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We are the hot sauces because we LOVE things spicy!

Both of us were born and raised in Texas. I am a Quality Adminstrator and he is a machinist. Living in the Houston area we both work in industries closely tied to oil and gas.

We have a cute little house in Cypress where we live with my two sons from a previous marriage (yes, that makes me an encore bride) and our two pit bulls Caleb and Cristal.

The Hot Sauces have been together for a whooping 6 yrs! We have been engaged since Sept. 3 2007. Things we enjoy together are good food and good company. Mr. Hot Sauce is a beer connoisseur, while Ms. Hot Sauce prefers a nice glass of wine. Occasionally, the two will find a delicious wine they both like thanks to HEB tastings. We are always up for something new. We enjoy playing games (video, board, card, you name it). We also love to watch movies and are secret MTV challenge show geeks. Mr. Hot Sauce is a sports kind of guy and enjoys football, basketball and NASCAR. Ms. Hot Sauce tries, but tend to lose interest in football especially. All around we just like to have a good time and enjoy each others company. Some of the best nights have been spent at home with a glass of wine in hand sitting on the deck bbqing. Those are the nights we look forward to for the rest of our lives!

Some years ago there was this thing on the weekends called "Rock n Bowl" at our local bowling alley. My friends (we'll call them AM and AN) and I were there just about every weekend. Somehow we accumulated more people to bowl with. There was always the same 3 of us for sure, but sometimes AM's ex-husband and his new girlfriend would show up (I know weird). His best friend would show up sometimes because he had a thing for me. Well, there was also $1 Mondays and one Monday AN saw someone there that he used to know. He was the brother of an ex-girlfriend (we'll call him B). Then, B started coming out on Mondays and weekends to bowl with us because he had a thing for me, only he was more vocal about it than anyone else. Did I mention there was also a DJ on the weekends who also had a thing for me? He did but was also having with his girlfriend at the time. Well, one day B brought his friends M and Mr. HS along. After that it was all over. Not that anyone really knew right away, except for AM because she was my bff. There is a big age gap between Mr. HS and I with me being the older of us. So, we continued to all hang out and Mr. HS became a regular on our bowling nights. It did not take Mr. HS long to catch on to all the guys that had crushes on me. There was another that would stop by occasionally just to "hang out" for a little bit. So, that is 4. Well, Mr. HS had his share of dating as well while we were "friends" and even shared some of his dilemmas with me. I can tell you Mr. HS and I held back many bouts of jealousy throughout our "friendship" before we decided to just let whatever happens happen. Once we did that, we haven't looked back ever since!  

We were in a financial crunch. We had talked about marriage already but he did not know how to buy me a ring without me knowing. We have shared bank accounts. He did not want me present at the shopping nor did he even want me giving him ideas. He wanted to completely surprise me. Then, one night at dinner he made a comment saying he could propose to me at anytime and wasn't sure how he wanted it to happen. We discussed a few possibilities and I voiced how I would not want it to happen. After smiling his cheesy smile at me, he convinced me there was no conceivable way he could have a ring at that moment because we didn't have any extra money.

Then, a few days later he orchestrated a Labor Day BBQ with a few close friends. He was figety all day. He was grinning his Mr. Hot Sauce grin. One of our friends was messing with him a little more than usual and kept mentioning how he had to leave shortly. I knew what was coming. I was nervous. It was Labor Day and it was VERY HOT. I happened to be wearing the most unflattering outfit with my hair in a ponytail because it was the only way I could stand it. Finally, in front of everyone he made an announcement, spun me around and the next thing I know I see him on one knee smiling at me with a little box in hand. I don't even remember his speech...I had to tell myself to pause and make sure he finished talking before I said yes! If I didn't, I would have never heard the end of it from him. LOL It was all a blur, but I was initially shocked and extremely happy!

Turns out we had let his mom borrow some money to make a trip to Germany to see her mother and so she footed the money to help him get a ring. It was very smart because that money was already gone, so it wasn't like we were missing it.

when I first started looking at ideas for save-the-dates, I was entranced with all the invitation sites and wedding sites, especially Weddingbee. All of a sudden this world of DIY opened up and I felt like I could even do it. I set out to fidn the invite I wanted and found something that I liked. However it wasn't exactly what I wanted. Then I happened across MyGatsby.com and realized I could mix and match any colors and creat my own invite! Woweee!! I decided I wanted to go with the "We're tying the knot" theme. I set to choosing my shades of purple (which I've now changed), spacing out my wording so I'd have enough room for a ribbon and decided to add a little embellishment. I found these darling charms that said, "To love and cherish". Perfect! I ordered the invitation suite with two backing colors and the envelopes. I assembled it all myself instead of paying the extra $20-$30 for them to do it. It was my first wedding project and it was a lot of fun for me. Here is the final product:

The invitation layer is classic metallic white, the next backing is amethyst and the last lavender. the invitations will have lilac instead of lavender. Sorry about the poor quality photo. The shimmer of the cardstock left too much of a glare.

If you are interested in the cost breakdown, you can find it here:

 http://springweddingbliss.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/break-it-down-save-the-date/