Etsy Wedding Love

I seriously don't know how women have planned weddings in the past without Etsy. I didn't only order multiple items off of Etsy to add sweet details to my wedding, I also used this website for new, creative wedding concepts. For starters, here is a list of the many items I ordered from Etsy for my wedding:

1. "Mr. and Mrs." signs that hung on the back of our chairs {TheBackPorchShoppe}
2. Wedding programs fans {ABeautifulUnion}
3. Thank you cards for our guests that were placed in the napkins at each table {same as #2}
4. "Just Married" sign {CowCountryCreations}
5. The bridesmaid's/house party's gifts, which were cute monogrammed towel wraps {TheFlowerFairyShop}
6. My wedding garters, one to keep and one to throw  {lolainlace}
7. Our ring bearer's bow tie and suspenders {jbkids3}
8. My "Mrs. Hinton" hanger, which was a bridal shower gift {DawnsCraftStore}

{Our cute Mr. and Mrs. signs, Photo credit: Journey Tree Studio}

{I am so in love with this romantic garter set!}

I feel like I may even be missing an item or two! I also did a lot of research on both Etsy and my absolute favorite wedding blog, Style Me Pretty, to come up with some creative ideas for the wedding that I didn't necessarily buy, but that I had a friend make. A few of these items were:

1. Vintage chalk-spray-painted silver platters that listed our dinner menu
2. A road sign with arrows pointing to the ceremony, reception, and all the cities we've lived in
3. The adorable "here comes the bride" sign that our flower girl and ring bearer carried

{"Here comes the bride sign" and our ring bearer in his cute bow tie/suspenders, Photo credit: Journey Tree Studio}

{This amazing sign was made by my incredible friend, Cat}

See what I mean? I myself am not creative in an arty sense. I can write, sing, dance, etc., but when it comes to painting, drawing, and sewing, I've got nothing Etsy!! And some uber talented friends. :)

We're Married!!

I'm Luke's wife. Luke is my husband. My name is now Sara Hinton. I've said these words about 1,000 times since the wedding and I'm still not sure it has fully sunk in! We were married on Saturday and it was absolutely the best day of my life!!

I've been thinking a lot about how to even begin a blog post about this past weekend and I'm completely stumped. So many memories, where do I start?? I think my plan is to just talk about bits and pieces as pictures come in. Our incredible photographer posted a hand-full of pictures on her Facebook page from the wedding and they are gorgeous! I can't wait to see the rest, but until then, here are a few of my favorites...

{With my flower girl and ring bearer, two of the cutest little people I know!}

{My sisters and I}

{Luke and his boys}

 

{Husband and wife}

{Mrs. and Mr.}

{We obviously like to kiss...lol}

I can't wait to see pictures from the rehearsal and more from the wedding. I must give all photo credit to our incredible photographers, Jade and Jamie, from Journey Tree Studio. If I had a dollar for every time we were complemented on the quality of our photographers, I'd be a millionaire. Seriously, these ladies went above and beyond to capture our big day perfectly. The Hintons LOVE Journey Tree Studio!!

So, what have I learned in my first 3 days of being Mrs. Hinton? Well...

1. I never thought I could love Luke more. I can. :)
2. I have married a very patient man.
3. I'm really good at writing my new last name quickly. I sign lots of things.
4. Going back to work 3 days after getting married was way harder than I thought it would be.
5. It's fun to stretch gift cards to the best of their ability when sharing them with a boy.
6. I will never try to hang anything on the walls again. Luke is way better at it than me!
7. It's surprising how even more safe I feel with Luke now that we are married.
8. It takes a while for life to settle down after a wedding. I'm not quite sure this process is complete for me just yet.
9. It's really fun (and feels wonderfully normal) to stay in Luke's room at camp now instead of having to get my own room.
10. I love being Luke's wife!!!

Going to the chapel...

...and we're gonna get ma-a-arried, TOMORROW!!

Yes, we will become Mr. and Mrs. Luke Riley Hinton tomorrow at 7pm. If you get a moment, please say a prayer that everything runs smoothly and that this day will truly be the best of our lives. Our wedding day has been a long time coming (after 6 years!), and we couldn't be more excited.

I can't wait to tell you all about it! But it's going to be a few days....;)

The next time I blog, I'll be a Mrs!!!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday: Wedding Edition

Today, I'm loving...

{...this blingy shot of my practice bouquet for Friday. Can't wait to use it!! Aubs did a great job creating it}

{...50% off pictures frames at Hobby Lobby. My bridal portraits are officially framed and ready to be put out at the wedding!}

 

 {...pictures of the beautiful venue where Luke and I will become husband and wife}

{...the fact that the wedding is 3 days away!!!}

We're legal!!!

Today, Luke drove into Corpus so that we could go get our marriage license. It was somewhat of a tedious process (had to make an obnoxious stop by the DPS to get a temporary drivers license for Luke because the post office sent back the new one he had ordered), but we made it through! It felt so official to fill out this paperwork together and the lady that helped us was very sweet. She even offered to take a picture of us together. 9 more days!!!

{My sweet almost-husband}

{Pretty excited about this!}

{So soon!!}

HEB Meal Deal

Have you discovered the HEB Meal Deal? Well if you haven't, you're about to read about one of the coolest things to happen to (almost) newlyweds, college students, and large families!! If you have experienced the phenomena that is the HEB Meal Deal, then you can attest to my joy.

HEB has come up with an amazing way to feed a group of people for a small amount of money. One item is mandatory to purchase, usually the meat item. Then, there is a list of 4-5 items that you get for free with your meat purchase. Love it! There is always a meal deal option at your local HEB, but to be honest with you, I don't know how often they change it up. I go to the grocery store about once every week and a half or so and each time I go the meal deal has changed, so this my rough estimate. Yesterday morning I went to the HEB Plus in Corpus to pick up a few items for a friend's bridal shower and noticed that my absolute FAVORITE meal deal was set up this week!

 {Meal Deal coupon}

The item to buy was chicken or beef fajitas. Once you've picked out which fajitas you want, you get to grab a can of charro beans, a can of salsa, a bag of shredded cheese, a bag of tortilla chips, and a 1.5 liter of Pepsi. Mexican food, it's what's for dinner! The only items I had to then pick up were a light sour cream and homemade guacamole from the fruits and veggies section. Got to love living in South Texas!

 {About to check out with my meal deal!}

I've made many a meal for Luke and myself, my friends, etc. using the HEB Meal Deal. It's just so fun to spend $6-$7 for one meal that feeds at least four people. I will confess that the chicken fajitas this time around cost me $12.50, but this is definitely the most expensive meal deal I've ever come across and I'll be eating fajitas for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next week with as much meat as I purchased!

Now it's your turn. Go find your local HEB and check out the meal deal. All of the items you need will be in one place to make it easy. But here's a tip: Sometimes they only have one type of cheese, soda, etc. by the meal deal stand. However, if you read the coupon closely, there are options and you can go pick out your favorite type of these items (Ex: cheddar, colby jack, mexican four cheese, etc). Happy bargain shopping!!

{Chicken fajita nachos!}

Celebrating Sarah

Today, Aubrey and I hosted a bridal shower for Sarah (a.k.a. Kubal). I absolutely adore this sweet girl. She and I go back to the summer of 2007, my second summer at Camp Zephyr and her first. We were instant friends that summer, working out after our long days of lifeguarding and chatting about how similar our lives are. Seriously, let me just tell ya...

1. We are both blonde
2. We are both the oldest daughters
3. We are both Czech
4. We both played many sports in high school
5. We both dated idiot boys in high school (blah!)
6. We both went to Hermann Sons Youth Camp as kids (but didn't know each other)
7. We both met, fell in love with, and will be marrying boys from Camp Zephyr (5 weeks apart)
8. We're both crazy about our puppy dogs
9. We like the same colors
10. We love chip and dip
11. We're both bridesmaids in each others' weddings

And the list goes on...and on...and on...!!!

I was super pumped when Aubrey and I decided to host the shower at my apartment. This was my first official "party" to host in this apt. I got to use some of my new dishes (I mean, come on. The wedding is in 13 days) and this also forced me to deep clean the apt. Never a bad thing, right?

Here's a few pictures from today. Not quite sure how I didn't get a picture of Kubal and I together. I know we took a few, I guess just not with my iPhone. LOVE YOU SARAH KUBALA-ALMOST-LEWIS!!!!!

{Some of the shower spread}

{Drinks}

{Cute table decor!}

{The cute bride-to-be}

{Hostesses with the mostest!}

{Brook was super tired after a fun-filled afternoon}

Happy bridal shower Kubal!!! Love you!

New married blog name

A few months back, I changed my blog's URL from saragreeneyes.blogspot.com to saraandluke.blogspot.com, knowing that I would want a more neutral URL once we were married. I then named the blog "The Chronicles of Sara and Luke" because that's the exact purpose of this blog: to tell the stories, or chronicles, of our life together as a soon-to-be married couple.

Now that we're two and a half weeks away from the wedding, I'm starting to throw around new, married blog title ideas. Here are a few I've tossed around:

• The Hinton Hook-up
• Hinton Happenings
• A Hint On Life
• Something completely different, without "Hinton"?

Do you have any suggestions or creative ideas? I'm not really sold on anything yet and would love to see what someone else could come up with. :)

Lifted From The Water

After I graduated from Baylor last May, I took a job working for a boutique marketing company here in Corpus. The day I was hired was one of Ashley Rippke's last days, if not her last (I can't quite remember). I had only met her for a brief second, but she seemed like a sweet girl and I was a little bummed that I wouldn't have the chance to get to know her. You see, Ashley and her husband, Nate, had decided to pack up their lives in Corpus and move to Nashville to pursue their freelance design careers elsewhere.

Although we've only ever met face-to-face once, Ashley and I are friends on Facebook and have followed each others lives a little bit over the last year. She has answered many of my wedding invitation questions (check out her AMAZING work here) and I've enjoyed reading her cute blog about grocery shopping/budgeting, Tight Bites. Ashley and Nate are pretty much this awesome Christian, artsy, adventurous couple that I admire. :)

And towards the end of last year, just before I started to believe that this couple couldn't be any more amazing, I learned that they were beginning the process of adoption. Ashley and Nate have decided to adopt a baby internationally; from Ethiopia to be exact. I could attempt to tell their story, but I won't be able to do it justice. If you are interested in adoption, babies, Ethiopia, God's love, or cute, artsy couples, please check out their new adoption blog here. Reading the name of this blog for the first time gave me goosebumps. I'm so blessed to "know" this couple and to be able to read about their adoption journey as they wait for their first little one. So excited for you, Ashley and Nate!!

 {Ethiopia, where the Rippke's baby lives!}

Ever since we started dating, Luke and I have talked about adoption. This has always been something that has intrigued Luke. Although I understand that this is not everyone's opinion, Luke likes to say, "Why would we be selfish and bring a baby into this world when there are so many babies with no one that loves them? WE could love them." I can totally see his point and I love his incredible heart, but I guess I won't really know how I feel about it until we're a little more ready to have a baby. Until then, I think that the Rippke's journey through adoption will open my eyes to this process and huge, life-altering decision. I can't wait to see how God chooses to grow mine and Luke's family in the future!

{Sweet little prayers from South Africa. From my trip back in May 2009. I think I could love adopting internationally}

Bachelorette Weekend!!

This past weekend was my bachelorette party in Houston, Texas. On Monday morning, Sarah (Kubal) and Aubrey picked me up around 9:45 a.m., we grabbed some Starbucks, and were off to the big city! We met up with the rest of the group at the Galleria and did a little shopping. While we were there, we saw Kate Walsh, who was doing a meet and greet at Sephora. She's so pretty and was rockin' some amazing nude heels. We were only slightly star struck. :) After hanging out at the Galleria for a little while, we decided to head over to Buffalo Exchange and a couple of little boutiques a little closer to Emily's (my sister and MOH) midtown apartment. Once we were all shopped out, we went over to Em's to get ready for our night out.

{Our group before dinner!}

{I'm not so sure about this tiara/veil}

We had dinner at the restaurant where Emily is the assistant manager, the Brasserie Max & Julie. If you live in Houston and need a fun new date place, Em's restaurant is amazing!!! We had a wonderful 3-course meal with a special menu just for our party. Of course, Emily did a fabulous job of decorating the room with bachelorette-y party gear (I'll leave that to the imagination). We played a little game that tried to figure out which girls know me best. Shout out to Cat, who got 8 out of 12 correct! Then, I open gifts that made me blush and everyone laugh. Thanks ladies.

{Martisek women}

{All the girls after dinner}

After dinner, my mom and sisters headed home to Hallettsville while the rest of us headed out into midtown Houston. We had a really great time dancing and laughing. I think what I loved most about this weekend was that it was all of my favorite people in one place. I had my college roomies, best friends from camp, college friends, childhood friends, and sisters there to celebrate with me and I loved every minute of it!!

On Sunday morning, Aubrey, Sarah, and I took advantage of being in Houston and stopped by Ikea and Anthropologie. I got a couple of things for the apartment at Ikea and some sweet little green and yellow kitchen towels from Anthro that I'm in love with. I seriously could not have asked for a better weekend with better friends and family. I feel truly blessed and I love knowing that these are the ladies that will be standing with me on the Big Day. 3 weeks and counting!!

Weekends, past and present

Here are a few pictures from this past weekend. Luke and I had a great time just relaxing and spending our last full weekend as an engaged couple together. We traveled up to Hallettsville to see my baby sister graduate from high school, over to San Antonio to pick up our wedding bands, and then back to Corpus to relax for the rest of the weekend. We were both so grateful for extra time to spend together. It was much needed!!

{Washing the car windows on our way to Hallettsville}

{Happy graduation baby sister! So glad we could share it with you!!}

{Breakfast at home with the entire family}

{On our way to San Antonio}

{We picked up our wedding bands!}

{Beautiful sunset on FM 534 on our way home}

{Amazing pink bouquet that Aubrey let me take home from her work}

{Memorial Day sales = $9 wedges. SOLD!!}

This upcoming weekend is going to be just as wonderful, but in a different kind of way. This weekend is my bachelorette party!! The girls and I are headed to Houston to celebrate my last few days as a single gal. My MOH, Emily, has planned an  awesome dinner and night out on the town on Saturday evening. During the day on both Saturday and Sunday, much shopping will be happening, I'm sure!! I'm so excited to get together with all of my best friends to celebrate this special time. Be looking for a blog post about our crazy adventures next week!