Last Few Days in Georgia....

This is my last week in Atlanta. Friday, with the help of my parents, Todd and I will be moving all of my remaining things to Florida. While we are so excited to finally be in the same city, this is definately bittersweet for me. I love so many things about Atlanta...especially my family! Kyle had his Eagle ceremony on Sunday, and while all of us sat at dinner that night, I couldn't help but think how that won't happen as often. I will miss jumping in my car to spend the day at Alysa's when I miss my nieces and nephew, impromptu dinners with my family, lunch with my mom when she is shopping in Atlanta, and everyone at my parents' pool on weekends.

I have spent the last few weeks attempting to complete my "Atlanta Bucket List". I went to several of my favorite restaurants, attended my weekly staples one last time, and just made a point to appreciate the fall weather while I had it! To be honest, I went to several of my favorite restaurants twice...and sometimes three times. Can't get enough of those sweet potato fries at Lenox Grill!

As I write this, I am sitting in bed watching the sun come through the Georgia pines, listening to the Brookhaven clock tower chime, and every once in a while I hear Marta go by on the tracks. This is my last morning to wake up to these sounds, as last night was my last downtown. Shortly, I will be stripping the sheets off my bed, packing them up like everything else and spending the remainder of the week in Cumming with my family! I am excited to spend the night at David and Alysa's with the kids, and then at my parents for my last night in Georgia. Alright, the shower is calling me, and then I'm off to enjoy this georgeous Georgia day!!!

BaChElOrEtTe PaRtY!!!!!

Okay, I know I am way behind on this post, but I am sure you all understand that things are crazy right now, and time....well, I seem to not have much of it!!

Alysa, with some help, planned an amazing night out in Atlanta with my mom and some of my best girlfriends. We were picked up in the limo for dinner, and proceeded to Pasta Da Pulcinella after uncorking our first bottle of champagne. Adorned in a tiara and veil, we ate dinner on the front porch of the restaurant. The food was great, I had the absolute best creme brulee I have ever put in my mouth there for dessert! Oh, and the bellini was good too (I was trying to limit how many different types of alcohol I consumed!). We opened lingerie gifts and played games, and I felt sorry for our poor waiter, who continually seemed to walk up at the wrong time! My boss and his wife were so thoughtful to send a bottle of champagne to our table; such a nice surprise!

After dinner, dessert, and the lingerie shower only five of us proceeded on to enjoy Atlanta nightlife in the limo! Alysa added a sash to my ensemble, and we were off! The rest of the night flew by so quickly, and somehow, during the wee hours of the morning, I was still able to walk by myself in stilettos!

I cannot thank everyone enough for such a fun night out on the town....and wonderful memories! :o)

Alright, I need to get back to packing, because this weekend is the farthest thing from a party! Todd and I are moving into our new apartment tomorrow....more to follow when we can exhale ;)

Bowling Green Shower

Todd's mom, sister, and several family friends threw us a bridal shower in Bowling Green Kentucky on August 29th. We were very excited to make a trip to see his family before the wedding, and enjoyed our time there.

We recieved so many wonderful gifts and are very excited to get them into our new home! Thank you to everyone who came and everyone who put so much time into planning our shower. We appreciate how much love and support we have been shown by those close to us. :)

First Bridal Shower

I had my first bridal shower last weekend, on August 1st. It was hosted by my Mom and sister at my Mom's house. The food was amazing, and included smoked salmon and dill on cucumbers, marinated cheese, fruit in a mint and vanilla champagne sauce, and so much more! Oh, and my Mom made red velvet cupcakes - my favorite! They decorated the house with red and white gerber daisies with organza red ribbon. It was so gorgeous, and everything was so wonderful!

The shower was kitchen themed, and Alysa planned several kitchen-oriented games. Guests also brought a favorite recipe on a recipe card to share with me. Alysa reminded me that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach - hopefully the recipes will help ;) Some very close friends were able to make it to the shower, and we had a wonderful afternoon. I was excited to receive almost all of my bakeware, my toaster, one of the many coffee makers Todd registered for, all of our red wine glasses, nesting bowls, serving dishes, silverware and serving utensils, towels and dishcloths, and so much more! I felt so blessed by those that came, and also the generosity of those who were unable to make it. Thank you to everyone for sharing in this special day!

To make the weekend even more memorable, yesterday (Aug 2) was one year from the date that Todd and I met! Things have changed so quickly, and I feel so blessed to have Todd in my life. This time last year, I would have had a hard time believing we would be doing this only 12 months later. But now, I can't imagine what my life would be like had Todd not walked into my life and changed it so quickly! I look forward to many, many more amazing years shared with the love of my life! :0)

Dress Shopping...

Just to catch up on everything that has happened in the last two weeks...we spent last weekend in Birmingham wedding planning. Todd's parents as well as mine came out and helped us. We were very fortunate to book a rehearsal dinner venue, reception venue, and band. We also met with our wedding planner at Samford on Sunday before we left. The weekend was so successful, and we feel great about it! I have posted a picture of Todd and I with my parents at dinner Saturday night :)

This weekend, I had a meeting with the florist for our wedding on Saturday morning. Afterwards, I went dress shopping with my mom and sister, and found the dress! I think I went back to it three times, and didn't want to take it off! haha We were also able to pin down bridesmaid dresses which was also a relief...things are really coming together! I have posted a few pictures from dress shopping...no worries, none of them are the actual dress!

More pics...

More engagement pics as promised as we are en route to Birmingham.

Engagement Pictures

I promised engagement pictures, and there are more to come...just wanted to post a little teaser until I get the full assortment and can post more! :) Todd and I are going to Birmingham this weekend to attempt to book a rehearsal dinner venue, reception venue, band, and bakery. I know this is such a lofty goal!! I will be sure to blog when we return so that you can laugh at how little we actually accomplished! ;o) Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Big weekend!

My little brother graduated from high school this weekend - Yay Kyle!! My extended family from San Diego and Seattle were in town, and Todd made the trip up from Orlando. Not only did Todd have the opportunity to meet my entire family, and celebrate with us, but we had a celebration of our own!

We spent Sunday at my sister and brother-in-laws house, and were surprised with an engagement party/shower. We especially loved that my entire family was able to share in the pre-wedding festivities considering that the next time we will see them will be the wedding. We got some great gifts - a picnic set from my sister and brother-in-law and my nephew and nieces, some marriage books and a Polly's Island hammock from my parents and brother, some beautiful serving dishes from my maternal grandparents, a quilt made by my grandmother from my paternal grandparents, and from my aunt and uncle and cousins a garter and my something blue ;)

After our surprise, Todd and I were off to Athens for our engagement pictures with my good friend and photographer, Scott Greene...go check him out, http://www.greeneworks.net/ . We spent a good 3 hours with Scott taking pictures on some old railroad tracks, at an old home in Athens, and on North Campus at UGA. I can't wait to get our pictures back and see how they turned out!

We are engaged !!!!!!

Todd and I are so happy to announce that we are engaged (as of May 11)!!! I was so surprised, and we are both so excited!! We celebrated at our favorite restaurant in Atlanta last night, Two Urban Licks. Unfortunately, Todd had to go home to Orlando today, but we will see each other next week when he meets my extended family! We feel so blessed by how much love has already been showered on us, and how excited and happy everyone is for us! Thank you for all of your well wishes :)

A good friend of Todd's introduced me to this, and I feel very motivated to keep this blog up throughout our engagement, and possibly continue it...I am new to blogging, so we will see how this goes ;) Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I anticipate writing it!

PS - I will post pictures soon!