Soon To Be REUNITED!!

Tomorrow I'm jumping on a plane and heading back to the east coast for the first time in a year! I can't believe how long it's been since I've been home and seen my family...and, it's been even longer since I've seen some of my closest friends.

This lovely lady, Beverly, is the cause for my little cross country excursion. I met her my Freshman year in college and we soon become great friends and decided to room with one another for the next three years. I couldn't be more excited to see her this upcoming weekend as she walks down the aisle to get married! MARRIED, I say! 

I am so thrilled to be a part of her big day! To top it off, another good friend of ours from college, who happened to be one of my roommates as well as my wedding photographer, will be there also to photograph her wedding! (You need to check out Bridget's photography site. This girl has some amazing talent!) [you're welcome for the plug, B] ;)

I will be able to see some other great friends from college as well as my oldest friend from childhood while visiting as well! Other than that, I hope to soak up as much time with my parents as possible. A year is too long to go without being surrounding by those you love!! 

To friendship, family, and good times! 

I'll see you in a week ;)

Friday Letters

My mom keeps telling me she misses Friday Letters. And since she was my very first follower, and probably my only follower who reads this blog religiously, I figured I should bring it back for her.

Love you, Mom :P

Dear Beverly - My beautiful, El Salvadorian friend!! I am SO FREAKING EXCITED for you and your recent engagement! I wish more than anything I could have been there with you. Like sitting right in between you and Kevin. Because that wouldn't have been awkward...And I can't wait to see you this summer and celebrate the beginnings of your new life together! Te amo :) Dear Husband -  Your face is healing nicely. I can tell that since the surgery your jaw line has become a little more defined. I have a feeling that once your swelling is gone completely you're going to be even more sexy than usual...just saying... Dear Washington - I was really enjoying the dry spell you were giving us! Despite the frigid cold temperature, it was nice to be soaked from head to tow when I arrived to work for once. But I suppose good times can't last forever, so you brought back the rain. Uncool. Very uncool. Dear Work - The new year brought a lot more responsibility when it comes to you. At first I was excited! It feels good to be busy at work! But now you're kind of cutting into my blogging time, which means time for a time management revamp..I may have to begin blogging at night. Or quit my job. Dear Blog Buddies - Just a heads up, I have an amazing surprise for you on Monday. You won't want to miss it.

Happy Friday!

Apple Cider

This past weekend, Steven and I were determined to have some fall-themed fun and thankfully, we have some pretty awesome friends who were able to provide the festivities. They invited us to a family member's farm where they had acres of horses, cows, chickens, and thriving apple orchards! On top of that, they had two apple presses! Let me do the math for you.

A surplus of apples + amazing apples presses = delicious, homemade apple cider! 

We all headed out to the apple trees and picked enough apples to make about 20 gallons of cider! It was impressive. Steven and I were lucky enough to take 2 gallons of that sweet nectar home with us! It. Was. Amazing. I hope we can make this a new fall tradition!

 Every farm needs their good ole' faithful farm dog. She was a sweetie.

 This picture is too adorable! Those kiddos are so much fun!

A few shots of the apple cider process. 

Honestly, it was the best weekend I've had in quite sometime. Nothing bets spending a beautiful day outside with friends doing something you simply don't get to do very often. I love the fall :)

Boldt Castle

Choosing to get married in New York meant every single one of my bridesmaids would be visiting a part of the country they've never seen before. Upstate New York is beautiful, and I really wanted my girls to see as much of that beauty as they could in the short time they were there. 

On the top of my list of places I wanted to take them was Boldt Castle in the 1000 Islands. Originally called Hart Island, George Boldt purchased this island out of the 1,864 islands in the 1000 Island region   for his wife. His goal: build a 6 story, 120 room castle complete with a drawbridge, dove cote, yacht house, and playhouse for his two children, all as a display of love to his wife, Louise. 

He changed the name of the island from Hart Island to Heart Island and spared no expense as construction began. Beautiful white and pink marble, an elaborate stained glass dome, millions of hearts etched in stone, and extensive Italian inspired gardens throughout the grounds are just snippets of the grandeur this castle possesses. 

Aerial view via

Sadly, one year before the castle was scheduled to be complete, Louise died. George sent a telegram to the men working on the island simply stating that his wife has died and to stop all construction. It is said that George never stepped foot on the island again, leaving this display of love for his wife untouched for 73 years. 

Now this piece of history has been restored to it's original state and opened up to the public for viewing. Stepping foot on this island is like walking into the pages of a fairytale. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't know any man who has built a castle for his wife. This just doesn't happen everyday, ladies! While walking though the castle, one feels as if he or she is caught in a romantic haze. The elaborate majesty and delicate detail is breathtaking, and then, coupled with the thought of such a romantic gesture, one leaves feeling dizzy; intoxicated by the rarity and depth of this man's love.

This coral room is my favorite one. Thought to be his daughter Clover's reception room.

As you move higher into the castle more of the rooms are left incomplete.

Truly, every time I've been to Boldt Castle has been completely worth it. The beauty is simply immeasurable and the story behind it is more touching every time it's told. 

Needless to say, me and my girls has a great time! Actually, I had such an amazing time I made Steven tour the castle a few days later while on our honeymoon! I hope you all enjoyed the little history lesson! But seriously, if you are ever in the area, I think Boldt Castle is well worth the visit! :)

Happy Day, Friends!

Wedding Festivities Have Begun!

The only people left standing...literally.

This past Saturday wedding festivities truly began! I had a lovely bridal shower that morning {which I did not take one picture at...Seriously, I am the world's. worst. blogger.} and then a fun filled evening with some girlfriends while Steven and his boys celebrated his bachelor party.  

The above photo was taken at the end of the night. These were the only boys standing (serious). Steven may have fell over face first and busted his lip...resulting in the boys putting him to bed for the night. Yep. I guess that means his bachelor party was a success? Or maybe a total disaster? I'm not really sure. All I know is my fiancé has a huge lip. 

Meeting up with the boys was completely unexpected and we all thought it was hilarious they were the only ones still going. {Honestly, they needed to be in bed by this point too} The good thing was I got the inside scoop on their shenanigans before I saw Steven's busted lip. I think the warning was pretty necessary. That's not the sort of surprise one enjoys two weeks before the wedding...

All in all, it was a good weekend. It's starting to feel more real now. This whole I'm getting married thing. And although I'm having bouts of hyperventilating and spastic crying, I think I'm holding up pretty well :)

Hope you all had a great weekend! 

Weekend Recap

My weekend festivities involved:

One swanky looking fiancé.

A sweet wedding with a lovely bride.

A new black and white dress from London.

Bad dance moves.

Good food.

Reconnecting with old friends.

It was pretty epic.

Now back to the daily grind.

Happy Monday, friends!