The High Seas

Earlier in September 10 of us took to the high seas aboard Royal Caribbeans Majesty of the Seas! We headed out on a 4 night 5 day cruise to Nassau, CocoCay and Key West. Here's a quick photo recap of the trip!

our cruise directors Nelson and Morris

hanging out in Ft. Lauderdale before the cruise

gnome...who doesn't love one?!

at the dueling piano bar in Ft. Lauderdale

with my hubby!

getting in the Hummer limo to head to the port in Miami

in the limo

the boys

Sr. Frogs in Nassau

Captains speech

pre dance party

CocoCay!

in Key West

scooter crew!

southernmost point in the US!

last dinner before heading home...such a great trip!

We had so much fun on this trip! Can't wait to travel with this crew again this upcoming February to Park City, Utah for some skiing and snowball fights! 

Jetsetting Once Again ...

The call of duty has once again been in order. I'm off again as of early tomorrow afternoon. This time I'm heading to Nashville, TN for some business dinners and meetings. From there on Friday, I'll be heading to (hopefully) sunny Hilton Head Island to celebrate a birthday and bachelorette party with my dear friend, Kristin.

While gone I'll be missing out on Mike's 29th birthday this coming Friday. I hate to miss his first birthday that we're married, but when the travel came up for work and the bachelorette was being planned, it didn't leave me much choice. So on Friday, while he's out with a bunch of friends at the Braves game, I'll be in Hilton Head with some of my friends, probably wishing I was with him. So instead of celebrating later, we're celebrating early ... as in tonight.

photo credit

We're heading to dinner at Local Three. A new favorite restaurant of mine. I was just there last Monday as well with some of my girlfriends and the food was great at the chefs table! Since Mike's never been, I'm looking forward to introducing him to a new restaurant. Post dinner, my plan is to hit up another new favorite place of mine, YogurtLand. They have fab flavors and toppings and I'm just hoping that Mike will be willing to go since I've been craving it for days now...and no, I'm not preggo!

I'm also kinda sad that I'll be missing running the Peachtree Road Race this year as well. I was looking forward to getting back out there and beating my time from 2010 and wearing my tshirt proudly. Instead of me using my number, a friend of ours is running in my place. I sure hope he does well.

Post Nashville and beach time this weekend, I'm hoping to just chill out on the actual 4th of July and enjoying some quality time with Mike and friends since I wont be seeing much of him or them this week/weekend.

It's Only Tuesday?!

Miss Kona is all snuggled up next to me as I'm wrapping things up for work and packing up to head to the airport to head out to Raleigh, NC for meetings. She loves having us home with her during the day but she sure doesn't like when you try to leave. I bet she is beyond confused with the amount of travel both Mike and I have been doing lately. Poor girl...she tried to get packed to go with me!

someone was not happy that I'm packing up a suitcase ... again

Princess Kona on her pillow tuft

I hate leaving this sweet face, but know that when I come home, she'll be so over the top excited to see me! Catch ya on the flip-side. I'm heading off to the land of BBQ and long, long staff meetings! 

Beau Rivage Re-Cap

Mike and I went into this weekend not knowing what to expect. We had no idea what the plane would be like, how the hotel would be, what there was to do and the list goes on. I have to admit, we didn't really care since it was a free trip, but at least it turned out well.

The private jet, well it wasn't so private. Apparently the Beau Rivage uses a charter plane service for guests like us (who have a comped trip) and for guests that they invite who pay but are "usual gamblers at the casino". However, it was a semi-nice "private charter" plane which instead of soda and peanuts during beverage service, they ask what kind of alcoholic drink you prefer and give you ritz crackers. Way better than Delta in that aspect!

After a short hour flight, we touched down in Biloxi, MS where a bus shuttled us on over to the Beau Rivage. The fun part is you don't touch your bags once you take them to the airport. After we deplaned and headed to the hotel, our bags arrived within 2 hours in our room. Speaking of rooms, we were on the 22 floor on the far corner, a pretty nice room to be quite honest. If we went back, I'd request that one or one just like it. Way nicer than some of the others we walked by! Since we got in a little late on Friday night, we headed down to the casino to check it out, do some quick gambling and grab a night cap. We didn't want to stay up too late since we needed to get a run in on Saturday AM and have a good nights sleep for a full Saturday afternoon

After Mike did his 6 mile run and I did my 4 mile run/walk along the beach, we showered up and headed to the pool. I was hoping it would have been a bit bigger, but it was a gorgeous sunny, smoking hot day and the pool was the perfect place to be. Since it was such a scorcher of a day, we chose not to drink alcohol at the pool fearing that if we did, we'd have been done by 3pm and not gone out Saturday night. We got a little crispy, but nothing a little aloe couldn't fix by night time. Post a pool-side lunch and a little more time in the sun, we headed in to the casino to test our luck. Mike hit up black jack and craps while I hung out on the 'Super Jackpot Party' and 'Lucky Meerkats' penny slot machines ... MY FAVORITE! After a few dry runs on the penny slots, I hit it big (okay big in terms of penny slots) and won $100 on a $1 bet. I was stoked and cashed out right then and ran over to Mike (literally, I ran in the casino like a 2yr old). Post some more (smaller) wins on my beloved penny slots and a few hands of black jack later for  Mike, we headed up to get ready for dinner at BR Steakhouse. After a yummy dinner at BR Steakhouse and some more gambling, drinking and hanging out, Mike and I headed back to the room to retire for the night and do it all again on Sunday until our 3pm departure time back to reality.

Overall, the trip was a great getaway for the both of us. We haven't spent much 1 on 1 time together since the wedding and honeymoon with all the stuff going on here and all of my travel for business. I think it's safe to say we might head back there one day since it's a lot closer and cheaper than Vegas, but it's more of a weekend trip, not so much for longer than two nights.

I'm Leaving On A (private) Jet Plane ...

Mike and I attended a benefit a while back before the wedding where we met a very nice gentleman with a lot of VIP status and a great job with the MGM Grand Resorts International group. He offered to take Mike and I on a trip to the Beau Rivage on the private MGM Grand company jet for a fun (comped) weekend.

photo credit

Well the time is come to jet set away. We'll be heading out tomorrow night for our weekend getaway and I CAN'T WAIT! Not to mention, this past Monday was our 3 year anniversary of when we started dating. I've barely seen Mike this week because of hectic work schedule and committed week night events so I am even more excited to get away with him and it just be the two of us!

We plan on gambling, pooling and enjoying our time together. If I win big, I promise to still check in every once in a while :)

Bad Dress Rehearsal ... Perfect Performance

Dead fridge, Mom has surgery, fiancé has laptop stolen and I have to travel MORE for work. All of this is NOT how I saw our wedding week going!

So lets drill down here to all of the issues at hand.

My Mom's surgery went well and she is home recovering...Praise God for that! She does have to have a stint taken out tomorrow early morning and it should be 100% clear sailing from there. I'm thankful that all of this happened late last week/early this week rather than starting this weekend with all the wedding craziness!

Apparently our fridge was dying and we didn't know it. However, when we got home on Monday, it was clear as day. All the food was spoiled (thank goodness I didn't full grocery shop on Sunday as it was Easter) and the ice had all melted into a puddle. We didn't get a chance Monday to pick one out so we went last night. I'm happy to report that we bought a new and better model...hooray...and it's already installed and working!

pretty snazzy huh?

Mike's office got broken into on Easter Sunday and his laptop and others were stolen...nice huh? So they all got new laptops today and are back in business.

As far as traveling...here's my schedule...no joke I am gone 98% of May.Very much looking forward to June and my life somewhat settling down.

April 30 Wedding
May 2-13 Hawaii
May16-19 Raleigh, NC
May 23 - New Intern Starts! (yay)
May 25-26 Raleigh, NC

On top of all of this travel and what not, I've got to work on getting my name changed in what feels like a million places. Most important, SS, Passport (bc of the cruise) and my  license. Goodness gracious great balls of fire I feel like I'm in a tailspin of craziness. I think I just need to keep on swimming in the words of Dori the fish from Finding Nemo!

Thanks for all the thoughts and positive energy, I swear it (along with my workouts and impending massage) is helping!

light at the end of the tunnel ...

18 days to keep my breathing normal, not stress or freak out. 18 days of being "single". 18 days until I officially am married. 18 days until we head to Hawaii on our honeymoon! HOLY.COW.

94% of our stuff is done. I've got a few big tasks still ahead but think we'll knock it out by the end of this weekend or next. Our final planning meeting to turn in numbers, finalize food, decor, etc is tomorrow and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit stressed out. I need to let the stress that I've racked up the past few days go and focus on the real deal ... marrying  my best friend. I've lost sight of that a bit the last few days trying to finish all the details, coordinate varying people and plans. But all in all, I think it's coming together and our day is going to be beautiful no matter what. I've worked so hard with the help of some awesome friends, my parents and unconditional support from Mike the past year to get ready for this ONE day. I absolutely can't wait to have all my friends in one place. I haven't seen some of my bridesmaids in months and one of them in a year. It's hard to believe all of us will be in one place at the same time...that's never happened, well at least not since we've been engaged.

So I'll keep trucking and keep trying to remind myself that it's about the future and being married, not about stressing 100% about making the day perfect, although I think with my years worth of planning, it will be!

In other news, Mike and I booked 2 more trips after Hawaii, so my stress will be a little better knowing that I still have a few more vacations throughout the year!

Mike, Me, Joe and Jess @ NYE 2010

We'll be heading out on a cruise to celebrate the 30th Birthday of our friend, Jessica. There are 6-8 of us going and I can't wait! We're taking the Royal Caribbean cruise 'Majesty of the Seas' September 4-9. This will be my first trip on a cruise and needless to say I'm very much looking forward to it. Thankfully, Mike's dad got us all rooms at the timeshare in Ft. Lauderdale so we can fly down early and have a night there to hang out/get ready before embarking on our trip!

Our other trip is sort of random! This past weekend, Mike and I got last minute tickets from our friends Jon and Erin to attend a benefit dinner for Right to Hike. There was a 3 course meal (including beer/wine), silent auction, live auction and the Indigo Girls played at the end of the evening.  It was really a great time for a wonderful cause and I'm thankful we got to attend! Here's the random part, Mike and I were sitting next to a gentleman and his young daughter (the most well behaved 10 year old I've ever met, might I add) at our table. Mike struck up a conversation and come to find out he is a big wig with the MGM Resorts International. He invited Mike and I on a trip this June. We'll be taking a private jet, have the hotel and limo comped and needless to say, be having a BLAST at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. I can't wait for this trip!!!

Needless to say, post the wedding, our lives don't settle down much. But that's the way I like to keep it. Always busy, on our toes and with something to do. One of these days I'll learn to slow down and enjoy it!

BACHELORETTE PARTY PREVIEW!

This Friday, 5 of my girlfriends and myself will be embarking on a journey to Nashville. We'll be partying it up in Music City for my bachelorette party! We're staying at the gorgeous Marriott Renaissance Nashville in the heart of downtown. We'll be walking distance from all the bars and fun that Nash-Vegas has to offer.

via here

We plan on keeping it semi-low key on Friday night and just hitting up a favorite restaurant of mine there, Merchants. This restaurant is the epitome of southern chic food. Their fried green tomato BLT is to die for as well as their sweet potato fries. Needless to say, I already know what I'm ordering off the menu! The atmosphere is fun and casual, perfect to get our feet wet for a weekend of craziness. After that, I'm sure we'll hit up some bars and maybe get our Honkey Tonk on.

Saturday is when the craziness begins. We'll cure whatever hangover we have with some bloody's and mimosas and make our way to the Nash Trash Tour. While I'm not entirely sure what this is, it sounds like a real dang good time. It's BYOB and 2 hours of fun...well, I heard it is!


"NashTrash Tour is two hours of non stop comedy, conversation, and culture." (source)




Here's to hoping its a good time. I'm sure for nothing else, we'll laugh our rears off at each other and make it a good time. Both my BFF and I have heard personal reviews from others that make it sound like the money is worth the time put in.

That same night we're going out...LBD style. LBD = Little Black Dress! Well, everyone but me will be wearing one. I scored this GORGEOUS red dress to rock out the night in. I can't wait to wear it out! We'll be hitting up Cabana for dinner and to get the night started. This was the #1 place that I got as a recommendation for a bachelorette dinner spot in Nashville. We've reserved our own cabana area ... not real sure what that entails ... can't wait to see what trouble we get into here. After dinner, we'll head back downtown for some stops at the local watering holes and good times. We'll be sure to hit up Big Bang, the dueling piano bar, a favorite of mine!

Unfortunately, we'll have to pack up early Sunday and head back to reality. The only good news, Sunday is my 27th birthday! So the celebration will continue with dinner with my fave man, Mike and a fun friends dinner the following night at Tin Lizzy, a local Buckhead fave!


While I'm sure that my friends have nothing short of embarrassing things planned, I literally CAN"T WAIT for this weekend to get here!

89 Days Until Paradise!

Once the nuptials are said and done and all the wedding guests go home, it'll be time for Mike and I to head to paradise! We decided not to leave right after the wedding for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one was stress and being too tired! We'll be leaving first thing Monday morning (Day 2 of being a married couple...eek!). Next stop post wedding bliss....

image via here

Mike's parents graciously gave us First Class round trip tickets to and from our 2 week honeymoon to Hawaii as well as paid for all of our hotel stays during this time. We'll be there for 11 nights, 12 days and visit 3 islands. Mike has been doing a lot of research and has finally made us an agenda! Here is what we'll be doing while in Hawaii!

Week 1:

• Monday: Arrive in Honolulu, Hawaii. Check out the scene and hit up Bailey's Shirt Shop. Bailey's has over 15,000 alhoa/Hawaiian shirts to choose from! We'll be sure to bring some home for everyone!
• Tuesday: Depart Honolulu and Arrive in Kauai! Take the day to spend on the beach and relax! 
• Wednesday: In the morning, we'll be hitting up Kipu Ranch Adventures for an ATV tour! We'll be going on the Waterfall tour which takes you on a 4 hour tour around Kauai and see where they've filmed movies as well as play in the waterfalls and enjoy lunch! Later that day we'll hit the beach! 
• Thursday: Can't wait for Thursday morning! We're going snorkeling on the Na Pali coast with a tour by Capt Andy’s! We'll get to see a lot of what the Na Pali coast has to offer as well as snorkel with some fishies and hopefully some turtles and sharks! Another beach afternoon is in store for this day as well! 
• Friday: We are planning to hike from the beach to Hanakapi Waterfall and just take in the sights. Hopefully we'll be back in time for some pool and frozen drink action later in the day! 
• Saturday: Beach day and massages! Can't wait to get a much needed massage while in paradise!

Week 2:

• Sunday:Depart Kauai and head to Maui! Take the day to spend on the beach and relax! 
• Monday:We'll be doing the sunrise bike tour through Bike Maui! After arriving at Halekala's 10,023' summit, we get to bike down down and watch sunrise! Monday night we'll also hit up the Honua'ula Luau! I can't WAIT for this! I've always wanted to go and with this one being bottomless MaiTai's and walking distance to our hotel, it's gonna be great! 
• Tuesday: We'll also be snorkeling in Maui at Molokini with Trilogy adventures! This is supposed to be one of the best snorkeling sites in all of Hawaii!                          
• Wednesday: Another first for me will be Ziplining in Maui! We'll be going though Flyin Hawaiian. This 8 zipline tour will take us through West Maui mountains. Can't wait to see it from  high up!                              
• Thursday: Lastly we'll do the Road to Hana, hit up the beach and unfortunately by that time it'll be time to pack up and head back to reality! 
• Friday: Beach and Depart to head back home to Atlanta! 

 Needless to say, we're going to be busy, but when you're that far away from home and in a new place, you want to try everything! Very much looking forward to spending our first days as husband and wife in Hawaii and hopefully coming back with a nice tan, lots of pictures and some great memories!

ONE MORE WEEK!!

A week from today I'll be in a great city, with great people watching one of Country music's greatest artists... GARTH BROOKS!!!!!

photo via here

I have to admit that I'm a HUGE Garth fan as well as a huge Country Music fan in general. Garth hasn't been on tour in years and currently has a solo acoustic show in Las Vegas at the Wynn Hotel. This show would be amazing, yet would break the bank or at least put a hurting on my wallet if we tried to attend. However, when we saw that Garth was doing a show in Nashville, TN for the flood victims....I was all over it!

These tickets went on sale a month or so ago and started out at only $32 a pop. I got online and waited and waited and when they went on sale, I struck that "purchase now" button as fast as I could. Just not fast enough. Sad day, right?! I was pretty down on my luck and then my awesome fiance came through with 4 tickets in what look to be perfect seats for the concert. Only problem, they were about 5x the price (and then a little more)! We picked up the tickets and now, next Friday...Mike, Kerri,  her hubby, Scott and I will be packing up and heading to Nashvegas for the night. A night of good food, good drinks, friends and the lovely sounds of Mr. Garth Brooks!

Whether you like Country music or not, this guy is an ICON! Check out his site and discography cause even you might be impressed. Needless to say, I'm so antsy for next Friday to get here!!

A little of this, A little of that

This past week and a half has been a total whirlwind. From Mexico to Tuscaloosa, Cirque du Soleil to concerts and Harry Potter 7. Needless to say I'm Thankful for all that I'm able to do in my life. Here are some photo recaps of my past few days. I still owe you the ones from Mexico, don't think I've forgotten :)

On Thursday, Kerri, Mike and I headed to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama vs. Georgia State massacre, I mean game. Unfortunately, Lauren was too under the weather to go and though we all wanted her to and I know she was so upset, she decided to be responsible and stay. We missed you, L!

The Communications School at UA, where I (and Lauren) spent most of our time

My childhood BFF and fiance acting like fools in Tuscaloosa.

Denny Chimes, my favorite thing on campus

So happy we finally made it to a game!

Love her!

all snuggled up to watch the Tide

with Alison, one of my good college buddies!

all is complete, now that he's been to a game, we can get married :)

ROLL TIDE!

I love that my friends also love my kinda music...COUNTRY! Kerri, Tricia and I (missed you, Cassie!) hit up the Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan Concert. Needless to say a few Miller Lites later and lots of singing...the concert ended with a bang and a cover of Kid Rock! Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night! 

Kerri and I

at the concert!

our camera friend told us to do something crazy...this was all we had :)

Luke Bryan!

what a cutie and homegrown Georgia boy to boot!

what an entrance, Jason Aldean

good ole Georgia boy, Jason Aldean

Tricia and I

They even played together!

even Bobby Cox was there!!

Still working on my Mexico re-cap...promise it'll be up this week!

Really excited about what the following week holds. Thanksgiving is a great time to hang with friends and family and I'm happy to say my bff Brit is in town and I can't WAIT to see her! Also on tap, Happy Hour at the St. Regis hotel with some of the girls and the Iron Bowl!

What do you have planned for the upcoming holiday week!?