It fittttt

Since I quit taking my migraine medicine, I have gained over 30lbs back. I got down to 119lbs. Everyone said how sickly I looked and blah blah so I quit taking my meds. While I was gaining the weight back I got measured for my wedding gown and ordered it! Well, now that I'm 30lbs heavier I have been dreading to get the call that my dress is in. Well, tonight I sucked it up and tried it on with Ashley and well...IT FIT PERFECTLY!! Oh my goodness it's all coming together! I'm just so excited! 

Productive Weekend

Well, while over coming a migraine this weekend, I also conquered some wedding activities. At the wedding, after the ceremony during the pictures, guests will be playing games and hanging out. So, the colors of our wedding are turquoise, ivory, burlap, black, and lace. Saturday night I painted our corn hole boards turquoise. A friend of mine from work is going to get his friend to print a decal of our initials in a monogram and adhere them to the boards and then polyurethane them! I am so excited about them. For Christmas, my parents bought us each our letter of our name for the front door of Bud's. We also painted them turquoise. Well, only the S. We still have the B to paint. There is also a arrow sign that is going up. It will be in different directions showing the different wedding activities. So, I painted a couple of the arrows.

I got in the wedding planning mode this weekend when my flower girls mommy texted saying they were ordering her dress!! I'm so excited. It looks just like mine except hers isn't strapless and she is getting a turquoise sash! She is wearing her little cowgirl boots too! Madison is so presh!!!!

I am getting so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh so dreary!

Such a nasty, long, dreary day here in the ville! Yuck! Rain, rain go away. It has rained literally all day without one break! Not one thing exciting has happened either. Only dinner with Brandon at Chili's and then our adventure to walmart. Major discount on Christmas items that was a plus and ordered my medicine refills and left the store without them! True blonde moment! Whoops, wonder what my blonde moment will be tomorrow. Luckily it's Friday  these holidays are messing me all up!

A new day. A new year.

Today is the start of 365 blank pages in a new book. As I said my New Years resolution would be to write on my blog every day and to keep up with the wedding. Maybe I should set a daily alarm, haha! Today's been a pretty laid back legging kind of day. The best part of my day was spending it with Billy, Michelle, and the kids watching my Gamecocks win the last game of the season in the Capital One Bowl, although my iPad just completely cut off on me.

Yesterday, Brandon bought me the new movie called Sweetwater and of course my husband, Jason Aldean is in it...I mean duh, that's the only reason I wanted the movie. So, when we got home tonight he put it in for me and now I wish I wouldn't have bought it. The girl in the movie thinks that Jason killed her husband so she blew his brains out!!!! Okay, any Jason fan would not want to see that (even though it's fake). Lord, I bout died!! So, I watched just a little more of the movie and then got him to put my concert DVD of him in. Whew, much better! I think I've watched this DVD like 15x literally in like 3 days! Yes, I'm obsessed and I don't care! Lol.

Tomorrow starts the first day of our diet for the new year. Well, really for the wedding. Gotta get wedding fit! Oh, and my dress should be in this month!! Waaahhoooo!

So for now I am going to say good night with Jason and Macon (the stuffed bunny). Gotta get ready for this amazing year!

Here's to 2014!

New Year's Resolution

Today, one of my friends, Ms. Emma Glaze mentioned she'd like to start a blog about her weight loss success and about her wedding plans.  Well, duh I already have one and I keep forgetting to write on it haha. I've already said before that I was going to keep up with this thing and track the wedding plans but as we can tell I haven't done anything with it.  So, with that being said, it will be my New Year's Resolution...to blog everyday!

Nile Supreme Session: Grapevine, Texas

Let the road trip begin!

Tonight we started our journey to Grapevine, Texas to the 97th Annual Supreme Session of Daughters of the Nile.  From Charleston, South Carolina to Grapevine, Texas!  We are going to many many stops on the way including a stop to Duck Commander (Duck Dynasty), Alabama Stadium, Shreveport's Shrine Hospital, Dallas Cowboys Stadium and Golf Course, and maybe on the way home to Say YES to the Dress Atlanta, and Six Flags!  I have never been West of Georgia so this shall be interesting.  I really can't wait!

I am going to keep adding to this blog throughout the trip, so stay tuned in! :)

He asked and she said Yes!

AHHHHHHHHH! So here is the proposal...

 

Our anniversary is May 9th.  So today is our "Monthly Anniversary" and we spent it with our favortie friends and family members at the Omar Shrine Kids Christmas Party.  I knew Brandon has not spoke to my dad to even ask him if he could have his blessing to marry me so I thought NOTHING of going to IOP at 9:00 pm.  We get to the beach and Brandon says "Wait here".  So I am sitting in the car and then we go down to the beach and I find a log and sit down.  I knew he was working on something but I was not expecting a Handmade Scrapbook made ALL by himself.  He hands me the book and I look at the pages.  I think nothing of it even though the pages are in chronological order.  As I get to the next to the last page I figure out what is happening and I think to myself "Oh Crap What Is Happening?!" I flip the page and it says in pearl letters "Will you marry me?" Brandon then takes a knee and I am so bumfuzzled that I could not even tell you what he said to me on one knee.  The next part was "You cannot answer the question yet..." as he hands me a tube of black glittery icing he opens a box that has a homemade chocolate chip cookie cake with cream cheese icing that says "Check YES or No" and the date 12/9/12.  I of course took the tube of icing and checked YES!!!  Today was the best day of my entire life.  We have spent so long together that I did not think it would even be different but the second I put the ring on I felt our whole relationship change.  The build up of the proposal was great.  Being with great friends and family and special Shrine Heros and our Sweet Little Madison....simply the best day I have ever experienced. 

 

I love you Brandon Fulton, and now I am your FIANCE! :)

House Update

We have been approved! :) Now it's just waiting for closing. Looks like we will be in before Christmas. If not living there to celebrate the holidays, we should have it ready and completed to start our new life together for the first of the year. Hopefully we get a lot of items for Christmas for the house :) Send on some goodies!

Starting January 1, 2013 I plan to blog everyday. I have been so busy that I don't have the time to blog but I have so many events I want to add to my life blog. So that's my "plan".

Pinterest ReMake: Hanging Dish Towel

I found a hanging dish towel on Pinterest and I loved the idea of it. The pattern is from another Lady's blog. She used a button, but I used a snap since I am not a professional sewer yet I do not know how to make a button hole. LOL! So here's my version!

DIY Hanging Dish Towel

Materials: To make two hanging dishtowels, I used one purchased 24” x 15” dishtowel, 2 pieces of 7” x 12” fabric, one piece of 7” x 12” flannel, and two buttons.

Don’t forget to pre-wash and dry everything to pre-shrink it!

Preparing the Dish Towel:
1. Cut your purchased dishtowel in half so there are two 12” x 15” pieces.
2. Carefully pleat, fold, or gather the 15” raw edge so that it measures 6” across. Stitch pleats, folds, or gathers in place.

To Make the Handles:
1. Print out the pattern and cut them out. The link is at the bottom of this post.
2. Overlap the TABs and glue or tape the pieces together.
3. Use the pattern to cut out four pieces of fabric and two pieces of flannel.
4. Pin the pieces together in this order: One piece of fabric, right-side up; one piece of fabric, right-side down; one piece of flannel. (Do this twice since you are making two handles.)
5. Starting at point A, stitch around the handle to point B, leaving the bottom open. Clip the corners and turn right-side out.
6. Press so that all the edges are crisp, then turn in a one-inch hem along the open bottom and press.

Assemble and Finish:
1. Insert the raw pleated/folded/gathered edge of the dishtowel into the open side of the handle so that it lays full inch inside. Sew at least two rows of stitches to hold it in place.
2. Center your button on the pointed flap (Point C) and mark lines for the button hole. Make the Buttonhole on the flap.
3. Fold the flap over so the point lines up with the bottom edge of the wide base of the handle. Use a pin or mark with pencil where the button should go no the wide base and sew on the button.

Note: You could use a snap or Velcro if you don’t like to make button holes. It would be cute to use coordinating fabrics on the front and back of the handle, so when you fold it over, you see both fabrics. A scrappy handle would be sweet at well.

This pattern is copyrighted, but feel free to use it, just give credit to the source. :)

Pinterest ReMake: iPad Cover

Recently, my Nan taught me how to sew. Ever since then I've wanted a personalized iPad cover. Well I found one on Pinterest. I used a tutorial I found but I tweaked it to my likings. At the bottom of my post is the link to the pattern and her instructions. My instructions are different since I changed it. Make sure to go by the right version for remakes. Anyway, here's my version!

DIY iPad Cover

Materials:  Chip Board or Foam Poster Board, 1/2 yard material (if you use the same fabric inside and out), 1" wide Elastic, Snips, Rotary Cutter, Cutter Mat, and a Sewing Machine. 

Cut the board into 4 pieces and label them so you do not get them mixed up:  Piece #1/Front:  9 ½” x 5 ½”,   Piece #2/Stand:  9 ½” x 2”,   Piece #3/Edge:  9 ½” x ½”,   Piece #4/Back:  9 ½” x 7 ¾”

 

Cut the fabric into 3 pieces:  Piece #1:  10 ½” x 18”,   Piece #2:  10 ½” x 10”,   Piece #3:  10 ½” x 8”

Cut 4 pieces of elastic 4” long.

 

Take the 4 pieces and lay them on the corners of your smallest piece of fabric and pin them in place.  Make sure the ends of the elastic completely reach the sides of the fabric.  

Next, stitch each end of the elastic, as close to the edge of the fabric as possible.  

    

Then, trim off the excess corners of the elastic.  Don’t trim too closely. 

 

Lay the smallest piece of fabric on top of the middle piece of fabric, right sides together, and line the edges up all the way on the right side. Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, sew the pieces together on the right side, then open them up and lay them flat.

 

 

 

Place the largest piece of fabric face down on top of what you’ve got so far, and line it up on the right side again. Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, sew the pieces together on the right side.

 

Now use your sewing machine to sew along the two long sides of the fabric. You should now have a rectangular “bag” that’s only open on the left, and sewn on the other three sides.

Flip the bag inside out and you should have a set of corner braces on one side.

Take piece #4/back of your chipboard and slip it inside the fabric, all the way down to the end.
With the chipboard shoved down into the fabric as far as possible, and the fabric pulled tight, use your sewing machine to run a row of stitches along the edge of the chipboard, as close as you can get it without sewing through the chipboard (that’s a good way to break a needle!). But what I found better is hand sewing it to get the line straight and you do not run into your board. Continue with chipboard piece #3/edge and piece #2/stand, adding a row of stitches after each one. Finally, put chipboard piece #1/front in place, and you should have a couple inches of fabric left on the end.

To close the end up, start by folding one side of the fabric down over the chipboard. Then tuck the other side in on itself, to create a smooth and even fold. Use a slip-stitch to close up the seam. If you need help with a slip-stitch, YouTube it. Or you could use Tacky Glue.  Works Perfectly!!

Now you’re done! Just slip your iPad under the elastic corners and BAM, you have yourself your own personalized cover :)

Omar Shrine Homecoming Ceremonial: Summerville 2012

This has been one weekend that we have all worked so hard and planned years in advance for and it has all paid off. Not only is it special because Daddy is the Potentate but 2 of my baby cousins went into the shrine. This weekend we have had a great time. Wednesday we had the Live Auction with Celebrities, Thursday we had the Celebrity Golf Tournament, and Friday we had our Baseball Classic and started the actual Homecoming Ceremonial. I'd have to say the best part was fezing Alex. Very sentimental; a moment him nor I will ever forget. The Craven family is one of the very few who are an active "3 generation Shriner." Alex, Mikey, Papa, and I did an interview that the Shrine International plan to use as part of a video for history records. We have worked with another non-profit organization this weekend, the Summerville Miracle League. At the field, the Shriners had a screening clinic open for all of the players. Out of the screening we now have new patients. A WIN for everyone! I have one little special baby who is Brandon and I's world. She is a shrine patient as well. Her name is Madison Grace Condon. She was able to attend a few of our events this weekend. She's such a blessing to us. Brandon and I are proud to be able to call the Condon family our friends. They are such a great family. I am so proud to be a member of such a wonderful fraternal organization!

 

Exciting Update

Okay so Brandon has brought it to my attention that I have not wrote on my blog. So why haven't I you ask? Well I didn't want to explain what I've been up to but okay I can't hold it in any longer! August 2nd, I put an offer on a house. :)) Ahhhh! Wow, is all I can say! I am so excited I can't even begin to tell you how much! I have never done anything this big, well except purchasing my Jeep. It's a short sale property and it needs a little TLC to clean it up and make it a home, but we are ready for the challenge. My realtor (Cary Collins) said it could take a few months to know anything. The sellers agreed to the offer but we have to hear from the bank! So now our routine is saving money and looking in stores for house stuff. Total change from shopping for junk or whatever else we may want ;) If we get the house our new address will be 100 Wylie Street, Summerville, SC! So cross your fingers for us as our next chapter opens!

On that same night, we had a new addition to our family. Mr Easton Scott Fulton. It's Brandon's brother, Blake and his wife, Turbo's baby. He's so precious. I haven't had a chance to see him but hopefully sooner than later. Maybe tomorrow?

So things are busy for us and lots of prayers for the house and blessings for the new chapter in our life and our new additions. God is good!

Baby Cousins

Wow. So tonight is bitter sweet. My twin cousins and my oldest baby cousin are going through the lodge tonight. This is their first night. I'm so proud of them. I wish I was a boy so I could see them going through. I know daddy is proud. At least Brandon can see them go through since he's at the meeting with them. They will be going through the shrine in October. That will be the best day ever. Can't wait until October!

Just A Lazy, Hot Weekend

Brandon and I had a lazy Friday and Saturday. Just a house hunting and playing around in different stores as usual. We have had some really bad weather recently in the evenings. Somehow we ended up playing around in West Ashley. We go in Target and it starts to rain so Brandon decides for us to walk in the mall. As we did the weather began to get worse. You could hear the lighting popping and thunder rolling throughout the mall. Next thing you know the lights flicker and one whole side of the mall looses power. As we try to get out of the mall we go back in Target since that's where we parked. The weather was getting worse and everyone in Target was standing by the door to wait for the storm to pass or lighten up to leave. Kinda scary. I don't think I've ever been in public when the lights went out. So that was our lazy Saturday.

Today, Michelle (Brandon's sister in law), Katie (her daughter/his neice), and I went downtown. Boy, was it hot! Michelle likes photography. So she took my pictures. As the upcoming Queen of the Daughters of the Nile, I have to submit my Queen picture in to my Supreme Queen soon, so today was our day to do it. Like I said, Boy, was it hot! What a disaster; Sweaty. Gross! So we got in the car to find some good ole AC. Katie bug wanted to go to Forever 21. The boys (Brandon, Billy-Brandon's brother, and Wyatt-his nephew) went to Jim and Nick's for lunch so since they left us out we thought we'd go to eat too. Kicken Chicken it was. So we had a girls day :) My first day with just his sister in law and his neice, I'd have to say went very well. His family has welcomed me since the day I came into it. I'm glad I have great people To accept me.

My Life Before I Start My Blog Journey

My name is Stacey Craven, but I have many nicknames; one being Ladybug. I am 24 years old. I have brown hair and brown eyes. The love of my life is my best friend and has been for years; Brandon Fulton.

I work for Terminix Service, Inc as an Administrative Asstistant. I also sell Mary Kay Cosmetics and craft supplies with Stampin' Up!

I graduated high school from Summerville High School in 2006. I graduated from Trident Technical College in 2010, majoring in Business.

I live with my grandmother (Nan) and my four legged babies. Clemson, Sassy, and Lilly. My nan is my life, my heart, my soul, and my backbone. I would not be here today if it were not for her. Although, I am my Daddy's world and my Mommy's heart. One of my cousins was raised with me as a brother. His children are my everything. Hunter and Kenley. Family, ADOPTED family, and friends are the world to me. I have some of the best girl friends a girl could ever ask for. I love to tell them I didn't go to school to find my husband, I went to find my bridesmaids ;).

I very active in the Masonic lodge and the Shrine. I am a Past Matron in the Summerville Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. I served 2011-2012. I will be Queen of the Daughters of the Nile in 2013. I am active with the Rainbow and Pledge girls, in which I serve on the Advisory Board. Also, active with the Deomlay boys. My life is dedicated to the Masonic fraternities and fundraising for the Shriner's Hospitals for Children and my community.

Activities that I participate in are coaching cheerleading, and volleyball. I coach volleyball for my church, Knightsville United Methodist. In high school, I was a Smmerville Grapplette for the Wrestling team.

I love to shopping for Lilly Pulitzer, Polo, and American Eagle in my Rainbows or Danksos, watch movies, lay out at the beach (IOP) or the water park. I love making crafts and tons of DIY. I am 100% a GAMECOCK fan and of course GEORGIA SOUTHERN.

Taylor Eugene Gray; He is a family friend that my heart is completely shattered over and grieves very much over. He lost his battle to cancer at the age of 13 in 2007. He will always mean the world to me. As well as the Gray/Soles family. He is my hero and my angel above and I know he will protect me.

Preston Goude; A fellow friend and class mate that everyone loved. Very happy and fun to be around. Always wore a smile. A smile we will never forget..