Fall Faves

Fall is my most favorite time of year.  I love the crisp days, pretty colors, and spending Saturdays with friends watching football.  Well.  Honestly, I don't particularly care about the game of football as much as I enjoy cooking and seeing friends on Saturdays.  I couldn't tell you what a first down is - and chances are if anyone has ever tried to explain it to me, I tuned out and started wondering where they got that cute toss pillow or those adorable suede booties.  I'm from Mississippi, the only reason I prefer Auburn win is for CJ's blood pressure.  :)  Go Auburn...or War Eagle...whatever!
Moving on, here are a few of my most favorite Fall things...


Ann Taylor



Slatkin & Co Fireside Candle



Door Stopper at Pier 1




White House Black Market

My EMU boots!  I know, I know - but they're so comfy and warm!

Gap Skinny Boot Corduroy Pants.



Grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Pumpkin Spice...mmm.



CJ's chili:)

Colorful, crunchy leaves.

I could go on and on, but I'll stop here.  I can't think of a better time than now to get ahead on some fall shopping.  Happy Fall! 

Ain't Life Grand.

Two months until the wedding!  Goodness, time does fly. 
I didn't sit in front of our lap top at all last week hence my blogging absence.  I was busy crafting hostess gifts for our lovely shower last Sunday.  I made two rag wreaths.  I've seen them online and besides being adorable, they appeared to be easy enough to attempt.  Five trips to the fabric store and one (still) numb thumb later, the wreaths were complete...and adorable!  I also picked up a few gifts at Wrapsody in Patton Creek.  Love that store.

Now, onto our perfect wedding shower thrown by Staci and Meredith.  Future hubster and I were both shocked at the amount of thought, work, and love that obviously went into throwing the shower.  It was visually entertaining to say the least.  The colorful decor, the delicious food and drinks and the wonderful guests - everything was more than we could have asked for or expected. From the sweet hostesses to the guests, we are so thankful to have such amazing people in our lives.  We are humbled.

Someone is turning 29 on Monday!  Normally I announce to everyone that it's 'almost my birthday' about a month before the actual date.  This year, it completely slipped my mind until CJ told me a couple weeks ago that he had already ordered my gifts.  My sweetie is taking me out to one of our favorite restaurants this weekend to celebrate and I am ecstatic about it!  I also can't wait to see what he picked out for my birthday gifts this year..he's a great gift giver and I am a lucky lady! 

Finally, we completed our bachelor/bachelorette party plans and we couldn't be more excited about them!  After contemplating dates and plans, we came up with something that we are both thrilled about and are looking forward to.  Whew!
We took off work tomorrow and are looking forward to a great three day weekend.  I'm excited to sit on the couch, sip my coffee, munch on my bagel and watch all of the Today show tomorrow!   Mmm, the things that excite me these days. 

 I'm also looking forward to shopping with my honey, delicious dining, football and cooking out with friends Saturday night.  Not too shabby, eh?

Bridal Babble.

Well, here we are...
Almost to another weekend. 
Almost half way through September.
Almost three months until the wedding.
THREE months?
Three months.

The weather has turned cooler, which makes my heart smile.  I've been able to run a lot longer in the evenings now that it's not 105 degrees outside.  I hope I make twelve miles this week.  I'm ready to light all of my fall candles, put my pumpkin decorations up and drink some hot apple cider!
One minute, I can't believe how fast this year is going by and the next I'm wishing it away for cooler weather and warmer clothes.  I'm not above admitting what a strange little creature I am:)

All days I can't wait to be married to the love of my life.
All days I wish our wedding was next December so that I can be a fiance and bask in wedding bliss longer.
All days I see how many days it is until our wedding and I get a very noticeable, nervous rash.
All days I'm humbled.
All days I'm excited.
Some days I'm frustrated. 
Some days I'm overwhelmed.

Until planning our wedding, I had no idea what all was involved behind the scenes. 
Something simple, like sending out invitations to a shower can become problematic.  One person says they didn't get theirs - then you worry you've hurt their feelings, why they didn't get it, or who else may not have gotten an invitation that was supposed to. 
This one is funny - some people will ask when and where an event of ours may be and as it turns out...we put that information on the invitation which happens to be the most convenient place for the who, what, where and when type of questions one might have regarding an event.  Haha!
Before this wedding, I thought of myself as being pretty well mannered.  I know how to set a proper table setting, to always stand up straight, and to never talk politics or religion in public.  I'm from Mississippi after all, so I was taught from the very best of southern ladies:) 
However, my knowledge of all things lady like were of no help to me when I sat down with my caterer and asked if we should buy canned or bottled beer.  You would have thought I asked him what color his underwear was.  He started laughing - and I, of course did too so that I didn't look like an uncouth bride.  Oh and vino?  Must be served from a wine glass.  Yes, I did ask why it couldn't be served in the clear, plastic, no extra charge, non alcoholic beverage cups.  Yes, I did act like that was a funny joke before he could respond because I could see the look of despair in his eyes.
We got our wedding invitation samples in the mail this week.  I thought it was nice of the printing lady to send us three copies - just to have some extras for that wedding scrap book I plan to make before our 50th anniversary.  I showed them to CJ and he told me he liked one better than the other two.  "Well, that's really cute sweetheart, but they're all the same,"  I thought to myself and probably said aloud.  After CJ pointed out their differences and I was proved wrong, we selected the invitation we liked best.  The differences were tiny, almost insignificant - even to someone with such high attention to detail like yours truly.  Because I over analyze everything, I figure that these invitations will say a lot about us as a couple.  You know, things like where we'll settle down, when we'll have children or what our social security numbers are...ok, ok...not exactly, but with the thought I put into choosing one you may be inclined to think that crossed my mind.
Wedding planning certainly is not cut out for everyone.  I have laughed.  I have cried.  I have scared CJ into thinking I was turning into a crazed alien bride.  There have been meetings that we have been in and knew from the minute we sat down that we were in over our heads.  So, we put war paint on our game faces and came out feeling like we had conquered the world...or at least the floral centerpieces. 

My favorite movie:  Bride Wars
Isn't her dress just fabulous?  ;)

We plan...and God laughs!

I say that to myself a lot. 
I remember last week sitting in CJ's gym room, chatting with him about his day before he started his workout.  As I was leaving to run I said to him, "I wish we could have a normal week where nothing unexpected happened.  Maybe next week."  To that, I now say...maybe next week.  Ha!
Monday evening we lost power due to all the wind and rain.  CJ's boss was kind enough to let us borrow his generator.  It was still raining and cold outside when CJ got home Tuesday night.  He lugged the heavy generator inside to the back deck, got all of the extension cords and plugs ready, plugged in the refrigerator and LIGHTS ON.  Of course!  I was super happy the power was back on, but after all that work - I wish we could have used the generator for a few minutes so that CJ could feel a sense of accomplishment.  The face he made after he cranked it up was absolutely priceless! 
Other than that, I had a little car trouble that we've now fixed.  I guess we're blessed that these are the only things we have to 'complain' about.  After all, it could be worse:)
It's almost the weekend! 
My (big) little brother is flying in tomorrow.  I think we may have dinner with him and my mom.  I'm hoping so!  If not, we'll take a little date night with just the two of us. 
Saturday we're having some of the best friends in the world over to watch some football along with my little brother.  I'm looking forward to all the fun little finger foods and seeing everyone....which reminds me, I need to dig into our cook book and find something to make.

By the way - Better Homes and Garden's Bridal Edition Cook Book is awesome! 

Labor Day Weekend.

We have had an amazing weekend so far. 
Friday night we had dinner with our best friends, Meredith and Adam.  We munched on chips and salsa, tacos, sipped frozen margaritas and laughed for a few hours.  It was a totally appropriate way to start our weekend.

Saturday we went to Brittany and Corey's wedding.  Everything was just wonderful.  They are such an adorable couple.  I could kick myself for not taking pictures of this adorable couple!  We cleaned up nice, I must say.  CJ looked as handsome as ever in his suit.  I wore a LBD from White House Black Market that I've been in love with since the second I saw it - and was super excited to wear it for future hubster.  I need to think of another reason for us to get dressed up again so that I can take pictures.  Maybe date night next Friday?  We shall certainly see:) 
Today it rained all day long thanks to the tropical storm in the gulf.  It has been wonderful weather to watch while we snuggled on the couch with the boyz.  The pitter patter of rain drops has been soothing.  I think it's actually supposed to do this for the next few days...and I promise to enjoy every second of it! 

This evening we cooked with our new cookware together for the first time.  We made spaghetti and french bread with homemade pesto spread on it.  Delish! 

Tomorrow I am excited to drink my coffee and watch the Today Show.  At some point we'll pick up some bbq...but all in all, I expect that we'll enjoy just being home for an extra day this weekend.  I'm excited to have some extra time with my amazingly sweet man - the simplicity of that warms my heart.  Ah, it just started raining (hard) again...xo.