weeks are flyin by!

Christmas has come and gone. I am not even going to try to relate all of the events that went on these last 2 weeks--but trust me it has been a LOT. And I'll just say that I had a very good Christmas. I hope you all did as well.

With that said, I just wanted to quickly tell that I finally booked a florist today! Yay! Now all that's left (for the big things) is the DJ, which I'm not really worried about, and picking out the bridesmaids' dresses, which I will be doing this week!!!

This has been an extremely busy Christmas break and it's only going to stay that way. And bonus: I won't even be with Ben for New Years :( but oh well, I will just "pajama party" with my sister (yes that IS a verb)...which I am extremely looking forward to!

You know what this means!!

Today is Christmas Eve!!! This happens to be the one day every year that I wish I were little again :) Enjoy!

I know my addition: you + me = us

Just want to point out 2 things and then I really have to get to bed (because I am extremely tired--I guess the holidays just do this to everyone).
1) there are only 2 days left until Christmas!! (well, at the hour I'm posting I suppose there's only one day left...yikes!
2) exactly 5 months from today I will be married :)

I hope everyone has a very happy Christmas!

Back Home

Hello again, everyone! It's so nice to be back home with my parents for my last Christmas break (sigh). I've really been looking forward to coming home and seeing the decorations my mom would have around the house--and boy, she didn't let me down this year! Every inch is covered in a garland or cute red bows. How beautiful :) Can anyone else believe there are only 3 days left until Christmas??? Yikes! I still have more shopping to do! And yesterday was a madhouse at the mall. Hardly a parking spot anywhere! All these late shoppers...don't they know college kids have priority this time of the year--just getting back from final exams?

Well, I have some exciting news on the wedding front! Mom and I went to DSW yesterday to look for some black flats for me (which we found--totally cute) and I happened to wander over to the wedding shoe section just to see what they had in stock. Low and behold my eyes gazed across to a pair of shoes that looked like they were made for my dress. What are the chances! They aren't flats, so I'll have to try them on next to Ben (and I'll probably have to buy some really cheap flats to dance in) but I am still so excited! I'll keep you updated!

Such a cute play on words--and so appropriate since I played french horn in high school!

For yesterday.

Oh my life.

A late posting for yesterday + an early posting for today!

Well I FINISHED my final exams. FINALLY. I have no clue what my grades are (and won't for probably another week...) but I am just so thrilled that I can just relax and enjoy the downtime....oh WAIT that won't be happening. The (very-near-future) In-Laws came down today to celebrate Arthur's (Ben's twin) graduation and commissioning. We went out for a nice dinner then we all gathered with Holly's (Arthur's fiance) family back at Arthur's town-home.

Then I gave Ben a haircut!! It was my first time cutting a guy's hair AND it had to be military standards for tomorrow's commissioning. A lot of pressure for a first-timer, huh? But I think I did a pretty good job--maybe Ben will have to keep me around now--free haircuts ;)

Tomorrow--(oh I mean today)--I will have to get up in 6 hours to help proofread Ben's final project (ah the joys of being an English major) and then we will go straight to Arthur's and Tyler's graduation ceremony--followed by both of their commissionings (Tyler is Arthur and Ben's good friend here at school). Hopefully I will get some good pictures. At least I get to see how a commissioning runs before I help out at Ben's next May.

A little help: These are geese....

...And these are swans (technically for yesterday). Count the swans!

got milk?

9

I PROMISE--come Thursday (after 3pm--my last final), my life will be more interesting!

Quick Post

I thought this one was so cute for today--10 little lords a leaping. Sorry I can't post more right now: I have a paper due in a couple of hours so I'm thinking maybe I should get on that. Just wanted to keep up the countdown! 10 days until Christmas!!

The Countdown is on!

There are only 12 days until Christmas!! Can you believe it? I certainly cannot. Especially since I have not bought one single gift yet. Hmmm I predict a mall trip in the next couple of days.....

And now for my tag: I was tagged by Jessie at A Match Made in Heaven to give 6 random facts about myself. I think I've done this one before, but I think I can conjure up a few new things about myself...

1) I love decorating, and I love watching shows on home decorating. It's so cool to see a room be transformed into something better as the final product.

2) I want a dog--badly (and so does Ben!). Probably won't get one for another year (both because I don't really want to put that kind of a strain on my wallet and because I won't really have the time for one until after I graduate). My brother's family and my sister's family both have really sweet dogs...so maybe that's influenced me a little bit. No clue as to what kind we want, but we're still both on the lookout.

3) Have I ever mentioned to you that I'm a procrastinator??

4) I've loved taking pictures ever since I was in middle school. I'm not that good of a photographer, but the point is I just love having my camera on me so that I can capture any moment. And I've become so trustworthy over the years that my friends and family usually come to me first to see if I have my camera--if that gives you any clue as to how attached I am to photos.

5) When I was little, I made up my mind that I wanted to be a fashion designer when I grew up. I would draw on computer paper, paper place-mats at restaurants--whatever I could find. I even had my own signature for the label. Every single design I ever came up with was saved in a "fashion magazine" my sister helped me create--and, please, it was titled Giorgio Armani.

6) Remember that 1996 version of 101 Dalmatians that came out with Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil? Well--because of Glenn Close--I fell in love with Cruella De Vil (the only evil character I've ever really liked). I loved everything about her: big fashion designer, great car, cute heels, fashionable suits. I wanted to be her--except for that whole evil thing. I even have the Barbie doll--which is almost in perfect condition thanksverymuch. (Oh and I was only 10 years old in 1996. Give me a break :-)

So with that said I think I want to hear 6 random facts about:

122.loves.me

40 Pink Piggies

The Adventures of Maverick & the Mrs.

The Klegin Family

Me? Study?

Heavens no. Not when there's a great website like makemebabies.com that shows you exactly what your kids are going to look like (because I'm sure it's completely accurate). And I don't see the resemblance at all, but they sure are cute anyway.

Especially for my ladies:

Wow I can't believe she did this to her best friend.

Ew Ew and Ew! OK great

Now this is more like it. (All pictured below are from David's Bridal)

$120.00

But which color to choose?

Ooh how about this one?

$135.00

Oh I like this.

$99.99

Here's the back view

A classic.

$120.00

Yep, I'm still searching, girls. It's just taking a while to sift through the crappy dresses that I personally would never want to wear...

Things are coming together!

Yayyy we booked our honeymoon spot! How exciting :)

Here's just a little taste of what we have to look forward to....

Ohmygosh I'm so excited!!

Our Little Christmas Greeting to You!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

"We ain't fakin', y'all!"

Proof that those of us who have moved away from our native area may speak differently when we go back:

(I got this while doing my project--it's on linguistics--go figure)

"Native speakers of a vernacular dialect who have moved away and now speak more standardly often must attempt a kind of balancing act. They may feel constrained to shift to some degree back to the native dialect when visiting with family back home."

OK so I've never experienced that much of a shift. But it is true that everytime I talk to someone in my family I hear a little bit of twang come back in my voice.

Tell me why...

I've had this project for 3 weeks now and I'm just beginning it now--7 hours before class? Things would have been so much easier if I had just gotten it done over Thanksgiving break..... boo me.

Busy Girl

Well 2 weeks have quickly slipped by and my, my have I been a busy girl. I went to my sister-in-law's baby shower two weekends ago and had a lot of fun watching her open all of the cool presents for the little baby. I'm excited to be an aunt :) I also was home that entire week for Thanksgiving break. I really haven't had time to go home this semester, so it was really nice to be able to just hang out at my house with my family--I sure have missed them.

Most of the week was spent looking for a florist, a baker (which we found!!), and a DJ (which we'll have to take care of over Christmas break). Oh...and I finally got my dress in!!!! We ordered it about 5 months ago, so it was really nice to finally have it. I tried it on again and fell in love with it all over again. I'm such a lucky girl :) Sorry though, no pictures since my fiance reads this...you'll just have to wait (only!) 5 months!! Time is really going by fast.

My mom also took me to see the reception site. I hadn't seen it yet. Long story, but the short of it is that we were in the process of signing with another hotel when they (pretty much) screwed us over and we had to quickly find another place. My parents came to the rescue (because I was already at college) and searched through many others and found a beautiful one!!! Here are some pictures:

The outside

Cocktail area inside

Skylights

The ballroom

Yes, there was a party going on. I am not a creeper. And no it was not a wedding--it was a business party.

More to come later. For now, I've got to get ready for class.

Go here.

Click on this.  It's from my sister's blog--an organization she's trying to help out.

My trip to JMU

I had such a great time this weekend. It was hard for me to get back to Blacksburg and get back into studying mode (there are only 17 days of classes left in this semester!!!!) I can't believe it's going by so fast. On Saturday I played racquetball for the first time with Talita and Courtney and I was so sore the next day! But anyway I had a great time seeing everyone, I just hope they return the visit next semester!! Here are some pictures from this weekend:

Talita, Courtney, and me---proof that we actually like each other!

We went to a girl's basketball game on Saturday afternoon and had a little photoshoot while waiting for the girl to come out of the locker room after the game. Here's Shannon, Talita and me showing our best faces.

By far my favorite picture of the weekend. I laughed so hard when I saw it. Courtney, our photographer, said "there's a flood--what do you do?"

Me showing them which school is better (VT > JMU) I may get some angry responses from this one haha including my SiL Julie.

Me and my best friend Courtney. We have been friends for so long--I'm so glad we've kept the visits up while in college.

Suzy, Talita, Courtney and me in one last photo before I left for Blacksburg.

Thanks for hosting me for the weekend, ladies!

SHOES.

So ever since I posted about wedding shoes a couple of days ago I received many great and helpful recommendations. While continuing my search, hitting link after link, I found a BUNCH of white flats hidden on the Internet. I'm so excited! I'll share with you a couple of my choices:

The bow is just precious. $90.00

Ohmygosh I just love these. If only they had them in white or light blue. Am I being too picky?? Because I still lovvvvvve them.

$110.00

Getting a little pricey, but still just adorable. Gosh I'm gonna have more to decide than I thought!!

$120.00

Slingbacks. Love it.

$110.00

Here's a website with lots of options!

OOOOOkay----I think I have died and gone to wedding shoe heaven. I know I know, no heels, but I had to put this one in b/c if I WERE wearing heels THESE WOULD BE IT. They are blue (and I still need something blue) and I love them with all of my little heart. Almost as much as I love my future hubby. Almost. But anyway the website I got these from is just as amazing, so I think I'm gonna keep the link on here so I can come back to my search.

That was really fun. I'm really excited--I would love some input and I'll definitely let y'all know what I decide on if I buy it offline.

VT football and JMU

Football game tomorrow night at Miami!!! I only wish it were a home football game. VT has a horrible home football schedule this year. We went a full month without a home game. What a terrible thing for my senior year... boo :( But here's a pic of me and my friend Cara at last Thursday's victory vs. Maryland. She is such a great friend. And there's no way I would've lasted this long in Chem without her!!

So THIS WEEKEND I'm going to JMU to visit my bfffffffff Courtney!!! I'm so excited. And I'm sure there will be pictures from all that mess so be sure to check back sometime next week. I have 2 major tests tomorrow (don't you just love it when classes coincide--i swear the teachers do this to kill me) so I won't be doing much else today but studying. So in order to not completely lose my mind I promised myself this little time to blog.

I'll leave you with a funny moment from one of my favorite shows, The Office. Here it is.

A short note--

Today is:

But I just want to comment, as an English major, that "Veterans" should have an apostrophe.  Thank you that will be all.

A Request

I've decided for numerous reasons that I'm going to wear flats for my wedding. I've been looking in stores and online for the past 8 months for simple, white ballet flats--but I can't seem to find any! Surely shoe designers recognize the enormity of the wedding market they are giving up. The only shoe I could find was this one, but while it seems to match my query I can't help but notice that it looks so stiff that it would just fall right off my foot (which could make the walk down the aisle a whole different ball game). Do you know what I mean? And I almost fell in love with this J. Crew shoe with the exception of its ivory color and its price tag!!! I mean seriously, $160 for a ballet flat??? Come on, J. Crew. So does anyone know of any simple, white ballet flats that don't have the absurd price tag? I would be extremely grateful if you'd let me know if you stumble across any.

Just Because

I felt like taking a few shots on my own, just because. Maybe it was inspired by all those pretty wedding photos I saw on the web today.

Just a few Ideas

I used to love to play school when I was a kid, so my parents bought me a chalkboard once, and I can't tell you how many times I would do my homework on it and pretend I was a teacher. (It may have contributed to my ambition to be an elementary school teacher!!) So when I saw this picture I immediately thought of that chalkboard and how appropriate it would be for me to use it in just this way at the Reception.

Paloma Images

This is a very cute way to display guest's seating arrangements. I'm going to have an indoor reception, however, so I don't think the "tree" option is going to work--but I still thought it was cute and creative.

Paloma Images

I love the use of the antique vases in this photo--definitely something I'll have to think about for the table centerpieces.

Paloma Images

Very cute idea for the table naming--old pictures of the Bride and Groom, and the name of the table is the year the pictures were taken.

Zempel Photography

Classic exit shot. I just love it.

Paloma Images

Definitely a bridal portrait I would consider

Paloma Images