April's faves!

April was jam packed full of exciting things... and what's even more exciting is that TOMORROW begins WEDDING MONTH! Ahh.. it FLEW.

I know, I'm a broken record...anywho!

Onto my favorite things of the month;

1. My most "liked" photo of the month was this:

Probably because my caption said something along the lines of "I WILL BE A MRS. IN A MONTH!!" but truly...its fun to take silly selfies sometimes, right? Especially when we are so close to being married...the selfies will just be getting more and more ridiculous.

2. THIS RSVP...well, all of them really...but come on. Old school J-Lo!? AMAZING.

3. Getting a little tan.

Trust me, I'm always a huge "NO-NO! DON'T GO TO THE TANNING BED!!!" type of gal...however, I just need a good base for my wedding. Then I'll let the sun do its thing!

4. THIS picture message I got the night of the NFL draft. Caleb was waiting for me back at the apartment, jersey, hat, sweatpants and all. Can't say I hated it. Have I mentioned how excited I am to live with this stud lately?!?! Cauuuuuse I am!

5.  Ice.

What would I do without it? Caleb and I both set a challenge for ourselves this month...mine was to run 40 miles this month. I will have a full post on that to come! I will say, Caleb did AMAZING. Needless to say, our shins are not happy with us. Those treadmills are kinda rough on them...luckily May will be prettier and full of sunshine so we can run outside.

6. My painting (check out full post here) that will be hung in the new apartment!

7. MY NEW DISNEY SHIRT ERIN GOT ME!!!

Those are a few of my favorite things from April... also not pictured:

-Our cake topper

-My yellow wedding shoes

-New inky pens at the office

-Good gymshoes

-New faces around this blog!!

I'm excited about we are closing in on our last month in our wedding countdown. Cannot wait to share more details as they come!

What was one of YOUR favorite things from April??

No picture? No proof.

Caleb and I had an incredible weekend. You know how much I love pictures, but this weekend I literally took NONE. Friday night we started our weekend off with a quick 5K on the treadmill (I am able to run 2.5 miles straight now, no walking breaks...my progress is making me so happy -- I did take a quick 30 second break to walk, then did another mile...it was awesome)! Then we used a gift card to get some Skyline Chili... mmm!

Saturday morning, I GOT MY WEDDING SHOES! Can you believe it?! I was so nervous, seeing as I've never purchased shoes online...and omg - they fit perfect. & they are SO comfortable.

Then I basically spent the entire morning cleaning my room, and had some delicious coffee cake with my grandparents in the dining room. Then my entire day/afternoon was spent texting with Ashley talking outfit options with her for her upcoming NC Blogger Meet up she has worked so hard to plan! She asked me to find some cute outfits, and did I hesitate? No!

Obviously this outfit screams Ashley. The skinny jeans, the adorable shoes and simple black/white blazer-tee combo. So I text it to her...and she says she literally just took some outfit pictures exactly like that. Amazing, right?

The other two cute outfits I found  were so full of color, I knew she'd love them.

Need this.

Do I even need to tell you all how much I need a blazer in my life? Particularly a yellow one!

LADIES, HELP ME! Where can a girl find an adorable (reasonably priced) yellow blazer?!

Long story short -- I love miss Ashley and the genuine, fun, awesome friendship we've formed. I don't think Caleb will ever understand how I can consider a "blog friend" a "real life friend" when we've never met each other (yet!)... but who cares? MEN. BE. CRAZY. ;)

Lets get back on track here...

So Sunday  we had church... it was an emotional day for me, but God reminded me how blessed I am. That evening we spent with the youth group and just had an absolute blast. I never knew how much working with teens would make me learn about myself.

So how was YOUR weekend?

PS- Huge shout-out to my girl Becky for her FIRST half marathon this weekend!!!! Hopefully I'll be doing one before the year is over, YOU GO GIRL!

I'm pretty much a pro.

...at this whole painting thing. Yeeaaahh, the ladies from my company got a company paid "ladies night out" at a local (amazing) art painting studio called "Cheers to Art".

I'm totally kidding though, I'm not a pro...but I have to say, I was kiiiind of hyperventilating before the class started because I'm a TERRIBLE artist. I can't even draw a stick figure correctly if my life depended on it. The lady in charge thought she'd comfort me by saying "don't worry honey, this is the easiest painting I'll be doing all month!" ...great, that makes me feel better......

Before we dive into my painting, look how cute this place was! It was a full blown natural light studio, with a boutique attached. How adorable, right?

The paintings above were all done in the previous months as the "project of the night". Lots of them reflected our big city, which I thought was pretty neat!

Then began the painting... oh did I mention we had a private party?? Haaaaaaaaaayyy.

So the original painting was supposed to be all different colored vases, with a few blocks of color on them... some green leaves and crooked twigs hanging out. The little heart of rebellion in me screamed "BE DIFFERENT"... & did I listen?

You bet I did.

Watch my artistry unfold....... ;)

 Drumroll pleeeease!

I didn't want to add the green leaves, because it was just too bright and cheery for me to mess with. Those leaves were gonna be messing with my vibe.

So I have to say, I really pretended to play "artist" last night. I think I'll go back soon. *ahem, CALEB?

It's a tiny thumbnail, so forgive me...but this is what it was supposed to look like:

No thanks, my love for yellow and corals just had to be shown ;)

This was totally outside of my comfort zone...buuuut I loved it.

Ever done something like this?

Cheers!

PS:

One quick Friday letter to my girl, Erin:

YOU ARE COMING HOME TONIGHT AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SQUEEZE THE CRAP OUT OF YOUUUUUUU. Don't ever leave me for another week again.

;)

Thankful Thursdays - Wedding style

At this point, I'm thankful to still have my sanity.

No but for realz... I could not have chosen a better time to start blogging than last summer...not only was it the greatest summer of my life (thus far), I turned 21 and got proposed too all in one week. How lucky can a girl get?!? So what am I really thankful for today?

YOU GUYS.

Yes...you!!!!

Any of you who keep coming back, thank you. Seriously! From the bottom of my big ole' heart, THANK YOU. I have formed real genuine friendships (Caleb will never understand them, but they are real none the less).

So what am I thankful for so far in this wedding planning stage we're stuck in at?

Snap chat with my BFF/MOH who is in California for her last semester at school. Girlfriend almost didn't take that opportunity just to be able to craft and do silly things with me for my wedding? I wasn't having that. California was an opportunity of a lifetime for her and I wasn't about to let my lil' wedding stop her. So we've talked daily via text, phone and snap chat. Love that girl.

Emails with my Erin/Bridesmaid/soulmate... thank God for her. That is all I have to say! Know what she did for me? Snap chatted me one day and said "I HAVE AN IDEA!" but never told me what it was for the next THREE DAYS!!!! Do you know what it was? An hour by hour timeline of my wedding day, with points of contact, phone numbers, people categorized by name, emails, etc...I mean, how did she know I was in desperate need of that without me saying it? It's a soulmate thing I suppose! ;)

Marie. She has been such an amazing friend throughout not only my engagement, but long before. I am so thankful for her heart. She truly has a servants heart and would do anything for me, and vise versa. Her and her awesome husband Josh treated Caleb and I to lunch after church Sunday, and we had them over for dinner on Tuesday...it is SO much fun hanging out with them, simply when we are doing absolutely nothing. So let me rephrase this, I am thankful for their relationship and how much Caleb and I look up to it. They are such a Godly couple and they just make my heart swell. Don't even get me started on their adorable freaking daughter...

Need I say more? I am also thankful for that little gal. She truly has Caleb and I wrapped around her finger. Can't say I hate it! ;)

Last but CERTAINLY not least... I am thankful for this man.

DUH!

What can I say? It is officially ONE MONTH until I marry this hunk and boyyyyyy I can't wait.

Literally...I'm just ready to say my vows, kiss that man, dance the night away, and jet to Mexico!!

What are YOU thankful for? Be sure to thank someone today. You are loved more than you know.

Some wedding deets!

So I've got the man, the dress, and the location... what more could a girl ask for?

As much fun as planning this wedding has been, can I just say for a second that I am so ready for it to just freaking get here already?! 

Caleb and I seriously talk about our wedding every day...now I am ready to just be married to him already and become sleepover pals for life. Not to get too mushy on ya, but he literally is my best friend. He makes me laugh, he encourages me, and treats me incredibly.

Onto a few wedding day details.

-PHOTOGRAPHERS: We spoke with them on Monday night and set up an official 'day of' timeline for photos... did I mention that Caleb ABSOLUTELY, 100% does NOT want to see me before the ceremony? Leave it up to him to be different than the rest of the world (no "first look" opportunity for him!), but you know what? I love that. I will truly get to see that look on his face as I walk down the isle... according to my best friend he will "fall to his knees" when he sees me... pfftt ;)

-CAKE: We decided on a smaller 3 tiered cake for us, the bridal party, and our immediate family to enjoy... top layer (ours) will be red velvet, and the rest will be regular white cake covered in buttercream icing, with the middle layer covered in edible hydrangea flowers. The rest of the guests will get to gobble down on some delicious cupcakes of their flavor choosing! Know what I am nervous about though? Caleb throwing cake in my hair... should I worry? Nah.... right?!!

-MUSIC: we are still in need of a first dance song!!!! We have it narrowed down, but some ideas wouldn't hurt... *ahem*

-JEWELRY: I have none so far. Woops!

-SHOES: I have only found one cute pair I'm considering. Help (pale yellow, please)!

-DRESS: not gonna lie, its amazing.

Okay that is enough little details for today...don't want to give TOO much away!

Cannot believe it is almost our WEDDING MONTH!!!!!

Jam packed weekend!

How come Friday takes ages to get here and then the weekend goes by like THAT!? I just don't understand this. Whoever had the bright idea of making work weeks five whole days long, and weekends only two, was just outrageous.

Anyway, where do I start!? I think we crammed in more than ever before. Friday night Caleb's mom came into town to close on their home here in Cincinnati and wanted to treat us to dinner. We decided to go to Mimi's Cafe (Cincinnati/Columbus locals -- GO! It's delicious!!), as this is where our rehearsal dinner will be. So, we ate our delicious dinner (gigantic burger for me!) and then picked out our menu options for the night before the wedding...let me tell you, its going to be AMAZING.

Then we ended early enough and his mom had an idea to go see a movie. You know Caleb and I have been dying to see 42, but it wasn't on until really late so we went with that cute cavemen movie called "The Croods" - OMG, so good. Seriously, super family friendly, I laughed, and cried. Highly recommended!

Don't you love cell phone quality pictures in bad lighting?

Saturday morning came and I was so excited for Caleb's date he had planned for us; "All Things Cincinnati"! He treated me to Skyline Chili (our fav!) and a Red's game at the stadium downtown!

It was only 54 degrees, so did we think of putting on sunscreen? Nope.

Did we get sunburnt? Yep.

Then we went back to the apartment and relaxed for a couple hours. My cousin's wife was throwing him a surprise 30th birthday so you nkow we had to make an appearance. He is a HUGE Notre Dame football fan  (gag), but I must say... the cake was IMPRESSIVE!

He was super surprised and the party turned out great. I got to introduce Caleb to a lot of people he's never met before, so that was awesome! There was a DJ and everything! It couldn't have been more fun!

Sunday came, and we went to church like usual... and then some of our good friends Josh & Marie asked us to lunch at a local burger joint, their adorable daughter Nora of course was there. She was the high light of my week. That little girl has Caleb and I wrapped around her finger!

Then we went back to the apartment until it was time to head back to church to hang with the youth group. It was all fun and games until someone sat on my thumb during an intense game of what could be compared to as musical chairs. It took all I had not to cry like a child and run out of the room... lets juts say I can barely move it today. I'm praying it feels better so I can do daily tasks like normal again...makes me thankful for my fingers!

The night turned up though when Caleb turned on New Girl, and then a Modern Family re run after...and we literally BOTH laughed so hard we cried. Season 4, episode 3... watch it. Watch it now ;)

Hope everyone had a blast of a weekend.

Linking up with the beautiful Sami, as always!

HIGH FIVE FO' FRIDAYYYZ

I was looking for a new link up to join, and saw that a lot of my close blogger friends were joining in this link-up, so you know I'm jumping on the train too.

HIGH FIVE FOR FRIDAY. Where we list 5 things that made us happy throughout the week...and let me tell you, this week was so full of so much hate in this world, I am ecstatic to look back at 5 blessings (even the insignificant ones) that made my week so fantastic.

1. Sushi. Caleb and I had to do some grocery shopping for him the other night, and I don't think I've ever loved him more than when he agreed to eat sushi for dinner.

2. This man at my usual park. No, I'm not a total creep... it was a beautiful day, I needed out of the office, so I went to my usual park and ate my lunch.

This old man decided to sit on the park bench just relaxing. It made me wonder, "where is his wife?" "is he alone?" and I so badly wanted to just go over and talk to him about life. Don't ask me why, but something about older people makes me want to know their life stories. Life is so precious.

3. My church photography. Let me tell you, this has been a challenge. My photography style is very much "lifestyle", you know? Shooting families, couples, weddings, etc...
Back story -- Josh (my bridesmaid Marie's husband), is the Creative Communications guy at our church...and he has asked me to do the photography for the church. I can't say how thankful I am for his patience, this is a new style for me and its making me a bit discouraged, but knowing that it will further God's kingdom makes me incredibly happy and I trust that I'll get the hang of this quickly. This is a shot from my computer screen as I was editing last night.

4. My "Bride" tumbler! Caleb and I went running again last night (I'm officially 25.21 miles into my 40 mile challenge for April!), and I'm freaking sore. However, I'm thankful for this soreness...it makes me realize my body is changing! Hot wedding dress bod here I commeee!

5. This guy. Honestly... not to make you totally throw up in your mouth...but the other day we were watching South Park together, South Park! & he grabbed my face, looked me in the eyes and said I am the one thing he can never stop thinking about.

I mean, what a MAN!

Enjoy your weekend, folks.

PS - MY SOULMATES BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW! Happy 26th, Erin!!!

Can I recap a weekend AND last night in the same post?

Friday night was the night a few of us ladies were gonna get together to celebrate Erin's 26th! She is so special to us and we wanted to make her feel special. What's better than stuffing ourselves full of queso and chips? Nothing...that's what.

If I'm 100% honest with myself, these are the only good shots of the night. Sooo that'll be all ya get ;) but for real...we had a blast celebrating one of our best friends. Then we did what any girls would do, had a sleepover, duh.

Saturday I drove a bit to meet one of my bridesmaids at an outlet mall to find some wedding shoes. Do ya think I found much? Nope. Buuuuut I did find ONE pair of cuties. We shall see ;)

Sunday was spent at church, relaxing, and then back to church to hang with the youth group.

FAST FOIRWAAAARD: last night.

Caleb and I wanted to have Erin & Jared over before they left for Disney. YES, YOU HEARD ME...they are going to Disney-freaking-world. Celebrating Erin's birthday in one of the nicest restaurants down there, completed with a firework show...and probably an appearance by a Disney princess. JK, but how cool would that be?!

So needless to say last night was a blast... they were our first official dinner guests.
We made lasagna... okay, so we didn't make it...Stouffers did...

Brownie points for all who noticed this is the first post-Caleb move in picture of the apartment on the blog!!

Then when it was time to sing HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYY like crazies, and light the candles... we realized we. don't. have. a. lighter. So what do I do???
Cheerfully knock on the downstairs neighbors door to ask for one...

he answers the door... poking his head out, covered in a red beard, and has NO shirt on... like I'm pretty sure he was butt naked.

I proceeded to ask him if he has a lighter, he kind of gives me a dirty look and says "uh, I don't smoke...", then I get all awkward like he thinks I'm a heavy smoker or something? Dude, back up!

"....oh, no...I didn't think you smoked, I mean...it's totally fine if you did, I just wanted to know .... we're just trying to light a cake...sooo?" 

..... then he shuts the door. HA! Soooo needless to say, Erin played pretend when it came to blowing out her candles, & she took it like a champ!

Then we relaxed for a bit, and Erin and I had a mini photo shoot... but we had no idea my self timer was going to continue shooting...and this is the end result of that.

WOOPS! Its taking ten shots...

LETS MAKE THE MOST OF IT!

I mean, do I really have to tell you how much the four of us are in love with each other? Didn't think so.

I am so sad they will be gone for an entire week...I mean, after they left, Caleb and I thought "....what are we going to do next week???" HA! However, I'm super happy they both get a vacation away from home celebrating their happiness and starting out Erin's 26th birthday with a bang!

Say hiiii to Mickey for me, Erin ;)

From 2010!

TOMORROW IS FRIDAY!