Give it up to God

     Give it up to God.  Surrender.  Admit defeat.  Wait for a sign.  Pray.  You can call it what you will, they are all the same thing.  In my darkest moments when I've hit the bottom and haven't a clue which direction to turn, I always seem to find myself doing these things.   .
     I think sometimes we cling to things that we want so badly, that we don't realize the real answers are right in front of our faces just begging to be discovered.  The moments of darkness in life serve to teach and lead us to better and brighter places than we could have imagined.  Sometimes we have to surrender to the will of the universe and trust that she will guide us in the right direction.    
     Tonight I give thanks for my eternal optimism.  Without it I would find myself in a hole too deep to climb from.  My heart hurts for the hard lessons I have had to learn in life, but soars in the overcoming of obstacles and the triumph over fears.  Tonight I choose to count the blessings and the love in my life and as for the rest of it...I choose to give it up to God.

Redwine Wedding Sneak-Peek

We are down to hours now, 66 to be exact!  In 66 hours we will become "the Redwines".  Being the crafty lady that I consider myself to be, I tried to use my talents and abilities whenever possible while preparing for our big day.  I've gotten some really awesome feedback from people about some of the things I've done, so Ive decided to share a little.  The rest will have to wait until after we tie the knot. 

My bouquet is made from vintage and vintage-esque brooches.  I gathered brooches ( and a few earrings) from thrift stores, boutiques, craft stores and grandmas.  There are approximately 40 pieces that I wired like a flower and put together like a normal floral bouquet.  There are pieces that belong(ed) to my mother, grandmothers and great grandmothers.  It includes, something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.  There is also an "R" to represent my new name, and a windmill brooch from my great grandmother who came here from the Netherlands with her family.( my grandma). 

The french veil, or fastener, I also handmade.  I always had hopes of wearing my Grandmothers wedding gown, but its a size 2 so.....  I took a piece of the lace from her dress and incorporated it in my veil with peacock feathers and french lace.  The feathers match the shoes that my bridesmaids and I are wearing.

That's all I can share for now, the rest is a surprise.  66 hours!

Here's to love!

Since the very beginning of this whole wedding extravaganza, I have held the position that I will not be one of those brides that gets all crazy and loses sight of whats important. With just 3 days until we tie the knot, I think I have done a pretty good job. I've only cried once, and can't say that I've really been all that stressed out.

I will admit however, that this last week as a "single" girl has really stretched the limits of my patience and my ability to handle stress. I'm not sure what it is, but I think there is some unknown inner thing in all women that goes a bit mad whenever a wedding is nearby.

I am hereby taking a big breath and thanking the universe for all the gifts in my life and for leading me down a path to the greatest gift of all, the love of my life...Gerald.

While I'm bittersweet over the fact that this experience is nearing its end, I am also so incredibly excited to marry the man of my dreams and share the special day with everyone we love. Here's to love, weddings and all the stuff that life is really about!