Spring (sort of) Break

Spring Break could not come quickly enough this year!  I was especially eager for this break because I had so much to look forward to.  Things like choosing flowers, color schemes, and THE DRESS!  Even though I was busy and it didn't feel like much of a break - I am so proud of all of the things we accomplished for the wedding. 

  

DAY 1 of SPRING BREAK
MISSION:  FLOWERS

I am so fortunate to have a mom who is not only my mom, but my best friend.  I completely trust her judgement and we have had the best time planning.  I was so happy that Kathy, my fabulous future mom-in-law was able to come to Fort Worth to help hand pick the flowers. 

Our florist is phenomenal!  I showed up with a few pictures of what I had in mind and he helped us pick the perfect petals! 


 This is after our great day of flower shopping!  But do you think we stopped there?  NO WAY!  My mom and I are shameless shoppers and are notorious for literally "shopping 'til we drop", so we completed the must-do for the day, flowers, and moved on to leisurely shopping.  We picked up my sweet future hubby and went to Hobby Lobby to shop for our new patio furniture that I love.  

While at Hobby Lobby, Jay couldn't miss out on an opportunity to take a silly picture. 

Jay and I now have a place to sit outside, drink coffee, listen to our favorite, Dave Matthews, and enjoy our flowers and one another every night.   I made "enjoy our flowers" bold above because it is by the grace of God these flowers have made it and are flourishing!  The pansies I planted in January lived only two weeks.  Needless to say, I wasn't blessed with a green thumb, but I am so thankful these petunias are so resilient and hearty.  We enjoy them tremendously! 

Thank you from both our us to our wonderful mommas and  dads (helping from a distance).  We love you! 



Wedding Planning!

It has been too long since my last post.  When I started this for us, I promised myself to commit to one new post weekly (at least).  We can see how successful that goal has been.  Oh well, I have a great excuse for our neglected blog...WEDDING planning, of course! 

I have to rewind all the way back to before Spring Break.   My precious dad, who has always provided me with my all of heart's desires called to tell me that Jay and I could officially contact Ashton Gardens, our venue, to book it for our wedding!  He definitely could not have just called to let us know we could book the venue, but he had to suggest renting the Knights of Columbus Hall in our hometown of Burkburnett for an affordable $75 for the whole evening, first.  I let him have his fun and put in his two cents, knowing without a doubt that he ultimately wouldn't resist the opportunity to make me happy!

Below is a picture of our venue, the absolute most beautiful place in the world for a wedding, if you ask me.  I have been dreaming all my life about the perfect place to be married and this is  what I have envisioned forever.

Our ceremony will take place at 7:30 in the evening in this beautiful chapel.  I can't wait to walk with the most important man in my life for the last 24 years to meet the man of my dreams at the end of this aisle. 

After the ceremony, you know we will be having the most fabulous reception.  It will also be taking place on site at Ashton Gardens.  I know I'll be elated since I'll be a married woman and all - but part of me is equally excited about the fabulous macaronni and cheese bar that we'll have to serve our guests!  :)

Isn't it marvelous?  I am counting down the days the best day of our lives! 

Snow Days!

North Texans saw weather like we haven't in at least 20 years over the last couple of weeks.  I was out of school February 1st-4th, and then again on the 9th!  We had record lows and negative degree wind chills. 

We had nights of bitter cold - so Jay and I watched movies on Netflix and drank at least two bottles of moscato.  First, we watched The Last Song, which had a nice story, but confirmed Miley Cyrus has no business in the acting arena.  Then, The Runaways with Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart.  The movie told the story of Joan Jett.  It was a decent movie - but I have to admit, it was difficult to watch Dakota Fanning act in such a mature role.  I guess she can't stay a baby forever, she's just one of my favorite child actors. 

In between the two movies, Jay thought it would be a great idea to put in my hair extensions.  What do you think?  I can remember my Jay having long hair in the past, but I must say, I prefer his clean cut look much more! 

The picture on the right shows Jay making his favorite, a red draw.  It is a beer mixed with tomato juice, beer, tobasco sauce, and in our house...lots of SALT!  A venue in Wichita Falls called Bar L claims to have created the red draw.  If you haven't ever had one, it's a must!  They are fabulous pool or lake side in the Summer.  Jay has recently started substituting the tomato juice for a bloody mary mix called Zing Zang, which is good too! 

I can be comforted in knowing that everyday will be a surprise and have an element of entertainment in my life with Jayson.  You never know what he is going to do - he'll probably kill me for adding this video, but ENJOY!  I'm not sure what his inspiration for this dance was, but he never fails to make me smile.

Once we finally braved the icy roads, we drove straight to Snuffer's and ordered some terribly fattening cheese and bacon fries!  I texted my dad the picture below and got the response I should have known was coming..."once on the lips, forever on the hips".  That may be true, dad, but boy were they worth it! 

And as if you don't see Jay being goofy enough.  Here's our drive home...no explanations needed. 

Having a few snow days just days after our engagement was such a blessing!  We have spent the days brainstorming our dream venue, making phone calls, and enjoying our time together.  We never slow down long enough to enjoy every moment - but this weather has given us a beautiful excuse to do just that. 



Snowed IN Love!

Greetings from SNOWY Texas!  Anyone who is reading this post knows that one of our "things" as a couple is to wander to the Starbucks that is perfectly positioned (on a typical day) directly behind our apartment.  Starbucks couldn't be close enough today - even though we were faced with wind chills in the negative and a sheet of ice under our feet, we did not let that stop us, it was "baby shit" as my dad would say.  So, we Starbucks addicts, with Northface jackets as our outer layer, slipped and scurried to our favorite hang out.  But I didn't make it out the door without some fashion advice from Jay.  Apparently he was not fond of my outfit today (you'll notice I didn't include a picture), but trust me, my leggings, oversized flannel pearl snap and Uggs were a hit with the baristas! 

Success!  Equipped with two grande, sugar free caramel with an inch of steamed non-fat Americanos to keep our hands warm, we decided a trip to Wal Mart should be added to our agenda.  We were in dire need of salt, binders for Jay's new school semester, and masking tape for one of my school lessons!  In all seriousness, I'm not sure we would be able to eat a meal without salt - so this trip was a must. 

When we got home Jay was enthused and excited to help me with my lesson plan for school.  Next week, I will be teaching my third graders about energy and I am using pull-back cars to show the difference between potential and kinetic energy.  I think Jay would like to be a student in my class...look how much fun he was having!

VROOM VROOM!  I love it!  What a fun day with my sweet Jay!  It's the coldest week we've had in Texas in 22 years!  Tomorrow will be another snow day...what's next?  I can't wait to see. 

Engaged and Elated

I know I'm a little premature with the whole Mr. and Mrs. Sims title, but my hopes are that I will keep up with this blog long into the future.  Since I WILL be Mrs. Sims in the near future, what the heck?  :0)

So, I'm sure all that are reading this are well aware that we are now happily engaged!  YIPEEEEE!

We were engaged on Tuesday, January 25th, 2011 at the Gaylord, our favorite place! The night of our engagement is a night I will never forget.  We went to dinner at Bob's Steak and Chop House in Grapevine with my family.  I didn't think the night could get any better after I was full with a delicious bone-in filet and time with some of my favorite people in the world - but little did I know, Jay had a surprise up his sleeve (or in his pocket, actually).  

After returning to the Gaylord, Jay and I ordered a drink, and decided to go for a walk while we waited for my parents.  Jay now tells me that we were going to be engaged while sitting on the bench where he was waiting to pick me up for our first date, which also happened at the Gaylord.  But, someone was sitting in "his" spot.  Knowing Jay, I know he was very nervous and instead of waiting for the man to get off the bench, he walked me to another location near the margarita bar. 

We sat down and Jay preceded to tell me how I was his best friend.  I told him that he was mine as well.  I really had no idea yet, I don't know if it's due to the chocolate martini I had at dinner, or because Jay and I always tell each other how we are best friends.  Never the less, Jay made his intentions quite apparent soon after - he went on to tell me that he fell in love with me the very first night, just a few feet away and butterflies started fluttering in my stomach.  Then, he got on one knee and asked me to marry him.  I can not find the words to express my happiness.  If you take the happiest moment of your life and multiply that times a million, it may be close.  :)

After I cried and said YES, we walked back to the bench where a pianist was playing "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and singing to us.  We danced and am now certain more than ever that I am the luckiest girl in the whole world to be marrying the love of my life, Jayson Sims.