monday musings.
1.28.2013
1. After what felt like the LONGEST week (even though it was a 4 day week), C and I escaped Dallas and spent the weekend celebrating his 30th birthday in Fredericksburg, TX. We got hooked up in this little cottage at the Hoffman Haus and it was so perfect. We spent the weekend tasting wine and hiking.
2. I made cake for C on Monday so that he could eat it all week long. It was also a nice sweet treat to come home to.
3. We are SO excited to have C's high school BFF (and our wedding photographer) in town with her husband and son this weekend. We have plans to visit the Perot Museum, the Zoo, the new Klyde Warren Park, the lake and more. We're also having some engagement pictures taken!
4. I'm the proud new owner of some LEGIT cowboy(girl?) boots. After holding off for so long and trying to get by in some lame Steve Madden boots, I finally bit the bullet and made the purchase. So excited for these! They will hopefully make an appearance in the engagement pictures!
5. This 15k is like 2 weeks away and I've definitely been slacking on my training. I'm trying to remember that this race is just for fun and to just enjoy it. 9 miles isn't that much right......?
6. I'm not that skilled at doing my own hair or make-up so I'm indulging for our pictures by heading to The Dry Bar and the new make-up place, Blushington. Hopefully, they'll get me picture-ready!
7. Love that the mail is full of birthday coupons now that February is right around the corner. This 15% off Anthropologie coupon is just begging to be used on some adorable new dresses.
8. This Sunday should prove to be really exciting because I'll be hosting a house full of Ravens fans! I'm planning on making purple cupcakes and tons of fun Super Bowl treats for our mini watching party. It'll be so fun to really have a team to root for.
happy birthday to my love.
1.27.2013
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| Birthday hike up to the top of Enchanted Rock in Fredericksburg, TX |
from almost blind to 20/20
1.24.2013
I got glasses in 2nd grade. I remember the day very well. I went into the doctor's office with fuzzy vision and when I walked out with my new glasses, I could see the leaves on the trees. It was really amazing.
In 6th grade I got contact lenses. Not having to wear dorky glasses was a relief.
My vision increasingly deteriorated for the next 10 years. Every year, I would go back to the doctor and get a stronger prescription.
When I was maybe 10(?), my mom took me and my sister with her to Montreal to get LASIK (I'm not even sure it was called that back then). She had really poor eye-sight and was almost legally blind. The doctor let us watch the procedure from a large glass window that looked into the operating room. It was amazing. In a matter of minutes, her vision was corrected. When she woke from the doctor madated sleep, she could see. Without glasses or contacts. She could just see.
Ever since that day, I dreamed of getting LASIK. I asked to get LASIK as my graduation present from college. I wanted it so badly.
After putting it off for a few years due to cost, I finally decided to take the plunge. I had my free consultation and was confirmed to be a good candidate for the procedure. I scheduled my surgery for after the holidays and patiently waited.
monday musings.
1.21.2013
1. It was back to the grind this week. I'm running the Dallas Hot Chocolate 15k in about 2 weeks so I really need to get serious about my workouts. Luckily, the weather allowed for an enjoyable bike and run brick with my team saturday morning and then C and I made it out to the lake again on Sunday for a loop. We're definitely taking advantage of these mild temps.
2. After a futile search for tuxes, we treated ourselves to loaded sweet potato fries and a drink on the patio at Company Cafe. There was also cake. Cake and cocktails at 4pm on a Saturday obviously makes sense. Especially when it's 60 degrees in January.
3. I put my crafting skills to the test this weekend and attempted to turn my junior prom dress into an uber trendy tulle skirt. I got the idea from this blog (I can't believe we wore the exact same dress) and she pulls it off so adorably here, here and here. The verdict is still out my version. I'm just not sure I can pull it off.
4. We were blessed to celebrate another engagement this weekend! My sweet sorority sister got engaged to the man of her dreams on Saturday. They are a precious couple and I'm just so over the moon happy for them.
5. I went to my sorority's alumni skit preview night on Tuesday. I'm sure that sentence sounds completely ridiculous to some of my readers. Point is, I think I'm getting old. The skit was adorable but I didn't get some of the trendy references! Plus some of the songs that we used in the skit when I was in college are totally out-dated now. So strange.
6. I'm loving not being at work today. #neededthis
7. We're headed to a precious cottage in Fredericksburg, TX this weekend to celebrate C's big milestone birthday. It sounds like a perfect way to kick off the big 3-0. There will be cake, sleeping in, maybe a hike and definitely a run. Oh and wine tasting. Obviously.
8. Alright Downton Abbey. You win. You got me. You started off really slow. Season 1 was strange and Season 2 was kinda slow until the end. Season 3 has me hooked. Matthew is hot. And well, Lady Mary kills it.
9. I don't really like cancer. It pretty much sucks. So I'm going to run 13.1 miles and do my part to help fight cancer. I'd love your help if you feel so inspired.
10. I'm strangely obsessed with working on our wedding website. Well, maybe it's not that strange since I claim to be a blogger, but still. I really like it. And it's not even like it's that cool - it's just filling out pages of information. If you're lucky, I'll share it with my lovely readers. Maybe.
{featured friday} wedding edition.
1.18.2013
{featured friday} highlights some of my favorite blogs and websites that I want to share with all of you! These are blogs that consistently blow me away with amazing content. I know you’ll fall in love with them too!
As you would assume, I have wedding on the brain. The internet is an amazing place to get ideas and inspiration. You wouldn't believe the kind of things you can find on wedding related message boards. I even made a top secret pinterest board to keep track of all our ideas and important info. (Thanks for making secret boards Pinterest!)
Just after we got engaged, my sweet cousin sent us this book, A Practical Wedding. I immediately read the entire thing in 2 days. The information was so helpful and useful. The book stemmed from an equally successful blog which I'm now in love with. Not only does Meg provides helpful spreadsheets, but there are posts about DIY, budgets, family, etc. I've found this blog to be my new go-to read because I always find her posts interesting and insightful.
APW then lead me to an amazing vendor - Everly Calligraphy. Let me just tell you, Charmaine is AMAZING. I reached out to her to make some custom cards for me and not only did she respond in a matter of minutes but she was so helpful throughout the process. She creates all kinds of custom stationary as well as custom stamps. You can even get 10% off for being an APW reader! I love that! Charmaine was so inspired by the cards she made for me, she's featuring them on Etsy with a little shout-out to me! Talk about honored!
Do you secretly (or not so secretly) read any great wedding blogs?
Any amazing online wedding vendors I need to know about?
Just after we got engaged, my sweet cousin sent us this book, A Practical Wedding. I immediately read the entire thing in 2 days. The information was so helpful and useful. The book stemmed from an equally successful blog which I'm now in love with. Not only does Meg provides helpful spreadsheets, but there are posts about DIY, budgets, family, etc. I've found this blog to be my new go-to read because I always find her posts interesting and insightful.
APW then lead me to an amazing vendor - Everly Calligraphy. Let me just tell you, Charmaine is AMAZING. I reached out to her to make some custom cards for me and not only did she respond in a matter of minutes but she was so helpful throughout the process. She creates all kinds of custom stationary as well as custom stamps. You can even get 10% off for being an APW reader! I love that! Charmaine was so inspired by the cards she made for me, she's featuring them on Etsy with a little shout-out to me! Talk about honored!
Do you secretly (or not so secretly) read any great wedding blogs?
Any amazing online wedding vendors I need to know about?
{recipe} skinny chicken and broccoli alfredo
1.17.2013
I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe with my lovely readers already. This is a staple and SO easy to make. I always have the ingredients on hand and it only takes 15 minutes to pull together.
Skinny Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo
Serves 2-3
- 1/2 lb whole wheat pasta (any shape)
- 2 cups broccoli
- 1 cup shredded chicken
- Olive Oil
- Pepper
- Garlic Salt
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2-3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1-1.5 cups chicken broth
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Cook broccoli, chicken breasts, and pasta however you prefer. I like to spray my broccoli with olive oil and roast it in the oven so it's a little crispy (400 degrees for 10-15 min). For the chicken, I usually buy thin cut breasts so I just cook them in a pan on the stove with a little garlic salt and pepper.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add garlic and let cook for about 1 minute. Sprinkle in flour. Whisk until combined and cook for 1 minute. It will be very thick and clumpy. Add 1 cup chicken broth and whisk. If you feel like the sauce is too thick, add a little more broth. Add milk. Cook for about 5-8 min until thick and smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in greek yogurt and parm at the very end. Combine everything back in the pasta pot and mix together. Top with a sprinkling of parm cheese.
{our wedding} from this day forward.
1.15.2013
For a multitude of reasons, C and I refrained from wedding planning for the first several weeks of our engagement. Being engaged is a joy-filled time and I wanted to let that feeling soak in. Engagements can be such a whirlwind where you dive right into flowers and favors but it's also a very transitional time. You're deciding to combine your life with someone else's. You're creating a new family unit. You're committing to share everything with another person.
Unlike some brides-to-be, I didn't have a "dream wedding" outlined in my head before we got engaged. In fact, I was caught somewhat off guard because I figured we still had several months before I'd be wearing this sparkly ring. However, that didn't stop our friends and family (and even people we don't really know) from asking us many times over, when the wedding would be, where it would be, what our colors would be, who would be in the wedding...etc. Talk about overwhelming. I'm about to attach myself to another person for the rest of my life, let us bask in that for a few weeks.
When we finally felt ready to make some decisions do research, I became incredibly overwhelmed. Weddings are expensive. I have no idea how to negotiate a contract with a caterer. Does this old house really work as a wedding venue? We have to find the perfect band. Wow this venue is so pretty! Oh wait, it's $35,000. You get the point.
But weddings aren't just about the calligraphy invitations and bridesmaids dresses. We often gloss over arguably the most important part of a wedding. The ceremony. It is, after all, the real reason people are gathering is to celebrate. They are witnessing the union of two people through what should be a meaningfully crafted moment between you and your husband-to-be.
After the frenzy of ironing out all those other details wore off, I realized there was something more important at the top of my list. I wanted to find the right person to marry us. I wanted it to be someone we had a relationship with, someone who believed the same things we believed, someone who wholly respected the institution of marriage.
Unlike some brides-to-be, I didn't have a "dream wedding" outlined in my head before we got engaged. In fact, I was caught somewhat off guard because I figured we still had several months before I'd be wearing this sparkly ring. However, that didn't stop our friends and family (and even people we don't really know) from asking us many times over, when the wedding would be, where it would be, what our colors would be, who would be in the wedding...etc. Talk about overwhelming. I'm about to attach myself to another person for the rest of my life, let us bask in that for a few weeks.
When we finally felt ready to make some decisions do research, I became incredibly overwhelmed. Weddings are expensive. I have no idea how to negotiate a contract with a caterer. Does this old house really work as a wedding venue? We have to find the perfect band. Wow this venue is so pretty! Oh wait, it's $35,000. You get the point.
But weddings aren't just about the calligraphy invitations and bridesmaids dresses. We often gloss over arguably the most important part of a wedding. The ceremony. It is, after all, the real reason people are gathering is to celebrate. They are witnessing the union of two people through what should be a meaningfully crafted moment between you and your husband-to-be.
After the frenzy of ironing out all those other details wore off, I realized there was something more important at the top of my list. I wanted to find the right person to marry us. I wanted it to be someone we had a relationship with, someone who believed the same things we believed, someone who wholly respected the institution of marriage.
Good news people, we can check that item off the list. Progress! I recently met with a close friend who also happens to be a Reverend. I was so honored she agreed to be a part of our wedding and she was honored that I asked her! Win-win!
I breathed a sigh of relief as I left our meeting. Someone I respect and trust will be standing by us as we vow to honor, respect, love and protect one another. She'll be guiding us and praying for us as we prepare to embark on this new chapter of our lives.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I left our meeting. Someone I respect and trust will be standing by us as we vow to honor, respect, love and protect one another. She'll be guiding us and praying for us as we prepare to embark on this new chapter of our lives.
monday musings.
1.14.2013
I've been a bad blogger. I truly apologize for my internet absence (looks like the last monday musing was 3 weeks ago... oops). Tumblr recently stopped working at work so not only can I no longer read tumblr blogs, I cannot write new posts. Let's be honest here, people who say they don't blog at work are lying.
Back to our regularly scheduled programing....
1. Since we last spoke, lots of wedding progress has been made. More to come on that after Save The Dates go out! But the good news is, we have a date to save! I've also been having a lot of fun working on the website. I'm so anxious to let it go live! In the meantime, I'm knee deep in catering menus and band song lists.
2. The "off-season" has been taken a little too literally around here. After the half marathon, I sort of just stopped working out. Treadmills and trainers suck. So do shorter days. Somehow I need to regain motivation since I have a 15k in less than a month...
3. Oh by the way, hi 2013! The holidays really came and went in a flash. C managed to come down with cold while he was home that he kindly shared with me when we were reunited in Dallas. We spent much of our break house bound and on the couch. We did manage to make it out of the house for New Year's with some friends which was a treat.
4. We've been a lot better about meal planning and cooking for the week. Last week, I made Turkey Corn Chili and we lived off of that for several days. This week we have spaghetti, chicken tikka masala, and chicken alfredo on the menu. We'll probably end up doing a "breakfast for dinner" night as well.
5. BREAKING: I FINALLY got LASIK!!! Friday morning I went under the laser and left with 20/20 vision! I'm sure there are people out there who'd like to know more about the procedure so there will be a post on that coming soon!
6. We have lots of fun visits and trips and events on the calendar for the next two months.
- C turns 30 at the end of the month but we're still undecided on how to celebrate.
- C's high school bestie (and our wedding photographer!), Maria, is coming to visit us in Dallas with her husband and their son, Finn! I think it'll be the perfect opportunity to finally get to the new Perot Nature & Science Museum.
- We're headed up to CT over President's Day weekend to do a little wedding planning :)
- At the end of February, the little sister comes for a visit and we'll celebrate my 25th birthday!
7. Ok let's talk TV. We saw Les Mis. What am I missing people? It just did nothing for me. Zero Dark Thirty, however, was amazing. CIA, please hire me. We also started watching Downton Abbey because we can't be left out of anything. We're into Season 2 already but I'm just not sure about it. Sometimes the acting is terrible. I'd like someone to poison Thomas and O'Brien. Don't spill anything though since we're not caught up.
8. I can't say that I have any resolutions for 2013 but I know it will be an exciting year. So many changes and new chapters and I'm ready for all of it. Bring. It. On. 2013.
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