Making a List & Checking It Twice!

Hello!

Last night ended up being a super successful night as I checked off a ton of wedding to-do's from my list! However, this weekend's list looks even longer; luckily all of the planning will be pay off in 2 weeks though! It's hard to believe that our wedding is right around the corner--it feels like the last couple months have really flown by.

That being said, I am thankful for another Friday! And along with Friday comes the Friday Fives brought to you by my friend Laura over at Meet Virginia!

(source)

1. What I'm reading
I recently picked up this book at the library and I'm about a third of the way through it--I don't normally read this genre of books so it's nice to switch things up a bit. It's a story of two best friends that are reunited by an unfortunate event in one's life and what becomes of it.

From SimonandSchuster.com:
Best Friends Forever is a grand, hilarious, edge-of-your-seat adventure; a story about betrayal and loyalty, family history and small-town secrets. It’s about living through tragedy, finding love where you least expect it, and the ties that keep best friends together.

Click on the image to listen

2. What I'm listening to
Come thou Fount // David Crowder Band
Lately, this song has been on the radio quite a bit and I find myself turning it up since it was our song that we sang at my high school graduation (yes, I was homeschooled...). It has such a great message and I just love the twist that David Crowder Band adds to it.

3. What I'm watching
I logged into Netflix last night to watch an episode of Grey's before bed when this movie caught my eye. I watched this a couple years ago with Andy when it was on TV and I remember seeing it when I was younger with my mom--I'm surprised she let me watch this! haha. It's kinda freaky but I just love thrillers that keep me on the edge of my seat.

Chicken with tomato + cilantro, roasted veggies

4. What I'm eating
While at the grocery store this week, I noticed that they had all-natural fresh chicken breast 3-packs for $2.99! This is unheard of as they are usually around 6 dollars each so I stocked up on 5 of them--stashing 4 packs in the freezer, and using one for this week's dinners. I also tried brussel sprouts for the first time after cooking them according to this girl's method. They were actually really good and I look forward to enjoying the leftovers this evening!

5. What I'm pinning
I've been looking through tons of wedding flowers lately since they'll be getting ordered this week to arrive in time for the big day. Cake was also ordered this week and it feels great to get more of the wedding tasks accomplished as we get closer and closer to the day.

Photo Challenge Day 7: Something New

My friend Kara Lynn gave me these bottles of nail polish as part of my bachelorette party gift--I had fun reading the names of them and was surprised to see that they all referenced weddings/marriage. What a cute idea! Right now I've got "Tyin' the Knot!" on my fingers and "Rosy Future" on my toes!

Off to enjoy my strawberry sprinkle smoothie and then pound through the last 8 hours of the work week. I'm wrapping up some winter-themed posters and a real estate website today--hopefully it will be finished by the time the day ends! 

This afternoon might also consist of a coffee shop visit with Krystine and another coworker--sometimes you just need a little treat to make it through the rest of the day, don't you think?

Have a great Friday! 

What color nail polish are you wearing? 

Or do you prefer unpainted nails?

Do you enjoy thriller movies?

Best thing to top your smoothie with?

Free Peppermint Stick Clif Bar for YOU!

Just dropping in...to let you know that if you follow ClifBar on Twitter, you can taste test their new Peppermint Stick seasonal flavor when it is delivered to your door! Open to U.S. residents only, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Click here for the link! Mmm, I can hardly wait!

Photo Challenge Day 6: Childhood memory

One of my favorite childhood memories = Christmas morning! Does life get any better than new Barbies, Polly Pockets, and Legos?

A few other random childhood memories also came to mind:

• Storing my life savings in M&M Mini's tubes in my sock drawer
• Playing "gymnastics" on my neighbor's swing set
• Playing house, school, Little House on the Prairie... what? You didn't turn your Red Rider wagon into a covered wagon in the backyard?
• Friend's birthday parties--where the best part was the goodie bag you got to take home
• Playing outside from morning until evening in the summers
• Show and Tell at school
• Playing with my Skip-It!
• Laying away at night the week before Christmas just wishing and wishing I'd get that one specific toy
• Drawing cities with chalk on the driveway--complete with roads, houses, and stores, and then rollerblading "through the town"
• Fighting over the huge JCPenny's winter catalog filled with pages and pages of toys and circling all of the things I wanted
• Not feeling tired everyday haha...

Off to go eat some frozen yogurt and watch some Grey's!

Favorite Flavor of Clif Bar? 
Best childhood memory?
What has been your favorite age?

Bachelorette Bash

Hi there!

Yesterday I promised you a recap of my recent bachelorette party for today! Here we go!

Saturday started out with baking some cookie bars while eating Rice Krispies out of a mug since my dishwasher was full again. This seems to be a common occurrence in my house... Before Andrea arrived, I hit up the gym for a sweaty circuit training session which always helps me start my day off on a good foot.

Andrea arrived around 2pm and after receiving the tour of our house, we unloaded her car and brought everything inside. We blasted the radio and chatted as we set up for the party--it was fun to catch up with with her! The theme for my party was a Fall candy bar which did not disappoint--this is only some of the candy and food that was set up! 

I was so surprised that my flowers from the bridal shower last weekend stayed alive long enough for the party! Having fresh flowers on your coffee table always makes the room look so much more cheery, don't you think?

My sister suggested that we play a game where each guest takes a clothespin and then throughout the party, there are two taboo words; if you say one of the words, you lose your clothespin. In the end, the person with the most clothespins won a prize. We chose "Andy" and "wedding" as the taboo words, but the guests were pretty good about avoiding these words--using phrases like "your fiance" and "your big day" instead.

Homemade pizzas were on the menu for the night! Before the guests arrived, I prepped a bunch of pizzas--some were white chicken pizza, while others were classic pizza with red sauce. Mmmm. Andy and I chomped down on the leftovers yesterday for both lunch and dinner!

We also played a fun toilet paper dress game where the guests broke out into groups of two and then had to design a wedding dress using toilet paper.

Trying different techniques

This game initiated lots of laughter

My dress that I designed for Michele! 

Danielle and Allie and the winning dress!

Jen and Jennifer and their creation

Krystine's stylish outfit...loved the headpiece, haha

After the wedding dress game and an Andy + Laura Trivia game, gifts were opened! 

I had such a great time and was so thankful for my sister throwing such a great party for me before I get married soon! It was so fun to see all of my friends--including some that I hadn't seen for many years as we celebrated my last few weeks of singleness!

Photo Challenge Day 5: Someone I love

Andy, of course! 

Time to go get ready and then grab some breakfast downstairs! Have a great start to your week!

Ever been to a bachelorette party? 

Favorite party game to play?

Do you ever eat cereal out of coffee mugs?

Coffee Date + Fall Biking

Hello and good morning!

I was surprised this morning when I woke up and glanced at the clock beside my bed--8:35am! I never wake up that late since I'm quite the early bird! I must have been all tuckered out from my party last night.

Andrea found this adorable chalkboard easel a few weeks ago after I told her we were looking for one to have at our wedding. Since it is just sitting in my living room, I decided to put it to good use for the party. This sign greeted the guests as they arrived at the front door.

I'll have a recap of my bachelorette party tomorrow, but for now, let's back up to Friday.

Guatemalan blend with a splash of cream....so good on a chilly afternoon

Once in awhile, when we've had a stressful or long week, Krystine and I designate a Thursday or Friday as "Coffee Thursday" or "Coffee Friday", respectively. On such a day, we jump in the car and head out to a coffee shop during our lunch break. It isn't really about the caffeine fix, but mores just getting out of the office for a little bit to get some fresh air and new scenery. It helps us come back to work recharged for the afternoon. 

How cute is this sign that they had outside the cafe? I loved the hand-cut letters! Too adorable! We tried a new-to-us coffee shop near the office after hearing lots of good remarks about it from a fellow coworker.

The coffee shop definitely did not disappoint--our drinks were superb and it was just what we needed mid-day. The remainder of Friday afternoon flew by pretty quickly as the sun came out--for some reason that always makes the days a little easier when you have sun pouring through the window onto your desk.

After work, Andy was planning on coming over for dinner and to run a quick errand with me. Before he arrived, I decided to take my bike out for a spin since the weather perked up and it was a beautiful evening. It was a little chilly starting out--even with my Cold Gear Under Armour turtleneck, but as soon as I was riding for awhile, I warmed up quickly.

It was fun to take a ride in the crisp, Fall air and have the leaves crunch on the paved path below me. It even smelled like Fall...perfect! I stopped a few times to grab some shots of the flowers around me--the setting sun was hitting them in just the right spots--giving them a warm glow.

Photo Challenge Day 4: Favorite Color

My all-time favorite color is GREEN! Sometimes I like other colors, but most of the time, I choose green!

Alright, time to finish reading blogs in bed before heading downstairs to clean up the party mess and then showering/getting ready to head over to Andy's to wrap up our wedding slideshow! I might be making a second breakfast as well, because I am starving!

Have a great Sunday, everyone! 

How often do you visit coffee shops? 

Do you like to head out during your lunch break?

What is your preference on working out? Morning or evening?

Meet the Wedding Party

....well, the girls, anyway!

This post was inspired by a dream I had last night--I woke up panicked this morning because I dreamt that Andy and I got married and after it was over, I realized that we forgot to do our vows during the wedding! We did all of the other parts of the ceremony except for the vows--ahhh! Thankfully it was just a dream.

Now, let's meet those ladies, shall we?

Andrea
First up, we have my gorgeous sister! She is going to be my Matron of Honor since she just got hitched last January. It's hard to believe they've already been married almost a year! Although we didn't always get along as kids (I was the nerdy ballet dancer and she was the rough and tumble tomboy), our relationship has gotten so much better and we have become really good friends. As my only sister, I am really blessed to have her in my life. After all, she is my big little sister!

Allie
Next in line is a friend who is so dear to my heart. Allie and I have been friends since I was in 8th or 9th grade and our friendship has only continued to grow. Allie is on a mission to become a dolphin trainer and therefore, our friendship has been long distance many times as she has lived in Hawaii, Florida, and Mexico for many months at a time. She's back in town for awhile and I'm so excited to have her in my wedding. This is the woman who I can goof around with, has strengthened my faith, and shown me a true example of what it means to have Christ in your heart.

Kaaren
God brought Kaaren into my life for an exact purpose at the perfect time. We met by chance about a year ago at a church event and ended up in the same small group together. It was her goofy sense of humor and take on life that interested me and I love spending time with her. She's been through a lot of things that I'm going through right now, so it has been nice to have someone who understands and can offer advice. Our relationship is sometimes serious, but most of the time it's spent goofing around and talking in accents. What a fun gal!

Jen
As I approach our upcoming wedding, I am so excited to gain a sister-in-law. Andy's sister Jen is such a sweet woman and I love spending time with her and the rest of his family. I look forward to continuing to get to know her in the upcoming years.

Marissa
When I was younger, my sister and I didn't have any cousins. Family get togethers were fun because we both received a lot of the attention, but at the same time--we always wished that there were more kids around to play with. I was so excited when I was in 3rd grade and got the news from my aunt that she was expecting! Fast forward 9 months later, at 10 years old--I gained my first cousin. I loved spending time with her, babysitting her, and playing with her. Time really flies, though, because she will be 13 next month! She is such a pretty girl and I love hanging out with her and watching her grow up.

Karlie
After a few years, my aunt had another baby, Karlie! Karlie is a bundle of energy and so much fun to be around. She's always on the go and usually has a great story to share with you every time you see her. I was so excited when Karlie was born--now I had two cousins--double the fun! She's almost 10 years old and as cute as can be! I love heading down to her house to spend the day with her whenever I can! Her silly attitude is contagious and it is so fun to see her grow from a little girl to a charming young lady.





I am so blessed to have these amazing women/girls in my life and honored to have them stand up next to me during my wedding next month.

Photo Challenge Day 3: Clouds
(Click here for previous days)

This picture never ceases to fascinate me. I captured this shot while on a trip to Italy with my school's Art + Design Department during my sophomore year of college. The sky is so dark and eerie, yet the sliver of blue in the center offers a glimpse of hope even on the darkest of days.

"...the LORD's delight is in those who fear him,
 

those who put their HOPE in his unfailing LOVE."

Psalm 147:11

Alright, kiddos--have a great Saturday! I'm off to the gym for some circuit training before Andrea arrives to help set up for the party! Catch ya tomorrow!

Who did you have as your maid of honor? If you aren't married, who would you choose as yours?

How many bridesmaids would you like to have in your wedding?

Ever been a bridesmaid?