Spring Break 2010

For Spring Break, Michael and I went to New York City to visit his dad and to see the sights!!!  We had a FABULOUS time!!!  We drove to Tulsa in the snow on Sunday, flew out that evening, and were in New York till Thursday.  His dad lives in Brooklyn so we had the experience of riding the Subway to and from Manhattan everyday.  The area where Barry lives is about 3 blocks from where Jay-Z grew up and the trains we took were either the "J" or the "Z" train...that is where Jay-Z got his name.  I was a little nervous about the Subway but it was a fun experience that I am glad we were able to have.

On the Subway the first day!!!

On Monday, Barry took us to the Mad Hatter Saloon for lunch.  This was a really fun place, especially since one of the owners is a Razorback fan!!!  There was lots of Arkansas decor and they always have the Razorback games on. 

We also walked around Central Park for about an hour.  It was rainy, but it was still as wonderful as it looks in all the movies!!  We even saw a lady/man (not sure what it was) that looked identical to the Pigeon Lady from Home Alone...it was funny!!

Monday night, Barry had gotten us tickets to the Jimmy Fallon show taping!!!  It was such a fun experience and I would love to do that sometime again!!!  One of his roomates works for NBC and was able to get us the tickets.  I think if we ever go back we will for sure do something like this again!!

This was after the taping...they were really strict about not having phones and/or cameras out while in the studio. 

On Tuesday we did some more tourist things.  We went to Wall Street, Battery Park, and The 9/11 Memorial. The memorial was really interesting.  They had tons of things from that horrible day including things that they found in the rubble and people's personal experiences from then.  They also had the plans and pictures for the new buildings and memorial that they are building.

This was in Battery Park, but it is the statue that stood in front of the Twin Towers for more than 30 years.  There was an eternal flame lit in front of it.  It amazes me how the buildings fell but this could stand.

On Wednesday Michael and I had tickets to see the Lion King on Broadway.  Michael saw it the first time he went to New York and when I suggested that we go to a Broadway show he said the only one he wanted to see was the Lion King.  I figured if he thought it was good enough to see twice that we should go!!!  He was right...it was FABULOUS!!!  I don't even know how some of them moved or what they did to seem like animals, but it was amazing!!!

This was right before the show...so much FUN!!!

We also went to the Empire State building Wednesday night.  It was so neat to see the city from up there at night.

We left early Thursday morning to fly back to Tulsa.  We had a wonderful time in New York!!!  We spent Thursday night in Tulsa and woke up Friday morning and drove to Norman to spend the weekend with Michaels mom, Gran, Grandon, Aunt, Uncle, and cousins!!  We had a fabulous time watching Camille dance in OU's Scandals and spending so much time with the family.  I am so fortunate to be able to get along so well with Michael's family and to have him get along so well with my family...it just proves to me that we are meant to be together!!!

Long Time Coming

WOW...it has been a looooooooooooong time since I have updated this!!!  Well let me catch you up to speed on all things wedding!!! First, we decided on a menu. We are using Mark Henry from Catering Unlimited and are going with a BBQ menu!!  I am super pumped about this because I lOVE BBQ!!!  We are having Pulled Pork on Slider Buns, Smoked Sausage, Mac-n-Cheese, Baked Beans, and Corn.  I know it will be DELICIOUS and I can't wait for it!!!  Michael's WONDERFUL mom, my future MIL has booked a Photo Booth for the reception so we are pumped about that!!!  We went to Michael's cousin's wedding this past December she had one and it was too much fun!!!  Other than these few things we really haven't done much else wedding lately.  However, I want to take this time to tell you about a special man in my life that has recently gone to his forever home with Jesus.  My Pop's who has been suffering from ALS aka Lou Gehrigs Disease for the past year passed away on March 1st.  He was taken to the Hospice Hospital in Springdale, AR the Thursday before.  He was able to see almost our entire family and see us all one last time before he went.  I will never forget the time I was able to spend with him here.  He was one of the greatest most influential man I have ever met and had the privilage to call my Pop's!!! I love you POPS!!!

This was him the Saturday before, this was a good day!! He is wearing my sunglasses because he thought it was too sunny and that he might want to go outside. Nobody else would hand them his so I gave him mine for a short while.

Well, I promise I will be a better blogger and not wait so long in between posts!!  Check back in a week or so...Michael and I are headed to NEW YORK CITY for Spring Break on Sunday...I will have an update on our trip!!

Things to fill our home

Lately, I have been thinking about what I wanted Michael and I to register for.  I was thinking practial things...Michael was thinking a Vizio 55" LED flat screen.  So I knew I was going to be pulling teeth the day we finally decided to go and register.  Since I am a list person I knew I would want to go look before actually registering so I would know what was out there and which stores had the best quality and offer.  I also knew that I wanted my dishes to be red because I want my kitchen to be red with pigs.  Many people have thought this to be weird, but being from Arkansas and a lover of the Razorbacks...I thought this would be a good way to show our Razorback Pride without having Razorback things all over the place.  This past Saturday Michael and I were bored so we decided to head to Bed, Bath, & Beyond and Walmart to see what we liked.  Well immediately we began agreeing on things and actually picking out what we knew we wanted.  We also saw a few things that Michael was like ohhh I want this...can I please put this on the list?!?!?  As we were walking around we had our phones out taking pictures of the things we liked.  I also began noticing that there were several couples who were registering...Michael kept asking why we didn't just go get a thing and do it for real.  I stood firm on the fact that we were just looking and I was going to make a list to bring with us.  Well...on Sunday after church and lunch with my fam we headed out once again to register for real!!!!  We are officially registered at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Walmart, and Dillards.  Here are a few pictures of my favorite things....

This is our bedding from Bed, Bath, & Beyond, it is a Duvet Cover and I love it.  I am glad we decided on a neutral color so we have options for when we decorate the rest of the room!!!

This is our everyday dinnerware from Bed, Bath, & Beyond, The plates we decided on are the square ones but in this collection by Oneida. I am in love with the red!!!

This is our Paula Dean cookware from Walmart, it's non-stick and most importantly RED!!!

This is our China from Dillards, it is Coronet Platinum by Lenox. It is simple and I love it!!!  We also registered for some silver servingware that goes perfectly with it!!

Well these are just a few things that I love that we registered for. I can't wait to see what all we will get.  Overall, it was a really fun experience that Michael and I had...minus the fact that we couldn't figure out the scanner at Bed, Bath, & Beyond and found out that Walmart only has one scanner per store...GHETTO!!!

Benny Awards

So our photographer Dale hosts the Benny Awards every year.  Basically it is a way for him to recognize his couples from the past year and gives the public an opportunity to vote for their favorite photos. He has some fabulous prizes for the winners including a Canvas Print and an upgrade on one of his amazing albums!!  Well, Michael and I were one of the lucky couples to get a nomination!!!  Which means, we need YOUR help in voting!!!  Just go to the Benny Awards and click on Best Engagement Portrait, click on Natalie, then VOTE, and you have voted for us!!!

Here is the picture he chose:

We would lOVE for you to vote for us!!!

Checking off the list

Well, school is out for Christmas break and Michael and I have been trying to accomplish many things on our list.  First things first, I ordered MY dress the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. They told me it would be in for pick up around mid-Feb. Well, to my surprise I recieved an email two weeks ago that my dress was in!! CRAZY, I know!!  Michael and I were in Louisianna for his cousin's wedding when I recieved the email.  I was so excited.  I picked it up last Friday and it is now hanging safely at my Nana's house!!  It fits perfectly, I will only have to get the hem altered which is great news!!  Since finals have been over, we have checked out the last Reception venue...still havent made a final decision but we have been discussing decorating options at both places.  We have finalized our guest list...right now we are at 505 we are hoping it wont grow much more than that!!  We have been discussing the Tux options...Michael enjoys long ties and vest, while I enjoy bow-ties and vests.  We have been trying to figure out if we like all of the guys in purple and Michael in ivory or all of them in purple.  Who knew there were so many decisions when deciding on tux's!!!  Hopefully we will be coming to a decision about Tux's and a Reception Site in the very near future!! 

346 Days To Go

Well, there are 346 days left till we say "I Do."  Today the last 2 BM, Kelly and Kristin were able to try on the BM dresses.  I think I am going to do 3 in one and 3 in the other.  The dresses are so comfy and I can't wait to see everyone in them on the big day!!  Here are both dresses, they are from David's Bridal.

Also, today I tried on MY dress for everyone that came with us and we ran into some good family friends who also go to see me in it.  I was so excited because we placed the order for it!!!  They say it should be here by mid-February but there is a possiblity that it could be in sooner!!  I can't wait to see my actual dress, the one that is just for me and that actually fits!!

This past week my mom and I went to The Event Place and The Towncenter, both in Fayetteville.  Between the two we liked The Event Place better.  We still have to go and visit the Quail Barn before we can make an offical decision on the Reception Site.  Today we also stopped by a family friend's home and picked up some things that they used at their daughter's reception this summer that they are letting us use for our reception!!  Also, I think I have decided on the invitations that we will be using and how they are going to look.  I am excited about working on those here in the near future.  I think we have decided on how we are going to do the Save-The-Dates also, but we just have to pick a picture and the final design.  Each time I have looked at our pictures I pick a different one.  I think my mom and I picked out 10 different ones just today!!  Another fun thing that we did today was listen to songs that we could use during the ceremony and then at the reception for the different dances.  My mom was sad when she realized that the "Mom" songs weren't for her...that they were for the Mother-Son dance!!!

Well that is all for now, I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!!!  I know I have A LOT to be thankful for!!

Progress

Well, I finally feel like we are making some dents into our super long checklist!!  My mom and I have scheduled meetings with The TownCenter and The Event Place both in Fayetteville and after Thanksgiving I will be meeting with The Quail Barn in Bentonville.  I know it sounds weird, but I am really thinking the Quail Barn is going to be the Reception Site.  It is a barn out in Bentonville has stained concrete floors and corigated (sp?) metal walls.  It is basically in a big open field.  Sounds like everything I want, but of course we have to go check it out first!!  I know it is number one on my Dad's list...it is only $350.00 a steal I know!!!  Next, Michael got in touch with one of his Aunts to sing, we are still trying to figure out what she is going to sing.  Michael contacted the DJ, he is an Alum of SigEp that has his own DJ business, super nice guy!!!  I have decided on THE DRESS!!!  I have tried it on several times and my mom and I had plans to go to Brinkley AR so I could try on more, just to make sure.  However, my friend Meggie was in town this past weekend and we went to David's Bridal and she tried the BM Dresses on and I tried on MY DRESS and I decided that I don't want to put anymore on!!!  My mom and I just have to go up and order it, most likely over Thanksgiving Break because that is when we will have time.  I still am not 100% sure what I am going to do about the BM Dresses...there are 2 that I really like, just waiting for all of the girls to try it on so I can have everyone's opinion. Last but not least.....our ENGAGEMENT PICTURES ARE IN!!!!  Ahhh I love love love them!!!  You can check out a few at Benfield's Blog and if you want to see the rest, just let me know and I can post the link and password for all of our pictures!!  Well that is all for now...the semester is almost over so hopefully more planning will be able to take place!!!