Ah ah ah ah stayin' alive, stayin' alive.

Because I AM still alive!  I've been so busy catching up on all of your blogs, I almost forgot to update mine!  Well thanks for all your sweet comments on my last posting.  I did make it through the storm even with an additional kink.  I told you I was heading back to GA for my friend CAP's - now CAPM - wedding.  Well we made it down and back alright.  I'll even provide proof with a picture...

[Image stolen from KD since I can't upload my pics at the moment...or obv I would have included myself actually looking at the camera]

The wedding was beautiful and CAPM was gorgeous (and she's celebrating her honeymoon in Mexico as I type!!)!  I hope it was everything she wanted!  And I got to catch up with lots of old friends.  But we jetted out of there so soon to get back to NC.  I had the tingling of a sore throat coming on that Sunday which manifested itself into a big, ole, ugly cold by Monday morning after 4 hours of sleep.  Fml.  I made it through school ok only to find out that the only day D could find someone to help him move our furniture to the new house was Tuesday!  So my week turned into one long, sick, sleepless, stressful, nonstop, body aching week. 

On a positive note, we are practically all moved into our new house!  Mad props go to D, who is amazing, for doing 95% of the moving himself while I was at work and sick (which I couldn't even take a fucking day off work).  We also had like zero boxes, so D had to pack, move, unpack, and go back (got that?).  We still have to clean up at the old place, but it's nice to be sleeping in our new house so soon :)  I love it there.  I can't wait to actually start getting settled in, unpacking, and putting things in their proper places. 

Point being...I made it.  I'm currently in the NC mountains for a beginning teachers retreat.  Hopefully normal life with semi-resume next week when I return.  My goals are to 1) make it to the gym at least twice (good considering I've been once within the past month probably), 2)clean the old house and be DONE there, and 3)keeping my head above water trying to juggle everything school-related and personal life.

My two cents :: Weddings.

I tell my friends (and so D tells me), I have LOTS and LOTS of opinions.  Of course my opinions don't always mean much to anyone other than me.  I don't really care.  I would like to think that my friends know me well enough to take my opinions for what they are worth and listen to my blabbing.  They'll project their opinions just like I do, and it leads to a fun night...hopefully :)

So on to my opinions on...getting married.  Close friends reading this should already know these opinions.  I'm going to be blunt here.  If you don't feel like hearing them again...STOP READING.  I know so many people getting married right now, it is sort of ridiculous.  What's more ridiculous are the ones who have been married and are moving on to baby making (don't even get my started on that right now).  You should all know that D and I eloped.  Never ever ever would I change what we did.  Ever.  Now I get the whole deal about weddings.  You dream of them since you're little...blah blah...it's the one day about YOU...blah blah blah.  Here is what I know/think about weddings that I don't think brides-to-be get:

• It's not a day all about YOU.  It can be all about you and your hubby-to-be if you elope.  But if you're going to throw some big fucking thing with 10 bridesmaids, it will NEVER be all about you.  No one tells this to little girls as they fantasize this "perfect" day.
• It will not go perfectly.  No matter how much you plan, how much you pay someone to plan, nothing ever goes perfectly.
• The whole ordeal is DRAMA.  Everyone thinks they know best.  Your family wants this, his family wants that.  You can't pick your own bridal parties because everyone wants his/her brother, sister, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, cousin, cousin's girlfriend, etc. in the party.  Again...it's not all about you.
• It costs a lot of money.  A lot more than you think.  That "perfect" wedding you've envisioned probably costs $100,000.  Props to you if you're parents give you that budget.  Props to you if your parents can give you anything at all.  For the record, I maintain that if I would have had a larger budget from my parents I would have still opted to elope (maybe just been a bit more elaborate and went somewhere different).  Don't forget about all the wedding showers everyone has to attend...plus bridal luncheons, brunches, rehearsal dinner, etc. etc. 
• It is way more stressful than you thought.  I only planned a party and that was stressful.
• It ends up being more socialization than partying.  Now, this is speaking from experience.  BUT this is not to say every wedding is like this.  I ended up spending the majority of my time talking to family and friends I had not seen in a bit.
• Don't expect everyone to give up massive amounts of money and time (including days off work) just for you.  It doesn't show if they are a "true" friend or not...some of us gotta make that dough (and keep it)!
• 95% of brides I've spoken to say they wish they would have eloped (after it's all said and done)...but no one could have convinced them prior.
• At the end of the day...you're going to be married!  Don't stress about the small stuff or planning everything down to a perfect tee.  

Everyone is different.  For us, it was much better to not rack up a ton of credit card debt to throw a party.  We were confident in reading our vows to each other in a more private setting.  Some people want to declare their love in front of others...that's ok.  Some people don't mind spending their or their parents' money on a one day event.  To each her own.  Eloping worked for us...and I get it doesn't work (or no bride dare wants to hear that) for everyone.  It just seems to me that most brides don't know what they are getting into when they decide to start planning an actual wedding.  They should refer to my list and life would be easier for brides and bridesmaids everywhere ;)

I can say with confidence that my day WAS perfect and I would never take a "real" wedding instead.

Click to zoom :)

Adoring.

When we were planning our wedding party, I looked at so many ideas.  This is one of the cutest favor ideas I've seen:

Love.  We didn't have enough money to really do flowers at our party, but I'm loving all the bright flowers!  This was a "greenhouse wedding."  It was adorable.  Here's some more pics, but all the pics and story can be checked out at Design*Sponge

I love unique, patterned bridesmaids dresses!  I also LOVE the brides dress and how she totally made it unique with the black tights.  So cute.

What a cool cake!  And the minis.  The spread looks delicious.  I wish I could have been at this wedding!

Peanut butter brownies.

I indulged.  I've been stressed.  I've been exhausted.  My brain is fried and I have nothing good to blog about.  You know...just been watching some emotional Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood eps.  School is wearing on me a bit.  I'm starting to get really stressed about how the hell I am going to make it through two months (plus a new car payment and more school) with no pay.  But...my goal of this blog was to keep updated on my goings on and not be negative.  I really haven't been fully documenting our new Raleigh experience.  Anyhow...figured I'd leave you with some of my fav wedding celebration pictures.  I promise I'll have something more substantial later...

My side of the fam

 Wedding cake toppers

D's dad tapping our special cask (specially conceptualized by D)

First dance...people made us do it.  I did not want to have a first dance...apparently that's how you get people on the dance floor...I don't think it worked.

Wedding Daze :: The ceremony

Just wanted to share some of the professional pictures from the wedding since I don't have the time or energy to add a substantial post...

I didn't put near as many on here as I uploaded.  I thought Blogger could rotate them for me and it couldn't.  It's unforunate because some of the verticals are some of my favs.  Well most are posted on my FB.  Pictures of the party are to come.  Seriously...everything turned out perfect.  I would never change the way we did it!

Sneak preview.

I can not even begin to say how exhausting these past few days have been.  It's honestly taking all I have to get on here and update.  But I have to keep my Athens buddies, like CAP, up to date with the new Raleigh life.  Today was a day that I had great intentions of getting on my computer and researching some lesson plans, but I just have not had the energy!  Transitioning to my new career and a new 5am to 11pm schedule is TOUGH. 

A few updates...the wedding was perfect, wonderful, and amazing.  Aruba was also perfect.  I promise to post some blogs specifically about these things (because I know you are DYING for pics and dets :).  D and I got back in Athens last Sunday at 3:30 I think.  We were supposed to get to Atlanta at 11:15a...grr.  Anyway, by 4:30, I was on the road to Raleigh with my car packed full of stuff and the cats.  The cats did surprisingly well.  Bailey was a little whiny especially on the bumpier parts of I-85 near Raleigh.  We made it though!  After unpacking my car and getting semi-settled, I got to bed around 11:30 I think.  Then on to getting up at 5:00am the next day for my first day of school!  The day went well.  I like middle schoolers a lot more than I thought i would ;)  I just kept thinking on Monday how much more I felt like I "fit" in this job.  I know that a school is where I want to be. 

It's been a great 3 days at my school.  This doesn't mean I don't think there aren't hard days to come.  I'm expecting them.  Again, posts for other days.  Once I get some furniture in our house and it is more comfortable for me to sit and type on the computer, I'll shoot out some more detailed posts. 

Our wedding party is quickly approaching!  I have not even had the opportunity to plan more because I have been so busy and overwhelmed.  I'm headed back to Athens on Friday after school for party planning stuff.  Anyway, I wanted to try and give you guys a sneak peak of our wedding pics :)  Goodnight!

Dreams of wedding RSVP's and middle school kids.

Seriously.  Last night I dreamed that I got a slew of wedding party RSVP's (on our website) saying people couldn't come.  Upon closer look, I realize these RSVP's are from people who I did not even invite.  Thank goodness they weren't coming.  The stress is getting to me.  Also, someone did RSVP that they couldn't come (uh...thank you to all those who have RSVP'ed in some form), so I imagine that's where that part of the dream came from.  Another part of my dream was going to some weird activity at the middle school where I am going to be teaching.  For whatever reason, D was with me.  In the dream I remember thinking that these kids were younger than I remembered middle schoolers being.  In reality, I emailed back and forth with the teacher I am replacing today.  She says the kids are really excited to meet me and have a 100 questions for me.  I can't wait to enter the new world of middle schoolers (...well I can wait, but I'm excited for something new).

[Google]

I am slowly trying to mark things off my ever growing to-do list.  I had a mini freak out on Sunday night about how much stuff I had to do before we leave for Aruba on March 6.  I made a handy iPhone list (for easy accessibility to mark off and add on wherever I am).  I'm trying to focus only on things that need to be done pre-Aruba.  The party stuff will just have to take a back-burner.  The list is definitely grounding me and keeping me clos(er) to sanity.

This weekend is my BACHELORETTE PARTY!  I'm definitely excited.  My friend, RR, is coming in town from NYC.  I haven't seen her in so long!  I was kind of bummed when some people bailed on the weekend.  I'm slowly trying to get over it.  It's just so funny how boys and girls are different.  I have a small group of girlfriends that I consider myself to be close with.  Those are the girls I invited to my weekend get together.  D, on the other hand, invited like 15 guys or something to his party.  I have come to realize that I also just guard myself from getting to close with girls.  When I do open myself up, the second someone does something that hurts my feelings, I shut down.  I've been reading Odd Girl Out (more on that later) and realizing how terribly girls and women handle conflicts.  It's terrible for me to be all passive aggressive and stop talking to them.  How is it beneficial to not discuss the issue?  This should be a separate post in itself.  Anyway, I'm excited for a chill weekend in a cabin with a hot tub, wine, and some of my fav girls.  I'd much rather have a smaller, more intimate get together.  I hope it's a wonderful weekend of "single" debauchery :)  This is the cabin we're staying in

And SO SO SO grateful for CAP and KD who arranged this awesome weekend, reserved the cabin, and are certainly not bailing on me!  Even if it ended up being just the three of us, I'd be happy.  Yay!

STD's, tissue paper, and taxes.

That's right...we FINALLY sent out the save the dates.  A little later than I had hoped (since they are save the dates and invites in one), but it was worth the wait.  D and I were both so pleased with them.  Pics from my iPhone tend to be terrible...but here they are...

The front.  Love it.  My inspiration came from this awesome save the date I found:

Image found at merrimentdesign.com

I loved the tree.  I loved the hand-drawn aspect of it all.  We were going more for postcard style so we could save on stamps (although it didn't end up working out like that).  We snagged the calendar aspect of it too.  After showing Megan my inspiration and ideas (I had a few more STD's for inspiration), she created some awesome ideas to throw at D & I.    The colors we were going for were green and brown (obv tree-esque colors but the party will be green themed as well).  Anyhow, that's how we cam up with the simple, wonderful front of our STD.  On to the back...

 

Due to the terrible iPhone picture, you can't really see it well.  We incorporated the hand drawn knot on there since there are a couple mentions of us "tying the knot."  Then we have basic details stating that we're having a private ceremony in Aruba but planning to celebrate with friends and family on March 27.  To make it an invite, but save money, time, paper, and stamps on RSVP cards, we just requested guests RSVP on our website.  Most family we know has internet access, so I don't anticipate that will be a problem.  One of my favorite parts is the little turtles in the bottom right hand corner.  Also drawn by Megan, we're going to incorporate those into the theme of the party.  Since the main color will be green and Terrapin has been a big part of our relationship, I wanted turtles to be a part of the party.  I love that these are also hand drawn and will be incorporated in the party.  Love, love, love the STD's. 

The elopement/honeymoon is quickly approaching!  I'm busy with so many other things right now...it's hard to balance it all.  My bachelorette weekend is coming up at the end of February.  I can't wait for that!  It'll be nice to get away, drink, and have fun with my girlfriends for a weekend.  Plus my friend RR is coming in town from NYC (yay! yay! yay!), and I haven't seen her in forever.  Filed my tax return yesterday...certainly could have used a little more help towards the wedding festivities, but it'll work out.  I'm trying to cut some corners.

I talked about bouquets a little bit ago.  For the flowers I liked (although not pictured on that post but similar), my Aruba wedding planner quoted $400!  Wtf?!  No fucking thank you.  The base price for a "bridal bouquet" is $250, which really is more than I'd like to pay anyway.  Talking to some friends about it the other night, I was reminded that I have other options.  I really want a bouquet mainly to add some color and pop in our pictures.  Well, you know me, I try to go against the grain.  I don't need REAL flowers to add that pop.  So I started checking out Etsy for all kinds of ideas.  I probably should try making them myself.  But this is my thought process...1) I'm not super creative, 2) I don't feel like I have time to invest in a project like that, and 3) I don't want to invest time and money in the materials and then be unhappy with the outcome.  So I figured a seller on etsy would be my best bet.  Now I did find this:

Image via marthastewartweddings.com

Um...seriously this is hand made!  Wtf.  I just honestly don't think I could ever create something that beautiful.  MS did used to sell a tissue paper flower bouquet kit, but I can not find it sold anywhere anymore.  I'd totally be willing to try it, but I can only find a couple on ebay.  I'm watching them but they already have a decent amount of bidders.  Anyway, here are most ideas I found from etsy:

  

Check out creativityporterjen on Etsy

This has to be one of my favs.  Martha also has a demonstration for how to do this, but I just can't picture myself doing it well.  I would totally purchase this one (in different colors), but they are asking for a total price of $195 + shipping.  I'm just not sure if I can shake that high price for something handmade.  I definitely get the time and effort going into it, but I may as well dish out the $250 for some real ones at that point.  Here is Martha's:

  

Actually I adore this one more than the previous

Check out reallybadkitty on Etsy

I like this but with different colors.  It is a much more reasonable $80.  It's fabric and buttons...it would definitely be easy to travel with.  My problem is it's hard to picture with different colors.  And what colors would I chose?!

  

I actually also like this (but I think in a different color also) from reallybadkitty on Etsy (see above link).  The listing includes a boutonniere, which I am not interested in, for $108...so I imagine it's be in the $80 range as well.

 

Check out perfectlypaper on Etsy

When I saw this, I sort of fell in love a little.  Now, this isn't a bouquet.  There are bouquets listed on the Etsy page but they don't look like this.  I actually really loves these colors for the beach ceremony.  The bouquets look like this:

  

...and are listed at $40.  Now that is totally do-able.  What I don't like about that bouquet (aside from the colors) is the curly ribbon things and the lack of the style of certain flowers that I liked from the one above.  I've convo-ed the seller on Etsy to see if I can get something custom looking more like the centerpiece above.  Even if she'll do me something custom for $60, I'll be content.  Now one other qualm with the tissue paper flowers is travel ability.  Realistically, I think I would have to have the tissue paper flowers solo (not tied together) and stacked in a box that I could stash in my carry on.  Then I could assemble them before the ceremony in Aruba.  I also inquired if this would be possible.  We'll see what I hear back...

Thoughts, suggestions, ideas on the flowers?

Finally.

This here Bailey decided to help us get our save the dates ready.  That's right; they're finally ready!  D is getting addresses in the background there.  They were supposed to be ready early January, so I've been stressing a little.  Then I was stressing about the silver ink I wrote the adresses on half of them.  Let's hope that doesn't delay the delivery.  Things are pretty stressed all around on my end....elopement, party planning, money, still job searching, current job, eventually moving, everything.  Watching some SVU to relax :)

**Had to add the actual text.  Still getting used to blogging from the iPhone with pics.**

I hate roses.

Yes, I will admit I often actively try to go against the grain.  But I will also admit I often go along with mindless traditions (case in point, Christmas?  I'm not religious and have no reason to buy people gifts at this time.  Anyway....)  Part of me is probably subconsciously going against the grain in my hatred of roses, but the other part of me thinks there are such prettier flowers out there!  I don't know what is is about roses.  The fact that they are overrated in being considered "romantic" and meaningful.  I'd much rather have any other flower, or plant for that matter, than roses.

Well we just put our down payment on our elopement ceremony in Aruba for March :)  So exciting!  This means I get to start planning the few details that I care about.  One of those details is a bouquet.  I have no clue where to begin.  I don't even really know a particular color flower I would want to go with.  Here are some possibilities I'm considering:

Image courtesy of Eric Hegwer Photography 

 

Image found at Our Aruba Wedding Blog 

 

Number 1) this is a terrible picture and I think it's fake flowers, number 2) I would do less long green leaves if I chose this.

Image courtesy of this link 

Although this may be a little too much red for me, especially for a March wedding

Image found here 

Ok...then seriously I found one on my wedding planning website, but I just can not figure out how to copy/save/etc. the pic because it's in a slide show.  It's very simple with white and purple flowers.  Decisions. Decisions.  No roses though. 

Information Overload.

I've got a lot going on in this blog.  I haven't had much free time to update with included pictures and links.  I'll try to be as organized as possible with my thoughts.

VEGETARIANISM:

I knew the weekend would be the toughest part.  Breakfast (especially out) just isn't as delicious or fun without bacon.  Again, I've enjoyed the way it makes me feel getting in more fruits and veggies.  I won't lie though...veggies go bad so quickly!  We went shopping last Saturday and had some sweet potatoes (shocking because starches usually last) and avocados go bad as of Thursday!  But here are some pics and updates as to meals we've been making...

Spaghetti Casserole (recipe can be found at this link from Spark Recipes)

This would be the dish in the oven.  I forgot to take a pic of the cooked dish.  This one was a HUGE hit with D.  I made a few tweeks to the recipe.   I ended up using some Morningstar Grillers, but they were meant to be a substitute for Italian Sausage.  You could definitely taste that.  I don't like bell pepper, so I substituted zucchini.  D said he thought the zucchini was better than bell peppers would be.  That's it.  I cut the recipe in half for D and I, but we're still eating on it.  Definitely a hit.  We'll continue with this one even after our vegetarian days are over.

Crustless Broccoli and Cheese Quiche

 

Obviously from the picture, the one we did was not crustless.  We had some extra pie crusts in the fridge from the holidays.  D wasn't feeling a crustless quiche, and we needed to use up our broccoli.  The only tweek I made in this one was adding the crust and switching out one egg white for a whole egg.  It was ok...I wasn't super impressed.  Maybe it didn't blend well?  I love a good quiche though.  I'm sure we'll experiment with quiches again.

We went to North Carolina for Friday night.  That was tough.  We ended up eating only fried foods.  It is definitely a challenge to eat out on a vegetarian diet...especially if you are at a beer pub of sorts.  Neither of us were wildly impressed with our meatless breakfast meals either.  We stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home and both had "veggie" platters, which of course consist mostly of starches.  Even the green beans are probably made with some sort of meat based broth.  That's the good thing about vegetarianism though...we end up eating better and cooking more.  I enjoy cooking with D. 

WEDDING STUFF:

I'm starting to get mildly overwhelmed with elopement/party planning stuff.  I keep making a mental to do list, but barely checking anything off of it.  We did finally send off our down payment to our photographer in Aruba.  We are still trying to get the money together to send out the down payment for the actual ceremony in Aruba.  Once we get that taken care of, I feel like I'll be able to focus more on the actual party.  I mentioned before that I took my dress to be hemmed on Tuesday.  They were super quick.  I got a call on Friday that they were done, and it's going to cost $40.  I am a little worried that they finished so quickly.  I shouldn't be though!  It was only hemmed.  I'm supposed to be getting our save the dates on Sunday.  I can't wait to see them!  I keep having to get on D's case about getting me addresses and such.  That's been frustrating.  One thing I was thinking about this weekend...hair styles.  Since my dress is one shouldered, I was envisioning a side bun or pony tail.  Here are a couple ideas I've found so far:

 

 (Pictures via Project Wedding)

I love the dishevled but polished look.  I certainly don't want anything too slicked back and fancy looking.  I like a little bit of wave since my hair is so thin and flat.  I envision something probably more like the first, Michelle Williams, look since my hair fits that more.  It is not likely to hold the waves of the second photo for very long.  And I don't want a limp looking pony tail.  I'm going to keep searching.

Happy Weekend!  

I got it!

That's right...my elopement dress came a day early! It's so pretty! I
love all the little details in it. It's very close to my Vera Wang
dream dress. Of course it's too long...nothing a little altering
can't fix. But...I need to get my ass to the gym. Don't get me
wrong...the dress fits perfect, but I want to tone up. I want to tone
my arms and belly (and who doesn't want to look better in a bikini
anyway). I hope this will be my motivator. Someone said to me, if
you can't get into shape for this one time in your life, then you
probably never will. I guess what I'm struggling with a little bit
the idea that 3 months is not really enough time to make a difference
(at my weight). I need to though. Even if it isn't a visible
difference, it can't hurt to feel better about myself! I have to do
it!!! Think about the dress. Think about the dress. Hopefully it'll
pull me out of the bed in the morning.
We also registered this weekend. I'll have to post on that later.
It's a process! We registered at Target and at honeyfund.com (it's an
awesome site that allows people to contribute to activities we do on
our honeymoon...elopement/pre-honeymoon in our case). And picking out
save the dates on Wed!
Sent from my iPhone

Even more officialness!

Note sure if officialness is a word.  Spell check didn't point it out though.  Anyway...

WE HAVE A DATE!

March 27 :)  That's our party date.  So weird that it's getting closer and way more official.  Omg.  I am actually getting married.  So crazy.  I'm also feeling a little weird that I am talking about wedding/party planning so much.  It's just so not me...I'm working on our wedding website.  sigh.  I didn't want to.  I'm pretty anti-weddingwebsite.  Since we are doing save the date/invite combo mailings, it's easier to just have people RSVP on a website.  Plus, I suppose it is a way to allow people to feel a little more involved in the process of things even though we aren't having a ceremony.  I'm not too nervous about getting everything done.  I'm more nervous about figuring out how to pay for everything.  It'll work out.  Just cross your fingers that mine and D's cars sustain for at least six more months.

On the job news front, there really is no news.  I have gotten a couple calls from principals at schools in North Carolina.  Nothing has worked out thus far though.  Two of the school systems really weren't in areas where D wants to live in NC.  I got a call from the Washington DC version of DFCS.  I cringe at the thought.  I haven't called her back yet...but I need to so I keep all options open.  We bailed on the trip to Philly this weekend for my Teaching Fellows interview.  It just wasn't a realistic option financially right now.  I'm hoping to be able to reschedule soon.  It's going to be REALLY tough to schedule/afford any out-of-town interviews while trying to pay for the wedding celebrations as well.  I did find out that before I can be hired in Philly (on my own without a Teaching Fellows program behind me) as a special ed teacher doing alternative certification, I have to be enrolled in a college teaching program.  I can't do that unless I find a job and know I'm moving there.  Keep your fingers crossed for me to find a job soon!

I've been sick for like a month now.  It's super frustrating because I NEVER get sick.  Maybe it's stress and not taking care of myself (eating terribly and not working out).  Although it's hard to adequately take care of myself when I can't stop coughing and can't breathe.  Speaking of...time for me to head to the bedroom and try to breathe long enough to get to sleep.

It's official.

So after the generosity of D's parents, we officially have an elopement plan!  We're going to ARUBA March 6 through March 13 of next year!  I'm thrilled!  I just can't wait to start planning things.  I've already picked out a dress for only $250!!  I won't post that here just in case D looks.  I've been in touch with some photographers in Aruba and going over to my parents to start hashing out some details tonight.  We haven't picked a date for the party yet, but it'll probably be March 21 or March 27.

Orders of Business:

-Dress:  DONE, $250 (which my parents are so graciously purchasing)
-Save the Dates/Invites
-Aruba wedding details
   -Photog
   - Flowers
   - Etc.
-Photography for party
-Food for the party
-Decor for the party
   -Centerpieces
   - Tablecloths
   - Eatingware (plates, napkins, forks, etc.)
-Music for the party
-Party locale:  DONE; Free @ the brewery
-Beer/wine/cocktail

I'm sure there is PLENTY more I am leaving out.  I'll post some more stuff later with my ideas and such :)

I heart the holidays.

I know, I know. I've been so out of touch lately. I had a couple
blogs I started but just keep forgetting to finish them. D and I are
on our way to West Virginia now to spend Thanksgiving with D's
grandparents. I've never been to WV, so I'm pretty excited! I'm
grateful for D taking his truck and driving the 6 hours there and
back. D grew up in WV so he'll take me around to see all the sights
of his childhood. It is funny because, despite the fact that we've
lived together for over 2 years now, we'll have to sleep in seperate
rooms. Gotta love the old school, religious grandparents :)
I LOVE the holiday season. The changing colors of the leaves,
wreathes on the lamp posts, yummy foods, twinkly lights, everything!
There is just something so warm and comforting about the holidays.
Plus the additional time away from work is awesome. I'm still
completely clueless about what we're doing for Xmas gifts this
year...especially since I have to somehow budget in a trip to Philly
next weekend.
On a super exciting note, D and I found out that his parents are so
graciously giving us a week at one of their time share locales (Aruba?
Bahamas? Hawaii?) for our elopement! Yay! It's not the all-inclusive
idea that we originally had, buts it's a million times better than our
Hilton Head idea (which is really all we could afford). So onward
with eloping in February and partying in march! Which also reminds
me...I need to get serious about working out so I can shed some pounds
to look hot for our elopement ;)
Sent from my iPhone

On the coast of Italy.

Engagement story time!  Just for S, I'm posting my engagement story.  Although I'm sure some others (yes, I'm talking about the large group of 3 people that actually probably read this?) care.  So....here goes the long, really in-depth version:

**Side note:  D and I HAD NOT talked about getting married.  I typically went on long rants about how I hate marriage.  D even mentioned that I had said before that I didn't want to get married.  Prior to our trip to Europe, I kid you not at least two people asked me if I thought we would get engaged in Europe.  I bawked at the comment and said no way.  I also noted that even if we were considering engagement, D has been saving up for this trip with all his money and he couldn't afford a ring.  Now, this in no way meant I was actually opposed to getting engaged.  I love D and of course want to spend the rest of my life travelling and being together.  So....needless to say I was NOT expecting an engagement.**

Sooooo on we go off to Europe for a month.  Fast foward to Cinque Terre, Italy.  The most beautiful, fabulous place on Earth.

For the record, pictures do not do Cinque Terre justice.  Anyhow, we arrive and we are hanging out taking in the sights.  We get to our perfect little apartment that we rented with a great view in the city of Cornigilia.  

The inside of our apartment and the view from our window.

So we get settled in and immediately get ready to explore the city.  For those of you who don't know, Cinque Terre is made up of five little towns.  We stayed in the smallest, Cornigilia.  I actually loved it the most because it was the most quaint.  It was less touristy.  The towns are on the coast of Italy by the Mediterranean Sea.  They used to be only accessible by stairs and foot.  Now the area has grown in popularity and tourism (although still not overwhelmed with tourists).  They now have some cars owned by the locals.  Each city has a train that runs between.  Beautiful.  Go there.  When we got there I immediately told D I wanted to live there.  Anyway...back to the story.  So we were trying to figure out which of the trails to check out first.  We were about a week or so along in the trip and didn't really have much clean clothes at this point, so we decided on the easiest trail.  And I'll note, there was no pressure from D as to which trail to pick...nothing.  We had explored Cornigilia a little bit before we went to catch the train.  D made me run back into the apartment before walking down to catch the bus (to take us to the train station).  I will admit, I started wondering...why is he rumaging around in the room and wasting time.  I didn't think much of it though.  We made ourselves down to wait for the bus.

  D and I exploring in Cornigilia.  I actually really love this picture.

D & I waiting at the bus stop.  Little did I know there was a ring in that pocket :)

So when we are waiting to catch the train to Riomaggiore (where the trail starts), it starts to get really overcast and began raining.  It was really quick lived and we didn't care that much.  We caught the train to Riomaggiore and the rain conveniently followed us there.  But instead of just rain...it turned into hail!  So we are trying to stay covered and exploring a little bit.  Finally the rain/hail somewhat subsides and we decide to brave the trail.  How convenient, the trail is called Via dell'Amore, the Walk of Love.

Seriously, I don't  think it was intentional.  It just happened that that was the easiest trail.  D and I get on the trail.  I'm wet and cold and it starts hailing again.  The trail is beautiful though.

D tried to get me to go down this set of steps.  Not happening.  I'm afraid of heights, wearing wet Chacos sandals and a long dress...not prepared to go down slippery stone steps.  Finally we get to this little inlet area of rock on the trail.

So there are some people walking by and I get them to take a picture of us in front of the inlet unexpectedly.  I am trying to rush D to get under the covered area because I am cold and it's drizzling.  He says, "let's just stay here for a little bit and take it all in."  So I give in.  Then he starts talking about how it's been a great four years together.  That's where it all gets blurry.  The next thing I know...I am accepting a ring and in utter shock!

Utter shock/excitement can be observed on this ridiculous picture of myself.

Seriously, D did the best job EVER picking out my ring.  Pictures can't do it justice either.  It's simple but complicated.  It's antique-y looking, which is what I wanted.  He literally picked it out completely alone (because remember we hadn't talked marriage and I hadn't given ring sample pictures).  It is perfect.  It even has a matching wedding band.  I adore it.  I told him about a month ago that I still find myself admiring it.

Ok...to make it even more perfect.  The engagement happened on June 22.  He had bought the ring in December!  He had been keeping the secret since December.  He also carried the ring to Europe.  I walked around giddy the rest of the day.  I told him he didn't even get down on one knee...he did.  My haze made me forget.  He waited until most people were off the trail and thought the rain would be good for clearing people out.  He said he did this becuase he knew I wouldn't want a lot of people around (wow, he knows me too well).  He totally asked my parents before we left (even though I couldn't have cared less if he did that).  He just planned so well but also made everything so casual.  He said he was either going to propose in Cinque Terre or Interlaken in the Swiss Alps.  Well he chose on the coast of the Mediterranean and it could not have been more perfect.  I loved writing this post because I love reliving that moment.