Wedding Recap 3: THE RECEPTION!

The wedding reception was one of the best parts of the night, but I'll be brief, because I think it requires photos and I don't have my professional ones yet. Also, we had an open bar and everyone was pretty sloshed by the end, so not many photos were taken by guests :o)

The grand entrance led us right into our first dance, which was to Come Rain or Come Shine by Ray Charles. Josh and I debated and debated what to have for our first dance (I wanted Songbird by Eva Cassidy, he wanted Patience by Guns N Roses, which is, admittedly, one of "our songs" lol), but as soon as we heard Ray, whom we both LOVE, and this song, we knew it was the one.

The dance was nice because it was one of the only chances I had to just. be. with Josh. We talked about how wonderful the wedding was. How beautiful I looked. How handsome he looked. How he worried about stepping on my dress. How we couldn't BELIEVE we were married and how giddy we felt. How hungry he was and how thirsty I was. How much we loved each other.

Then, I did a welcome speech (I cried. Again.) and told everyone how much we love them and to THANK THEM for waiting until 8:30 to eat dinner... then... we feasted!

Our menu was a spinach salad with goat cheese, candied walnuts, strawberries and white balsamic vinaigrette for a starter, followed by an intermezzo of sorbet with a cranberry coulis, then the Angus steak with a Bearnaise sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. No, we didn't offer options (beyond the vegetarian option), because we love steak, and nobody had an issue with it. In fact, the groomsmen asked if they could take other people's leftovers home! :o)

Then it was time for DANCING. I danced to "Wild World" by Cat Stevens with my dad, then Josh danced to "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong with his mom. Then... we all danced. And danced. And danced.

Then, suddenly, it was time for speeches. My dad started it off with a welcome speech and said, "Jenna's always been my little girl, coming with me to all the sports events, football, basketball, soccer... and since she's met you, Josh, she has blossomed. We are so happy to have you join our family. And everyone here, we are all family now, and I'm so happy that we are". Plus a million other things that made us cry.

 Jeremy followed and he was the perfect one to do so, because he is so random and funny. He talked about how much he liked me, how I knew about sports and how hard I work. Then he talked about how much he loves us and hopes that God will bless us in our marriage.

My sister went next and made us all cry again. This is her speech, as I remember it.

"Having known Jenna all her life, I consider myself a Jenna expert. We spent a lot of time together growing up, playing Barbies, hunting for rocks in the yard, going on family reunions together. So when I was first thinking of my speech, I thought of making a 'Guide to Living with Jenna' for Josh. It would have things like, Always have at least two inspirational sports movies in the house. If she's grumpy, give her French fries. But then I realized that Josh is a Jenna expert, too. He doesn't need to have a list, because he already knows how to make her happy."

Oh. My. God. I cried SO HARD. It was a wonderful speech. She's getting married next year, and the whole time I was thinking, "How can I top this!?" lol

Thomas followed and again, was the perfect one to follow it up and close it out because he is our best friend and is also super hilarious. He talked about how we never fight, so if our only fights are over forgetting an item at the grocery store, we'll be okay. He also took credit for the entire wedding because he introduced us.  :o) And said that wherever we are, he'll be there in the guest room with his dog. :o)

All of this was followed by more dancing, cutting the cake (which was SO DELICIOUS!), and then doing my bouquet presentation to my parents, who celebrated their 30th anniversary this summer, and whose wedding I blatantly stole (toasting glasses, my mom's veil, their cake cutters...). Then we played their first dance song "Always on my Mind" by Willie Nelson. :o)

Followed by MORE DANCING and more drinking.

Then, at the end of the night, we all made our way out to our rooms (to change for the pool or go out to the clubs, etc.), and Josh and I were the last ones to leave. I remember looking around at the room... feeling like I could burst with happiness, and feeling SO ready to start married life together (and get out of my super tight dress!).

It was the perfect, perfect day.

Photos soon :o)

Happy Fourth of July!

I'm taking a break from Wedding Recaps to post about my plans today!

I LOVE the Fourth of July. It's one of my favorite holidays. Every year, my parents' have this big barbecue with family and friends before the fireworks show, which are usually RIGHT by their house. Like, maybe two blocks away. So the view is fantastic. We eat my dad's famous chicken and watermelon (two of my favorite foods) and chips and salsa. Then we play charades and hang out with the dogs. Then, we eat ice cream and watch the fireworks.

Plus, it's summer, my favorite season, and I'm always off of work, and this year I'm taking the next day off, too, to have a nice 4 day weekend! GET ME SOME.

I can't WAIT.

Happy Fourth of July! :o)

Wedding Recap 2: The Wedding Ceremony!

I'm a worrier by nature. I want everything to go perfectly, so I plan plan plan all the time. I spent a TON of time planning this wedding... even though we had a wedding planner (who was AMAZING), there were still. so. many. details to deal with... liiiiiike programs (building/printing), our vow choices, our ceremony procedure, our favor (little jam jars), the labels for the favors, the seating chart, the seating cards, fans for the ceremony, the centerpieces, the bouquets, the jewelry, the accessories, the "Thank You" sign, the ring box, the flower girl stuff....

Plus a lot more.

So I was worried something would go wrong. I even gave myself a little pep talk on the day of the wedding. I told myself, "You've spent a LOT of time planning this, but if something goes wrong, DO NOT PANIC. You are still marrying Josh, which is the whole reason you are here. If you marry him, today is perfect."

I was ready for any contingency. I was ready for disaster.

But our wedding, June 8, 2013, was the most perfect day of my life. Nothing went wrong. Everything was perfect. If something started to head toward disaster (two bridesmaid dresses didn't fit, my hair was falling flat due to the heat, the HEAT got crazy), something switched and God smiled on us or something, because it all got resolved (no issues with the dresses, my hair looked loose and romantic, a lovely breeze blew through).

I woke up and spent time with my immediate family before heading off to get my makeup done by the BEST makeup artist I've ever seen... I looked awesome. My mom even said I looked like a Disney princess. I think I looked more a like a Disney villain (but a really pretty one, if that makes sense! lol), but to be Disney anything is pretty awesome. Josh's aunt did my hair. Then, with all of my girls nearby, I stepped into my dress and got ready with my sister and my mom lacing me up. (Jess pulled SO hard that I had to hold onto Val's hands for support... but I looked great! Thanks, Jess!)

We took a million photos. We had our first look. We laughed as the flower girls wouldn't smile. We did the Dinosaur running photo. We hung out with our bridal party and talked about life before this moment, before the wedding. It was perfect.

Then, all of the sudden, it was 6:25 and almost time to get started. As I walked out to line up with my girls, my dad looked at me, teared up, and told me how beautiful I was. That got me crying immediately. Plus, all of my bridesmaids were already crying. I hugged each of them and told them that they were my best friends and that I was so happy they were there with me. We were all choked up.

The music started. "Marry Me" by Train played and my cousin walked out, followed by Blairre, Val, Dani and my sister, all carrying their lavender bunches. Then Camren and the twins walked down.

Then the music changed. Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles came on and my dad and I started our walk. I was trying desperately not to a) fall b) rip my dress c) sob uncontrollably.

But as soon as we turned the corner, my eyes locked on Josh and I couldn't look away. My tears dried up immediately. I was there to marry him. As long as he was there, at the end, waiting for me, everything was perfect.

The wedding went so fast. Kaitlyn read a beautiful poem. We said our vows. I cried (again). My bridesmaids all cried (I could hear them all sniffling behind me!). I could FEEL the love around us, people beaming us their good thoughts and happiness. It was the most amazing, warm, comfortable feeling I've ever had.

Then we exchanged rings. We said "I do". We were pronounced man and wife and Josh kissed me. Then, the music started. Burning Love, by Elvis, and as we walked down, I felt exactly what I had wanted to feel when I picked that song for our recessional. Incredible happiness, so much love for Josh, and a readiness to have FUN for the rest of the night. On the way out, I high-fived my mom in what was I think everyone's favorite moment of the wedding lol :o)

A few more photos followed and then... it was party time. :o)

More on that later!

Here are some unprofessional pics from family and friends... I'll post the professional ones soon!

WEDDING RECAP 1: Rehearsal Dinner

We headed over to Phoenix on Thursday morning, early, after dropping the dogs off at the doggy day care where they would be living it up in fancy "apartments" with air conditioning, rugs and their own little dog run. Our dogs are spoiled :o)

But it was hard leaving Shadow, knowing it would be SO LONG before we saw him again... almost two weeks! Yikes. He was very concerned about us leaving, but as soon as his friends showed up (my mama's two standard poodles and Jessica's pitbull Lula), he was much happier... though he did bark at us when we left like, "Hey, you forgot me!"

Then, we packed up my parents' car and we were off!

I actually did a little wedding planning on the way over to the resort, checking in on our final payments to the resort and our photographer, and confirming my dress appointment for that day. We headed straight to the courthouse and picked up a marriage license, which I was SUPER nervous about... I don't know why, but I was really worried they wouldn't give it to us because of a waiting period (which I KNOW they don't have, because I looked it up online, but I'm a worrier by nature) or a blood test or whatever. But no matter! We got in and got out and then got me to my dress appointment :o)

We finally made it to the resort at 4 or so, dress in tow, tuxes in tow, and checked into our room. My room was right outside of the Alameda court where we were getting married, so I could make a quick entrance, so it was super super super exciting seeing the Alameda where we would be saying "I do"!

Thursday night, we relaxed with our friends and then spent a lot of time with family, who came in from the four corners of the country to visit with us. I felt so, so blessed to have such great people in our lives, there to watch us tie the knot.

It was a long day, but we still managed to stay out until midnight, hanging out by the pool with our friends. I wouldn't have it any other way :o)

Friday was a busy day, too, but in a GREAT way. Josh and I had breakfast together (I love room service!) and then I headed off to the spa to have my facial, exfoliation, hydration, mud wrap and hand treatment done. I might have fallen asleep for part of it, so the time went by REALLY fast but I was totally ready for the rest of the day, which was spent out by the pool (again), spending time with MORE family and MORE friends who had come in! (Also, I spent a lot of time trying to avoid tan lines... the sun is STRONG in Arizona and I burn easily!)

That night, we met up to rehearse for our wedding :o)


Josh with his groomsmen/best friends/cousins :o)

Then we headed to our favorite place in Arizona... Oregano's Pizza! SO DELICIOUS!






We feasted on pizza and Sprinkles cupcakes, then watched a slideshow of our lives, and gave out our presents to our groomsmen/bridesmaids. It was a lovely night with everyone we love.

Up next: The wedding ceremony!

Back (promise)

So it's been a wonderful, wild ride, but I am officially back with a new name and a new husband and I LOVE being married. :o)

I'm going to start doing little recaps of the wedding weekend, the honeymoon, and life as a married woman pretty soon but for now, I'll leave you with this because it was the best day of my life:



Awesome wedding, awesome dad, awesome dress, awesome veil (from my mom, circa 1983!).

Love.

OVER!

So the wedding is officially OVER and it was incredibly.

We are off today to our honeymoon, the wonderful New York City!

Here's our plan:

Monday evening: relax and then head to the Man of Steel movie premiere! WOO!

Tuesday: the media museum in Queens and then seeing the Mets play the Cards! Go Cardinals!

Wednesday: off to Staten Island to visit my family and Nucci's South (my cousin's restaurant).

Thursday: CHICAGO on Broadway!

Friday: Dinner at Balthazar and SHOPPING for a fancy purse for me. SO EXCITED.

Mixed in the middle will be plenty of New York pizza, Italian ices, pretzels from carts, Central Park, Museum Mile, a piano bar in Chelsea, a jazz bar in Brooklyn, running on the Upper West Side and eating bagels with cream cheese and lox.

I can't WAIT.

Final Wedding Update

As you read this, I'll be at the resort, still glowing from the aftermath of my spa treatments from this morning (massage, facial, hand treatment, exfoliation, hydrating mud wrap, and foot massage) and getting ready to rehearse the plans for the BIG DAY... tomorrow!

I just can't believe it's here. The big day. Our wedding day. I've lost weight, Josh has lost weight, we've spent time tanning (I even got a spray tan... I'll update on that later!). We whitened our teeth. We saved SO MUCH MONEY. We bought vases and invitations and presents and rehearsal dinner outfits. We bought a dress, a tux, shoes, jewelry, WEDDING RINGS. We have spent the last year getting ready to be married and tomorrow... it happens.

Sometimes people say they aren't ready. Sometimes people rushed into it and need more time. Sometimes, couples have NO IDEA what they are getting into or what kind of relationship they will have when they come out the other end.

I do. I know exactly who I am marrying and exactly what will happen. Tomorrow, I will walk down the aisle and keep my eyes on my best friend. I will say "I do" with a full, happy heart and I will probably cry, but only because I am so happy and I never knew I could find someone who makes me feel like that. I will dance and dance and dance with my favorite people around me on what will be the best day of my life so far. I will kiss my husband, my life partner, the future father of my children, my partner in crime and in life.

I will get married, and I am SO so ready to be his wife.

Bachelorette Party

May 18 was our Bachelor/Bachelorette party and it was INCREDIBLE.

We went to dinner with our favorite people: John, Blairre, Adriana, Chris, Val, Carolina, Jeremy, Aaron, Vanessa, Thomas, Jess and Kylie.

Then we went back to our hospitality suite at the Hotel Encanto (DO NOT ever rent a room from them for an event, they were AWFUL to deal with!), which was beautiful but as I said, really really unprofessional to work with. Awful.

We played games and talked about high school/college and our friendships, and then played the card game Crimes Against Humanity, which is like Apples to Apples but NOT politically correct.

It was so SO so much fun.

Then we went downstairs to dance and dance and dance at Azul, where Josh and I made friends with a guy who had a private table, and he really liked us. Like, he kept buying us drinks and offered to have our entire party over to his house with his friends to keep partying. We were like, no thanks! Lol :o) but he was really nice.

What I remember about that night was this: my friends all gave up a Saturday night to spend celebrating US. Valerie went above and beyond planning the day with my sister, buying drinks and a tiara for me and a "Groom to Be" hat for Josh. Jess and Kylie took time away from law school finals to plan this out. Adriana and Vanessa and Blairre took an entire night away from their adorable children to come out with us. Thomas bought us wine and beer and drinks. We are so blessed to have such wonderful people around us.

As you read this, I'll be spending time with some of these wonderful people at the resort where we will be married, and celebrating the birthday of my dear friend and the reader at our wedding, Kaitlyn.

Life is so good.

Bad Blogger

So.

I know I've been MIA but I have a super good excuse...

I'm getting married on Saturday.

SATURDAY! SO CRAZY!

But so exciting.

We leave tomorrow for Scottsdale, actually, but I am in the process of pre-writing some posts to keep your interest since I've been gone so long.

Plus, I want to be able to look back and remember these things.

Stay tuned. Next time I actually post, it will be to recap our wedding and I'll be a WIFE!

Crazy.

Hasta luego!

Wedding Update

So it's been a while since I mentioned the wedding on this blog, but it is coming up SO SOON. I can't BELIEVE today is already the first of April. In just two months, I will be getting married to my love and my best friend! I'm SO EXCITED!

Well, let me take that back a little. I am not excited to plan. I actually do NOT like wedding planning. There are so so so many details to think of and coordinate and confirm. And with the addition of Pinterest ideas, I feel like there is always something I could be doing to make the wedding bigger or better. But I keep reminding myself that this is a party for us, a celebration of this new life we are choosing together and a celebration of the commitment we are making, and that if all else fails, as long as I end up married, it was a success. Plus, people won't remember the centerpieces. Hopefully. Lol! :o)

I got a lot done already... we just need to fine-tune everything. We need to finish the favors, figure out bouquets/centerpieces, and then I need to figure out what kind of hairdo I want (although this should be easy... Fiance's fabulous aunt is doing my hair so that will be super helpful and we are doing a hair trial soon) and then book someone to do my makeup that day. Other than that... most everything else is figured out!

Two months to go! :o)

Happy Easter!

Even though the day is almost over, let me take this moment to say HAPPY EASTER to you and yours!

My day was wonderful. We started out with a leisurely morning, making guacamole and taking our time getting ready before we headed over to my parents' for some of my dad's famous slow-grilled chicken. It's SO GOOD and such a staple of my childhood: just smelling it reminds me of summer. That, paired with my mom's pasta salad, my guacamole and my grandma's deviled eggs, made a perfect Easter lunch.

We had a great time with my parents (especially Shadow, who got enough scraps of chicken to last him a long time), and then pretty soon after, we headed over to Fiance's grandparents' house for (what else?) more food! Shadow got MORE scraps, too, so he has had a pretty great day. :o)

I hope your day was as filled with family and friends as mine was! :o)

Dystopian

It's a good era for dystopian novels... Hunger Games. Divergent. Matched. Delirium. I am also happy to admit that I've read them all... here are my reviews!

Hunger Games: FIVE STARS. I LOVE the Hunger Games. It's my favorite series right now. Can't wait for the next movie to come out!

Divergent: Three and a half stars. I really liked this book... at first. It went so fast and I started falling in love with Four. Then... the ending happened. Like, really fast. There was a big war-thing and it happened so quickly that I didn't get to really experience the losses, etc. It made me EH about getting the next one. I'm sure I'll read it... eventually.

Matched: Three stars. Pretty good, but more forgettable. I don't think about the characters after I stop reading them, like I normally do when I fall in love with the characters.

Delirium. FOUR STARS. I LOOOOVED the first book of this series... the last one was a big fat fail of a conclusion for me. Overall, a great story, well created and well laid out for the reader. But the ending! THE ENDING HAS TO WRAP EVERYTHING UP. Re: Hunger Games.

There you have it. My dystopian novel review.

Crush

I know I'm like the LAST person on Earth to get on board with this, but Fiance and I just finished the first season of The Walking Dead and I must say...

I love Shane (other than the whole "evil" thing).

Hear me out. I know he's crazy (SPOILER! He tried to kill Rick?! HIS BEST FRIEND?!), but I can't help but sympathize with him until that crazy point. He almost died trying to rescue Rick (who he thinks is dead). Then he risks his life trying to fill Rick's shoes by saving Lori and Carl. And then, reasonably, he falls in love with Lori. He risked everything for them and then she leaves without even acknowledging what they had. I just... feel so bad for him.

Also, he's SO HOT.











SO HOT.

That is all for tonight. Enjoy the photos.

Sunshines and Dark Clouds

It's Friday and I'm SO HAPPY. Here are the best parts and worst parts of the week!

Dark Clouds:

• I've been so sleepy... I need to work on having a consistent schedule.
• I'm STILL trying to figure out where to put all of my shower gifts. #firstworldproblems
• It's been windy and yucky this week... GO AWAY WIND!
• None of my picks for March Madness are doing well. Darn.

Sunshines:

• I'm off today!
• It's Friday!
• We have no big plans and I'm so excited about it! Just some Wingstop and NCAA basketball! :o)
• Fiance drove this week, which means $$$$$
• We are having lunch with my dad today! Love it!
• It's getting so nice and warm... almost 80 this week! BRING IT ON.

Happy weekend! 

TGIT

Today I feel a lot of TGIT... Thank Goodness it's Thursday! Tomorrow is my off Friday, so I'm really loving this night :o)

After a busy weekend (getting ready for the shower, dinner at Fiance's aunt's house for her birthday, then the shower, then fight night with Blairre and John, then breakfast with my mom, Jess and Kylie followed by lunch with the future MIL and her sisters...), I spent the past few evenings getting the house back in order. Everyone was SO generous, so we've been trying to ease the gifts (like the griddle, the new silverware, the wafflemaker, the wine glasses...) into our house. It's not that easy since we don't have that much space, but we are making it work :o)

Tonight, I came home, worked out, and then rushed over to my boss's historical society presentation. My other boss asked me to stop by and take photos of his presentation for our newsletter... mission accomplished! Then I spent too much money at Target (I was supposed to pop in and out for some salmon, but walked out with two more vases for the wedding, a meat thermometer, a mug for my coworker, salmon, strawberries, and some lean cuisines!).

Now, I'm relaxing and waiting for Fiance to get home so we can get this weekend started. Other than lunch with my dad tomorrow and laundry, we have no big plans. I'm loving it.

Bridal Shower

Yesterday, on Saturday, my sister/Maid of Honor and my lovely mama threw me a beautiful bridal shower. It was a beautiful albeit breezy day, and everyone had a great time. They served Hawaiian finger sandwiches,  plus an array of other sandwiches, baked brie, besito caliente (a spicy jam served over cream cheese), mimosas and sweet tea. For dessert, cake and chocolate covered strawberries! :o)

We started off with some food, and then went straight into shower games like "How Well do You Know the Bride", "He Said/She Said", and love-story themed Charades. Everyone had a great time and everyone was SO very generous with their gifts! I'll let the photos do the talking :o)











































Some of my goodies include plenty of wine and wineglasses (yay!), some pretty lingerie for my honeymoon, a beautiful hand-created recipe book, a silk robe, a waffle maker, griddles, electric skillets, new towels, new silverware, a gorgeous hair piece from my MIL, and a Kitchenaid mixer from my mom! I am a happy and blessed girl :o)

Sunshines and Dark Clouds

It's Friday! Here we go:

Dark Clouds:

• I ate something bad on Sunday and was so so so sick on Monday. Thankfully, I'm all better now!
• Fiance had a bad week at work so here's hoping it gets better from here out!
• I need to finish our invitations. I HATE THEM! Well, I love them, but I hate hand-addressing and trying to make them look cute. Blah.
• I keep losing my earrings... I don't know if the backs aren't tight enough, but they always fall out of my right ear. :o(

Sunshines:

• My bridal shower is tomorrow!
• My sister is here in town and helping me finish my dreaded invitations... she is much more creative than I am with crafts.
• We thought our vacuum was broken but it isn't! HOORAY!
• We bought a new microwave and it actually cooks our food. DOUBLE HOORAY!
• It's been a wonderful, full week of friends. We spent last Saturday afternoon with my good friend Blairre, her husband and their two kids at St. Claire, eating delicious food. Saturday afternoon/Sunday morning was spent with my sister. Tuesday was spent with my good friend Ellie (who just got married!). Tomorrow is my bridal shower. Life is good.
• Fiance got me into the Walking Dead and it is SO GOOD. I recommend it!

Have a great weekend! :o)

To Do

My current to-do list:

• Dress-up my wedding invitation envelopes
• Address my wedding invitation envelopes
• Buy cute stamps for my wedding invitation envelopes
• MAIL MY WEDDING INVITATIONS
• Get my nails done for the shower on Saturday!
• Start writing my next column
• Clean the house
• Wash sheets
• Finish the hostess gifts for the bridal shower on Saturday
• Find a skinny gold belt for my dress

Other than the wedding invitations (I hate invitations), the rest of it isn't so bad. Pray I get these stupid invitations in the mail by Saturday! :o)

The Best Parts

There are tons of bad things about being engaged. Well, not tons, but some. Like people getting offended when they aren't invited to your (very small, destination) wedding. Or people putting their own opinions above yours for YOUR wedding. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Planning the actual wedding *

*I realize a lot of women  LOVE this part. I don't. I thought I would love event planning but it is tedious and there are just.so.many.details to remember! That on top of my normal busy job(s) and I always feel like I could be doing something for the wedding. Sigh.

But there are so, so many great things about being engaged. One is coming up this weekend at my bridal shower! I'm so excited to wear white and play shower games and have all of the women I love around me. Fiance's mom is even flying in for it. We'll be missing a few of my favorite women (Dianna, my little, and Steph, a bridesmaid and my cousin who lives in Texas), but I'm so excited to spend the afternoon with the rest of my favorite girls.

Also, I keep forgetting that we will actually be getting gifts for our wedding/bridal shower... but fear not! I went and grabbed some adorable thank you notes to be prepared for the shower :o)

I'll let you know how it goes!

Pinterest Projects

I really want to start being more crafty. I'm really just lazy, is the issue, which means I don't pay enough attention to detail on crafts, which is the whole point lol. But I have a few ideas that I do want to try out... like these!

This Lemon Body Scrub



These Ink Stained Glasses



This Key Holder




I'll keep you updated... I want to try the body scrub as a favor for my sister's bridal shower sometime this year, so I need to test it before then! Wish me luck!

Sunshines and Dark Clouds

FRIDAY! Let's get to it:

Dark Clouds:

• It's been windy and yucky out... pray it gets nicer and QUICK, because my bridal shower is next weekend :o)
• I've been busy ALL WEEK with a big project for my company CEO so I honestly leave work feeling a little dazed lol.
• I have not been eating well. Need to get back to it.

Sunshines:

• It's Friday!
• My bridal shower is next week!
• My sister comes home tomorrow! Can't wait to see her.
• The weather is warming up... LOVE WARM WEATHER! Come on, summer!
• My boss LOVED the big project I completed... whew!
• We went to a lovely wedding last week for my good friend Ellie, and now we are in the process of planning a couple's trip to Harry Potter World in Orlando. Our fiances are not as thrilled as we are.
• I rocked a spin class this week.

Have a good weekend!

Oh, and here's a picture of us from the wedding:

Fiance is so handsome.

Spin Class Review

Monday, my friend Vanessa texted me and asked me to go to a spin class with her. I was like, "absolutely not" lol! I've heard such horror stories about spin class (mainly that it was CRAZY HARD) that I got nervous about it. But she is upbeat and optimistic, so I decided to go.

I'm SO GLAD I did. That seat was not comfortable but it was suuuuch a good workout. I normally do Zumba, but I feel like I burned the same amount of calories in half the time, all the while listening to good tunes and being able to go at my own pace/resistance.

If you are considering it, I definitely recommend it. Spin: two thumbs up! And a good way to cross something off my 26 before 26 list!

26 By 26 Update

So a few months into my 26 before 26 and I can already cross a few things off!

Jenna's 26 Before 26

1. Do something big for my career In progress

2. Make homemade tortillas

3. Run two 10 minute miles in a row

4. Volunteer

5. Donate money to something

6. Try fancy champagne

7. Take a spin class SO TOUGH. But a really, really great workout with a good friend :o)

8. Get a spray tan (yikes) Scheduled to do so next Friday! Ahh!

9. Take two vacations this year

10. Save $5,000 for a house

11. Read five classic books

12. Complete five Pinterest projects

13. Clean out my closet and donate to Good Will

14. Buy an amazing black dress

15. Bake a multi-layer cake

16. Keep a more consistent schedule

17. Get my hair cut every 10 weeks

18. Get up to date with doctor checkups (teeth, eyes, annual, etc.)

19. Host a girls' night

20. Take Shadow to a new dog-friendly area

21. Wash my hair more than once a week (for real)

22. Print out photos for a photo wall

23. Drink less Diet Coke

24. Find the perfect daily perfume for me Thanks to my sister, who got me a perfume sampler for Christmas. My new fave perfume is Prada Candy... it smells warm and sweet. Perfect.

25. Buy a bigger bed

26. Buy myself a nice piece of jewelry New dangle pearl earrings!

So far so good! :o)

True Love

On the day we took our engagement photos, our photographers asked us to play a game called "I fell in love with you because...". It was a ploy to get us to be lovey with each other, and I'm sure they hear all kinds of mushy stuff during that time, like about their smile and their beautiful eyes, etc.

But Fiance and I had a whole different viewpoint on it.

"I fell in love with you because you sprint around the house when you get excited about something."

"I fell in love with you because you growl at me when you are playful."

"I fell in love with you because you love our dog so much."

"I fell in love with you because you like to surprise me."

"I fell in love with you because of how silly we can be together."

"I fell in love with you because you let me steal bites of your food."

"I fell in love with you because you always buy chocolate ice cream, even though you don't like it as much as I do."

"I fell in love with you because you share your heat with me every night."

"I fell in love with you because you love puns so much."

"I fell in love with you because you put your hands in my hair to kiss me."

Our reasons for love were so true and honest that even we couldn't help but laugh with delight and happiness. I had no idea he even noticed when I sprinted around the house, and he didn't realize how much I like it when he growls at me to wrestle or play with him, like a puppy. Our photographers wanted us to be lovey and mushy, but even though I love his eyes and his smile, the things I love about him are the small details that make him HIM. The little quirks and habits that are so uniquely FIANCE that I love them because they are part of him.

And to me, that is true love.

BIRTHDAY!

Happy birthday to my Maid of Honor, to the girl I will be a Matron of Honor for, to my big sister, to one of my best friends.



Jess, I'm so proud of you! You have always been a free spirit and that is something I so admire because I could never be so spontaneous... but it's something I wish I could be. But now you are all grown up and in law school (and doing AMAZING) and it's wonderful to see you find the world you belong in, with the person you love. I can't wait to help you plan your beautiful day and to have you next to me on mine.

I love you! :o)

Weekend Recap

Friday, we went out to celebrate the birth of one of my best friends, Valerie. She and I were just talking about how we have celebrated a DECADE of birthdays since we became friends. How crazy is that? 10 years of solid friendship. We've gone through a lot together: high school, first loves, heartbreak, prom, homecoming, AP exams, graduation, summer parties, college, sororities, roadtrips, relationships, my engagement, and getting ready for my wedding. She and I have both changed a lot, but we've always put effort into our friendship.

So this weekend, we celebrated her 24th birthday!

Yay, birthday!

We went to High Desert and drank beer and ate green chile cheeseburgers and it was amazing.

Love. 

Birthdays are the best.

Saturday we spent DEEP CLEANING our house.We did a big spring clean of our dressers and drawers and closets and found a ton of stuff to donate or throw away. It was amazing lol.

Sunday was spent getting ready for the OSCARS! WOO!

How was your weekend?

OSCAR NIGHT!

I've mentioned before that Fiance is a MOVIE FAN. Like, a real fan. So of course, the Academy Awards is a Very. Big. Deal. to us. And it's tonight! We are very excited!

Here are my guesses:

Best Picture: I'm guessing Argo, though I wish Zero Dark Thirty would win. I also would love Silver Linings Playbook, but that's the dark horse in my opinion.

Best Actor: I think it will go to Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln, but I would love for Denzel to take it for Flight, too.

Best Actress: I REALLY WANT Jennifer Lawrence to win for SLP. Also wouldn't mind Jessica Chastain for ZDT.

Supporting Actor: Team Robert De Niro for SLP, his first great role in a while. He was AMAZING. Another great performance was Christopher Waltz for Django.

Supporting Actress: I hear Helen Hunt was great in the Sessions... I wanted to see it SO BAD but our movie theater in this small town didn't bring it. BOO!

Animated Feature: I'm hoping Wreck-It Ralph, but also loved Brave.

Cinematography: Team Life of Pi! Great book, great movie. That rarely happens.

Directing: IT SHOULD BE Kathryn Bigelow. She got TOTALLY gypped. ZDT was amazing and she deserves a nom if nothing else. But I think it will go to Old Faithful Steven Spielberg.

Those are the big ones. Tune in tonight to see if I'm right!

Geez

Geez. How have I not blogged anything since February 15?

Oh yeah, we went to Phoenix and then when we came back, I twisted the CRAP out of my ankle at the end, so then I was recovering and being sad about it. Oh, and I came back right into a big project at work (cue overtime). So there's that.

Let's recap.

We went to Phoenix on Thursday night (Valentine's Day). We like to make that drive at night, when there isn't anyone on the road but us, and we take turns taking naps if we are tired. We left around 10, and got into Phoenix around 3. We listened to a Harry Potter book on tape on the way, which is the best way to travel, of course :o)

Friday was spent eating at Oregano's and then planning our beautiful wedding before heading to our menu tasting, which was INCREDIBLE.



We tried a ton of stuff... swordfish, steak, pot stickers, asparagus, garlic mashed potatoes, gold scalloped potatoes, ahi tuna, chicken on a crostini... it was all SO GOOD. We had a hard time narrowing it down, but we did!

Saturday we tried on my DRESS! It was way too big (I've lost about 15 lbs since I bought it), but it's just as beautiful as I remember. We tried it on with my mom's veil from 1983 and it looks beautiful with it. I'm so excited.

Saturday night, we went to our first hockey game and it was a BLAST. We had a great, great, great time. The crowd was excited and they had a lot of music and fun games. It was really really fun. We can't wait to go back!



Go Coyotes!

Sunday we shopped until we dropped and got ready for our second set of engagement photos with our actual photographer for the wedding. I can't wait to see the photos! Here's a teaser:



Monday, after the photos, we headed home to this little face:



HE IS TOO CUTE!

This is getting long, so I'll wrap it up. I'll recap Val's birthday later :o)

Happy Saturday night!