The Greatest Day Ever: 11.13.15

I can’t believe our wedding day was already a week and a half ago! I thought I would be more upset that it’s over, especially after it went by so quickly, but married life is better than ever! The day started for me around 6 AM when I hopped in the shower and then headed over to Brian’s cousin’s house, Tricia, for her to do my hair. Let’s start off by saying Tricia is a saint (no pun intended) because she had dyed my hair the week before, as well as gone through multiple hair trials for me before the big day. She’s also home on maternity leave currently, so she did all this for me out of her home while taking care of two boys. She is awesome!! I got so many compliments on my hair and thanks to her mid-day fix (after my curls were falling from two many people hugging me and pulling on my veil during pictures haha) I had fabulous hair all day long! After that, I came home where Sabra was waiting for me to transform my face into wedding beauty and my stepdad was making me breakfast!

Brian came and picked me up to head to the temple at 8:30, and we met my Maid of Honor, Kimberly, at the temple at 9. I could not have gotten ready without her and it was so awesome to be there together with her in the temple for the first time since I’ve been able to do more than baptisms! Before our sealing, Brian and I got to sit and talk in one of the smaller sealing rooms, then our temple sealer, Brother Schultz, came in and talked with us. It didn’t seem real and I remember my hands were sweating and shaking because the big day was finally here!

Our temple sealing was absolutely beautiful. Kimberly and Brian’s mom sat beside us, and Brian’s dad and my uncle, Joe, were our witnesses. Brother Schultz had wonderful counsel for us and it was so nice to be able to look around and see all our friends and family there as well as Brian’s mission president and his wife, and a couple he lived with on his mission that holds a special place in his heart. We are so lucky they were all able to join us!

There is a specific line in the temple ordinance that is the covenant itself that must be read before we said our temple version of “I Do.” Brother Schultz had explained this to us before, and during, our time in our sealing, but Brian was too eager to marry me and wound up saying yes before the entire saying was read. It was quite amusing and everyone got a good laugh out of it. At least he said yes and not no!! I remember feeling so peaceful like everything in the world was completely right and the ceremony itself was so short, it was over too soon. 

I decided I was going to be traditional and not let Brian see me in my dress until the day of the wedding, so our photographers had Brian stand outside the temple on the opposite side as our family, so we could get the first look photos. It was perfect :) (Side note: Brian’s mom made my veil, lace with a pearl and diamond comb and blue rhinestones, for something blue, and it was GORGEOUS). Afterwards, we walked back through the temple to exit on the other side and greet all our friends and family! I was so lucky to have both my mom and stepdad, dad and stepmom, my grandma from Florida, my grandma from Maryland, my great aunt from Maryland, and all of my dad’s side of the family from Florida, Utah, and DC there! After many many family photos, bridal party photos, and individuals with bridesmaids and groomsmen, we hurried off to a church by Brian’s parents house for our ring ceremony and luncheon! With mostly all of my family (and all my immediate family) being non-members, we decided to have a ring ceremony in place of a traditional wedding so that all of our family would be present at a wedding for us as well. It was beautifully decorated thanks to both of our families who spent the evening before decking it all out for us. Brian’s uncle, Randy, performed the ceremony for us. He spoke about the temple and why we decided to be sealed and the significance, Brian and I exchanged vows (he totally teared up), and then we got to eat!

We had a small break before Brian and I had to be at the Grand View Reception Center for the big reception, and my dad’s side of the family was able to come and see our new house! Tricia touched up my hair, then we were off to Ogden again. Our reception at the Grand View was amazing! By 7 PM the place was packed with all our friends and family. We had a delicious crepe bar where everyone got to watch the crepe maker make the crepes in front of them and then filled them with their choice of toppings! Brian and I did not play nice and totally smashed cake all over each other’s faces. We did our first dance to our song, “My My Love” by Joshua Radin, our fathers gave speeches, I tossed my bouquet that my bridesmaid, Annalise, caught, and we had a grand time! Brian’s car was completely filled to the brim with balloons, the windows were decorated with the typical vulgarities, and they disconnected his battery so that when we thought we were finally getting out of there, we weren’t really going anywhere haha.

Everything went amazingly, and I couldn’t have been happier! We stayed the night Friday at the Silver King Resort and Lodge in Park City, and left for Jamaica for a week on Sunday! (That will be a separate post). Thank you to all our incredible friends and family who helped with everything, we are so blessed to have you in our lives. Thank you for making our day incredible!!

MOH: Kimberly Parker

Bridesmaids: Kimmy Meyers, Annalise Bowen, Kate LaBree, Jessica Fox, Mariah Fox, Sabra Isaacson

Best Man: Randy Isaacson

Groomsmen: Wyatt Stringham, Zac Anderson, George Black, Glen Garner, Jacob Stringham, Adam Bonsteel

Cake/Cupcake Tower: My Sweet Cakes by Maureen (chocolate with fudge filling and whipped topping & strawberry cake with guava filling and buttercream icing)

Flowers: Floral Innovations by Raelyn Boman

Photography: That’s A Pretty Picture Photography, Tampa, FL (Alicia Johnson)

Calder Photography, Ogden, UT (Aneisa Calder)

Dress: Allure Bridal at Fantasy Bridal in Murray, UT

Reception Venue: The Grand View Reception and Event Center in Ogden, UT

Reception Catering: The Crepe Man (I literally don’t even know his real name)

 

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NEW CARPET, Bridal Shower, Halloween, & Bachelorette!

If I don’t write this now, I have no clue when I will get around to it! Our house renovations before the wedding are finally complete! And have been for 2 weeks now, but we’ve been pretty busy!

I am attaching pictures of our home with it’s fresh carpet and paint, pretty much unfurnished as we’re about to set everything up for company this week!

Somehow with everything that’s going on we’ve still managed to have some fun!

The week before Halloween, Brian and I went to Lagoon’s Friday Night Frightmares with Randy and Sabra and rode their newest (and biggest) roller coaster, Cannibal. It was nice, it’s the only real rollercoaster that Utah has, so I’m glad it finally opened. I miss my east coast amusement parks!

Another day that week we also went to a corn maze with Wyatt and Adrienne and it was a blast! It finally made things feel more like autumn. Brian and I carved pumpkins and got ready for our new carpet to be installed, and then Kevin and Amanda and the kids came for Halloween weekend! We were disappointed that our neighborhood didn’t have many trick-or-treaters so we wound up throwing in the towel and going down a few streets with Kevin, Amanda, and the boys.

On Halloween morning, my amazing mother-in-law and bridesmaids threw me a bridal shower and it was so fun!! We had incredible food, fun games, and we got so many incredible presents! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. :)

Last night, my amazing bridesmaids threw me a bachelorette party and it was wonderful. I am so lucky to have such incredible (and crazy) best friends!

The week and a half since then has flown by and we’ve just been getting ready for the wedding! Everything is all set thanks to Brian’s mom and all her help, and now we just get to get the house ready and wait for family to come in! Brian is trying to finish up all his homework for next week before we leave for Jamaica, so that keeps him busy.

Life is good and we are excited! The next post you’ll get from me will be after the wedding, so I’m sure I’ll have much more exciting stories, especially post honeymoon! Xo, The Future Mrs. Baldwin

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Playing Catch-Up

So much has been happening and I’m not quite sure where to even begin.

I’ve been waiting to post pictures of house updates, but as they’re taking much longer than anticipated, I don’t feel like waiting because I’ll ultimately forget about everything if I don’t post this soon. My last real post was September 28, so it’s almost been a month and with everything that’s going to be happening in the next 3 weeks, I better play catch up now!

So first of all, On September 30, Brian and I went cake tasting! Our florist, Raelyn Boman of Floral Innovations, gave us a recommendation of a woman that I’ve seen rave reviews about. Her name is Maureen Steel and she is the owner and baker for My Sweet Cakes. Luckily she lives 10 minutes away from us, so we went for our tasting after selecting 4 different cake flavors from a wide variety! First let me say, I was highly impressed. In each of the four cake flavors we had chosen, she had a mini cake (with fondant) and two cupcakes (with whipped icing and buttercream frosting) so that we could fully try every combination. Also, all the cakes and cupcakes were filled with their respective fillings. Brian and I left in a food coma, very happy with our cake choices!

The next day, October 1, I went and picked up my wedding dress! After minimal alterations, I tried it on and was pleased to find it fit absolutely perfectly!!! What a relief :)

The next day, October 2 was the Friday before General Conference, so what does that mean? MISSION REUNIONS! Brian and I drove to Orem to his mission president’s house for cake and mingling. I love meeting all his old mission companions and this time, I finally got to meet his famous trainer, and his beautiful wife. My favorite person there though had to be their 2 month old baby girl, Hunter, who is just the cutest thing ever!! Afterwards we went to Slab Pizza (a Provo favorite) and gorged out on delicious pizza. Saturday and Sunday was GC, so it was nice to have some free time to relax…. Just kidding, we don’t know how to relax, we like to fix the house.

The next Thursday, October 8, Sabra and I went to Bountiful in search of a temple dress because the following Thursday I went through the temple!! But I’m skipping ahead...

Saturday, October 10, my friend from work, Aneisa (our second photographer for the wedding, Calder Photography) did my bridals!! She and I and my friend Jessica (Fox, I don’t have multiple personalities) went up to Tony’s Grove in Logan Canyon for them and they look so good!! I’ve already gotten them back and I actually have a bunch of photos that I love! Which is really saying a lot since I hate most pictures of myself. I can't wait until after the wedding so I can post them all!!

While we were off having a girl’s day and taking my pictures, Brian and his dad and some friends were working hard at our house ripping out all the main floor carpet and laminate tile from the living room and kitchen and laying hardwood floors! I’ll include before and after pictures. I AM IN LOVE WITH HOW THEY LOOK NOW. Brian gets a gold star and lots of kisses for his hard work :)

Tuesday, October 13 we had our final planning meeting at the Grand View Reception & Event Center and locked in our reception food…. Just wait, you’re all going to LOVE IT. 

Now to the good part. Thursday, October 15, I went to the temple with Brian, his parents, and JOE & JULIE. I’m the luckiest girl ever because they found a way to make it to Utah to go through the temple with me, which was a good thing because I think I would have had a nervous breakdown if Julie hadn’t been there with me through the whole thing. But in the end, it was the fear of the unknown and ultimately it wasn’t as weird as everyone said. It was really cool to learn more about the Creation and how we can return to our Father in Heaven. The blessings promised were beyond what I could have imagined and I feel so privileged to have had such a wonderful experience surrounded by all my incredible friends and family. I am so grateful to everyone who came with me that day.

Since then, life has just been a blur of last minute wedding planning and painting the house. At this point, all the painting is done and we’re almost ready for our new carpet that we purchased yesterday! They should be installing it at the beginning of November, or hopefully sooner! I will post pictures of the newly painted spare bedrooms and carpet after the carpet is installed! :) THREE WEEKS FROM TODAY I WILL BE MRS. BALDWIN!!! It’s almost here :)

When you look at this photo, you can see why all our floors needed to be replaced. Thanks for nothing, previous owners.

Sneak peak of my awesome new hardwood. Thank you, Brian :)

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Recipe: Loaded Baked Potato Soup in Bread Bowls

Eventually I hope to make myself a personal recipe book where I write down and decorate all my favorite recipes, but I have a new idea for now. As I'm about to be a newlywed, I think it's important that I start keeping track of recipes that Brian particularly loves. He always tells me that everything I make is amazing, but I know he likes to lie to make me feel better. So we've started a new program: what should go on the recipe blog.

I told him maybe I would start adding his very favorite recipes to my blog so I can keep track of what really turns out as successes and possibly share with others. I don't think I'm an expert by any means, but if there happens to be a recipe you'd like to try that you don't already have a go-to formula for, maybe you'd like to try mine! So, this weekend's success story was Loaded Baked Potato Soup! Per Brian's request, this is one I need to add to the books, so here it is:

Recipe:
1/4 c Diced bacon (or more if you have die hard bacon lovers)
5 Tbsp of butter
1/4 c flour
4 cups of milk
3-4 medium sized potatoes cut into cubes
1 c shredded cheddar
1/2 c sour cream
salt & pepper for taste

*about 4 servings*

Directions:
1. Cook the bacon separately and set aside on paper towels to drain all the grease off
2. In a medium pot, melt the butter and slowly add the flour, mixing it and letting it brown slightly (without getting dry and clumpy).
3. Slowly whisk in the milk, being careful not to heat it too quickly. (It sticks to the bottom super easy). Once all the milk is added, keep whisking as it thickens.
4. Add the potatoes and let the milk come to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer until the potatoes are soft.
5. Stir in the cheese and sour cream and add preference of salt and pepper. (I also had an idea to add a little cayenne pepper to add some spice).
6. Sprinkle with more cheese and the diced bacon. I served mine in bread bowls from the local bakery (because I was too lazy to make them myself) and it was DEEEEELICIOUS. If I do say so myself. (:

Also, the recipe I sort of followed mentioned adding some green scallions which also sounded yummy... But I forgot them at the store, so what can you do? 

If anyone happens to try this recipe, I would be interested in getting your feedback and letting me know how you liked it! No pressure, of course (:

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Ringing Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus!

When I was little, the circus would come to town (Baltimore) every year on my birthday weekend. I was obsessed with animals, especially my "ellie-pants" and going to the circus was the best treat I could have ever asked for on my birthday. I kept up with this tradition until I was 14 or 15, until I thought it was uncool to go to the circus for your teenage birthday.

I've decided it's not too uncool for me anymore.

About a month or so ago, I heard the circus was coming to town on the radio. I immediately freaked out and told Brian about it and said we should get tickets. Like everything else, if we don't buy tickets immediately, we forget about it and then when we remember, the event is over.

After a week or so I forgot about it and if I had remembered, I probably wouldn't have thought to still try to get tickets.

On Thursday night last week, Brian called me and asked if we had plans for the next evening. A few friends had asked us if we wanted to do something, but I knew he was asking if I had secretly planned any other urgent wedding events that he had to attend (which I don't make him do frequently) and when I said no, he said "good, because I got us tickets to the circus if you still want to go."

OF COURSE I DID. So we went and we were probably the only people (besides the couple that sat directly beside us) that didn't have children. But that's okay, because I'm sure the way I squealed when the elephants came out led everyone to believe I was a child.

There were camels, horses, elephants, tons of clowns and dancers, trapeze acrobats, a clown cannon, a guy in this spinning salt & pepper ride shaker thing (I don't know what it was but it was cool as he ran on the top of it as it spun in circles 50 feet off the ground), and lots of lions among other things. I admit it was slightly cheesy, and I won't make Brian suffer through it again until we have children, but it was a blast nonetheless. And since he had NEVER BEEN (....how is that even possible....), I'm super ecstatic he surprised me with tickets. 

Saturday, Sabra, Kate, Jessica and I went to the South Towne Bridal Show. We left in a sugar coma after incredible cupcakes, hours d'ouvres, drinks, and desserts. I was almost sad that I'm such an avid planner because when we got there, my accompanying bridal party looked at me and asked "what do you still need...?" To which I realized....... nothing. Well, except cake. But we have a consultation appointment for that on Wednesday night. So yeah, nothing.

It was nice to go and see everything, including the store where I bought my dress. I oohed and ahhed, but still appreciated that my dress was more beautiful than all the ones there and I have successfully planned everything as perfect as the examples, for about a quarter as much money ;)

Sunday, Brian and I went back to visit my ward and give out some invitations! I can't believe it's less than 7 weeks away now. It still seems forever away, but the fact that this week starts the beginning of October makes it better!

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House Photos: Because I Don't Have a Creative Name for this Post

I'm shocked I'm even allowing myself to post these photos since so much of the home is undecorated.. But here it is: our 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, first home!

#1: Brian took down the outside ivy for me on Saturday and the house looks so much better without it!

#2: Backyard view from the corner of the back patio.

#3: Cute little storage shed in the back yard.

#4: Our new patio furniture that we love. Not pictured: on sale umbrella and free canopy ;)

 #5: The part of the master bedroom that's clean. We painted our bedroom walls a bright blue like the ocean and love it. Pictured to the right: my walk in closet. Brian's clothes may end up in one of the spare bedroom closets...

#6: The side of my closet that's somewhat organized. Love having my walk-in closet, I wasn't willing to part with that when I moved out of my last apartment :)

#7: Master bathroom. Not pictured: the big storage closet on the left when you first walk in to the bathroom. I love having my own bathroom inside the bedroom. Makes me feel like a real adult.

#8: Spare bedroom number one. As you can see, the paint on the walls makes the room extremely dark. I'll be painting that in the near future... But both spare bedrooms have full, double-door closets!

 #9: Spare bedroom number two. I'm threatening to leave the walls pink and make this room Brian's man cave :)

#10: Spare bathroom. Undecorated... probably for the next month and a half until it needs to be prepped for wedding company!

 #11: One side of the kitchen. Future projects include adding tile backsplash above the oven, painting the walls and cabinets, and replacing the floor.

#12: Other side of the kitchen. They built on to the kitchen and added extra pantry storage which is very nice. The door on the right leads to the back yard.

#13: Front view of living room from the front right corner of the house. The kitchen is in the back of the downstairs. The front door and steps leading upstairs are to the left. Gray walls were painted by us.

#14: View of the living room from the front landing of the stairs. (With lots of unpacked items)

 I'm so excited to continue painting and decorating. The home isn't huge, but is very spacious and it seems there is a place to put everything! I'm loving decorating and planning :)

Not pictured: interior of our garage.

Please contact me directly for our address!

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The Changing of the Seasons... and Residences

A lot has happened since my last post… We officially closed on our house and I moved in on Sunday, September 13, exactly two months before our wedding date! The previous tenants didn’t have to be out until Sunday, but we lucked out and they quickly moved their stuff and were out of the house on Saturday night. Saturday morning, Brian’s amazing friends Zack and Tyler came down to Salt Lake City with him and loaded my entire apartment into his uncle’s enclosed trailer. Brian joked that returned missionaries are basically professional movers, and he is totally right. We could start a business…

At 8:30 PM, Brian and I, along with the greatest friends ever Randy and Sabra, started painting. My goal was to have the living room and master bedroom painted before I moved my stuff in, everything else could wait. Thanks to the help from Randy and Sabra, we had everything painted by 2:30 AM. Sunday after church, we did some light cleaning and then Tyler and Brian’s friend Glen came over and helped move all my furniture in so I was ready to go! It’s been 3 days and I’m already loving the reduced commute time to Ogden. 

I have a million things I want to do before the wedding, like paint the spare bedrooms before company comes and decorate the spare bathroom. It’s so much fun to have your own home to decorate! It is so nice because the house was ready for us to move in, nothing HAD to be done before we could. But I’m having fun planning how I’m going to redo the kitchen and all the ways I want to make the house ours over the coming years… which includes putting hard wood flooring in the main level and redoing the kitchen tile floor and adding a tile backsplash aha.

With the house out of the way, we have time to focus on the wedding again. It feels like there’s still so much to plan, but really it’s just scheduling last minute details and a few minor purchases! 

I’m holding off on putting up other pictures of the home until I can get it better decorated and organized… and until Brian rips down the massive Jumanji-like ivy growing up the front of our home! 

 We were so lucky to have such an easy home buying experience. Our realtor, Ruth Ann Beardsley, completely helped us through the process, recommended the best home lender, was thorough in showing us a billion homes, sending us tons of listings, and negotiating with the other party when the appraisal came back. We highly recommend her to anyone looking for homes in the Ogden area!!

Our home inspector was a friend of Brian’s who did an amazing job, was completely thorough, and gave us valuable recommendations. Our title officer is my manager at work’s wife, Carrie. I love Carrie anyway, but she went above and beyond to make sure everything was taken care of and closed quickly in our settlement. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful family and friends who helped make this purchase and move go so smoothly.

If someone had told me a year ago that I would be a home owner by the end of summer 2015, I would have said they were crazy. But here we are! I can’t believe how incredible things have turned out for us. This has truly been the greatest year of my life so far.

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