A few things..

I'm am seriously lacking in blogger motivation right now. Not because I don't want to write in this space, but because I'm exhausted and so busy (doing nothing of importance besides real life, annoying things) that I can't think of anything of substance to write. So today, I just have a few random snippets about random things to share with you all.

one // We mighttttt have put up our Christmas tree on Saturday night. I'm such a stickler for waiting until the day after Thanksgiving but this year I'm headed to GA to do Thanksgiving with my family and go wedding dress shopping on Saturday so we wouldn't be able to get it up until Dec. 7th and that was WAY too far into December for my liking. So the tree, wreath and my little penguin went up on Saturday and the rest will go up sometime next week :)

two //  I watched the AMA's last night on DVR and I think I'm old.  After I started seeing tweets about it Sunday night, I made Christian record it so I could see what all the fuss was about. All it did was make me feel old. First of all, I knew One Direction was a big deal but I had really never heard them sing and I didn't really that Harry kid had such big hair, tight pants and an amazing voice. Also, who is that Ariana person? Her dress and her voice were phenomenal but I still have no idea who she is and where she came from.

And another thing... I'm pretty sure only people my age and older knew who Nelly was when he started singing with FL/GA Line and they most definitely didn't know the song he performed. AND what was with TLC?! I get wanting to make a comeback or pay homage to your "golden years" but maybe update the wardrobe, dance moves and mics because I felt like it was the 2001 AMAs again.

three // I need to get my hairs did again. I always love when my hair has red in it, but it fades so quickly. And with saving for the wedding, I don't have the money to spend on getting it touched up all the time. SO as much as Christian loves the red, I'm looking at something a little bit darker for winter that will also camouflage my roots as I'm growing it out for the wedding. Last time I was in, we talked about a different perm and I'm looking at some hairstyles like these..

four // I haven't cooked in WEEKS. It's embarrassing. It's not that I don't want to cook - I actually really enjoy it. We've just been going non stop and we're out  of groceries, so sadly, we've been eating out a lot. My lunches have also been cut every day at work, so they're buying food there so I haven't needed to bring my lunch. As soon as Thanksgiving passing, I'm sitting down, planning out my meals and doing a serious grocery haul. We need it!

It's Scandal Friday, my friends.

If you're on Twitter Thursday nights, I'm sure you've seen something from someone you follow about #ScandalThursday. I'm absolutely positive. My Twitter blows up about an hour before and last night people were tweeting about it until after 1am. Needless to say, I have to ignore Twitter until I can watch it on Friday mornings. Hence the title.

So for today's Five on Friday. That's my number one. I'm less than 20 minutes in and my mind is already spinning.

one // If you're not  watching Scandal, do it now. Not but seriously, I don't know how many times I have to say this to get everyone in my life watching it. For some reason, some people aren't on the band wagon and I'm sad for those people. If you need me to come to your house and get you all caught up, I will ;)

two // I have every intention of starting my Christmas decorating this weekend. I'm usually a stickler for waiting until the day after Thanksgiving and I usually get so annoyed with all the businesses doing everything so early. But, this year, I'm excited. It's our first Christmas together with our own place. I'm also going to be gone all next weekend so it wouldn't get done until later in December and I want to enjoy it all for longer!!

three // Catching Fire is out!! Christian enjoyed the first one so I'm hoping to drag him out to see it tonight or tomorrow. I'm thinking during the day might be better since it's opening weekend and I don't like teenagers.

four // My last customer of the night last night. I spent 45 minutes on the phone with someone who at first told me the price was too expensive and then decided it would be fine. After a little bit of back and forth, he didn't fully pass credit and has to jump through a couple hoops to get our services. He was so nice to me regardless and the majority of our conversation was just spent talking about random things like cell phones and we discovered he just moved out of Charlotte and we talked about things to do around here. It was so refreshing to have a genuine conversation with a stranger who was SO nice to me even though I couldn't get his services set up for him (normally, I get yelled at).

five // Our engagement pictures were a blast! Christian hates taking pictures and I gave him such a hard time coming up to the pictures to make sure he would smile and enjoy it - and he did! We had a lot of fun and I cannot wait to see them! Our photographer said it could be up to 4 weeks but he's pretty sure it'll be less than that. He also posted one on Instagram as a sneak peek, so I want to share that one with you!

Instagram // Website 

Thanksgiving Traditions.

Growing up, we always went to my grandmother's (my dad's mom) house for Thanksgiving dinner. In high school, we began alternating between my dad's mom and my mom's dad here in North Carolina and sadly, my sweet grandmother passed away when I was starting my senior year of high school. Since then, we've always come to Charlotte for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving circa 2009

Until last year.

My uncles live in Charlotte, Asheville, Wilmington and Hawaii and last year each of them decided to do their own thing for Thanksgiving so my grandparents went to the beach. We stayed in Athens and had Thanksgiving with a friend's family.

This year, we're also doing Thanksgiving on our own in Athens. But, I might possibly be more excited than I have been any other year! Not only will I get to spend a few days with just me and my family (Christian is staying in Charlotte with his family), I also get to go wedding dress shopping with my mom and best friend!!

I did make a small trip last time I was in Athens but this time, we're going to Atlanta, my best friend will be there and we have made legitimate appointments at a couple places! After trying on about 7 dresses, I'm still completely overwhelmed and have no idea what I want. of course, I keep hearing that I'll "just know" the same way I did with Christian, etc, but I'm finding that hard to believe because I'm indecisive and obsessed with so many different types and styles of dresses.

HOW DO I PICK?!

This is kind of a rambling post about how we don't really have a set tradition anymore, and that's completely fine with me. Every year, something will come up and I know I'll spending it right where I need to every year. 

The only thing I would change is that I could spend Thanksgiving with Christian. We've actually never spent a Thanksgiving together, but we've sworn that we absolutely will be together next year since we'll have been married a little over a month at that time and hopefully my family will be in Charlotte so we can do both families on the same day! 

Plus, he can't come dress shopping with me ;)

Yes, I blog.

Since moving to Charlotte, I've used blogger's recommendations to find great services around here - such as the lovely Alchemy: The Workshop for my semi-recent haircut and LRT for my hair and make up yesterday! (Thank you Alexa and Christina!) When I get there, though, they of course ask how I heard about them and since I've only "met" these girls through blogging, I, of course, say I read their blogs.

And then the questions of if I blog as well is asked...

When I first started this blog, I didn't tell anyone (except my roommate because she wanted to start one as well) and I wasn't quite sure if I would even like it or stick with it. And here we are coming up on a year later, I'm still here and I'm still liking it. And I'm telling more people about it as well. Even if some people still think I'm crazy - I love it!

So today, I present to you...

one // I get to share pictures of Zuko to my heart's content. He's adorable. And you guys seem to think he's cute, too. So there will be many more pictures of my little babe on here :) And when we do get a dog (or another cat) you will see a lot of those as well. 

two // I can talk about Christian and weddings as much as I want! Bloggers love talking about their relationships and weddings and I seriously love that! I know those are some of my favorite posts to read and I'm glad you guys like to read mine, too!

Okay, so this is somewhat wedding related - its for our shoot yesterday! And I had to brag on LRT for my hair/makeup!

three // Inspiration. I follow a few of my favorite fashion bloggers and I'm always finding something new I want to try. And reading Erin's posts on conquering debt push me to attempt to spend less and save more. Whether it be a beauty product or new recipe, I feel like I learn something new that I want to try almost every day. 

four // Encouragement. When I've posted things I'm struggling with like the hours at my current job or being judged for being "too young" to get married, you guys are always there with encouraging words and for that, I'm so grateful. 

five // All of you lovely ladies! Sometimes, I feel like I know you all in real life and many times I refer to you as "friend" if I'm telling a funny story you shared or a tweet conversation we had that was funny or sweet. Christian always ask how I know so much about you guys - but, he just doesn't get it. We all come here to share, learn, grow and support each other and I love the community that surrounds us all :) 

What Weekend?

If you missed my tweets last week, I came back from Athens sick as a dog. I felt bad on Sunday, felt a little better on Monday and then it was all downhill on Tuesday through the rest of the week. I had to leave work early Thursday and climb straight into PJs. I took some meds to knock me out and slept like a rock Thursday night.

Friday was rough and I didn't get dressed or leave the couch - except to ride with Christian through the Panera drive thru. After a sandwich and some soup, I caught up on the DVR (and OMG SCANDAL - everyone, stop what you're doing and watch this!!!) and Christian harassed the cat.

Saturday, I slept in again after taking some good meds and I felt decent when I woke up. Even though I slept in, I was able to actually get dressed and run a few errands in the afternoon. I trekked to the mall trying to find the perfect white dress for our engagement pictures today. With "winter whites" being a thing, it sure was a challenge to find something I liked! I almost had to settle for a mint-y dress but on second thought, I checked out American Eagle and shockingly enough, they had the perfect white, short sleeve sweater-y dress that I was picturing in my head!!

I also may or may not have purchased a few items from Target's Christmas section... In my defense, it was more of a "winter" decoration and we don't have wrapping paper so of course I needed to stock up while there were a lot of choices! And, we really needed the Christmas countdown chalk board or else we wouldn't know when Christmas was...

I then spent the rest of Saturday posted up on the couch catching up on blogs and Pinterest and watching more TV while Christian was out with the boys. Of course, Zuko helped me out. 

Of course, on Sunday, I worked all day like normal and it was slowwwwww. But, for some reason, they cut our lunches to 30 minutes so I couldn't come home and eat with Christian like I normally do on Sunday. After work, I came home, at some dinner and made sure Christian had all his clothes ready for today.

This morning, I got up early and headed Uptown to get my hair and make up done for our pictures! After reading Christina's post last week, I clicked through to find the sweetest hair and make up artist and decided to treat myself - hey, you only get engaged once! And I am SO glad I did! Lindsey is so sweet and she made me look awesome.. If I do say so myself :)

The rest of the day will be spent hanging out with my man and grabbing lunch before headed out for our pictures - I can't wait to share them with all of you!

                                                                                                         

Our Baby Zuko

It's no secret I like to talk about Zuko, a lot. So when I saw I lovely link up with Jackie, I had to join!

He's definitely my baby.And since Christian and I have moved in together, he's become Christian's baby as well. Although, he hates to admit it, he loves that little kitty. As a self-proclaimed "dog person", loving Zuko has caught him off guard, I believe.

Regardless, he's in love. Let's take a look, shall we?

"Dad. pet me now."

"Now, rub my belly."

"Hey Mom, I'm just helping dad do some work."

"And can we nap, now?"

"Dad, we need more cats on the TV, this science stuff is boring."

Every night when we get in bed, Zuko jumps on Christian, demands pets and then walks over to me to get more pets. Once he's gone back and forth a couple times, he sits in between us wanting both of us to pet him at the same time. Of course, we oblige. 

When he needs more food and starts running around meowing, we feed him, regardless of the fact that there is still some in the bowl. 

When he wants to play and chase toys, we play. 

When he wants the blanket, we share. 

When we get ourselves ice, we get him ice as well.

Basically, this guy runs our household so I can only imagine what will happen when we have kids.. For now, Zukes will suffice, though :) 

Snow Love!

Yesterday, Charlotte experienced some snow showers and it was a little shocking for these poor Southerners! I loved it and I just wished I had been able to cuddle up with Christian and Zuko and watch movies.

It did get me thinking about my favorite snow memories and I wanted to share my favorite.  But, then multiple memories came up and I couldn't decide which was my favorite! So I'm just picking a random one and you'll most likely hear more throughout the winter ;)

In Boone, we don't get too many snow days since the town is fully prepared with plows and salt all the time, but when we do, we take full advantage of them. I would spend every winter checking my e-mails incessantly waiting for the "CLASS IS CANCELLED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY" e-mails. Many times, App would try to go to class and then after the first few, realize it just wasn't safe. OR they really liked to cancel every class before noon and most of my classes started at noon.

So, when we got snow days we took full advantage of them! My first winter in Boone was pretty brutal. They ended up having to cancel finals/put them online and send everyone home early because the blizzards were so bad.

When the snow first started and our first day of class was cancelled, I was sitting in my PJs, drinking hot chocolate and watching a movie when Christian calls asking if I want to do donuts in the Wal-mart parking lot... I told him to pick me up after the donuts.

We headed over to a friend's apartment near campus and the entire rugby team was there. Then, there was a lot of beer pong! After everyone had played quite a few rounds  and most of our special drinks were gone, a lot of people decided that sledding would be a good idea at that point in the day... I opted out because I knew it wouldn't end well for me at all.

A normal winter day on campus

After a ridiculously fun snow day with friends, Christian and I spent the rest of the night snuggled on the couch and getting to bed early because you just never know if you're going to actually get two snow days in a row! Spoiler alert: We didn't! 

Every single snow brings back amazing memories for me. I love winter and I love everything involved with it. Snow, hot chocolate, cuddling, Christmas movies, etc. Christian and I started dating in October, but our relationship grew during the winter months. The first snow of every year makes me giddy like a little girl.

So don't be surprised if you see me tweeting all the time about how much I miss Boone and the snow all winter ;)

"They totally held their own first half!"

Hiii I'm alive, I promise! I've been hanging out on Instagram and Twitter all weekend, but I'm just now making it back here to share the awesomeness that was my four day weekend! And can we talk about how much it SUCKS coming back from that?! Especially when you don't really love your job... Oops! 

Anyways, this weekend was absolutely amazing and I wish I could go back right now!

Friday 

 I got up earlier than normal for a Friday and headed down to Athens on my own while Christian stayed in Charlotte and worked from home. As soon as I got to my house, my mom and I headed over to the first bridal shop! My friend, Kristin also lucked out and was able to leave work an hour early and come meet us, too, which was awesome. I tried on three there and I absolutely loved all three.. of course.

After that, we headed over to a second shop and I tried on quite a few more and ended up confusing my self completely as to what I want to wear! I also had her try on a couple bridesmaids dresses and I may have already picked those out - that was much easier!

After shopping, my parents and I went to dinner and I went home and went straight to bed!

Saturday 

Christian, his friend Travis and our friends Sam and Jeremy headed down to Athens from Charlotte around 5:30a since it's a 3.5+ hour drive and kick off was at 12:30p. Once everyone got to Athens, we were a little slow to get started but there were some delicious parking lot mimosas and we walked over to the stadium!

As we walked up to the very tip top of the stadium to where our seats were, we stumbled across part of Travis and Christian's rugby team as well as one of our really good friend from school who we had NO idea was sitting near us! Our section was full of App fans and we had a blast! The 'Neers held their own during the first half and we were pretty proud of them... until the second half... so we headed out to dinner!

After dinner, we all tried to wait as long as possible to head downtown. But, we all realized how old we are when  this conversation took place:

"Guys, if we don't hurry up and get out, it's going to be too late!"

"You're right, it's getting late!!"

"Wait, what time IS it?"

"Oh.. it's 7:15...."

We ended up going out around 8p and met up with my friend who we were staying with that night. Then began the bar hopping. There were some super sketchy ones and a really awesome 90s bar that we had an absolute blast at! We ended the night around 1:30a when I could barely keep my eyes open any longer. Honestly, I'm pretty surprised I lasted that long. 

Sunday 

Christian and I went to a car show with my parents at The Varsity. You guys probably have no idea what that is, but it's a pretty famous restaurant known for their greasy, yummy hot dogs, burgers, onion rings and signature drink called a Frosted Orange! My dad and Christian were in heaven surrounded by all the classic cars so mom and I laid low and let them obsess.

The rest of the evening was pretty low key, watching TV, hanging with my parents and getting my favorite Athens food - Barberitos!

Monday

Lazy is seriously the only way to describe it. Christian had to work from home and my mom has been sick so all of us watched movies and were lazy on the couch. Christian and I then headed back to Charlotte around 4p. Little Zuko was not happy that we left him alone so long but he was quite happy to have us back home.

Inspiration

I always find that it's hard to find good "work clothes" inspiration. As of right now, I can wear whatever I want to work and if you follow me on Instagram you know that I'm in jeans pretty much every day. 

I do have dreams of moving up in the working world and needing to actually dress like a mature adult 5 days out of the week. And, when this happens, I dream of looking like Olivia Pope.

Her Amazing Suits

Her Perfect Winter coats

Her Beautiful sweaters

Her Phenomenal Dresses

But you're so young!

If you were around last week, I shared where we're getting married and our colors! This week, I had every intention of writing another planning post, but let's be honest, it's been a month and I really don't have too much planned. Plus, we've got another 11 months to go, so I don't want to bore you, yet!

Today, I wanted to share why I'm getting married. That might sound a little weird, but I've had so many comments such as this: 

"YOU'RE getting married?! But you're so young?!" 

"But, you have so much life ahead of you, why get married now?"

"Why rush it? You should have a long engagement!" 

So let's dive right in, shall we?

Yes, we're young. We'll be 23 and 24 when we say "I do". I think this was the hardest part for his parents because they were married when they were about 30 and I've had his mom tell me before that there's no need to get married early. This was years ago, and I know she's happy for us, now, but her sentiment has been echoed by plenty. 

My parents were married when my mom was 21 and dad was almost 25, so I see our ages as completely normal. Sure, my parents experienced growing pains in the beginning as they grew together, but they've been married 25 years now, so obviously it's not the worst decision in the world. 

It's my opinion that if I know I'm going to be spending the rest of my life with someone, then what's the point of waiting? We've been together for 3 years and it'll be 4 when we finally get married so obviously we've been together long enough to know. I actually knew a long time ago that he's who I wanted to be with forever. 

Then there's the comment about having so much ahead of us... Yeah, we do. We both have plans and goals and things we want to accomplish. And there's no one I would rather have by my side while I do these things than Christian. Getting married isn't going to stop us from accomplishing these things. In fact, I think it will help us accomplish them! 

When I picture our lives together, I know we can reach all of our goals together. I see us raising beautiful kids together and growing old together. Once Christian and I started dating, I couldn't see any of these things without him by my side. And don't worry, we plan to wait quite awhile before kiddos start arriving!

I've mentioned before how I'm feeling about my job right now, and Christian is so supportive and tries to keep my head up and keep me motivated. He reassures me that everything is going to be okay and I will find something I love. Whenever I feel overwhelmed and discouraged, he is right there to pick me up. 

I've been guilty of thinking someone is "too young" to get married.. and honestly, I still think those in college (and definitely high school - yes this happened in my hometown) should wait. You do a lot of growing and changing in college and I think everyone needs to experience that in their own way. Christian and I both experienced part of college single and then found each other, so I feel like we got the best of both worlds. 

Christian is my rock. There are a lot of things I wouldn't have made it through without him by my side and I look forward to a lifetime of love and support from him. And I plan to push him towards his dreams, as well. I already think of him as my family and I can't wait to make it official in 347 days!

I love Daylight Savings.

Ah, the weekend. It goes by way too quickly every single time. Not only do I really have no idea what I did over the weekend, I really have no pictures from it. Well, I do have some apartment shots - so you guys are getting an apartment sneak peek today! 

Right after I tell you about my weekend. Friday, Christian worked and I was a lazy sack o' bones most of the day. I did some more wedding brainstorming while watching Say Yes to the Dress. I've always been obsessed with the wedding shows but it's a million times worse, now. 

Once Christian got home, we ran to Target and then headed off to see Ender's Game where we snuck in our drinks and candy and only bought popcorn - I seriously don' know why we don't do that more often, but, we will now! After the movie, we came home and I made him get caught up on Scandal!

Saturday, Christian went to his best friend's little brother's football game and I cleaned the apartment head to toe after treating myself to a Bojangle's biscuit! I even moved the couches to vacuum! It was intense. I also had "At Last - Etta James" Pandora on and it was a fabulous playlist to clean to. I was rocking out with Zukes getting everything done.

That night, we headed out to dinner with his best friend and then over to another friend's to do a little pre-gaming and ended up playing Guitar Hero! Well, I watched because I absolutely suck at that game. I then drove the boys out to a couple bars. At the first bar, we saw an entire wedding party - including the bride and groom! I of course couldn't stop staring at her dress and I actually loved her bridesmaid dresses and now I'm considering looking for something similar! They were perfect for a Fall evening wedding.

At the last bar, I remembered Daylight Savings and got so  excited because I was exhausted and had to work Sunday morning (and all day...). So I loaded up the boys, dropped them all off at home and jumped into my bed.

Today, we're both off so we're being oh so lazy and then meeting with our potential photographer today and hopefully will have an engagement shoot scheduled! :)

And without further ado.... a sneak peek of our little home!

Walking out of our bedroom and into the living room!

Spot the kitty :)

Up close of the couches! I really want new pillows - I'm not obsessed with these, at all.

Christian installed all of these shelves and I've been at work decorating them!

Up close of the shelves!

This lamp matches our floor lamp, just with a different shade. I love it!

Frame - TJ Maxx, Pumpkin - Target, Jar and Cones - Old Time Pottery 

Kitchen Decor - We don't have a lot of room... 

Bathroom jewelry organization!

The bathroom and bedroom aren't quite ready to showcase, so that's why you only get a bathroom sneak peak! Hopefully, the bedroom will have some more decor soon!