engaged!

Last night was a magical, perfect evening, and now I'm engaged!

We went to the Melting Pot for dinner, which was fabulous and delicious, and then we headed downtown to the little ice skating rink they put up outside in the winter.  We were skating around, and he started asking me about my ideal proposal... the conversation went a little something like this:
  J- So what is your ideal proposal situation.. just us?  friends?  I know the jumbotron is out...
  Me- Yeh, definitely no jumbotron, but I don't know, I'd be happy with either...
  J- so, if I got down on one knee right now...
  Me- are you serious? really?  really?
And then he got down on one knee, told me he loved me and asked me to marry him, and of course I said YES!!!  There was some misting up, some hugging and kissing, and a REALLY gigantic smile on my face.  He told me to look over and I'd see his cousin taking pictures--I'm SO excited to see those!  After that, he said he had one more surprise for me, so we jumped in the car where I alternated between saying three things:
 1. We're engaged!!!
 2.  I'm so happy!!!
 3.  Where are we going?
As we were driving to the mystery destination, we called our parents, and his mom said, "Well, maybe you can stop by later tonight so we can see the ring and everything" and he said, "you know, we are actually driving by where you work, so we can stop in real quick and see you on our way to the surprise."  We walked in, and all my best friends, and our families were there!  They all suspected, but weren't for sure, until we walked in.  It was perfect to have our friends there to celebrate with us right then, and I couldn't be happier!!! 

Cookies, Cakes & Christmas Trees

The past week has been full of Christmas-y things, like decorating the Christmas tree at the boyfriends (this is pre-ornaments, I didn't get a good shot of it once it was fully decorated),

family events (one of mine, one of the boyfriends), and baking.  I made some mint chocolate chip cookies, and a mint chocolate chip cake--I guess it was the weekend for mint!  I found both on the ever so wonderful Pinterest and I was pleased with how they both turned out!  The original cookie recipe is here, but I altered it a little, making my own sugar cookie base, and making a few other tweaks, and I was very happy with how they turned out--I love mint, so having leftover cookies sitting in the kitchen has been dangerous!

Next up--Mint Chocolate Chip Cake!  I found the recipe here and I can't wait to have a reason to make this cake again!  I had a few challenges, starting with the grocery store--I looked at the recipe on my phone when I got there, and realized at that point that it was an Australian blog, and I wasn't so sure what a few of the ingredients were. Luckily, Google + smartphone saved me and I was able to decipher that bicarb soda is baking soda and caster sugar is really fine sugar that apparently, Harris Teeter doesn't sell, but luckily plain old white sugar worked perfectly.  The cake itself was a little saltier than I am used to, and I was quite nervous about it, but the super-sweet icing + cake with a hint of salt turned out to be a perfect combination!  I had a few issues with the cake trying to fall apart when I was putting it together, but I was able to make it work.

I got a little carried away with trying to decorate with Andes Mints, but I was quite pleased that the cake was a hit--I was really nervous about how it had turned out!  

I'm excited that I only have one more day of work before a week and a half off, and I only have one more Christmas present to purchase!  I'm quite ready for the break, and I'm excited for Christmas!!!

oh Christmas tree...

My little apartment doesn't lend itself to tons of Christmas decorating, but I did see this cute little tree in Target the other day, and thought it was the perfect size!  

And while this tree is perfect for my apartment and my life right now, I thoroughly enjoyed going with the boyfriend and his son to pick out a real tree for their house.  I much prefer real trees to artificial, and I'm looking forward to decorating the tree with them later this week!

Jingle Ball 2011

Thursday evening, the boyfriend and I got all dressed up and headed downtown to meet a few of our friends for the 18th Annual Jingle Ball.  This is the fourth year I've attended the event, and it is always a wonderful time.  It's held at Marbles Kid's Museum and your ticket to get in is bringing a toy to donate to Toys for Tots.  We got there about 30 minutes after the start time, and the line to get in was quite long, but luckily, it moved very quickly, and we were inside in no time.

We headed straight for the beer tent, where I was excited to find Sweetwater Blue (one of my favorites) on tap, and koozies scattered around on the tables.  I have quite the collection of koozies, but I can never resist adding another one!

A couple of our friends drove down from Wilmington for the event, and it was so much fun to see them, plus all of our Raleigh friends that were there.  I loved getting to see everyone all dressed up, and we had a great time chatting and drinking the night away.  The line for the food table was ridiculously long--we had friends that waited 45 minutes in line--but we had eaten before, so we skipped the line, and waited til towards the end to go through and sample a few things.  The food was delicious, but I was glad we didn't have to wait in line for it!  

We spent a little bit of time on the dance floor towards the end, and then headed out a few minutes early because my eyes were refusing to stay open.  It was a wonderful event, and one that I look forward to every year!  One of my favorite parts is seeing the wall of toys that have been collected at the end of the night.  It's so cool to see, and there are plenty more that didn't make it into this picture.

Can't wait for next years event!

traveling dreams...

Yesterday, I wore this pretty little necklace that I picked up a few years ago when my best friend and I spent a week backpacking through Europe.

Our stops included Germany, Prague (that's where the necklace is from), Paris, and London, and it was an incredible trip.  I started reminiscing yesterday, and I started wishing I had another trip to Europe planned... but since I don't, I'll have to make do with looking at pictures of this one, and start dreaming about the next!

We saw plenty of beautiful old buildings (in college i went on a month-long Cathedrals tour of Europe... amazing)!

Prague was beautiful, and so much fun.  I'd love to go back.

It was my second time visiting Paris, and I'd like to go back a million more.

We took a boat tour by night of the Siene and it was fabulous.  

Brighton Beach, about an hour outside of London, was an adorable town and I did quite a bit of shopping there.  

It was my first time in London--there were lots of amazing things, but the thing I remember most clearly is Harrod's (too bad I didn't get a picture there)!  If I lived in London, I would have to make at least weekly trips to Harrod's, because it was just that great.

We visited the Cabinet War Rooms to get a little bit of history while we were there, and I thought it was fascinating.

I think the hardest thing about taking amazing trips like this one is that then I always want to go back to the places I went, and I can't decide between returning or trying out somewhere new... 

crafty christmas

This weekend, I had the glorious luxury of having lots and lots of free time.  It's been a long, long time since I've had a (mostly) free weekend and it was so fabulous.  Sleeping in, getting the apartment clean, relaxing with the boyfriend, running errands, walking around the lake... all kinds of wonderfulness.  It was so, so, SO refreshing.  I was able to get a start on writing Christmas cards--I love snail mail and have so much beautiful stationary, but rarely have the time or energy to do it, so I was thrilled that I got a chance to sit down with my favorite pen and write away.

(seriously, these pens are amazing)

Not only did I get a chance to work on Christmas cards, I also had a chance to pull out my craft supplies and get the creativity flowing.  It's been awhile since I've had the time and energy to be crafty, and I've missed it.  I was able to get not one but TWO Christmas presents checked off the list, and they are now wrapped and sitting prettily in the corner under my lovely Lilly bike (because it's too pretty to leave outside, obviously, and takes up the only space I could possibly have a tree in my little apartment).  

For a friend who is a big State fan we have a "go pack" sign

(technology and I are fighting today--it won't let me rotate the picture)

and for my mother, who has quite the snowman collection, a little "let it snow" painting.

I have a few more blank canvases sitting around, and I'm hoping inspiration strikes again (hopefully when I have some free time) and I can make a few more of my Christmas presents this year!

Belford's Savannah

While staying at Hilton Head over Thanksgiving, we took a couple of trips down to Savannah, which was wonderful--Savannah and Charleston are two of my favorite cities to visit.  We had an amazing dinner with the fam at Belford's Savannah.  It is right in City Market, in a gorgeous old brick building, with amazing outdoor seating.  

  

It's in Savannah's Historic District, and you can read all about the history of the building on the menu (I love to reading things like that on the menu!)  It was Belford's Wholesale Food Company for quite some time in the early 1900s, and was an important part of Savannah.  The inside is just beautiful--I love old buildings.  

The food is was amazing.  I had the Shrimp & Grits (always a favorite of mine) which were a Southern Living award winner and they did not disappoint!  We also had Fried Green Tomatoes as an appetizer, and they were fabulous as well.  For dessert, we tried fried banana cheesecake, which was phenomenal.  All in all, it was a winning meal--great atmosphere, wonderful food.  I believe Belford's may become a necessary visit on all future trips to Savannah!

tour de franzia

Tailgate season is over now, but we had some great ones this year! For the State vs. Clemson game we did a Tour de Franzia. We had an abundance of boxed wine

plus the usual drinks--and we learned that wine + tailgates can be dangerous, but we still had a great time.  We had some great ideas for the Tour de Franzia, but didn't have time to put them all into action. However, we are hoping that next time we do it, we can maybe incorporate some bike races and bike jerseys.  I think it may become an annual tradition--we'll see what happens!

We were also celebrating a friends birthday so we had our usual cake when celebrating a birthday at a tailgate

Can't believe tailgating season is over, but just in time--now to get ready for Christmas!

  

t. g. i. f.

This week has dragged on so slowly, and I could not be more happy that it is Friday.  I am so excited for a weekend of doing nothing.  The boyfriend and I have grand plans to stay in and watch t.v. while we eat dinner on the couch--and I'm thrilled about it.  The only thing that would make it better is if

 t. g. i. f. was still on the air. 

Did anyone else look forward to that all week as a kid?  My neighbors and I would create our own little movie theater, get snacks ready, and settle down for a night of truly great t.v.

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I'm not going to lie--somewhere in my parents house the final episodes of Full House & Boy Meets World have been immortalized on a VHS tape, and every. single. time. I watched either one, I cried.  Especially Boy Meets World, with Mr. Feeney's final words to them.

My childhood, right there.  They just don't make t.v. like that anymore.