A few updates!

Hello bloggy friends! I know I have been terrible at keeping up with this, but I have been extremely busy lately! I really shouldn't even be on here right now- I have a freaking wedding ceremony to write! But... I do have a few quick updates to share!


1) We booked our honeymoon!!! We are going to Playa del Carmen, Mexico! First, we will spend time with out of town family on Sunday, then drive to Charlotte Sunday afternoon and spend the night in the Westin. Then we'll be leaving bright (actually, probably dark!) and early Monday morning, flying first to NYC and then into Cancun, staying at an all-inclusive resort for four nights, and enjoying every minute! Keep your fingers crossed for nice weather and no hurricanes, because I plan to spend some quality time on the beach and at the swim-up pool bar.




2) I have had two great showers in the last two weeks- first a kitchen/recipe shower given by my FMIL's friends, then an "around the clock" shower given by Katie, my MOH. I got tons of great gifts (and recipes) and enjoyed seeing so many friends and family members!

Me and FMIL

Katie, Molly, Ashley, Me, Kristen and Kelly =)

3) Invitations were mailed out a week ago and I have gotten so many compliments on them! They really did turn out fabulously, if I do say so myself. I'll try to get a picture of one to post here so my "invisible" friends can see too! (That is what Will calls my friends out there in internet world....)

4) My Uncle John is going to be performing our ceremony and I am very excited about it! He did such a great job at my cousins wedding a few years ago, and since Will and I aren't very religious, we thought it would be very special to have John do it. Now I am revising and re-writing parts of my cousin's ceremony to make it perfect for us...and it is hard! By far the hardest part of the whole planning process!

5) We got Will's wedding band, but have to decide in the next week or so what we want to get engraved in them. I like "Love Never Ends" ... thoughts??

6) We booked our cake! We met with a local woman who is sort of a family friend and she does beautiful work and the price was right- $220! We're going with a 3 tier, square, white cake with ivory buttercream frosting, with chocolate brown swirls and blue hydrangeas on the top. We're still trying to decide on a topper, but I'm pretty sure it will be just a simple, scripty "S" for our new last name.

7) We did trial runs of the boquets/bouts/corsaiges and they came out great! We're using a combination of blue hydrangeas, white carnations, white freesias, white mini roses and some boxwood and thyme for some green accents.

8) We FINALLY took engagement pictures today! One of my dad's best friends came up to Greensboro with him and we spent all day taking tons of pictures in different locations and I cannot wait to see them all! Hopefully I will have a CD next week and be able to post a few!


In other news, TJ is doing well- his new house is awesome and we have gotten to go visit twice since he moved in (once in mid-June to help him move and then again for the fourth of July!)

Every time we are there I don't want to leave, but it will probably be a while before we get back down. The wedding is four weeks from today (ahh!) and then it is football season! Maybe we'll go down when there is an away game, because we have season tickets to UNC this year and I am so excited! Will is already making elaborate tail-gating plans, so it will definitely be a fun, busy, newly-wed Fall! I hope everyone is having an exciting summer! I promise I've been trying to keep up with everyone elses blogs, even if I've neglected my own!

Cutest Dog Competition

Alright, bloggy friends... I know I have been super slack with updates, but I promise to be better if you will all go vote for Sadie! She definitely IS the cutest dog ever- pictures don't even do her justice, but I promise personal visits to each and every one of you if she wins! =)


http://www.cutestdogcompetition.com/vote.cfm?h=678A768922848E471438529CE9F8B591

BIG NEWS!!

I know I haven't posted anything in a few weeks (shame, shame) and I promise I will share some wedding and other unrelated updates soon, but for now I have some big news to share... My MOH is engaged!!!!!!!!!

Katie and I became fast friends in sixth grade and, although we haven't always been as close throughout the years, I can honestly say that she is one of very few people that has remained a close and true friend. She is a wonderful person and I could not ask for a better Maid of Honor. She is smart, funny, trustworthy, sincere, motivated, and truly beautiful- inside and out!

I am so happy for her and her FIANCE- Eric and I wish them both nothing but the best! My heart is so full of love and happiness right now that I could just burst! Or burst into tears- and if you know me, you know they are tears of joy!! Haha =)

I love you both SO much!!!

Busy Weeks Ahead!

Just wanted to post real quick! I am hosting a "Party Lite" Candle Party tonight, and the house isn't quite clean yet... nor have I showered or prepared any food, so this is going to be short!

I am (hopefully) meeting up with a very old friend tomorrow night, along with my MOH, for martinis and tapas and I am very excited! I haven't seen this guy in I think 5 years, but he is one of the nicest I have ever known (aside from Will, of course!) I've sort of kept up with his life from Facebook and mutual friends, but I'm looking forward to hearing more details about what he's been up to!

Friday I have the day off and will celebrate my birthday with my family- lunch with my grandparents and then $hopping with my Mom!

Then we leave for Florida!! TJ is moving this weekend (into a really awesome house on base that I can't wait to see), so to celebrate my bday/help him out, Will and I will leave Fri evening when he gets off work, hopefully stop in Charlotte to have dinner with my Dad, and then drive through the night to arrive in Pensacola at about 3am. We're staying till Monday which means we get to go to my favorite place ever for Sunday brunch- Flounders! I think I have mentioned this place before, but it is A-mazing! It is ON the beach at Pensacola Beach (you can boat to it, which we did before...probably not this time though!), it is open air, they have live music, great food, beach volleyball, aaaaaannnnd the Champagne Jam!! All-you-can-drink mimosas/hibiscus' (champagne and cran) for $5.99!!! That's right.... 5.99. And once you're done eating, you can mosey on out to the beach, sit by the water, swim, play volleyball, lay in lounge chairs, etc.... all while continuing to gulp...I mean sip.... your champagne! Happy Birthday to ME! =)

Then when we get back Monday night, I have work Tues-Thurs and then Fri morning pedicures with Kelly and the girls, rehearsal Friday night, open-bar rehearsal dinner, then hair/makeup Saturday morning starting at 10, bridesmaids luncheon at 12, wedding at 5, and reception at the O'Henry Hotel!! Whew!!!

So to re-cap:

Wednesday: Candle Party

Thursday: Martinis

Friday: Shopping

Saturday: Florida!

Sunday: Flounders (PS: they have the best Key Lime Pie ever- note Kristen's piece below!)

Friday: Pedicure

Saturday: This pretty girl's wedding!

So if I don't update for a few days, yall will know why! Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! I know I will!!! =)

Blogging Hiatus

So I think it has been almost 3 weeks since my last post... oops! I kept meaning to do one, but just never got around to it. Darn those pesky jobs...always getting in the way of the important things! Haha, okay I'm kidding. I will totally blame my lack of posting on my new job, but I am so thankful for the money!

I have been working at a friend's restaurant from 10-2, Monday-Friday, and it is great! It gets me up and out of the house each day, but I still have time to shop/run errands/go to the pool in the afternoons. Plus, the extra cash is handy ;)

So what else is new... hmm.... we tasted cake with a local lady who works out of her home and her price was reasonable ($3 per slice) but we want to keep looking. She didn't have a wide variety of flavors to choose from, and would not do some of the decorative things we wanted, like have chocolate brown swirls on ivory buttercream icing. She said the dark colors bleed onto the white. Is this true? Can anyone tell me how theirs turned out if you had dark decor on light frosting? And while were at it... suggest some cake flavors! We tasted all yellow cakes, one with strawberry filling, one with raspberry, and one with orange. They were all good, but just not quite what I had in mind. She asked what we were looking for and I drew a blank, so someone help me out here! What's your favorite kind of cake???

I've been working on rentals, just trying to find the best prices and the most convenient as far as delivery, set up, breakdown, etc. Any recommendations? I'm having trouble getting places to respond to my emails. I know I just need to suck it up and call, but email is so much easier!

This past weekend was Kelly's lingerie shower and bachelorette party and both were so much fun! Her shower really made me re-think having one of my own. I don't really look that great (I don't think) in typical lingerie, and would rather have more practical gifts, but Kelly did get some really cute things! Only a few were the over-the-top-sexy things that only get worn maybe once a year and for all of five minutes. The rest were cute, sweet little nightgowns and robes and such- enough to be sexy, but not uncomfortable! Maybe I'll have to mention the idea to Katie....unless she's reading this..... ;)

The bachelorette party was great too- Kelly has a really great group of friends and I am so blessed to be one of them! We had a nice dinner at a local, swanky "green" hotel, and then went downtown to dance! I haven't had a night of dancing like that since college and it was a blast! No boys, of course... any that got too close were quickly told "no thank you" and pushed out of the way by a fellow bridesmaid! It's so much more fun that way, lol.

That's about all the updates I can think of for now... I will try to upload some pictures this weekend (I have been busy on a couple crafty little decorative things for the wedding, but you'll just have to wait to see those!)

Oh, and I promised to mention this fun giveaway- a $10 Starbucks card (you know you want it!) from Brenda at Prarie Tales (http://prairiebren.blogspot.com/) Can someone tell me how to make the blog name clicky instead of having to copy and paste the url? I really need an HTML class.....

Alright, well I hope everyone is having a good week!

Shout Outs:

Kelly- 16 days till you are a Mrs!! ;) Holy Cow!!
Evan- My little cousin is 4 today! Happy Birthday!!! Love you!

Prayers:

Lauren- A bloggy friend who is having a "blue" day- cheer up chica!! You're too pretty not to smile!

Ouch...

$3 well drinks (aka a few too many rum and diet's) + beer pong at a friends apartment = not a nice Sunday morning. On my way to Bojangles very soon.... (I'm convinced that is the only cure!). At least I'm getting back "in shape" for the bachelorette parties that are coming up!

Yesterday was Kelly's bridal shower luncheon (Kelly, my bridesmaid who is getting married in June Kelly) and it was great. I got to meet a couple of the other girls in the wedding party that I hadn't met yet, and catch up with some old friends. I'm SO happy for Kelly and even more excited that we are getting to experience this whole adventure together! We have been good friends since 5th grade... who would have that we'd be planning our weddings together?!

Kelly and her new monogram on a red velvet cupcake! Yum.

Reading the card I gave her. PS I love my wrapping job! =) Won't Kelly make a gorgeous bride??

Also.... my best friend and MOH, Katie, is on the verge of engagement status and I am so totally stoked for her! I cannot wait! Her boyfriend is a fantastic guy and they seem to make each other so happy and just be so right for each other. So, if all goes according to plan (or at least what we suspect the plan might be) she will be next!!!!


This is such an exciting time in my life, and I'm so lucky to have friends and loved ones to share it with! Especially since I was in tears yesterday and ready to call the whole thing off, but that's another story. (Think wine at the shower mixed with crazy hormonal mood swings plus a stressful wedding planning conversation with my Dad. Nothing is simple with him and I just wasn't in the mood to deal). But that's over now- wedding planning is most definitely still on and I know we'll make it and it will be beautiful and everything will work out and it will be the best day of my life! (A little pep talk for myself there....)

Okay...seriously... Bojangles now. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Shout Outs to Matt and Ashley for hanging out with us last night, Kelly for being a great friend and a beautiful bride-to-be and Shan and Greg that they have a fabulous first shower today!

Success!

Just a quick post with a few updates... the meeting with the photographer went well- Melissa seems really sweet and I'm sure she will be great! I got to see some large bridal portraits (printed and framed) as well as some books she put together, which were awesome!


Also... I got a job! Well, sort of... just a part-time restaurant job. Remember when I got a free lunch the other day from my friend's fiance's deli? Well we had dinner with them on Saturday and it turns out that he was looking for someone to help out at the restaurant for lunches! So, starting Monday I'll be working 10-2, Monday-Friday (hello, awesome schedule), getting paid CASH, and getting free lunch every day! Yayyyyy! =)


So... to celebrate my new job, my successful meeting with the photog, and my upcoming birthday (one month from today!) I ventured over to South Pointe while I was in Durham. I mean... if Victoria's Secret wants to send me a $10 gift card a month early for my birthday... who am I to say no? So I am now the proud owner of this:

Look at the cute back, too! I just love it! And I haven't "loved" a bathing suit on me, probably since elementary school. Bathing suit shopping is just depressing when you are 55378008 (type it in a calculator and flip it upside down...yep, you remember, I know you do!). If anyone reading this suffers from the same affliction, I highly recommend this type of top!

The best part? It was on sale! The top was $14.99 and the bottoms were $12.99, so with my $10 gift card, it was less than $10! Totally worth every penny!

Now I just have to Shred a few more times and get a tan, so I look a little more like that girl and a little less like the Michelin Man....