wedding inpsiration.

so, i am now an unofficial wedding planner.  since my mom is getting married at the end of the year and i am not working full time, i am taking on the tasks of planning the nuptials as the maid of honor.  i am so excited [pinterest wasn't around when i got married] and starting to make an idea board, so we can plan just the right event.

here is a little of what we have so far.  the inspiration is largely coming from the time of year of the wedding - fall - and also from my mom's bedroom redo.  she is in the process of remodeling her bedroom, which used to be a rich plum color and very dark, to be light and airy.  it's been repainted white, with little chandeliers dotting the room and light linens everywhere.  very airy and romantic!

simple flowers, simple jar.

perfect for grown up couples!

simple and classy cake.

jar and fireflies invite.

very woodsy - and small.

candle and wood, very rustic.

it's all in the details.

i never planned a wedding before - including my own!  we had wedding planners, so i am very honored to be able to do this for my mom.  it's kind of the opposite of what most mothers & daughters go through i guess :)

happy thursday!

weekend with our favorite couple

hey friends! i don't know about you, but we had an awesome weekend.  we drove up to glenwood springs to hang out with one of our favorite couples ever.

it was a nice little getaway.  it has been so unbelievably busy around here that i can't even explain - or share just yet - everything that's been going on!  but all in good time my friends.  a great way to pass the time from homework and other stresses is drinking with friends i learned.

PI & LP

you know you get along too well when you both make goofy faces at the same time

the boys strutting

 

hope your weekend was as awesome as mine :)

we finished the weekend off with some tacos and mojitos with momma at a local el camino.  lots of big changes to discuss.  wish i could say more now... but it will have to wait just one more week folks!

happy sunday evening and i'll be back again soon!

october catch-up

well, i promised a blog post before the end of the month - so i guess i'm getting it in just in time!  it's been a crazy month, with finishing up one weekend class, starting a new weekend class, celebrating PI's birthday, and dealing with something new i am not at liberty to discuss just yet...

blowing out 28 candles

for PI's birthday, i booked a weekend getaway at the stanley hotel up in estes park.  it was perfect - from the halloween-esque atmosphere of the hotel.  it was the only weekend i had off between my two classes, so it was the perfect time for a little mountain escape.

it was such a relaxing time, and with fall the colors changing were gorgeous.  we got some pretty good pictures too.

 

elk just in front of the hotel our first afternoon

my shadow and the elk - soooo close!

maybe one of my favorite pictures of PI ever

evening at the state's biggest whiskey bar at the stanley

driving through the mountains on the way home

mountain goats in the way home

 

stopped for pumpkins on our way home

it was a lovely weekend.  i'll post some pics of our halloween costume tomorrow, and this weekend we are headed BACK up to the mountains to visit some friends of ours.

hope you are enjoying your fall as much as i am, and stay tuned friends...!

48 more days

til graduation! 

xoxo

high high #24

today was another amazing high of all highs.

that's right, president obama [again].  it was just last october that the first snow fell on the eve of obama's visit to my school, which was one of my highest of all highs.  my gf and i had front row seats standing spots and it was the most awesome thing ever to see a sitting president give a policy speech. 

well, he did it again.  the volunteers in northwest denver - which i have been a part of since july of last year - have been so amazing that the president came right to our very own sloan's lake to give a rally this morning after the debate.  and guess who got to volunteer?

 

helping direct traffic at 6am

yelling 'fired up, ready to go!' at supporters at 5am will wake you up!

 it was an awesome day, and i was so happy that philip came out to volunteer with me.  i had to convince him a little, but in the end he had a great time too.  some more pics of the day below.

the line right before the gates opened at 7:30am. we were still letting people in at 9:30.

 

 

gorgeous colors for the president!

ok, not a great shot.

turns out volunteers don't get the good spots.  but that's ok :)

freezing, tired, hungry, having to pee - but so happy to support our president.

i have to say, there were so many awesome things about this morning.  one of the things i loved most was seeing people in my community i knew as i took their tickets and helped them get in the doors.  i saw people from school, friends i volunteer with, and even my house rep [who greeted me with a hug and knew my name!].  it makes me so proud to be a part of my community - the work i have done over the past year with OFA has made us part of a community i didn't know before.  that's an amazing feeling to me.

i was so proud to have obama right here in our backyard.  i know how hard our supporters in this area have worked, and it was so fantastic to see how excited people in our neighborhood were to see him.  i think we represented the highlands well, and i like to think that he'll come back again sometime :)

but in true alaina fashion, here was my day:

• volunteer for four hours at obama's rally
• go to class
• go to work
• get my flu shot
• get my hair cut
• come home and cook dinner

all in a day's work.  but you know what?  i wouldn't change it for anything.  love love love my life right now, especially today.

til next time... :)

beer tasting party

hey friends!  hope you have had as awesome of a long holiday weekend as i have!  we decided to welcome in fall with a beer tasting party with some friends on saturday - and it turned out awesome.  pi had the awesome idea to make it like a wine tasting.  he told a bit about each beer we drank, poured it for people in tasting glasses, and we all tasted together and rated our favorite beers.  it was a brilliant idea and it worked out great.

of course i just loved hanging out with friends, the long weekend, and getting ready for fall - our favorite season.  the prep was pretty easy, it was just difficult to narrow down the beer we wanted to try.  for food, we put out some classed-up versions of classic beer food.  fresh pretzel rolls, three mustards for dipping, roasted turkey and honey glazed ham slices, jalapeno kettle chips, malt and vinegar kettle chips, smoked cheddar and gouda cheeses, and grilled bratwurst with fresh sourdough.

table setup

wheat, oats and a vinage seltzer bottle

the sunflowers in a german beer mug were perfect

tasting in full swing

two of our favorite people ever to hang out with

looking stuff up on her phone between tastings

j & r

josh & pi

starburst taste testing - do they all taste the same?

even brew made an appearance!

love this face :)

yes, we drank a LOT.

just for kicks, here was the menu:

beer

paragon dry dock apricot blonde

fuller smith ESB

avery the kaiser octoberfest

o'dell levity amber ale

samuel smith's oatmeal stout

elysian avatar jasmine IPA

he'brew rye double IPA

rogue chocolate stout

my favorite was definitely the jasmine IPA - i am obsessed with both of those things and it tasted like a flower explosion in my mouth.  i picked the he'brew beer because i had been wanting to try it for a long time, and i was glad i finally did.  everyone brought their own picks too, so there was much more sampling long after our samplers were gone.  

yesterday we had w stay the night so we slept in and then went to see the bourne legacy.  jeremy renner movies are kind of a tradition with us, as w & i are both lusting over him currently.  and we saw him in the new mission impossible on new year's eve last year and decided we love him.

today it's all about going to the market and getting out fall clothes!  the 70s are finally in sight and i couldn't be more excited.  oh, and i guess some homework too :)

til next time! 

a very good place.

feeling super awesome today.

a few days ago i had an epic breakdown about school. heading into this semester i was very optimistic about not having night classes - that was kind of rough the last two semesters. this semester classes are over my lunch hour at work, which i thought was kind of awesome. turns out its really difficult to switch mind sets back and forth from work to school to work to homework at night.

but i am finally in a good routine i think. weekend classes don't start til after labor day, so i don't know how long this will last, but it's good right now. the end is in sight. my classes are interesting. work is going well. fall is right around the corner. and there are LOTS of fun things coming up to look forward to each month to break down the semester into more manageable chunks:

1. beer tasting party this weekend! we are having a bunch of friends coming over saturday for a gourmet beer sampling, which means i am by this week getting the house ready. finishing up trim painting, pulling weeks, cleaning, putting out some fall decor,
2. my sister-in-law n is coming out in the middle of september! she's never been out before me we have some very fun plans and day trips on the agenda.
3. trip to nyc the weekend after n's visit! a wedding, meeting my little nephew for the first time and seeing all our family and friends. not to mention a welcome 5 days off of school and work.
4. trip for p's birthday in october! this one is a surprise, so i can't say anymore than that. but it's going to rock.
5. thanksgiving in la - and we are road tripping! sure it's a lot of time in the car, but with a stop in the mountains and possibly vegas (not to mention its at least $400 cheaper) its perfect. a week off from school and getting out of town.
6. and by december it's graduation time. done and done.

keeping my head up and my heart strong!

til next time...

fill in the blanks!

1.  my favorite thing to do on friday is   happy hour with friends. of course that would assume there is no school or work on saturdays... but that's the best thing for sure.

2.   this friday i am going out to dinner and a jazz club with my family!  my brother is here from boston again (whoooo!) so it's family all weekend - no school or work for me! :)

3.  the best thing about a weekend is  the relaxation and stress-free ambiance.  not having to do anything.  i love it when philip and i make use of our days and then rent a movie and order pizza... just no schedule. 

4. now that summer is almost over, i'm feeling  anxious and energized.  that means that school is almost over and the election is almost here!

5. the best thing i did this summer was  spend a lot of quality time with philip.  we got really close this summer (how can you get even close to someone you are married to?).  also getting classes over with.

6. the thing i'm looking forward to about fall is  the WEATHER!  i love wearing sweaters, drinking cocoa, and warming up in front of the fire.  we stock up on seasonal beer and make homemade green chili.  it's awesome.

7.  if i had to be stuck in one season for the rest of my life, i would choose  fall for sure.  my favorite.  the colors, the scenery, the smells and tastes.  we got married in fall because we both love it so much.

remember to head over to lauren's blog to play! 

have a GREAT weekend friends! xo