the big day

WE DID IT!

happily married and have been for little over one month. there is no greater feeling in life than knowing i am going to spend the rest of my life with my favorite person and someone i love the most.


here are some of my favorites

 my gorgeous maid and matron of honors

 the beautiful bridal party

mama and daddy

our family is now complete. mama-in-law and her girls

 

the perfect kiss

the whole wedding party

one of my favorites - soooo us

dad and me

the amazing dj bobby white

and they lived happily ever after

pre-wedding festivities

less than ten weeks until i say "i do!"

with that being said - life lately has been crazy hectic! [student teaching is amazing!] wedding planning has been on the side burner due to school and luckily with spring break this week i will check off lots of to-dos! a major one - picking/deciding on wedding invitations. i kept saying all through the winter that i have everything under control that i did not plan on stressing anything blah blah blah - yeahhhh so much for that.

today i had such an amazing wedding shower. marc and i have such awesome families. his, with the help of a family friend, hosted the shower today. the hard work and time put into making such a special day so perfect shows how much they care and how happy they are for us.

obviously - i came home and washed everything, put it away, and unpacked my beautiful new mixer to sit on display ;) i promised marc the first two things coming would be buffalo chicken dip and [his fav family recipe] peanut butter balls!

 the lovely hosts

 my fancy little bride cake!

 LOVE these frames - super excited to put wedding pics in them!

 me, mama, and granny

 my beautiful mama & mama-in-law (to-be)

  

marc and i 

Counting Down!

lately marc and i have been checking off wedding to-do things. the past two weeks i have managed to go from a semi-major bridesmaid dress fiasco to opening my jcrew package today of everyone's dress. i had checked out their dresses back in the early fall but the colors and prices were not working out for me. i got on facebook last monday and saw they were having a special 25% off event. i spotted, less than a week earlier, a dress that would be the perfect look and had just become the perfect price too! i called jcrew and talked with three different wedding specialists and they were all equally amazing. without time to order a color swatch i depended solely on my computer's coloring and her opinion. needless to say the dress is fabulous in every little way. i love it! it is a new fabic for jcrew that feels and looks luxurious. it is right between their silk taffeta and cotton cady. [and it has pockets!]

 

marlie dress 

we got to have our cake tasting friday. instead of going to sit down and discuss what we liked and thought with the baker, i opted for picking the samples up and bringing them home. we enjoyed our quick and relaxed five minute cake tasting! kitti lightfoot makes some divine cakes. i cannot wait to see our wedding cake [and eat it too!]

lastly, marc and i knocked off picking a suit and getting the men lined up for fittings this afternoon. it was so nice to support a local menswear store, woods menswear. the customer service was impeccable and i look forward to working with them on our wedding.  

more updates coming soon. about three and a half months to go!

Happy New Year

along with welcoming in a new year, we have also welcomed some seriously cold weather - and i am not a fan. don't get me wrong, i enjoy experiencing a little of all four seasons, but when wind chills are hitting below zero it pushes the limits. luckily, i whipped up some yummy soup on sunday [recipe is from gimme some oven - and i love how she makes it healthy/skinny]  i suggest you try it! i followed her recipe exactly and it was perfect.

the past week and a half i have been in major wedding guest list mode. between getting everyone's address and making sure i have their correct full names my stress level is rising daily. and to top it off tomorrow is five months until our big day and save the dates are not labeled or mailed! [ekk] some good news on the wedding - i picked up my gown two weeks ago and i have FINALLY decided on bridesmaid dresses!!!

on top of save the date stress - i start student teaching in two weeks. i am so beyond ecstatic to finally start the last semester of my undergrad! and this has motivated me to get some of those little wedding details taken care of early!

some diy-ing coming up this weekend. i will be sure to post about it on the blog once i get it complete. the only hint - i have finally gotten a bookcase for our den!

 

ten days until Christmas

i have slacked majorly on my blogging lately. lots of remodeling, baking, and shopping have consumed my life. however, i am excited to say, after over two months of our kitchen floor being torn up and the house being covered in dust and grit we now have gorgeous new hardwood floors throughout our main floor! the best part was when marc walked from the bedroom to the kitchen and he came back all smiles saying how nice it was not to have to wear shoes into the kitchen anymore! we've had fun using our new shark steam mop too - got an awesome black friday deal on this for only fifty bucks! so far we love it and i'd highly recommend it to anyone - WAY easier than moping!

i saw a picture today reminding me that we only have ten more days until Christmas. this year i have been in such a festive holiday mood. i am sure the fact that i get to spend a WHOLE WEEK with my sister - have not seen her in over a year and a half - helps that mood! i enjoyed shopping for all of the little ones in mine and marc's families this year! we went from having two nieces and nephews to five and a sixth on the way! and the fact that december is the six month countdown to our big day gets me even more excited!

we had a fun holiday theme/tacky sweater party this weekend at our friend's home. it was great seeing the looks everyone put together for it. needless to say we had cindy lou who, uncle eddie(s), frosty, the leg lamp from a christmas story, and many awesome tacky christmas sweaters! the lovely hosts, brit and jp, put together a great time for the second year now. a few snaps from the night...

  

to end an eventful weekend we decided to make this yummy taco salad

 

 taco salad

1 head of lettuce
1 bag of frozen steam corn
1 can of black beans (drain)
jar/fresh jalapenos (as many as you'd like - optional)
1 pack of cherry tomatoes (halved or quartered)
1 lb grilled/baked chicken (we used Perdue frozen grilled chicken strips)
ranch dressing
barbeque sauce

cook chicken and corn. mix chicken with a little barbeque and ranch - set aside. chop the lettuce and layer the bottom of the dish, add some barbeque and ranch, then half of your tomatoes, a little more of both sauces (you will add some after each layer). add some black beans, sauces, corn, sauces, and jalapenos. put all of your chicken in. then, layer everything one more time in the same order - adding sauce after each layer. on top, crunch up regular tortilla chips and cover with mexican cheese. this is best once it sits in the fridge for a while - make it the morning of or even the night before for best results.

this recipe makes a full trifle dish, we did it in a large bowl and medium bowl - didn't have anything big enough :/
enjoy!

mini vacay

after a long week at work i was so excited to escape for the weekend. with marc heading to vegas, i figured it would be the perfect time to go visit my mom and do a little wedding planning! the weather was warm and sunny all weekend. i went and tried on bridesmaid dresses - this has been the hardest thing for me to find/pick out. i finally [think] i have found the best dresses for my ladies.

every time my mom and i get together we usually end up treating ourselves to p.f. changs - my favorite! however, we tried the new crispy korean chicken wings and i would not recommend them. if you are new to the place i do highly recommend the crab wontons, lettuce wraps, and tuna tataki - these have never failed me! i could not leave the beach without some pizza from mellow mushroom - it is amazeballs!

we got free tickets to the dickens christmas show and decided to spend our sunday afternoon breezing through it. we got lots of ideas for christmas decor - plan on crafting some of those next weekend! i also picked up this cute wine glass and garden flag.

 this will be great when getting cozy next to the fire and cheering on some tarheel basketball!

i can not wait to hang this cute guy out for christmas!

engagement

marc and i had our engagement photo shoot last month and just got them back last week [so exciting!!] i feel like once you start with [official] wedding stuff it all begins to feel real. we got the pictures taken at marc's parent's lake home at smith mountain lake, va. it was a beautiful evening and one gorgeous sunset. laura ashworth photography did our pictures and we loved working with her. with all the engagement talk, i figured i would give the short version of our engagement.

we went out of town for the weekend with marc's family to the greenbrier for a little r&r. it was perfect winter weather and the mountains were breath taking. our last night there marc wanted to walk out front and see the resort at night [his excuse was to see the lights-there were none] so i went along with no idea what he had up his sleeve. we walked down the sidewalk and he hugged me close, gave the sweetest little speech, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him. no i did not cry, i went into shock! it was such an exciting and memorable moment. i said yes [of course] and the ring fit perfectly! ahhh it still makes me smile to this day when i think about it. and no worries, he is a gentleman and asked my daddy for permission before popping the question.

here are a few photos we loved the most!