Lookin Fly

With the start of July and the heat of summer, everyone in our house got a summer haircut.  Here's a pic of the boys with their super cool cuts :)

tuck looks thrilled hah

HAPPY SUMMER!

I have a blog??

Apparently, in the midst of the craziness that is my life currently, I have forgotten that I have a blog and that I'm supposed to updating yall on the craziness!  My sincerest apologies...I'm sure you all have been desperately missing me :)
It has been an amazing couple of months full of weddings, bridal showers, and of course planning!  After all, we are LESS THAN 2 MONTHS FROM THE BIG DAY!  Eeeppp!!! (that is extreme excitement if you couldn't decipher).  I will be back shortly to fill you all in with wedding details, shower pics, and a post on the world's cutest puppy who turns 1 today!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TUCKER!!!!

100 days!

Ahhh - 100 DAYS!  Now it's really starting to sink in, and I'm getting beyond excited.  We've planned so much, but there is still so much more to do for the wedding.  All of the little fun details.  I've got several DIY projects spinning around in my head right now, but we'll see what actually happens with those hah.
And to make the day EVEN better, I just found out that my dress came in and is ready to be fitted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sooo excited! (maybe a little over excited)
Anyway, time is flying by so quickly and I know the big day will be here before I know it.  These last few months are going to be great - full of showers, and celebrating, and engagement bliss :)  I'm just trying to enjoy it all, because it only happens once!  Such an exciting time, and I can't wait to celebrate with everyone!

Belated Birthday Pics

Since it's been over two months since my birthday, I figured what better time to post pics from my 26th birthday celebration. :)  John planned a great day of wine tasting on the wonderful Boomerang Bus - it was so much fun!  For those of you who haven't experienced the joys of the boomerang bus, it is quite an experience.  It is a painted school bus complete with stripper poles for dancing.  You may be thinking "poles for dancing, really? reealll classy".  And most people when they first get on the bus may think the same, but let me assure you that by the end of the day everyone on that bus is dancing.  It really is a good time had by all.  Here are some pics from the great birthday celebration!

On the way out to the vineyards

Around 10 am, and already drinking

 Mimosas are a must for any bday celebration :)

Wine tasting at the first vineyard

The first vineyard we went to was Bluemont Vineyard.  We got really lucky - it was a beautiful day for March, and the views from the deck were awesome.

Out on the deck

Enjoying the great weather and wine

Group shot - thanks to everyone that came with us!

No birthday would be complete without birthday cake, and the signing of "Happy Birthday" by the entire bus!  What a great decorating job by John and his friends haha.

I had such an amazing time!  Thanks to everyone that celebrated with me, and a special thanks to my wonderful fiance for planning it all! He knows me too well :)

5 YEARS!

April 29th was a BIG day!  And no, not because of Will & Kate's Royal wedding. (Although that was a pretty big deal, and I may have gotten up at 545am to watch :) )  But because April 29th was also John and I's 5 year anniversary!  I can't believe it's been 5 years already and less than 4 months until we get married! 
Here's a look back at us on our anniversary the last 5 years...

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

If you notice a trend in the first few pictures, it's because we started dated on the same day as Foxfield in 2006.  Which could seem like a coincidence, except that we made the date up later. :)
It's been an amazing 5 years, the best of my life, and I can't wait to spent the rest of of our lives together.  Happy anniversary babe!

Island Chicken Mon

Ok sorry, excuse my bad humor :)  Last week I made one of my "go-to" recipes.  I got it from Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Cooking Made Light cookbook, and clearly I'm a fan since I make it about once a week hah.  You can make it with either chicken or pork, but I tend to use porkchops.

You'll need:
olive oil - 2 tsp
chicken breast or porkchops - 4 6-ounce breast halves/chops
pineapple slices in juice - 1 can (20 oz.)
Jamaican jerk seasoning - 2-3 teaspoons (I probably use more)
brown sugar - 1 Tbsp

Place grill pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil to pan.  Brush both sides of chicken/pork with olive oil and sprinkle with 1 1/2 tsp of jerk seasoning.  (I don't use oil on the chicken, I and don't measure the spice, just use as much as you want.) 

Drain the pineapple slices, but KEEP the juice!  Sprinkle both sides of pineapple slices with 3/4 teaspoon of jerk seasoning and set aside.

For sauce, in a small saucepan, combine reserved pineapple juice, the remaining 1/4 tsp jerk seasoning, and brown sugar.  Bring to a boil over high heat; cook about 5 minutes or until mixture is reduced by half. 

Cook chicken for about 5 min each side, or until done.

Once the chicken is done, place pineapple slices on grill pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes per side or until grill marks appear and pineapple is heated through.

Serve chicken with pineapple slices and sauce.  And viola!

 I like to make a side of mushroom rice to go with the chicken.  

Pretty delicious if I say so myself.  See everyone wants some - or at least Tuck does (not that that says much).

Death to Ducky :(

Fuzz everywhere

Goin' to town

Game over

Yes? Is there a problem?

Ducky led a great life - all 7 days of it!  They're still best friends, just without all the fluff. :)

Puppy tux

Pretty sure Tuck needs this for the wedding...don't you think?

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!

my prince

Yes, this is John :)  Quite fashionable at an early age, don't ya think?

THE dress!

SUCCESS!!!  After numerous appointments and trying on countless dresses, the search is over!  I can't even tell you how excited I am about my dress.  I am super indecisive, and don't make decisions quickly (obviously), but I'm so happy with my decision and can't wait to walk down the aisle in my dress.  I would love to show you all a pic, but John reads this too, and I want it to be a surprise for the big day.  I have to thank my mom and those few special people I drug all over VA, DC, and MD :)  I owe you!  Now that that big decision is made, on to picking dresses for the bridesmaids.  6 MONTHS TO GO!

My favorite 4 year old!

Today Parker (my nephew) turned 4!  I can't believe he's already 4 - he's getting so big so quickly :(  I'm so excited for him to be a part of our wedding this summer, as one of our two super cute ringbearers.  In honor of his birthday, here's a look back at his first four years!

April 2007

December 2007

December 2007

April 2008

July 2008

October 2008

May 2009

August 2009

October 2009

October 2010

January 2011

 HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY PARKER!!!!

7 MONTHS!!!

A week ago today marked 7 months until our big day - WOW!  That seems crazy to me.  It is definitely going to fly by.  And as crazy as the wedding planning is making me feel...I secretly enjoy it. :)  To keep you all up to date (and to make myself feel more productive) I'll fill you in on our progress...

• We've had our venue, photographer, and band for quite some time now (those were important to us!)
• We now have our caterer booked - the sample tasting will probably be John's favorite part of this whole process :)
• We have a florist - who I love, even though I don't know much about flowers
• We have FINALLY asked all of the people in our wedding party to be a part of our big day!
• All parts to the Save-the-Dates have been picked, ordered, and sent to our guests (probably the biggest weight off of my shoulders right now).  I'm SUPER excited about these - I was trying to do something a little different, and I think I succeeded?
• Our wedding website (which is DEFINITELY a work in progress) is up and has most of the important info
• We've made hotel blocks for our guests (if only the football schedule would come out so the rates will be finalized :( )
• We have our Rehearsal Dinner venue - It's got the exact feel we are going for and I think it will work out perfectly!

See, now I feel a lot better!  And don't ask about the dress - NO, i have NOT picked it yet! No.big.deal. (At least that's what I keep saying).  We've made great progress, but there's sooo much more to do in the coming months - pick bridesmaids dresses, figure out what the guys will wear, pick invitations, etc.  It will be so fun to start to pick all of the little details that go into the BIG day!  All of this planning has made me think I should go into the wedding planning business (when we move to Charlottesville) - sigh, it's ok to dream :)

Happy Birthday John!

John turned 26 on January 5th!  John isn't a huge fan of big birthday celebrations, which seems absolutely crazy to me since I like to celebrate my birthday for the entire month.  I always like to do something special :)  This year John requested a homemade dinner and an apple pie - from SCRATCH (probably because he knows what a great cook I am).  If you know me, clearly that is a joke.  But being the great fiance that I am, I obliged and made chicken parmesan and the apple pie.  I was pretty proud of my cooking, so I took a picture. (Ignore the random assortment of placemats haha)

John's B-day dinner

Thanks to my great friend Morgan I was able to make John's wishes of an apple pie come true.  Here are a couple before and after pics of the pie.

If you would like to make a great pie of your own, here is the recipe - compliments of the great Morgan Sattler.  Sidenote:  Most people probably know that you are supposed to peel the apples.  Being the amateur cook that I am, I forgot.  The pie was still DELICIOUS, but I think I would peel the apples next time :)

Ingredients:
6 apples, 3 golden delicious, 3 granny smith. Cored and sliced
1/3 c brown sugar
1/3 c white sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix above together well.  Place into pie crust.

Crumb topping:
3/4 c flour
3/4 c. butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. white sugar

Cut with pastry blender until mixed well, pile/press onto top of pie.
Bake 400 - for 15 mins
        350 - 35-40 mins. Will be bubbly and crust and topping golden.

I think John really enjoyed the meal and it was a success!  I actually really enjoy cooking and baking, it's just a matter of finding the time to really learn and practice.
Happy Birthday babe - looking forward to spending the rest together (and married)! :)

Christmas in January

We actually didn't celebrate Christmas in January, but I am a little late posting pics - so lets relive Christmas.  This was our first Christmas in our first place, so I will always remember it!  We had so much fun decorating the place and listening to Christmas music - even Tucker got into the Christmas spirit.

And here's our Christmas card pic!  John was not a huge fan of the "family" photo haha, but I think it turned out great.  I picked a cute polka-dot Christmas card from Snapfish and uploaded our pic - it was super easy, quick, and pretty cheap.  I would definitely recommend it.

We had a great Christmas with both of our families.  We started at my sister's house in NC for a few days.  It was nice to relax, open presents, and watch my nephews enjoy Christmas - they LOVED it!

After all of the Christmas presents, celebrations, and travel we were all pretty tired, but Tuck was one tired puppy.

Tourists in NYC

Now that we've settled into the new year with our "resolutions" and super cold weather, I figured I would post some pics of a happier time - our trip to NYC before Christmas!  John and I were able to get away the weekend before Christmas and spend some time being touristy in NYC.  We had a great time walking around the city, hitting all the tourist spots, and eating great food.  Our first night in the city we stumbled upon a little pizzeria that was delicious!

Saturday we went to Times Square, Rockefeller Center to see the tree, and even went for a carriage ride through Central Park.  I will not admit that the carriage ride was not as cool as I thought, because I convinced John to do it, but I probably won't be going again.  Ah well, gotta try everything once.

In Times Square

I think one of our favorite things was going to the top of the Empire State Building.  I had never been up there before and the views were awesome.

We also saw Lion King while we were in NYC!  It was AMAZING!  It was definitely the best show I've seen, and even John will admit that he liked it - that says something.  The show was great, the costumes were unbelievable and they even sold signature cocktails in sippy cups.  It doesn't get any better.

On Sunday, we finally succeeded in having someone take our picture in front of the tree and then went on a tour of NBC Studios.  We ended our super touristy NYC trip by having lunch with my friend Charlene in SoHo.  We had a great time!