Engagement Party Success!

I threw my first engagement party this weekend. Well, I had a lot of help. It was actually hosted by 3 of us and we held it at Jarrod and my house. Whew, it was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun and totally worth it in the end.

As I've said before, we threw the party for my brother-in-law, JT, and his soon-to-be wife, Alysia. They actually got engaged back at the beginning of August, but we hadn't had to chance to really celebrate it and mark the occasion.

Emily, Sarah and I decided to do a fun Italian theme and we set up cafe tables with wine bottles as candle holders and vases.

We decorated with gerber daisies because they're Alysia's favorite.

I also borrowed some fat Italian chef' decorations from Jarrod's mom to put around the kitchen.

We cooked up some Italian appetizers like bruschetta and pepperoni poppers (those are authentic Italian, right?) and had baked ziti and chicken alfredo for dinner. And! Alysia's mom is a cake artist and made these amazing cupcakes!!

Each one had its own engagement ring on it! And they were in fabulous flavors like funfetti or filled with pudding!

We ended the night with a bonfire out on the deck, which was great to just sit around for a while with some of our best friends.

It's quite an ordeal hosting a party for 25 people, but I think the three of us really pulled it off. As far as I'm aware, everyone had a good time and the food all turned out pretty good. I know we didn't have a ton of it left. However, I will say it will probably be a while before I host something this big again. Yesterday morning I woke up having a slight panic attack about getting everything ready and by the time we got a couple hours into the party, I was so tired I could hardly stand.

But I am glad we got the opportunity to do this. We all love JT and Alysia and wanted to show them how much we appreciate them.

So congratulations, you two! Can't wait to add another Mrs. Hughes to the group!!

Wedding Picture Fun!

I got to relive my sister's wedding a little today. Beka's pictures were posted yesterday by the lovely Nancy Ray. I had so much fun going through them. I remember all the fun of getting ready with everyone (even though I had a bit of a rough time because I forgot my shoes!) and taking lots of pictures and feeling goofy when Nancy tells you to "look at each other and laugh." We had a great time dancing the night away and watching Nate teach us all how to Dougie.

I love the emotion in my dad's face as he danced with my sister and seeing how proud my mom looked. I love the pictures that capture my sister and Nathan looking at each other with so much love. I love the pictures where the person obviously didn't know their pictures were being taken. I love the ones of baby Jordan! And I love the crazy ones of us dancing and well, just being crazy.

I know I've missed some gems in there, too, and I'll come across them later and get to reminiscing all over again. I picked out a few of my favorites. I tried to narrow it down, I really did, but it's the best I could do! So enjoy! You can take part in the fun, too!

Happy Anniversary, dear

Today I celebrate the most amazing year of my life. One year ago today, I walked down the aisle towards the most incredible man, whom I love more than anything in the world. I'm so proud to have you and to call you mine. Here's to the lifetime ahead of us! I love you.

To Beka and Nate: A Toast

Sister, to you I raise up a toast
Because you’re the one I look up to the most.

You weren’t too happy when I first came to the house.
She used to pinch my cheeks, even pushed me off the couch.

But things are different now that we’re grown,
And you’re one of the best friends I have ever known.

When we were young, you always played the lead.
So Nathan, beware, that’s something she won’t likely concede.

And then came the years of Super Nintendo and bikes
Of capture-the-flag and telling Hannah to take a hike.

If you're privileged enough to sit at our family table
You'll probably think we're crazy, maybe a little unstable.

We laugh and joke and finish each other's thoughts
It drives our grandmother crazy. She says, “That's not how you were taught.”

All through my life, I’ve realized a lot
I ask, “What would Beka do… if she were in this spot?”

That's led me many places, some bad, some good.
But I know so much of who I am is because of you.

You were such a support when I was in your shoes.
No wedding planner could’ve been as good as you.

We say there's a FRIENDS reference for every part of life,
So after today “you'll never be a bride again, you'll just be someone's wife.”

Nathan, I’m glad to have you join our clan.
God knows the Lindsey crew could use another man.

And while I know you went to NC State,
I have to say “Carolina Rules!” Sorry, Nate

But now to some more serious stuff.
I’ll try not to cry, but it’s gonna be tough.

So love her, protect her and say nice things.
She loves a kind word… and a little bling.

So, Beka as you exchange your Lindsey for a Frye
Know that no one is happier for you, than I.

So once again, I raise my glass
To the best sister for which I could ask.

Here's to love and joy and a life that is great.
Here's to you, Beka and Nate.

2 Days!

My big sissy gets married in 2 days! Cannot begin to say how excited I am... and how busy! This week has already gotten crazy. I met up with the fam yesterday to put some of the centerpieces together (They look great, by the way. And now you know that they were personally made by us!) along with some other bits of the decor.

We'll be heading back over there today to actually set some of it up. I believe the tables should already be in place, so we'll be making sure they all look good and coordinating the table numbers and seating arrangements, etc. It's been a lot of fun getting ready for this wedding, I think because it's for someone that I love so much and I get to be really involved, but I'm not dealing with the stresses of it being my day. Also, my wedding was the first wedding I'd ever been in, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  Now, 3 weddings later, I'm a seasoned professional (or whatever).

But following the set up today, I still got mani/pedis and dinner with the fam and the luncheon tomorrow and rehearsal in the evening, not to mention several errands that still need to be run. When will it all get done? I have no idea, but it will.

And somewhere in all of this, I still have to finish up my toast. I've gotten a good bit of it written, but I need to do some fine tuning and add a few more things to it. I've something special up my sleeve and I'm super excited and super nervous. I'm not the best public speaker. In fact, sitting here right now thinking about it, I just got butterflies in my stomach. Will definitely need a little wine beforehand to help calm my nerves!

It's probably going to be too crazy to do any more posts over the next couple of days, but I'll be sure to give a wrap up after the event. Can't wait!

Busy, busy, busy!

Wow, I've just been going through my to-do list for the week as we get prepared for my sister's wedding next weekend and it's crazy! There's dry cleaning and picking up my dress and getting my hair done and helping put together flowers, etc. at the venue. It's going to be very busy. And that's not including some of the other things that I don't have actually "scheduled" (i.e. writing my toast!!)

I'm trying to not get stressed out. I can only imagine how my sister is feeling right now. The week before my wedding I got really sick. Like sick enough that I couldn't concentrate at work (and I was out of sick leave and couldn't take any time off) and had to go to urgent care 3 days before my wedding and get a shot of antibiotics. It was pretty rough, but thank God by the time the wedding got there I was back to 100%.

But back to now, I have a feeling that my 4 days of work are going to be my "down time." I'm glad to have another 3 day weekend coming up... even if it's going to be just as busy as this week. So that means I should probably be headed off to bed now to start my week off with more than 5 hours of sleep. Good night!

Bacheloretting

Well here we are hardly a week before my sister's wedding. It's been a crazy couple of months with everything going on with this. I think I've been busier with this wedding than I was with my own. Is that normal? Perhaps it is, sometimes. But if there's anyone in the world that I want to make feel special on her wedding day, it's my big sis.

My sister is one of the sweetest, kindest people you'll ever meet and she'll do anything for you. If there's ever anyone I know I can call in the middle of the night and she'll be there to help me out, it's Beka. She was so great throughout all of my wedding planning, (which is perhaps why I didn't feel as busy... she took care of all of it!) and made sure that I had everything I wanted without all of the stress. I've done my best to be the same for her, but there's no way I could ever do that, but I've tried to make each step special.

A couple of weeks ago, Beka's future sister-in-law and I threw a shower for her and her fiance. It was a beautiful day and we grilled out and it was fabulous. (Plus, I had a great time hanging out with Beka's 9-week-old soon-to-be nephew!) Then this past weekend, we planned a Bachelorette weekend for Beka (and 13 others) in Asheville. It was magical, we rented a place in the woods that had a firepit and hot tub. We ate lots of good food... and drank lots of good wine... and explored Asheville a little. In the evening we went out to some local bars/nightclubs, and although it took us half of the night to find a good place, I think everyone had a great time wandering around the town. (There are some pictures involving a pig that I'm not allowed to show that can attest to that!)

But the best part about the weekend was just the time spent together. I don't know a lot of Beka's friends too well, so it was nice to get to know all of them a little more. It was nice to just get away and have some girl-time. Not all of the conversations were pleasant. Some were downright painful. But I feel that those involved left understanding each other a little better and having formed a deeper relationship.

I know there were some moments that were difficult (what do you expect when you've got 14 women in one place??) and unpleasant, but I really hope my sister felt special and realized how much everyone loves her... even if it wasn't always apparent.

So, Beka, I love you and I'm so happy for you and hope you've felt as special and you made me feel. I can't wait to stand next to you on your big day!

Congratulations, Mrs. Reynolds

Yesterday, I had the amazing opportunity to be a part of the wedding of my best friend in the whole world. The newly Mrs. Reynolds is one of the most important people in my life. She and I have shared so many life experiences over the decade that I've known her.

Reagan and I actually just had our 10 year anniversary this past New Year's Eve! We met at the lovely Nancy Ray's birthday party in high school. A bunch of us went to a Clayton King/Jars of Clay New Year's event. Reagan and I met at the beginning of the evening and left that night best friends forever!

I said in my last post how Jarrod is one of the few people in this world who really "gets" me. Well, Reagan is one of the others. Most people in my life I know I need to put in some effort or else we could lose touch over time, but I've never had that worry with Rea. I think of her the same as I do my sisters: I know she'll always be a part of my life, despite how much time or distance may separate us.

More than anyone in my life, Rea has been there for nearly all of my major life events. We went through the giggly-girly early teen years, we experienced a time of religious extremism and spiritual growth, we rebelled together and questioned our purpose and God and found the men that we'd spend the rest of our lives with. Reagan was actually with me the night I met Jarrod. Here's a picture of us just hours before that happened:

I was so blessed to have her with me as I prepared to walk down the aisle. Although I think we both kept making each other cry!

≈

I love that last one. It's so us!

Living several hours apart and being in different places in life have made it more difficult to keep up in past months, but we spent the other night catching up once again and looking back at some of the funniest and craziest and most life-changing moments together. Then yesterday I sat with her as she got ready to jump into the next phase of her life. I couldn't imagine a more beautiful bride or be more proud to be there those final moments before the BIG MOMENT.

Reagan, your friendship has meant more to me than I could ever express. I love you so much and I have been so blessed to have spent the last 10 years with such an amazing person as you. I wish you the best in this new adventure and above all, I wish you a lifetime of happiness! Just remember, you'll always be my girl.

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds!

When Life Gets in the Way

Wow, I didn't mean for it to be so long between posts. I guess I've been busier than I thought. A combination of dress fittings, DMV visits, maid of honor duties, football games, engagement parties and doctor's appointments. Yep, I haven't stopped all month, and it's not going to end this week. But that's OK, because I am super excited about everything going on this week.

 

First of all, one of my favorite people to work with is getting married this weekend! Which is super exciting for her, but means lots of work for the rest of us! But also, it means that I get to take over her shift and actually work a normal schedule for a couple of weeks! So for the next 2 weeks I have the opportunity to have dinner with my hubby and go to bed when it's dark outside. It's a welcome change for the time being, although the work day does seem longer when you're not getting off at noon.

 

Beyond that, I picked up my bridesmaid dress this afternoon and it look so great now. I am super stoked about Sarah and Brandon's wedding this weekend! It's going to be exciting. Mani-pedis on Friday before the rehearsal dinner. Then spending the night out with the girls before a yummy bridesmaid brunch the morning of the wedding, plus getting hair and makeup done before the actual event. Sounds like 2 full days of pampering to me! I've said it before, that I've never been a part of wedding that wasn't my own, so I'm really looking forward to all of the wedding party excitement, without all of the attention (aka pressure) being on me. Plus, Jarrod's part of the wedding, too, so that makes it even more fun.

 

And then next weekend will be the first weekend that I can remember in a long while where I have nothing planned! I don't usually get excited about this sorta thing, because I like having plans for the weekend, but this could quite possibly be the first free weekend that I've had since we got engaged back in February. However, Jarrod's now telling me that he thinks he's going to be gone hunting all day Saturday, which puts a little damper on my do-nothing-weekend, but we'll make it work.

 

Then the following weekend is my favorite big sister's engagement party! and Halloween! (arguably one of my favorite holidays!... but that's not really saying much, because I'd probably say that about every holiday. I'm really just a big holiday fan in general) But then I flip my calendar over to November, and it's freakishly empty! I know we're now officially moving into the holiday season, which means things will obviously be busy, but that's a kind of busy I'm good with.

Now, I'm off to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Bring on the Fall fun!

Family, Fun and the Fryes

This past week has been filled with family fun. I love that! Sometimes it's so hard to fit in that time spent with those who really mean the most to you.

So first, of all, I want to send out a big congratulations to the newest member of the family, my soon-to-be brother-in-law, Nate! and my big sister Beka! The future Mr. & Mrs. Frye!! It's now been a little over a week since Nate popped the question, and we've already started diving into the whole wedding process all over again (Bless my parents' hearts... it'll end up being about 17 months straight of wedding planning!) Good thing we've already got our feet wet on this whole process.

I'm so excited about being a part of a wedding that's not my own. I'll get my first experience at one of my very best friends' weddings in just about 5 weeks! I love weddings and I'm definitely looking forward to taking on a role that's not a guest, but not the bride either. Once my sister's comes around I should be a seasoned pro at this! I like that I'll have the chance to repay the favors that she did for me throughout my whole wedding planning process (however, I know that I will never do as much for her as she did for me).

Secondly, this week some of my favorite people in the world were in town from the Sunshine State! My cousins and their kids. I try to soak up every minute with them when they're in town, so we celebrated with Beka & Nate with a cook out, had the whole family over to my house for muffins and coffee, met up with some friends and my parents that evening for another cookout, then grabbed lunch together the next day (Like I said, I take advantage of every minute possible). The most exciting part of the whole weekend was hearing them seriously talk about the possibility of moving here to NC. So T & K, you can consider this my official plea to make that happen!

I probably have more respect for these cousins than just about anyone in the world. They married young, at 20 and 18, had their first child just a couple of years later, and within months, not only went through the tragedy of losing a parent, but the 2 of them stepped up and took in my cousin's half-brothers, who were 12 and 11 (I believe) at the time. Can you imagine?? A couple month old baby, and suddenly you're 20 years trying to raise 2 almost-teens! But by the grace of God, they survived, and did so beautifully! And now have another 2 children of their own.

These are the kind of people that I hope to be like someday... that I hope I'm like today. Although I pray I'm never put in a similar situation, I'd like to believe that if I was, that I'd prevail as admirably as they did (Wow, I'm getting a little choked up writing this). Now they've been married for 15 years and have the most amazing family. It's a family that I'm so proud to be a part of and hope, in the future, to be able to spend more times with them like this past weekend.