I've mentioned before that our friend, Anne, designed our invitations for us. Here's a little bit about how the process worked:

• We got engaged and Anne offered to design our invitations (thanks, Anne!) We then took 2 years to get the ball rolling. Luckily, Anne was still on board.
• Anne sent us a collection of over 30 invitation designs to look at to help give her a general idea of what we like.
• Kate and I each chose our 10 favorites from the bunch. (Only 2 overlapped.)
• We sat down with Anne and looked at each of the designs that we had flagged. We described to her what we did and did not like about each one. This could have been the shape, color, font, paper, style, whatever. We talked and Anne took notes.
• Anne translated all of our babbling into common themes and headed back to New York to get to work.
• A few weeks later, she sent us 3 designs that she had created. She definitely got a good feel for what we wanted, and one stuck out as the true winner.
• We tweaked the wording a little bit, and Anne worked on a matching RSVP card. (She was able to get us postcards with our address pre-printed on them, which saved us paper, postage, and time - woohoo!)
• Anne got quotes from 2 printers and then got a proof from the one we chose. She sent us pics, gave us her thoughts, and we approved it. (She would have sent us the physical proofs, but we were in a time crunch so we opted to trust her professional opinion.)
• She placed the order with the printer and got them rush delivered to our doorstep, just in time to be mailed out.
• I hand-addressed each envelope because I like the look of pen on paper. (I hand-addressed our save-the-dates, too.) Kate attached the stamps, stuffed the envelopes, and sealed them.

We asked Anne to design the reception invites and RSVPs, and we took on the task of creating the ceremony invites. At the time, we didn't have the details nailed down yet (when, where, who would be invited.) Once we did, I cashed in a super-sweet Living Social deal at VistaPrint. These were (fairly) easy to design, very inexpensive with my discounts, great quality, and turned around quickly. I just love how they look with the other pieces! The color almost matches perfectly to the ribbon on Anne's design.

(I blurred out some of the information so people don't crash our wedding. )

I'm not sure how the process typically works, but I thought this went well. There was a small point where I was nervous things wouldn't get finished in time (we were slow-moving and Anne has a crazy-busy schedule), but it all worked out. I liked that we were working with a friend because we could trust her opinion and knew that she wanted the best for us. I also loved working with someone in the graphic design business as opposed to the wedding business. Anne was most concerned about how things looked, and wasn't about to push traditional wording on us (something we knew we didn't want.)

Planning this wedding has definitely been a test in separating out what we want from what we're "supposed" to do. I have to say, working with friends and family has been such a help on that front. So many people have offered up their skills and time to assist us, and everyone has listened to our requests and helped make this our wedding. The better people know me and Kate, both as individuals and as a couple, the better they are at reading us and interpreting our desires. I love that our special day will be sprinkled with touches from people we love!

(Sorry, apparently the cheese-factor is sky-rocketing as the day approaches!)

Here's how the past couple weeks rounded out.

Overall: Great!! The "challenge" way of eating just feels like regular eating at this point. I even have indulgences that fit into the plan. I have noticed a few hardships, though. I don't enjoy eating in restaurants nearly as much. I find myself opting to eat at home more often because I know the food will be better. Gatherings are also difficult, and I found myself becoming quite jealous of the pizza my family was enjoying while I was "stuck" eating lentils.

Weight Change: 0 No change in my weight over the past 15 days, although I did lose another 1/2 inch from my waist. That puts me at 6.5 pounds and 3 inches down from the start.

Workouts: Runs: 3, Body Pump: 5, Other: 1 I haven't run since the half marathon last week. I'd like to, but I can't find the time. However, we have a fun run on Saturday, and I'm really hoping to get in at least one run around Central Park while we're in New York next weekend. I made it to all of my scheduled Body Pump classes (woohoo!), and bumped up my weight on the back, bicep, and shoulder tracks. I don't think of myself as a superficial person, but knowing wedding pictures will be taken in just a few short weeks really keeps me motivated!

Meals From a Salad Bar: 5 Packing lunches has become secondary to finishing wedding crafts...which means it's just not happening.

Deviations From the Plan: several?? I had my first, "I'm just going to eat whatever I fancy" experience at our couple's shower. Our friends put a lot of time and thought into the party, so I decided not to fret about what I was going to eat. Plus, the food was great! Unfortunately, my body did not agree. I felt like absolute garbage the next day. Sure, it was probably mostly due to the large amounts of Two Buck Chuck consumed at the end of the night, but I think the grains, dairy, and sugar were also culprits. (I had tortilla chips with cheese dip, ranch with my vegetables, and tortilla roll-ups containing cream cheese...as well as a cake ball and a root beer float.) Not only did I feel gross, but my skin broke out and I was quite sluggish. I don't blame any of the food or drinks in particular, I just think it was a shock to my body to reintroduce everything in such a short timespan.

But other than the party, I'm still doing fine day-to-day and can only think of a couple more small deviations: at our Mother's Day cookout, my veggie burger contained some brown rice flour and the pickles had added sugar.

New Discoveries: 2

• Cassava Chips - I found these guys at Marshall's, and they've become a fast favorite - especially the salt & vinegar flavor. But along with the Terra chips and plantain chips that I mentioned in my last update, I think I'm going a little heavy on the convenience foods.

Coconut Ice Cream - This coconut milk ice cream is soy and dairy-free and sweetened with agave. The ingredient list is nice and short, although the price tag is not! A pint of this creamy goodness will set you back over $6 at my regular grocery store (Hy-Vee), although I just found it on sale at my back-up store (Baker's) for $3.99. My freezer is full and I am happy. Some nights I eat it with melted peanut butter and cocoa, and other nights I slice strawberries on top. I guess there are nights when I don't have any ice cream, but I was going at it pretty hard for a while there

Favorite Recipes: Can't get enough sweet potato hash with eggs or egg salad with avocado!

15 days to go!

It happens to only be available at my house currently, but I'll gladly pay for it in a restaurant if someone wants to make it for me. In fact, this is so good that I forewent going to breakfast in Lincoln after my half marathon last weekend for the promise of sweet potato hash & eggs when we got back to Omaha. I held myself over with a banana and a Larabar on the drive back home, and it was totally worth it. Especially since this cutie cooked for me while I showered.

This recipe started out as a Paleo breakfast that we could eat during the 60 Day Challenge, but has since become a fast favorite for any and all times.

Sweet Potato Hash & Eggs

yield: 1 serving

time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil (You can use another oil, but coconut oil imparts a subtle flavor that cannot be replaced.)
• 1/4 of an onion
• 1 medium sweet potato
• salt and pepper, to taste
• cooking spray
• 2 eggs
• hot sauce, for serving

Directions

• Peel the sweet potato and grate it using the large holes of a box grater. Set aside.
• Heat the oil over medium in a medium non-stick skillet.
• Finely chop the onion and place in the oil. Cook until just translucent and softened, but not golden, stirring constantly (about 2 minutes.)
• Add the grated sweet potato, and stir to combine. Season with plenty of salt and pepper. Continue to stir the potato shreds as they begin to soften and turn bright orange. 
• After 5 minutes, press the potato into an even layer in the bottom of the pan, so it looks like a potato pancake. Let it sit and cook until the bottom has browned (5 minutes.) It should smell like fried potatoes, not burnt.
• Once the bottom is browned, gently flip the potatoes. You won't be able to flip the entire "pancake" at once, so just flip one section at a time until you've made it all the way around the pan (it does not have to be perfect.) Once again, press the potatoes into an even layer. Let sit until browned, 3-5 minutes.
• Scoop hash onto a plate, sprinkle with hot sauce (optional), and cover to keep warm. Spray the hot pan with a thin layer of cooking spray and place back over medium heat. 
• Crack the eggs into the pan, keeping them separate and taking care not to break the yolks.
• Cook until side one is just set (about 2 minutes) and then very carefully flip without breaking the yolks.
• Cook on side two just until the whites have become opaque (about 1 minute for a runny yolk.) Gently slide the eggs on top of the hash.
• Serve with lots and lots of hot sauce!