F-A-I-L (And Other Letters)

So for Lent I decided to give up sweets. Anyone who knows me/has ever read this blog knows that this could only be more difficult for me than giving up Chick-fil-a (which is what I did last year and was beyond difficult). However, due to certain weekend events I have altered this to giving up chocolate.

My very thoughtful and generous coworkers threw me a "Monogram & Mimosa" shower on Saturday morning at our office. The menu was dominated by sweets. This is probably because they know me so well and I didn't want to hurt any feelings so I decided Saturday would be my "cheat day"...until Sunday. Some of our friends hosted an "Alphabet Shower" for Leanne (our favorite little teacher!) and sweets were on the menu again. Needless to say I sampled the strawberry cake, lemon/blueberry cake, but no chocolate. Way to go Mary [not]!

Office party!

Beautiful flowers from my coworkers

Sweets for our sweet Leanne

Leanne and Haley, sister-in-law/matron of honor extraordinaire

Our bride and the hostesses

Leanne and her mother and future mother-in-law

Leanne & Haley

All the girls!

It was a perfectly sweet weekend. Thanks for reading!

Mary

Reba Ties The Knot

It is hard to begin to accurately describe how happy our family is for our newly married cousin Rebecca. With her unmatched enthusiasm for all that life brings and an incredible love and respect for those around her, it was nice to have a weekend that celebrates all things "Rebecca" and her awesome new husband Sean. I won't gush on and on (maybe too late?) but just wanted to share some pictures from their big day!

The whole gang!

Grandmother and all of her grandchildren

Dad

Tried it. Duh.

Blair and his two favorite girls

April 21st here we come!

Sweet, sweet sister

Mom and her girls

Mr. & Mrs. Carey

Uncle Fred & Rebecca

Success!

My mom and all of her siblings

It was such a great weekend and we are all so happy to welcome Sean as a part of our family! Can't wait to do it all again in April for our wedding, thanks for reading!

Mary

Two

61 days...Left for Blair to escape. Just kidding, sort of. After a "Wedding Weekend" with my family I would not be surprised if Blair was heading for the hills. We are a large, loud group and can definitely be a lot to handle! In the midst of celebrating my cousin Rebecca and her sweet husband Sean, Blair and I had a jam packed weekend of all things wedding.

Petal to the Metal

Thursday afternoon when I arrived in town my mother and I had a meeting with our florist. I found it was difficult for me, even with pictures to articulate the exact colors, bouquets, etc. that I have been picturing in my head. However, our florist is amazing and I feel confident that despite my inability to communicate that they will be stunning. I keep saying to her, "I am getting married in Atlanta in the spring, I am not afraid of flowers. At all". I love flowers at a wedding, I think there is something so beautiful and sweet about them so I can't wait to see ours on the big day!

Let Them Eat Cake!

I. Could. Not. Wait. To. Eat. Cake. I knew a while ago what bakery Blair and I would use to get our wedding cake from so it was just a matter of picking the flavors. This was perhaps the most difficult for me since there really isn't a cake flavor that I don't like. I think we made some good choices and can't wait to see/taste the final product!

Before

After

In between cake eating, Blair and I also fit in a food tasting for the reception and Mom and I went to a dress fitting (Something that would obviously accompany all of the eating that I was doing). We were in full on wedding mode.

It was a great weekend and although we are all definitely exhausted I would not have had it any other way. Seeing Rebecca and Sean get married in the neighborhood we all grew up in and then dancing the night away with Blair and my cousins was definitely a wonderful preview of all that is to come on April 21st!

Thanks for reading!

Mary

Hopefully Not Forgotten

So needless to say I have been majorly slacking in the blog post arena for a while now. However, I have made a mid-February resolution and promise to be better! I feel like I have been running to the tune of pack, travel, unpack, work, repeat. No excuses.

I am excited to share all of the details of my cousin (and Matron of Honor) Rebecca's wedding this past weekend and gear up for "Two" (Here's three, four, and five in case you missed them) . We are almost two months out from the big day. WHAT!? Here is a sample:

The long awaited day of cake tasting

Hope you all had a great weekend, thanks for reading & not forgetting about me!

Mary

My Twin Tina

Disclaimer: I do not in any way shape or form pretend to be as funny/smart as Tina Fey. I just appreciate her. And now so do the employees at Vic Bailey Ford in Spartanburg.

Image via

 
Friday was my half day at work and as Blair was still at work I decided I would be a responsible driver/daughter and take my car in for my an oil change, tire rotation, etc.. The nice man in the Service Department asked if I would be leaving my car with them or waiting, since I had Marsha's copy of Bossy Pants in my car I decided I would read, watch "The Price is Right"/"Judge Judy"/whatever other nonsense was on the television in the waiting room.

Tina (First name basis) is describing growing up with a strong father figure, adventures at drama camp, and trying to fit in in college. At this point I am starting to feel like she is talking to me (Didn't go to drama camp but was a semi-professional summer camper). By this time I have laughed out loud, for too long, several times, alone in the waiting room. Then an elderly woman walks in, looks at me and says "I am so glad you are not a man".

Wow. Me too. Tina would love this. This woman goes on to talk about how every time she is in the waiting room it is full of men who know a lot more about cars than she does. She then pulls the latest copy of Southern Living out of her pocketbook and I go on reading with my new BFF Tina. This woman then tells me that my "Slouchy" sweater is not flattering to my figure. My car is ready. I am thanking the Ford gods.

I hope that the next time you take your car to be serviced that someone tells you that they are glad that you are not a member of the opposite sex, insults your wardrobe/slightly compliments your figure, and that you bring yours friend Tina.

Thanks for reading [this means you Tina Fey] and happy Wednesday!

Mary

Just in Time

This weekend Blair and I were honored with an "Around the Clock" shower and it was a blast. Throughout this process Blair and I have been constantly saying to each other how lucky we are to have such sweet friends and the shower this weekend was further evidence of that.

Our hostesses thought of everything; the menu incorporated our nicknames for each other, we played "The Shoe Game", opened some great gifts for every hour of the day that guests were assigned, and most importantly got to spend some real quality time with our friends.

Our awesome hostesses

"Chili Dawg" & "Tooty"

Blair & Friends

Roommates

Getting ready for "The Shoe Game"

Playing "The Shoe Game"

Blair's proposal time cookie cake, delicious!

Opening up

Friends since freshmen year!

It was such a great weekend and we really are so thankful for our sweet friends who have taken the time and effort to be a part of our festivities, 75 days and counting...Duh duh duh.

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

Mary