Bloominous DIY Flowers

I was compensated for this post with product and/or payment; however, opinions are 100% mine and as always, I would never recommend something to my readers that I wouldn't use myself.

Psst.. Can I let you in on a little secret?

Weddings are expensive. 

Like, really, really expensive. 

Even if you don't have an invitation calligrapher, designer silk gown, or a stellar Frank Sinatra cover artist performing at your reception, the numerous expenses can add up really quickly -- and you shouldn't have to throw away your dream wedding plans just because you can't afford it.

That's where my friends at Bloominous come in. 

Bloominous is your partner who understands easy (and afforable!) DIY flowers. What makes them so special? Well..

• The DIY experts at Bloominous design collections that are not only beautiful, but also really easy to arrange.
• The flowers come straight from the farm, ensuring your stems are fresh and cut-to-order.
• Included step-by-step pictorials make it easy to build a beautiful piece in just 15min.
• Bloominous de-thorns and proportions your flowers to save you time.
• Packages carefully packed and ship by Air to ensure freshness.

Pretty cool, huh?

The concept for Bloominous actually came about when one of the co-founders was getting married and experienced first hand the high cost of wedding flowers. After a year of research and design, Bloominous was born (you can read the whole story here) -- this just goes to show that they know first hand what goes into budgeting a wedding!

Confession: I'm not a DIYer (I've said it before and I'll say it again -- I have no talent when it comes to creating things.. except for cute babies, of course) so I was extremely nervous about the process. Folks; I was pleasantly surprised! 

My flowers were shipped on Thursday and arrived Friday morning via FedEx (I got a little too excited and opened the package before taking a picture.. oops!). 

The contents of the box (the Party Pop collection) 

The box comes complete with ribbons and pins to make your own bouquet! 

As you can see, the box came with stunning roses, instructions, flower food packet, and bouquet adornments. Brandon and I were both amazed at how fresh the flowers were (considering they'd been shipped over night) and how they managed to perk up even more after they were watered!

I was super nervous about trimming the roses incorrectly so my hot cameraman (AKA my hubby) stepped in to save the day!

I really cannot say enough good things about my Bloominous bouquet! They are truly the highest quality and most fragrant flowers I have ever had -- I really wish they'd been around when Brandon and I were married! If you're looking for incredible wedding flowers (or just high quality flowers in general), you need to give Bloominous a try! 

My beautiful Bloominous flowers make me want to renew my vows to Brandon (because that's what most people do after 27 months of marriage.. right?)! 

Mamma Nancy's Surprise Bachelorette Party!

Last weekend, my MIL (commonly known around these parts as "Mamma Nancy"), sister-in-law, and her family came to CO for a short visit and we had a wonderful time catching up with everyone, shopping, and showing off our new home.

Jackson LOVED spending time with his cousins--he and little Sara got along perfectly (he kept wanting to give her kisses and she loved holding "Baby")!

Nana's boy :)

One of the highlights of the weekend for me was getting to surprise Mamma Nanc with a little bachelorette party/girls evening! Nancy and her fiance are engaged and plan to be married by the end of this year so Britney (my SIL) and I wanted to make sure we got one last single lady shindig in before she tied the knot. 

Can you guess where we went/what you did?

If you answered strip club, you're wrong (though that would have been hilarious--I think Nancy was a little worried, ha!). 

We went and painted pottery at "Ceramics in the City" in LoDo!!

Our guest of honor getting her ID checked.

After we finished painting our masterpieces, we all signed the bottom of each others ceramics as a little keepsake to remember this special day. Congratulations to Mamma Nancy & Russell--we're so excited for you guys and love you very much!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Les Mis(souri) & the Prettiest Wedding Ever

ICYMI: Here is Part 1 of our vacation (The Great Tornado of 2014).

Thursday
Our alarms went off far too early Thursday morning.. after a good 3 1/2 hours of sleep, we were all up and getting ready to head to my Aunt Judy's house (the halfway mark to St. Louis and first stop of the road trip). Brandon's and my hope was that little Jackson would sleep the first 3 hours of the trip--well you know what they say about the best laid plans..

Bring on the bullet points and pictures.

• We drove a whopping hour before having to pull over so I could nurse Jax.
• Made it to Hays (which is where we hoped Jax would sleep to), went to close our old bank account, waited over a half hour for somebody to help us, (I) walked around with Jax, got frustrated & left, grabbed Arby's, and hopped back on the road. 
• Stopped in Salina to try closing our bank account again (there was another branch there)--waited only 10 minutes this time and got it closed. 
• Arrived at Aunt Judy & Uncle George's and chilled on the porch while we waited for the electricity to return (remember that little storm I mentioned? Yeah, they got it too). 
• Cheered and clapped when the electric guy came out to turn it back on.
• Dinner, visiting, and lots of laughing. 
• Jax's first sink bath!
  

  

  The best part of long road trips? Naps.

  

  Jackson and his Great Aunt Judy hit it off from the get-go!

  

  Aunt Judy's is one of my favorite places in the whole world.

  

  Aunt Judy, Jax, and Grammy (formerly known as Mimi--we're over it)

  

  Spoiled baby :)

Friday

• Another early wake-up call followed by goodbyes. 
• McDonalds stop in Kansas City. 
• Witnessed a drug transaction during a gas stop in Columbia, MO (the home of Brandon's beloved Mizzou.. ha). 
• Listened to Jackson scream bloody murder from the back seat during the final hour of the trip (we had to be in St. Louis for my friend's wedding rehearsal and were already cutting it close).
• Checked in to our beautiful hotel room, got ready, and let Jackson kick and play for about an hour.
• Wedding rehearsal/dinner for one of my dearest friends (and Jax's godmother), Turin. 
• Jackson's first time swimming! 
• Early to bed. 

Twizzlers: the official snack of any Annie road trip.

My boys in the room (we were greeted with beautiful goodie bags put together by mother-of-the-bride, Auntie Sharon).

I literally gasped when we walked into the church--it was breathtaking!!

Rehearsal dinner with Brandon, my mom, and our friends, the Porters (by the way, Nicole is crazy talented and makes the most beautiful signs and home decor--you MUST check out her shop! She designed amazing signs, favor bags, and centerpieces for the wedding).

The beautiful bride (center) and her maids.

Jackson has such a sweet and pretty god mamma!

Jax's first time in the pool! He didn't mind it too much--he enjoyed watching the other kids play.

Saturday

• Slept in (it was fabulous!) and enjoyed the hotel's yummy all you can eat breakfast.
• Took Jackson to hang out with the girls in Turin's hotel room. 
• Went to the salon and had my first ever blow out and makeover. 
• Headed to the church with the girls for pictures/to get ready. 
• Witnessed the beautiful wedding of Turin and Peter O'Brien. 
• Danced, drank champagne, and ate delicious cake at the reception.
• Headed back to the hotel at 11:30pm and crashed.

Tough life, kid.

During the blowout (before the makeover)..

..and after... I'm not a big makeup wearer and felt like Bette Davis in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane."

I cried when I saw Turin in her dress for the first time--stunning!!

Turin and her dad, Ross.

The DJ began talking right as we were snapping this pic.. hence the big eyes.

The O'Briens!

First dance.

The centerpieces were so pretty! The wheat was from Turin's family farm and the breadboards had both the Hansen's & O'Brien's brand printed on them.

You two look great with a baby.. *hint hint*

Circa 2007, 2013, & 2014

The wedding was gorgeous (I felt like I was in a Pinterest board the entire time!), the bride & groom were perfect, and the company was fabulous.. all the makings of a perfect wedding! 

Our time in St. Louis was way too short but we made so many memories that we will cherish forever. Thank you to Turin & Peter for including us in your special day--you two are perfect for each other and I can't wait to see what God has in store for you two!

Have a great weekend, everyone! I'll be back on Monday with Baby Jax's 6 month update!!

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage..

..well, you know the rest (Jessica and Tyler--take note :D)!

Brandon and I had such a wonderful time on our little babymoon in Wichita last weekend! We have been talking about going somewhere since finding out we were pregnant but time was never on our side (we'd talked about maybe taking a train to Chicago for a couple of days but neither of us could take that much time off from work--we'll just have to go another time and take Baby Sand!) so we thought going out of town for our friends wedding was the perfect opportunity for a mini, pre-baby vacation.

Here's what we did!

I want to apologize to our Wichita friends/family for not getting in touch prior to our trip--we weren't sure how we'd be on time since we had somewhat of a set schedule but we're planning on coming back very soon to see you!!

Friday

• Slept in a little bit, packed, and left town at around 11:30. 
• Stopped at a Perkins in McPherson (speaking of which, where have all the Perkins gone?! That place is delicious and I don't see them around much anymore) and had lunch. 
• Arrived in Wichita.
• Went to the Warren Theater to see "Gravity" in 3D (very good movie--I cried through most of it because I'm a hormonal sap). 
• Checked into our hotel that neighbored a Panera Bread, Chipotle, Walgreens, and hospital (in case I went into early labor which thankfully didn't happen).
• Walked 500 feet from our hotel entrance to said Panera Bread for dinner.
• Ate delicious salad and soup in our room while watching "Undercover Boss." 
• Crashed.

Here I am looking very pregnant in the fanciest movie theater bathroom I have ever washed my hands in.

I snapped this picture of B while I chilled on the super comfortable leather recliner. We stayed at the Wesley Inn which isn't anything fancy, but the price was extremely reasonable (which is great for me because I'm extremely stingy) and it had very good reviews. It was very, very clean and the staff was very friendly and accommodating--Brandon and I both highly recommend it!

Saturday

• Stayed up most of the night tossing and turning.
• Did a little Christmas shopping at the mall, Baby's R Us, Ross, and TJ Maxx.
• Lunch at Chipotle. 
• Nap!
• Attended Tyler and Jessica's beautiful wedding and reception at the Beechcraft Activity Center. 
• Visited with old college friends/professors. 
• Partied until 8:30.
• Headed back to the hotel to shower, put feet up, watch SNL, and sleep. 

All set for the wedding (I guess I could have closed the bathroom door.. oh well)!

Tyler's grooms cake (R2D2) was pretty epic--such a fun couple!

We sat and visited with my friends Dawna and Devin--you may remember their wedding from this post! Great catching up, you two!!

My handsome date.

Here I am with the stunning bride! We worked together on several occasions throughout college and I'm so glad we've kept in touch and have stayed friends--so happy for these two!

Yes, that would be my husband dancing with the groom.. 

The gorgeous centerpieces.

Sunday

• Woke up at 6:30 and headed downstairs to get breakfast (they had blueberry doughnuts in their continental breakfast buffet--we will most definitely stay there again!). 
• Left Wichita at around 9.
• Met our friend Josh (who lives north of Wichita) for lunch.
• Arrived home at 2:30 to a sassy cat, sleeping brother (who stayed all weekend with sassy cat), and comfortable bed.