Hmm - that cake looks sooo familiar.

Wow... this Southern Living white cake that's on their holiday issue cover sure does look a lot like a cake I know from a year ago....

{via}

Just saying. :)

One Year Anniversary - Cake Topper

My one year wedding anniversary was this past Monday, and in following with tradition, we pulled out our cake topper to have a slice to celebrate. Here's a photo of our cake from our wedding day and you can read more about our cakes in a post I did earlier this year.

Whether or not the cake would still be as delicious as it was on our wedding day was definitely in question. It had been frozen in my parent's freezer since our wedding day, but made a 7 hour trek to Charleston from Birmingham after Thanksgiving in a small cooler filled with ice.... then immediately put in our freezer....then moved to the fridge the night before our anniversary to thaw.

We ate the cake slices off our of wedding china - we figured it was as good of an occasion as any to use it, especially considering we had yet to use our wedding china since our wedding day. :)

The verdict: Cake was still good! A little cold...as to be expected...but really good...snowflakes and all.

We also pulled out Michael - he's been "chilling" with his life size silver glove in our freezer since our wedding.

Here's the photo of our Groom's cake from our wedding day.

He's still got it... even though Willow wasn't so sure.

Did you eat your wedding cake on your one year anniversary? Did it taste any good?

As you can see in the last photo, I'm in my pajamas - yup, we celebrated our one year anniversary by grilling out steaks and baked potatoes, chilling in our PJ's, enjoying our newly decorated (love the smell of a real tree!) Christmas tree, and catching up on our DVR'd shows.

We were exhausted on Monday, because we had spent the entire week before celebrating our anniversary non-stop....in Disney World! Will have to post soon on that - it was amazing. Here's a teaser photo of us wearing hats and shirts that I made. This is how you know your husband really loves you - when he's willing to wear a cheesy shirt and hat for you all day in the Magic Kingdom because he knows it makes you happy. :)

Cheers!

Winter Wedding: The Dress

I'm finally settling back into reality after a whirlwind week and the most perfect, amazing, fun wedding ever. It was absolutely perfect but went by incredibly too fast and now I'm still remembering everything in a blur. No matter how many times people tell you as a bride-to-be, "Enjoy it - it goes by very fast", you don't really think it will until... it's Friday and you're sitting at your desk, back at work, staring down at a wedding ring and wondering, "What just happened?!?".

My photographer posted his preview photos today and I've been looking at them over and over. I cannot wait to see more. He is amazing.

So I'm going to try and recap different aspects of the big day with you as I get photos, video, etc.

But because I can't save one of the best things until last... I'm doing it first... my dress.

My.Dress.

Amsale Blue Label Dahlia.

The very first dress I tried on... purchased from White on Daniel Island... customized with cap sleeves by owner Jodi.

My.Dress.

Ivory.

Unique.

Hand made skirt.

When I bought this dress at White..when I decided this was 'the one', Jodi shared with me that this dress truly was meant to be my dress. Because just three or so days prior to my appointment (which I had made months in advance), Amsale called Jodi and begged her to do a random Amsale trunk show. They only had four dresses for her to show, but Jodi agreed - she only does 2 to 3 Amsale trunk shows a year..if that.

That Saturday I walk in and have a few pages of dresses I love... and one was the Amsale Dahlia. Jodi saw it and knew - "You're in luck lady, this is one of only four dresses we have from Amsale AND we're doing a trunk show for them today."

So, not only did I get this amazing dress completely by chance, but also for an incredible price - otherwise, I probably could not have gotten this dress because it would have been way, way, way too expensive.

I'll have more pictures of it for you later - but here are the pro's preview photos...

So, without further ado..... My.Dress.



Me, with my Mom and my Matron of Honor (my sister) in the background.

My photographer knew I was a dancer and wanted shots with my pointe shoes. Don't worry,
I didn't wear these all night. I'll have another post later with my 'Something Blue' shoes. :)

I wore my mother's wedding veil.



I also wore (for pics outside) my grandmother's mink stole - it still has her initials
monogrammed inside it. The bridesmaids are behind me - their dresses were GORGEOUS
and I'll have another post on that later.



Also wore pearls given to me by my grandmother when I was young and wore her
emerald ring on my right ring finger. The earrings and bracelet were my wedding
gifts from Bradley. They matched my emerald rings perfectly.



I love this photo. My.Dress. Love.

I know you've missed me but...

...I've been out of town celebrating. Will try to get on here and update sometime soon. Only about two months till the big day...so I probably won't be the best of a blogger as we count down. Cheers!

Guess who's missing from this picture...me! Lol...

Hello, my name is Christy and I am a Foodaholic.

So....yes... like every bride-to-be, I am trying to lose weight. I exercise like crazy and I'm anything but inactive, but I always joke that I do this so I can eat. And I do.

My biggest issue lies in the fact that growing up I had a really high metabolism. So even all through my college years when I ate nothing but crap and drank beer every night of the week, I maybe only gained a few pounds, but maintained my weight. I never had to worry about what I was eating...so I never learned that self control.

And then I hit my mid-20's.... {insert tire screeching noise symbolizing my metabolism}...

I'm usually at a desk eight hours a day. But I'm still active with working out, dance classes, riding my bike, etc. But again... I do this to maintain because of my eating habits.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not eating McDonalds every day - I actually can't even remember the last time I ate McDonalds. I have a reasonable diet... but I have no portion control... instead of having one bowl of cereal, I might have three. I also love going out to eat with my fiance...again, not making crazy bad choices, but we all know what the portions are at restaurants.

I also have no eating schedule...with work and everything else going on, sometimes I don't eat dinner until 10pm. And lunch is never at the same time every day. Good news is, I do eat breakfast every day...so that's good.

But it probably doesn't do me any favors that my favorite food is Italian, I love my white wine, and I have a sweet tooth like no other.

Source: fuckyeahawesomefood.tumblr.com via Christine on Pinterest

I eat healthy MOST of the time...and I eat the bad stuff in moderation. So that with my active lifestyle helps me maintain my weight...

...but...I will be the first to admit that I need to lose 10 pounds and get back to my college weight if not lighter. I'm in great shape...I've got lots of muscle, but I've got that extra pounds I need to shed, and I want to get leaner. And what better motivation to do this than for my wedding, right?

Source: grandmashomeremedies.com via Cristie on Pinterest

And I know that in order to start shedding pounds, I HAVE to start lowering my daily calories and actually being conscious of what's going in my mouth. I actually tracked my calories for a month using MyFitnessPal and I think I lost like three pounds (they're already back), so I know that tracking my calories works. So I need to get my act together and just do it (sorry Nike)!

And yes Christy, this means no more glasses of Chardonnay at night before bedtime. And speaking of bedtime Christy... this means going to bed before midnight! Lack of sleep hinders weight loss.

And yes...I talk to myself.

I know all of the weight loss tricks....eat more fiber, drink more water, get more sleep, cut back on calories, eat lean proteins, dinner should be smallest meal, don't drink sodas...etc., etc., etc. I'm educated... I just don't follow through with these, and I need to.

Source: moneysavingmom.com via Becky on Pinterest

My mom said she's buy me a membership to Weight Watchers for my birthday... my fiance told me once it would be a waist of money because I should be able to count my calories and do it myself without a program...but can I? I know a lot of folks who have lost a lot of weight (and kept it off) using Weight Watchers. Thoughts?? Is it worth the try if it's a gift?

What I really need advice (therapy?) on is how to keep my stress from sabotaging my healthy eating. The biggest issues I have is that stress or bad days are my food trigger... just like an addict is triggered by certain things to want to use, I am triggered by stress and emotions to want to eat!

Source: flickr.com via Kelli on Pinterest

A lot of people have told me, "Don't worry! You'll lose a ton of weight right before the wedding because you'll be so busy and stressed, and you won't eat as much." This is true for some people - my sister looked fantastic on her wedding day..and she told me it was mainly due to a combination of more jogs and lots and lots of stress.

But this scares me...because for me, stress makes me EAT! Like..."I've had a bad day I'm ordering a pizza" type of eating. And if it's a really bad day, that pizza will include a bottle of wine and ranch to dip it in!

My triggers can even be minor...let me give you an example... the other day I was going to get lunch on my lunch break from work. Subway is a hop, skip, jump away and I was going to get my usual turkey sandwich on wheat, lettuce, tomato, light mayo with a water bottle (see? healthy!).

I pull into the parking lot, which is typically full at lunch time. I'm already not looking forward to waiting in line inside. I see a car start to pull out of a spot..so I put my blinker on and wait. The car pulls out. And then...out of no where... some girl in a beat up POS car comes out of nowhere and PULLS INTO THE SPOT. I'm just sitting there with my blinker on, mouth hanging open..."Oh no she didn't!".

I've already had kind of a rotten day, so this was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I put my car into reverse {screeching tire wheel noise again} and think "Forget Subway! Grr!". Don't worry, I 'waved' to the girl who stole my spot before I pulled off. My driving anger issues I will save for another confession post. :)

Anyways...so of course I go to the next convenient place to get lunch... Arby's. It's right next door to Subway. Crap. So much for healthy. I pull up to the drive through and make the healthiest Arby's choice I could...well...not really...but somehow ordering a turkey wrap (which I know in the back of my head ISN'T really that healthy..but ignore) makes me feel better about the fries and Diet Coke. (And I know what you're thinking, "Christy...all of this could have been avoided if you made your lunches and brought them to work!". I know, I know...but who has time to make lunches??)

Sigh.

As you can see...all it takes is a stolen parking spot to trigger me to evil food.

In my mind, this is the greatest challenge I will face as I start my battle to lose some pounds before my big day. I have four months and a little over a week. Is it possible to lose 10 pounds that fast??

I'm also throwing around the idea of once August starts, not drinking any more beer - just low calorie liquors, and only drinking the low cal liquors on special occasions like my birthday, football games, bachelorette, etc. This presents another issue for me: I am not fun when I'm liquor drunk and usually don't know my limits with liquor to keep me from getting liquor drunk... :)

I'm also thinking of rewarding myself for every 2 pounds lost - like...2 pounds=$50 to spend on a new dress or something.

So..................... long post. Guess I'm making up for not posting much last week.

So ladies...share your weight loss secrets, successes, failures.... and how do you keep the stresses of life from ruining your diet?

Source: homemakers.com via clutterbug on Pinterest

Weekend Recap in Photos

Went to Virginia Beach, VA for a family friends' wedding.

Got to see my adorable niece - she's getting so big! Look at those cheeks!

View from our hotel room.

Lots of beach time during the day.

Beach wedding - loved the decorations.

Groom waiting for his bride.

Here comes the bride!

Bridesmaids in turquoise and bare feet - orange bouquets.

"I do!"

Unity sand - into an hourglass.

"I now pronounce you man and wife!"

Beachy centerpieces.

Orange flowers created lots of color!

Loved this cupcake tower - flavors were coconut and mint chocolate. Delicious!

Favors... at first we couldn't figure out what it was...magnet? paper weight?

Other favors included sand and shell filled candles.

Me and my fiance... my RTR dress, lol.

 Starfish favor was... bottle opener! Winning! Already in my beach bag.

I had the crab cakes - delicious!

One of our friend's daughters was ready for bed - so she decided to
just plop down on floor and go to sleep. So cute.

Not really sure what's going on here...except that my Spanx makes
my butt look like a rap star's girlfriend's booty...

Lots of dancing - yes that would be napkins on their heads. Kind of a tradition...long story. :)

Sunday night Bradley and I were still in town and a lot of folks had left.
So we went on a mini-date and had dinner on the water. It was so nice and relaxing.

Bradley. I love that five years later I still look at him and think "Damn, he's hot!". :)

Me.

Got back to Charleston (7 hr drive!) Monday evening - picked up Willow
from Pooch Palace where we board him - the dogs play all day long there.
Needless to say, Willow went right to bed when we got home...he snored all night. :)

THE END. :)