A Wonderful Wednesday

Tonight after work I:

• Returned a few e-mails
• Checked going to the gym off my list
• Went to Target (The Happy Place)
• Made some tea
• Read my book (Which, by the way I can tell is going to be another tear jerker, I will be sure to keep you posted)

So yes, I realize this is not the most exciting evening ever but it was the perfect Wednesday...mainly because I know that tomorrow I will be busy procrastinating packing for the weekend.

Hope you all are having a good week so far & thanks for reading!

Mary

We Have A Winner!

I found IT!

You guessed it; wedding dress shopping was a huge success; not only did I find "the" dress but it was such a fun weekend with my mom and sister. Like I said I was nervous that I would not find anything and that the experience would be stressful, etc. (can you tell I am a worrier?), well let me assure you that at one point I found several that I liked and it was not in the least bit stressful. I loved it, loved it so much in fact that I am going to apologize in advance for the bridezilla-long post.

Saturday morning we were ready; coffee in hand, gathering of the troops and off to our first appointment bright and early at 10:00!

Store #1: This was almost too successful, I found two dresses that I really liked; both of them were in line with what I thought that I wanted and exactly what I described to Noelle, the wonderful "Wedding Consultant" helping us (more on her later, she was the bomb.com). The feeling was indescribable the first time she put me in a dress and I walked out of the dressing room to my group of smiling and eager faces. I was fairly quiet during this appointment as seeing myself in a wedding dress was almost surreal' Laura took charge and did an excellent job of articulating what I was feeling, "I think she [Mary] means its too much" or "I think this is too "old" for a young Spring bride"; seriously Laura was great and I was so thankful she was there. After lots of "ooohs" and "ahhhs" we were off to the next appointment after we decided to return the next day to revisit the dresses that caught our eye.

Store #2: A little bit of a different experience but highly entertaining; it was a "Bridal consignment Shop" recommended to us by several people in which they carried dresses that had never been worn for whatever reason or dresses that were discontinued. This meant that what you saw/tried on was the dress that you got. This is also the reason that we had to wear gloves in this store; that's right, little white gloves. Since the dresses in there were the ones that were meant for purchase the employees did not want the oils from your hands being transferred to every dress that you touched. While this makes complete sense, I really wish someone had snapped a picture of our faces when they told us we each had to put gloves on. You were also instructed to try on things in your "Size Range"; meaning if you were a size 2 you could try up to a size 6 because anything larger than that would mean extreme alterations to get to it fit you. This limited our options to some very interesting choices in which I would literally walk out, look at my mom/sister and just "No". Off. Out. Never. If I walked down the aisle in this Blair would be thoroughly confused. After we departed it was time for lunch, a few hours of rest and then off to our final stop...

Store #3: I almost said "Yes to the Dress". Yep, we went to store in Atlanta where the TLC series is filmed. No cameras, didn't even apply to be on the show as I am not interesting enough to warrant television time but this place is huge and very efficiently run. I probably tried on 7 seven dresses here [a lot] and if I could eliminate one then it was taken out of the dressing room, never to be seen again. When I came out in the last dress of the day I could tell by the looks on my mother, sister, and aunts faces that they thought it was "it". I was not so convinced and took a stroll around the store, veil and all. I did feel like a bride but I didn't feel like me as a bride and that's what I needed so, much to the dismay of the group we left empty handed with an appointment to return the next afternoon.

Yes, this post is now officially out of control. I promise to wrap it up soon...

After a lovely dinner of Mexican food (no wedding diet yet) and watching a stellar flick on TCM with Grandmother we were back at store #1 the next day and while Noelle was getting our room ready a completely different dress caught my eye, I asked to try it on and that was it. I knew it was the one right away and when I saw my mother's and sister's faces I was sold. I feel like myself and I feel like a bride; mission accomplished.

I cannot wait to wear it on April 21st and a huge thank-you to my mom, sister, Aunt Sue, Teri, and Noelle for making this experience unforgettable.

If you are actually still reading this than a big thank-you to you as well, hope you all had a great weekend!

Mary

Dubya Dubya Dubya

We are online!

1. Wedding website: Check
2. Wedding website with music selected by Blair: Check (Just go to song #3 for confirmation)
3. Wedding dress: To be determined...

Happy weekending!

Mary

Shop 'Til You Drop

This weekend I am heading home to Atlanta to go wedding dress shopping! According to my wedding checklist which come from the website that we are using to create our own wedding website (confused yet? More on our wedding website to come); finding my dress is something that I should have done about 2 months ago when we got engaged. Uh-oh.

Regardless of my shopping tardiness, I am very excited. Earlier this week when I was making the appointments I was becoming a little stressed wondering if we would have enough time at each store, if we would actually find something, etc. but my sister (performing one of her many maid of honor duties oh so well) reminded me that I needed to turn my frown upside down and that this was going to be fun. She's right and I am really am very excited thrilled, anxious, giddy, and a little bit nervous.

It is going to be so fun picking out the dress that I will wear when the church doors open and Blair sees me for the first time as the woman who is going to be his wife. I hope my mom, sister, and aunt can hold it together as the shopping commences because if you all remember; I am a crier.

Last but definitely not least, we need to get on the shopping ball because out of our family guess who the only person is to have successfully purchased their wedding day attire? That's right, dear old dad.

Everyone remember his tuxedo?

I promise to return with details from this weekend (well, not too many) and hopefully have some fun pictures to share! Happy Friday & thanks for reading!

Mary

A Conway Union

Well, it was yet another great Wofford wedding! This past weekend Blair and I traveled to Conway for the wedding of our friends Michael and Ashley and it didn't disappoint! People ask if we get tired of traveling but for once in a lifetime events like this I could not be happier to hop in the car [while Blair chauffeurs me around the state of South Carolina]. This weekend also marked the debut of Katy and Meagan's wonderful wedding cakes!

With the bakers themselves!

The spectacular groom's cake

First dance as husband and wife

Digging in!

Wonderful Wofford girls

With the beautiful bride!

Look who caught the bouquet...

Months away from our big day!

Leah and Blair; kind enough to adopt Austin and me as semi-Knoxville residents

Ashley and Michael are a great couple and it was such an honor to be able to celebrate their special day with them. After lots of catching up, laughs, and dancing, the newlyweds are off on their honeymoon and I am already counting down to the next mini-Wofford reunion...come on October for Anna and Steven's big day!

As a side note; Michael likes to tease me about this blog so I hope that Mr. and Mrs. Langley find this title to their liking (Ashley is from Conway, Michael is from Union...get it? I tried.)

I hope you all had a great weekend, thanks for reading!

Mary

Going Through the Motions

Sometimes I feel like my day goes like this: Wake up, work, gym, dinner, bed. And then repeat. Lately I have tried to focus on remembering certain things that happen each day whether it's a conversation, a random thought that came to my mind, something my roommates and I laughed about, etc. Basically I am trying to do better about things like this in an effort to take full advantage of every day:

All of the above (Image via)

I feel like those are things that I need to stamp on my hand before I walk out the door every morning; nothing like a little self-improvement!

Speaking of self-improvement, I should be packing right now. Blair and I are heading to Conway, S.C. this weekend to attend the wedding of our friends Ashley and Michael and I am so exciting I haven't even taken my suitcase out of my closet.

Thanks for reading!

Mary

Back to School

Today was Sister's last first day of class at the University of Georgia! I remember when I was getting ready to leave for college for the first time that several people told me how quickly my years there would go by; while this was true I really do feel like Laura graduated from high school earlier this summer and we just finished packing her little red Acura full for its first journey to Athens.

I know the "last" first day is bittersweet but I also know that this year has wonderful things in store for Laura. She is extremely bright, a wonderful student, and someone who thoroughly explores every city she has ever lived in so I am sure that this last year in Athens will not be wasted.

Thing 2 will walk through the arches in May!

So good luck to the little one; I hope you all had a great weekend and thanks for reading!


Mary

Good Dog

Blair desperately wants a dog. He had a wonderful dog growing up and I know that once I cave Blair will become one of those people who talks to our dog, asking it what it thinks we should watch on T.V., eat for dinner, etc. Ultimately I know that Blair and our future dog will be very happily married and I feel very lucky that they will let me share their home with them. I just hope we get a "Rosie".

Today I read this article about a dog named Rosie, trained as a service dog. Rosie responds to signs of human stress with a nudge of the nose or a lean on the side or leg and recently sat at the feet of a young girl who testified that her father raped her (her father was convicted and his attorney is filing an appeal). These dogs are trained to comfort children or other vulnerable witness during times of stress as they testify in court. Dogs likes Rosie are causing quite a stir in the court system as defense attorneys are worried that the dogs may sway jurors based on the natural attraction that people feel for dogs; as well as the idea that the witness may be under stress if they are providing false testimony in which case the dog is responding to signals as trained but not necessarily because the witness finds it difficult to testify. Regardless of the legal debate that these dogs raise, I really think this story emphasizes the bond between man and his best friend. It is well worth the read, especially if you are a proud dog owner.

Go Rosie!

So, if for whatever reason you are not a dog lover I hope that it is stories like this that may change your mind; even the defense attorneys in Rosie's case said Rosie is "a lovely creature and by all standards a 'good dog'". Thanks for reading and I hope you all are having a good week!

Mary

Nappy Roots Says "Congrats!"

This weekend several girlfriends and I celebrated Anna's bachelorette weekend on Daniel Island. It was such a great time and so wonderful to spend time with just the girls now that we scattered post-graduation. Friday night after a few traffic escapades we made it safely to our wonderful hostess Cowles' home and the festivities began with a shower for sweet Anna. Saturday we were up and ready for the beach!

Meg and Cowles resting up on the porch after a successful beach day!

Anna, Claire, Meagan, and Leanne working on preparing even more appetizers

The bachelorette herself with Amanda

Meagan, sporting her hat that made her look like a celebrity

Saturday evening we cleaned up and headed to The Boathouse on Isle of Palms for dinner. It was so much fun and the food was excellent. Since our waiter just loved us (shout out to Dave!) he recommended The Windjammer as a good bar for us to visit after dinner. Well, little did we know that Nappy Roots (yes, the Nappy Roots) was performing that night so that amount of laughing increased tremendously after we stumbled upon this rap concert

Carly, Meagan, and Leanne at dinner

Before our games of Anna/Steven 20 questions began

And the evening wouldn't be complete without an embarrassing story or two...

Anna's dancing and Meagan's reaction sum up our evening with Nappy Roots perfectly

We had a great time celebrating Anna and can't wait for her big day in October; it's going to be here before we know it! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and thanks for reading!

Mary

What's In A Name?

Quite a bit actually. First, middle, last, street address, city, state, zip. Yes, Blair and I have been tackling the beast otherwise known as the guest list. While this is an exciting list to compile as these are the people that will surround us on our wedding day; it is impossible to think that with each and every addition to my spreadsheet I know that all of the above information is required for each person. Let the e-mails begin! Or, if you prefer to sign any text messages you might send  to me over the next week or so with your full name and mailing address I will accept those as well.

HELP. (Image via)

Now that Blair and I have made "listing" our new verb of choice; we are set on getting this finished as soon as possible so that my hands may become unfrozen from the typing position. Thanks for reading!

Mary

The Traditions Continue

This past week at St. Simons with my extended family was just what the doctor ordered. We usually go earlier in July so I was overly eager to jump in the car on Saturday morning and drive down there. St. Simons is a very special place to all of those in my family; it is the place where our grandparents met, where we have grown up visiting, exploring, and just being with each other and I can only hope that one day Blair and I will have children that come to love this place as we have.

Mom, Laura, and me before a delicious dinner at Coastal Kitchen

Most every day involved beach sitting, pool swimming, nap taking, junk food eating, book reading, and lots of relaxing.

The usual afternoon thunderstorm rolling in on the beach

Here it comes!

Blair arrived on Wednesday evening and everyone was so excited to spend more time with him. He fit right in and was such a great sport (hence the air-brushed t-shirts)

Sister!

Sister sporting the Lady Gaga glasses

He made it!

Thursday night we had a big cook-out and a little celebration for Blair and I. Little did we know, another big surprise was on the way as my cousin Rebecca's boyfriend, Sean was waiting for her on the porch of their house when she was sent back for an errand fabricated by my uncle. When Rebecca turned the corner on the back porch Sean was there waiting to propose!

Our favorite new articles of clothing. Blair wore his to the beach the next day!

Waiting for the newly engaged couple to return!

Yellow cake with chocolate icing, Blair's favorite

Happy to report that there was zero of this cake left at the end of the week

The future Mr. and Mrs. Carey!

Engaged cousins!

Sadly, the week always has to come to an end and I am already so excited for next year. Hope you all are having a great week so far, thanks for reading!

Mom's vote for the Christmas card

Little one

The happy place!