Happy Tuesday

Sorry for being MIA -- I was at our conference swim meet last weekend and there was no wifi at the hotel. (Can you believe it? It's 2013! We paid more than $85/night to stay there! I thought wifi was a gimmie! #firstworldproblem)

I was feeling under the weather over the weekend and thought a good nights sleep would catch me up, but yesterday, I would have sworn I was close to death. I thought some fresh air (and some retail therapy) might help, but I only felt worse when I got home. Luckily, my baby sister took good care of me, and after 13 hours of sleep, I'm feeling much better today.

While I was out, I did pick up a few things though:

This Lilly Pulitzer Amanda Long Sleeve V Neck in Mulit in the Beginning

These Lilly Holiday Cards (although they don't say holiday on them so I think I can get away with sending them year round.)

Clinique Rinse-off Foaming Cleanser - I'll let you know how I like it!

Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm - I got it in Chunky Cherry 

While I was out, I also got a key chain from Lilly as a Valentines Give-a-Way, and a Clinique goody bag worth $65 with blush, mascara, lipstick, lip gloss, eye cream, and moisturizer!

I will have LOTS of catch-up to do the rest of this week, but Logan should arrive mid-afternoon on Friday and I cannot wait! :) It's been a long 4 weeks, and this time we'll only have to say goodbye for 3 weeks before I make a trip down to Georgia to see him.

Hope everyone is doing well! Later this week I'll let you in on what I'm planning for Valentines!

206 more days! Wedding Wednesday

First, I'll update everyone on wedding ideas, but first I want to show off some of my purchases from last night!

First, I bought this awesome pillow from Urban Merchant:

I love the way it fits on my bed - although I'm still working out how to arrange all my pillows...

                                              

I also received this precious card in the mail from a dear friend in Charleston - and another Bride-to-be! (I'll be a bridesmaid in her wedding in June):

So of course I had to pick up a card to send back! And I found the perfect one at Gladiola Girls:

And I found a Valentines card for Logan:

So much fun -- it was great hanging out with the roommates and we had the most delicious dinner afterwards!

So, onto the wedding! We officially have an appointment with the florist on the books and appointments in March to try on and order bridesmaid dresses! We'll go to three places in Richmond and since all of my maids will be there, I'm hoping we will come to a consensus that day. 

There is a SLIGHT possibility that the wedding will be bumped up to April, however. It's the only time I know Logan will be between sessions (finished with BOLC but not quite starting Ranger School yet) and it would give him all the time in the world to do Ranger School and Airborne. With the wedding in August right now, I'm so nervous he'll feel the pressure to either get through Ranger School faster or opt out altogether, and then we run the risk of his being deployed... it's all such a headache.

If we do bump it up, the only hitch will be bridesmaid dresses. And then things could get interesting :) But we'll know more by the end of this week what our timeline is. Is it so bad that I just want to marry this cutie already?

Grad school starts back up tonight - 15 credit hours until freedom! :) Have a great night!

XX - C

A Case of the Tuesdays

Boy oh boy. Florida was a blast! The weather was perfect for the majority of the trip, and Disney was a blast. Here is me and a former teammate on Dumbo!

Coming back to work yesterday was so difficult - I had a case of the Mondays something awful. But, I had a productive day, got to the gym after work, made delicious egg white breakfast burritos for dinner, and crawled into bed.

Today is a little better - I wore my favorite Lilly scarf, a pink cardigan, and curled my hair - which makes it hard to be grumpy!

Bonnie, Emily and I are headed downtown tonight to enjoy an open house on Main St! Some of my favorite stores with all kinds of fun stuff happening.

I love being able to get out of the apartment, do a little shopping, enjoy the company of my roommates, and support local businesses! After shopping, we have a 7:30 reservation at Dish - one of my favorites! I cannot wait.

Logan is back in the field this week doing Land Nav, so I won't be able to talk to him again until Friday evening - I cannot WAIT for BOLC to be over! But, by the end of the week some of my wedding questions should be answered, which is very exciting.

I hope everyone is doing well - sorry for my hiatus!

XX - C

Boring Tuesday!

Nothing big to report on today!

My workout went well yesterday - but I didn't do as much cardio as I hoped. I just haven't shaken this cold yet and my whole chest and throat were burning... but the weight circuit kicked my butt.

I came home, grocery shopped with Bonnie, and made this yummy Weight Watchers recipe for dinner. The chicken was delish - moist, lemony, and we used dried herbs and they were still devine. We heated up some canned green beans on the stove (I drain the liquid from the can first) and added a splash of EVOO and Garlic Salt and all were happy!

I then enjoyed some red wine and popcorn while we watched Biggest Loser!

Lucky me, the Army let my fiance leave way early yesterday, so we were able to Skype last night as well. I'm enjoying the time he's not in the field very much!

Today was a busy day. No organized moving every hour, but I was up and down a bunch for other stuff, so I still feel accomplished. I have some big projects ahead of me, but I'm excited to tackle them once and for all.

Here is what I wore today:

Boots from J Crew ($199-$318 online... I got mine at the Clearance Store in Lynchburg for $60!), Dress from Gap, Cardigan from Eddie Bauer, Scarf from Target, Cheetah belt from New York and Co,  Earrings from Kate Spade, and bracelets from Premier Jewelry. 

Gym plan for tonight: 30 minutes of cardio and this upper body workout from Women's Health Magazine:

Have a good night!

And we're off to...

Fort Campbell, KY/TN!

This is great news - it means great job opportunities for me and I definitely won't be complaining about being so close to Nashville.

However, we might be pushing the wedding back. The worst part is that we only have 1 weekend that's a feasible option, and it eliminates the option of an outdoor reception. The date now is Aug. 17, but that may not work with Ranger School. We can't do it the 24 because it's Sweet Briar's move in, which leave us with Labor Day weekend.

We can't do it the 7 - that's Logan's birthday - and the 14th gets too close to when we'd be moving. Luckily, the venue will be changed to indoor, but that'd be the biggest change.

Now to job and house hunt! Yay!

XX - C

Off we go!

Logan got his RFO this week - it's something sent out a few weeks before he receives his official orders but should tell us where we'll be stationed!

Of course because I've been waiting for this information since May and any further wedding planning hinges on this information, and I've been biting it the bit to begin house and job searching, he couldn't open the document on his laptop.

He's heading to base today to check it all out. I cannot wait to find out - and this was the best news to end my week on.

I as also notified yesterday that I won the "Young Professional of the Year" Award for the VACRAO - I am so, so honored!

Updates soon when I have official news about the RFO!

My Birthday! :)

So my birthday is on the 16th - Sunday - but my great sister can never resist giving me my presents early.

Last year it was my favorite perfume - Twirl by Kate Spade. This year, it was a Lilly Pulitzer phone case! I swear, I have the best sister, ever.

My Dad gave me his "present" as well. I had purchased myself a one-way plane ticket from ATL to LYH for New Years Day instead of driving home after Logan returned to Ft. Benning. I always send confirmations to my parent's emails as well as my own so they stay in the loop (I fly a lot for work and it's hard to keep it all straight sometimes). When Dad saw the confirmation, he asked if he could reimburse me as my birthday present from him. I happily obliged :)

I'll probably use the money to put towards my Spa Day next week - I can hardly wait!

Now it's off to work. My to-do list is entirely too long and we leave at 11 for our office lunch at Robin Alexander!

Happy Thursday!

XX - C

Recap!

Sorry for the hiatus -- I was out moving Logan down to Fort Benning for him to begin his Basic Officers Leadership Course. I'm definitely sad about having to transition to a long distance relationship, but it's all a part of the military lifestyle and relatively not that long.

Logan will be back in Virginia for the holidays, he'll go home to Indiana for a few days, and we'll do New Years Eve in Atlanta. He'll head back into training, but I have a copy of his schedule. There are some days he'll leave for the field on Monday and I won't get to talk to him again until Friday night, and those weeks will be hard, but I know we'll be OK.

He'll graduate from his BOLC course on Apr. 9 and I already have the 8-10 off from work to go down and see him. That also gives me plenty of time to save up for a plane ticket and rental car - that 10 hour drive yesterday was NOT very fun.

Hopefully that gives him April to get into Airborne and start Ranger School in May. Since he's AG, he'll probably only recycle once or twice, which means he should be good to go and moved onto his base with plenty of time to spare for the August wedding :)

I hope everyones week is going well!

Weekend Recap

Last week was incredibly stressful and I made myself sick over things going wrong. I was overwhelmed with school work that I hadn't gotten to because of the move, was behind on work in Admissions, tons of personal errands that kept piling up, and with Logan out of town, the reality of him leaving for Ft. Benning so soon began to sink in.

When I get stressed, I tend to get migraines. I keep Excedrin on me at all times, but it became unbearable by Thursday. I took the afternoon off and all day Friday to give myself some time to breathe. I spent Thursday afternoon unpacking and finishing up a big paper for school. Friday was full of errands - new tires for my car, a hair appointment, wrapping up big registry items, and getting cable set up at the apartment - and to relax, I cooked Logan, my roommates, and I dinner. Just a simple filet mignon and some garlic parmesan green beans. As a surprise, I ordered some cake pops from the girl we're hoping will do our wedding. Logan wanted to try them before he left town, so I got them for dessert to try. They were perfection and we're excited to talk to her about a wedding order!

We ordered them from Sweet Delight Cake Pops. You can like her on Facebook here!

Saturday, Logan and I had engagement photos on campus -- I cannot wait to see how they turn out! The photographer is a family friend and I was excited to show off my outfits. I found two precious dresses on sale at a local boutique, Gladiola Girls, and was so excited to wear them! Saturday night Logan and I walked downtown for dinner at Robin Alexander - one of the last things on his bucket list to do before leaving Lynchburg.

Sunday we went to church to hear Dad play in the bell choir, cleaned up the apartment, and I had a study group for school. To save some time this morning, I packed my lunch last night and prepped dinner for tonight! (I cooked the chicken and mixed it together with the cheese. All I'll have to do post yoga tonight is place in the croissants and pop in the oven. They'll be done by the time I'm done showering.)

Overall, it was a great weekend. But I AM ready for a long weekend! 

XX - C

275 days 'til my wedding!

Logan leaves for Ft. Benning in less than two weeks, and even with my travel schedule being so hectic for October, I think we have the biggest bases covered. I wanted to do as much planning with him as possible before he left so if he is unable to communicate with me a whole bunch while he's at training he'll have input on the important things.

Here is a quick recap of what we're thinking so far. They won't all be official photos - I want to keep SOME of it a surprise - but the photos are our inspiration.

Wedding Style: Southern Chic.
Venue: Sweet Briar College Memorial Chapel

The interior of the Chapel - the photo is from my co-worker's wedding.

The exterior - just ignore the cars.

Reception: We will have the reception at the Elston Inn and Conference Center at Sweet Briar. 

The courtyard - where the cocktail hour will be. Then we'll move inside for dinner and dancing.

Entertainment: We'd love a live band, and after hearing a blue-grass string band play at a friend's wedding are looking at local musicians to play for the cocktail hour and dinner. From there, we're looking at less expensive alternatives to keep the party going.

Invitations/Save the Dates: We wanted these to all be cohesive. We wanted something classic but not too stuffy. We found a local graphic designer who will design custom invitations for us and address them in calligraphy.

A sample invite from Leen Jean.

Flowers: I always wanted tulips, but of course they couldn't be more out of season for an August wedding. So since then, I have fallen in love with hydrangeas. I want very simple bouquets - which will be easy since hydrangeas won't require much additional "fluff". They're also super in season and will make the most perfect centerpieces.

Dress: I found my dress at a local shop, Celebration, and got a great deal on it. Right under budget :) It was exactly what I was looking for, but you'll understand why I won't include any photos. I'm banking on the element of surprise on the 17th!

Something Old: I will be wearing the tiara my grandmother wore in her wedding in my hair as my Something Old. We're having the pearls and jewels repaired on it this spring.

Something Blue: When my parents got married, they eloped on the beach. My Mom wore a blue dress, so we'll cut a heart out of her dress and sew it on the inside of my dress. That will be my Something Blue.

My parents on their wedding day. 

Overall, things are going well! Of course there is much more ironed out at this point, but I'll update more later!

XX - C