Weekend Recap

This weekend recap starts with dinner and drinks on Thursday night.  I met up with Sally and two of her daughters for dinner and drinks at the BOB in downtown Grand Rapids.  They were going to the Kenny Chesney concert, so I met up with them before the show.

Friday was pretty uneventful.  Kevin and I took the dog for a walk and then caught up on all of our shows on the DVR.  

Saturday morning I got up and did some grocery shopping and cut some fresh daffodils from our yard.  The daffodils are in our backyard where the dog plays, so I figured I better cut them and bring them in the house so I can enjoy them before they get trampled on by the dogs (we are watching Kevin's mom's dogs this week, and they love to play in the back yard).

I also may have purchased some RumChata during my grocery trip on Saturday morning...I had it for the first time on Thursday when I went out, and I LOVED it, so I had to pick some up.  The waiter that brought us our shots of it described it as "the milk that is left after you eat a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch cereal."  And that is exactly what it tastes like--soooooo good!

Kevin's dad and his wife came over and we all went to lunch at Smashburger.  I had never been there before, so I was excited to try something new.  You can order from their menu, or you can build your own burger, which is what we all did.  I forgot to take a picture of my burger before I devoured it, but trust me, it was delicious!

After lunch we went to the casino.  Kevin and I didn't leave as losers, but we also weren't big winners either.  I guess winning $15 is better than losing or winning nothing at all!  That night Kevin and I took Admiral for a walk and then we just hung out at home for the night.

On Sunday I ran some wedding errands.  I picked up my wedding band since it was back from getting re-sized and I purchased jewelry for my bridesmaids.  We went for a nice long walk with Admiral before Kevin's mom came over to drop her dogs off.  We just hung out with the dogs and did some things around the house for the rest of the night.

I hope you had a great weekend and here's to week of beautiful weather here in Michigan!

-Ericka

Bridal Shower #2

My family threw a bridal shower for me on March 24.  It was organized by my Aunt Liz, Aunt Laurie, and my sister, and it was at my Aunt Liz's house.  I have a ton of pictures from this shower, so I will let those speak for themselves (for the most part).  There was lots of purple (our wedding colors), delicious food, cake, cupcakes, and tons of presents!  I think the best part though, was seeing how many people came.  It was amazing to me that so many people came out to celebrate with me!  So as I said, here are lots of pics from the day:

Me and my Grandma

Soooo many gifts!

Opening our gifts from one of the "games"

Holding my BFF Kristen's baby boy Cam :)  He is seriously the cutest baby ever!

Time to start opening gifts!

Some of the guests

Kevin's grandma

From my cousin Nichole - duck tape to keep him quiet and beer to tone him out :)  Love it!

My grandma got me sexy undies :)  My family is crazy!

My sister holding Cam

Cupcakes that my sister made in the shape of a wedding dress and some with our wedding date!

Beautiful carrot cake - my favorite!

It was a wonderful shower.  It couldn't have been more perfect.  My family did such an amazing job putting this together for me and I appreciate it more than they know!

-Ericka

Admiral's Day at the Vet

For those of you who might be new, Admiral is our (my fiance and I) two-year old Goldendoodle.  He is the sweetest dog ever!  He's also the cutest dog ever.  Ok, I might be a little biased on this, but look at that face!

Today Admiral had to go to the vet, just for his yearly check up and shots.  He is so well behaved when we go to the vet...he just chills out and waits for the doctor:

I also had them look a couple of scabs that he had on his nose.  I'm not sure how he got the first one, but then he would scratch it every couple of days and it would re-open.  In the process of scratching it, he gave himself another little scratch/scab.  So the vet shaved a little area to get a better look.

Luckily, it wasn't anything to be concerned about and it wasn't infected (which is what I was worried about).  The vet thinks that now that the area is shaved, it will heal faster without all of the hair in the way.  Now we just have to deal with his goofy little shaved spot until it grows back :)

This week, we are dog-sitting for Kevin's mom's two dogs.  They happen to be Admiral's mom (Callie-the white one) and Diego is Admiral's brother from another litter.  Kevin and I took all three of them on a walk last night.  It was pretty fun!

Admiral is such a great dog, I just love having him in my life!!

Linking up today with Malloryfor the Paws to Claws link up--what a great way to give me an excuse to blog about my dog!

Weekend Recap

Finally, a weekend where we didn't have to go to Muskegon!  Lately, we've been traveling to the Muskegon area (which is about an 45-60 minutes from Grand Rapids where we live) for wedding stuff, but since we finished our marriage counseling last Saturday, we didn't have to make the trip this weekend.

It was a pretty uneventful weekend, and that was definitely ok by me!  Friday night, we just hung out at home, caught up on the DVR, and watched the movie "This is 40."  It was a pretty good movie...glad I didn't pay the big bucks to go see it in the theaters, but it was decent.

While we were watching the movie, we heard what sounded like hail, so we went to check, and this is what we saw on our deck:

This was on April 19!  It really should not be snowing on April 19...it's supposed to be Spring!

I had to work Saturday afternoon/evening, so I got up early and did some stuff around the house before I had to leave for work.  Kevin grilled burgers for dinner when I got home and then we went and rented a couple movies.  We watched "Here Comes the Boom" and "Red Dawn."  They were both good.  Red Dawn was definitely more of a "guy" movie, but I liked it.

  

On Sunday, I went grocery shopping and then Kevin and I went for a walk/jog with Admiral.  Kevin's mom came over for an early dinner and to drop her dogs off.  We are watching them for a few days while she is away for work.  Admiral loves when they come over to play!  The rest of Sunday was spent watching baseball and just hanging out.

Like I said, a pretty uneventful weekend, but it was so nice, since our weekends have been jam packed lately....and it finally stopped raining for a couple of days, which should help the flooding situation in our area (hopefully).  The Grand Rapids area has been hit hard with flooding this past week.  You can read about it and check out pictures here.  Luckily, we haven't had any issues at our house, but as you can see from the pictures in that link, other people haven't been so lucky.

Hopefully this week brings some warmer weather, some sunshine, and some receding water levers in the local rivers!

-Ericka

Bridal Shower #1

Both of my bridal showers are over, so I thought I should recap them.  My first shower was thrown by Kevin's family and it was on December 23.  He had family that was out of the country and would be back for Christmas, so we decided to do it when everyone could be there.

I was excited but felt kind of weird at the same time.  Let me explain.  I am totally comfortable with Kevin's family, so it had nothing to do with that.  I just felt guilty that people were going to be buying all of these gifts for Kevin and I and we were doing nothing in return.  It's not like at Christmas, where we were bringing gifts for people too.  I'm not one to be a "taker."  I'm more of a giver, so this was kind of hard for me to get over.  Once I realized that they were doing this for us because they love us and care about us, I was much more excited :)

Almost all of the women on Kevin's side of the family were there, along with my mom, sister, and grandma.  The shower was at Kevin's Aunt & Uncle's house (they have the most beautiful house!).  We ate some delicious food and then opened tons of wonderful gifts!  We got so many great things, it was unreal.

After gifts, we ate cake and then played some bunco!  I had never heard of or played bunco until I met Kevin.  His family usually plays it on New Year's Eve.  It was fun to play with just the girls this time.  Basically, you are paired up with someone, and you sit at a table with another pair and roll two dice (or is die? anyway...).  You and your partner want to get the highest score so you can move to the next table, where you partner with someone else.  I could write a whole post on bunco, but if you're really interested you can just Google it and I'm sure there are much better instructions out there somewhere than what I can write.

The bridal shower was so much fun, and it was over before I knew it!  I have a feeling the wedding is going to be the same way...months and months of planning and work and then the day is over so quickly.  I am so thankful to Kevin's family for throwing such a great shower for me.  I can't wait to "officially" be a part of that family!

-Ericka

April Glam Bag

April's Glam Bag was pretty in pink.  I was quite pleased with this month's Glam Bag.  Here is a picture and my review of the products I received this month.

Be a Bombshell Blush - This was a full size blush and I like the color.  It's not as dark as it looks in this picture.  It's lighter pink, but it is bright, so I didn't need to use much when I wore it.  I love the size of the sample, and I liked the color of the blush too.

Two Cosmetics Duo Eye Shadow - This was also considered a full size sample.  It has two different shades of pink eye shadow.  I don't wear pink eye shadow that often, but I did like the colors.  I think once I get a little more tan, I'll like it better.  It was just a little too pink for my pale skin right now.

Sation Nail Laquer - This was a full size bottle of nail polish and I love the color!  It's perfect for spring.

Sexy Hair Soy Renewal - I've never used this product before, but I love it after trying it!  I used some on my damp hair on Monday morning and it made my hair super soft after blow drying.  It also says you can use on dry hair to help tackle frizz.  I haven't used it on dry hair yet, but I bet it will be amazing!

Like I said, I am very happy with this month's Glam Bag and look forward to what comes in my May bag.

Weekend Recap

It was a busy, but productive weekend!  On Friday we finished up our wedding invitations-yay!!!  We went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings with some friends and then went bowling Friday night.  It was a much needed night out.

Saturday morning we went and had our last marriage counseling session, went and looked at the hall again (trying to finalize decorating and set up ideas), then we went to lunch at Chen's, which is a Chinese buffet in Muskegon.   It's a great Chinese buffet and it's cheap, but I got the worst/weirdest fortune ever.  

I mean, really?  What does this even mean?

We came home Saturday night and just hung out at home.  On Sunday I went grocery shopping, then we went and did more wedding errands.  We  picked up the rest of Kevin's groomsmen gifts and dropped my wedding band off to get re-sized.  Then we went to Olive Garden for lunch.  When we were running errands, it was snowing like crazy and so cold, but then it got really nice out and we ended up grilling brats for dinner.

Admiral enjoyed playing in the nice weather too :)

This week is another rainy week, but hopefully that means I can get a lot accomplished in my house.  I still have all of our bridal shower gifts to put away.  Happy Monday!

Sending Out the Invites!

We've been working on our wedding invitations since Sunday.  We bought kits from Hobby Lobby and decided to print them ourselves.  I printed all of the invitations and reply cards on Sunday and started addressing the envelopes.  The actual printing of the invitations and reply cards was really easy and quick, it's the assembling of everything that takes so much time.  Every night for the past four nights, we have hand addressed envelopes, put return labels and stamps on the envelopes, and put stamps and labels on the RSVP card envelopes.

There is a ribbon that needs to be tied in a bow around each invitation.  Let me tell you, after tying almost 200 of these, I'll be happy if I don't have to tie another bow for a LONG time!  But it was worth it, because I'm happy with the way our invitations turned out.  In case you forgot, this is what they look like:

Of course, we only had about 25 invitations left to do and we ran out of stamps!  So when I go to the post office to drop off all of the ones that are done, I'll have to pick up more stamps and finish the rest up tonight and mail them out on Saturday.

This is a huge check mark off of my wedding "to-do" list and I can't wait to start receiving reply cards in the mail!!

-Ericka

Firsts

I saw this on Carolyn's blog the other day and thought it was fun, so I decided to do it too!  I hope you enjoying learning about some of my firsts...and feel free to play along and do this on your blog.  I love learning new things about other bloggers :)

FIRST thing I do in the morning... let the dog out, shower, eat breakfast.

FIRST thing I do when I get home from work... let the dog out, and then if we don't have plans, I change in to sweats ASAP...soooo comfy!

My FIRST kiss... I think I was in first grade, and I was getting a drink out of the drinking fountain, and a boy came up and kissed my cheek.

My FIRST home... I lived in the same house for the first 22 years of my life and my parents still live there today.  I'm currently in my first home that I own (with my fiance) and I love being in our own first house!

My FIRST car... When I first got my license, I drove my mom's van around (when she wasn't using it).  Then I got my Dad's Chevy Lumina.  I bought my first car when I was 19 and I'm still driving it today (6 years later).

My FIRST accident traffic violation... Knock on wood, I've never gotten a ticket!  I did get pulled over once for "running a red light" but didn't get a ticket for it.

The FIRST thing I wanted to be when I grew up... hmmm I'm not really sure. I remember wanting to be a figure skater.  I would wear my hair in a perfect bun like Tara Lapinski used to.

FIRST drink of choice...  I love milk.  I drink it for breakfast every morning.  I also love Diet Dr. Pepper and Diet Coke.  Alcohol wise, my drink of choice is Bud Light.

FIRST dessert of choice... Probably anything chocolate or mint...or mint chocolate is even better!  I also love cheesecake and carrot cake.

FIRST choice restaurant... I love Olive Garden.  Kevin and I went there on our first "official" date.  We don't really go to a lot fancy places for dinner, but I do like P.F. Chang's and Bonefish Grill.

FIRST song that comes to mind... I have "Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake stuck in my head right now.  Love that song!  And JT of course :)

FIRST major purchase... My car.  It's a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am.  I bought it when I was 19 and I am still extremely proud of myself for buying it all on my own and paying it off two years early!  I'm ready for a new vehicle, but not having a car payment is pretty awesome.

FIRST job... Babysitting was my first paying job.  My mom used to clean houses for extra money on the side, and my sister and I would go with her sometimes and she would pay us to help her.  We usually ended up watching movies or doing puzzles though ;)

FIRST time I flew... I can't remember the very first time I flew, but we used to fly quite a bit when I was younger to go see my family in Louisiana and Texas.  It's been several years now since I've flown though.

FIRST "big girl" job... My first "big girl" job was actually right out of high school.  I started working part-time as a secretary for a local municipality.  Working in government was interesting and I learned a lot there!  I worked there part-time all through college and then I worked there full-time for about a year before I started the job I'm in now.

I can't wait to read about all of your firsts!  Let me know if you do this!

-Ericka

Weekend Recap

Kevin and I spent some time outside on Friday enjoying the sunshine and slightly warmer weather.  We hung out on the deck for a little bit and then took the dog for a walk.  We spent the rest of the night just hanging out and catching up on shows on the DVR.

I had to work Saturday morning/afternoon and then my parents came over to watch the Tigers game (which they won) and I made lasagna for dinner--it was delicious.

My parents left and Kevin and I just hung out and watched the Final Four basketball games.  I'm a Michigan fan, so of course I was happy when they won! 

On Sunday, I got up and made waffles for breakfast and then got started on wedding invitations.  We had purchased kits from Hobby Lobby a while ago, and decided to print the invitations ourselves.  It was actually super easy, and I got all of the invitations and RSVP cards printed Sunday morning.  I needed a break before I started writing out the envelopes, so we took the dog for a walk.

Kevin grilled burgers for lunch when we got back from our walk, and we watched the Tigers game.  They weren't doing so good, so we decided to go for another walk with the dog.  We had to take advantage of the nice weather while we could, because the forecast for this week looks like this:

Ugh, totally not looking forward to all of the rain we have coming this week.  

I worked on writing out the envelopes for the wedding invitations and Kevin played some video games and then we watched the ACMs.  Admiral was not impressed with the ACMs or video games...he just wanted to cuddle.

Overall, it was a good weekend.  I feel like we got a lot accomplished, and it was nice to just be home for a weekend!  

I hope you had a great weekend too, and if you have some warm sunshine, please send it my way!!