My Wish List

I hope you had a blissful Thanksgiving! I'll post about mine later, but it was good. :) I'm one of the 4 people at the office today (used a lot of vacay on the honeymoon), so thought I'd blog over lunch a little...Btw SUPER close to a new layout from the fabulous Erin at Two Thirds Hazel. Can't wait to get it up and live on the blog! I love it so much!

Anyhoo...As people started asking me what I want for Christmas, I realized I probably should pick out a few things.. My head has been so focused on the wedding for the past year that Christmas kinda snuck up. And well.. I don't NEED anything, so there's that. Along those lines, I started my amazon wish list and appropriately called it First World Problems. It's more of a list of stuff I might buy at some point and not just a Christmas list, but whatever. Anyway, while I don't neeeeed anything, here are some things on the good old list...

Hunter boots

* Who needs $150 rain boots? But... I mean...you can insert the little fleece/weather liner and make them snow proof, too (Oklahoma snow proof....not say Minnesota snow proof), so they're DOUBLE DUTY! Er...right? The lawyer in me can rationalize almost anything...Whatever.. I love them and have loved them for years but just won't buy them.

Buxom at Sephora

* If you've been reading for awhile, you know the love I have for holiday beauty sets...especially lip sets. And I also love buxom. Every year, I really do stalk sephora online for their gift sets...It's a problem. 

Lonchamp Le Pliage Large

* I wanted to get these for all my bridesmaids, but had already purchased two other things and it just didn't make sense. But, hello perfect airplane carry-on, classy tote, etc. I know they've been popular for (many) years now and I just didn't get on the Longchamp train, but I have to admit...I crave the versatility of these suckers. 

* I really didn't think I wanted a kindle since Eric has one I can borrow, but on our honeymoon, I realized WHY I wanted one... He was reading his and I only brought one book to save space. When I finished my book, I had to find a bookstore to get another...which again...is why my list is called First World Problems. 

Cocomango

* First, it's called Cocomango. That's just cool. Second, I want this b/c it was the shower gel and lotion from our Kauai hotel spa. I LOVED it so much and thought "I need to go buy some.." But then I didn't. Thinking I could get some at the Oahu Hyatt, I didn't worry about it. WRONG. It's literally only available at the Kauai spa. I started reading forums and realized that I wasn't the only one who cracked out over this stuff. And now that I'm back on the mainland, shipping costs pretty much double the price of this stuff. Grr...why didn't I just buy it?! And yes... I want to smell like a tropical paradise in the middle of winter in Tulsa. Whatever. 

Being thankful...

I think giving thanks is something that should happen every day, but on this Thanksgiving, it makes me even more thankful and reflective for the MANY things for which I'm grateful. Thought I'd post just a few things I'm thankful for this year... 

* For my new amazing husband (still love saying that!), Eric, and for the journey we've been on together and the journey yet to come.

* For being a Tulsan/Oklahoman. I love it here. Does that mean Eric and I will never move? Not at all. But, there have been several instances lately when I've been reminded just how much I love the people here. I make friends with people in line at the supermarket, I witness someone stopping to help change a flat tire for a stranger, we get to know our neighbors...It's just good to be a Tulsan and I'm thankful I will carry that with me wherever I go. :)

* For our fur kids, Gracie and Winston. We're coming up on a year of having little Winston in our lives and it feels like he's been there forever. :) And Gracie dog...She's been greeting me at the door for over 6 years every day and I'm so thankful for that 20 pound bundle of love. 

* For my friends that have become my family in so many ways. A few times this year, I was reminded that not everyone is blessed with such amazing friends. I'm surrounded by very good people and I am so grateful.

* For my job and my team/friends at work. No matter where you work, there are challenging (to put it nicely) days and I 'm thankful to have a good job, but also to work with some great people to make the victories sweeter and the frustrations bearable.

* For my family...and my NEW family! :) When I think of my (deceased) father, it's always with fondness and memories...rarely with tears. I'm thankful to have had him in my life for the time I did and I really try not to think too much about what it would be like to have him here now because it makes me sad. But, as the wedding approached, it really was a little emotionally overwhelming a few times to think about him not being there. It actually took me by surprise a few moments at how overcome I got about it. As frustrated as I get at my mother sometimes (and I'm sure the feeling is mutual...haha), I'm so fortunate to have her in my life and to have had her walk me down the aisle. And I'm so grateful for my NEW family in Eric's family. :) They've been family to me for years, but it feels really great that it's official. 

I hope you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving tomorrow, friends! 

Weekend Recap

How is it already Sunday night?! I got really good at honeymooning/vacationing. I kinda wish someone would just pay me to do that...I'm not super into paid blog reviews of things, but if you're reading and you need someone to review your villa in the Mediterranean, you just let me know...

This weekend was productive with a capital p. We'd managed to clean our house post-wedding, but really just enough to exist in it...So, this weekend, we organized, we cleaned, we laundered, we ran errands.. We basically got back to normal. :) While it's sad to have our honeymoon clothes all cleaned and folded away until next summertime, it's also nice to have a clean house again... 

Friday night, we ate comfort food like fat kids at Caz's downtown- chicken and biscuit anyone? It was yum. Then, we went and saw Captain Phillips. Good stuff, people. Tom Hanks was pretty awesome in it. Do you know he didn't even meet the pirate actor until the scene on the boat? Wanted him to actually be a bit afraid.. I think it worked. 

Saturday night, we went to dinner again (seeing a pattern?) and then came home and watched Man of Steele. Again...good stuff. 

Today, we did our normal Sunday schtuff- grocery store, a bike ride (for Eric), cleaning, etc. But, since the day was so beautiful and winter weather is allegedly headed our way, we headed to the park with the pooches! :)

Kinda addicted to my new self timer app on my iphone. I used TimerCam, but a friend told me about Gorillacam and now I want that one b/c it can take multiple photos! Anyhoo... we looked pretty silly smiling at a rock (where I'd propped my iphone) but got a cute photo! 

You know what else I did this evening? FINALLY got our wedding photos uploaded to Facebook! Lawd that took a long time. I selected the ones I wanted...which was hard b/c I liked them all...and then went through and tagged everyone once they were uploaded. Two hours later...haha... First world problems. Anyway, love that they're online. I'll share more over here asap!

Hope you had a great weekend, friends. Not so ready for Monday, but am working on it...

Rehearsal Dinner

It was 50 degrees outside. Everyone was in winter coats. It was pouring. Needless to say, rehearsing outside was out of the question. And we were starting to figure out a game plan for the next day. After all...even if it cleared up, the ground would likely be soaked. Honestly, I wasn't really freaking at all. The forecast looked great for Saturday. And we picked our venue b/c things could be indoors or out, so whatever. In Oklahoma, you really have to have a plan B if you're having an outdoor event pretty much year round.  And if Mother Nature was going to misbehave, I'd rather it happen on Friday night...

So, we rehearsed inside...

Then, we all donned our coats and umbrellas again and headed to the Atlas building in downtown Tulsa for the rehearsal dinner... 

Eric's parents planned such a fabulous event- check out the awesome floor decal when we walked in! 

Convenient that I have a white winter coat? Me thinks so...haha!

Everything was personalized and was just too cute... You see... the dinner was planned for another local restaurant, but after some less-than-desirable communications with them this summer, Eric's mom decided to move it. And I am so glad she did b/c it couldn't have been more special at the Atlas.

One of Eric's favorite breakfast/lunch places is in the bottom floor of the Atlas building, called Atlas Grill (go figure). Anyway, while they mostly do sandwich food at lunch, they actually have a trained chef who can work up some pretty cool stuff. Plus, Eric knows the Atlas crew personally, so it meant a lot. They were so excited when Eric's mom moved the dinner there! It was cute. The building is historically and architecturally amazing, especially the atrium area. So, that's where we had the dinner- they brought in nice tables, linens, chairs, etc...So pretty. :)

From the intimate feel, the restaurant Eric loves, historical Tulsa, the personal touches, it was just very "us" and it was perfect. :) 

We decided to do the toasts at the dinner instead of the wedding. I'm one of those people that gets irritated when everyone isn't paying attention to the person speaking, etc. At weddings, everyone is drinking (typically) and often not paying a ton of attention to the person toasting. Plus, you can tell the better stories in front of closer friends and family...haha.. Needless to say there were laughs and tears. We're really fortunate to have some amazing people in our lives and I'm thankful so many were there to celebrate with us.

Pretty sure a group of friends decided to go line dancing after the dinner...and the restaurant had to start taking down tables for us to leave. Needless to say, it was a great time... It meant so much that Eric's parents did so much for for rehearsal dinner. It really kinda set the great mood for the weekend and the festiveness of it quickly made everyone forget about the cuh-razy weather we were having outside. 

 Next wedding post: Getting ready! :)

Also... Check out my new tabs! I'm working on cleaning a few things up around here and getting organized to prepare for my new layout. :) I finally wrote an About Me section...haha.. It only sat blank for like 2 years. Whatever. 

MRS!

Hello there, friends! This post is coming to you live from the new Mrs. G. I will do a more thorough post with details and photos (obviously-I mean...you know me with the photos), but wanted to just stop by and say hi in the meantime! Our amazing photographer, Ace Cuervo, already sent me the pics from our day online and I love them all! Seriously...not even being overdramatic. Pretty sure I'm having major issues choosing favorites for a potential book/album. I'm getting the CD from him later this week and will post more as soon as I can. I realize you're not exactly losing sleep about this, but I want to write it all down for myself, too, ya know. :)

Long story short, it was the perfect day. I am sure everyone says that, but really... I couldn't have asked for a better wedding day even in my dreams. You can stop gagging now. The night before, everyone was in winter coats and the rain was coming down so hard, we couldn't rehearse outside. Saturday morning, the clouds cleared, the sun came out and the day was just beautiful. By Monday, the bad weather had returned. It really seemed to just clear off for our weekend and that's just pretty symbolic about how everything else went, too. I wasn't nervous at all. I was probably more nervous to walk down the aisle in front of everyone...haha... Everyone kept talking about how Eric and I were both just all smiles all day long.

Anyway, I find myself fighting the urge to go off with stories and recounts of the day, so I'll stop with that now, but I'm just really happy, friends. :)

We were in Kauai and then Oahu for a total of two weeks and I'm pretty sure we (per usual) looked at jobs and property there...haha.. I have a few (1300+) photos from the honeymoon so I'll post some of those soon, too. :) Just like the wedding, I couldn't have asked for a better honeymoon. And, every vacation we've been on, the hotel staff calls me "Mrs. G" and I'd have to correct them...until I exasperatedly lost interest in doing it. This time, someone called me Mrs. G and I beamed from ear to ear. Pretty awesome, friends. It's less about being a Mrs..and more about being ERIC'S Mrs that just makes me so happy. :)

In fun news, I've contacted someone to help me revamp this little corner of the interwebs. I am excited to blog again. I think I just lost interest for several reasons. I was busy with wedding planning, work was insane, the name doesn't even really fit the blog anymore (the roaring twenties...I'm 32 now...haha), been wanting to revamp it for awhile...so I think it just kinda needs a fresh coat of paint around here. She's got a wait list, so it'll be a few weeks, but excited for some changes. Also, I know I've said this before, but know that I always read comments even if I can't respond to them quickly. Without gmail access during the day- even on my phone (due to service issues in the building, I have to stay on the company network all day, thus blocking things even on my phone)- I often get home and just don't want to be on a computer so I can be crappy about responding in emails sometimes.

This morning, I donned my favorite sweater and jacket and sighed...It's 45 degrees outside. I have a feeling we're not in Kansas Hawaii anymore, Toto.