A rose by any other name....

First up don't forget to enter my Giveaway which ends on Friday.

Second up I would like to thank the lovely Gracie for this awesome award:

From what I hear this award is for blogs that have attitude and gratitude. So thanks Gracie!!

Next up, last night my future mother-in-law and I went to meet with a potential florist to discuss wedding flowers. It ended up being a 2 hour meeting and I didn't get home til 9pm. The lady was very sweet and helpful and had a TON of suggestions/ideas hence why the meeting lasted so long. My FMIL has great taste and knows a lot about flowers...you should see her garden, it's amazing...so I figured she would be a great person to take with me. It was a bit overwhelming looking at all the different types of flowers and the different colors/shades so it was nice having a second opinion.

I think we've narrowed it down to using some combination of peonies, hydrangea and roses throughout the bouquets and centerpieces in various shades of light and dark pink and white, which should go nicely with the black and white decor. It's amazing how expensive flowers are considering they die after a few days. Even with small, simple arrangements the pricing came out to be more than what I was hoping to spend. So my FMIL and I are going to continue to do some research and shop around and see what else we can find. I know that whatever we end up with will be beautiful and at least the meeting last night helped me narrow things down a bit more. Oh and the best part was when the flower lady told me that she thought I was 23 and one of her "younger brides" after I mentioned that I'm almost 30. God Bless her!

Finally, I may be having a special guest poster this week so get excited!

Bridesmaid dress update

The bridesmaid dress shopping adventure on Saturday went well. Of the 8 or so dresses that Kelli and Colleen tried on we all agreed on 2 that we liked. Both were Wtoo dresses which is the less expensive sister line of the Watters dresses. Below are the two dresses that we liked the most:

The girls said that both dresses were very light and comfortable and would be easy to dance in. The strapless dress is available with straps which is what we would need for the jr. bridesmaids since I don't think strapless is appropriate for a 13 and 11 year old. And the best part is that either of these dresses in black are totally re-wearable to another wedding, holiday party or even fancy dinner. Right now I'm leaning more towards the strapless one.

The only problem with both dresses is that they are out of the price range that I was hoping for, especially since we need to take in consideration possible alteration costs that would be needed. I plan to call around to some other stores that carry this line to do some price comparison and if I can't find either of these exact dresses for less then I'll just look for similar styles from other designers.

It was good having the girls go with me to shop because now I have a much better idea of what looks good on them and what styles they prefer.

Gimme Gimme Gimme

It's Giveaway TIME!!! Today has been INSANE at work but I'm finally getting a bit of break and wanted to get my giveaway up.

Since my 100th post fell right at the beginning of fall I decided to do a fall themed Giveaway with some of my favorite items to have this time of year.

(Fun basket full of treats)

(Cute little fall purse, it's no Coach but it would be cute to carry on the weekends)

(not really "fall"ish but super cute refrigerator "mood" magnets)

(Yummy smelling Apple candle)

(cute pumpkin candy dish...or ashtray if you're a smoker haha)

(dark colored nail polish...a MUST for fall...though I wear all year round)

(Fall inspired magnet notepad)

Now for the rules, I decided to keep this easy, all you have to do to enter is become or already be a follower and leave me a comment about whatever you want i.e. what you like about fall, how awesome I am etc. I'll pick the lucky winner next Friday Oct. 2nd. Good Luck!

Dress Hunt...Bridesmaid edition

This Saturday two of my bridesmaids and I will be making our first trip to try on bridesmaids dresses. After the stress of trying to find the perfect wedding dress I needed a break for a few months before I had the mental energy to pick out bridesmaids dresses. Fortunately for me all my bridesmaids are tall, thin and gorgeous so it shouldn't be too hard to find something that looks great on everyone.

I already have a basic idea of what I want. I'm looking for short, black cocktail dresses because as cliche as it sounds I really do want them to have the option to wear these again. And you can never have too many LBD's right? Right. Also, since the wedding will be outside at the end of May there is the potential that it could be quite hot so I'm looking for more of the flowy, chiffon type of fabric rather than heavy satin material. I'm also thinking that we'll go with more of an empire waist silhouette since my MOH could potentially be preggers at the time, so we need something that is baby bump friendly.

Here are some examples of styles that I like:

(Ann Taylor)

(JCrew)

(Vineyard Collection)

(Jim Hjelm)

(Jim Hjelm)

The boutique we are going to on Saturday carries Jim Hjelm dresses so hopefully we can try on the last two as well as find similar styles of the first three and of course make sure whatever we find can also come in black. Once we settle on Bridesmaid dresses we'll then need to find two complementary styles for our two jr. bridesmaids (Kristian's nieces) who are 13 and 11. My goal is to have all the dresses ordered by the end of November so that there will be plenty of time for them to arrive and have any needed alterations. Wish me luck!

Don't look a day over 99

Today marks my 100th post! Which is about 98 more posts then I originally thought I would write.

So in honor of my 100th post I've decided to do my very first giveaway!! However I JUST realized I was at my 100th post and I'm still trying to figure out what exactly I want to giveaway. I have a few ideas and should have something definitely pulled together by the weekend and it's going to be HUGE! Okay probably not Huge but it's free shit nonetheless so get excited! And be sure to check back this weekend when I get my ass in gear and pull something together.

You've got mail

I'm FINALLY mailing off my Save the Dates today! I feel like I've been waiting to mail these for the longest time. Part of the delay was pulling together the guest list/addresses and then waiting until my mom had a chance to hand write all the addresses. Her handwriting is MUCH prettier than ours.

I did have my first minor Bridezilla moment last night when I realized that these didn't look exactly the way I wanted them too. I admit I got a little teary eyed (seriously, someone slap me, they are JUST save the dates for God's sake) but I've spent quite a bit of money on them and I wanted them to look a certain way. After K calmed me down and I explained the situation to my future mother in law and got her seal of approval on them I decided to just say "F*ck It" and mail them as is. Honestly I'm tired of dealing with them and as I said they are JUST save the dates.

As promised here are pictures of what I am putting in the mail today:

(personalized stamps from Zazzle.com)

(STD's wrapped in decorative paper)

(actual Save the Date magnet)

Armed and Dangerous Pt. Deux (Pictures!)

As a followup to THIS post I finally received the pictures from my first gun shooting experience. Unfortch we don't have any pictures of me shooting the handguns and looking really badass but hopefully these will suffice.

(Getting ready to take my first shot, look at my focused expression!)

(after my first shot, not sure why K looks so sinister)

(I look like a such a pro)

(He's so proud!)

It's Back!

Tonight is the night I've been waiting for since May...it's the season premiere of The Office!!!!! Or what I like to refer to as the best show on T.V. I can't wait to catch up with all of my TV friends



and especially with my ficitional TV boyfriend Mr. Jim Halpert

(I've missed you love)

When we last saw Mr. Halpert, he and his adorable fiancee Ms. Pam Beesely discovered they were in the "family way". I cannot wait to see the adorable little "Jam" baby and even better yet the long awaited wedding of Jim and Pam (which I hear will be the 4th episode so set your DVR's). I'm fully prepared to cry my eyes out watching them tie the knot, partly due to the fact that it means I won't be marrying Jim Halpert but more for the fact that Jim and Pam are TV's most adorable couple and I've been rooting for their relationship since the very first episode.

I cannot wait for 9pm to get here so I can be reunited with my favorite TV peeps. And luckily Kristian remembers the protocal for Office nights which is that he is not allowed to speak to, touch or any way distract me while my beloved show is on. God I love September and Season Premieres!

Armed and Dangerous

This past weekend Kristian and I headed about 2 hours south to visit his friends Bryan and Melissa and to celebrate their son's 7th birthday. On the way down we stopped at Kristian's place of worship- aka Bass Pro Shop

This store is MASSIVE and has everything you would ever need for fishing, hunting, camping and basically any outdoor activity. Needless to say he was like a little kid in a candy store and I was just trying not to let my boredom show through too much. We walked around the store for close to an hour and I watched Kristian pick up items then remind himself we have a wedding to pay and slowly place the item back. I told him that maybe he should have a Man Shower and register there for gifts :)

We then got back on the road and headed to Bryan and Melissa's house which is in the middle of nowhere VA on about 2 acres of land. They had some of their other friends there with their children so we spent the day drinking and playing with the kiddies. As the sun started to set the boys decided to pull out a few guns and let me try my hand at shooting! I felt just a TAD redneck but oh well.

I have NEVER shot a gun before. Guns make me nervous but Kristian has a pretty large collection (most of which are kept locked in the safe). So after accounting for all the kiddies and making sure they were inside I got to take some frustration out on a poor innocent trash can in the backyard. I first got to shoot with a rifle which was pretty smooth and easy. Next up were two different handguns. Kristian had to put his hands over my ears while I shot so that the noise wouldn't freak me out. I have to say I much preferred the rifle to the handguns which had more of a kickback to them.

The boys of course thought this was awesome and even got some great pictures of my reaction post shots (I'm still waiting for Bryan to send me the pics hence why they aren't posted). I told Kristian that it was fun but not something I would probably want to do again anytime soon. I think it's important to know how to use the gun we have in case God forbid something bad does happen but it's definitely not a toy or something I feel like messing around with.

Later on that night the boys continued to drink and pulled out their old high school yearbooks which was pretty funny. I had forgotten how bad the hair and fashions were in the mid 90's. Ugh. And after seeing the pictures of the girls K made out with back then let's just say that I'm a BIG upgrade :)

Engagement Pictures Dress??

We are taking our engagement pictures early next month at Kristian's parents beach house. I'm hoping that we will get a nice day and that it will still be warm enough so that we won't be wearing sweaters in the sand. Since we'll have a few hours with our photographers I want to have at least two costume changes, that way we'll have a bit more variety among the pictures plus I would like pics with us in more casual attire (jeans and nice tops) and a bit more dressy (khakis and a sundress). Being the girl that I am I'm of course using this as an excuse to buy some new clothes (though I'm sure I have more than enough options already in my closet). I've been having a tough time finding exactly what I want and very well could end up in something I already own, which I suppose wouldn't be the end of the world.

Anywho I did end up ordering a dress online that I think may be a contendar. It arrived today and I immediately ran to the bathroom at work to try it on. Good news is that it fits! Hoorah! Bad news is that I'm not sure I like it on me as much as I do on the model in the picture. So I will have to try it on again at home with shoes/accessories to get the full affect. Regardless it's a dress I'll keep and can wear next summer so it's not a total waste. Here's a picture of the dress I'm considering:

Question- would it be bad to wear the same dress for our pictures that I wore to our engagement party? I already have a bunch of pictures of me in it that everyone has seen already but I really do like the dress and how it fits and think it would be perfect for the engagement pictures. Thoughts??

Drive By Healing

I'm sick. I woke up yesterday morning with a bad sore throat which for me is always sign #1 that the funk is about to invade my body. I only felt worse as the day progressed and congestion took over my head and my stomach felt less than stellar. When I called K to tell him that I wasn't feeling so hot he says "You're not pregnant are you?" my response "no sweetheart, a sore throat and stuffy nose are not typical pregnancy symptoms". Sigh.

I got home and the love of my life, being his amazing self, went to the store and picked up all the ingredients to make me homemade chicken noodle soup. Not sure why but chicken noodle soup has some sort of healing power in it and instantly makes me feel better.

Neither of us slept well last night and we were both awake at 3am. He asked me how I felt and if I needed anything and I responded "Shitty, can you get me some juice?" and he did. I woke up this morning still feeling not so great but decided to drag my ass to work anyway. Unfortunately Kristian called me on his way to work to say that he wasn't feeling so hot either. Ugh. Stick a big QUARANTINE sign on our door and call it a day.

Lucky for me Kristian is not only incredibly sweet by making me soup and getting me juice at 3am but he also brought me medicine today. He works about a mile down the road from my office and he called me right after lunch to tell me he was outside. I walk out to his car and he tells me to open my mouth. My first thought was "really? this isn't appropriate to do right here right now" but then I got my dirty little mind out of the gutter and did as I was told. He proceeded to spray some Zicam into my mouth to help speed up the healing process. The stuff leaves a horrible after taste but hopefully it will work and I won't be sick and miserable this weekend.

I have a man who cooks me chicken noodle soup and does drive by's to bring me medicine when I'm sick. Am I lucky or what?

Belated Update and New Purchase

Seeing how it's Wednesday already (where did the week go??) I guess I should give a belated updated on my Labor Day Weekend.

Let's begin with Friday night which should have been relaxing and fun however it turned into me having to work from home until 8pm so that my client and I could finish up on an already overdue project. K was amazing though, he went out and bought me some Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka and Chinese food so that at least I was able to eat and drink while all my papers were sprawled over the coffee table and I was typing furiously on my laptop. After I finished up my work stuff we opened one of the fortune cookies and it read "The job is well done". Now if that's not a sign I don't know what is.

Saturday we rented a boat at a nearby marina and went fishing for two hours...correction...he fished, I took a nap in the boat. Then we came home and watched my ECU Pirates kick some ass followed by his VA Tech Hokies not kicking so much ass :(

Sunday I had lunch with my old roommate Lauren. She came over to see our place for the first time then we went and ate at a nearby restaurant on the water. She caught me up on all the latest boy drama. I swear why are so many of the single men in their 20's and 30's in the DC area socially retarded douchebags??

Monday afternoon we went to his parents house to celebrate the end of summer with them as well as his sister and her three kids who were gearing up for the first day of school. Have I mentioned that I love my future in-laws? Because I do.

Now on to the fun stuff. I made another wedding related purchase yesterday thanks to Ebay. I should explain first, that on my wedding dress there is a section under the bust with some beading that is made to look like a brooch. I don't particularly like the beading because I think it looks cheap, however I love the IDEA of having a real brooch in it's place. So I've been on the hunt for something approach to replace the beading with and I think I found it:

Do you love it? Or do you love it? I'm so hoping it looks pretty in person and that it goes well with the dress. But if it doesn't oh well, after all I spent all of $10 on it. Yep $10! While I would love to be rocking the real diamonds this little ladies bank account will not allow for such fancy thoughts. I need to try to save as much money as I can in other areas so that our guests can like eat and stuff :)

I also ordered a potential engagement shoot dress online yesterday but I want to wait until I receive it and try it on before I post a picture of it just in case it ends up looking hideous on me.

The dress before THE dress

I went shopping today to try to take advantage of any potential Labor Day sales and also in the hopes of finding something to wear for our engagement pictures next month. While I didn't have any luck in finding an engagement photo dress I did buy a dress for the Rehersal dinner! Yes it may be a bit premature seeing how the Rehersal dinner isn't for another 8 months or so but it's exactly what I was looking for AND on sale for only $20! Score! Guess that's what you get for buying a white dress on Labor Day!

Since I'm not doing the old dress switcheroo between the ceremony and reception (I'm spending enough on my wedding dress I want to get as many hours out of it as possible) I wanted to buy a cute short white dress for the Rehersal dinner instead (in case someone doesn't happen to know who the bride is already). Behold my Rehersal dinner dress which I bought at Papaya:

Cute right? It doesn't look nearly as good in the picture as it does in person, it's a tad wrinkly. It's strapless and even has pockets which makes it a bit more casual despite the satiny material. Now the only question is what shoes to pair with it? I'm not personally a fan of white heels so I was thinking maybe some strappy silver heels?? Thoughts?

At least I can check this off my list, now if only I could find something cute for the engagement photos I would be set.

Emergency Contact

Yesterday I had my annual trip to the lady doctor which I was actually looking forward to because it meant I could get out of the office for a few hours...this should tell you how stressful work has been lately if I'm excited about having my hoo-ha examined. Anywayz I had to update my paperwork with my new address as well as my new insurance information.

As I was filling out the paperwork I had to fill out the section for who they should contact in case of emergency...my first thought was "uh call 911 thanks" but I digress. In the past I've always listed my mom as my emergency contact because that's who spinsters list when they don't have a significant other to put. Just as I started writing down my mom's name I paused and then began to write in Kristian's name. I figure as my future husband he probably should be the first to know if something is wrong with me and even more so if there is something wrong with my lady parts. It sounds silly but having him as my emergency contact is very comforting.

My exam was pretty routine except for two particularly funny moments that I wanted to share.

Funny moment #1
Scene- The nurse is asking me basic health questions
Nurse- "Are you married?"
Me- "No but I'm engaged"
Nurse- "How many sexual partners do you have right now?"
Me- "Uhhhh One?"
Me Thinking- I'm engaged shouldn't that answer be obvious???? Strange they never asked me how many dudes I was banging back when I was single. WTF!

Funny moment #2
Scene- Doctor checking my heart rate and also asking me health questions
Dr.- "Do you take any vitamins? Calcium? Vitamin D?"
Me- "No but I drink a lot of milk"
Dr.- "What's a lot?"
Me- "I dunno, a glass a night"
Dr.- "You think that's a lot?"
Me Thinking- Well lady considering I may consume only about 4 total glasses of liquid all day YES I do think that's a lot. Milk does my body good.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Way to make a girl feel special

The oh-so-lovely Ela has graciously bestowed the MEME award on to me. I love awards and I haven't received very many since my sorority days when we passed out Super Sister awards...which I must embarrassingly admit I kept all of them until a few years ago when I finally threw them out to make room for the new crap I've accumulated over the years.

Ela is super cute, super stylish and super sweet and if she didn't live so far away I think Kristian and I would totally double date with her and her adorable hubs S.

According to the rules of this award I must reveal 7 things about myself and since I'm known as a rule follower let's begin shall we?

1. As you can see from my admission above I'm a bit of a pack rat, however I'm an organized pack rat. I recently cleaned out my files and still had old paystubs from 2002!!

2. I have a tendency to scoot to the end of the bed when I sleep at night, typically taking the pillows and sheets with me. I don't know why but I like to have my feet at the foot of the bed and since I'm all of 5'1 (on a good day) my feet don't touch the end when I'm sleeping by the headboard.

3. I hate cottage cheese. I think it's the most disgusting looking food on the planet.

4. I was in a car accident when I was 4 years old and got 40 stitches in my head. I have what i think is a pretty noticeable scar on my forehead but I have friends that will know me for years before noticing it.

5. I HATE to be late, it's my biggest pet peeve in the world. I especially hate to be late to movies because I love watching the previews.

6. I LOVE watching bad reality tv, some favs include- The Bachelor, The Hills, The Real Housewives of (insert city here), So You Think You Can Dance and of course Bridezillas (the one that Kristian hates the most)

7. Except for when I went to the Bahama's and Jamaica I've never traveled off of the East Coast. I'm not big on planes but I swear one of these days I will make it out to the West Coast.

Okay now I'm sending this Fabtastic award to the following ladies that entertain me daily. Not sure if any of you have received this already but if so add another to your pile.

It's Unbeweavable
Life is Bananas
Living Life to the Pinkest
The Pilgrim Congress
Chapters of our Life
It Ain't Easy Being Cheesy
Gracie Bella Butterfly