preparing for a Christmastime cross-country trip.

the other day i posted over at this little port

about some up-and-coming travel plans i'm making . . .

you should definitely hop over to gaby's blog

{it's really sweet!}

but here's a look at what i posted while

she is traveling far and wide in Bali!

~~~

i'm about to go on a bit of an adventure of my own in a few weeks . . .

i'm getting married to my best friend

{the sweetest, most handsome guy i've ever met}

on Christmas Eve . . . just one problem:

he lives halfway across the country in nashville, tn!

nashville is a lively city that is just perfect for a young couple

like us in our first year of marriage.

can you think of a better way to start off your life together?

that said, i now have to move all my stuff down there before the wedding

so that we're not packing like crazy people after

a whirlwind honeymoon.

my good friend katie volunteered to help me make the cross-country trek

and i am so excited to go with her.

with all this moving, and packing and general wedding excitement,

katie and i have prepped a decent list of things we need to bring with us!

i thought it might be useful to you ladies too . . . who knows when

you suddenly will jump in the car for a cross-country adventure of your own, right?

first and foremost, comfy clothes are an absolute must . . .

i'm addicted to plaid flannel shirts

{which is very exciting, because so is my fiance, which means i get to steal his soon too!}

and any kind of comfy jean and footwear . . .

and of course, amazing Christmas tunes are also in order

for a long holiday-time drive.

finally, probably the most important thing we will take with us

other than the GPS, is snacks!

i'm a vegetarian and both katie and i are fans of delicious but healthy treats,

so truck-stop food will probably not cut it for us

{well, except maaaaybe a slushy here and there}

so, we're packing lots of yummy things to nosh on while we drive the 18+ hours.

1. dried fruit . . . like apples, cranberries or delicious crystallized ginger

2. coffee . . . my drink of choice is a soy latte, extra hot

3. fall trail mix with your favorite sweet and savory bits

4. the best candy in the world: swedish fish!

so what would you bring on your cross-country drive?

i would love to know your suggestions for what you think i should

bring on our trip . . . share your advice!

{via all over . . . sorry if you're not credited!}

last night i was up at 3 am eating peanut butter crackers

you know, those orange things with peanut butter inside?

whoever thought cheese crackers with peanut butter would taste

so stinking good?

why they are orange escapes me, but perhaps for another night's curiosity . . .

in any case, this is what i was up looking at.

yup, at 3 am.

if i had an unlimited budget,

i would gift one of these babies to every one of my bridesmaids.

now, back to bed.

sugar high

white cake with chocolate truffle cream and raspberry preserves.

lemon cake with delicate lemon butter cream.

yes, those are our chosen cake flavors.

but no, the cake above isn't ours.

we're expecting something so much cuter.

cake tasting was one of the most delightful,

stress-free and silly experiences i've had during the

wedding planning process.

imagine choosing whatever cakes your want to sample,

accompanied by a platter full of mouth-watering

selections of preserves and buttercreams.

all i have to say is it takes ridiculous levels

of self control to not eat yourself sick!

choosing jacques pastries was a no-brainer for us . . .

johnny, me and all our loved ones absolutely

adore their tasty treats and their cakes are ridiculously cute!

i had stopped in with the boss just a few days before

our tasting and was so excited to go back

to try all the other flavors i'd never had before.

we sampled a gingerbread and a red velvet cake

in addition to the flavors we chose in the end . . .

the staff was crazy friendly and they were really

enthusiastic about our ideas and making them reality.

i can't wait to show you this cake!

historical boston for lunch

in an effort to assist one of his groomsmen in his hunt

for perfect wedding attire,

johnny and i accompanied one of his long-time friends to boston

for a little late lunch and man shopping this weekend.

quincy market and the faneuil hall marketplace

in the heart of the city

{and walking distance to the north end where you can find

the most wonderful cannolis in the world!}

is one of my favorites . . . it's the only spot i know

where you and your friends can get indian, chinese, thai

and new england seafood all in the same meal

and enjoy every bite together.

i love eating under the domed ceiling at faneuil hall

and watching the street performers show their tricks

amongst the hustle and bustle of shoppers.

johnny's friend discovered some terrific finds

for our wedding too, so our saturday turned into a really nice day.

a tale of two thanksgivings

we celebrated thanksgiving with two families this year . . .

the first of many years of splitting holidays between our families.

we cooked a lot, laughed a lot, hugged a lot,

teased a lot and ate a lot too.

we ended the day snuggled on a living room chair at johnny's parents

where i promptly konked out with my head on his shoulder

and my mouth wide open while the rest of the family

watched food network.

i woke up around 10:30 to take myself back to my house,

only to realize during the drive that by our next holiday,

we will be our own little family,

just him and me.

i'm really thankful for that, too.

~~~

p.s. did you know i'm on instagram now?

i feel like the last girl on the face of the planet to join,

but better late than never, right?

a thankful holiday

today i'm lounging around with my guy and his family

and then we're headed over to see my family for dessert

and lots of hugs.

this is the first thanksgiving i've spent split between two families . . .

so different from other years!

with all this wedding excitement and happiness around the holidays,

i can't help but be thankful for so many things this year.

my Savior

my amazing fiance who is so, so good to me

family- the one i was born into and love so much

and the new one i'm getting to know more every day

supportive friends

an exciting wedding just a month from today

and a marriage to my best friend in the world

coffee

laughs from my almost-niece, abby

the macy's day parade

pinterest

my new iphone

new adventures in nashville

a bahamas honeymoon cruise

Christmas carols

~~~

i hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving with your loved ones

and have many things to be thankful for today.

happy thanksgiving, sweets!

{via}

a little giddy today.

this handsome guy comes home for a thanksgiving visit this evening.

i think i might have to fight running up to him

and throwing my arms around him

in front of everybody at the airport!

we have a busy week ahead of us;

lots of wedding planning and, of course, holiday fun with our families . . .

not to mention a very packed week at the studio and lots of cooking to do!

don't be offended if i'm away from this little blog for a day or two;

i'll be sure to return with lots of stories about our

adventures over the next couple of days!

braided updos

have you ever seen anything so pretty before?

i'm mildly obsessed.

especially after so many fabulous diy tutorials on a cup of jo,

how could you not be trying some of these on your own????

i've been working what my friend josh refers to as the

"faulein maria" all summer, fall and winter . . .

two braids twisted across my head from either side,

and yes, sometimes i feel like i should be wearing lederhosen.

it's a really easy, pretty way to get my hair out of my face,

especially on days when i don't feel like shampooing and conditioning.

now you know my secret!

tomorrow i have my wedding hair trial run

{gulp}

and i'm strongly considering a braided, alternate

updo to what i normally do myself on lazy days.

they're so pretty, sweet and undone . . .

pretty much perfect!

{via}

oh goody, my 2011 wish list!

i almost feel selfish making this list at all,

since i'm marrying my best friend in the whole world

and therefor, getting everything i really want . . .

but what the heck! here it goes!

i can wish for just a few things, right?

~~~

admission to a nashville blogshop!

don't you want to take this class????

i always love learning photoshop tricks

and wouldn't you agree that it seems like all of the attendees

are fabulously fun??

~~~

a clarisonic

okay, maaaaaaybe an odd gift pick, i admit.

i KNOW that it's ridiculously expensive

for something that scrubs the grime out of your pores,

but everything i read about this says it's amazing

and i really, really want one!

~~~

j.crew knit leggings

sooooo perfect for looking cute and feeling comfy

for weekend pancake pantry dates

and running grocery store and bank errands.

~~~

a chalkboard wall in our new apartment!

johnny and i have been talking about our love for chalkboards

since we started dating . . . and now that we get to share

a home, this is one of the things we want most!

we've already picked a spot in our place

where we would like to paint

and i really hope we actually get to do it!

one more dream!

imagine . . .

me and bridesmaid hannah {mr. wonderful's sister-in-law}

walking around the ceremony site,

chatting it up with all of the wedding guests.

oh yeah, and completely not even close to dressed

and ready for the ceremony to begin.

no makeup done, hair a wreck,

no dresses worn yet.

nothing!!!!

yeah, that's what hannah dreamed a few weeks ago.

guess the whole family is in on the weird wedding dreams!

{via}

sweet dreams are made of these . . .

the bizarre wedding dreams have started,

and it's not just me!

here are a few to entertain you.

~~~

me: i showed up 2 hours late for the ceremony . . .

which, by the way, was in some weird stone building instead of our

super-duper cool location

{nope, not revealing it just yet!}

and all our bridesmaids and groomsmen were missing . . .

and the groom!!!!!

our guests were getting weary of waiting

and began to leave.

cue waking up . . . yikes!

johnny: his special wedding day suit didn't arrive until

the morning of the wedding . . .

it got there in the nick of time, but oh, what a way to wait

until the last second!

~~~

momma: instead of using a unity candle,

johnny and i had our moms fill two cups with water,

which we poured into a singular cup together

and drank out of at the same time . . .

with straws!!!!!

{okay, at least the straw part was semi-accurate!}

~~~

me: johnny and i got to the reception late

{alright, what's with the "we're late to everything dreams??}

and everyone ate all of johnny's favorite part of our buffet.

maybe not the worst thing in the world,

but as we all know, in dreams,

these things seem like tragedies!!!!!

{via}

ohhh la la.

it's so much fun living with my sister and mother as

three adult women in one home.

sometimes, we resort to being ridiculously girly together . . .

take friday night, for example

momma was sick with a cold, we all had worked long weeks

and it was cold and windy outside.

cue girly movie night!

what better way to enjoy a chilly, dark evening than

watching jane eyre on the couch together,

snuggled under blankets and

drooling over the chemistry between

plain jane and mr. rochester.

swoon!

my mother's wedding dress

when i first got engaged,

momma and i opened the cedar trunk in our living room

and lifted out her precious wedding dress.

sewn by my beautiful grammie,

it still is light, elegant and very lovely 30 years later.

it didn't fit me nearly as beautifully as it did my momma

when she married my father,

and i felt rather silly prancing around our home in the dress

that made my mother the epitome of indie wedding hipness

{honestly, my parent's looked like freakin' folk rockstars

in their wedding photographs, i kid you not.}

but it made me feel ridiculously special just the same.

i really hope i look as pretty as her.

{p.s. one month until the big nashville move . . . woohoo!}

thank GOODNESS for the weekend.

sweet mother and i are headed out for a shopping saturday

to hit up some of our favorite stores in search

of a pretty dress for her for our wedding day.

momma and i always take at least one special shopping together

before the major holiday rush.

i just love weaving in and out of shops with her,

trying on beautiful things and perusing special Christmas treasures together.

this year is particularly special to me . . .

this may be the last time in a few years that me and my momma

have this special outing of ours.

yeah, i'm counting down the days until moving day and

getting married to my best friend,

but i'm in no hurry to rush by these moments with my friends and family.

i hope you also have some wonderful weekend plans . . .

happy friday!

{via}

the date to trump all date nights.

the last time mr. wonderful was home,

we had only an hour long lunch date worth of alone time.

it's kinda difficult to stay connected to your love when all your

"deep" conversations are in the presence of family and over ichat.

i guess that's what happens when you in the end-stages of wedding planning,

especially long-distance wedding planning.

we decided last night that we're going to work in some scheduled date nights.

just the two of us, doing a carefree, fun activity that doesn't involve

anything to do with the wedding.

to make it even more exciting, we picked one of my all time favorite

Christmas activities . . . going to see the NUTCRACKER!!!

i wanted to go so badly last winter,

but life got crazy and we never bought tickets.

with everything as exciting and busy as it is,

i am jumping like a giddy little girl just thinking about

what a magical night we're going to have . . .

until then, i guess i'll just have to indulge myself in the

last season of "aleksandr petrovsky sex in the city in paris" episodes to hold me over??

oh, but the costumes, the music, the gorgeous dancing,

the buzz in the theatre before the show begins

and all the people peppy with holiday cheer.

all while holding the hand of my very best friend who will

also soon be my husband???

yes, please!

~~~

{i went to see a Christmas performance a few years ago with

bestest and sister . . . also pretty amazing!}

{via}

colour of the week // i elfing love pinterest.

okay, i realize that's not a color.

but i really really do.

maybe it's the fact that wedding day is closer every day

or because momma and i saw the santa photo booth

open while shopping for a pretty

winter coat on sunday,

but i can't stop looking at pretty Christmas decorations

{or listening to Christmas carols!!!!}

and pinterest really is the best place to find

beautiful decorating inspiration

and fun DIYs to try.

come follow me and i'll follow you!

moving to nashville . . . willing to work. HARD.

i'm quitting my job in a little over a month.

7 weeks, if you must know.

to move in with my new husband,

in a new part of the country,

in a new state,

a new apartment,

a new pillow where i rest my head.

am i nervous about starting all over?

well, yeah. of course!

that said,

if you know anyone in nashville looking for a

cheerful, uber efficient communications professional

with an eye for pretty/totally awesome things,

i'm your woman:

transitionismymiddlename {at} gmail {dot} com

linkdin

facebook

twitter

{yes, this is a completely shameless post. ah, well . . . }

so addicted . . .

to this show!

have you been watching once upon a time?

the first episode was a little much to get through

but now i'm completely caught up in the plot.

love, adventure, storybook mysteries . . .

not to mention some fantastic costumes-

oh goody, it is terrific.

sister, mother and i all snuggled up together in the living room

last night to watch the latest episode over some tasty pizza

and peppermint fro-yo.

i can't remember the last time we all enjoyed watching

television as a family;

it has been really fun being swept up

in this magical story together!

SOON.

our pastor emailed us our ceremony options today

{yup, we're planning this wedding long-distance through

the aid of technology, thank the Lord.}

just under 2 months now . . .

you know, in case you weren't counting with me.

i can't wait for married dates with my love

{which i imagine are pretty much the same as dating dates, but married},

our favorite little stops around town and

never, ever having to say "goodbye, i'll ichat with you tomorrow"

ever, ever again.

this long distance thing is for the birds,

but it really does help me recognize and appreciate the time we're about to

share together so much more!

as always, johnny's motto when we miss each other too much

is "we need to choose joy."

that choice is taking us through this exciting time in our lives

and creating a really terrific habit of optimism

in our relationship

{something this slight pessimist needs help with . . . }.

it's coming soon!

pretty sparkly things.

we've been on a hunt for wedding bands.

actually, we have been on a mad hunt for my wedding band.

we found mr. wonderful's in the first store we visited,

the first ring he tried on.

on a totoal whim.

in the mall.

the mall.

and it, of course, was on sale.

we got it for an almost unholy cheap price.

my wedding band situation has been, well, a tad more difficult,

and i say that with restraint.

my own engagement ring is a custom creation . . .

one of a kind, which makes me feel all sorts of special.

{my sweet, pretty ring.}

however, it has turned out to be quite tricky to fit . . .

everything i've tried on either feels grossly bulky,

uncomfortable next to the engagement setting,

flimsy or just plain ugly.

that is, clearly, except for bands that are not . . . ah, not on sale.

{not that i'm all upset by trying on a diamond or two . . .

that part is all straight out of sweet home alabama.}

i've toyed with the idea of just wearing my engagement ring,

which i've heard many women do nowadays.

but i'm afraid i won't look married?

what do you think?

if you're married, do you wear two bands?

did you keep them separate or fuse the two?

or are you less conventional and wear only one band? which do you wear?

and for you unmarried ladies out there,

what's your take????

{via}