"Oh Oh Oh..the sweetest thing" U2

Mandy and I got together last week to take some pictures of Olivia. I am beyond smitten with this child. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when I move to California :(

Brian joined us for some family pictures, but the sun had almost set. Still a cute picture, though! Olivia was so happy to be with her parents.

"All I wanna do is have some fun" Sheryl Crow

I've hit my quarterly blog slump. It happens at least once every couple of months...words are hard to find, so pictures help!

These are from my recent trip to California...and my last visit before I'm Mrs. Hughes!! It was a very strange flight out of San Diego knowing the next flight I take from Atlanta will not return to Atlanta.

The pictures begin with my last day in town...enjoy!

We heard about a cool diner (Maryjane's) in the Gaslamp, so we recruited our favorite foodie couple to try it out. It's in the Hard Rock Hotel and we decided it's probably an awesome place to come at 1:00 in the morning when you're leaving the club and are sweating and starving from all the dancing...so I'm not sure if we'll be going back. But we are looking forward to "stay"cationing at the Hard Rock Hotel sometime! The best part is, we walked to dinner!

We (Matt) took my aunt's sailing! I was pretty helpful, though...I've gotta learn how to be my man's skipper? first mate?...what exactly is my title going to be, Matt?

Aunt Holly's 40th birthday dinner at the Ivy in Beverly Hills

Can't take these two anywhere...

As I mentioned, my aunts were coming out to run the Long Beach half. Here they are with their bibs. This was Aunt Holly's (on the right) birthday wish. Someone who asks to run 13 miles for their birthday isn't quite right to me...

And here we are with our bibs for the 5K. How was the run, you ask? Well, we missed it. The story is long and the details are unimportant. We still got the run in, it just wasn't tracked.


Our awesome friends threw us a super fun shower!!

These pictures are from my first night in town. Matt signed us up to host the monthly Finer Things Club with our fun friends. It was a little overwhelming having just landed and heading straight toward the kitchen, so I called on the help of my personal Julia Childs and she was able to fill in as sous-chef. I extended an invitation for her to spend the next 60 years with Matt and me as our wife, but she politely declined. I'll settle for frequent cooking endeavors with her as my guide.

Happy Fall Y'all!

"She's crafty..." Beastie Boys

I've had to explain the concept of "nesting" to Matt since we got engaged. I've been itching to "nest" since I was around 7 years old. I've always loved rearranging my room, organizing closets and cabinets, making lists, window shopping for kitchen gadgets and holiday decor, etc. My mother is constantly starting new projects around the house {the great thing is she actually finishes the projects...I'm a little worried about that for myself}. I am beyond excited to get my hands on our apartment in January and really set up shop.

Matt had the idea of me having a 'craft room' one day when we have a house. He understands my need for creative outlet and how limited I have been because of space. I've never had enough room in all of my living situations to work on projects that require more than just a couple of hours because I always have to work on my bed or at the kitchen table...meaning I have to get it all out and put it all away. No space for drying, waiting for inspiration, adding, subtracting...you get the idea.

I have no idea what I would do with so many colored pencils, but if I ever have a craft room...this is SO going to be my first purchase. Not only is it colorful, decorative, and functional--you can sign up to receive 25 pencils a month until you collect all 500 of them. If there's anything I love more than crafty goodness, it's getting mail!

"My hips don't lie..." Shakira

What have I been up to?

Zumba and belly dancing classes with mom.

"Whatcha gonna do with all that junk...?" Black Eyed Peas

I know I've been so absent lately...it isn't because I haven't had anything to say! It's just that life is FLYING by and I'm having a hard time keeping up. And when blogging becomes stressful {which it always does when I'm really busy}, I tend to shy away. It's supposed to be fun!

But I think you'll agree this video was worth the hiatus.

While at the beach about a month ago, the girls and I were leaving Baytowne Wharf {after our night of bachelorette fun}, and were stopped by a shady character making green screen music videos. Jamie, jaded by the empty promises of New York street vendors, tried to convince us that his claim of a 'free video' was a lie. I have to admit, I was skeptical as well, but he kept telling me he wanted to put us all in the video AND give us a free copy as a 'gift for the bride'. Now, I'm not the type to withhold from anyone the joy of giving, so I decided we should take him up on his offer.

All of us were draped in a green gown and what follows is something that will go down in history. If you know all of the girls in the video, you will have to watch it six times {one girl per viewing so as not to miss any sassy head nods or pursed lips}. I promise you won't be disappointed. Also, we had NO practice...that'll be obvious when you see our heads coming detached from our bodies.

I do feel the need to apologize for it being such poor quality. I had to stretch it for you to be able to see it at all. I tried uploading it to youtube, vimeo, hulu, etc...but it violated copyright laws.

"Just wasting time. Let the hours go by, doing nothing for the fun" Dave Matthews Band

I'm sure you're like me. When I have a lot on my plate, I look for little distractions to take my mind off of the mounting pressures. Last night, the distraction of choice was to beautify my tool set.

I "won" this in a gift swap last Christmas and have gotten great use out of all the tools the scissors.

Cute, right? I didn't have any ribbon on hand that would coordinate, but you'd better believe I looked for some! My step-dad said it looked ridiculous and the paint would come off whenever I use the tools.

Who said anything about using them?

"I be up in the gym just workin' on my fitness" Fergie

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me occasionally mention CrossFit.

I just typed out a long post about what it is and why I started, but it was deleted. So, the short story is: It is hell, and Kristin made me do it.

Honestly though, it's been great to work out and actually see results. Though I haven't really lost any weight, I recently discovered a muscle in my arm I never knew existed! It's the hardest thing I've ever done, but also the most rewarding. I highly encourage all of you to look for one in your area, grab a friend and GO! My mom has been doing it with me (she's the almost-50 year old in the picture below who can wear bike shorts and still look awesome) and that has made it slightly less miserable!

Here's a typical sight right after a work out. Weights and kettlebells stewn about while mom and I beg for mercy and gasp for air.

With any good fitness regimen, nutrition is a huge component. The same is true for CrossFit who recommends the Zone. But I seem to have a difficult time merging the two...exercise and nutrition. I like to eat healthy and I enjoy working out, but I have yet to develop a lifestyle that incorporates both for more than a few days. Hopefully I'm on my way!

Starting in a couple of weeks, anyway...I'll be at the beach with most of my favorite people in just 9 sleeps!

"Baby, I'm back" Rihanna

I know I've been absent...traveling, summer semester, working, wedding planning...it has all taken its toll. I'm finished with school for a few weeks, so I should be back in business.

But I actually don't have much to say other than, "I'm obsessed with this."

"You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast" Trace Atkins

There are so many things I'm going to miss about living at home {did you ever think you'd hear me say that?}

I made dinner for the family tonight...an entire meal for 5 people without planning or making a trip to the grocery store. I predict it'll be at least 3 years before I can master that as a newlywed. "Honey, can you run to the store? We don't have any paprika." It's nice having access to mama's fully stocked kitchen.

My brothers and I also decorated the house for a surprise party my parents are throwing tomorrow night...and made cupcakes for the heck of it.

I'll miss nights like this.

"Could you take my picture? 'Cause I won't remember" Filter

I have been waiting for this moment for years since the night we got engaged...

Our engagement pictures were SUCH a blast! I am so glad we have super amazing professional photos to document such an exciting time in our lives. Matt and I love being engaged {he seems to at least!} and I don't ever want to forget the laughter, simplicity and FUN of this season. The anticipation of marriage is so exciting as we sit in the waiting room, knowing something truly amazing is around the corner!

Bronson at Bauman Photographers spent countless hours with us over the course of two days shooting our pictures, and we could not be more grateful for his time and talent. Thank you again {for the millionth time}, Bronson!

Enough of my talking, go see a sampling of the pictures! And take some time to wish Bronson an early congratulations! He and his wife will be bringing a baby girl into the world very soon :)