october reads

image by Bonnie Barton from @flashesofstyle

I read five books this month, which is one a week, so I’ll give myself a virtual high five for that. With the holidays coming up I don’t know how much I’ll be able to read, so I've been devouring books this month. I lucked out, and every book I read this month I enjoyed, which doesn't happen often!

The Round House by Louise Erdrich | I learned a lot from this book about Native American tribes and their jurisdiction, which was interesting. The book tells the story of 14-year old Joe, whose mother is brutally raped. She remains silent about the identity of her attacker, and so Joe and his friends take it into their own hands to find out who committed the crime.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach | This is the perfect book to read in October, since it’s about dead bodies. I enjoyed this book, surprisingly. I don’t do well with gory imagery, but this book did a good job of handling the subject without getting too graphic, and it was humorous at times. The author brought up some interesting points about the morality of using human remains for science, and really made me think.

Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s “Learned” by Lena Dunham | I may be in the minority by saying that I really do like Lena Dunham. I am well aware of why people don’t like her, but I love the show Girls and therefore reading her…book (I hesitate to call it a novel, memoir, or even collection of short stories – it isn't organized well enough to be called any of them) seemed like the next step. I did enjoy it, but I felt like it was a bit all over the place, which I guess lends itself to her mental state.

The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards by Kristopher Jansma | This book has been labeled as “F. Scott Fitzgerald meets Wes Anderson” by The Village Voice, which I think is an accurate description. The writing is phenomenal, and the narrator, whose identity is never truly revealed, is unreliable, as is the story, which changes over time. I LOVE novels like this. After I finished, I wished that I knew someone who had read it too, so we could talk about it. It’s one of those books.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt | I enjoyed this one, but it is sad, so make sure you are prepared to cry. Multiple times. The pace of the novel was somewhat slow, but the author does a very good job of capturing the voice of a 14-year old girl. If you like coming of age novels, you'll like this book.

I’m going to dive into Written in my Own Heart's Blood next, which is part of the Outlander series (which is amazing, by the way). It's over 800+ pages, so it will take me quite a while to finish!

P.S. Happy Halloween! We're spending this Halloween at home, passing out candy to the kiddos in our apartment complex. This is the first year that we'll actually have trick or treaters, so I'm excited! Last year Matt and I dressed up as Amy and Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, ha!

choosing the bridal party

For me, choosing bridesmaids was one of the hardest things about the wedding planning process. Since I grew up in New Jersey, went to college in Virginia, lived in California for six months, and now live in North Carolina, my friends are literally all across the country (and world). I don’t have a close group of girlfriends a la Sex and the City, and none of my close friends live nearby. I knew that whoever said yes to be my bridesmaid would have to commit to a big financial obligation.

There were a couple things that I knew for sure that I wanted:

-          Not a huge wedding party. I wanted to keep the bridesmaid group down to either five or six girls.

-          Since my half-sisters are much older than me and I’m not really close to them, I wouldn’t include them in the wedding party.

-          Matt’s older sister Ashley and younger sister Kasey would be bridesmaids.

-          My friend Marielise from South Africa, who now lives in Los Angeles, would be a bridesmaid.

-          My friend Rachel from college would be a bridesmaid.

-          My cousin Lauren would be a bridesmaid.

I was down to a sizeable group of girls, but I didn’t have a Maid of Honor. I struggled with choosing a Maid of Honor for a few weeks before I finally decided that Kasey, Matt’s younger sister, would be my Maid of Honor. I chose her because out of the group of girls, she was the closest (Kasey attends college about an hour from me) and able to help me the most with wedding preparations. I also thought it would be a good way to become closer to one of my future sister-in-laws. J

Now I had to ask the girls.

In the old days, before Pinterest, a bride would take her friend out for coffee / lunch, or, if she lived far away, would call her up on the phone, and ask if she wanted to be a bridesmaid. Now, there is not so much an expectation but an obligation for the bride to give the bridesmaids little “Will you be my Bridesmaid?” gifts.

There is a lot of wedding stuff on Pinterest, but the “asking bridesmaid gifts” (not to be confused with the actual bridesmaid gifts) is something that I think is kind of cute. I ran the idea by my mom to make sure I wasn’t going too over the top, and she thought it was a good idea.

I found this DIY tote bag on Pinterest that matched one of the wedding colors, and went to C. Wonder and filled up each bag with a monogrammed mug, coasters, and Essie nail polish (with the idea that they could wear the color on the wedding day). I purchased these adorable cards from Rifle Paper Co. with information inside about the date, venue, dresses, accessories, etc.

I’m so glad that I took the time to make little gifts for the girls. They all seemed to really like them (Kasey cried when she received hers), and they were fun to put together. I’m putting together the bridesmaid gifts right now, and they are pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. I can’t wait to give them to the girls!

And in case you are wondering, Matt’s groomsmen are his brother Cooper (and Kasey’s twin) as Best Man, his childhood friend Travis, his high school friend Michael, his cycling friend Jonathan, and my cousin Frankie (Lauren’s brother).

Missed a Wedding Wednesday post? Here's our engagement story and choosing the colors.

october : currently

working on bridesmaid gifts – they are coming together and I am so excited!

listening to Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” on repeat.

making lists upon lists for the wedding.

loving North Carolina in the Fall.

feeling like a change is coming.

researching wedding cake vendors.

starting Tell the Wolves I’m Home.

wearing my Sam Edelman boots.

becoming better at blogging regularly.

enjoying daily walks after work with Matt.

deciding on the wedding ceremony recessional song.

apartment updates

Since we moved in to our apartment at the end of July, I've had a mental to-do list of things that I want to do to get it fully finished. I'm not one that likes to always be in the middle of a home decorating project, but I think it's the nature of my personality to always want to change things up.

This little corner of the living room is my favorite spot in the apartment (and Miss Kitty's).

I went and picked a side table a couple weeks ago at Target, and I love it. The flowers on the table died (of course, Miss Black Thumb over here), and so I'm thinking of putting a nice succulent there instead. 

The gallery wall is a work in progress. The pictures are all of Matt's European travels (with the exception of the Belgium water scene), blown up and framed with various frames that we either had around the apartment or bought cheap at Target or Michaels. I would like to go through our pictures from our vacation to London and Paris in May and add them to the wall as well. Also - the picture on the far left is a photo of Platform 9 3/4, ha! #harrypotternerd

In the bedroom, finding the right bedding was key for me. I love the look of a white bedspread, but unfortunately Miss Kitty's penchant for itching the fur off her body until she bleeds coupled with this being one of her favorite spots to sleep, causes for multiple washes. I try to put a fleece blanket down for her to sit on, but I think she doesn't sit on it sometimes just to spite me.

The sheets are from PBteen's Emily & Merritt collection and I LOVE them. They were a splurge, and backordered for months, but totally worth every penny. I love these heart sheets as well, but I think they may be a harder sell for Matt.

The accent pillows are from Caitlin Wilson Textiles. They were originally in the living room, but I moved them into the bedroom and I love the way they look with the gold sheets and the contrasting patterns.

I had to add a little bling to the room in the form of my lamp (from - where else? Target). I had the idea to use my kate spade book clutches as "books" on the nightstand, and to show them off. I love these clutches. They are a great conversation starter. The best is when I bring it out for date nights or hanging out with friends for a drink and people look at me strangely, like "Is that girl carrying a book around?" I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy The Great Gatsby one during one of their surprise sales. If the Emma one hits the surprise sale, I am jumping on it.

That Audrey Hepburn print is inspired by Gossip Girl (don't judge me), and I love that photo collection from Vogue.

Next up: I'm still working on another little corner of the living room. Our dining area is also very sad and bare - I'm thinking of adding a fiddle leaf fig tree and possibly a bar cart. Maybe this one?

color combinations

One of the first things that I started thinking about after I got engaged was a color combination. I know that right now the whole "blush pink and gold" wedding colors are overdone, but you can't deny that they are classic, romantic, and timeless. I kept looking through different color combinations and was drawn to weddings with those colors again and again, so it was obviously the only choice for me.

The color palette below was the closest that I could find to my colors of blush pink + gold + cream, with an accent color of deep pink saved for my shoes and my bouquet.

I don't have a theme for the wedding. I want the wedding to feel soft and romantic. I'm going to bring in my colors and ambient lighting to achieve this. Plus, it's a wedding, and what is more romantic than that?

I love the above color combination, except slightly more vibrant. Matt said it's very girly, but he's on board with it.

the m & b engagement

Our engagement story is pretty epic, if you ask me. After the tears, hugs, kisses, and smiles from the moment were over, Matt realized that he set the bar pretty high. But if there's anyone to set the bar high for all guys everywhere, it's Matt.

I could not have imagined, in my wildest dreams, a more perfect engagement for me. Here's the story, from the beginning:

After Matt passed his prelims in mid-November 2013 (a HUGE presentation that determines whether or not you can continue on in the PhD program at Duke), he decided that he wanted to propose while on a family vacation to Disney World, planned the first week of December. The trip had been planned for months, but since he didn't decide on proposing on the trip until a few weeks before we were leaving, he had a short amount of time to find a ring, etc.

Matt thought that only my parents knew about what he was planning on doing, but when we were actually in Disney World he found out that my aunt, uncle, and cousin all knew as well. No pressure! He got in contact with Steph, a friend of his brother's who works at Disney, to help. Matt had an idea to propose in front of Belle's castle, since Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie, but Steph suggested that he propose in a new attraction in Magic Kingdom called "Storytime with Belle,"* since the attraction ends in the library (my favorite part of the movie, for obvious reasons). Steph orchestrated, along with her supervisor and everyone else in that section of Magic Kingdom, for ride to be held up while Matt and I stayed behind in the library so Matt could propose.** After I said yes, Matt had arranged for Belle to come out for a special meet and greet.

The pictures are so dark because the lighting in the library was pretty bad. We had a Disney photographer who took some pictures but when we went to view them later, we found out that she didn't have her flash on, and so the pictures were terrible. And so it goes, right?

We found out later that it is very rare to meet Belle individually, as she is kept on a really tight schedule, which is funny, when you think about it. My proposal was so famous that Disney employees in other parks even heard about it! Everyone at Disney went above and beyond to help make Matt's proposal the best.

Afterward, we were given special "Just Engaged" buttons that we wore around for the rest of our trip. It was very cool to have numerous Disney employees and even other vacationers congratulate us and get so excited that we actually did engaged in Disney World. We were also given bride and groom Mickey Mouse ears, with "Mr. Howe" and "Mrs. Howe" embroidered on the back, which we wore on our last day there. Matt needed a little coaxing to wear his!

Needless to say, that vacation will go down as the best in one of my life.

photo by Samantha Floyd Photography

*Interesting Note: throughout the day Matt kept suggesting we go on that ride, but I was not interested in the slightest, saying it was "for little kids." He spent most of the day trying to convince me to even go on the ride.

**Interesting Note Number Two: I was pretty sick the day that Matt proposed. Like, sore throat, runny nose, headache, fever. He jokes that I wasn't in my right mind when I said yes, and that I suddenly became better once he pulled out the ring!