fall weekend wrap-up

Fall is officially among us.  It's consistently on the chilly, and with the windows open and fall scented candles lit, the house always feels perfectly comfy wrapped up in a blanket or a sweater.  I haven't gone too out of my way to decorate, but am picking up small items where I can.  Trying my best to pick out some sweet items that will not only satisfy our halloween craving, but will also last us all the way through Thanksgiving.  A few little pieces are doing wonders to make our home feel cozy and festive.

I always have fall candles lit, creating a warm, sweet scent, and I always find myself longing for something warm in the oven.  Recently, I've been making a banana bread loaf a week, so that we have something sweet and tasty to take in to work.  Stocked up on a few other yummy's that I can't wait to make in the weeks to come.

We spent a quiet night at home Friday, slipping into pjs for mexican night.  We whipped up some delicious quesadillas and margaritas and spent the night curled up on the couch with our favorite show. (Our favorite show seems to change depending on what week or time of year you ask us.  Currently it's Two and a Half Men).

Saturday afternoon we decided to head out to Reston Town Center to peek around.  I've heard wonderful things about the area and had been wanting to explore! (The fact that there's an Anthropologie there may or may not have had something to do with finally getting out there....)

Got my hands on a bag I've been swooning over..... I may be a little indulgent at times, but a price tag like this has a way of restraining me.  Hm, I smell my first addition to my Christmas list!!! (and by then, it will certainly have had it's first sale cut)

(hello gorgeous)

Found some things from my wishlist I'd been expecting to like, and didn't. 

(now officially off the list)

Saw some things I had been expecting not to like, and loved.

(someone needs to invite us to a holiday party so I can buy this pretty)

And tried on this Jackie Cardi for the hundredth time from J Crew.  Seriously in love with this shade.  A pumpkin shaded cardigan?! Yes, I'm all over that!  There's also the most beautiful olive colored one I'd love to get my hands on too.  However, the price is still a little steep for me.  Hoping to stumble across one of J Crew's 30% off sales very soon (though finding anything in an extra small during sale times seems to be unheard of...)

(Pumpkin dear, you belong in my closet)

So, ended up coming home with two sale shirts.  One even on super sale as it was damaged.  No fear, my mommy can fix her right up.

Sunday was spent getting Mark ready for Germany.  First business trip on his diplomatic passport. Oh, I'm so proud of my sweets <3

(I'm thinking Gracie was hoping to tag along)

With some time to spare in the afternoon, we headed to the craft store for some wedding purchases.

After such a hard summer, everything this fall just seems so much sweeter <3 

happiness and excitement

Weekend recap: 

-Beautiful bridal shower for a beautiful bride and a few hours of happiness with my favorite college friends.

-Dinner in Manassas with the future in-laws.  (So happy that we live close enough to be able to meet spontaneously for a meal.  Family has always been top priority for me... in laws will be no exception)

-Top golf with friends.  Was surprisingly good, had a few beers, a few laughs, and watched my sweet man hit the head of the other Mark's golf club into the middle of the field.  My man is strong, no?)

-Wedding band shopping.  Made a trip back to Jared's.  Found and ordered the ring I'll be putting on my hunny's left hand come April.  Much happiness and excitement on that one.

-Anthro.  Second trip in a week.  My obsession is becoming quite a hobby.  One that makes me smile, happy, and gives me fun little things to look forward to (planning my sales).  And can't forget to mention that my sweets supports this new little hobby... if I can keep it to the sales and the occasional full-priced-purchase.  More to come on this later....

Tonight was definitely a turning point in the teeny struggle that has been wedding planning.  The past few months, I've found it hard to get motivated to plan.  I've been so sick, and feeling so constantly stressed, that it just always seemed easier to put off any serious decisions.  Yes, we have a lot of the big stuff done, but yes, there's lots and lots more to go.

Anyway, my beautiful MOH ordered the dress I picked out last week, and it arrived today! All 3 of my perfect bridesmaids agreed to meet up tonight to try on! I can honestly say, with no hesitation or doubt, that this is THE dress.  The color, flawless.  The material, beautiful.  And each of the girls looked special and beautiful, all gorgeous and unique in this amazing convertible dress.  I know we haven't made any decisions as to how exactly they are going to tie them, but really we have all the time in the world to make that decision.  It's enough for me, for now, to know that Jen, Meliss, and Chels all loved it, and looked STUNNING.

My bridesmaid's are hotter than yours.  Or anyone's.  Period.


With the dress actually here for us to see, and Jen and Mom having met with a caterer, it's all starting to feel real now.  Somehow before, it felt far off, distant.  Now, it's changed.  We've picked a dress, we have ideas about food, and my dress is in and ready to be tried on... in my size!  Officially ready to get my tail in gear and get to planning what's going to be the BEST night of my whole life.

I am one happy girl.  Who has everything in the world to be excited about. :)

love it.

mmm.

(via this beauty)

makes me want to curl back up in bed with my hunny.  so thankful for the three day weekend!

falling for fall

When thinking of a favorite season, most would be quick to jump to spring, or most often summer. I, un-surprisingly, would have usually said winter, given Christmas falls in the winter.  Last year, though, an unexpected season captured my heart, swayed my attention....

We had the most incredible fall last year.  We were living together in Virginia Beach.  Not far from mom & dad.  The two of us, with a now well behaved Addie, a happy Zues, and a Gracie that loved having the room to run around and get away from the dogs.

We spent time outside on brisk walks with the dog, exploring pumpkin patches, indulging in festive Starbucks drinks, family dinners with the folks, fun nights of bowling and movies, weekend drives thru the mountains to visit with the Dovel's, falling in love with great fall television and a great new little life for our fam.

Last year, I fell in love with this season, one that I had appreciated before, but not fully understanding how wonderful this time truly was.

Looking forward to a fall just as wonderful... more fall festivals, pumpkin picking & carving, making endless batches of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (mark's fav), goody bags for loved ones, Starbucks delights, and lots of scarves and boots. <3

images of our fall 09:

Why yes, Fall, I'm so glad you're here. 

xoxo

head pain & love

Struggling with headaches for months at a time seems horrible.  And let me tell you, there's nothing fun about it.  I feel as if most days I come home wanting to just lay around.  The headaches have stripped me of my energy and my motivation.  They make me tired and sad half the time.

The one pleasant part of this whole awful ordeal has been living with my best friend.  He constantly surprises me, always willing to do whatever I may need.  He's there at my good times, but also there when I'm a bit crazy from the pain.  He's sweet, he's true, and he reminds me every single day why we chose each other to spend our lives with.

After coming home with a headache tonight, my sweet man cleaned out the bathtub, lit some candles, and drew me a lavendar bath... occupying the puppies for awhile so I could have a few quiet moments to myself.  All his idea.  So generous.

So I just wanted to take a minute to write my appreciation.  I'm grateful every morning.  I'm grateful every night.  You make me happy, you see me through the pain.  A lifetime of love just for you.

xoxo

(our very first picture together... 02.2009) 

revisions

Change blog name. Import previous entries. Change blog name. Import previous entries. And repeat. Again.

Why have I had such trouble keeping up here when I know how badly I want to?  I devote so much time to other’s blogs. So much time reading funny musings, hearing about people’s days, getting lost in beautiful pictures.  Yet every day, I feel as if I have so much to share. So much I’d like to see in the semi-permanence that is a blog. 

Maybe I’ve had trouble deciding what it is I want to share. Recipes? Stories? Everyday worries/frustrations/happy moments? Wedding details? Pictures?  I’ve done all so far on here.  Yet I’m left with a feeling of my blog space being a little ‘scatter brained’ if you will. No clear path. No direct purpose.

Perhaps, that’s all right. This is my space. One I haven’t shared with anyone yet, except for my sweet fiancé.  So why shouldn’t I share just what I want?  Like: We had a great weekend, and I wanted to share a few pictures and recap; There are so many beautiful clothes I’m lusting after, and here’s some shots of them; or our puppies did the funniest things, please let me share….

None of my other blog names have stuck.  And this one isn’t intended to either.  But it completely describes where I am right now, and what I’m most excited about. 

Dovel-to-be.  In just shy of 6 months.

And this future Mrs. couldn’t possibly be more excited.

xoxo

save that date

We stayed up late Sunday night peicing together our save the date card.  Though mom pushed for magnets, we decided to go in a different direction as my fridge is adorned with 5+ wedding magnets already.  Though all beautiful and special, we wanted something that we hadn't seen, something that would be uniquely ours. 

I spent the last few weeks really searching and deciding what I wanted to use.  Finally stumbled upon some really sweet, simple postcards.  I thought it was such a great idea.  And not expensive either!  Most places, etsy or otherwise, would have a design, and let you upload your picture.  All would be printed for about $1.29 per card?  So all we had to do was find a design we wanted, choose the picture (turning out to be incredibly difficult), upload, and order!  I had grand illusions of printing them ourselves, which proved to be a headache on top of the headache I already have.

My husband to be, being the technologically ambitious (and oh-so-handsome) man that he is, really had faith that we could design the card ourselves.  After a lot of googling, and a lot of mistakes, we did!  And we found fantastic business website, Vistaprint, that offered easy upload of your design and printing services at a seriously reduced rate.  In fact, we found that we were saving so much money, that we were able to expedite the shipping, so that they would arrive at our doorstep before the holiday weekend.  So Labor Day, we'll be laboring away, addressing our Save the Date postcards, with lots and lots of love.  To send to those we love lots and lots.

I can't wait to get home tomorrow and see that package at my doorstep.  And can't wait to see the final product!

(three days later they came....! 

lit some candles, poured a glass of wine, and took two nights to address them all. so fun)

my week

If we start the new week on Sunday, then I'd say it's been a pretty eventful and productive week so far. woke up at a reasonable time, jumped out of bed, and straight into laundry and ironing.  I knew if I kept my pjs on for too long I'd be lounging all day long.  Cleaning, organizing, and errands followed.  Looked for new furniture and decor inspiration for the new study.  Was planning on an arm chair for the corner for reading, while the fiancee thought we should get a pullout couch for the room. The price and the fact that they take up so much more room, and aren't as comfortable as an arm chair continually had me swinging back my way.  At World Market yesterday, I seemed to stumble upon a happy combination of the two.  A chair of sorts that can convert to a chaise lounge or even a bed (roughly twin sized).  Loved it.  And got me inspired to find some great material and enlist the help of mom to create some bright and cheery slip covers for the fabric.  It's white as is, not quite the best for our slew of animals in house.  Starting thinking more of room colors and getting very excited with ideas.  Perhaps an accent wall??

with one of these fabrics from Tonic Living:

Very excited about the possibilities, and having someplace pretty and cheerful to to my work.

<3 k

School

So last night I began on my official journey of Graduate School.  Thursday nights until December from 7-9:45 pm, I'll be spending my time at the Virginia Tech satellite campus on Prince Street in Old Town.  It's in a really charming block, of course it's Old Town Alexandria, and so close to the house.  I had Mark drive me last night so that I didn't have to worry about parking on the first day.  Parking shouldn't be the issue, rather traffic.  Wasn't expecting traffic like that on King St.  Reminder to self:  will take Duke next week.


To say I'm looking forward to the class would be a bit of an understatement.  It's International Political Economy, a topic I found myself incredibly interested and passionate about in undergrad.  I mean with professors like Weisband and Yanni teaching parts one and two, it's hard not to find yourself passionate on any given topic of world debate or thought.  Anyways, there are nine or ten of us in class, so it will really be a seminar rather than a class.  Which I'll love.  Sitting around discussing what we think, believe, questions we have, insights from the reading.  Right up my alley.  As expected, the reading assignments are somewhat intimidating.  So much material to cover in a week between class.  And it's important that I cover it not only to be able to have intelligible conversation with my classmates (several of which are PhD students, might I add), but also because each student is responsible for leading the class discussion on a particular assigned reading about 5 times over the semester.  Dr. Datz is going to let us volunteer the class before, so that we're able to choose based on our time constraints and particular interests.  I, of course, will be leading discussions next week.  On a chapter in a book called Rethinking World Politics.  I not so much volunteered, but was asked to, as Dr. Datz knew that my background and interest was more the political science and international relational school of thought, rather than a pure economical one.  She thought I would be particularly interested and wanted to know if I would take a chapter.  Well, of course, Dr. Datz.  Love to.


Today I'm home from work with a migraine.  Still in pain, but just sitting around.  With no textbooks yet.  Tried calling multiple stores in the area, none of which carry the book.  So I had to do the unfortunate, and order online with next day delivery, aka massive delivery charges.  The one thing my dear finacee was most excited about what that all my required books were just that, books.  Not textbooks (the case with most of my degree specific courses).  In turn, that means they're so much cheaper.  I think the additional 4-5 books I can get for about 50 dollars, so long as I can get free shipping and don't need them right away.  Perhaps I'll beg for his help when he gets home so we can get the process rolling.


Our plan this weekend, and next, is to turn that tiny cluster of a spare bedroom into an office for me.  I'm so excited to open that room up and create a space for me to work.  Either selling that furniture, or moving it to the lake next weekend.  Really looking forward to getting a larger desk, sweet arm chair and lamp where I can spend hours reading, and hopefully a cute accent rug.  I've been dying to find a place for one in our house, and I think that would be the perfect place.


My sweet, wonderful fiancee couldn't be more supportive of me taking on this current goal and responsibility.  He's proud of the initiative, and looking forward to how the next few months pan out.  I keep reminding him to have some patience, as I know I'll be stressing at some point along the way.


Alison wrote on my wall this morning:

1. LOVE the wedding page, the stories, the pictures, the wedding plans. Just LOVE. 2. Grad school rules, because hey, you're only planning a wedding to your best friend and love of your life, why not through some more schooling in there as well. 3. I ♥ my seester.

 

What great words from an amazing sister.  Who knows if this is the right time to start school?  Yes, it seems as though I have a lot of planning to do for the wedding, and full time job on top of that.  But really, when is it ever a perfect time to take on something like this?  I'm probably not going to find it.  So I'm going to dedicate myself, be excited about the journey, and jump right in.

and make sure to take the time to spend with my family and those I love.  They're the ones that will always keep me going :)

Motivation

Have I written about this before? Surely I’ve thought about it. The last few months have passed so incredibly fast. In some respects, I feel like so much has been done and taken care of.


Rewind a bit… June 1 Mark proposed. We went from being a happy living together boyfriend and girlfriend, to being engaged. The most incredible feeling. Somewhat unbelievable at times. I often catch myself looking down at my ring to remind myself that, yes, this is real. Yes, I get to marry my best friend. So incredibly lucky.

With this excitement comes a lot of stress and wedding must do’s (good stress, might I add). Somehow along the way, the migraines have come back. More often than not , I’m so exhausted after the work day that all I long to do when we’re home is to lay on the couch with our little family, dogs included of course, to talk about our day and relax in front of whatever show we’re involved with at the time. (currently it’s last season of Grey’s)

At times it feels necessary to relax and do nothing, at others it feels as if I’m making my situation worse. Maybe it’s time to force myself to feel better. Get out, stay busy, enjoy life while there’s so much to enjoy.

Time for change. I’ve done lots of the big to-dos as far as the wedding goes. But have since put the planning on hold with my poor health. Done. I’m going to set a wedding goal every week and feel great about things as I see myself get it done. I’m going back to school. I’ve been thinking on this for some time. And somewhat out of nowhere two weeks ago, I decided I was doing it (the same way I’ve made all important decisions in my life). One class this semester. Excited, proud, and nervous.

I’m going to get motivated, and stay motivated. Three doctor’s appointments tomorrow. And likely, similar to my dozens of appointments of the past, nothing will be found. So I’m going to keep myself busy, spend time with those I love, attempt to keep up with blogging, dedicate myself to learning, and make attainable goals.

Motivation.

Here I come.