My Apologies

For being such a horrible blogger lately. To be honest, I never realized how much of my life would be consumed with wedding details during the last month and a half. So much stuff going on that it was necessary to take a "personal day" off from work yesterday - it was fabulous!! I'll be back soon.

I must love confess...just a bit...

I'm ecstatic to celebrate my upcoming wedding at my bridal shower and bachelorette party with most (almost all) of my girlfriends this weekend. I honestly feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have been able to surround myself by such amazing women throughout my life. I've put together a bit of a collage to give you an idea of who these incredible women are and who will be celebrating with me on Saturday. Thank you all so much for your friendship - each of you mean the world to me.













I apologize if I have left any of you out of these photos. And for those of you that aren't able to make it, I'll be thinking of you.
I love you all!!

Cabin in the Woods

When I think of a remote cabin in the woods, I have a million different thoughts of what it might all include. After spending New Year's in Seaside, Oregon at our friend Todd's family cabin, I now have the perfect image to fit my description. It was the coziest cabin, (just steps from the river) with all the cabin-like necessities and most importantly, a wood burning fireplace. We weren't in complete seclusion in the woods, but it sure felt like it.



Late Tuesday night, we drove down to Seaside - we had only planned on staying one night and then continuing on to visit the Blyth's cabin in Detroit Lake (which is where we spent the last NYE), but the drive was just too long so we ended up staying both nights with Todd and Kristi at the cabin which is 2.5 miles east of the ocean.

The river before and after a day and night of pouring rain



I hadn't been to Seaside in years so it was fun to see how the small town had changed. (For those of you that are familiar with Seaside, the arcade is exactly the same except for rearranging of a few of the games.) While the guys spent a few hours fly fishing on the Necanicum River, Kristi and I walked a few miles along the beach. That afternoon, we drove down to Manzanita, had a drink at the local bar and then ate dinner at The Lumberyard in Canon Beach. After eating a delicious dinner, we headed back to the cabin, played a few rounds of Clue, and celebrated midnight with champagne - the perfect NYE in my mind.


Manzanita

On New Year's Day we checked out a potential wedding location for Kristi and Todd at Gearhart by the Sea - since our visit, this location has now been confirmed and wedding plans are in full-swing for the two of them! I'm so excited for their summer wedding on the coast! On our way out of Oregon, we stopped by Fort Stevens, to check it out for a potential future camping locaton - it's perfect...in the Summer.



Ceiling of the cabin - Maybe it's just me (wishing we had sunshine), but I thought the ceiling looked like the sun.

:: Congratulations ::

to my dear friend Kristi and her wonderful fiance Todd on their Christmas day engagement. We're all so happy to have you both back up in Washington and can't wait for your wedding!

My wish is that you two will continue to always make one another laugh...I have a feeling that won't be any problem at all.

Onward to 2009

2008 was an exceptional year, but I am ready and willing to embrace the new year! For many reasons, I am more excited about 2009 than any past year. For one, I will be getting married NEXT MONTH and a second major milestone is that I will be turning 30 and like my dear friend Carrie, I am learning to accept (and maybe even like) the idea of turning a year older.

Here are a few of my goals/resolutions for 2009:

1. Try out new recipes. I love to cook, but too often will find an excuse to make the same familiar dinner or appetizer. My personal favorite cookbook, introduced to me by my dad (who I consider an excellent chef) is America's Test Kitchen - endless recipes and includes very detailed instructions and tips.

2. Learn new crafts. I've realized over the past year (especially with the wedding projects I've taken on) that I truly enjoy crafting. It relaxes me and forces me to focus on just that one thing rather than the millions of other thoughts I have going through my mind.

3. Read more often. Rather than consuming my evenings with TV, I want to start reading more. Currently enthralled in the Twilight series.

4. Make use of our trailer. (preferably in the warmer weather months) This is a joint goal with Steve. He spent the money and many long hours to perfect our "second home." Therefore, we must get out and enjoy it. I received this book for Christmas and can't wait to finalize the plans for our next destination. I was shocked to realize during our drive to Oregon this week, that there are quite a few cities and towns in WA that I've never even heard of i.e. (Arctic and Brooklyn...huh?). I need to get out there and explore my home state!!

5. Take more photos. As a Christmas/early wedding gift from my future-in-laws, we received a new camera that I am now officially obsessed with. I would love the opportunity to take more photos of families and children - please contact me if interested ☺

This list is only a snippet of what I plan to accomplish this year, but like Jamie and Shelby, I hope that publishing this list will help remind me of a few of my goals throughout the year.

I am raising my water bottle (unfortunately at work, otherwise it would be a glass of champagne) and toasting all of you and wishing you each a fabulous year full of LOVE, Adventure, Health and Happiness.

And to wrap this up, I'm including one of my most favorite images we captured this year, which happened to also be taken during one of the most memorable moments of my life.

Haleakala sunrise, Maui