It’s been exactly two months since we got engaged, which means it’s time for another update on what we’ve accomplished so far! For those of you who are engaged or married, I’d love to hear where we differ and where we’re the same.

Photo by Stephen Pappas via Style Me Pretty

After two months (with 12+ months to go), we or I have:

— Asked two people to join our bridal party (they both said yes — whew!)

— Tried on wedding dresses for the first time

— Fell in love with a veil

— Spoke on the phone with two florists

— Chosen a florist (!!)

— Confirmed and contracted with a photographer (!!!)

— Begun to buy silver pieces for reception

— Set up appointments with two caterers for next month’s trip home

— Set up another dress shopping appointment for next month

More details to come about all of these points soon… promise!

P.S. First planning update

I wanted to take a minute to share one of my very favorite company’s newest offerings: Minted now has business cards! I truly think everything Minted does is so high quality and stylish, and I will definitely be taking advantage of their 25 free offer! Now, to decide which design… a few favorites:

Even if you don’t have your own business, you could so easily use these as a modern calling card. BUT, if you do have your own business, there’s one more amazing feature of Minted’s cards — you can upload your logo for FREE to print on the back of your cards!! Amazing.

I’ll be sure to share once mine come in, but in the meantime, hop over and get your own! If you do, tell me which design you’re ordering! Opinions on which one I should order are welcome, too :)

P.S. I love Minted so much we’re considering using them for our save the dates, but that’s a post for another day!

I finally had a minute to read the May issue of Martha Living, and my favorite story was the pink and gray book-themed baby shower. I love books, I love the color pink, and I love beautifully-styled parties, so this one was pretty much a no-brainer for me.

Gorgeous illustrated invitations by Rifle Paper Co — AND they’re available to download on Martha’s site, too! I love that they included a book plate in the invitation.

A clever menu written on a stack of books.

Fun in food shapes and cute picks make everything tastier, right?

The hostesses suggested guests bring the gift of a favorite book from childhood, which I think is a lovely idea. In fact, I’ve been to a similar shower before (I wrote a little bit about it here), and it turned out wonderfully!

You can see more photos from this story here!

I had some major success at the flea market this weekend! In fact, I had major success before I even got to the flea market this weekend. I was on my way back from the bank and headed to pick up my friend Megan for our Saturday morning trip when I spotted two chairs at the end of a driveway and a “moving sale” sign. I quickly did a U-turn and hopped out to inspect the chairs. They looked great to me, so $60 later (down from $75!), I loaded them into my car! We’ve been searching for living room chairs for awhile, since our current living room seating is only one loveseat (not so good for guests). These guys are perfect (or, they will be after some paint and new upholstery!). Here’s a peek:

I love the caning on the back and the detail on the legs. Better yet, here’s proof that they’re comfortable:

She literally hopped up the minute we set the pair down and didn’t wake up for a solid hour.

Then, once we actually got to the flea market, I cleaned up with silver pieces, which I’ve begun collecting for our reception. More on that later! For $18, here’s what I brought home:

There was also a gorgeous silver champagne bucket which would have been perfect for a larger arrangement, but the seller wouldn’t budget beneath $30 and that was a little more than I was ready to spend.

Also, a tip for those of you who are hesitant about bargaining: don’t be! See those taller goblets in the back? They were marked $5 each, so I asked if I could have them for $15 total if I bought all 4. To my surprise, she said I could have them for $10! It never hurts to ask. The platter was $5, and the compote was $3, down from $5.

Add those to the pieces I already have, and I’d say we’re well on our way!

Here’s a close-up of the larger Revere bowl, which is actually an award from my senior year of college! If you look closely, you can see my name engraved on the bottom. I love that we’ll be incorporating family heirlooms and pieces with personal significance into our reception decor.

Anyone else have a lucky flea market trip this weekend?