Back in the Mitten

Well ladies and gents, fiance and I have made it to MI!!

Being the crazy people we are, we decided to leave right after work yesterday and drive through the night. It sounded like a great idea- we knew we would hit some traffic in Mpls (and boy did we!!), but we also knew that we would avoid most traffic in Chi-town by driving through it around midnight. Plus we would just be here on Friday... so we could spend as much time with our families as possible, which makes the rediculously long drive oh so worth it!

Some fabulous family shots! :)

Remind me next time we do this that I might need more than 2 Sugar Free Red Bulls to make this trip a success!! Neil drove the first leg of the trip, and we traded right before we hit Chicago when we stopped for gas. He promptly passed out and I sang my way through every pop song I could find on the radio in order to stay awake and not talk Neil's ear off while he was trying to sleep. Successful with that, but the trip was awfully boring... and they play the same four f'in songs on each pop radio station over.. and over.. and over... and over. Excellent for perfecting the words to each song... horrible for 12 hrs. in a car driving fast and avoiding cops. I really need to learn to like talk radio more and stupid pop music less...

*Red Bull was my super sidekick on the 12 hr. drive. Sugar Free = delish! :)

Anywho... the drive was a looooooong drive... with a little bickering (although not a ton!!) and some quick naps, but mostly driving. It will be so worth it though, to be able to spend some time with almost ALL!! of our family and friends!!

Tomorrow is my bridal shower, and I have to tell you... I am SOOO EXCITED to see everyone - it will be so great. All of my bridesmaids will be there - some who I haven't seen for a few months! - and almost all of the ladies from both my family and Neil's family will be joining us as well! Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to have a wonderful family and to be marrying into an incredible family too!

After the shower I'm having a little thing I (as everyone else does too) like to call a bachelorette party... I'm not 100% whats in store since Jessice (maid of honor) and Annie (matron of honor) have planned the shindig, but I do know it will be SO AWESOME to see all my ladies and just have a girls night. I miss those ladies more than I can express in this silly pink blog!

Well when we finally arrived at my parent's house @ 5 am I thought nothing sounded better than sleep.. but here I sit.. awake at 9 am... hanging out with Timber the beagle. What is my problemmmmm.......

Ah well! More later guys!

All the Random Things

So turns out Summer 2010 decided just to occur with no notice. Its hot as balls outside... which is glorious when you are laying out by the pool and/or can escape into some air conditioned bliss. However, if A/C isn't an option... the surprise summer weather isn't nearly as great as one would think. So I did the most logical and easy thing I could think of......

I MOVED IN WITH FIANCE!!

Okay, so it wasn't the easiest or quickest thing to do... but I was ultimately moving in at the end of June anyway.. so whatever. He has air conditioning, a TV in his bedroom, and free laundry. How much better could it get?! Granted he has 2 boy roommates, but I couldn't love them more if they were related to me.. so I'm pretty excited. The next few months could be exciting.. but I'm looking forward to living with the boys.. as weird as it is!


The wedding is getting close.. and I have to tell you.. I can't wait! I am so excited to marry my best friend.

Ahh the wedding... this reminds me... its time to start eating a little better. All you work ladies out there creepin' on me right now (loves it by the way!!!)... you are in charge of making sure that I eat a healthy lunch. Oh I know, its a big job.. but you can do it! :)

The weekend with Toni was amazing! I'll upload some pics sometime this week... we had some excellent adventures! More on that later... apparently I've gotta fold some laundry. :)

Wedding Nerves...

With summer quickly approaching.. I'm being reminded a little more that the wedding is coming up quickly! I couldn't be more excited, but all the little details have got me a little down. I keep thinking of things like escort cards.. finding ties for the boys... bridesmaids, flower girl, and ring bearer gifts... program info... and a few little surpises I have up my sleeve that I just can't reveal on the blog in case fiance decides to read it!

Big details I'm great at.. the menu, reception location, dress, hair appts... all of those things were simple and took like 2 weeks to get in order. Its the little stuff! I'm worried that I'm going to forget some detail, then the day of ... have an "Oh Shit!" moment. Fiance says "Katie, its whatevs, you're missing the big picture - we are getting MARRIED!" Bless him.. he keeps me on track.

Now don't get it twisted and think I'm going to bridezilla this wedding! I just want to make sure it is memorable for both fiance and I. Plus, I wanna make sure all our friends and family have a BLAST at our wedding.. it is supposed to be the biggest party of our lives right? And besides, I made myself a little promise that I wouldn't stress out AT ALL about this wedding. In reality, its one day! :)

I think for now, the solution will be.. making lists! And accomplishing something little each week. Did any of you married peeps feel any of this? Any tips.. or any little details you wanna fill me in on!? I love hearing about other people's weddings, ya'll can be so much more creative than me!

For now I think I'll stick to the most pressing issues... like what to wear to this wedding shower! :) Hehe.. the fun stuff! I'm thinking this :

Flutter Sleeve Romper

or..

Strapless Romper (w/a cardigan!)
I dont know. A little different than my normal style... but super cute!

In other.. WAY more exciting news... my friend Toni flies into the Twin Cities this evening to spend the weekend! I am so excited! I've got lots planned... baseball, farmers market, pedicure.. and thats just a few of the things! It will be so nice to spend some quality time with her! I'll post pics and stories later!

Summer Bucket List

With summer quickly approaching, I've been thinking about all the things that I want to do/accomplish. Its going to be a crazy summer with the upcoming wedding! Fiance and I are getting married on July 31, 2010 - so there is still a lot of things to get done! I like to take a little bit of time before the summer and set goals and think about all the things I want to do before the summer ends and the snow falls again.

The summer is going to be kicked off in true wedding fashion - my shower/bachelorette party combo is Memorial Day weekend. Its going to be the perfect opportunity to see all of my family and friends in one sweet sweet weekend. I am really looking forward to it! The best part is.. I just have to show up and delight in the fact that I get to see everyone I love!! Fiance will be there too.. I've talked him into being my sidekick for the drive, and keeping me company while we open gifts. My mom and his mom have been so wonderful, and with how excited they are.. I'm sure it will be a fabulous party!

After the fab summer kickoff, I'll have to shift my focus to something not as great... moving! Fiance and I have put in an offer on an AWESOME condo in downtown Minneapolis - the only bad thing is... its a short sale. So we've been waiting.. and waiting.. and waiting. While we have been waiting, my lease has come to an end..and so at the end of June, I move out from living with my best friendy and move in with my fiance and his 2 roommates (his lease isn't up until Sept). Should be an adventure for sure...and I'll def. have much more to share about the whole situation! Good thing I grew up with brothers! I suppose it will give me an excellent reason to clean out my closet(s)- don't want to lug all to storage.

Keep your fingers crossed we get this place and all of it is worth it!!

Okay.. so on to the bucketlist:

-Get over my fears of being the center of attention and just love on this fabulous wedding shower. I know I'm blessed, and that is what matters.

-Enjoy the bachelorette party night and remember how very very lucky I am to have such FABULOUS friends!

 -Spend some quality time with my little sister (BBBS) Karlen and strengthen the relationship with her before I take off on a wedding/honeymoon extraveganza!

-Keep some flowers alive for more than a week.. strengthen that green thumb I so long to have.

-Camping at least 2x this summer.. make sure fiance gets a chance to enjoy the great outdoors and just love life.. forget any stress! And we will get to use that screened-in room I bought him last yr. for his bday!

-Throw fiance a great 25th birthday party with all of our friends here, because we will be on an airplane for his actual bday..

-Train for the triathlon in August and beat my times from last year.

-Take a girls roadtrip to Chitown with Jess to see Lynsey & Paige.. have Annie meet us there.

-Explore more of Minneapolis!

-Get to a Farmers Market on as many Saturdays as I can

Okay... thats all for now.. but hopefully it is shaping up to be the best summer ever... so far.

Hi!

Hi there!

My name is Katie, and I am oh so excited to be sharing my thoughts with you!

Life around me is just moving so quickly, and I want to have a way to write down all my thoughts and experiences (without killing all those beautiful trees!) so I can look back and remember!

So.. a little about me.. I am a 20-something professional who works in Sales. I am currently engaged with a fabulous fiance, getting married on July 31, 2010. Planning the wedding has been a whirlwind.. but I love it!

I like to stay busy, so I'm training for a triathlon, volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and exploring Minneapolis (I moved here from MI not toooo long ago). Add working, wedding planning and house hunting and you've got a busy life!

Hope you enjoy...

Oh! And feel free to comment.. love it!