made it!

hello from sunny key west

we've made it safely to town last night

even though landing was quite an experience.  i guess the runway is a lot shorter than usual so our jet came down hard and bounced around.  a little scary.

i was pretty worn out from traveling - we left the house at 7:30 and got to the airport with about an hour to kill.

we landed in atlanta for a 3 hour layover - where we were having a difficult time trying to decide on lunch

mmm...carbs

so needless to say when we landed we were starving

but we had to pick up our keys to our place first - and then to save money on another cab ride - we trekked it from duval street to the east side of the island. 

it was just over a mile - but with a little bit of spitting rain, and luggage in tow - it was quite a long hike.

i was so excited to finally be in this space!

i was totally sold on this huge balcony that overlooks the atlantic.

but the joy was short lived.  we were soooo hungry.

so we set back out on foot.  another mile or so and we found a quaint carribean restaurant

where the bud light tasted like champagne.

mo's was a great place with authentic carribean food.  we waited for a while to get our order - but everything was being made on the spot.

the lady working did bring us a plate of the best rice and beans i've ever had - we scarfed them down so quick.

tired and fed we tried to find beer.  we walked probably half a mile out of our way and then circled back to find a gas station.

another mile hike back and we were back at the condo.

my feet were killing me walking in flip flops

so we rented bikes for the week this morning.

and man - we flew through town this morning!  stopped to get OUR MARRIAGE LICENSE!  and then celebrated with fish!

with key limeade.  mmm.

bo's was a place the rental place suggested and it was pretty tasty

we're hanging out right now, headed down to the parade and excitement soon.

i hope our family and friends make it down safely tonight!

i can't wait to see everyone tomorrow!

just a few more hours

welp

we've made it

last day of work before leaving for the keys

and just three days until the actual big day

everyone keeps asking me if i'm nervous and teasing me that i could still back out

the only thing i'm nervous about is










is big sandy

i'm a kentucky girl, so hurricanes are pretty foreign to me

tornadoes i got

hurricanes are a crazy new thing to me

i'm sure for anyone who's lived on the coast would tell me there's nothing to worry about - especially if they're not calling for any evacuations

from everything that i'm reading, the lower keys should not be affected - aside from some rain thursday/friday and 30 mph winds on saturday

i hope my dress doesn't fly up on my wedding day

but really i'm concerned about our travel down there and our guests.

so far our flight has not changed, and hopefully we'll get down there tomorrow with little issue.  but arriving two days early gives us a little flexibility in case something does arise

i think all of our guests will be flying in on friday.  and some of them are flying into miami - which i think is currently predicted to get larger rainfall.

i really hope traveling isn't a nightmare for anyone -

and if it rains on my wedding day - so be it - i think it'll make the pictures even more interesting and memorable

i'll see you at the airport tomorrow!

what i'm reading

i've discovered that i read a lot more when i download books to the ipad - i use the kindle app since the books on amazon are much cheaper than itunes

(side note, i'm totally wanting a kindle for christmas, or perhaps the new smaller ipad.  the ipad is a little clunky for reading, and that's all i tend to use it for these days - and since i use the kindle app i'm leaning more towards the kindle over any future ipad)

so i downloaded a book that was featured in amazon's best sellers by ebooks for $5

the bloodletter's daughter @ amazon

the description reads:
 

Within the glittering Hapsburg court in Prague lurks a darkness of which no one dares speak…
In 1606, the city of Prague shines as a golden mecca of art and culture carefully cultivated by Emperor Rudolf II. But the emperor hides an ugly secret: His bastard son, Don Julius, is afflicted with a madness that pushes the young prince to unspeakable depravity. Desperate to stem his son’s growing number of scandals, the emperor exiles Don Julius to a remote corner of Bohemia where the young man is placed in the care of a bloodletter named Pichler. The bloodletter’s task: cure Don Julius of his madness by purging the vicious humors coursing through his veins.
When Pichler brings his daughter Marketa to assist him, she becomes the object of Don Julius’s frenzied—and dangerous—obsession. To him, she is the embodiment of the women pictured in the Coded Book of Wonder, a priceless manuscript from the imperial library that was the mad prince’s only link to sanity. As the prince descends further into the darkness of his mind, his acts become ever more desperate, as Marketa, both frightened and fascinated, can’t stay away.
Inspired by a real-life murder that threatened to topple the powerful Hapsburg dynasty, The Bloodletter’s Daughter is a dark and richly detailed saga of passion and revenge.

the only thing i really can recall from high school history class is that the assassination of franz ferdinand (part of the hapsburg dynasty) in 1914 was what started world war 1.

(my aunt lisa should be so proud)

this book is historical fiction, and is set during the renaissance period which was probably my most favorite time period to study.

the madness and craziness described above is based on true stories of both rudolf and don julius, which adds even more intrigue to the book

i'm about 40% through with the book and so far i really like it.

it has a majority of good reviews on amazon, but i always try and read the worst reviews.  and i think some of those reviews are coming from book snobs/historical fiction snobs. 

so if you consider yourself in one of those categories, then maybe you won't like the bloodletter's daughter - but i was looking for something mysterious to keep me occupied while on vacation and it's really held my attention especially from the beginning (warning: there are some adult themes that featured the main charater, marketa, who works in a bathhouse), the gritty part really helps you cheer on the protagonist as she tries to pursue her love of science and move away from her family's profession at the bathhouse.

i'll give a complete review once i've finished reading.

i have a feeling i will finish this book before much of my vacation starts

so please send me recommendations for books topping your must read list - but a fair warning - i don't do chick lit or romanticized stories.

weekend update

it's monday

i thought this day would never come!

time to start wrapping up loose ends and packing.

i had to make a list first thing this morning or else i was going to go crazy thinking about everything that had to get done between work and leaving.

i've been rushing all morning to get important things out of the way and to leave easy items like filing, cleaning my desk, and delegating my tasks for last minute.

this weekend was pretty much a blur.

we did our usual - mexican, mall, target on friday night.

and saturday i hustled to get down to glendale early in the morning

for the crossing festival!

it was pretty overcast, but bill and i enjoyed perusing the crafts

and...whatever this is...


bill had never been to glendale days so i was glad he got to tag along and i could show him where i went to middle school

we walked around, enjoyed some of the parade, i didn't purchase any crafts, but i did get the one thing i was craving

fresh kettle corn

hot from the kettle

enjoyed with a big red.

bill munched on some of it, but i'm pretty sure i ate half the bag.

and if i had known i wouldn't get home until around midnight without dinner i probably would have finished the whole bag

i spent the rest of my saturday, sadly, helping out with the physical inventory at the plant connected to our corporate office.

i tried my best to sleep in, but i woke up early sunday.  so of course bill and i went to cracker barrel.

we'll definitely be trying out something exotic next sunday morning for breakfast while we're away.

the rest of my sunday was devoted to trying to find a necklace (fail) and then football.

oh, and does anyone else only read the sunday paper for the ads and coupons?

just me?

i love checking out the target ad.

they get me every time

i had been eyeing a keurig,

and from the wedding shower work threw for me last week i had a nice chunk of change burning a hole in my pocket...

and well...this week's special just happened to feature the exact keurig model i had wanted

<@ target

and after purchase i would get a $30 gift card to target (available all week)

sold!

apple cider enjoyed last night

and this morning i sampled the donut shop k-cup.

i'm really impressed.  the coffee was perfect!  i do think i'll invest in a reusable k-cup so i can enjoy some of my favorite ground coffees.  and yes, there's my other coffee maker - which i intend to keep for when company comes over.

i was wondering though, can i use loose leaf teas in the reusable k-cup? 

besides the sample pack that came with the machine we invested in



seasonal favorite - pumpkin spice



dark chocolate....mmm...cannot wait to try with marshmallows












 and the apple cider i had last night

so happy to have a new kitchen gadget - he should feel right at home with the other coffee maker, stand mixer, bread maker, rice cooker, soda stream, crock pot, toaster over, and griddle.

ok...back to list making...

why we're having a destination wedding

we are exactly one week away from tying the knot

i am so excited.

all we have to do is pack our bags and make our flight.

i don't think i really ever talked much about our decision to have a destination wedding

i feel like some people are either very supportive of the fact that we've opted to take this route or there are also some people who have been...maybe not as supportive.

when bill and i first got engaged which was days before christmas, we were of course bombarded with congratulations and then the dreaded "when's the date?" as we all gathered together for chirstmas

it made me so anxious to think of some future date where months of planning would finally pay off.  i was actually very overwhelmed with the idea of planning a wedding.  as i started looking in to venues and pricing this and that all i could think about was how happy i would be after the planning process and the actual wedding would be over with.

every girl dreams of her wedding being this momentous occasion and all i could think about was it being over with.

i prepared a budget.  originally i wanted to come in somewhere around $10,000.  TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS.  and that would be coming in on the cheaper side of things.  in reality i knew the budget would have to be closer to FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS.  this is also excluding any sort of honeymoon.

do you know what bill and i could do with fifteen thousand dollars?  what would you do with fifteen thousand dollars?

it made me sick.  wedding invitations.  yes, they are so cute - so many cute wedding invitations out there!  but guess what - every single one i've ever received is in the trash.  the landfill.  yep.  you're precious wedding invite that you no doubt spent time debating what font to use - in the trash.

oh and the food.  i'm pretty sure i've never been to a wedding to chow down.  and i usually forget to get a piece of cake.

weddings are beautiful.  the actual wedding part.  the vows.  the exchange between two people.  everything else i don't remember.  and the bride and the groom - are so busy i can't imagine they remember the details.

i'm not trying to convince anyone to see things my way - these are just the thoughts that fill my head when i saw the price tag on catering, centerpieces, bouquets, boutonnieres, etc etc etc.  i think as a guest at a wedding you just appreciate all the small gestures but never really appreciate the time and energy that it took to put everything together.

i've also been to weddings where a lot of the details were done by the bride and the family.  and if you have that kind of help i think that's great, but i also realized early on that if i wanted to make things on my own - supplies still add up quickly.  and then you're left with empty vases, supplies, craft paper, that may never be used again and not to mention you must store all this STUFF.

i started researching destination weddings.

i realized bill and i could hop on a plane, rent a condo for a week, have a small ceremony, and just enjoy ourselves for a fraction of the cost of a traditional wedding.

no we're not getting married in a church - but does that make our love for each other any less substantial?

i feel wrought with guilt that not everyone we consider close friends and family can attend, but i am also very grateful for those who were able to find a way to come down.

my one wish for our wedding day is to be able to remember every single moment.  to not worry if my bridesmaids found the correct shoes.  if the train on my dress will get dirty.  if the food will be perfect, if everyone is having a good time and not bored.

i hope that those who are there with us enjoy themselves and enjoy our meager ceremony.  that those who are back home are wishing us love and joy and not shaming us for choosing the path we felt was right.  i love the IDEA of a wedding reception where everyone you love and care about is with you for such an important day.  but in reality i've known several brides who just didn't get to enjoy any of their hard work.  and it becomes centered around the STUFF.

at the end of the day it's really just supposed to be our day.  and yes, i'm an only child, and this is my one chance to really revel in selfishness, but i want our special day to be spent being ourselves.  not dressed in suits and long flowing gowns.  to be simple.  to be grateful for what we have.  to appreciate our time together. 

i really hope i didn't offend anyone - it wasn't my intent.  my intent was to really just say, if you're getting married any time soon, i know you are probably getting bombarded with a ton of questions about the date, the venue, the colors, etc and perhaps feeling overwhelmed with choices and price tags. and my advice is to do exactly what you want to do and can afford.  if you don't want to send out expensive invitations, don't.  find an e-service.  have an afternoon wedding with appetizers instead of a dinner.  you don't have to have an open bar.  your guests will probably thank you the next day when they're not hungover.  for goodness sake stop looking at pinterest - if you are really wanting to do everything you're pinning your wedding will be a hot mess.  and remember.  you can always elope.  love is love.  whatever you do - a big wedding, a small reception, fly away to an exotic location - that day will always be YOUR special day.

high 5 friday

it's friday

and you know what that  means

a list of 5 things i'm grateful for this week

1.  today is the end of the last full week of work before i find myself here:








2.  tomorrow is my most favorite craft fair to go to



















the glendale crossing festival is what i look forward to the most every october

and hopefully i'll come away with something cute for the house and a big bag of kettle corn

3.  bill is off all weekend!  which means we get to spend a little extra time together - and you know...probably go eat mexican, go to target, and maybe bath and body works

4.  i'm so thankful for my aunt lisa who is always so on top of things.  i wasn't sure what kind of jewelry i wanted to wear for the big day - and she knows how much i love big jewelry so she's coming with me to help me pick out a piece from lulubelles





i'm pretty in love with this one already

5.  this is going to be very TMI - you've been warned - but this is probably the one thing i'm most thankful for this week and next

i started my period a couple of days early.  i keep an app on my phone to track them - especially since i sometimes get migraines associated with my period - so this means i will be cramp, headache, tampon free while on my weddingmoon.  when we originally set the date i checked several months ahead and at one point i was practically going to start the day OF.

hallelujah!  i'll take this as a personal blessing.

Soupy

I'm pretty sure I ate like crap today

Rice crispy treat after the doctor's visit, Doritos at lunch, and then two Oreos.

Sugar.  Sweet sweet sugar.

My kitchen is pretty bare as well in an effort to not let food go to waste when we leave.

But I decided we needed SOMETHING in the house to eat.

And I've been on a soup kick lately.

So enter Kroger

This veggie broth was on sale for a DOLLAR each! I couldn't pass it up - and now I have plans to cook some rice and beans this weekend.

But like I said - soup kick

Black bean soup sounded delicious -

Topped with some triscuits.

It was pretty meh.

I guess that's what I get for not making my own.

late morning

doctor's appointment this morning!

which meant i got to lay on the couch and watch the today show until 9 am!

i'm usually out the door at 7:50 to leave for work, but since my doctor's office doesn't open until 9 - i got to play hooky for a wee bit.

it was just a quick session to go over how the new medicine was affecting my mood, and i was glad to say i was feeling a lot better.

this time next week we will be somewhere in the sky on our way to key west

the count down is officially in the single digits.

work party!

sometimes i really hate work.

when anyone asks me what i do for a living i always say i'm an accountant

that response is always met with silence or a raised eyebrow signifying that they have no clue how to respond but that my job sounds pretty lame.

it can be.

most people think i do taxes.

i don't.

i don't know tax law - except for i have a pretty good understanding of personal taxes and the basics.

i don't think accounting is my "calling" per se

but it just happened to be something i understood really well and excelled at

there are days that i really get to use my investigative skills and common sense and then there are days where i punch in a bunch of numbers like a monkey.

the only thing that keeps me sane is the fact that i work with a crazy bunch

our accounting group is so fantastic.

i love the people i work with.

i don't know how many people can actually say that, but i'm glad i get to

i came in this morning to my cube all decorated

i'm also known as a honey badger...what can i say - i have a reputation...and my sign was lovingly decorated

i also wore my new dress today

the buttons are what sold me

and then for lunch we had a soup party!

i mean it really doesn't take much to get our group together to eat, but i was glad to be the reason.

and there was cake...erbody loves cake :)

thank you to the accounting/finance department.  you guys are awesome and one of the few reasons i can tolerate work some days!

just dance!

i've mentioned this before

i love the "just dance" series video games

i sweat more in 5 minutes "dancing" than i do 20 minutes running.

it's a crazy good workout

and it's so much fun

so when i noticed just dance 4 was now out at target - i had to have it!

i'm hoping we can have some people over soon to really test out all the songs

i love how you get so in to moving along with the characters

 

but you're actually just moving around like a crazy person until you really learn the dance

i'm proud to say that i've mastered many of the dances on just dance 3

woodford is not impressed.

i would really like to post the video of bill dancing to will smith's wild wild west

but so far he hasn't approved...

let's convince him otherwise :)

co-dependent

bill and i might be a little too technologically connected

we text pretty much throughout the day

i don't know how we come up with stuff to text about, but we do

yesterday though, i was pretty busy - i'm finishing my month end reports, trying to put myself in good standing for year end (november, but a lot of my stuff has to be finished in late october) since i will be gone the last week of the month, preparing for an internal audit, and not to mention trying to map out any lose ends for the upcoming weddingmoon.

so when i looked at my phone at around 5 and noticed i hadn't received a text since 2 pm i was slightly worried.

co-dependent, yes.

especially since this was the last text message i recieved

for some reason i was flooded with thoughts that maybe something else had happened.

and so i frantically kept texting - and the messages weren't being marked as read.

so i called.

like 4 times.

with no answer.

until bill finally called me back

he was on the phone doing his review for work (he works from home)

oooooh.  i was relieved and felt silly. 

i asked what was for dinner and bill thought he would make himself a grilled cheese

which just sounded fantastic with some tomato soup.

so i stopped off at the grocery before heading home

sizzled some butter

made sure the bread was nice and saturated

added cheese and toasted until crisp.  the key to a fantastic grille cheese is totally an cast iron skillet.

and honestly nothing tastes better with a grilled cheese than tomato soup.

the soup really was that orange - it was campbell soups "harvest yellow tomato" or something.  it was quick and hit the spot.  but i'm not really sure how you get 2.5 servings out of those little cans.

enjoyed on the couch while texting bill and looking at pinterest :)

nobody freak out

i don't want to alarm anyone

which is why i haven't mentioned this until now

but until this past saturday (exactly 2 weeks before my wedding)

i didn't have a dress.

i know.

who does that?

i mean what kind of bride am i?

well, for starters, one who just wanted to hop on a plane and do something fun instead of planning a wedding!

so i've known for weeks i needed to go find something.

and for a few weeks i was too busy to do that.

and then all of a sudden i was like whoa.

get on that.

so i went to david's bridal to look at short dresses

there weren't any really available in my size and i would have to order - and i doubt 2 weeks is enough lead time.

i also decided that since this was a beach wedding i wasn't overly worried about the dress being an actual wedding dress.

the short dresses i was eying at david's were just over priced summer dresses anyways.

so i headed out saturday to the mall to see what i could scrounge up

apparently the mall doesn't open until 10 on saturday.

so waiting in the parking lot at 8:45 did me zero good :)

once the mall finally did open - i decided to see what anne taylor and gap had on clearance racks.

anne taylor had several cute summery tops - but since i was in dress mode i nixed them and headed to gap

i found 3 different styles of white flowy summer dresses.  one worked the best so i purchased it

for $30

my "wedding" dress was $30.

i would post a picture of it, but since bill reads, i decided not to - i guess you'll just have to wait for the wedding recap!

i then went in to macy's to see if they had anything better.  there were a few comparable dresses, but nothing i was in love with more than what i had already purchased.

i did do a quick walk through the men's section since bill still needed something to wear.

i know.

we don't really plan well.

BUT!  our procrastinating plan actually worked in our favor - because all the summer stuff was 65% off.

i got bill a white shirt to wear with khaki pants for $20.

score.

our total wedding ensemble = $50.

i did want to find sandals to wear - but those are long gone my friends to make way for christmas decorations.

i have sandals but am hoping to find another pair when i get to the keys.

and since i was at the mall i HAD to check out our new anthropologie store

damn you anthropologie.

i mean, you have such cute stuff.

and i DO need some fall/winter options for work...

and about 30 minutes later and several dollars poorer

 

i got this.

Two-Button Sailor Chemise

in navy - with a white stripe.  i think the tiny buttons on the shoulder sold me.

i think it will look cute with flats or leggings with riding boots.

i've seen this shift style dress everywhere - but this one sold me since it was a heavier knit material instead of drapey jersey or too thin knit - the heavier knit doesn't cling and makes this very reasonable for the colder months.

so yes.  i spent more money at anthropologie than i did on our wedding ensemble.

it happens.

the walking dead is BACK!

anyone else catch walking dead last night??

i'm relatively new to the series

i played catch up over the past few weeks



















 

and waited in anticipation for season 3 to start.

i was so hooked i was afraid to watch the last episode of season 2 knowing i would have to wait 2 weeks to see what happens next.

but then i said screw it.

and i also went online to the message boards and read theories and also read all about the comic books.

so i don't want to ruin what happens in the first episode for anyone who DVR'd it. 

but i want to say









did lori's bump freak anyone else out?  i mean the bump looked freaky to me, and the way she ran with it - i mean i've seen pregant runners and they don't hold their bump...

that's all...

this is also a PSA for anyone who has not seen the walking dead - maybe i was one of the last to jump on the series, but for any other stragglers - go get caught up on netflix!

weekend routine

oh hi there

the weekend is already over?

normally i would be all bummed out, but i have 8 more days of work - well i guess 7 since today is almost over with

7 more days and then i'll be on a plane headed to the keys!

but let's talk weekend.

it was great.

bill and i have got quite a routine down.  i was gone for a couple weeks, but prior to that we established a weekend routine that we repeated friday.

it starts with me getting home.

also - i left my phone at work all weekend!  no iphone pictures!  well, i took some with bill's...

then we head to our most favorite mexican restaurant

puerto vallarta  is hands down the best around.

i always order a veggie quessedilla.

and then we take advantage of any sales/coupons i received in my email - which typically happens to be bath and body works coupons.

they were having their 2 for 20 candle sale.

we bought 4 winter scents.

we also bought 4 or 5 in previous weeks.

don't judge.

then we head to target.  bill needed M&M's.  and then we usually buy random items and can never seem to leave without spending under $50

a rousing routine, huh?

saturday night was date night.

oktoberfest for bill and a woodchuck for myself at O'sheas.

we also split a plate of mile high fries.

where i also took pictures of myself

because i love my new hair.

i wore clothes too.  it was pretty warm out and i didn't need a sweater over my maxi dress.

about 30 minutes before our show started we headed to the actor's theater of louisville to pick up our tickets for dracula

and had a bourbon before being seated

i loved dracula!  i have never read the screenplay or novel or seen any dracula movies -so i wasn't quite sure what to expect.  i have seen the true history of vlad of transylvania on the history channel so i picked up on a few references.

this is only my second show ever at actor's but they put on really fantastic shows.  back in my college days i went to EVERY SINGLE production on campus.  i took so many english/theater classes several people thought i was majoring in that - no, i just love theater and improv - but i wanted to have a career... ;)  just kidding...kind of...

and so back to our routine - sunday is now spent getting up pretty early to walk woodford

then....we do breakfast...at cracker barrel.

i know.

we're 72.

but once finished we do our grocery shopping and head home for football.

i really don't mind our routine.  it's nice to get to spend that time together.