Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Wedding Decor: Geronimo Balloons

Who knew helium would be such a big struggle during my wedding planning process. I don't think I ever cried because of it...(actually....I think I only cried like twice during the whole process....I have limited emotions....what can I say?) but they were a very stressful aspect of the wedding.

My little 2013 - Pinterest - wedding loving heart just could not NOT have giant balloons in her wedding!
I never thought that I would write a blog post about a chemical element....but here it goes.

The Helium: Helium is REALLY hard to find for decent prices. I called countless places trying to rent a tank but it was either way too expensive, or the company didn't have access to helium anymore.

In a perfect scenario, we would have blown up the balloons on site. Since we had 20 36 in. balloons (if you couldn't tell from pictures...my venue was HUGE!); it was going to be impossible to transport all of them to our venue without some geronimo fatalities. After many phone calls, we realized that our only option was to have them blown up off site and transport them ourselves (while holding our breath, of course). A lot of the decor and furniture was transported from Odessa to OKC, so we had an empty U-haul that we ended up using. Shockingly, that part was a success!

Since renting a tank was no longer an option, Homeland or Party Galaxy were what I had to choose between. I tried places like Dollar Tree but they would only blow up their own balloons, and wouldn't order what I wanted.

The Helium Source: Both Homeland and Party Galaxy would blow them up, but PG wasn't giving me straight answers on pricing or helium availability. Since I had such a large quantity of balloons, they were going to charge me more. So, Homeland it was. Plus they were willing to order the balloons for me! Score! (So I thought).

Issue #1: A few days before the wedding they called to let me know that instead of gold, they were sent silver balloons. In the grand scheme, not that big of a deal...but still, disappointing when you have a certain look in mind. Looking back at pictures, the silver balloons were fine. No one but me, my mom, or Tiffany and Taylor (our awesome planners) would have even known if I wasn't telling you now.

Issue #2: The other issue was that Homeland didn't fill the balloons up all of the way. Meaning that when we went to attach the tassels, they weighed the balloons down. That was frustrating, to say the least. Again, big scheme....no big deal. But it's one of the many reasons I wanted to blow up the balloons ourselves. So, we ended up having to pair the balloons in groups of 3 to be able to hold the weight of the tassels. (Tissue paper tassels, they were not very heavy in the first place!)

So, after saying all of that....here is what I WISH I had of done (or had the guts to have even tried!)...

Vintage Revivals bought these disposable tanks. They sell them at Hobby Lobby and Party Galaxy, and you might be able to use a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby. Anyways, according to the box and everyone I asked said that the tank would only fill up about 3 balloons, making it way too expensive to even attempt! Vintage Revivals said she got about 7 1/2 balloons filled with each tank. Too bad she wrote this post a few months after my wedding! Geez!

Balloons: Amazon has always been the best price I could find for the 36" balloons.

So, there you have it. What we did....where it went all wrong....and what I still wish I did today!

*I kind of feel like I should add to each Wedding related post that I realize all "complaints" are on the surface. None of these wrecked my wedding. I am still married and will remain married to my husband regardless of the outcome of some balloons, or the venue or any of the "pretty" things. I'm just sharing my experience with you, so that you don't make the same mistakes I did. Or you're reading because you have a general interest in my wedding planning process!* 

All photography by Caroline Rentzel.

 








Sunday, March 22, 2015

Pursue: A Holiday Workshop (Part II)

A few months ago I shared with you about how much fun I had at Pursue's Holiday Workshop. Well, earlier this week all of those fun memories came flooding right back when I received the professional pictures Holli B had taken during the event. YEAH! My favorite, favorite picture is one Holli took of me and Brandi, my sweet - 'bout to be married - creative - great cookin' - friend!


Before I share with you some of the honorable mention photos (I'll try not to share all 100+)....let me roll call all of the amazing people that made Pursue: A Holiday Workshop happen!

Photography: Holli B Photography
Hosts: Owners of PursueMolly & Kylie
Food & Drink: Salt & Smoke



















Such a great afternoon! Which reminds me....I need to get to work on my 1 hour of calligraphy this week! Happy Sunday! 













Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Mal's 28 While 28 Compiled List

Here's a look at the list in one place. I have made copies and have them in each room of the house, my car and at work; so that I don't "forget" a few months down the line. Find one you want to help me with, or have ideas for...let me know! I'm really excited to get started! 


Tuesday, March 17, 2015

28 While 28 #28 - Back to School!

28. Back to School! It's my birthday, y'all!


So, I hope that you guys have enjoyed my little blogging spree as much as I have...and I hope it wasn't too much of a social media beat down for you either! :) 

When I entered into 2015, school was not on my mind in the slightest, but God's timing is His own....and why would I complain about that? In Mid-January, the thought started flickering in the back of my mind after chatting with two friends who were thinking about going back to school themselves. Then I did some minor research of my own...that turned into a lot of research and then all of the sudden I had an appointment with an academic councilor. 

I'm planning on getting a degree in Digital  Media Design. Let me tell you all of the feelings I have: excitement, fear, nerves, fear, happy, fear, doubt, fear....you name it....I'm feeling it. Plus fear, lots of fear! 

So, I feel pretty crazy for setting myself up to do this long list of things AND go back to school (which once upon a time did not go so well for Mallory), on top of what I already thought was a busy life.

Starting this summer, I'll begin a new chapter in my life! Thanks in advance for your encouragement in my journey, and I'll keep you updated on my 28 while 28 challenge! 

Monday, March 16, 2015

28 Whie 28 #27 - Create our Christmas Card

27. Create our Christmas Card. Last year I spent entirely too much time finding the "perfect" Christmas card. It's small stuff like this that I spend hours and hours obsessing over, that quite frankly, don't matter. Well, that's not true...I care, a few of you might care, but in the big realm of things...OK, OK, you get it.

I think it would be fun to create our Christmas card for this upcoming year. I mean, I would probably spend the same amount of time creating (practicing my Adobe skills) than I would searching through pages and pages of of Christmas card options. 

Here is our card from 2014. It's from May Designs, whom I LOVE! (If you want a colorful Insta to follow, they're your guy!)


Sunday, March 15, 2015

28 While 28 #26 - Move My Blog to a .COM

26. Move My Blog to a .COM. Guys...It is 2 days til my birthday, and we are coming to a close on my 28 while 28 list!

 INSTANT DOWNLOAD Bloggers Gonna Blog Print

I have wanted to move my blog to a .COM for a few months now. But of course, my indecision has left me crippled in the same place I started (5 years ago). I get stuck on whether I should go with Wordpress or Squarespace. I can't decide if Home Stew is the name I want to go forward with, and so much more. I've read many other blogger's opinions on what they feel is the best site to go with. Truth of the matter is, I need to just make a decision! I'm not going to get much done in life (or on here) if I go around second guessing everything I do.

I feel like this would be a good time to share with you the reasons I blog:

I take joy in any and all things creative. 

Whether it is something that I have created and want to share with you, or if it's sharing other's creativity; I need an outlet to share it. I suck at writing/grammar. My photography is a strugg (hopefully not forever) and I have a tendency to second guess myself...as mentioned multiple times before! Despite these things, I like to make people laugh, and share a small chunk of my world with those of you who take the time to read. I am constantly thinking about about my blog - how I can better myself for it, how it can better others and the purpose it serves. Quite frankly, I think I would be bored without it!

I think over the next year I will try not to take myself too seriously and just enjoy the community that I've been surrounded with the past 5 years.

With all that being said, does anyone have a preference for the two host sites mentioned above; or any advice on making the big move?

Saturday, March 14, 2015

28 While 28 #25. - Limit TV Time

25. Limit TV Time. Jake and I are TV addicts. I thought about listing all the shows we watch on here, but it would be easier to just give you a TV guide. WE WATCH A LOT OF TV! This one is going to be a challenge for us (yes, us....any of these that are hard, I'm making Jake do it with me!). We've needed to do this for awhile...it will give us more time to do stuff around the house, work out, play with Dixie, hang with friends, etc.

I've already started cutting back a bit....mainly on my talk shows. It used to be Fallon, Meyers, DeGeneres and Kimmel. Now, it's just Fallon. 

We are going to make special exceptions for OU football games, occasional Thunder or NFL games, and occasional awards show. 

So, our magical # is 15 hours a week. Don't laugh if that is a lot for you....this will be a struggle for us! 




Friday, March 13, 2015

28 While 28 #24 - Send 3 Care Packages

24. Send 3 Care Packages. I think it would be fun to gather a few of my favorite things and send them to people. Not for a birthday gift or anything, but a friendly just because! I haven't decided yet who will be the recipients, maybe a friend who has had a bad week, or a complete stranger. We'll see!

Maybe something along the lines of this one, by You Are My Fave.

an easter basket for grown-ups (most likely of the lady variety).

Thursday, March 12, 2015

28 While 28 #23 - Create an Invitation

23. Create an Invitation using Illustrator. Earlier this year I took Jones Design Co's Simplified Graphic Design Course and I fell in love. She made it look so doable! If you're looking for a good intro course, this is a good one! Maybe I can create an invitation for my Oscar party or for Friends-Giving!

simplified-graphic-design-photo

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

28 While 28 #22 - Organize Our Master Closet

22. Organize Our Master Closet. Another struggle in my life. You know it's an issue when your co-workers ask if an outfit is new...and it's just from the "bottom of the disastrous closet" pile. That is our current situation. Fortunately, we have a pretty decent sized closet...so room isn't really an issue. It will just be a matter of keeping up the organization once I get it to that point. I'm kind of embarrassed to put our issues on front street like this....but hey....this is the only way I can be held accountable!


UGH! Cringe. Obviously we have too much sh*t...so it will be nice to cleanse ourselves of junk in the process. WELP, there ya have it....probably one of the most embarrassing posts yet (except for some of the earlier ones....those are struggs as well)! :)

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

28 While 28 #21 - 28 Keep It Local Spots

21. Dine/Shop at 28 Keep It Local Spots. Keep It Local is a pretty cool organization that highlights any and all things local to Oklahoma. When you buy from these stores, most offer discounts when you present your card (that pays for itself after a few stops). These shops are usually the best places to eat and shop.... and I'm all about supporting local businesses!

Local is for Lovers tee

Monday, March 9, 2015

28 While 28 #20 - Complete Our Dave Ramsey Budget

20. Complete Our Dave Ramsey Budget

A year ago Jake and I took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace course. It was a great class and it got us really talking about our finances and getting us on the same page. BUT we haven't really been putting it to practice. For some reason money is a really sensitive subject for me. It makes me freeze up anytime it is brought up. I even get flustered when it comes to tipping a waiter. It's ridiculous, I'm an adult...but every single time we have tried to sit down and work on our budget, I bust in to tears. Not because I'm being told that my decorating budget is out of control or that I shop online too often (although, it is, and I do...). It just starts giving me a headache anytime we start crunching numbers. Well, that needs to change. So this year we have to master our budget! Please send me good vibes on this....even typing this I'm dreading our inevitable sit down.

This made me laugh

Sunday, March 8, 2015

28 While 28 #19 - Organize My Office

19. Organize My Office

For the past year our office has been many things. First, a place to store wedding gifts > my clothes when I first moved in > room of random furniture > boxes and boxes of Zoe Lane stuff when I quit selling > to my junky craft room and so on.

I've already started the process of getting this room ready to go. First, I did a MAJOR deep clean. I threw away A LOT and got it fairly organized. Then I ruined that by pushing everything in to the middle of the room so I could go from the lovely shade of pink to a crisp white.

1. 

2.


Here is what I would like to get accomplished in my office over the next year*:
1. Shelving
2. Paint the two doors (I'm thinking this, thanks for the idea Leslie!)
3. Organize, organize, organize!
4. Stenciled accent wall
5. Rug
6. Curtains
7. Chair

*Like I mentioned in my Master Bedroom Update, I see that shockingly hideous maroon carpet. Realistically, our budget doesn't allow us to get new flooring quite yet. So for now we go for really big rugs! 

Here are a few of my office inspirations:

 Grey + white office

Deluxemodern Design Studio
Camille Styles' tidy, chic office. #modernfurniture #modernoffice #pinkoffice 

 amazing desk
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...