Good Times With Great Friends!

I've had a great start to my spring break - from hanging out with friends to hanging out with whale sharks! Dana, Dave and Rachel came to stay with us for a few days and we all had a great time. J took a little time off from studying each day to enjoy some free time! Saturday evening, we enjoyed our antipasto appetizer, had a few drinks, and randomly decorated cupcakes while sitting around..

We brought them to our favorite restaurant for brunch in Atlanta - Front Page News..gotta love those bloody mary's :)

On Monday, we went to the Georgia Aquarium. It was my first time there and it was such a nice day! Rachel loved the animals and pointed out as many as she could! Afterwards, we walked around Centennial Park, grabbed a drink, and enjoyed our warmest day yet. J couldn't make it since he had an OMM practical, but we sure did miss him!

And to end our evening, we all went and sat atop McCray's Tavern, overlooking downtown Lawrenceville. More good food and more good drinks!

It became extremely windy while up there and the storm to follow was no joke! We had hail and all, which brought along some cool weather today. All in all, we had a wonderful weekend and my spring break has been great :) I wish J and I had the same spring break, but we're both at least thankful to have a spring break at all!

Tomorrow, I'm on my way to Florida! My Bridal Shower is on Saturday and I am so excited to spend time with family and friends. Of course I will miss my fiance and pup, but hopefully J can get much studying done with the help of Grizz :)

Happy Saturday!

Happy Saturday, Everyone!

And a Happy Spring Break to myself! :) I have been counting down the days to this for a while now, and I'm so glad it's here! I even had the kids counting down...

I came home from work yesterday (in my Pajamas because it was PJ day at school to raise money) and I was in my glory knowing I have a whole week off. J was out bike riding when I got home, but he arrived shortly after with some wonderful goodies! (How great is he?!) He stopped at Fresh Market and picked this stuff up...

Roses, Antipasto bar goodies with a loaf of sour dough, watermelon twists, chilean rounds, mustard pretzels, spring colored M&M's, Dr. Brown's root beer for me and a Tazo tea for him!

Good thing we have friends coming in today to share with..haha.

We explored downtown Lawrenceville recently (about 15 minutes away) and we liked the area a lot which is really nice because this means we won't have to go into Atlanta all the time (Who are we kidding? We know we'll still drive down every weekend we have the chance!) But this is a good area to go to on a weeknight after a test...

McCray's Tavern with rooftop seating

Oyster Bay..50 cent oysters on Tuesdays. This excites J!

J woke up at 4:30 this morning to go to the library. I was surprised and a little confused at first, but he wants to get a lot of studying done so he can enjoy his weekend (Now that's dedication..haha.) I began "spring cleaning" a little this morning, and have much more to do! So I'll turn on my music, open the blinds to get lots of sunshine in here and clean, clean, clean! Sounds fun, right?! But I get to hang out with J, Dana, Dave and Rachel tonight, so I know I have something to look forward to :) Enjoy your weekend, everyone, I know I am!

Healthy fun facts!

Today our class went on a field trip to the Great Harvest Bread Company. While I had no idea what to expect, I pictured us walking through some factory with the kids just shrugging due to sheer boredom. To my surprise, the trip was actually fun and of course, educational. We stepped in and put on our baker's hats ("oh boy," I thought)

It was actually a cafe/bread store and the owner's were great with the kids and taught us teachers a lot on the side as well. She was a nutrition major and had tons o' facts! Their bread is made from 5 simple ingredients, which any kid in our class can scream off to you in less than 5 seconds! (They were sure to tell everyone when we got back to school.) They make their own wheat flour there, which the kids got to partake in, and they gave each kid a loaf of warm fresh baked bread to take home. They had fundraisers going so that if you bought certain loaves of bread, they would donate about 70% to sick children. So I encourage you to go to Great Harvest if there is one around you! :)

As for the healthy fun facts:

• People who eat whole grains reduce serious health risks
  • Risk of heart disease drops 25-36%
  • Risk of type 2 diabetes drops 21-27%
  • Risk of digestive cancers drops 21-43%
  • Risk of stroke drops 37%
• Other benefits include better weight control, reduction in belly fat, and significant drops in blood pressure
• Research has shown that children who eat whole grains have a lower risk of obesity and diabetes, lower cholesterol, reduced risk of asthma, and may have reduced acne. Whole grains help children maintain their energy levels and feel fuller longer.
• For older Americans, consuming more whole grains has shown to be beneficial in decreasing BMI (Body Mass Index), weight gain, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, and in improving glucose response.

Okay so let's all run to the store and buy everything with whole grain..haha ;) I kid, I kid, but it helps to be more aware! Speaking of eating well, the side I made with our meal tonight was an apple pecan salad with fat-free raspberry vinaigrette (and I added in strawberry slices). Yes it was sweet, but oh so delicious! Thank you E-mealz :)

Where have I been?!

I know, I know, it's been a while! [sorry] I've been asked why I haven't updated, and it's because I've been buried in papers and scissors and glues oh my! DIY invitations are no small feat..it has taken up all of my time - but I am more than happy about it! Just a disclaimer though - since I haven't updated in a while, this will probably be pic heavy..so I hope you enjoy :)

Here's a song for you to listen to - I have been loving it. I love even more that it came out during our engagement time :)

Well, our trip to South Florida was wonderful, and a great break for both of us. We spent time with families, got the chance to meet up with friends, and of course, we indulged in our favorite tastes of Coral Springs! We officially have a god daughter that behaved like an angel during her Baptism and was smiling the whole time - oh how I love her!

We had our wedding tasting during our trip and picked out our entree selections. They are up on our website, so you can start thinking about what you want right now :)

After the tasting, we had a drink at the pool bar. Such a great atmosphere! 84 days until our guests can enjoy it too!

When we got back to Georgia, J was on spring break and definitely enjoyed it (went by too fast for him of course!) - but he got to ride his bike on new trails (spent 4 hours at the park one day), and also just relax a bit. We had friends over on St. Patrick's Day and had lots of food, beer, and fun - Just what they all needed..

We spent last Saturday (the last weekend of J's break) in the Virginia Highlands area of Atlanta. It was such a nice day - reaching 84 degrees! The hottest it's been all year (yet it was back to being cold again Thursday and Friday). We sat outside one restaurant eating lunch, and had a beer at several different bars. We couldn't pass up the chance to sit outside and enjoy a couple drinks - we normally don't have time or nice weather - so the day was great. To top it off, I found out the site I was ordering stationary from had a store in the Virginia Highlands area. I was SO excited. We walked in and J knew I was in heaven...(it's really any crafters dream..haha!)

They were more than helpful there and I was so glad I went vs. ordering online. J was a good sport about it all...he tried :)


Today we had our 7 hour Pre-Cana workshop. This was just one of our requirements to get married in the church, and one we really weren't looking forward to (especially with J's test day on Monday) - but I have to say, it was a great experience for us and any couple. It was in Buckhead (Atlanta) at a beautiful church and there were over 100 people there - all couples, all engaged, all catholic, all there for the same reason. It was nice to talk to others in our situation and the sessions we sat through were something I think every engaged couple can benefit from. The deacon and teaching couples never tried to push anything onto us, but simply got us thinking about many situations that arise in marriages, how to handle them and communicate through everything. It was also nice to see that as great of couples as they are, they are human and experience a myriad of problems as well - but we all have to remember, it's all about how we handle them! Oh, and we had an hour for lunch so we tried out a little BBQ place recommended to us by a friend..

This little shack was great. J was especially excited from just the smell as we got out of the car! Pulled pork sandwiches, chips, and beer (we had to in the middle of a 7 hour day!), along with the best pecan pie!

Lucky for me, I have one more week of work and then it's my SPRING BREAK. The DiSalvo's will be in town the first half (YAY! we get to see Rachel walk) and then I'll be heading down south for the second half (can't wait!). J isn't coming this time and I'll be a little sad I won't have my other half to get excited about our favorites - Wings Plus, Caboose, Icee Shop, etc. but I'm sure I can make my family tag along :) In the mean time, good luck and prayers to J on his first test day of the term!