In-Betweener

On days like Halloween I realize what a funny stage of life people my age are in. Growing up we obviously dressed up every year and our mom went all out with pumpkin carving, decorations, etc.. Moving on to college everyone still dressed up but there was obviously a little less trick or treating and the costumes got a bit more creative/inappropriate. Tonight, at the home of some sweet friends people were arriving at the door with their children and I am looking at these parents thinking "Ok, if I am a week away from being 25 then you are maybe 28, 29 tops!". I am not at all complaining, its just funny to me that on a night like Halloween people of all ages celebrate in their own way.

A classic in the Branch house growing up during Halloween. Oh Booooooooook!

Hope you all had a very happy Halloween and a wonderful weekend, thanks for reading!

Mary

Happy Homecoming!

On our way to see the Terriers play!

That's right; the most wonderful time of the year (well, after Christmas I guess) has arrived, Wofford Homecoming!!! What does this mean exactly? Well for me it means I get to wear all of the black & gold I want without my coworkers giving me a hard time, I will hopefully get asked if I am enjoying my freshman year so far (this happened to me last year and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face), and my friends and I will run around the row like we still own the place. Can't wait!

Reporting back with pictures, stories, etc. Hope you all have a great weekend, thanks for reading and go terriers!

Mary

Beth Dies!?!

There are two books that I read at least once every year. One: To Kill A Mockingbird. Two: Little Women. Is this a little bit strange? Yes. Even stranger? Instead of "playing" school or house growing up, I often forced Laura to "play" Little Women. All this really meant was that Laura and I pretended to be very cold (we were growing up in Massachusetts after all) and I got to play Jo [obviously] and poor, little Laura had to be Beth. That's right, Laura/Beth died. This has lead to lots of teasing back and forth as the years have gone on so yesterday, on sort of a ho-hum average Wednesday, I get a message from Laura that says: "Little Women is on, always makes me think of you!". Again, sometimes it's the littlest (no pun intended) things that can turn your day around.

Yea, I own this on DVD.

And yes, this post's title is a Friends reference from the one where Joey and Rachel agree to read each others' favorite books; Joey's is The Shining, which he puts in the freezer whenever it gets too scary and Rachel's is Little Women. Joey gets confused, thinks that Laurie is a girl, Jo is a boy and then when he finds out that Beth dies it is just too much for him to handle and the book goes into the freezer, "Beth dies!?!".

Friends and Little Women. Doesn't get any better, thanks for reading!

Mary

Sleepwalking

Blair and I realized that this past weekend is the first since the 4th of July that one or both of us has not traveled (well, he traveled to come see me on Saturday); that is insane. We have been on the long distance road for quite a while so that is not something new to us but as our schedules get busier and after we both work a full week, I usually feel like I look around on Sunday afternoon and wonder where the weekend went; really where did my chance to sleep in a little extra wander off to!?

When I returned from Anna's wedding last weekend, I woke up on Monday with a cold. A knock-you-over, maybe-pull-a-muscle-from-sneezing sort of cold. My parents both think that this was my body's way of telling me that I need to slow down; or as Mom says "You have to learn to say no". This presents a challenge for me as I typically like to see how many things I can add on to my to-do list in any given day.

Not last week. I was in a sleep walking/cold syrup induced coma. Direct from a co-worker: "You look like you need to go home". Yea, well I feel like it too.

No longer! After a relaxing weekend in Columbia filled with lots of college football watching, chili-festival tasting, and of course, napping, I am ready to go! Brand new week, brand new things and Wofford Homecoming this weekend where I will be disguising myself as someone who thinks they are still in college.

Hope you all had a great weekend and thanks for reading!

Mary

Six

I can't believe that it has been a month since seven! April 21st will be here before we know it! Blair and I have made lots of good progress and I am getting more and more excited with each passing day. At Anna's wedding this past weekend (Here & here) we were asked by several people if it was strange for us to think that we were next. The answer? No. Nothing feels more natural or just absolutely as it should be than for me to be married to Blair.

Say Cheese!

Yup, Blair and I are successfully still engaged post-engagement photo shoot. Not that this is something I thought we would necessarily disagree on but as Angie, our out-of-this-world awesome photographer reminded us; we probably haven't been photographed quite like this since our senior portraits in high school. Yikes. We had a mild, cloudy afternoon but despite the less than sunshiney weather (which Angie said is actually is nice because light is not as much of an issue for her and Blair and I are not squinting into the sun) we took some really great pictures at the church where we will be married and in my Grandmother's yard. My Grandfather, "Fado", passed away a few months after Blair and I began dating and I thought this would be a great way to include him in our day as he designed and built that house and it is where my mom and all of her brothers and sisters were raised. It was hard for me to pick my favorites but here are a few!

Angie said we are laughing in a lot of our pictures. I keep telling myself that this is a good thing

One where we are actually just smiling. These were taken closer to the street where several people drove by waving/honking. Angie said "Just wait til your wedding day; people love to honk at the bride". Great.

Laughing...Again.

To Grandmothers house we go!

The yard where many games were played, knees skinned, and now engagement pictures taken?

Blair asked Angie if he could take a few "Zoolander" shots. I don't think she was quite sure what to make of this at first. This is what we got. I tried warning her that she was going to have her hands full with him; I think she understands now.

I am beyond thrilled with how our pictures turned out. It has been so fun to share them with our family and I am so thankful that Angie was able to capture the essence of who Blair and I are as a pair; I know she pictures that she will take on our wedding day will be equally; if not more wonderful than these. Thank you Suburbanite Photography and Angie!

The Ten

This is how Blair and I have started referring to our wedding party. We each have 10 attendants; is this a large group? Yes, without a doubt. Is every single one of these people important to us and unbelievably supportive of us and our lives together? Duh. It is for this reason that I struggled with picking bridesmaids dresses. It is difficult to find a dress that can perfectly compliment all figures and skin/hair tones but I did my best! I strayed from my original color (A blush pink/champagne color; after doing this Laura felt the need to inform me that she hated that color anyway. Thanks MOH.) Anyway, the girls' dresses are long and "Cornflower Blue" and they are choosing between two different styles so hopefully everyone will feel comfortable, beautiful, happy, and spring-y just like the wedding day itself!

If you are still reading this, then thank you, I will try to make "Five" not as crazy/ridiculously long/bridezilla-ish. Best part of "Six" though? When I informed Blair, like a true crazy person that we were getting married six months from today, his immediate response was "I can't wait!'. Awesome.

Thanks for reading (seriously!) and have a great weekend!

Mary

October 15, 2011

The day that our Anna got married! Anna was so calm and a joy to be around before her wedding. We arrived at the church a few hours before the ceremony was set to begin and helped Anna get dressed, took some pictures, and waited for the guests to arrive. Anna and Steven opted to do a "first look" and their wedding party was present for that as well. I had never seen that done that way before and it I know our group was honored to witness Steven see his bride for the first time on their special day.

A new name and a stunning dress

Father-daughter dance; so sweet and fun and they got the whole crowd involved

Claire, a friend since we were freshman...waaay back win. Off to an awesome job in Nashville, Atlanta will miss you!

Katy and Meagan's hard work paid off! Anna and Steven's cake was gorgeous and delicious (Yes, I sampled all 4 flavors thank you very much)

Us in 6 months!

Sweet dance taking a quick break from the dancefloor. There was lots of dancing at their reception; most the older guests enjoyed the fall weather at the tables set up outside so we were really able to take over...per usual.

A little Terrier pride

Martha and Carly waiting for the ceremony to start! We took pictures inside the church before the guests arrived so it was exciting for all of us to make the walk to the church again with Anna a few hours later knowing that it was packed full of the people that love her and Steven so much

Husband & wife!

Their wedding was beautiful and every event this past weekend was so personal. I know I speak for all of our friends when I say that we have never seen Anna look more beautiful and just radiate happiness; I told my mom on Sunday that it was so easy to really see how happy they both were. That's what its all about!

Thanks for reading!

Mary

A "Charm"ing Day & Night

This past Friday we kicked Anna's wedding weekend off with a wonderful bridesmaids luncheon hosted by her aunts and grandmother. We got to hear a few sweet words about Anna from her family and then we were presented with our bridesmaids gift and got to dive into the delicious charm cake that her aunts prepared for us...well I dove in anyway.

Wofford girls (and sweet Carly) at Anna's beautiful bridesmaids luncheon at the Piedmont Club

Anna with one of our resident pastry chefs Katy; proudly showing off her new chef's jacket, a gift from the thoughtful bride

About to pull our charms! Anna attached special charms representing each of our personalities to a specific color ribbon which was also displayed at our placecard at our tables.

Showing off our monogrammed carry-all baskets that we could use at the church the next day. This was my first thing I received with my new monogram on it; only fitting that it came from Anna, the queen of all things monogrammed!

Anna's sister Ellen and Amanda

Anna and our wonderful hostesses for the afternoon

After a little afternoon pampering at the nail salon we were off to the church for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I always love this part of weddings because it is so fun to see the bride in groom practicing and trying to remember all of the steps for their wedding ceremony the next day. I am also a sucker for a good rehearsal dinner toast; and Anna and Steven's did not disappoint!

Steven's grooms cake, representing his pride in the Republican Party. Anna's dad, a not-so-Republican jokingly tried to toss it out of the room at one point.

The future Mr. & Mrs. Jones!

Martha and I with our beautiful bride to be!

The [almost] Blantons and Steven's GOP cake

Out for just a little while before the big day!

More to come but just wanted to share a few photos! Hope you all had a great weekend and happy honeymooning to Anna and Steven!

Mary

Nanner Ties The Knot

This morning I am blogging from Sparkle City as I am anxiously awaiting the kick-off of Anna's wedding weekend with her bridesmaids luncheon later this morning. We all remember meeting Anna our freshman year so it seems like the past 6 six years have flown by as tomorrow is her wedding day. She is from Spartanburg so all of our friends spent a good deal of time with her family during our years at Wofford which makes this weekend that much more meaningful to all of us as we have all witnessed first hand how close Anna is to her parents and brother and sister. Anna and her family have been extremely kind to all of us over the years and we are honored to share this time with them. I am so excited for everything this weekend and can't wait to see our beautiful bride to be later this morning!

SO happy for our Nanner and sweet Steven!

I will try to be back later today or tomorrow morning with bridesmaids luncheon and maybe a few rehearsal dinner pictures so that I don't bombard you all on Sunday or Monday [Note to self: Figure out how to make a photo collage on the blog]. I hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy the beautiful fall weather! Thanks for reading!

Mary

Me, You, and the Dancefloor

Saturday night Blair & I were lucky enough to celebrate our engagement with some close friends and family. It was a great party hosted at my Aunt Sue's house and it was so special to have friends that we spent so many years with at Wofford in a place that has been an important part of my memories growing up. With plenty of food, football, music, and eventually dancing (See Blair's [in]famous dance video for further explanation); I hope that everyone else had just as much fun as Blair and I did!

Great Wofford friends

My Uncle Tom and Blair's parents; this party was a wonderful way for our families to mingle and get to know each other better

Aunt Sally and Uncle Ed; two of the best!

Blair and his childhood friend/groomsman Matt and his girlfriend Danielle, so thankful that they made the trip for us!

The great cake! Georgia and Tennessee decorations represented our home states as well as a Wofford "W" on the back, a chapel, a bottle of wine for Blair, and the St. Simons lighthouse; so thoughtful

Cutting the cake!

Blair and his sweet father showing off their Tennessee pride

Maid of honor!

Cheese!

Columbia neighbors

Bev, Megan, and Laura

Yes, the crown in Blair's hand was a part of his late-night dance routine (Note: Sam and Zeco in the background)

It was a great weekend and the perfect way to kick off the wedding festivities! I know Blair and I constantly tell our families about our friends and vice versa so it was a wonderful feeling to look out over the party and see people who are so important to us laughing and enjoying each other.

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

Mary

A House United

Blair=Knoxville [Read:Tennesse fan]. Mary=Atlanta [Read: Georgia fan]. This weekend as these teams prepare to compete against one another in Neyland Stadium; Blair and I will ready ourselves for our first engagement party.

I am expecting (not so secretly hoping) for a whole lot of this on Saturday night (Image via)

Obviously this weekend is really about us and our families but there is really nothing wrong with a friendly rivalry right? Hope you all are planning something fun this weekend as well and I promise to report back with pictures...and a Bulldog win!

Mary

They Will Rock You

Watching our mighty Wofford Terriers this past weekend was so much fun. I expected the Wofford vs. App. State challenge to be a nail biter but the Terriers proved to be too much for App. State to handle. We stomped them 28-14 and it was so exciting. We were planning on returning just for Homecoming but now we are trying to work another Wofford football visit into our fall schedule.

Go Terriers! We are so proud! Hope you all had a great weekend & thanks for reading!

Mary