dress shopping

After spending the past few weekends hunting for the perfect wedding dress, I finally found it! It was quite the search. My mom and I, often accompanied by friends and family, went to five difference places and visited one of the places three times! This past Saturday, on my third visit to Lillian Lottie, we got the dress! I had been in the weekend prior with my mom, her friend of 25 years Bernie, my friend Melis, my dad and my brother and we had it narrowed down to three dresses. But I ended up leaving in tears. It's hard when everyone loves different dresses and you're not sure which your favorite is. I showed tons of people the pics that week, trying to get a feel for which looked best on me. Then I came to the realization that I didn't think any of the three dresses were for me.

So, when I came into Lillian Saturday, I showed Becca (the most awesome person ever) pics of some dresses I had pinned early on in my wedding planning that I just loved. She found some that were similar and turns out the very first one I tried on, was the one I loved. I almost didn't want to try on the other 8 or so dresses, but I did. And was still in love with that first one. Everyone else loved it too. And - it's like it was meant to be...they only had the dress in for that weekend. Someone had wanted to try it on, so the shop had called to get in a loaner for that weekend only. Perfect.

Becca even had tears in her eyes when I realized it was my dress. She's never cried for a bride before. :)

a little girl time

I love weekends spent with girls, even the busy ones! This past Saturday, my mom and moh/bff/Sarah came with me to help me find the perfect wedding dress. My mom and I had been to a few places, but finally found a good selection of dresses with exactly what I was look for: lots of beautiful lace at the lovely Lillian Lottie in Old Town Scottsdale! It was so fun and there are about six amazing dresses we found. Lots to be decided but at least it was a productive dress session.

Sunday, I met up with Sarah for coffee and then we made our way over to Anthem for Michelle's surprise birthday party (she was really surprised, yay!). We gabbed and munched on pizza, and took turns holding Miss Camdyn. We've known each other forever (Sarah since freshman year, Michelle since middle school and Megan since our early elementary days) and it's sometimes strange to see how grown up we are. It's just a reminder of how quickly the years go by and the importance of making the most of every moment. 

 

Sarah, me + Cami, Michelle & Megan

Camdyn fell asleep on Megan and then I stole her for some cuddle time :) 

~ Love ~

cabin getaway

Usually Memorial Day weekend is filled with poolside fun, bbqs and sun. But my fiance (I completely intend to overuse the word 'fiance' throughout our engagement) and I decided to get out of the heat and head to my parents cabin in Forest Lakes for the long-weekend.


Friday after work, we went grocery shopping, packed a cooler and headed up north. In just a few hours, we were in the pines and away from nearly all technology. It was an unexpectedly cold weekend, but we welcomed it. At night, it was forty degrees and during the day - the low fifties!
Saturday morning, Dave made our fave - cinnamon rolls (even better up north because they get really fluffy!), over-easy eggs and bacon. Then we drove up to some shops in Heber, stopped by a few antique stores on the way and went sight-seeing through a few neighborhoods. We got home, made lunch and relaxed. Next up - foosball and gin. After flipping through some bridal magazines, we sipped on wine while he grilled us some great steaks and corn on the cob. Later that evening, it was cold enough for a fire and the perfect excuse to roast marshmallows and make smores. Mmmmm!


Sunday morning was another great breakfast (love that my fiance cooks so much). Then an afternoon of practicing our shooting skills ensued. We did some more sight-seeing, had some lunch then played Arizona Trivia (you never know what games you'll find lying around in a cabin) and made a draft of our wedding guest list.


A wonderful, yet nontraditional Memorial Day weekend. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

~ It may not look amazing, but it was a delish breakfast ~

 ~ This store had some great finds. We will be returning! ~

~ Bison Ranch in Heber ~ 

~ Grill Master! ~ 

~ His ~

~ And hers ~

~ Yes, it was that cold! Gotta love roasting marshmallows. ~

~ Shooting practice! ~

~ <3 ~

friday night in

My mom gave me a recipe to try a few months ago that both her and my dad loved - Sweet & Sour Cranberry Chicken Stir-fry. So when I decided I would actually cook a few weeks ago, I gave it a shot. You can probably count one one hand the number of times I've cooked for Dave and we've been together almost a year! The ginger and pineapple make it delicious, not to mention it was easy to throw together! Maybe with that combo, I'll cook a little more often...

I pre-chopped everything the night before. That made it a lot easier the night of!

Ready in no time at all, dig in!

Perfect evening on the patio, just the two of us

We topped off the evening with chocolate covered strawberries - yum. Not a bad little Friday night in.

weekend roundup

This past weekend, as always, went by too quickly. It started off with much needed Friday night drinks and catching up with my good friend, Michelle. And yes, the cocktails tasted as good as they look.

Saturday was spent coaching and hanging with the parents. My mom made her amazing lemon squares - so delish. Then that evening, Dave and I decided to ditch the Arcadia and Scottsdale dinner scene and did a mini road trip up to Cave Creek for dinner. Although we won't be going back to that particular restaurant anytime soon, it  still made for a great Saturday night.

Sunday, we made it to church and then went out for a healthy lunch (we need to eat better!). A few hours later I was volunteering with Gabriel's Angels...then the weekend came to an end!

march highlights

Wow, it's May and I'm writing about March? What? Well, time just goes way too fast - and although the last two months have been crazy, March had some great highlights I want to remember when I look back on this blog someday. :)

Vanessa's California Wedding

~ the lovely bride and groom, photo courtesy of miss Megan Bell ~

~ us girls ~

~ my boy and I ~

Girls Night @ Merc

~ a fun, spontaneous evening with the roomie at our fave neighborhood, candlelit spot ~

Spring Training

~ first and only spring training game of the year - but it was perfect ~

Muhammad Ali's Celebrity Fight Night 

~ got my updo done ~

~ managing the media on the carpet. miley looks beautiful! pic is by Getty Images ~

~ finishing up the carpet ~ 

~ helping with the rascal flatts green room interview ~

~ quick photo break w/my cfn buddy ~

A whirlwind few weeks, but definitely full of many amazing moments. Kinda fun taking a look back and reflecting on some recent memories.

weekend lovin

What a busy, fun-filled weekend! Friday after work, Melis and I met up at our usual spot - good old Oreganoes for dinner and drinks. So much fun catching up!

Then, after coaching my little gymnasts on Saturday, I went to one of my best friend's baby shower! Sarah and John just bought a house too, so it served as a shower and open house. Their beautiful home was filled with lots of guests who came to celebrate with the couple. Sarah is due in just 3 weeks, so exciting! For more photos from their shower, check out their cute blog, Baby Brooks and Us.

Later that evening, Dave and I went to dinner at Carlsbad Tavern and got our fave dishes - Mac & Cheese. Then met up with the Chapmans and had a few drinks at DJs, our regular dive bar in old town. Dave and Jacob showed up wearing nearly the exact same outfit: white polo and bright plaid shorts. Too funny.

Sunday evening, we had a wedding to attend at Sactuary. I was Dave's guest and it was a beautiful outdoor ceremony overlooking the city. We all had a blast during the lovely sunset cocktail hour and on the dance floor!

I wish we would have taken some candid photos to capture more of the fabulous memories. I'll have to work on that next time!

weekend fun

This past weekend was one of those great three days that you wish would never end. In fact, it was so fun that pictures were pretty much forgotten. Which is why I almost decided not to post about it. But then decided, I wanted to be able to look back and remember!


Friday night was spent in my favorite way ever - ordering in pizza and just chilling with Dave. I love staying in on Friday nights after a busy workweek. Then I feel refreshed and ready to go for the rest of the weekend. We tried Chizona's Pizza - amazing! You can read my review here.


Saturday after coaching my little gymnasts, I grabbed lunch with my brother at Pita Jungle. Who doesn't like Pita? My fave salad there is the Mediterranean one and I have my brother hooked on it too. After some shopping and relaxing, I met up with Dave and he took me out to a BBQ dinner and then we capped off the evening with cocktails at Sanctuary. Great band, great conversation, great atmosphere - and it made for the perfect night.


Sunday morning after I facilitated a Ch. 3 segment for work, Dave and I went to church. I've never been a huge church person, but we've found a place we both really enjoy. After making sandwiches for lunch, lounging and doing some Target shopping, we grilled burgers and rented Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The movie was interesting and kept my attention - but was  crazy intense and some scenes, I couldn't even watch. There's your warning.

Here is our one, blurry iphone pic from the weekend, at Jade Bar

weekend fun

This was the start of my weekend - work holiday party at Lucky Strike!  Luckily my roommate took pictures of us before we left because we were too busy wining and dining at the Christmas party to take photos!

The weekend definitely went by in the blink of an eye.  Other highlights:
*coaching gymnastics
*lunch at That's a Wrap
*celebrating the boyfriend's dad's birthday
*deep cleaning
*volunteering at Gabriel's Angels