Soon to be Mrs. Kessler

This post is dedicated to my bestie!

J and I have known each other since we were 12. Gangly things in the horrors of middle school. We bonded over French :)

She is truly my best friend and has literally been through thick and thin with me. We were friends all through middle school and hung out in the same group the first couple of years of high school. To be honest though, those first few years in high school she annoyed me :). She was still my friend and we still had fun, but I was insanely jealous by how beautiful, outgoing, and incredibly smart she was. She had all of our guys friends falling at her feet and was a shameless flirt, even though I've come to realize that's just her being sweet to everyone. However, senior year arrives and our group has fizzled. She and I became fast friends and I have amazing memories of our times during senior year. Late nights at Caribou and Dunkin Donuts. Crazy drives down Peachtree Street blaring Britney Spears. Racing away from a party house after graduation in fear of the cops (even though we were complete goody goodies, just didn't want to get into any trouble).

College came and we moved two hours away from each other. A few months passed before we talked again, but soon our friendship grew even stronger. I honestly have to say that during college is when we became "best friends". Whenever she was home from school we always hung out.

Now, we're grown up and she is getting married. I adore her fiance and am so unbelievably thankful that she has found the perfect match for her. They love each other endlessly and will be so happy together. We've shared so many amazing memories together and I am looking forward to this weekend when I get to be a part of their wedding. Congratulations Bestie!!! I'm so happy for you and love you dearly :)

Erin

Miscellaneous Monday

It's a three day week for me!

-My best friend is getting married in 5 days. FIVE DAYS PEOPLE!!!!!!! Crazy.

-I'm on my own this week with my newish job. I officially move into my office Monday, but I have many tasks this week to accomplish since my mentor is on vacay.

-I had an awesome time with my loves Friday night. We ate Mexican, shopped at Kohls, laughed at the love bug :), then tried Menches for the first time. I got the coffee yogurt with no toppings (still trying to watch what I eat)

-Easter was quiet. I got a lot of deep spring cleaning done and enjoyed it. Then my sissy came for dinner which was the best way to end the day!

-I've gone on hiatus with the 5K. With this wedding and preparing for it, I've been really busy. So, starting May 2, 5K training is BACK on!!!! (I'm really looking forward to it)

-Bought my bestie's wedding present this past weekend. It was a find for sure. I think she'll love it!

-We're supposed to get some bad storms this week. Is it weird that I'm excited about them? Not about damage or people getting hurt, just the thunder and lightening. Growing up I thought about being a meteorologist and would LOVE to hunt tornadoes :) Yes, I'm a little odd.

-Luckily for the bride to be, Friday and Saturday are supposed to be GORGEOUS!! So glad too.

Hope everyone has a lovely week. I'll post about the wedding when I get the chance :)

Erin

A Daily Struggle...

Raw emotions coming up...take cover!

My best friend's wedding is rapidly approaching and I could not be happier for her. She is marrying an amazing guy would truly loves and adores her. I thank God that He put the two of them together.

I have three best friends. This is my last single one. I am now the only one left. This has been something very hard for me to deal with and even more so this year with J getting married and myself turning the big 25.

Growing up I always dreamed of one day getting married and having children. That's all I've ever wanted out of life for as long as I can remember. In high school I was the "mom" of our group. I even got Mom birthday cards. I was always the level headed one who looked out for everyone in our large group of friends. I loved every minute of it.

I had this picture in my head that I would either marry my high school sweeheart or meet an awesome guy in college, be engaged our senior year, and then get married right out of college.  Well, my high school sweetheart and I didn't last and I never met anyone in college.

Here I am, 25, with no aspects to speak of. Yes, I am healthy. Yes, I have a great job (especially since being promoted!). Yes, I have a loving family and amazing friends. But, at the end of the day, I want that fairytale. I want to be able to come home to someone who is my best friend. Don't get me wrong, I have my friends, but their spouses are their best friends.

I hear all the time that I am still young, but it's hard to see all of these girls that I went to high school with getting married. Now, some are having multiple babies. Ten years ago, if you had told me some of them would be married before me I would have laughed in your face. I guess because this has truly been my lifelong dream, it's just hard to swallow that others are living out my dream before me.

Here is my cross road. Here, publicly (well, sort of) I am vowing to NOT worry about it anymore. Worrying never solves anything and it certainly won't solve this. I know that God has a plan and, considering where I am working, it obviously isn't what I had planned.

So, I'll quit.

I follow Leslie over at A Blonde Ambition. The other day she posted about meeting her fiance and quoted an amazing verse.

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

 

Ever since reading this I have not been able to get it out of my head. It's exactly what I needed. I have printed it out and it is hanging right next to my computer so I can be reminded of God's amazing plan for me.

One day, I hope to look back and laugh at this post and tell my younger self to have hope. However, I don't know what the future holds. Only God does. All I can do is pray that my dreams come true. Until then, I'll continue to work on myself (down 45 pounds, woo hoo!), cherish my friends and family, and enjoy each day that God has given me. Who knows, maybe my prince is around the next corner :)

Erin

Randomness

Ok, prepare for rambling....

-Ummmmm, where did this week go? It seems like yesterday I was up half the night because of a horrible storm when reality it was four days ago. Something I always remember my mom saying when I was growing up "The older you get, the faster it goes". That is without a doubt correct. How is it Thursday? How is it already April? How is it that my best friend is getting married in THREE WEEKS!!!!!! It seriously seems like they just got engaged. Wowza.

-The bachelorette party is next weekend. Confession (even though I know the bride reads this), I haven't booked the limo yet :) Ooopppsss. Priority for this weekend-get that darn thing booked!

-Along with not having the limo yet, I still can't find a dress for that night. Having lost 40 something pounds recently has left me wanting a cuter dress than normal. However, I still have many more pounds to lose so I'm wanting something that will accentuate my waist but won't cling to my hips. I know what I would really like, but finding it has been the issue. Also, since it's about a week away, it's too late to order something. I'm sure I'll find something I'll be happy with and either way, as long as my bestie is unbelievably happy that weekend, that's all that will matter :)

-I started a new program to my workout routine. On my iPhone is an app called C25K (couch 2 5k). It is a 9 week program 3X a week that will train you to be able to run a 5K. I have NEVER been a runner, but have really wanted to be. It is the best exercise and I enjoy that peace when I am out on my walks now, so why not try to combine the two. Ha, funny note. I "started" the program yesterday but going the normal route that I walk. Ummm, yeah starting off running up all the hills I normally walk was not the best idea. I had to stop the program halfway, because I couldn't get up the last hill by running. So new game plan. I figured out a new route that is flatter and I will just officially start today.

-My bridesmaid dress came this week and I'm excited that 1)I ordered a smaller size than originally planned to and 2) it fit perfectly and doesn't need to be altered! However, after viewing pictures of myself in it, I realized that I still have a ways to go before I reach my ultimate weight loss/toning goal. My goal in terms of time, is to be where I want to be by my cousins wedding at the end of August. That gives me around 3 1/2 months to get my butt in gear.

Well, enough information overload. I'm looking forward to the last bridal shower this weekend and getting things together for next weekend. It is supposed to be beautiful the next couple of days and sunny days always put a smile on my face!

Erin

Bake for a Cause

This weekend was JAM PACKED! I was busy busy busy.

The big thing I did this weekend was help Amanda from iambaker. A few weeks ago she announced that she would take nominations from people who would want cookies to help brighten some one's day. She received over 165 nominations and couldn't turn any of them down. So she called out for volunteers to help and I jumped on! Here are the cookies that I made this weekend.

I used Sugarbelle's Chocolate Roll Out Cookies recipe. They're really easy and taste like brownie cookies.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and dark corn syrup.

Next slowly add the dry ingredients.

While making the cookies, I also made some new baby cookies for my mom to take to a friend.

After piping the background.

The finished product. This was the first time that I tried brush embroidery and I LOVE it. I was super easy and really makes the cookies look fancy.

I added edible pearls for the centers of the flowers. Now, on to shipping them and hopefully putting a smile on a stranger's face :)

This weekend I also got to babysit my two favorite kids. I didn't realize how much I missed them and it will be another month before I see them again. With the wedding at the end of the month, my weekends are booked solid!

Today I got to celebrate with my bestie at her fiance's family's bridal shower. It was lovely and it warmed my heart to see how much they love her and make her a part of their family. 4 weeks until the wedding, woohooo!! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and have a fabulous week!



Erin