Day 10- A Picture of You Taken over 10 Years Ago

First thing's first, Happy Birthday to my wonderful fiancé! He is doing better today as far as the blood poisoning goes, but we still will be making a trip to the hospital for some I/V antibiotics!

I couldn't just pick one picture for this one, mostly because I don't actually have many pictures of me from this time at my apartment. I had to take them from my Mom's facebook page. Since they are not the best scans, I figure I would show you two of them! These are from when I was 5 years old and OBSESSED with the New Kids on the Block (Donnie was my fave!). The first one with the NKOTB t-shirt and slippers was from my 5th birthday. The second one with the NKOTB bedsheets and fanny pack was from the following Christmas. I would like to thank my Aunt Karen, who was 14 that summer and came to stay with us, for introducing me to my first boy band crushes!

Day 9- A Photo You Took

I took this picture a couple of summers ago in Nick's parent's backyard. I love how bright the purple of the flower is and how saturated the green leaves are! This was the natural colors, I did not do any editing after I took the photo.

Day 8- A Picture That Makes You Angry/Sad

Well hi. I know I was supposed to write this one yesterday, but we were dealing with some crazy infection that Nick got, so we spent a good amount of time in the ER yesterday. He is OK thankfully:)

So, a photo that makes me angry or sad. I don't think I have a personal photo that makes me angry. And the picture that I chose makes me happy as much as it makes me sad. My siblings alllllllll moved away this summer. This photo was taken the day before my youngest sibs moved. It makes me sad because I miss them everyday, and wish that we could all be together. It makes me happy because it was a fun afternoon that we all spent together.

back row L-R, Adrienne (20), Abigail (12), Me- Marjorie (25), Madeline (22)

front row - Manny (5)

Day 7- A Picture That Makes You Happy

Nick is notorious for not really smiling in pictures. There is a big difference between his real smile and his picture smile. This picture, taken pretty much right after he proposed, is his real smile. And mine, too.

Day 6- 20 of My Favorite Things

I sort of feel like Julie Andrews writing this post, but I promise that "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens" will not make the cut;)

1. My engagement ring (it's new, so it's the first thing I thought of!)

2. mark. makeup

3. Mom's spinach lasagna

4. Dad's Chili

5. Grandma's ceramic roosters

6. the color purple (the actual color and the movie!)

7. sweater weather

8. my knee high riding style boots

9. my 2008 Ford Fusion

10. goofing around with Nick

11. Savers

12. watching football games with friends

13. Sam Diego's bean burrito with queso sauce

14. flip flops

15. summer nights

16. Bay Path College's One Day a Week Saturday Program

17. Hanson

18. Spending time with my Sisters and Brother

19. baked brie with apricot preserves

20. seemingly effortless friendships

Day 5- Your Favorite Quote

Quotes are tough. There are so many different types of quotes. Friendship quotes, relationship quotes, love quotes, family quotes, inspirational quotes...and the list goes on and on! Funny thing is, I always wind up going back to the quote that I used in my senior yearbook. I think that it was as appropriate now as it was back then, not to mention, my World Religion teacher mentioned it last week in class.

Life can only be understood backwards,

but it must be lived forwards.

Have you ever had something happen in your life where you said "Aha, that's why this must have happened, to get me to this place"? That's what I think of when I read this quote. It is truly my favorite.

Day 4 - Your Favorite Book

My Dad gets me a book pretty much every year for Christmas. Actually, he gets me books for lots of different reasons. After his last trip to Louisiana, he came back with a book from a second hand book store about the history of the Cajuns. I love that he usually picks interesting ones, or ones that he thinks I would really like.

A few Christmas' ago, he got me a book called "Sex Wars" by Marge Piercy. This is by far my favorite book. It follows 4 different characters in post-Civil War New York City. Three of the main characters are actual historic figures (Victoria Woodhull, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Anthony Comstock). The fourth character is a fictional Jewish immigrant. I found that the novel had just the right mix of historical information and entertainment. I reads easily, and when I read it, I found that I just couldn't put it down. I love history, so to see how these historical figures intertwine into one story was very interesting. I also didn't know much about the characters, so I found that once read the book, I wanted to look up more information about that time in New York and the characters I was reading about.

Day 3 - Your Favorite Television Show

Alright, I will admit, I am a bit of a couch potato. Especially now that I am not working during the day, I have been watching a lot of T.V. Picking one show is really tough for me, so I think today I will have to do a list of my favorites instead of just narrowing it down to one (I know I am taking the easy way out here!).

1. Grey's Anatomy (Thank you Lifetime for replaying last season so that I can catch up!)

2. How I Met Your Mother (Nick and I watched 3 seasons in like a month last summer and are hooked!)

3. Pretty Little Liars (I was mildly obsessed with this ABC Family show this summer.)

4. Without a Trace (I love the characters on this show)

5. Law and Order: SVU (who doesn't like this show?)

6. History Detectives (This show is one of the best PBS has to offer in my opinion, and I was coincidentally "watching" this when Nick proposed!)

7. Army Wives (I am about a season behind, but this is a show that makes me cry EVERY episode!)

8. Modern Family (I literally laugh out loud at every episode I watch!!)

These are my top choices. Some are shows that I watch religiously, others are ones that I DVR, and some are just what I will watch if there is nothing else on...but if any of these is on T.V. you can probably guess I will be watching one of them!

Day 2- Your Favorite Movie

I like to think that I watch a lot of movies. Maybe not as much as some people, but a lot nonetheless. There are a lot of movies that I love and will watch any time they are on TV (Love and Basketball, The Temptations, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Uptown Girls), and there are movies that I own that I will watch over and over (Mr. Hollands Opus, Fargo, Just Married, Click).

But, there can only be one "favorite" movie, and I can say, without hesitation that it is "Little Women" (1994). This movie was the one that I would watch when I was home sick from school, and the one that my sisters and I would watch during snow days. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I can relate to the sisters in the story, or that I love period movies, whatever the reasons, I love it. My sisters and I have watched it so much that we can even "sing' along to the theme music.

To this day, when it gets cold out, I have an overwhelming urge to snuggle on the couch with a bowl of Progresso Lentil soup (what my mom always made us) and my sisters and watch this movie!

Day 1 - Your Favorite Song

Well, this one is kind of tough for me. I love music, all kinds. I would probably have an easier time telling you what my favorite song from each of my favorite artists is instead of picking just one.

But, if I had to choose, then it would be "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" by Pearl Jam. I just think the lyrics of this song are so beautiful, and I love Eddie Vedder's voice when he sings simple songs.

30 Day Blog Journal

Well, I saw this idea over on Confessions of a Newlywed and thought it could be really fun to try. Since Nick and I are looking at a long engagement, I don't want to get too burnt out on wedding related posts, so why not give this a try. I can't promise that I will be able to do this everyday, but I will try!

Here is the line up for the challenge:

Day 1 - your favorite song
Day 2 - your favorite movie
Day 3 - your favorite television program
Day 4 - your favorite book
Day 5 - your favorite quote
Day 6 - 20 of my favorite things
Day 7 - a photo that makes you happy
Day 8 - a photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 9 - a photo you took
Day 10 - a photo taken over 10 years ago of you
Day 11 - a photo of you recently
Day 12 - something you are OCD about
Day 13 - a fictional book
Day 14 - a non-fictional book
Day 15 - your dream house
Day 16 - a song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 - an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)
Day 18 - my wedding/future wedding/past wedding
Day 19 - a talent of yours
Day 20 - a hobby of yours
Day 21 - a recipe
Day 22 - a website
Day 23 - a YouYube video
Day 24 - where I live
Day 25 - your day, in great detail
Day 26 - your week, in great detail
Day 27 - my worst habit
Day 28 - whats in my handbag/purse
Day 29 - hopes,dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 - a dream for the future

I am excited, so be on the lookout for day one tomorrow!

Weekend Getaway

This past weekend, I was able to get away for a little while. My cousin April lives in Raleigh, NC and we were able to go and stay with my Mom in Wilmington, NC for the weekend. It was so great to see my cousin because I hadn't seen her since 2008! We spent a very sun-filled weekend at my Mom's house (aka "The Haven"). We were able to spend some time on the beach on Saturday, had some yummy baked brie and wine on Saturday night, and then went kayaking towards Masonboro Island with my sister on Sunday (side note: following directions in the water is NOT as easy as following directions on roads!).

It was so great to see where my Mom, Step-Dad, Sister, and Brother live now. Their house is so interesting, and once they get all settled in, it will be an awesome place. There is a large deck that goes all the way around the house, and a great big gazebo on the back that overlooks the Inter-coastal Waterway. They also have a small dock where they can fish and catch crabs. The house is suited for company with a big great room on the front of the house that can close off completely from the part of the house with the bedrooms. It was hard leaving my family knowing that I won't see them again until Christmas, but it was a great visit. I loved spending some time with my cousin and catching each other up on our lives (and we discovered that we both love blogging).

Here are a couple of pictures from our weekend. The first one is April and I on the small island that we kayaked to. The second one is myself, My Mom, My Sister Abigail, and my Brother Manny right before we left. As you can see there was lots of sun had by all, but it was a great Summer send off!

The Never Ending Laundry Saga

So, I did three loads of laundry today. That's a lot I know, but I hate doing laundry. I put it off as much as possible, and this can pose a problem since Nick is a commercial fisherman (i.e. his clothes smell like fish). Once I was done today, I realized something.

Nick has been hijacking his own wardrobe!

He now has significantly more "fish" clothes than regular clothes. Which means that some of the clothes that we bought recently for him have been worn (and ruined) on the boat. If Nick was a normal sized man, I would say that this would be no big deal. But, he is 6'3" power lifter that weighs around 300lbs, so finding clothes that fit him is not easy. He has now turned two new pairs of jeans that he was maaaaaaaybe able to wear once into fish pants.

So, since his real clothes are dwindling, we are so setting up a new system. From now on, we will have a "fish only" hamper. Here's hoping that we can keep the fishy clothes away from the good clothes without any crossovers!

Dresses!

(Nick, this is the post where you shouldn't look!!)

I went to David's Bridal to try on wedding dresses with my younger sister the other day, just to get a head start on what I think I would like to wear. It was fun and some dresses really surprised me! I have decided that I don't want to post pictures of my actual dress (on here or on any of the boards that I post on). I don't want anyone who will be at the wedding to stumble upon it; I want everyone to be surprised! Although I am not sure what dress I will be wearing, I know that there are some dresses that I for sure will not be wearing. Here are a couple of those!

Although I like the way this one looks on me, it doesn't fit with how I want my wedding to look. I do feel like I have a very nice shape in this top though!

This one is more like what I imagine: something classic that I won't look back at and cringe! I like the way this looks (minus the serious cleavage), but there just wasn't anything very special about it!

This was one that I knew right away would not be the dress for me. It was one that Nick had said that he liked in the catalog, so I tried it on to see. I think it looks OK but it's just a little too trendy for me. I described it to the consultant as "young" looking, and she replaced that with "trendy"...I think that works well!

I can't wait to go back and try on some other dresses (along with my top choices again!). What I decide will really depend on where we decide to get married, as the couple of venues that we have in mind have varying formality!

Wedding planning is fun! (So far)...

Nick and I have been engaged for about 3 weeks now, and while we haven't narrowed anything down for sure (except for the fact that we want to get married next fall, probably early November 2011), we have been talking about EVERYTHING wedding related! He has been awesome and interested in everything, which is so cool. He actually has opinions and will listen to me (for a little while) when I am talking about random wedding ideas. He is so excited for me to be his wife, and can't wait for our wedding.

Tomorrow, I am making my first trip to David's Bridal to try on wedding gowns. I know that this is where I will purchasing my gown because they have some dresses that I love and their prices are inexpensive. I know that I will find something there that I love (and all of their dresses come in extra length!). While I am there, my sister will also be trying on bridesmaid dresses so that we can see which colors we really like, and what type of style we are looking to go with. There are so many dresses and fabrics that I think it will be a tough decision.

As far as bridesmaid dresses go, I do have a dream color scheme! This may change since we are having such a long engagement, but right now I am leaning towards lapis colored dresses with silver accents.

Lapis is a very dark purple from David's, which I think is perfect for a fall wedding, and I think the silver will make it all look more formal.

I love the way the color looks in this picture, but can't decide on chiffon/jersey or satin! I guess it all depends on what wedding dress I wind up getting!

Oh, and I haven't entirely given up on cleaning! Today I worked on the kitchen like crazy, and even have some potpourri going in a simmer pot to make the house smell delish!