Rain, rain go away...

Come again another day.
The wedding bells want to play.
Rain, rain go away.

So, I've been a pretty calm bride. I mean, I know I'm talking about myself here, but honestly not much has bothered me.

The bustle on my dress will probably be stepped on and rip at the reception? I figured as much.

Some people that RSVP'd 'yes' might not show up? Eh, it's expected.

We might not get a chance to eat at the reception? Who cares? It's our WEDDING reception!

But tell me that there's a 60% chance of rain on the day we're getting married and I'm a wreck. Not because I'm worried about my hair getting messed up or my dress getting wet, but because I want beautiful pictures.

That, and if I hear one more person say how God has blessed so-and-so with such a beautiful wedding day, I may punch them. I lost my faith for a second today when I cried in my own pity party about the 10-day forecast, but then my best friend slapped me back to reality. And my sister and mom always know what to say, too. (Thank you mom, Traci and Mandy!) Yes, I'm a Christian and yes, I believe in God. And I pray. A lot. But I have a VERY hard time believing that God would give someone rain on their wedding day. Oh, and the first person I emailed when I checked the weather? My photographer. And what did she say back to me? "Adam will be waiting for you at the end of that aisle. That is your goal." REALITY CHECK! Thank you, thank you! There are many things I can control about this day, but Mother Nature is NOT one of them.

So, all of this to say that if it does rain, I WILL embrace it. Photos of kissing in the rain? What girl doesn't want that? Cute umbrellas make great props, too. Whew!

Can you believe that in nine days we will be Mr. and Mrs. Adam Johnson? I just got chills typing that. Ah!

Lists

Earlier this week I decided to type up a wedding "to-do" list. It turned out to be 2.5 Microsoft Office pages long. How did that happen? How can we have THAT much stuff to do when we're 42 days away from the big day? I don't know either.

I am truly enjoying every moment of this planning, but I'm gonna keep it real for a second... Planning a wedding is stressful! They don't tell you that when everyone is all rainbows and puppies and say things like, "OMG-you're-engaged-what's-the-date-did-you-get-your-dress!" With that said, I have to admit that I wish time would slow down. Not because there's still a bunch left to do, but because I am trying to take in every second of what's happening right now.

When I think about the church doors opening, my dad standing next to me and I see Adam for the first time, I get butterflies. BIG butterflies. Like I said, I'm enjoying this process. So, Time... Can you slow down? Please and thank you.

My Microsoft List is basically a more detailed version of this list:

• Church
• Venue
• Food and Drink Options -Meeting is set up for August 20th!
• Photographer/Videographer
• My Dress
• Bridesmaid Dresses
• Tuxedos - Picked out and the men just need to get fitted
• Band/DJ
• Transportation
• Hotels - I decided not to post intimate details on this website about the wedding. You know, for safety reasons.
• Rehearsal Dinner Location
• Florist
• Cake/Desserts
• Invitations - Thanks to our wonderful friends, they are being custom made for us! They've officially been sent out and we've received responses back already!
• Marriage License - We'll be doing this after our Pre-Cana. Did you know you get a discount if you've completed a marriage prep course? I'll take it!
• Honeymoon - We're still deciding... Someone help us... we're struggling!

It's really the little things now: Sending the band our play/do not play list, scheduling flower pick-up, confirming appointments, dress fittings, seating chart, etc.

I love lists. They make me happy. And I love you. You make me happy because you're here, reading our blog! :)

With 7 weeks to go...

...it was time to put the invitations in the mail!

A HUGE, over-the-top, give you a big, fat kiss on the lips, THANK YOU to Melanie and Jeff (who just got married yesterday) for making my vision come to life! And not only did they create our invitations with their own two four hands, but they finished them just FIVE days before their own wedding. I owe them my soul. No, really, I do.

I'd give you a little preview of what's to come, but you're just going to have to wait. So, go check your mail! Oh, it's Sunday... Darn! Go check tomorrow! :)

Surprise!

Last weekend Adam and I went to Jacksonville for what I thought was a mini-getaway for he and I. Boy, was I wrong! He told me that he got a bed-and-breakfast for us in St. Augustine and that we would head down there around noon on Saturday because he planned a brunch for us. I was only told one thing: to wear a "nice dress." If you know me at all, you know that I'm a planner. I like to know what is happening, at what time and how it will all work. I need to be in control of the situation. Adam is so far from being a planner that it's actually funny. When he wouldn't tell ONE thing about the weekend, I slightly stressed. And in the midst of wedding planning? What was he thinking?! I learned something about myself that weekend: I need to let go. Let go of things that are out of my control. Let go even when things are in my control. Learn to trust that everything will always work out perfectly -- just the way it's supposed to.

Turns out, our little "getaway" was my surprise bridal shower. And... man, oh man, was I surprised!

(Thank you to Mary and Tom for snapping such awesome pictures!)

I am so humbled to be surrounded by such fantastic women in my life. How did I get so lucky? And I'm gaining even more wonderful women by marrying into such an amazing family! Thank you to everyone that contributed to that wonderful day, both near and far!

I highly recommend!

Yum! Isn't all this food making you hungry?

The best raspberry champagne I have ever had!

I love my flower girl!

Adam's mom passed down their family Bible to us. The most heartfelt gift I have ever received!

That afternoon went by so fast and I feel like I didn't even get to talk to everyone that was there! Now I understand why they say your wedding will go with a blink of an eye. Thank you again for everyone who was a part of this wonderful day! A big thank you to my bridal party, my mom, future MIL and Aunt Marina!

XO!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Two weeks ago today, I was sailing away... Where does the time go? We booked that cruise back in March and it's already over!

The future Mrs. Crass and the future Mrs. Johnson!

I'm so thankful to have this wonderful group of girls in my life.  Such a wonderful mix of my family, new friends and old friends! Putting 14 girls together on one cruise ship for four days could get ugly, but not with this group. I have never laughed so hard, or that much, in such a short amount of time. Two weeks later and I still laugh when I think about those four days.

Thank you, ladies, for being you. Thank you for sharing in this exciting time in my life. Thank you for the incredible laughs (and the few cries). Thank you for dancing with me until four in the morning. Thank you for the advice you gave. Thank you for taking care of me when the seas got rough. ;) Thank you for all of the thoughtful things you did. Seriously, THANK YOU for EVERYTHING! I love you all!

Hair and Makeup

If you're a man reading this post, you might as well hit that little X in the top right corner (or red circle on the top left corner if you're a Mac). I'm a PC, though, so I would hit the said X. I digress...

My hair and make-up trial for the wedding was a couple of weeks ago and oh, was it fun! We brought wine and snacks and closed down the salon! Three and a half hours later, I was wedding ready...

Did you honestly think I would post the picture?! I. Don't. Think. So.  Before I left, my hair was taken down and the bajillions (yes, that's a word) of bobby pins were left at the salon. It was such a good time, though. I could get used to someone doing my hair and make-up every day. Ladies? Are you with me?

Other than feeling glamourous, it was so wonderful spending time with the people I love! Unfortunately, that's the only blog-friendly picture I have.

As always, thank you for reading!



Bon Voyage!

Remember a few months ago when I talked about our bachelor and bachelorette parties? Well, it's that time! Sort of..

Adam's bachelor party was pushed back a couple of months. We have/had quite a few friends get married this year, so dates have been tossed around a bit. His party will be closer to the wedding... and I'll definitely be back to share the goods about that trip!

...But on Thursday afternoon...

 ...I'll be sailing away with 14 fabulous women! My very good friend, Melanie, is getting married in October, so we decided to combine our bachelorette parties. Four full days of sun and cocktails with most of our favorite ladies! I say most because a few were unable to come. :( You will be there with us in spirit and we'll be sure to celebrate when we return, too! That's one thing I love about my group of friends... they sure know how to party!

The cruise takes us to Atlantis, which I'm really excited about!

But they won't be getting me on this...

Has anyone ever been there? I hear it's pretty nice.. and has good shopping! Sounds good to me! :)

I'm off to go finish packing. I fly to Jacksonville in the morning and have my trial hair appointment tomorrow night. I'm going with about 20 different pictures that I like... It should be fun! :)

Hope everyone is having a happy Monday!

Back in the saddle...

Hellloooo...

I fell off the wagon. Hard. So hard, I broke my toe. No, really, I did break it. That’s a whole different blog post, though.

Anyway, a dear friend of ours said to me, “I think you bit off more than you can chew with that blog, Lauren.” But I like to think of it as the wedding planning kind of came to a halt, which in turn, made the writing come to a halt. Maybe?

Either way, I'm back! We’re three months and ten days away from being husband and wife! Can you believe it? We surely can’t! Everything is really starting to come together, too. Let’s look at that list I started with about eight months ago, shall we?

• Church
• Venue
• Food and Drink Options -Meeting is set up for August 20th!
• Photographer/Videographer
• My Dress
• Bridesmaid Dresses
• Tuxedos - Picked out and the men just need to get fitted
• Band/DJ
• Transportation
• Hotels - More info to come!
• Rehearsal Dinner Location
• Florist
• Cake/Desserts
• Invitations - Thanks to our wonderful friends, they are being custom made for us!
• Marriage License
• Honeymoon - We're still deciding...

Not bad, right? I have to admit that I totally understand why people hire wedding planners now. There are just so many little details that you don’t think of. Then when the issue pops up you’re thinking, “duh, why didn’t I think of this sooner?” Oh yeah, that’s right… I’ve never done this before. Thank goodness for help from awesome family and friends!

With the wedding approaching so fast, we’ve been frequent visitors to Jacksonville. In fact, we just got back from a quick trip for the weekend. We left Atlanta around noon on Friday to get to Jax early for our friend Mandy’s graduation party. (Congratulations!!) However, when we walked in the door, we were greeted with more great news... My best friend is engaged! Holy cow! I think I cried as much as I did when Adam and I got engaged. We couldn’t be happier for the two of them! Double congratulations, Mandy and Brady! We love you both so much!

Saturday was spent meeting with our priest, Father John (who is just so wonderful) and attending a natural family planning class (don’t knock it ‘til you learn about it). The day went pretty fast, but it always does when we're only there for a short visit.  

So now I should be back with more frequent updates. And I do apologize for being too lazy busy to blog. These past few months have been crazy for us. Remember that adorable cottage we moved into? Yeah, it turned out to be a bug-infested hot house. Haha. I can laugh now, but for a long time, let’s just say I wasn’t laughing. Our landlord was a jerk and wouldn’t pay for pest control. Everything that we did to fix/prevent the problem just didn’t work, so we vacated pretty quickly. Breaking a lease isn’t fun, but moving into a new, clean place is! We’re finally settled in and are fully focused on the wedding now. Thank goodness!

Adam just turned on Jersey Shore. Let me just make it clear that I have never watched ONE episode. I am in shock at what I’m seeing. I can’t stop shaking my head and it’s completely taking my mind off of what I’m writing. So ‘til next time ladies and gents… And do me a favor, go watch something with a little more substance. Or read a book. Please? I'm definitely going to!

P.S. Hey, Brad! :)

Car rides make me nauseous...

...Too much information? Sorry... It's just that me and reading, looking at magazines, writing a blog, etc. in the car just don't get along. I am telling you this because I am writing a blog from the the passanger seat while Adam is driving (isn't technology incredible?). It's taken me 2.5 hours, which is our halfway point to Jax, to grow the courage to finish typing this. Maybe I didn't really grow courage... It's probably more the 10 minute power nap and the diet coke that is making me feel all risky and stuff.

Anyway, this blog is going to be short and sweet. Minus pictures and all. Because as cool as the latest technology is, I still can't upload pictures from this neat little device. I'm just here because I can actually write more than one blog in a week! I am virtually high-fiving you, by the way. :)

So, what's on the agenda for everyone's long weekend? Ours is full of friends, family and wedding planning! Speaking of, it's becoming more and more real to us that we will be husband and wife in just a little more than five months. Pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

I guess I'm going to leave it at that. My "yeah" and "uh huh" to everything Adam says is not getting me very far. What?! You try typing one thing and listening to someone talk about something else!

Thanks for reading... If you're still here, that is.

Have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Life?

Every single day, even multiple times a day, I think of blogs to write. Sometimes I jot down a few words to remember what I wanted to say. Sometimes I text myself so I don't forget what I wanted to write. I do this all. the. time. Yet, I don't have time to sit down and write one decent blog daily. What gives? Needless to say, I have lots of saved drafts in my mailbox that I do plan on writing. At some point.

I do have one quick little update: That adorable house that Adam and I are living in? Yeah... We won't be living in it much longer. We've officially broken our lease for more than one reason, but the main one is bugs. Yes, you read that right. I guess that goes along with the whole house-hasn't-been-updated-since-it-was-built-in-1947-thing. Eh, lesson learned. It's gross, though, and we have a landlord that won't fix it, so we're taking our happy little family elsewhere. :) So, when we're ready to have some babies (in like 8 years, don't get any ideas), we'll look at houses again. Houses that we're willing to buy.

Thanks to the neat little stats tab, I do know that people (!!!) are checking regularly. Thank you! If I could have a dream job, it would be writing. I love everything about it. Except that my current schedule doesn't allow for it. I'm really trying to work on that...

And since every blog post needs a picture...

I don't know about all of you, but I am ready for summer. My poor skin needs a tan. A healthy one, of course! Make sure you're using that spf!

A week in the life of...

I had a friend email me the other day (Hey, Jerrica!) and the very last thing she wrote looked a little something like this:

"p.s. UPDATE YOUR BLOG!"

That means people one person is actually regularly stopping by! Wohoo!

Nonetheless, I'm here to show you some of the things that have taken my time away from writing...

Forgive me, I'm terrible at remembering to take before AND after pictures. In my head, it's before OR after pictures. :)

We refinished a dresser that was given to us from Adam's brother and his wife. Which was originally given to them from Adam's parents. We're thrifty like that...

Here's the after picture:

We also bought a washer and dryer last week.

Like our floors? Yeah, me too. (Did you sense the sarcasm?) 

And since we live in a 1940's house, our outlets didn't allow for the four-prong plugs. So off to Home Depot we went, to buy the updated wires. Then we installed them in the kitchen- (yes, we will be doing laundry in the same place we scramble our eggs. I guess that's how they did it back in the day? Adam's mom teased that someone is going to have burnt bottoms one day. I hope that never comes true!) Since the machine wires are rather large, and the space we have for them is rather flat, we had an issue that looked a little something like this:

This is why they make laundry rooms. But have no fear, I created a solution! This is where the after-picture would come in, but again, it slipped my mind. No worries, though, I'll just post it on the next blog. You know, in two weeks. Ha. Ha.

Other than that, this has also been occupying our time...

Look closely, that's Millie in the back. Adam just bought a 4runner (yay for an SUV!) and we've been taking Millie to the river/park every weekend. She loves it!

And Monday-Friday...

Except this is a more accurate picture of my work day:

(Those adorable children were found on google.)

And last, but certaintly not least, wedding shopping...

The next post will be about these lovelies and my centerpiece plans.

How many of you have three or four-day weekends? I actually have a five-day! That's right, I'm typing this from my mom and dad's house. Aka: I'm in Jacksonville for the long weekend! And I'm making the best of it. Dentist appointment, hair appointment, bakery appointment (for the wedding cake, y'all!), wedding dress appointment and bridesmaid dress appointment!!! I'm so excited... And I just can't hide it... Anyone else singing now, too?

Thanks for droppin' in... Now go make the most of your day!



Bachelor(ette) Parties!

In a mere seven months and five days, Adam and I will be husband and wife! But before that party happens, we have to have a couple little celebratory days ourselves. I'm talkin' fab-u-lous guys and girls' weekends!

While I'm doing this...

Adam will be doing this...

Can anyone guess the two cities Adam will be visiting?

(Right-clicking on the pictures is cheating!)

So, whose looks more fun?

That's what I think, too! Just kidding... :) Either way, we're both looking forward to August when we'll have our mini getaways with some of the people we love most!

Bon voyage!



Working on my New Year's Resolution (Again)

I realize that I just kind of disappeared over the last month, but I believe I have pretty decent excuse(s) for the temporary hiatus. Here is the last month in a nutshell:

In the beginning of March, I went on vacation with the family I work for. The internet was quite hit-or-miss where we were, which translates to: Terrible for blog-writing. Plus, who wants to write blogs when the clear blue ocean is just 15 steps from you? (Sadly, I do actually. But I digress...) Then, as soon as I came back, we started our move into the house. It has definitely taken more time than we had thought. Between painting and organizing, a lot goes into a move from a small apartment to a house with more than one room! We also squeezed in a quick trip to Jacksonville to celebrate my nephew, Luke's, 5th birthday. Busy, busy! Nonetheless, I apologize for my lack of updates.

I will be back (very soon) with a whole lotta new details about the future-Johnson's lives. That is why you're here, right? Or is it boredom? Or just the unhealthy obsession with reading blogs (like me!)? Either way, thank you (as always!) for reading!

Shootin' the Hooch with our pooch!

The Chattahoochee River, that is! And we didn't exactly "shoot" either... Apparently that's the slang version of tubing down the river. I must not be a true Atlantan yet, because I learned that little phrase from a friend who spent the summer here for an internship from NJ! (Hey, Chelsea!)

Anyway, this past weekend, Atlanta's temperatures reached into the mid-70s. And can I also add that there was zero humidity? ::Doing a happy dance:: We woke up early (well, early for a Saturday morning... technically we slept in), loaded the Millster into the car and headed for the river! 

We let Millie play in the water when we first got there. She found a friend immediately and it was hard to break them apart. Of course, I totally forgot to take pictures of that. Or maybe I didn't take pictures because I'm still the nervous pup-mommy that hates when her dog is off the leash? I'll never tell. :)

We went on a walk through the park and let Millie jump in the water a few times then as well...

Notice the leash is on at this point? ;)

...And thank goodness it was! The current was a little stronger than her little doggie legs could paddle!

I realize that Millie has a biased mom and dad, but isn't she the cutest lab you've ever seen? :)

That trip was well deserved, too. Millie was spayed two weeks ago... remember that pitiful picture? After being cooped up in the house for 12 days straight, she couldn't wait to get out and play! Really. She told me so! In fact, after almost 3 hours at the park, she slept for the remainder of the afternoon without a peep! That'a girl!

Moving!

You know how Oprah would announce to her audience all of the awesome prizes they got to take home?

Oprah: "You're all going home with a copy of John Mayer's new CD!!!!!"

Audience: ::Clapping, Screaming::

She would say it in such a way that it didn't matter what she was giving away, the audience was so excited. I mean, I'd even be thrilled and I was sitting on my couch, not bringing home the awesome gift. I'm not the only person, right?

Ok, now pretend that I'm Oprah, while I yell...

"Adam and I are moving into our first hommmeee!!!!" :)

Are you excited? I mean, my Oprah impression helped, right? Ok, ok... I guess it's not nearly as exciting to all of you as it is to us, but just play along, ok?

We have been searching for our new abode for about three months now. It started with looking at houses in the suburbs, to bigger apartments than we're in now, to hi-rises downtown and then back to houses. But this time the house is actually still in Atlanta! It's in a suburb-y area, but only about 10 minutes from downtown, which is fantastic! The other cool thing? It's closer to work for both of us! Score!

Here is our adorable three bedroom cottage... (And Adam modeling it for us...)

Yes, cottage. That's what it said in the ad and I'm stickin' to it!

Oh, be still my heart... I honestly think I was born in the wrong era! Old charm just makes me giddy. I love that the house hasn't been fully updated inside since it was built in 1947. Seriously, it's old. There are nice hardwood floors (phew!) and a new roof (double phew!), but for the most part everything is... old. And my heart couldn't be happier! Modern homes are oh, so nice (and probably a thousand times easier to work with), but it's not for us. Not right now, anyways.

We picked out paint colors for all of the rooms and started on the living/dining room today...

Thanks to all of John and Sherry's fabulous DIY information over at Young House Love, we were able to get in and out of Lowe's quickly, buying only exactly what we needed. We had about 45 minutes to work on it today.

This is the living room (before we started to paint):

And the living/dining room after:

Not too shabby... I cannot wait to get in there and get'er done! (Yes, I did just say that.) Obviously we have all of the trim left in this room, as well as the kitchen, bathroom, hallway and bedrooms to fully paint. I honestly love to paint, though, so those are not projects that I'm dreading. :)

We're not going to be updating anything kitchen/bathroom-wise because we're renting. As great of a time as it is to buy right now, we're just not ready for that big move. And I think that new crisp walls is all the TLC this little home needs anyway!

My next goal? Buying a new camera! Seriously. I am so tired of dull, blurry pictures. And I'm sure you all are too!

Hope your weekend was fabulous!
We had some b-e-a-utiful weather here in Atlanta, so we took Millie out to the Chattahoochee River. Blog post to come... ;)



Peektures!

The rest of our engagement pictures have been posted! If you're not sick of looking at us yet, then click here!

Thanks for stoppin' by!

Rehearsal Dinner

Another item has been crossed off the list!

A couple of weekends ago when Adam and I were in Jacksonville, we checked out the University Club. I had never been there before, so I was quite impressed when I walked in the door! It is located at the top of the Wells Fargo building downtown. I think it is going to be a great location, especially for our out-of-town guests. You can't beat a beautiful view of downtown!

Adam's mom is on the ball! Her organization from Ryan and Marla's (Adam's brother and sister-in-law) wedding is outstanding. She has saved everything from their rehearsal dinner, so it is extremely helpful for planning ours! I'm excited for all the festivities!

Next on the list is bridesmaid dresses. Luckily, our J. Crew here has the bridal collection in their store. It's by appointment only, so I made one for this Sunday to look at/try on their bridesmaid options. I'm looking forward to either crossing them off the list or having them as the dresses!

Happy Monday! Here's to hoping for a smooth and fast week!



Valentine's Day

I feel like there is so much I want to share with you! As an avid blog reader, though, I know that one looonnggg blog (once a week-ish) is not nearly as awesome as reading 1-2 blogs every day-ish. So...

I'll start with talking about the holiday that people spend an average of $77.43 on every year. Yep, you read that right. And yep, I do know fun facts like that. In fact, the reason I know that is because it was a trivia question that I answered correctly and won an iTunes gift card for! (I'll admit, though... there were four options for me to choose from.) Still impressive... right?

Valentine's Day is just like any other day in the year to me. My boss said it perfectly, "I'd rather you tell me you love me on all the other days of the year when the rest of the world isn't saying it." 

Any how, that day is still fun for kids. Remember giving (and receiving!) Valentine's from your classmates? You should have seen the goodies the boys brought home! And on top of that, I made cupcakes with them. Who doesn't love a little baking and decorating fun?

Any excuse to bake cupcakes is a good excuse to me! And I didn't eat one! ...But I did lick a little bit of the icing... Yummy!

Out of the 30 cupcakes that were baked, the boys were willing to sacrifice three, so I could decorate some for Adam. Adorable, if I do say so myself! :)

And I'll leave you guys with this pitiful, yet slightly funny photo of Millie. She was spayed last week... And not very happy about it! Thank goodness the sutures come out on Monday!

Thanks for reading, y'all!