wedding who knews?

Okay, so plenty of people know these things, but I am not one of those girls who spent countless hours on wedding blogs prior to being engaged. I don’t have a dream location. I had no idea what “cushion cut” meant before we went to try on rings. Planning a wedding is going to truly be an educational experience for me. Yikes. (Note- I swear, this blog isn’t going to be all wedding focused all the time, but it IS sort of the way I document my life, and right now, my life is a little bit wedding focused. I apologize in advance.)

Things we know for sure-

1. Keep it small. Close friends and family only. I think this is going to be a hard pill for some people to swallow, but really, Colin and I aren’t looking to go into debt for this wedding and we really want to keep it as small as possible.
2. If it doesn’t feel like us, we aren’t doing it. There won’t be engagement photos. There definitely won’t be a garter toss. We want to do our best to keep the whole process fun for both of us (and our families!)
3. It will be fun. We want our guests to have a really good time with us. The “with us” is key here. We want to be present the whole weekend and celebrate with everyone!

That is about as far as we have gotten in this whole planning thing. So, if you know of any cheap, amazing, quirky wedding spots, please feel free to shoot them my way…

Also, is it wrong to want to plan an entire wedding around a pair of shoes? Because these seriously make my heart flutter.

Adore.

This weekend I am off to NYC for a work event. I’ve REALLY enjoyed my lack of work travel the past couple of weeks, but it’s time to kick it up again! Make it a great one my friends!

 

the story

Thank you all SO much for your sweet emails, tweets, texts, and phone calls. Colin and I couldn’t be happier! He is the best guy in the world and I really can’t believe that I’m lucky enough to have snagged him.

The story of the proposal goes back about a month. We have been joking forever about marriage and some time in early December we came to the mutual decision that we should just do it. Such a modern couple, huh? When we went to Lawrence we started looking at engagement rings. We told my parents and brother and called his mom and step dad to let them know we were looking (or “engaged to be engaged”). We found a couple of things we liked, but nothing that we LOVED. We left Kansas empty handed, but our families were already bubbling over with excitement and I’m pretty sure my mom bit off part of her tongue to keep from telling people. Side bar- it is SO hard to not tell everyone you know when you are so excited about something but need to keep it a secret!

One of the first days we were back in Philly we were walking around the city and passed through Jeweler’s Row (yes, there is a whole section of the city devoted to diamonds). On a whim we popped into a shop and tried on settings and discussed stones (I knew I didn’t want a diamond and that I was much more of a sapphire girl, thank you Kate Middleton). The woman we met with was INCREDIBLY helpful and she really listened to what we wanted and didn’t want and we ended up with the ring you saw on the last post. On Saturday Colin bought the ring, but they have to remake it to fit my finger (I have small fingers, who knew?!) because simply resizing the ring would probably bend the halo and not let the stone fit in just right (the things you learn!), so the ring won’t be ready until February 1st. Boo.

We know we don’t want a long engagement (my parents are doing some traveling this year and will be in and out of the country), so we decided to go ahead and be engaged sans ring for a couple of weeks BUT I told Colin he still had to pop the question. I didn’t want to tell anyone until it was “official” and I needed to hear those magical words (apparently, I am a little bit traditional after all). So, Saturday, after walking around the city together (it was gorgeous here in Philadelphia) Colin led me to the place we first met. As soon as we turned down the street I knew exactly what was happening and we both started giggling. He said some really lovely things, shed a tear or two, and then asked if I would marry him. I obviously said “of course!” and there you have it. We are “officially” engaged. He didn’t hire a sky writer or organize a flash mob but it was perfect for us and I couldn’t be happier.

We have no date set or venue set, but like I said, it will probably be soon (this summer!), small, and casual (“preppy casual” as Colin keeps saying). So, all systems go on wedding planning!

Thanks again for all of your love and support! Make it a great Monday my friends!

he put a ring on it

On Saturday, two very important things happened.

1. Beyonce and JayZ had their baby.

(source)

2. Colin popped the question.

(yes, the stone isn’t set into the ring correctly… or actually set into the ring at all, there’s a story, which I’ll share tomorrow!) (and yes, I have super line-y hands)

I am so very happy and so very much in love! All details to come, I swear.

Make it a GREAT Sunday my friends!

dancing heart

My high school choir teacher used to always tell us to do “whatever made our little hearts dance.” Now, at the time I thought this was supremely cheesy. Now I find myself using it all the time. So, here are some things that are making my heart dance these days. (Click on pictures for all links!)

• long underwear. I know this sounds ridiculous, but this time of year I pretty much live in mine. As I type this I am wearing long underwear under my pajamas (gotta love working from home). Bonus points if yours are cute.
• my personal trainer. I promise to write more about this one of these days, but Phil is my new favorite person. Did I mention he’s a runner training for the Olympics? Yeah, he’s kind of awesome. I’m already noticing a big difference in my body, plus, I actually can lift things heavier than a feather now.
• trashy tv. Always and forever. Poor Colin is such a trooper. I can’t even tell you the kind of deals I had to strike to get him to agree on watching the Bachelor with me.
• secrets. I’ve got some I can’t wait to spill! (Secrets secrets are no fun, I know. Sorry friends).
• neck gaiters. Colin’s sister got this for me for Christmas and I LOVE it. Mine is a beautiful green color and I have been wearing it constantly.
• these boots. Now, a few months ago I “accidentally” bought two pairs of these boots (the above color and a dark purple. yay for employee discounts). I wear them ALL. THE. TIME. They’re leather and WATERPROOF. And super comfortable. I wear them all over Philly and we walk a lot, so that’s saying something. Extra bonus? They are half off right now (and an extra 20% off the sale price). So you should probably buy a pair.

What’s making your heart dance these days? Make it a great one my friends!

welcome to 2012

I have no clue how 2011 zoomed by so quickly. Oh wait, yes I do. Time flies when you

• drive over 20,000 miles for work
• spend over 110 nights on the road
• move
• fall in love
• go on lots of great vacations (long and short!)

Needless to say, 2011 was a pretty rocking year. If you can believe it, I think 2012 will be even better. We rang it in with one of my best friends and her boyfriend with fireworks, cocktails, and a ghost tour (really)

iPhone pictures always turn out so well in the dark… Or not.

January 1 started with rooftop mimosas on a gorgeous Philly day.

Not too shabby. 2012, I think you and I will get along famously.

Happy New Year friends! Make it a great week!

prairie dreaming

One of the few things Colin really wanted to do while we were in Kansas was visit “the prairie.” Lawrence, where I’m from, isn’t exactly “typical” Kansas. It’s a liberal college town with stop lights and everything if you can believe it, but lucky for Colin, there is plenty of prairie and small town Kansas to see.

We headed out to Council Grove, KS (which was the last stop in a city for settlers heading West on the Sante Fe trail) and then headed towards Cottonwood Falls and the Tall Grass Prairie preserve. It made for some good picture taking

Not a lot of people venture out to Kansas unless they have good reason to, and honestly, I can’t blame them, but it can be beautiful.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I’m trying to get back onto some sort of semi regular posting schedule. I’m not sure what that means yet, but we will figure something out…

Make it an amazing New Year my friends!

holy hiatus batman

Not only have I been super busy, but I’m not gonna lie, my motivation to blog is minimal. I’ve always maintained that I’m never going to force it, and I’m not going to do something if it isn’t fun. So, this means sometimes I blog three times a week, sometimes it’s once every 12 days. I’m totally cool with that, especially since my day to day traveling life is pretty boring. I DID do some fun things last weekend, like see all of these lovely people while I was in Phoenix for work.

Colin flew out on Friday so we could spend the weekend with his sister and her two beautiful kids. It was just a quick visit, but we packed a lot of fun into it. It was also our first time meeting her new baby boy, who is probably the sweetest, most well behaved baby ever.

On Saturday Colin and I are hopping on another plane and heading to Kansas for 10 days and I really can’t wait. There is something incredibly relaxing about being in the house I grew up in! After such a “go go go” fall it will be great to have some down time and to get to spend it with Colin and my family.

Hope you all are having a great week!

sleepy sunday

I’m writing this from the couch as Colin and I watch the Packer game and try to ignore the dinner dishes (turkey quinoa meatloaf. Make it. Amazing.

I spent most of last week in NYC traveling with my boss. It’s always fun to have someone else with me on my travels since I do the bulk of it on my own, and it’s REALLY great to get feedback from my boss. It’s kind of weird working so independently sometimes because you feel like you are just sort of out there on your own and just hopeful that you are doing a decent job. Luckily, my boss thinks I’m doing a rocking job (yay), and that’s always great to hear. I had to work Saturday as well, but I was able to get back to Philly in time for dinner out with my boo, which is really all a girl could ask for.

Friday night I stayed with my favorite New Yorker, Michaela and we met up with one of our old college buds for dinner and (a few too many) cocktails.

Fun flash back picture of Caleb and me at a “tight and bright” themed party in college

Tequila shots and an 80s night dance party were involved. Let’s just say I was less than thrilled about waking up at 6:30 the next morning for an early clinic…

Today has been supremely lazy. I’m heading out tomorrow for a week in Phoenix (yep, the old stomping grounds) for a sales meeting. The best part about this? Colin’s sister lives out there, so he’s going to fly out to meet me on Friday and we get to spend the weekend with her and her little ones! She just had a new baby boy and I can’t wait to meet him.

We slept in, made waffles, watched Dexter, did laundry, went for a 5 mile run, went grocery shopping, cooked food for Colin’s week, and are now watching football. Basically, everything I would ever want from a Sunday.

Things I will eventually blog about- my new personal trainer, running goals, what I’m wearing this winter, why Dexter is the best tv show ever… but not today. I need to do some more lazing and I still need to pack. Make it a great week my friends!

rejuvenated

Man oh man, I KNOW I’m not the only one out there who needed that long holiday weekend! It was so heavenly to have no where to go and to just be able to enjoy being at home, the lovely weather we were having, and to just spend quality time with my main man.

Oh, and we cooked some good food. Not only did we eat Thanksgiving leftovers for days, but last night we made a feast for the week. We’ve gotten into a good pattern of spending a few hours cooking on Sundays to make soups and other easily heated up things for the rest of the week. Last night we made minestrone soup and lasagna. We dished up the lasagna to serve with a side of Dexter (we are plowing through season 2 now).

I used this spinach lasagna recipe and will ABSOLUTELY be making this again. So good.

In other news, I started working with a personal trainer thanks to a work perk (more on that later), I’m back in the running groove, and I’m off to NYC for work for the rest of the week. I thought things were supposed to slow down after Thanksgiving…

Make it a great week friends!

thanksgiving feast

I briefly considered doing the classic “thankful” post, but geez kids, I have SO much to be thankful for that just writing it all down seems like a huge task. So, here are some of the ridiculous things I’m thankful for this week.

I’m thankful that the photographers at the half marathon I ran on Sunday captured the pure joy on my face when I went to high five Philadelphia’s mayor on the finish line

See me? The goober with my hand up way before anyone else and the giant grin on my face?

I’m thankful that I have a lonnnnnnng weekend this week. Sure, my internal clock has me waking up early still, but I have no where to go. Best feeling ever.

I’m thankful that I FINALLY started watching Dexter. Why has no one tied me down and forced me to watch this show?!

I’m thankful that once a year I get to make and eat this cheesy potato dish.

Ingredients involve hash browns, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and lots and lots of cheese. But holy bejesus is it good.

I’m thankful to be 100% done with my Christmas shopping. Yep. Feel free to hate on me. I have never been done this early, but I had a few motivators (I get discounts on a lot of awesome things because of work but stock runs out fast) and MAN, it feels awesome to have it all checked off my list.

I’m thankful that I finally got Colin to watch Love Actually so he knows what I’m talking about when I quote it. (Truth, I may or may not have seen him wipe away tears)

I’m thankful that Colin and I are halfway decent cooks and were able to put this beautiful meal together yesterday.

Topped it all off with some homemade sweet potato pie. I’m very thankful for that.

I hope you all had a great holiday! Make it a great weekends friends!