I am so glad it is a short work week!!

I have already put in close to 4 hours of overtime and it is only Tuesday!! You know it is bad when you wake up on Monday already wishing it was Friday! I love the 4th of July. It has always been one of my favorite holidays to celebrate. I think it is because we usually would have bbq's or picnics, homemade ice cream was always made, and I loved the laid back atmosphere. Plus fireworks!! This year we are going to celebrate by going to the Missouri Wine Festival at The Elms. Several local wineries come in for you to sample their wines and purchase. They have bands playing all day long and local artists set up booths. It should be fun. Plus I will get to pack a picnic. I can't wait to just sit outside on an old quilt and catch up with family and friends. I am sure I will get some crafting done too. I am making all my bridesmaids gifts and am running out of time!

Tonight Scott is in Warrensburg practicing for an upcoming show him and a few of his old students are going to be putting on at the end of this month. I am going to set up on the couch and watch some old episodes of Sex and the City. I can never get tired of those shows. Season 6 is my all time favorite. I love Paris and all the fashion in the last few episodes. I haven't been able to make it through the last episode without crying. Do you love this show too? If so what season is your favorite? I hear they are in the works to make a second movie and I will be the first in line for it if that is true!!

So... 11 days until I am Mrs. Cox! I am so excited!!! On the way down we are going to stop in Springfield, MO so I can visit this place:

Red Velvet Art!!! I can not wait!! I am trying to decide what I am going to purchase because there is so much that I want. I know I definatly want some glasses. But I can't decide between these items:
**Okay well I am lame! I was going to post pictures of the items I was wanting to buy next weeknd but can't seem to figure out how you can do that. Can anyone give me pointers on how to post pictures from other sites? What are the rules and regulatios?

I love readig posts about things that inspire others and I want to do that too but I really need some guidance! So any help would be appreciated. Just leave the tips in the comment section or send me an email!

Well... I guess I should get to crafting. I won't be able to post the goodies that I am making for my lovely ladies but I will as soon as the wedding is over. We are going on a little road trip honeymoon and going to San Antonio Texas. (I will be taking the lap top with us to use wifi when possible.) I am excited to just get away with Scott. I am planning on making a lot of mixed cd's for our long journey. Any suggestions on music?? We have a pretty broad range of music we like but we are always looking for new sounds!!

I will leave you with another picture of Two Poots... In love... Happy Tuesday!!

I was feeling the LOVE!!

This weekend was a blast!! Kerry put together the most amazing bachelorette party!! It felt weird to have everyone get together and celebrate me. I got use to it pretty quickly though! Ha! Kerry got us a room at the Elms Resort in Excelsior Springs (Scott and I's hometown). This place has a lot of memories for us because Scott's mom worked there for years, our Proms were held there, and they had the coolest pools and hot tubs. Most of it has changed since then but it was great to be able to celebrate our upcoming marriage there. The guys and girls had seperate rooms but we all met up later to swim.

We started the evening with a seafood buffet! It was the first time I ever attempted to eat crab legs and I couldn't get enough of them!

After dinner we headed back up to our room to play games. Everyone had brought a pair of panties and they were hung all over the room. I had to go around and guess who brought what pair. I got so many cute ones!! Kerry also made this really cute game that gave facts about Scott and I. I then opened some gifts!!



My mom made a house number plaque out of mosaic. I can't wait to hang it up. She did such a great job. I also got a waffle iron, which I promplty made some gluten free blueberry waffles this morning. They were so YUMMY!! Scott's mom gave us a family heirloom quilt that her mother made. It is so beautiful and I am looking forward to displaying it in our home.

The best part of the evening was hanging out with my friends and getting to use the indoor track pool after hours. We were able to get in after they closed and could use it all night!! So much fun!!





We spent hours swimming and goofing around!




It was a night to remember!! Saturday I got to meet this little cutie at my cousin Amy's baby shower:

Carter Ashton is such a cutie pie! I couldn't get enough of him! It was great getting to catch up with my family.

Well... Scott and I are going to end our eventful weekend by snuggling on the couch and watching Grand Torino.


**No this is not Halloween...it was taken after one of Eightballs shows and it was very cold!!

XOXO
Amber

Heading out for a night on the town...

with my homies!!! I am so excited to have a girls night out. We are going to have a yummy dinner at The Elms and then spend the evening playing games and using the spa there. I will try and post pictures of the evening tomorrow.

We didn't get to actually cuddle and love on our new nephew yesterday because he will be in the nicu for a week. The little guy has to be under an oxygen hood until his lungs get a little stronger. Please say a little prayer for him. He is soooo stinkin cute!!

So I have gotten behind on posting pictures of Two Poots.... So here you go...





I hope everyone has a groovy and fun weekend.
XOXO
Amber

My list is getting shorter...

The wedding check list that is! We finished the invitations this weekend with the help of our friends Keith and Kerry! It couldn't have been done so quickly without their help. I think they turned out really good for doing them all by hand.


It feels so good to have that big tasks marked off!

This weekend is going to be crazy but so fun. Friday we are having a garage sale. Then that night our friends are throwing our bachelor and bachelorette parties for us. My friends have booked a suite at The Elms! I can't wait!!

Saturday I am attending a baby shower for my cousin Amy. Her and her husband Ryan recently adopted their son Carter. They live in Columbia, MO so I don't get to see them very often. I can't wait to catch up with my family and finally meet this little guy!! I am making him some cute goodies:


**I got these adorable embroidery patterns from Elsie's class I took a few months ago. I think I need to make myself something with the ship pattern. Love it!!!
**I made the bow that is in the last photo from a target bag. I found the link to this on my new favorite blog by Janel. This girl is super talented and seems like such a sweetie. Check out all her talent here: http://twocrazykidsinlove.blogspot.com/
I have been getting inspiration from her daily this week!!

Sunday is the Cox side of Scott's family reunion. This will be the first time meeting most of this side of his family. I am really looking forward to getting to know them. Tomorrow Scott and I have our second marriage counseling session. We are doing this along with the book The Five Love Languages. Tomorrow we will take the quiz to find out what our own love language is. Right now Scott thinks mine is gifts:) I don't think there is anything wrong with that!!

Oh... and we have a new nephew that was born today. Mr. Aiden Paul was born this morning. I can't wait to stop by and snuggle him a little!! Well...with a weekend like this I guess I should try and catch some zzzz's.

What are your plans for this weekend??
XOXO
Amber

Love is in the air!

Scott and I spent another evening at home working on invitations and listening to our favorite "radio" station on satellite called 40's on 40.(We like to dance around our living room to it, which usually means that our kitties scatter.) I will try and take some pictures of the invitations tomorrow. They are turning out just like I wanted them to!

I am so glad that tomorrow is Friday! Some things I would like to accomplish this weekend:

*Finish my dad's Father's Day Gift
*Start a new embroidery project for ME!!
*pick so many fresh blueberries that they last us all summer
*work on pricing more stuff for our garage sale (we ended up moving it to next weekend)
*watch New In Town and finish Revolutionary Road
*take an evening stroll
*Make yummy turkey burgers on the grill
*Enjoy a relaxing afternoon with our Fathers

And here is another picture of Two Poots:

Enjoying a fresh squeezed ice lemonade! Yum!!

XOXO
Amber

Dancing and Crafting the Night Away...

Well... I won't be dancing but I will be watching this for sure:


There is something about this show that has me glued every Wednesday and Thursday night to my couch. They have some crazy good dancers this season too! It is too soon to say who my favorite is, right now I have several. I won't just be sitting on my couch tonight though. Scott and I are going to be making our reception invitations. I have this vision of what I want them to look like so I am hoping I can create it! I am so thankful that Scott wants to be involved and help! I am a lucky gal.

Last night we went to one of my dearest friends house for dinner. I meet Lisa and Larry a little over a year ago and I don't know what I did without them. When they invite us over I feel like I am being treated like royalty. Larry is one of the best cooks I know! I am so excited that they are actually going to be able to come to Eureka Springs to see us get married. Anyway, Lisa's daughter just got married two weeks ago so her flower making skills were fresh. We ended up making all the boutonnière's, the bridesmaids bouquet's, and my bouquet, and they are beautiful.
It was getting dark so I didn't get a picture of the guys flowers.


The bottoms of the flowers will be wrapped in ribbon and they will be all done!
Thank you so much Lisa and Larry for all your help and hospitality. I love you!

Lisa you are not only one of my besties but you are a great concert pal too!! (We didn't care that Coldplay looked like ants...we still had a good time!)

Since our wedding is less than a month away and that is pretty much all I have on my mind, I am going to post an old picture of Scott and I on here everyday until the big day. I have so many favorites it will be hard to choose.


*This was taken at one of Eightballs first gigs, a glam rock cover band that Scott sings for. *

I hope everyone's week is going well.
XOXO
Amber

A Marvelous Monday...

As the wedding gets closer you are probably going to see more posts about all the crazy things that I try to cram in to one day! I am suprisingly calm as the day approaches. This last week I got some great etsy treats in the mail for our wedding day. For about a year I have been following Emily Frame's blog at: http://emilyframe.blogspot.com/. I love going there for fashion inspiration. Her and her husband are such a cute couple. So I was very excited to find out that she had started her own accessory line on etsy called MotleyHandMade. I was lucky enough to have her make me my hair piece for the big day.




She sent the cutest card along with it that said:
"Something old, something new, something Motley, something blue. We send our love and hope your big day is full of joy and laughter." I thought it was so sweet and I can't wait to wear it! I also got a necklace and earrings but forgot to take a picture. You can see them however in my etsy favorites in the right column of this blog. They are turquoise and red with birds!

My parets have been staying in Springfield,MO because my grandpa was in a motorcylce accident and is in the hospital there. He is doing a little better but will probably be in the hospital for awhile. Please keep him in your prayers. On there way home, however, they stopped at Red Velvet Art and brought me home this:



It made my night!!! So cute!

This week Scott and I have given ourselves a challenge. We are NOT going to the grocery store at all. We are going to try and make dinner with only the things we have on hand. We are hoping that this will help us save some money and not let the items we do have go to waste. Tonight we made shrimp tacos with mango and avocado salsa. It was so yummy!!




We are also going to try and eat salads for lunch all week!! I hope everyone had a great weekend! I am really looking forward to this week. We are having a garage sale on Saturday and feel like I am going to get a lot accomplished! I have made several lists and have already started marking things off. Such a good feeling! What is on your to do list this week?

XOXO
Amber

Lime Rickey Chickey Yumness and a Wedding Album

Tonight I made my favorite quick and yummy meal. It is called Lime Rickey Chickey and Buttered Almond Rice and I found it in an old issue of Everyday with Rachel Ray. I really think I could eat it once a week. I thought it would be rude of me to keep all this goodness to myself, so here is the recipe:



Lime Rickey Chicky & Buttered Almond Rice

1/4 cup honey
Juice of 2 limes, plus wedges for serving
1 tbsp bitters, such as Angostura
2 tbsp vegtable oil
1 1/2 pounds, chicken cutlets or tenders, sliced into thin strips
2 bunches scallions, sliced on an angle into 2 inch pieces
Salt and Pepper
1/2 Cup fresh or frozen green peas
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
One 6-ouce box of rice pilaf mix (I use brown rice instead)
1/4 cup almonds, toasted

1. In a small bowl, mix togeter the honey, lime juice and biters and stir to dissolve the honey.
2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat until smoking. Add the chicken and stir fry for 3 minutes. Add the scallions and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the honey sauce, toss for 1 minute to coat.
3. Stir in the peas and cilantro into the prepared rice. Add the nuts and fluff with fork.
4. Transfer the rice to a platter, using a slotted spoon, mound the chicken over the rice. Serve with the lime wedges.
ENJOY!!

And as promised I took some pictures of the album I made for Hannah and Skyler. They are the couple I am taking pictures of tomorrow. I hope they like it!






Hope everyone is able to have a great weekend!
XOXO
Amber

Up!

Another crazy week, but we were able to sneak in some fun last night. A group of us went to see Up! in 3-D!! This movie is so enduring! I laughed, I cried, I laughed, and I cried some more. It is one of the sweetest cartoons I have ever seen. I highly recommend in 3-D also.


Scott's Shakespeare Show was a success! I was so proud of him. I got teary eyed as soon as he came out on stage because I was so proud of him. The winery is ready to book another show, so if you missed this one there will be another one in the near future. After the show we all went to O'Malley's in Weston for dinner and drinks. Who knew we would get to see the World's Largest Ball of Twine!!




This weekend I am taking pictures at my first wedding. I am a little nervous, but it should be fun. I made a photo album for the couple and will post some pictures of it tomorrow. I also have to do some swimsuit shopping for our honeymoon. I am really wanting to find something like this:

Wish me luck!
XOXO
Amber