B&B

This situation happens a lot. We are around a group of new people and we need to introduce ourselves. When we say our names are Brandi and Brady, it typically generates a response of "Awww...how cute." Or "Ha, really?"

Sometimes we encounter some funny situations. For instance, recently I (Brandi) forgot my gym pass and when I asked the guy to enter my name on the computer, he said "Brandy Smith just checked in." My response was "No, that was Brady, I'm Brandi." Confused, he finally let me enter.

Easter got a little confusing this past weekend when Aunt Michelle brought her dog to the festivities. His name is Brody, so Brandi, Brady and Brody were all in the same room.

On certain occasions, our friends will call us by the wrong name or misspell our names (BrandY or BradI), but I found this card too funny not to share. I referred Brady to my eye doctor (of 30 years) and she was kind enough to send a thank you card. See below.

Official Commemorative Smithkowski Wedding Memorabilia

In anticipation for the royal wedding later this month, we wanted to announce that similar to Prince William and Kate Middleton, The Smith’s officially announce the sale of memorabilia from our wedding. Now you can purchase your very own necklaces, mouse pads, mugs, waterbottles, t-shirts, business card holders, tote bags and much, much more!

Order now and we'll throw in a mini bottle of Patron for all those customers 21 and over. Awww heck, we'll throw it in anyways! Disclaimer: I hope that you noticed the date on this post. Happy April Fool’s Day Everyone ; )

All images from KodakGallery

Reader Challenge: Top This

While reading the quarterly Chi Omega newsletter (Brandi’s sorority), we spotted this:

We aren’t quite sure where the newsletter got this information, but it makes us sound like a pair of HUGE dorks. So we wanted to challenge you all. Can you write it better? Now’s your chance. Submit your revision to the announcement in the comments section below.

The winner, selected by Brandi & Brady, gets a $10 Starbucks gift card!

Oh and NOTE: Brandi is not a cougar or some child genius. I graduated WVU in 2003. The 2000 year referenced was the year I was initiated Chi Omega. Fun Fact: I was the first initiate of the new millennium!

Since you last saw us…

The Steelers lost the Super Bowl (Bubba comforted Brady during the loss)

We had visitors from across the U.S. that included Kevin, The Smith’s and Spieler.

Brandi turned 30

We made a triumphant return to Chicago for St. Patrick’s Day

I don’t know about you, but we can’t wait for spring!

Swaying the Smiths - One Member at a Time

Greetings from the Black & Gold soaked City (of Champions) Pittsburgh!

As die-hard Steelers fan, I've been trying to coax Brady into donning some Black & Gold apparel for some time. I mean when was the last time the Redskins even made the playoffs? While Brady will wear some black to games and even purchased a Terrible Towel, he has yet to wear a Steelers logo.

While I've not totally given up, I've moved on to other family members. Amanda is rooting for the Black & Gold on Facebook and word out of EHT is that Mike already has a Steelers shirt on.

My other victims? Brady's cousins, Joey and Jenna. Below you will see what they made for the AFC Championship game!

I now have them for the Super Bowl and we'll use those as decor at my parents fiesta (complete with football field gaucamole - my dad's request) this evening.

Now, I need you all to cheer for the Steelers tonight. Because if they win, the Smithkowski public relations power team have a little PR trick up our sleeves prior to the potential victory parade. Detils to come with a win ; )

Go Steelers!

Smithkowski Wordle

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Have you heard of Wordle? It's a site that takes the homepage of your blog and makes the words from the posts into a fancy graphic. I was showing fellow blogger Jason Sacks how to use this tool and entered in the Brandi & Brady blog and - voula! The Wordle Cloud above!

I thought I would share it with you all as we are VERY excited for some of the bigger words - Family, Friends, Traditions and of course Christmas and Trees! We can't wait to see all of you in the next two weeks!

Oh, Old Christmas Tree, Oh, Old Christmas Tree

Yep…here it is. The stereotypical “look…it’s out boring Christmas tree” photo.

You may look at his and roll your eyes, BUT before you do, we’ve got a little story for you about our tree. While we are celebrating our first Christmas as a married couple, this tree is celebrating its 48th Christmas.

When the Bonkowski’s told us that they had an extra tree stored away, we were expecting the one that I (Brandi) used to decorate my college house (408 Forest). However, on tree-getting day, we discovered that a key piece of that tree was missing. But something else was still living in the Bonkowski house…


THIS GUY!

You see, this tree was Mr. Bonkowski’s parents’ first artificial tree from 1962. This tree was a pretty big deal back then. And for the year’s following, because all the siblings had to sit around and watch Nun (aka Brandi’s grandma) decorate the tree. If you know her, that’s her style. The kid’s watch her decorate the tree and dye the Easter eggs lol.

After a good run at Nun’s house, the tree was transported many, many miles to the Bonkowski house (I kid, we lived 1 house away on the same street). The tree it had about a 10 year-run as the Bonkowski family tree – then was stored away for about another 10.

After piecing the tree together, Brady and I decided that we would give this old tree a run as our first tree. AND, if you know me (Brandi) well, this is a birth of a new story right here! “Our first tree was 48-years-old…”

Our tree had some visitors this weekend, so it was only natural that I made them pose in front of our bright masterpiece! (No, I did not style them for this shot).

Here’s to many more trees and many more Christmases!