Girls Week!

West Palm Beach recap...headed your way!

After arriving Wednesday evening, we rested up for our week of fun in the sun.  Thursday was spent lounging by the pool.  Later on, Matt's aunt gave us a tour around the city.  We got to see Trump's house (did you know he has a golf course on his property?  yeah...) and a bunch of other houses with amazing views of the water.  Could you even imagine living on the beach?  I mean, whoa. 

Phyllis forced us to get all posey with our pictures.  This is not typical.

Friday we spent at the beach.  The water was so perfect, clear and warm.  I'm not a huge ocean person (the thought of things swimming around with me kind of grosses me out...) but it was enjoyable enough.  I got a lot of reading done and the weather was just perfect.

We finished the day with a movie...Letters to Juliet.  It was cute.  Predictable but cute.  And the guy was super hot...with an accent.  Always a plus.

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Saturday we went out and got some yummy truffles and drove around the city a little more.  We spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool.  I finished the day with some delicious potato crusted salmon.  Yum!  You seriously cannot beat fish by the water.  

Sunday was our last full day so we spent it at the beach.  I was pretty much sunned out though so I spent a lot of the day underneath the shade of the pier.  A girl can only take so much 90 degree weather, you know?  We cooled off by the pool for the rest of the day and then enjoyed another dinner by the water.

Afterward we walked the beach one last time.  More posed pictures on the way...

Isn't Phyllis just the most beautiful little thing in the whole world?  Could not love her more...

We picked up some essentials on the way home and finished the evening with LOST.  Absolutely perfect.

Yes, they were as fabulous as they look...

After lunching in Fort Lauderdale before our flight...we said our goodbyes.  I could not be more thankful to Matt's aunt and uncle for letting us stay with them.  It was incredibly sweet and I'm so glad I had the time to get to know them better and visit.  

But I was very glad to be home to see my hubs and to sleep in my own bed!  Nothing beats a big hug and a snuggle from your love.

Friends That Last

I'm still lounging around in Florida for the rest of the week...

But I thought I'd tell you a little bit about bestie Jill who is with me!

Jill is one of two people I talk to from high school.  I'm of the understanding that you either have college friends or high school friends.  And I definitely have college friends.  But Jill's stuck.  And AJ, he's our other friends, he's stuck too.  They're people I can go months without seeing and pick up in exactly the same place and time when we are reunited.  I feel more myself with them than anyone else...except maybe Hubs of course :)  Probably a good thing, right?

So instead of doing the whole gift thing for Christmas, the three of us go out to a fancy dinner.  No husbands, no significant others, nothing.  Just the three of us.  It's a great opportunity for us to catch up and enjoy our time together like the old days.  We don't get to hang out a lot because I live so far away...but we make it work.  Jill and I always joke that she is my longest relationship :)  Ha!

So here's a little look back at our Christmases of yore.

Christmas 2007.  I cannot believe I am posting this.  For some reason I felt the need to stick my butt way out in this picture.  I have no idea why.  It's huge as it is...and I felt the need to accentuate it?  Idiot.

Dude, AJ dressed up a lot nicer the year before, huh?  Ha!  At least it's a step up from the sweatshirt and sweatpants we usually get :)

We noticed this year we always stand the exact same way.  Weird?  We were also totally pissed that Jill's parents were not home so we didn't have anyone to take our picture in front of their tree like we ALWAYS do.  How dare they not rearrange their schedules to accommodate our Christmas dinner!  So we went to AJ's parents' house instead.  It'll have to do...

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!  I'm flying back Monday evening so hopefully I can catch up with you on Tuesday! 

XOXO

And yes, I just did a post about Christmas.

In May.

When I'm at the beach.

I'm crazy.

Sunny Shores

As you are reading this...


I am waking up here...

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Last night, bestie Jill and I flew into Fort Lauderdale and made our way to West Palm Beach!  Matt's aunt and uncle live there and were nice enough to let us crash in their condo...so weather permitting...we will be enjoying sunny 88 degrees for the next few days!

This trip could not have come at a better time.  I am in some serious need of vacay from work and am so excited to spend some quality time with Jill.  Love her!

Trip to Gulf Shores, 2008

Just a Little Taste

Y'all know I'm doing the 3-Day, right??

Well, I went home to Indiana last weekend for a quick trip to investigate some spots for fundraising events.  Although it was just for a few days, I think I made a lot of progress on nailing down some leads!

And while I was there I got to spend some much needed time with my family.  I hardly ever come home without Matt so it was really nice to stay in my own house with my parents and spend all the time I wanted to with just them.  We visited my grandpa, grandma, and an aunt all in one day...which let me tell you...never happens!  I even got in some training walks with my BFF when I was there.  Simply put, it was just the weekend I needed.  (Besides the 5 hour drive of course...but that clearly goes without saying.)

On Saturday night, BFF Jill, her SIL Melissa, and I went to Tastings.  It's a really cool concept for a wine bar in downtown Indianapolis.  It has tasting stations of wine set up with a brief description of each wine listed.  When you find a wine you want to try, you insert your pre-paid Tasting's card (which is basically like a credit card you put any amount of money on you want) and out comes a taste!  The prices vary...but shockingly I stuck to the $2.50 wines instead of venturing over to the more expensive kind!

It was a super fun night...and we got cheese!

Overall, the weekend was a blast and I cannot wait to make another visit!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend (and since I'm so far behind...and it's already Wednesday...) hope everyone is having a great week!!

A Christmas to Remember

Because Matt and I were leaving for Indianapolis on Wednesday afternoon, we decided to do our Christmas on Tuesday evening. This year we opted for just stockings. Here is my sweetie with his goodies:

Check out all of my loot!

Every year my two best friends and I go out for a fancy shmancy Christmas dinner to celebrate the holidays. It's become a tradition to get our picture taken in front of the Christmas tree as a little memento.

Jill, AJ, and I

Seriously delicious dessert! Carrot cake, Cheesecake, and a Chocolate Truffle that was to die for.

Jill and me

Matt and I stayed Wednesday evening with my parents. When we woke up, my sister and her husband were there. We spent the morning chatting and decorating sugar cookies. So fun! Well, for a little while :)

Jessi was really, really good. I was okay...and then I sucked. Those cookies take so long to decorate!

Here is her cookie of her husband. Absolutely hilarious. He's even holding candy. Love it.

So, of course, I had to make a cookie that looked like Matt. This is what I came up with. What do you think? He was not impressed.

Jessi's Santa

Matt and I headed over to his parents' house to visit for a few hours and to do some last minute wrapping. Then we went to Mass with my family and headed out to Chili's for our annual Christmas Eve meal with my dad's side of the family as well as Matt's parents. After dinner, everyone came back to my parents' house for a gift exchange and family game night.

Mom's Christmas Eve spread

Me, my brother, and my sister

Action shots during the gift exchange: FIL, cousin, grandma, aunt, and grandpa. I took away two board games and Matt came home with a dirt devil. Great. I know who that gift is really for.

Let the games begin! Here is my BIL in action. It was boys vs. girls in a game of Funglish. I had never played this game before and it was super fun. Great game for a party!

Matt and I stayed another night with my parents and woke up Christmas morning to find this:

Clearly Mom went a little nut-so with the large gifts this year! We could hardly walk in the room! But what a beautiful tree!

Every year we get lotteries in our stockings. Here is my BIL, sister, Mom, and brother scratching them off. Matt was actually the big winner with $10 :)

My BIL decided to wrap himself up as a present with the excess wrapping paper. Oh dear.

Highlights of my gifts include some cake decorating supplies, a new sweater, a leopard Snuggie!, a dutch oven, a new stock pot, several books, and a few kitchen gadgets. Matt got a lot of Colts gear, a Brooks Brothers gift card, an outdoor smoker/grill, and a shop vac. My family was so generous with all of their gifts and we were so thankful!

We played a few games and then bid farewell to my sister and her husband who headed up to Fort Wayne to spend the rest of the weekend with Dave's family. Matt and I went over to his parents' house around 12:30 p.m. and spent the rest of Christmas with them. It is there that I received my new Chi straightener!! I'm super stoked about this! I have already used it and it is just fabulous. I could not love it more! Matt cleaned up with every tool you can imagine. Now, what can I make him build me?? Hm.

Saturday some of Matt's extended family came up from the Louisville area and we walked away with a few more board games. Later in the afternoon, Matt and I left for our final Christmas celebration with my mom's side of the family. She is one of seven so it is always a houseful no matter where we go.

After the gift exchange there, we had the joy of watching my brother participate in a pick up game of football. Oh how the mighty have fallen...

For some reason, Mook had tucked his jeans into his boots whilst playing. I guess they were too long?? Who knows...but it was hilarious.

We had an amazing Christmas with family and friends and I am so sad to see the season ending. But I am looking forward to the New Year with much anticipation for new adventures to come!

It's Finally Here!

CHRISTMAS IS HERE!!

Today I am working a 1/2 day and then I am finally on vacation! When I get home, Matt and I are heading back to Indianapolis for the rest of the week to spend some much needed quality time with our families. Our "vacation" is definitely jam packed with activities, but it should be completely fantastic and I could not be looking forward to it more.

As I think I've mentioned before, Matt and I decided to purchase a video camera around Thanksgiving as our Christmas present to each other...so last night we exchanged stockings. I'll posts a few pictures as a recap next week..but let's just say that my diet is definitely not going to resume until the new year!

Tonight, I have my annual Christmas dinner with my two BFF's from home. Instead of doing presents, we decided maybe 5 years ago or so to go out to a fancy dinner just the three of us to catch up. It is probably the day I look forward to the most around the holidays. We don't get to spend too much time together just the three of us these days so the time we do get together is precious to me.

Here we are last year with our annual picture in front of Jill's parents' tree

So if I don't get a chance to post beforehand...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Surprise!

Now that the weekend is over, I can finally let all of you in on the little secret I have been keeping!

For several months I have been elaborately planning a surprise 30th birthday party for my dear husband. It involved lies and deception like you have never seen from family, friends, and co-workers...and it was all totally and completely worth it.

My sister and her husband came in from Chicago for a "visit" and then...in a crazy coincidence, Matt's best friend Robert and his wife Laura came up from Indy to stay with us on Friday and Saturday night because Laura's cousin (who is from Cleveland) had a baby and the Christening was on Sunday. Ha! Genius!

Saturday...my sister, Laura, and I headed off to "the gym," which actually meant out to pick up the balloon bouquet and drop it off at a friend's house who was coming to the party. After that, we spent the rest of the day rocking out...ha! Our band was called OMFG. Yeah. I know you're jealous.


All of Matt's friends and co-workers were going to be at Buffalo Wild Wings at 6 p.m...so it took a little effort to get us to leave the house at the exact right time. I also had the dilemma of having to decorate and put out the cake once Matt was out of the house and still beat him to the restaurant. Well, a big huge thanks goes out to Laura...who faked eye troubles all freaking day to get Matt to take her to Walgreen's beforehand for eye drops. That gave my sister, her husband, and I enough time to decorate and get to B-dubs before Matt did! It was perfection!




The best part...he had no idea!







We had everyone over to our house afterward for cake, Oreo Truffles, and games. It was a blast and Matt was so appreciative of his friends for helping him celebrate. I made a cake that looked like his business card...which turned out fantastic! But I don't want to post a picture of his information for all of the world to see. Sorry!


I will, though, let you see the result of all of the baking I have been doing. Here is about 75% of it....getting ready to be assembled last night.


Holy sugar load people! Get this stuff out of my house!

My Peeps

One of my favorite things about our wedding: our attendants. When we got engaged, Matt and I instantly picked 4 people each who we wanted to stand up with us when we got married. And in all honesty, there was no one else I could've chosen if I wanted to. My bridesmaids were my only close girl friends at the time and the only people I wanted to be there with me on that day.

My sister was my maid of honor.



Next came my best friend in the whole world, Jill. I have known her since kindergarten although our friendship did not blossom until high school. Have you ever had a friend where you fit in just perfectly with their family like you were a missing piece? It's like that for me with her. I spent more time in high school at her house than my own. Her parents and brother are like family to me...and were all involved in my wedding in some part. She's my person.




Jill was in charge of my something old and you know what she did? She got me a 'J' charm (for both of our names), we attached it to my bouquet, and my something old was our friendship! How stinking cute is that?? Love it!





Is it sad that this is my favorite wedding picture ever and it doesn't even involve my husband??





Ah, Erin! I met Erin freshman year at Purdue, first day of school, English 101. She tells me I walked into class like I was so much better than everyone else and that I knew it all. Well, you know what? I did know it all! It was English 101 people! I hated that they didn't let me test out of that class! But, I ended up meeting one of my very favorite people in the world. We started working together junior year and then finally were able to live together senior year. It was literally the best year of my whole life. I could not have asked for a more supportive and fun roomate. She is simply the best.




So you want to know the most hilarious story about Erin? Well, some of us stayed over at Jill's the night before my wedding and we woke up to Erin coming over at 8 a.m......in her dress!?! We were like, "Um, you know the wedding's at 6:00 p.m. right? What are you doing already dressed??"

Apparently Erin had tried on the dress the night before and the zipper had gotten stuck and she couldn't get it off! She had to sleep in the dress! Ha! It was the funniest thing! She had on sweat pants underneath and a zip up hoodie over it...so the girls at the salon thought she was just dressed in some weird Bohemian outfit until we told them the story. Jill had to steam Erin's dress with her in it at the laundry mat. Priceless!




CJ was my final bridesmaid. Unfortunately we have grown apart and haven't really spoken since this day. CJ introduced me to Matt, as her brother Robert is Matt's best friend. We also met at Purdue and lived on the same floor. Although we don't talk now, I will forever be grateful to her for giving me the love of my life.






Onto the boys! My brother, Matt's BFF Robert, Matt, Will, and Todd (famous husband of Blue Eyed Bride and papa to baby Hudson!) are pictured here. Aren't they the cutest bunch? It was so special to Matt to have his best friends with him on this day.




This is also one of my favorite pictures. Matt and I got married the same day South Carolina played LSU...I know! Unthinkable, right? Well it gets worse! Will is a die hard LSU fan...and Todd is the same for South Carolina! The fact that we were able to tear these boys away from this game to start the ceremony is beyond me. Matt and I were just so thankful that they even agreed to come to Indianapolis!




Ah, the junior bridesmaids. These are two of Matt's brother's kids. It was my attempt at bonding and utter failure by the look of this picture. I wanted pink dresses with black sashes so they would be opposite my girls...but I had some resistance. I hate, hate, hate that they look the same as my bridesmaids...but whatever. Over and done with I guess.




My little cousins were our ring bearer and flower girl. They are simply the cutest things on the planet! Cassie's dress was almost the exact replica of mine. It was perfect!





My sister's husband Dave and my cousin Josh were our ushers.



Next up...ceremony!