Japanese Botanical Gardens – Stayacation

We haven't been on our official honeymoon yet BUT we did take some time off work after the wedding to relax a bit.

The sad thing is that our week of relaxation turned into a week of laundry, cleaning, thank you note writing, wedding slide show making, wedding picture editing, oh yeah and work somehow snuck in there a bit. I couldn’t help myself!

I got a little upset the last few days of our “staycation”. The week had flown by and we had yet to do anything for ourselves. I felt like we got the shaft! The wedding was crazy busy, and now our little staycataion was quickly coming to an end.

We had to right our wrong so we headed out for an afternoon romp around the Japanese Gardens…..

No work
No laundry
No to do list

JUST US!

 

  

If you live in the DFW area the Japanese Gardens are a MUST! Trust me you’ll want to thank me after you go! I’ve been out there 4 times this year and I’m still not tired of it!

 

I took a million pictures of the Koi. Not only are they beautiful they’re funny too! Who would have thought fish could be funny. They do this little pouty mouth thing that makes you want to give them all your money.

 

Doesn’t this little guy look like I just stole his puppy?
I found myself apologizing to him but I had no idea why.

 

Wish I could tell you the name of this flower but I can’t. It sure is pretty though!

 

 

This stopped me in my tracks!
I loved how the sun was shining through the trees. It almost has a dreamy look to it.

 

Yet another pretty flower I can’t tell you the name of.

Warning: Don’t look at the next picture for too long
especially if you have motion sickness!

 

I think this is kind of neat but I can only look at it for a few seconds.

How I did this: I focused on the end of the tunnel, bumped my shutter speed down, and zoomed in while I snapped the shot.  A little trippy but neat.

 

We stayed at the Japanese Gardens until they kicked us out and ended our night with a big feast at Pappadeaux. Pappadeaux is our favorite restaurant and where we met 11 years ago.

While our little staycataion ended way too soon I was happy that we took some time for ourselves; even if it was just a day. 

 

Link in this post:
Ft Worth Botanical Gardens
Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen

Linking Up With:
The Anderson Crew

Back in the Groove

I’m finally starting to come out of my post wedding fog.

I’m almost caught up with my work.
My house is starting to look like people live in it, verses pigs.
I’m very close to being done with thank you cards and wedding announcements.

 

I’m starting to feel my spunk creep back in!

 

And you know what……
I’ve missed blogging!!! My mind is swarming with things I want to tell you.
I even made a “To Blog” list.

 

Here are a few things from my list:

*The Foods We Eat
*Japanese Garden Tour
*Laundry Room Facelift
*Summer Wardrobe
*Random Phone Pics, Post #2
*Organize, Organize, ORGANIZE
*Makeup Review Vlog
*New Years Resolution Check In
*We Had the BEST Movies When I was Kid
*Summer Reading List

See, lots and LOTS to blog about! I better get busy! I’ll be back tomorrow with a new post. I’m think I’m going to start with the “Japanese Garden Tour” first.

 

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Domestic Princess in Training is now on facebook. Find me by clicking HERE!
You can also find me blogging about photography HERE!

We Said “I Do”- Our Mandalay Bay Wedding Picture Slide Show

The wedding went off without a hitch!

No major issues!

The chapel was just as pretty as I hoped it would be.

I did my own makeup and was very happy with it! Before the wedding I envisioned messing it up moments before the ceremony and having to start all over….

but that didn’t happen. 

Kent looked handsome and my mom looked beautiful.

Everyone was happy!

Dinner was great and our guests were tickled with the selection.

Our cake was out of this world. I wasn’t expecting much since the cake was an afterthought added on at the very end of our planning stages but it was moist, delicious, and pretty! Dare I say the BEST wedding cake I’ve ever had!

I didn’t love my flowers but I also didn’t hate them. I thought Kent boutonniere looked great with his shirt and tie.

Oh and I didn’t faint OR cry……

until I said my vows, then I cried a little.

Wedding pictures…….

I’m not in love with them BUT I’m so happy we have them! I’m just more of a natural outdoor photography kind of gal. As y’all know I’m cheap and we had to pay a pretty penny to get the digital rights to them. Paying as much as we did for pictures that you’re not in love with stings a little but again I know when we’re wrinkly and grey we’ll be sooooo happy we have them!  

Our trip to Vegas was quick. I still feel like I’m trying to catch up on sleep and things have been super busy since we’ve been back.

We wish we had a little more time to play tourist while we were in Vegas but it gives us something to look forward to on our next Vegas trip! 

Kent and I have been on a little “staycation” this week. Although our free time has been spent running errands, writing thank you cards, editing pictures, and working on our wedding slide show we did sneak off on Thursday and take a little time for ourselves. I’ll post pictures of what we did on a later date.

We have several family members and friends that were unable to attend the wedding so Kent put together a little wedding picture slide show so we can share our BIG day with them.

I thought I would share it with YOU as well!!!

Turn the volume up to hear a couple of our favorite love songs.

Wedding Countdown

Source

In 3 days we will be on our way to Vegas!
In 4 days I’ll be a married gal!

I can’t believe the wedding is so close. It kind of snuck up on me. For some reason I was thinking we had more time. I still have a ton of things to take care of before we leave, little things but lots of them!

Things will be a little sparse around here until we get back but when we get back….watch out because I’m sure I’ll have loads of fun stories and pictures to share! Kent is going to put together a little video montage for our family members that are unable to attend. Once he gets that put together I’ll share it with ya!

 

The details of the wedding are kind of a surprise to us.

-We’ve never seen the chapel in person

-When choosing wedding flowers my choices were roses or a spring mix. I circled spring mix and told them the colors I would like. No idea what they’re going to look like

-We have a pianist playing during the ceremony but we’ve never actually heard him play before….that could be a mess.

-Didn’t get to taste the wedding cake or discuss the design. No clue what it’s going to look like.

But you know what….it’s all good! I kind of like that we have a few surprises in store for us and I like even more that I didn’t have to stress over the details!

 

Source

If you want to come along to Vegas with us but don’t want to fork over the cash for airfare I’ll be posting a POD (picture of the day) over on Domestic Princess in Training’s facebook page! It will be just like you’re right there with us! You can find it by my facebook page by clicking HERE and liking Domestic Princess in Training!

We have a lot of fun over there and it’s a great way for us to get
to know each other a little more!  

Links in this post:
-Find Domestic Princess in Training on Facebook: HERE
-Find Pinterest: HERE

Feeling Better

The last few days have been hard. My emotions have put me on one big rollercoaster; UP and down, and UP and down.

Friday was the hardest.

Kent went back to work and I was left alone for the 1st time in 10 years. Parker always keeps me company when I’m home. I think the loneliness has been one of the hardest things to stomach. It’s going to take some time.

Abby (our Chihuahua) has been in a bit of a funk. Parker was the leader and she followed his every move. He was her safety zone.

Abby comes from an abusive home and is supper skittish due to her past. Without Parker she has become more fearful even jumping when Kent and I make a quick move. Her potty breaks have been nonexistent. When we let her outside she just stays on the porch. She used to only go potty when Parker was out with her. Thank the lord that she also uses indoor potty pads or we would have a lot of mess on our hands. Leaving Abby home alone has been hard. She now starts whining and tries to rush out the door when we leave. Kent says it’s because she doesn’t want to be left alone. That breaks my heart. 

She is adjusting just as we are.

I started feeling more like myself on Saturday. I could talk about what happened without crying. I could look at Parker’s favorite toy, his food and water bowls, or the place he used to sleep without breaking down.

I still think I hear him bark every now and then and look for him when I open my eyes in the morning. He used to sleep on the floor next to my side of the bed. The 1st thing I did every morning was look for him. I still do it, out of habit I guess. Maybe my brain is still trying to grasp reality.

We planted a tree in Parker’s honor that we now refer to as “Parker’s Tree”. It makes me happy. Kent pulled Parker’s sign out of one of our flower beds and placed it under the tree making sure I can see it when I look out the kitchen window.

Kent has been such a rock for me. I’m so grateful to have such an amazing man in my life. I had clients come to the house on Friday for a newborn shoot. He insisted that I get some sleep and offered to pick the house up for me. Knowing that he had a 1am work call I felt awful having him clean but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. When I walked down the stairs the next morning the whole house was spotless.

Knowing just how much I love Parker Kent has always been fearful of the day that we would have to go through this. He hurts when I hurt but I couldn’t ask for better support. He’s been amazing and is the reason I’m doing so well today.  

 

We’ve had so much support from friends and family members; daily phone calls, text, cards, and flowers. Many of them loved Parker. They’ve cried right along with us. It warms my heart knowing how much he was loved not only by Kent and I but people that knew him as well. He was just one of those fun loving dogs that made everyone  feel like they were his best friend. Parker loved people more than dogs.

 

     Cards from friends

 

 

My heart still hurts and I break down every now and then but I’m laughing and smiling again. I miss him. I think I’ll always miss him but I know every day things will get easier.

 

Beautiful flowers from loved ones.

Thank you so much for all the sweet and encouraging comments. They mean a lot. I’m going to print them out and add them to my Project Life album so I can cherish them forever.

If you missed the post about Parker’s passing you can get caught up by clicking: HERE