Johnson City Engagement Party

Hey yall!  This post is a long time coming.  In February some of my parents wonderful friends hosted an amazing engagement party for us. On one of my recent trips to Tennessee I was able to get the disks of pictures that one of our friends Christian took.  They were wonderful. I literally could post over 100, but I'll stick to some of the fun details of the evening. 

wonderful food!

Our engagement gift from Kiki

One of the precious hostesses - Auntie Ann

My best friend - I told her we looked like a less-skanky Serena and Blaire

Dad gives a thumbs up during the toast

we love our favorite Aunt Lisa!

My beautiful sister (the best MOH ever!) and my sweet Dad

Some of the ladies - love these girls

Grandaddy and Uncle Jerry

sweet friends!

Some of John's groomsmen and friends came from all over to join us!

My sorority little sister Tracey and best friend Carey

My "Brother" Jason - he's walking Mom down the aisle!

Some of the sweet couples that came to our party



I get to marry HIM! :)

  

the FOB, MOB, Bride, and Groom



It was a packed house!  We're blessed with many wonderful friends and family that made the trip to celebrate with us.

We are so fortunate to have so many wonderful people in our lives and a had a wonderful time!

Have a great day!

Happy Friday - Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Hey yall!

 

I'm linking up with Lauren for...

 

1.  The best surprise ever would be,  meeting George W. Bush.  I say this because I had a dream last night that I was sitting in our conference room at work and he walked in to say hi to me. :)

 

2.      When John proposed to me     is my most favorite memory .

3.  The hardest, but most worthwhile thing I've ever done was     when I ran my first Marathon!  The training was one of the most difficult and emotional things I've done. While I was training I took on different responsibilities at work and was starting my MBA program.  It was a very busy yet wonderful time in my life.  The moment when I crossed the finish line and the Marine put the medal around my neck is a moment I will never forget.  The thought..."I'm a marathoner" came to my mind and it was the greatest sense of accomplishment I've ever felt. 

 

4.  The best part of my day is    when I sit on the couch and snuggle Cole Lee.  I love the simplicity of my sweet dog.

5. Something I like that most people don't is       sour kraut .

6. Something I am willing to fight for is    my family and my faith.

7.  Something you might not know about me is   I am terrified of snakes, to the point of if I see one on TV I will sometimes have nightmares that night about them. If someone gave me a large sum of money to have one wrapped around my neck, I really don't think I could do it.

I hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!



Thursday Afternoon Laugh

Ok, as I mentioned here I've made my sweet fiance and poor family listen to "Call Me Maybe" one tooooo many times.  Of course this is only enabled by good friends like Micah. Maybe I'm just a kid trapped inside of an adult's body sometimes. :)

I can't stop laughing after seeing this hilarious YouTube.  Enjoy the bipartisan fun! 

Happy Thursday!

Hitting the road

Hey yall!

This weekend John and I hit the road to Tennessee for one of our road trips (many more to come in the upcoming weeks).  John's family hosted an engagement party for us.  It was a great evening!  The most fun part - my family got to be there and meet the Chattanooga friends and family!  John and I drove on Friday and spent the night with my parents and got up early to meet McKenzie in Chattanooga.  We did a little "sightseeing" around town and relaxed at the hotel before the evening's party.  

It was a beautiful day for taking in the sights of downtown Chattanooga!

Mom and I posing in front of one of the statues at the Hunter Art Museum

My BEAUTIFUL sister getting her caffeine kick before the party

I'm sad to say I didn't take a SINGLE picture at the party.  Hopefully one of John's family members did and I'll be able to post one later on.  

The trip was very quick and Sunday morning we got up early and drove back.  John and my parents may be getting a *tiny* bit tired of me playing DJ, but I did introduce them to "Call Me Maybe".  Larry Boy even learned the motions from the Harvard Baseball team's Youtube video.  If you haven't seen it, check it out here

Have a great week!

  

What I'm loving....Thursday

Hey yall!  I planned this post originally for Wednesday and well, as you can tell it's Thursday and it didn't get posted.  I guess that's the perfect example of how my life has been recently.  So here we go....
I feel like I should title this..."What I'm loving, family edition"

I'm loving the AMAZING weekend I just experienced (post to come on the full details). 



The adorable chalkboard my sis made. One of the super cute details she coordinated.  I squealed when I saw my soon-to-be "new" initials



I'm especially loving these two people...  Please note the "crown" that was placed on my head moments before the picture was taken.  Tacky (perhaps) but I love reliving the moment and thankful to have these two fabulous ladies in one place!



Mom, Kiki, and I in Nashville...love them so much!

I'm loving the support that the "Core Four" have given me over the past 24 hours.  We've had a "glitch" in the wedding plans and I have been blown away by how wonderful they have been.  Additionally, I am amazed at how calm John can be when I have a "melt down".  I sure picked a good one!  :)

I'm loving that I get to see my family again this weekend in Chattanooga for one of our wedding/engagement parties hosted by John's family. I'm pretty excited!!! 

I'm also loving my friends.  Over the weekend I got the disks of the pictures from our engagement party.  This one perfectly captures these ladies....they bring me true joy and we're always surrounded by laughter.

I hope you're feeling extra loved today too!

Have a wonderful Wednesday! Thursday!

The Countdown is ON!

Hey yall! 

At 6:30 p.m. today, it will be EXACTLY 100 day's until the wedding!! I just had to share this exciting milestone! 

pinned from here

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I'm off to Nashville for my Bachelorette party!

OK, if you say so  ;)
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Have a wonderful weekend!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Hey yall!

There is SO much to love this week, but I'll keep it short to my top 3 things I'm loving this week. 

#1 - I'm loving....this weekend...it's my Bachelorette Party!  I'm SO STOKED about going to Nashville tomorrow after work.  I can't wait to see some of my favorite girls!  My sister plans some amazing parties, so I have a feeling this weekend will be one to remember.


LOVE LOVE LOVE my Sister

#2 - I LOVE that Steen is getting married!  Christine was (my sister) McKenzie's roommate in college and our family LOVES her!  I can't wait to give her a BIG hug of Congrats this weekend.



Kiki and Steen (pic swiped from Kiki's Facebook)



 #3 - I'm loving these two fellas

My sweet fiance John

Cole Lee

Happy Friday!

Hey yall!  It's Friday...yay!  And although I haven't done this in a LONG time, I'm linking up for...

1.  My bedtime routine includes: a LOOONG process of washing my face.  Moving into the yucky air/water/pollution of DC (and maybe the fear of aging) has added a few extra steps to my face care regimen. My favorite part of the process...my Clarisonic. Like many in the blog-world I SWEAR by it. I also brush my teeth and if I haven't already I get into my pjs (sometimes happens as soon as I walk in the door). Some nights I will drink some hot tea (Tazo Calm is my favorite).  I don't have cable in my bedroom, so I always pop in a DVD and hit the sleep timer.  

2.   I am    drinking alot of water lately.  It's amazing how well it makes me feel.

3.  I can't stand    rudeness       because    my mother raised me with manners. :)  

4. My idea of relaxation would be   a VACATION! Since the wedding is consuming so much of our time and travel (all wonderful things...I'm definitely not complaining here) I am really looking forward to our honeymoon.  We're REALLY close to completing those plans.  We originally had planned on going to Istanbul, Turkey but as John researched he found out how hot it will be there in August.  Travel isn't recommended during that time and John HATES being hot, so onto plan B! We think we've decided on a location, but wanted to sleep on it last night and will hopefully book our travel this weekend.  I'm excited to share the final result with you all! 

 

5. If I had an extra $50, I would    Probably save it...as lame as that sounds! I'm trying to be more frugal with lots of expenses coming up in the upcoming months.  If the rule was I had to spend it right now.... I would get something with my soon-to-be new monogram on it.  I've been holding out on buying any monogrammed items after John and I started talking about marriage.  I REALLY want some of these adorable earrings from Swell Caroline.  

6. The best thing about a bloggy friend is     connecting with lovely ladies with similar interests.  I feel like we all go through similar experiences and can share ideas and advice.  Since most of my online time is centered around wedding plans I LOVE looking at your beautiful weddings to get ideas!

7.  A recipe I've been dying to try is   something sweet!!!  After I saw the pic of the Caramel Cake that Beantown Prepster posted (it looks AMAZING), I've been craving cake with no excuse (a holiday or someones birthday) to eat it.   I'm not giving in though and keep telling myself "What Would Kate Eat"??  Kate would not make a cake just for herself with no occasion.



Yes it's still up beside my desk.





I hope yall have a wonderful weekend and a VERY happy...

Cinco De Mayo!!!

Hello May!