An Evening in the Park (away from wedding planning!)

Tuesday night Chris and I took a break from wedding planning and spent the evening in Central Park for a concert in the park. Chris is a huge fan of the New York Philharmonic so hearing them in the park was a must! Tuesday I was really in the mood to just go home, order takeout, and veg out in front of the TV....BUT, I grabbed a blanket, cooler with wine, candles, a hummus picnic, and headed to the park to meet Chris. It was a blast! There are moments like these that I truly appreciate all that New York has to offer. 61,000 people in the park (great people watching), fabulous music, wine and hummus, and fireworks! It was a fantastic evening. As a grand finale the orchestra played Purple Haze--yes, sounds strange to have an orchestra play Hendrix, huh?!? It was awesome. I even texted my brother because it reminded me of him playing Hendrix on our side porch with a friend when I was a pre-teen.

So this morning as I was feeling quite frustrated (and hot)on the sardine packed subway I reminded myself of the wonderful night in the park Tuesday with Chris. New York has it's "moments" both good and bad! :)

Celebrating and Planning, Planning, Planning!

Wow! The last two weeks have been amazing! Lots of fun phone calls and emails announcing the exciting news, dinners and drinks to celebrate, and planning, planning, planning. I am happy to announce that we have a wedding date!! Chris and I will be getting married November 8th (this year!) in Atlanta. We will have the ceremony at the church I grew up in and the reception at East Lake Golf Club. Other details are falling into place as well--photographer, band, etc. One thing is for sure...dust off your dancing shoes because it is going to be a SERIOUS party! Although Chris and I don't 100% agree on all details, we do agree that we want this to be a fun celebration.

Speaking of not agreeing 100% on details. I think planning a wedding is great preparation for all of the compromises a couple must make in life. :) I have gotten very strategic in what I present and how to present it. So far, we have not disagreed (too much) on details. It is weird to think that from this point forward we will consult with each other on all major decisions in life. I guess we already do that now, but it will be official once we tie the knot!

We are off to spend the weekend at our summer house...I'm sure there will be some celebrating going on! Next week I head to Atlanta to celebrate with friends and family and to plan, plan, plan. Oh, I forgot to mention that Chris' parents came to town last weekend. We had a blast celebrating this exciting time with them. His mom and I enjoyed chatting about wedding details and getting manicures--fun girl stuff. As you can see lots of celebrating and planning going on in our lives these days. :)

Guess Dreams Do Come True!

Chris said he had a plan...and boy did he ever!!!! Here is the amazing story of our engagement...

Thursday morning I left the apartment thinking I was heading to Miami for a much needed vacation with Chris. I was super excited about leaving work behind for FIVE days and getting to spend quality stress-free time with just Chris. Little did I know what the weekend would bring.

When we arrived at the ticket counter at JFK, the agent asked where we were headed. I said Miami. Chris handed her our itinerary and she asked for our passports. Passports?!?! Why would we need passports for Miami (I thought). I looked up at Chris to receive a very charming and sneaky grin as he handed her both of our passports. The agent said, "Honey, you aren't going to Miami...you are going to St. Lucia!" Of course butterflies started fluttering inside.

I was so excited and totally in shock. I also was thinking (as every girl would do), wonder if "it" is going to happen this weekend. I gave myself a peptalk and said that I would enjoy the weekend and not overthink it.

On the way, I asked where we were staying and Chris said it was "just a hotel". As we were escorted into our room (known as a sanctuary on the resort) I knew this was certainly not just another hotel!!! This is a picture of the view from our room...the infinity pool was AWESOME!


Thursday night we had a delicious dinner and then hung out in our infinity pool! So beautiful with the moonlight, mountains and stars.

Friday morning we had breakfast and then went to orientation to hear all about the activities the resort had to offer. We signed up for an afternoon glass bottom boat tour. It was very cool to see all of the fish and coral, but it made me a little sea sick. After showering and recovering from the sea sickness, we headed back down to the water for a sunset cruise. I thought it was going to be one of those booze cruise deals, but was excited to find out that it was a private sunset sail!! The girly voice inside of me started thinking, hmmmm...wonder if this is "the moment". Then I saw how calm Chris was and didn't see any signs of a ring so I decided to just enjoy the fun time. Does this look like a guy who is about to propose!?!?


It was the perfect night for sailing...clear and windy. I think at one point we were 7 knots or something (you would think I would know all of this sailing terminology after a week of sailing in Greece, but no). Anyway, when we got in a calmer spot, we went up to the front of the boat (holding on very tightly to ropes so not to fall in!). We sat at the front and enjoyed the beautiful view of the Piton Mountains and the sunset. Then....Chris turned towards me with a sparkly object in his hand and asked, "Will you marry me?!?" I immediately started screaming (wanted to jump up and down, but thought that would be a bad idea) then I said "Yes!" and told him to please put the ring on my finger before it ended up overboard. :) We celebrated with champagne and hors d'oeuvres while enjoying the sunset and sail. Kevin, our Captain, was very sweet and took lots of pictures for us.








We had a delicious Indian dinner down by the beach and then celebrated with other folks staying at the resort...including a new bride and groom! It was hard to be so far away from friends and family because I couldn't broadcast the news to friends and family, but it was great to be with just my sneaky stinker sweet fiance. :)



The rest of the trip was filled with lots of relaxing, snorkling, biking, sunbathing, and CELEBRATING! The entire weekend was beyond anything I could have dreamed up (and boy do I have a good imagination sometimes). Chris is such a special guy and I am so lucky to be with someone who treats me like a princess. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with such a sweet, thoughtful, and genuinely good person. Every girls dream, right?!!?

Chris and I look forward to celebrating this next phase of our life with all of you very soon!!

More pictures from the trip...

Adelaide's High School Graduation...and more!

Chris and I headed to Atlanta last weekend for Adelaide's high school graduation and to catch up with friends and family. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but we had some fun and relaxing moments built in as well.

Our weekend started with our seven hour door-to-door trek to Atlanta. As we were driving to Mom's house in our rental car late Friday night, I asked Chris if he wanted me to move back to Atlanta so we could do that trip every other weekend like we used to do. ;) We DON'T miss that at all! We had a very late dinner Friday night with Mom and then hit the sack.

Saturday morning I headed to Adelaide's high school graduation. It was a beautiful (chilly and long) ceremony outside at her school. It was great to see Adelaide and her friends walk across the stage. I felt particularly old seeing former Morris Brandon (school where I taught for my first two years of teaching) students walking across the stage to receive their diplomas.







As you can see all four of the kids are super cute...and grown up. What you can't see in the picture is how truly awesome they really are. All four of them are gifted, caring, and so much fun to be around (well, most of the time).

Lillian and Greg hosted a wonderful luncheon for Adelaide complete with fried green tomatoes, crab cakes, and red velvet cake! It was delicious and fun. Mom and Chris came to celebrate Adelaide's big day as well. Chris got to try "real" fried green tomatoes for the first time and of course loved them!




Although I feel sooo old, I am very proud of Adelaide. She is a smarty pants, but really is a great kid...or should I say young adult. She is going to spend 3 weeks in London this summer and then will be heading up to Dartmouth for her freshman year of college. Chris and I are truly looking forward to having her in the Northeast!

Saturday afternoon/evening we gathered at Brian and Sarah's house for a Mexican Fiesta. Now that folks have kids, it is so much easier to get together at someone's house--restaurants are just too hard. It was great for me! I got to visit with my friends and play with their adorable kids. I didn't get any pictures of the adults at the gathering (oops), but I managed to get some great ones of the kids playing and bathing.






Yes, the kids were playing in the tub of beer. Nice! :)

Sunday we had a lazing morning with Mom and then ventured out to my storage bin. This was quite the experience because I couldn't remember where it was! Yes, I am losing it. Chris was thrilled when he had to turn around several times. We finally found it. It was a little sad to see all of my old stuff (and of course I got teary-eyed), but I love our place in NYC so I quickly wiped the tears and moved on. After loading up some of my stuff Mom wanted, we picked my grandmother up and took her to lunch. We had a wonderful time visiting with her and hearing stories from way back when. Chris was extremely impressed with her sharp memory. He made a comment Sunday night that Grandma's memory is better than mine and Mom's put together. Guess I couldn't argue with that after not being able to remember where the storage bin was. Ha!

It was a wonderful weekend in Atlanta...Adelaide's graduation, catching up with friends, playing with their kids, lunch with Grandma, and lots of time with Mom!

Small Victory

Although it was many moons ago that we all lined up at the field at Sutton Middle School to start our fitness test--running 1 mile--I remember it vividly. Everyone took off running so I took off too. Unfortunately I didn't make it very far running. I ended up walking most of the mile (how embarrassing). I have always been a pretty healthy person and into sports, but running just hasn't ever worked for me--even as a kid. As an adult I have been into exercise (most of the time) and have even completed the Avon Breast Cancer 3 Day walk twice--60 miles over 3 days! Walking, kickboxing, step aerobics I have loved, but running just has never worked for me.

Last week I decided to go for a walk in Central Park because it one of those perfect spring days. When I reached the reservoir (1.58 loop), I got a wild hair and decided to run thinking I would only go a little ways. Well, I made it over halfway around the loop. I was so excited...and determined that one day I would be able to get all the way around running. For those of you who are runners, I am sure you are sitting there laughing at my goal, but keep in mind that I have never been able to run a mile...much less 1.58 miles. I told myself that within two weeks I would be able to get around the loop.

Yesterday was another beautiful spring day in NYC so I decided to head off to Central Park for a walk. When I got to the reservoir I was feeling a bit tired and hungry, but I decided to go for it. A couple of times I wanted to quit because I was tired (and people were passing me left and right and making me feel stupid), but I kept going. I was hoping to get 3/4 of the way around this time. And I did....but I didn't stop. I pushed through all the way to the "finish line"!!! Now I know this isn't like completing the NY Marathon or the Peachtree Road Race for that matter, but it was a huge victory for me.

Random post...

Georgia Visits the Big Apple

Thanks to Mason's awesome Christmas gift idea, Georgia and I had a fantastic girls weekend in NYC. Georgia arrived early evening on Friday and it was a beautiful night so we hung out on the balcony and visited. After eating in (healthy po 'boys, yummy!) we decided to go out for a walk and to stop by Vince and Eddie's, our neighborhood watering hole, for a quick beverage. There was lots of entertainment so we ended up staying a little longer than expected. Four hours later we came home (finally) and hit the sack.

Saturday we woke up a little late, got ready, and hit the Upper West Side for a day FULL of shopping. Georgia and I have recently lost weight so we decided to hit the stores for new "reward" clothes. We finally threw in the towel at 7:30 (after 7 hours of shopping!!!) and got ready for dinner. Saturday night was Georgia's birthday dinner. We had a hard time deciding what to eat because there are so many choices in NYC, but ended up going to Rain, an Asian fusion type place. It was perfect--yummy and something Georgia wouldn't be able to find in Gainesville, FL! We may have over-eaten just a tad, but it was well worth it...and we had walked for 7 hours!

Sunday was tourist day. We started the day with a trip (on the subway) to Grand Central Station. Then we headed to Times Square (and the Ann Taylor Loft store). From there we walked to Macy's in Herald Square. Georgia couldn't get over the shoe selection! It was so overwhelming that we couldn't even find any to buy. Hard to believe...I know. After a few hours at Macy's, we hopped on the subway and headed to Canal Street. For those of you who have never heard of Canal Street, it where you go to find knock-off handbags, watches, etc. Georgia found a fabulous "Gucci" bag and some awesome "I love NY" t-shirts for souvenir gifts. We headed back to our apartment to drop of bags and take a quick cat nap (and say hello to Chris). Then we walked over to Central Park. Spring is here for sure...the flowers are blooming, trees are budding, and the roller skaters are out! During the spring and summer, they set up a roller skating rink on the sidewalks and folks skate and perform for those passing by. It is hard to fully explain how awesome it is. It is one of the things I enjoy most about NYC. Truly hilarious, random, and entertaining! We finished the trip off last night with a delicious and authentic Italian meal at a hole in the wall in our neighborhood. The three of us (Chris, Georgia, and I) had a great time visiting...and of course eating!

I can honestly say that the weekend was absolutely perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. Georgia and I got to spend uninterrupted time together--just the two of us--talking, walking, eating, shopping, and laughing. Life just doesn't get better than that!

All Things Southern at the Masters

One of my favorite sporting events of the year is the Masters--golf tournament played at Augusta National Golf Club. I have had the privilege of spending several days at the Masters with my dad and Chris over the years thanks to the Blanchards, Giornellis, and Burtons. One day at the Masters in a lifetime is a treat...several is a SUPER duper treat!

It is a little difficult to get to the Masters now that I live 13 hours away from Augusta so I decided I would create a Masters experience in the Big Apple. Who said you couldn't bring the South above the Mason Dixon Line?!!?!? We invited friends over Saturday (ended up a small crew because most of our friends were out of town) and served lots of southern foods--pimento cheese sandwiches, ribs, veggies with vidalia onion dip, peach salsa and chips, pecans, and sweet tea! We even had an azalea which was a nice touch! Oh, and I can't forget the outfits...Chris and I both had on our Masters golf shirts (although you can't really tell in the picture). Our Masters experience was a great one, but we both admitted last night that it just isn't the same as the real deal. We might have to make a trip down next year...

After 4+ days of watching golf (and the Red Sox/Yankees series), I am super excited about my girls weekend with Georgia this weekend in NYC. This is her first trip to NYC since she was a kid. She is in for a ride! :)