundle of presents for Chaz under the tree.

Fall

Here are some scenes from the car. Chaz and I took a little road trip up to the northern part of the state over the weekend. I was amazed by all the colors. It was like patchwork. So vibrant even on a grey day.

A Nice Visit

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Last week my friend Chris visited from Birmingham. We had a good time eating lots of food, finding treasures at the flea market, and goofing around. I made Japanese food for everyone. My most successful attempt at making gyoza. Next time it'll be even better, I hope. The first time I tried I was so excited I forgot to add any kind of seasoning like salt, pepper, soy sauce, ginger. Needless to say, they were pretty bland. This time I made sure to add all the ingredients. We feasted like kings. It was nice having a visitor. I sure do miss my friends that have moved or live far away.

September

Chaz and I are both a year older this month. Me, 23. He, 25.
So far so good.


Sometimes when Chaz smiles he looks like a cartoon character. Cute.

Othello

Today is Chaz's birthday. This is what he got...



His name is Othello. He is a Black Moor.



And we love him.