Happy Mother's Day!

Sending out a big Happy Mother's Day to my mom, Roxanne.

I've always been appreciative of my mother, but over the last nine months I've really grown to have an understanding of the sacrifices she's made to be a mom. By the time she was my age she had already brought three of us into the world. She's a strong lady and I'm thankful for all that she's taught me.

Another Happy Mother's Day shoutout to Zac's mom, Tammie. I got very lucky because when I married Zac I didn't just get a fantastic husband, I also got an amazing family along with him. Zac's parents are wonderful people.

No horrible Mother In Law story here. Tammie and I get along great. She's my margarita buddy and we share a sometimes inappropriate sense of humor. The last year has thrown her some difficult things to deal with but she's held strong through it all. I hope she is able to take some time for herself today.

Lastly, I want to say Happy Mother's Day to two of my favorite girlies:

To Amy who is celebrating her second Mother's Day with her little man Tyler 

And to Sarah who is celebrating her third Mother's Day with little Grayson, and her last as a mama of one. By this time next year, Sarah wil have two little boys to snuggle up to. We can't wait to meet the newest addition to the Roberts family!

For all of you mamas out there....Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's 50th birthday!

I love you, mom! Have a fantastic birthday!

Hair & Makeup

On Monday I had my hair and makeup trial with Emily Johnson. We met her at the Premier Bride Showplace Bridal Show back in August. We began emailing and soon after we planned a time to set up a hair and makeup trial.

I started looking online for pictures of what I wanted to look like on the big day. At first I thought that a side ponytail would be the way to go. After thinking it over I realized that I probably wouldn't want hair on my shoulders all night and an updo started to sound like a much better idea.

I found this picture on Pinterest and loved the way it looked:

As for makeup I was thinking of having my eyes really pop and keeping everything else pretty mellow. This picture of Carrie Underwood caught my eye:

I kept these pictures saved on Pinterest to show Emily when she arrived on Monday. Emily was super fun and easy to get along with. After looking at the picture I found on Pinterest, she set to work on getting my hair done. She was pretty amazing. I wouldn't have had any idea where to start after seeing the picture. Emily was pretty confident that she could figure out how to get a look that was pretty close. Here she is having fun while doing my hair.

Here's a little view of the side after Emily had finished.

This is what the back looked like! I am so incredibly happy with it. Emily did a great job interpreting the picture. She made sure to take a bunch of pictures. She told me that she was quite a perfectionist and usually practices looks on mannequin heads to make sure everything looks perfect on the wedding day. If the trial turned out this great I can't wait to see what it looks like on the big day!

Next, Emily moved on to the makeup. We went with a slightly smokey eye with shades of charcoal and black. Emily applied some fake lashes and finished the look with a peachy lip color.

Much like the hair, I was really happy after seeing the way my makeup had turned out. Emily did a fantastic job and I loved her work. I don't often wear dark makeup on my eyes, so it took a little getting used to. I was afraid that it might be too dark but it seemed to photograph really well.

Afterwards I took down my hair and loved seeing the big full curls that I was left with. Zac and I are planning on having a family brunch the day after the wedding. It's great to know that I can get my hair done and look done up the next day without having to spend too much time getting ready.

After taking out all of the bobby pins I got a good laugh at the pile I was left with. Emily said that she put a bunch in and that my hair would be secure. She wasn't joking around. My hair didn't budge and it took my a while to get the pins out. For giggles I decided to count the bobby pins....there were 91! It's amazing that you couldn't see any of them when you looked at the back of my head.

The hair and makeup trial got my really excited for the wedding. It's one thing to talk about plans and other things involving the wedding, but getting my hair and makeup done made the whole thing feel real. A huge thank you to Emily for doing such a great job!

A Special Moment With My Mom

Today I put on a wedding dress for the first time. Although my appointment for dress shopping with the moms and my girls isn't for another week, I shared the special moment of trying on the very first dress with my mom. Being the only daughter, it meant something special for my mom to have a moment alone with me while trying on dresses. Originally I had only thought to make an appointment with all of the girls but later I realized that I was depriving my mother (and myself) of this once in a lifetime moment. She told me that she was excited to go look at dresses with everyone but that having a day with just me and her meant so much.

So today we had a mother daughter day that began with dress shopping at Luftenburg's downtown and ended with a bit of a shopping spree at Fashion Fair Mall. I'm really glad that I had this day with my mother. I get so busy with school and work; we were overdue for a fun day. We had a great time looking at dresses. I found a few that I really liked, but none that really "wow-ed" me. (I still have my eye on a few that I want to try on with the girls next week.) It was not only nice to have this experience with my mom, but also to dip my toe in the dress shopping pond and get a feel for what I like and don't like. I hope next Friday to find THE dress.

After trying on dresses, my mom and I enjoyed a heart to heart over some lunch before heading to the mall to look for outfits for next weekend. I found a cute top and a necklace to wear to the engagement dinner next Friday, and could't pass up buying two pairs of shoes! My mom was nice enough to buy me a third pair of heels when we were in Forever 21. She told me that they were too cute to pass up. Needless to say, I will have some happy feet this summer.....well at least some cute feet (they might get angry at me for the heels :P)

The newest additions to my shoe closet.

These are the super cute shoes from Forever 21 that my mom refused to let me pass up. Thanks mom!

A pair of tan heels that will go so well with a few of my summer dresses.

I love, love, love, the ruffles on the front of these shoes!

Aren't they so sassy?!

My mother spoiled me a bit today. After getting me the really cute pair of heels from Forever 21, we stopped into Victoria's Secret. I thought that we were there to pick up a free panty (I had a coupon) but instead my mom was on a mission all her own. A while back I had fallen in love with a bridal robe I spotted while shopping in Victoria's Secret. It was a white silk robe that had the word "Bride" on the back in rhinestones. I thought that it would be cute to wear while getting my hair and makeup done and add a sweet touch to the "getting ready" pictures. So on our mother/daughter day outting my mom surprised me by buying me the robe. It was the very last one on the rack so as my mother said "It was meant to be."

I just love it!

The very first thing to hang on my "Mrs. Chapman" hanger.

I am so thankful to my mom, not just for the robe and the shoes, but for the day. I rarely have a day off of work and school and I couldn't think of a better way to spend it than having a special day with my mom. Thanks mom! I love you!