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!

spootacular fun

all of the ladies

marc[a little creepy] and me

mario, princess peach, and luigi

i know i am a little behind, but i wanted to post some photos from our halloween fun last weekend. i did learn that halloween can be the best time for people watching. i loved seeing all the different costumes. and it is much more fun [and original] making a costume versus buying one of those overpriced, cheaply made ones.

a little halloween throwback [five years ago]