monday

 Maybe Monday

Maybe I couldn't push myself to run more than a mile today.

Maybe my mom and I made another recipe from the Pioneer Woman's blog.

Maybe I feel really weird every time I go into Home Depot by myself.

Maybe I don't normally like surprises, but I'm excited for my surprise bridal shower my sister is planning.

Maybe I really started stressing about money and things we have to do in the next 110 days.

Maybe babysitting for 18 kids makes me feel really confident about my future-mothering skills.

Maybe I've been more bitter about moving home than I thought.

Maybe I really, really miss my future husband...like really, really.

normally...

Normally I don't believe or participate in retail therapy, but yesterday and today were just those kind of days.

I hate a coupon for Victoria's Secret and then it seemed like every other store I went into had something adorable on the clearance rack or a $10 off promotion going on for shoppers. Score.  Plus it was nice to be out of the house, even bigger score.

I've got buyers remorse big time, but I keep telling myself that I hadn't been shopping in forever and I needed some new spring tops.

What about you ladies? Are you a believer in retail therapy?

letters for friday

 via

 

Dear Orchard Supply, thanks for having all the mason jars I need for the wedding, but we're taking them back because you overcharge by over 3 dollars! Everywhere else is cheaper.  Dear Molly, you are my favorite dog in the world and I wish that you were feeling better. I don't like it when you're sick.  Dear Becca, you make me laugh even when you're being a total pain in the ass.  Dear brother, I admire you for participating in the 30 hour famine. Have fun sleeping in card board boxes tonight.  Dear almost-husband, I'm sorry things have been rough these last couple of days.  Hopefully they'll smooth out soon. 113 days!

thursday: awesome and awkward

Awkward:

Jury duty!

Sitting in a room full of strangers, the awkward conversations that happen and the random dude who shouts out the first round is on him when your group gets released.

Ordering for two at Jack in The Box, before you mom gets there.

The lady totally thought all that food was just for me.

 The old lady at the fabric counter in Walmart who said that we needed to talk when she found out I was getting married.

I'd only be interested in talking if you were going to tell me that marriage can be hard, but totally worth it, but; the judging tone in your voice tells me that you're going to say otherwise.

Awesome:

Getting released from jury duty.

'Nuff said.

Queen night on American Idol.

I'm a sucker for this show and last night was amazing.

Plus, this guy makes me smile.

Being the owner of yards and yards of burlap.

Wedding decorations are in full swing and I couldn't be happier.

The weather is going to change.

All this rain that we've been having is supposed to be going away and the sunshine is returning. Hurray!

Have a good Thursday everyone!

I'm sure y'all are looking forward to the weekend!

Getting my inner pioneer on

Have y'all heard about The Pioneer Woman?

  

No? Ok, well the first thing you need to do is order and read her book, "The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels---a love story."  If you don't want to meet/date/marry a cowboy after that...well, then you're just crazy.  I devoured the whole book in two days.  Then when you're done reading that, follower her blog which is chalk full of more of her life post-wedding and yummy-looking recipes.

I had been browsing her blog yesterday, so when I got a text from my mom this morning asking if I wanted to make dinner, I said yes and immediately decided I was going to try out one of Ree's recipes.

I decided on this one, because we have everything in our fridge and pantry to make it.  I'll have to let you know how it turns out!

Now seriously, go read that book.

popular

So as I was reviewing our guest list with my mom tonight this song went through my head.

Not that I think we're super popular...but holy cow, we really do know a lot of people.

On another note, it's making me really excited that in just a few weeks all of those people will know our date and details and will hopefully be just as excited for that day as I am! 

My house is in full wedding planning  mode. I love it when my dad comes home and says stuff like, I figured out how I'm going to make "this" and build "that," and my mom is constantly calling me into the other room to talk about something wedding related or show me something on Pinterest.

So fun!

Hope everyone had a terrific start to their week!

untitled

Just a couple pictures from the weekend.  Lots of hanging out with our favorite kiddos, lots of sunshine in the park, lots of hamburgers and hotdogs for 200 volunteers, and a couple workouts.

Nothing super crazy and special, but it was a great couple of days.

How was everyone else's weekend??

Link up with a song

Linking up with Goodnight Moon today!

I've been loving Luke Bryan's new song "Drunk on You" lately.

Then again, when do I not love anything by Luke Bryan?

Enjoy lovelies and if you want to share your song of the week, make sure to link up!

awkward and awesome thursday

Awkward:

When two people think that the 4 month old you're watching is yours.

Baby strollers.  They're so huge! I keep running into things.

So let's just be real...baby farts. You literally think, "Did that really just come out of that tiny kid?"

E-mailing someone saying you really need something by this weekend...and not hearing back yet.

Awesome:

Baby smiles.

Monterey weather lately...low 70s and sunny? This is amazing.

Getting paid to just chill in one of the nicest hotels in Monterey.
Vampire Diaries is back on tonight!

My sister finishing most of our engagement photos.

Finding our invitations and save the dates.

Two words...four months.

And here is my favorite picture! 

 

Home

Thank goodness the baby finally fell asleep. My arms are tired!
We went out for a walk earlier today down by the harbor.
It was such a pretty day outside!  I can't remember the last time I walked around Monterey without a jacket.
Most of the time I rant and rave about how awesome NC is and how excited I am to move there this year.
It really has been a goal of mine, even before I met my future husband, to live back East.  It's funny how perfect all of this has worked out.

What I don't really do too often is talk about where I've grown up and how great it can be too.
Yes, I can think of more downsides to Salinas than I can upsides, but it's always going to be my hometown.
For awhile anyways it's still going to be where my family is living and where we'll be visiting when there's a chance.  I'm sure I'll be just as excited to come to California then as I am when I'm going to NC now.
I'm sure I'll get a little homesick and I'm positive that I'm going to miss my family and days like today make me think that I'm going to miss this area just a little too.

baby face.

All day yesterday, today, and tomorrow, I get to hang around with this bundle of cuteness.

 I can't even handle him, he's adorable.

On being thrown up on and a look at the weekend

This weekend was pretty good.  Relaxing, fun, and only had a few bumpy parts.

Saturday night the little boy that I babysit for just was having a rough night.  The poor baby is teething and is totally attached to his mom right now, so he didn't stop crying hardly at all and by the time I put him to bed he just lost it and proceeded to throw up everywhere...I'm sure ya'll really want to be hearing about this.  Anyways! I got everything cleaned up and him asleep in no time and I think I impressed his parents, especially his dad.  His mom said that she has no doubt that when the time comes, I'll  be more than ready to be a mom...which makes me feel good.

Here's a couple pictures from the weekend/today.  I'm love having Instagram!

 

See that last one??? My sisters, my "brother-in-law," and I are going to see Hunter Hayes next month in San Jose.  I'm so incredibly excited!

Hope everyone is having a good Monday so far!

friday and saturday's letters.

Dear storm, thanks for the jolting wake up in the middle of the night. Once my heart stopped racing, I did enjoy the flashes of lighting and the rolling thunder. Dear run, I didn't want to die half way through you, so I think things are looking up for us!  Dear almost-husband, thanks for chatting with me today.  I miss you a lot.  Dear "The Help," you are such a good movie. I loved watching you again with all our friends.  Dear wine tasting, I'm excited for you today!

And just because...

Our friends got "flocked" last night while we were watching the movie. Their whole front lawn was covered in pink flamingos.  It's a pretty neat idea for a fundraiser and the name made for some good laughs for the rest of the night.

Have an amazing Saturday lovelies!

It's coming up soon!

So the Color Run is in 13 weeks, which means in 13 weeks it will be July.

Summer is right around the corner and today I found myself longing for it.

I need some hot weather, sun-kissed skin, shorts, and flip flops.
The lake, boats, skis, and North Carolina would be really nice too.

I would also like to try this...

Yes please...

What other perks to Summer are you looking forward to??

Can I gush for a sec?

So ever since we finalized our venue I have been nothing short of ecstatic about our wedding.

That's probably how it should be all the time right? My bad.  For awhile I was really seriously just wanting it over with, but that attitude is out the window.  I've got my place, talking to a photographer, giving friends tasks, and I added a bridesmaid, who my day wouldn't be the same without.

So...so excited!

Then end!

Venue...check!

I know I said it was the perfect place yesterday, but I just wanted to say that it is now THE place.

We're getting married here on August 18th.  We decided to move the date up a month, because we're impatient and it works and will be safe for military purposes.

Now I'm off to find a photographer (suggestions California?) and get everything else lined up.

Happy Tuesday!

Getting off the couch.

Remember when I posted about this?

Well we got a team together and we're actually running!

So I'm going to be following this plan for the next 10-13 weeks.

Feel free to ask me how I'm doing...cause I'm sure I'm not going to want to run...

In which I find the perfect place.

I've been so back and forth about our wedding venue.  They've fallen through, been way too expensive, or not been available on our date.  Well, today I hope that came to an end.  I fell in love with San Lorenzo Park and because it's a county park, it is ridiculously affordable.  There are so many rustic barns, tractors, and buildings scattered everywhere for picture opportunities.  The hall for the reception is perfect in every single way.

I'm so excited and relieved.  I'm reserving it tomorrow for whatever date is available between July and September.

Here are a couple pictures I snapped.

How was everyone's Easter? Ours was very relaxing and probably the most quiet holiday we've had around here in a long time. 

Easter nails and stripes.


Have a good night lovelies!

40 @ 400

A few weeks ago I hit 40 followers.  Not a huge milestone, but still, I was pretty stoked about it.

Thank you all for reading my ramblings!

Today this is my 400th post!  I'm not a huge numbers gal, but I like these numbers a lot and I think it's pretty cool.

Who knows, maybe by post 500 I'll have 50 followers.

I hope everyone is having a relaxing Easter weekend so far!  Today my mom, sisters, and I went and got pedicures.  Let me tell you, it felt amazing.

Have a good rest of the weekend everyone and Happy Easter!!

Letters in a list

1.  Dear mine and his ray-bans, you were bought in two different states, at different times...I love that we have the same tastes in eye-wear and we could have a good laugh when we realized it!

2.  Dear Instagram, thank you for making your awesome app available for Android!

I can't wait to use you more and flood my blog with pictures.

(amandanoelm, if ya'll wanna follow me)

3.  Dear North Carolina, you are even more appealing to me now then you were a couple weeks ago.

I can't wait to be your newest resident as soon as possible.

4.  Dear wedding plans, you still frustrate me, but I'm sticking to yah.

I'm sorry you were threatened with the idea of eloping many, many times over the last couple days.

5.  Dear blog,  I promise I'll get back into the swing of things soon. 

I'm back...

I'm back in my home state, but it's not feeling much like home anymore.  I'm so tired of leaving NC and my almost-husband...and now all of our friends.  I'm so excited that they're not just "his" friends anymore.  Having people there makes it way more difficult to be here.

I've been home over 24 hours and this is the first time I've pulled out my computer.  It's been nice to be somewhat unplugged.  I'll get back to blogging soon!