The Conley Wedding

Over the weekend, one of my college roommates (and very best friends!) got married! Congratulations to the newlyweds: Hannah & David Conley! My sister and I had the honor of being her wedding coordinators, and we had a total blast organizing things and helping her all weekend. She was a beautiful bride, and everything went so smoothly from beginning to end. I wanted to share a few pictures from the weekend.

The weekend kicked off on Friday night with a lovely rehearsal at St. John United Methodist Church. Everyone did such a fantastic job at the rehearsal and made my job really easy! We followed up the rehearsal with a delicious dinner at Bridge Road Bistro. The dinner had a gnome theme... who knew David meant "friend of the gnome king!"

The next morning was when the real fun began! Hannah asked me to be her makeup artist for the big day and I was nervous/excited! She's such a beautiful girl though... again, my job was easy! Her makeup, hair, dress, veil and shoes all came together for a beautifully vintage modern look.

The wedding ceremony was beautiful (all written by Hannah and Dave!), and it was capped off with a kiss that was a "great success!" I love this picture, and I love the Best Man's reaction. So fun!

Last, but certainly not least, no wedding can be complete with a college roommate picture! Lindsay, Hannah, Emily and I spent two great years living together at Wesleyan, and there will be many more fun years to come as we all now live so close to each other.

It was a wonderful weekend celebrating Hannah and Dave, and we're all now looking forward to celebrating Lindsay and Chris in July!

Fortunes

I love to get fortunes from fortune cookies! Ever since I was little, I've made a game of picking out the right cookie. I love to "collect" my fortunes and put them in places that they can serve as good reminders. This is one that I got recently. I think it's pretty powerful! Another one that I got recently says, "Patience is the key to joy." So true for me!

Straight No Chaser performs Country Roads

Check out this video of Straight No Chaser performing Country Roads in Charleston, WV last night. Their show was absolutely amazing, and I highly encourage finding a tour stop near you! They performed music from a variety of genres, and they are great entertainers as well!

Enjoy a little Country Roads on your Wednesday morning :)

Friday Favorites

Today's Friday Favorites feature is Jamberry Nails. If you haven't caught up with this nail trend yet, you need to get on top of it. As my friend Hannah would say, prepare to have your mind blown! (Hannah is also my Jamberry Nails consultant!)

Decorative Coral

These things are so fun and easy! They come in little sheets that are rounded to meet your cuticle. You select the size that fits your nail best, heat it up with a hair dryer, press on, cut off the excess and file the end! Yep, it's that easy.

Birds

The above picture was my first solo application (I had help with the decorative coral!). It took me 20 minutes to do my nails, and I've received tons of compliments! Check out Hannah's website to see more fun styles and to order (this is not a paid endorsement!). Enjoy and happy Friday!

Paparazzi Life

My sister took this photo of me in Columbus last weekend. This was after she hijacked my camera and took about 10 others. In a weird way, I kind of love this picture!

My Favorite Books As Movies: The Hunger Games Review

I absolutely loved the Harry Potter books. I started reading the series when I was in middle school, and read the last book when it came out during the summer before my senior year of college. I read every single book in that series just as soon as they hit the shelves, and I loved every minute of it.

In contrast, I have never once seen one of the Harry Potter movies. Yep, you read that correctly... I've never seen a Harry Potter movie. In fact, I even look away when they show previews or movie clips on television. It's okay, my husband thinks I'm crazy too. The thing is, I have an image of the characters in my head. I've created mental images of the surroundings and the people and the events. I don't want that image to be tainted with the views of a filmmaker.

Fast forward to The Hunger Games. I read all three books in The Hunger Games trilogy probably faster than I've read any other books. I loved them! The suspense in those books is unlike any other, and the author has a way of just pulling you along with every twist and turn. My husband read the books first and after seeing a very brief clip of the movie, I knew I just had to get these books! Because I saw a clip of the movie before I read the book, that images helped shape my view of the book; therefore, it was okay to see the movie!

So, last night I ventured out to the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games with high hopes of cinematic genius. We got to the movie early, armed ourselves with soda and popcorn, and placed ourselves front and center for the premiere. Lights dimmed, film started rolling... and two and a half hours later I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. The images in the film were spectacular and so true to the book, but I felt like it strayed from the book in some disappointing ways (nothing overly drastic... just things that make you say, "Hey! Wait a minute!" You'll know what I mean when you see it...)

Overall, I recommend the movie, but read the book first! There are many parts of the movie that would have made absolutely no sense to me had I never read the books first, and in two and a half hours it's difficult to cram in all the details that make the book what it is. Read the book, see the movie, judge for yourself!

The Reading Room

Several months ago, I read Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I'm not sure why I'm just now getting around to reviewing it, because it's a really great book. In the book, Chan discusses our love for Christ. A lot of times as Christians, we have a hard time understanding that the God who created everything from jumbo jets to grains of sand could be in love with each and every one of us. And not just in love with us, but deeply in love with us... crazy in love with us. When you stop and think about it, it can almost take your breath away.

The book raises questions about why we find it so hard to love Christ the way he loves us. One review I read of the book said, "We go to church, we sing some songs, we try not to say cuss words, and just like that we're in love with Christ." It goes so far beyond that though... into the core of how we live our lives, what we think about, how we treat others, and the time we make available just for Christ. Think about it. What if you were in love with your husband/wife and never set aside any time to spend with him/her? Often times, that's how our love for Christ falls short.

I really like this book because it's spiritually renewing without being so theological that those of us who aren't pastors can't understand it! If you're looking for a book to renew your mind, body and spirit... I suggest this one! Happy reading!