Catch Up

I seem to have been absent in the blog world 2017 and 2018 and they were two busy years.

2017
After our engagement on 9/17/16 the wedding planning began and I enjoyed the entire process.
There were vendors to book, dresses to buy, and events to attend.

I asked my bridesmaids to be in our wedding in October.
We found our venue very quickly, it was one I had been thinking about: The Riverhouse in Haddam, CT.
I found my dress in December with my family and friends in tow. It was so fun trying on different dresses, but I knew that I had found the right one as soon as I had put it on.
In July my bridal shower was held at Anthony's Ocean View in New Haven, CT. It could not have been more perfect. My Mother, Mother-in-law, and wedding party did such an amazing job and there were so many little touches. It could not have been any better.
In August I had my bachelorette and we traveled to Portland, Maine. I had the best weekend. We rented a house and went to a brewery, ate lobster rolls, and shopped downtown. It was such a nice time away and, again, my bridesmaids did such a wonderful job hosting it all!

We had a few other weddings thrown into the mix: a beautiful backyard wedding in July, a college friend's wedding the same week as ours, and then Natalie's wedding in December in which I was a bridesmaid. We had her shower in September and her bachelorette in Boston in October and had such a great time!

On 9/17/17, the best day of year, we got married!! Rick and I could not stop saying how amazing the day was and how everything worked our perfectly. We had a great weather, great vendors, and a great crowd of people to celebrate with. The dancing lasted all night long. We missed those that couldn't celebrate with us, either those we had lost or those that couldn't make it, but appreciated those that were there.

2 weeks after our wedding we left for our honeymoon. It was really my dream location; Rick had been before, but I knew this was a once in a lifetime trip. 

We had 12 days, 10 actually in Italy when you remove the days you are traveling and we barely made a dent in what you can see out there! I will do a separate post to go over the details!

2018 

With the wedding and honeymoon behind us we had some time to focus on us and relax. 

We decided to do some small trips in 2018 due to how much vacation time I used in 2017. We visited friends in Stowe, Vermont in January and we visited Rick's sister in Raleigh, NC in February. 

In Stowe we walked around, despite the time of year, and visited breweries. I saw my first ski mountain and watched Rick fly down the mountain on his snowboard. In Raleigh the weather was still cold but the sun was shining. We visited breweries, went to our first silent disco (very interesting) and had chicken and waffles for breakfast (also interesting). I went to Portsmouth, NH for a bachelorette in April and loved the city--I would love to go back once it is warmer!Rick went to Nashville in June for a bachelor party and had a great time--he definitely wants to go back!

In Portsmouth

In Vermont

2018 was the year of weddings and babies for our friends. 

We had several babies born:

1. Troy in April
2. Rya in May
3. Dakota in June
4. Andrew in July
5. Cora in August
6. Nico--our nephew! we are so excited! who was also just born on 8/28!

We had 8 weddings to attend:

• Reed and Jillaine: Cape Cod in April-we enjoyed lobster at dinner and views of the boats/water
• Lex and Bobby: Stamford in May--I was a bridesmaid in this wedding. It had the best food out of all the weddings and a very pretty, yet industrial ambiance 
• Matt and Dani: my mom's best friend's son was married--Rick was away in Nashville for this one
• a double wedding weekend on the hottest weekend of the year June into July
• Trevor and Britton: at a lake in upstate CT it was a very pretty wedding held outside in a tent
• Chelsea and Mike: Rick was a groomsman for this wedding, the ceremony outside was full of sweaty backs, but also beautiful vows. It was held at a rustic (air conditioned) barn with so many special touches
• Sean and Michelle: another rustic barn wedding, traffic tried to keep us away, but it was a fun wedding and we got to see our DJ again! (p.s. this wedding was planned in 5 weeks woo)
• Brian and Catie: a vineyard wedding in CT at Jonathan Edwards Winery. Unfortunately we all got drenched during the ceremony but the rain left and a beautiful rainbow followed. We had a fun weekend in Mystic as well!
• Mike and Maddie: Another rainy day that cleared up. We had visited this barn location before in Morris, CT and this wedding was the closest to home which was nice!

At the last wedding of the season

The rest of the year won't be as busy! We are going to Vermont to celebrate our wedding anniversary and then going to California in September because work is sending me and we figured we could try to see friends. I want to get to Napa and the Muir Woods--two locations I haven't seen during our San Fran trips in the past! I know there are so many more memories to be made! 😊

Last Wedding of 2016

Cassie and Mike had a beautiful wedding the weekend after Thanksgiving.
We started getting ready nice and early. Our hair and makeup crew were awesome and they did a great job on everyone! Mike's family surprised Cassie and the girls with a decorated shuttle bus to drive us to the reception. They made it a winter wonderland and Mike's father had the chauffer hat to match!
It was cold and windy, but we were still able to have a nice ceremony outside nestled in between the brick buildings. The girls were driven over in classic cars and escorted down the aisle by the groomsman. With the sun setting, we were able to get some photos on the green!
The reception venue was decorated for Christmas, complete with trees, lights, and all of the décor that Cassie collected over the year of wedding prep.
We had so much fun dancing the night away and everyone complimented the beauty of all of Cassie's choices. From the flowers to the dress, it was all perfect!

Our Modeling Debut

Rick and I took our engagement photos in November and we have finally received the photos. I am so happy with how they came out. I guess we are models after all!
We started the photos in Wooster Square in New Haven and we were able to get some cute photos with our pup Penny. We then walked around the Yale campus and stopped in front of all the amazing architecture the campus has to offer. I chose some great ones for our save the dates and I look forward to getting those and sending them out to everyone. Everything is coming together for our big day and I can't wait! This past weekend I even found my wedding dress. It was such a fun experience, even though it could be overwhelming at times, to try on all the different gowns. I am so beyond happy for the gown I chose! I loved it from the moment I had it on and it was exactly what I wanted, with a little something different! Looking forward for all the wedding events to come, right now my focus is on finding the bridesmaid dresses!

My 2016 Follow up

There are only two months left in the 2016 year and I wanted to take a minute to look back and see how I did on my established goals.


1. Be active

           What I hoped for: I'm not sure why I have so much trouble with this. I would really like to do some sort of exercise, even if it is 20 minutes, 2-3 times a week.

What I did: I actually am happy with where I am on this goal, but I know that I wouldn't be doing anything if it wasn't for having Penny. With her she gets me out to walk 1-2 times a day (1-3 miles depending). I know that I should be doing more, but it is a step in the right direction!

 

2.Drink Water

What I hoped for: This also should be a no brainer. It was my resolution last year, and I definitely still do not drink enough. I know that it will be better for me both on the inside and outside! Hydration is important for so many reasons.

 

What I did: I still am not drinking nearly enough water. I have no idea why this is so difficult for me. I drink one bottle of water throughout the day and then a glass with dinner. I really don't have much more beyond that and I know it is not good. I guess this will be something that will need further assessing in the year to come!
 

3.Don't sweat the small stuff

What I hoped for:This is easier said than done with me. I know this year I need to do my best and follow the teachings from my development class. I am okay, I will be okay, and I don't need to get upset over things that in the long run really don't matter!

What I did: I'd like to say that I am better with this and that I let things roll right off. There are certainly times that I just let things go, and I believe that I have certainly gotten a little better. I am still at a point where I take things to heart, take them personally, and I don't know if this is a part of my personality that I can really deviate from. I am learning though, that every person in my life doesn't deserve my friendship and I really shouldn't put my all into it because people do not share your same heart. They do not give you back the love that you give.

 

4.See a new place

What I hoped for:This is a goal I have for every year! I know that we already have a few trips planned; Florida (finally back to Disney and my chance to see Harry Potter), Bahamas (I love the Atlantis and am excited to take Rick here) and North Carolina (yay for Elizabeth being a college grad). If we can make it to Colorado then that will be the new place!

 

What I did: I definitely succeeded in meeting this goal! I made it to Palm Beach, a city in Florida that I had never visited before and a chance to see where my friend grew up. Rick and I went to North Carolina for the first time to see his sister graduate college. I made it to Harry Potter and to Disney with my mom and we had a wonderful time! I got to bring Rick to a new place when we went to the Bahamas together and I saw an island of the Bahamas that I had never seen before. Lastly, we traveled to Colorado and it was absolutely gorgeous!

I hope to close out this year on a positive note, and start the next year as ambitious as ever!

A Week of Bahamamas and Palm Trees

The Atlantis

Our amazing vacation in paradise! We loved the Bahamas! This was Rick's first time visiting one of my favorite places! We stayed at the timeshare on the Atlantis and we were able to enjoy a harbor view and make our own breakfast each day. It was nice and relaxing for sure. We did dinner on the resort all but two days. One night we actually ate leftovers because Carmine's had such huge, family portions. Each one of our days consisted of pool time and beach time; plus we got a lot of reading done! We did an excursion one day, which was definitely our best day! We took a high speed boat to another island in the Bahamas--Exumas. It was an hour and a half of the waves splashing us in the face since we chose the wrong seats in the back of the boat. It was all worth it for the views. We started off by feeding iguanas grapes, then we went to a private island for brunch and lunch. We went snorkeling and saw the most beautiful fish--and such a variety! We then had a visit to the sandbar where we got so many great photos to capture the day. Rick and I enjoyed drinking our rum punch in the ocean. We met some really nice couples as well! As always, the week went by way too fast; but we had the most relaxing time! So looking forward to whatever our next adventure will be!

View from our room

Rick feeding the iguanas

View from the private island excursion

Hanging out on the sandbar

Photo with the Paradise Island Bridge near our pool

Before entering the casino

Gorgeous Cove Beach on the Atlantis

Best Day Ever!

Rick and I flew to Denver, Colorado to visit his college roommate and wife with his other college roommate and wife. It turned out to the a trip for the record books. Beyond the excitement of seeing a new city for first time, I left Denver as a fiancé!
We started our trip by walking around and exploring the different spots near the apartment building in which his friend lives and we were staying. So many different places, including: an urban winery with wine on tap, a draft house where you pay by ounce, and a cider brewery! We also had dinner at the food trucks that are permanently set up in a location. We were able to catch some views of the mountains and were looking forward to our day up in the mountains to come.
We decided to spend the next night in Breckinridge. It is a little mountain town about 1 and 1/2 hours away from Denver. We found a place to stay and started our trip there with a hike! It is so different being in Colorado and experiencing the elevation. At first we struggled on the hike, but as we got used to it got a lot easier. It also helped seeing all of the gorgeous views on the way up! Once we finally got to the "peak" of the hike, I got the best surprise at all. Rick got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! I was so caught off guard as I thought we were just posing for a photo in front of the most beautiful mountain views! Luckily that view came with more than a photo! We were so lucky to have our friends there to document it all and to create such great keepsakes for us to look back on! After we had a drink to celebrate on the mountain we made our way down and continued the celebrations throughout Breckinridge. It was so nice to have friends with us that made it an even more special day.

The next day in Breckinridge I took my first chair lift ride up to the mountain peak. It was scary at first as I am not the best when dealing with heights, but the views made it all worth it. We made sure to stop at the Continental Divide on the way back and get photos at Loveland's pass! Once we returned to Denver, and the temperature went up 40 degrees, we went to a Rockie's game--they won! We finished the night with some delicious tacos at one of our native's favorite spots!

On our last day we explored more of the town's around Denver. We stopped at Red Rocks, Golden, and Boulder! We also got to look at Mile High Stadium; where the Broncos play. We made it to one of the local micro-brews and sat outside with the sun going down and creating just the perfect temperature.We had a yummy dinner of tapas to end the night and a long walk through downtown Denver to get there--also some very tasty ice cream for dessert.

We were definitely sad to leave, but it was nice not only seeing Rick's friends, but also seeing my friend who moved out to Colorado 4 years ago (we took her to breakfast the last day and she picked us up the first day). We will certainly be back and we will have to make it up to "our" spot once again. :)

June!

So thankful for my planner that helps map out my entire life. I like to record the events to come as well as events that have occurred (even if they weren't in there originally). I love looking back on a month and seeing who I spent it with and what I spent it doing.

This summer is going by so quickly and we have so much going on to look forward to that is making it fly by!

One of my oldest friends is expecting a baby in August (almost here) and I was able to attend her beautiful shower. It was held at a home with beautiful little details and stuck to the mint and pink color scheme. Her sister did a great job coordinating it all. I am looking forward to meeting baby Fung before she moves away to Singapore later this year (crazy I know!). My friend is always traveling and I admire her ability to start a life wherever her next adventure begins! She was always meant to go wherever her heart takes her and I look forward to seeing another new place with her!

That same day we attended a sprinkle for a couple we have become close with. Rick's fellow officer is expecting baby #2 and we got to join in the excitement of finding out what the sex of baby is. We were on team pink and that ended up being the team to be on. They will welcome a baby girl in November! I enjoyed the event and know their son will make an amazing big brother!

I continued my quest to visit all of the vineyards in CT and took 4 more off the list. It was a rainy day, but it was a great day with my best friend. We enjoyed wine, cheese, and a little history along our road trip!

Another little babe is going to be joining my group of friends in August, little Liam! It was so nice to shower my friend Allison and her bundle! It was a beautiful shower, and I expected no less, as her twin sister has such great taste! Allison and babe were showered with so much love and she received so much to help when Liam arrives. I look forward to meeting him and seeing his handsome face.

With a new baby on the way, we also got a chance to celebrate big brother Brantley who turned 2 years old. He is such a loving little boy and loves giving hugs to everyone. He has perfected the "cheese" face and had a great birthday! Come September he will have a little sister to play with and I know that he will be great with her.

Although, there was a lot of baby stuff in June I also got to help celebrate my friend purchasing a new home. He had a housewarming party that luckily the rain earlier in the day didn't ruin. The house is pretty close to ours which is nice and it is such a cute starter home! I look forward to making memories with them and also just making memories with them being in the same town as us!

Rick's friend is getting married and he is in the wedding and had a big part in throwing the jack and jill. The couple did good and had a great day weather wise! I know that the money raised will help them with all the expenses a wedding brings. It was a nice part of Father's Day weekend! I also got to spend time with my family as we celebrated Cade's birthday and my grandmother stayed over my mother's house. We got to spend some quality time together the next day which was a lot of fun; shopping and food together was quite a treat. I also got to have dinner with my grandfather which was nice! We ate a cute pub and I had a great sandwich.

My grandmother turned 82 years old and we went out for pizza to celebrate. The pizza was yummy and we had a great strawberry shortcake for dessert. It was nice going to her and being at the condo in which I have had so many memories. I still love looking at all of the photos that are hanging and just sitting there together. It brings back thoughts of all of the loved ones who used to be there that we have lost (my great-grandparents, step-grandfather, and father).

We did a mother daughter paint night; 2 of my friends and their mothers joined my mother and I and we made some beautiful flower! I currently have it residing in Penny's room to liven up the space a little. The paint night was held at my friend's hair salon and boutique. We got to do some shopping and sip some wine together--the night was filled with a lot of laughs.

My favorite weekend in June was the last one!
It started with celebrating my best friends' 30th birthday. I helped to set up and made a few things and then we had a nice cook out at one of their houses. It was great to all be together and the weather was perfect for a night outside. I then got to spend some time snuggling the puppies that were born a month prior! They were starting to play and nibble and were so excited to have me their in their play area!

The next day was my surprise party! I still can't get over how amazing that was. It was a great way to close out the month of June. It was also nice to drive up to the Beckley Furnace for my friend's engagement photos. We were able to walk around and take it all in! We then went to a vineyard, Land of Nod, which was right around the corner. It was our first time going together and we got to do a tasting. On our way home we visiting a house selling all different types of antiques. It was crazy to see how much they had collected. I couldn't live with all of that stuff like that!

We said good bye to June with a visit to the Oxford Carnival. We didn't stay for the fireworks, but we walked around and got something to eat. This was definitely the spot to be for all of the teenagers as they walked around in their large groups! It would also be cute to visit with a family! It was nice, convenient, and Rick won be a monkey. He was able to throw darts through a couple of balloons!

Showering Baby F

it's a girl!

Brantley is two!

Happy Housewarming!

Father's Day

Shower for Baby C

Beautiful Mommy-to-be!

Mother/Daughter Paint Night

Vineyard/Bestie Day!