Wedding Plans

No, not my wedding. My sister in law, Tricia is getting married this coming June and I've volunteered to help with some of the decorations. I absolutely loved this part of planning my own wedding, but I understand how it can be overwhelming. Especially now that pinterest exists! You can get lost there looking at flowers and cakes and stuff for days. I did make a board with some ideas, but I wanted to share what I've been thinking here.

 We really like the look of the rustic wood for signs. I don't have a readily available source for old wood, so I found a tutorial online for how to age new wood to a gray color that I'm planning to try soon.

 I love the idea of doing some sort of photo backdrop like this, but on a smaller scale. Next step is to look at my local fabric stores to see if they have some sort of gauzy or chiffon type fabric I can cut in strips and hang from a dowel.

 This is an inspiration photo for the flower color scheme. Lots of white and some blush pink, with maybe a few green leaves mixed in.

 Tricia's fiance Dane is from Lexington, MI and apparently there is a birch forest somewhere around there that they have access to. I've already told them they must take me there some day. It sounds beautiful! Anyway, we have tossed around the idea of doing some candle holders or maybe some coasters made from birch to give as favors.

 I've always loved Rifle Paper Co. and these number cards fit our theme perfectly. These will be inspiration for the idea I have up my sleeve.

                                               All pics sourced on my Pinterest board
Last, but not least, this is the color of our bridesmaid dresses. It's a celadon green that will look great with the pink and white color scheme.

I have been in research mode for a while now, so I'm really looking forward to pulling everything together to start crafting. I can see why people want to be wedding planners for a living. It's so much fun!

Weekday Wanderings

It's hard to imagine not working. Not that staying home with my baby isn't work, but I mean getting in the car and driving to an office where I have a desk and I get to not be covered in spit up for at least 9 hours a day. I love my job. It's going to be very strange to leave this world I'm so comfortable in.

On the other hand, I'm super excited to be able to spend more time with my little Ellie-phant. She is at a fun age where she's learning a new dog trick practically every week (sit, roll over, speak, haha). I'm looking forward to being able to take her to a playground during the day, or splashing in a baby pool with her. I'm hoping she will continue to ride well in the car so we can go on little adventures together. That brings me to my main point. I don't want to be a stay at home mom in the sense that I'm constantly at home. I want to take advantage of our time in a new city and new state. I want to learn and see new places, and I want Ellie to experience all of that with me.

Weekday wanderings is something I thought up when I realized I get bored and feel spastic when I'm trapped at home too long (like this past ridiculously terrible winter). I'm planning to try to go somewhere new at least once a week while we're in PA so I don't lose all of my adult communication skills after being by myself with a baby all day every day. Like that commercial where the wife asks her husband if he had a good day at "worky jerky." Yeah, I don't want to be that mom.

So here's a list of some places I want to check out. Either on my own, or with any friends/family that should happen to be visiting.

Hershey Park
Hershey Zoo
Gettysburg
Valley Forge
King of Prussia Mall - HUGE seriously have you heard of it?!
Lancaster (Amish country)
York - lots of factory tours
Harrisburg
Every park in walking/practical driving distance
Bike trails
Allegheny Mountains
Ohiopyle State Park
Fallingwater
Brandywine Valley
The Poconos
Philadelphia

I'm sure there's a lot more to see and do, but this should be a good starting point. We are looking forward to our trip to Hershey next week to scout out possible places to rent, so fingers crossed we can put down a deposit while we're there.

We're also planning to check out Philadelphia and Fallingwater on our drive back home, so that should make it a fun little vacation.

Big News

I've been bursting to tell someone the biggest news! Now that I've finally told my boss (and my family knows), the rest of the world can know. We're moving to Pennsylvania! Ted will be done with residency in June, and has been accepted into an Allergy/Immunology program at Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA. For Ted, this means a drastic reduction in the number of hours he will be required to work in a week, and he will have fewer research projects, etc. to do on his own time at home.The program is 2 years long and by the end, he will be a board certified Allergist and FINALLY be able to join a practice, or whatever he ends up deciding to do for a "real job." 

 Images courtesy of google

For me, this move means quitting a job that I love, selling our house, leaving my friends and family behind, and becoming a stay at home mom to Eleanor for 2 years. These will be drastic changes for me, considering I've been working full time for the past 7 years, and I'm used to being able to support myself. Having never lived anywhere other than Michigan for my entire life, it will also be a bit of culture shock. There are plenty of days that it's really hard for me to leave Ellie at daycare and I feel like I'm missing a lot of her life, so part of me is excited to be able to spend more time with her. But part of me is worried about getting bored and feeling trapped. Mom problems...

For our family, it will mean more time together (Weekends! Holidays! Evenings!). It will mean new adventures in a new city in a new state. And hopefully lots of other states. The beauty of Hershey is the close proximity to many other cities I've been wanting to explore like New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, etc. We should hopefully be able to take several road trips and long weekends in different places while we're living there.

The biggest change for us will be the huge cut to our income, due to me quitting my job. We've talked about the possibility of me finding something part time, but I haven't decided anything yet. Since we're planners, we have been setting aside money for quite a while now to supplement our income for the time we're away. We should also hopefully have a decent cushion from selling our house, which I hope not to touch until we're ready to buy another (after we move back to MI). But - it'll be there if we need it for something important. 

So, we're in for some adventures coming soon!