J.Starr Stylized Weddings: "The Weekly Wednesday" 11.26.14 + 12.3.14

(Zoo Lights on Thanksgiving Night}

It's been BUSY around here. BUSY. Wow. Therefore this "Wednesday Weekly" covers two weeks rather than one. Hang in there I've got lots to catch up on.

~THE WEDNESDAY WEEKLY~

Monday November 17th, 2014 ~ Sunday November 23rd, 2014

Highlights of last week included:
~I finally became an official "WIPA" Member. Pretty stoked about that.
~We took our First Family Vacation (EVER) to the Beach! (I'll post more about this on Friday)
~Thanksgiving, due to our "Beachgiving" the previous week our "Thanksgiving" was a little less traditional this year.
~My Birthday, yes another year wiser (let's hope)
~Addie & Derrick's Wedding....Addie Jo, one of my very best girlfriends (since 8th grade!) got married! AND she married a REALLY incredible and FUN guy.

Fab finds:
~(Comes from April Warner this week) Fluff it Marshmallows
~The Hanger Café at the Chandler Airport, fun times.

Yes this actually happened:
~My Grandpa received an amazing honor, just one day after his 87th birthday! Pinal-Gila Council's Senior Foundation is naming their new center after him. He has volunteered in various capacities for over 35 years for his home town of Casa Grande. He's BEYOND cool.

Something Inspiring:

While on vacation, I actually uninstalled all of my social media apps...and didn't log in until we got back home...this really helped me to RELAX more. I highly recommend it. Especially if you love connecting and sharing with people via the web as much as I do.

Baby Moments I Want to Remember:
~Seeing my little girls run on the beach was one of the best moments of my life...the sun was setting...they were laughing...it was a moment (come to life) I had day dreamed about way before they were ever born. Heavenly.

~A FEW PHOTOS~

Highlights From the Last Two Weeks....

Not only is my Grandpa Jim accomplished, he's also one of the happiest people you'll ever meet. His love for life is so inspiring.

Too Legit to Quit. THIS YEAR. This was the year I told myself I needed to attack all of the "not so fun" aspects of owning my own business....new website & blog (coming soon), purchased business insurance, upgraded my business from a "Sole Proprietorship" to an "LLC", hired an accountant, and basically just forced myself to better understand all of the expensive, legit, necessary MUST HAVES in order to run my business efficiently and correctly. YES, I still have MUCH more to learn and embrace...but I'm proud of the many steps forward I've taken...(especially considering they weren't fun, and definitely not creative or sparkly.)

"If you want to know how much I love you, count the waves in the sea."

I spent one hour alone on the beach by myself and it was amazing. I hope we can make this trip an annual event....because there's no place I'd rather be...than by the ocean.

My World.

Emma was cracking all of the shoppers up....and loving every moment.

The Imperfectly Perfect Family Photo...

The day after we returned from the beach...Christmas preparations begin...Hannah was pumped!

Emma on the other hand, was just fine hiding in the cupboard.

So...like I said "Thanksgiving" was a little untraditional for us this year. I believe it was my first Thanksgiving ever being "away" from home. (home as in "with" my Mom, Dad, and Brother)...and let me just say...DANG we missed my Mom's cooking. We decided to go SUPER simple and hit up the oh so fancy "Village Inn" for breakfast. I was all set on the pumpkin pancakes...but then I realized they were already serving up their special "Turkey Dinner." And....I just couldn't pass it up (Justin either)...and well... the 1st bite was good...but the 2nd and 3rd bites started to taste exactly like elementary cafeteria food. Umm..never again. But it was funny. And the babies threw food all over the restaurant, so we were happy we didn't pay big bucks at a fancy resort.

After our "Village Inn" Thanksgiving we stared in on the Christmas Decorating...the babies were having a BLAST. They don't quite understand "Christmas" yet...but they loved the Christmas music, loved that we were moving new stuff around, and ultimately I think they just loved us all doing a project together.

We ended our Thanksgiving at Zoo Lights. It was Hannah and Emma's first time! They really enjoyed it. (except the "talking" giraffe, Emma was NOT a fan.)

We let them eat way too much kettle corn and then let them run all over the Zoo...Justin had one, I had the other....it was insanity but a ton of fun.

On Saturday morning, I woke up a year older. And these two must have sensed that it was a special day...because they just hugged and loved on me "extra."

And yes, on My Birthday...Addie Jo got MARRIED!

I LOVED that Addie chose to have an "Unplugged Ceremony" especially because my husband was the photographer. (The 3 photos below are ones he took)

And would you believe this BEAUTY did not let me be her Wedding Planner! :)

And that was perfectly okay, because her Wedding Day was 100% authentically "Addie & Derrick." She genuinely wanted me to relax and enjoy...(although she did let me create a wedding day timeline...simply to ensure that I didn't have a heart attack). And their Wedding Day was truly incredible.

You see, Addie herself is very experienced in the Event Industry...she's been working in the corporate event world for many years...she's just not a fan of the "wedding/social" side of event planning...which made me love seeing her as "The Bride" even more!

But seriously, seeing my childhood friend look SO HAPPY on her Wedding Day was truly an amazing experience. AND...she IS allowing me to do a "Styled Photo Shoot" in a few weeks... YESSSS...so stay tuned!

The next day we somehow ended up at the Hanger Café at the Chandler Airport...we recouped from the busy day before by sipping bloody marys and watching the planes take off. (P.S. the breakfast is delish!)