Life Lately - August

Every month I'm surprised that yet another month has come and gone - you'd think it didn't happen that way every year, right? I think every year seems to pass quicker and quicker and I've been told that won't change as I get older - so perhaps that's why I feel like time is flying?

 

Eating - The month of August started off with me getting to experience a blast from Ryan's past: Dockside Willies! Ryan worked here while he was in college and he was so excited to share this spot with me! We got River Rocks (pizza dough balls filled with meats and cheeses), a Chili-smothered potato and some Buffalo Wings and it was all delicious! We also got to try Nightingale Ice Cream Sandwiches and they absolutely lived up to the hype - Key Lime Pie and Birthday Cake were my favorites!

We had some divine meals in Florida - my MIL and her boyfriend grilled two different nights and the food was so tasty and flavorful! We also made sure to snag some Butterbeer while at Universal Studios and I had to buy a freeze-dried ice cream sandwich before we left the Kennedy Space Center. The month closed out with the beginning of cake testings for the wedding - we had Whiskey Cake with Caramel Swiss Buttercream, Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing and Chocolate Cake with Cookies & Cream American Buttercream... and they even brought us some heavenly macarons to try too!

Watching - It's been a bit of a Marvel month with a little Jesus thrown in for good measure. We've been watching the show The Chosen (we found episodes on YouTube) and we've finished the first season. The Chosen is the largest crowd-funded television series and follows the story of Jesus as he calls his disciples and begins his ministry. We've still got to get to the second season, but we're pretty hooked! Ryan and I are so close to finishing Loki on Disney+ and we finally got around to watching Black Widow as well - which we liked - but I don't know that it will go down as a favorite for either of us!

Wearing - I know everyone wanted to see my feet, right? While I was in Florida I bought some Under Armour slides on the way home from Universal because my shoes were still wet (water ride problems) - they were just $25 and they have been the best purchase! They are so comfortable and cute! I've also been wearing the clothes I grabbed from Marks & Spencer when I was in the UK - especially the leopard print tee!

I've also been embracing my headband collection and wearing them on the regular! And lastly, I'm back to wearing face masks when I'm going in and out, because apparently even though I'm fully vaccinated that's now the best way to care for myself and other people. 

Bought - I purchased some Raycon earbuds this month; they are wireless and come highly recommended. I had a discount code from listening to Annie F. Down's podcast - That Sounds Fun - and with exercise about to become very important to me again, I'll need good earbuds! They're set to arrive today, so fingers crossed that they're awesome!

Want - I want to have a good Labor Day weekend... I want to have a great time showing Ryan Nationals Park and exploring DC a bit. I want to have a restful weekend and enjoy my upcoming Monday off.

I want to get a caterer and cake baker nailed down for wedding plans before my parents go out of town in late September. I want to have a wonderful rest of the year... the "BER" months are always my favorite months of the year and I can't wait to enjoy the last quarter of the year!

Reading - *sigh* I need to get back to my reading again! This month I did read The Maidens by Alex Michaelides and We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange and both were great! The Maidens was definitely the favorite though and I ended up devouring the second half in one afternoon! I'm in the process of reading Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena and it's getting more intriguing by the chapter! I still have a list of books to read (56 Days, All but My Life, Kate: The Future Queen, Battle of Brothers... just to name a few). My future MIL also sent me My Dear Hamilton by Laura Kaye & Stephanie Dray to read - so I gotta get on that too!

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Happy August y'all - I hope you had a good month and I hope the months ahead are wonderful too! 

Backing Out...

The title sounds worse than it is - just like throwing your back out sounds worse than it is... maybe? This weekend definitely played out a little bit different than I'd imagined it would when I ended up throwing my back out on Friday shortly before lunchtime! Cue the feelings of being an old lady - although I had numerous people tell me that it's completely common - regardless of your age!

I went to get the mail on Friday shortly before lunch and as I leaned forward to take the mail from the mailbox, pain seared across my back and I knew something wasn't quite right. I struggled to get back to the car but once I was seated the pain was minimal and I figured I'd go ahead to Home Goods and Firehouse Subs before heading back to the office. And I did just that - even though it was a little hard to walk. Once I got back to the office, it just became progressively worse until my co-worker all but called my parents to come pick me up shortly after 2:00 and my Dad almost had to carry me to the car. *sigh*

The hours between 2:00 and 6:00 on Friday were extremely humbling for me. The pain was so bad that I could not walk without serious assistance and my Mom actually had to help me put on my pajama pants once I got home. Praise the Lord for Tiger Balm, heating pads and Advil Liqui-Gels because thankfully I was able to start waddling around shortly after 6:00 and as long as I had a wall to hold on to, I was pretty good to go! I ended up being able to make laps around the island and head to my car shortly before 7:00 to pick up Ryan from work!

 

 

He so sweetly picked up Panda Express for us and we ate out Chinese while watching Loki on Disney+ and fending off Watson, who tried valiantly to crawl onto the couch and help himself to some Beijing Beef and Orange Chicken; the little stinker! Thankfully after a hearty application of Tiger Balm, some Advil and a heating pad combined with a good night sleep really did work some wonders for my poor back! I woke up on Saturday feeling a bit stiff but after some coffee, breakfast and walking around a bit - I was feeling much improved! Hallelujah! 

I took it easy for Saturday but did grab some Mexican food for lunch and was thrilled with myself when I discovered my fiancé's favorite Sweet Lebanon bologna at Aldi - what a win! We also had cupcakes delivered for our first cake tasting and that was a pretty thrilling moment too... probably more so for me than it was for Ryan! *laughs* Ryan and I had a nice evening in: we made chicken and broccoli for dinner, finally watched Black Widow on Disney+ and sampled our cupcakes: Whiskey with Caramel Swiss Buttercream, Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing and Chocolate Cake with Cookies & Cream American Buttercream! All of them were pretty divine but out favorite of the three? Whiskey Cake with Caramel Swiss Buttercream - it was to die for! 

Crumbs and Crumbles also delivered some of their stunning macarons as a part of the tasting and they were almost too pretty to eat! Almost! They were also divine and Crumbs and Crumbles has definitely made a fantastic impression on us so far! 

Sunday was a great day - the House Party worship service at church was absolutely excellent and so extremely touching and inspiring! We had a delicious lunch at Roma's and then Ryan and I explored an outdoor flea market, found some crazy good deals at Goodwill and grabbed a couple things at Wal-Mart before heading home to relax. We organized some of his clothes and had a little couples prayer and worship time together before having some Five Guys for dinner and watching NFL preseason football.

It was a good weekend - a really good weekend - in spite of the uncomfortableness that I was feeling for most of the weekend. I'm feeling much better today and so glad that I am on the mend. This week promises to be full and the weekend ahead will also be full; I'm looking forward to the month of September and the goodness that the rest of the year will hold!

Five on Friday

It's the last weekend of August - are y'all kidding me? I thought I'd share a little bit this Friday about how the wedding planning is going. Holy cow! I have dreamed of the day I'd get to be planning a wedding and now it's here - talk about a complete dream come true! I will say - for the most part - it's been so much fun and filled with excitement but I might have let my hormones get the best of me this week and cried a little bit! Eek! 

So - I wanted to share some of the things we've been doing and embrace the joy of this time in my life - because it IS joyful and I want to do my best to take in this moment in time; the planning, the brainstorming with my Mom and my fiancé and just working together to bring the vision in my mind to life!

One. Venue - The venue was perhaps the easiest place to find for us and also completely a surprise. I'd had the idea in my head that nothing but Rosemont would work... I had a vision in my head and I just knew that Rosemont was it. But I knew we needed to look at other places and oh my - I am absolutely over the moon that we did because we found the perfect spot - and it wasn't Rosemont at all!

Stoneyman Valley Ranch is in nearby Luray, Virginia and it is the most stunning barn venue I've ever been in. I wasn't certain when we drove out to it because the location is a wee bit remote but when we stepped inside, I was overwhelmed - in the best way possible. The owners were absolutely amazing and everything about the venue - from the scenery to the styling - it was just perfect. I even teared up at one point because I could see our wedding day so clearly in my mind and I knew it needed to happen at this location.

We did tour Rosemont but there just wasn't the same wow factor and honestly - we both felt so passionate about this location that we knew we didn't need to look any further for the place that was right for us. I can't wait to see our wedding vision come to fruition at Stoneyman Valley Ranch! 

Two. Photographer - Our photographer was also an easy choice because I knew for a while now that when I finally got engaged, I'd turn to our family friend Brooke Lull at Brooke Danielle Photography for our wedding. And sure enough, once we got engaged - I reached out and booked her for our special day. I cannot say enough about how thrilled I am to know she will be photographing our special day and our engagement pictures too!

We have worked with Brooke before; she took family pictures for us a couple years ago, they turned out absolutely exceptional! And her website is filled with work that is beyond stunning - and Brooke is also one of the nicest and most easy-going people I've ever been around, so I know she'll be perfect for capturing our special moments and keeping us at ease! Her website showcases her beautiful work and is definitely worth checking out!

Three. Cake(s) - Y'all know I love some cake and sweets! Funnily enough, my fiancé is not much on sweets and so we are wading the waters of cake tastings and it's been pretty interesting! The front runners right now are Crumbs and Crumbles in Winchester and Fluffy Thoughts Cakes in McLean - both make stunning cakes - we just have to get tastings completed for both!

 

Crumbs and Crumbles is delivering tasty cupcakes this weekend for us to try: Whiskey Cake with Caramel Buttercream, Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream and Chocolate Cake with Cookies and Cream Buttercream! Whoa - yes please! We are in the process of scheduling a take-away tasting (hello COVID) from Fluffy Thoughts too! 

Four. Catering - Just like with the cakes, we have two front runners and both are providing interesting menu options and takes on the heavy hor d'oeuvres we are looking at for our late afternoon wedding reception. It's been fun to review all the options and tasty treats that they provide and now it's time to schedule tastings with each of them - and my parents may have to tag team this one for us!

 

Both spots schedule tastings during the week and I'm not sure Ryan and I can take off work to go to tastings, ha-ha! I trust my parents can sample all the tasty foods and let us know what they think is best! Either way - I think both options would be winners! I can't wait to see the final outcome and the tasty bites!

Five. The Dress - I have only recently scheduled the first appointment to try on dresses and it honestly still feels so surreal to me! I have ideas of what I like... but I've also been told that you might think you know what you want, but you'll try on dresses and go for something else entirely! 

Who knows what I'll end up with - I'm sure it will be the dream though! Isn't that what finding the perfect dress is all about? November is the month the search will begin and I cannot wait! Yay!

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This is only skimming the barrel of all things related to wedding planning and all the things we are planning! I haven't even talked about hotel room blocks, flowers, music and a DJ, favors, bridesmaid dresses.... so many other things! Fourteen months seems like a lot of time and there are other days when I feel like it's not quite enough time to conquer it all! But with my Mom - the most organized human I know - at the helm, everything will come together perfectly!

Y'all have a great weekend!

Beaches & Space - Florida 2021

Ryan and I were in Florida for six days (give or take a few hours) and since I've already covered the first three days, I'll share about the second three days in this post! Can you say you've gone to Florida for vacation if you don't go to either the beach or Disney World? I mean - I'm sure you can - but on Saturday we decided to go to the beach for a portion of the day and I'm so glad we did.

 

My family isn't really big on the beach - but every once in a while I like to sit with my toes in the sand and watch the waves lap onto the shore. I'm also not wild about venturing too far into the ocean, but when Ryan does something he does it 100% - so he continued to pull me farther and farther into the ocean. He is always making me be just a little more bold... just a little more brave...

We had to check the Red Tide forecast and ended up at Fred Howard Beach in Tarpon Springs, which was a fun little spot to take in the sand, sunshine and surf. There was no red tide but there was some seaweed - but that's not too much of a bother! We were able to take the morning a bit slower, head to the beach and get some sun and sand in and then stop at Culver's on the way home! We also watched the movie Barb & Starr Go to Vista Del Mar on Saturday night - and all I'll say about that is: it's two hours and brain cells I'll never get back. *sigh*

Sunday - we went to space! Okay.. okay.. so we didn't literally go to space, but we did go to the Kennedy Space Center!

 

I have to say - if you are ever in the Orlando area and looking for something to do (beyond Disney and Universal...) - I cannot recommend the Kennedy Space Center more! I'm not even a huge fan of space; it seems like flying on steroids and I'm not much for flying - but the whole day was absolutely fascinating! We rode the bus out to the Apollo/Saturn Center and the videos they showed about the first trips to space almost brought tears to my eyes - it's all very inspiring!

 

 

Along the way to and from the Apollo Center we passed the VAB - Vertical Assembly Building - where the spacecraft are assembled. The space shuttles and rockets are moved by something called a crawler, that moves at about 1 mile per hour and moves the crafts into position to be put together and then sent on their way to the launch site - again at the breakneck speed of 1 mile per hour. Ha-ha! If you want an idea of the size of the building, that flag on the side? The blue portion is the size of an NBA basketball court... so it's not really a small building!

 

 

After returning from the Apollo/Saturn Center, we made our way into the Atlantis Space Shuttle building and after a short set of videos, the star speckled curtain rose to reveal the Atlantis in all it's glory, suspended from the ceiling. We wandered around the shuttle, reading about the mission, trying our hand at space walks, sliding down a slide that represented the 22" landing angle and climbing into a shuttle launch simulator. It was all ridiculously fascinating!

We grabbed some late lunch at the Space Café (naturally) and then watched an IMAX movie called Asteroid Hunters. I thought it was intriguing and took it all in... Ryan took a couple cat naps! Silly man. We watched a presentation about the potential for a mission to Mars and all the things that will need to happen before we can put people on Mars to explore - again, seriously wild to think about all these things!

 

Our final stop before we headed home was the Heroes and Legend Building which included the Space Exploration Hall of Fame, filled with greats like Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and so many more. We took pictures with John Glenn and Alan Shepard via a handy little projection screen and before heading for the exit, we grabbed a Christmas ornament for our travel tree and I couldn't resist getting a freeze-dried ice cream sandwich! I'm such a kid at heart!

We had dinner at an excellent Italian spot in The Villages and the sunset was beyond spectacular - I couldn't resist hopping up from the table and running to grab a picture of it. The colors were beyond vibrant and it just completely captivated me! My soon to be mother-in-law said she felt like Florida had the most extravagant sunsets and I might have to give it to her where this particular one was concerned!

Monday was a pretty relaxed day and I was so glad for that. We had such a wonderful time seeing all the sights and doing so many things but it was also nice to get to sleep in a bit and just end the vacation on a very relaxed note! I ended up spending almost three hours sitting on the lanai with my future MIL and chatting while Ryan was on a bike ride with neighbors and it was so wonderful to get to talk with her - truly! After exploring some shops at Brownwood Town Center and a quick snack at a Mexican restaurant, Ryan and his Mom showed me the Eisenhower Recreation Center - which is filled with military relics. It was fascinating! 

 

We visited with Ryan's Uncle and Aunt for a short bit and then headed to the airport in the rain to fly back to Virginia. We hugged and said our good-byes, made our way through security and grabbed some Wendy's before it was time to board our flight home. In a bold moment - I decided not to take the anti-anxiety medication that I've been dependent on for the last ten years or so and I flew home on a flight with a recent mechanical issue, that ended up delayed and then bounced through some weather - so I was pretty proud of myself!

And yes - my fiancé is making a goofy face in the above picture - sometimes he is a mess! We had such a wonderful time in Florida and I feel so blessed to get to spend more time with Ryan's Mom and see her life. We are already talking about a return trip and I look forward to getting to spend more time with her and in Florida for years to come!