The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree

Our traditional "get-the-christmas-tree-after-thanksgiving-day" was tainted on Friday with rain. It was nasty rain, too. So we (me and mom) decorated the house with everything but the tree. On Saturday morning it looked as if it hadn't rained at all! So my granddaddy, Uncle Mike, cousin Amy, her boyfriend Tyler, and I all piled into the SUV and headed up the mountain to get our trees! We always go to the same tree farm and the family that runs the place are just such nice, genuine people. They make finding a christmas tree so much fun! And the good part about it is we get to find the christmas tree and they cut it down and tie it to the top of our cars for us while we get to enjoy some nice, hot cocoa or apple cider :) Ahh, the joys of christmas tree shopping :)

I always have to get pictures of us on the way up. Amy and Tyler are probably the cutest couple ever...

I had to sport purple long johns and Clemson shirt to support my tigers!! They had a huge game that night--they lost...but I'm making the argument that actually we won because we get a new QB next year!! Woo hoo! Ours was just not getting the job done ;)

We had the best time picking out trees! Here is Amy's tree:

I honestly think this is the most perfect christmas tree we've ever had! Here is mine still at the tree farm:

And here it is all decorated :)

I'm so glad the holiday season is here! Two more weeks of school and then I'll be able to enjoy the Christmas season...but for now, I'm relaxing on the couch and going through lots of wedding magazines! (Thanks, V!) Happy first week of December!

Better Late than Never!

The day after Thanksgiving, my granddaddy, uncle, cousin Amy, and me, always trekk up the mountain and get our christmas trees. This year, though, it's been raining non-stop. So we aren't getting our tree today, but tomorrow! So look for that post soon :)

I had a wonderful thanksgiving with my family :) David and I spent the holidays apart this year (well, we have every year so that's no different haha!) with our individual families so he's at home in Athens. I'm glad I'll have this holiday season to spend with my family because next year, I'll hopefully have a job, but being at the bottom wrung and in a profession that has to work even through the holidays, I'm pretty sure I'll be spending mine in the hospital :( So I'm enjoying it while I can!

My family is all about traditions. And I love it. Every year, I get up and watch the Macy's Day Parade on tv. I love watching all the floats and hearing about them from Matt, Katie, and Al (no one else will do!!) My grandparents live right down the road from us, so about noon we all (being mom, me, and Marley) pile into the car and head over there to help finish fixing lunch!

*Okay, I'm sorry, but isn't Marley's sweater/scarf "ensemble" too cute??*

All I can say is that I dearly hope you're thanksgiving menu was as good as mine! My grandmother is the best cook and she can cook a mean turkey! (and sweet potato casserole, and stuffing, and broccoli and cheese, etc....you get the point, right? ha!) It was possibly the most delicious thanksgiving meal yet!

Marley *loves* my granddaddy.

I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual:) This possibly might be why:

This was taken last year at Christmas, Marley was smart enough this year not to get caught sneaking turkey early ;)

We have yummy pies for dessert: pumpkin and pecan and a chocolate sheet cake that is to.die.for. No wonder I have to start working out every year after Thanksgiving! After lunch, we lounge around pretending that the tryptophan in the turkey is making us tired (did you read that article? We really don't eat enough to make us tired, darn it!) even though we know good and well it's just because we ate so much that now we become full and lazy. It's a wonderful feeling, really. Ha!

My cousins always go to their other grandparents house for thanksgiving dinner so I usually tag along. This year we had beef and vegetable stew with salad. And for dessert: banana pudding w/ cookies :) My favorite.

And what would a Thanksgiving post be without giving some thanks, right?

• I'm so so so thankful for my family. They get on my nerves and drive me crazy, but I wouldn't be the person I am today without them! They always support me and I have such a strong-knit relationship with each one of them, I wouldn't trade it for the world!
• I'm thankful for my fiance! It still seems weird seeing that word. I can't wait to see the man he will be in our marriage and I can't wait to see how we grow in our new relationship and where we will be 50 years from now!
• I'm very thankful for my sweet Marley boy (yes, I'm one of "those" dog people ;) ). He is a pure momma's boy and that melts my heart. He doesn't want to sit with anyone but me, greet anyone but me, and be held by anyone but me. He gives sweet boy kisses and is so gentle-natured (but boy can he scare a booger out of the yard!) And bottom line is: no matter what, he loves me unconditionally. No.Matter.What.

There are thousands of other things I'm thankful for, but this post is getting pretty long. It looks to me like this Thanksgiving has been one for the books:) I hope yours was just as wonderful. Time to decorate for Christmas!

PS- here is my newest craft--

what do you think? It's a rosette headband and I got the idea from Jessica at love from texas. Go check her and her sweet babies out :)

10 Months

10 months from this very date I will be getting married and celebrating with all of my close family and friends! I can't wait! Everyone says it will go by so fast, but I am thoroughly enjoying being engaged.

*I actually caught a smile! Love my fiance! *

Plans are in the works now, but I can't wait to get to the fun stuff like colors, bridesmaid's gifts, actually asking my bridesmaid's to be in my wedding, invitations, food for the reception...etc...

I also can't wait for engagement photos. Can. not. wait. :) I don't have a photographer picked out yet because I'm waiting to get my venue scheduled (pretty sure we know where, just working out some stuff!).

So my questions to you guys are: 1) any recommendations for photographers in the Charlotte area?? and 2) I need a cute way to ask my girls if they will be my bridesmaids...any ideas??! :)

*Apparently I've got a christmas kitty :)*

*Marley was getting in the christmas spirit...obviously enjoying it from the look on his face!*

Okay, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and I hope everyone will be putting up decorations and I can't wait to see pictures! :)

*Our first christmas tree! I can't wait to spend the rest of my holiday's with him :) *

One More Day...

...until Thanksgiving break begins! One 6 hour clinical stands in the way of me and a nice, week-long break! And I desperately need it! I've been sick since Sunday :( Some kind of stomach bug. Nasty stuff. But I'm finally starting to feel better and so thankful for that! I don't like making up clinicals...

But, I got some awesome news yesterday! My good friend Vanessa is getting married in September of next year. And dropped this pretty box off with me yesterday:

When I opened it, this is what I saw:

Yay! I'm so excited to be a bridesmaid for her! She is such a sweet person and Dave is a really lucky guy to get to spend his life with her. There was a very cute headband in the box as well as a lolly pop ring. She had also written a really sweet note to me and at the end said, "if you accept my invitation, will you please send me a picture to my e-mail of you wearing the ring and headband?" Seriously y'all, how cute is that idea????

So, here is the picture I sent her! :)

I am so excited to be able to share in her big day as one of her bridesmaids:) And I'm lucky to have such a wonderful friend!

It's a List!

Well, it's Saturday night and my fiance (ahhh!) and I are curled up on the couch watching the Clemson game! I'm really not quite sure if we'll hold on to the lead haha! I love my tigers, but man, it has been a rough season. It's hard for me to watch my team make terrible plays so I decided to focus on updating on life...in a list of course.

1. On Wednesday, my mom, aunt, and I went to the Southern Christmas show. It's a huge gathering of crafty people selling all of their things for the Christmas season. The whole place is decorated with lights and trees and Christmas music. It's a lot of fun! But this year, we made our way to the Verizon trailer and let me just say, those guys were some good salesmen! My mom ended up with a new phone, my aunt ended up with two new phones, and I ended up with a droid galaxy. Say what? Yeah. I don't know how to use it.

2. We watched the Georgia/ Auburn game today and y'all, I'm all for a great team winning, but I really think sportsmanship is lacking in athletics these days. There was no reason for those Auburn players to start throwing punches at the end of the game when they were WINNING. It shouldn't be acceptable even when you're losing, but when you're winning? Ridiculous. Having a great team is good, but I think sportsmanship says a lot about a team. (*Note: I'm not ragging on Auburn, I know every team at some point in time has their players who show bad behavior, and I don't agree with any of it! And I think it's great Auburn has done so well this year!! :) )

3. My MOH (I have a maid of honor!!) and her boyfriend came up to visit this weekend! I love them :)

4. This is going to be a good week! My class on Monday was canceled and my class Wednesday was canceled! Which means I have class on Tuesday and clinicals on Thursday! :) And thennn, Thanksgiving break starts for me! I've got a few more venues to look at Monday and Wednesday and hopefully I'll know by the end of the week where and when I'm getting married! I'm leaving Thursday for David's and will be with him until Tuesday or Wednesday for thanksgiving:)

5. Only 42 more days until Christmas!!

Have a great weekend :)

The Story!

I gave exciting news and then just disappeared! But I've got the story :)

I went to Greenville this past weekend and on Saturday David and I got up and decided to have a day just the two of us. We went to Cracker Barrel (in hopes of some Apple Streusel French toast, but alas, they didn't have any!) for breakfast. I did, however, get a very cute Clemson nutcracker! We decided to head to the mall for the day and had a ball just spending time together. David bought some new shoes and I bought a really cute vest from Banana Republic! And we also went to Target--which I loved because I love Target! We stocked up on candy for Halloween the next day :)

After our awesome day, David suggested we go to dinner at P.F. Chang's to finish off the great day we had. How could I turn that down? I love P.F. Chang's and I love him so off we went! We had a great conversation about everything we had enjoyed about the last four years and just had a really wonderful time with each other. I do not have a picture yet of the next part of this story but I promise it is true! (And I saved it, so I'll have a picture eventually!)

We got ready to go and got our fortune cookies. I opened mine and this is what it said, "There is a chance of a romantic encounter soon." I thought it was pretty cool and I showed David. He laughed too and we got up to go. I slipped it in my purse just for keeps--you know, sometimes you just have to keep those things :)

Up until this point, David had not acted strange at all! He was so cool and calm all day, I had NO IDEA this was coming. When we got home, David had me close my eyes and walked me to the back porch. When he told me to open my eyes, he was standing right in front of me and he was all I could see. He was acting kind of nervous but I just blew it off. He asked me how I enjoyed today and I told him I absolutely loved it (which I did! I never get to spend so much time with him!) and said, "I did too! I'm glad you enjoyed it." To which I replied, "yeah...why are we standing in the cold??" :) About that time, David hit his knee and this is what I saw behind him:

I was so surprised! David said something that for the life of me I can't remember because I was excited and surprised! He had the ring out and I said "yes!" about a hundred times and asked him if he was sure! He said, " I didn't think you would try to talk me out of it!" :) It took me a minute to actually understand it was all happening, but then I started crying and jumping around like a fool in love!

David's Aunt Sherri wanted us to come see her at a Halloween party she was at so we headed over there and on our way, saw a shooting star!! Which may mean nothing but one of the very first times David and I ever went out, he took me to his family's lake house at night and we laid out on the dock and saw a shooting star! To me, the shooting star that night just solidified everything--David and I were meant to be together :)

On halloween, we had David's friends Casey and Brian over to make pizza and watch tv while the trick-or-treaters came over. We set the pumpkins out front and everyone who came by wanted to know my answer, so I had to show off my ring!

It was such a wonderful weekend and just in case you were wondering--Marley and Jovie had an absolute blast greeting trick-or-treaters at the door ;)

I hope you've had a fabulous week and have a wonderful weekend!

Hi, My Name Is.....

....the future Mrs. Bell!!!

How he asked me.

My teary-eyed first picture being engaged to the love of my life!

The Mr. and soon-to-be Mrs!

(*I'll tell the whole story later!)