bleu+lacie

Show Us Your Life-Wedding Part 2

2009-07-30T20:00:00.002-05:00

Part 2 of the "wedding series" over at Kellys Korner is show us your flowers/songs and wedding party. We had 4 songs to play during our wedding. Our mom's walked out to David Tolk's Grace, I walked down to David Tolk's In Reverence and we had a moment during the wedding that was just to ourselves, we were able to say everything that was on our hearts in private, David Tolk's Revelation played. If you've never heard of David Tolk, check him out, he is so gifted and his song are annointed! We walked out to Jason Catro's version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Our flowers were simple, varying shades of ivory. I didn't want to compete with the natural beauty of the wedding location. Speaking of, the wedding was held in East Texas on land that has been in my family for over 100 years. Five years ago, I purchased it, about 90 acres. It's rolling land, surrounded by pine trees and overlooks a beautiful pond. The pics you've seen with the dirt road and trees were taken on the dam of the pond. The exact spot we were married on is the spot that Bleu first told me he loved me. We had taken my parents ranger over to "our" land and parked it overlooking the pond. We were dreaming...dreaming about our future, our home, our children. I knew when Bleu told me he loved me, that I would be his wife. We hope to have a home/farmhouse on that same land someday. You'll see in the photos below that my mom planted daffodils around "our spot". They will bloom every year around our anniversary, an awesome reminder of God's blessing!

My bouquet was comprised of ivory roses and hydrangeas

Rose and hydrangea petals

More detailed shot of my bouquet

Both my mom and Bleu's carried small nosegays of roses and hydrangeas

The wedding site, "our spot" and the daffodils my mom planted

Topper on the cake, I'll show the whole cake next week!

Reception flowers: white stargazed lilies, white gladiolas, filler, branches.

Bleu and I chose to keep our guest list to family only. This included our parents, brothers, sisters, nieces/nephews, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Basically anyone that attended the wedding, could have been IN the wedding. Therefore, we didn't have bridesmaids and groomsmen. I included a pics of our awesome families!

Bleu's parents, bros, sisters, nephews, niece

My mom, dad, bro, sister-in-law, nephew.

It was the most amazing day of my life! Bleu is such a precious gift from the Lord, I'm often overwhelmed with how much I love this man and how much he loves me!

Come back next week for reception pictures!

Road Trip!!

2009-07-27T12:17:00.012-05:00

Bleu and I took the mother of all road trips when we decided to move ourselves to New York. We drove (well, he drove) a 17 foot UHAUL through Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. We left from my parents in East Texas early on a Tuesday morning, aiming to arrive in New York on Thursday afternoon. We didn't even get out of town before I made Bleu stop at Wal-Mart, we had a little extra room in the UHAUL, and I needed to pick up some supplies. They don't have Wal-Mart in Manhattan, ya'll, I had to take advantage of the opportunity. After loading up on cornmeal, pinto beans, salsa, (you would think we're moving to a foreign country, but I couldn't risk not being able to get our southern food staples in the city) and road trip snacks, we were finally on our way!

Driving

More driving....

The first night we stopped in Nashville. After filling our tummies with Cracker Barrel, (it's un-American if you don't eat at Cracker Barrel at least once on a road trip), we crashed. Why is it that sitting in a car doing nothing makes you so exhausted? Tennessee was beautiful. We saw corn, LOTS of corn, I swear 78 of the 86 pictures I took on the trip were of CORN. Corn in Arkansas, corn in Tennessee, corn in Virginia...you get the picture. We called Bleu's dad (who's a corn farmer) reporting on the corn crop in that part of the country. Bleu to dad : "Well, it looks good in ______(wherever we were at the time)" People, if you are worried about corn, you shouldn't be, there's tons of it, and it looks good.

Corn in Tennessee

View for 2 1/2 days..

Corn in Virginia..

The last night we stopped in Pennsylvania, about 2 hours from the city. We woke up that morning loaded back up, made a Starbucks run, and sat in traffic.....and sat in traffic....and sat some more. It took us 5 hours!! WELCOME TO NEW YORK, where it takes you a really long time to get somewhere and we charge you a lot for stuff. Below is our first glimpse of the sky line...yes it was a classic moment for us, a "what are we doing here" moment. The next photo is of the GW Bridge headed over to the Upper East Side where we live, it was a toll bridge, and it cost $8 bucks...wow. That was after New Jersey handed it to us with about $12 in tolls, geez.

It was a little scary navigating the UHAUL through the city, but Bleu did so great! We made a good team. We pulled right up to the apartment and found a parking spot, which was a miracle in and of itself. We hired some guys to help unload us, and we had everything in the apartment within 2 hours. It could not have gone smoother.

So now we're about 4 weeks in, and we really do love it. Awesome apartment, great part of the city, yummy food, Bleu loves his job, we found a church (praise God) an we're making friends! Thanks for all of your prayers, we've needed them and felt them. God is so good....

Here Comes the Bride...

2009-07-24T00:28:00.011-05:00

UPDATE: I wanted to post one more of the dress so you can see the detail in the lace a little better, and a pic of my old beat up boots!

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is hosting a "Show Us Your Life" - wedding dress post. Here are a few pics of me marrying the man of my dreams!

My strapless gown is antique ivory lace over a latte lining. At the waist, there is an embellished belt with pearls and crystals. It was absolutely perfect for the rustic setting on our land in East Texas. We were married surrounded by family and pine trees this February 2009. The exact spot we were married on, is the same spot my husband told me he loved me for the first time. The ceremony was outside and a tent reception followed.

Gown by Monique Lhuillier. Boots by Lucchese

Last Days in Dallas..

2009-07-23T00:29:00.008-05:00

WOW, I've really got to get better at this blog thing. I promise to try.

Our last few days in Texas were a whirlwind! Some of the highlights were:

Packing up our apartment for the 2.5 day drive to NYC. It was so cute, and our first "home".

2 residency graduations, Bleu was awarded Chief of the Year for Baylor (I'm so proud)!

Bleu and Dr. Joe Liechty

Dr. Jake Abbott

The "chiefs" 2008-2009

Dr. McReynolds at the JPS Roast

Bleu and I at the Baylor graduation.

Lots of making the rounds with all of our friends.

Dinner at all of our favorite restaurants, plenty of Tex-Mex.

A bbq at my parents in East Texas in celebration of our move to NY.

My next 2 posts will chronicle our road trip to New York and our first few weeks in the city....Stay Tuned!

Almost Summer..

2009-05-30T10:59:00.009-05:00

May has been such a great month for Bleu and I...full of fun activities with our friends and family. We started the month off with a trip to Cedar Creek lake to have a reunion with Bleu's medical school buddies. It was an awesome time. Bleu is so blessed with amazing friends, and it was an honor for me to meet them, their wives and kids.

On the lake

Bleu wake surfing

Next up was a trip to Dalhart. Bleu's mom and dad graciously hosted a post wedding party for us in Bleu's home town. It was amazing, from the food, decor and most importantly the company. The weekend was packed full of fun! In addition to the party, we swam, bbq'd, swam some more, spent time on the farm, made homemade ice cream and even played a family baseball game!

Our beautiful party decor, love the "B" & "L" at the end of the table

Bleu on the combine

Riding the dirt bike is a must on the farm :-)

On the farm

Corn in May

The countdown to NYC is on, less than 30 days and we're off to the Big Apple!

We heart New York..

2009-04-16T10:40:00.026-05:00

Bleu and I took a "scouting" trip to New York to asses what we were in for when we make the big move in June. We flew into La Guardia on the Thursday before Easter. After getting all settled in our hotel, in Midtown, we decided to venture out for some lunch/sightseeing. We went up the street a couple of blocks to Grand Central Station. Bleu and I both agree there is something romantic about Grand Central. After a quick smooch in the main terminal, we went downstairs to the food court. That's where the romance ended...that place is a zoo! After circling twice trying to decide what to eat and dodging people that walk faster than humanly possible, we got our food. Then, the hunt for a table began, you have to be quick and not get distracted. After 5 minutes of that hunt, we were successful. We collapsed in our chairs. I'm not sure we spoke to each other for 5 minutes. We both just sat there staring into space. Bleu broke the silence with "WHAT are we doing here?". I tried to convince Bleu that we were in one of the busiest parts on Manhattan, and our neighborhood would be so much more quiet and nice (all the while TRYING to believe the words that were coming out of my mouth).

As if the crowds of Grand Central weren't enough fun, we thought we would enjoy the crowds of Time Square later that night! It really was a blast. We ate at a great Asian bistro, Ruby Foos, and stayed long enough to snap some pics.

On Friday, we ventured up to our soon-to-be neighborhood, the Upper East Side. It really is one of the nicest parts of Manhattan. We met the staff in Bleu's new office, they were all SO nice and welcoming. After our visit to the hospital, we took a tour of our apartment building, located just 2 blocks from the hospital. It's great, and the best part.....central air conditioning (a luxury in NYC, most have window units)! Ha, that and the gym, the doorman, the cool courtyard, and the fact that it's a NEW building- that is a rarity in NYC.

Saturday, we took in some sights of the city. We went to the Natural History Museum and Bleu treated me to a tour of Central Park....he informed me that we would spend a lot of time in the park, in the wide open spaces and grass and trees. You can take the man out of Texas, but not Texas out of the man...

One might assume the above is a pic of the famous dinosaur at the museum, but this is, in fact, my alter ego, Bleu has so sweetly named "the monster". This alter ego only makes an appearance when I need to be fed. It gets ugly if I go too long without food. Bleu has only met "her" once.

Easter Sunday, we visited Redeemer Church. It was a great service, and a church we will definitely visit again. Please pray that we find a church home quickly and fellowship with other Believers. Below is our first annual Easter Picture, this is a torture, ahem, tradition in my family that has been going on forever. And we have a BIG extended family, every year each family "poses" for their annual Easter pic down at my Mamaw's. I've included some for a blast from the past.

Circa 1983

Circa 2006

We arrived back in Dallas on Sunday evening, and drove promptly to our favorite Mexican food place, Uncle Julio's...we were having withdrawals being in NYC for 4 days, we needed to get some Tex-mex back in our system, stat. Over dinner we started to get really excited about our 2 year "adventure" up to New York, but we both agree 2 years is just about the maximum amount of time we can be away from our beloved family, friends and Lone Star State.

Bleu's Birthday Pie

2009-03-23T12:24:00.014-05:00

We just celebrated Bleu's Birthday (3-21-76) with a week long celebration. Birthday's are a big deal around here. Bleu asked me to marry him on my Birthday, so I had a lot to live up to! We started the week out with a present...I made a photo book on kodak.com...it chronicles our engagement, engagement pics and honeymoon. It's the first time I've done one, it turned out great! I'm a big fan now. Then about mid-week, Bleu requested a "birthday pie", a homemade apple pie, to be exact. Now, I'm no stranger to cooking, but as I'm asking Bleu to put in his request, I'm mentally rolling through the rolodex of my specialities and apple pie was not one of them! I've never made one before. But whatever my husband wants for his birthday, I'll do my best to make it happen. So, I enthusiastically agreed to take on the challenge. Voila!...homemade apple pie.

It turned out pretty yummy if I do say so myself. But, no birthday pie is complete without birthday candles...Bleu was pretty excited about his pie, hehe.

On Friday, Bleu had a day off. We had a big birthday breakfast (I'm starting to see a common theme here, my husband does love to eat :-) We've had awesome weather this week in Dallas so we took advantage and went to the driving range with our friends Sean and Jenny Steen, and then hung out on a patio soaking up the sun! That evening we enjoyed a dinner at Bleu's favorite restaurant, III Forks.

As far as a birthday present goes....Bleu asked for an IPOD. Now, me being the over-analytical shopper that I am, I started to compare the IPOD touch to the IPHONE, the phone does everything the touch does, and it's $30 CHEAPER. I was all set to make my case to Bleu on why he needed the phone. My plan was to take him to the Apple Store, show him the phone side-by-side to the touch, and tell him all the reasons he need the IPHONE. First and foremost, it's the 21st Century, secondly, he can get email, etc., and keep in touch with his friends, and blah, blah, blah. So, we walk into the store, and I'm all ready to give him my spill, he takes one look at the IPHONE and says "I want it". Yes people, our Bleu has made leaps and bounds. He now has a blog, AND he's about to have an IPHONE. I'm so proud of him!

As excited as he is about getting an IPHONE, he's was even MORE excited to get 3 envelopes in the mail from his nephews Jaidan, Jagger and Jette! The boys had all drawn their own birthday cards. These were his favorite gifts of all!

Jette

Jagger

Jaidan

Honeymoon!

2009-03-11T10:56:00.014-05:00

Bleu and I honeymooned in Playa del Carmen at the Royal Hideaway...talk about relaxing. It was the perfect follow up to our wedding. Here are some of our pics!

Lounging at the pool

Bleu's big pile of guacamole :-)

Dressed up for dinner at Las Ventanas

Bleu and Jorge the iguana-he's on the rock ledge by the water

Jorge

A little "light" reading on the beach, Bleu's brain magazine

"Doesn't get any better than this"-Bleu. Nap in the beachside bed

Last day :( We thought about staying...

Wedding Photos

2009-03-06T22:35:00.009-06:00

Our full gallery of wedding photos is online now. Go to lezlieandrew.com, click on client log in, click on bride and groom, click bleu+lacie. There is no password. The photos on her site are unedited. You can click on "blog" on her website and there's a handful of edited shots. I can't rave enough about our photographers! Lezlie is so gifted.

As you can see in the photos, it was a small intimate ceremony. There were about 80-90 people there, and that was only family! It was so perfect for Bleu and I, God is so good! The ceremony was outside and the reception was in a tent. The location was on my (our, now:) land right beside my mom and dad's where I grew up in East Texas. We had it on the hill overlooking the pond. We were married in the spot that Bleu first told me he loved me. My mom planted daffodils in a semi-circle, they will bloom every year at this time. An awesome reminder of the best day of my life.

We're settling back in to our routine here in Dallas before we head off to NYC in July. Bleu has a 2 year fellowship in Cardio Thoracic surgery at Cornell NY Presbyterian. I'm so proud of my husband! He is such a gifted surgeon and is using the gifts the Lord gave him. After the 2 year fellowship, we're back to the Lone Star state. Who knows exactly where we'll end up in Texas, but we're both open to wherever the Lord leads us!

We have a blog!

2009-03-06T18:14:00.004-06:00

Wow, I have a blog :) With the move to New York getting closer and closer on the horizon, I thought a blog would be a fun way for our family and friends to keep up with the adventures of The Schniederjans! Bleu and I plan to make the most of our 2 years in the Big Apple, and take advantage of all the neat things to do in the North East. Sooo, hopefully we will have some great stories and pics to post on our new blog! This is kind of a wimpy first post, but my husband is about to wake up from his post call nap, and he wants pizza! We're about to dine at Dallas's best pizzeria, Grimaldi's...it is out of this world!