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!