17 inches ...

of snow yesterday! It snowed from late Christmas night until this morning straight! I live in Virginia, not the north pole!!!

When it snows 2 inch's the whole city shuts down and people drive crazy and schools close. It's probably been 10+ years since we have seen this much snow!

Of course Natalia wanted to go out and play. Hubbs, Natalia, my sister and brother-in-law all dressed up nice and warm in what felt like hundred's of layers of snow.
Natalia's face got cold so hubbs got out his military goggles to cover her up with. She loved them!! Mommy & Natalia trying to run around and play! She would have stayed out all day if I would have let her!! Around 45minutes later I was ready to trek home and drink a nice warm cup of hot cocoa!!

Did anyone else get this mess?!!

Forgive me ...

Forgive me blogger friends for I have been a bad blogger this month :(
I will be better!

December has literally flown by so quickly..where has the month gone?! Yesterday it was the 1st and today is the 23rd and my baby sister's 22nd birthday. Goodness I am starting to feel old and I still have some years to go before 30! Yikes!!

&& tomorrow is Christmas EVE!! Today at 2 starts my holiday vacation and tomorrow will be filled with church and lots of family love. Yesterday I went to Natalia's preschool and helped her decorate a gingerbread house. So.very.cute!
Will show pictures tomorrow!

The only thing about this time of the year that doesn't get me all excited is the weather. Don't get me wrong- I love wearing sweather dresses and cute boots and snuggling with the hubbs and mini-me... But I'd much rather have warmer weather with beach family time!!

What plans?

I had Christmas house cleaning plans tonight.
Decorating. Laundry. Maybe carpet shampoo.
My friends.. none of this got done. I get home from dinner, turn on the Tv and this is the first thing I see:


Now ... from my mention here , or even here , you have to know by now how I feel about Sex and the City. From the friendships to love to fashion is just fabulous ♥

No matter how many 10000000x I have seen not only this movie or the 2nd one or even every single episode I will always watch it when given the chance!

It's bad .. so bad that I have the whole series and both movies... & Hubbs has seen them all. Yes. ALL of them.. My best friends and I can relate almost everything about us to some sort of episode.

Anyways - back to my point. I planned on doing so much tonight..Natalia and I read a book and she fell asleep while I put the pile of laundry together... & that was the end of it ;)

Thanks Carrie ♥

A Story of US!

1. What are your middle names?
Renee & John
2. How long have you been together/married/dating?
We have been married a whole 5 months & 4 days!!
3. How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Um... a couple months?
4. Who asked who out?
I'm really not sure! We kept running into each other on the weekends while we were both out with friends.
5. Where are you both from?
I'm from good ol' Virginia, he is from Maryland.
6. Did you go to the same school?
Negative.
7. Are you from the same home town?
Nope
8. Who is the smartest?
Hm. He would probably say me and I will say him ;) No really, we never seem to amaze each other at what crazy facts we know!
9. Favorite vacation spot together?
Tough one! I will say St. Thomas!!
10. Who is the most sensitive?
I tend to not show as many emotions, but it would probably be me.
11. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
St. Thomas or Barbados?
12. Who has the worst temper?
I'm pretty quiet when i'm upset, but you will rarely ever hear one of us yelling unless we are watching sports!
13. How many children do you want?
2?
14. Who does the cooking?
I would say I do more, but he does his share!
15. Who is more social?
Him!
16. Who is the neat freak?
Most definitly him!
17. Who is the most stubborn?
I am going to say me!
18. Who wakes up earlier?
Him on any day of the week!
19. Where was your first date?
A little french bistro resturant. Amazing.
20. Who has the bigger family?
I win this one!
21. How do you spend the holidays?
All over VA and MD!
23. Who is more jealous?
We don't let that word exist.
24. How long did it take to get serious?
A couple months.. pretty fast!
25. Who eats more?
Hubbs!!
26. What do you do for a living?
He's in the Navy, I work in Property Management as a Property Manager.
27. Who does the laundry?
We both do! What a great man!
28. Who's better with the computer?
Tough one... probably pretty equal!
29. Who drives when you are together?
I usually like to on long trips.. other than that him.
30. What is your song?
Our wedding song is "Can't take my eyes off you" ♥

SO tired!

How was everyone's Thanksgiving? I had such a fun time hanging out with family and friends!
Wednesday night Hubbs and I headed to his parents (about an 1 1/2 drive) to spend the evening and eat a yummy thanksgiving breakfast before driving back home. Natalia stayed with my parents Wednesday night to help my mom do all her amazing baking for the big day.

The food was great, and the company was fabulous!

Pretty soon after my best friend & I decided to join every other crazy person out standing in line to shop! Both of our moms joined us soon after. We waited in line.. talked .. waited .. talked some more .. laughed a lot and finally got to shop! We stayed out till about 5am when I started feeling like a walking zombie before I just had to quit!!

It took me almost a whole day just to catch up on my much needed sleep! I guess I just didn't get enough because today I headed out for more shopping! This time I got some really neat Christmas decorations! I'll post some pics when I get the tree and everything up!!

How was your weekend??!!

Mrs. W

Military wife rant!

Why is it that some women decide that making the comment "I'd never be married to someone in the military" is a good thing to say to someone who IS married to a military man?????? Half of the time I don't ask why because frankly almost all the responses are generally identical. If you catch me on a good day about it and I decide to let you express your opinions- "They are gone all the time," "Almost all military men cheat," "You have to move everywhere." I usually go into a pre-programmed slew of explaining each and every comment.

What I would really like to do is tell these women that if you don't trust your significant other completely - you probably have issues whether or not they are even in the military...
I would point out the ignorance of the statement "they are gone all the time." Yes, they leave on deployments every other year, or every two years - but this is not the definition of "all the time"

What I would really like to tell them is that my amazing husband fights, protects, and stands up for what they get- their freedom. I don't talk about what their husbands do. I fully know and appreciate every career field out there.. please do the same!

Being a military wife definitely makes me a stronger woman & makes me love my husband even more. Hubbs is my hero ♥

I n d e p e n d e n t !!

Yes that is totally me! I have pretty much always been so independent and when I am determined to do something.. it gets done!

When Hubbs and I were dating he dedicated the Neyo song "Miss Independent"
as my song!

Although when I got married I gave some of that independence up to do more things as a unit...I still have a ton of it..and Hubbs always says thats why he loves me! Anyways earlier this week I decided I really wanted to touch up paint one of the walls in the house. I dragged Hubbs to Wal-mart to purchase a little paint brush and I decided THAT night that all the walls in my house had to be done...now! Yes, you can just call me a painting pro now! While Hubbs was talking gossiping on the phone with his best friend I was busy doing my touch up paint on what started out as one wall. Before I knew it I had done almost every wall. I will say that it looks FABULOUS!


As of June 26th I became Miss Mrs. Independent :)

Part #1 Wedding

Walking down the stairs in the hotel-- heading to the limo!

Waiting to get inside the limo. This is so neat- was defintely not a "planned" photo op!

My most favorite part of my life- my daughter- giving her padrina (godmommy) a big hug and kiss ♥ I love these two people!

I had mentioned to the Hubbs that I wanted this charm for my Pandora bracelet. I was so surprised when the best man delivered this to my hotel room the day of! I didn't even know he had listened to me! Aw, I love him!

You know .. the goodies ;)

More to come!

Early Christmas Present?!

I've read that shutterfly is giving away 50 FREE Christmas cards for blogging!!
I'm so excited that it's actually true! I can't wait to show you my design!

How you may ask? Just click here and fill out the form!

I ♥ shutterfly! I am in the process of making a photo album of wedding pictures for a family member for Christmas. Mom- not you! I know you read this ;)

Anyways -- don't miss out on this amazing deal! What are you waiting for?!!!

Happy Monday!

Mrs. W

I love Friday's!

I love the weekends .. so cliche! But I really do!

Tonight is a nice night in for the hubbs & I. We have a fire in and he just poured me a nice glass of Moscato..which is what I think know is the best wine out there! If you haven't tried it .. go to Olive Garden and ask for a glass. If you like sweet white wine.. you will be in love :)

It's almost Thanksgiving! Another fabulous holiday that I love! We all know what comes next - my favorite - Christmas!! Who else is excited?!!

The smell of pine, cinnamon, apple cider.. I die for! Although I'm totally, completely, not a fan of real cold weather - I just love Christmas time. I love putting in fire's and snuggling ♥
Ideally I would like a nice month or so of that ......

After that, i'm ready for the summer and bathing suits and beaches ;)


Signing off to go love argue with the hubbs over which movie to watch! Chick flick VS. Action!

Mrs. W

Ornament Swap!

The Luckiest in Love: Ornament Swap!:

Isn't this idea just the cutest thing ever?! I totally think so!
I am pretty excited about it! All my fellow bride's ... join in!

Christmas is coming!

I am so excited about Christmas! After all, it is my favorite time of the year!
I love decorating and hanging up stockings and having a nice warm fire going.

One thing I'm not all that excited about is the weather. I'd like it to snow on Christmas day and then be in the 70's the rest of the winter. I know .. sounds crazy but I'm just not a cold loving person. Sure I like to wear my fabulous pea coats and knee high boots out.. but I would much rather wear tanks and shorts and super cute sandals or wedges.

I can't believe 2010 has flown by! I've been married now for almost 5 months! The first part of this year went by so fast! I'm helping my little sister plan her summer 2011 wedding and it's so fun to plan when you really don't have to stress about all the "little things."

My goal for 2011 is to be the best little blogger I can be :)

Mrs. W ♥

Seriously MIA!

I have been seriously MIA! I'm a bad, bad girl!

Yesterday was a very special, amazing day for me. It was my birthday! Loved having a 10.10.10
birthday! Of course everyone showered me with the most fabulous birthday gifts ever ♥
Have to tell you all about them later!

The past week or so - I've had the worst drama with my Natalia's preschool. She is definitely her momma's girl! She is really outgoing, and loves to talk!

I get to pick up my wedding pictures this week! I'm so excited about this! I have to share some of the pictures that some of our guests took with some of the disposal camera's that were left around the tables. They seriously crack me up!

I'm off to take Natalia to dance class. Promise that I will touch base again really soon to go into lot's of birthday details!

With love,

♥ Nicole ♥

I.love.the.weekend!

Man .. what a work week! I was so glad when Friday came. I absolutely love not working on the weekends!

I have missed some flashback Friday's! Please forgive me! Hubbs and I getting ready to leave for his Christmas party last year.

Taking the munchkin paddle boating for this first time last fall. She loved it!

Is it Friday yet?

Happy Hump Day!

Who else is happy that we are halfway to Friday?! I know I totally am!

September/October is budget season at work for me. Planning for next year is so stresseful! So many numbers, excel sheets, percentages, oh man! Don't get me wrong - I love my job. Completely. But budget season is definitely not my favorite! I work for a pretty amazing company. My visions for the my property and employees, they share.


Next weekend is the fall festival at one of the parks in our city. I am so excited! It's tradition going- ever since I can remember. They have a bunch of people from all over Virginia & N. Carolina selling the different crafts they make. It's so neat.
My mom & I always come home with some kind of craft.

I absolutely love the fall season. The smell of pumpkin, pumpkin pie - deeeeelicious! & after fall is my favorite holiday .. Christmas!! ♥

With Love,

Mrs. W :)

Happy Birthday !!!

Happy Birthday to my super fabulous husband !!!

I love being newly married .. Everything we do from now to next June will be our " 1st as a married couple!"

I have the most amazing hubby and I thank God for bringing us together!

Dinner, drinks, presents tonight with all the family to celebrate!

Love,

Mrs. W :)

Fabulous Friday !!

For a quick recap - My babygirl started preschool this week ....
& LOVED it! ♥ It was completely and totally easier on her, than it was on me!
I'll post some sneak peeks soon of her first day!

Today is Friday & it's fabulous! I woke up and decided to not go into the office. I didn't have a million things to do on my desk, no reports needed done, no meetings, conference calls, nothing! So it was a perfect day to start an early weekend ;)

This is the first weekend in a really really long time that I don't have a million things planned! Right now, the only set in stone plan is a birthday party on Sunday afternoon! I'm loving the plan less weekend. I must say that before tonight is over, I am just SURE that Hubbs will be talking about doing something!
Every Friday I am going to have "Flashback Friday" and post an flashback picture! It might be anywhere from years to just months ago.. but will be fun!

Here we go!

This is a trip to Orlando Hubbs and I took with my best friend and her b/f back in March of 09'. It was amazing ♥ We went to a couple different beaches, ate at Emeril's restaurant (which I am heartbroken to say wasn't that good... my rice wasn't cooked :-[ )

Have you guys ever been to Orlando?!

Tomorrow is the day !!!

Tomorrow is the day that mama's monkey starts pre-school .. Just talking about it gives me anxiety! Yes, im totally one of those mom's. I can't help it. They will probably have to pry me away from the classrooms. I apologize in advance to my daughter's sweet sweet teacher who I actually really like! I will stand my ground and not shed a tear in front of Natalia. That .. I know! My mind keeps running from preschool..highschool..college..marriage... blah blah blah! It can't stop!

& yes, my mother thinks I'm completely overreacting! Hubbs thinks it's hilarious.

I thought about taking the day off to just sulk, but decided going into the office and working would help me not be a big cry baby all day!

I have been talking about preschool to Natalia all summer! I think I am actually talking myself up too! She thinks it will be so fun to go to big girl school now!

Everyone keeps asking the million dollar question -- Is it time for baby #2?!
To let the secret out the bag .. We can't wait for baby #2! It just will not be tomorrow ... but soon ;)

Wish me suuuuuuuper luck tomorrow!!


Mrs W ♥

It's hurricane season ....

This is what is on the channel of almost every news station:

It's pretty safe to say that it's pure craziness in every store here. I went into Target and there were no cases of water, flashlights, and the candles section was almost bare! I'm definitely not looking forward to tonight & early tomorrow morning. I am not a big fan of hurricanes. Not that a lot of people are, but there are plenty of people that run around like it's fun. We all witnessed what Katrina did... & we got a pretty bad scare with Isabelle back in 03'. Even worse, there are 3 of these bad boy's out there. Let's hope that they all just stay to themselves and blow away on their own!

Needless to say, if you don't hear from me in a couple days-- I probably don't have any power :(

Happy Anniversay !!!

I woke up this morning and when I realized the date was the 26th.. I thought back to today - two months ago! I seriously can't believe that it has already been TWO months! I am just now getting all my 'thank you' cards from the wedding out!

I love being married, I mean really! I love my daughter, I love my husband, my family & friends. && I am one of those people that actually love my job! I am really in this amazing place right now!

I'm pretty excited that in the next 2 months, I will have gone on trips up to PA, over to Chicago (which im really excited about!) and Charleston, SC! Not too excited about going to SC seeing as how I will be going there with my momma and sister to help her find a new place to live with her fiance... 6 hours away from me :( BUT, she is a big girl now, all grown up & engaged to a sailor and she's over the hills in love ♥ !! Can't wait to really start planning someone else's wedding for once!!

Honeymoon

I was kindly reminded that I haven't put up any honeymoon pics!
Here's a few sneak peeks :)

For those who watched the Bachelor with Jake last season.. This is in St. Lucia where he took Vienna for the mud bath! Since we were covered with mud from head to toe, we are supposed to have ridden our body from any evil!!

Hubbs watching as we pull into a small island called Dominica. We snorkled here and had so much fun!!

St. Maarten... I loved this island!! Shopping, scenary, just loved it!

St. Thomas = my favorite island. Ever!

Will definitely be going to St. Thomas again. Many more times!

NO to A-Rod!

This was my conversation tonight about my October birthday present ...

Me: "Babe, I want a Yankee jersey for my birthday..."
{I proceed to show him online exact pictures ;) }

Hubbs: Which one?

Me: Jeter .... or ....

Hubbs: Better not be A-Rod. I'd rather burn $300. It's bad enough your a damn yankee fan.

Me: Baaaaabbbe ...I really want one!

Hubbs: Okay, fine. I'll get you a Jeter one. But I will NEVER buy you a A-Rod one or anything with his name so that he benefits.

So I guess I won .. well sorta! It looks like I won't be getting any A-Rod (who I love ♥) stuff anytime in this life from good ol' Hubbs!

I'll be sure to post pics come October of my newly Yankee ... Jeter jersey!

I know ...

I know .. I've been lost! Can you blame me?! I'm a newlywed ♥!

Hubby & I decided to continue our every other week date night! Two nights a month ..mimimum.. we dress up nice, eat at a nice resturant, and have a nice romantic evening :) Last week we went down to the local marina and had an amazing seafood dinner!

I still haven't finished my 'thank you' cards from the wedding! Forgive me! It's a lot and im writing away! Speaking of wedding .. I need to post some more pictures from my fabulous day!

I can't believe its already August! July flew by in what seems like a day! Have I really been married over a month?! Natalia starts her second year of dance next month ... & preschool :-/ I'm sorry .. I just can't be that excited about my babygirl becoming so independant and not totally relying on mommy! I'm excited in all that she has accomplished and how smart and beautiful she has become in 4years, but shes still my babygirl! Always!


Alright, im almost ashamed to say that it's time for me to go. I have reality shows to watch!

Back to my Yank's

I thought I would share something very exciting that happened today.

Matter of fact, I'll let you see for yourself {Image below!}

My darling little princess will be rocking this in 5-7 business days!!

I've been looking for the perfect little cheerleader outfit since shes been born! She has her Jeter jersey, her yank tshirts, and now this amazing thing ♥

Of course Hubbs isn't a fan .. in fact I believe his face looked more like this :-(

Actually though ... he's pretty used to my diehard love for the Yankee's. I love New York .. he loves Baltimore. && theres no compromising there ;)

More sneak peaks!

Have I mentioned that I absolutely love my photographer? Crystalmorkphotography.com <-- You have to check it out! Which reminds me to show you some more amazing sneak peaks courtesy of her fabulous work!

I love this picture of us three dancing. They are my life! Love them!

Don't these guys look so handsome?! I think so.. Especially the one with the champayne vest on ;)

I had to show my shoes! I love them! I actually bought them outside of David's bridal or the other wedding stores. I found these- loved them, and thought I would defintely get some use out of them after the wedding!

I ♥ my amazing friends!

Happy to end with,

Mrs. W !

Sneak peek!

I've seen about 200 pics from the photography so far - but she is almost at the final stage! I've been holding off on most-- but thats rude! I'll give ya a small sneak peek! I just love this one! Love the 1st kiss, holding hands, everything!

I am HOME !!!

Well really I have been home since last Monday morning (around 4am!), but I couldn't even navigate around all the wedding stuff in my house... let alone blog!

But... I am back! Married, promoted at work this week (YAY!), and looking forward to new and exciting things!

Before you even ask (or think) about the wedding pictures - let me say first .. I will post some soon! Facebook friends got the pic's first :)

Being married doesn't really feel that much different. I have a new last name, new status change according to the government, but really - life hasn't really changed. In general though -I LOVE being married, and feel blessed every day.

*The Honeymoon* can be summed up in one word .... FABULOUS ♥
We can't wait to take Natalia on a cruise .. maybe Disney?

Love,

Mrs W :)

Last post before taking the plunge!!

With all the hectic stuff going on within the next couple(3 1/2!!!!) days ... I don't know if I will get a chance to enter the blogging world.

So my friends/family .. This may be my last post as a single woman *sheds small HAPPY tear!*

I will then be whipped off to my fabulous honeymoon.. & then will return to blogging about .. well, I guess it will be ALL about my #1 most favorite thing in the WHOLE world.. my daughter ♥ Natalia. I'll be sure to shoot ya some nice pics when I return as a Mrs!

:)

How many days?!

& the countdown would be :drum roll please:

7 days..one week... 168 hours!

I know my blogging has been MIA, but it has been crunch time!

We have gone up to Baltimore TWICE in the last week for day trips. For those that do not know .. It is about a 4 hour drive one way.

Last meeting with the DJ, caterer, and bakery was done on the last trip up. The first trip of the week was to finish marriage counseling and meet up with some of Greg's friends for a night out!

It was nice to interrupt pure wedding craze with some friend time :)


I can't believe it is so close! It feels like just yesterday we had a year to plan!

I promise to update some more before the actual DAY!!!!!

But now I am off to nap - Natalia has her end of the year dance recital today. #1- I can't believe my baby just turned 4. #2- You can't even IMAGINE how cute she looks in her little dance outfit..but don't worry, ill be sure to post pics!

♥

Bride-to-be :)

Pics from my VA shower!!

My sister (MOH) made this basket for me for our honeymoon! It had everything we needed!

Seriously love my girls!

This cake looked AMAZING! It defintely tasted like it too!!

OH-EM-GEEE

24 days!! I know it's getting close when I can count the number of days left on my calendar in my office, and not have to rely on my knot.com countdown (which I still love!)

& Actually in 2 weeks today- the madness will all start! Greg & I have to go pick up our marriage license from the courthouse and swear that we aren't related under oath! Then we have a final meeting with the caterer, DJ, and bakery. The week after that will consists of hair appts, nail appts, last minute get togethers and the week will end with me becoming a MRS!

I caaaaaannnn't wait! Tomorrow is a special day- a good friend of mine is welcoming her baby girl into the world via C-Section around 7:30am. She's in FL so I am not close by, but I will be thinking of you & can't wait to see little Miss K!!!

I promise I will post some pic's from my latest bridal show tonight. I am a slacker.. what can I say!?

Soon-to-be MRS!!

Congrats are in order!

We got some pretty fabulous news yesterday about soon to be Hubbs promotion test that he took a while back.......

Not only did he pass & get the promotion in rank to E-6, but totally blew his test out of the water. He did study super hard for it while he was in Haiti & at home for quite awhile. For all the ones that don't know all the military lingo- a promotion to E-6 is an awesome achievement. Bigger responsibilites, bigger jobs & teams, & bigger pay checks ;)
I am so excited & proud of him. Your girls love you babe!!

Ok, time to stop blogging for the moment so you don't remember that I am supposed to be posting bridal shower pictures (soon, I promise!!)

Bridal shower #2

Whooo hooo 35 days left before becoming an official MRS!

Since the invites were sent out at the beginning of this month, we have gotten so many back already! I can't believe how fast the engagement has flown by! Seems like just yesterday, not a year ago!

So this is really just a quick update blog. I had my 2nd bridal shower here in VA with all my friends and local family. Can I just say that I definitely have the most amazing friends out there?
My lovely ladies are just truly the best! You already know from my last bridal shower that I think I have the most super fabulous maid-of honor ever!

Of course you know I have a ton of pictures that I promise to put up really soon!!

Happy Mother's Day !!

Today is a day about the most important job title that I have : a Mommy ♥

I got this amazing pandora bracelet from Natalia (with Greg's help of course!) & my first charm to put on it. A breast cancer awareness charm... Sterling silver with pink diamonds. Isn't is the best? I have two family members that have fought and is currently fighting this horrible disease and this charm reminds me to constantly fight for them by helping promote awareness and giving my support in any way that I can...Even if it's buying something that gives part of its proceeds to the Susan G. Komen fund.

Today I spent the day with my family. What a perfect ending to Mother's Day.

Less than 60 days !!!!

Can you guys believe it that my "little" girl turned 4 last week? I still find it hard to believe.
I can remember every single detail of her arrival still..... I know I know, you've heard it before - but i'll say it again ..."like it was yesterday" :) She is my most important beautiful peice of life. ♥

I am pretty sure that I have been more busy with wedding stuff right now, than I will be two weeks before the wedding. Okay .. maybe not, don't quote me on that just yet!
Just so you know what I have been up to in the last week .. I'll give you a sneak peek:

• Finalized the small details on honeymoon - Recieved passports (YAY!) , plane tickets bought. I know .. Cutting it pretty close on the plane tickets! Honestly, I just didn't know if I wanted to fly out of Baltimore or DC, or Richmond. The winning choice was B-More!
• Bought our wedding bands!! Again I was cutting it close. The excuse for this one was just pure procrastination. I wanted Greg to be here to go with me, but with Haiti and then his underway now.. I had to go solo :(
• Finalizing times and pick up's with the limo service in Maryland.
• Final dress alteration appointment at David's. I am most excited to say that when I tried my dress on .. It fit perfect! No rolling down the aisle at this wedding!
• Invitations went out!! I thought that one needed a little bolding. I mean c'mon! My mom calls me and lets me know every time she gets an RSVP (yes, she has already gotten some back!) Thanks Mom ;)
• Bridal shower will be in a week! I went with my sister when she put in the order for the cake. I can't wait to see it in person.. The picture looked amazing!
• I got to preorder my Sex & the city 2 movie tickets!!! Okay, so that isn't really wedding stuff, but you KNOW how I am about Sex & the city :-]

So that was my review since my last update. It makes me tired just thinking about everything that has gone on in the last two weeks! Then again, we are now in the 50's for our countdown ... 52 to be exact!

Couple shots ...

Thought i'd shoot ya a picture or two from the shower. I love my Grandmom.. She's the best!

I have the *BEST* Maid of Honor & sister ever ♥

Shower goodies

So now that I have a couple of days to gather myself back together - I can spill all about my Maryland bridal shower! To pretty much sum it up in three words - "Family, Fun, Presents!"
It was so good to have Greg's family from up there meet my fam. I would even go out on a limb and say that everyone got along :) Of course you know that we played super embarrassing games all about Greg & I and even really cute games about who knew about us the most. Guess who won that one? None other than my maid of honor - My amazing sister ♥

Greg left for two weeks to go underway today. He should be home sometime around the beginning/middle of May. Natalia and I are sailorless for a couple of weeks.. We have lots of shopping we can do in the meantime ;)

Where are we in the countdown?! I am getting lost in the little bit of days that we have left! Oh yeah, 67 more days! Eeeeeek! My final dress fitting is next Friday. Hopefully I haven't eaten too many sweets between this one and my last one!

Another exciting event is happening this weekend and next week. This weekend is Natalia's 4th birthday party, and Thursday is her birthday! I can't believe my baby is 4 :( Preschool is next year and then she'll be in college and getting married herself.... Okay, so I might be jumping many many years, but I am pretty much just pointing out that it feels like yesterday when I had her. ♥

Bridal Shower #1

Getting nice & settled in :)

Will tell ya all about it soon!

Counting down ...

We have already passed the 90 day countdown :) Our next milestone will be 60 days, which we will hit in 17 days!!(Thanks knot.com for reminding me we are at 77days ;))
Invitations are done, programs are already designed and we were just waiting on a final approval on the draft before they hit the press! They should be done this week... I think. You'd have to double check with my wedding planner, errrmm, Mom!! ♥ Oh, I have a major exciting event this coming weekend that definitely means a wedding is not far away.. My bridal shower!!! :)
This is shower #1 which will be up in Maryland, thrown by my Aunts up there. I am so excited to go up and hang out with all my lovely female family members of mine & Greg's family.
Bridal shower #2 will be in May with my VA family and super fabulous friends.

Ever since Greg's been home from Haiti, I have totally slacked on my gym workout routine. I will start back soon.. Promise!

I can't believe my baby turns 4 in less than 3 weeks. Has it been that long already? Everything at this stage is ALL about Micky Mouse- everything! Oh, and she is most definitely her mother's child. Ask her if she wants to go to the store and she will say, "Can we go to the mall mommy?"
Can she get anymore perfect than she already is? I doubt it!
I always said I would remember everything about her being a baby, but ask me when she first started eating baby food ... I'd have to run to her baby book. Gosh, I love that little girl more than life. She is amazing ♥

Okay, so I have to talk about the upcoming Sex & the City 2 movie release! I can't wait! May 28th at midnight .. You know where me & my girls will be :) I said I didn't want to read any spoilers or watch any trailers but Desiree put one on, and those who know me at all, know that I couldn't turn away from watching.. Thanks Desiree.. what a best friend ;)

Signing off for now,

Mrs. W (I'm trying out my future new initial!)

Touching base ..

Just to touch base - a quick update.... Greg came home from Haiti, and a little over a week later we had a scare that he had to go back until mid-May. Two days before he was supposed to leave again, they cancelled it :)

We drove up to good ol' Charm city (Baltimore) last weekend. Tasted cake (my fav!)
Picked out our *perfect* cake, and got it ordered!!

I had my alteration appointment ..............
I offically can not gain a SINGLE pound, or I will be rolling down the aisle. Not really, but close enough for me! I can't wait to put on that dress in June!

Greg & I have finally found a church that we both love. With him growing up attending Catholic school and church, I thought it would be harder to compromise. As an adult, he realized the Catholic church wasn't for him, and we both have found love with "Water's Edge Church" It's amazing, check them out here http://watersedgechurch.net ♥ I can't wait for Easter service.

Wedding invitations are in the works & programs are getting ready to hit the press!

A short update wouldnt be complete without the official countdown ::drum roll::

Exactly 90 days!!!!

With love,

Future Mrs :)

March madness has began ...

I know many of you are wondering what happened to me -- no, I wasn't in outer space. I mean after all... It is called March madness for a reason! Typically it has to do with basketball.. I know this all too well. But for me .. It means a month full of wedding, wedding, and thats right..MORE wedding!

First, the most important news! Greg is home :) Natalia and I picked him up from Norfolk exactly one week ago. I don't know who was more happy to see him -- Natalia or me! I was sure to tell him all about the in's and out's of the wedding planning and gave him the biggest present of all ... I told him I was on wedding planning strike for one whole week. Thats right - he was going to have to make wedding decisions for one week without me (good thing they ended up being easy ones!)

Okay, backtrack a little before that. My mom and I went up to Maryland on March 6th. We drove up at around 9am and got back home that night at around 11pm. Talk about a LOT of driving! Do people really drive for a living? I just gained some respect for them. I think I lost a pound of my butt just by being smashed into a pancake for the 8+ hrs of driving to and from.
Oh, back to wedding! (Sorry I got destracted!) We went up and met with the pastor and seen the church (btw- I LOVE it!!) We then drove the 15 minute drive over the reception hall. I just love the charm and scenery. After that, we drove into the city (Baltimore) and got to do ........
CAKE TASTING! You know that was almost my most favorite part of the day. We got there pretty late so they didn't have all the flavors, but Greg and I are going back up this weekend to finish and decide on the cake :) The drive home was pretty tiring. We decided that we needed to do a little retail shopping at Potomac Mills to get us back in the driving spirit ;)

I promise to keep more in touch! Don't lose faith in me! ♥

Counting down the days,

Bed, Bath & Beyond.. Over and over

I realized that I haven't posted any pictures of wedding planning. Here are the main colors that are going to be in the wedding. Don't you just love them?! Champagne is another color that has some significance!

Clover (green) and Watermelon (pink)

I am now a pro at registering. Give me one of those hand held scanners and I can scan items with my eyes closed. It didn't come easy- ask my sister ;)
In semi non-wedding lingo what I am trying to say is that I spent about 4hours this weekend with my mom & sister registering for bridal/wedding gifts. It was fun for the first hour.. but man! That can be overwhelming and tiring! I wanted to wait for Greg but since we are cutting it close to the bridal showers and he isn't home yet.. I had to tackle it.

We are coming to the home stretch for his return. Natalia and I are getting so excited! I can't believe its been almost 2 months! Way too long, that's for sure!
Natalia and I sure do miss him making our bowls of ice cream for us every night!
(Love ya babe!)

My mom called me with a list today of things she was reading off from the bridal planning book. My mind started spinning just listening to her talk! I am so glad she's helping with these decisions! Some of them are just too much to think about..especially with Greg not here. Just wait until he gets here - he will have to make up for it!

We STILL have to have our engagement pictures taken! They are going to have to be done ASAP! I haven't decided (go figure!) where to have them taken. I do know who will be taking them! My fabulous photographer, Crystal!

I am going to blog off with this thought ... 116 more days!!!

Can't wait! :)

4 months away!

Yes! It really is 4 months away! Greg is still in Haiti, hopefully coming home in a week or so. *Fingers crossed* Natalia and I miss him, especially making our bowls of ice cream ;)
my bridal party picked out and ordered their dresses last week. Of course my photographer was there to snap away. I can't wait until everyone sees the dresses and shoes.. My girls are going to look super fab. The shoes I picked out for them to wear are so "Sex in the City" type shoes, and for anyone that knows even the slightest thing about me.. Knows that I ♥ them Sex in the City ladies.

Moving right along to flowers. Cmon now, you know I just LOVE talking about flowers. (Can you hear the hint of sarcasm in my voice?) Anywho, I went with my mom to pick out the flowers that my aunt is doing, and I actually fell in love with them! They are going to look great .. with the stems showing of course!

Now to beach talk :) We FINALLY decided on a honeymoon destination!
Picture the beach's in St. Lucia, the shopping in St. Marteen, snorkling in Dominica.. That will be us! I can NOT wait. I love the carribean. We do really want to go to Europe, but decided we would go when Greg comes home from his 7month deployment next year.

Next on the wedding list is narrowing down the hotels and picking a limo service.
Oh, what fun!

This weekend will be filled with doing the bridal registery at Target and a couple other places. My family in MD is throwing me a bridal shower in April, and my family & friends here are throwing me one in May. Needless to say, it is going to be a busy couple months!

Im signing off now. Gotta finish watching Natalia and I's fav show - American idol :)

Opposites attract?

Hahaha this title fits... So Greg & I don't really have much in commen.. except the MAJOR things that you look for in a partner. We have mostly the same value's, same thoughts on marriage and children.. you know.. all the important stuff. Everything else? Not at all..

I started off tonight not being able to sleep and grabbing my laptop hoping that google would automatically pop up my dream honeymoon so I wouldn't have to decide. I even tried typing best honeymoon and hitting the "Im lucky" button. Didn't end up too lucky.. it came up with Puerto Rico.. Not what I had in mind. Okay..pass on the honeymoon deciding tonight!

So... not long after that im looking up the weather, reading the latest gossip, and then I'm reading about my favorite baseball team.. THE YANKEE's!!!. After the sight of Derek Jeter, im totally hooked to their website! I realized that through all my fan gear.. I don't have a stanless steel travel mug. How could that be? So..of course I HAD to order it :) Oh, I know. Greg and I are like bitter rivals when it comes to baseball. He's a diehard Baltimore fan..While I am glued to the TV anytime the yankee's grace my flat screen. It's so bad that he will not even drink out of my yankee cup from the cabinet. He would rather die of thirst then to put his lips on my beautiful blue and white cup. Juuuuust Wait until Greg comes home to my fabulous new travel mug. I might even pick him up from the ship drinking my favorite Wawa coffee out of it. How perfect ♥

Anyways, we are like that with almost everything that is not a major "dealbreaker." We can't really agree on the same music, most of the time movies, and even what city we love most in the US.. (NYC of course!!) What we can agree on.. is that we can't wait to get married and go on our honeymoon.. Where ever we decide that may be!

I'm drifting off of the wedding planning talk! How could I!? Right now we are in the step of checking out the hotels around the reception for guests and booking a group rate. Pretty boring step, but has to be done!
My amazing bridesmaids will be trying on and ordering their dresses this Thursday!

Im signing off for tonight. Until next time,

Future MARRIED yankee lover ;)

My baby is almost 4!

I promised!

Okay.. I promised some wedding details.. or talk ;)

I never thought that I would ever be asked some of the things that I have had to answer when I said "yes, I'll marry you!" ♥
Today it was, "Do you want you want the flower bouquet's to show the stems at the bottom, or do you want them wrapped in ribbon?" I mean.. are these real questions?! I thought they just came a certain way. Let me jump 3 spaces back! My aunt is doing all my flowers, and I appreciate ALL the help she is giving, it means millions. I guess I never thought wedding planning was so much work. It's like a second job! I really just walk to put my dress on, walk down the aisle, and say I do :)
Yes, I know that there are so many other details that come with that.. trust me, im getting very used to it. I should change my law major to wedding planning ... or not! But all joking aside- it really is stressful and time consuming and overwhelming! But looking on the outside, I will have been a part of every decision of our day ... right down to whether the stems of the flowers show, or they are wrapped in ribbon (love you Aunt Patsy!)

Another one of the exciting moments that I am waiting for is to go to the bakery in Baltimore and do the cake tasting! You know how much I love cake :) Plus I get to design the wedding cake. It's so exciting. I am all about that aspect of the wedding planning!

Oh! The honeymoon! Uhhhhhhhhh! That's the best way to describe how I feel about that! We still haven't made a formal- set in stone- decision. That will come soon! I will definitely keep you updated on that! We are still deciding - carribean cruise, week in St. Thomas, week in Paris, week in Rome.. the list goes on! Thank goodness for travel agents!

Some of the little decisions, my mom has been helping me with. She, and most people know, that I am a procastinator! Not just a normal one.. Procrastionation is not my middle name..but my first! However, I will say that I did not procastinate on wedding dress :-)

Until next time,

Future Mrs.

My promises

Today my blog is going to be free of wedding talk! I truly realize why they say that getting married tops the list of reasons for stress!
Tonight I am going to make my blog of promises to my future husband, my sailor, Gregory Whiteside :)

#1- I promise to TRY to cook you regular dinners at least 3 times a week! I don't promise that you will always like it, and when I fail at cooking roast (like tonight- good thing you are not home to see it) I promise to make it up by cooking my amazing italian dishs!

#2- I promise to make you watch Sex & the City at least once a month.

#3- I promise to not tell everyone how much you secretly love it ;)

#4- I promise to always support your goals and dreams, no matter how crazy or odd I think they are (like becoming a high school teacher!)

#5- I promise to make the bed.

#6- I promise that some days, I will forget to make the bed!

#7- I promise to always push you to be the best that I know you can be, and will stay up as late as you want helping you study for promotions, or tests.

#8- I promise that every once in a while I will let you listen to your music in the car.

#9- & with that, I promise to still try to get you to love R&B as much as I do ♥

#10- I promise that I will probably run late for everything.

#11- I promise to not be longer than 20 minutes late to our wedding ;)

#12- I promise to only watch one General Hospital episode per night .. Okay- maybe 2!

#13- I promise to pretty much always be a late sleeper.

#14- I promise always be faithful to you.

#15- I promise to never lie.

#16- I promise to be your best friend.

#17- I promise that at times you will irritate, frusterate, or annoy me.

#18- I promise that it will only last a short time!

#19- I promise that I could list 1000 promises that I will keep.

but & most importantly

#20- I promise to love LONG TIME :-D

I can't wait until you are home safe. I am so proud of the work that you are your team is doing in Haiti.

&& to my family - I promise to post wedding stuff .... tomorrow ;)

My perfect dress :)

Today was the day ive been waiting for .. my dress appointment!
I didnt go with any expectations - anyone who knows me.. knows that sometimes it takes me a LONG time to find something that is perfect. Today was NOT that kind of experience. I am extremely happy to report that I found the most perfect dress! I cant wait to walk down the aisle and for Greg to see it! It's a good thing that its not coming in until April .. I love the dress so much - if I had it here, Id probably feel tempted to put it on and prance around my house in it!

All of my bridesmaids (minus Desiree) were there with my mom, and Greg's mom to help me decide on my future wedding gown! We had so much fun! It was fun to walk out and see their faces each time I tried on a different dress. I have some honest friends, but sometimes they didnt even need to say anything - that split second look said it all! When I walked out in "the dress," there was nothing said for an instant. I knew it! Everyone did!

On to some more news ---

I met with the travel agent.. Every time I walk into her office, I have my mind set on a honeymoon location. Then when I walk in and see her, I change my mind! Needless to say, I havent finished the honeymoon location. I have my agent (Jenny) holding a spot for both a carribean cruise, and a med. cruise that stops in Spain, Italy, Greece, and another location in Italy. I know what your thinking -- ♥ITALY♥!!!!! Yes, I feel that way too. And so does Greg! But the problem is that my travel agent doesnt recommend going over there in the heat of the summer. She said its actually miserable! I mean cmon- Is my desire to go to Italy worth the chance of having a heat stroke while touring Rome really worth it on my honeymoon?? With that said -- Im still deciding.. Its not easy!

I havent been able to speak with Greg on the phone, but every couple of days I get an update from him in Haiti. He told me that the journalists, the media, and so forth - only touchs HALF of what its really like over there. Im so proud of him.

Lastly, I want to say "154" .. Thats the number of days until I am officially a Mrs!

Until next time,

:)

Train or no train?

I was told today that I needed to do another post .. So here it is!

My dress appointment is a week from tomorrow! Im so excited!

Let me step back and first say that a very tragic earthquake struck Haiti this week on Tuesday. The capital city is almost completely destroyed and people are searching and running everywhere looking for loved ones and trying to get food, medical supplies, and water to survive. I almost can not even watch the news - its heartbreaking.
Greg got word on Wednesday that he was leaving Thursday morning on a ship to head to Haiti to help out.
I drove him to the base Thursday morning and sent him off to help with a kiss goodbye and he sent me off with a promise to be go help out those in need, and to come home safe. Have I mentioned that I love my sailor?
They are not sure how long they will be gone - somewhere between 4-6 weeks.

Now to some good news! I thought I had a couple dresses narrowed down..I am completely in love with 2.
But you know sometimes clothes look so good on mannequins and not on you! For New years eve I tried on this super cute dress at Express that was up on the wall. On me .. it looked like a moo moo! Not cute .. at all!
So I started looking again this week... & I found 3 more! I can't decide: short train, long train .. or no train??
My mom and all my bridesmaids and maid of honor will all be there so I am sure they will let me know what looks best! We even got a local photographer to come to the appointment and will be shooting the whole experience.

Last weekend Greg and I decided to go to the mall to look around. We were bored and waiting on Natalia to come home. I am so glad that we went. We found and got almost all of our bridesmaids and groomsmen gifts! I can't wait until everyone sees what we got for them. We can not wait to share this special day with our families and friends.

I'll be sure to let you guys know how to appointment went.. Maybe even post some pictures!

Happy New Year ...Now lets get busy!

I have been saying the past couple months, "when January comes around - i'll start cracking down on the planning." It was sorta like my new years resoluton. I read an article last week that was all about new years resolutions. Studies have shown that most are not kept.

I'll be glad to inform you that mine will be kept :)

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

Today I called and made an appointment to pick out THE dress on January 23rd. Im super excited! I have narrowed it down to two that i LOVE LOVE LOVE. Im hoping that I will LOVE one of them on! I also just started looking around at photographers for the engagement pictures that will be taken in beginning of February.

Good thing I have a wedding planning notebook my parents bought me. I don't know what my mom and I would do without that thing to keep us on our toes on decisions. Greg's pretty layed back about the decisions. He even told me that I could pick an R&B song for our first dance since he knows its my favorite! But seeing as how I know he doesnt like R&B, I'll be compromising -- so you guys will just have to wait and see :)