Whirlwind of wedding planning

So, Mike proposed back in May on Mother's Day.

We have yet to set a date because his work doesn't do vacation schedules until November and Mike's the newbie to the shop so he's the last to get his pick of what week he wants.  However, that hasn't stopped the planning from going on.

I have my guest list done, my dress and bridesmaid dresses picked out, flower girl dress and all the guys clothes picked out.  I haven't asked my bridesmaids yet because I haven't seen them in person and Mike hasn't asked his guys either.  I have also decided how I want my cake decorated. I think I'm going with a small cake for Mike and I to cut, but then cupcakes for everyone else.  My extended family has about 40 people in it and almost half of those are kids so I figure cupcakes are fun for them.

As far as location, that's still undecided too. I would like an outdoor ceremony but I am too scared of bad weather to have an outdoor reception. My luck it would be a severe thunderstorm that day and we would all be rain soaked.  I do have a list of places I want to check out, but until I know a date I haven't called places yet.

We had engagement pictures taken back in August and I'm going to use those to make the guest book like this. 

Here's a few of my favorites from our engagement photos. I haven't seen all of them yet, the photographer just posted about 30 of them and is getting us the rest this week. Can't wait! 

Photos were taken by Nichole Frank Photography

I also have a few ideas of center pieces and stuff for the shower. Oh, and the first thing I did was create our registry, but there's only a few items on there so far. We are registered at two stores and we're doing a honeymoon registry. I decided that since we have lived together for 8 years and we have a house full of stuff and I don't want people buying us items we won't use or don't need a honeymoon registry would be a great alternative. We are going on a cruise and the cruise line offers the registry through them for things such as dinners, room upgrades, or excursions. Can't wait! 

So I think that's all I have done since we got engaged 5 months ago. I'm already overwhelmed! 

DIY Halloween Eyeball Wreath

This wreath may be one of my favorite Halloween decorations I have. I pinned something similar on Pinterest last year, but they place they suggested to get eye balls made the wreath cost almost $60! No thank you!  I made this one for $6.  I bought several of these wreaths last year after the holiday for $0.50 each.  The eye balls were a dollar a bag from The Dollar Tree. I was so excited when I saw them there. 

I bought 7 bags of eye balls, but only needed 5 to cover the front of the wreath. I could add more around the edges but I worry they'll fall off when I have to store it after Halloween is over so I just did the front. 

I just started hot gluing them on one by one, making sure all the pupils pointed the same direction and worked my way around the wreath. 

When I was almost all the way around I hot glued a halloween ribbon on it so I would have a way to hang it up.   I held it up and filled in some of the empty looking spots and then hung it up and stared at it all day. I was so proud! 

It hangs on our front door and I did add some window cling bats so the whole door is mighty festive and ready to scare the kids. However, now that we live in the country I doubt anyone besides my family will even see it. 

I wish I would of covered the wreath with some orange or black ribbon or tulle just to hide the straw a little more, but when I started I was too excited to think about that. 

Stove Top Swiss Chicken Casserole

I've mentioned before that I like recipes with stuffing in them. It's like Thanksgiving but without eating more than you should. This casserole dish was a good one to use your left over chicken in after a holiday meal.

shredded chicken

1 pkg Swiss Cheese

1 16 oz. box pasta

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

1 box chicken stuffing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta al dente'.  Mix shredded chicken, pasta, and cream of chicken soup together.  In another small bowl, mix stuffing and sour cream together. 

Spread pasta mix on bottom of baking dish.  Spread stuffing mix on top. Cover with swiss cheese slices.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. 

Queso Taco Pasta Bake

Taking a break from the freezer meal sharing to share this amazing pasta dish. It was one of my new favorite dishes.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup salsa

1 pound lean ground beef

One 10 ounce can Rotel tomatoes, mild

1 tablespoon ground cumin

3/4 pound small pasta of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a saucepan.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper for about 30 seconds. Whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Continue to whisk until thickened.  Stir in  1 1/2 cups shredded cheese and salsa until well mixed. Set aside

Brown and drain ground beef. Mix in tomatoes and cumin. Mix cheese sauce with beef.

Cook pasta al dente'. Drain and mix with cheese beef mixture.  

Pour into baking dish. Top with remaining 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.