Updatesssss

Hello All!

I am back from a very relaxing week of vacation with the fam! Of course, all of the stress that was relieved through numerous hours of sunshine & cocktails last week is all back today-but now is not the time to get into that :)

Kevin and I once again had a blast at our friends wedding last weekend. I love attending weddings, but I am happy to say that was our last for this season. (Although we do have 4 on the books for next summer already!) Kevin surprised me by purchasing his very first bow tie the day before the wedding. Thanks to the Martha Stewart wedding planner binder I was able to tie a fabulously preppy bow! With his bow tie and my pleated collar, we looked like quite the couple :). (If I do say so myself!)

On another note, I am thinking of a career change. I've known my whole life that sitting in a cubicle was not for me, but alas, here I am. Both Kevin and I have jobs that pay the bills, are secure, blah, blah, blah. But do we enjoy them? Not in the slightest. And shouldn't we at least attempt to find careers that make us happy? I understand that there are good days and bad days associated with all jobs (thats why they're called 'jobs' right?), but I would like to have position that I am at least interested in the field and enjoy what I am doing. And of course feel like I am doing something good for mankind! Kevin has always wanted to be a highschool english teacher and is now realizing that its exactly what he should be doing. I've begun to think of my path in life as well, and have put a lot of thought into becomina a nurse. I've always had nursing in the back of my mind-specifically perinatal nursing. I want to work with newborns, new mothers, and with the birthing process itself.

I've started to look at some schools online, but to say the least the information is overwhelming. I figured that I would look to my blog readers for some expert advice. If anyone has any tips or information regarding nursing programs in new england I would GREATLY appreciate it.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Onebag.com

It seems as though I am not the only one searching for the tell-all wisdom of the perfectly packed travel bag. I was shown this site today by a friend and thought I would share it with you all as well:

http://www.onebag.com/

Happy Packing!!

Vacation Fashion

I realized on my drive into work this morning (yes, into work- no more cold for me!) that I have yet to think about packing for my vacation next week. I also realized that I will have barely anytime to do this. Tonight I am watching my niece, tomorrow we are having friends over for the night after work, Saturday we have a wedding to go to, Sunday straight from the hotel to vacation. Wow, I'm going to need a vacation just from all of our weekend plans!

Over the years I have come to the realization that packing can be both relaxing/stressful at the same time. I start off by grabbing a few things here and there and end up with a pile of clothes that covers the entire top of my queen size bed. Since my family goes on the same vacation every year, you would think that I would have this packing situation down pat. Exactly the opposite actually. We will be staying at a cabin on a beach-front lake so depending on the weather, the items I need to pack have to be somewhat varied. While this is also a vacation of absolute relaxation and comfort, a girl has still gotta look good! Thinking of this brought me to think about Jacqueline Kennedy and her vacation days spent on Cape Cod. Below are a few of my favorite pictures of my ultimate fashion idol. Hopefully these will not only help me with my packing woahs, but yours as well!

Simple, classic, chic. Comfortable yet perfectly styled. LOVE IT!

Lovely Engagement Gifts

Although I am still feeling under the weather, another post on "poor sick me" is too boring for this gorgeous day. So I have decided to post on lovely engagement gifts.

Since we have plenty of time before the wedding, Kevin and I have not officially registered yet. Never having been engaged before, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect in regards to engagement gifts. Depending on the family/area, this custom can be very "large and in charge" or on the lax side of the spectrum. Since we weren't planning on having a large blowout party, we got together with just our families last Sunday to spend a relaxing day together at Kevin's parent's lake house. Other than the usual bottles of wine/champagne, we received a few cute items that help you realize how special your engagement time is.

We recieved and engagement journal which is meant to be filled out by the both of us. From questions about our first date to the honeymoon, the book is meant to be kept as a keepsake for years to come. I would love to have something like this to read about my grandparents wedding, etc. so I can't wait to be able to pass this along to our children, thier children, etc.

Kevin received a coupon book for the groom. I don't know if any of you have seen this before, but it is absolutely adorable! Filled with coupons for things such as: a quiet afternoon with you (the bride), watching the sporting event of my choice (the groom). On the back it describes the book as "22 Treats for the Groom...He Deserves It!" I'm sure as we get closer to the wedding Kevin will want to be cashing in more and more of these :)

Another fun keepsake we received was the Martha Stewarts Keepsake Wedding Planner. Along with sections to organize all details of your wedding, photos, ideas, and helpful hints are included. What more could a preppy bride ask for?!

My two favorite gifts are from my parents, and two of my sorority sisters. My parents gave us our crystal champagne toasting glasses. Our names have already been engraved on them, but we will take them back to have our wedding date added as well as soon as we decide on one lol. This past weekend two of my sorority sisters came to visit and brought along a little surprise:

This adorable Kate Spade wedding album. I am in love with the etched ribbon design. It will complement the necklace I plan on wearing (see post below) perfectly! I can't wait to see all of the pictues that we fill this up with!

Happy hump day ladies....one day closer to the weekend!

I've been hit...

...with the summer cold. Blech. Of course we're amid the best days of summer and all I want to do is crawl into bed. I worked from home yesterday and I think I will be doing the same this afternoon. I woke up this morning feeling practically drunk from the cold medicine I was taking. My boss took one look at me and said, "Why are you here? Go home and take care of yourself!" Nothing makes you feel worse that when you feel disgusting and everyone tells you that you look the same way. Awsome.

On a brighter note, I am on vacation next week! My family and I have taken the same vacation every year since before I was born. We rent a cabin on the cleanest lake I've ever seen (Newfound Lake in Northern NH) and just veg for seven whole days. Its perfection.

Now, time to head back to bed. Hopefully you are able to enjoy this beautiful day for me as well!

Finally Friday!!

Yay for Friday!!!!!!!! Is it just me or has it felt like Friday since about Wednesday? But thankfully it is finally here and its supposed to be a B-E-A-utiful weekend! I plan on parking myself at the beach and not leaving until Monday morning for work :).

Kevin will be away this weekend doing man things so I'm having a couple of my girlfriends over tonight. Beach + wine + girl chat= the perfect weekend in my book! I hope that you all have wonderful things planned for the next couple of days as well.

The Dish on Dishware

Happy Thursday Ladies!

The great thing about having so much time to plan a wedding, is that stress does not need to be involved. I honestly feel like this wedding will be completely planned by the new year :). Everyday I look at a few things online, and more and more things are falling into place. I have been casually purusing dishware collections online and think that I may have chosen my favorites.

Everyday dishes:

Crate & Barrel Camille Dinnerware

Fine China:

Lenox Opal Innocence Carved Dinnerware

Let's just hope that Kevin likes them!! lol

The Ultimate Catch-up/Wedding Ideas Post

** Warning: This is going to be very long, but I'm just bursting with so much to tell you all!!**

I apologize for taking so long to post the details of my very special news, but this past week has been absolute craziness. So here goes:

The proposal: When I got out of zumba (I take it every Monday after work) Kevin was still working on something at the office. So I got home, took a shower and just relaxed. Kevin called on hi way home and said he wanted to get ice cream at our favorite place thats right down the road. So when he got in we jumped in the car and headed over to the Beach Plum. It was such a gorgeous night out so we brought the ice cream back to our apartment and walked across the road to sit on the beach. Talk about a picture perfect setting! It was just about sunset- he couldn't have planned it better if he tried! We were just talking and being our goofy selves when he kept mentioning how much he loved me, and asking me if I really did know that he wanted to spend his life with me. Not expecting anything at all, I was like "Yah, yah. Blah, blah, blah". Kevin then said, "Well you know I want to spend my life with you even though you don't have ring right?"I was like yea, I know, I understand. So he replies, "Well what if you did have a ring?" I looked at hime with complete shock! He then got down on one knee, and the rest is history! :) I was so shocked that I dropped my ice cream right to the ground lol.

I am still in complete shock. I feel so lucky to be marrying my best friend. Kevin is literally everything I ever wanted in a husband, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of our lives together. Plus he picked out the perfect ring! It's the exact ring that I wanted. He even got the band size correct!

Eeek!!! I am still on cloud nine if you couldn't tell lol. Onto the wedding details:

We are planning on a May 2011 wedding on the seacoast where we live. We wanted to have plenty of time to save, thats why we are waiting so long. We both have very large families, and we want to make sure that we will be able to have all of our loved ones with us on our special day. Our colors are light blue, clover green, and white. I am thinking of these for the bridesmaids dressing in light blue:

I want all white flowers throughout the entire affair. I am thinking of this as centerpieces:
I want a cake along these lines:

And I want to wear this necklace with my dress:

As you can tell, I have a lot of things already planned out. I will be giving you a few details each day. I welcome any advise that you may have as well!

Happy Thursday!

Guess Who's Engaged...!!!!!!!!!

Kevin proposed last night!!!!! Eeeeeeek! I'm so excited I can't even contain my joy! Will post a pic soon!!!