5 on Friday

{One}  OFD Going Postal:  OFD Going Postal was started by the lovely miss Ashley at One Fine Day.  The goal of going postal is to connect bloggers offline by sending good old fashion snail mail.  Every month you are emailed a randomly selected name and address from the group.  While you send a card/letter to that person someone else will have your name and you will receive a card from them.  It's really a neat way to meet new friends and who doesn't love receiving a cute letter.

My first card recipient was from NJ.  I had way too much fun making the card!  I even followed a Pinterest Tutorial on how to create your own envelope out of scrapbook paper and tape.  I was beyond excited when Jenna contacted me on instagram and said how much she liked the card.

If you want in on the action check out here.    

{Two} Brett Eldredge:  Tonight a group of us are going to see Brett Eldredge play at a local venue.  I love his music so I was excited when I heard that he was coming to town.  And the kicker is that tickets are only $10.  I'm so excited and Kev gets to get another country concert under my belt.  

{Three}  Mixology:  Did any of you guys catch ABC's new show Mixology on Wednesday Night?  I've been looking forward to this premiere since I first saw the commercials and I must say the pilot did not disappoint.  I can wait to see where the story line goes! 

{Four}  Prada Marfa:  So I may or may not be in the process of re-watching the entire Gossip Girl series on Netflix #obsessed.  If you've ever watched you might have noticed this painting in the Van Der Woodsen's home.  After some searching I have found several different prints of this on Etsy.  I'm definitely considering getting one!  XOXO Gossip Girl :-)

{Five}  Travel:  It is no secret that I am obsessed with traveling.  To me there is nothing better than having an adventure in a new place.  I love exploring and falling in love with different cities.  I am always scheming to get a trip going.  I'd really like to get a link up going that talks about travel.  Whether it's past, present, future or just some advice and tips I love to hear about it.  If anyone is interested in doing something like this please let me know.

In case you missed it yesterday I did a before the blog post on my last trip to Vegas.  Check it out here.

Travel Throwback: Las Vegas 2013

Last February I went on my first big girl work trip.  I was so excited when I found out that my job was sending me to one of my favorite cities...the fabulous Las Vegas!  Vegas is the conference mecca of the US.  This was my second trip there.  You can read about my first trip here.  

This time I was excited to stay at, The Cosmopolitan, one of the never hotels on the strip.

The Cosmopolitan is home to the famous Chandelier Bar.  Three stories of gorgeous crystals!

The Cosmopolitan was located a little farther up the strip than where we stayed on our last trip.

Here was the lovely view from my suite.  I had the best view of the fountain show at Cesears Palace.

Kev even got to tag along! 

Pretty much all the big restaurants we ate at were in the Cosmopolitan.

Some of the highlights were:

COMME ÇA

D.O.C.G

HOLSTEINS

WICKED SPOON

  Comme Ca has the most amazing view of the strip and The Wicked Spoon was the best buffet I've ever been to.  I really wish I had more food pictures but sadly the only one I had was my dessert plate from our dinner at the buffet.

 

After my meetings were over Kev and I spent a lot of the night exploring the strip

 

Our hotel even had the classic Vegas wedding chapel.  I laugh at this now because the whole trip Kev knew he was about to propose.  In fact he proposed 3 days after we got back :-)

In between meetings we did some shopping and of course more exploring.

We had such a great trip.  Vegas will always be one of our favorite places.

I'm ready for another business trip. 

Wedding Wednesday: Vendors, Vendors, Vendors

So today I have a little bit of a hodge podge post about some of the vendors we have chosen.

A lot of time and research went into finding these companies to work with.  Some of my favorite resources were Triad Weddings Magazine and Wedding Wire.  Here you could find a lot of pictures and very detailed reviews.   I've already talked about the flowers and cake but here are some of our other vendors.

Catering & Reception Rentals

Visions Catering

We chose Visions because of their wonderful ratings and reviews.  After the tasting we knew that they were definitely what we wanted.  We decided to do a full dinner since our wedding is at 6pm.  Visions also handles all the centerpieces and linens.

Photography

McCardell Photography 

Photography is really important to us for the wedding so we decided to go with one the the top photographers from the area.  They first caught my attention when I saw their cover shoot for Triad Wedding.  I loved there attention to detail and unique shots.  As a husband and wife team they really know how to make a wedding special!

DJ

Firehouse Productions

One of my bridesmaids introduced me to this company because her cousin his 1/2 of the DJ duo.  Their name came from the fact that they are both firefighters so this is a side business for them but the have 10 years of experience under their belt.  I know they will make our reception so fun!

Weekend Recap

This weekend was pretty eventful.  Saturday was the 1 year anniversary of when Kev proposed!  It's hard to believe that we are only 3 months from the big day!  We decided it was only right to celebrate so we headed down to Charlotte for the day.

It was a beautiful 70 degrees in Charlotte so we enjoyed walking around downtown.

I had to stop by Bar Cocoa.  There macaroons are to die for and I couldn't leave without a red velvet cupcake.

After that we enjoyed dinner at, Vapiano, one of my favorite places in the Queen City.  They have the best pasta around!  If you are in the QC I recommend you give it a try. 

 We rounded off the night by seeing the Bobcats play the Memphis Grizzlys.  The Cats pulled out a win so it was the perfect ending to a wonderful day. 



Puppy Love

Not only was yesterday President's Day it was also the day that we have always marked as Sheeba's birthday.  This year my little "puppy" turned 15!  It's hard to believe she has been part of my life since I was 9 years old.  Being an only child Sheebs has always been a huge part of the family!  I am so happy to still have her by my side.  Happy Birthday Sheebs you don't look a day over 10. 

Why We Work...

I know I'm a few days late but when I saw the Why We Work Valentine's Day posts floating around blogland I couldn't help but do one of my own in honor of my wonderful fiancé Kevin.  Kev and I have been together for 4 years now and I could never imagine my life without him.  So let me tell you why we work.

 

 

 

We work because Kevin is the calmest person I have ever met in my life.  He has a way of telling me everything will be ok that makes me actually believe it.  He can turn the most stressful situations into boarder line enjoyable and reminds me to always see the glass half full.

 

We work because Kev loves that I love to plan things and he doesn't mind that I like to take charge in some situations.  Whether its planning a vacation or just getting reservations for dinner Kev always makes a point to tell me how much he enjoys the things I've set up and how grateful he is of my attention to detail.

 

We work because we are both only children and understand why we have such a close relationship with our parents.

 

We work because he never gets mad when I change my mind and he understands when I tell him that I want chicken for dinner but in the car decide I want to get pizza.

 

We work because he lets me have the softest blanket when we're lounging on the sofa.

 

We work because he supports me in anything I decide to do.  He even reads all my blog posts.

 

We work because he will record and re watch The Walking Dead with me because I chose to watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians on Sundays at 9 instead.

 

We work because no matter how upset he is he has never once raised his voice at me.

 

Ultimately we work because we make working our top priority.  

 

I am such a lucky lady to call this man my future husband!

 

 

 



Tales of a Snowday

I'm sure you already heard about the Snowpocolypse that hit the south this week.  Here in NC it literally snowed/iced for more than 24hrs, leaving us with 11in.  I was lucky to be able to leave work  on Wednesday before the weather really got bad.  Since then I have been snowed in here at the house and I thought it be fun to show you how I spent my little snowcation with some picture overload.

After Mom, Dad and I made it home safe and sound  I figured it was only fitting to celebrate with a snow pic

may of may not have been trying to showcase my favorite bow headband 

 I kicked off Thursday morning by sleeping in and then Dad hooked my up with the perfect snow day brunch which I enjoyed on the always classy TV tray.

After lunch it was time for some light reading

 Next, I decided to use my spare time to practice curling my hair.  Random I know!...but I have the hardest time getting my hair to hold a curl...it is sooooo straight and thick but after some practice I am getting better at it #snowdayselfie 

 

 

 Then I bundled up and took miss Sheeba outside.  She loves the snow!

We frolicked

 

After thawing out I had my own Gossip Girl marathon.  Thanks Netflix! 

Throughout the day I made sure to harass Kevin with multiple calls.  My poor man got snowed in alone :-( I'm sure he's lost without me!

I also had an extended girl talk with  Sara.

 

Finally I closed out the day with some hot cocoa.

 

Happy Valentines Day Lovelies!



Wedding Wednesday: The Flowers

So I'm hoping everyone is safe and warm on this winter day.  It's been snowing since lunch here in the triad and it looks like it doesn't plan on stopping until lunch tomorrow.  I'm so glad my office decided to close at 1 today or I might not have made it home.  Since I have a few other posts in the works I'm going to keep this week's update short and sweet.

A couple of weeks ago my mom and I met with my wedding florist.  I came with the photos below in hand.  After looking at plum accented boquets on pinterest I knew I had found the right ones.  I showed the pictures to the florist and she said that these would be no problem to make.  Since the caterer is hadling the reception cflowers and our wedding is in a garden there really wasn't too much to worry about. 

So easy!

My Bridal Boquet

Bridesmaid Flowers

 

Sunshine on my Mind

I was so excited last week when I saw that Lauren from Peach State of Mind and Miranda from Life in the Lowcountry were hosting a link-up about Summer Vacation plans past, present and future.  Since it snowed for 6 hours yesterday and they are calling for 6-8 in  our area tomorrow I am definitely ready to dream of warmer weather.  For this link-up I decided to talk about this summers vacay plans.  I can't wait to see what everyone else has in the works!!

St Martin

This year we are excited to kick off our summer vacation plans with our Honeymoon!!!! The first week of June Kev and I will be leaving NC behind to spend a glorious week in beautiful St. Martin.  We are excited to be staying at a all inclusive resort.  I'm ready for a week of sun, fun and duty free shopping.

 

Myrtle Beach, SC

In July, Kev and I will head with my parents to Myrtle Beach, SC for our annual family vacation.  It wouldn't even be summer without a trip to the MB!  Even though Kev can't stay the whole week I am looking forward to some quality time with my fam!

Atlanta, GA

After years of talking about it this summer Kev and I as saying we will actually hit up the ATL.  One of my companies' vendors is stationed in Atlanta and they have been trying to lure us out there for quite some time now to use their Braves Box seats.  Kev has never been so I'm hoping to do a 3 day weekend trip in August. 

Charleston, NC

While this might more of a September trip than a summer thing Kev and I are planning to do a long weekend trip to Charleston.  We fell in love with Charleston a couple of years ago and I am excited to go back I try some of the places I've seen other bloggers talk about.  I swear I would trust a blogger's opinion over any others on the Internet.  I always trust you guys to be there with an honest review and tons of food pics to make me hungry.

Here's to warmer weather my dears!