Java Java Java

Case in point to why I'm a coffee drinker ha ha!! I am so not a morning person, hence the coffee! I've been trying to get into a better sleep routine - i.e. wake up at 6am no matter what the plans of the day are, but it's hard. Why that early you may ask?! Because it's early enough that I can make it work, or make it to school, or make it to church on time. If I happen to have the day off, I've decided it's better to get up early and be productive than sleep the day away. Please don't get me wrong, I LOVE sleep but I've decided it's time to put my big girl panties on and start my days earlier.

I attempted this "routine" today and did alright despite my alluring snooze button. I managed to put my feet to the floor around 7am. I promptly pulled on a sweater and took the pup on a walk - also my motivation for getting up earlier (our new home is not fenced in so I need to get used to this thing called "morning" now). Smoke was on his best behavior and walked right beside me throughout the neighborhood instead of testing my arm as a bungee cord. The rest of the morning ensued as follows:


Turn the coffee pot on for brewing ✓
Jump in the shower... "get in the shower" no actual "jumping" involved ✓
Towel dry the mane ✓
Grab coffee cup... fill to the brim so it's a true test of my balancing skills ✓
Browse the interwebs... Facebook, Pinterest, ect. ✓
Fix hair, makeup, the whole shebang ✓
Head to church... hello Hopewell Baptist ✓
Drive home to let out the pup ✓
Grab yet another cup of coffee and sit down for some blogging...✓
Finish my English homework
Head to the grocery store for the basics
Head to Sam's Club to find some finger food
Then it's super bowl time

I still have to figure out what I'm actually making for the super bowl, but I'm sure I'll get some help from Pinterest and my blogger news feed :)

Since my last cup of coffee is almost drained I thought I would share my secret ingredient with all you lovely ladies!! It's Torani's Sugar Free Salted Carmel Syrup, can you say yum?! I started adding it to my coffee around the holidays when it went on sale at World Market for 3.99!! I was at the store contemplating whether or not to try the syrups when I saw two ladies who were literally filling their shopping carts with these bottles - I'd say their enthusiasm convinced me.

Torani Sugar Free Salted Carmel Syrup

Since then this big bottle of joy has been a staple in my morning dose of caffeine.
Torani syrups are the perfect addition for any coffee lover, not to mention they have choices!! Raspberry, Vanilla, English Toffee, Red Velvet, Cherry, Cinnamon, Hazelnut, and Bacon... just to name a few!!

Word on the street is they are even good additions to desserts...
I imagine something along the lines of Firebird's salted carmel brownie, can you say yum?! Imagine if you had that recipe at your disposal, I'd say the need for stretchy yoga pants would be a must...
PS. If anyone has those said 'Torani dessert recipes' feel free to pass them my way!!

A Bride's Planning Process

As of today (really yesterday) it is officially seven months until Tyler and I say "I do." There still seems to be so much to do!! Since we are getting married labor day weekend we wanted to go ahead and have save the dates sent out sometime this month, next month at the latest - but of course me being type A I need/want to finish our wedding website before we send out save the dates. Normally I wouldn't go for the whole wedding website thing as it just seems like unnecessary work, but my whole family is out of town and I was convinced it's a nice way to share information such as hotel accommodation, ect.

I know you guys are visual people so here's a shout out to my best friend who recently got married!! 

Love this picture of her dad walking her down the aisle. 

Tyler and I got engaged in April 2012. I did a bunch (more like a few) things when we first got engaged but then fell off the bandwagon during the holidays. It seems like there is still so much to do, probably because there is still so much to do!! 

Date

Reception & Ceremony Site

Rehearsal Dinner Site

Officiant

Marriage Counseling

Wedding Party

Bride's Wedding Dress

Bride's Accessories

Bride's Shoes / Bride's Boots

Bridesmaid's Dresses

Bridesmaid's Shoes

Bridesmaid's Gifts

Flower girl's Dress

Flower girl's Basket

Grooms Tux

Grooms Boots

Groomsmen's Tuxes

Groomsmen's Gifts

Ring bearer's Suspenders

Photographer

Engagement Pictures

Save the Dates

Invitations

Wedding Coordinator

Florist

Ceremony Decor

Reception Decor

Reception Caterer

Wedding Cake / Cupcakes

Reception DJ

Music List

Wedding Bands

Wedding Website

Guest Accommodations

Bride and Groom Accommodations

Wedding Registry

Honeymoon

Legend:   Done  |  In Progress  |  Haven't Even Started

I'm almost positive I'm forgetting something but oh well. As you can see up to this point I've completed little to nothing. Yes, I got a few big things out of the way but still so many details to plan and figure out. Who knew planning a wedding was this hard - it makes you realized why people elope!! 

Thankfully I have an amazing momma, a wonderful future mother-in-law, and four lovely bridesmaids to help share the "fun" of this planning process. 

Anyone living in the Charlotte area or going through wedding planning feel free to pass suggestions my way!! Lawd knows I'm going to need it!!

Our "goofy" picture - another favorite of her big day!! 

All American Love

This is totally a show and tell post, but I could not help but share some "All American" engagement ideas I found through Pinterest recently... If you're wanting a southern inspired engagement session, or even an updated anniversary photo, then browse away!! These are so cute I can't even stand it!! Most of these are set outdoors which I adore, why not utilize what He has made for us?!

Full session can be found here

Full session can be found here

Full session can be found here

Photo credit here

Full session can be found here

Photo credit here

Full session can be found here

Local photo credit here

I'm not gonna lie, I kept pinning some of these photos even after my engagement pictures were done. What can I say I'm a sucker for all things "wedding." Our big day is only a short seven months away, and there is still so much to do!! Wish me luck I'm going to need it... 

Saturday Night TLC

Saturday was my day off and of course it was the day I had to get sick... My head hurt, my stomach was in knots, and I'm surprised I didn't show my breakfast to the toilet. I am totally one of those people who loves to be babied when they are sick - hence my text to Tyler, "I'm feel like death, come fix me." I mean really who doesn't love some extra attention when they are under the weather.

Two tabs of Ibuprofen and four hours of sleep later, this is what I woke up to... 

Drool...

The aftermath - with help from Tyler of course...

Needless to say I was feeling MUCH better. We decided to make a night of it, since there was no way I was heading to bed ANY time soon. We pulled out the scrabble board and found a movie to watch. Tyler finally gave up our game when I was beating him by over a hundred points, high five to me!! 

Finally opened up my "middle sister" wine, thank you momma!! 

And last but not least our hideous, un-showered self-picture - only because he's handsome

Now off to another week of school, work, packing, and crossfit... 

Specifically heading off to enjoy my last glass of middle sister and watch Pretty Little Liars!!  

Happies and Crappies

Linking up with Scissors and a Whisk via Pamela!!

My Happies...

The fact that I have the WHOLE day off today from work and school, whoop whoop!!

Tyler and I started packing up some of his stuff today for the big move!! Yes I know we still have 2 1/2 weeks to go but what can I say, we're excited.

I found an old Bed Bath and Beyond gift card that I forgot to use. Hello new candles!! Favorites are Fresh Balsam from the winter collection, and Mahogany Teakwood which is brand new and smells like something straight out of an Abercrombie store!! 

My Crappies...

My head hurts - I think I slept too long. I need to convince Tyler to run to the store and get some Goody powder. I HATE taking it but it works SO good!! 

I have English home work that I "should" work on but we'll see how my motivation progresses throughout the day...

I got stuck working another Sunday morning this weekend. Looks like I might have to finally check out our church's video feed of the sermon... Seems weird to me but we'll see, better than having to miss it again!! 

Tyler and I found out that four of our closest friends are going on a marriage retreat the weekend we move into our new house. Tyler was so mad - though not necessarily for the reason I thought, "why can't we go." Ha ha it's a "marriage" retreat, we're not "married" yet.

And last but not least, my "crappies" seemed easier to come up with my "happies" which is definitely a crappie in itself. I blame my headache...

The Soreness of Champions

Thanks to Groupon, my best friend and I started going to CrossFit classes - if you haven't heard the craze it's kinda like having a personal trainer but in a group/competitive setting. I will tell you it has kicked my butt these past two days but it feels so good!! If you're sore you know it's working!! I love CrossFit (so far) because it's just like going to the gym but you don't have to think about anything, just show up and do what they tell you!! It is weight training plus cardio so it's a good mix of everything.

 

Love this, can be found here via Etsy

My journey to a healthier me started around October when I noticed that I was about ten pounds heavier than I was used to being - doesn't sound like a lot but on a 5'1'' frame I was starting to notice big time. Step one was to change my diet. I had tried the gym thing previously but I always fell off the band wagon. SO I thought I would change what I put in my mouth. 

I started using My Fitness Pal (a website as well as an iPhone app). I used it for a week, then stopped, then started again, then stopped... I finally committed to it when my bestie and her mom (my second momma) started using the app as well and kept me in check. It's basically like calorie counting for dummies. I was against the idea of being "one of those girls" that counts calories but I tell you it works!! Honestly it's not just about counting - it eventually educated me to make better/healthier food choices. I used to say "oh I'll just swing by Bojangles after school no big deal, I'll eat healthy for dinner." WRONG. Turns out my go to chicken biscuit and honey mustard was LOADED with calories, not to mention if I squeezed in a few heaven rounds. Moral of the story it educated me a lot about food so I could make better choices within things I still liked to eat!! I definitely would recommend it to anyone!! I lost 8 pounds even through the holidays!! My girlfriend lost the same and her mom lost a whopping 22 pounds, I'm telling you it can work!!

Since early January I decided to stop counting - I feel like I know what to eat and what not eat. I've been able to maintain my weight since slimming down and now I'm ready to tone up!! Hello CrossFit!!

When motivation is lacking I just scroll through my motivational vault:

Not to mention this which BLOWS my mind...

That should be motivation enough for anyone to get on the right track and get/keep/stay healthy!!
If you don't know where to start find someone to back you up and keep you accountable, it really can make all the difference. You will only get what you work for, nothing more, nothing less.

Something to Lose

Guess who accidentally left her computer charger at school all weekend... this girl!! No worries, it was hidden away in my unit so thankfully I recovered it this morning without problems!

Recent events have been full of school, clinic, work, mortgage paperwork, blah blah blah. It's been a mess of stress and clouded thoughts with minimal down time. 

So in lighter new I thought I'd give a flashback of our love story, since I haven't shared it as of yet...

I first met my man Tyler in high school, yes we are high school sweet hearts I know it's cliche. But I always felt something different about Tyler than any other guy I'd met. You could say it was one of those "like" at first sight moments for me, though I know for a fact that it was not the same for Tyler ha ha. Lets just say I wasn't even a blimp on his radar for a good several months. We ran in mutual circles of friends but didn't go to the same high school. Eventually Tyler and I started talking and casually going out on dates. We officially started dating February of 2008 and haven't split since. He has always been there for me literally through the good and bad. 

Tyler proposed in April of 2012 at the placed we shared our first kiss. He is my best friend and everything I could ask for in a husband. God has truly blessed me with this man. I cannot wait to see what He has in store for us!!

Just a few of our engagement photos...

Photography credit:
Julie Staley from Old South Studios
formerly known as... 
In His Image Photography by Julie

Stay tuned for our wedding in September 2013!!

Quote of the Day from Tyler:
 "I'm not saying I'm Batman but you've never seen me and Batman in the same room together..."