Since October: Part 1

Happy Wednesday!  I figured I would take some time today to talk about all of the events that have happened to me over the past three months.  Boy, has my life been a doozie!  I thought it got turned upside down when I had weight loss surgery, but looking back that was a (no weight loss pun intended) piece of cake!
We'll start with the wedding, since it is #weddingwednesday and all.  Just for the record, I hate that hashtag.  Talk about your wedding whenever you want!  (I've been out of the blogging game way too long to be getting mad about a themed day of blogging.  I'll work on it.)

Our wedding was October 4, 2014.  I always swore up and down and up again that I would neeeever, never ever EVEERRR have a wedding outside.  It wasn't my style, I'm not outdoorsy, it would definitely be my luck that a horrendous tornado would come through and ruin my day, etc... etc... etc... But nevertheless, we picked an amazingly gorgeous venue where we would be married outside.  And I'd like to give God a big high-five for giving us the most gorgeous weather ever.  We couldn't have picked better weather out of a perfect-weather-magazine, if there were such a silly thing.

before they put out the shepherds hooks with lanterns, our wreath and the lanterns that lined the stones around the chimney.

the back of the house.

the front of the house.

a closer look at the chiney, our wreath and the beautiful stone.

the lights were an added cost (of course) but they tied everything together so nicely, especially when the sun went down.

We did have one groomsman show up black out drunk.  Like, so drunk that he is in our wedding pictures (which he barely made it through) but was not in our actual wedding.  He sat in the audience next to another groomsmen's mom in his rented tux.  Hey, whatever works.  (This is where your trusted wedding handlers come in handy-  they took care of the drunk guy and I knew nothing of the sort, which suited me just fine.)

Getting ready was really fun.  And of course taking pictures was my absolute favorite.  The amazing thing about a good photographer is they have the amazing ability to catch candid moments that you didn't know they were capturing.  Those are definitely my favorite.

 you better believe I did my own hair and makeup. 

 this bed was GORGEOUS, so comfy and perfect for fun bridal pictures!

The DJ was amazing, the food was delicious, there were drinks a plenty and we had the best minister:  my cousin!  The words he spoke during our ceremony were absolutely perfect for me, Ben and our marriage.  He even said a quote from Dr. Seuss, which I loved, because we are so laid back and love a little giggle during a series time.  
After a night of love, laughter and dancing with our favorite people in the world, we headed back home to get ready for the highly anticipated honeymoon in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  And that, my friends, is where I leave you... 
(or maybe with some more pictures...) :)

 the SWEETEST boy ever!  I've babysat for him since he was a year old.  It makes me so happy to have a picture of us from my wedding.

 this picture should tell you everything you need to know.

moscato for the win.

seriously, how beautiful and fun is our photographer?  I love her!

VENUE:  The Sonnet House

FOOD:  The Sonnet House

DECOR/FLOWERS:  The Sonnet House

DRESS:  Allure from Bridal Bliss

(this is the updated version of my dress-  mine had lace at the top instead of rouching and was champagne in color)

PHOTOGRAPHY:  J'adore la Photographie

CAKE/BABY BITES:  Pastry Art Cakes

the last day of the best year.

Well, it's been just about 3 months since the last time I even came to this website or thought about blogging.  I've really, really missed this place.  So much has happened, and sometimes I feel like I could sit down and write a novel.  Other times, I feel like I have absolutely nothing to say at all.
But since it's the last day of 2014, I figured I might as well close out the year with a blog post recapping 2014.  Most exciting thing:  getting married!  But I'll get to that... :)
JANUARY:  We took engagement pictures with our fabulous photographer.  It snowed more times in 1 month than I can remember in a long time and I even got snowed in at the hospital where I work.  I reached a lot of big milestones with my weight loss, which felt amazing.
FEBRUARY:  My birthday!  I turned 28, which is damn hard to believe.  It's not old, and I don't feel my age most of the time, but I ask myself every single day-  where does the time go?!  I also took my first Zumba class and looooved it.  I also took my first BodyFlow class and loved it as well.  My time with Gene The Personal Trainer came to an end and I still miss him to this day.
MARCH:  I ran a 5k!  Okay, well I ran/walked it, but I didn't walk the whole thing and I ran across the finish line, so I definitely consider that a success!  I also went bathing suit shopping, which proved to be a huge form of motivation for me.  It also proved to be a huge WTF moment for my relationship with Target, because their bathing suits are made of paper.  Or something awful that is not fit for my body.
APRIL:  School was going well and I started another dreaded math class, which I ended up with a good grade in!  HUGE SUCCESS!  I wore shorts for the first time in a long, long time when we went to Six Flags.  I had a huge fear that I wouldn't be able to fit on the rides and I was happily proved wrong.  We had a blast riding the rides and eating the terrible amusement park food.  Our neighborhood also flooded and the water came this close to getting in our house.  Now any time it rains for a semi-long period of time, I borderline panic.  Oh, and I reached 100 pounds lost!!
MAY:  We went to the Steve Miller Band & Journey concert with my cousins, which was such a fun concert!  It was a last minute decision to buy tickets and I'm so glad we did!  My cousin and I took mini airplane bottles into the concert in our underwear and I still don't regret it.  I also started food prepping and even posted a picture of myself in my bikini.  To this day, that is still such a huge milestone for me.
JUNE:  My anxiety was amped up a few levels from school and wedding planning, I interviewed my now-husband about random things, got obsessed with the show Bob's Burgers, and even made it to one-derland. 
JULY:  I started some 2014 Book Goals which I haven't completed, but hey, there's time in 2015!  I did read some of them and should probably update my list, but whatever.  I also had a fight with a friend and wrote about it, which, even though it was extremely vague, I probably shouldn't have done.  You live and learn, people. 
AUGUST:  I only posted once in August and it was about an email that I received from a perfect stranger that I still think about today and keep up with on Instagram.  Some people come in your life at just the right time and leave the perfect impression in their own unique way.
SEPTEMBER:  I only posted once this month as well and it was about all the crazy things that go through your mind (or at least mine) when you're about to get married.  I don't regret a single thing about my wedding planning experience, no matter how much is stressed me out or pissed me off. (ahem, girl that works at my wedding venue, I'm looking at you.)
OCTOBER:  I GOT MARRIED!!  I haven't talked about it or written about it here, but you should know that it was the perfect day, with perfect weather, perfect people, friends, family, dancing, food, booze (lots of Moscato...), pictures, crying, more crying, crying with my mom, crying with my dad, crying while dancing with my dad, crying while saying our vows, crying with my best friend alone in the bridal suite before it was time to walk, more crying the happiest tears I will cry until I have a baby, which will then be a different kind of happy.  There were some hiccups, but thanks to my two amazing best friends S+R and my mom, I didn't notice a single thing.  Wedding advice for anyone getting married:  put two or three people you trust wholeheartedly in charge of putting out wedding fires.  This includes but is not limited to missing bridal party members, drunk bridal party members, missing family, people acting a fool, wedding vendor issues, etc... It was one of the best decisions I made.  I didn't have my phone all day and S+R took care of everything.  

M+B

October 4, 2014

We also went on our gorgeous, amazing, unforgettable honeymoon to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in October and had five glorious days of all-inclusive fun. What was not fun was me falling at the pool, at the resort, in a foreign country, and dislocating my knee, as well as tearing all the ligaments in my knee, tearing part of my muscle in my leg AND chipping a piece of bone off my knee cap.  I've posted a little bit about this on IG and other social media, but it was a really, really crazy thing that happened.  I promise I will come back (sooner than 3 months!) and tell the story, as well as post wedding pics and some other stuff.  One thing I want to do in 2015 is keep up with blogging.  
Not a lot has happened after the craziness of October.  Being married is amazing and more than I could have dreamed of.  I had knee surgery and have been doing lots of (painful) physical therapy and today we are going to Nashville for New Year's Eve.  
Even on the bad days, life is pretty damn good.
Happy New Year, y'all. Cheers to an amazing 2015.
all my love, always.