New Baby

Friends, I am so filled with love today. Mr. SE's brother and his wife welcomed their firstborn into the world yesterday at 4:10 AM! Carter Reece is so beautiful and perfect, and I cannot think of a better birthday present. If this is how it feels to have a nephew, I can't even imagine the love that you can feel for your own child.

Christmas Recap

I hope all of you enjoyed a healthy and happy Christmas holiday! It was a blast being back in DC, and I'm definitely thankful for the time I got to spend with my family. That being said, it was hard to be away from Mr. SE for Christmas itself. Hopefully next year both of our families can celebrate the holiday together!

Mr. SE and I exchanged gifts before we went our seperate ways, and he treated me to this. A fantastic Blackberry Tour! At first I was really confused and frustrated, but I'm already in love with it.

My second gift was disguised within a word jumble of lyrics. The lyrics? Black Eyed Peas. Mr. SE and I are going to see these guys on February 12th at the Sommet Center!

How was your Christmas? I'm enjoying catching up on everybody's holiday through their own Christmas recaps. Next time I'll post about what I gifted Mr. SE (clue: it gets really hot), and my family (lots of Etsy goodies!).

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, readers! I'm spending Christmas up here in DC at my parents' house. We've enjoyed lots of good food, and many laughs so far. Last night we had my mom's famous shrimp scampi and attended the 9pm service with my dad's side of the family. This morning we opened gifts as a family, with my aunt that traveled down from New Jersey. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard about the snow storm that slammed the DC area. Here's what I'm looking at out our back window.

{beautiful}

Mr. SE and I received rights to our online gallery earlier this week, and I can't wait to share the photos with you soon! Yay, JCP!

Wedding Whirlwind Weekend

We had a super fantastic weekend. I knew FMIL SE was coming to visit, but what I didn't know was Mr. SE had planned for my parents to come as well. They drove 11 hours! I'm lucky to have such great parents who will do amazing things!

On Friday we visited our venue (I promise I'll tell tomorrow), and then headed to dinner at the Melting Pot. Saturday morning we went dress shopping (recap later) and I FOUND MY DRESS! Sorry to disappoint, I can't post it on here because Mr. SE is a snooper! I'm going to write a revue of the shop, because I can't say enough things about our experience. It was perfect- everything I dreamed dress shopping would be.

After shopping on Saturday morning, we drove downtown to show my parents where I work, the Cathedral, lodging options, and some potential rehearsal dinner locations. Honest truth: Mr. SE and I have never been in the Cathedral before. But we've seen pictures and heard great reviews, so we booked our wedding there. Seriously- it is the most beautiful house of Worship I've ever been in (& I've traveled in Europe)! What an ethereal experience! We went during mass- there was someone singing and I can't even explain the way I felt. Needless to say, it wasn't long before all five of us were tearing up. I can't wait to get married there, you can truly feel God's presence in that church.

Sunday morning Papa SE and Mr. SE played golf, while Mom SE and FMIL SE hung around the apartment with me. Later in the afternoon we went to Opry Mills to find dyeable shoes (don't even get me started on this one) and grabbed some goodies from Bath & Body Works. I picked up two candles and some fall body wash. The sensual amber and raspberry vanilla were my favorite! And now my house smells like a real apple orchard- delicious!

Beach Bums

{Myrtle Beach 2008}

What a hunky hunk! Mr. SE and I are headed to the beach this weekend! We're meeting FMIL SE in Atlanta tomorrow, and driving to Myrtle Beach on Saturday morning. My parents have a timeshare and Mr. SE has tagged along for the past two summers- this will be FMIL SE's first time. We're excited to have everyone together. Not sure whether I'll be blogging or not- but we'll be back on Tuesday if not. Enjoy your fourth of July everybody!