Beach.

I have been extremly busy at work this week getting projects out the door becuase in T-minus 2 hours I will be on the way to the beach for a girls weekend!

I am so excited I can hardly contain myself because Steven also got the job offer we have been waiting on. I am so SO so proud of him and I can't wait to officially celebrate after all fo the paper work is signed :)

Emotional.

Today has been such an emotional day. I had my second wedding shower and Cage and Sarah got married. Steven and I have known Cage since... well, forever... and we have known Sarah the entire time they have dated - around 5 years.

I am extremely happy for them, and a little jealous they are already married :)

I was able to see a very, very good friend today - Tara. She babysat me growing up and has become my role model. She is such a sweet girl and I always forget that she's older than me. When I told her that she was invited to my wedding and to start making flight reservations (she lives in Florida), I started crying. I was so excited to have her be there for my special day, I got all emotional.

This getting married business is tough! So many exicting and senitmental moments :) As I was trying so hard to not cry, she reminded me that this is the biggest change in my life and that I weren't crying, then something would be wrong :) I love her so much and am excited to have here there.

2 months.

We are getting married in less than two months.

I have about a million thank you's to write.

We haven't seen each other in 3 weeks.

Work is a little stressful right now.

I'm ready for these 2 months to be over.

wedding shower.

I survived Atlantic City, although there was no easy way to get there or home. And since I survived, I throughly enjoyed my first wedding shower on Saturday.

Here are some of my favorite photos:

The hostesses, plus me and mom.

The quilt Mama made.

Missing my Maid of Honor.

Steven's Great Grandmother and Grandmother.

Mom and Mama.

Mom and future Mom.

It was lovely :)

busy.

This is a very, very busy week. I'm headed to the Jersey Shore (aka Atlantic City) with my prez Hannah to talk social at the NJ Governor's Conference on Tourism.

I get back super late on Friday night and then have my first wedding shower Saturday morning.

The best part is that I get to see my grandmother and one of my bridesmaids, whom I haven't seen since before Christmas!

I've never done yoga, 

but I just might take it up after this week :)

Decorating.

I am getting so excited about starting my life with Steven. I mean, really starting. We've dated for almost 5 1/2 years, but it's always been long distance.

We are hoping to hear back from the army corps of engineers, and providing that it all works out the way we want, I'll get to start decorating our home. And this is what I'd love to see:

A clean, sleek looking kitchen. 

I already have white cabinets, but I would love to have some glass and open cabinets. I also need to reorganize and make the most out of the space I have available. I would also love to have some new appliances - but that is just a dream right now. I also would like to repaint the walls and purchase/make some new curtains.

Figure out the fireplace.

Right now, I have (un)lovely fireplace. I love where it is, but it needs some work. I'd love to rework the area and make it the focal point of the living room. Steven also wants a new couch. The one we have right now isn't the best, but it works. I'd also like to hang the photos that I've had sitting in the floor.

Bubble Baths.

My parents have an amazing old bathtub, very similar to this one. I love the way it looks and how easy it is to take a bubble bath. Both bathrooms need a makeover and I'm looking to make one a guest bath with khaki, black and white with green accents.

Cozy eating.

I can't find a photo that fits the style I want to see in the dining room, but this is pretty close. I want an antique looking dining room table, with complimenting chairs and accessories. I love the lighter colors and can't wait to repaint. The dark red has got to go :)

So, there are many things on my to-do list, but I'm looking forward to working on these projects with Steven.

Beginning.

The past 24 hours, I have been a women's retreat with my mom and the topic was about seeing God in nature.

I got to thinking and it really is amazing how He created EVERYTHING. I mean, there was nothing before Him. Nothing. Pretty hard to comprehend, right? We talked about what it must have been like to be Adam and Eve. To be a brand new person in a brand new place.

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to put this in pictures. The words are from Genesis 1 and 2 from the Beginners Bible (a gift from my mom and dad when I was little).

In the beginning...

In the beginning, the earth was empty. 

Darkness covered everything. 

But there was God, and He had a plan.

"Let there be light," He said.

And suddenly, golden light shone all around.

God called it "day".

He called the darkness "night".

With the light and the darkeness, the first day passed.

On the second day, God said,

"Let there be a great space".

So the space was formed, deep and high.

God called the space "sky".

God made rivers and seas on the third day.

He formed the mountains and the deserts, 

the islands and beaches.

He planted tall trees, swaying grasses, 

and flowers of every color.

 

When the fourth day came, 

God put lights in the sky:

the fiery sun for daytime,

the sparkling moon and dancing

stars for night.

 

On the fifth day, God filled the water

with fishes of all shapes and sizes.

He made the birds to glide across the sky.

 

God made animals on the sixth day:

furry animals, scaly animals, smooth, sleek animals.

And on that day, God made man.

When He was finished, God saw that everything 

He made was very good.

And on the seventh day, He rested.

 

Adam was the man that God made. 

He had a very important job.

He gave names to all the animals.

There were many wonderful animals.

But still, Adam was lonely.

God said, "It is not good for Adam to be alone".

So God made...

a woman.

Adam named her Eve. 

Eve was just right to be Adam's special helper.

bests.

Tonight I had dinner with my best friend and maid of honor. It was SO good to catch up with her and talk. Even though we literally live 3 houses apart, we see each other about once a month. We have completely opposite schedules - I work during the day and she takes night classes to finish up her MBA. We ate at the Mellow Mushroom and had a great time sitting outside. The service was slow, but the weather was AMAZING.

I had a great time this past weekend with Steven and his family. We went to Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia and then spent Sunday in Chattanooga at the Tennessee Aquairium. There are some great pictures of the kiddos, but they aren't on my camera... hopefully I'll get some later.

This weather tonight was perfect for a cookout. I'm looking forward to being a married couple and have people over for dinner.

Steven's job interview went well on Friday and hopefully we will hear something soon.

Looking forward to tomorrow - it's going to be warm and sunny again! Totally busting out a dress :)