helmet head.

call me crazy, but sometimes smack dab in the middle of something, i think about this helmet, made by colette. strange? probably. awesome? most certainly.



i love the bold pattern and the classic black and white. too bad i don't have a moped to match. that would be ideal. though it's serving as great wedding inspiration now, and that's enough for me. i'd be scary as the driver of a moped.

friends & food.

a girl at work, stephanie young, won an award that allows her to take a "break" from work and focus on something that is near and dear to her. she chose to learn more about how people connect through food. brilliant, right?

well, stephanie came over one day to talk to lauren and i about our food related get togethers. i can't believe i sound like that on video, but if you dare, click this link to watch lauren & me talk about food.



with lauren moving out in just a few, short weeks, this video has even more purpose for me. it's times like these, the silly, but heartfelt ones we've shared over the last four years that i will cherish forever.

things are lookin' a little different around here.

i decided i was more than ready to change the design of my blog. gray was an obvious choice for the color as i'm obsessed with gray, mostly thanks to eric. and the dots? dainty and cute. what more could one want?

i'm going to continue to update and tidy things around here just because i want to and really i haven't changed my blog design in what, 3 years? so if things are moving around, just try to keep up. :)

happy, happy friday

ok, at the risk of sounding gluttonous and more "look at me, look at me" i'm posting this link because i want to record it for easy finding in the future. our photographer, becca, posted our photos on her blog. if you aren't sick of seeing us or to see a couple i didn't post, wander on over to her blog.

and now that it's finally friday, i wish you all the most lovely of weekends!!!

keep on doin' what your're doin'.

on a beautiful day in late october, eric and i got our engagement photos taken by the oh so sweet, becca spears of wirken photo. i think we both started out a bit nervous and awkward, but becca eased us in quickly and we were able to be our giddy, happy selves.

becca, thank you for capturing us at this excited, anxious stage in life. we're so full of wonder and i'm so thankful to have these photos to look back on in the decades to come. such sweet moments of us. pure, simple, genuine.

we love you.











we built a fort in the backyard to end the shoot. becca's vision came to life and i couldn't be happier with the results.

and the bride wore boots

happy 1 month anniversary to my sister and her husband, chris! here's a short recap of our lovely, long weekend in vegas that included eric's 30th birthday and lots of wedding related events!

we arrived wednesday evening, had a quick dinner and headed home to help cut, glue and corner round more programs. before going to las vegas, i made eric and myself "team richardson" t-shirts, so we were ready for whatever task was thrown at us. thursday morning came quick, and it was eric's birthday! we celebrated with a breakfast of chocolate chip scones and a few presents.



after a lady came to nicole's house and gave the girls a spray tan*, we got ready for the day and headed out to birthday boy's choice activity: the hoover dam. we took a tour which allowed us to take elevators to this room:



and somewhere else, but i can't remember. i did love learning about how the dam came to be, but i kinda wish we would have skipped the tour and just explored on our own. the day we went, the new bridge had opened that morning, so there was some extra excitement at this all american destination.



*no photos of me from thursday morning, as my skin looked as orange as those dark auburn rocks from the above mentioned spray tan escapade. good thing i looked somewhat normal by nightfall.





the sky could not have been more gorgeous and here's the new bridge!



thursday evening included a lovely, romantic dinner at craftsteak. you know those meals that you hope you'll remember forever because they were just so exquisitely prepared? this was one of those meals.



eric's birthday ended with a family celebration at a bar at the top of the hotel we stayed at that had an amazing view of the strip. a nightcap drink & bite of dessert and we were ready to say goodnight.

friday the boys did their thing while the girls enjoyed a lovely bridal brunch in my sister's honor.

our cousin, melissa, nicole and me.



the bride and her bridesmaids



the four seasons made this special dessert for nicole. isn't that fun?



friday evening we rehearsed and partied just a little bit!

practice:



party:





then the day arrived...nicole's wedding day. everything went so smoothly and it was a gorgeous day. we had so much fun getting ready, seeing family and friends and celebrating these cute lovebirds.

photos before the ceremony:




just before heading down the aisle:



and then the time came for the ceremony. it was beautiful.



my mom and grandpa walking down the aisle:



nicole and my dad walking down the aisle:



chris watching nicole walk down the aisle:



the happy couple:



then it was party time.

outdoor reception at a ranch:



menus and place cards at each place with a tiny succulent for the guests to take home.




the reception looked like a movie set. warm, glowing light and people just milling about and having a good time. i loved just soaking in that feeling. so many people that our family loves and adores all in one place.



first came dinner, then came the dancing.

the bride and groom.



nicole and grandpa.



me and my dad.



the all american crowd, apparently.

our cousins melissa & diego, the newest married couple and me & eric.



and the bride & groom near the end of the night:



and that, my readers, is probably my longest blog post ever, but there were just too many photos and things to share. congratulations nicole & chris. and happy one month anniversary. love you guys!!

happy friday.

image source: unknown