The first steps of planning...

So this weekend was rainy and wet in Atlanta so Joe and I had nothing better to do than plan our wedding.  We are both super excited about all the planning so it is never a chore to plan (at least not yet!) It is also far enough out that there is no stress involved :)  We also had two big meetings set this weekend that forced us to start thinking about our "vision" for our wedding.

To start off the wedding filled weekend Joe and I had dinner with his family at Chops.  Who doesn't love an expensive steak every once in a while!  To say the least we ate WAY too much.  We enjoyed smoked salmon, crab cakes, steak, mushrooms, mac and cheese, creme brulee, and of course wine and champagne.  We also got a piece of super yummy bread pudding that had a lovely note from our waiter congratulating us! Here is all of us after dinner!

My future in-laws! 

So besides that, what did we do all weekend??? We planned!!!!

1) Planned a budget.  I knew Joe was a numbers person (he majored in finance) but let me tell you we have the fanciest Excel budget spreadsheet known to man kind!  It even has drop down menus depend on what option we settle for.

2) Got overly excited about our honeymoon.  Yes, I know our planning is all over the place but we have time for all the details!  We might as well plan what is going to be a honeymoon of my dreams (hopefully).  Needless to say, I might have to forgo shopping for the next year so that I can save up for it, but it will totally be worth it.  I don't want to share too many details because I don't want to jinx it but it combines a cruise ship and over water bungalows...how much better can it get!?!?!?

3) Met the planner at the venue.  We pretty much only had one venue in mind so this was easy to set up.  We just wanted to verify that it was what we were looking for even though we had seen the place many times!  It was exactly what we thought it would be, minus the chairs :)  Who wants red backs to chairs if that's not your color!  Although Joe might not think its a big deal (guys and their lack of attention to details) this was going to drive me crazy so we did some research and came to a happy compromise of inexpensive chair covers!  Other than that, the meeting went smoothly and now we just have to put a deposit down and make the date official!

4) We met with the deacon.  With both of us being Catholic we had always said we would do the ceremony at a catholic church.  When I called Deacon Nick to set up the meeting earlier last week it was the first time that the planning part really sunk in.  Something about actually setting a date and time to get married in the Catholic church and hearing about the whole process really made it sink in!  The meeting went great and we are excited about all of the counseling and retreats that will bring us closer together and really allow us to get to know each other even better (if that is possible!)  Below is a beautiful picture of the church :)

All in all, it was a great weekend to plan because we did not have much else to do!  Hopefully sometime this week we will make the date official! 

On a completely random note, I cannot wait to see my uncle tonight who happens to be traveling to Chicago from Slovenia the same time I have a meeting in Chicago.  Ready to enjoy some deep dish pizza before heading to Indy for the second part of my travels this week :)  I can't wait to be home all next week so I can cook dinners/try new recipes to talk about! Now stay tuned for when we set the date...should be coming any day now!!!

The First Post!!!

What better time to start blogging! This past week was one of the most monumental weeks of my life, so why not.  I got engaged to the love of my life, and we have quickly jumped on starting to plan our lives together.  Since I have always kept a journal, why not post it for the world to see!  Although in the past my hobbies have been consumed with cooking (mostly healthy), baking, and working out, I have a feeling this year might be quite different, and below you will see why...

WE GOT ENGAGED!!!

This past week (4-25-2013 to be exact) my boyfriend of 3+ years became my fiance :)  It was by far the best day of my life!  To say the least I was COMPLETELY shocked and overwhelmed by a million emotions at once.  I truly believe I am the luckiest girl in the world and he is the perfect guy for me.  With that, the baking might have to be on hold for wedding season (probably not!) but wedding planning will add a new hobby to my life.  I am not necessarily the planning type but as we start looking at venues and book a meeting with the deacon at Joe's church it all becomes more real and more exciting.  I am excited about sharing the ups and downs of planning the wedding as well as document the monumental moments for all of my friends and family.  Although it is back to reality and back to work for now...below are some pictures of the week Joe and I spent at Grayton Beach, FL with some of Joe's closest friends following the engagement.
 

Right after I said yes :)

Watching the sunset...admiring my ring :)  He did good!

The view from our balcony!

The whole crew at dinner the last night!

Last day on the beach!

So how did the engagement go down?  We drove down to FL on Wednesday, and arrived at the beach in the afternoon.  After getting to the beach and relaxing for a bit I started bugging Joe to come swimming (I guess that's still the swimmer in me!) Little did I know I was setting up his perfect moment.  After he quickly filled Matt (who filled in his girlfriend) that he was going to pop the question, he followed me to the water nervously.  He started his speech (The girlfriend...) knowing that was the list time he could call me that and continued to tell me how he felt.  Since he had started this statement before (always jokingly) I promptly said, "You're full of S###!" and started to get in the water.  After grabbing me, nervous of course, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!  After quite a few, "Is this real???" and "Are you serious???" I realized that I was supposed to say YES!!! which I did (as I was in tears after realizing it was all real).  To say the least it was a surprise!  We took a walk down the beach to let it all sink in and then came back, ecstatic that Matt and Lauren were able to get some pictures of our special moment.  I couldn't have asked for a more romantic proposal. 

After that, Joe could relax and enjoy his vacation as well!  After letting it sink in for a couple hours, we started the phone calls and I find out he did not tell anyone but my dad (what a gentlemen)!  Throughout all the excitement we couldn't stop smiling as we went down the list of people to call before we made it "official" on Facebook!  We took the week to enjoy the vacation and put off wedding talk until we got home 7 days later.  And now....let the planning begin!!!