Week two of weddings this January was for my one and only Anna! Anna and I were close all through college through our sorority, but she has truly become one of my very best friends since we graduated. Although Danny (her husband) stole her and took her to Huntington Beach, California - we stay close thanks to that wonderful thing called social media.

This weekend in Wilmington, NC served as a pretty amazing reunion for all of our Western friends. Natalie, Matelyn and I were bridesmaids and there was a handful of other Catamounts on hand for the celebration, too. After arriving late Thursday night, Adam and I met up with the group for a quick drink before heading to bed to rest up for the wedding festivities starting on Friday. I guess the best way to lay out this text and photo heavy post is through a tacky timeline, so I apologize in advance...

Friday, January 18
First up was the Bridesmaid's Luncheon at Elijah's. Anna had a prettty big bridal party (11 bridesmaids!) so the luncheon was a great chance to officially meet everyone else. (Side note: I'm so glad Matelyn's boyfriend came along! As you can imagine, I didn't see Adam very much so I'm glad he and Tyler were able to buddy around.)

That afternoon was the rehearsal at the gorgeous chapel at Saint Mary's Catholic Church followed by the dinner at BlueWater Grill. Anna has one of the most supportive (and beautiful) families, ever - and they made some incredible speeches that left everyone crying.

Worst idea, ever... one of Danny's friends from college got up to say a few words so Natalie, Matelyn and I felt compelled to do the same. Well, I had held it together for most of the evening and was basically making fun of Matelyn and Natalie for sobbing so I was voted to be the speaker. Then they passed me the mic and I lost it. It was not cute, and we basically stood there sobbing for a solid couple of minutes until Anna's brother-in-law tried to come up and relieve us of our duties. I was able to blubber a few phrases (that I'm still not sure made sense...) and then we went back to our seats in shame. MORTIFYING.

After a few post-dinner drinks back at the hotel, we headed to bed since I was getting my hair done at 8am - yikes!

Wedding Day! January 19
Somehow I got scheduled to get my hair done first, which I was kind of worried about considering my hair does not hold curls well and I thought there was no way it was going to hold all day. (Amazingly, it did. A little too much... I kind of felt like I looked like Shirley Temple, but whatevs.) We all got dolled up in the Hospitality Room and spent the morning drinking mimosas and hanging out. Anna was so calm. I think I was a pretty calm bride, but she seemed like she was almost zen - so content.

Anna got all of the bridesmaids these shirts with our initials on them as our presents! Such a cute idea!

With the wedding at 2, we headed over to the church where Anna got changed into her gown. It was originally her Aunt Peggy's, but she had the sash made from her grandmother's veil and she wore her mother's veil. So vintage and classic - she looked stunning.

Cutest Flower Girls! Virginia, Cecelia, Eva and Sophia

After the service, we all took pictures outside (and FROZE. I think it was like 40 degrees or something ridiculous) and then hung out in an equally cold trolley until Anna and Danny were done with their pictures. It was family and friend fun time back at the Hospitality Room at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside until we were all introduced at the reception at 6.

The band was awesome, the food was awesome, the drinks were awesome, the friends were awesome.... the whole night was seriously awesome.

Anna bought a second outfit for the reception and I just about died. It was so Anna!!!

She looked stunning the entire day and I can't even put into words how honored I am that I got to stand to stand with her and Danny as they officially became the Ackers. It was, by far, the most fun I've ever had at a wedding. The whole weekend was also a great reminder that friends and family are truly all we really have and that I have been beyond blessed with the best there is!

Cheers to the Ackers!!

adios summer

I could totally get used to these family-filled holiday weekends. Adam and I were lucky enough to welcome summer with exciting new adventures, and we said goodbye to summer content and happy.

My parents went to Miami for the long weekend to see the Enrique/J.Lo concert, so Adam and I house/pet sit for them. Is that situation backwards, or what? To be honest, I love hanging out at my parents' house - they usually have tons of junk food and booze, so I was excited to have free reign and no judgment while I consumed ALL OF IT. You can imagine my disappointment when I arrived Thursday evening to find only random condiments in the fridge and one drinks' worth of Grey Goose in the freezer. You should have seen me in Publix... I practically danced through the aisles grabbing every salty, junky food I could get my hands on. Self-control at the grocery store is something I usually pride myself on, but I gave myself a pass. After all, this food wouldn't be in my pantry, so the calories obviously don't count. Right? Right.

Ruthie thought it would be a fabulous idea to not sleep at all on Thursday -  she just wanted to pull an all-nighter with Phoebe instead. Phoebe, on the other hand, was completely content hanging out in her kennel, sleeping like a gem all night. And I kind of forgot about Rico most of the time. He's almost 10 years old and cannot be bothered by Ruthie and Phoebe's antics. He basically begged me not to get him out of his kennel in the mornings.

The next morning Phoebe decided it was cuddle time... on the couch... with me. There were a couple times I thought the 100-pound, 100% puppy was going to smother me. But after a nice walk with Debbie and her pups, Ruthie and Phoebe were pretty worn out the rest of the day (Amen!).

I had a super-productive rest of the day on Friday. And by productive, I really mean I ate a lot of salty stuff and watched cable all day long. Oh wait, I also painted my nails. My kinda day off! Mitchell made it back around 7pm (his first trip home from college) and then we patiently waited I fell asleep waiting for my cousin (Michael), his girlfriend (Maggie) and their friends to arrive for the weekend!

Saturday we were up an at 'em to get ready for the Braves vs. Phillies game. We utilized the Nalley Lot for the first time, and holy cow - we have been missing out! Talk about prime time tailgating. We were literally a stone's throw from the stadium.

My handyman built this cornhole set. Pretty impressive, huh?

Adam and Maggie talking teacher talk. Nerd alert!

Cousin Michael and his fab girlfriend, Maggie

The guy behind me caught a foul ball and let me take a picture with it. Cool, I guess?

Other than the fact that the Braves lost, it was such a fun day! Couldn't have asked for better weather, better company, or a better baseball team. Saturday also turned out to be the first day of College Football, so after the game we raced back home to catch a couple games. Talk about sport overload!

Sunday, ah Sunday. Sunday was one of those days you just look around and get butterflies thinking of how great God is. It was a perfect day, topping off the perfect weekend with some of my favorite people. I smiled all day long. At one point, we pulled out Table Topics and one of the questions was "If money wasn't an issue, what kind of party would you throw?" I could honestly say that I would want Sunday repeated. Sure, I'd like to have all of my favorite people there, but a handful was enough for me.

Cornhole got a lost of use that weekend.

The 'rents came home to a full house. Dad, the entertainer, brought out tequila shots for all.

We stayed up past midnight just sitting on the porch talking. Perfection.

Some exciting things in our little family have started brewing, but I'll have to save that for another post. This one (as most) is already too long. Spoiler Alert: I'm not pregnant.

Another happy ending to summer 2012 - my wonderful friend, Anna, got engaged last week! Congratulations to the future Ackers!