Life Lately - June

Well, y’all – it’s the end of June. What in the world? How did we get here so fast? I knew the month of May would fly by… but somehow here we are and June is already in the books too!

Eating - Oh goodness – what a month of eating! My Mom and I kicked things off with a delicious flight of ice cream at Sugar Creek Snowy & Sweet after a delicious dinner of chicken drumsticks that my sweet fiancé cooked (I don’t have a picture of those). My friend Jillian made gorgeous and tasty cookies for ladies Bible study, and I am thrilled to report that she is making cookies for our wedding, and I cannot wait to see them! She has such talent!

Ryan and I tried out the Italian restaurant in Woodstock and I’m pleased to report that while the salad left much to be desired (four carrot strips and $1.50 for croutons) the Baked Ziti was delicious! My fabulous fiancé was back to his amazing chef ways and made some seriously divine ribs for dinner one night – the flavor was outstanding! 

My Mom, MIL and I went to Charlottesville to check out my wedding dress for alterations and had breakfast at First Watch. I had a to die for Watermelon Refresher that was made of watermelon, pineapple, lime, and mint – it was the standout of the meal. Although the granola bowl, millionaire bacon and blueberry muffin were pretty great too! We also had a delicious cook out with family, capped off with a beautiful, fresh, and crisp fruit tart!

Last but not least – I cannot say enough about the wonderful food at our shower at the end of the month! It was picnic themed and we had tasty Schaffer’s BBQ and sides and some beautiful, locally made strawberry and lemon cupcakes and rice Krispy treats made by one of my bridesmaids, Jennie! She is the master of rice Krispy treats and her creations always taste divine! And of course – these treats were heart shaped! 

Watching - Okay, so I can actually report quite a lot watched this month! What?!? Shall we start with time at the moves? Ryan and I saw Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Jurassic World: Dominion this month – and let me tell you, neither one was amazing! Dr. Strange was quite weird and I must confess that an hour into the two+ hour movie, Ryan and I were making fun of it. Oops. Here’s hoping that Thor: Love & Thunder is a better outing for Marvel! Jurassic World: Dominion was good but a bit underwhelming to be the big finale for the entirety of the Jurassic series! It was great to see all the old favorites grouped together with the newbies, but it just didn’t quite live up to the hype for me! *Sigh*

On the TV front, Ryan and I discovered a show called Alone on Discovery+ and we are hooked! It’s a reality show where ten participants are deposited in the wilderness with 10 survival tools of their choosing and whomever stays the longest wins $500,000! The first season was fascinating, and we are excited to start the second season! We’re also still watching The Chosen on Amazon Prime and the show truly brings up some fascinating and in-depth questions about what Jesus must have been like as a man… who was also God. Last but not least, I started the show The Essex Serpent on Apple TV – it’s a miniseries starring Claire Danes & Tom Hiddleston set in 1900’s Essex – and while it’s good, it’s not good enough that I’ve been motivated to watch the final two episodes.

Wearing - Well – I’m pleased to report an Amazon win! I looked high and low for a dress to wear to my wedding shower last weekend (the final weekend in June). I wanted something white (duh) and also something that was low key and not too fancy! The shower was an outdoors/picnic themed shower, and I wanted to lean into that. I found the cutest little white dress on Amazon and crossed my fingers that it would be flattering! I am thrilled to report it was perfect for the occasion and it comes in a multitude of colors, if you don’t need white!

The other little outfit was for something I can’t say too much about yet – but suffice it to say I felt so confident and great while I had it on! Perhaps I’ll tell you a little bit more about it in the future, but the dress is from Land’s End and I have this cute navy blue boat patterned version and I also have a lemon version! So fun! The cardigan is from Talbot’s – I borrowed it from my Mom’s closet, ha-ha!

Bought - Two sweet little things I purchased this month. Well – one is sweet, and one is little, but not as sweet, ha-ha! I bought the best little pair of earrings from a local small business called Betts & Coop Boutique and I loved the chance to wear them to our wedding shower last weekend! They are lightweight, fun, and just the cutest little earrings! The best part is I also have a pair that say “wifey” – but those are for after November 12th!

The other little item, I just couldn’t resist. It was a bar of VA made soap with a teeny, little wiener dog on the front… and the bar of soap was labeled as “wiener cleaner”. I could not stop laughing and immediately purchased a bar of it for Ryan. It was only $4, and he turned a lovely shade of red when I presented it to him in front of our parents, ha-ha!

Want - I feel like my “want” section is always a bit abstract – but I guess I’m good with that! This month I want clarity and confirmation. I want peace and purpose going forward and that’s all I’ll say about that for this month. Perhaps I’ll share more soon but for now, prayers are always appreciated.*

Reading - Oh man – I’ve read quite a bit this month and I’m pretty proud of that! I started the month with my final Book of the Month pick (I paused my subscription for now) called The Hacienda by Isabel Canas. The book was set in Mexico after the Spanish Inquisition and details the story of a woman who marries and moves into a house that houses a terrible evil that will stop at nothing to make her leave. She joins forces with the nearby priest to restore the home to peace and life. It was good… but it dragged a little bit and reminded me an awful lot of the movie Rebecca. Anyone know what I’m talking about?

The rest of the month I’ve been reading the Lineage of Grace series by Francine Rivers. The books follow the women in the lineage of Jesus Christ and so far I’ve read: Unveiled: Tamar, Unashamed: Rahab and Unshaken: Ruth. I recently started the fourth book, called Unspoken: Bathsheba – but it will be July before I’m done with that one. These books have been quick, easy and interesting reads and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them! And y’all, I still have about eight other books I need to read. Hehehe.

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That's all I've got for the month of June guys - y'all enjoy the second half of 2022!

Wedding Wednesday - Engagement Pictures

I don’t know how I missed this – but I somehow put together this amazing post all about our engagement pictures and never posted it! So today's Wedding Wednesday is ALL of our beautiful engagement pictures.

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Our pictures were taken at the Virginia State Arboretum, also known to a lot of people as Blandy Experimental Farm. I’ve always loved this spot and it holds some sentiment for Ryan and me as well. The first time he visited Virginia and spent a weekend with my family, we went to the arboretum and walked around… and sitting on the bench where we took those pictures, we decided we’d get married one day and began planning our wedding.

Our pictures were taken by our precious family friend, Brooke Lull – the owner of Brooke Danielle Photography. She takes some of the most stunning pictures you’ve ever seen and if you live in the Northern Virginia, West Virginia, and DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia) area and need a photographer, I cannot recommend anyone better! She is the nicest person, so easy to work with and truly has a gift!