The Grand Adventures of Stinkeroni Swartz

It's a normal Sunday afternoon after church. We were preparing to have our in laws over for dinner so I was cleaning up and getting ready for dinner when I hear "Oh crap!" Outside our patio door near our shed was a skunk. Growing up on a farm, and later a golf course I was used to seeing them around but our neighborhood is not the place for a skunk, especially since it was inhabiting our shed area- which is our stray cat Beggar's home. After some internet searching for the best method to get rid of him, we decided that trapping and relocating would be the best thing especially since no babies were around, it seemed he was alone.

Fast forward to Wednesday and my brother comes to visit and brings my dad's skunk trap. He sets the trap up for me before he leaves and when Josh comes home we sit on the patio and watch the skunk dig up grubs and hope he goes for the cat food in the trap. After a while the skunk goes for it and by 9pm we have a trapped skunk. But that's when we realized we wouldn't be able to borrow a pick up truck until 8pm the following day so we cover the trap with a blanket and let him be.

The next day after work I had to check on him, I felt bad he was sitting in that cage for hours. I slowly pulled back the blanket making sure to not make any sudden loud noises or movements. He is just sitting there, looking sad and hungry so I cover the cage back up and grab some cat food. I sit down next to the cage and slowly pull the blanket away from a small section of the cage again. I show him I have food in my hands. Now, I have never actually bonded with a skunk so I was just hoping that what I was doing was showing him that I mean no harm and that I just want to help him. He seems to understand, but backs away. I slowly place one piece of cat food through the cage. He moves closer, smells it, eats it and backs off. I put another piece of food down, he does the same. At this point I decided we are probably going to be BFF's and he is totally accepting of me and wants to live in my house and snuggle with me on the couch while watching TV. I even named him Stinkeroni Swartz. I keep feeding him a few pieces at a time. After a while he backs away, uninterested in the food, so I figured he was full.

Fast forward a few hours, Josh is home from work and we are able to borrow a truck. We heard that if you relocate them less than 5ish miles from home they will find their way back, so we decide to drive him a good distance away, somewhere along the woods on 322 between Lebanon and Brickerville, nearish Mt. Gretna area. We back the car up into a place we thought looked good for a skunk, I take the skunk trap out of the back of the car and place it on the ground by the bed of the truck. Laying on the bed of the truck I open the trap and wait for my newly named best friend to find his new home. It took him a bit, but he ran out of the trap and right under the truck. Not the plan buddy. I get down from the truck bed and to find him sitting by the truck tire looking around. All of a sudden instead of running straight into the woods he runs across the road. You really suck at following the plans Mr. Stinkeroni Swartz. He darts across the road as I watch a truck approach. I jump up and down yelling "Run Stinkeroni Run!" He crosses the street, runs into the woods as the truck drives between us. He made it. Stinkeroni Swartz has made it to freedom!

He was a unique little guy, no black markings on his back. He sure was a cutie. I will miss the newest member of the Swartz family, but I know he is out there digging up the ground looking for grubs in a place far away from our house and our cat, who was pretty mad about losing his home for a few days.

I found this photo on the internet that looks a lot like Stinkeroni.

525,600 Minutes How Do You Measure, Measure A Year?

Has it only been one full year since I became Mrs. Swartz? The first year of wife life has been a whirlwind of amazingness. I did not know it was possible to fall in love with someone over and over again everyday, but some how Josh makes it easy. Some days I can't even fathom how someone could love me as much as Josh loves me. On days when I feel ugly, stupid, or worthless Josh always comes to my rescue and reminds me just how beautiful and lovely I really am. The only thing that could make him any better is if he liked Chipotle and singing along to Broadway soundtracks- he does like Hamilton though so that's a start! But in all seriousness I am so honored and blessed that I got to spend the last year of my life with this amazing human being, and I am so excited to see what the next 2, 5, 10, 25, 80 years have in store for us.

We want to thank all of our friends and family. We could not have had such a successful transition into adult married life without your love and your support. There are a handful of you adult-y adults out there that I look up to and I want thank you for being such great role models for us. My in-laws have helped us in so many ways from letting us borrow their ladder, their chainsaw, their power washer and more and for helping us with our landscaping, taking us  out to dinner or mini golfing or chocolate world and by just being encouraging, showing us love and being fantastic role models. To my parents who have done more for me than I think they realize. I can not thank them enough for the love and support they have shown me during my 23 years of life before I was married, and now they get to share that love with their son-in-law. Our married friends who have such strong, loving relationships with their significant others are role models for us, we love double dating or having you guys over for dinner (I was just mentioning to Josh the other day that we need to have our other married friends over more often). Our non-married friends who understand our new lives as a married couple and who still love us even if we don't get to get together as often as we'd like to. We are a part of a loving church family who has supported us as Josh took the role of youth pastor and they accepted me with open arms into KidzLife working with the babies and toddlers in the church. We are sincerely blessed to have all of you in our lives! You all have had your part in shaping us into who we are.

And I want to send a special thanks out to Josh. I always imagined what married life would be like, and he far exceeds anything I could have imagined. He is so loving, encouraging, sarcastic, and goofy. I love how he can make me smile and laugh when I've had a bad day, how he always asks me if something is wrong if have my pouty face on, how he sometimes makes goofy faces at me, how he uses me in sermon illustrations, how he is so forgiving when I forget to get him tea at the grocery store, how he hugs me after we've been apart for a few hours, how he snaps me back to reality when I get stuck in my dream world in my head, how he is so encouraging and passionate about everything he does. I am beyond blessed to have such a strong, godly, goofy, lovable man in my life. I love you Josh, to infinity and beyond.

Engagement Photo Winter of 2015

Wedding Day August 15, 2015

Animal Kingdom- The Dinosaur Ride!

Bringing Stitch home from our Honeymoon

At Tyler and Shyanne's wedding

Exploring the park!

Actually, I am Spiderman

The grill master 

                                   

Creation 2016

Avalon, NJ 2016

We're on a boat

Pirate Island Golf

Cape May County Zoo

Under the Avalon Pier

You can't take us seriously

 

Enjoy the Summer Sun. Turn Off Your A/C.

Hello! This will be a ranty post, so if you're not up for reading my rants turn back now. Anyone who follows me on Twitter or Facebook knows I HATE AIR CONDITIONING and tend to complain about it fairly often. Seriously, everyone spends all winter complaining about the cold and then as soon as it warms up and you can defrost and thaw you try to turn the indoors into a replica of January. It literally makes no sense. And for those of us stuck indoors all day when the sun is shining and the birds are chirping, we get no relief. My bones are still ice cold from the winter I feel like I haven't had a chance to dethaw yet. I sit at my desk on a beautiful 90 degree day in pants and a sweater and I still have goosebumps. I even became the office joke when I turned my space heater on in at the end of May. It's now July and my space heater is usually on for most of my work day. Why is this even a thing? I have a theory that A/C has made our society weak. If the temperature is just enough to make you sweat (the bodies way to naturally cool you down) everyone freaks out and runs towards the nearest indoor human refrigerator. Believe it or not sweating is SO good for you, read the benefits here.

I grew up in an old farm house with no central A/C. If the summers got too hot to handle we'd put window units in, and as a kid I enjoyed having a window unit in my bedroom on days that were just too hot but as I got older I used it less and less and started enjoying sleeping with the windows open, the fresh night air filling my room. And now that I live in a house with central A/C I so wish I could go back to enjoying summer with the fresh air coming through the windows, but  sadly my husband is a victim of air conditioning addiction (I love you Josh!)

I remember spending my summers running around outside all day in the sunshine, coming inside to rest, grabbing a popsicle, or homemade iced mint tea and letting my body cool down naturally. Today kids spend 10 minutes outside complain it's too hot and beg to go back inside to sit in the A/C in front of the TV. What is air conditioning doing to us? How did our ancestors survive without air conditioning? They worked outside all day in the summer sun, came into their electricity and air conditioning-less homes and they survived.

Even Europe thinks our air conditioning habits are ridiculous and a waste of energy. Read about that here. In 2014 I did a summer study abroad session in Italy. I lived in Florence on the 4th floor of an air conditioning-less building (elevators aren't as common there either) we climbed stairs all the way to the 4th floor multiple times a day in 80-90 degree heat. One a particular trip to Venice it got VERY hot (heat index was in the 100's) our hotel on that trip if I remember correctly had A/C but they didn't use it like they did in America. If I were to guess it was 100 degrees outside and about 85-90 degrees inside. Not to mention the energy

I just hope someday I can go somewhere in the summer (the movie theater, restaurants, grocery stores, etc.) and not worry about bringing a sweater along with me. I want to be able to wear shorts and a t-shirt to the movies, but if I don't wear jeans, socks and shoes (I can't even wear flipflops without my feet during into ice cubes) and a hoody my ability to concentrate on watching the movie disappears and all I can think about is how cold my feet are or how the hair on my legs had to have grown 3 inches in the first 15 minutes of the movie because the goosebumps on my legs are so cold they have their own set of goosebumps. I am just sick and tired of being cold in the summer not to mention I have so many cute shorts I haven't even worn yet and it's almost the end of July.

Ok rant over. But does anyone agree with me? Or am I just a crazy heat loving psycho?

More sources on America's air conditioning epidemic and other people who think like me:
http://gawker.com/5920245/air-conditioning-makes-you-weak
http://www.wisebread.com/turn-off-your-air-conditioning
https://gimmethegoodstuff.org/bad-air-conditioning/

Couples Who Inspire Me

At the end of this summer I will have been married for a year! It is crazy how much I have grown as an individual and as a wife in the past 10 or so months. I've learned a lot about love, commitment and sacrifice and I continue to keep learning more and more everyday. 

There are two couples I want to highlight in this blog post who continue to inspire and motivate me as I grow as a person and as a wife. Both of these couples come from fame and I admire how they use that platform in a positive way that does not depict the typical celebrity couples you see on E! News or TMZ. They love God first and foremost and understand the biblical principals of marriage. I think every couple out there could learn a few things from them so read on, and be inspired.

#1 Jeremy and Audrey Roloff

You may know Jeremy as the normal height brother on the reality show Little People Big World on TLC. Together, him and his wife Audrey run a blog called Beating 50 Percent, in their own words this blog is about "building better than average marriages, and giving more than 50% to your spouse. Let's be compelled to give more, serve more, learn more, play more, seek more, and love more, always more, as we share stories and insights from married couples around the world" With blog posts talking about Communication, Fighting, Family, Finances, Sex and more, their blog posts speak to just about every married couple no matter what their situations or circumstances are. 

Click the link HERE to visit their website and read through their blog. 

#2 Alexa and Carlos PenaVega

You may know Alexa and Carlos from Dancing With The Stars or Spy Kids or Big Time Rush. I think most people have hard of these two, but did you know they film video blog's? In their vlogs they show what an average day is like for them and they talk about movies, music, friends, family, their faith, food, traveling, the gym, and more! What I love about Carlos and Alexa is how real and open they are about, just about everything! Their vlogs are usually pretty long, so I included one below to automatically start at an amazing conversation they had about premarital sex and how they realized it was wrong and what they did to fix the mistakes of their past. These two always seem to be working hard to become the best person they can be for each other. These two are so real, raw and candid plus they seem like genuinely great people and I might be slightly jealous that I don't actually know them in person because they seem like they'd be such inspiring friends! Click HERE for the vlog.

I am sure as I continue to navigate through marriage and life I will find more inspiring couples, growing the list! 

People Who Inspire Me

I love happy people. I love people who want to do everything they can to make the world a better place. I love story tellers, motivators and inspirers. Here are a few people (the list is always growing) who currently inspire and motivate me!

1. Roald Dahl
Born in the UK in 1916 Roald Dahl is one of the best story tellers in the world. His works include classic hits such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach and so much more. His stories are adventurous, mysterious and sometimes dangerous. his writing style is unique, and he is always able to hold my attention and take me to a world far away.

2. Robby Novak
Robby Novak, who plays Kid President has a pretty amazing story. He has brittle bone disease which has caused him to have an incredible amount of broken bones, fractures and surgeries in his 12 years of life. His brother-in-law was impressed by his overly positive attitude and started filming him, creating Kid President. All he wants to do is make the world a better place and dance!

3. Mother Teresa

I think Mother Teresa is pretty high on most people's list of inspiring people. A nun and missionary, Mother Teresa lived most of her life in Calcutta, India. She served the poorest of the poor, building orphanages, hospitals, If you don't know much about Mother Teresa I suggest you research her, she is one of the most selfless person in the world. 

4. Shane Claiborne

Shane (an Eastern University Grad, GO EU!) is a Christian activist and author. He worked with Mother Teresa for a short time and now is the leader of The Simple Way in Philadelphia. He is known for advocating non-violence and serving the poor. 

Mango Blackberry Hempseed Smoothies

I recently discovered Hemp Seeds, and so far I love them! Hemp Seeds are known to be high in protein, reduce symptoms of PMS, reduce stress, aid in digestion, and may reduce risk of heart disease. I decided to try it out to reduce my stress, anxiety and PMS symptoms. I have been using them for 3 days now, in smoothies and in yogurt. While trying to find ways to use them I came up with this great recipe.

1/2 a mango cut into pieces
a handful of blackberries
(3-5) ice cubes
3/4 cup milk
1 tbsp hemp seeds (add up to 2 tbsp if desired, the more you use, the more of the nutty-hemp seed flavor you'll get)

Add all ingredients into a blender or nutri bullet and blend until all ingriedients are blended together.

ENJOY!

A Whole Half of a Year!

Yesterday was Josh and I's 6 month anniversary. I love that it was only a day after Valentines Day (Which we don't really celebrate anyway!) But I am still in disbelief that 1. I am a married woman and 2. I am married to Josh, an incredible and loving, caring man. I feel like I can't write this post without sounding totally cliche and love sick, but it's all so true. I really do fall more in love with him everyday, and he really is my best friend. *cue fireworks and doves*

I just wanted to take this time to Thank everyone who has supported Josh and I (mostly with your love, but sometimes with your money also, Thanks Mom and Dad!) Marriage is a hard transition, and we had some awesome people around to help us. First of all my parents, who spent so much time, energy and money helping me create the wedding of my dreams, you guys are awesome and I miss living with you. Next is my in laws. You guys rock. You didn't have to love me or accept me into the family, but you did (well before we even tied the knot!) You even let us live with you for the first month of our marriage until we could get into our place. Marriage may only be between two people, but it helps to have a whole group of incredible, loving people surrounding you. And next, our friends. You guys are great. We love having you all over to our house for dinner and games and movies and whatever else we do. Thank you all for your love, companionship and wine.

I am so excited to see what the next 6 months have in store for us, then it will be a whole year of wedded bliss!

My Grease Live! Review

Like most of the world last night, I sat comfortably on my couch, wrapped in a blanket, watching Grease Live!

I have always been into musicals. In high school I was in the dance troupe for Oklahoma!, Bye Bye Birdie, and Good News. I have also choreographed Footloose, and The Wizard of Oz since graduating. So naturally I was psyched when I heard about Grease Live! I was even more psyched when I read the cast line up. Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo, Julianne Hough as Sandy, Keke Palmer as Marty, Carly Rae Jepson as Frenchy, Aaron Tveit as Danny and Carlos Penavega as Kenicke. How can you go wrong with allstar cast like that? And then to top it off Didi Con played Vi! I don't think the show could have been casted any better.

The sets were incredible, the dancing was phenomenal, the costumes were colorful and perfect. I can't say enough good things about this production. But there were some cons I felt could have been done a little better or a little differently. The Greased Lightning scene, although a great scene and probably one of my favorites, I think could have had some kind of ode to the original choreography. You know, the pointing up and to the side move. I enjoyed the modern take on the scene and including girls in the dance, but as I was sitting on the couch my arms were doing the pointing movements from the original movie. It would have been cool to include even just once. One thing I thought this scene did incredibly well was the quick changes. It was insane how fast they changed from one outfit to another, and in my opinion everyone working on a car should wear a sparkly jumpsuit and break out into song and dance. 

Another scene I was not so thrilled with was the racing scene. This seems to be a theme throughout other reviews I've read as well. It looked too fake, you could tell the cars were not moving and the acting in this scene didn't seem up to par with the other scenes. However, I am not too sure how this scene could have been any different. There is only so much space on a movie lot it isn't like they could have actually been racing around the lot. But the effects were a little too cheesy in my opinion. Maybe making the camera a little less stable would have made it look a little rougher, giving it that racing feel. 

The last thing I wasn't the biggest fan of with this production was Mario Lopez both hosting it, and being in it. He only hosted the beginning, I would have liked to see someone who was not in the show hosting, or maybe not even having anyone to host. It isn't necessary to have anyone talking before the commercial breaks. 

My favorite scene of course was a toss up between the school dance scene and the carnival scene. These were my favorite scenes in the movie too. I just love scenes with high energy, lots of dancing and catchy songs that will be stuck in my head for days. And can we talk about Joe Jonas's band DNCE killing it as Johnny Casino and the Gamblers? Whoever did casting for this show needs to win an award. 

I just want to send out a huge THANK YOU to Fox, the cast and crew of the show and to anyone else who made this event happen. And I want to give Vanessa Hudgens a virtual hug. Girl, you ROCKED Rizzo all while going through what I can only imagine is one of the hardest moments of your life. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. Love you girl! 

I want to end with my suggestion for the next broadway turned TV live production. My vote goes to either West Side Story, Chicago or Bye Bye Birdie. I am already imagining Nick Jonas as Conrad Birdie. 

Broccoli Tomato Pesto Pasta Recipe

I have really been trying to be more creative in the kitchen. I follow a lot recipes I find on Pinterest, but with this dish I decided to try something that was based on a pinterest recipe, but with my own twist! I decided to add a sun-dried tomato

Ingredients:
2 cups pasta (any kind you like, I used Geminilli from Barilla brand)
1 tsp of minced garlic (I probably used a little more than this, but I LOVE garlic)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp pesto
2 cups grape tomatoes (cut in half)
2 cups broccoli florets
1 tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto sauce (Simply Enjoy brand, photo above, is delicious) OR you could always use sun dried tomatoes if you can't find the sauce.
1/2 cup (more or less, again this is personal preference) Shredded Parmesan Cheese
dash of Salt and Pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes


Directions
1. Cook pasta to package instructions
2. While pasta is cooking heat olive oil in large deep skillet
3. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds
4. Add 1 tbsp pesto and stir
5. Add grape tomatoes, let cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir and cook 1 more minute
6. Put tomatoes to one side of skillet making sure the empty side is directly above heat
7. Add broccoli. Cook the broccoli for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Remove from heat and add 1 tbsp pesto, sun-dried tomato pesto sauce, salt, pepper and red prepper flakes. stir together
9. Add the pasta and stir together. Let sit for a few minutes to marinate.
10. Serve and Enjoy!

Does This Post Offend You?

2015 was the year of being offended. Offended by the color of a cup, offended by someone else's beliefs, offended by a flag, offended by someone else being offended by something. Saying that it was ridiculous is an understatement. However, now that I look back and reflect on it all I realized something. Not many people were actually, truly, honestly offended. Someone vocalized their dislike for something and everyone jumps on them for being "offended" by it because they thought it was silly or stupid.

We are all allowed to not like things in life. We are allowed to have opinions. I am allowed to think that making a cup red is not festive enough when previous years said cup had snowflakes or snowmen on it. I am allowed to not agree with someone else's beliefs or lifestyle, but let me make something clear, this does NOT mean that I am in any way offended by it. It does not hurt or insult me that a corporation changed the color of their cup, or that someone else is living their life different from me or that someone is flying a flag that doesn't stand for something I believe in.

Let's all agree that we are allowed to like and dislike different things. But just because someone else does not like something that I like or they have a different opinion, does not mean they are offended by it. Let's all agree that we will stop using the word offended and just agree that it is ok to have different opinions.

Toothpaste

I am not totally against modern medicine, but I really try to educate myself and if I don't like certain chemicals or ingredients I try find alternatives. Lately, I've been researching toothpaste. Fluoride is one of the most common ingredients in toothpaste (it is also in most treated water) and it is extremely toxic to our bodies in high levels. I know this is a controversial argument and the other side of the argument states that fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral, so how is it bad for you? But asbestos is a mineral, and we all know how bad asbestos is for us. I have no doubt that between the amounts of fluoride in our hygiene products AND in our water supply we are being bombarded with way too much fluoride. In an effort to reduce the amount of fluoride I allow in my body I decided to make my own toothpaste.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 tsp baking soda

about 10-20 drops of peppermint essential oil

Place in a glass jar (a babyfood jar or small mason jar will do) and be careful spitting it down the drain, as the oil can build up in the drains. I prefer to spit it into a trashcan. 

Since there is a bit of baking soda it will taste a little salty. You can add some extra drops of peppermint oil, however you will never be able to match the flavor of traditional toothpastes, as they use artificial flavorings. 

So far in the few weeks I've been using it I don't have any complaints. My teeth feel just as clean as if I used regular toothpaste, but I know exactly what is going in my mouth and I don't have to worry about the toxicity. 

I post this to strongly urge everyone to ask questions. Don't just accept anything your doctor or your dentist tells you. Do your research and learn what ingredients are in the things you use everyday. Our bodies are important and we need to make sure we are treating them with  love and care, and that includes knowing what we put into them. 

For more information check out these links

6 Reasons to Start using Coconut Oil as Toothpaste

Does Fluoride Really Fight Cavities

fluoridealert

*EDIT Ok, so a friend of mine brought up a good point and I feel the need to include that here. Our bodies DO need fluoride, HOWEVER not in the amounts that most of us get it in (hence my above post). Fluoride is naturally occurring, but adding it to products is unnecessary since most people do get it from their water sources. I have city water where I live, so I know I am getting the amount I need, I don't need to add any more from the hygiene products I use. Fluoride is found in most water sources around the world, however water treatment plants often add even more fluoride, and that on top of using hygiene products with added fluoride can cause fluoride poisoning if you ingest too much of it. 

My Advice for Brides-to-Be

It seems Christmas is a popular time to get engaged (I got engaged over the holiday season as well). But now that the holidays have ended and life has gone back to normal, many newly engaged couples (congratulations!) will sit down and start to plan their big day. From a new wife who did an almost totally DIY wedding, here are my biggest words of advice for all the soon to be brides out there. Of course this is advice based on my experience, every bride and every wedding is totally different so what worked for me, might not work for you. But here is my advice, take it or leave it as you please.

1. Listen to your gut

You know what you want, or maybe you don't but you surely know better about what you want than your uncle's girlfriend's cousin who just got married. And now she is telling you exactly how your floral arrangements need to be designed because that is how she did it and she loved it, and exactly what color dress your bridesmaids should wear because her bridesmaids were blue but not just any blue, they were ocean blue, and there is no better color for a wedding than ocean blue. And that you NEED to use her hairdresser, because not other hairdresser will make you look as beautiful as her. But seriously, everyone will be giving you their opinion, listen to their advice, but do not feel like you need to take everyone's into consideration. Do what YOU want, ask people you trust, people who you know have the same style or vision you do, for their help and their advice. Your neighbor's aunt might have just attended this really cool wedding on a dinner cruise boat, but that doesn't mean she is the expert on weddings when she tells you that you absolutely need to have your wedding on a boat.

2. Splurge on the Photographer

I love photography, I am photographer by hobby. But I knew with my wedding I needed to hire a professional, not just a friend who is in art school taking a few photography courses. I did my research, found a few local photographers I liked, contacted each of them and rather than going with the cheapest, I went with the one who's photography style I liked and who's price was fair for what I was getting. Do not just go with the cheapest option, but find a photographer who you truly like. A lot of photographers also offer a "free" engagement session. This is always a great option because you can use those photos for Save the Dates, on your wedding website, etc. These photos will be what you will have after the day is long gone.

3. Cut Corners Where you can Without Sacrificing Quality

Find an aspect of your wedding that has the potential to be really expensive and brainstorm how to save money. You do not need a $10,000 dress to look beautiful, you don't need the most elegant diamond tiara you could possibly find. You can look absolutely stunning for less. This is somewhere I suggest cutting corners (of course, if this is top priority for you, you can find somewhere else to save) but for me this worked and I felt like a beautiful princess all day long! Another is by doing as much DIY as you can, or you are able to. Most of my wedding was DIY, which I know is not ideal for every bride, but one fun DIY project I think most people can do is the centerpieces. We took old candelabras, beautiful lanterns, etc. that we borrowed, found around our house or bought at thrift stores and used that as the main centerpiece and from there had tealight candles in eclectic jars around the rest of the table. If you plan far enough ahead you will have plenty of time to find the things you need at thrift stores, or from friends. Another word of advice for saving some money is wait for sales. I knew by March that I wanted to have burlap table runners, so I kept an eye out at Hobby Lobby for Burlap to go on sale, and when it did, I bought 10 or 12 rolls for half off!

4. Have Fun! 

The planning process can be stressful if you let it get to you, especially if you are bad at making decisions. But I promise that whatever decision you go with, it will be amazing. At the end of the day, you and your new husband or wife are married and in love and that is what matters. It doesn't matter if you decided not to do a cake cutting or decided to use purple flowers instead of yellow. What matters is that you had fun and you are in love. Don't stress, Seriously, don't. Don't worry what your Aunt Sally will think about the pink bridesmaids dresses because you know she hates pink. Don't worry about any of it, just enjoy the process, enjoy the day and enjoy your new life with your new husband or wife!