Guess what I got today?

Chris and I now have 6 of the 8 place settings we wanted, a beautiful wood salad bowl that only I will eat from, and an awesome wine rack that I cannot wait to fill up....and then empty :)

Its all really happening isn't it?

Our Save the Dates finally went out last week and they were just adorable.  Next up is designing invitations.  EEP!

I had a wonderful shower in North Carolina over the Thanksgiving holiday and now have lots of recipes to try and kitchen gadgets to make them with!  I really have the best family in the world.  It was so nice to have a happy reason to be together after my grandaddy's passing.  And we even went dress shopping for my mom and grandma.  Mom got a super pretty dress and Grandma ended up deciding to get a dress she already owned altered.  They're going to be so pretty :)

Can you believe it's December?  I don't know where the time is going.  There is so much to do in the next 2 months, I don't know how I'll fit it all in!  Christmas, New Years, moving.  EEK!  Toss in work, working out, yoga, Chris, and trying to maintain a social life and I'm one busy lady.  So far the stress hasn't been bad, but I can feel it starting to creep up on me...I'm hoping that making lists and trying to stay organized and motivated will keep it at bay. 

Or maybe red wine will do the trick ;)

Hi there!

How appropriate is it that there is a "Say Yes to the Dress" marathon on tonight and I have my first dress fitting tomorrow?  I am soooooo excited!

I think this may be the thing that puts me over the edge into bridezilla territory.  I'll finally have my dress, which  makes it tangible that I'M GETTING MARRIED!

Okay, now for the serious/reflective portion of this post....

My grandfather passed away a little over a week ago now, so I've been a bit...emotional. That's probably putting it lightly, ask Chris and he'd probably say something worse.  I was asked by my grandmother to speak at the memorial mass, and though it may be one of the hardest things I've ever done, I'm glad I did. It's so hard saying goodbye, but there is so much beauty in reflecting on the life of someone who lived such a long, love filled life.

An overarching theme to the service and to my grandfather's life as a whole, was his love for my Grandma.  This Thanksgiving would mark their 56th wedding anniversary.  56 years.  I can't even imagine, and I'm so impressed and overwhelmed with what a love like there's conveys. My granddad would tease and tease my grandma in a way that only one who truly loves and cherishes someone could.  I can't even describe how my heart felt when I heard how he knew shortly after meeting my grandma that she was the girl he'd be with forever, because that's how I felt about Chris. My grandma is such an amazing lady and cared for and loved my grandfather with everything she had until his last day on earth, and continues to do so now that he's gone. I aspire to be like her in all that I do in life and love.

Chris and I are so lucky to have such great examples of marriages in our families.  It means so much to know we have such great legacies of love that have come before us to show us the right way.


As today is Veteran's day and my granddaddy was a WWII Veteran, I thought I'd share a picture of him, in all his sassy, handsome glory. :)

Dear Blog,

Though it may seem that I've forgotten you, I promise I haven't.  I just can't think of much to blog about these days (or you can blame my other new baby, Pinterest).

I've been under a lot of stress these past 2 months, between changing positions at work and the decline and eventual passing of my grandfather.  I'll be making a trip to North Carolina for his memorial mass this weekend, and then I promise, I'll get back into the swing of things and start more regular postings. 

Less than 6 months to go and today marks the 1 year anniversary of our engagement.  Sadness and tears have been unavoidable here lately, but life goes on, and soon there will be happy things to think of again.

Unable are the Loved to die,
For Love is Immortality.

Grandaddy, if they have the internet in heaven, I hope you can read this.  I love you.

Katie

     Gosh it's been forever.  I think I've slipped into a lull because I've gotten a giant portion of wedding stuff done and not really a whole lot is left, at least not until we get to early 2012.

     We've got a great month lined up and I'm super excited.  My parents were in town this past weekend and we had a great time catching up and I got to finally show my dad the church and the reception site.  He hasn't been to St. Louis in something like 2 years, and Chris hasn't seen him since before we got engaged.  Needless to say it was a much overdue visit.

     Somehow, Chris convinced my mom to cross over to the dark side...she borrowed one of his Reds Tshirts.  Having mom on his side must've been good luck, because the Reds won...unfortunately.

     I love this picture of me and my boo :) Our love transcends baseball affiliations.

     Next up is a visit from Chris' parents this weekend, which is always full of laughs and fun.  I have to work the weekend after that (ugh), but THEN!!! Chris and I are going to Chicago for a long weekend before my birthday.  I.cannot.wait.  I've been saving up all my vacation time so I'll have enough time off around the wedding and honeymoon,and I'm dyyying for some time off. A 3 day fall weekend in Chi Town is the perfect solution.

Happy birth month to me!

Gosh I'm getting bad about keeping up with my blog baby.  Sorry!

I have lots of excuses though!  Its been quite a busy few weeks of studying my butt off for my LMSW exam, which I took and passed on July 27.  Woohoo!  Then of, course, I have the work excuse.  Theres just something about the summer months that make people a little more wacky than usual, to say I've been stressed this past month is an understatement.

Okay, now for the fun stuff!

Three things have been checked off the Wedding to do list since my last post. 

 The always important, SHOES!  I found these 50% off at Macy's last week and just couldn't say no :)

CAKE!  We decided to go with a 4 tier, square Amaretto cake, with alternating fillings of raspberry and Bavarian Creme fillings. Deeeelicious! I could do cake tasting every day for the rest of my life and die a happy, albeit obese, Katie.


We also put down a deposit on our site for the rehearsal dinner.  This place is one of our go-to dinner places on my side of the river.  Good food, hand crafted beer and spirits, what more could you ask for?

So...if you've been keeping track, getting the cake and rehearsal dinner site booked were the last big things on my to do list. 

Which means, naturally, I now have a mental to do list of the "small things" I need to wrap up.
1. Harass my 2 bridesmaids in Arkansas to get their measurements in so the bridal salon can order all the bridesmaid dresses ;)
2. Harass the bridal salon about being 2 months later with my dress than they originally said.  (I could write a really nasty blog about how irritated this makes me, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt before I trash their company...)
3. Coordinate with the church organist for ceremony music, pick out readings, and Chris and I will likely start meeting with our priest later this fall for some more pre-cana counseling.
4. Finalize menu with the Tap Room for the reception, and pick out the 12 beers we want on tap :)  Beer tasting anyone?
5. Finalize floral arrangements and talk with our dj about music selection.  Send any music requests our way and we'll put it on our list, if we approve of course :).
6. Oh yea, and pay for everything!  Minor detail of course.

I'm sure there are more things to add to that list, but its Saturday morning and I'd rather eat breakfast and get my day started then send my brain into overdrive (as if it isn't already) with wedding details.

Can you believe we've already been engaged for 9 months?  Whooooa, we're halfway there!

259 days to go!

I'm a horrible blog mom

I've left my little blog baby alone for too long!  I can't believe its been a month since my  last post!

I'm trying to think of what to update on, but all I can think about is how excited I am for this week to be over!  Chris and I have a cake tasting set up for Saturday with a Bakery that is owned by a family that just happens to know a lot of my friends from trivia.  I just love having connections.  I just hope their cake tastes as good as my friends have been saying!

I also just bought tickets to the upcoming New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys concert that will be here in St. Louis next week.  Jenny, you're gonna hate me for saying this, but I'm way more excited to see BSB than NKOTB.  I was in loooooove with BSB back in the day.  I'm going with my friends Amy and Alexcia, and I'm sure it will be a blast reliving the songs of our teeny bopper days :)

Then!  I'm going to Cincinnati next weekend with Amy to see our guy friends play in a footy tournament.  What is Footy? Just click HERE to find out!  They are conveniently playing about 10 minutes from my future in laws, which means I get to see the lovely Thumanns for a few days :)  Chris is trying to rearrange his work schedule so he can tag along too.  There's also a Cleopatra exhibit at a downtown museum that Amy and I both really want to see.  So it'll be a quick, but fun filled weekend in the Queen City.

Can't you see why I'm ready for this week to be over?  Ugh!

284 days to go!

Yay!

Chris comes home tomorrow! 

I've had quite the weekend, spending some time at Clearwater Lake with some friends was much needed and quite relaxing.  I got some sun too :) 

Cindy came in town for the weekend, so I only got to see her Thursday before I left for the lake.  Wouldn't you know it, she got me something off our registry already!  My dream mixer.  Seriously, its awesome.

Isn't it just beautiful!  I cant wait to make cakes and cookies and bread and all kinds of treats.  For now, it's living in my FSIL's basement, because, unfortunately, I have absolutely no counter space at my current apartment :( 

Thus, "lots of counter space" has now been added to the checklist of things our future home MUST have. 

All in all, I suppose the only thing I really have to say on here tonight, is that I am beyond excited to see my love tomorrow.  It has been way too long and I'm almost to the point of getting weepy whenever I think about him.  Needless to say, tomorrow can't come soon enough!