Belated

Okay, I know. I'm a blogging slacker. This city life is just so exciting that I run out of time to document all the fun things ;)

I couldn't be more excited about Summer 2012. I have a good feeling about it. I foresee lots of patio drinking, late night phone calls to Megan and Greg, festival hopping, long weekends with friends, and of course spending far too much money on clothes and the like.

Here are a few photos to sum up my Spring:

Summer 2012, here I come!

A Heape of Love

Bachelorette weekends hold some of the my fondest memories. I love to get together with a group of girls and celebrate the upcoming nuptials of one of our own. The laziness, the gossip, the dressing up, I love it all. This past weekend I had to pleasure of going to Charleston to celebrate Brianne's engagement. Ten of us shared an amazing beach house, ate great food and had a fun time. Here are some photos that I captured throughout the weekend.

The bride shows off some of the lingerie she received.

  

A full lingerie wardrobe ready for Justin!

Despite the weather not being warm, we couldn't resist a walk on the beach!

The bride and I pose with our glowing accessories.

Dinner in Downtown Charleston was amazing!

 

Roxy & Carolyn pause from dancing at Trio.

Maybe She Will

One of my absolute favorite things to do is visit my friend Megan in Savannah. Seriously, I don't know why I don't visit more often.

This particular trip was far overdue, as I had not been in 12 months (bad friend, right?). It could not have come at a better time for me because lately I've been feeling like there's so much going on around me. I just needed to let a lot of stuff out. That's what trips to see girlfriends are about right?

She's one of those friends that knows all kinds of grimy details about my life and the people in it, and helps me feel better about it all.

Beyond having an amazing friend there, Savannah is an awesome city. It blows my mind to hear coworkers say "I've never been there." Growing up in south Georgia I think I took its beauty for granted, but it is a truly magical place.

Aside from the massive headache I had when I left Sunday afternoon, it was a perfect weekend. We had the best martinis I've ever tasted at a little place called Jen's & Friends, we sang karaoke, we ate delicious pizza and we stopped in some pretty cute shops downtown. Thanks to Megan and her dear husband, Greg, for always putting me up and showing me a good time!

I'd like to add a side note that it was raining - please excuse my hair!

Twenty years from now I still see Megan being one of my best friends. I still see myself making the trip to Savannah and playing tourist with her, only then maybe we'll be struggling to tame kids (hers at least) when we want to have a moment of peace.

Tis Not the Season

Every year as the holidays start approaching, I insist that I'm only buying for the kids that year (the kids being my three beautiful nieces, handsome nephew and a couple of toddler cousins). Christmas really is a time for them, right? Yes, I know the true meaning of Christmas and yes, I enjoy spending time with everyone, but the focus should really be on the kids I think.

Well, that never happens. I couldn't possibly go a holiday without buying for my dad. He's my favorite person to buy for. And what about the grandparents? They work so hard to hold our families together and we never know how much longer we have with them. What about my siblings? If I see something I want to get for one, that means I have to buy for all three of them. Don't forget my favorite roomie and best friend. She is, after all, an important part of my family.

I decided I should buy for myself this Christmas, but after a very unsuccessful trip to the mall last night, I'm not in the holiday spirit anymore. J. Crew was out of the passport holder I wanted for my stocking, and the iPhone case I wanted was not as cute on my phone as I had imagined. Crate & Barrel is out of a pillow I wanted and the store (and every Crate & Barrel in the country) is also out of the placemats I so desperately desired, and the chargers from Pier One that I purchased now have no cute placemat to be placed on. Additionally, I forgot to order the fur coat I wanted while it was on sale yesterday. What's a girl to do?

Anyway, back to the recipients I should be focusing on. Another Christmas has starting snowballing out of control as my budget is blown. The problem this year is that I have run out of good gift ideas. I'm known as a good gift giver; I put thought into my purchases and presentation. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of good ideas rolling around in my head right now. I'm at a loss at what to get my dad and my grandparents.

If you have any ideas, please help! I sure hope you all are having more luck than I am.

The Big Bang

Since my last post, I attended another bachelorette party! It's so much fun to get a chance to celebrate a friend's upcoming marriage with one last hoo-rah, which is exactly what we did for Sarah.

Plans were made for a few girls to make the trip to Atlanta and we would spend the weekend catching up, going out and attending festivals. All of the plans we had didn't exactly come through, but we still had a blast.

Friday evening was exciting because some of us haven't seen each other in months. We had a late dinner where we shared tapas and had a couple of drinks. The bride definitely indulged that night, but it ended up being quite fun in the end.

Day Two was less about festivals and more about resting. We knew we had a big night ahead of us so we took advantage of the Kardashian and Jersey Shore reruns and delighted ourselves in the treats everyone brought to snack on. We finally made it to a late lunch and got to go veil shopping. We were all so excited when Sarah found the veil that she had been imagining in her mind for months. That was certainly a big check off her list.

Saturday was such a celebration, and we did things that bachelorette party attendees should do, which is why I can't share too much from the evening :). We behaved, I promise, but we made sure that Sarah went out with a bang.

Sunday was hard for everyone, as our tired bodies and smoked-filled lungs (not from us, but the smokers that were out and about) struggled to gather our things and tell each other goodbye.

Luckily this was a "see you soon" goodbye, as we get to reunite and watch Sarah marry the man of her dreams in only a couple of short weeks! We couldn't be happier for her and I wish them a lifetime of happiness and love!

Girls Weekend

A couple of weekends ago I attended one of my dear friend’s bachelorette parties in Helen, GA. It wasn’t the typical bachelorette weekend that involved party dresses, night clubs and crazy dares. This was one in which we spent the weekend relaxing in a hot tub, visiting a winery and catching up on what’s going on in everyone’s lives. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t crazy moments.

Helen is a small town in north Georgia known for its German flare. It offers German cuisine, architecture and even attire. This weekend happened to be planned on the first weekend of Oktoberfest, which is a big deal in this town. We enjoyed a parade (but mostly enjoyed the people watching) and good beer.

The weekend would have been rather tame had we not witnessed a couple doing “couple things” in the middle of a crowd, and we even met this guy. It was weird.

The best part about this weekend was that I got to spend time with old friends I hardly get to see, and even make new friendships. I love weekends like this, and wish we didn’t need an excuse like a bachelorette party to make them happen.

LBD

Four short years ago, my college public speaking professor charged the class to write a speech about something that changed us; something that made us who we are today.

Most people stood in front of the class and spoke of their beautiful grandmothers who battled cancer while having to raise 3 of her grandchildren, brothers who had gone couragously into Afghanistan to fight the war on terror, or their childhood dog and bestfriend who saved them from drowning in their own backyard pond.

As I was sitting in the back of the classroom, I was thinking, "Well, these people have some pretty serious issues that they have lived through." Nonetheless, I was still confident in my topic and felt it may lighten the mood a bit. My "thing" wasn't something that just made me who I am, but something that has made women everywhere, who they are today. Or so I believed (and still do).

I approached the podium with confidence, although my voice was a bit shaky at first. I began to speak, and this is what I said:

Every woman looks great wearing it, and every woman has her own.  It is the default date ensemble when it is one of those “I have nothing to wear” days. In fact, it is so popular, so necessary, and so much an institution in women’s fashion that everyone must know: “Where did the ‘little black dress’ come from?”

To properly understand the atmosphere necessary to produce such a simplistically fabulous necessity for any wardrobe, we must visit the 1920’s. As women shed their long, layered dresses, cut their hair and enjoyed the fast-paced party life, society slowly became more accepting of women showing more of her shoulders, back, and legs. The popular silhouette of the era was very slender and youthful.

It was during the 20's that the legendary fashion designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel first stitched her name into the history of women’s clothing design. In fact, Chanel’s designs are often considered to be the personification of the 20’s style because her work was so fresh, modern, and updated.

During her early work, Chanel designed and introduced the first little black dress to the world. Black was previously considered to be a color reserved for funerals and periods of mourning until it was reintroduced in 1926. Simple and sexy, Chanel’s design was sleeveless and cut just above the knee. She could have never predicted the immediate and lasting love women would have with her simple, chic black dress.

Chanel was quoted saying, “Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.” Whether a woman’s little black dress cost $50 or $2,000, her intention is the same: to look effortlessly classic and appropriately sexy in just seconds. While most of us cannot afford to buy Chanel’s breathtakingly beautiful pieces, we can certainly wear our trusty black dresses with the modern, sophisticated attitude she possessed.

The speech feel right into our 3-5 minute allotted time, but nothing but blank stares looked back at me. My professor just sat there writing notes, and never looked me in the eye once I finished. After class, people asked where I got the idea to write about something so frivilous when we had gotten an assignment that seemed so serious. Well, to me, the little black dress is serious. It's my best friend, and just like that boy's dog that saved him from drowning, the little black dress has saved me many times. I made a C on that assignment.