Classic Annie.

Suz's Green and Brown Baby Shower

2012-02-16T11:07:00.001-05:00

On Sunday we threw Suz a baby shower to celebrate her sweet twins - a boy and a girl! We simply had the best time!

We had it in Raleigh at a clubhouse of a friend of a friend. It was the perfect spot. I thought a lot of you may be looking for baby shower or wedding shower food and ideas so I took lots of pictures. Our friend Jessica made the most adorable wreath and I completely forgot to take a picture of it. It was green with brown polka dots and had the letter B on it which is the first letter of Suz's last name.

This was the little table you saw right when you walked in. It has the invitation framed (thanks again to Jessica), mini cupcakes from Gigi's, flower arrangement, favors (lil bags tied with a ribbon full of reese's cups - Suz's fav) and some plates/napkins for the dessert.

This is the room decorated. Kelly made the cutest "Welcome Babies" sign and we had a few balloons. I'm not huge on balloons but these filled up the space so well. We arranged the chairs for everyone so the guests all had a place to sit and eat and watch her open gifts.

Also you'll see above in the middle on the coffee table Kelly made the cutest little basket with "Books" on it. Everyone brought a book for the babies and stuck it in there. And of course a little flower arrangement to go with it! The other circle things are a little conversational game that has to do with baby stuff in case anyone wanted to do that.

Onto the drinks and food. This is called The Party Punch and it was the most amazing thing. Highly recommend for your next partay! We thought you could even add champagne and it'd be great.

Here is the food table.

We served a veggie tray, fruit kabobs, pitas and spinach artichoke dip, chicken salad on mini rolls and pimento cheese sandwiches on white and wheat bread (the triangular ones with no crust).

We also had two pitchers of water - one with lemons and one with limes.

We think most everyone liked everything! It was a good variety and pretty easy!

Suz with her Mom and Nana!

We did play at little game before she opened gifts. Everyone had to cut a ribbon the length they thought would go around Suz's pregnant belly, whoever was closest won. Her Nana won! It was cute!

Suz's sister in law made these amazing cloth diaper wreaths! Talk about talent!

Suz also received an owl blanket homemade! Love special gifts like this.

And the cutest little owl hats. Can you tell we were Chi O's with all the owls?

The onesie says, "my moms a chi omega...what super powers does yours have?" Our friend Kim gave that to her!

All the Chi O's and all of her owl gifts!

The hostesses with our guest of honor - Beth, Cheryl, Suz, Me, Kelly

The babies are loved! Can you tell?! The hostesses gave her the playyard and a gift card to Ann Taylor Loft. We thought Mama needed something for herself too! ;)

Suz, we can't wait until they arrive! They'll be here before we all know it!

Valentines Day Recap

2012-02-15T10:27:00.000-05:00

This year we definitely wanted a low key Valentines. This time last year we were traveling back from a heckuva trip in California so anything was going to be more low key.

I came home from work to dinner on the table. And doesn't it always taste better when you don't have to cook it?! Filets, baked potatoes and slaw. The slaw was a last minute addition because I needed to use it before it went bad. He also picked up a lil tulip plant for me. He didn't do regular flowers because we left town today for a few days and didn't want them to die and not get to enjoy them.

We always save up our nice bottles of wine for special occasions and then never drink them. Kevin declared Valentines as a perfect time to enjoy one. Fine by me! This bottle was given to us when we got engaged by one of Kevin's buddies and his wife. SO sweet of them and it was very good!

We each opened our cards first and that is my favorite part! ;) We also set a $20 limit this year on gifts since we don't neeeeeed anything and we're trying to save for wedding stuff. I got him The Redneck Wine Glass. He always breaks my glasses (honestly it's a joke at this point!) so I thought this sturdy mason jar of a wine glass was just perfect. He agreed! ;)

I recommended that he visit the lovely ladies at On A String in Myers Park to pick some fun earrings out. I just said gold and something dangly and fun. I love these and they will go with everything! Thanks ladies for helping Kevin! ;)

We had a nice Valentines and it was just our pace for this year. The past week has been so hectic and we just had a fancy dinner for Kevin's birthday so this was perfect.

We're off to New Orleans for a little Mardi Gras action now. Can't wait!

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T08:40:00.001-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!

We are having a pot luck brunch at the office today to celebrate! It'll be fun to enjoy being with co-workers and chowing on some goodies. It's always fun to see what the guys bring to a potluck! ;) Their poor wives!

Tonight Kevin and I are having some filets at home. We are leaving tomorrow for New Orleans and we just went out to a nice dinner on Saturday for his birthday. So we decided not to go out. Fine by me!

I'm actually looking forward to hanging out at home and kind of having a usual night plus a little nicer dinner. And I probably should figure out what to wear to the Mardi Gras events! :)

What are you all doing to celebrate?

xoxox to my kevin.

Kevin's Birthday Weekend

2012-02-13T09:48:00.001-05:00

Sorry I've been a bit MIA.

Last Thursday and part of Friday, I drove 800 miles for work to look at about 12 different markets for real estate. I got back to Charlotte in the nick of time to pick up Kevin's cake, stop by Teeter for some balloons and get to his parents which is abuot 45 minutes south of Charlotte.

His Mama made this humongo lasagna dish! That isn't the regular 9x13 pyrex, it's larger. It was soooo good! She served it with salad and bread too.

The one year I didn't have time to make a cake, Kevin requested Sopapilla Cheesecake for his birthday. I was all ready to order him a fancy chocolate and peanut butter cake from Dean and Deluca. Ha! What Kevin wants, Kevin gets so I made him a mexican cheesecake to go with his italian dinner. Totally fine haha!

I put the correct number of candles on it....and he blew them all out in one breath!

He opened some gifts. I got him a couple Southern Tide shirts, Moonshine cologne (love it!) and Coldplay tickets when they come to Charlotte (sitting in my company's box)! I think he had a successful birthday!

Saturday morning I went wedding dress shopping with Tara and then to a baby shower for my friend Emily. I zipped back uptown and got ready to have people to my condo for a little toast to Kevin's birthday!

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Rob and Lindsey - Kevin and Rob are high school buddies

Neighbors - Josh, Kevin and Dave.

Josh's Mom and Dad were in town from Hilton Head. And Jenn!

Josh and Wendy.

Then Kevin and I went to dinner at The Palm in Southpark. I had arranged for a towncar to pick us up and take us out there and back. Thought that would be a nice surprise for Kevin. :) Kevin got the sea bass and I had the tuna. SO great and we always have perfect service from his high school buddy Matt that works there. He always makes it a fun dinner.

Then we walked down to Dean and Deluca wine bar and had a glass of wine.

We had a great time and celebrated his birthday in style! :)

I got up really early the next morning and headed to Raleigh for the day to host a baby shower. But that deserves it's own post!

Needless to say, I'm GLAD to be at my office this morning and getting my life in order!

Happy Birthday Kevin!

2012-02-10T07:27:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet fianCHE!

I hope you have the very best day!

Can't wait to get home to celebrate with you all weekend!

You are so special and I'm always proud to call you my other half. :)

Cheers to you and your double digits now! ;)

See you tonight! Get ready for a fun weekend!

PS - thought it'd be fun to bring so old school pictures back around!

Valentine's Nail Polish

2012-02-09T07:34:00.000-05:00

I got a wild hair the other day and headed to ULTA and got a couple new nail polishes. Sometimes you just need them, don't you?! I had a coupon for $3.50 off $10 or more so I printed that sucker out first.

I decided to get some pinks for February and Valentines Day. I was over the red from Christmas and the fall colors. So this is what I came up with...Essie's Need a Vacation and OPI Elephantastic Pink.

Originally I went for Essie's Cute as a Button but they were out. These were great subs and I love how one is lighter and one is darker. Currently I have Elephantastic Pink on my toes and fingers but I'll probably change my fingers in the next day or two to the lighter one.

Yes I spent a little money but it was nice to get something new and plus it's much cheaper than a mani and/or pedi. Always justifiable!

Tell me your new colors these days!

Wedding Wednesday - Stationery

2012-02-08T08:31:00.000-05:00

When it comes to stationery for our wedding, we're going with the ole classic ecru paper with raised print. Mom and I searched through tons of Crane and Company and William Arthur books. We think the traditional look seems most right for us. Below is not what we have chosen, you all know I can't give those details away yet!

When we went to Salutations in south Charlotte, we were blown away by their customer service and their knowledge. They even gave me a set of personalized stationery just for coming in to talk with them and then of course we received a sweet thank you note. It was simply a great experience. Thank you to Katie for recommending. I would send anyone to Salutations!

When we were there, we realized just how many paper products you can get made for your wedding - save the dates, seating cards, menus, programs, the whole sha-bang. It's crazy!

So did you all go traditional or a little more fun for your wedding invite? Or what would you do if you were getting married tomorrow?

(No they did not pay me to write this, these are my own opinions)

Recipe: Roasted Potatoes, Shrimp, Pancetta

2012-02-07T10:52:00.001-05:00

Good ole Trader Joe's Cookbook does it again!

Ingredients:

- 2 TBS. olive oil

- 1 lb. boiling potatoes, cut into small cubes or 1 lb. bag of TJ's Teeny Tiny Potatoes, left whole

- 2 oz. diced pancetta
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 cubes Trader Joe's frozen garlic cubes (or probably 2 cloves)
- 1/4 cup dry white wine (red wine was fine too)
- 1 lb large shrimp (21-25 per pound)
- fresh parsley (I have used both and fresh is SO much better)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Heat olive oil in an ovenproof saute pan (I used a cast iron skillet) and saute the potatoes over medium-high heat until softened and golden, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the pancetta, garlic, red chile pepper flakes, shrimp and white wine (one time I used red wine and it was tasty too).

4. Season lightly with salt and pepper, stir to combine.

5. Place the pan into the preheated oven and roast until shrimp are just cooked through, about 10 minutes.

6. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Serves 4, Calories are 342 per serving.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Delicious, quick week night meal, reasonably decent for you served with a salad and yum leftovers!

Weekend

2012-02-06T08:23:00.000-05:00

On Friday night, we did absolutely nothing and it was SO nice and very necessary. I think I went to sleep at 8:30 haha!

I woke up Saturday morning and Tara and I went and ran. Always good to get out there, even in the rain.

Kevin and I did some errands after that then came home and he got some work done. I cleaned up around the house. We weren't going to do anything Saturday night because we loved laying low Friday night but we ended up deciding to go out to celebrate Emily's 30th birthday! And we're so glad we did!

We all met at Mortimer's. Emily is front and center...she was such a sport while pregnant!

Brianna's hubby Jon wasn't in the group picture so here they are!

Yesterday was the perfect day to lay around all day and eat some dips and football food. We made guac and then had beer cheese soup and Pioneer Woman's The Bread. Delish. What did you all make?

Honestly I really didn't care who won the Superbowl but I do think it's great for whatever team wins. I can't imagine that feeling, what an accomplishment.

This week will be a bit crazy but it is Kevin's birthday week so I'm excited for that. Thank you to all of you for your gift ideas last week....they were so great and I've already worked on a couple. Go here to check out some gifts for babies and friends in the comment section!

Golden Retrievers

2012-02-03T15:54:00.000-05:00

Here are the reasons I will have a Golden Retriever...

Fin with my niece Sarah

Seriously can these pups get any sweeter?!!!

Love, love, love.

And I grew up with one. Charlie was my best buddy. To this day I go home-home and feel like he should come to the door.

Thankfully my brother and SIL have Fin and before Fin they had Noah. Both Goldens. Both precious pups. I mean look at Fin above...he's seriously like a person.

Kevin and I already have a name for our pooch when we get one (we reallllly want one now but know it's not practical). I'll save the name for when we get him! ;)

HAPPY FRIDAY! Enjoy the superbowl weekend!

Gifts and House Mode

2012-02-02T09:19:00.000-05:00

I feel like by Thursdays I always have a million thoughts going through my head so here we go:

- Got my taxes done this morning. Met my CPA on the side of the road to give him an original signature. Glad to get that chunk of change back. Wedding!!! :)

- I have lots of birthdays and baby showers coming up so I'm working ahead to purchase all the gifts. I do not function well when I have things to buy. I don't like waiting until the last minute....yes I'm crazy.

- So tell me - what is one gift you would LOVE to have? What is one thing your boy would LOVE to have? We could all use some new ideas!

- I have things for Kevin's birthday in February (next week) but I just don't feel like I have done anything special for him. I hate this feeling. Can't compare to the surprise trip to California last year. Do you all have any ideas?

- Finally getting caught up with my life and work this week. Feels so good to regroup and get settled. Don't you hate that feeling of being disorganized and nothing getting done?

- I'm in super "I need a house mode" this week. Mom and I rode around some neighborhoods in Charlotte this past weekend and she liked one down south that Kevin has been looking for houses in. When I went to my parents in Maryland this week and saw the amount of china, stuff I've been taking there over the years for storage and a couple pieces of furniture, I think we need a bigger house than I originally thought. Ha!

I Live Up North

2012-02-01T08:52:00.000-05:00

Lately I feel like I live up north. I think I've traveled every week since Thanksgiving. Thank you work, I do truly love you. But I also love my bed, my condo, oh and Kevin too! :)

Mom was here for the weekend and I was able to schedule my trip to cruise back up to Maryland with her. I can't remember the last time we had flown together. Maybe when I was a lil girl?! Anyway, we had fun. And Mom got to use her phone as her boarding pass for the first time...she's so in.

I was also able to stay at Hotel My Parent's House. Much better than a Hilton. There is something about being home home....even for the 12 hours I was there. I miss it. A lot.

We went over to one of my Mom and Dad's friends new home on the water. Look at the view she has...breathtaking. Check out the sunset reflection on the water.

One of my favorite parts of being home home is waking up to the smell of scrapple. I think I've talked about scrapple on my blog before. Raise your hand if you love it. I do! And my Dad's cheesy eggs. Indulgence. Nothing better. Mom and Dad always get up to make breakfast, such a treat.

Then I got on the road and drove drove drove. Happened to drive right through DC on the way to my site. Yes I took this picture as I was driving. It turned out well I think.

My favorite part of a trip...landing in Charlotte. Always glad to be back. The City skyline was gorgeous last night so I illegally took a picture out the window when my 'electronics' shoulda been off.

Happy Hump Day. (even though I keep feeling like today is Thursday)

Valentine's Outfit

2012-01-31T10:02:00.000-05:00

Wouldn't this Lilly Elsa Top make the cutest Valentine's outfit? My oh my wouldn't it even be better if we were somewhere tropical and could wear our white pants with it?!

Weekend with Mom

2012-01-30T13:02:00.000-05:00

I really didn't mean to not blog for so long but last week I traveled Tuesday and got back really late Wednesday night. Thursday I had a disease and thought I was going to die. (I think it was just food poisoning from my Pennsylvania trip). Friday morning my Mom flew in from Maryland and we did wedding stuff alllllll weekend. Literally every hour haha! It was SO fun and I can't wait to update you all!

Friday we went and tried possibly THE dress on again, looked at another bridesmaids dress and also checked out a stationery shop. We then went to our reception site and met with our sweet planner Alisa and a florist. Then we met with the venue guy Nathan who is hilarious. He invited us for wine while we discussed. Loved it.

We went home and Kevin got us some carry out for dinner and the three of us discussed all things wedding. Bless Kevin's heart! :)

Saturday we had an appointment at Salutations to discuss more stationery then we came home and tried on more dresses at Hayden Olivia uptown. Ahhh yall I found another dress I loved. Shouldn't have even made the appointment, ha. Then we decided we should try the one on from Friday again so we had a direct comparison. Still like the original one! ;)

Then we had another appointment with another florist which was good too. It was 5:30pm so definitely time for a cocktail which Kevin had waiting on us when we walked in. Mom said awwwww. He took us out for a night out on the town to Vapianos (we love the place!), then to Carolina Ale House to watch the end of the NC State basketball game.

Us walking home after showing Mom some Charlotte nightlife!

BTW, we aren't sure who missed who more Mom or Dad. He was back home in Maryland getting things done at his office. We kept teasing him that we hoped he was working!

Sunday we went to Kevin's parents club for brunch with them. My Mom loved seeing them and we got to catch up on all the wedding plans. Mom also got to meet Kevin's precious niece Kendall which she loved! After brunch we zoomed to Southpark because Mom had an appointment for Mother of the Bride dresses. Sadly we didn't find anything. Anyone have any suggestions? She's tried Neiman, Nordstrom and a couple boutiques in Charlotte. She wants to go back to Nitsa's as we briefly looked awhile back. They weren't open on Sunday. We'll go there next time she is here.

We stopped on our way home and picked up supplies for Hopsy's DIY wreath. Mine is a little different but I followed her same directions found here. Mom helped me and it was a fun lil project. Yall know I'm the least crafty person EVER but even I could do this one!

Today (Monday) has also been a real treat. Mom and I got to visit with my friend Kim (I call her Kimmy) and Jack. Yall is he not the most precious little boy?!!! He was sooooo good at brunch and we had such a nice visit with them. He is 3 months old.

Now Mom and I are at the airport. She is flying home and I'm getting to go with her as I have some work stuff to do again up north. At least I get to stay at 'home home' instead of the nearest Hampton Inn. Whew. I'm glad to go home but I'm also thrilled to get back to Charlotte tomorrow night. And I plan to stay for ummm well not even a week but hey, at least it's more than 3 days!

Hope you all are doing well!

Wings

2012-01-25T07:15:00.001-05:00

On Sunday, we decided to cook some wings to have while we watched the football games. I made two kinds, one just marinating them in Texas Pete Buffalo Wing Sauce....

and the others were Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings (recipe found here). They were tasty. I'm not one for a bunch of spice so these were perfect.

PS - we like to use our plastic plates every now and then!

This is the way I cooked both sets after I did some research online. 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Flip them. 15 minutes at 375. Broil at 500 for 3-4 minutes to crisp.

Then for the garlic parmesan wings...

- 1/2 cup butter, melted

- 1 teaspoon garlic powder

- 1/2 teaspoon onion salt

- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

- 24 chicken wings , nude, baked

1. In a small bowl, melt butter in microwave

2. Whisk into butter the garlic powder, onion salt and pepper

3. Arrange hot, fresh-baked nude wings on a serving platter and drizzle with butter mixture.

4. Top with parmesan cheese and serve immediately

On My Mind

2012-01-24T07:10:00.000-05:00

While I'm up north for work this week, I figured it'd be a good time to chat about something that's been on my mind lately.

friends and balance.

Like with everything, there is a healthy balance of hanging out with friends, hanging out with your sig other and having a little alone time.

Kevin and I are very lucky and each have lots of friends. This is something I really liked about Kevin when we first started dating because he could go have guy time and I could go have girl time. We both value our relationships with our friends and think that guys nights and girls nights are very important. I've always been thankful that we both are on the same page about this.

Now that we're a little older we have quite a few couple friends too like I posted about yesterday. This is great because we all enjoy spending time together.

But there are sooo many friends of ours that we want to get together with or they want to get together with us and we just don't have enough time. I hate this. But it's reality. We all have lives to live, we all need time with our sig other, we all have to work, we all have other people to see. It's seriously a joke at this point about our schedule. People at my office kid me about how many wedding or baby showers I have in a weekend. Kevin and I seriously schedule a couple months in advance. I remember a point last summer where we had something every single weekend through Thanksgiving. That my friends, is ridiculous. Poor Kevin haha!

Please don't get me wrong....I'm soooo thankful for our friends and have no clue what we'd do without them. But ahhh it's so frustrating to not always have time to go see or hang out with everyone. And the worst part is I feel SO guilty about it. All the time. I just don't know what to do.

And the guest list for our wedding....HA. That's a different story in itself. I REALLY have no clue what to do about that. It's unbelievable. Would we invite everyone if we could? Absolutely. Have we won the lottery? No. :) It's just going to be how it is and I pray that we don't hurt feelings.

Anyway, this has just been on my mind. Do any of you all feel like this sometimes?

Triple Date

2012-01-23T09:08:00.000-05:00

On Saturday night, we had a triple date with our friends Emily & Brett and Josh & Wendy.

You guys probably remember this crew because we go on triple dates with them a lot. It's kinda become our lil tradition every few months that we either go to someone's house or go out to a restaurant. This time we tried Hickory Tavern in the midtown area. They just opened so it was fun for something different.

Me, Kevin, Josh holding sleepy Brooklyn, Wendy, Emily, Brett

And it's also been really cool because us as a group has changed so much over the years of doing this. When we all started, Josh and Wendy were just married the year before. Emily and Brett had been married a few years. And of course Kevin and I were only dating. Since then, Josh and Wendy have had a little girl, Emily is pregnant with a lil boy due April 1 and Kevin and I are finally engaged.

It's been just so funny how these little dinners have changed and soon we'll have two little ones with us!

PS - I haven't been able to comment on some of your blogs because of Blogger. It tries to load the comment form and it won't come up. Hopefully it gets fixed soon and meanwhile, please don't think I'm ignoring you all!

I've Been Tagged

2012-01-21T08:39:00.001-05:00

The ever so sweet Glitterista and Sundresses and Smiles both tagged me in this game so I went ahead and answered their questions. Thanks you two! :)

The rules:

1. You must post the rules.

2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.

3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've been tagged.

4. Tag eleven people and link them in your post.

5. Let them know you've tagged them!!

Eleven fun facts about me:
Yall will get those fun facts below....sorry I don't have a ton of time today! ;)

Glitterista Questions:
1. What is your favorite month? April (Spring and wedding date!)

2.What children's (or young adult) book would you like to re-read now? I Think I Can, I Think I Can. I'm drawing a blank!

3. What song do you play on repeat? Anything Rascal Flatts or Randy Travis

4. If you had to dress head-to-toe in one color for the next month what would it be? Blue or Black

5. What celebrity do others say you most resemble? I have no idea!

6. What is the quality you most value in a significant other? Hmm this is hard...respectful, genuine, hard-working, make you laugh. Kevin.

7. What language would you most like to learn? I'm good with English!

8. If you could be any one character from a movie, tv show, play or book, who would it be and why? Yall I'm terrible but I don't watch movies or any of that!

9. Where would you like to go for your next vacation? Hawaii or Anguilla

10. What's your favorite all-time Halloween costume? Pippy Longstocking of course

11. If you had to change jobs tomorrow and could do anything you wanted, what would you do? I love my job but it'd be fun to work for Lilly or J. Crew Corporate.

Sundresses and Smiles Questions:
1. What is your favorite nail polish color? OPI Sweetheart right now

2. Silver or gold? Gold, it's timeless.

3. Last concert you went to? Carrie Underwood I think? Awesome show. And I want her legs.

4. Favorite make-up item? Benefit Coralista Blush.

5. Is there a show you stop everything to watch? The Bachelor/Bachelorette. Only show I watch...guilty pleasure.

6. If you could have an unlimited supply of ONE brand of clothes (as in EVERY item that you wanted from that brand magically appeared in your closet), which brand would you choose? J. Crew for being practical, Lilly for fun!

7. What is your favorite season, and why? Spring - weather, feels fresh out, love the clothes.

8. Would you rather work at an office or at home? Home because I can manage my work without getting distracted.

9. Do you tweet? If not, why? Yes and I love it. Much better than Facebook and I feel like I'm sorta in the know.

10. What's your lucky number? 16....was my number in high school sports and for lacrosse at NC State.

11. What is your least favorite chore? Vacuuming but I love when it's done because everything feels cleaner.

Bless your heart if you got to the end of this thing! :) I tag whoever would like to participate and you can pick any 11 of the above 22 questions!

Spring

2012-01-20T08:18:00.000-05:00

Yall is it terrible I'm already looking forward to Spring? Winter has hardly even started in Charlotte but I cannot wait for the next season! I'm not really a winter person, I love Spring weather - days are longer, the clothes and being outside more.

I'm one of those that saves gift cards. Are you all that type or do you go spend them right away? This year I received a couple really nice gift cards for Christmas and I cannot wait to use them on Spring clothes. I've basically decided since living in Charlotte that I don't need many sweaters, heck I hardly wear a coat except out at night walking around downtown. And of course when I go up north for work. So why not save the gift cards for pretty spring pieces?!

Like this one...

Or a new Lilly dress for a wedding event...

Lilly Sloane Dress in Bright Navy Touchy Feely

What are you looking forward to with Spring around the corner?

Happy Weekend!

Running in the Morning

2012-01-19T09:56:00.000-05:00

Let's preface this by saying - I love sleep and I love to run, always have. Both keep me sane and nice. And they both attempt to keep me less stressed.

I never dreamed that I'd ever ever ever run at 6am. I like sleep wayyyy too much. But yall, I'm totally loving this 6am running stuff! We've done it for about 5 months now and I can't even go back to the usual after work stuff. Here are my top five reasons:

1. You are productive before most people wake up.

2. You get to see the sunrise and it's gorgeous against the uptown buildings.

3. You burn off what you need to be burning off, not what you ate all day.

4. You're done with your exercise by 7:30am! And have your whole day ahead of you! And your metabolism is high!

5. You can come home, cook dinner and eat at a normal time, not 8 or 9pm. And you can spend time with your friends or sig other. ....instead of wasting an hour or two of your evening by going to the gym.

Warning - you must go with a friend because you aren't allowed to run in the dark outside by yourself! I cannot believe the number of girls we see by themselves in the dark. Are you crazy?!!!

Yes, Mom and Dad, we are aware of our surroundings and Tara brings mace. And we sprint when we see sketchballs. And we always have a place of business in mind to run into if they chase us! :)

I encourage yall to get up on it and exercise however works for you. We don't always have great runs or workouts but as my Dad says, "at least you got out there." It's better than nothing and it'll keep you healthy and make ya live longer! Fit it in your schedule....I get that people are busy, I'm busy. But fit it in. It's important.

Wedding Wednesday - What's Done So Far

2012-01-18T09:36:00.000-05:00

I'm on the road again today so this will be short and sweet but I thought an update on wedding planning was in order!

1. I've booked the band! Still Cruzin' (AKA - The Party Band of the South). Thanks to Katie for recommending these guys. Evidently they put on a heckuva show at her wedding and some of her friends have booked them since her big day! I cannot wait! Yall they have five lead vocalists!

2. Church is done but you all already knew that.

3. Photographer - Terra Bailey. She is the sweetest lady ever and her work is fabulous. My very helpful and smart cousin Laura reviewed a million photographers work for us and she approved of Terra's! Laura worked with a photographer in Atlanta so she knows what to look for. Thank you Laura SO much!

4. We're pretty much set on the venue but need to work out details. Mom is coming down in 1.5 weeks and we're going to get lots of things done, including this.

5. Dress - I'm pretty sure I know which one I'm going to get but I want to try lots of others on between now and the designer's trunk show late February. Therefore, I'm trying one on in Baltimore on Tuesday while I'm there for work and Mom and I are going to two other places in Charlotte when she comes here. I have time so why not be completely sure?!

6. Florists - we're meeting with two the weekend Mom is here.

7. Stationery - we're meeting with Salutations here in Charlotte when Mom is here. She also has a place back home in Maryland she is going to get pricing from.

8. Cake - we'll get to this eventually but I have a couple places already picked out. And I already know what we want the cake to look like and flavors.

9. Room blocks - those are done but we can't book actual rooms until 1 year out.

10. Gifts - this week I've been brainstorming hostess and wedding party gifts. It'd probably help if we asked the wedding party but we haven't gotten there yet.

I think I've gotten a lot of things done but there are lots of details to fill in! What am I missing yall?! Are there other things you would like to hear about next Wednesday?

Lindsay and Vlad Engagement

2012-01-17T08:48:00.000-05:00

I received the best phone call last night around 8:30pm that my bestest from 3 years old had gotten engaged!

Congratulations to Lindsay and Vlad! We are SO happy for you both and knew it was a matter of time. You two are perfect together!

Isn't her cushion cut ring stunning?! Bling bling my friends!

She had no idea it was coming....they talk about it a lot but he is still in school for dermotology. This was a typical Monday night and Lindsay thought she was going to his house for a movie night and take out dinner... He evidently lead her over to a posterboard of all the notes she had left him in chronological order and the last one was dated yesterday and was blank. He wrote on it "will you marry me" and got down on one knee. SO adorable! Then he had Del Friscos brought in and they enjoyed it in an apartment that holds so many of their memories. Vlad is so very thoughtful and seriously the nicest guy.

We wish you both the very best! Cheers to you both and enjoy your engagement!

Baby Shower and Low Key Weekend

2012-01-16T09:02:00.000-05:00

We went to Kevin's hometown on Friday night and had dinner at the cutest little restaurant with his parents. Their specialty is French Onion Soup. It was perfect for a chilly day and end of the week treat. We also got salads to go with it. Yum. The best part was that we got to catch up with his parents which is great to do!

We both felt pretty crummy with our colds so we headed to Wal-Mart on the way home to pick up OJ, fruit to make smoothies, Claritin D and Niquil. We had most of this stuff but needed more...we knew we didn't want to go back out once we were home for the weekend.

I slept 13 hours on Friday night thanks to basically not sleeping for 2 weeks and going too many places. It.was.wonderful. to get that much sleep in.

We rallied for a baby shower for some Avenue friends and it was held on the 10th floor common area so we just had to slip downstairs.

They served lasagna, meatballs, garlic knots and salad. It was a hearty meal and it was so tasty.

We loved seeing all of our neighbors and... some of our ex-neighbors. Yes, Josh and Wendy moved across the street after they sold their place. We're sad but glad they are still close to us.

Kevin and I. We went home right after the shower and crashed.

I did get up and run with Tara on Sunday morning, boy that was not very fun. I mean we had fun running and chatting but I couldn't breathe. I was a mess and glad to be home when we were finished. It was good to get some of the congestion out of me but yuck! Ha!

We got our chores done mid-day and I made chili to sizzle until an early dinner. It was so nice to simply rest and recoup. Hopefully this week isn't as nuts. We'll see!

Random Friday

2012-01-13T09:49:00.000-05:00

Hope you all have had a nice week! Been busy here but I'm getting my act back together. Remind me to not do 5 different trips in 8 days ever again.

- I need to get back on the train of menu planning. I plan to start Sunday assuming Kevin and I are both over this cold we have. Right now nothing tastes good except the smoothies he makes me.

- I haven't run in an entire week and I'm about to go crazy!

- It was SUPER windy here last night in Charlotte. Windy + high rise condo = no sleep.

- Are any of yall on a spending freeze? I'm trying to be so good since the holidays and so far I've done well. I like to start the year off right with all that!

- Kevin and I talked wedding stuff last night. We discussed wedding party numbers (still haven't decided on big or super small), rehearsal dinner options and stationery. He cracked up at the stationery meeting I told him about that Mom and I are going to in a couple weeks. He thinks that sort of stuff is outrageous. But come on, we aren't sending an evite out for the wedding! It must be pretty!

- We haven't even really had a winter in Charlotte but it's suppose to get colder this weekend. I'm already ready for Spring. Come quickly March!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend my friends!

BCS National Championship

2012-01-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

I promise this is the last New Orleans post!

We received a police escort to the Superdome on Monday afternoon....there were about 7 or 8 buses of Allstate folks and about 20 police officers stopping all traffic in New Orleans for us to get to the game. It was insane! People were videoing our buses going by and taking pictures.

All the media as we pulled up to the dome. Of course we had prime parking.

Walking into the Pre Game Party that Allstate put on for us.

They had a bunch of stationed food and open bar. The CEO spoke and Kevin even got his picture with him afterwards. Nice guy!

We entered the game through this lil entrance from the tailgate room and our seats were crazy. Club level, 3rd row. Unreal. This was seriously the experience of a lifetime. Maybe not the best game to watch but the treatment we received and the energy in the building was unbelievable.

Kevin and I. We had to wear those beads that showed our tickets at all time. I didn't put mine on til the last minute when they forced me to...it was so ugly and did not match my outfit! ;) I'm sorta kidding.

When the teams were announced and came out, they shot off mini fire works. The Mercedes symbol actually hangs down from the roof.

Game time!

Halftime LSU band!

It was quite the production and Allstate had lots of marketing going on in this place!

We had a wonderful time and are so thankful for the experience. The Superdome was SO loud it was almost deafening. What an event to remember!

Then we cruised back to The Roosevelt Waldorf Astoria which was also a phenomenol hotel.

We flew back Tuesday afternoon. It was a fabulous trip and once in a lifetime. Thank you to Kevin for working hard to win it!