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Monthly Archives: June 2012

Meet the ‘Maids’

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and of course that’s BRIDESMAIDS. Here they are . .

Callie. Maid of Honor!

Callie is my sister. She is three years younger than me. There was no question about her being a part of this day.

Carrie. Bridesmaid

Carrie and I have known each other for about 2 years. I met her through one of Don’s good friends, MAX. We have become very close in the past several months. At least in the past 5 months, there may have been 2-3 weekends where we HAVE NOT seen each other.

Crystal. Bridesmaid.

Wow, I cant believe we have already known each other almost SIX years. Man, time sure does fly when you are having fun..and I mean serious fun. From football games, pool parties and girls night, she has been my partner in crime until she moved to Jacksonville.

Kendra. Bridesmaid.

Kendra is  dating one of Dons good friends, Andrew. She is also a BRIDE TO BE.  When I first met Kendra, our friendship was very natural and since we met, we have become good friends. She is very sweet. When Kendra and I get together, it is none stop fun. Almost every time I see her, there is at least one occasion where we constantly laugh so hard and can’t stop. Never a dull moment with her.

Marni. Bridesmaid.

Marni and I have been friends for about 5 years. She is married to one of Dons life-long friends, Mike (aka Palma). Both Don and I were in their wedding in November 2012. Our friendship is much like a good book, you never want to put it down or wait till later, we could keep on going. I always look forward to visits with her. We have many special moments together that I could never get rid of.

Sara. Bridesmaid.

She is the jelly to my peanut butter! Sara married my cousin Jayson last July. We met the prior year on our family vacation to the keys and became two peas in a pod. When I still lived in Tallahassee, there was not a weekend we were without each other. I was in her wedding and its only fitting to have her in mine, I would not think twice about it. Sara is a mother to be. She is due in Oct. We are so excited for her

I am so excited to have the 6 of them apart of my wedding day. From now till then, will be so much so much fun. Thanks ladies for being apart of this day ! Love you ALL <3

Asking the girls

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I picked 6 close girls that I wanted to share this intimate day with, 2 being family and 4 being friends. This was one of first hurdles to get over since we started to plan our wedding. I seriously could have had several attendants but I was encouraged not to by several people, less is more! I love and adore all of my friends and wish I could have them all in the wedding.

I really wanted a fun, random way of asking my bridesmaids. I actually remembered this really cute idea I pinned on my wedding pinterest board.

Source: 2.bp.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

I definitely used this same concept, however I chose my own wording. The letters on the outside of the boxes are the first initial of each bridesmaids name. Two of the boxes actually had their full name, only because I had each letter :0)

I made confetti out of BRIGHT printing paper I had in my scrapbook box. After the confetti came the tags that read, “I cant say I DO, with out YOU, Will you be my bridesmaid, ( one said maid of honor).

and last BUT not least, I added the special touch…. A RING POP … how appropriate :0) I thought it was the cutest idea and I think some of my bridesmaids did to ! I kept mine in the package because I was asking everyone at random times and did not need ants crawling in my house and car!

I look forward to introducing you to my bridal party, at least my side… Don is still in the making ! Happy Monday, and if you are like me and live in FLORIDA, try and stay dry !!!!

Peanut Butter Pie … OH MY!

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I made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS! I have never been in love with peanut butter until recently !!! I eat it almost every week day ! This is very easy to make! You even learn how to make homemade whipped cream ! Recipe below ;)

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Ingredients :
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter – I added MORE !!!
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
One 9-inch graham cracker crust
1/4 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped
Directions
Heat the milk in a small pot over low heat until warm. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly; mixture should be thick but have a pourable consistency.
In a large bowl using an electric mixer on high, beat together the cream cheese with the peanut butter and powdered sugar. In a separate bowl, beat together the heavy cream with the vanilla until doubled in volume and soft peaks form.
Stir one-third of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining whipped cream until combined.
Spread into the graham cracker crust. Pour the melted chocolate over the top of the pie and sprinkle with the chopped peanuts. Place the pie in the freezer to set up, about 1 hour.

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Recipe via Sandra Lee ( Food Network )

Active Update !

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Last blog entry I said I signed up for my first 5k in Orlando. I also believe at some point I have mentioned that running has been tough because of shin splints !! Let me just update you in my active life style !

On Sunday , I signed up for my 5k. For about three weeks I have been running with my neighbor not knowing we were going to sign up for a 5k. I bought the new shoes blah blah blah ! Well, my shoes have been a WONDERFUL relief
On my legs In addition to stretching BEFORE and AFTER my run ! My neighbor has us following the couch to 5k plan ! Today we had out longest and most successful run of 2.1 miles at 20 minutes and 17 seconds! NO WALKING either! We kept a steady pace for the entire run ! When my Nike plus app started the 5 minute countdown to the end , I started to struggle but
I was so happy ! I finished the run feeling so exhilarated!

It was my first time running 2 miles straight ( that I can remember ) without stopping to stretch or walk ! We kept each other motivated! I never have liked a running partner because everyone runs on different paces however it’s like love at first run! We have ran with the same pace and talked each other through our runs ! I just know we will succeed through the rest! She has been good support and I hope vice versus !

I am glad to say that I am ending the night propped up on the couch having a nice glass of wine !

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Until next time, keep running, keep your head high and don’t give up !!

Booked, Bought, & Asked !

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Wow , what an amazing weekend we had! Don and I traveled to Tallahassee this past weekend to officially begin the wedding planning process. Planning a wedding is a tad hard being an out-of-town bride however it is wonderful having a dependable family back home to help !

To start the weekend off, we arrived to Tallahassee Friday night and pretty much finalized the guest list. I am sure from here on out it will be tweaked here and there ! Secondly, we had an appointment Saturday morning to look at a venue. The venue offers a site for lake side ceremony and an indoor reception with a ‘PLAN B’ option for the ceremony if it rains! We really liked the 2-n-1 venue because we are
Inviting several out of town guest. Actually a majority of our guest are from
Out of the area! We both really liked it, so we BOOKED it! Check !

Later that day, my mother, grandmother and my sister ( maid of honor ) met up at a bridal shop to look at dresses! Both bridesmaids and my wedding dress. I needed to kill two birds with one stone ! When we met our bridal consult, I advised her of everything I disliked and did not want in a wedding dress. Finally after trying on a handful of dress, three which I absolutely loved but just was not ‘the one’, she brought a dress to me to try on. This dress would have been put on my DO NOT try on list. I tried it on for her and OH. MY!!!! I loved it, tried it on multiple times (to make sure) and I didn’t want to take it off. MY MOM BOUGHT IT! Check !!

Still on the look out for bridesmaid dresses! I found one I loved but not getting great feedback from the few bridesmaids I have asked ! We will see!

We met up with my cousin and his wife ( whom is one of my great friends) to
visit with them! She is a few days shy of 6 months pregnant and hardly showing. I can’t wait to see little carter blue ;) I asked her to be one of my bridesmaids! I was a little worried she may say NO with her being a new mom but she didn’t !!! I was so excited !

Lastly , I signed up for my first orlando 5k which is July 12 ! Can’t wait!

Happy Monday !

A Little Something In Return

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Since I have been given this amazing, beautiful ring I have been in such a daze. Ask my mom, I seriously could have this wedding planned in 2 days given the time and the money! She keeps telling me to focus on one thing at a time ;) With all of this planning and excitement, I completely felt like I left don in the dark!

I am not sure if this is typical but to show my gratefulness and appreciation of our engagement, I bought Don a new toy he has been talking about for quiet sometime ;)

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A SMOKER!!!

He has been using our current gas grill to smoke meat. A bit challenging but he always made great food from it! He couldn’t even wait to use it. It came in and he was smoking ribs all day ! We had a couple over, whom we asked to be a part of our wedding**, to come enjoy the ribs with us! I am sure
Don is looking forward to smoking
Up some more meat soon !!! After all , football season is almost here. GO NOLES!

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** We have started asking our closest friends to be apart of our wedding and it has been very exciting. There is definitely going to be a post as soon as we get the entire party put together!!! YAY !!!

I Hope It’s Broken

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No I didn’t break any fine china or a special vase that was given to me! Much better than that !

I think I have broken the habit of biting my nails. Apparently it takes 21 days to break a habit and it has been 25 days since I have bitten my nails! Wah-hoo ;) I finally have lady-like nails ! I have been gnawing on my fingers since I can remember. I would chew through hot nail polish and every other habit remedy people would try to use on me . Trust me, everyone tried something !

I am hoping to go another 25 days without any nail biting ;)

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I am very aware I need a manicure ! Sorry for that ;)

Happy Tuesday !

Ready. Set. PLAN!

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Today we had a few wedding firsts I thought we could share . . .

We registered at our first store today, Bed, Bath, & Beyond!!!! It was fun, exciting, yet exhausting at the same time! It took all of three hours. Don was a great sport and enjoyed it also! We did get our first gift off of the registry already…Bride & Groom Tervis Tumblers ;)

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We tentatively booked our venue today. Because we are planning an out of town wedding it makes it a little difficult to view multiple venues. Being from the area and previously seeing the venue several years back, I was not to worried about seeing it however I do want Don to see it also! We are headed up to Tallahassee next weekend to hopefully fully commit to the venue. It’s looking like I will be having my April wedding! Yippee !!!

Lastly, today we went to Barnes and Nobles to take a look at wedding books. I wasn’t thrilled with any of them really except the one my mom already purchased! I also did not get a good chance to look at the books because another bride-to-be was talking my ears off I could barley even think!!!! I finally worked up the courage to say kindly, ‘ I don’t really see anything here, I am gonna check the magazines out.’ I was content with the magazine section bc I could sit down and it was QUIET!!!! This was my first piece of wedding literature ;)

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Happy Thursday ;)

Words for thought…

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I am still thinking I am in a long dream and not waking from this great moment we have had! I am so happy we are able to spend the rest of our lives together.

Announcing our engagement has been a very happy thing for us. The way people react to the news has made me think a lot about how other people may view engagements and marriage! I know how I feel about marriage, but how about other people?

Some of the first questions/comment I get asked after spreading the news ….
1. Let me see your ring ….
2. How big is your ring ?
3. How much was your ring ?
4. Have you set a date yet?

Are you freaking kidding me? I don’t care who you are, I find it down right rude to ask someone, besides can I see your ring?, the dynamics of their engagement ring. Of course we all like beautiful jewelry, but getting engaged is more than just having a ring. It’s about the commitment between the two of you and spending the rest of your life together .

I would give no thought if Don proposed with out a ring or even a solid band. I am not materialistic at all. It just makes me think wether people really understand the TRUE commitment for marriage or if they find it just fun to wear the beautiful symbol to impress people. What are your thoughts ?

Until then… I am still deciding where
To have my wedding . It’s frustrating ! HELP !!!!