Wedding Festivities!

And....I'm back! I've finally done enough unpacking and "thank you card" writing that I can get back to blogging. The wedding was over in a whirlwind, but it honestly was the best day of our lives. We danced the night away and enjoyed time with friends and family.
But, let's backtrack a bit. The Saturday before the wedding, my girlfriends threw me an amazing bachelorette party. It was such a fun night. We started with drinks and gifts at the Wine Cellar and ended with dancing until 2 am.

The week of the wedding consisted of packing, running errands, and finally seeing Brett! We dashed from the airport to the courthouse to pick up our marriage license. The next day my family came into town, and we had a fun night at my aunt and uncle's house just eating pizza and laughing.

Friday, my Aunt Shannon and cousins hosted my bridesmaid luncheon at Mermaid's. It was so good!

After the luncheon, we met at Pratt Place to work on the flowers. While we were there my Uncle Mike and his family arrived, as well as, W.A. and Ann Young. It was great getting to see everyone!

Friday night we had the rehearsal at Pratt Place Barn and then dinner at Penguin Ed's. It was so relaxing, and we loved having all our friends and family in town!

I guess that is all for now! I'll start my next post with the main event: The Wedding Day!



One Week!

One week from today I will be on my way to my hair appointment and that much closer to becoming Mrs. Gordon! I get to see Brett in FOUR days and I'm seriously getting desperate to see him. In my last post I claimed to be completely calm about everything, but I spoke a little too soon. The anxiety of making sure everything goes to plan has definitely kicked in! I should have been more prepared for these feelings considering every bride I know told me that the week before the wedding is when it all hits you...I guess I was hoping I would be an exception. HA!

I am so thankful for Brett. He knows how to calm my fears and bring my focus back to what is important .The end goal is that we will be married and be together and that is happening NO MATTER WHAT!  I can't wait for him to be back by my side. I feel incomplete! ugh.

I am also sooo thankful for my friends. Jessica was my saving grace yesterday as I felt an overwhelming amount of guilt as to how much I've actually gotten done in the last few weeks. I had a blast last night at dinner with the girls and running around with Whit until 1:00 am was exactly what I needed! I am so excited to spend time with them tonight for my Bachelorette PARTY! Kaitlin will be in town in just a couple of hours and I know tonight will be such a fun memory to have with all my best girl friends!

ONE WEEK ONE WEEK ONE WEEK ONE WEEK!...I'm a little excited. Can you tell? :)

Is this real life?!

Midnight tonight starts the 2 week countdown? Can you believe it?! I keep wanting to repeat "It's ALL happening!" -Name that movie. (Or maybe only I can because during my two years of living in ZTA house I watched "Almost Famous" at least three times a week and can quote the entire movie.)

Everyone keeps asking me how I'm doing, and I have to say I'm strangely calm -at the moment. :) More excited and ready than stressed/nervous. Although some advice to any of you future brides out there: always double check that your vendors are remembering your wedding. Because, if you don't, you will call your rehearsal dinner locale and they will ask if you could change the date or time of your event. Thankfully, it all got worked out and we got to spend the next 15 minutes chatting about where Pratt Place is located and what it is like. What could have been a bad situation turned into fun girl talk. I'm just happy bridezilla didn't have to show up for a few minutes...

I also got to pick this up today:

I love how it turned out! Thanks, Underwoods!

As the wedding gets closer, it is getting harder and harder to be apart from Brett. I CANNOT wait to see him (only 11 days!) . But this next week consists of lots of packing and my Bachelorette party!!!  I'm going to try to spend as much time as possible with my friends, because with the reality of the wedding comes the reality of moving. I'm so ready to move to PA and start a life with Brett, but I will definitely miss Arkansas- I hope she knows how much I love her.

Showers of blessings.

Well, today was my first full day back in Fayetteville. I spent the last few days at home in Little Rock. I had quite a few things I still needed to do for the wedding AND I had two showers over the weekend! I had a wonderful time at both and spending time with people whom Brett and I love and who love us was such a joy.

My mom and I spent Saturday afternoon in Pleasant Plains just hanging out at the Gordon's farm. Then we went to the shower at Brett's church. The girls' decorations were so cute and I was overwhelmed by gifts!! It was really fun getting to hang out with everyone and spending time with my new family too.

On Sunday, my Little Rock friends/family held a shower for us. It was great to get to hang out with friends I hadn't seen in a while. I had SUCH a good time.

Thank you to everyone who was involved with the showers and all those who stopped by! Brett and I have been blessed by you all. We are counting down the days-it is getting so close! I can't wait!!

What I'm Listening To...

I don't know why I think it is so important for me to document the songs I can't get enough of at different points along this journey.... I guess they are a bit of a soundtrack to what is going on around me. And if I don't write them down somewhere, I will stay up until 3 am searching youtube for "that one video of that one song I listened to all night last month". Yes, that did happen last week and PTL (praise the Lord) for TimeLife.com for helping me figure it out!

Also some big news: my dad had a DR appointment this week and all tests came back negative for Hep C which means...NO MORE CHEMO! I cried when I found out. It has been a difficult few months for him and I'm beyond thrilled that it is ending. I haven't shared much about his health over last few months or really told many friends about what was going on with him. But now you guys can all rejoice with us that he IS getting better!!

1. Townes Van Zandt- If I needed you

2. Mandolin Orange- I've just seen the Rock of Ages



3. Taylor Swift (with The Civil Wars) - Safe and Sound

4. The Raconteurs- Old Enough



5. Rihanna- We found love

Now back to thesis writing and anticipating the arrival of Mrs. Jessica Dineen this weekend!

Mondays and Things to Come

To say that I am ready to see Brett is understatement. But, having my best girlfriends around always lifts my spirits. A few years ago we started the tradition of getting together on Mondays and watching "The Bachelor". Although, this usually turns into us all yelling at the women on the show "to get a grip" or to us not watching the show at all, it simply gives us an excuse to get together, drink some wine, and chat. I am so thankful for what each of my friends brings into my life. This is a really precious time in my life because I realize I only have a few more weeks to be so close to them (geographically). I'm trying to soak up every second!

While being away from Brett is really hard, it is making the wedding even that more exciting! Brett and I love to discuss how amazing that week will be, when we are finally reunited after weeks of being apart. And not only do we get to see one another again, we will be married and surrounded by everyone we love! We will officially be joining our lives together, and Fayetteville will no longer be my home. My home will be with Brett in PA.

This month has so many exciting events and I can't wait: two wedding showers and Jessica returns to the US (YAY!).

And a little sneak peek as to where we will be spending our honeymoon:




via



That's right...in a cabin hidden away from everyone and everything in Eureka Springs! Since we will be moving all my things to PA which is a 2 day drive, we would waste a lot of our time by flying somewhere for the honeymoon. Instead we thought we'd spend time in a place that has played a role in our relationship. We can go to Eureka for dinner or walk around downtown, but we won't feel pressured to do anything if we feel like be lazy for a day or two. I can't wait!

Happy February, Everyone!

A glimpse into Christmas, New Year's, and Moving

I can't believe it has been a month since I posted! In the past month: Brett graduated from the U of A with his M.S. We had Christmas with both our families. Spent New Years with good friends. Packed everything we own and drove 1300 miles! And now it is officially two months until the wedding!

So yeah...A lot has been going on. I stayed with Brett in PA until classes started back. Then, I had to return to working on my thesis (here's to finishing up this semester!). My mom and I spent three days locking down all the rentals/vendors for the wedding, and I had my bridal portraits taken (Thanks Sam and Stephanie!). I really love some of the shots they got.

We are definitely in a transitional phase. I am currently sleeping on an air mattress and living out of boxes. Brett, on the other hand, gets to sleep in my nice, comfy bed in PA (not that I'm envious or anything). But, I know the wedding will be here before we know it. I am so ready to see Brett and get to live with him!

Well to make up for all the posts I didn't write, here are a few pictures from the last month!

My brother, Mom Mom, and Andy on Christmas Eve.



How are they both so tan and it is winter!



Cousins!



Just move to PA with us, okay,  guys?!

 And a few of our new apartment! Brett is still unpacking boxes, because it took the movers 3 wks to get our stuff to PA! ugh.

our room-before the movers arrived



The living room!

 We still need lamps, rugs, plants, and to hang up pictures, but it is a good start. :)

I will try to be more diligent in my blogging. There are fun things ahead and I want to remember all the details! Things like Brett's truck breaking down on me the first time I drove to pick him up from work. ha! Not so funny then, but definitely a good memory now.