sadness on the wedding front.

Today I had my first "wedding tragedy". It, of course, was not a tragedy but just a small disappointment. Let me elaborate.

I took today and tomorrow off from work. To amuse myself, I drove to the dollar store to buy candy. On my way home, I stopped at the local Beech Grove flea market. I was just killing some time, but I came across a white floor-length dress with the most lovely beading. The beads made a vine / leaf pattern that was so unique and special and I fell in love. The rest of the dress was pretty unremarkable. Its shape reminded me of a million prom dresses from the early 2000s. It had a high neckline, spaghetti straps, and a sheath shape. It also had a stain on the bottom, and was priced a little higher than a stained flea market dress should be (at least in my opinion).

I called my mom to see if there was a way we could craft this thing into a thing of beauty. She seemed to think so, and I texted her a picture. She called my grandma, and she immediately headed over to the flea market. (Grandmas are the best).

As I waited for my grandma, my mind danced. I thought about how cool it would be to tell everyone that my wedding dress was from a flea market, and how stunned they would be when they saw the amazing, cutting-edge modifications we made (aka a V-neck). I fell in love with this flea market fairy tale and started re-thinking my whole wedding theme as a result.

Well, my grandma arrived and almost immediately pointed out how my dream wasn't going to work. Turns out beading is pretty complicated and you can't just cut straight through a bunch of beading and expect it to look good. I would have to dress like a desperate prom date from 2003 for my wedding or find a new dress. Womp womp.

It's all good though, I have plans to scour every thrift store on the east side tomorrow for a dress that will fulfill all my dreams. Alternatively, I also am trying on dresses at a real bridal store in two weeks.

To end on a happy note, here is a picture of my dogs and their new rope from the dollar store:

favorites

I've lived in Indianapolis my whole life, with the exception of my four years in Bloomington for undergrad. Occasionally, I will say things like, "This is my xth favorite place in Indianapolis and possibly the world." Here are a few examples:

Long's Bakery is excellent. I included it here mostly because I went there this week. As a community-based therapist, I get to drive by Long's west side location on a fairly regular basis. Their donuts are so excellent even Martha Stewart approves, and I love their retro sign.

The pagoda at Garfield Park is a pleasant surprise in an already beautiful, historical park. The park is the oldest still-operating park in the city; the pagoda was built in 1903. I am hoping to have my wedding ceremony there. Ryan likes it because it looks like a castle, so score.

This photo was taken on the top floor of the Central Library. I love this library for about a thousand reasons, but for the purpose of this blog, I love it because it has my favorite view of the city. You can see around all of downtown from their huge floor-to-ceiling windows.

Oh hey maybe I'll update this thing.

Hey friends. I used to write this blog about the clothes I wore. While I still <3 buying clothes, I gotta say my priorities have (fortunately) shifted.

Here's what's changed since the beginning of 2013:

• I moved out of my parents house in March. I rent a cutie little house on the east side of town.
  
• I graduated with my master's degree in social work and got a job as a therapist at an elementary school.
• I rescued two little doggies, Winston and Olivia. They are the lights of my life.
  
• I was in two weddings of best friends, and they were just lovely.
• I started cooking and I love it!
• I started working out and I don't hate it!
• I started caring about my health and overall well-being and have lost about 30 pounds!
• I got engaged! That's right! I am engaged to the man I have loved for 9 years. 
  

This all being said, one thing remains the same. I am still ballin' on a budget. Sadly, before, I had no idea what a budget really entailed. Now, budgets are about all I think about: food budgets, entertainment budgets, shopping budgets, and wedding budgets. Let's see where this next chapter takes me.