it happened on this day..

a mere two years ago, it was january 14, 2010, and my boyfriend and i were galivanting through the streets of charleston, south carolina, on a romantic getaway for just the two of us. little did i know that i was going to get asked the question every girl dreams of hearing from the time she is a little girl...

two years ago on this day, jeff asked me to be his wife, and i screamed with delight and answered a giddy little yes.

after crying tears of joy and screaming with excitement, my beau whisked me back to the b&b where we were staying so the fun calling of family and friends could commence...but, this southern gentleman had plans of his own when he had plotted for months to have my parents, his mom, and my best friend and her fiance join in on the fun festivities.

i can't help but look back on that day with joy and a smile that just won't fade away-that was the day of the start of so many exciting things in my life...it was the beginning of something more than i could ever imagine, just 22 days before we moved in together and 514 days until we said "i do".

things haven't always been easy, things haven't always been perfect, but nothing in life comes free, and i wouldn't change one single decision i made about marrying you, jeff. i love you more and more each and every day and i pray that god continues to bless our marriage, our future, and most of all the little angel coming into our world soon.

thank you for being the man i always dreamed of, my absolute best friend. thank you for being you.

i love you now, and i'll love you always. OXOX

One Year Ago...

my life was forever changed. Jeff and I were wandering the streets of Charleston, South Carolina, and little did I know that this sneaky boyfriend of mine had been plotting for months with our families and my best friend on a little engagement adventure...

Right where it all happened!

We have come so far these past 365 days--we've almost finished planning a wedding, bought our first home, relaxed at the beach, went on numerous weekend trips to spend time with friends, and enjoyed every moment we have together. Life is good and God has blessed us beyond measure.

Jeff, I thank you for putting up with my through my crazy mood swings--and yes, Lord knows I have had them lately due to unending stress--but most of all, I thank you for being a constant in my life... someone I get to wake up to and start my day off on the right side of the bed, and someone that is there for me when I need a big hug after a hard day's night. I love you so very much and am so thankful that you chose to spend your life with me... ;)

I know, enough emotional love, right?? Friday is here and it's almost weekend time... with can you believe it--NOTHING on our agenda, except for a few errands here and there as Jeff prepares for his Costa Rica trip! We're going to have a fun little date night tomorrow, head to the bank for mutual funds creation (ugh oh), hopefully venture to the movies so I can finally see Black Swan, head to church Sunday morning, and spend a few hours at the gym in preparation for my first dress fitting next week...all in all, a relaxing weekend is in store and I am so excited the snow is finally over with and we'll be in the 40s--I know, that sounds almost like spring to me!

And P.S. a very special HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend Megan Hurt... love you darling and welcome to the 27 club!! I'm going old school with this photo all the way back to 2007 in Seaside--love it!

No, I Don't Think So...

**Meg, that title was for you--that song is SO stuck in my head now...
Last night, we all joined forces and SEC football color schemes to cheer for the Auburn Tigers...and it looks like our ideas {as well as Ryan's consumption of whiskey} worked as they pulled out a victory against those scary Oregon ducks. I couldn't be happier for all of them, as well as the SEC--the last 5 BCS National Titles thank you very much...I know, we gloat a lot about football down here in the south ;).

We all headed out in the wintery weather to the Grays, where they had decked out the house in all navy and orange--Rachel did such a great job as always playing hostess and we all had a ball. We had yummy pizza, homemade chips and salsa, rotel of course, duck poppers, BBQ meatballs, and I made a strawberry pretzel dessert I have been dying to make {recipe below}... here are a few pics from the festivities:

 Their own version of Toomer's Corner after the big victory!

And now for the ever-so-important stuff... the semi-healthy dessert recipe!

Ingredients

2 cups crushed pretzels

3/4 cup melted butter

3 tablespoons sugar, plus 3/4 cup sugar

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 (8-ounce) container whipped topping

2 (3-ounce) packages strawberry gelatin dessert mix

2 cups boiling water

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen strawberries

Whipped topping or whipped cream, to garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees 
For the crust, mix pretzels, butter, and 3 tbsp of sugar. Press  mixture into 9 x 13 pan and bake for 7 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool.
In a mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and 3/4 cup of sugar. Fold in  whipped topping, and spread over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until well chilled.
In a bowl, dissolve the gelatin in boiling water, and allow to cool slightly. Add strawberries and pour over cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until serving time.

To serve, cut slices and serve with a dollop of whipped topping

Today I am back at work in my office--thank you Lord for non-slippery driving!! I just could not stay at home and work in my pajamas again...I know I will never be a homebody and I am sorry for that Jeff. I've got a lot on my to-do list to accomplish, not to mention a sweet wedding blog--The Sweetest Occasion--decided to feature our engagement shoot pictures--insert happy face!

Oh and another happy little side note... today marks the 5 month countdown to wedding day! Crazy just how fast this is all starting to happen--eeek!

Wedding Wednesday....The Save the Dates!

Here it is!! The post I have been waiting to share to each and every one of you for what seems like forever... the save-the-dates are officially out {well, except for the few stragglers that I still need addresses from!}, and I am SO excited about the end product.

You all are well aware that I am crazy obsessed with paper/invitations/stationery and this is one specific item on my wedding list that I was not willing to just simply "settle" on. I searched for months--literally--as soon as we got engaged to find the perfect save-the-date design.

Now before I get ahead of myself, trust me, there are some fantastic places out there for beautiful STD's...Wedding Paper Divas, Minted, Red Stamp, Hello Lucky, Cheree Berry, Betsy White, Wiley Valentine, the list goes on and on, but none of the stores and/or websites I found had everything I was looking for... the postcard type design with a southern vintage look with one of our engagement photos on it coupled with the right font, text, etc... that is until I stumbled across the uber wonderful Joni from Chocolate Butterbean.

I began talking to Ms. Joni way back in April as we discussed options, ideas, the look and color scheme, and all the other little details I wanted to incorporate into our save-the-dates.
After we had a gameplan in order and knew our direction, I knew they would be everything I wanted AND more...so without further adieu, here they are:

One big pile of save-the-dates!

A closeup of the finished product....ahhh swoon!!

Me and Prince Charming...our stuffing party at my parent's house!

Addressed, stamped, and ready to go!

 A close up of the envelope... simple handwriting {are you shocked??}
Don't worry--formal calligraphy for the actual invitations 

 Going up on the fridge!! I love them SO much--thank you Joni

So, what do you think??? It conveys EVERYTHING about our wedding that I want... a link to access our wedding website with all the additional details and necessities, the formal cursive handwriting, the fun and grabs-your-attention font for the date, the faded black and white design with a hint of a yellow border that highlights our wedding colors, and our lovely little picture from our vineyard engagement shoot--these little details make my heart happy!

Wedding Wednesday... Engagement Pictures!

Without further adieu, I am ecstatic to share some of our beloved engagement shots with all of you... Chris and Adrienne Scott, our uber fabulous photography team, met us out at the local winery, Arrington Vineyards, for an early evening/sunset shoot and I loved the end result--and sorry to disappoint, but you'll have to wait to see the image we used for our wonderful save-the-dates which will be going out next month!!

All of this is now suddenly starting to feel VERY real and I am so excited!!!

Our 1st Wedding Festivity: The Engagement Party

Have you been anxiously awaiting this post as much as I have??? I wanted to relish each and every detail of our incredible engagement party from last weekend, so I apologize for taking so long to get this post on here.

Well, first things first: the hostess gifts. I wanted to give each of my girls something personal and something that fit each of their unique personalities. I have seen Lucite trays and gifts popping up all over and I knew I wanted to get each of them a catchall for their jewelry or to put on their vanities… I worked with the amazing girls at Nico and Lala and designed 4 different patterns with their monograms on them. I also went to various accessory stores around Nashville and picked out a necklace for each of them…I think they really loved the end product and I was extremely pleased with how they turned out!

Meg's Catchall and Necklace

Candice's Gift Set

Lauren's Bright Necklace and Catchall

And Bev's Fun Presents

Pretty Presents All Wrapped Up and Ready to Go!

The venue: luckily for us, one of Jeff’s work clients and friends owns a condo in the fabulous Encore building downtown. He offered to host our engagement party there and then worked out the details with all my ladies/hostesses. I think the location was absolutely perfect… open for lots of mingling, a full kitchen for food and drink prep, and an outdoor patio area to take in the beautiful downtown scenery. Can you see all the little details that were added?? Pictures of us from our engagement in Charleston, our invitation, the most adorable little “S” plate for us to keep, and a photo guest book with lots of our engagement pictures for everyone to sign. Jeff and I wanted one of these to have for our pre-wedding parties and it turned out fabulously!

For my favorite part of the party--the food, the girls REALLY outdid themselves! Our guests were treated to pork tenderloin sliders, pesto and red pepper bruschetta bites, the yummiest pecan and cheese wheel I have ever tasted, roasted corn and black bean salsa, BBQ and bacon cocktail hotdog wraps, and homemade strawberry and chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes {thanks Candice!!}... it was out of this world and I was majorly impressed with their culinary skills.

Another important component {via questions from some lovely readers}: my outfit. I had a few ladies email me after I posted the sneak peak pictures asking where I found my dress. Well, sadly this isn’t available to purchase online—I bought it at my favorite local store… Blush. This is my go-to store for any type of dress I need for a variety of events. They say the 3rd time’s the charm and this indeed was the third (yes third) dress I bought for our party. I knew this was the one and then jumped on purchasing some fabulous grey-toned stilettos from Gianni Bini to accent the colors in my dress, and I loved the finished look.

Me and My Handsome Fiance... I Love That Boy!

The best friends and family: yes, we were blessed to have so many wonderful people attend our party and celebrate our engagement. Almost all of our bridal party was in attendance, our closest relatives were able to come from out of town to join us, and a load of our best friends stayed in town to play! Jeff and I felt so fortunate to share this with so many people and we tried to thank each and every person for coming… here are some of my favorite shots from the night!

Our Wonderful Hostesses-_Candice, Bev, Lauren, and Meg

The Girls with My Mom

The Three Musketeers!! 3 Weddings in 3 Years ;)

Brittney, Jules, and Me--Love My Incredible Friends!

Me Opening the Engagement Scrapbook my Mom and Dad Made for Us

{and yes, I cried like a baby}

 

Me and My Gran

Matt, Me, and Jenna--Love Me Some Vaughns!

Me with ALL My Bridesmaids!

Me and My Candice

Jennifer {Jeff's Sister} and Her Husband Brian

Jeff and Some of the Boys--Obviously They Like to Coordinate Outfits ;)

Jeff and I With the BEST Parents a Girl Could Ask For

Our Little Family

Me with My Gran and Papa

Me and My Terrific MOH

Me and Jacqueline {My Work Mom!}

Ashley {Jeff's Childhood Best Friend, Jeff, and Jay

Jeff, Michael, Me, and Danielle

Jeff and Jennifer

Me and My Cousin Lauren

Me and Jenna

After the party, a big group of us headed to Corner Pub Midtown for some late night fun. Between mingling with some interesting people, having a small dance party, and ordering a few late night snacks for all of us, we called it a night and headed home...such a great time!!!

Someone Having a Little Bit of Fun--Street Cred Jeff

Dance Party

My Little Broadway

Candice, Aaron, and Bev

A Little Late Night Humor

Giving Out the Old Digits--HAHA

Finally, and most importantly, thanks again to all 4 of party our hostesses: Bev, Candice, Lauren, and Meg. It was a GREAT party and everything I could’ve hoped for AND more. You are such wonderful friends and thank you for spoiling us for our engagement party—I love you all more than you will ever know!!!