Off to Wilmington

This week it's really starting to feel like the holidays, and tonight Alex and I are headed to Wilmington and I can't wait!

I love seeing how excited Alex gets to go see his family, and I am looking forward to spending time with them, too. We're taking our engagement pics on Friday (not sure of the location but hoping it looks something like the third pic above, although it will probably be cloudy, which is fine with me!) and on Saturday I'm taking him to the venue (second pic), and I know he's going to love it :)

Now if I can just fast forward through this work day...

5 on Friday {Thankful Edition}

In the spirit of the season I decided to do things a bit differently today. These are all pretty cliche, but nonetheless true~this year I'm thankful for:

[1] Alex
I'm incredibly blessed to be looking forward to taking on this life journey with a man who gets and appreciates me in the way he does. Over the years I've learned it really isn't always going to be "Notebook" perfect, but what's important is learning to support each other in those challenging times. It's certainly much easier to have a good relationship when there aren't many responsibilities and tough decisions, but when life happens I think that is the true test. And I can honestly say I wouldn't rather have any one else by my side to figure out this crazy thing called life-hence why I said "yes"!

Sunset on Oak Island on one of the first trips I took to see him :)

[2] Family
Right now we are so lucky that our entire immediate family lives within 5 miles of each other, literally. Some people would see this as crazy and are completely okay with living thousands of miles away from their family. I, for one, thank God every single day that we are able to be in this chapter of life with our family so nearby. I know it may not be like this forever, but it's pretty amazing we're experiencing it right now!

[3] Amigos
As I've grown older I've seen some friends come and go, and I'm definitely thankful for those, near and far, that I can count on to be there when I need them (to laugh or cry). When I was younger I felt like I always had to be doing something, but I've learned that with true friends you can have just a good time grabbing a coffee as doing something "fun"! I love this Winnie quote (he was my favorite when I was little!)

[4] Airplanes
As much as I'm thankful for my family that's right here, I know it's difficult for Alex to live so far from his family. And I, too, wish we lived closer to them, so I'm happy we live in a time that we can just hop on an airplane next week and arrive to his family so quickly (well not that quickly).

[5] Career
While I certainly don't define myself by my job, I am definitely thankful I'm able to do something I enjoy (most of the time) at a company that has great people and great values. This year especially I've learned how lucky I am to be in the position I am right now.

A Christmas Craft

Since I'm a sucker for cute wrapping/packaging, this year I decided I wanted to put a "crafty" touch on our gifts. I still love the "natural" color mixed with traditional red and green; and lately I've been loving all things silver and gold so I decided to mix all these to make these simple gift tags. To get me in the mood I put some Christmas pandora on...nothing like some Mariah to get you in the spirit, right?



I cut out the circles, then embellished with some stamps, and silver, gold and green stamp pads. You have to look closely but I embossed a few, but since the stamp designs are so small with not much space in between the lines it's difficult to emboss and keep the detail (if you've ever embossed you know what I'm talkin bout!)

Now I just need some gifts to wrap...

Weekend in Pictures

As with most weekends lately, this one flew by! But of course lots of fun was had. Friday night was spent just relaxing, and on Saturday we headed up to LA for our "Friends-giving." The food was delicious and it's always a good time hanging with that crew.

Sunday, I finally got around to a little Christmas crafting (more on that later this week), and spent some quality time with Chel and E at the park, which always makes for the best days! To top it off we had a yummy dinner with a couple of delish appetizers like the "football snack mix" you see above that Chel whipped up...yes that is homemade carmel drizzle that is sticking it all together...goodbye weekend, see ya on Friday!

FiveonFri

[1] ^Fresh & Clean^
I've been wanting a refreshed design for this little blog here for quite some time now. I finally was able to come up with one that I'm pretty satisfied with, but still have some work to do! I wanted something that looked simple and clean, but still has some fun in it!

[2] Yummy Chicken Parm
I'm always in the search of healthier recipes that still taste delicious. I made this one this week and boy was it yummy! The flavors in it are so rich, but way healthier than your traditional parm. The fiancé loved it! It's a little involved for a week night, but totally worth it. Recipe here

[3] Christmas Wrapping
This year I've decided I want to make really cute wrapping for our gifts. I'm hoping this weekend I'll have time to do some crafting and can make some cute embellishments, like these ones from the container store:

                            

 

[4] Friends-Giving
Tomorrow Alex and I are heading up to LA to celebrate a "pre-thanksgiving" with some of our closest friends. I'm excited to cook, eat yummy T-giving food and spend some quality time! I'm very thankful that we're able to spend this time all together :)

via

[5] Freakin' Friday!
This may be cheating, but really and truly today I'm happier than anything that it is finally Friday. It's been one of those work weeks where I felt like Friday should have been on Wednesday...

          

The Perfect Planner

When I was younger, I would look forward to school registration every year, when we would get those free planners with our school mascots (dork alert!). Apparently nothing has changed because each year I hunt for a cute (and functional) planner.

This year, since we have many important dates and planning to recount I want to be sure to get a really good planner. Yes, I try and keep track of everything in my phone calendar, but I am definitely a more visual person and it helps me to write everything down. I'm on the lookout for a nice planner, and would love if it zippered so I can stuff important papers/cards in.

Good news is I've found that perfect planner, bad news is it is way out of my price range. But seriously how great is this? Maybe it's just me, but this screams "let me help you get organized!" to me.

via

It has everything I want/need. I love that the pages are refillable and I could use it each year, but it is a huge investment that I'm not ready to take. If anyone has any less expensive alternatives they've seen PLEASE send my way. I have checked all my go to places and can't find one :( They are all too "business" looking. HELP!

Engagement Pics Planning

In just a few short weeks Alex and I are headed Eastward to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family. While we're back there we figured we might as well get some wedding stuff done, since we're already making the trip. I'm excited to tour the venue with him (since my mama was with me when we chose), but we are also taking our engagement pics, so I've been on the lookout for different styles, settings, poses (yes, i'm a weird!), and most of all outfits that I like. I want them to be classic (since we're going to have them forever).

Yesterday, I finally stumbled upon a dress that is very close to what I imagined, so I decided to purchase it! I'm thinking we'll have two outfits (or maybe just me...not sure how A feels about wardrobe changes!). This dress will serve as the more "fancy" one, and then I'm still on the lookout for a more casual one.

Of course some of these pieces are way out of my price range, but that's why they are "inspiration!"

Dress/Bangle/Green Necklace/Green Blouse/Blue Blouse/Gold Necklace/Crystal Necklace/

I need to find a good statement necklace for the navy dress, but I love the classic feel and the simplicity it has (with the fun back). For the "casual" outfit, I'm thinking something like a button down blouse with a necklace and cute skinnys.

If anyone knows of good shops/sites that have affordable pieces within this realm, send them my way!