Oh What a Year!! Part II

July:

 



In July ALV and I went to LBI for 4th of July and spent the weekend with my family. 

JLP, ALV and I. 

I was in charge of the gender reveal for Steel Magnolia and loved putting together the blue confetti cannon.   It's a boy :)

DFH and I attended Bob and Hope's wedding in Pittsburgh

In July Oliver had some minor vet work on his neck and was forced to wear a sweater during the hottest month of the year.  

 

 

August:

In August I had my wedding hair trial back in NJ.

We sent out all of our wedding invitations to guests. 

SRW traveled from NYC to Pittsburgh for the weekend for my bridal shower. I loved showing her the great city views from the top of Mt. Washington.  ( Sorry for the blurry picture)

Two of my bridesmaids LES and ALV threw me an amazing bridal shower in Pittsburgh at a local bed and breakfast. (I promise full post on this shower next week). 

My whole family came into town for my Pittsburgh shower.  It was such a special day!

DFH and I took a final trip home before the wedding for engagement pictures and to meet with our band and do last minute wedding planning.

I had my bachelorette party over Labor Day weekend with my fab maids on LBI and in Atlantic City. 

 

I loved celebrating in one of my favorite places....

 

.....With some of my favorite people.

One of the best weekends ever!!

 

September:

 

We attended Kate and Ian's awesome mill wedding in New Jersey. 

 

 

Hanging with BB and JM

 

 



 

I headed up to Cape Cod for Jocelyn's wedding, and loved getting to spend time with these two girls.

ALV, LES, and I traveled to Martha's Vineyard while we were up in Cape Cod.

 

October:

 

 

 

 

On October 11, 2013 we had our rehearsal dinner at Beneduce's Vineyard ( full post to come)

 



On October 12, 2013 we got married !!!

 

 

 

These pictures were taken by the super talented Jacqueline Foxx Photography

 

 

I know it is cliché, but it was honestly the best day of our lives. 

 

 

 

 

 

After the wedding DFH and I spent the week in Riviera Maya, Mexico for our honeymoon. 

We enjoyed being tan for once and it was so nice to escape the chilly north east and lay on the beach all day. 

 

We also loved being tourists at Chitiniza one of the famous Mayan ruins and one of the seven wonders of the world. 

November:

DFH and I spent the weekend in Bedford Springs. 

We went to a Pens game with ALV and BS. 

 

We attended Drew's surprise 30th birthday

DFH and I spent Thanksgiving weekend in NYC with my family and grandparents.  

 

While in NYC I saw Beautiful the Carole King musical which was incredible and had the best music.  

December :

 

I attended our Junior League holiday luncheon. 

 

 

 

 

DFH and I made our first ugly sweaters for an ugly sweater party.

 

I met Steel Magnolia's  adorable baby boy. 

 

We dressed up as golfers for our friend Jake's 30th birthday golf party.  

 

DFH and I enjoyed our third Christmas Tree together.  

We ended 2013 celebrating BS 's 30th birthday with all of our friends. 

Cheers to 2013!!!! 

Splurge v Steal: Quilted Puffer Vest

      It is no secret that I love a good bargain. It has gotten to the point that I have a hard time buying an item at full price because I have learned that if you are patient,  almost everything goes on sale or you can find a less expensive version.  Now obviously there are some things that you just can't substitute for the cheaper version, but I can rationalize those purchases by saving on others

     I have had my eye on the J.Crew quilted puffer vest all season, but I didn't like the $120. 00 price tag especially when I already had two other puffers in my closet.

VIA

   This past weekend at Old Navy I spotted this pretty puffer which is nearly identical to the J. Crew one, but it was a steal at $25. ( Normally, $44.00, but currently on sale).  The quality is also great. In my experience Old Navy can be hit or miss with quality, but this vest has great fabric that doesn't feel cheap and runs true to size.

 

 

VIA

In my opinion the gold exposed zippers add a nice touch to the vest and give it a little added pizazz.

 

 

This vest also comes in cream, coral, and navy although it looks like some of the colors are sold out online.  At $25.00 I am tempted to go back to Old Navy to pick up some of the other colors, perhaps add a pretty monogram to the vest.

 

 

Oh What A Year! Part 1

 

     My 2013 was incredible, it really was.  Doing a recap of the past year is truly one of my favorite things to blog about each year because I love looking at the past year in one post through pictures.  I usually just smile and laugh when I write it because it brings back so many memories.   Well this year was so amazing and fantastic that I just couldn't fit all the pictures into one post, so I have decide to split it up in two posts.  So here you go, here is part 1 of my 2013:

 

JANUARY:

 

 

In January DFH and I announced our engagement in the local paper in NJ where we grew up.

 

We also made it to a Pittsburgh Pens game.

 

 

 

FEBRUARY:

 

 

 

 

We saw the Lumineers in concert.

 

 



I picked out my bridesmaid dresses with some of my bridesmaids. 

 

 

DFH and I registered for our wedding and I finally got to use one of the fancy hand held register machines.

 

 

 

DFH and I also went to a Dog Fish Head beer and food pairing event.

 

 

MARCH:

 

In March I celebrated my 29th birthday at Perle a local champagne bar.

 

Me and DFH



 

DFH and I decided on our rehearsal dinner location, Beneduce's Vineyard in their greenhouse. 

 

We attended our food tasting at our wedding venue with my parents.

 

I went to more Penguin's hockey games and got seats right behind the glass. 

 

 

 

My bridesmaids and my mom threw me the best surprise bridal shower ever, I was more than shocked.

 

Even three of my bridesmaids from out of state flew in and totally surprised me.  I balled like a baby when I saw them. 

 

 

 

With my Grammy, mom and sister at the shower. 

 

 

All my maids!

 

 

APRIL:



 

 

 

We sent out our Save The Dates. 

 



 

More Penguins Hockey!

 

DFH and I celebrated seven years of dating.

 

Our friends Steve and Margaret visited from NJ.

 

 

 

MAY:

 

I hosted my friend SRW's bridal shower with the other bridesmaids.

 

 

 

 

SRW loves Audrey Hepburn, so that was the theme for her shower. 

 

 

That same weekend we celebrated Miss SRK ( now Mrs. SRW) in NYC for her bachelorette party.

 

 

In May, ALV and I started our summer concert tour with Tim McGraw

 

    LES, DFH, and I and friends had another awesome time at the Delfest music festival in Maryland

 

JUNE:

 

 

LES, ALV, and I saw Brad Paisley and got upgraded to go backstage and in the pit.

 

 

 

DFH rescued this cutie, Oliver and our family grew by one.

 

Too cute for words.

 

In June Sarah became a Mrs. and I had the best time being in her wedding.

 

Some of my favorite Elon girls posing with the beautiful bride.

 

Hanging out with my parent at her wedding.

 

 

 

 

These are horrible pictures, but this summer we also enjoyed another year of growing fresh veggies and herbs in our backyard. 

Stay tuned for part II.

Zero.



 

....I mean -8. 

 

 

 

 

Last night when I wrote this post it was 0 degrees.  I didn't believe it could get any colder, however this morning I woke up to a frightening sight on my phone, -8 temperatures.  Since I live in the city I usually take public transportation to work, however there was no way I was waiting outside today.   About twenty minutes before I was going to leave for work I turned my car on so that it was nice and toasty by the time I needed to leave. 

      I apologize I am one of those people who is talking about the weather today, but this just isn't ok guys.  For those of you fellow readers in the North East you are probably seeing / feeling similar temperatures.  January is normally cold in Pittsburgh, but I can't remember a time when the temperature was a negative.  Also there is only minimal snow here, but all the schools and several businesses are closed, even the courts are closed today due to the frigid temperatures.

   After work yesterday it was almost as cold as it is today, I rushed right home to put on a pair of comfy pjs pants and furry socks and sat myself on the couch with my warmest blanket.  I had a million things I wanted to do, but I just couldn't get myself warm enough or off the couch. 

 

    It is so cold that last night and today we have been letting the water drip out of the faucet to prevent the pipes from freezing.   Brrr.  I don't know how people who live further north deal with this all the time. 

    The positive of yesterday and today is the Lilly Pulitzer New Year Cheer sale.  I was happy that I was able to sign right on to the site yesterday with no issues and bought some goodies which have me counting down the days until I can wear them when the weather is warmer.  My favorite purchase was the Beckett dress. I know I will get so much use out of it this spring and summer, although, I seriously need to stop buying stripes.  I'm addicted. 

 

Did you get anything good at the Lilly sale?

In the meantime I'll be dreaming of being back on a beach with a drink in my hand. 

 

 

Stay warm friends.

Cheers!

     Wow, what a great New Year's Eve!!! This year we were lucky enough to be able to walk to our NYE party which alone was amazing. If anyone is familiar with the cab situation in Pittsburgh you know that it is near impossible to get one on NYE and in the past we've waited almost three hours just to get a cab on NYE.  So we started the night in high spirits just knowing we would be able to get home when we were ready to go home.

Our friend ALV hosted the celebration at a local bar and it was not only a NYE party, but also a 30th birthday party for her boyfriend.  ALV was quite the hostess and had delicious appetizers and covered the bar with 30th birthday decorations, about 75 people came out to celebrate BS and 2014.  

Sorry for the dark pictures the lighting was bad and I only had my iPhone.  

The hostess with the mostess and her mom. 

DFH and I just before midnight. 

LES and I enjoying our NYE cocktails. 



    I love all holidays mostly just because I love any excuse for a party and a celebration, but NYE is one of my favorites. I am a huge fan of dressing up and I think it's fantastic that sequins are always appropriate on NYE whether you are celebrating at a dive bar or at a gala.  Plus I just love looking back on my past year and celebrating what is to come.  For me I have always celebrated NYE with friends and I always look at NYE as a celebration of all my friendships. 

We had an incredible night and it was so fun celebrating BS, one of the first of our friends to turn 30.  

Here's to 2014 and all the 30th birthdays this year.  I know mine is creeping up in just a couple months. Eeek. #canibe29forever.