Friday, December 31, 2010

Say Yes (Maybe) to The Dress

by Meghann on December 31, 2010

I have a feeling my brother’s upcoming wedding is going to be a lot of firsts for me.

The first time I’ve been with the guy as he purchased the ring…. the first time I’ve seen anyone propose…. the first time I was asked to be a bridesmaid

And this morning was the first time I’ve ever been dress shopping with a bride!

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The closest I’ve ever come to bridal dress shopping in the past has been watching marathons of ‘Say Yes to the Dress,’ so I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect. Every little girl dreams of what their future dress will be and everyone’s dreams are so different! Ashley has been a very laid back bride and every dress looked GORGEOUS on her. The whole adventure was exciting, fun, and one big learning experience for future trips.

The plan was to meet at Ashley parents’ place at 10:30 this morning. Since Josh’s girlfriend Adena came in town late last night – after spending the holidays in Hawaii (JEALOUS!) – I opted to head to Titusville early and have breakfast at my parents to play catch up with everyone.

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Dad made a beautiful spread of everyone’s favorites including homemade, straight from the oven biscuits.

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I went a little crazy piling my plate high with a little bit of everything.

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Eggs, potatoes, bacon, fried apples, and a biscuit with homemade grape jelly.

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Definitely worth the early morning drive. :)

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Ashely played it smart and had read reviews of local bridal shops via google the night before. She had found one shop with 100% positive reviews and we took a chance by showing up appointment free.

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Luckily, they had an appointment open and were happy to show us around. Ashley showed the consultant some samples of what she liked and a sense of budget. From there the consultant pulled some samples of what she thought Ashley would like and gave us free reign of the store to see if there was anything we liked.

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I liked how the wedding dresses were labeled with cutouts of what the dresses look like on models. It’s near impossible to decide if you like a dress or not based on what it looks like on the hanger.

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Ashley tried on at least a dozen dresses. This was her first dress outing, so the goal was to simply get a feel for what style and cut she was looking for.

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We didn’t walk away with any dresses, but there was one particular dress that we all fell in love with. I believe it’s in the back of all our minds marinating as a real contender, but there’s still plenty of time to see what else is out there. ;)

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Several hours of dress shopping later (time flies when you’re having fun) Sherry offered to treat us all to lunch at Tijuana Flats. (THANKS SHERRY!!)

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I ordered the dos bean tacos with the works.

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One hard and one soft just to mix it up a little bit.

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When I got home I had a juicy orange.

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TIme to get all snazzy…. It’s New Years Eve and I’ve have a party to get to!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!!

{ 21 comments }

Top Events From 2010

by Meghann on December 31, 2010

Can you believe today is the last day of 2010? This year has definitely been an adventure.

When I graduated college back in 2007 I wasn’t sure where life was going to take me. That first year after school was tough. I lost friends, I lost a big relationship, I lost ME. Luckily, I discovered that post-college limbo wasn’t working for me anymore and in 2008 I decided to make some changes. And as they say - the rest is history.

Here’s a look back at 2008 and 2009.

Since then life just continues to improve and keeps getting better and better over time. I’ve learned if you want to be happy you have to work hard at it  and – trust me – I work my ass off at it. Back then that 22 year old college graduate was just letting life pass her by, now I grab it by the horns and hold on for the ride.

2010 was another amazing year in this adventure I call life. Here’s a look back at some of my favorite events from the last 12 months.

January

Kicking the New Year off in Colorado

Running the Walt Disney World Marathon

Cheering Derek on at his first solo 5k

February

Celebrating my 25th Birthday in NYC with my brother and Mom

Cake decorating in NYC with Buddy the Cake Boss and Kelly Ripa

Blogging for Chevy Girls on the Go

Completing the Michelobe Challenge at Gasparilla

March

Volunteering at Disney’s Princess Half Marathon

Florida Strawberry Festival

Chowing down at Foodbuzz 24×24 Goes Vegan

April

Running my first Ultra Marathon

Egg Hunting on Easter

Working in New Orleans

Dining at Victoria & Albert’s with my Dad

Celebrating Maddie’s First Birthday

Vacationing in San Francisco with Derek

May

Wishing Kelly a Happy 23rd Birthday

Exploring at Discovery Cove

Tri-ing in Baldwin Park

June

Relay Racing in Washingtom D.C.

Bumming it in Captiva Island

Realizing out childhood fantasies coming true at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Four Wheeling in Colorado

July

Training for the Chicago Marathon

Dancing the night away at a childhood friend’s wedding

Spa hopping in Miami

Finishing my first Olympic Distance Triathlon

August

Partying with my favorite bachelorette

Planning & executing the 2010 Healthy Living Summit

Catching the bouquet

Defending my age group title

September

Falling in love with new friends

Pushing my little brother when it counts

Proving training for a marathon is still possible when you travel

Chocolate decorating with friends

Running my third Miracle Miles 15k

October

Volunteering at the Wine & Dine Half

Eating our way around the world at Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival

Crossing the finish line at the Chicago Marathon holding my sister’s hand

Visiting KERF Country

November

Reconnecting with friends at Foodbuzz Festival

Racing the Saturn 5k with my two favorite runners

Drinking out of a really big straw for Ben’s 21st Birthday

Organizing the first annual Anderson family Turkey Trot

Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving

Supporting my crew at the Space Coast Half Marathon

December

Running my first sub-4:00 hr marathon

Ice Skating at UCF

Spreading holiday cheer at Disney

Ziplining through Christmas lights

Witnessing my little brother’s proposal

Waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve

:)

A look Ahead…

I can’t wait to see what new adventures 2011 brings. Stay tuned, I already had a few lined up for January. This girl’s life is about to change in a big way and I couldn’t be happier about it! :)

{ 42 comments }