Waiting for ADVENTure

It's 6 days before I go home, 9 days before Christmas, 17 days before my dress fitting, and who knows how many days before our wedding! The time to set the date is getting so close I can feel it! We are definitely having it in spring or summer or early fall of 2012, so that's reassuring to know; we are just waiting to hear back from the head honchos of Alex's new squadron so that we can go ahead and put down that deposit and secure a date for our wedding. I know that I should enjoy the calm before the storm (I don't know if the 1.5 week before Christmas should necessarily be considered the calm before the storm), because as soon as we put that deposit down I'm going to BUSY BUSY BUSY. Especially because we will be uprooting to Minot, ND right in the middle of that.

Luckily I am getting some great help from Mr. Michael O'Connor. He calls himself my "personal florist" but he is so much more than that. He's going to be more like my personal ... go to guy. He's going to be helping me figure out center pieces, bouquets, and misc. floral arrangements, I am truly lucky to have such great help.

I forgot to tell you guys something about my proposed wedding venue. Chris Pontius, of Jackass fame, also had his wedding on the same spot. So you KNOW we're making good decisions .... I tried looking for pictures of the place but it's actually kind of hard to find ... who knew those guys liked their privacy so much!

Lastly I wanted to wish everyone a happy holidays. Luckily, Channukah doesn't start until the 20th this year, and we all know that Christmas isn't until the 25th, so I get to wish all my Jewish and Christian friends alike a Happy Holiday!

On a side note, it really is strange being in the South for the holidays ...

First of all, nobody plays this song over Thanksgiving

Secondly, no one plays this song over the holidays (I suppose this makes sense)

Lastly, they play THIS song

All joking aside, the holidays are such a beautiful time where people have something to celebrate, whether it's the religious meanings behind Channukah and Christmas, or simply a new or old tradition of spending time with and showing love to your family. I hope you all have a wonderful holidays, and I will see you in the new year!

Cold & Colder

I know that I promised to get better at updating this blog, and I have seriously failed at that, but I promise, I will ... no really ....

Until recently, we've been enjoying the weather here in Shreveport, it was in the 70s and the trees were changing colors, and we were getting a taste of what autumn looks like. Just a small taste though because it has suddenly become COLD. It's cold and it's wet, and cold, and I just don't know what to do with myself, cause I genuinely think I'm afraid to be outside ...

When the weather was still nice though, we took some weekend trips to the fun and exciting cities around us.  Here are some pictures from Austin:

We came upon this little creek, well it really could have once been a river before the drought, on our way to some vineyards just outside of Austin, TX.

Then we went to the state capitol, and I must say, it was a very beautiful capitol indeed.  

 "monument" on the ground of the first floor showing all the different flags that Texas has flown under. 

 Allegedly, there's bridge in Austin that bats fly out of at sunset, and it's supposed to be a magnificent sight. I say allegedly, because we waited for over an hour, and didn't see any bats, but the view was beautiful. 

 People eagerly awaiting the bats ... 

 Alex enjoying the hammock in the studio we rented. 

A few weeks after we were in Austin, we visited Lafayette, LA. We had heard that it was really fun and more "cajun" than the traditionally Southern Baptist Shreveport. It was a very small town and we went to some interesting bars, ate some delicious cajun food, and did a good amount of shopping. All in all it was a pretty fun trip to the "other side" of Louisiana. 

 Apparently Inspector Gadget lives in Lafayette .... 

We also visited the Tabasco factory on Avery Island. We got to try all kinds of tabasco products, including 2 different kinds o tabasco flavored ice creams. 

We have also been enjoying Alex's more relaxed schedule and been getting able to spend more time together at home. 

 Alex enjoying our very comfy couch and my very comfy slippers. 

 Alex enjoying my recent cookie baking kick. 

 Our tiny tiny tiny christmas tree. 

Last but not least, the news that we have been waiting for is finally here .... We're going to be moving to beautiful Minot, ND next year! I'm not exactly sure when, but I'm anticipating that it will be sometime in the late spring/early summer, which means that we are planning for our wedding to be sometime in late summer/early fall. This is really good, because now I can decide what kind of colors i want in my wedding.

Here are some pictures of flowers/centerpieces that I'm loving right now:

I love the matching shoes on this one. And the color of the dresses for that matter ... hmm ... IDEAS!

  I love the effect of the twine on the white bouquet. 

Alright folks, that's all for now. It took me a while, but I delivered with a BIG blog post! I hope to see most of you very soon when we go home for the holidays!