NOLA Bound

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Sunday afternoon my BFF and I will board a Delta flight and be on our way to Cajunland to cheer on our beloved Crimson Tide. To say we are excited is a complete understatement. Our crimson, white and houndstooth is all packed and ready to go. We've got a full itinerary (thanks, BB) of stuff to do including some big NOLA hot spots. On tap for cheering the TIDE on is a VIP event at The House of Blues since we currently don't have tickets for the game, but you never know that could change. Either way, it'll be awesome to be in NOLA with tons of devoted fans...even if some of them will be wearing purple and gold. Since my BFF hasn't been before, this should be quite the adventure. Here's to hoping we leave NOLA with some BAMA National Championship gear and that the Tigers drown in their own "hometown".

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!

Proof of the Pudding...13.1 DONE!

I got the fire to sign up for my first half marathon a few months ago, 3 months ago to be exact. I wasn't entirely sure what this would entail other than long runs on Saturdays and some pain along the way. Boy was I right. I trained each Saturday (sometimes Sunday) with my awesome group of running girlfriends, including the fabulous Nicole, and sometimes I ran those long miles alone. I skipped out on and ran out of time for my short week day tempo runs so I pretty much was banking on these long runs getting me through the race. Probably not the best idea

The final weekend before I was supposed to clock 10 miles but could only do 7 as re-injury to my foot set in and so did the mental angst. With 9 miles as my longest training run, it was now or never when Thursday morning rolled around and I suited up to run. 

The girls and I decided to hit up Big Peach Running Company  for some of their signature 'RunATL' shirts for the race. In addition to my 'RunATL' shirt, I donned my trusty fuel belt, race number, iPod shuffle and favorite Lululemon tights. I laced up my slightly worn out K.Swiss kicks and was ready to go. It was a bit chilly but by mile 3 the gloves and ear warmers were safely tucked away as I cruised the streets of Atlanta with the finish line in my thoughts. My sweet hubby kept pace and ran with me the whole way. It was such a motivator to have someone to talk to, keep pace with and remind me when it's time to eat since I usually forget! Miles 1-8 seemed to breeze by and I was feeling great. Mile 9-11 were another story! I hit my mental block and knew that post mile 9 was uncharted territory for me and my legs. I hunkered down, gave myself a pep talk and kept pushing. My plan of run 4, walk 1 slowly went to run 1 walk 3. I knew my plan of finishing in 2:45 was on the horizon but as mile 11 approached and my pace was still slower than before, my hope of finishing in that time dwindled and I then just knew I had to do it in under 3 hours. I pushed through mile 11 thanks to some awesome tunes and then through mile 12. I crested the hill and could see the finish around the bend. 

Tears filled my eyes and my pace increased as I trotted towards that finish line, clock reading under 3 hours...2:56 to be exact. I felt like collapsing after finishing but happily put my medal around my neck and smiled for pictures. I was so thankful to be done and so beyond proud of myself for my accomplishment! 

I can't express my thanks enough to all my friends and family who encouraged me the whole way from signing up to watching me cross the finish. 

So, who's running the next one with me?!

Restaurant Club Adventure : August

Thankfully my friend Nicole shares well. Nicole has been gracious enough to share some of her awesome friends with me. Through her, I've met some fab ladies who share a passion for wine, food, gossip and working out. These girls kill it when it comes to marathons and vino. As you can imagine, I was stoked to be invited to another Restaurant Club with them this month (I also attended the one at Local Three ... another Atlanta foodie favorite of mine).

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What is Restaurant Club you might ask ... well it's when fabulous ladies meet up once a month at a different restaurant to hang out, drink up and enjoy some good grub. This month's pick ... 5 Napkin Burger, a new boutique burger joint in Atlanta (although they have 5 other established locations). I had heard rave things about 5 Napkin Burger and was pretty excited to dig-in last night.

We arrived and the place was visually appealing and it smelled pretty delightful, like burger heaven. After hanging at the bar for a bit and waiting on all of the ladies, we were seated. Their libation menu wasn't too bad, but their wine list could use some more options. I settled on the Chardonnay (which was just alright in my opinion) while most of the others chose red wine or liquor drinks. The menu was smaller than I expected, obviously they had some good burger options, but they also served sushi, salads and even hot dogs! The good news is 5 Napkin can work with you on your 'foodie wants' such as burgers with no buns --which is what 5 Napkin calls 'Inside Out' --not a bad option if you're looking to watch your carbs.

After checking out the options, I decided to go with the Original 5 Napkin Burger 'Inside Out' (10 oz. fresh ground chuck, gruyere cheese, caramelized onions and rosemary aioli) with a side of regular fries. One good plus to 5 Napkin Burger ... your side of fries are included in the price of your burger! Overall, the burger was good and cooked just right. The regular fries were delish as were the sweet potato fries I 'sampled' off one of the other girls plate.

Two glasses of wine later and a cleaned plate, the checks arrived. When I looked at the bill for my dinner for one ... $42 (including gratuity) -- one burger, two glasses of (okay) wine -- I was a little shocked. To be quite honest, the meal wasn't worth $42 and the burger, although tasty, not worth $15 (originally priced at $14, but apparently they add $1 to have it made 'Inside Out'). While I saw the prices on the menu, I guess I didn't really think too much about total cost of the meal.

Regardless, the company was great, the meal was overall good, yet pricey. I think I'd head back there for another go-round but be a little more cautious about the consumption of drinks since that certainly jacks up a total bill. Looking forward to next month's Restaurant Club ... like any good foodie, I'm always down for trying new places!

Edwards Wedding : Charleston Good Times (Round 1)

Mike and I, along with some of our friends, headed up to Charleston this past weekend to celebrate our dear friends big day! Our weekend went something like this ...

After our 4.5 hour drive from Atlanta to Charleston, we headed to dinner at a recommended place, 82 Queens. The atmosphere was great, the food, phenomenal and the company, good as usual.I enjoyed a yummy wedge salad and some scallops & shrimp and everyone did nothing but rave about their food as well. Post dinner, we headed over to Vendue Inn Rooftop Bar to meet up with another group of friends also in town for the wedding. A few beers later and fun conversation (and attempting to name our friend Carla's baby), Mike and I were exhausted and decided to head back to our hotel.

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Saturday morning came early and Mike and I were up and ready to head to downtown Charleston for some shopping. We had heard about a great deal on suits at M. Dumas & Sons. Mike was able to score a fantastic new suit, shirt and tie for a great deal. The best part ... we bought the suit at 9am and they had it altered and ready to go by 11:30am so he could wear it to the wedding! Talk about service! Post suit shopping, we headed to brunch and then to the market to walk around and pass some time. I was able to score a new purse (by JPK Handbags) I've had my eye on for weeks. My husband is AWESOME and bought it for me! Double Score for the day with the suit and new purse!

Mr. and Mrs. Edwards!!

The wedding was gorgeous and in a beautiful Catholic cathedral. Kristin looked stunning and Mike looked pretty awesome himself! The ceremony was shorter than I expected and then the crew headed out to Vickery's for a quick snack before the reception (since there was a 2 hour gap in events). Once we arrived at the wedding, the props table was scoured for goodies and seats were secured for the long haul. Beer and wine were flowing and everyone was having a good time.

Thank you for the stunna shades 

with my adorable husband in his new snazzy suit!

yummy cake!

with the gorgeous bride!

cutting up

good times

trouble makers

totally crazy but lovable great group of friends!

We had such a blast celebrating Kristin and Mike! Thank you both for letting us be a part of your big day! What a fabulous way to start our two weekend tour of weddings in Charleston. Bring on round 2 this upcoming weekend!

Chuck-Town Bound

First of two weekends we're Charleston bound is upon us. We'll be heading out on Friday to get there in time for the nuptials of our sweet friends, Kristin and Mike. Can't wait to celebrate with them on Saturday and party down with all of our friends!

Kristin and Mike at our wedding 

Next weekend we're back in the car heading to Charleston, yet again, for some more friends, Adam and Nalini's pure Indian wedding ... can't wait!

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.

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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.

Case of the Monday's

So far, my day has been less than stellar. Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

{5:45am}         Workout Starts
6:00am Wake up in panic as I realize the alarm was never set to go off ...
6:01am "Oh, I must have turned the alarm off in my sleep" - My Husband in a sleepy voice
7:20am Wake up, Shower and get ready for the day. Play with Kona Bear
8:10am Stop at Starbucks to get some instant caffeine in my system since I missed my workout
8:12am Spill coffee on my white jeans ... in the middle of my crotch ... AWESOME
8:25am Hear random noise sounding like blown tire on way to office
9:00am Get told I need to spend $400 to get 2 new tires ... JOY

Needless to say, the upside to my day came around early afternoon

1:00pm Flowers from Mike arrive with a card saying "Hope your day is getting better"

Here's to hoping the rest of the day is on the upturn. I'm heading to dinner tonight with some girlfriends at one of my new favorite places, Local Three. Can't wait for their 'Fantastic Voyage Monday' $35/person for 3 course and wine pairings. Bring on the fun, girl time and vino!

Hope your Monday has had way more sunshine than mine has started off with!

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!

Surprise ... Sort Of!

A big thank you to my sweet friends and coworkers, Maria and Vanessa, for organizing the shower at my office today. While it was supposed to be a surprise, I knew about it ... yes I realize I ruin all surprises! They did surprise me a little with Mike and my Mom being there though! My work is more than just a job, it's part of my 'family'. I've been working here since 2006 (well I was gone for 1 year) and most of the time, I love my job and work environment! We scored some awesome Pottery Barn gifts : all of our glasses and they pretty much finished out our everyday dishes on the registry! All of these items are VERY much appreciated as is the effort put forth by my work family! 

gift time! 

presents and cake

"Look, a cup!"

YUMMY cake!

tag team gift opening!

checking out our cereal bowls!

Thanks everyone for participating and joining for lunch and cake and most of all, for making Mike and I feel special and loved. You guys are awesome!!

TGIF

Thankful it is Friday to be quite honest. I'm looking forward to a quiet night at home. Maybe ordering in and finishing up embossing our wedding programs. I can't remember the last Friday I've had at the house with Mike and Kona. Needless to say, I think it's much needed.

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Also on tap this weekend is a trip to the Ted for an afternoon Braves game on Saturday. While I'm not the biggest baseball fan, I go for the beer and peanuts! I'll also be heading to my parents for the third Sunday in a row to finish up gift baskets and wedding stuff. Really down to the wire with only 15 days so we'll be getting into full gear of final stuff, organizing and making sure we have everything we need. I've also got a birthday party for a friend/ex-coworker of mine's 3yr old son, Maddox! Should be good times!


Outside of wedding planning, my life is still crazy. My job is in an uproar with change and good things, but none the less, still nuts. In a nutshell, my boss has accepted another position within the company effect May 1st and that means my reporting manager is in limbo. Not to mention, I have an intern starting, Rebecca, on May 23rd for the summer. I'm going to be out of the office for a total of 18 consecutive days ... yes, you read that right. So needless to say, work life is just as hectic as my wedding planning life and life in general. Hoping to get all of my name change stuff started prior to Rebecca's start date so I can get all of that mess in order...who knew how much of a hassle changing a name could be! Geeze!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Next week I think I'll do a 'spotlight' on some of my favorite people and some good wedding project wrap ups!

Final Numbers and Planning!

Mike and I had our final planning session to confirm all of our decor, facility, numbers, etc. yesterday with our venue. Thankfully, our estimated number of 150 is now an actual number of 139. We'll actually have a few more at the ceremony than at the reception, but all in all I'm 100% happy with this number (and thankfully so were my parents!).

Now the final things are being done and organized. I have one more really long call with our wedding director set for the week of the wedding and then we'll be DONE and ready for the big day. I can't believe it's almost here. 16 more days until I'm officially MRS. MORRIS ... although my work email already says it (dang you Lotus Notes support!).

After a three hour stint to get the programs printed at Kinkos, Lauren and I were done with it all and on our loopy train. I picked them up yesterday and started the embossing process. I made one full program just to see how it looks. While I'm not 100% in love with it, I think it looks good and will definitely work. Programs are something I think are a good addition to a wedding, but not totally necessary so I didn't think spending a ton of money on them was worth it. Not to mention, if we did them ourselves, I could use my super awesome embossing tools and heat gun! I'm halfway done embossing and still have to assemble, really hoping to get these cranked out by the end of the weekend.


In other news, for all you fellow brides to be, past brides and future. Here's a hysterical e-card I received today from our sweet friend, Nicole. She knows I've bickered about people not RSVPing or waiting until the absolute last minute!

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I also got the best chuckle from a friend of ours last night as well. I got a FEDEX letter sent to the house and was quite confused when I saw who it was from. I ripped it open and low and behold, there was a RSVP card in it. Thankfully I had already included them in the headcount as I knew they were attending. They win funniest way to RSVP and an A+ for actually sending it since I still have people who emailed and told me rather than using the RSVP/RSVP envelope I provided!

Needless to say, my breakdown that I'm expecting still hasn't happened which is an awesome thing. I think I've got it mostly under control. If I can make it through next week at the office, we're in the home stretch to wedding and honeymoon good times. Here's to hoping!

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!

Update on Stella

I blogged last week about my dear friend, Devon and her puppy, Stella. Since then, Stella has had surgery to amputate her front left leg and will start chemotherapy in the coming weeks. Stella is in great spirits and is learning quick how to manage on 3 legs instead of 4.

When we all found out about the news of Stella and the surgery, we were heartbroken to hear how much money, emotional pain and struggle this would cause both Devon and Stella. Thanks to our amazing group of friends and a few emails of encouragement, a group of us was able to raise almost $700 to give Devon. She was blindsided by this generous gift this morning and her reaction can best be described as awe, shock and overwhelmed by generosity. Not only did she get a check, Stella got a goodie bag full of things (shout out to Erin F. for a fun shopping trip to PetsMart!)

Stella with her goodies!

Thanks again for all the puppy prayers and words of encouragement to Devon. It sure did brighten my day to see people care and I know Devon was blown away by the support, love and generosity of our friends.

Bachelorette Round 2

While I don't have all the pictures to share just yet, my Atlanta Bachelorette party was a total success. Dinner at a favorite Mexican place in the Virginia Highlands, 14 of my good girlfriends, booze, lingerie and some bar hopping ... oh and torrential rain! 

after a few too many at dinner and preparing for the rest of the night at Dark Horse Tavern!

I'll be sure to do a post once I get some photos from the girls who were there! Thanks again to all of you for making me feel so special and celebrating with me not once, but twice!

Another Week ... Oy!

Hello, Monday. So we meet again. Thanks to my 5:15am wakeup call and intense BLAST class this morning, we've already been hanging out a while. Hopefully I'll be saying bye-bye and Hello Tuesday soon!

Yesterday we headed up to my parents for my belated birthday lunch. The food was super yummy and the cake was to die for. How cute is this cake? My sister-in-law got it from Whole Foods. It was almost too pretty to eat. It tasted just as good as it looked!

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I also got some great stuff from my family. AMEX gift card and Pottery gift card from my parents (and Bailey Boo, our family puppy), an ADORABLE J.Crew 'Just Married' tote (I'll snap a photo tonight) and a gift certificate to Duke's Restaurant in Hawaii. With the help of my sneaky fiance, my sister-in-law/brother found this restaurant and knew it was at one of the hotels we're staying at in Kauai! Such a unique and useful gift! Can't wait to get some good stuff with all my gift cards and to use my tote on the honeymoon!



This week is starting off slow, but will end with a bang. My sister-in-law and I will be heading to JCrew for a private event at their Lenox location on Thursday. She's more than excited about meeting Jenna (JCrew's resident fashion aficionado) and getting some shopping in. Also, Mike is leaving for his bachelor party in Las Vegas on Thursday with a few of the guys. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned/nervous/sick to my stomach about what will go on out there. I've made myself clear to all parties attending how I feel about certain things. Lets hope they keep it in check while having a wonderful (drunk) time. Thank goodness my girlfriends will be keeping me in check while he is gone. Saturday, while Mike is partying it up on the Vegas strip, I'll be having a good time myself in the Virginia Highlands. My friends and I will be hitting up Pozole restaurant and bar hopping/causing a ruckus post dinner. Look out Atlanta, this could get interesting!

In other news, I paid off one of my credit cards this past weekend! It feels so good to know that I don't owe anymore on that card. I'm halfway done with my other card and should have it paid off by the end of May. Once that's done...it's time for a new car! I blogged back in January about my choices and I'm still unsure of what I want. This too will come down to a numbers game ... so get ready to wheel and deal! Mommy wants a new ride!

This week also marks the downhill to the wedding. 40 days til the wedding to be exact. I'm not real sure where the last 326 days have gone. What I do know is that I've still got a lot to do in 40 days. God willing the hangover isn't too bad, I'll be heading to my parents on Sunday to get some stuff done with my mom. The little things on the list are piling up and we've got to get them tackled. It'll be April 30th before we know it.

Update on RSVP's. We've had a cease on receiving them in the mail. I haven't received an RSVP in almost a week. Yes, I'm that sad about it. I get so excited when a red envelope is in the mail!

Total Number of Invites Sent : 90

Total Number of People Invited : 182

RSVP Cards in Limbo : 33

YES - 99

NO - 6 (so really 11 ppl)

Worst Case Scenario - 162

The RSVP deadline is fast approaching ... only 2 more weeks! I sure hope we get all the responses in by then. Really don't want to have to call and hound people to find out if they are attending or not! So if you're reading this and are invited to the wedding and have YET to send in your RSVP...GET ON IT!!

the next 10 days are looking so bright ... i might need my sunglasses

Just checked the 10-day weather report for Atlanta. My day has officially been brightened with the results of what I saw.

I can't wait to get outside this weekend and next weekend as well! Looking good Atlanta! Can't wait for girls dinner tonight and Crawfish Boil tomorrow at Kramers! Sunday is family lunch day and hanging out with some friends after they whoop up on the Publix Half Marathon!

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all have a wonderful day and even better weekend!