hustle and bustle

This week I'm busy working near Destin, which is not too shabby as far as work locations go. Last week, however, I had the pleasure of working from home and enjoying a nice long weekend (thanks to the Veteran's Day holiday). Clint and I were busy little bees and got quite a lot accomplished. I'll summarize the highlights.

Wednesday evening we had friends over for dinner and had such a nice time. Loaded potato soup, caesar salad, and pecan pie were on the menu:

Thursday we finalized our invitation proof and got the final order sent out for those. Can't wait to see them all! We spent the rest of the day REGISTERING. Clint had a blast with the scanner, and we were both WORN OUT by the end of the day. We are officially registered at the Mustard Seed (hometown boutique), Bromberg's, Macy's, Williams Sonoma, and Pottery Barn. We may or may not add Bed, Bath and Beyond to that list.

On Friday, Clint and I started the day with a visit to a travel planner's office. We are not adament about any one place for our honeymoon, so we let her make suggestions. Based on current promotions and specials, it looks like we can get an AWESOME deal and so many perks if we choose the Sandals Grande Ocho Rios. We are leaning in that direction but plan to do a little more research. Here's a shot of one of the resort pools:

We wrapped up the day Friday by starting our Christmas shopping. We still have a ton to do, but at least we got a few gifts out of the way.

Saturday I spent the day helping Clint's mother and grandmother shop for potential wedding dresses. We had a great time and a lovely lunch at J. Alexander's. Clint and I ended the day at home with a couple of friends watching Bama roll on to another victory over Mississippi State.

And finally, Sunday was just a lazy day at home. We cleaned, watched movies, and relaxed all day.

In completely random news:

I'm officially obsessed with this guy. I've always loved Lacey, but her partner this year (Kyle Massey) is hilarious and so fun to watch. Tonight is the last elimination before the finals and I've got my fingers crossed for them.

A ROYAL WEDDING IN 2011!!! I'm so excited about the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I was really young when Diana married Charles, so this will be my first opportunity to really appreciate all the pomp and circumstance.

thoughtful

Ashley over at A Process of Learning is a close work-friend... well, at this point I'd actually call her a close friend-friend and not just a work-friend. Anyway, she came to visit Sunday evening and brought me the CUTEST little prize. She and her mom visited a craft show over the weekend, and one of the vendors was selling adorable bookmarks. Because she is such a thoughtful person and knowing that I'd love it, she picked up one for me. No more bent corners for this girl! I snapped a couple of quick pictures with my phone so that you can see how cute it is and how it works.

Such a sweet and useful gift! Thanks again Ashley for being so thoughtful!

update

Last week while I was working at home, I got 3 more things checked off our "wedding to-do" list:

1. Tuxedos
2. Cakes
3. Invitations

Woohoo! We're making progress people!

Melissa at Weddings, Etc. was such a huge help selecting invitations!

Barb (of Barb's Cakes) creates true works of art! So excited to be working with her!

halloween weekend

Sorry for the delay- I'm busy working in Destin this week- but just wanted to let everyone know that Halloween weekend was a success again this year. We had a blast at the annual Strickland Costume Party, despite the fog-machine-induced fire truck visit! Here is a quick sample of just a couple costumes:

Clint and I as Raggedy Ann and Andy

Calley and Brian as Wilma and Fred

Candace and Addison as Gypsy and Owl

In other weekend news, the cool fall weather inspired me to cook some homemade chili on Saturday while we watched college football. On Sunday Sarah, Calley, Mallory, and I went to see a matinee showing of "13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey" presented by Red Mountain Theater. It was such a cute and entertaining play, especially if you grew up reading any of Kathryn Tucker Windham's books. And of course, Sunday night Clint and I spent the evening handing out candy to neighborhood trick-or-treaters. We saw some great costumes, and luckily we were only left with a tiny bit of candy by the night's end.