I want casserole friends!

I'm sure you might have just raised an eyebrow or two reading the headline of this post, but it is 100% truth. I'll do my best to explain...

If I am sick, or if there is a tragedy, or some kind of crisis going on in my life, I don't want my friends to stalk my facebook page to figure out what's going on, or discuss my life happenings with others. I want them to call me up, tell me they love me, and bring me a casserole! Few girls have that luxury.

However, I have really been blessed in that department. On my wedding day, I looked around the room at my bridesmaids and I thought to myself for a moment... there wasn't one girl in the room that I did not consider to be a true friend. I know that they all love me and I love them, and I have no doubts that if the time ever came, my house would be just full of casseroles! I would also be sending them just the same!

When I was a little girl my grandpa told me, "one day you'll see that you can count your true friends on one hand." I thought he was plum-crazy! I considered everybody my friend! I had two best friends that I knew for sure would be my best friends forever. However, my grandpa was right... for the most part. I rarely even speak to my two best friends anymore... and when I do, its more like running into an old acquaintance in the grocery store.

I always try to be a good friend. Now, I'm not claiming to be any kind of superhero friend, but I do the best that I can. I want to be there for the ones I love, as I know that they would be there for me. As I've gotten older, I've really learned who my casserole friends are... and unfortunately I've also run across a few fair weather ones as well. As I continue to grow, I want to make as much time as I can for my casserole friends.

It isn't always going to be sunny, so I want to know who will pull on their stylish rainboots and weather the storms of life with me.

I guess that's just what old married couples do...

Isn't it funny how when we were growing up, we would say "I will never," or "I will not," or "I don't want..."
You know what I mean... like, "I will never have a desk job!" or "I will not be a home body" or even "I don't want to have to pay bills!" I'm pretty sure I've said all of those things... but I guess that's just what grown ups do!

We can't all be rock stars... and when I get home from work during the week, the last thing I want to do is leave! ... and if I don't pay the bills, I won't have power... or water... or heat! This is not the dream that I was hoping for when I was younger, but I'm settling into it.

If you haven't noticed that your desires change as you get older, you might want to check your brain. When I was younger, all I wanted to wear were pink sparkly ballgowns and tiaras, while waving my magical wand around, granting every wish that came to mind. I guess that's just what kids do! Not a care in the world and using our imagination to dream up the most impossible things! Now... while I still think that would be super cool... I doubt that anyone would consider me sane if I were to go walking around like that now. Don't you agree?

Moving on.

When I was younger, I imagined marriage to be the most magical thing of all. I considered it to be wildly romantic, expecting my husband to cater to my every whim. I just knew that monetary things wouldn't matter because we would be rich anyway and we could go on vacations to anywhere, whenever we wanted. As long as we were together, nothing else would matter, right?

So now I'm married. I have to plan my vacations around my work schedule... and even then, we can't really afford to go anywhere spectacular! Our evenings usually consist of fast food meals and pre-recorded television shows. Our big night out has become Outback Steakhouse one night a week, and that is a stretch in the budget too!

Yet I still consider myself to be the luckiest girl I know. While my husband is far from being "wildly romantic," I know that he loves me more than anything. He takes care of me when I don't feel very good, and he's always looking out for my best interest. He tries to give me everything that my little heart desires, and he makes it a point to show me that he loves me at least once a day. He kisses me before he tells me goodnight, and he even takes Chloe out in the wee hours of the morning to go potty so that she doesn't wake me.
We look forward to our Wednesday date nights and our most favorite thing is to have a glass of wine and snuggle together on the couch. He helps with the dishes and he even takes out the trash!

Now I know this scenario is much different from the one that I imagined, but it seems to suit me just fine. I'm happier than I could have ever imagined.

So we might just so happen to be two people that have to work, pay bills, and thoroughly enjoy staying at home... but I guess that's just what old married couples do.

It Has Only Just Begun.

I'm a married lady now. It still feels a little funny. Not much about my relationship with Kyle has changed so when it comes up in conversation or something happens to remind me of our new union, I get butterflies and have to giggle to myself just a little. I kept staring at our rings while we were on our honeymoon and I even had to pinch myself a few times to remind myself that it wasn't just a dream.

That being said, I could not have imagined a more perfect wedding (with the exception of showing up to MY OWN wedding 30 minutes late)!!! It was such a beautiful day and I was so overwhelmed with the love and support of our family and friends! The honeymoon was absolutely fabulous and we had the BEST time together. It is so much fun traveling with your husband! We did a lot of eating while we were there though, so I'm paying for that now.... : /

It took a while for us to adjust to coming home. First there's the time change- Hawaii is 6 hours behind us! Then Rock Hill doesn't really have a good view of the mountains or the turquoise ocean water... that is a hard one. And the worst of all was returning to work on Tuesday. I felt physically ill going in. I was trying to think of any possible alternative so that we could go back Hawaii and live there. I don't mind being a beach bum. So what if I have to eat pineapples and coconuts for the rest of my life! I could be a wedding planner or something there. It could work, right?

This week feels a little more normal, but we are still dealing with the post-wedding blues. We are thinking of planning another vacation ASAP so we can have something to look forward to.

I'm trying to get used to being a good little wifey. I'll have to post on my failures and feats. Tonight I'm making White Chicken Chili for dinner. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

In 2 Days!

Well... it's almost official! In two more days I'll be Mrs. Kyle Christopher. Do you know that there are eleven letters in Christopher? Did you also know that when I write Christopher out on paper, it usually looks like one big 'C' and a bunch of scribble behind it? Kennedi Christopher. I think it has a nice little ring to it.... don't you think?

The last couple of weeks have been a complete whirlwind of stress, surprise, celebration, and absolute bliss. I am so excited about so many things! The most obvious, I'm marrying the man that my heart desires, then I'll be going to Hawaii. Those should be good enough for anyone, but I can't tell you how utterly ecstatic I am to be seeing every person that I know and love gathered together for such a time as this. I now understand why a wedding day can be so overwhelming! I'm completely overwhelmed with love and excitement.

My bachelorette weekend was absolutely amazing! I couldn't have asked for a better time! My girls all came together for the perfect send off weekend and of course Holly and Laura made it so that it was just my style! Have I mentioned that they should be an event planners? I have truly been blessed with some amazing friends and I consider myself the luckiest girl in the world to have them!

To run through the highlights: we had a lot of fun!!!! I learned how to pole dance, we had a lot of fun, and .... we had A LOT OF FUN!!!!!! Really, I think it was the best bachelorette party weekend that I have ever even heard of!

I'm sure that I most likely sound like a sap with all of the emotions running through my heart, but I just have to say that God has been very good to me. I know that I'm not worth it, but He decided to love me anyway.

In two days I think I'll be the most blessed woman that I know!

Back to Charleston...

I feel like I was just there... and yet I'll be on my way again tomorrow for my B.A.C.H.E.L.O.R.E.T.T.E weekend! I can't even begin to explain my excitement! It is a very rare thing that adults get to have sleepovers anyway, but I get to spend the whole weekend with my girls and I am S-T-O-K-E-D! I mentioned to Kyle last night that I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but I doubt I'll miss him much this weekend... good news is- its mutual. I'll be in Charleston, and he will be in Savannah with the guys! How exciting is that!?!?!? I feel like a little girl! eeeek!!!!

The best part (scary part) is that I don't really know anything that is going to happen this weekend! Now, I have been warned, but I'm still not even 25% sure that I know what to expect... My LOH lives and breathes to plan events and I just so happen to be the perfect guinea pig for her. I'm sure there will be plenty of body parts, lacy things, beverages, and other embarrassing paraphernalia involved in this "Celebration Surprise" weekend!  Ah, I cannot wait!!!!

I still have lots of things to do before I head out tomorrow, but I honestly can't stop thinking about how much fun we are going to have!!! Wahoo!!!!

Bridal Portraits: Take Two .... and three

Earlier this year I did a bridal portrait session with my good friend Jennie. She was visiting from LA so we decided to get some pictures while she was here. She did an amazing job and I was throughly impressed. Jennie is a great friend of mine who has agreed to come here to shoot our wedding, along with our other photographer, Sarah Whitesides. So I planned to do one session with Jennie, and one with Sarah.

When trying to plan my bridal session with Sarah, I had a really good idea! I decided to have my second bridal portrait session in Charleston SC. The reason why this is such a good idea is two-fold. On the one side, who could think of a better setting for bridal portraits? The whole town is a photo op! Then on the other hand I knew I would be spending the whole weekend in one of my favorite places on the planet!  Best idea ever, right?

Mom and I got to Charleston around 9:00 Friday night and decided to take it easy and get some rest before the big day on Saturday. Our photographer (who traveled with us) stopped by our room for a bit to check out my dress and chat and then we were in bed before we knew it. We woke up the next morning to a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L sunny day with not one cloud in sight. We had a great brunch with some friends, got our nails done, and did a little shopping before we had to start getting ready for the shoot.

I headed into the salon around 3:00 and was all ready by 5 ish. I have to say, seeing everything all put together just about took my breath away. I haven't had everything on all at once yet with my dress, hair, veil, shoes, jewelry, etc... let me just say that I had a moment.

We headed outside about 5:30 to start our shoot and of course... it started raining. OUT OF NOWHERE!!!!  Perfect. Sarah and I spent the next hour and a half ducking into buildings, hiding under awnings, dodging mud puddles, and huddling under an umbrella. It was quite the opposite of what one would consider to be a lovely occasion. Of course this is just par for the course with someone like myself.

You can imagine my surprise to find that Sarah had actually gotten some really cool shots from the day... but we both agreed to give it another go on Sunday to see if we would have better luck. After all, we were still in Charleston and we both knew we weren't making another trip out. So, we made the best of an otherwise awful  not so fun situation, had dinner, hung out downtown (after it conveniently stopped raining), and got some rest before doing it all over again.

We got up on Sunday to another seemingly beautiful morning, had breakfast and headed out for the salon... again. It took a little longer to get ready this time because I didn't have a scheduled appointment for Sunday. My awesome hairdresser was so kind to squeeze me in! I got all ready to venture out... again... and this time the weather was PERFECT! Not too hot, bright, and beautiful! We got some really great shots and I cannot wait to see them!!!!

Pumpkins, latte's, and pies, oh my!

It's almost that time...my absolute favorite time of year. Fall is right around the corner. Mmm... I'm feeling warm and fuzzy just thinking about it. It makes me so happy to see the leaves changing, to feel the cool breeze on my  face, and to smell the crisp autumn aroma in the air... there isn't anything quite like it.

No wonder why I picked October for our wedding month, right? It's the best month! There's just something about it that makes me feel right at home. However, I have to be careful too because that is also the time for soups, and pies, and all kinds of delicious goodies that like to stick right around my hips for the winter! ;) (and we thought only animals store food for the cold months.)

Either way, I couldn't be any more excited. I just get to add one more thing to look forward to every year, and it just so happens to be one of the most important events of my entire life! How awesome is that?

Let's discuss the list of things that are coming up right around the corner:
Charleston Bridal Shoot
Bachelorette weekend
WEDDING
HONEYMOON
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Christmas

Are you catching my drift?

Carolina snuggie, fuzzy socks, and snowflake pajamas... here I come!