(wedding) cardigan DIY.

what up kids.  i'm showing you a quick DIY i used for my wedding attire.  since my dress was strapless, i thought i'd be more comfortable if i wore a cute little cardi after the ceremony was over (in the end, i ended up taking it off because it was hot and i didn't care who saw my flabby arms.  i was married then; everyone important was already locked in ;).).  i knew i wanted to bedazzle said cardigan and so needle felting became the bedazzle avenue of choice.

here's how it all went down...

i got all of my supplies, sans cardigan, at hobby lobby.

(at first i got cream-colored roving and was going to poke it into my "molds" like i saw on pinterest

 instead of using them to cut out my shapes.

after i played around with that method, it seemed that cutting them would be easiest.)

once you have your shapes cut, place them where you want on your fabric, put the stabilizing block underneath, and start poking.

and poking.  and poking.  and poking.

once all edges and the middle are secure, you're done!

i put hearts near my shoulders on the front and a little cluster on my shoulder in the back.

i love this DIY because i'm still wearing that cardigan and it's pretty cute even with my everyday clothes ;).

xoxo,

aubrey.

becoming a kilgore, part two.

hi guys!  here are some of the second half of our wedding pictures.  (see part one here!)  like i said, we got married above the goshen theater in goshen, indiana.  it's about a half hour from where we live and i found this place on the CHEAP.  er, inexpensive.  yeah, i think that's what i am supposed to say.

i tried to keep everything about our wedding simple.  sometimes no matter how hard you try, that doesn't always work.  our tables had flowers in milk glass vases, pairs of owls, a vintage handkerchief, and a vintage table cloth.  around the ballroom i taped up pictures of me, pictures of lee, and pictures of us using washi tape.  (i found some amazing pictures from my childhood that i'll probably need to share soon.  some of the sweetest things between my siblings.  it makes my heart sing.)  i hung vintage sheets across the windows that faced the street as a backdrop for where we stood.  when this was all finished, it look to incomplete to me so at the last minute i added the paper lanterns (thank you janie for always having those on hand!).

 

we had a cupcake and candy buffet.  there were small owl bags that people could fill with whatever candy the wanted as their favors.  one my favorite parts of our candy bar was how jacki (lee's sister, my sister-in-law, candy buffet wizard) integrated all of my vintage pyrex!  it made my collecting worthwhile (aka i have  reason for hoarding) :).  

after we took our pictures at various destinations, we came back to the theater to take family pictures with our crews and get this wedding thing started.  

i love this picture of my dad and i.  he's carrying raina's sign (see below) and we've both got this "ready to roll" look.  let's do this.  

here comes my niece raina holding our homemade chalkboard sign (modeled after rachel's version that aren't for sale anymore).

my something blue was my pink and blue "k" necklace (for kilgore!) from the merriweather council that i put on after we were married.  i also put on a cropped pink cardigan that i bedazzled with hearts (DIY to come!).  

i love this picture!  of course bailey caught the bouquet :).

all my bests from high school :).  it was so awesome to reunited again!

i'll say it once (okay, way more than once) and i'll say it again...

i am so happy to be married!  so happy that all the stress and build up of ONE day is over & now we get to focus on a million days that are built on (mostly) happiness.  and a little ice cream. 

<3 aubrey.

ps. don't be fooled.  i BAWLED the entire way down the aisle.  my dad said the sweetest things to me and seeing everyone i love and the boy i love the most was overwhelmingly awesome.

/// 40 days.

lee and i have been married for forty days.  forty whole days.  on the whole, it's be awesome.  we've lived together for over four years so i didn't think anything was going to change, but something (small, discreet, but feelable) has changed and it's so cool.  i can't describe it.  we're more in sync and on the same page now more than ever and it gives me a great deal of confidence for the rest of our lives :).

the few weeks up to our wedding were stressful.  out of towners were coming, plans got changed, twenty four hours a day wasn't long enough, etc. but none of it mattered saturday morning.  i didn't care about anything but marrying my best friend, no matter how short we were with each other in the previous weeks. our day was full of happiness and our good friends/photographers (janie + john of imagination photography) captured it in the best way.


we got married above the goshen theater in an old ballroom.  i think i was able to convey the atmosphere in this location (and it was cheap!) but i don't know if i'd recommend this venue to others.  the people in charge were nice enough but inconsistent and not always prompt on responses.  plus, there is no elevator.  only a lot a lot of stairs... on the upside our name was on the marquee :).

lee and i saw each other before the wedding.  part of me was a little apprehensive about this because i wanted there to be the big LOOK as i walked down the aisle but this was just as awesome.  our first look happened in a record store and was perfect.  absolutely perfect.  and so US.

(this picture is one of my absolute faves! ^)

this is my bridal party: eliza (cousin), chelsea (sister), me (bride :)), bailey (best friend), josh (best friend), and whitley (best friend).

i had a ton of fun before the wedding hanging out with all our people, taking pictures in the heat.  i kissed when i was told to kiss and smile when i was told to smile all with my best friends, literally along for the ride.  i was glad we chose to see each other before five o'clock because i got to spend all of my special day with lee and really, that's what i want to do forever.

i can't wait to see when 40 days turns into 40 years.

xoxo,

mrs. kilgore    

ps. i got my dress at david's bridal and it just so happens to be the same one that the cutest girl ever named elycia wore in her wedding too!  obviously all the cool kids have great taste :).

bridesmaids dresses are from an etsy store called jennifer lilly designs.  they are affordable, adorable, and something all the girls will wear again.  tights are from we love colors!

the boys are wearing bow ties i made using elsie's tutorial!
all photographs were taken by imagination photography!  check them out.  they're nothing short of amazing!

the comeback kid.

ahem.  hey guys, remember me?  i'm aubrey aaaaaaaaand i've got a new last name!  :)!  a little over a month ago the mister and i finally tied the knot.  it was stressful and there were tears, but overall it was amazing.  i know you're all dyyyyying to see wedding pictures (as you should be, because they're AMAZING), but we need to start from the beginning.  i'm making a comeback on this blog, letting you see how i ended being a nelson and started being a kilgore.  get ready.

i knew i wanted to go to chicago for my bachelorette party (it's a forty five minute drive + a two and a half hour train ride from where i live).  i didn't know much else.  everyone in my wedding party is extremely busy, but they managed to give me the most incredible bachelorette party i could've ever asked for.  EVER!  at the last minute i told lee's sister (my sister-in-law!) that i wanted to take photo booth pictures at some point in the day.  little did i know that she planned our entire evening around that - we went to five or six bars (one of which we couldn't get into because a band was recording their CD there) and spent about a bajillion dollars in photo booth strips.  i was freaking out when all this came to fruition and i realized what was going on.  she blew it out of the water!

when we got to chicago, we walked to our hotel (hotel w - city center), i got an in-room massage from a sweet Polish lady while jacki (my SIL) took a bath and the rest of the girls went shopping.  it was so good. so so good.

we all convened back in the room, got ready, and went to dinner at union sushi and it was the best sushi i think i've ever had.  our waiter was the bomb.com and the atmosphere was perfect.  however! i will say that a night of heavy drinking should probably not be started with a sushi platter.  as delicious as it was, i think a greasy hamburger probably would've let me hold my alcohol a little more, haha!

after union, we started our photoshop venture.  we went from one bar to another (some were planned, some were not), we met a TON of cool people, i was told i would not be let into a bar by the doorman (NOT bouncer) because i was HUGGING too many people (where in the world is this a problem?  CHICAGO.),  and ended the night dancing with the only hillbilly in chicago.  leave it to me to find him.  and then dance with him ;).

i woke up with the worst body ache ever, walked next door and got mcdonald's for everyone, shopped a little before our train was due, RAN to the train, and proceeded to have the worst train ride home.  note to self - if you're going to be hungover, don't take a train.  that constant rocking does nothing for your nauseous body.  not a damn thing.

my girls :)!

xoxoxo!

AEK :).

ps. stay tuned for a wedding DIY + a whole lotta wedding pictures + honeymoon adventures!

pps. there is no way for me to fully convey the awesomeness of this night.  you'll just have to believe me that it was the best fun i've ever had.  i met/hugged/stood awkwardly close to so many people, took my picture with way more than one big (sometimes African-American) dude, and tried to convince a girl to start a blog (she looked so...bloggy (aka adorable)).  we also took a cab from a some people and realllly pissed them off, talked shit to a door man (hey, buck fifty!), and danced until i couldn't think straight.  i am reliving the awesomeness right now :).