top ten in '10.

Following in the lovely Mara's footsteps, I've decided that rather then doing a complete overview of the year, I would just put together a list of the 10 most memorable moments of the year for me! Here goes nothing!

[ONE] In March, Luke and I were lucky enough to go to Playa del Carmen over spring break with his parents and sisters. It was my first time traveling to Mexico. It was so nice to get out of cold MN for a week.

[TWO] I was also able to fly to Washington DC for a day trip, paid for by the college, to visit the United States Holocaust Museum. Being a future history teacher made this especially exciting because we were able to meet with the educational professionals at the museum who gave us free curriculum and advice on teaching the subject. After the tour, we had a few hours to walk around as we pleased.

[THREE] In May, Luke and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary. It seems like just yesterday we started dating! We celebrated by going for a walk in some local gardens and then a bbq with friends. It was a perfectly, laidback day.

[FOUR] On June 15th, I turned 21. I did the obviously mature thing, and took all of my friends to the MN Science Museum. We ended the night with dinner and my already 21-year-old friends showed me the ropes downtown at the bars.

[FIVE] My roommates and I roadtripped out to Colorado with my dad. It was an awesome ride, other then a few cramps, and once we got to CO we were able to do quite a few fun things including horseback riding, hiking, and just driving up into the mountains.

[SIX] I went camping on the North Shore with some close friends. We had the most amazing campsite, that was super private, and literally right on the shoreline. So beautiful.

[SEVEN] I went to see Green Day live for the third time, though nothing will beat being front row like last year, it was still a blast! They certainly know how to put on a show.

[EIGHT] We spent a weekend up at a friend's cabin. It was so nice to get out of Saint Cloud for a few days, and spend some time with our closest friends.

[NINE] Luke and I had dinner on a steamboat cruise in Stillwater, MN. It was such a fun and unique experience. Such amazing views!

[TEN] Of course I saved the best for last. On November 24th, Luke got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of his life with him. I'm so excited, and haven't stopped researching and planning since. We're planning a spring 2012 wedding!

This has been such an amazing year for me, and I have a great feeling about 2011! 

Happy New Year's everyone!!

xoxo.

love.

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i love him. don't worry, luke is aware of my sick obsession with billie joe.

wedding inspiration: dessert table!

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i think the idea of using a candy/dessert table for favors is just about the cutest thing i've ever seen. i mean seriously? who doesn't want to take a bag of treats home with them? I especially love the macaron towers in the last two images!

What did you/would you use for wedding favors? I'm always looking for more creative ideas!

xoxo.

wedding inspirations: marie antoinette/french baroque

i cannot stop swooning over this modern marie antoinette themed wedding. the colors, the flowers, the dress, everything is perfectly romantic. i would love to have a theme like this! definitely getting added to my folder of ideas!

*photo credit: marie labbancz

christmas weekend!

my big present this year was a new htc droid incredible, and i must say, having a smartphone is a tad bit addicting. it is so handy dandy to be able to check anything anywhere. i'm pretty obsessed at the moment, and i think everyone around me is hoping my excitement will die down soon so that i come back to reality. ok, so maybe it's not that bad. i will admit though that i am a bit of a tech junkie. i especially love the camera apps. its what i've been using to snap all of the "polaroid" look-a-likes in my last few posts. needlesstosay, i love it.

i have more then just that to be excited about though, tomorrow morning, luke flies in from minnesota. i have missed him so much, even if it has only been a week. i can't wait to see my fiance (still sounds so weird to me). speaking of being engaged, thats another thing i got for christmas was a wedding planning book and a organizer. if you only knew how OCD i am about that type of stuff, you would know that this is the perfect gift for me.

well, i hope that everyone is having a relaxing holiday weekend!

pretty lights.

today was a perfect, laid back christmas eve. 

we woke up early to start baking goodies. 

cookies, bars, you name it, we made it.

after opening presents with the family, we went on a walk with the dogs to look at all of the pretty neighborhood lights. it feels so festive, even if their isn't any snow here. 

merry christmas and happy holidays!

xoxo.

christmas eve eve.

i'm getting more and more excited for christmas. :)
what are your christmas plans?
xoxo.

denver city lights

the past few days have been just wonderful. it feels so good to have no stress. last night, my sister and i went and spent the night with our cousins that live in parker, and today we did some last minute christmas shopping. after eating dinner at noodles...yummm...we drove around denver to look at some of their lighting displays. they were breathtakingly beautiful. my dad told me a story about how my great grandpa used to help them put up the lights in denver. i love hearing about my family's history. my grandpa grew up here, and i always get to hear stories about his childhood. 

hope everyone is having a great christmas week!

home sweet home.

after working almost 40 hours in 4 days during the holiday weekend craze, i was super excited when 5 o'clock rolled around yesterday. i picked up my luggage and presents from my apartment and then headed over to luke's parent's house to have christmas with my future in-laws --- it still feels so weird to say that. we ate dinner, opened presents, and then we played a few hours of liar's dice and 20 questions. it was a great way to wind down after such a long day. we stayed the night at their house, and early this morning luke drove me to the airport to catch my flight to colorado. after a very very very bumpy flight, i finally arrived home.

it just feels so great to relax. no school work. no work. just me, my parents, my sister, and our three dogs.

:) sounds pretty perfect to me. i'll have more updates, and hopefully more pictures soon!!

xoxo.

charity.

"The soul is the same in all living creatures,
although the body of each is different."

-Hippocrates

This quote pretty much sums up why I became a vegetarian. I feel so strongly about this that I think I'm going to try to convince Luke that our "favors" at our wedding should be a donation to a charity in the name of each of our guests. The charity that I recently learned about is called The Gentle Barn. I heard about it on The Ellen Show. (favorite part of my morning routine :) ) The Gentle Barn is a farm that was started by two people who felt that animals helped them feel loved, when humans failed to do so when they were children. This charity is amazing. They rescue farm animals and heal them from the awful treatment that they endure, and they bring in children who need healing as well to spend time with the animals. It is truely beautiful. I would love to be a part of this amazing charity.

I think volunteering and giving to those that don't have what we are so blessed to have is an amazing thing.

Do any of you have a favorite charity that you feel strongly about?

*Image from The Gentle Barn website

almost there!

i'm done with my last week of classes today! next week is finals, and i couldn't be more excited about the end of the semester. after this semester i only have 2 semesters left, and almost all of it is student teaching. i can't wait to interact with kiddos (okay, by kiddos, i mean hopefully high schoolers). regardless, i am so excited! despite the fact that finals are next week, my stress levels are pretty low, which feels quite different compared to my previous finals week experience.

on top of school and work (i cannot wait to be done with retail) i've been going insane over wedding stuff. i still cannot believe that i am actually engaged! me? what?! everytime i look down at my finger, i can't help but smile (yes even in public, at work, or in the middle of class). it's rather embarassing. i think luke is getting sick of listening to me blabber on and on about it, but you can tell he's just as excited.


speaking of wedding stuff, i'm contemplating shutting down my separate wedding blog, and just encorporating it all here so you can all see! any ideas? what you you all like to see more of on my blog?

xoxo.

contented.

i have been feeling so happy these last few weeks. despite the fact that it's the end of the semester, and that i should be super stressed out, i'm actually quite calm. there are so many reasons to be happy about life, and i felt the need to share them with you. afterall, it is the simple things that truely make us happy.

1) luke william, my fiance, my best friend. i am so excited to marry this boy. i spend every waking moment thinking about our special day, and i just know that it's going to be everything i ever dreamed it would be, especially because it's with him.

2) school. i only have one year left of school, majority of it being student teaching, and i just know that i picked the right major. i get so giddy when i think about having my own classroom, and my own students. plus, there's something so exciting about getting out of this nasty retail uniform, and into some adorable teacher clothing. ;)

3) fourteen days until i go home! i can't wait to fly out to colorado to see my family for christmas. i got lucky this year and am going home for over 2 weeks. no work! no classes! essentially stress-free.

...and one last one just for shits & giggles....

4) there is currently a harry potter marathon on abc family! i guess i know what i'm doing all day. ;)