for the walls + floors.

eeek! I just saw over on Apartment Therapy that Amy Butler is going to be bringing out her own line of wallpaper for Graham and Brown. It looks so lovely and fun. I hope they make it available here in Oz. I'm not sure if I myself would do a wall in my home up, but I think they would look particularly amazing in a commercial environment! Or used in other fun crafty projects ;)

On the other hand I would gladly put one of her rugs in my home!
isn't it pretty

I love lamp(s)...

Mum + dad just brought the 'Jacob' Floor Lamp from Beacon lighting the other day for the lounge room + I REALLY love it - so much so that I want to inconspicuously pack it in my suitcase and take it with me when I move out. Except for the fact that mum would see her missing lamp when she comes to visit and probably want it back ;) I just love that wooden tripod stand and think my parents have great taste :) And at only $189 (I think mum and dad got theres for around $170 - so be sure to ask for their best price) I think it's a great deal. Especially as I've been eying the Oxford floor lamp from Oz Design furniture (sadly no longer available) but it was just over $200...

I also had no idea they also have a table and pendant light in this same design. I am thinking the pendant lamp would look so lovely in the flat in the dining area - did I mention we have a lighting problem in the flat? As in there is only one ceiling light to light up the whole kitchen/dining/lounge space?! crazy and very unpractical I tell you! :)

small and cute!

So today went really well.

We met up with Uncle Ken (it's been since Feb since I've seen that guy!) and went through our draft ceremony layout M had typed up.

I can say I am excited over the way our ceremony is shaping up.

An outreach to family and friends, a glimpse of God's love for us and purpose for marriage, Marriage as a reflection of god's love and special moments to happen including loved family members and close friends.

And really trying to make it personal - anyone have any other lovely ideas on how to do this?

now if only we could pick and agree on some pretty songs :)

Then we answered a questionnaire for our marriage course. So the computer can well.. compute things and give an overview on our relationship strengths and the areas we need to talk on too.

I had to laugh answering a few questions and knowing exactly what M's answer was - the complete opposite to mine :) But it really encouraged me that our relationship is strong and healthy and that we have discussed so much of what we want our marriage to be like and what our expectations are, as well as chatting through answers on the way home and digging deeper into areas together.

It also made me realize again how blessed I am to have Mr M and how sweet he really is.

that sweet CM :)

So after a really lazy afternoon of watching movies, heading to the hardware store and super cheap auto (yup fiance of the year over here ;) We had a quiet night at M's house and I decided to measure and draw up the plan of 'our flat' which I've been meaning to do for awhile.

The flat is actually a cute little 2 bedroom flat above the garage at M's house. His parents have blessed us by allowing us to stay here while only paying board while we save for a deposit on our own house. Hopefully within the span of 3 or so years. It makes me giddy just thinking about it. We are also going to give the flat a fresh coat of paint and possibly possibly get a new kitchen put in! The old one is so not workable for long period of time - no lights, a TINY amount of bench space and drawers that stick shut but with a clever daddy such as I have I know we will be able to work something out that is stylish and well in budget.

So I thought I'd get all the dimensions and start designing up a new workable kitchen up :)

wanna peak at 'our place'?
this is the existing layout and furniture...

 

Because it is so small (and I come with a heck of a lot of stuff) we need to get clever with storage solutions - so I am on the look out for clever ways to use the space.
We will have the beautiful and spacious main bedroom and the second bedroom will become a spare room/study/craft and sewing room  (but mostly a craft room) - I'm so excited to get my own!

I am also trying to combine to kitchen dining area to make the space more workable and to give us more space overall.

 it's so very cute and I can't wait to make it look more like 'us' 

our first fun little love nest :)

Dear...

Have you seen this blog yet?

I think it's just the cutest!

"Leah Dieterich's mother always told her to write thank you notes. So she does. To everything."

seriously seriously sweet!

we're giggling it up over here.

some favourites...

Also enjoying this song 

+ this song too.

We enjoyed singing some really girly songs together on the way down to Sydney today.

and my, oh my that boy of mine can hit some high high notes!!!

I'd have to say I am also enjoying that

because it makes me laugh :)

prepared

M and I are excited to be heading down to Sydney tomorrow to meet with his Uncle Ken. 

We love Uncle Ken - he's very fun and silly, is awesome pastor and come November he is going to marry us.

We're excited to have him be such a part of our special day, that we will always be able to have the pastor that married us in our lives and that he is one who means so much to us.

Tomorrow we will start our first session of our pre marriage course 'PREPARE'

+ Uncle Ken is going to fix all that is wrong with Morgan!
As I, of course, am pretty much perfect ....

we're off to a great start huh ;)

hehe

Good thing the Mr knows I'm just joking here! 
A lot of our married friends and family have highly recommended pre marriage courses to us as an excellent tool for heading into marriage with + we're excited to begin.

 I will let you know how it goes.

Also talking about recommending ...
we are really loving this book and our dates and would recommend it to engaged couples for sure. Not only do you get to go on ten fun dates along the way but you will also discuss a lot of things before marriage - dealing with conflict, each others expectations of marriage, household chores, traditions and working out how your differences can actually balance each other out and make you a much stronger couple.
Also in the current Kt + M library is this book, which I'm really enjoying reading at the moment too.
:D

Kt hearts Pobke...

Christine Pobke + Pobke photography that is ;)

Last Saturday M and I were lucky enough to meet up with our very talented wedding photographer Christine.

Christine came all the way from Canberra (mostly) just to meet us + snap our pictures - how lucky are we? This is the first time we had ever meet face to face! Having only ever talked via Skype or email before & there was plenty of excitement both sides. I mean this girl is both fun AND makes you look like a superstar ... and we think we're pretty fun too ;)

The first time we met she squished into the back of our car with all, I repeat ALL of our props - not even sitting but lying across all our stuff camera cradled in front of her totally excited to be there - I knew then and there I was going to LOVE this girl!

Plus she also helped me get changed in a field, saw my undies eep! and kept on taking photos when I would say 'ooh what about this' + 'one more?!'

yup she's pretty amazing and if you live in the ACT or NSW even you should check her out!

Christine found an amazing field in Centennial Park, Sydney for our engagement photoshoot - I loved it. So much so that I think we will have to go back there and picnic one day!

As we met at highschool and are very much high-school sweethearts we added a little bit of  an old school theme to our photoshoot - school books, old suitcases, chalkboards and an amazing old school desk Morgan picked up from his neighbour THAT MORNING!

totally made the shoot!

Only bumma was forgetting the cute apples we took ages buying that morning in the car during our shoot - the ones with the perfect stems. But they did fill up hungry tummies on the way home.

Look guys the twister quilt !

oh and a mention must be made to my amazing makeup artist Melissa of Melli Cosemetics who did my makeup trial earlier that day. 

I would also really really recomment Mel - her makeup is an artform and you can tell she just loves her job and has a real passion for makeup!

We had a lot of fun trying different ideas and effects until we were both happy with the result and knew it would match in with the wedding theme perfectly.

oooh and I got my foundation airbrushed with a gun too - so fun!

I am just so happy I got to use my trial for something fun too!

Here is our sneak peak Christine just put up!

Thank you Christine we love the and are so excited to see the rest!!  ...

(plenty more to come!)

excited.

So I just found out that Anthropology now ships to Australia!! 

eeek!

 of course it's not quite the same as spending an hour or so in the two story store in Seattle with:

a bunch of 8 fellow blogging ladies ...

8 tummies full of PF Changs ...

+ 8 fortunes from our fortune cookies ...

(1 lady with a fortune telling her that she shouldn't really shop ... what the?! ... poor Andi!)

3 babies 

(1 who was quite cutely shopping all by herself hehe )

  +

at least 6 cameras (Andi - I need pictures please :)

but I am happy just the same...

I just wish the postage wasn't so ridiculous!

 I am really kicking myself for not buying myself and M these monogrammed mugs when I visited.

I really did eye them for ages.

But at over $40 to have them posted here looks like they will just have to stay. 

I wonder if anyone stocks anything similiar here in Oz ...

anyone seen anything?

post edit: Just went on the Urban Outfitters webpage and they now ship to Australia too! With much more reasonable shipping prices might I add.
hopefully 'pandora' will be next :)

Back again..

Back from (another) holiday of...
FUN!
a last family holiday before the wedding kinda fun...
of fun with good friends... (who are basically family anyway)...
of meeting long-lost relatives... a grandfathers brother ... a grandfather I never got to meet ... Who I know only through the stories telling of his funny sense of humor and of the joker he was... and getting a sweet glimpse of him through his equally funny brother...
of pouring through an old family bible...
of meeting mum's cousins - I never knew she had so many!
of a brother getting his license first go...
of a funny moment when the RTA announced he wasn't able to take his driving test with possible 'projectiles' in the car...
of sitting in the RTA along with ALL our holiday supplies so he could take said test ...
of water park fun ...
of slides and rides and giggles and screams (fun ones of course) ...
of palm trees and beaches...
of sand and sunshine... (and a little rain too)
of 4wdriving and swimming...
of trivia nights and lawn games...
of early morning walks and chats with the lord ...
of a tonne of special moments.

and of me just wanting to drop in and say hi...
I'm back again...
to stay.
Well for awhile - there is a honey moon in the planning for later this year!
I'm feeling content and so blessed tonight - even though the fun times have been had and now is the time for planning and organizing (some of it stressful) and settling back down and oh some serious job seeking (cause savings only last for so long!)

and ...
of promising to stick around more this time + blog too :)

I'm back!

So I am on this amazing + dear ladies list..
why?
Because I haven't blogged in too long and perhaps, just perhaps maybe she misses me too?!
:)

So here I am. back + blogging... It's been only two weeks since I have returned from my month long trip to the States and yet it seems so much longer. I've wanted to blog to share photos (while wishing I had taken more) but truthfully I have just been a little swamped ...
a fiances birthday, a mothers birthday, a brothers birthday, a wedding (in which M was a groomsmen + quite involved), a school rowing regatta, a brand new car of his with a $1,200 problem (luckily still  covered under warranty), some frustrating banking problems (both with M + my accounts) lots of wedding preparations + appointments, last minute trips to find Paige a dress for the wedding, a suddenly falling down formal dress - thank goodness for Hollywood tape + bra enhanchers is all I can say... and lots + lots of running here and there.

I feel like I don't even know where to begin.

What I can say is I have been super blessed by my trip to the States. + I'm still trying to process it all! Super blessed to have met the most amazing bunch of women ever - who have given me so so much - inspiration, encouragement, beautiful memories and lasting friendships. I totally adore each and everyone one!!

and I feel I have grown so much since my trip too! To say I stepped out of my comfort zone boarding a plane to another country, leaving mine for the first time and meeting up with a bunch of women I had never met in real life before is kinda an under statement.. like I told Leslie I don't think I even thought about it too much - I just did it - crazy I know!  But now I know I am capable and able to do big things, to stretch myself and just go for it. + I have the sweetest bunch of real life girlfriends because of it.

see all this rambling? It's because I just can't seem to sort all thats floating around in my brain out.
So stay tuned for photos and blog posts as I try and sort out the most amazing trip and get back into the swing of normal life...

oh but did I mention we leave tomorrow morning for our last family vacation? + that by Saturday I will be relaxing beside a pool on a tropical island off the coast of Brisbane with my family and our 'extended family members' - hmmm maybe 'normal' is still a little while off yet ;)

Love Letter: Day 2

To the spunky guy with the subaru whom he loves alot ... but not as much as ME,

Hey babe! I have decided to write u a small love letter here each day to keep you updated on what we get up to each day and use the enteries as a kinda diary of my travels.

So here goes ... a little catch up for you:

* the flight was good. long, but I never got to the stage where you think "are we there yet?" and then you look at the clock and it says there's still 4 hours left! So that was great.
* My flight to Brissy was late arriving and they were taking the final calls for my connecting flight but as there was a large amount of us connecting one of the flight staff was waiting for us and took us all over to the international terminal, helping us with paperwork etc. SO helpful
* the international planes are big!! super big!
* and people in business class are lucky. super lucky!
* I had to sit between 2 strangers - for 12 hours! But the guy next to me and I became quite good friends in the end.
* And plane food isn't that bad. But they didn't really serve fruit - oh how my mum would be disappointed!
*  My flight into LA was early and I got through custom so quickly so I got there a little before Leslie but I knew her as soon as we saw one another.
* Hugging and meeting a bloggy friend in real life is surreal and so amazing.
* Leslie is amazing. and sweet and so is her little fam.
* I have only tried to get in the wrong side of the car once.. er make that twice (I did it again today!)
* I think you need to experience driving here. You would like it. but then again you just like driving full stop! it's strange and feels almost like you are over turning in the car and I keep getting confused
* the toilets are strange. super strange and low. And they FILL UP with water when u flush them?! I thought I'd chosen a toilet with a blocked pipe the first time I used one and that it was going to go everywhere!
* Cali is really warm so I have been able to wear jeans and short sleeved tops. how crazy is that?
* But I am expecting to freeze when I head further north!
* Rylan Mae is my sweet little shadow. She likes to wear my 'pretties' (headbands) and shoes and ask me what are u doing to everything I do. I totally want one - tantrums and all !!
* Yesterday we just hung around the house, relaxing and settling in.
* I miss you, but then again thats a given :)
*Today we went shopping at an awesome fabric places. SO So cheap we may have brought a lot!!

just maybe :)
you still love me right?
Always yours..
Kt
xxx



ps. Also I think it's so cute how excited you were over our feature on Polka Dot Bride :)



pps. I have a strange request: Can u email me a picture of your toilet and it's height in relation to the vanity - hehe thanks babe :)