Thursday, June 28, 2012

My Bridal Shower, Part One

opening gifts
Tyler came!
Meghan & Dana (& a 6ft tall teddy bear named Parker) slept over the night before the "surprise" shower. The girls & I got manis, I got a pedi, and we went home and ordered food and watched movies, chatted & relaxed. (We first tried to watch She's All That, which DANA HAD NEVER HEARD OF, but she thought it was too CHEESY. So we switched to "Where the Heart Is, which Dana had also NEVER HEARD OF, and that went over a bit better.)
I awkwardly got up at 10:30pm and declared it time to go to bed, so i got the girls blankets & pillows & went to bed. Cue Hayley 10 minutes later lying in bed wondering if she's fun enough. Ran back in the living room to confirm that it was indeed bedtime, we were all tired, and I wasn't "making them" go to bed. Guess I am just rusty when it comes to slumber parties.

I'm not quite sure what time we woke up - maybe 9am? I jumped out of bed and started running & jumping around  a la Monica from friends. Also discussed what a great poop I was going to take - ugh. Classy, Hayl. (Well, for a girl with IBS, a good poop is important!! Sorry, TMI?) It was such a fun, exciting morning! I kept saying that I hope I will be just as excited & calm on my wedding day morning. Here's hoping...

So, we showered & got ready (see fab pic below) all together, and headed out the door to get Charlotte. We ran into some traffic and ahem, some detours, but kept it cool by singing Nsync songs as Candy & Shelley frantically texted Dana & Meg, "WTF WHERE ARE YOU :)". Hahaha!!


I wore a black scarf over my eyes for the last 10 minutes of the ride, and kept my eyes closed as I walked in the room...

I immediately gasped, as my future mother-in-law, Kim, had surprised me and flew in from Nebraska!!! It was such an amazing surprise, I ran right to her and hugged her. I then turned to my left, and one of my bridesmaids, Jackie, had flown in from Florida! I truly have the BEST family & friends.

to be continued.....
 

Monday, June 25, 2012

the word of the week is...

gratitude


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

to-do

paint wall in dining room w/chalkboard paint. by myself.
order shelves.


finalize wedding to-do list. include due-dates & who's helping with what.

Friday, June 22, 2012


Things I will make time for in the next few weeks.

  1. to make jewelery, a quiet activity that will quiet my mind. i need to quiet my mind.
  2. hot yoga
  3. surround our bedroom with flameless candles
  4. clean bedroom
  5. read
  6. pool lounging (multi-tasking with anything on this list allowed)
  7. write. specifically, a letter to my one-day granddaughter on the kind of mother i want to raise for her.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Moments

I don't have much to say, besides the fact that I have found myself in a quiet, still, content moment. I've been re-reading my blog entries, and they all sound so rushed. It's mostly because, well, they are. I write them on my quick lunch breaks at work. But right now, I'm on the back patio - there's a cool breeze, but it's perfect jeans & sweatshirt weather. I have a hot cup of chocolate chai tea in my "h" mug, ebony is laying on the other chair, and I'm listening to old school country tunes. Tyler will be off work in 45 minutes. Life is good.

I'll try & take more moments to sit quietly to write out some feelings. I don't really know what this blog is for; it started as a way to document wedding planning, but thats really not what consumes me on a day to day basis. I wish I could just download into this little blog my daily thoughts & feelings, but truthfuly I never feel like I can slow down enough to do that. But I'm going to try.

I'm a bit nervous about Saturday. I fear that I will be nervous, distracted, and anxious. I want to be elegant, effortless, glowing, happy. I want to savor every moment, it truly means so much to me. I think I will be able to keep a calm mind...

I'm marrying my best friend in 90 days. I can't imagine life getting any better.

xo

Friday, June 8, 2012

happiness.

a hot vanilla latte

seeing him happy & smiling ear to ear as he re-tells how he caught the foul ball

"laid back beach music" station on pandora

the weather forecast for the weekend - 78 & sunny

plans with great friends

days off with him

a decreasing calendar countdown to 9/9/12

watching others on the brink of exciting changes

honeymoon planning


Monday, June 4, 2012

untitled.




Updates

The graduate(s): CONGRATULATIONS to my brothers, Brad & Johnny, who graduated from UMD, my pal, Charlotte, who graduated from UMB, and to my best friend, Meg, for getting her MASTERS from UMB!  So proud. It has been so much fun celebrating with everyone & reflecting on how far you have all come. I can't wait to see what all of your futures hold for you! This is such an incredible group of people - they all have worked SO hard to get to where they are. WAHOO!!!

The fort: Rainy days + no money + desire to to something awesome just the two of us = the most AMAZING, incredible, awesome fort I have ever seen. Tyler usually doesn't like making a mess, but he completely surprised me by turning the couches on their sides & getting so creative! We built a fun fort with all of the blankets & pillows in the house, and Tyler, Ebony & I hung out all Saturday night watching movies & eating snacks. We even spent the night in there Saturday night - so fun. And since it's going to be rainy & gross all week, I somehow convinced Tyler to leave it up. :-)

The photo shoot: We had our engagement photoshoot with our wedding photographers over Memorial Day weekend, and we had a BLAST. These guys completely calmed our nerves & just allowed us to be US. We had so much fun. Here are some of their favorites from their blog: Hayley & Tyler: Engagement Shoot


The bedroom: I'm giving myself a project in the hopes I can beat any post-wedding blues: make over the bedroom. I'm taking inspiration from this post from cupcakes & cashmere and want our bedroom to reflect a more grown-up, calm and serene place (rather than it's current look - clothes EVERYWHERE). I think new bedding, updates pictures, and moving a few things around will make it feel new & special.

The family: With all of the graduating happening this past few weeks, I've gotten a chance to see lots of family. We even got to skype with Tyler's mom & brother this weekend, which was great. I've been thinking about his parents a lot - they are in the midst of figuring out what to do now that all of their boys are out of the house, which is both exciting and scary. I'm sending them good thoughts & hope they know that we love & miss them!

The wedding: Invites going out this week/next, hair trial this week, SOMETHING FUN on the 16th, food tasting on the 21st... gotta finish crafts... oh! Tyler & I made the table numbers, they came out great. LOTS to do. Need to make another list. 97 days!!!! Can you believe it?!?!

The dog: Well, we brought Ebony to the vet and we got in trouble. Little Ms. Big Booty Judy is now on a diet - and has to go back in 3 weeks for a weigh-in! What a chubby kid. Bad parenting. :-(

I think that is it for now. Happy Monday!

If You Made Me a Mix Cd...

If you made me a mix CD with songs picked out ESPECIALLY for me.....

what would they be?