date night

it was long overdue. we hadn't had a fun little date night in months. little trips, sicknesses and other little things prevented us from heading out as a couple. but we finally planned and made it happen last night.

we started off the late afternoon by running a few wedding errands. off to michael's, target and world market to pick up things for our reception. it always feels so nice to get a few things checked off your wedding to-do list. or any to-do list for that matter. but we did. and my little convertible was packed full of fun little things.

next up? off to see a movie. i mentioned we had a few groupons/living social deals to use so we planned our date night around using some of these deals (cheap!!!). we each bought a deal a few months ago to get 2 movie tickets for $9. and since we both bought the deal, we had 4 tickets to use. and for some reason, we decided to wait until the very last weekend before they expired to use them. so last night - off we went to see the new "x men" movie.

(photo)

we both enjoyed it. x men movies are always good (at least in our book). definitely recommend. 

after the movie, we went to a new (for us) restaurant downtown. it is a little restaurant tucked away on a side street known for their tapas and wine. 

(photo)

we each tried new things that were hit or miss. tempura asparagus? my absolute fave of the night. A loved the ribs he ordered. 

and just because little girly things make me happy - i got to wear a new nars lipstick (nars barbarella) i ordered from sephora a few months ago. a peachy coral color that is oh so perfect for summertime. 

(prettiest little photo of lipstick from this sweet blog)

we definitely need to be better about taking sweet date nights like that more often. our 4 year anniversary is coming up this month and you know what that means? another date night and another excuse to put on some lipstick? AND we get to go to my absolute favorite restaurant. it ain't cheap so we reserve it for special occasions (shan's bday and our anniversary). so i am super looking forward to it. 

happy date nights!

updates

hello sweet bloggers.

i do believe it is time for a little list.

1. two days after my previous blog post, i woke up at 5am to watch a wedding. as a girl planning her own, how could i possibly miss the royal wedding? it doesn't hurt that i think kate middleton is adorable and has a great sense of style. i couldn't miss seeing the dress she choose to marry a prince.

(photo)

2. our wedding is less than 4 months away which makes me want to pass out. i have a lot of things to do. i need to print out every picture that i call inspiration and hang them on a blank wall in my apartment. i feel like that will help me focus.

3. in the beginning of may, i had a sweet bestie come visit. it was julie's first time to greenville and so we definitely had a jam packed weekend filled with good food, long talks, wine and adventuring downtown. i feel so blessed to have the friends that i do. (ps: did we take any pictures to show you? of course not. i am such a good blogger)

4. i took a little trip to kentucky a few weeks ago. it was in the works for sometime but it was a super secret. i went to surprise this little lady....

since she had just had this little guy....

isn't he just the cutest? i couldn't wait to go see her/meet him any longer. the fun part? she had no idea i was coming. 

rachel - i so wish i could've captured the look on your face when i walked into your house. your hubby did a good job of keeping you in the dark. it was the best weekend to be able to be with you and love on you and E for a bit. i just wish it could happen way more often. kiss parker for me :)

5. and to update you on this past weekend - it was lovely. A and i went to the lake house and spent two days with A's family. it was great to relax and be out in the sun. i went as the pastiest (its a word) girl ever (my skin is see-thru) and came back a little less pasty. i need a summer tan something fierce (#whitegirlproblems).

6. i'm hoping to have a little date night this weekend with A. we need to use up some groupons/living social deals that we have bought in the past few months. i'm thinking we will use the groupon for a tapas restaurant this weekend. that sounds delish.

7. do y'all groupon or living social? if not - you definitely should. they are great sites that send (really good) deals out everyday. usually they are 50% off or more deals to local restaurants, salons and adventures. we heart it.

8. so it's june and it is already 75 billion degrees outside. is this happening to everyone right now or is it just us lucky south carolinians that get punched in the face by heat everytime we walk out the door?

i have much more to discuss with you but i will leave it at that for now. happy thursday my sweets!

the venues

i promised a little more detail on the bulleted list i left y'all with and i am back to deliver. i figured i would start off with the venues. essentially, they were the first thing we got checked off the list (right after i choose the date). i picked my september 24th date and stayed there. i didn't want to move it. from the get go, it seemed like our day.

like i said before, the ceremony will be held at a beautiful church about 10 minutes away from downtown. its a pretty big sanctuary, updated but still holds that traditional charm that i love so much. its definitely not modern. it's beautiful in my eyes. perfect. center aisle. stained glass everywhere. and i'm not talking stained glass that has pictures of the Lord in it - i'm talking just a bunch of different colors put together for a glorious window (or 12). i can't wait to show you.

the reception is where my heart lives. it is being held at a historic home in downtown greenville. perfect location for my guests - since downtown is so dang precious. the house it tucked away back from a busy-ish street. and behind the house is a little secret garden with a pond. and a lawn perfectly made to hold a wedding reception. since i've decided not to spill the exact locations or show you exact pictures of the places, i figured i could go ahead and share with you some inspiration that i've picked up over the last few months.

from top left: younghouselove and then i can't remember. 

probably a combination of style me pretty, southern weddings and snippet and ink. 

the reception will have lights overhead (a tent will be used only as a backup for inclement weather), poms tied to the trees and quilts for some friends to sit on.

it's going to be a fabulous night that will hopefully be a great party. can y'all tell i'm just a little bit excited? because i am...

playing {wedding} catch up

wow it has been awhile. life has been a little crazy and the blog has been neglected. but i am back and hopefully for a good long time.

i left off with an engagement and then i just left you. we have been in full wedding planning mode over here and a lot has happened since we last spoke. i have had visitors galore (purdy, jen, family and then gil). two weeks from now, sweet jules is coming to visit. her first time to greenville and i am oh so very excited. it's so wonderful to live in a city that you know will excite your guests. any of you who have visited know how much charm our downtown holds. and i am excited to show it to jules.

so a little wedding update...shall we? i'll just give you a little list of things that we have accomplished in the past 4 months.

• the date - September 24th, 2011. which will go down as the best day of my life.
• the city - Greenville, SC
• a place to say "I do" - a pretty church with stained glass galore. can you imagine the pictures?
• a place to party after the ceremony - a historic home with a backyard to die for. 
• my dress? check. 
• bridesmaids dresses (for all 8 of my gorgeous girls)? double check. 
• a fantastic photographer that will document our best day? perfectly selected.
• honeymoon - 10 days of glorious vacation booked in the caribbean.
• things to chow down on and pretty flowers - in the works.
• registering (i will go ahead and sound selfish - we had so much fun. you shoot a laser gun and boom - you have a chance of getting it as a gift) registries are complete!

so there is a little update for you blog stalkers out there. that is...if you haven't abandoned me. i wouldn't blame you. it's been ages people. ages.


i will do a blog post on each of the bulleted items above and delve into more details than you probably care to hear soon. a wedding inspiration board and pictures galore will be coming your way soon!

it's good to be back my friends. it's good to be back.

snow day

i haven't had a snow day since i was in college. which really wasn't a snow day...i just decided to skip classes if i didn't feel like walking in the snow. but, as i am sure you have heard, the south got dumped on this week and i have had 3 snow days from work. that's right - i wake up in the morning to check my email and get all excited when i see "office closed today". it's just like when you were in high school and you wake up to watch the school closing run across the bottom of the tv. 3 snow days from work. i mean how fabulous is that?

this means that i have been doing a whole lot of nothing. i haven't changed out of my pjs. i keep them on all day. i mean - it really is a treat. i have watched tv, cleaned my apartment (some), played with K and caught up on my blog reading. 

speaking of K - somebody is obsessed with the snow. OBSESSED people. i have seen my puppy throw tantrums because i don't let him go outside to run in the snow for hours on end. how i wish i had a backyard!

so i will leave you with my absolute favorite one of K in the snow...

happy snow days my friends :)

a white sand christmas

while my christmas was quite unfortunate and uneventful (i got pretty sick over the holiday), it was still great. great because i got to spend time in florida with my family. and although i am 25 years old, it feels pretty nice to have your mama around when you don't feel good.

even though i was under the weather and mostly in bed, it was nice to have a christmas that looked like this...

i hope y'all had a very merry christmas and celebrated with joy.

engagement

hello dear readers! well, i teased you with a little picture and then left you hanging. if you read any of my besties blogs you definitely read a little bit about the big engagement party {here, here, here or here}. but from the bride to be's perspective, i can honestly say it was the most perfect day.

after leaving work a little early, A and i began the trip up to lexington. we stopped up at windy gap (the younglife camp that we met and where we work a few weekends a year). i was under the impression we were stopping to visit a dear friend. while that was true, we were also stopping so A could pop the question. WG has a little island with a big old willow tree and a wooden bench. surrounded by a winter wonderland, A got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. it was so great. i couldn't have been more excited.

moving along - we got back in the car for the 4 hour trek up to lexington. i was so very antsy to get there, as one can imagine. we ended up getting to lexington at about 10:30pm. upon walking into jen's house, i was greeted by all of my loved ones. a handful of dear friends and my mom and sister (dad couldn't make it) were all there for a surprise engagement party. it couldn't have been more perfect and i couldn't have been anymore surprised.

i'll let the pictures do the talking.

the most perfect engagement story ever. :)