Breakfast Catch-Ups and the HIGHLY ANTICIPATED Cottrell Wedding | #WeeklyWednesday

This is the first time that I've had a close friend get married (and I got asked to be a bridesmaid as a result). I'm so happy for my girl, Ania, and I'm glad she ended up with a cool guy like Ryan. I won't have access to official photos until Ania does (which I suspect won't be for another month at least), so all I have are informal ones that the other bridesmaids and I were able to sneak here and there. I'd say the main downside to being part of the bridal party is that you can't take the photos you want. Dresses don't have pockets :( 

So here's a pic of my discipleship partner from my undergraduate years, formerly Ania Cudzewicz, now Mrs. Ania Cottrell. <3

She had the classiest rustic + vintage chic wedding that I've ever seen.
She was LITERALLY royalty in her dress. She looks gorgeous, doesn't she?
I'm so proud of her <3

One Jump Ahead of the Blogline! XD 
(bonus points if you caught the Disney reference)
- Korean Cafe Breakfast with Hannah
- Crepe Brunch with the Enginerds
- Ryan + Ania Wedding

To "jump", hit "Ctrl (or Cmd for Macs) + F" and type in the EXACT title. 

Again, TONS of photos. You have been warned.

I left town last Thursday morning and got myself up to Ania's place in Montgomery, IL in good time. Considering how BAD I am at long distance travel and my default setting of "SLEEP" whenever our family goes on long vacations that require tons of driving, I'm actually really proud of myself for making the trip up and down.

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Korean Cafe Breakfast with Hannah


So, one of the things that I've loved about Champaign (the few times I've been up there) was the plethora of food choices, and IN PARTICULAR, Caffe Benne. A lovely Korean cafe with "bingsu" (essentially ice kachang or luxurious snow cone dessert things). 

I had been craving this for a while, so when the opportunity came for me to catch up with my friend Hannah over a bowl of bingsu, the answer was YES and AMEN. I ordered the "Green Tea Bingsu". Sugar boost, lots of ice (for re-hydrating) and healthy red beans and pecans, combined with my FAVORITE GREEN TEA ICE CREAM.

Best breakfast ever. <3

They also had a coffee ice cream version and like...4 others. Gonna try them all eventually :)
They also had cute little cakes and breads that I'd like to sample in the future.

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Crepe Brunch with the Enginerds

Coming from small-town Carbondale, anything more than a 15 min drive seems like a big commitment. lol (you big city people can laugh at me, I'll forgive you)
That said, I'm SO touched by the fact that my boys, Brian and Ricardo, from my engineering days were willing to drive out from Chicago to meet me for brunch in Naperville.

We met out at a place recommended by Ricardo (who works in Naperville) called "Butterfield's", a breakfast place that's kinda like a classier Denny's or something. Closer to Harbaugh's here in Carbondale, but with better lighting and atmosphere. 

I ordered me a Ham and Gruyere Cheese Crepe.

T'was delicious :)

The mandatory selfie.

(From left to right: Ricardo, me, Brian)

Thank you guys for coming out to hang out with me. 
Here's to many more years of friendship! I'm proud of you guys and what you're doing!

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Ryan + Ania Wedding

All righty, here we go!
There was craziness going on, from the wrong flowers being delivered (the company made good and redelivered the CORRECT flowers from Ecuador the NEXT DAY), misprints on the wedding programs from Vistaprint (some print-savvy negotiations from me helped fix it and we got them printed at Staples just in time), and more happened, but things were more or less okay otherwise.

We arrived at a nearby Days Inn Saturday afternoon and rehearsal + dinner was Saturday evening. Dress code was Sunday best, and given that it was my first time meeting the other bridesmaids, I was quite looking forward to all of it.

Future Mr. and Mrs. Cottrell!

We had a room reserved for the 50 or so people for dinner.

Dinner table decor.

I ruined the decorations for everyone by pointing out that the little white pebbles in the vase looked like chopped red onions because of the purple water lol XD

Candy table

Dinner roll with butter, mashed potatoes, oven-roasted herbal chicken, DELICIOUS pot roast.

The beef was SO TENDER OMG.

Salad.

Peach cobbler with coffee (black, for those who care)

That evening, all the bridesmaids went back to their respective hotels. I was staying with Ania (bride) and youngest/4th bridesmaid (Morgan). Sara (1st bridesmaid) was in the same Days Inn with her boyfriend and Hannah (3rd bridesmaid) was in a nearby Best Western. All of us (minus the busy super mom matron of honor) got together in our room to chat and do facials (and the other did nails).

Sunday morning was the day of the wedding. 
Got there before 9am to meet the hairstylist, Nicole.

Morgan getting her hair done.

Sara getting her hair done.

Hanna getting her hair done.

What my hair would look like if I had crazy anime/manga style bangs 

(this is a result of my hair being piled up hilariously on my head)

Photographer and dress (squee! it was gorgeous!)

Ania's hair comb

Mostly completed make-up with completed hair.

I really wanted it all pulled to one side to prove to myself that an asymmetrical hairstyle is realistic for me in the future. lol XD

Selfie with the bride.

What we were fed for lunch by Starved Rock Lodge to make sure we wouldn't starve.

Ania's good about feeding her girls :)

Here are some shots of the dresses!!

Morgan with Ania

Bridesmaids + Bride

Top left to top right: Me, Sara, Hanna

Bottom left to right: Morgan, Ania, Ashleigh

Ania bought all of the bridesmaids jewelry to go with the dresses.

What I assume is a glass pearl combo with Swarovski crystals earrings and necklace set.

Bride and mother. Photographer is just to the right of the photo taking official photos.

First time the father of the bride sees Ania.

It was such a beautifully emotional moment to witness.

After the ceremony, walking back down the aisle with my groomsman counterpart, Matthew Gette.

Wedding reception dinner.

The steak was FREAKING TENDERLY DELICIOUS. 

Father-Daughter dance.

I'll be honest here...
My battery broke during the dancing portion after dinner because I was essentially the ONLY single female there (everyone else was married, Sara is practically engaged, and Morgan was there with her mother and brother), so that was...really awkward. This is LITERALLY the second wedding I've stayed back long enough to dance in (the first was Phil + Marie's), and I've officially decided that unless I have a date (or my sister) there for the dancing, I'm gonna be ducking out unless I'm in the bridal party. Unpracticed, spontaneous dancing is probably one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever done in my life.

I left Monday morning and made it back just in time to scarf down lunch and go to a 3 hour class at 3pm. That went till 6pm, I made it home, and had an online meeting with another class from 7-8pm.

I'm exhausted after coming back (and I STILL haven't unpacked...both my craft stuff from the Eclipse sale and the stuff from my trip), my left knee is attempting to kill itself, and I'm essentially overwhelmed with school, but this trip was WORTH IT. I got to see great friends again, made new friends (the bridesmaids were some of the most fun ladies ever), and got to witness one of my best friends from college get married. 

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This #FeatureFriday, I'll provide you all with a breakdown of some of the decorations from the wedding (since that would've made this post even LONGER).

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Reaction Video: The Fox (The Hound + The Fox) | #MusicMonday

Time to share another Reaction Video that I made for the lovely and adorable The Hound + The Fox!! Experienced some camera issues, so it's out of focus for almost...ALL of it :(

Enjoy the video, guys! :D



Here's their original video :)



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My girl, Ania, just got married yesterday! I was a bridesmaid :P
I'll be sharing photos and such (that was able to take amidst the craziness) of the event this #WeeklyWednesday.

Byee~

Carbondale Eclipse Festivities: Comic Con, Eclipse, Crossroads Arts & Crafts Show | #FeatureFriday

The inevitable blog post you knew was coming. Because I live in Carbondale. 
The CENTER of the eclipse and all that jazz. But I was laughing my head off because there was a GIANT cloud (due to my mother's loving prayers for there to be a cloud to keep me from cooking and dying in the outdoors of the summer Carbondale sun) in the MOST advertised location to view the eclipse here in Carbondale.

Literally 5 minutes in any other direction by the SIUC arena/stadium would have had a clear view lol XD I love my prayer warrior mother. XD

One Jump Ahead of the Blogline! XD 
(bonus points if you caught the Disney reference)
- Eclipse Comic-Con
- Solar Eclipse
- Crossroads Arts & Crafts Show

To "jump", hit "Ctrl (or Cmd for Macs) + F" and type in the EXACT title. 

There are a TON of photos. You have been warned.

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Eclipse Comic-Con

Considering the various factors of this event:
1) Carbondale, IL (small town)
2) SIUC (small university)
3) First convention in this area
Things were small, but okay for a "getting your feet wet" first time going to a con.

My high school friend, Christie, as Commander Shepherd from Mass Effect 2.

My little sister as Ren from RWBY (time-skip version).

Me as Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy Advent Children version).

Ran into an old acquaintance and his friend dressed as Jayne and Kaylee from Firefly.

Selfie at the mall. 

Some guy walking past our cosplay group yelled "CAN I JOIN YOUR POSSE?!" 

It was hilarious lol XD

Photo by Dad at the con.

Can't wait for the day when I can attend a bigger con!
What do you guys think of the costume?

Here's a general breakdown of everything I'm wearing:
Makeup : done by me, helped by sister
Black Vest : made by Gail
White "shirt" : THIN shirt from WalMart that I had Gail redo the seams for in the sleeves to cut the length of the sleeves in half
Black Pants : made by Gail
Black Skirt/Cape Thing : made by Gail
Shoes : Airwalk brand high-tops from Payless Shoes, white laces replaced with black ribbon, I colored in the silver eyelets with black marker and hot glued white ribbon to emulate the patterns on the shoes
Red Ribbon : thin red ribbon that kept sliding off my arm lol XD

My sister entered the Costume Competition with her friends on Sunday, all dressed as RWBY characters. They won. SO PROUD. <3

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Solar Eclipse

I already spilled the cloud story, so here we go:

The one minute during the 30 mins before totality where the clouds temporarily cleared.

TOTALITY.

Clouds cleared for the 45 sec at the start and end.

You can see VENUS!! 1 o'clock from the tree.

See it?! :D

Random peeps looking at the eclipse.

It was really cool to see. Can't wait to have it in BETTER weather in April 2024.

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Crossroads Arts & Crafts Show

A jam-packed weekend for sure!
This was Sunday - Monday of this weekend.
I broke my personal sales record, which was really exciting.

Headed out to the sale! The first day overlapped with the Comic Con, so we went in costume.

Sister kindly came to help unload things.

I stayed in costume till 2:30pm. And then I died and went to go change after that.

Changed! Also, look at my haul of bookmarks that I managed to churn out!

I made 120!! (with some help from my newly engaged friend, Elissa)

DAY 2!! There was a group trip from the Girl Scouts from all over the USA! 

Many clusters of them made a stop at our stall and many of them bought things! Here's a group.

Our booth during totality. 

There were clouds at this point. That's why I wasn't looking at the sky instead lol XD

...going to avoid outdoor sales like the plague until the next eclipse (I will reconsider at that time). I had to deal and accommodate TOO many problems that came up. Indoors is where it's at, guys. That is my new craft show rule.

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PHEW that was a long weekend. I'mma go sleep now.

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