Wishing and Waiting.

It's gloomy and cold outside, so I am "waiting and wishing" for the warm weather to grace us with its presence again! I can't wait for summertime where I can read and do my homework outside on the patio or in the park! I haven't had a chance to write in quite some time...not doing good on holding to "writing three times a week." Oops. The weekend was wonderful. We hung out with some friends at a neat bar in downtown Saturday night and Sunday, we had our date day; we saw Slumdog Millionaire-great movie and afterwards went to the Melting Pot for happy hour! I did a lot of studying this weekend seeing as I have a test this Thursday in biology...ew! Please do a prayer for me that day...we are expected to know NINE weeks worth of material. Lovely. Thankfully, I have an awesome fiance who is willing to come over every night to help me study! I'm sure he could take the test after the studying we are about to embark on...too bad he couldn't. Tests = high anxiety for Shefy. Haha. Only two and half more years to go! YES! I keep telling myself it will be worth it when it's over b/c I will be married and where I want to be in my career! It helps when I go on Mondays to the elementary school where I mentor...makes me realize why I am doing this even if it is going to be tough. :)

Not much has been going on in the wedding area. We are going home this weekend and possibly the next (to attend a bridal show...my first!). I'm really excited about this weekend! We are going to be celebrating St. Pat's in StL (so different from Rolla's celebration...haha) with some of our best friends, so I can't wait! Plus, I get to see the women of Bryan's mom's side on Sunday for Kelsey's bridal shower, so I am super excited about this as well! I love wedding stuff...always a happy occasion!

I wanted to post some of these pictures I found from the Bride's Cafe and Snippet and Ink's blogs of nifty/creative/cute wedding pictures! Happy Monday! Love.

Coming Together.

What a wonderful weekend. Apart from seeing some of my best gals-Sus, Jess, and Bansi-Bryan and I got to spend some quality time with my parents planning for the wedding and celebrating my dad's birthday (I love the picture!). We spent most of Saturday looking at two hotels-Hilton and Renaissance at the airport. We all loved the Renaissance. The wedding coordinator, Gene, was a hoot and a great person overall. They had a three-course tasting for us as well, which was FABULOUS considering I am a foodaholic. And, we met with an Indian woman who does the decorations for the Indian ceremony. Plus, we found out she puts flowers together for the whole wedding-ceremony and reception-at wholesale. How awesome, right? Bryan and I were going to try for the fake flowers for the wedding party and reception, but with the vibrant colors we have chosen, we might have to use real flowers. But, this woman really had everything at VERY decent prices. We are hoping to finalize on the location sometime in the next month! Once it is decided, I will write some more. So excited. It really feels like we are planning for a wedding now. We look forward to our next visit home for more wedding stuff and to see some of our good friends for St. Pat's!

P.S. Susie, one of my bridesmaids, came over Saturday morning to get measured for the Indian dress. She got to try on one of my mom's Indian dresses...all I am going to say is Bryan and I are going to have a stellar wedding party! I can't wait!

Love.

Chills-The Good Kind.

It is 70 degrees outside, running with the light breeze sweeping over my face, listening to the BEST band-Coldplay all the while smiling on a Wednesday afternoon. Cars are driving by wondering what I must be listening to on my iPod as I have the biggest grin on my face. Little do they know, it's not what I am listening to, it's what I am thinking about: in less than 16 months, I get to be Mrs. Lindsey! I get chills-the good kind that run through your back all the way to your neck and arms-for almost half of a mile, not because of the breeze, but with the thought that I get to marry the man I had always dreamed about. I couldn't help but think how wonderful today was. God blessed us with wonderful, warm weather to enjoy the day outside, and He thought, well He knew, I would take advantage of it by running outside. Boy does He work miracles showing me how to enjoy the wonderful little things in my life to realize how lucky I am!

As I was running, I thought of our big day, special day, the most memorable day all the while realizing I get to spend it with all the people I love the most-family and friends-celebrating something very special with my best friend. It made me think how I am ever so grateful for my friends. They have helped me become the person I am proud of being today! They are my strength, backbone, shoulder to cry on, ear to listen to for everything and anything, and my sisters! My family-mom, dad, and little one otherwise known as "Baby Shefy"-who has shown me all the love and support one girl could receive; I would do anything and everything for them as I would with my friends. The family I soon get to be a part of-Bryan's famile (French for family); they have taught me how to love, have fun, and always follow my heart! I seriously lucked out...I know why Bryan is a gem now! And, I get three sisters (Crystal, Beth, and Brandi) and a brother (Brad) to add in a year or so! I can't wait!

The biggest blessing I was given was my best friend-Bryan, Bizzle, B, B-Ryan, or whatever else I call him. Haha. I never, EVER in my wildest dreams thought I would be getting married to someone as amazing as him. The one who is the boy-version of who I am or at least that is what we think (minus the emotions-me...haha). The one who is my world. My best friend. My other half. So few find this in their life and cherish it. And somehow I got blessed with this gift. So, I thank the man upstairs today for a wonderful gift, blessing, or whatever else you want to call it!

I have my health, I'm on my way of accomplishing my dreams, and a wonderful job...basically everything I need to lead a wonderful, awesome life! Don't ask me what brought on this post today. Maybe it is the weather. Maybe it was the run and breathing some fresh air knowing spring is around the corner. Or, maybe it is a combination of appreciating life with all of its greatness! With all the news around the world of depression, recession, war, greed, hunger, and whatever else, you have to stop, take a run, and feel the chills-the good ones-to make you realize how wonderful life is and how fortunate you are! Much love.

Lovely. Beautiful. Flowers.

Flowers are one of my absolute favorite parts of a wedding. Maybe it is because Shefali means flower. Or, perhaps, they are so stunning in their color and variation, it is hard not to look at them! Going through many of my favorite blogs and other websites, I have stumbled across some beautiful bouquets that would look beautiful to use in our wedding. I don't really care what type of flowers they are, as long as there are some lilies since they are my absolute favorite flowers...maybe stargazer lilies! Ohhh, they are so pretty! The first three pictures are ones I love for the bridesmaids; it has so many fun colors! And, the dark pink and red bouquet is for me! It is so funny because normally, brides have more white and light pink, but mine is the very opposite!

Bryan and I hope to spend some time this weekend discussing some wedding details together, concentrating more on narrowing down our guest list of our friends (it's a bit crazy...haha), so we can share some of our ideas with my parents next weekend! We are so excited for spring to come (minus the allergies on my part) because we have some fun things to look forward to. We are aiming for a celebratory engagement dinner with our parents, since the holidays had been crazy. And, Bryan's mom and Aunt Therese are trying to put together a "Girls Weekend" trip to the Lake of the Ozarks in August! How fun is that?! I am so excited! Our goal this summer is try and travel a bit more than last summer. Bryan and I hope we can make it to the Kentucky Derby (we have always wanted to go!), Chicago (possibly with some of our friends!), Arkansas to visit our dear friends, Kari and Andy (we miss them so much and wish they would move closer to all of us!), and maybe a weekend getaway to somewhere within driving distance for us to enjoy! Not to mention, who doesn't love the warmer weather?! We can finally start to run back outside instead of working out indoors! I just wish we lived near a beach...I am leaving this up to Susie of investing in a beach house! Haha! Or, maybe one day we can own one! A girl can dream, right?! Love.

Wonderful Valentine's Day.

So, there are many people who boycott Valentine's Day thinking it is a Hallmark holiday. While I do agree on the Hallmark part, I absolutely love the holiday, well I love all of them! So, Bryan and I did not boycott Valentine's day nor have we since we have started dating. This was our fifth one together, and it was quite wonderful. We spent the day running errands and picking up ingredients to make for our dinner. In the evening, we made a FABULOUS dinner for three (Bryan, Martha, and I) with mashed potatoes, green beans and asparagus, and some delicious wine! Funfetti cupcakes were our desert...YUM! He happened to get me some wonderful gifts as well...a Guess watch (which I have been wanting since high school), Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul (my first Chicken Soup to start my collection), and the Fox and the Hound (we always recite the lines about being best friends from there, but I had never seen the movie). The cards was my favorite part! He got some Dodge brake light covers for his beloved truck from me! We spent the remainder of Valentine's day watching romantic movies and having some wine (one of our favorite things to do together). It was a lovely Valentine's Day! And, Sunday, I pampered myself by getting a massage, haircut, and taking my good friend, Ashley, for a surprise lunner (in between lunch and dinner) to the Melting Pot with my roommate, Martha and another friend of ours, Taylor. It was a wonderful time!!!

Oh my goodness...wonderful news happened over the weekend. My good friend and bridesmaid, Susie, got engaged to her love, Sean, on Valentine's Day! She about gave me a heart attack calling me at 1:00 in the morning, but it was the happiest news to hear. Her proposal was very sweet, and her ring is absolutely beautiful! So, now we have two (Kathleen and Sus) of our very close friends planning a wedding together for the same year! Our friends are going to be some BUSY ladies! I can't wait! Plus, we get to all see one another more often during 2010, which is wonderful! Not much in the wedding area (can't wait to go home in two weeks to finalize a location), so I posted a fun/funny picture I came across on Laurel Denise's blog to start off the week. Too cute and funny. Love.

Discovery.

I must warn you, this is not wedding related. Haha. I have stumbled upon a wonderful website found through one of my new favorite blogs, The Little Brown Pen. First, I must tell of you of the woman who writes this blog. She is amazing, and her life is so adventurous. She is married with two little boys, I am talking younger than the age of four. She is a copywriter for a beauty product company in NY. Not long ago, her family and her moved to FRANCE-PARIS, FRANCE! Just because, no special reason! How awesome is this?! Ever since I read the book Eat, Pray, Love (which ALL of you should read if you haven't...definitely in my top five of favorite books I have read), I have wanted to move to Italy or France and live there for a few months. Bryan and I intend to do this once in our lifetime, we just have not figured out when! (A guy I work with lived in France for one year with his wife...how neat!) I think it would be an eye-opening and fun experience for us both! Needless to say, her blog is a lot of fun to read as she describes some of her experiences while living in Paris!

Now, onto the discovery I have come across. If you haven't heard of Etsy, you MUST check it out! I think I have fallen in LOVE. Anything and everything you can think of it on this website-jewelry, paper good/stationary, scarfs, shawls, etc. It's wonderful, and the prices are VERY reasonable. I found some earrings and necklaces that I am basically drooling over since it is a weakness of mine; check them out below! What a great place to go to shop for gifts and let's face it, myself! I could see my mother going crazy over this website as well! What is even better is you can sell your products/ideas on the website as well. One day, I intend to own a small business of designing invitations and other stationary goods (I have about nine or ten professions I wish to accomplish in my lifetime)...I love this stuff, but I know I couldn't enjoy doing it corporate. I plan on taking some classes in design, and then starting right out of my home (like so many others have!). Who knows where it will lead me to...but I know where I can start by selling them: Etsy! I am so excited! Maybe I can find my "Something Blue" on the website that can be fun to wear for our wedding day. Love.

Well Said.

I cannot believe it is already Monday. The weekends really do fly by! What a wonderful weekend though! I did get to see my first Monster Truck Jam...quite interesting. I can say Cute Fiance was in heaven! He told me he wishes he could drive one of those big trucks...he would be quite the handsome man out there. But, I would love to see him in one piece at the end of the day rather than worry about him flipping over in one of those monstrous trucks! Haha. It was a wonderful time. And, I got my nachos and snowcone, so I was one happy gal! Saturday, I wrote my English paper (my only school goal for the day) while watching Friends (seen every episode at least five time, but laugh and cry like it's the first...I LOVE this show!), ran outside (GORGEOUS day!) with Bryan, and finished the evening with wine while watching Rumor Has It (my pick) and Hellboy (his pick). Saturday=BLISS. I slept like a baby that night. Sunday, I did some yoga, studied a bit for Microbiology, went to see He's Just Not That Into You (not one of my favorites), worked out with Cute Fiance, and watched the Grammy's/Wedding Singer for the remainder of the evening. Coldplay won three of the seven awards they were up for, so that was exciting. And, their performance was awesome! I can't wait to see them again in July with Bryan and some of our good friends, Sus and Sean! It was the relaxing weekend I had been longing for, so it was wonderful!

I did talk to my mother yesterday for a bit about bridesmaid dresses. Apparently, my aunt in Atlanta has a designer who can design and make Indian dresses for the price range you ask of. So, I think we are going to do some fabric shopping one weekend when I am home. My mom is thinking pink and green dresses with some beading for six of the girls, and a pink and orange dress with some beading for Jess since she is my Maid of Honor! Fun fun!!! I can't wait. :) I love designing and picking out material.

Here is something I came across last week on Design Crush's blog and thought it was a good way to start this week. Cute and sweet. Love.