And....One More!

I know I said I wouldn't be writing again until next year, but as you can tell I've changed the look of my blog. The last blog background was really busy and it made it extremely hard to read. This new look is simple, chic, and modern. I love the colors, the various patterns, and the headlining banner. Everything about it screams BETTER! Sure this blog is still a work in progress, and you may see even more changes in the coming year. But for now, this new background celebrates the fact I've been blogging for one year. YAY! My blog has been a great way for friends and family to stay in the know about my life's trials and tribulations. Are my blog topics always interesting? OF COURSE! Not really...but, it's been a great way for me to express myself. I shared some of the most awesome moments of my life, like HERE and especially HERE. I showed how I made some DIY crafts HERE, blog about the best of traveling in PARIS, ROME, and LA, and many other experiences, including toning down my SPENDING habits and keeping NIGHTMARES at bay.


I've been very fortunate to travel to so many places this year, beginning with a cruise to the eastern Caribbean in January. This was followed by Paris and Rome, California and Vegas, and finally a summer beach trip to Destin, FL. This year, I moved into Rob's place, got a new car, became the Knoxville ZTA Alumnae president, revealed my older sister is pregnant, and most notably got engaged (WOO-HOO!). It's been quite the busy year for traveling, trying new things like Tea (no more coffee!), and gaining new experiences and wisdom. I'm very excited to see what next year brings (a nephew and my WEDDING!), and hope everyone has a happy, healthy 2012. God Bless!! I'm leaving you readers a photo to reflect upon :)

Now say it with me..."AWWWWW!"

Christmas!

I can't believe Christmas is over, mostly because that means it's closer to the end of the year. In six measly days it'll be 2012! HOLY COW! But....I'm seriously looking forward to 2012 because it's gonna be AWESOME. In March, my sister will finally give birth to my little nephew (AWWWW!). And in October, I will finally become Mrs. Westerling. YAY! I've been waiting for this my entire life, and soon I'll have less than ten months of planning (which is actually kinda crazy scary in an awesome way. HA!). Anyways, I don't want to get ahead of myself. Let's talk about Christmas.


This year, Christmas was pretty bomb-diggity for Rob and me. We were able to divide our time between both our families on Christmas Day, so although this didn't provide for a relaxing day, it was quite enjoyable to see everyone. I got some pretty rockin' gifts I have to blog about, so here's the rundown:

New Garmin GPS from Rob

From the parents: Accompanying Christine for a 4 hr prenatal spa day, complete with massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, brow shaping, and a gourmet lunch :) Obviously they'll have to make adjustments, because I'm not pregnant. Sorry y'all, NO BABY. Not the mama!

An awesome Teavana variety set from Rachel. Such an awesome gift that lets me try a bunch of different teas.

Aw, shiz-nit. A Kindle Fire from Rob's parents. I'm gonna get alot of use outta this thing. I've already downloaded three books to keep me busy :)

A wonderful (early) surprise from Christine and Nathan. A Thirty-One lunch box with my future initials. AWWWWWWW! Love that 'W'!

Of course I received many wonderful gifts from alot of awesome people, but these were just a few that stood out. After the way things were going on here last week, I never thought Christmas would be able to raise my spirits. Thanks everyone for cheering me up and making Christmas 2011 a memorable one. See you all next year!!

Wedding Nightmares

I've been having wedding nightmares for the last two weeks, and it's beginning to really freak me out. At first my dreams centered around the obsession with my dress. Now, it's including a whole variety of things from the details on the day of the wedding to the groomsmen not showing up. The first vivid dream involved showing up to the fitting and the dress looked completely different from the one I had ordered. It had God-awful shoulder pads, a scarf, and a really bad sewing job. It was, to say the least, terrifying. When I awoke I had to sit up and visualize the actual dress I had ordered, only then did I calm down. The second nightmare took place on the day of the wedding, when I finally put on my actual real-life dress. Christine took one look and me and was like, "That dress looks really horrible! Why'd you pick that one?!" All the other people in the room were nodding their heads in agreement. All I could manage to say was,  "Why'd you tell me this now?! I have to walk down the aisle!" And finally, last night I had a dream I was watching my wedding day unfold whereby everything possible was going wrong. We weren't at the right venue, I had to tell everyone what to do, when for the DJ to play the right music, and on top of everything the groomsmen had crashed their car into a river and were headed downstream in their tuxes. Needless to say, they weren't at the wedding and everything was falling apart. At the time the dream was pretty horrifying, but now it just makes me laugh. I'm not sure if this is normal or not, but anyone else ever have these kinds of wedding nightmares?



My Birthday Celebration & What I'm Loving Wednesday

Woo! I'm turned 27 on Sunday. WOW! I still can't believe how time flies. Well, this weekend was an absolute blast. My friends and I celebrated dinner at Bonefish Grill on Friday (YUMM-O), followed by a party and some games. It was super fun until the morning when I had to meet bff, Abbey, for a birthday massage at Massage Envy. Aw, poor me, right?! It just so happens I was nauseous from that wild party, and getting out of bed so someone can push on my muscles and organs didn't seem like much fun. But, I got my lazy butt out of bed and somehow managed to show up without vomiting everywhere getting sick. Long story short, the massage felt great till she tried to literally pull my scapula and trapezious muscle out from my body. For those that aren't familiar with anatomy, basically, she tried to kill me by tearing my shoulder blade out. It wasn't a high point in my life. So Monday rolls around and it feels like I was hit by a truck. LITERALLY. I couldn't turn my neck to look anywhere on my left side. I felt like Ben Stiller in Zoolander, "I'm not an ambi-turner. I can't turn left." Well, it was true! So I got a massage redo, and THANK GOD! I asked the new massage therapist if they were supposed to try and extract muscles and shoulders from the body. She looked at me as if I were crazy. Finally I can say, thanks Abbey and Pam for a wonderful birthday present! I feel much better.



As for What I'm Loving this Wednesday, mostly it's my birthday presents. Here's the breakdown of some of my gifts:

A gorgeous antique ring from my parents



A Teavana tea kettle from Rob's parents. (I'm a total tea-snob now)



The awesomely hilarious new game Rob got for me

 

I freaking love these!! Rob is too good to me (but for some reason won't let me put these on his car. Hmm, interesting...)



Rob also got me a gift certificate to Massage Envy (yay, in case I break my back again)

All in all, it was a splendid celebration and I received many correspondence from loving friends and family. Love you all!

This Is My December

Rob and I got an early start on Christmas decorating this year, THANK GOD! Everything was done this weekend. Outdoor Christmas lights, decor on the inside, stockings are hung, and the tree is finished! Yippie! I don't think I've ever decorated this early and it really does lift a huge weight off my shoulders. We also cleaned like crazy so our friends and family could come visit for my birthday too! This weekend baby! Woo-hoo! The big 2-7. If it's anything like last year, my birthday will be pretty forgettable (as in, I couldn't remember what happened it was so awesome). This year, for the first time ever, I also brought over all my childhood ornaments to put on OUR tree. As I placed each one in its designated branch, I told Rob each ornaments background story. I told him where it came from and when it entered into my collection. It's always fun to reveal things about yourself, or to learn new things about your loved ones you never knew. So, check out our tree, condo decorations, and some of my favorite ornaments!

Rob did so good decorating the tree :)

Hanging my ornaments on OUR tree

Our first ornament as an engaged couple. AWWWWW!

This ornament is a fav in my family. It survived two tree fallings in one year. Very thin glass.

Love me some ZETA

Childhood ornament. I love that it has glitter...Rob does too :-D

I have several 'JOY' ornaments in honor of my middle name, and also because I bring joy and happiness to the world :)

Our gorgeous tree the kitties won't stop biting and climbing

The Christmas cheer continues outside to our front door!

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving has been ultra-fabulous this year. I attempted making sweet potato casserole to bring to the Westerling residence, and it came out wonderful! I not only got to spend time with Rob and his family, but I also traveled to Mount Juliet to visit my pregnant sister and visit the awesome flea market on Black Friday. I never shop at the big stores on Black Friday, mostly to save my sanity, but I figured a flea market isn't really big shopping. I think spending time with family during the holidays is what makes them so special, and it was so great I could spend it with multiple families. I also helped Christine set up the baby nursery! That boy is gonna be so spoiled :) Here are some photos from this weekend:

My beautiful sister :)

I really can't stop touching her bump :)

Granny Frannie

Beautiful

There's a baby in there!!

Baby Boy C is already very spoiled by his grandparents and aunts

I really can't wait for my nephew to make his debut in March. Super excited!!

Engagement Party!

So this past weekend, Rob and I had an engagement party with our family and closest friends. My older sister, Christine, came in from Nashville to celebrate (which, btw, she's 23 weeks now. YAY!) The entire weekend was an absolute blast! The catered food at the party was amazing, the bartender service was a much needed amenity, and the night was unforgettable. Rob's parents went above and beyond hosting this party, and I'm so glad I'll be apart of such a great family. Here are a few of my favorite photos:

Awww, I love this photo of us :)

My sisters and I

I love my growing nephew! (Yeah, it's a BOY! I guessed wrong)

My bridal party! Love these ladies!

Nancy and I

I had to add this hilarious photo of Rob dropping the huge bottle. Yes, it busted everywhere and nobody got to drink it. But, hey, I learned it's not "a bad omen" to break a bottle of champagne :)

Toasting to good times with good friends

My peeps

As far as my wedding countdown, it's one month down and eleven months to go till I marry the man I've been chasing since I was sixteen. It's quite a surreal time in my life :)

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Here are a few things that I'm loving this Wednesday:

This past weekend, two of my really good friends, Scott and Hannah, tied the knot. I'm so happy for them and glad I got to witness such an important and memorable occasion. They are now on their honeymoon in Kauai :)

Mr. & Mrs. Brock

I was super tickled to receive this picture from my older sister who is 20 weeks pregnant. She also finds out the sex of the baby today :) Hoping for a girl!

Preggo

I still can't stop staring at my ring, especially under the lab lights. It looks sooooo good :)

MacDaddy Ring

I'm super in love with this new photo of Rob and me. It was taken at Hannah and Scott's wedding. I love this man so much.

I hoping like crazy it doesn't rain on my wedding day, but then I read an awesome quote I want to share with anyone who is engaged, planning a wedding, or about to have their wedding. Don't fret about the little things:

"A wedding is a party, not a performance. If at the end of the day the two of you are married, then everything went perfectly."

:) This quote definitely keeps my spirits soaring. Christine and my dad think I'm gonna have this wedding planned by the end of the month...so far, planning a wedding isn't as stressful as I imagined. I'm sure it'll get more interesting as time goes on :)

I'M ENGAGED!

Oh. My. Gosh. I am engaged. I can't seem to stop saying that. It's not that I didn't think Rob and I would ever get engaged, more-so I thought he was going to do it on our cruise in January. In fact, I was certain of it! I'd thought ALOT about it. I dreamed of him asking me, how he would do it, how I'd react, respond, etc. I don't like to sound like a heartless bitch, but I knew I wouldn't cry when it happened. I'd be really happy/excited, but I wasn't gonna lose it. HA! So, here's how it all went down:


Friday after work I headed to Plato's Closet to find a black cardigan. I was perusing through the aisles when Rob called. He gets off work at 5:30 and religiously calls me on his way home from work. "What are you doing?" he asks me. "I'm shopping," I squeaked out. I hate telling him when I'm shopping. I usually just say I'm running errands, because I don't want him to think I'm a spend-aholic. Running errands implies I'm doing chores, or things I have to do like paying bills or grocery shopping. It makes it sound like I'm not shopping for clothes. HA! "Ok," he replies, "I'm on my way home. See ya there." This excerpt is always included in our conversations when he calls me after work. I look at my watch, and decide I have about thirty minutes left to shop before Rob gets home and I want to be there. I try a few things on, put everything back, because I didn't want to walk inside the house with a bag full of new clothes when I was just trying to find a black cardigan. I get in my car, drive home, and walk inside. Sitting before me on the dining room table is a huge bouquet of red roses with a note, and some candles lit around it. Now, some of you might have known right then and there what was gonna happen. Not me, honestly. I saw the flowers and thought, "We had a really REALLY good day yesterday. He must have had a really good day yesterday too and so he got me some flowers." I open the card and it says that he loves me and has a question to ask me....


A question to ask me??? By this point, I'm still in denial because I'm absolutely certain he is going to ask me on our cruise in January. Last time I checked, it ain't January! I even had that, 'I'm confused' look on my face. I look behind me and Rob comes out from the bedroom wearing a suit. That's all it took. I knew what was happening now, and I was completely and utterly surprised. He came up to me, grabbed my hand, and got down on one knee. I started crying. And not the tears-streaming-down-the-cheeks-while-I-smile cry. Oh no, this was a full on face scrunched up into a shriveled raisin, probably had boogers coming outta my nose while I wail like a baby kinda cry. LOL! Super surprised kinda cry! He said, "Michele, I knew when I had met you I'd met someone special..." I almost couldn't hear him over my own sniffling and wailing! At one point during his declaration of love, he stopped and with a concerned tone said, "Are you OK?!" HAHA! "Yes," I sobbed out while I tried to get myself under control, "keep going!" He asked me if I would marry him and opened the little box he pulled from his pocket. I didn't even look at it. I pulled him up to me, gave him a hug and kiss, and just held him...


When we parted, he put the box in front of my face and I smiled. IT WAS GORGEOUS!! He placed the ring on my finger and I just stared. What a freaking sweet moment! The man I love tells me he wants to be with me for the rest of our lives, and gives me a precious gift. AWESOME! After that, he popped open a bottle of champagne and toasted to our engagement. He went on to tell me all the behind-the-scene details of the planning and such while I got ready for dinner. We went to Fleming's Steakhouse to celebrate, followed by heading out to see our friends (all of whom knew from earlier that day). It was a magical night; I was on cloud 9. I'm still walking on sunshine :) I am so truly blessed and grateful! 


Not everyone knows Rob and I met in Chemistry class when I was 16. We dated on and off through high school, and he was my first love. I don't think I could have written my fairy tale any sweeter than this....

Rob and I celebrating at Roaming Gnome with friends

The Ring

Camping Trip

This past weekend, four couples got together and we all headed up to camp at Elkmont. Little did we know what an adventure it would become. The night was filled with playing various games, roasting marshmallows, telling ghost stories, lots of laughs, some crying (lol many of us were hormonal), and ALOT some drinking. By the morning, everyone was sitting quietly around the fire, either holding their heads or stomachs, as Rob cooked us all a 5-star breakfast. Ahhh, many times I have wondered what would happen to us if Rob weren't around. All in all, it was the most hilarious, most amusing, most enjoyable camping trip I've ever been on. So, here's a little peak into the nights festivities (before everyone headed home to recover in their own solitude).

My girlies and I having a blast camping! And Scott trying to photobomb us.

TJ and Jared relaxing around the campfire.

Rob (with his dorky headlamp) and Lauren 

TJ and I ready to start the night

Scott and Lauren trying the homemade Rice
 Crispie Treats. Oh, and Rob looking stalker-ish.

Nicki and Hannah trying to stay warm

Scott and Hannah playing games