Adieu to the Long Weekends

I was lucky enough to have two long weekends in a row - hence the lack of a post on Friday the 25th - I was off work and ended up being out and about in nature. The weather had been forecasted to be crummy but the sun came out and it instead turned into a glorious day, so we made the best of the sunshine and headed outside for most of the day - and I'm so glad we did!

My fiancé's mother and her special friend (boyfriend feels like a strange term... I don't know what to call him, he's just Doc to us) were in town for the weekend and so we took them over to Luray and the Storybook Trail. I cannot recommend this trail to people enough if they are visiting the area because it requires almost no effort but offers some stunning views! It's perfect for everyone and since the trail is paved, you can even take people who are physically impaired right up to the view point. It's excellent!

We also stopped in at the Mimslyn Inn for a quick visit - we are having the rehearsal dinner there and have a section of rooms booked for the wedding as well - I wanted to show them the space. We decided to pop over to the Shenandoah National Park but it was rather a quick visit because most everything is still closed for the Winter and there was some ice/snow on the roads due to less than stellar weather on Friday.

 

We had dinner with my parents on Friday night at Springhouse Tavern - a new hometown favorite for Ryan and I - and then the guys installed a new ceiling fan in the master bedroom of the house while the ladies visited. It was a great way to spend a Friday! Saturday morning started slow and steady, we had some baked oatmeal and Ryan and I finished up watching The Kings Men (the prequel to the other Kingsmen movies) before getting ready for the day ahead.

We all went into DC for the afternoon and evening - Ryan's cousin Noah is an accomplished musician and wrote a concerto that was being performed for the first (and only) time in DC at the Atlas Performing Arts Center! We popped over to the National Arboretum to check out the original US Capitol Columns and get in some sunshine before making our way to the H Street Corridor in DC for the evening.

I confess I'd never been to the H Street Corridor but I found it to be a really interesting and unique area of the city - thankfully Ryan and I had a chance to explore it as we had about an hour to kill before we met everyone for dinner at Mozzeria. We stopped in to see an art exhibit; photos taken on January 6th of 2021 when the US Capitol was overtaken by insurrectionists - the pictures were stunning to take in and we were able to have a really neat conversation with the photographer; we discovered we both hail from the Deep South (him from Huntsville, AL & me from Meridian, MS). 

I think we shared very different view points on things but we were able to have a really great conversation and man - if that isn't what the world as a whole needs to learn to do: have conversations with people that are different from them. But I digress...  the neighborhood was filled with fascinating murals and I couldn't resist snapping pictures on every corner and in every alleyway. I even convinced Ryan to pose in one! :)

We had dinner at a restaurant called Mozzeria - which is run completely by members of the deaf community - and I was blown away when my fiancé just started using ASL to communicate with our waiter. Like; excuse me, who are you? The food was great and I got to meet some of Ryan's family (my soon to be family, I suppose...) ahead of his cousin's performance and it was just a really lovely time!

The Atlas Performing Arts Center was beautiful and the performance(s) were incredible! Noah plays several instruments but played the Saxophone on Saturday night as part of the concerto he wrote (yep - he wrote it) along with a friend who played the Indian Flute. It was an amazing concert and just so amazing to see the talents and abilities that the Lord blesses people with - just outstanding! 

We got home on Saturday night after 11:00 and slept in, opting to go to second service and then it was sort of a mad dash to eat a quick lunch, drop Ryan at our house, pick up my car and pick up our friend Marcia before heading to the Winchester Wedding Expo - which was really neat! Now I'll admit - almost everything related to my wedding has been booked/planned/plotted, etc... but it was still so neat to get ideas and suggestions from the vendors. Plus - we had to support our amazing friend and photographer, Brooke! 

I felt completely worn out after the long weekend and I ended up spending Sunday afternoon and evening doing a whole lot of nothing! I fell asleep on the couch at one point, put away some clothes to feel at least mildly productive and took a big ol' bubble bath before having delivery pizza for dinner, watching Home Town and crashing. I slept like a log and woke up dumbfounded that Monday arrived so quickly - and now it's almost over! 

Wedding Wednesday - The Dating Game

 

It's another edition of Wedding Wednesday and this week I wanted to share some pictures and anecdotes from the time Ryan and I spent dating! I have to say that putting together this post, I was reminded of the absolutely wonderful times we had together when we were dating - we truly made some wonderful memories together to start out relationship and I am so glad we have these memories to look back on together as we go forward! 

Ryan and I started our relationship knowing it would be "long distance". Ryan lived in Lancaster, PA and I was living in Northern Virginia and of course, at the start of a dating relationship, neither one of us had any plans to up and move from one spot to another - so we were committed to making the relationship work from about 2.5 hours apart. I've never been so thankful for Face Time in my life! 

The first weekend we were able to spend together was two weeks after we first met and I made the journey to Lancaster, PA for the weekend. We played goofy golf - I talked a lot of smack ahead of the game and while I didn't win, I did get a hole in one! I tried Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast for the first time, we wandered the River Trail near his house and went to church together for the first time. We'd only known one another about seven/eight weeks at this point - but I already knew he was it.

We made plans for him to come visit me in Virginia for the next "date" and little did I know - he'd talked with my parents and they pulled off quite the surprise. I came home from work on a Thursday afternoon and there he was - waiting for me with flowers! We explored all over the countryside of Northern Virginia and I took him to some of my favorite haunts and hollows... we celebrated Easter and my Dad's retirement and I introduced him to so many people and I just knew. And he did too - this was the first time we discussed that we were going to get married.

While visiting me he also gave me the biggest surprise when he took me to the mountainside at sunset and gave me a promise ring - telling me that he wanted us to build a life together and he was making a promise to me that we would plan and build our future together. I was blown away and what's more - my family knew about it! They were all in on it together and so very sneaky! 

Between March and April we explored all over Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia - hiking and walking and exploring and getting to know one another with each and every adventure. Fridays were my favorite days because I was usually headed to see Ryan or he was headed to see me... and Sunday afternoons were my least favorite day because we were having to say good-bye to one another. 

We spent a long weekend in Gettysburg at the end of April/in early May and explored all around the area, taking in the battlefield and coffee shops and so much more. In May Ryan joined my family as we headed to Mississippi for my cousin Colton's wedding - he met pretty much the entirety of my extended family over the course of four days as we went to a rehearsal dinner, a gender reveal, a wedding and so much more - exploring the area where I'd grown up and introducing him to the joys of Mississippi heat! 

Another aspect of the trip to Mississippi that I so enjoyed was that on the way back to Northern Virginia we stopped for about 24 hours in one of my favorite places on Earth - I got to introduce Ryan to Gatlinburg! We had so much fun just exploring the town, riding the ski lifts to Anacostia, taking in all the beautiful mountain views and spending time together. 

I think we managed to squeeze quite a lot in - we went into the National Park, we hiked to a waterfall, we had BBQ for dinner, we perused shops on the strip in Gatlinburg, we went to Anacostia and we even had time to fit in breakfast at our family's favorite spot - Pancake Pantry!

By the time Memorial Day weekend rolled around, I was headed back to Pennsylvania for the long weekend and we spent time touring Turkey Hill (ice cream y'all... and sweet tea... and so much more), catching a movie together and I also got to see Ryan eat the most food I've ever seen him eat at once - the boy likes a Chinese buffet, especially if seafood is involved! 

Sometimes we spent time doing absolutely nothing but spending time together. Talking... getting to know one another, sharing our hopes and dreams and fears - it was always time well spent when we were spending time together. We made memories and put the foundations of our relationship in place piece by piece. 

June arrived and Ryan and I embraced the summer with trips to the pool, hiking around the area and just enjoying soaking up time together... sometimes while we were also soaking up sun! This man surely tans better than I do, drat my fair complexion! We also toured a little place called Stoneyman Valley Ranch - remember that name because it will most definitely pop up again later, ha-ha!

The second weekend of June we hadn't originally planned to do anything but Ryan was off work on Saturday and Sunday and so on the spur of the moment, I hopped into the car on Saturday morning and headed to PA to hang out! I went to my first car show and later in the evening we had a wonderful dinner at Bonefish Grill - you see that picture on the top row, Ryan in white and me in pale pink? That's the face of a girl who has no clue that she will be a fiancé in just a couple hours...

And that's where I'll have to leave this post because what comes after that is the proposal - and that's a post for another day! Perhaps - next week? *wink*

The Long Weekend is Over

The most important thing to note here at the beginning: it's Tuesday, February 22, 2022. It's "Twos"-day y'all... 2/22/22 - what a date. What a time to be alive. 

Tuesday 2/22/2022

Y'all - it was a long weekend and I feel like I blinked and it's already over! What is that about?!? And my weekend even started earlier than usual and lasted longer than normal but here we are, with another weekend over and a new work week underway! My weekend kicked off at 3 PM on Friday and after heading home from work, I started my weekend with visits to Lowe's and Wal-Mart with my fiancé to look at things for our home - and to do some potential dreaming.

We had dinner at a spot that is becoming a favorite of ours: the Spring House Tavern! I waffled back and forth over what I was going to get but went with the Nashville Honey Chicken and I am so glad I did - the chicken was crispy and flavorful with delicious mashed potatoes and hobo beans on the side! The pickles were supposed to be sweet and spicy pickles - I didn't sample them but Ryan did and he said they were definitely spicy, ha-ha! We watched the move The Proposal - which is a classic in my mind - and called it a night!

Saturday morning Ryan set off to a men's Bible study at the church and I set off... oh wait, no - I sat on the couch and did a lot of nothing for a little while, ha-ha! We had someone stop by the house to buy our TV stand (we were preparing to do some rearranging in our new little home) and then we had lunch together before Ryan took a short nap and I did some things around the house.

 

Ryan headed to work around three and I headed to my parent's house for the rest of the weekend. I don't suppose I got up to much on Saturday afternoon and evening - I ended up washing clothes and beginning to go through my closet to see what I needed to clean out/get rid of, took a nice bubble bath and watched several episodes of Magnolia Table with my Mom. It was a very chill Saturday evening.

Sunday morning was an early rise and off to church - where they had donuts, yay! Nothing quite like starting your day with donuts and Jesus, am I right? I had nursery with my Mom during second service and there were SIX little babies scooting around the nursery for the second service and I had a ball with all of them! 

After church I went to the grocery store and got gas, headed home and started more laundry and put together the ingredients for a Cheeseburger Soup recipe I'd found on Pinterest (I'd share the recipe but I haven't decided if I loved it yet...) and spent the afternoon going through all my purses to decide what to sell/get rid of and what to keep. All the closet cleanout y'all - I'm trying to be on top of it! So much so that after dinner, I ended up spending another two hours in my closet going through even more things! 

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Monday was a rough day for me - I can't lie about that. I woke up on Monday and had some disappointment that started my day off a bit rocky, then the anxiety and stress of moving some things and getting our house organized really ratcheted up the feelings I was having and I ended up crying three times before lunch - so yea, not great. 

In happier news, we ended up getting the house all organized and ready - my future mother-in-law is visiting this weekend and I am so looking forward to seeing her... I just wanted our house good to go before she arrived! Monday night we had pizza for dinner and I tried to relax and be chill - alas, the day ended about like it had begun - but at least it's over and done, right? Here's hoping the rest of the week is a bit more calm.

Friday Favorites

The third weekend of February is here - and I feel like this month is absolutely flying by! It's a windy and brisk Friday afternoon and I'm looking forward to the three day weekend!

One. Valentine Treats - Last Sunday afternoon I saw a neighbor post on Facebook about Valentine cookies and giving them as a last minute gift option! I'd already grabbed my friends (and co-coworkers) their gifts but thought that some of these sweet little treats would go perfectly with the scrunchies (it's the 1990's all over again) and Reese's Hearts I'd already thrown into a bag!

The conversation hearts were miniatures and they came packaged in the cutest little mailbox; the presentation was fantastic! I have to say I was most partial the the little gnome cookies that had tags stating "You're My Gnomie" - they were hands down the cutest thing and the cookies went over so well when I handed out presents on Monday! 

Two. Pearls - I had a wonderful Valentine's Day and was absolutely blown away when my handsome fiancé revealed his gift to me: pearls! I was pretty stunned to see a lovely pearl necklace and two set of earrings alongside my sweet card.

I wore them all the way home after dinner with my fiancé and of course - I had to wear them to work on Tuesday too! Quite the lovely gift for our very first Valentine's Day together!

Three. The Three Day Weekend with No Plans - The weekend is almost upon us and it's a three day weekend with zero plans on my calendar! I have very tentative plans for the weekend: a quick Wal-Mart run later today, pizza and a movie with my fiancé tonight... sleeping in on Saturday morning... and that's about the extent of my plans.

Now on Monday - when I'm off work because of our President's and their respective birthdays, we are moving some final pieces of furniture into place at our house ahead of my in-laws visit next weekend. I've got to get a couple more things hung on the wall(s) and put a lovely white rug in place - and then we should be all set for our first visitors! 

Four. This Quote - I stumbled on this quote through someone's Instagram earlier this week and it really struck me. There was a time in my life when I felt like I was waiting for the right person to come along to start living my life but through a lot of prayer (and struggle, to be perfectly honest) - I came to the realization that by waiting on someone else to live, I was wasting my life.

I have my person now - and what a blessing he is - but I'm so glad that while I was waiting for him to arrive in my life, I decided to live my life. I've been able to travel to other countries, take in places and experiences and create memories that I will cherish forever. And now that I have my person, I can continue to live my life - just now with a very special addition to my life! 

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That's all I've got for this Friday y'all! I hope you have a great weekend and enjoy your life!

Wedding Wednesday(s) - How We Met

There is so much that goes into planning a wedding and I have been waiting a long time for our big day - so I wanted to share all the fun aspects of planning our wedding! I thought the best place to start would be to share how Ryan and I met... especially since we "met" on February 15, 2021 - almost a year to the date of this first post!

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I was a long time eHarmony subscriber - I'd signed up for the year long plan in February of 2020 - right before the pandemic; the irony is not lost on me! Of course, no one knew how much the pandemic would affect every aspect of our lives in February of 2020 and I was convinced that 2020 was "my year". Fast forward to February of 2021 when the pandemic was still "a thing", I'd been on one or two lackluster dates and my year long membership was quickly coming to an end. I prayed about it and expanded my search radius from 90 miles to 150 miles and had determined that I would be aggressive (if you can categorize anything I do as aggressive) the final week of my membership and then I'd let it go.

Insert Ryan - who signed up for a President's Day free membership weekend - and was a resident of Lancaster, PA which is conveniently located just 145 miles away (depending on the route you take). He says he was matched with me on February 14th but didn't say anything until the next day when I "liked" his profile after we were matched. And then he messaged me with three little words: "well hello there" and the rest is history.

Ryan explained that because he had the free preview, he hoped we could exchange phone numbers and I wouldn't think he was weird - so I went for it because I just had a feeling. Dating sites will warn you not to do this, but something told me to take a chance and I'm so glad I did. We text all evening on February 15th and he was eager to chat on the phone via Face Time the next night - but I told him we'd have to postpone the Face Time until the 17th - I had a dentist appointment on the 16th and didn't want to have a puffy face on the phone, ha-ha! It's all about making a good first impression, right?

We talked on the phone for the first time on February 16th and when I started talking, Ryan said "well I'm done for - listen to that voice"... I guess having a Southern accent isn't so bad all the time! *wink* We talked for almost two hours on that first phone call and after that, it was Face Time for at least an hour a night over the next two weeks. We talked about anything and everything and I think one of the things that stood out to me immediately about Ryan was his honesty: he was honest about his past and he was also honest about his passion to move into his future pursuing Christ first in all things - that honesty was something that immediately spoke to me.

Within two weeks of talking, we began planning to meet in person and settled on Saturday, March 6th in Lancaster, PA - Greenfield Park, to be exact. Everything was going so well and it was remarkable to me how we seemed to align on so many things and just continued to absolutely click in so many ways! We continued to Face Time each night and counted down the days until we planned to meet for the first time! Finally - the day arrived and I have to say, there were no nerves about meeting Ryan - just absolute excitement and anticipation! My family joined me for the day in Lancaster and the closer we got to the park, the more excited I got! 

My parents dropped me off and there he stood - on the curb in his jacket and hat, smiling so big and when he hugged me, I was already done. I knew the moment I saw him and being wrapped in his arms just confirmed it. We spent the rest of the day together and while it was pretty windy at the park (PA in early March isn't so warm) - I know it sounds cliché but I didn't even feel the cold. You can all gag if you'd like over how syrupy sweet that might sound; I know my jaded self would have a year ago, so I get it! When the time came to drive home, I felt like I was leaving a part of myself in Amish country.

I remember changing my relationship status on Facebook (we all know how important that is) and thinking to myself "the next time I change this will be when we get engaged" and you may say I'm insane - but I think that when you know, you know. And with Ryan - I knew. I assured Ryan I could have never admitted to him in the moment that I knew so soon because he'd have probably thought I was insane but he has since admitted that he knew the moment he saw me... and he didn't mean in person.*sigh*

The most wonderful part of all this is something a friend reminded me of shortly after I announced Ryan and I were together - on March 6, 2020 (before the pandemic had taken hold of us all) at a Ladies Prayer Night, my ladies group gathered around me and prayed specifically for my future spouse. Fast forward to exactly a year later and there he was - standing in front of me, a literal answered prayer. And he is that - and continues to be that - an answered prayer and a man of God and so much more than I could have asked for. The Lord knows exactly what we need and exactly who we need and after years of waiting, I have the answer to my long-prayed prayer - I have my Ryan! 

Hope that wasn't too sappy for you all - and if it was, well - my coworkers have informed me that since I started dating Ryan that he has "cracked me open" and made me all squishy. Ha-ha! Hope you enjoyed the first post of this new series as I count down to our big day!