So I have a thing...

Where my OCD kicks in and I have to clear out all of my unread blog posts in Bloglovin' before I can continue on and write my own post.

It can also be very daunting when I sign in and see 799 unread posts. Eek!

Needless to say, when I saw that this morning, I got to work.

I didn't read anywhere close to all of them, but if you ever notice comments on posts dating back a week or two, you'll know why.

I was so glad to get everything cleared out so that I could finally write my own post, so here we go...

The last couple weeks have been on the crazy side, that's what happens when you have about five months to plan a wedding. I'm really happy with how everything is coming along though and I've gotten quite a few things crossed off my list.

To catch y'all up on what's been going on around here....

My birthday was a couple weeks ago, on the 17th, and it was a great weekend. I hung out with Lindsey on Saturday at the Navy wives vendor fair on base then Shaun treated me to a manicure and pedicure :) On my way to the salon, I picked up a couple bridal magazines to browse while I got pampered.

That night, we met Lindsey, TJ, and Liam out for sushi at Sushi 101. It was delish, then we headed out to their house to hang out for a bit.

On Sunday, my actual birthday, Shaun and I went to brunch at Red Drum then headed downtown to walk around. We didn't really buy anything, but it was warm out and nice to spend time outside. 

From downtown, we headed out to John's Island for dinner at Wild Olive with friends. It wasn't the craziest birthday by any means, but it was a great weekend.

No re-cap is complete without a couple pictures of these two...

Last week, we went for a tasting at Cru Catering and it was a-maz-ing.

Here is a little sneak peak!

They surprised us at the end with dessert, Bourbon-infused Cherry Bread pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream. All I have to say....omg.

This past weekend on Friday, I went with Shaun and another one of his co-workers and their students to hibachi. We then got Rita's for dessert, YUM!

On Saturday, Shaun went to play paintball with his students in the morning and early afternoon. While he was out doing man things, I did what I do best...shopping! We had planned a photo shoot with Marie on Sunday and I had to make sure we were looking our best.

Saturday night, we grabbed some apps at Sesame then headed across the way to the IMAX theater to see Catching Fire. It was really good, I was happy about that :)

Lastly, on Sunday, I headed out to Tease Dry Bar to get my hair and makeup done and shortly after Shaun and I met up with Marie for pictures. What was supposed to be an 'engagement shoot' quickly turned into a mini holiday shoot due to the freezing cold weather and wind. Guess we'll have to try again another time!

Soooo, that's about it. Thank you if you actually read through this whole post and made it this far :p

I have lots more wedding stuff to post about and promise to get to that soon!

Hope you all have a great week!

                                                                         

Wedding Wednesday!

I am very excited today because Shaun and I are going to tour our number one choice for venue!

Old Wide Awake Plantation

Originally we had discussed a wedding date of Sunday, April 13, 2014, but changed it to April 6 due to our upcoming move. We thought this would give us more time to visit family after the wedding and before our move to Hawaii.

After calling around to local hotels over the past few days, I am quickly finding that April 6 was not a very good choice. The Cooper River Bridge Run is the same day and it is the biggest event in Charleston. I haven't been having very much luck finding a block of hotel rooms for our out-of-town guest, most places have nothing available.

Last night, we discussed changing the date back to April 13th or even the weekend before, March 30. We have told some people April 6, but we haven't sent out save-the-dates yet or signed any contracts.

What would y'all do? The cheapest hotel room I've been able to find so far ranges from $179-$199 (WITH a group discount!) Since we already have so many guests coming from out-of-state, I feel like this would deter them from coming even more :(

We plan to talk to the event coordinator at the venue tonight to get her opinion.

Any suggestions are welcome!

Wedding Wednesday: The Proposal Story

I'm soo excited to finally get to link-up for Wedding Wednesday!

Today, I would like to share our proposal story. It's a good one, I promise.

A little background: Marie's future sister-in-law, Michelle, came down from Richmond over the weekend to do some wedding shopping of her own. She is getting married in May so we did some wedding dress shopping and bridesmaids dress shopping on Saturday and Sunday.

Shaun went down to the beach with Marie's husband on Sunday to do some fishing and we agreed that us girls would meet them down there when we finished and we would go grab a bite to eat.

TOTALLY normal kind of weekend.

On Sunday, after shopping, us girls headed down to Sullivan's Island to meet the guys. I had driven separately and had to stop over to get gas on the way, which got me there a few minutes later than Marie and Michelle. This turned out to be a good thing ;)

As I walked up to the beach, I was completely oblivious. Nothing seemed different to me in the least.

As I walked up over the dune, I saw Marie and Michelle over to my left and it appeared as though there was a small group of people standing behind them. Marie was crouched down with her camera, which confused me a little bit, but I continue to walk closer, smiling and posing for the camera (hah.)

As I neared the group, Marie yelled to me to go over and see Shaun. I looked around, but with the bright sun and glare off the water, it wasn't clear that it was him standing over to my right. Just as I started to turn toward him, I realized that Lindsey was one of the people in the group behind Marie.

I kind of blindly walked in his direction, again slightly confused as to why he was standing way off to the side away from everyone else and also standing in what appeared to be a circle he drew in the sand. As I got closer, I realized that he was actually holding a bouquet of red roses and the "circle" that I thought he was standing in was actually a heart made out of pink roses. I turned and looked back with a look of complete shock on my face and realized that the other people within the group were about ten of our closest friends.

Then it hit me.... Oh my god, he's going to propose.

I immediately started crying as I walked the rest of the distance to him. As I stepped into the heart on the sand, he got down on one knee. First he told me to stop crying because I was going to make him cry, then he told me he loved me and a few more sweet words, presented my ring and asked me to marry him.

Between sobs, I said, "yes!" and we hugged and hugged.

After a few minutes, I turned around and realized that all of our friends were right there to congratulate us. It really was the most perfect proposal I could have ever dreamed of. It meant so much to have our friends there, too.

After a little while, a handful of us decided to grab an early dinner so we headed to Home Team BBQ to celebrate :p Totally us.

SO, that's it! Here are some pics :)

Best.day.ever.

BIG NEWS!!

Sooo, I know that I've been a in and out of blogging a lot lately, but it has mainly been because I knew that we were on the verge of some big news and I could hardly contain myself.

We got official word about Hawaii now though so I can freely talk about that and something else happened over the weekend that I can also now talk freely about....

WE'RE ENGAGED!!

Shaun proposed this past Sunday and I say "yes!", of course :)

It was the most perfect proposal. He caught me completely off guard and I couldn't possibly think of a better way for him to have done it.

We have set the date for April 6, 2014. Yes, we have only about five months to plan, but I am ready! You see, I knew that it was only a matter of time and I may have taken it upon myself to do some of the legwork already (with Shaun's approval, that is.)

As of tomorrow, I plan to join in on Marie's Wedding Wednesday link-up or eventually create my own. Stop on by tomorrow for my first post, The Proposal Story!

 And, for those who are dying to see it (because I know I would be!)

I am one HAPPY girl! <3<3<3

Weekend Re-cap, Like HCC on Facebook, and HAWAII!!

Morning y'all!

This weekend was a little low-key, but super fun nonetheless.

Friday night, Shaun and I grabbed sushi for din (this is quickly becoming our Friday night routine!)

Saturday, we did some major cleaning around the house then went to pick pumpkins with friends. After returning home, we ordered ourselves some pizza and had a little pumpkin-carving party. It was soo fun!

I love how they all came out!!

My Cinderella's Castle pumpkin <3

Sunday, we went to church then I headed out to Acme Lowcountry Kitchen at IOP to have brunch with Lindsey and Liam. It was delicious, as always.

I finally created a Facebook page for Honor Courage Commitment and I would love for you all to "LIKE" it below! :)

Lastly, Shaun found out at work yesterday that we will not be able to get extended here in Charleston and we will definitely be having to report to Pearl Harbor by May 16, 2014.

Hawaii, here we come!!

Another Wedding and a Super Cute Little Baby Boy!

Happy Hump Day friends! It's always nice for my week to begin on a Wednesday, Friday will be here before I know it!

Over the weekend, I made another quick trip up to CT to meet my cousin's brand new baby boy and to attend my friend Kim's wedding.

It was a beautiful weekend complete with amazing Fall weather. I must admit, while I LOVE living in the South, I do miss the changing of the leaves and the brisk October temperatures.

I could just squeeze these cheeks all day!

Kim & Brandon's wedding...

My first PSL of the Fall and a Baltimore sunset.

Here's hoping the weekend comes quick!

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Some Fall Faves ~

With the weather cooling off (a little bit at least) and my recent trips up north, I've been getting more and more into the Autumn spirit.

The cooler weather also has me thinking about cute flats and boots so here are some of my faves this year!

1 // 2// 3 // 4// 5// 6// 7 // 8 // 9

I'm dying to buy a new pair of boots this year, but since we pretty much know we will be transferring to Hawaii in the Spring, there really isn't any point to that :( 

Someone buy a pair of these boots so I can live vicariously through you?

Last Couple Days in CT...

Once we returned from the Cape, S and I took some time to visit family and friends and on Saturday we attended my cousin's wedding. 

The wedding was held at Elizabeth Park in Hartford and the reception was at the Pond House Cafe. It was beautiful even if it was a little overcast and windy.

My cousin, Jess, and her dad (my uncle)

Me and my momma in one of the gardens at Elizabeth Park.

<3

 Shaun, me, and my fam :)

My mom and dad have lots more photos, I really need to get those from them!

The day after the wedding, Shaun and I hopped in the car and started our trek back to Charleston.

Speaking of trips to CT.... I have another one planned for THIS weekend!

My cousin, Amanda, just had her first baby and I am thrilled for her and her hubby, Joe! 

I can't wait to me Mr. Dominic Michael, born October 5, 2013.

6 lb 13 oz, 19"

He is the sweetest little thing and I can't wait to love on him all weekend<3<3<3

CT Trip: Martha's Vineyard

After a couple of days on the Cape, S and I hopped a ferry over to Martha's Vineyard.

The weather continued to be absolutely perfect and we had a great time!

On the ferry!

Once we got in to MV, we checked into our hotel then went for a snack. We walked around the Edgartown area for a bit and then found a place to rent bikes so we could check out the area further.

S standing in front of the Vineyard Square Hotel & Suites.

Our room.. Cozy, but really nice!!

Front porch of the hotel, so pretty!

Edgartown

We took our bikes down toward the beach and rode along empty streets (one of the great benefits of visiting during the off-season!)

South Beach

Once the sun started going down, we headed back to the hotel so we could figure out plans for dinner.

The next day, we were originally planning to head back to my parents' house on the earlier side, but since the weather was so nice, we decided to stay and enjoy the day since we had the bike rentals until about 5pm.

Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse

 East Chop Lighthouse

View from Telegraph Hill

We rode our bikes all the way to Vineyard Haven, which was a total of about 10 miles!

Of course after all of that crazy bike-riding, we were starved so we checked out Yelp and grabbed lunch at The Net Result. It was pretty darn good.

My scallops mmmm...

Since we were sooo tired, we decided to take the bus back to Edgartown. We then packed up our stuff, hopped the ferry, and drove back to CT.

Last leg of our trip coming tomorrow!

Happy Hump Day!

Weekend Update via Instagram ~

Happy Monday! Hope y'all had a great weekend, I know I did :)

On Friday, I had a scrumptious gyro from Tadziki's on King St for lunch. I had heard great things, but wow. I can't believe I had deprived myself of such great food for so long!

I had the Grilled Chicken Gyro with Pesto, Tomatoes, and Feta. A-maz-ing.

Friday night, S and I had a little date night at Cru Cafe. We have heard lots of great reviews, but still hadn't had the chance to experience it for ourselves. A few weeks ago, I put in a reservation so that I knew we would have something to look forward to.

I had the Garlic Scallops with Angel Hair pasta with Fresh Mozz and Spicy Marinara. S had the BBQ Berkshire Pork Osso Bucco with Mepkin Oyster Mushrooms, Haricot Vert, and Mash Potatoes with a Smoked Tomato Demi. Both dishes were to die for.

The reviews were right, I highly recommend it!

On Saturday, S and I made our way out to Mt. Pleasant for the Charleston Mac Off. We sampled somewhere between 15 and 20 different kinds of Mac N Cheese.

Our votes for the best definitely went to Crave, but Poogan's Porch and the Angel Oak Restaurant were close seconds.

The weather was absolutely perfect, couldn't have asked for a better day!

After stuffing ourselves with carbs and dairy, we headed out to purchase a new mattress set for my aching back. We settled on the Prodigy from iComfort by Serta. It is a dream and we cannot wait for it to get delivered!!

I'll be sure to update more about it once we've had a chance to test it out for a bit. I'm super excited as it has gotten rave reviews!

On Sunday, we headed to brunch at Acme Lowcountry Kitchen. I always forget about this great hidden gem, but thankfully remembered and suggested it yesterday. After filling up on delicious breakfast burritos and pancakes, we headed over to the beach for a bit.

The weather was pretty good and I had a feeling it might be our last opportunity to really enjoy the beach for a while. I'm glad we were able to get it in :)

Clearly this weekend was all about great food haha.

What did you all do this weekend?? Anything fun?