Neither Hair Nor There

For any regular readers, I may have forgotten to add in one key detail - I cut off all my hair and nixed the blonde. I'm not sure what exactly sure what inspired me to do this, but hey you only live once right?

Before:

After:

The good news is that I don't regret the choice. We'll see how long I stick with it now that I'm trying new stuff.

More to come,
Nicole

Welcome to Miami

Shortly after coming back from New York, our client let us know that we were on board for Miami Fashion Week in October. Not unlike New York, it was a bit of a whirlwind. But at least this time I didn't break my toe...or rather someone didn't break it for me with their shoes.

The weather was beautiful, the people were odd but the media was bountiful and that's all a gal like me needs.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the week:

The group I worked with for the week, our models on the outside and clients (or, as we were calling each other by the end of the last trip: fashion week family) before it all kicks off:

The Bejeweled swimsuit show at the Setai Hotel

The girls celebrating the close of the week at the Russell Simmons show afterparty.

While a little crazy, this week was another successful venture and a nice burst of warm weather in October!

More to come,
Nicole

Start Spreadin' The News

I realize my blog is obscenely behind and neglected as of lately. Surprisingly enough my life has become increasingly busier with the wedding behind me (as you're about to read). These past few months have been filled with craziness, laughs and lots of hard work.

Back in September, one of my clients was able to secure a space at New York Fashion Week and after some vigerious follow up, or as most might see it, moderate stalking (and I mean borderline restraining order stalking here) of the New York national media our client determined that they needed a hand. Additionally, my company decided it would be wise to have a presence at an event of this magnitude.

The week was nothing less than a marathon for all participants - from 7 a.m. until 1 a.m. every day for four days my colleagues and I worked the runways. We had incredible success and face time with national media outlets and some really great celebrity sightings (and who doesn't love those?). The cherry on top was staying with the Mizzi family, Margaret and Chris - who were just married in June. These two are some of my favorite people and getting to spend a week with them made it just that much better.

While photos can never truely nor accurately describe the hilarity and awesomeness of the trip I've posed a few below. Hey, what would an NW-Life post be without photos?

My coworker Elin and client, Amanda smile big before the event kicks off in front of the sponsor board

Models on the runway doing a practice run of the show. I always liked these best as they were half ready and had their hair in curlers, some had shoes some didn't. It was just funny to me.

Clients and I share a celeb sighting and photo with Danielle from America's Next Top Model

I was lucky to end the week by having a girl's night with Margaret and the client. Margaret's husband later joined us, because everybody loves chris:)

New York was definately a whirlwind, but it felt great to be in good company and think on my feet for a while too.

More to come,

Nicole

U is for Urbanik, That's Good Enough for Me!

Shortly After Greg and I came home from our honeymoon, we had more weddings to see! Our friends Nikki and Phil decided to celebrate their bachelorette/bachelor parties and wedding in the same weekend and what a time it was!

Before I bother to describe what a fun time Nikki's bachelorette party was, I must first say that her friends who also attended the celebration had a lot to do with it. What a fun and nice group of people to spend the weekend with. Plus, it was fun to adventure with not one, not two but THREE Nicole's.

The photos below chronicle the fun parts of the night I was able to capture before my camera sadly died (RIP camera of fun...)

The bachelorette, Nikki rocked Elton John glasses along with whatever else we could fit on her dress to appropriately embarass her

All the girls excitedly pose in front of the limo before heading out for a night on the town!

Smiling with Nikki before ending our night on the town in Royal Oak and heading home.

Overall, it was a really great night and as usual, the best part about bachelorette parties is making friends with new people who are already simliar to the bride you love.

Now comes the fun part - the wedding day! The night before, my husband and I went our seporate ways to stay with the betrothen two before their big day. Nikki was such a breezy bride the day of her wedding and they had beautiful weather all day long.

The two were married at Holy Family Church in Grand Blanc and celebrated their reception at the Flint Institute of Music. The reception hall was a really unique choice and offered the couple and guests something different to celebrate the day with. The photos from the day were stolen from my husbands camera (since the recent passing of my own, i still think of it daily) and may not do the beautiful couple and day justice, but here's a taste:

Meet the Urbaniks! Phil and Nikki breathe a sigh of relief once they're really married, the ceremony is complete and they are officially on the party bus

A little background: Nikki's dad is the anchor for ABC12 in Flint and her brother is one of the camera men for the station and Nikki is a sports fanatic. For the grand entrance, her family made a SportsCenter-themed broadcast for the entrance. To make the most of it, the whole bridal party donned eyeblack and Big League Chew, here are some of the bridesmaides having a good laugh

Towards the end of the night, I even stole a photo with one of the groomsmen (okay and he's my husband too)

This was a great weekend and time well spent celebrating with good friends.

More to come,

Nicole

Summer of Love: Officially a Mrs.

Ladies and gentlemen of Google Blogger: I'm a married lady!

So many amazing things to say about the day, the week leading up to it and the honeymoon. Greg and I were lucky enough to have so many friends travel to Michigan to either be part of the day or just to spend time with us. Big thanks to our big travelers: Martin, Margaret, Chris, Mike, Kasi, Jenny, Bryn and even our local travelers who drove to the great up north.

Since we got married on a Friday, my last day of work that week was Tuesday and I celebrated my two weeks of freedom by picking up Greg's college roommate (and one of our ushers), Mike and his girlfriend, Kasi up from the airport. I've only met Mike a few times before he moved to Virginia and hadn't gotten to meet his girlfriend before so it was really cool getting the know these two a bit better over the week. We had a great time hanging out, going to dinner and playing card games throughout the week.

Of note, they stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Auburn Hills - their toilet had a bidet! I've never seen one before up-close and proceeded to ask ridiculous questions about it for the remainder of their stay.

Mike and Kasi - so glad you two could make it!

The next day, Greg's friend who he met at camp Greylock flew all the way in from South Africa to make the wedding and be our other usher. It was wonderful to finally meet him since I've heard so many nice things and funny stories about him over the years. Since he'd traveled such a long way, and since we have an extra room in our house he stayed with us. Meeting Martin definately confirmed everything kind Greg had said about him over the years with me as with the rest of our friends. Here's a funny picture of Martin Eric (best man) at the wedding, so glad to have met you Martin!

Later on in the week, one of my favorite couples ever made the trip in from New York. Margaret and Chris were just marred in June (scroll down for photos) and are wonderful friends that Greg and both look forward to hanging out with every time they're in town. Margaret and I have known each other since fourth grade, last month I was in her wedding, this month, she's in mine. It was great getting to see so much of these two this summer and they did a bang up job taking photos all day before, during and after our wedding. Here's a photo of Greg, me, Margaret and Chris at the wedding - love you guys!!!

Two of my other favorite ladies, Bryn and Jenny made the trip in from Chicago for our wedding. I've known Jenny since the second grade and Bryn since middle school. They've always been so much fun to hang out with and I was so glad that Jenny was able to be in the wedding and I got to spend some time with my much-missed Bryn. It was also really cool that Greg got a chance to know these two a bit better as they've not really had much of a chance to get to know each other until this summer of weddings came along - love you girls, thanks so much for coming!

Onto my local shout-outs, my friend Nicole Blair has turned into the next big thing in photography and we were lucky enough to snag her to be our wedding photographer. Truthfully, if anything (while we're all completely in love and quasi-obsessed with her photos) it was great to book her so she had to come to our wedding and couldn't go to anyone else's and had to chance to be a guest after a certain point in the night. She's already posted a photo preview on her blog at her site (see the link to the right). At the end of the night, her boyfriend Andy took a photo of all of us girls who grew up together. Nicole, you're wonderful thanks for everything!

There are so many shout-outs to include, but since it's my blog I'm going to stick to the remainder of my bridesmaids who I haven't yet mentioned. Jennifer, my little sister and maid of honor delivered one heck of a speech and remained an awesome sounding board throughout the whole planning process. I had so much fun having the extra excuse to spend time with her and do girly things. Jennifer, you're awesome and I was so happy you were a part of our day:

And for you Rachel, Amanda and Trisha my former roommates. You are hilarious. If there is a point where comic releif or a good sense of humor is required, that's what you are for. They also happen to be wonderful friends that I've spent countless hours doing talking nonsense with and living the dream while in college. I was so happy to have you all as a part in the wedding and hang out more. You girls are certainly another set of friends I can't get enough of...love you lots!

Here's a photo of all the bridesmaids:

What a great day! Greg and I had so much fun with everything leading up to and including the day. To credit the groom, he was very cool about me slowly losing my mind with wedding things this past year. More importantly, wedding aside, he's a wonderful partner and husband, I couldn't have asked for anything more in someone to marry. Here's one of our first photos as Mr. & Mrs. below.

All in all, we had a great time. Our parents and family were wonderful and looked stress-free all day. We appreciate all the support and help each of you offered - thank you Paual, Greg I, Dad and Matthew, we love you guys too!

More to come,

Nicole

Here comes the Bride(al) Shower

*Whew* I've not been myself these past few weeks! With the wedding on my mind, the honeymoon and all my other friends tying the knot, I've been a neglectful blogger. Never fear, today is catch-up day - prepare to read about life these days:)

Previously, Lynn hosted another bridal shower for me at her and Grandpa's house. The whole family put forth a lot of effort for a really nice brunch and we had a great time catching up and devouring her amazing food. Here are some photos of the day:

Bridal Showers don't only mean good food. They mean good competition. Here Mrs. Yekulis, Lynn and Trisha prepare for the wedding dress toilet paper showdown

Jennifer models the creation that she, Jenny, Mrs. Taylor and Greg's mom, Paula cooked up. It's really...something huh?


Trisha sports a more conventional 80's look.

Present Time! Looks like we got lots of fun things for the garden - Thanks sister Melissa (Yekulis)

At the end of the day, I not only had tons of great gifts and spent time with the fam/friends, but Melissa (Blevins) also made me my boquet for the rehearsal.

Onto part II, a few months ago, Greg's sister Melissa (A.K.A wedding guru) threw me a beautiful bridal shower to celebrate our upcoming wedding. Details are definately this girl's forte, from the decor to the food to even hosting the afternoon outdoors, this thoughtful gal made a beautiful afternoon soiree to celebrate our wedding.

Look at the amazing lunch Melissa put on! What a crafty gal:)

The ladies enjoying our outdoor setting

Such cute napkins, I was completely obsessed.

Look at my amazing lunch! I wish I was eating it right..now...*drool*

My maid of honor, Jennifer and bridesmaid Amanda smile in the sunshine:)

Heeeey! That's me, another day, another rockin' bridal shower.

All in all, it was so nice to have so many people come and celebrate Greg and I getting married later this summer. The women who put together these events were so thoughtful and created another wonderful event to add to the scrapbook - Thanks to everyone who made these days and came!

More to come,

Nicole

Mizzi in the Hizzy

A few weeks ago, my friend Margaret (see link to her blog on the right) got married! It was a really fun couple of days and so nice to see big grins on both their faces all day. They got married in the same church her grandparents and later parents were married in Ypsilanti and held a beautiful reception at Henry Ford Village. I was a bridesmaid for hers, and she's going to return the favor in just a few weeks for my wedding!

While my camera died half way through the day (way to go on preparation...) I was able to scavenge some photos of the good stuff.

Congrats Margaret & Chris Mizzi!

Here's the bride and groom running out of the church with her bridesmaids and ushers behind. Fancy hair Mrs. M!

Chris' brother and sister-in-law Ann-Marie and Anthony (they're pretty awesome)
Here's Ann and Anthony's son Simon...he's adorable....

Such a fun day, can't wait to see photos from her photographer later.

More to come,

Nicole

Batter Up!

A little update on our favorite coach, Greg Yelland: his baseball team made it to the final four state championship this weekend in Battle Creek!

The Boys of Summer are at the park today and first up is Divine Child. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend but will instead cheer from my cubicle today.

Never fear, he has promised pictures so I can post later!

Coverage of the Martian's win:

Must have been those awesome cupcakes that spawned success....just kidding...congrats to coaches Greg & Bob and the boys:)

More to come,

Nicole

Out of This World

Avid magazine reader that I am, I have a confession: I read Redbook. I love it. It may not be targeted toward my demographic, If not for it's thrifty decor tips (which I look forward to putting to use one day), definately for it's recipies.

One day while thumbing through, I found a true gem to surprise Greg with.

(a little backstory) Greg works at Goodrich High School and coaches baseball (mentioned below). Their mascot is the Martian - and while it's a different type of martian - I couldn't resist attempting the recipe I saw photographed here:

After seeing this, I couldn't resist the challenge! While mine may not have turned out as exact as this photo, I had a TON of fun making them, turning my clothes green from mixing in the food dye and even added a little yellow "G" for Greg/Goodrich;)

Here's how my project shook out:

Super green frosting that covered most of my shirt and the kitchen floor...oops.

My many "secret" ingredients for success:

Martians in the freezer to make sure the frosting will "stick"

My little green man as a finished product!

This was truely a messy but fun project. Greg had a good laugh, and I kept myself occupied for an evening.

Good game Redbook!

More to come,

Nicole

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Last month marked two interesting occasions in my life 1.) the night I slept on my bathroom floor and 2.) my bachelorette party. Oddly enough, they occured on the same evening.

Friends traveled from other cities, counties and in a couple cases out of state to make it. We had a great time thanks to the detailed plans of my BAMF MOH and BM's. Special thanks to all my girls who made it: Trisha, Rachel, Amanda, Jenny, Margaret, Jennifer, Bryn, Nicole B., Melissa, Lisa, Kristie and, of course, Jennifer!

We started out the evening with a delicious dinner Jennifer cooked up in our new kitchen, played some flipcup on our porch, had a pure romance party and got in the 14 passenger van to head to Royal Oak for a night out at Skybar, Memphis Smoke and Vinotecha. The best part of the night was having all my favorite people (or most) in one spot:)

(special thanks to Greg for giving the ladies the house and spending the night at Eric's)

*deep breath* Here are the photos from the night:

Since I told my sister phallic items were not welcome, she chose that as the theme for dinner as a joke..and there was a delightful mixture in the pitcher:)

Amanda setting up flip-cup on the deck..it begins...

More Flip cup...

Rachel and Trisha trying to figure out what positions the toothpicks were in...

Time to hop on the bus! The girls bond:)

Lisa and I celebrating!

All of us (most of us) out at Skybar in Royal Oak!


My sister and sister-to-be make faces....

Photos kinda dwindled towards the end of the night..but oh what a night it was. Thanks to everyone for making this a night to remember!

More to come!

Nicole