sooo... close...

Haha! Cute Christmas sweaters...

       Well ladies and gentlemen, we are just four weeks out from the most important day in a gals life! Don't get me wrong, Blake is excited too, but come on.... =) Blake and I have been so busy with holiday festivities, birthdays and all this wedding planning. To catch you up to date, as far as the wedding goes, I don't want to say it too loud, but, I think we've about got it all together. The extra room in our apartment has officially become "wedding headquarters".  That is also the room where Blake's xbox and all his man stuff is, so he is more than ready for our wedding day to be here so he can have his "man cave" back. This room is filled with extra invitations and thank you cards, hundreds of candles, all the items needed for the reception centerpieces and much more. I recently got to pick up everything I ordered for the reception and just seeing it all laid out really helps me picture what the evening of January 28 is going to look like.... and I LOVE IT!!! All my dress fittings are complete, bridesmaids dresses are coming along great, all the groomsmen have been measured and have ordered their suits, so whether or not anything else goes as planned, we won't be naked!

I'll wear my new sandals touring
wherever it is we're going!

       This Christmas holiday was a much needed weekend in Double Springs to spend time with our families. We laughed, ate, watched movies, ate, opened gifts, ate.... well, you get it. On Christmas Eve we took a trip to Birmingham to visit the Anthonys' and exchange gifts. We always have a blast with them and there is always some good eatin'! Blake and I received an unusual gift from his aunt and  uncle. It has to do with our honeymoon destination which is still a surprise, so I am anxious to see where we are going and what this gift means. =) I am getting more and more excited to go on our honeymoon now that it is getting so close and since I have been able to purchase a few new outfits that I can only wear in warm, sunny weather. =)

Birthday surprise!

       Two days after Christmas, we celebrated my 22nd birthday. We had just arrived home from our weekend in Double Springs and with all the wedding stuff and Christmas get togethers, my birthday this year just wasn't a big deal. Little did I know that I would wake up to a sweet, thoughtful surprise reminding me why I am getting married! Blake had flowers and balloons, my favorite wine and birthday card addressed specifically to the "birthday girl". He took me to lunch and spent the afternoon with me. It was one of the best birthdays yet. Just me and him.
       Golly, this is a long blog.... sorry. Anyways, to sum it all up, wedding plans are going smoothly, Christmas was awesome, my birthday was spectacular and I can't wait to get married! 28 DAYS!!!

It's Rainin' Up In Here!

         So many showers ...so little time! Blake and I are so excited about going to our couples shower tonight held at a friend's house! My friend Amy, who is also in our wedding, has planned us a shower for all of our Tuscaloosa friends to attend at her home. It's amazing to me how time passes. We have been talking about all these wedding events for so long and they are finally here! My bridal shower has come and gone, our couples shower is this evening, before you know it my bachelorette/lingerie shower will be here, and then we'll blink once and Blake and I will be holding hands at the alter. I must say all this wedding stuff has been so much fun and I have enjoyed planning for one of the most important days of my life...but, whew! It's exhausting and I'm ready for the honeymoon!

         For those of you reading that don't already know, Blake has decided to keep the honeymoon destination a secret. At first when he informed me that I wouldn't know where we would be heading after the wedding, I kinda freaked a little... I'm a very planned, organized person and I like to know what is going on and when. But then I looked at it this way, the honeymoon is one less, very important, thing I have to worry about. I am planning a wedding... a wedding! I never realized how much went into an event like this until I started working on my own. So needless to say, I am very grateful and excited that Blake has chosen to surprise me!
         On top of the fact we are getting married in 48 days, we have the Christmas holiday upon us! My favorite time of year for three reasons... Christmas (obviously), my birthday is the 27th, and I love New Years! Just yesterday I was able to get almost all of the Christmas shopping done and nearly everything wrapped, so I am ready to head home for he holidays!!! I love Christmas for a few reasons, but one important one, it is the one time of year I have the privilege of visiting with my whole family. We are all so scattered out and busy throughout the year and Christmas is when we all get to come together and hang out. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family. So just in case I'm not back on here until after Christ's birthday, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Stuff....

Jarvis was no help! =)

       I think it is quite obvious from the picture posted here that Blake and I have too much stuff. But I LOVE my new stuff! My "Double Springs" shower was just over a week ago and with all of our Thanksgiving festivities, we are just now getting settled in with all of our fabulous new appliances. And because of our shower and Thanksgiving trip to Pigeon Forge, I have lots to talk about! =)

       I'll begin with my bridal shower. It was AMAZING!! Blake and I are beyond blessed with everyone that was able to stop by bringing gifts and well wishes for our new lives we are beginning together. Some very generous ladies from church hosted and decorated the fellowship hall of First Baptist Church for my shower. It turned out beautifully. The second I walked through the door my jaw dropped to the floor at the work and effort these nice people put in for me. All this... for us!! We couldn't have asked for anything more special. It was so special I  actually wore heels....I never wear heels, but thought they would be appropriate for this occasion, so by the time we were loading the car, I was barefoot. Real cute. But all in all, it was a great day that I will remember forever. Once we made it home the work really began... uploading and putting away. We'll find a place for all of it....maybe.

       Now on to our family trip to Pigeon Forge (sorry, too busy to take pics). Restful, relaxing, wild and crazy! First, we began our trip at 11:00 pm Wednesday night. We finally reached our destination, after losing an hour (eastern time) around 5:00 am Thursday morning...blah. So that part of the trip wasn't so great, but sleeping late and waking up to nearly the entire Harris family was so worth it. We ate Cracker Barrel for Thanksgiving lunch (delicious), and spent the rest of the trip hanging out at the cabin. Blake and I decided we wanted to move there! Haha! When you get my dad and his three siblings in the same house, it's bound to be a good time! We played all kinds of games, told jokes and stories, laughed til we cried and woke up sore from it all. =) Blake got to meet old cousins and both of us got to meet our new little ones! But let's not forget the main attraction... the IRON BOWL!!! The cabin my aunt rented for all 18 of us came complete w/ a huge theatre downstairs... with surround sound! You talk about loud and proud, my family has some of the Crimson Tide's craziest fans. After the big win, we couldn't end such a fun trip on a better note. We loaded up our suitcases, said good byes for now, and hit the road.

Needless to say we had an awesome Thanksgiving Holiday! I can't believe it has already been here and gone. Only two months til the wedding! 60 days!!! As I've said in nearly every post so far, time is going by so fast, and I am loving every second! =)

Busy B's

     Shoes: black shoes, brown shoes, burgundy shoes.....really? I never knew shoes were a problem for guys. Or maybe they aren't, and it's just my guy ;). Picking out Blake's shoes for the wedding has been tougher than it was for me to pick out my wedding dress! Oh well, I love shopping for the wedding, and if going around to one hundred stores to pick out his perfect wedding shoe is how I get him to "wedding shop" with me, I'll take it!!!

     Ours lives are changing before our eyes, and just like everyone said it would, it is happening so fast! Blake and I went this morning to pick up his wedding band, and seeing him try on such a special ring made me realize how real this occasion is! Things are beginning to get very busy with planning a wedding, shopping for shoes =), and all that goes along with it. Time has flown by us so quickly since our engagement so I am bound and determined to enjoy the next couple months and really soak in what all is happening around and for us. We are so blessed and thankful for all the help we are receiving from friends and family, but a lot of the decision making, of course, is up to us...and we aren't very decisive people! I just keep telling myself, "it will all come together", just as is has already.

     In the last week or so, we have seen just how busy the next 77 days are going to be.  Coming up, not to mention working 5 days a week, I have my wedding dress alterations (guess this means I can't go back for thirds and fourths at Thanksgiving). Next, my "Double Springs Shower", as I'm calling it, will be held, obviously, in Double Springs by some very sweet  ladies from my hometown church. Then we have the Thanksgiving holiday.... and that's just November! I don't even want to talk about December yet.
     All in all our experience has been awesome so far, and I couldn't ask for anything more. I am so excited and grateful that I am some one lucky enough to marry my best friend!

I See Shades of Green.....

Rather than skies of blue! You know when people ask you what your favorite color is, and all you say is purple or blue? Well I now believe we must all specify exactly what shade we are talking about. I never in my life realized how many different shades of green there are in this world, or at least in Hancock Fabrics. After Blake and I got engaged and set our date, we started thinking venue, theme, colors.... colors. Colors have been the biggest pain in the butt considering the fact that I would choose the most difficult shade of green to match up to anything. "MY" green is considered an olive, some might call it fern, and others may call it hunter. I have officially decided to stop stressing over what to call this green, therefore, it is "MY" green! =) So today as i walked around the Hancock Fabrics here in Tuscaloosa, an employee asked me if I was looking for a particular style or color of ribbon, I simply told her "MY" shade of green. I left after purchasing the perfect ribbon for my centerpieces! =)

the beginning of the end......

So... our first blog. Exciting!! We figured this blog should be an introduction for the two of us to share  just a little about the Anthony's... or Anthony's-to-be. Yep, that's right, Blake and I are tying the knot in 89 days! On January 28, 2012, we are beginning the road to, ultimately, the end! =) We decided to start this blog as a way to share our lives moving forward as husband and wife.... I'm not sure if I have said that out loud yet. Yikes. We promise to share the good, the bad, the funny and the sad. Blake is mostly excited about the funny! This blog will hopefully be a way to turn those "bumps in the road" into a funny story we can laugh at later, and all the good times into keepsakes. All we can say for now is, stay tuned! =)