Merry Christmas!

Well, just like most things that we anticipate... Christmas has come and gone. Although the time with friends and family are over so quickly, we do have a TON to look forward to in 2011. Official wedding countdown? 10 months and 19 days... Wowzers! When Adam proposed, we had 15 months of planning in front of us! It really is amazing how fast time goes by. I'm not complaining... yet! :)

Adam and I went home to Jacksonville for Christmas. Adam's family (anyone else think of the theme song when they read that?) rents a condo for three nights now that all of the "kids" are grown -- Last year we were in Amelia Island and this year was Palm Coast. I have to say, it is so very nice and relaxing! We didn't get to relax too much, though, because we traveled back and forth to Jacksonville to spend Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning with my parents. Nonetheless, it was definitely a very nice Holiday for us!

Millie loves her slipper that Aunt Marina and Uncle Bobby bought for her!

Unfortunately, Adam had to head back to Atlanta for work Monday morning. Millie and I stayed behind and spent a few more nights with my parents. She has definitely made herself at home here...

(A little back story behind the shoe box in Millie's crate...) When we bought her cage, it didn't come with a divider to change the size as needed. Instead of returning and buying a different one, we decided to use a bin with my shoes in it. You know, because dogs don't like to use the bathroom where they have to sleep? Well, lo and behold, she has found that she can climb on top of it! We think it's the funniest thing... And believe it or not, she hasn't had an accident inside her crate at all! (Knocking on wood...) We like to call her crate, "The Townhouse"... and when she is on top of the shoe box, she is "upstairs"... :)

Millie has also taken a special liking to my dad. Aka: Pop Pop

We all almost wet our pants the first time she did this. She jumped so high, she almost went over his head!

Millie loves her nanny too...

I will be heading back home first thing tomorrow morning. Adam's brother, Aaron, will be flying in to spend NYE in Atlanta. We're looking forward to a fun weekend!

Have a safe and Happy New Year's Eve!

And then there were three...

This post has been a long time comin'... We brought our four-legged baby home about 7 weeks ago, but I've been quite the slacker on updates. I also apologize in advance... 98% of our pictures come from our phones, so they're not the best quality. (iPhone from Santa, anyone?!)

Meet Millie...

She is a full-bred black Lab. We adopted her from a breeder that lives about an hour north of Atlanta. She is one very loved pup! And I think the love is reciprocated...

For her momma... 

...And her dog food!

(And daddy!) Problem is, Adam plays crazy with her and I cannot, for the life of me, get a steady picture of them! I will keep trying, though!

She definitely keeps us on our toes around here! And we're constantly laughing at stuff she does. Her favorite place to be is in the bathroom with us. If Adam or I walk in there, she comes flying around the corner and slides in, Tom-Cruise-Risky-Business style. Our hardwood floors are Millie's enemy at the moment - She slips and slides every where she goes... Poor thing!

I promise to have better pictures soon! We'll be taking our engagement pictures with our photographer in January and we're going to bring her along! So stay tuned... :)

Giving Thanks

I realize that it is after Thanksgiving, but I don't quite think it would be inappropriate to say everything that I am thankful for a week later. Heck, we really should say everything that we're thankful for much more often than just once a year. Don't ya think?

My list is made up of many things, both big and small. And in no certain order...

• My family. No explanation necessary.
• Adam - The most loyal, thoughtful, and generous man I have ever met. I am beyond excited that I will get to call him my husband. (This time next year we will be married!)
• Millie (Our four-legged daughter!) More on her a little later...
• Friendships!
• A happy home.
• My wedding dress. The internet is fabulous, y'all! I look at it almost daily... :) (It IS ordered and should be here around July!!!)
• Chocolate... ;)
• My future in-laws (including you, Marla!) You guys are pretty sweet, if I do say so myself.
• My wonderful job and the amazing family that they are.
• Good health.

I will leave you guys with a little display of what our Thanksgiving looked like this year...

Thanks for taking the picture, D! ;)

P.S. Jamie, your sweet potato crunch was PHENOMENAL! In fact, I loved it so much that I am making it for Christmas. Hope it turns out as wonderful as yours! :)





Going to the Chapel...

...And we're gonna get marrriieeddd! :) We officially have a date:

November 18, 2011

Can we get a woohoo, please?! We have been engaged for 10 weeks and finally just booked the venue two days ago! The problem was that we (I) originally wanted 11/11/11. I mean, you have to admit that it would've been pretty cool! BUT every. other. bride. in. the. world. had the same idea. Seriously, my heart was broken nearly 20 times when all I kept hearing was, "Sorry. We're already booked that day. But we do have every other weekend in November open." Really, do you?! Great, because every other weekend ISN'T WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR! :) I've come to the conclusion that a tsunami is going to hit Jacksonville the weekend of 11/11 and that Adam and I were not meant to be married then. Ok, I'm done with my soap box. If you're still reading at this point... Thank you.

The 18th has meaning for Adam and I. AND it's the weekend before Thanksgiving, so we can take a whole week off of work and enjoy our "hey-we're-husband-and-wife" excitement! Plus, we're thrilled with the fact that because we're having a Friday wedding, the party can continue Saturday night with all of our out-of-town (and in-town) guests that we don't get to see very often. Yes, that means YOU. :)

So... I guess now all that you want to know is where this fabulous celebration is going to be, huh? Here you have it, folks...

The Florida Yacht Club

I realize this picture is SO. Freakin'. SMALL. But it's the best I could find from google. You'll just have to wait to see this beauty in 379 days.

XO!

Booked!

We have two things booked for the Big Day:

1. The Church:

2. Hair appointments :) Ok, I guess this one is more for me (and my fabulous bridal party) than Adam, huh?

Can you tell who is really doing the planning? Hey, a girl has priorities!

The venue still isn't booked because the original date we wanted is just too popular! So, we've made some adjustments and will hopefully have an official date to announce very soon! Stay tuned... :)

Kids.

I've decided that this blog isn't going to be 100% about our wedding. Why, you ask? Because I have one of the funniest jobs in the world and I'm finding it necessary to share my day-to-day adventures with you. :)

For those of you that don't know, I'm a nanny. The job market in Atlanta for nannies is... fantastic! And thank goodness for that! I wouldn't have it any other way :)

For my fellow nanny friends (and even mom friends), you guys will really appreciate these stories. I hope.

Let's start off with the basics: 2 BOYS, 4 and 8 years old. Enough said.

We'll call the 4-year-old Bob and the 8-year-old Joe for this scenario:

Bob stayed home from school because he had croup cough and a bad cold. (Kids 1, Ms. Lauren 0)
Joe came home from school feeling sick and fell asleep in the car.
Once Joe walked into the house, he puked all over the kitchen floor. (Kids 2, Ms. Lauren 0)
Joe went to lay down upstairs while Bob and I played a game and ate a snack.
In the middle of the snack, Bob started to feel nauseous and decided he had to puke too. He made it to the bathroom. Wohoo! (Kids 3, Ms. Lauren 0)
6pm and Ms. Lauren gets to go home. (Ms. Lauren wins!)

Yes, that's a true story.

And I still say, with 100% confidence, that I love my job!

Indoor or outdoor?

When Adam and I started looking at places for our reception, I had 2 requests: 

1. Nothing beach related.

2. No outdoor venues.

Here's the ironic part: Our top three picks are all outdoors (Adam's thrilled!). There is just something so elegant and gorgeous about this...

And the good news is that a Fall wedding in Florida should call for some

b-e-a-utiful weather!

But then again, I'm also still a sucker for a grand ballroom...

Too bad they don't have any architecture like that in Jacksonville. Now in Atlanta, that's a different story...

Decisions, decisions!

One word: Slacker.

I will post more often. I will post more often. I will post more often.

:)

Venues and Dresses and Caterers, OH MY!

I apologize for the lack of updates. I flew to Jacksonville for the long weekend and didn't have one spare second to even breathe. I am definitely not complaining, though. I loved every minute of it!

The main point of the weekend was to check out a couple of venues and go DRESS shopping! So, on Saturday morning, my mom, sister, aunt and I went to look at two venues and then did about 3 hours of dress shopping. I say, with great pleasure, that I found the dress. I wish I could post a picture for the whole world to see, but unfortunately, Adam likes to take a looksy at the blog from time-to-time. I can say, however, that if I wouldn't be strangely out of place, I would wear that beautiful gown every day from now until... well, forever! :)

I wish that the venue shopping was just as satisfying. This is quite a difficult process! I thought I would walk in, fall in love and put a deposit down. Yeah... no. Adam and I did some research before I travelled last weekend and we found two places that we LOVED.

1. The Keeler Property

It's brand new... check out the story here. Such a cute idea...

2. The White Room

After looking at those two venues, we all decided that I definitely needed to look at many more, especially to compare the total package at the end of the day. So, with that being said, there are about 15 venues that we are looking at right now. I wish Jacksonville had a little bit more to offer- the venues that we like have either been used by other brides that I know, are too pricey or are missing the charm. I think I'm going to build my own venue in Jax. Anybody in? :)

That's the news on my end. How was everybody's Labor Day weekend?

The Ultimate Wedding Organizer

After receiving 5 bridal magazines as a gift from my sister (Thanks, Tra... you're amazing!), I started to realize I needed something to organize all of the pictures/articles/to-do lists that I was finding while browsing through them. I started my research by typing in "wedding organizer" on Google, which lead me to find "The Ultimate Wedding Organizer"... Seriously, take a look at this thing...

Awesome, right? Yeah, I thought so too... Until I saw the price! With shipping, it was going to cost $113. Coming from a girl who loves DIY projects, I decided to do a little more research and then head to Target (where else is a girl to shop?!) to see if I could put this little ditty together myself! Well, then I came across this nifty wedding organizer...

Let's just say I fell in love immediately... It's khaki (a color that will be incorporated into the wedding), it can be personalized (love that!), it zips shut (keeping everything crisp and new... ya know, to help with the OCD in me!) and it was a fraction of the cost. Plus I had a 15% off coupon for the store that sold it (score!). While it may not have everything the other one did, she is going to fit right at home with me! This darling organizer has been purchased and should be delivered Monday, the 30th! Who's excited?!


Once she arrives, I will still be making that trip to Target to buy extra paper, clear plastic sleeves, dividers, etc. It was really just the cute carrying case that sold me, but a little help in the wedding-planning department couldn't hurt either! ;)


So that's our wedding excitement for this week! Can't you guys just see Adam jumping up-and-down with me as soon as it arrives?! :)

August 14, 2010

I suppose now is as good as a time than ever to start a blog. Honestly, I think I spend more time reading blogs than I do on Facebook! How many of you can say that?! I have an unhealthy obsession with reading about everything from Do-It-Yourself projects, to weddings and babies, to just every day life. So, here I am... starting one of my own. Let's see how it goes...We'll start with the basics:


What: A blog about the life of soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. Johnson... and all of the wedding planning that goes along with it!
When: Although Adam is the one with the creative writing skills, I will be the one blogging as often as my busy schedule allows. :) Stay tuned!
Why? Because I'm a fiancé!
To who? Oh, only the most amazing man on Earth!


Ok, ok, I may be a little biased... But on August 14, 2010, Adam made me one of the happiest and luckiest girls in the world! One of the very first questions that people ask is, "How did he do it?!" So here I am, about to delight each and every one of you. Sit back and relax, folks, because you're about to read the exciting proposal of Adam and Lauren!


It all started 4th of July weekend when Adam and I were in Long Beach Island. At the time I had no idea, but Adam asked my mom and dad for their permission to marry me. (I know! I couldn't believe it either!) Then about a month ago, he told me that we would be heading to Jacksonville for the annual friends' boat trip. Every year, Adam's good friend, Brad, has all of us come in town to spend a weekend soakin' up the sun, drinking ice cold beer and enjoying each others' company. Thinking nothing of it, I happily obliged to this up-coming weekend and counted down the days on the calendar.


August 13th came and the car was loaded! Our first night there, we headed to Brad's parents' house for a little get-together. Apparently everyone was afraid to talk to me that night, in fear that they would slip about the big "surprise" that was coming the next day.


Saturday morning was like any typical morning for us... I showered and got ready for the day, while Adam relaxed and enjoyed the peace and quiet for an hour. As it was just about time for us to leave, Adam got a text message from Brad that said everyone was running a little late and that we had about 25 minutes to kill (I now know that it was really because he needed to get gas in the boat). I didn't understand why we couldn't just go and wait for them at the dock, but didn't question it and instead sat on the couch and read a magazine.


Finally it was time to head out! When we got to the dock, I only saw two people: Brad, who was rinsing the boat off and a man that I didn't recognize, fishing... As we approached, I asked, "Where is everyone?" Brad told us that they were out on a beer run and they'd be back soon. He then asked us to grab the life preservers out of the box behind us. I proceeded to ask, "Do I have to help him?" (ha!) Of course he said yes... When we got to the box, Adam noticed it was locked and asked me to go grab the key from Brad. No questions asked, I turned around and headed back towards the boat when I heard Adam yell, "Lauren?" I turned around to find Adam down on one knee. It took me a second to realize what was happening because all I saw was a purple string attached to a bracelet (more on that later), but once I did, the tears were flowing as I headed back to Adam... He continued to say, "Lauren, will you marry me?" I, of course, said, "Yes!" We laughed, we cried and we celebrated! Turns out, the "fisherman" was one of their friends that I have only met once, about 2 years ago. Because I wouldn't recognize him, they had him standing there so he could get the whole thing on video! Pretty sneaky, huh? Oh, and the purple string and bracelet I saw? Adam's mom tied the ring to a string, which attached to a bracelet. She did this so that he wouldn't drop the ring on the dock or in the water. (Thanks Mrs. J!)


After we finally got the ring off of the string and on to my finger, we headed onto the boat. 'Captain' Brad had "our" music playing, a list that Adam had created. As we pulled up to the dock of the restaurant, Adam and I were sitting at the back of the boat. From a distance I saw my dad standing by the water... As soon as I saw him, I started to cry again, thinking that our parents were there to celebrate with us. Well, as the boat turned and we got closer, I saw about 25 of our closest friends and family waiting for us! I was in complete shock! Adam and I are so lucky to be surrounded by such thoughtful and loving people. We completed our day of celebration spending time with the people we love and couldn't be more thankful for that!


Adam and I talk about our engagement all of the time. We would re-live this day 100 times if we could! Everything was absolutely perfect and I, for one, couldn't ask for anything more! I must also give a little shout out to my groom-to-be for putting together such an amazing weekend without one bit of the information slipping! Can you believe that Adam put together a full day of surprises? No? Yeah, me either... but he did! I really am a lucky girl.


So what's next? Well, we want to really enjoy this time together. We're looking towards a Fall 2011 wedding, probably in November. Since we'll be celebrating our marriage in Jacksonville, I will be traveling home about once a month for the wedding planning. This blog will be a good place for all of you to come and see the process! :)


Amidst the 100 degree weather and the sobbing mess that I was, we got some pretty awesome pictures! (Thanks to my fabulous brother-in-law, Tom!) I'm going to leave you with a few of our favorites from the day!

Just a handful of everyone...

Full of all sorts of emotions!

Our Captain, Brad... Don't you just love how well he took on his role?

Thank you to everyone that helped us celebrate our engagement!

We're looking forward to sharing our Big Day with our entire family and friends!

We love you all!