We're getting closer...

Well, it is a big week in Texas, possibly our biggest! Matt had his last two flights yesterday. This afternoon he selects (makes his wish list). There are four options. First, we could stay here and Matt would train to fly P3s. Second, we could move to Milton, Florida (outside of Pensacola) and Matt would train to fly helicopters. Third, we could move to Kingsville, Texas (about 40 minutes south of Corpus) and Matt would train for tail hook (jets, E2, c2s). Fourth, we could move to Meridian, Mississippi and Matt would train for tail hook. We know that we will be happy with whatever he gets. It is up to the Navy and we are ready and excited!

The crazy part is that we will probably be moving in the next two weeks, but we don’t know where we are going yet. For someone that loves to plan, it is kind of driving me crazy. Luckily, I have been filling my time with books, scrapbooking (Sadie currently has 16 pages), eating/drinking, and sunbathing. What a great summer. Basically, I know that the second that we find out, along with the excitement comes the stress. We will have to figure out a place to live. I will start the job search. We will have to plan our vacation (I have been trying to plan a trip home for months, but need to wait until we hear about where we will be living and when we will be moving). And finally, we will have to move.

To add to the excitement, Hurricane Alex is headed our way. We have been tracking the potential path of the hurricane and it is projected to hit below us in Mexico and southern Texas. However, according to the forecast we are slated to get 90 mph winds and heavy rain. We live on North Padre Island, key word being ISLAND, so this could be a problem. Needless to say, the next couple of days are sure to be memorable.

For now – back to watching the forecast and then headed out to buy water, batteries, and flashlights. I will keep you updated on the weather and, more importantly, our next moveJ

Here is how we have been spending our last couple of days...

Sadie taking a dip - she LOVES the water


Last Friday was the first time that we had dinner together in over a month - Matt has been flying nearly every day!


Matt is finally done with primary - let the celebration begin!!!!


What I woke up to this morning - Hurricane Alex - here he comes!


Our hurricane watchdog...

Our Wedding!

Casey did an AWESOME job describing our wedding...thanks!!! I thought I'd add my two cents in as well.

First of all, I know I've said thank you many times, but thank you again to my mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law, and Casey for all your help in the last minute details. I REALLY appreciated everything you did that week and wouldn't have gotten it all done without you.

The whole weekend was just awesome...it's amazing to see how it all comes together and then you can just sit back and enjoy being around everyone and celebrate the marriage! And celebrate we did.

Nick got in late Thursday night and we got up pretty early to get our marriage license, which is much easier than I thought! Then he played golf with friends and family who were in town and had a blast. I went to a bridesmaid luncheon with my bridesmaids and some family members in town. I loved having some time with all the women...having a great lunch at the Jefferson and getting to thank them for their love and support.

Bridesmaids at the luncheon


The rehearsal dinner was so much fun...it was at Hard Shell in downtown Richmond. The food was great, the wine was awesome and it was fun to see our friends and immediate family all together. I loved the intimate atmosphere of the restaurant. We had a really great time and got to enjoy a few humorous and touching toasts as well. Nick and I love nothing more than spending time with our loved ones over good food and drinks....so this was perfect.

our table


groomsmen


with Kathleen and Tracy


Then the wedding day....it was perfect. It was exactly how I imagined it and more. Well I didn't imagine it being that ridiculously hot, but regardless. I loved getting ready at my parents house where I grew up and having everyone be able to relax and eat as we got our hair and makeup done. It's always a little stressful to make sure everyone is happy with their look, but regardless of how they felt...I thought every single woman was gorgeous! Absolutely looked their best. I must admit I was pretty worked up and nervous, but as we drove over to the gardens it all turned into excitement.

Getting ready with my "borrowed" hokie garter (which I gave to Casey, she passed to Tina who passed it back to me) and my "blue" ribbon


When we arrived at the house in Lewis Ginter gardens, I loved seeing the tents up, chairs set up, the band getting ready, and the cake and flowers all coming in....I thought to myself, wow...the wedding is here!! Everything was beautiful from the flower arrangements and bouquets to the design of the cake...to my adorable little cousin, Claire, as the flower girl. The girls got in their dresses and looked AWESOME and I got in my dress...it was all happening!

Claire...my adorable flower girl


Bridesmaid Bouquets


Wedding Cake


Centerpieces...love my walmart lanterns, thanks for the inspiration, kat!


Getting married in the garden was amazing...I loved the greenery and trees. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed getting married outdoors. Until the thunder rolled in...haha. Nick and I focused on being present in the ceremony as strong winds blew things in my hair, thunder rolled during readings and vows, and raindrops started to drop during the last song. Occasionally I would wink at him or squeeze his hand to say "it won't rain...don't' think about it". There were also some very ironic and symbolizing moments in the ceremony, when the readings talked about "when the sun won't shine" or how our recessional song was "here comes the sun". But rain did come...just after we walked down the aisle. Luckily everyone got up and under the tent just in time and it down poured for about 15 mins. Just enough to cool things down a bit until the sun came out again. Also just enough to make for a great story and not a disastrous tale! All in all, I wouldn't have it any other way...I love the way it all happened and as my brother said "only my sister would push it to the limit and have it work out just fine". haha.

Walking the aisle with Dad


my dress...loved it :D


little bit of weather...no big deal, thanks casey!



Mr. and Mrs Nicholas Gupta!


The reception flew by, but I can tell you this - the food, wine, and beer were delicious and we got to enjoy it all thoroughly. People were on the dance floor from the first song the band played to the very last....and people rocked out. I saw some sweaty dancing fools, which I ended up being myself. The toasts by Casey and Josh were sooooo wonderful...thank you! The length of the wedding was perfect and we had a great exit. I loved it all...wouldn't change a thing and would love to relive it one more time. Most of all I'm just so glad everyone had a great time...we heard rave reviews about the food and the band...two things that make a great party. All we wanted was for our loved ones to have fun and I believe we succeeded.

Our first dance


Enjoying our dinner


Go Hokies!


singing on stage


Cutting the cake


Dance...dance...dance


Exiting with bubbles



Definitely a weekend we'll never forget...and will replay forever in our minds. Thank you to to everyone for their best wishes, love, and support which got us to this day and will surely carry us into our future.

p.s thank you for everyone who took and posted pictures...anyone else, send them along!! BIG THANKS, to our photographer, Sarah Cramer Shields - CramerPhoto, she is the absolute BEST for documenting a special time in your life. check out her blog here

Pre-Wedding Fun Times

So leading up the wedding there was a lot of...you guessed it...preparation! But there were some fun times leading up to the big day too.

Casey planned an incredible bachelorette party in Key West...it was filled with my best friends, great food, delicious frozen concoctions and tons of dancing. We were up and down Duval Street many times and found our spot at Sloppy Joes which had a great band. We all danced and danced...so much fun. A couple moments I'll never forget are dancing on stage at Sloppy Joes, lying by the pool at the Westin with my best friends, awesome outdoor dinners, the drag queen show, doing a drinking tour of Duval Street, and brunch at Blue Heaven. I can't tell you how special I felt all weekend...it was seriously one of the best times of my life.

All the Girls!


A Key West Sunset


View from our room!


Back in NY the following weekend, our friends, Abby & Laura, came to town. Abby's artwork...a seeing eye dog with a detachable head...was used in a local theater group's show in Brooklyn. We went to the show with them which featured a bunch of local artist's theater pieces, some were great, some were off the wall. The seeing eye dog stole the show. It was Nick and I's first time to Brooklyn! We plan to visit other parts and go to the Brooklyn Brewery at some point. Abby and Laura then came back and stayed at our apt...it was really fun hanging out with them. check out abby's incredibly creative artistic talent on her blog here.

At Tortilla Flats, the mexican resturant in our neighborhood


Nick and I also did a little exploring through union square and the lower eastside (LES). We visited one of the many huge whole foods in the city, but this one has a pickle bar(!!) and a large beer room where they will fill a growler for you with one of their 5 beers on tap for the day. We roamed around Union Square which has every super-store you could want, best buy, dsw, petco (Cole got a nice sporty new collar for baseball season) plus lots of other stores and restaurants. We walked through the square which usually has really great fresh produce vendors or artists. This day it was all art. We ended up buying a really awesome canvas photography print for our apartment and also got to watch a guy create an incredible sidewalk sand design.

Whole Foods beer room


The pickle bar!


Totally blogged about it...


Sidewalk sand artist



In Union Square


Cole's sporty collar


Our new painting!



For memorial day weekend we stayed pretty low key...took Cole to the local dog park pool, went to a park so Nick could play disc-golf, and ate on our balcony all weekend. We got new balcony furniture which is offers us a nice table-top to eat meals on!

Cole enjoying the new furniture!

Our first balcony dinner!


We also ate dinner at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Tartine. It's on our street, 4 blocks away and is a small french byob (bring your own booze). We LOVE byob's b/c we can bring our own wine with no corking fee and not get overcharged for alcohol! Not to mention this restaurant has awesome food....we looove the escargot and always ask for more bread to soak up that buttery garlic it's served in. healthy...we know. That night we shared a bottle of wine that Melissa and Scott Broaddus (friends from VT) gave us at one of our wedding showers. It was appropriately called "Monogamy"....we drank it on this occasion to celebrate our days-away wedding...a great way to lead into the wedding week.

I'm Back!!!

Hello long lost blog followers!!

I promise that I'm still part of this blog too...Casey has been awesome at carrying the role of sole blogger for the last month or so.

I have to admit that wrapping up work and the last couple weeks of wedding planning during May really took me away from blogging. Then the wedding happened and we have been in Hawaii for the past 2 weeks!! :D

I'm going to write 3 blog posts this week. The first blog is pre-wedding times in NYC, the second will be wedding, and the third will be Hawaii! Stay tuned...I know you're waiting on the edge of your seat, haha.

Welcome Home, Toph

My little brother, Chris, is coming home tomorrow. He has spent the last year in Iraq serving in the US Army. I cannot believe that it has been a full year since he has left. He sacrificed a lot to serve our country – his sister’s wedding, holidays with family, time with friends, vacations, beer, Starbucks, and so much more. Anyways, just wanted to say WELCOME HOME, CHRIS! I love you and am so proud of you! God bless those still over there and currently serving in our Armed Forces. Chris, I owe you a dinner and will pay up soon! Have a safe trip!!!

This picture was taken the night that Chris left for Iraq last year

All dressed up and twenty years ago...

Leslie and Nick Got Married!!!

Leslie and Nick got married! It was a perfect wedding! And now I am going to make an attempt to describe their beautiful wedding for you.

Stunning – This is how Leslie looked on her wedding day. Everything was perfect, from the dress to the hair.

Handsome – If you mention the bride looks stunning, something has to be said for the groom and his groomsmen. They looked very handsome and it probably took about one fourth of the time to get ready as the bridesmaids.

Unpredictable – The weather on their wedding day. The day started out sunny and clear. As we made our way to the ceremony/reception site, it started clouding up a little. As Leslie was walking down the aisle, there were a couple of thunderclaps. A few rain drops were falling by the sermon. At the exchange of rings, there was rain and lots of wind. Leslie and Nick got to walk down the aisle and then came the monsoon. Luckily, it was a summer storm and only lasted about 20 minutes. It made for great pictures and Leslie made the decision to get a second tent ( ;) ) so everyone was dry.

Tear-jerker – Leslie and Nick’s vows. They wrote their own vows – my first “vow written” ceremony. I won’t even go into how many tears I saw as they were reading. Very impressive…

Idyllic – Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. If I had to picture somewhere for Leslie to get married, this would be the place. Words do not do it justice. There were flowers blooming everywhere, little secret paths through the gardens, bubbling brooks (I kid you not), and so much more.

Delic – What other word can describe amazing crabcakes, beef-something mouthwatering, Greek bean bake (I swear, more people talked about this dish than anything else…), and (my favorite) mashed potatoes!!!

Yummy - What I heard many people say about the wedding cake. My streak continues of never tasting a wedding cake. Apparently I can’t be pulled from the dance floor long enough to enjoy the vanilla/chocolate concoction.

Rockin’ – This was the word Matt used to describe the band and I have to agree. They really got the stamp of approval with the last song choice. After claiming they stayed up all night writing an original song for Leslie and Nick (I was a little more than annoyed – who plays an original song at a wedding?), they broke out with “Don’t Stop Believing” to the screams of the crowd. It was a perfect way to end the reception (if you take away my moment of dropping a beer half way through the song and beer spraying all over everyone).

Jealous – How I felt when they left for 10 days in Hawaii;)

Overall, I can’t think of anything that could have been better. It was very Leslie and Nick and what more can you ask for.

Here are just a few (amateur) pictures from the Guptas big day.

Leslie's Bridesmaids...best ever!

The Guptas!!!!!!!!!!!

Vaca buds...where are we going next?

Why can't we live closer...

It's wedding time!!!

Okay, I lied. I promised that I would spend the last couple of days updating you on the happenings in my life here in Texas. But life got in the way and I haven’t had too much time to write. But that all changes after tomorrow because tomorrow is my last day of school! I didn’t think that I would ever see the day. But more on that next week because this weekend is even more exciting!!!! It is Leslie and Nick’s wedding!!!! She is on her way to Richmond right now and I leave for San Antonio tomorrow to catch a flight on Thursday. I am so excited to see Leslie and Nick and all of our friends and celebrate their big day.

Unfortunately there is not much time to write now because I am packing, but I promise lots of updates and pictures from the wedding when I return next week.

Congrats to the Guptas!!!!