Sarah Says "I Do"

I had the honor of being a bridesmaid in my friend Sarah's wedding this summer.  I've attended dozens of weddings, but this was my first time to stand up in one next to a dear friend, by her side as she made the most important commitment of her life.

Sarah and I met through our college music sorority, which brought countless fun memories.  We also had an astronomy class together our freshman year, complete with many delirious late-night study sessions, including one where we gave her the nickname "Nair Lover" that I still call her today.  No one seems to find it nearly as hilarious as we do when we explain the story, so I'll stop there!

We've only grown closer since college, thanks to our Bible study/women's group and being intentional about spending time together.  I cherish this friendship!    

The festivities leading up to the wedding were a total blast!

We THOUGHT we were going over to Sarah's house to put together wedding centerpieces, but really it was her excuse to give us these adorable bridesmaid gifts! I've been using mine on all of my overnight/weekend trips!

Bridal Shower

Who isn't excited to get a Crock Pot?!

Bachelorette Party Night #1-- painting!

I promise I have pants on...

Bachelorette Party Night #2-- Dinner and limo to Uptown Dallas!

Getting a limo was a genius idea-- full credit to maid of honor Hannah on that one!  No one had to worry about driving or parking in crowded Uptown, and we could all ride together.  Not to mention that we had Curtis, the best limo driver ever!

This would be at about 3:00 a.m. after our night out on the town when the smoke alarm kept beeping... trooper that she is, Sarah climbed up on that ladder and fixed it! James is sure lucky to have a wife that knows how to get things taken care of! : )

And, of course, the main event... the wedding!  It was so special to be with Sarah the entire day-- getting ready with her, helping her put on her veil, jumping up and down with excitement and asking her things like, "you're getting married in an hour...how do you feel right now?!"

Hair and make-up done

I was obsessed with the back of her dress

The rings!

Our pledge class doing our special sign...

The entire thing flew by... isn't it crazy how an event that requires months of preparations is over in just a few short hours?  But it was beautiful and fun and perfect for this couple!  

This needs to be framed and put in their home, immediately!

Congratulations, Sarah and James! May the Lord bless your marriage and bring you joy together. 

Wedding photos by Keith Evans Photography-- check out the rest here.

Pretty Things

This was a lovely weekend filled with lots of pretty things, including plenty of pink! My favorite, of course.

My co-worker, Shelly, is expecting a baby girl next month, so her friends threw her a book shower at Rise, a Dallas favorite known for its souffles.  The weather outside may have been gloomy, but Shelly's creative friends made the table so cute, complete with quotes from children's books written on each of the placecards.



I was a major bookworm growing up and remember my parents reading to me night after night, so I loved picking out Courduroy, a favorite, for Shelly's baby girl, as well as a new book I'd never heard of.  I can't express enough how important I believe it is for parents to read to their children, starting with infancy.  A book shower will be a must for me someday!

Our work team


After the shower, I rushed home because my roommate and I were hosting a Mary Kay party! Pink-themed, of course. 

Our table


Who doesn't enjoy learning about skin care and playing in make-up?!  I usually stick to neutral eyeshaow and no lip color (just Chapstick, which I'm addicted to), but opted to try a "dramatic" look.  I ended up buying the eye shadow, so I may wear more color for special occasions now!

Friends pre-makeup... but still naturally gorgeous!



All done up and ready to go out!


In addition to playing in make-up, yesterday I got to watch my dear friend Morgan play dress up... and ultimately say "YES" to her wedding dress!  For years we have talked about our weddings someday, and I couldn't believe that I was really watching her pick out the dress that she will become a "Mrs." in!

Of course, a celebration was in order as she was leaving the boutique...


Was your weekend filled with pretty things, too? I sure hope so!

Going the Distance: My First Full Week in California!

Several weeks ago I took an entire week off of work for the very first time and went to visit Alex. This was the best decision I made in a LONG time! Normally my visits go by way too quickly and we are rushed to fit everything in, but having a whole week allowed to just relax and spend time together while also doing all sorts of fun things! Here are the highlights from my trip:


Saturday
I arrived in Los Angeles bright and early Saturday morning. Alex had training for the outreach program he's involved in, so I took a nice long nap and relaxed until he was done. Later that afternoon, we went to a barbecue with Erik and Alaina, Alex's roommates. I learned to play ladder ball...has anyone else ever heard of this game? Apparently people play it at tailgates, but this was my first time playing. Basically, you have two ladder-like contraptions and small ropes with golf balls on the ends of them. You stand at opposite ends of an open area facing one of the ladders, then throw each rope and try to hook it onto one of the rungs of the ladder. The top rung is worth one point, the second one is two, and the bottom one is worth three. Once you've made your three attempts, one of your opponents next to you has their chance and tries to sling theirs onto the rungs for points, while also trying to knock yours off and reduce your points. You have another teammate and opponent on the other side who try to do the same thing with the ladder on your side of the "court." Hopefully that explaination wasn't too confusing, because it was really fun!
We also had some delicious food, and it was really nice to meet Erik and Alaina's friends. From there, we went to the LA Dodgers game....my first one! The tickets were cheap, it was a nice night, the fans did the wave about 10 times in a row, and the Dodgers won! All in all, an excellent start to my trip.


Sunday
I love Alex's church in California. I blogged about the first Sunday's sermon in my last post, so check it out if you haven't already. I think about it every day and need to keep repeating to myself, "Better than I deserve."
After church, we had a really yummy brunch with our friend Clayton and his girlfriend, Tala. Alex and I went to high school with Clayton and Alex played in a band with him, so it was great to catch up and also meet Tala. The last time I saw Clayton was when we both happened to be in the exact same museum in Paris in 2008...it is crazy how small the world is!
After brunch, we headed up to USC because Alex played in a saxophone quartet for someone's doctoral recital. USC campus is so pretty, and I got to meet some of Alex's saxophone friends and hear him play. His awesome friend Ben took this picture of us that I really like!

Monday
Monday was a lazy day, which was just what I needed! Alex and I did some errands, and while he was in class, I worked out in his apartment gym. That evening we watched School of Rock, one of our favorite movies!

Tuesday
I spent a large portion of Tuesday taking it easy (which I was so thankful to do for a lot of this trip--I needed a break!), worked out again, and then cooked dinner for Alex. I made pork chops, asparagus, new potatoes, and sourdough bread. I still have a lot to learn, but I really enjoy cooking and baking, especially for him! : ) We ended the lovely evening by watching our favorite movie, I Love You Man. I can never watch it without Alex and am pretty sure we quote it daily.

Wednesday

Wednesday was an epic day! Alex and I crossed a major item off of our bucket list and went hiking! We went to Solstice Canyon in Malibu and hiked for several hours before deciding it was time to eat lunch. The weather was gorgeous, the views were incredible (as you can see from the pictures), and it felt like such an adventure. We had never done anything like that together and I loved it!

After meeting our exercise quota for the week, we had lunch at the Malibu Country Mall and saw a horror movie being filmed! We walked in the back of the shot and hung out there for a bit before we were asked to move. It was cool! We then took a stroll along Malibu Beach.
That evening, we went on a fun date--Barnes and Noble, one of our favorite places, and Indian food. It was delicious!


Thursday
I relaxed and read a ton on Thursday. I love reading but hadn't been doing much of it because of "life" getting in the way. My trip allowed me to read again, and I've been making more time for it in the several weeks that I've been back home. Sometimes it just takes a little vacation to rejuvenate you!
Alex cooked for us that night. He made his amazing stir fry, and then we finished the evening with Jersey Shore and smores.

Friday

Alex and I hit up a different beach on this day that is just a few minutes from his apartment. It was gorgeous. I wish I could go to the beach all the time! There are all these homes/apartments right along the beach, and we were wondering just how much it costs to live there. If you're curious, too, we saw a sign that had an apartment (or maybe it was just part of apartment, who knows?) for rent for $3,000 per month...unreal!
We made Tex-mex that night and called it an early night because saturday was going to start bright and early..

Saturday
Saturday was VERY epic! We woke up at 5:45 a.m. and got all dressed up for my childhood friend's wedding, then hit the road for San Diego! We stopped in Irvine at Cars and Coffee, which I've enjoyed attending in Dallas with Alex, and now we've been in California too. I think we should take some serious roadtrips and try to hit up others around the country too! ; )
From there, we drove the rest of the way to San Diego and made it to the naval base for the wedding. The ceremony was beautiful, right on the water, and Rachel looked gorgeous and so happy! It felt surreal to be there. Rachel and I were best friends as little girls, and her family moved to Michigan when we were 7, followed by California. We lost touch for a while, but had reconnected thanks to social media. I literally hadn't seen her in 16 years until her wedding day! Thank you, Rachel (now Mrs. Rosner!) and the Bourne family for including Alex and I in your special day!

After the wedding, we headed to Pasadena for dinner with Alex's community group. They were all so nice, and it was great to see the kind of support system he has there. We finished the day by stopping by a party in Beverly Hills, then finally headed home and crashed after our epic day!

Sunday
My last day : (
We went to church again, and it was another great sermon...I want my next blog to be about it and how it applies to my life these days. I also met a former Horned Frog next to me, which was so cool! After church, it was time for lunch and then Alex dropped me off at the airport. It was so hard to leave him after a wonderful week together, but he will be home in a month and I feel so fortunate to have had all that time with him. An exciting thing happened while I was in the airport...Gerard Butler was on my flight back to Dallas! I was staring at him and was literally five feet away from him at the gate... I could have been a crazy fan and touched him, but I played it cool. Still wish I had gotten an autograph or photo, but oh well...celebrity sighting success!

Alex asked me what my favorite part of the week was, and as far as activities, it was definitely our hiking excursion. I felt so alive and got to marvel at God's beautiful creation. The best part of my visit, though, was just getting to essentially live with Alex for a week and everything that our days encompassed. I hope to never take him for granted, even the little things in our daily routines, because I know what it's like to be apart, and it's hard.

Looking forward to my next California trip!

Summer's Ending, Even Though the Hot Weather Isn't...

Once again, it's been awhile. Tomorrow many of my friends, my sister, and my boyfriend are all heading back to school...can't believe how fast this summer went by! It was amazing. Alex left last Tuesday and I miss him already, but we had a great summer together. After a year of long distance, seeing each other every day this summer was so refreshing, and our memories are what will last me while we do long distance again this year. I love him and am so blessed to call him mine for seven years now!

We didnt quite complete everything on our bucket list, but we did quite a few things and also know what fun things we still need to do during future summers!

Since my last summer update, I've done a ton of fun things:

Le Freak @ The Glass Cactus at the Gaylord Hotel with Briana & Mark and Marissa & Nate (Didn't realize just how many 70's songs I know!)



Went to Liz & Chuck's wedding, which was so fun





Went to Myra & Mark's wedding, also a blast




Visited my Tau Beta Sigma little sister, Ashley, in Kansas (which was awesome because we had such a great time together, and now I can add Kansas to the list of states I've been to!)




And a whole variety of other things, including the circus with Morgan, get-togethers and poker nights with high school friends and college friends, celebrating Kim's engagement with a bunch of friends, Restaurant Week at Abacus and Charlie Palmer with Marissa, and visiting my TBS family in Fort Worth.






What an amazing summer--thankful for the Lord's continued blessings and for such wonderful people to spend my life with!