Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Honeymoon: Day 7

The last and final day of the honeymoon! Although there was a lot of napping during this trip, we woke up more than tired and ready to just be home. There was another wonderful breakfast prepared for us! The first course was again a plate of fruit. Then they brought out fresh pumpkin muffins with cabot butter. And the muffin was amazing! But the butter was better! I don't usually notice brands of butter when I'm eating other places. I know that for home I like a couple certain brands (the healthy ones!). But since I had the cabot butter, I have noticed it a million times in the grocery store and restaurants. And it is made in Vermont thus furthering my love for it! Anyway, for my main breakfast, I chose the omelet with tomatoes, asparagus, and cheese and the croissant french toast with maple syrup. I shouldn't have ordered this much! But the omelet was super fresh again and delicious! The french toast was okay, but I prefer the soggy kind. I've never been much of a crust person. And as we all know, a croissant is basically crust. Matthew ordered the croissant french toast and sausage.

We headed back up to our room to finish packing our things. The innkeepers had informed us of a way to get to Baltimore without all of the tolls. Thank goodness! The fees were adding up! And Baltimore you say? Originally we were supposed to stay in Baltimore on Saturday night. The drive from Vermont back to North Carolina is about 13 hours with a break or two for gas and meals. So we thought Baltimore would be a good stopping point to get some rest. Baltimore is about 9 hours from Brandon. However, we just wanted to get home. Sunday was Father's Day, and I think we both hated to miss it! We drove the entire distance and arrived home around midnight. We did stop right outside of DC to eat at Panera Bread. I had been craving their macaroni and cheese for days! And it was so good!

The honeymoon was great! We went to a lot of places we had never been! We managed to work together and find our way from place to place. There were a couple of arguments over directions, yet there were no arguments related to food, as is normally the case! Time has flown by since the wedding! Can you believe it's almost been three weeks? Life is exciting!

Honeymoon: Day 6

Are you starting to notice how every day begins with food? Well this day was no different. The innkeepers prepared what I would consider a gourmet breakfast. I certainly do not wake up and prepare myself fresh food because I just don't care to. But if I ever become a morning person, I would make myself food just this fresh! Our first course was a plate of fresh fruit: cantaloupe, pineapple, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries. The next course was a homemade croissant with blueberry jam that was just oozing love! And for our third course they asked us what we wanted! Seriously? Not only are you giving me amazing food but you're asking me what I want? I loved it! I chose the omelet with asparagus, mushrooms, and cheese and a side of homefries. Matthew had the ham steak with scrambled eggs and homefries. Everything was delicious!

They directed us on a scenic drive to Waterbury so that we could visit the Ben and Jerry's Factory! Because that's what we wanted to do...eat ice cream before lunch! It was about an hour and a half drive through the mountains, but it was a beautiful drive! There were cute little farms everywhere! And of course all of these farms had huge old houses, just like I want! It was amazing to see how very southern all of the little towns were considering how far north they were, and that all of the people were from up north. That just shows that southern life really is the best and most simplistic! We finally got to Ben and Jerry's and paid our fee for the tour. Matthew and I were so excited! That is until we realized the tour was five minutes long, and that they were not making ice cream that day! We have a theory that they really do not make ice cream there anymore. It really did not even look real! Of course the tour ends with a sample. And the flavor of the day was their new Milk and Cookies. YUM! It was really, really good! I have seen it in the store but I couldn't bring myself to try it. That's too expensive to be playing around! You have to know it's good before you spend $4! After the tour, you indefinitely end up in the gift shop. We both found a tshirt and I got a "got Vermont?" sticker that had a cow's face on it! That sticker now proudly resides in the bottom left corner of my rear window! And it is beautiful!

There wasn't much else to do in Waterbury, other than Matthew got us lost because he hasn't learned yet that the woman really is right! We, and by we I mean Matthew finally listened to me, eventually found our way back to the bed and breakfast. There was more napping involved and then we were hungry again. We really are like babies..hungry every three or four hours! McDonald's may or may not have been our pick for lunch. But it was made to order! Remember those times? I don't think I have ever had a made to order item from McDonald's in my entire life! But it was delicious! My only complaint was that the grease from the burger was on the burger wrapper! I know...what am I complaining about? Would I rather it be in my burger? Eh, I'm not entirely sure! It was gross to see but I suppose I'd rather see it there than have it in my stomach.

After another brief nap, we decided to go visit the Branford House Antiques. The lady that owns this shop is the one Matthew had met the evening before. She had so much stuff! Everything was really cool! I couldn't believe how much of it I have seen in my grandma's house before! The woman's been saying she had antiques! But of course we didn't believe her. I sure do now! We didn't purchase anything. It was just fun looking around and looking through the barn, which was so big I can't even describe it! The lady was nice enough to recommend a couple more dinner places and we headed back to the inn!

We changed clothes and headed back to Middlebury for dinner. Matthew wanted Chinese, but there were no cars in the parking lot so we kept going. I wanted Mexican but that place had closed down. We ended up at Two Brothers Tavern. Of course the drinks here were also charged by the glass, as seemed to be the case in all of the northern states. I kept myself to two glasses of diet coke! And water for the rest. The water in Vermont tasted like candy it was so clean and pure! It was better than bottled water! We ordered some tapas: crab rangoon, cornbread, and bruschetta. For my meal, I ordered a burrito. It was the biggest burrito I've ever had, but it was so good! It had black beans, rice, guacamole, tomatoes, sour cream, lettuce, pico de gallo. I don't even know what else! I also had a side caesar salad that was very good! Matthew ordered a bok choy stir fry that he really liked! We passed on dessert hoping to find ice cream, but we never found any!

Once we were back at the bed and breakfast, we quickly went to sleep because we knew Saturday would be a long day!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Honeymoon: Day 5

The fifth day of the honeymoon, we started off at McDonald's at the mall! The continental breakfast at the hotel ended at like 9:30 a.m. I refuse to wake up that early just to eat a free breakfast! We filled the car up with gas and headed to Vermont! It was a beautiful drive that took us right through the mountains! There were farms everywhere and animals of all kinds! The temperature had dropped more than twenty degrees since the first day of the trip, and we did not mind one bit! It was in the mid 60's for the duration of our stay in Vermont, much different than the humidity in North Carolina! We seemed to be back in the spring time, or a spring time rather since we didn't seem to have one here at home. We arrived at our bed and breakfast, The Lilac Inn, about 2 p.m. The owners were out running errands, but left us a note directing us to our room.






After unpacking the car and resting for a bit (and of course scouring the house checking out all of its amazing parts), we decided to go out for a small lunch. We found a place called Sully's. There was an older couple in there and the man seemed to have known all and been to all things in the world. You could tell his stories were not 100% accurate! I got a turkey and cranberry sandwich with fries. Matthew got a cowboy burger or something similar. The food was good and just made me want to nap some more! We just drove all over Brandon checking everything out. It was a very, very small town! They had a grocery store, a drug store, a McDonald's tacked onto a gas station, and the rest was made up of local shops and restaurants. There was a covered bridge right outside of town and a couple of waterfalls in town! We rested (and fell asleep) for the rest of the afternoon. It was probably about 5:30 p.m. when Matthew headed downstairs to get something from the car when he met a friend of the innkeepers. She gave us a couple of ideas for where to eat dinner and advised us to make reservations.

We decided on The Waybury Inn in Middlebury, which was about 20 minutes away. It kind of reminded me of The Legacy in Elm City. It was an old house and we were the only people there! It was decorated so cute! They even had the chandeliers in the main room that were just like the one I had picked out to put in our kitchen! That kind of made me like the place even more! I mean that alone proved they had great taste! We started off with some calamari that was delicious! I ordered the Filet with mashed potatoes and green beans. This steak was cooked so perfectly! Matthew ordered the Delmonico (another steak)! It was huge! But it was also very good! I think we took half of it back with us. For dessert, we shared a piece of cheesecake made with mascarpone cheese and covered in a maple cream sauce! They actually gave us the dessert on the house since it was our honeymoon! Best cheesecake I've ever had (next to the pumpkin cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory)! Afterwards, we drove around Middlebury just to see what was there! They actually had a TJ Maxx, and yes I did stop! It was probably the most organized TJ Maxx I have ever been to!




 

The innkeepers were finally home when we got back around 10 p.m. It had been kind of strange being their since 2 p.m. and not yet meeting them. The man was really nice and showed us around the downstairs where they had games and movies we could use, and he asked what time we would be down for breakfast since we were the only guests. We chose to watch Walk the Line. I'm not sure if Matthew saw the whole movie, but I fought my hardest to stay awake. I really liked the movie but it seemed so long!

Our first day in Vermont was great! Brandon was a beautiful little town! It was just so cozy and we felt right at home the moment we arrived! As we drove through the mountains, we took a right turn not knowing where we were. We had seen nothing but farms for miles. But all of a sudden we were on the most beautiful tree lined street with sidewalks and huge old houses, a dream come true!

Honeymoon: Day 4

We skipped breakfast! Yeahhh, I know what you're thinking, "You should have! You ate a whole meal at midnight!" And you're right! Just because we skipped breakfast doesn't mean we skipped lunch! While in search of the nearest McDonald's the night before, we discovered the mall! So that's where we went for lunch! If you think the mall in our little hometown is pathetic, well think again! There was so little in this mall that I can't even remember what was there! I got pizza for lunch and Matthew got.... You guessed it! Chinese! That makes for three times in four days! You won't even believe what I wore to the mall...a hat! I hadn't even showered! I know it's sickening!

Then I had a taste for ice cream. We don't have ice cream here. There are places to get milkshakes and ice cream treats, but not ice cream. The GPS was back on duty again! And it sent us to JP Lick's! It was in this cute and quaint part of town with little benches and outdoor tables all over the place! Parking was $.75. Better than $12 though! I got chocolate brownie brownie batter ice cream in a waffle cone! So yummmm! Matthew got peanut butter cookie dough and I can't remember what else in a white chocolate waffle cone! The best part about JP Lick's is that the walls are painted like a cow! Ahhhh! I do love cows! They even have an ice cream cake called the Cow Spot Cake! I want this for my birthday!!! And I so wish we had this place here! I would be even more fat though because I would want it every day!

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the indoor pool! The traffic was just so bad coming in the day before that we didn't want to get back out into it again. We did have a sunset cruise on a sailboat scheduled for the evening, however it was cancelled due to weather. We did not know it was cancelled though! So we drove there, which took forever because of traffic, and looked and looked and walked and walked. It just wasn't there. Parking was $10! It was drizzling! We didn't know what to do! And Matthew was so ill! He was mad, I was mad. We were all mad! It just did not make for a good evening. We ended up walking to a restaurant that had a view of the water. The nachos we got for an appetizer is mostly what I ate. I ordered a Lobster quesadilla for my meal...grosssss! Matthew had added a caesar salad to his meal and let me have it. That wasn't very good either, but I ate as much as I could.

I think Matthew and I were both ready to get back to the hotel after our evening out! Apart from the ice cream, this was my least favorite part of the entire honeymoon!

Honeymoon: Day 3

Still tired, we woke up early and packed our bags before heading down for the continental breakfast. After we ate, we loaded up the car and headed to Boston. It was a very long day in the car with lots of traffic jams. A lot of snacks were consumed! We did stop in Meriden, Connecticut to eat lunch at Ted's Restaurant, home of the steamed cheeseburger! It was super good! The burger was actually huge, and I was barely able to finish the whole thing! It was worth the detour though!

After finally arriving to the hotel, we took a short nap before heading out on the shuttle bus to the metro station. We figured out how to buy tickets and what train to get on and where to get off. I have been on the metro before in DC and in NYC, but every city has its own confusing way of getting you from point a to point b! I basically ended up telling Matthew to just follow the Red Sox fans. And that worked out really well! We ended up right where we needed to be! I have never been on a cruise before, so I'm not sure if I have my sea legs. But I do know that I do not have my metro legs! I can't even walk down the hall without getting a bruise. I need a seat on anything that moves! My arms and lungs are not meant for swinging around like monkeys on branches!

We had an obstructed view at the game. And by obstructed I mean a large pole supporting the entire top realm of the stadium. This pole was massive! The people a couple seats down from us never showed up, so the people next to us were kind enough to slide down so that we could actually see the game! And of course we ate! Matthew got an italian sausage with peppers and onions and a beer! I got a hotdog with mustard and ketchup and nachos and cheese, and of course a diet coke! The people next to us just so happened to have a cousin selling hotdogs in our section. He gave them two for free, and they gave us one! Matthew hogged that one! The game was kind of boring. There was no announcing or music like at the Braves game we went to last summer. But the Red Sox have way more history, and I think the people come for the history and the game. We ended up leaving during the 7th inning hoping we could get back to the hotel before it was too late. Not! We had to wait for the bus for nearly 40 minutes! I was eaten alive by mosquitoes! And of course we had no idea what stop was the one for our hotel, until we saw the hotel! It was close to 11 o'clock before we got back. We left the game before it got dark!

Being the fat tails that we are, we were still hungry! At midnight we decided to go find some food. There aren't fast food places up north like there are here in the south. They are few and far between, and McDonald's is the most popular. We intended to go to McDonald's, given our few options. But across the street was this place called Mike's Roast Beef and Seafood. And it was open! Matthew got a large pastrami sandwich with lettuce and tomato. I ordered a medium roast beef sandwich with horseradish. Delicious!!! I pretty much ate the roast beef and not the bread. I loveeeeeee roast beef! It was warm and red and juicy! So good! This place stays open until 3 a.m. on the weekends and 2 a.m. during the week! Next time you're in Boston, give it a try!

Although the game wasn't the most fun I've ever been to, it definitely felt like you were back in the early 1900's watching baseball in its prime! Just the feeling of being at Fenway gave you chills! Matthew was in awe of where baseball pretty much started! You could see the love in his eyes!

Honeymoon: Day 2

Day 2 of the honeymoon started out with sleeping in for a little bit! Sleeping is always sooooo nice! Matthew made me a waffle at the continental breakfast which I added some warm strawberry something to. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but I put way too much on top of my waffle and then I could taste nothing but strawberry.

We headed out walking so that we could make our way to our Ride the Ducks tour. I had bought the tickets online beforehand and apparently so did a fourth grade class from New Jersey. They let us board first. How nice of them, right? We were then surrounded by nine year olds and some very patient chaperones. The whole tour was really fun though. The girl driving the boat/car thing was super funny, but none of the kids got her jokes. We laughed though! If you don't know what the Ride the Ducks tour is, it's like a giant boat looking thing but it is on wheels like a car. You are driven through the streets just like you are on a bus. Then at the end of the tour you go down the ramp and splash into the river. I think they have it in several large cities, but this it the first time I've ever seen it. They also give you quackers, basically a plastic duck bill that you blow on like a whistle except it sounds like a duck quacking. Super not fun with all of those kids blowing them in my ears! I had a headache by the end of this. I will need patience and understanding before I ever have children!


After the tour was over, we went and viewed the Liberty Bell. Matthew was disappointed. I had told him he would be, but he never believes me. Then we walked all the way to South Philly for a cheesesteak. Crazy you say? Why yes it was. We walked and we walked and we walked some more. I had a blister on my foot from my flip flop rubbing the bottom of my foot. The GPS was a huge help because we would have been lost for sure without that thing! We finally arrived at Geno's. And the verdict: not the best I've ever had. I guess if that's the Philly way of doing a cheesesteak and they say that's one of the best, then I guess it's one of the best there. But I much prefer my cheesesteak to have peppers and onions and mushrooms and regular cheese, not cheeze whiz. The sandwich was basically sliced meat, cheez whiz and onions. Very plain. The bread was tough in my opinion. And the whole setup was kind of weird. You ordered the cheesesteak from one window and the drinks and fries from another window. You had to pay separately because they were at two windows. It was just very different from what we're used to.


Then we walked all the way from South Philly back to our hotel. I had walked off my cheesesteak by this point and apparently so had Matthew. We hadn't been in the room 5 minutes when he decided he was going to walk to one of the street cars we had passed so that he could get some Chinese food. Yes, we ate Chinese for dinner the night before. He really is just that addicted to Chinese food. I think we ended up napping for three or four hours. We really could have cared less about doing anymore sightseeing or walking. After we woke up we decided to find a place to eat. On the way in to Philadelphia on Sunday we had seen this big ship docked in the river. It was called The Moshulu. I googled it and found out it was a 4 star restaurant! We decided to make reservations for 8 o'clock so that we'd have time to get ready and wipe our slobbery and sheet creased faces! Parking was also $12 here. And the parking was just for this one restaurant. I still don't understand the parking situation in Philadelphia. Once we got there, they seated us out on the deck. It was so beautiful! The ship is actually docked in the river and it is a huge ship! We got a fresh mozzarella appetizer that was so good! Matthew ordered filet with mashed potatoes and asparagus. I got a ceasar salad and chicken tortilla soup. The presentation was amazing! They actually plated the soup at the table! Super cool! We ordered some kind of fresh berry cobbler with ice cream for dessert. This was served in an old style mason jar that has the attached lid! The entire meal was amazingly good and the view was incredible as the sun went down!





Overall, we really liked Philadelphia! The price for parking was ridiculous no matter where you went, so walking was the best option no matter how far away you had to walk! I think that Matthew and I would both agree to go back again one day!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Honeymoon: Day 1

We were so tired after the wedding but we got up at 7 a.m. on Sunday to start off the honeymoon! We had gone to bed at almost 2 that morning because we were just so excited to be married (and of course open all of our gifts!), so not much sleep!

The day started off with filling up with gas (because I always procrastinate about filling my car up with gas), stopping at Bojangles, and finally heading on our way! First stop: Mount Vernon. I have been to DC but never to Mount Vernon. I had bought the tickets a few months back (part of my obsession with prioritizing, planning, and having things in order) so that we wouldn't have to wait in line. Thank goodness because the lines were quite long. However I did not buy tickets to see the mansion. It was only $2 more to buy a timed ticket, but the first available time was 3 p.m. We took a pass on that and just walked around. It was so miserably hot and humid! We looked in all of the little outbuildings, saw a mule and a couple of horses, and checked out the gravesites of George and Martha...Washington...duh! That lasted all of 45 minutes. We headed back to the car and blasted the A/C trying our best to cool off. And then we stuffed our faces with foods from the cooler we packed! I can't even begin to tell you what a great idea a cooler is for a roadtrip! Best thing! That is a must on every trip from here on out!


Our next stops, or attempts at stops, were Arlington Cemetery, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and the White House. Let me just say that Matthew pretty much had already decided that he hated the GPS telling him what to do. I mean me telling him what to do is one thing, but another "backseat driver" telling him what to do, and a woman at that. He just wasn't having it! But we did not have the heart to take her down as we had no idea where we were. As we headed towards Arlington Cemetery, Ms. Thang (the GPS), told us to take a turn when all of a sudden we end up in the parking lot of The Pentagon! Of course I made the comment, "Ugh! Where are we nowwwww? What is this place?" I honestly had no clue. Perhaps I should watch more History Channel and Fox news. And for all of you who think Matthew is a manly man, well you should have seen the fear in his eyes at that moment. He was scared to death. He thought we were going to be locked up and charged with trespassing and spying and all sorts of things! But amazingly we got out alive! Surprise, surprise, huh? It was just the parking lot after all! I reset the GPS to find Arlington Cemetery again. This time it sends us to Fort Belvoir. Yes, I understand that Arlington Cemetery is for the military. But I did not know that it would be on a military base. We were at the front gate to the base and the super polite (not!) officer or security guard asked for Matthew's license. Matthew tried to explain we just needed to turn around and what we were looking for. The man basically said that the cemetery was on their base but we couldn't get there from where we were. So instead of letting us turn around without making a scene, he sends us to the line where they just so happen to be searching cars. And by searching, I mean taking out everything! Fortunately, there were nicer people working that line and they let us go on through. We just gave up on looking for all of these places and continued on our way!

We then headed to The Food and Wine Festival at the National Harbor! I had found this online a while back and thought it sounded fun. We definitely do not have anything like this near home! It was awesome! When you walk in, they give you your wrist band (showing that you are of age), a wine glass, and a tote bag. I love getting free stuff! The festival was basically set up on two long piers and the adjoining section between the two. There were tons of booths and tents to stop at and sample snacks and foods and drinks! And this wasn't just any food. This was like gourmet food: asparagus soup, shrimp with gazpacho, lump crap dip with fresh baked crackers, pumpkin bread. The list goes on and on! There were chips and peanuts as well, but they were not your average snacks. A lot of the booths were giving away free things to take home with you. We ended up with dill pickle chips, crab chips, peanut brittle, pecan brittle, chocolate creme cake, a big container of chicken stock, etc. Both of our tote bags were overflowing and had gotten so heavy! I myself did not enjoy my one taste of wine. I just think wine tastes like rotten fruit! But Matthew enjoyed trying all of the different kinds and of course trying the free beer! I would definitely go back again though, if not just for the Chipotle tent and the free mini taco! Yummmmm!

With our bellies full, we got back in the car and headed to our next city: Philadelphia! We arrived at our hotel about 8 p.m. (after an hour of sitting in traffic...thanks to the tolls) and got our little welcome package! You may think that's cheesy, but by buying a package, I not only got free parking for two days ($36!!!!) but I also got a free teddy bear and a Philly brag book. I mostly cared for the parking and the bear! As I should have known, Matthew was hungry for Chinese food. The girl at the front desk told us about her favorite place and off we went. I could never live in Philadelphia just because of the cost of parking. It was $12 to park at the lot across from the restaurant, and that was because it was Sunday. We could have parallel parked, but c'mon, do you really think we know how to do that? Didn't think so. It was worth the $12 since the other option would have inevitably led to me calling my father and telling him about all the scratches on my car. We ordered two plates, since we are two people. Bad idea. It was way too much food. And in my opinion, it was not that great. I will also mention that my drink was a can of Diet Coke and a glass of ice. So if I wanted another drink, I would have been charged for another drink.

Back at the hotel, we crashed. After 5 hours of sleep the night before and having driven close to 8 hours that day, we were done with Day 1 of the Honeymoon!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Wedding Day!

I woke up that Saturday morning feeling so calm and peaceful about the day! Looking back, it was a strange feeling, but it didn't feel strange that day.

I actually got up earlier than normal, about 7 a.m.! I went and helped set up for the reception. Of course I was supposed to be there at 7:30, and I got there about 8:30. That's typical though! Everything was in its place and it all came together surprisingly fast! We had a good little team to help out: a couple of my mom's friends, my mom and dad, my sister and her fiance, my aunt and uncle. Poor Jeff, my sister's fiance, is afraid of heights and he was put on the hanging pom pom duty. He did a good job though! It looked so good in there when we left!

My sister was getting her hair done at 10 and my appointment was at 11. Shannon's hair looked really good! I had gotten a trial done on the Wednesday before, so I knew that my hair would look great again. But while I was waiting to get my hair done, I remembered that I never got a confirmation text for my makeup appointment. (And that confirmation text thing.. love it!) So of course I went up to the front and asked the receptionist. And indeed there was no appointment for me to get my makeup done! But the girl said she would do it for half the price. I didn't even stress for one second. Okay, well maybe a second! I enjoyed a lovely McDonald's meal for lunch. Is that bad? I know you're not supposed to eat foods that are high in sodium and fat, but it was my wedding day after all and I wanted what I wanted.

We all headed to Stonewall about 1:30, and again I was late getting there! It was so hot inside the house. Thankfully, the girl brought in some fans for us to cool off with. All the girls looked so good in their dresses! And the only boy I saw in his tux beforehand was Jack, the cutest ring bearer ever! His sister, Abbie, looked cute in her flower girl dress, too!

The ceremony was fairly quick! I was told that my dad and I both looked like a deer in headlights as we walked down the aisle. But when I saw my grandma crying, for some reason it made me laugh! Then my dad was a step ahead of me as we walked up the stairs. I may or may not have completely stopped walking and said "Daaddddd, you're dragging me! Slow down!". That fixed that problem. Everyone was sweating to death. It was at least 90 degrees if not 95! I didn't seem to be hot though. I was still unusually calm and relaxed, which is very strange considering I am afraid of being in a crowd or in front of a crowd. And believe me, 200 people is a crowd! The music was beautiful, the singing was incredible, everything was perfect!


After the billions of photos later, we headed to the reception in what we can now say is Matthew's temporary dream car! We got to drive my dad's brand new 2010 Denali with all the bells and whistles as only he would have! Matthew thought he was big pimpin' or whatever ghetto terminology he used. Sitting in my dress was not so easy. It was kind of painful actually! The wedding party was introduced, dances were danced, and food was eaten! I never made it to any of the food tables, so I guess we technically did not start off the buffet line (even though it was announced that we would!). It's okay though! I'll get my chance one day! The tables looked great! The colors were so fun! The reception was perfect, too!


Matthew and I had a great wedding day and are so excited to have started the rest of our lives together!

Monday, June 21, 2010

The Day Before the Beginning!

The Friday before the wedding, I was so busy. I felt like I was just rushing from place to place. I had my bridesmaids' luncheon at 11, which I had to be the carpooler for the day apparently. So afterwards I had to drop off all of the people I had picked up and then pick up gifts and get my jewelry cleaned. Then I rushed to change clothes (a comfortable tshirt and jeans.. of course!) and helped set up the rehearsal dinner. And then I rushed some more to change back into nice clothes and head to the rehearsal!

The bridesmaids' luncheon was at The Legacy in Elm City and was super nice! I didn't so much like all of the picture taking, but I posed as best I could! The food was great, the flowers were beautiful, and they had the cutest cookies shaped like dresses that were pink with orange polka dots! My favorite second cousin Joan gave the most beautiful speech full of memories! And she sang a song for me! I wanted to both laugh and cry as she is not a singer, but the words meant a lot! I also passed out all the bridesmaids' gifts and gave Abbie, the flower girl, her gift. Abbie definitely won the prize for most excited and most satisfied! But I hope everyone else liked what I gave them as well!



The rehearsal was outside (obviously, since the wedding was outside) and it was so hot and humid! For some reason it took an hour and a half to rehearse. That's probably because someone had different ideas from what Matthew and I wanted! But we eventually made it through. And somewhere along the way I got rid of those stinkin heels. I am pretty sure that if I have made it to be 22 years old and still hate, yes hate, heels, then I will more than likely make it to be 102 and still hate heels! They are just that awful!

The rehearsal dinner was at Ribeye's Steakhouse and was super good! We had slaved over the set up earlier in the day, and I think everyone really liked how it turned out. At least there weren't any fights over the seating arrangement! The meal was great as was the conversation! And everyone loved the surprise groom's cake, especially the groom! It looked just like a Chinese take out box full of noodles and vegetables and it had fortune cookies with funny fortunes that may or may not have been written by me! It looked so good and I was so impressed with how great it turned out! Everyone was asking where I got the cake from, so I will post it up here. I ordered the cake from Cinda's Creative Cakes in Holly Springs, NC. The cake itself was moist and very good and of course it looked incredible! Overall, I think the cake was super affordable. It was about $3 a serving, which is cheaper than buying dessert for everyone at the restaurant. And it was a showstopper! Then of course Matthew gave all of his groomsmen their gifts as well as Jack, the ring bearer. I think all of the guys liked having a Bible with their name on it. That was the best gift we could give them! And Matthew's dad loved his cross necklace. Jack and his brother Mason were so excited about their Lego Power Miners that they took off running around the table to give Matthew and I a hug. Mason was not in the wedding because he did not want to be dressed up, but when he found out that his brother and sister were getting a "prize", he wanted in! So we made sure to get them a gift they could share!




All in all the day was great! It went by so fast and I think keeping busy took away all of my nervous feelings!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

So Soon!

The wedding is in just two more days! I am still really nervous, and I haven't gotten excited yet. I guess it just hasn't hit me. I am sure that tomorrow at the bridesmaids' luncheon and at rehearsal it will start to sink in a little bit! Matthew is busy running all over today cleaning up the house, cleaning up the car, getting clothes, packing! (The advantages of working retail is being off on weekdays!) There is so much to do that doesn't even have to do with the wedding! I think right now I am more excited that today is my last day of work until June 21! I love being off work in summer time. Something about it; it is just so refreshing!

For those of you that don't know what we are doing for our honeymoon, I will let you know! We are going on a road trip up north! We will be leaving Sunday and driving to Washington, DC. Then we will be going to Philadelphia and staying for two nights. We will then stay in Boston for two nights, Vermont for two nights, and on the way back stay in Baltimore for one night. I have tons of fun things planned!! I was trying to surprise Matthew with tickets to a Red Sox vs. Diamondbacks game, but he claims he has ESP and read my mind! I will have several posts after the honeymoon with lots of pictures and details of our road trip! (and of course the wedding and all of its actitivies!)

It will probably be a few days before I post again because starting tomorrow, I will be busy from the time I get up until the time I go to bed!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The Prelude

We are only 4 days away from the beginning of a new and very different life! Matthew and I are both very excited for the wedding, the honeymoon, and everything that follows!

But this week has been stressful to say the least. Although 98% of the wedding was planned before this week, the last little bit has been a killer! I am not a musician, so finalizing music has proved most difficult for me. I have been trying to do all of my homework for this week and next (as we will be gone on our honeymoon!!!). I didn't think I had a lot of homework but it has certainly piled up on me! I went to class last night and am going back again tonight to try and get ahead. I have a trial hair run tomorrow after work. Thursday I will have to get my nails done after work. And at some point I need to pack. Which means I have to wash clothes. I think I am going to need an extra day thrown in before Saturday!

I am ready to eat all of the good food and see everyone I haven't seen in a while! And with that, I am very nervous about the number of people. I never dreamed about my wedding day. I never imagined it when I was little. I just knew I wanted to be married by a certain age. I didn't think that anything would ever happen according to my "plan". So now here we are. I am under the age I had set for myself (God knew best!). The guest list is off the map and there are supposed to be roughly 240 people there Saturday. I am by nature a very shy and reserved person. So why would I invite so many people? You don't even want to know how that happened. I am prepared for the worst.. fainting. I do not like crowds, especially big crowds. I usually hate restaurants because they feel crowded to me. Now I will be stuck in a room with three times as many people and I am expected to enjoy myself.. and not to faint. That's really the key here. I have been practicing bending my knees, standing for various periods of time, and drinking plenty of fluids (all of which I have serious issues with). Since the day I was born with legs (yes, I had legs when I was born), I have always stood with my knees bent backwards instead of forwards. I prefer to say I am talented and double jointed. My mom and sister prefer to say I am weird. But my dad does it too! So that makes it okay! Except this is part of why I have a history of fainting. Locking your knees is bad, very bad! Now as for the standing. C'mon, this is me we're talking about. I strongly dislike exercise and all things related to exercise. Standing is one of those things. And lastly, I'm just not a thirsty person. This also leads to fainting as I get dehydrated and my body decides to act out against me!

Saturday will be a day of a lot of firsts! My first time standing with me knees bent forward (for more than 5 seconds)! My first time being surrounded by 240 people (by choice) and being the center of attention! My first time going into battle! Just kidding on that one. The battles that I have endured over the past year will be ending on Saturday! My first time (and only time and last time) putting a ring on it! He is a keeper! My first time kissing my husband! My first time being announced as Mr. and Mrs.! My first time starting off the buffet line! My first dance with my husband! My first time cutting into a wedding cake! My first time feeling like nobody in the room is watching me! My first day of the rest of my life!