Seven months from today...

...is our wedding day. I can't believe it.

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ETA: I forgot all about this post! It's Wednesday now, I did it last Friday, but blogger had a problem and wouldn't publish it. Better late than never!
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Other things I can't believe:

On Thursday my mom and I went to the wedding district in Cincinnati. We only went to one place and I probably tried on about 10 dresses while I was there. Once I got to the 7th or 8th one and tried it on, none of the others compared. I had found my princess dress! I'm so in love with it that I can't stop looking that the picture mom took of me. Of course I wasn't thinking, so we didn't get a picture of the back, but maybe I can eventually. The place we went wouldn't let us take pictures of all the dresses I tried on, only the one I chose, but I'll have that one on the photosite if you want to check it out. If you don't remember the password to the folder, let me know and I'll give it to you! So EXCITED!

I also asked Sheri to be my matron of honor and she accepted! Then, I asked Mandy to be a bridesmaid and she accepted too! I coudn't be happier that they're sharing this with me. I don't even have the words to say... :)

Things seem to be moving along and I know the time will fly by before I know it. The STDs (save the dates) are done for the most part and should be out next week. Now our next step is to get a cake!

So how do you like the new look? I think I'm going to keep this short, get ready for bed and read a little. My darling comes home on Tuesday, can't wait! Goodnight!

Birthday schtuff and other rambling...

[Product placement]

Remember that trip to the mall that Sheri and I took on Sunday? And those B&BW products we added to our collections. Well Sheri told me about a this scent that she absolutely loves and if you know me, you know that I don't stand a chance against peer pressure. I didn't want to buy the whole kit 'n kaboodle in case I didn't like the scent, so I just bought a little gift set with mini sizes of moisture wash, hand lotion, and roll-on perfume. Let me tell you I can't get enough of this stuff! I'm going to go back and buy the regular sizes and you should too! Apparently they don't make the roll-on perfume in anything but the gift sets because I don't see it on the website, but it's to die for! It has permanent residence in my purse along with the lotion. I hope no one walks by my cube at work as I'm sniffing my wrists and hands, wouldn't want them to think I belong in the looney bin or anything!

[Birthday festivities ]

Besides the previously mentioned birthday activities, I also went to have dinner and dessert with my parents. I went armed with my camera hoping to get some cute shots, and I certainly came through. Let the pictures begin...

Since I'm a last minute daugher and I always say that I don't want to do anything for my birthday, you can imagine the problems my poor mother endures. I just wanted to go out to a nice dinner together. So when she calls asking what kind of cake I want and mentions a few different options...including the ever famous ice cream cake or a big chocolate chip cookie cake, I decided to go for the cookie cake this year. However, the mall she and my dad went to didn't have one of the cookie places, and the next best store didn't have a birthday one. Instead, I got double holidays - my birthday and Halloween, lol. Worked for me, and no melting in my car to get it home.


That is my mom caught in the act after she swiped black icing off the cookie...
with the cake knife I might add...gorgeous.


Crazy younger brother who's a model at heart. :)


Rob has taught the cat how to play hide-and-seek, and I had to take a picture of it. To play the game, Rob peeks out from around a corner, looks at the cat and then hides again (like his pose above). He repeats this process a few times until the cat dashes around the corner to find him. I had to laugh my behind off at this, considering I didn't think you could teach a cat to do squat! You can be sure this photo will show up in a layout!


The birthday girl...


There she is again...


The happy siblings.
Of course Rob couldn't put down his mega combo bag of sour patch kids and swedish fish.


Got Rob to put down the superstar glasses and jumbo bag of candy to pose with his favorite sister. He used to be shorter than me, where did I go wrong?

I didn't get any pictures of my dad, so that's the goal for next time. And yes, Rob has leftover eyeliner on in the last picture from a show the night before. Overall, the day was good fun and I even got some jammies from my mom, I believe they were this set here.

[Other rambles]

I think I might be bringing my friend Mandy over to the blogger side of the world. She has a xanga, but I think she can do much better (she does too, hehe). We'll see how that goes. I've wanted to switch to the new beta, but my current template won't work because it's so specialized. I'd have to start from scratch on the template. Anyone else on the beta yet?

I know a couple people already, but anyone else watching the Bachelor? OH, how funny they all want to be princesses, especially Miss Timeline girl whose timeline for marriage is working out perfectly! I thought they'd bring Erica back for more than just voting. At least that's what the preview seemed like... like they've done in other seasons bringing the one psycho girl back. Oh well, I like the girls he gave roses to first for hometown dates, so I'm excited to see next week's show. Of course they had to show the dad who brings out the gun upon meeting him for the first time!

Well I'm off. Enjoy Tuesday and your hump day!

Aaaaand...CUT!

The tears, that is. I've had enough in the last two days to fill up some kind of...*fill in the blank with name of a small object*. Today was much better than I thought it would be with Dan gone, and he didn't fail to surprise me yet again!

On the top of my agenda this morning was church, and then Sheri came down from Dayton to visit and have lunch. She got to see the new apartment and we got to chow down at our most favorite restaurant O'Charley's. Lunch was followed by a trip to Target (no surprise there), and a browse around the mall "y'all." For the time we had, we just stopped into a couple stores, but ended up with some new Bath & Body products to add to our collections and some cute crafty decor that was on sale at a holiday store.

When I got back to my apartment and Sheri left, I decided to check my email before I left again to visit the 'rents. I won't lie here, I figured that if Dan scheduled a Sweetest Day email that he'd be sure to send a birthday email. I had no idea, however, that he'd have another surprise. This time, I was told to look in the "C" section of our DVD collection (and I don't say collection lightly...and yes they're alphabetized) and find my Cinderella DVD set. I looked and found a card! Yippee! Along with another adorable message, one more surprise was hiding for me in the trunk of his car! After I went flying down the stairs to open his trunk, I was greeted with a HUGE box. Back upstairs...unwrapping...unwrapping...more unwrapping...and I find these!


The card didn't photograph too well, but pictured is a large shelf from Target that I reeeeeeally wanted and a small one to match the two we already have holding surround sound speakers. Also, that adorable little lamp there will reside on one of these shelves in the living room. Mmmmm...what a great man I have. Two surprises in one weekend while he's thousands of miles away! :) Thanks cutie pie!

While I was opening these gifts he happened to call. How nice to hear his voice! I should get to talk to him again tomorrow during lunch on Skype! Wahoo! Now if I can just manage to hear his voice AND see him on camera (hopefully) without bringing on the waterfalls. I'm such a sap.

For now it's time for bed to get up early for work, but I'll be posting some birthday pictures tomorrow. Goodnight!

A few of my favorite things...

I don't promise a short entry so be warned. Have you known anything different from me and my once-a-month entries? I have a ton of recent pictures and perhaps a layout.

My favorite things in no particular order...

>> Dan - definitely at the top of my 'no-particular-order' list. Mmmmm, what a yummy and totally sweet man. I can't get enough of him. More on him later...


>> I'm sure this wasn't a safe thing to do while I was driving, but do you see that little gas light on in the lower corner? And the needle teetering toward E? Well I do, and I'm happy to say that I haven't filled my tank in probably two weeks. If I didn't have anywhere to go this weekend, I could easily make it to work and back a few more times before filling up. That excites me. I think Dan put it best, it takes longer for us to scrape the windows on a cold/snowy morning than it does to drive to work!


>> A few things here...one is the shelf that I made this past week. I can't take credit for the whole thing because I don't have a woodshop in my living room or anything, but Dan and I painted it, clear-coated it, and he put the hooks on it for me. If you're not in the know, Rye is my future last name...this is not a bread shelf with hooks on it. :)

>> The second item of interest is the centerpiece we put together. If you can see our olive accent wall in the background, the potpourri matches it and the table. Mmmm, decorating heaven. Also underneath that is our new table runner. Dare I say that it matches the potpourri too? Don't mind the mess on the table...


>> Next is a lamp that we bought shortly after move-in. I have to give Dan mad props on finding this while we were walking through Target. Click on it to make it larger...I have a Halloween bear on the top shelf, along with a tin of pinecones (remember those $1 tins at Target, I want more!), and a candle, pinecone, and Hallmark angel on the other shelves. This lamp makes me smile, and we've received several compliments!


>> Following my recent love for pinecones, I also stuck some in a tin in the bathroom. These are the pinecones that smell like cinnamon, so everytime you sit down near them or go to wash your hands it's a slice of cinnamon heaven. Pictured is also a piece of our new bathroom decor. We got this soap dispenser, along with a q-tip holder and toothbrush holder all in brushed silver...again, from Target.


>> This is another recent purchase because I needed a bigger purse. Can you guess where it's from? I love it when I find purses in black and brown because I don't have to switch purses every other day or worry that it looks bad with an outfit. That's just too much maintenance! In all of its black and brown glory, this satchel has room to spare and I carry my camera with me everywhere! (Hence pictures like my gas gauges).


>> I thought it fitting to take a picture of our pretty apartment door. Do you feel welcome when you look at it?...if not then I need to make some changes.

>> Probably my favorite wall is our bedroom accent wall...mudpie brown. :)

>> New side tables and lamps...we didn't have any night stands before!

>> My craft stuff that we stashed in one of the office closets...


>> And finally, gifts that I got this morning! I dropped Dan off at the airport yesterday and he's now landed in Mamelodi, South Africa! He and others from church are over there running network stuff and setting up about 90 computers that were donated. Our church built an AIDS hospice over there, among doing other things, and the computers will help the hospice, jobs, and education centers down there. I can't explain it half as well as he can, but you can check out the website for the project!

Anyway, while Dan is gone until the 31st he'll be missing Sweetest Day (today) and my birthday (tomorrow). Sneaky one that he is scheduled an email to be sent this morning...along with a sweet message...saying that since he couldn't be here there's something in his night stand for me. Well, what do you know? There was a card in the top drawer. Cue the tears now. The message in the card was adorable and said that he hid something under the bed. What? So I'm looking...nothing in the middle of the frame...looking...nothing in the first drawer or second drawer...look through to the other side and jackpot! As you can see, I got a cupcake holder that will be cute to hold treats, and a trick-or-treat bowl with candy! I can assure you that the candy will be gone by the time he gets back!

Also some of my favorite things, but not pictured, are the egg sandwich I made for lunch, my pez candy that's been devoured, and the ingredients I have to make cookies for my birthday. Making cookies for my own birthday? I know, but at work people bring in things for their own birthdays. Is that like tooting your own horn? :)

Oh, and before I forget, Dan and I had our engagement pictures done this past Wednesday! We chose our photographer last week and I'm really happy with our decision. I'll wait to see the pictures, but I don't think I have anything to worry about. We had so much fun on our shoot. We went to Miami Whitewater Forest and had some pictures by the lake and some in the woods. Our guy had us laughing the entire time! We even took some pictures on the swings and I'm hoping they turn out! I can't wait, we'll get the pictures on a CD or DVD and can print them however we want! EEEeeeekk!

Today I'm burning a Cranberry Chutney tart, jamming to music on the tv, will be cleaning a little and doing some laundry, and making my cookies. Ahhh...and I'm in love with all of the sunlight and breeze that pours into the windows! It's a great day so far! Now only if my honey was here...

I leave you with these layouts. The first was done last month with Holly's Fall Velvet kit exclusively for DST members, and the second is more recent. Check credits here, I'll have them uploaded later today!