southern boy + navy brat's chicago engagement shoot: part one.

i got engaged to my best friend

on august 7, 2010.
gush! i still get giddy thinking about that day!

i have always dreamed that the man i marry would be my best friend
and someone who would draw me even closer to Christ.
i believe God knew that was a desire of my heart and met that desire with Ryan Butler.
i love this man so much and am so excited that we have our entire lives to spend together!

ryan and i met in chicago and made so many memories during the past 3 years that we lived there. prior to the proposal, i really hoped if he were to propose that he would do it in the city. ladies, men are smarter than we think. even though i never told him that, he knew that about me and couldn't imagine proposing to me anywhere else. and so it was of course, appropriate to take our engagement pictures in the city that we fell in love in and are in love with!

the engagement shoot was taken by none other than the splendid, fantastic, ultra-talented tim-tab. i believe that i have bragged about this particular friend before. he and i went to the same college and is one of my closer friends from there. it helped that ryan and i were friends with tim 'cause it was easy to get comfortable and just be ourselves with him. so please be aware of many, many goofy shots. if i'm not told what to do pose-wise, i end up making faces or dancing around.

and because there are so many sweet shots, i split up the pics by our two wardrobes. this set features us in our casual clothes - and the second part will show us off in our dressier attire.

tim, thanks again for such a fun shoot and for some sweeeeet results!

and without further ado...

setting:
Chicago, Illinois

characters:
Ryan & Ilene
(mr. and mrs. butler-to-be!)

...and that's all, folks!
at least when part two comes along, so be sure to check back soon for it.

i think some of my fave pics are the ones of us just being us.
whether we were being goofy or romantic, i think these pics do a great job of capturing us.
hope you enjoyed them!

[happy thursday!]

p.s. some of you asked where i got the mustache sticks.
i found them at this incredible etsy shop called whiskerworks! they have a fab collection!

current obsession wednesday: autumn shoes!!

every time i browse shops - whether online or actual walk-in shops - i've been especially drawn to shoes lately. i've always loved shoes but there are certain times of the year, i feel like it's time to change up those shoe styles. of course, come warmer weather in the summertime, i'm on the hunt for cute sandals - and now that we are turning to cooler days (though those cooler days have not exactly hit the south, they are coming!)...
i'm obsessing over autumn boots
& closed-toe heels.
i'm esp going gah-gah over platform heels
but i might need to save that for another current obsession wednesday.



via starletvintage



via anthro



via anthro

via modcloth

via modcloth

via aldo

via modcloth

via ninewest

via ninewest

now don't get me wrong, i love flats but i haven't really been drawn to them lately. i haven't seen any styles or even colors for flats that i'm digging so much, but heels...i always love heels! i'm a total heels-girl. i get it from my mom. even growing up, i remember her closet completely full of heels. she has never owned a pair of flats in her life. it's pretty much a sin for her to wear flats outside the house. dad said back when they were in college, mom would wear stilletos while they walked around baguio city, philippines (where they went to college - and its similar to california where its all hills!). i even admit that that's pretty insane but hey, mom looked gooood.

well, friend, i hope you've had a good week so far. can you believe it's already wednesday?! where has this week gone? i hope to hit the gym today (note the word hope) 'cause i haven't gone at all this week with being sick with a cold and all. i also plan to be super productive with mailing orders out (got some big whole sale orders lined up so i got to get these hands pretty busy today!) as well as putting together a blog post with my engagement pics. woohoo!

[happy wednesday!]

craving something beyond my reach.

i had a craving.

this particular craving couldn't be met unless i bought a plane ticket to chicago. you see, i'm always craving food. i love food (probably even more than candy), but isn't it the worse, when you crave something you can't just grab from your fridge or walk down the street or jump in the car to enjoy a helping of it?

i felt that way last friday, craving me some sweet mandy b's or MORE or mollie's cupcakes. and yes all three lovely places are back in chi-town. sooooo, what did i do? i decided that i would make myself cupcakes. nothing fancy. just store bought stuff from good ole walmart super center. on sunday, i was particularly craving a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting, a delishly lucious MORE-inspire cupcake. so yup, to the best of my limited abilities and ingredients, i attempted to meet my cupcake craving.

operation craving: COMPLETE.

not MORE's gourmet cupcakes, but the craving was definitely met and i was satisfied.
the red velvet was so moist and perfect with the cream cheese frosting so creamy and rich.
mmm, delish. i don't think i was ever more thankful for walmart, betty crocker and duncan hines.

and yup, i know it's wednesday. i haven't forgotten about "current obsession" wednesday.
i have a post up and running for later today. so don't you worry!

also guess, what i got in my inbox yesterday?!

mine and ryan's engagement photo shoot pics! there are over 600 of them so i am having so much fun looking at them over and over again. i'm also working on a blog post so that i can share some of our fun with you!
my incredible friend, tim, is super talented and can't wait to show off his work. i love how the pics really captured me and ryan - how we are just as ourselves (big goofballs!) in our favorite city in the world.

so for now, folks...
[happy wednesday!]

not only books, but i heart candy.

not only does this girl love books, but anyone that knows me knows that...
i love candy.

so of course, as we walked through downtown after the book-sale

and when we came across this the Lollipop Shop, i was beyond ecstatic.
browse through the pics and you can see why.

is it not such a colorful and happy store? i love the variety of candy, the decor of the shop and even the super friendly owners (nice people are always a plus, right?). i'm sure i'll be visiting it again soon. ashley and i walked out with some deliciously, sweet and sugary rock candy. sour apple for me, pls. or more like..the whole, entire candy store, pls.

what's your favorite candy?
sour patch kids. ring pops. white chocolate. reeses peanut butter puffs. sour string. sour watermelons. almond joy. jolly ranchers. peanut butter m&ms. war heads.

hope you are having a lovely tuesday morning, afternoon or whenever you read this post.
[happy tuesday, friend!]