We have THE dress!

I spent last week in Kentucky for work and when I am there, I always try and fit in some wedding planning. 

This trip was dedicated to finding my wedding dress. I had made 3 appointments for Saturday because I wanted to make sure I could see as many dresses as possible while I was in town. 

My mom  and my "2nd Mom", Mrs. Richards came with me as well as my two bridesmaids who still live in Kentucky: Kadi and Jessica. 

When we got to Rebecca's Wedding Boutique I was anticipating just finding the style of dresses that I liked, that fit me well, etc. However, much to my surprise, I found THE dress. 

Our consultant, Therese, was wonderful and was the reason I even found my dress. We had pulled several dresses and she would listen to what I liked/disliked about each dress. After trying on 4 dresses, she told me she had to  pull one more that she thought I needed to try. After putting this new dress on, I just knew it was perfect! 

I am so glad I had the support of family and friends there and it was so special finding my dress with them. I desperately want to show Matt (I won't... don't worry people!), so I think that is a good sign that I LOVE the dress. I can't wait to see his reaction! 

2014: The Transition from Ms. to Mrs.

It's our wedding year! 

We have been booking our vendors, working on guest lists and finding crazy good deals on decorations. However, the most important thing we did was ask some amazing people to stand beside us as we say our vows. 

Matt asked an exceptional group of guys to stand beside him and I could not be more proud and blessed to have these lovely ladies stand beside me:

Happy New Year!! (Photo dump from end of 2013)

It has been quite some time since I posted... sorry! We had a busy end of 2013 that included:

- Trip to Pittsburgh 

- Thanksgiving in Kentucky

- Work trip in Denver

- Mickey's Very Merry Christmas at Disney

- Christmas Baking & Decorating

- Shopping for Wedding Decorations (less than 1 year!) 

- Christmas Celebrations in Florida & Kentucky

I have lots of good pictures to share so this is my way of catching you all up on the last couple of months! Enjoy :

PITTSBURGH
(Minus pictures of our awesome visit with Kyle & Ashley... I need to get those off of Matt's camera!)

(Cathedral of Learning on Pitt's Campus)

(the original wall at Forbes Field, also where I lost my purse and realized it about 45 minutes later. Thank goodness for honest people in this world!)

(Original Spot of Home Plate at Forbes Field including where Bill Mazeroski hit the home run in Game 7 to win the World Series in 1960.)

(Went to the Pitt vs. Notre Dame game - Pitt won! Matt is now Dad's official good luck charm. Ugh oh!)

(It was cold - had to break out the moon boots.)

NOVEMBER FLORIDA FOOTBALL GAME

(We had lots of fun with our friends Cheryl & Doug at the Florida football game. I also want to note that this picture was taken AFTER our visit to Pittsburgh. We went from a freezing football game one weekend to shorts and tshirts the next weekend at a game!)

THANKSGIVING - THE PUPS

I spent Thanksgiving in Kentucky with family but surprisingly only took pictures of the puppies. Whoops.

(Tyson's toy fits around Bingo's neck. He really is our little ray of sunshine!)

WORK TRIP IN DENVER

It was VERY cold but I got to visit with one of my favorite people - DB!

DECEMBER IN FLORIDA: Disney, Baking, Decorating

Before                                                                After

Snickerdoodle bread: a MUST make. 

Outside Decorations

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS 

Had such a wonderful time with my family and friends! Sadly, I didn't take pictures with my brothers or our night out with our Kentucky friends. However, some very nice people got me a camera for Christmas so I'll be taking more (and nicer!) pictures in 2014!

Happy new year to you all! 

A post about numbers...

Just a quick post today but I had to share before the day is over:

Today is November 12, 2013 or 11/12/13.

I am sure you know there have been lots of these crazy dates over the last few years but there is only one more that will happen for another century. After today, the next date in numerical order is...

December 13, 2014 or 12/13/14. 

Well as if that date isn't cool enough, it also happens to be the day that Matt and I get married!  

Yes, we will be saying "I do" in 1 year, 1 month and 1 day. (Told you this was a post of numbers! My Aunt Carol would be proud.)

So I had to share this special news before the day was up! 

Interesting fact, after our wedding day, the next day in numerical order will be January 2, 2103. 

Send out the search party... I know I have been gone for a while!

I'm ashamed.

For the past couple of weeks, I have been meaning to get a few blog posts up. There were several days where I said to myself "Dana, today is a blog day, you MUST put up a post" but somehow life got in the way. 

But I am BACK and I want to give you all a quick recap of the last couple of weeks. 

Matt and I went to a Luke Bryan/Florida Georgia Line Concert, they were AWESOME! We had never seen FGL in concert but we both really liked them. Of course, Luke Bryan is Luke Bryan and he never disappoints. 

The concert was on a Thursday night and Matt had to be up really early for work that Friday so this lady drove us home from the concert. It took us a while to get out of the parking lot (we didn't move for 30 minutes) and then all the sudden they opened up an exit behind us, thank goodness we were in Matt's truck because I went "off roading" to get to the exit. Whoops. Benefits of having a truck! 

That weekend was also Matt's 10 year high school reunion and we had a great time with these guys:

                 

We also got to watch this little big cutie while his parents were away for the weekend. Matt and I LOVED having some puppy time... looking forward to the day where we have one ourselves! 

   

I think we wore him out! There are few things better than puppy snuggling. :)

I did catch some sort of bug that weekend and was down for the count for a few days last week. Oh well, feeling MUCH better now! 

From My Old Kentucky Home

I am in Kentucky for work this week but thankfully that means I also get to see my family this week too! When I booked my trip on Southwest they asked me if this trip was "for business or pleasure?" and I happily said "BOTH!" :)

My trip so far has included a great day tailgating for the Bama/UK football game. Even though we lost, I still can take away a few victories: 

1. We were tied 0-0 at the end of the 1st Quarter. Improvement. 

2. I got to tailgate with great friends and my younger brother, Doug. 

3. I got to wear my new boots! 

I also got to catch up with everyone at work. It is nice being able to work remotely but nothing beats seeing everyone and having face-to-face meetings. Plus, I work with a pretty amazing group of people so my week was full of laughs! 

I am staying in Louisville this week and commuting to Lexington each day for work. While 3 hours in a car each day isn't fun, I do like to "jam" on my commutes. Something you don't do when you work at home! So I got my fill in this week and officially have a new favorite song:

Keith Urban & Miranda Lambert - We Were Us

Going to spend the rest of the weekend with my family, friends and these cuties: 

(Bingo had a tiny health scare so his poor little legs are shaved. We think putting him in a Steelers hat made him feel so much better! And Lacey wouldn't be Lacey if she wasn't playing in an empty box!)

Enjoy the weekend everyone! 

Guest Blogging for Miss Kali

I am guest blogging today for my dear friend Kali on her blog, Kaliwood.

You should DEFINITELY go check out my post as I talk about my "Modern Day Romance" and long distance/unconventional relationships. (Spoiler: You may just see some pictures of the first day Matt and I met at College GameDay - nothing like a good throwback!)

Plus, you should read Kali's blog. We were suite mates freshman year of college and the girl is hysterical and entertaining and her blog doesn't disappoint. 

Looking forward to seeing Kali next week! I am already thinking about our lunch at local taco... YUM. :)