Dear Darling Santa...

First of all, prayers for y'all up there in New York and New Jersey. Sandy is a real b-word and I hope you and your families are safe and together today.
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Secondly... I have a little confession.

I am one of those people who starts listening to Christmas music early. Usually not October 30th early, but considering Sandy has brought us some snow, I am ready for a little "Angels We Have Heard On High" and Hanson's classic, "Christmas Means to Me."

In fact, when I go to grab lunch today, I will be swinging by good ole Starbucks for my first skinny Peppermint Mocha of the season. #noshame

Considering my birthday is a mere month away, I have sent Stuart and my Madre my Christmas/Birthday list for the year, and I thought I'd share some it. In case, ya know, you want to send me something ;). Kidding.

A Monogrammed Hokie Koozie. PERFECTION! 

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Michael Kors Love Knot Ring

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Hokie Sweatshirt with "Old Style" VT in Canvas 

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A Tortoise Monogrammed Bangle (with my new monogram, eeek!)

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Matching Tech and UVA Love prints (with orange umbrellas)

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 Monogrammed pocket tee in a HUGE size for leggings :)

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Clarisonic Mia to get my face in tip top shape for the wedding!

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I am not trying to ask for too much around here since my parents are graciously taking care of the wedding. But, if Santa wanted to bring me these things, I would be okay with it :)

Stay warm, stay dry, stay healthy!

Wedding Wednesday

I promise to post about things non-wedding and non-work related at some point. For real.

Buuuttt, today is Wedding Wednesday!

In the progress department:

• This weekend my momma and her BFF Miss Mary came up so we could LOOK AT WEDDING DRESSES!!! Ahhhh - it was so weird to put one on! Obviously, no pictures :). I did determine what kind of dress I want and what color, which was the whole point of this weekend anyway. I have two dresses I adore, and one in particular I cannot stop thinking about, but I need to see it in the color I want. 
• We got our first "House Divided" apparel! S's roommate from college, Laura, sent us a flag! I cannot wait to have a house/townhouse to hang it :). Woooo!

• I have our outfits picked out (mostly) for our Engagement pictures and S's mom bought him a plethura of white oxford's that I can pick through - so thankful for her shopping sense!
• Momma and I are going to look at a possible reception venue tomorrow afternoon! We are going to have a pretty large wedding so finding a place that is affordable and what I am envisioning is going to be a task. Hence the starting early :).
• We are also starting on the guest list!

No other big decisions have been made thus far! I have spent a lot of my downtime between fairs in Panera (I am talking 10 hours in the last two days people) researching stuff online. And I just discovered Chickfila has free wifi so I got my Kid's Meal fix and am doing some work before I meet a friend for an early dinner before the fair tonight.

Only one more sleep in a hotel until I return to my (well one of them) bed!

Happy Wednesday!!!

Country Roads, Take Me Home

So ready to be back in my bed y'all. My no dishwasher, boyfriend FIANCE AHHHH down the road, tiny one bedroom home.

Some things that happen when you live out of a suitcase:

• You improvise dinner. And utensils. God bless you Giant next to my hotel. Mmm good.

• You get mean mugged by a 6 year old whose mother tries to homeschool her in Starbucks. While you sit in the Sbux for 4 hours between visits and fairs. SERIOUSLY.
• You talk to your GPS more than anyone else. Mainly at high decibals.
• You have your momma and her BFF come wedding dress shopping with you. Ahhhh, no official dress yet but I have two I can't stop thinking abouT.
• You have your fiance drive three hours to go to a movie with you. And he does. Lord have mercy, love him.
• You gain 74305783478 Panera points and have never been more grateful for free internet/coffee.
• You spend hours wandering around Targ. This is not something that is unusual from home life though.
• You cross your fingers your hotel recognizes you are not a business man and dont need 34 news and ESPN channels but in fact need Nick at Nite to go to sleep with a little HGTV and TLC mixed in.
• You get so lonely you go to the hotel gym and yell at the old man on the treadmill walking reading the paper (in your head) cause you just wanna watch Say Yes to the Dress and get a few sweaty miles out.
• You countown the days for home.

Can you tell I am a little homesick? Love my job, over the area I am in. Takeee me hommmeee!

The One With the Bridesmaids.

I am a lucky, lucky girl and I have some great friends that I am so blessed to have stand by my side, not only for my wedding, but also every day in between.

I knew I wanted to ask them in a simple way. But I also knew I wanted it to be special. And cheap. Cause planning a wedding is expensive and its not like I'm raking in the dough y'all.

In comes Michaels and their coupons. If you have an iPhone go download their app IMMEDIATELY! Seriously - so useful. Droid users I'm sure they have something for you too.

With a little help from S on the printing front (the paper was thick so he figured out a way to bend it a little to get it to go through the printer), some brainstorming and cutting - this is what I came up with:

I finished them off by putting them in envelopes (the cards and envelopes came in a pack), hand delivered them to the girls I saw this weekend and mailed the other three off. And I finally heard from the mailed girls yesterday, so without further ado, here they are!

Maid of Honor, my sister Natalie

Matron of Honor, Nicole

 Bridesmaids:

Heather

Heidi

Kylee

Lindsey

All of these girls have been such an important part of my life and all are from various stages. So lucky they all said yes!!!

Happy Wednesday :)

The One Where I Pretend I'm Still In College

How come no one told me when you leave college, your liver also leaves college and does not appreciate when you return to your college habits?

Rude, I tell ya.

I spent the weekend in my FAVORITE place on earth with some of my favorite people. Seriously - I certainly hope Heaven is a lot like Blacksburg.

Two of my bff's and my matron of honor and bridesmaid (they said yes! look for a post on that tomorrow), came to visit for the weekend and attend Tech's homecoming with me. Ahhhh!

We slept a little, cheered a lot, and played hard :)

Tailgatin and hydratin. Wooo girlfriends! 

Back in Lane - feels so good. Plus we were winning after our 20 point deficit to DUKE in the 1st quarter. I love winning.

Finally in Lane together - it has been a long time coming! :)

Hokie House and two of my best girlfrands. Obviously a happy camper. With curled hair - shout out to my sista! Lets be real, we all know I have no hair talent.

Found Jim and got him to take a normal picture. Probably the biggest win of the evening. 

Some of the group: Hev, Nicole, Jim, Jim's girlfriend - Erin, and moi. 

And this is how the evening ended. If I had any shame this would be lost in the depths of my iPhone. Lucky for you, I have none. Benny's sticks are no Pokey Stix. That is all I have to say about that. 

Side note - PTL for NOVA. I can always find a Panera and a Target next to each other when I am travelling for work and need to kill some time. Woooo!!

Happy Tuesday!

The One With The First Wedding Wednesday

Wedding Wednesday - eeeeekkk! So excited to actually participate in one!

Even though we just got engaged Saturday, I have had a few ideas bopping around in my head since, ya know, FOREVER.

One of the things I've always known is that I'd want a fall wedding. Sooo.... we will be getting married:

FALL 2013!!!

We have a date in mind, but obviously we need to find a reception site first. And wait for the football schedule to come out... priorities people!

I just happened to be in Michael's looking for some tools to do my first craft - which I will share on the blog sometime next week, and I found the colors. Stuart, being the wahoo that he is, wouldn't agree to an orange and maroon Hokie themed wedding for SOME reason. Pfffff.

So, we made a little compromise.

Our wedding colors will be: ivory, champagne and a wine/burgundy color. 

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These are some of my inspiration photos I have found. I don't want too dark of a gold color and we won't be using the stark white that is in the color palette but I ADORE! The men will be wearing black suits instead of tuxes because that is what Stuart wants :)

Ahhh - so many decisions to be made but we have a few down! We asked my minister to be our officiant and one other important part will be coming together later this week. :)

Happy Wednesday!

The One With The Proposal

And here friends, is the rest of the story. ;)

A few months ago, I was at the wedding of a high school friend of mine. And it seems, that day, I was going to change my destiny. No - I didn't meet Stuart there. 

Getting ready. Prepared mentally. Pivot position. Arms waiting.  

And that baby was mine. See anyone around me - nope. Quick like a cougar I am! ( Good thing I shaved my pits y'all).

Fast forward a few months and we ended up at my favorite place in the world, Carter Mountain :). We go every year and this year my aunt and uncle were in town so we planned to go this weekend.

Warning: This is super long, and I want to write everything down so I never forget :)

Stuart was in California on business Thursday and Friday and got back in at 10am on Saturday morning and we were supposed to be at the mountain at 11. Needless to say, it was a busy morning. A few weeks ago Stuart told me to go buy a dress I would be comfortable all day in, to get engaged in. I ended up finding a super comfy, flattering dress at Old Navy for $20 bucks after searching in a much higher price bracket for over a week. Happy - yes :)

I couldn't sleep Saturday, so I was up at 5 - which gave me ample time to catch up on my shows and call S at 6:30 while he was waiting at Dulles during his layover. When I called, he told me he wanted me to "try on" my engagement dress for him so he could see it when he got home.

I finally got up, showered and ready and went to grab Bodo's for us for when he got home. He got home, showered and dressed up a little more than one should for a 75 degree day apple picking - another clue.

We hopped in the car and spent the next hour apple picking with my aunt and uncle. I may or may not have smacked his butt and felt something I thought might be a ring. And I may or may not have been trying my damndest not to sweat while I was becoming incredibly impatient.

Finally, we walked the mile back to our car and sat in in for a minute - cooling off as the cloud cover came and listening to Tech score a touchdown (one of few - sad day). Stuart then told me he wanted to talk to me for a second and pulled out this plastic table cloth from his birthday and spread it on the hood of the car. He helped me get up and sat next to me and started saying lots of sweet things. Every sentence or so, some family would be making the journey back to their car and interrupting him. I seriously broke out in the giggles. We could see the whole valley from the hood of his car, and it was beautiful watching the clouds roll in. Finally - he hopped down off the car, helped me down, and asked me if I would marry him. I squealed, kissed him and said yes!!

A sweet family came by and took a few pictures for us and congratulated us :). We hopped back in the car and I took this picture of my beautiful ring! Seriously - obsessed with it.

We hopped back in the car and headed back to his apartment while making a few phone calls. After being on the phone for two hours - we decided we were STARVING! Where else to go but CFA?! 

We headed out to Starr Hill (another part of his proposal day plan) to get two of "The Love" glasses and a 6 pack. The Love is our FAVORITE beer and it is local to Cville - I am obsessed with it. I love the fact he knew that I would want little tokens to remember our day by and these glasses are perfect. I tried to get him to take a picture of me with our swag but I could not stop laughing. Pure joy that boy makes me feel, I tell ya!

He made reservations at our favorite fancy-ish restaurant in Charlottesville at the same table we always sit at (which I now know is table 21) and ordered Prosecco, delicious meals and our favorite dessert, Tiramisu! Our waitress was adorable and was so excited for us!

We packed bags earlier in the day to head home because he knew I would want to see my family and some of my friends in person! He had only slept 3 hours in the middle seat on a cross country plane and still let me indulge in a little too much Prosecco and drove the two and a half hours home. Lucky girl, I know!

We stopped by my grandmother's house and told her in person before Stuart's parents invited my parents to his house to toast with some champagne. Honestly - that might be my favorite part of the night (but lets be real, I can't really pick a favorite). His parents gave us some BEAUTIFUL Waterford Flutes and I LOVE them!

His mom also put out a spread for us and some of our friends came over - even though it was 11pm! My high school BFF included and she was so adorable - the only one who cried all day :)

See? Haha. She made a huge deal out of this weekend for me and I am so blessed by all of our friends and family. Sunday our engagement was announced at church and we asked my childhood pastor (and BFF to my padre) to be our officiant before another round of food and friends. Hev even got me these sweet gifts to start off my bride-to-be swag!

 (rooouughhh after an exciting, exhausting weekend)

Hev and I stopped by another friend's house on our way to one of my favorite local staples for a goblet of Moscato and a little dinner to celebrate while Stuart hung out with his best man :). One of my friends from middle school works at the restaurant and came over to hug me with congratulations and somehow the whole restaurant heard her and started applauding me - so embarassed!

After this, we packed up and headed for home while doing some wedding planning during the drive - ahhh! I still can't believe it's real and I get to wake up everyday for the rest of my life (minus the next year) next to my best friend and cutest boy I know. :)

We're...

ENGAGED!!!!

Story to come :)

THe One Where Everyone Loves The Friends TItles

Makes thinking of a title that much easier, doesn't it?

Can I just say I throughly enjoyed my job tonight? I got to talk to a bunch of interested students, I had two parents tell me what I good job I was doing and I love the people that I am surrounded by at my table.

Seriously - this on the road thing isn't great all the time, but tonight was good.

Also, in bed at 8:59 ready for Modern Family. Instead, the debates were on. So I turned on Full House. Who needs to watch the debates when all of your twitter pals are unbiased and report everything exactly how it happened? #saidnooneever

I'll watch some youtube clips and I may watch an entire rerun. But I was not going to get my panties all in a wad by myself. How fun is that? I prefer to get my politicking on with Stuart (who does NOT agree with me all the time, btw) because he can wind me back down afterwards. 

Also, I may have gotten drunk in my room if I had watched it and played this:

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Can I give a big pat on the back to Nick at Nite for playing Full House, then The Nanny and finishing off my waking time with Friends? I cannot think of a more perfect 90's line up to keep me content and happy. Kisses Nick!

Can y'all say a few prayers for S tomorrow? He flies to Cali for some work stuff for a few days. So what I really mean is can y'all say some prayers for me so I don't worry? Cause I am a worrywart. Thanks!

The One Where I Know I Suck At Blogging But I Do Nothing To Change It.

Nothing says, "sorry friends," like a Friends inspired title - right? :)

My life looks like this right now:

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1. DC TRAFFIC. Oh my goodness I have NO idea how people do it every day. The three weeks I am in NOVA this month are ENOUGH for me.

2. Lots of Starbucks and note writing to potential students in my hotel room. Which means lots of watching HGTV. Someone buy me a house and give me a decorating budget?

3. College fairs. AKA I stand in an either FREEZING or BOILING gym and talk to people about the college I work for. Which is fun most of the time. And exhausting for my voice and feet. But I have made myself a few friends, including a girl that is my age that I am super glad I met, and a 55 y.o. man from my Alma Mater that knows my high school bff's fam. Small world - yes.

I'd also like to shout out a little message to the Loudoun County sheriff that gave me a ticket today: Dude - you ruined my day. It was pouring rain, my GPS was blowing all kinds of balls and it was a four way stop that had eight lanes. It was confusing, I was immediately remorseful and I KNOW you saw the tears in my eyes. Not to mention Loudoun is the RICHEST county in the state and you don't need my measly dollars. I then called S and cried, then my office and cried and now they know I am a mess and a half. Sir - next time have mercy on us young admissions counselors. We have no idea where we are going and NOVA is a hell of a place to try and get around. 

Another  couple shout outs: To my pumpkin scone - love ya. Might have another one of you tomorrow. You are not good for my pants though. To Margie, Gretch and the rest of my squirrel girls - thanks for the Apple day treats. And Marg, thanks for the visit - you made my afternoon! To the big man upstairs - thanks for letting me fly through that stop sign unscathed and without hurting anyone else. I know thats the real blessing in that situation. To S - this being away from each other shit is for the birds. Glad I'll see ya Saturday, I've gotten quite used to you being around. California better send you back to me in one piece! To my hotel - thanks for having the best beds. I look real cozy in a queen. But could we chill it on the ESPN channels? I get there are lots of business men staying here, but my Hokies are not doing so well and TLC is making me much happer these days. Thanks for having Nick at Nite for my dose of Friends though!

Just realized this is a lot like Friday Letters at Adventures of Newlyweds so credit to her for the format.

Happy Tuesday!