Wedding Planning, pt 1

I am one of those girls who has been planning her wedding to some extent for her entire life. I had so many ideas and hopes and dreams for this one day. I wanted everything to be perfect, and beautiful, and, did I say, perfect?

...but then I met Steve.  And I soon realized that more than a perfect wedding day, I just wanted to be married to this man who is perfect for me.

So, as we've started putting wedding plans together, I have had a hard time making any decisions. Especially when it comes to small details. (And, for those of you who know me, I am a detail oriented person...) I think I ask Steve at least once a week, "Why are we waiting a whole year? Can't we just run away and get married?" I know in the long run I'll be glad we are planning our special day to be filled with loved ones, family and friends, but I just can't wait to be his wife.

That being said, our wedding is now 361 days away.  That's right, just under one year from the big day! I'm feeling pretty happy with the progress in our planning.  So far, we have most of the big things booked and deposits paid. 

          - The church and officiant (my dad!) are booked.

          - The reception hall and caterer are booked.

          - The photographer is booked and engagement photos are scheduled.

          - The DJ is booked. (And we got a fantastic deal!)

          - The wedding dress shopping weekend is being planned by my mama for the end of
            September.  My aunt and godmother from Georgia is going to come shopping with
            my mom, sister and I, and I can't wait!

Now, we're working on figuring out the honeymoon. We have a pretty good idea of what we're going to do, but nothing is booked or set in stone yet. 

Don't ask me about the small details yet because they are all rumbling around in my head.  Steve is a fantastic, patient man and I fall more in love with him every time he calms my crazy planning self down. I got a good one. ;)

I'm Back!

Alright, I know it has been a long time... like half a year... since I posted my last blog entry.  To be honest, blogging has been the last item on my to-do list many, many times, and it seems to be the one thing that I just can't seem to find time to complete.  In fact, I've considered deleting this whole blog quite a few times, but I quickly convince myself that I will, one day, pick up blogging again.

So, here we are. It might be time for a quick little update.

Since my last post, a lot has happened in my life. Like, world life changing events, people! And you poor readers, if there are even any of you left, have been left in the dark. In an effort to save time, here's a list of the top five things that have happened in my life in the last six months or so.

1. I fell in love.

 

In the interest of keeping  you all from gagging at how sticky sweet I could be about my feelings for this man, I'll just leave it at this: I have never in my life met a more well matched person for me. There is a lot of wonderful conversations, goofy singing, and laughing happening around here lately... and I'm very happy.

2. I directed my first school play.

This was a lot of fun. It was a LOT of work, but the students who were involved worked really hard, devoted a lot of time to making it a success, and already some were talking about 'next year's play.'  My parents surprised me and drove all the way (two and a half hours) just to watch the performance.  Even as an adult, it still feels awesome knowing that your parents support you!

3. I finished my first year of teaching.

This one is pretty self explanatory, but let's just put it down in the books that although this year presented its share of challenges, lessons, and tough moments, I am still so excited to be teaching, and I feel very blessed that I get to do what I love.  I have wonderful students and I work at a great school... and I'm actually anxious for school to start up again here in a few weeks!

4. I went to my first Twins game at Target Field!

 

I am a huge Minnesota sports fan and have been to many Twins games in my lifetime, but it has taken me this long to finally get down to Target Field.  Steve and I enjoyed an afternoon game and it was SO. MUCH. FUN. We had fantastic seats and great weather.  I loved every minute of it.

5. I got engaged to the man of my dreams!

Steve made me the happiest girl in the world when he asked me to be his wife on June 7th, 2013.  It was a moment that I will hold dear to my heart for the rest of my life. It's a sweet little story that may even inspire it's own blog post some day! We are planning a wedding for July 12th, 2014. I am so excited to be married to such a fantastic man!


I really have missed blogging, so I'll make an attempt to get a few more blogs posted in the next 6 months than I did in the previous! ;)

 

Christmastime is here...

 

It's very possible that starting a blog the same time as I was starting out my career wasn't the brightest idea... I can't seem to find time to update! Over the past few months, I've had idea after idea for blogposts and I literally just couldn't find a few spare moments to post!  Being a first year teacher is tiring! (Be assured, however, that I'm still absolutely in love with what I'm doing...) My days are over before I feel like they've even begun, my mind races at 100 miles a minute, and it's all I can do to cook a decent meal, keep my apartment clean, and deliver quality lessons.

 

That being said, here I sit on a Sunday afternoon, a long to-do list in front of me with only three (out of many) items checked off, and I'm choosing YOU, blog friends, so you should feel special!

 

I am one of those people who is, and I don't say this lightly, obsessed with the Christmas season.  I love the music, the cookies, the movies, the cookies, the smells, the cookies, the snow... I love it all! I set up my Christmas tree and decorated my apartment earlier in the week and put up my fresh evergreen garland that I ordered through a fundraiser at school, so my apartment smells wonderful!

Yesterday, I finished my Christmas shopping, and in the next few weeks, I will finish up my homemade gifts! (I will post about those after the holidays, of course, in case any of the gift's recipients frequent this blog!) It feels good to have it all accomplished, but it makes me a little sad, too.  I think so often people rush through the holidays that they forget about the true spirit of Christmas.  As I was shopping yesterday with my mom and sister at crowded shopping mall, I was shocked with the large amount of crankiness and general unfriendly attitude of people.  I know that not everyone loves the holidays like I do, but c'mon people! It's Christmas! Life is too short to not enjoy every minute you're given... and Christmas shopping, time spent with family or friends picking out the perfect gift for a loved one, should be enjoyable.  Who adds a minute to their life by giving dirty looks or bumping into someone and not saying excuse me?? Okay, I'll end this little mini rant here and get onto a recipe share!!

 

 Chocolate Star Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are my favorite to make over the holidays. I used to make them with Hershey's kisses, but I always thought they were a bit too chocolate heavy (I know, say what?!). The kisses took away from the yummy peanut butter cookie, so I started using the milk chocolate stars from Brachs.

 Ingredients:

2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

¾ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp kosher salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs, room temperature

¾ cup sugar

1 bag Chocolate Stars

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. In mixer, beat together butter, peanut butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla.
4. Slowly add dry ingredients.
5. Form dough into 1 inch balls.  Roll in sugar.
6. Place on baking sheets about 1 inch apart. (They don't spread very much)
7. Bake for 8 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and quickly press 1 chocolate into each cookie.  (You'll know the cookies are cooked for the right amount of time because when you press the star into them, they kind of I crack)
9. Move to cooling rack.

Keep in mind that these cookies need to cool for quite awhile before they can be layered into a tupperware for storage... The chocolates take a looooong time to harden up.

Enjoy!

It's FALL!

I've taken a hiatus from the blogging world for the past few weeks while I've been getting used to being a full time teacher.  Okay... I've taken a hiatus from just about everything other than lesson planning, grading, and other school related things. Until today, my house was a mess, my closet disorganized (if you know me, you know that's a big deal), and the fridge empty.  I have literally come home many a night and had a bowl of Cheerios or Apple Jacks and maybe some string cheese and called that dinner. If it wasn't for some of the frozen meals my dad made and sent home with me when I visited last, I wouldn't be able to even tell you the last time I'd had an actual meal. This first year teacher thing is crazy.  I'm putting in about 50-55 hours every week at school, and then, I'm coming home and putting in another couple of hours at home each night.  And want to know what? I'm loving every second of it.  Sure, there are frustrating moments, when because of my inexperience, I can't understand something, but most days are wonderful.

Anyway, back to the messy house. Finally, today I had time to clean.  And I mean deep clean.  The kind of deep clean where you are on your hands and knees scrubbing the floor and every single crevice you can find, kind of clean. It was very therapeutic, actually. A great way to relieve stress. (don't you feel like telling me, "You tell that floor who's boss, Katie!" ??)

And now that my apartment is clean and sparkly, I get to decorate for fall! I absolutely LOVE fall. I love the smells, the colors, and the crisp air. I love apple crisp, apple cider, getting to wear sweaters and scarves and boots, and getting to walk to school without melting!

While I was decorating, I found some Fall silk flowers in a box, so I put together a quick arrangement for my table. Whatdya think?

 

Notice my cute Fall table runner, too? Now, I just need to replace the scents in my Scentsy warmers to something a little more Fall-like. Right now I have "Fried Ice Cream" which is basically a Vanilla Cinnamon smell, but I'm feeling something more like  Pumpkin Spice or Apple Harvest... Any Scentsy lovers have a suggestion?

 

 

'Til Next Time!

 



First Day of School:

Follow this link to read about my FIRST first day of school as a teacher!

 

Dad's Minnesota Limerick

Dad thought he'd give this Minnesota Limerick thing a try... here's his version!

There was a girl who grew up in Big Lake
Who had a hank'ring for venison steak.
But along came no deer,
So she had to switch gears
And settle for some nice Mallard Drake.

Pretty good, huh? (By the way, guess who the girl who grew up in Big Lake is?)

 

Minnesota Limerick

During one of my Language Arts workshops, a teacher from a nearby school shared that he celebrates St. Patrick's day in his class by having his students write a "Minnesota Limerick." I won't get into it much, since this isn't an education blog, but we were asked to compose our own Minnesota Limericks based on the town we grew up in.  I thought it'd be fun to share my limerick! Enjoy!

There once was a girl from Big Lake.
She dined on nothing but juicy red steak.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner,
If vegan, she'd be thinner,
But that's not a change she's likely to make.