Monday, February 27, 2012

To Grandfather's House We Went

The weekend after Kev and I got engaged, I got to take a trip to my grandfather's house in Tennessee.
Mama, baby bro and I traveled down I75 for some needed R&R. 
 Family time is my fave! Kev didn't make the trip due to a yearly guy's trip the fellas always take and my daddy had a serious date with his boat and fishing pole.

Below our photos our great weekend together. Enjoy

We woke up our first morning there to these homemade goodies


And fresh coffee
Grandpa is proud of my little brother and sports his EKU pride throughout their home.
BTW, my brother is named after my grandfather.


Below is one of my favorite part of grandfather's house.
I love their enclosed patio.
It is perfect.


Baby bro HATES my camera...hehe
He tries to play along

This little cutie patootie is Mr. Jackson


and wherever Grandpa goes, Jackson goes


Jackson has a seat at the table


and gets his own treats table side


So Saturday afternoon baby bro and I headed into town to do some serious outlet shopping.



I scored some needed new workout clothing at the Nike outlet.
Must.have.bridal.body!
I also bought THEE ORACLE (as referred to by my friend Cati) on the trip.
My first wedding planning book and boy has it ever been handy here lately.
It even came with a little bride bag.
Holy crap...I am going to be a bride.



And since we only get to go to grandpa's house a handful of times a year, photoshoots are a must!
Mama and her daddy.
She is such a daddy's girl...just like me.




After a change into elastic pants, we chowed down on Chinese take out.
It was a perfect night in....


Followed by time on the couch trying out grandpa's new 3d television.
It was so neat. It's the first time I had watched one outside of the movie theatre.

Please ignore that ugly Tennessee orange blanket sneaking through in the right hand corner of this  pic...grandpa's wife, Della, is a huge Tennessee fan.
We still love her..haha.

It was a weekend full of
good food
family
more good food
wedding planning
rest
relaxation
and more family.

It's a nice getaway. A mini escape from reality surrounded by the people I love the most. I have blogged about it before, but grandpa trips are emotional. This one was also tough. It's clear he has a harder time getting around, it's clear he is in pain, it's clear he is getting older. It's hard to see. Regardless, I soak up every moment up that I get to spend with him and Della. I smile just thinking about our trip. He is a very special man to me and I love them both so very much.

We talked a ton about wedding planning and what Grandpa could handle.
The verdict is that he is gonna make the trip to KY for the big day.
I asked him to say a prayer at the reception and I think we both teared up.
Ahhhh, I am so blessed to have such amazing grandparents still in my life.
Life is soooo good.


Friday, February 24, 2012

Thursday Night Change Up

Yesterday evening I was driving home from work and  DREADING going to the gym when KR sent me this text
"Come home. We will walk the dogs, change and go to a covered patio and have a beer and dinner"

SCORE!!!!

No words could have made me happier in that moment.
Yesterday was a gorgeous day reaching a high of 68 degrees here in the bluegrass.
I could just hear a patio screeeeeaaaaaaming my name.
No time for a shower, I threw on a hat and went with it.


Kev got me this lightweight knit scarf our first Christmas.
It's my fave!



We headed to Harry's, a local fave in the Lexington area for a couple brews and some good food.
Beat the breaks off of cooking dinner.
Corona Light is my beverage of choice in the spring and summer months.
Couldn't help but say "Ahh" after the first sip.
KR and I really enjoy us some patio drink sipping and chowing down.

.
Our meal started with a crab ragoon roll, my favorite item on the menu.
(Cream cheese, crab and scallion rolled in sushi rice and tempura-fried,
topped with teriyaki and sweet chili sauce)
Delish!!!


And in true fatty form I ordered like a man.
(literally got the exact same meal as kev...and hey that's ok)
We had Lexingtonian salads followed by a huge burger topped with cheddar cheese and bacon.
OH. EMM. GEE!!
Heaven in my mouth.
I even dipped my french fried in ranch dressing people.
Goodness it was good!


So nice to change up our weekly routine.
We had some great conversation about more wedding planning and honeymoon chatter.
I swear, I can't wait to marry this man!


A Thursday night at it's finest

Happy Friday Y'all!!!


Thursday, February 23, 2012

Lace Loving

If you follow me on twitter you know that I went wedding dress shopping yesterday :-)
Exciting stuff I tell ya.

My bestie, miss Megan, of course tagged along for all the action


(and if you are wondering...that is my sexy work outfit I wear day in and day out. Khakis and a Polo Baby)

And my Mama and my Granny made the trip too.
It meant the world to me having them both there.
Love my family!

I went into wedding dress shopping with a very open mind.
This run was just to decide on what looks I liked and what actually looked good on my bodytype.

I did not pick THEE dress, however, one thing is for sure....I am a lover of LACE!
The lace dresses just popped on me and had that "WOW" factor.
I narrowed it down to two at the bridal store I visited yesterday.
I plan on doing a couple more shopping trips before any final decisions.
I am a creature of indecisiveness so excessive dress trying on is a must for this gal.

Here are some similar looks that I feel in love with.






I am pretty  much sold on either the Vneck or strapless (more sweetheart look) necklines. The Vneck looked amazing in person. A million times better than what it looks like on the hanger.
And I can't not describe how much in love I am with the lacey look.
Ahhh I love wedding dresses!!

So while no earth shattering decisions have been made, I have a better idea of what I am looking for in the dress department.
1. Lace
2. Ivory Dress
3. Sweetheart/strapless or Vneck neckline
More shopping next friday with my mama right before we leave for Las Vegas.
Things are following into place day by day :-)


Tuesday, February 21, 2012

I wanna get married...in a BARN

If there is one thing I know for sure....
I want a country wedding!
Think country, rustic, chic, simple and small.
I am talking burlap, mason jars, neutral colors, hydrangeas, and of course, my cowboy boots.

Kev and I are both in love with incorporating a barn into our wedding day. In fact, we are kinda basing our venue on...yep you guessed it, a barn.

These are some pic via my pinterest account that we have used for inspiration.
You can check out my whole board if you heart desires.






and here are some actual IRL photos from the barn located at the venue that is our current front runner for the big day.





Yep, below is our possible wedding site.
Craaaaazzzy!

Anywho, we are meeting with the venue coordinator tomorrow for our 2nd peak at the venue.
It's actually a winery hidden away off of a windy road right here in Lexington.
Fingers crossed we may have an actual date tomorrow :-)

Holy crap...I am getting married to the man of my dreams!! 

Friday, February 17, 2012

Valentine's Day


I must confess, I am not a huge fan of Valentine's day.
It has never been a major holiday of importance to me. I don't think I ever got what all the fuss is about.
And even though my love cup is clearly overflowing in the present, Kev and I opted for a nice, relaxing dinner at home.

We had originally thought about making reservations, getting all dolled up and going out to eat.
Then the reality of a Tuesday night set in. Not to mention the exhaustion from all the fun that has been going on in our lives since he popped the question last weekend.


Yep, still floating!

Kev and I work our tails off Monday through Friday.
Throw in workouts, doggie walks/workout and all of my patient paperwork in the evenings and it's lights out around 1030.
Instead of going out to eat, we opted for takeout in our sweats. In our house, the weekends are made for makeup, high heels and glam.
And we didn't just get any take
out, Mexican takeout!


We also agreed we wouldn't spend a lot of v-day gift this year due to the every growing cost of an upcoming wedding.
We treated ourselves to quick trip to the local sporting goods store.
I bought him mesh workout shorts, he bought me a new sports bra that gives me a major una boob. Sexy, I know.

We ate a ton of food, had some beers, snuggled with the doggies and finished season 2 of the Good Wife on dvd.
 All evening, something did feel different....
I kept looking at him thinking, "I am going to marry this man."
I could not stop smiling.
Valentine's day perfection in my book ladies.


Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Cloud 9

Yep, I am still floating in the clouds from the recent weekend events.
If you missed Monday's post, well let's just say I still can't stop looking at my left hand.

I can't even begin to express the amount of love I have felt through bloggy comments, phonecalls, text messages, emails, facebook and tweets.
It has been overwhelming.
So thank you thank you thank you!
You gals are the best and I am loving every single sweet word you send me.

 
My mind is running about a million miles an hour with wedding planning thoughts.
I am sooooo just enjoying this moment and enjoy being engaged, though
sometimes it is hard not to think about it every second of every hour.

There are no real plans yet.
This biggest hump is that I have always dreamed of a fall wedding.
Something small, back home, country and rustic.
Fall is my favorite time of the year. And fall in the Mountains is so darn pretty.
However, baby brother's football schedule throws a HUGE kink in that thought.
Story of my families life.
The one weekend the team has an open weekend is in the later part of November.
Arrgggh. I just think it will be too cold for something outdoors.
I was thinking Octoberish when the leaves are at their peak of changing colors.
But, it ain't happening.
Sure, we could possibly do it on a Sunday, but it would be so hard because of the football game that would occur on the day before. And this family does not miss football games. That's the facts and I love that about us.
I still love you baby bro.

Kev and I both like the idea of a destination wedding, but that's not realistic for my grandparents.
As hard as it is for me to admit it, they aren't spring chickens.
I honestly don't think it is even a viable option for my grandfather.
And that is ok too.
I have mentioned before, I am fortunate enough to have all my grandparents that were alive when I was born still living.
It is so important for me to cater to them in order to have them part of this special, special day.

So there is the idea of waiting till the winter this year and forgoing the outdoor fall country wedding....
We could wait till 2013 and do a spring wedding when the weather gets nice again....
We could pull something small off by August before football season starts in full force....
We could still opt for something small on a Sunday afternoon. ....
There's the idea of just doing it in Vegas in a couple of weeks...haha I kid I kid!

Bottom line I am not stressing about it...it will all work out.
If it is one thing I have learned, a marriage is about so much more than a wedding day.
Sure, it is a very special day, and i get that. But...it's not the foundation, it's a celebration.

The most important thing to Kevin and I is that this day be about US and our families.
Not showering our guests with the trendiest favors, loads of booze and out of this world food.
Sorry, I would rather spend thousands of dollars on me and kev then on hundreds of guests.
Ooopise...did i just write that?
Does that make me rude?? Maybe so.
There is nothing wrong with doing that. Just not our style.
And that my friends, is what makes the world go round.

So I don't care when this wedding goes down at the moment.
I just care about spending my life with an amazing man that makes me so happy.

I do know one thing is for sure and it is one thing we both agree on....Uggie and Bailey will be there in some form or fashion in a little tutu skirt and tuxedo. Possibly sedated, but still present.
Go ahead...judge me. ha!
We also agree the day will focus on the man upstairs, us, love, and family.

Sure, the planning will come.
And on that day, it will just be perfect :-)
 
I am still somewhere floating around up in the clouds at the moment.
Ain't nobody bringing me down right now.

Monday, February 13, 2012

He Put a Ring On It

 It's true...Kev proposed and I said YES!!!
I am still floating on cloud nine and could not be happier.

Ready for the details?
Sooooo
This past weekend we traveled home to Eastern Kentucky to visit my family. Baby Bro came in for the weekend as well and brought his girlfriend to mama and daddy's house for the first time. We had planned a very low key weekend involving elastic pants, time on the couch, good food, the UK vs. Vandy Game, more good food, Cranium and Taboo. Weekend's to my parent's house are just so relaxing and a nice and needed break from reality.

Friday night i literally crashed on the couch around 9:15. Exciting huh? Well this lilttle fact comes back up later.
So Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to a gorgeous snowy morning.
Kev and I decided to run a few errands around town and also go see my besite, Katrina, and her baby boy Trigg. Standard on a trip home.

It was snowing so pretty Saturday and Kev had mentioned us also going up on the Mountain to take some pictures with my new camera. I never thought anything of it because we had been talking about doing this for a while. There was such a pretty blanket of snow and I thought it would make for some great photos.

Now this just isn't any Mountain.
This is Pine Mountain baby. It's the 2nd highest peak in Kentucky. However, to me it is more than that. There are several outlooks upon the Mountain that overlook Whitesburg, my hometown. It is a place of nostalgia to me. I feel like "The Mountains" represent so much of who I am. Whenever I travel home I try my best to always drive to the top of the Pine Mountain lookout to appreciate the amazing scenery I grew up in.
So Kev and I drove up there and in the freeeeeeeezing cold and snapped some photos.
If you look hard enough in between the valleys you will see Whitesburg all tucked away in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains.

No place like home :-)

We were just breathing in mother nature.
We took a ton of photos, but let's be honest, that is not the reason for this post :-)

So we took this photo and I was ready to pack up and head home. It was like less than 20 degrees outside.

This photo is special because we snapped it just minutes before becoming engaged.


So I started to head toward the car and then Kev grabbed my arm....I turned around and he got down on one knee said some very sweet things and then asked me to marry him.
I was speechless, but of course I said YES!!!


And thank goodness I carry my new tripod everywhere I go because I was able to capture a pic or two of u to keep forever.

Our first pic as future Mr. And Mrs.


Ohmygosh I think I am still in shock.
I CAN'T stop looking at my hand.

It was so sweet that he did it when we were home with my family.  He knew how much I would want to celebrate with them.
And I also got to see my bestie just moments after.
So, so thoughtful.

I later found out that on Friday night when I had passed out at 9:15 that Kev had took my mama and daddy both on the back porch and asked them both for their blessing. My mom also told me that she had received an email earlier in the week from Kev explaining he was ready to take the next step, but would like to discuss all of it in person. He even sent mom a picture of the ring and told her how excited he was. He is so great!

and if you're wondering what that something shiny on my left finger looks like.....

he did such a fabulous job!!!

I have dreamed of this day all my life and I am just ecstatic. I can truly say I am going to marry my best friend and he is going to make me the happiest gal in the whole word.


Stay tuned....it's going to be an exiting place around here.


Sunday, February 12, 2012

Elastic Pants Required

Kev and I are in Whitesburg (aka my hometown) with the fam this weekend.
Baby Bro and his girlfriend are here too.
My mom feels the need to feed us every 5 minutes and I swear I may gain 5lbs before this weekend is over.
Not. Even. Joking!
Thank goodness I am tall.

This is why elastic pants are required for weekends at my mom and daddy's house.

Homemade blackberry pie that was accompanied with vanilla bean ice cream

Mama's famous Monkey Bread.
I swear it's heaven in your mouth.
Similar recipe here.


Homemade waffles...they are the bomb diggity!


And peeps this was just YESTERDAY.

Not gonna lie, I am enjoying every single second of it.

I have BIG big BIG news for tomorrow's post.
Make sure you stop by.
Can't wait to share the news with my bloggy bishes. :-)






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