Happy Birthday Spencer!!

Happy first birthday to my teeny tiny nephew, Spencer!  I love you so much and can't wait to celebrate with you this weekend.  It seriously feels like yesterday we were in the hospital waiting for your arrival.  Even though you were a few days late, you came in enough time that you missed having a leap year birthday and we can now celebrate EVERY year.

You were the most precious new born and now you are such a big boy!

I will be back monday with a recap of the rockin' first birthday party!

Weekend Recap

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I kept very busy with plenty of celebrations.

One of my best friends, Nicole, got engaged.  He proposed in the most crazy sweet way and then we all celebrated Friday night.

 I have no pictures but Saturday night I had a wonderful dinner with some great people and then I went to bed early so I could get up for a 7:15 am Barre Bee Fit weekend boot camp.

After an intense boot camp I went shopping with my Mama and showed her some of my favorite items at Bloomingdale's home that we registered for.  This is the Michael Aram Molton Collection and I am a bit obsessed.  As you can tell if you checked out my registry.

Sunday night I got to meet my new baby cousin.  Can you even handle her cuteness?

In other news, Sunday marked six months until the wedding.  I am overwhelmed because that means we are now in the 5 months and some days.  YIKES its coming up quickly AHH!!

I Dream of White... Kitchens

So I just got back from looking at a house I absolutely love.  I don't love it in the state it is in currently, but I see so much potential.  We are going to go back to look at it tomorrow and if David loves it as much as I do we are hopefully going to put a bid in on it.  Timing may be an issue with our August wedding, but for right now I am in my dreaming phase.

This is the way the house hunting has been going for me, I find a place I put all my eggs in one basket and then someone breaks the entire basket as well as cracking all the eggs.  But.. I really enjoy going into everything I do with full force.  The kitchen needs so much work in this house to get it to where I would want it to be.  ALL white with dark wood floors. I don't know where I got this obsession, but MAN am I obsessed.

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The last one is probably David's dream kitchen, but honestly I love the look and feel of all of them.  Now I just need to find our home.... wish me luck!

Have a great weekend:)

Registering

David and I started to register this past weekend, and I still think I am recovering.  OMG is it hard.  We are having a huge wedding so we are being told we need to register for an upwards of 400 items.  400 items!!! It all just seems so crazy to me because we literally live in a teeny tiny apartment and I have no room for the stuff I currently have.  Luckily we are looking to buy a place, but that is not going as well as I would have hoped so we may be stuck in our place another year.  So I apologize to any visitors we may have in the next year.. you may be sleeping among the boxes.  

Aside from my anxiety about where to put everything, I just really don't know what I really need and I really can't believe we get all of this just because we love each other!  It is all just so crazy and exciting at the same time.  We have, however, gotten the hang of it and I am starting to finally be excited about our plan.  I figure I may as well share our experience with all of you, because I think it would have been helpful for us if I had a game plan going into it.

I think I had been told to go scout out what you think you want at ALL of the stores you want to register at before I begin.  We really didn't have time so we didn't follow this rule and I am so thankful for that.  My first piece of advice is DO NOT DRAG YOUR MAN ANYWHERE BEFORE YOU BEGIN.  David is actually really into picking everything out, but honestly it is such a tiring process nobody needs to "scout" it out before.  Just go in and point that gun at anything that interests you.  

Another important tip is to focus your time and energy on the items you will use the most.  We literally took over an hour to decide on our dinnerware.  We are very lucky and have inherited  my Grandma's china so we have decided to only get a large set of nice everyday dishes and  a small set of casual plates and bowls.  These sets are expensive so you want to make sure you really know what you want.  David and I had NO CLUE what we wanted.  We have similar tastes as far as decorating our home, but I have found myself wanting more traditional timeless items and David has been wanting more modern.  

With the help of our amazing lady at Bloomingdales we have decided on two different sets that can be mixed and matched perfectly together.  I would have never even thought about this or ever come up with this, so it was crucial that we asked for help.  

Michael Aram "Cast Iron" / Bernardaud "Ecume"

By getting 8 sets of each of the above we are able to mix and match making it more modern when we want it to be and more formal when the timing is right.  If we are entertaining 16 everyone will have the same Bernardaud charger and then from there we can play around to make our own custom table. 

Once you decide on dinnerware I promise you a lot of the pressure is off and then the fun begins.  Just go around and add anything you could possibly want.  When you get home you can go online and adjust.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

Happy Valentines Day to everyone!!  Today, I started my day off with one of the most intense workout classes I have ever taken.  I signed up for a Strapped class at Barre Bee Fit and seriously pushed myself harder than I thought possible.  When the instructor started the class she said something that really motivated me..."Be proud of yourself on Valentines Day for focusing on the most important relationship, the one you have with yourself."

Whenever New Years comes around we make these goals that really are unattainable.  So we pretty much set ourselves up for defeat.  By the time Valentines Day rolls your goals have usually fallen to the waist side and you are back to your old ways.  When I was single and going through a horrible breakup  Valentines Day was the scariest day of the year.  It was like the one time where the whole world laughs at you for being alone.  I wish I could look that Traci in the eyes and say, just work on you and the rest will come.  Pushing myself today this hard left me wanting to be a better all around person in so many areas of my life.

So today, on the day that is so focused on love just remember you also need to love yourself.  Whether you are still looking for Mr. Right or you are sure you have found him, giving yourself a little attention will only make all your relationships better.

All of the girls burning it out this morning via

LOVE YOU ALL!!

Engaged Bridesmaids

When my parents have celebrated a big anniversary in the past I have always thought it is such a coincidence their good friends are celebrating the same anniversary the same year as them.  Now, boy do I get it!  As my wedding approaches in just about 6 months I will stand up for my cousin a few months before and one of my best friends a few months after.  I also have a feeling as soon as the weather heats up there may be a few more best friends jumping on the engaged train.

This means I am going to have several engaged bridesmaids!  This leaves me in an interesting predicament when it comes to bridesmaid gifts.

I am obsessed with monograms and I think they look so cute in wedding pictures.  I have a few ideas of gifts I want to give the girls, but my hope is they will want to reuse them.  If I have a bunch of girls that are about to tie the knot, do they really want their maiden monogram?  How can I give them a new monogram before they are even married?  Do I have to give just an initial or a first name?  WHAT DO I DO?!! I am asking all those brides out there that have been in my shoes to please share with me what they did?  Any engaged girls have a preference on what they would want?

TAKING ALL AND ANY ADVICE OVER HERE PLEASEEE!!

I'm Going to Miami...

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With the cold, wet, rainy and snowy weather in Chicago I am really looking forward to my girls trip to Miami this weekend.  We plan to relax and let loose and hopefully tan our pasty skin.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!