Weddings and Parties

Yesterday was just an all around AWESOME day! It started off with my sister Sarah, Kristi, and I going shopping for wedding stuff. We started at Chambersburg Mall to look for dresses for both weddings. We found an adorable yellow, blue, and red plaid dress for Kris for Sarah's wedding at Burlington Coat Factory (I seriously forgot how much I LOVE that place). And the bonus--It was on sale for uber cheap!! It's a cotton dress so it'll definitely be good for Sarah's summer wedding at the beach. We also found Kris and Kate's dresses for my wedding. By finding those dresses, I finally settled on colors. I was originally going to do pink and green and more of a pastel palette. But, as I was looking for flowers a few weeks ago, I found this beautiful bouquet that had a dark but bright pink and a brighter orange that was gorgeous so I've been keeping the orange-and-pink combination in the back of my head. Well, after finding these dresses, I totally decided to go for it. They're bright and fun and totally my personality. I unfortunately don't have a picture but as soon as I pick them up, I'll take one. They have orange satin with a pink sheer overlay. The bust area is pleated and there are three flowers underneath. The bottom has a matching satin trim. They are seriously g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s. The other really awesome thing about them is that they are dressy enough for our wedding but casual enough to be worn again which is something I totally wanted. And, here's the best part about it--they're only $25! Score!! Anyway... So the flowers I chose are an orange tiger lily with pink center, green gerbera daisy, and small white flower (don't know the name) with very light pink tips. They look great together and really tie in all the colors I wanted to include.

Of course the bouquets will be bigger but I like the simplicity of just these three in a single vase sitting on top of a mirror as centerpieces. We're not having a traditional reception so I don't feel the decorations should be traditional. :-) Sarah found all the flowers for her wedding and she had a great idea of using her and the bridesmaids bouquets as part of the centerpieces. That'll definitely save money in the long run! All the flowers were found at Michael's and most were 40% off. I totally love a steal!

Moving on to business... Not much has gotten done this week. I was uber swamped with school work and getting the rec room ready for our SB party. However, I'll be cracking down this week by checking out some lead options as well as mailing out my letters. I'll also be finalizing the date of my tasting for TSFL and contacting my business coaches to help with that. I'm really getting excited about these businesses! I definitely have to give props to my friend (and wedding photographer/fellow knitter). She has been starting her own business this year and blogs about her progress. It really inspires me to stay on track with my own, so thanks a bunch Casey!!

School has been interesting to say the least. I have a 95% in management and I'm really enjoying the class. I find the reading fascinating and informative so I'm not having any problems with it. I am, however, having some major issues with international business. So much so, that I actually called my academic counselor and professor to see what my options are for retaking it at a later date (but not so late that it would push back graduation). My professor gave me some tips to help with studying. I've honestly, in my entire school career, never had this amount of trouble with a course--not even AP US History. So this is definitely a new experience. I have until the end of this week to decide if I'm going to drop the course. I'm going to see how the assignments go this week and take it from there. IDK... I really wish I didn't need this class in order to graduate. Such is life...

Yesterday we our SB party and although the Steelers didn't win, we all had a really great time. We had about 12 people who came to hang. I made some really awesome, super healthy food, if I do say so myself. My friend Mel gave me a recipe for buffalo chicken dip (I love spicy food)! You can get the recipe for Frank's Redhot Buffalo Chicken Dip here. Here were my modifications for making it healthier: substitute fat-free cream cheese, fat-free ranch, fat-free mozzarella cheese, and grilled chicken breast. Our WalMart didn't have the Frank's hot sauce so I substituted Texas Pete's original hot sauce. I served it with celery and reduced-fat wheat thins. The other dip I created came from Alison Sweeney's website (for those of you who don't know her, she's Sami on Days and the host of The Biggest Loser. If you don't know who that is, well I can't help you!). Click here for the recipe. The one I made was the yogurt and seasoning dip. I couldn't find fat-free greek yogurt, so I just used regular fat-free yogurt. I didn't measure the seasonings but did it to taste. I served this with celery, carrots, and potato chips brought by the guests. I'm a Hellavugood French Onion dip fan but I have to say, I would take the dip I made over theirs any day! I was really surprised at the taste.

I guess that's enough for one day... Until next time, much love and many blessings!

♥Courtney♥

P.S. If you want to find out my latest project, check out On My Needles!