Wedding Wednesday: Wedding Party Attire

I am in total disbelief that our wedding is in only FIVE short months. Just five!! That is so so so soon!! I am of course over the moon excited and cannot wait for the day to get here. I did a lot of wedding planning in the beginning but things started to slow down this winter. It is picking back up though and there is still lots to do! Our invitations have been ordered and are on the way to our house now. Justin's aunt has graciously offered to do the calligraphy so I will be talking to her about that this weekend. I can't wait to share the final product once they are sent to our guest!! 

On another note though.. Dresses, suits, ties.. oh my! We have narrowed down our wedding party outfits. You can see my inspiration post here. I was torn between navy and beige bridesmaid dresses but ultimately decided on navy dresses for the ladies and tan suits with Carolina blue seersucker ties for the guys. I am in love with the whole look of the outfits!! I choose an Alfred Angelou one shoulder dress in navy blue. Our wedding is in August so I decided on short dresses to keep the girls from getting too hot. We are going to pair the dresses with nude heels (everyone will wear their own so they will vary) and pearl earrings.  

Moving on to the fellas. Justin was so easy to work with as he was totally open and flexible to let me have the final say in the groom suit color. I decided on tan suits with blue seersucker ties and brown shoes. These pictures aren't exact but you get the idea... 

I hope you love the colors as much as I do!! I really think everything will hopefully pair well together. I'm trying to incorporate some southern touches in the wedding like- the seersucker ties, cotton, homemade jam, southern menu, hydrangeas.. etc. It seems like everything is really starting to come together. [Insert huge smile!! :) ] Happy Wednesday friends! 

and for fun- Here are me and some of my bridesmaids the day we went shopping for bridesmaid dresses. Love these girls!! 

Five on Friday

Happy Friday friends!  I'm linking up today for Five on Friday with DARCI, CHRISTINA, LIZ, and NATASHA. (Only I'm really doing a Four on Friday because the stomach flu has hit and taken any energy I have away to come up with one more thing.. ) 

One. 
Scarlet and Gold is offering a FREE calligraphy class. Did your heart just skip a beat like mine did? I've always wanted to learn calligraphy but have never taken a class or tried to teach myself. When I heard they would be offering a free online class I immediately signed up and purchased my supplies. I can't wait for the first session! If you are interested you can sign up here. 

Two.
I made fajita stuffed peppers for dinner one night this week and they were amazing. You can find the recipe here. I switched out the chicken for ground beef and the brown rice for quinoa. This is a new favorite in our house! 

Three.
Let it snow (pretty please!) NC had lots of snowy weather earlier this week. I mentioned we were out of school on Tuesday because of freezing rain. That's just not cutting it though! I want the real deal.. SNOW. Everywhere else in NC has gotten snow this winter except where I live. I'm so jealous of all the pictures my friends are sending me of the snow! I remain hopeful we will get some (maybe? just a little!). Justin and I started talking about snow and the conversation somehow led to "we need to do a snow dance" which led to googling "how to do a snow dance". While we were researching this important topic we learned some other fun ways to make it snow. Like, putting ice cubes on your front porch, putting a spoon under your pillow, put a white crayon in the freezer, run around your table 5 times, wear your pj's backwards, do a snow dance and flush an ice cube down the toilet. We may have completed ALL of these. Except the white crayon because I didn't have one. Even with all that, still no snow. I blame it on the crayon. 

Four. 
It looks like the stomach bug has made it way to our house. I was at a hair appointment yesterday when it hit me- worst timing ever right?! I had to leave with my hair still wet to go home. After a miserable evening and night I'm hoping the worst is over. 

Cleaning Stainless Steel

I absolutely love our stainless steel appliances but they have proven to be a pain to keep clean. Every time I clean them they end up streaky with water spots and fingerprints on them. I have been meaning to try out new ways of cleaning them and finally had the time on our snow day. (Which was really a sleet day because we have not gotten any snow..) 

I just used distilled vinegar and a drop of dish detergent. 

Combine a cup of the vinegar and a small squirt of dish detergent into a spray bottle and shake it up. Spray onto a microfiber rag (or any sponge but the microfiber ones don't scratch) and wipe down your appliance's going in the direction of the grain. I didn't realize it mattered which way you wipe but sure enough it does! 

Before 

Look at all of those water streaks! 

After 

Streaks are gone and they are shining like crazy! 

For tougher jobs with stainless steel pots and pans switch out the dish detergent for baking soda. It really does the trick! I went a little crazy cleaning everythingggg in the kitchen.. (refrigerator handles, sink, toaster, dish washer, etc).