Monday, March 10, 2014

Whirlwind Weekend

As I have mentioned recently. March is an insanely busy month for me, I like busy I really do, but then I sit back and go, oh goodness I don't have time to do sit at home and do nothing!

The first weekend in March I attended a wedding and went to a birthday party. This weekend however is one that is going to go down in the books. It has been something I have had to keep a secret from my best friend. I have had to lie to her face and make up stories while also planning like a mad woman to help a brother out to make sure that everything went according to plan.

My best friend, Lindsey, has been dating her boo thang now for about a year and three months. Braden has become a brother to me. He spends a lot of time over at our house, and since my house is where I am most comfortable he has seen the best and the worst of me, hence just like a brother. Well back in December we started talking about engagements and I told him if he needed any of my help at all that I would be glad to be of any assistance. He knew when he wanted to do it but that it would be crazy tricky. March 8, is Lindsey's late granddaddy's birthday. She was extremely close to him, since we were in Atlanta when he was near the end of his days she was unable to go down to Florida to say her last goodbyes. When he passed she took it super hard. Braden thought it was be such a perfect day to propose to her considering the day meant so much to her.

Lindsey was asked to be in her cousins wedding in March, originally the plan was for the wedding to be on one of the later weekends in March. Then one day the wedding got changed to March 8th. It was hard because Lindsey was upset that she moved the wedding and that it happened to be on Grandaddy's birthday. Braden was confused because he wasn't sure how this was all going to happen amidst a wedding that she was in. After talking to Lindsey's parents they said that he could still do it on that day, and in fact it would be the perfect cover up and she would have no idea it was coming.

So then went the planning of getting the ring, picking out the perfect spot, who was going to be down there, photography, we needed good lighting since it was going to be at night. The ins and out of this whole thing were crazy. On top of that a good bit of people knew and so the tiny stress of someone slipping is enough to make you feel like looney person.

She left Friday with Braden to go down and I said my goodbye as I headed off to work and told her I would see her on Sunday when she got back, hehe. Saturday, myself and Mallory and Katie and Levi all piled up in my car to head down to St Augustine. I had someone lined up for Milo and the plan was in motion. We headed down aware that we were unable to post anything that day just to be on the safe side. When we got down to St Aug we went to Mallory's parents house to have dinner and relax until Braden and Lindsey were downtown having a drink. It was stressful for sure, lurking around and seeming very creepy for lack of a better word. We got to speak to him as they ordered drinks and figured out the finalization of the plan.



He texted us when they started walking along the bay front and we quickly but as quietly as we could followed them along. Dodging in and out of cars popping out to make sure that we didn't miss a thing when he got down on one knee. Mallory is such a fantastic photographer and she was ready to go with her amazing camera to get the shots that would mean so much to Lindsey and Braden.



Finally after what seemed like 20 minutes he stopped and started kneeling, Mallory popped out so fast and started snapping away. The rest of us were behind different cars. Lindsey saw Mallory first and started screaming and clapping but didn't even have the ring on her finger! Braden was chasing her around attempting to put it on there and finally got it on when she saw Katie and Myself, she just stood there saying "I can't believe y'all are here, what are you doing here??" and started crying. She saw Levi as well and we were all feeling all of the emotions. She put everything together and then realized that it was on Grandaddy's birthday and completely lost it. I think at this point most everyone was crying. It was such a beautiful thing. She had no idea and it was perfect.







After a while of hugging and pictures after pictures we went back to her families house where all of her family was waiting with Champagne and Cookies for us to eat. It was awesome. We chatted for a bit and then one by one left to head to bed since it was already rather late and the time change was occurring that night.

The next morning we all met up at church and then at the end they announced that she was back in town and newly engaged. Everyone was so excited. We went and walked on the beach for a bit and waited for the restaurant we were going to eat lunch at to open. After lunch at Mango Mangos we went down town and walked around for a bit before heading back home.



Such a crazy weekend. I can't believe my roommate and best friend is engaged. We haven't been able to spend any time together with the craziness of this weekend but I am sure when we do its going to be so surreal. Now the fun and craziness really begins and she can change her private Wedding Pinterest Board to public haha!

(Side story about my dress...This is my red bicycle dress. It has bicycles all over the dress and is one of my faves. I have surprised people and had some of the best days in this dress. The dress' legacy lives on and I am so glad it does!)


Have a great day!

Jenny

Friday, March 7, 2014

5 on Friday!

This week has been an up and down week for sure, but alas it is finally Friday which means tonight I can sit at home with the puppy and watch Catching Fire 100 times and not have to worry about sleep.

This weekend I have plans to just hang out and clean the apartment. Linds will be in Florida for a cousins wedding and so it's just me and the pup. I need to clean and get organized because I leave a week from today for Germany....woah. It doesn't get more real every time I say it, I has been 10 years since I have been to Germany the last time I was there was when I moved back to the states at the start of my Freshman year in high school. I cannot wait to get back over there to spend time with my bro and sister in love and all the babies.


Linking up with The Good Life Blog, A. Liz Adventures, Carolina Charm, and Hello! Happiness for 5 on Friday!

1. I babysat my pastor's kids on Tuesday and they are just the cutest. Two little boys full of spunk and energy and I always have such a good time with them. Their youngest, Rohan is a trip, we were watching a show and he grabbed the cover of a DVD and just started to pretend read it, I was dying as he was talking to himself.



2. I love me a good BuzzFeed and one popped up on my Facebook this past week, as I was scrolling through I found one that would totally be Linds and I if she wasn't dating Braden and we visited the bar scene often.



3. We had Bible Study at my friend Allie's house this past week and she lives near Downtown Marietta which is just too cute. Her house reminded me of the college house I lived in. I was dying as I walked around, it had the same door frames, set up, and smell, it made me miss college but was such a good walk down memory lane. 



4. After probably 5 months I finally beat level 169 on Candy Crush. Back story on this.... I had already beaten this level but when I switched to my Iphone 5s it took me back like 20 levels so it pissed me off that I had to beat it again. I stopped playing for a few months but finally started playing again, and finally beat it!!!



5. Last but not least! Back in September I started attending a new church plant here in Atlanta called The Square. I was looking for something different and my roommate had been attending for a while. After going for a few weeks I knew this was the place for me. We are meeting in our Pastor's garage for now but have just been blessed with acquiring a property debt free! The only thing we are having to cover are the Renovations. We have already raised a good bit of money but we are looking to raise 75,000 more to be completely funded. You can click on the link http://ministryoutfitters.com/campaigns/the-square-churchcommunity-center-renovation/#updates and see more information. If you feel led to help us out that would be fantastic, we know that God is going to do a fantastic work in our building and going in debt free is going to be such a blessing and allow us to use our resources towards helping the community. If you have any questions please feel free to ask! 



Have a great weekend y'all,
Jenny

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Weigh In Wednesday - Back on Track


Another Wednesday is upon us. I feel like they are coming and going so fast this year. I remember in high school that my mom told me that as you get older every year goes by faster and faster and she could not be more right. I am linking up with Ash and Heather for Weigh in Wednesday!

Weigh In Wednesday

It was another off week for me, I had dinner date after dinner date with people that I had not been able to spend time with in a while. Then there was this past weekend. Wedding on Saturday and Birthday Dinner on Sunday.

Saturday my best friend Kirsten's sister got married. Kirsten and I met a year ago at a 5K run and I spent sooo much time at her house that I became a part of the family. There are 4 girls in the family and the oldest, Megan who is actually my age got married to her man, Brian on Saturday. It was at the Wheeler House in Ball Ground, GA and it couldn't have been any more beautiful. It was a barn set wedding and very rustic, the ceremony was amazing and the reception was so much fun. They served BBQ and so I was in heaven. Every person ended up out on the dance floor including grandparents!!

                      


                       

Sunday my friend Brittany turned 26! She is in my Wednesday night bible study group and lives in Atlanta so that automatically makes her that much cooler. We went to a neat restaurant called Fritti near Inman Park. It has these huge garage doors that open up to the street and since the weather was glorious on Sunday they had them opened. Fritti has amazing wood fire pizzas and they were soooo good. I pretty much ate my entire pizza and don't regret a thing. I just love a good celebration.

                        
 
Anyways I knew that with my crazy weekend full of celebrations that my Monday weigh was not going to be too good, so I decided to weigh in today and then next Monday pick back up with the Monday weigh ins. Hopped on the scale this morning and....

                               
 
Starting Weight - 239.4
3/5/2014 - 229.3
Loss this week - -0.9
Total Loss - 10.1 lbs
 
So glad that I decided to wait until today because I am sure Monday was a wreck, I am not back at the 10lb lost mark and hope to keep it gone and not put it back on. March is a crazy month for me. I am going to be in Germany for 9 days to visit my brother and sister in love and their beautiful children who I am obsessed with. I am meeting baby Ben who was born in August for the first time and I cannot wait to get all the snuggles I have missed out on. My best friend is also getting engaged this month and she knows it's this month but doesn't know when. I do and am helping with all the details so I cannot wait for it to happen! I will for sure be doing a post after it happens.
 
Has anyone heard the song #Selfie by Chain Smokers?? I heard it on the radio a month ago and thought it was a joke, it's so stupid that I'm sort of addicted. Ashamed, yet addicted.
 
Jenny