The Joys of Wedding Planning

Here is a quick little run through of our wedding prep from over the past few weeks. 

 Unlike how wedding planning is traditionally done, we had a little jump start on our wedding plans even before Charles and I got engaged.  Knowing that we wanted to get married and Fall being our favorite season, we were already at the 7 month crunch time.

Flash forward a few weeks and wow....

Can I just say that October is less than 6 months away folks!!!

Sorry if that just made you hate me as you're thinking, "whoa, slow down girl, summer isn't even here yet,  so just let me enjoy spring a little!!!"

Don't worry, I'm loving spring around here too.

But with where we were at, we knew we needed a little running start on things.

I'd say that having all nine bridesmaids (call me crazy, I call it fun) our Church, reception hall, our photo shoot, save the dates, my dress, a photographer, our wedding website and marriage prep classes scheduled is a pretty good start with many more exciting details to follow!!!

And this guy right here is great at wedding planning and a communication pro!!! 

Not to repeat myself, but time and again he makes my job much easier as he lightens the load on my shoulders by always being willing to help out at every turn. What a guy!

Yes ~ Lattes have played a large role in wedding prep work =)

Getting some great ideas from a few key magazines.

Taking some notes here and there.

Studying and learning from the pros who do this all the time!

Just learning how to take an idea and recreate it, it's much harder than it sounds.

The beginning stages of wedding registries.  Very fun, but also a bit overwhelming.

One fact you might not know about me ~ I can't stand clutter and I would rather have a few nice things that I LOVE rather than a bunch of things that I'll never use.  I still know there are many basic things I'll be very grateful to have...."oh, hello there garlic press, say "hello" to the salad spinner!" Yeah, those kinds of things are very useful I know!!!

Always, always staying organized.  It's the only way my head stays on straight!!!

Keeping everything contained in once place is the best.

Then taking breaks to enjoy an afternoon eating outdoors with family and friends puts balance back in a crazy weekly routine.

Slowing down the mind and soaking up some sunshine with this chica was an extra blessing during the very first days of being engaged to Charles.  

Nothing like girl time for being able to enjoy different types of conversations and aspects of life.

Beautiful reminders of LOVE!!!

A gorgeous bouquet from Charles and also one from his father.  

I see where my man gets his romance from =)

A celebratory engagement dinner with both sets of parents, my brother and a dear friend. 

The ladies at Charlie's work are soooo sweet and fun!!!

I love how happy they are for him and for us.

Working on our wedding website!

Lots and lots of exciting mail. And the crafty person inside of me starts to come out =)

If there were ever a time for really appreciating my love of lists, it's now!!!

That was April's, now moving on to May!

Our save the dates came in a while back, can't wait to start sending these out!

The little bonus that comes with wedding registries =)  Love, love, love pottery barn!

And those are the joys of wedding planning so far!!!

Just last night Charles and I had a wonderful skype session with our wedding photographers.

They are an adorable married couple!!!  She is from Milwaukee and he is from Australia

and we can't wait to meet them in person.

Thank you Jesus for helping us and bringing all of these details so perfectly together!

We couldn't possibly have planned any of this to go as well as it has.

Also, thank you my lovely readers for all your love, support and for putting up with the word "wedding" 

sooo many times =)

We love sharing our joy with all of you!!!

xoxoxo, 

Maggie

Spring is here!

It sure feels amazing to be back in sandals!  The light and airy freedom in between your toes is such 

a heavenly feeling.  No more stuffy shoes or clunky boots.  Boy does it feel great to pack away winter attire and say "hello" to the lighter layers of clothing and sweet blue skies.

It's time for an energetic pop of color and some Salt Water sandals!!!

This is my first pair and I'm in love =)

Let me live in these all summer and I'll be happy.

 How to make wedding planning even more fun???  Add some creme brulee, a few sticky pecan rolls and a calorie burn tea (not really sure how much it actually counteracts against what was just consumed, but oh well :) and you've got yourself a perfect little set up for some wedding planning!

Bring along a sibling, even better.

Having only been a coffee drinker, look what Charles has done to me!!!!!  Warning, please don't judge by the gross picture below, because a fresh glass of green tea from Panera is actually very pretty and tastes even more AMAZING than it looks.  It's the perfect amount of sweet and refreshing!

I'd suggest trying a large next time you go to Panera, because you will be kicking yourself for only ordering a small.  Next, you will be asking me why I ever got you hooked. =)

Kind of tastes like spring in a cup!

Speaking of refreshing drinks....

Bahama Breeze is where my "ocean blue" met his "mint tea."

It was actually a pretty tasty combo, goofy picture or no goofy picture.

Sorry honey, you knew I would post this picture! =)

Thanks to this guy for a fun surprise lunch date yesterday.  Gosh I love Sundays!!!

Not sure about you, but I love when the guy picks where we are going to eat.

One, I love surprises and two, I hate making decisions. 

It's a definite blessing that Charles is good at both!

 What a neat place that I would definitely recommend and go back to!

Inside the restaurant felt like a little tropical paradise straight from Hawaii.

Not bad for being in the middle of Illinois at the end of April. 

And..... Rifle Paper Co. does it again!!

Always so feminine, classy, clean and inspirational.  My winter iPhone case was 

on the fritz.  How convenient that this one came out just in time for spring?!?

We've also been enjoying a bit more of the great outdoors.  It's beautiful seeing the peeks of green coming through on tree buds and grass as everything wakes up from it's winter slumber.  Aside from recent spring walks and open windows,  I think Charles is itching to plant some flowers in the upcoming weeks!!!

How have you been enjoying these gorgeous days of spring???

A happy happy Monday, Chicas!

Sunday Currently, vol. 7

 Reading  many wedding magazines and websites =)  Can't forget pinterest!!!  Soooo helpful.

 Writing  this blog post and many other wonderful wedding related letters and notes!  Also cooking up some other blog posts for this week.  My man is such a great encouragement when it comes to blogging!

 Anticipating  a beautiful wedding day in October!!!  

  Thinking  wedding planning is way easier than I thought it would be.  Guess it kind of really helps when your fiance is beyond helpful with all the work.  Charles is on top of all the phone calls, emails and arranging meetings.  I couldn't do this without him, obviously =)  In the event that you missed our engagement story, click and read.

 Rejoicing  that spring has finally sprung and enjoying open windows all day. 

 Smelling   fresh air.

 Wishing    that Sundays would last just a little bit longer, they fly by way too fast.

 Hoping   that Charles and I can finalize our photographer and DJ within the next few weeks.  

  Listening   to Bob Marley as Charles jams along. I would mow the yard listening to "buffalo soldier" and "I shot the sheriff" back when I was in highschool and I still love his music.  Don't know why, just do.

 Sipping  a venti iced hazelnut macchiato. 

 Loving   how our save the dates turned out!!!  

  Wanting    to get through many things on my "to-do" list this week. 

 Needing   one more nap this week at some point, today's was amazing! 

 Feeling   very blessed with so many wonderful friends in my life.

 Wearing   Red Saltwater sandals, danskin leggings and a blue and cream striped J.Crew sweatshirt.    

Okay, so the word or subject "wedding" was written all over this post, and I

kind of like that!!! =)

Linking up with Lauren for the Sunday Currently.

Have a great Sunday!

Maggie

Engagement Joy!!!

As many of you already know this wonderful news, either through the grapevine, a phone call, an e-mail or even for some of you in person  =)

YES, YES, YES, it's true!!!

 I'm very happy to announce that...... I am now engaged to Charles, the love of my life!!!

The big day couldn't have been more perfectly planned out by my wonderful man and here he is proposing on one knee in front of the Drake in Downtown Chicago.

What a guy to have the romantic moment captured on film.  Props to you, sweetheart.  If only we could have captured the laughter, the giggles, the jumping up and down and jumping some more.  There was so much joy in both 

our hearts at this very moment. 

Not to get ahead of myself here, because this isn't where the day began. 

Charles had planned an amazing day in the city, all of which I'm sure his mind was entirely focused on, poor guy =)  Nervous much?!?!  I think yes!  

Flash back a few hours on April 13th and the two of us were enjoying a lovely early afternoon in the Adler Planetarium.   The two of us talked many times of wanting to take a trip to the Planetarium.  Charles had been once as a little boy and I had never been.  We both knew it would be fun making this trip together someday and what do you know, he knew this day was the perfect day for such an occasion.

You can't really tell in this picture, but there was a gorgeous blue lake Michigan right behind us as we sat and ate lunch.

Then we decided to meander outside for awhile and enjoy the fresh air.

Next we walked over to the Field Museum to visit the Creatures of Light exhibit.
I love that we both really enjoy a good trip to a museum!!!

A taxi ride later and many other wonderful happenings and conversations which took place between the museums and this next surprise!!!!
Charles had planned a long and romantic carriage ride throughout the city of Chicago.
When I found out about this surprise I must have started giggling like I used to when I was a little girl.
I had always wanted to take this ride through the city, but never really had reason to.
So our driver Ben led his horse Pickles throughout the bustling streets of Chicago.
We talked and we laughed and stayed oh so serious as we always do...

or rather do not!!!

A short ways into our carriage ride, we took a little "scenic break" for pictures.

This is when the love of my life proposed and as you probably guessed, I said "yes"!!!!

I'm so blessed to be marrying such a romantic man, I really and truly love this about Charles.  He is always thinking of the details, including the roses he had waiting with the driver of our carriage.

I love this man and cannot wait to marry Charles this October and take his last name.
He is the shoulder that my head rests upon.
He is the one who always asks me, "what else can I do to help?"
He is the one who always tells me, "you shouldn't do that alone, I'm here to help."
He is the one who tells me, "I will always do the dishes and I will always do the laundry."
And why he loves doing these things I may never fully know or understand, but that's fine with me, I'm simply grateful that he is this incredibly helpful all the time about everything.
He is the one who tells me, "great job honey!" or "it's already taken care of, anything else I can do?"
He is the one to say, "I've got that honey, you shouldn't have to worry about that, that's my job."
To hear from a man, "let me take that sweetheart, I've got that for you" simply, yet strongly and somehow in the most powerful and moving of ways say "I LOVE YOU."
And  I LOVE HIM!!!

What a Prince Charming my fiance really is =)

The entire day was a bundle of joy and happiness, but it wasn't over yet!!!
As our kind driver offered to take more engagement photos in front of the water tower, a few more surprises showed up.
And by a few, I mean this entire table of friends =)
Wow, I was blown away by how well Charles had coordinated the evening with all these friends to have them by our sides to celebrate the joyous occasion together.

It really did make an incredibly special day that much more special.  To be able to share our love and joy with friends surrounding us!!!
It was beyond touching to feel the love and support from both my friends and Charles's friends.
As our friends came up to greet us one, two at a time, this Chica (who flew in from out of town) came out of nowhere and completely surprised me!!!  Sorry Chicago, all of downtown heard that scream and happy tears happened.  =)
Way to go, coordination team!  This was the cake topper of the whole day.
I was completely blown away by everyone's love!
I'm so grateful for friends, they make life extra sweet.

I was thrilled that we could celebrate and rejoice together with dear friends and share the story of the whole day.

You bet we feasted, we toasted, we laughed and we shared stories as we were surrounded by so many wonderful friends.
Oh how grateful I am and I know that we are very very blessed!!!

To have a fiance who cares so much.

Here we come, wedding of October 2013!!!!!!!!!!!
Let the wedding plans continue on.
We are having so much fun planning!
I'll be posting about that part really soon =)

Love,
Maggie & Charles

Little Random Moments

As much as I would like to just sit down and put together a post like those back in the day, I 

just haven't had the chance.

So this will have to be it for now... a few random moments.

A few weeks ago I caved and picked up the clarisonic mia, thanks a lot Tina you have me hooked!!! Although I'll admit I was bummed I couldn't find the peacock color anywhere :(  Sorry Tina, I tried.

 No more having to find a clean washrag or being too harsh on my face.  

Washi tape just makes projects more fun and colorful!!!

Why does Country Donuts have to be SOOO conveniently located on my weekly commute?!?! 

Simply loving the reds and whites.  That little espresso bar is just so Italian and I could handle a white backsplash like this one someday.

A little morning brew and my first pot of coffee in a long time....it's usually a cappuccino, but today I wanted to spice things up!

Why does coffee have to taste so darn good?!?!  

Sorry honey, I know I've got you hooked, too!!!! =)

Charles and I had our very first Easter basket blessed.

This was very special for both of us!

My godmother sent a gorgeous Cathedral bundt pan and we celebrated a special feast day with a butterscotch bundt cake!  Tasted even better for breakfast on the second day =)

It's easy to find these keys hiding in the purse!  

A rare nap happened the other day and it was beautiful.

Ahhh it's almost the weekend and this makes me very, very happy!!!  

Charles has planned an entire day in the city and we're extremely excited to be going on some adventures that we've talked about doing for a long time.

Any trip into the city is always a good time, but this time will be different.  While we have visited friends in the city for dinner or gone to a show, we've never actually taken the train or spent the day exploring the city.  So yep, I'm pretty pumped about this weekend. =)

Just one more day.

Do you have plans for the weekend?  Any plans to rest or go on an adventure? 

Life Lately

Life lately (as in a few weeks ago) of course involved coffee as always.

 trips to the Tae Kwon Do school for some pizza, fun and exercise.

 A trip to the shrine to say "goodbye" to a dear priest who recently left for Chile.

As a child I found a penny laying on the ground in the parking lot.  I handed it to this priest and he promptly handed it back

to me saying, "keep it for your wedding dress, it will be expensive!" 

I may have only been 10 at the time, but I still remember this conversation vividly. 

 Working on part of my 26 year old bucket list:

Shopping at Ikea for my sisters bedroom/art studio.

 Showing off our favorite Venga tea!!
This is and always will be a favorite little spot of ours.

 Out to a birthday lunch with Charlie's nephews.

Looks like someone has a natural touch =)

 Gym time!

 A really old picture of a cousin.  

NOoo, being Irish and stubborn doesn't run in my family! =)

What a cutie!

 A fun pizza and movie night at Charlie's place!

The siblings love nights like this. 

 Still loving the new hazelnut macchiato.

And still being frustrated that I can't get my comments to work with Disqus on google plus.

Anyone know why the comments won't come through with peoples names or pictures next to them???

All comments come through looking like I wrote them!!!  

If anyone has helpful suggestions or a website that has instructions to fix this, please help a girl out here!

Oh the little frustrations of the blogging world.

On a happy note, I hope everyone had a wonderful and very relaxing weekend!!! 

More to come soon =) 

The Sunday Currently, vol. 6

 Reading  many magazines and websites =)  

 Writing  this blog post and many wonderful letters!

 Anticipating  the days when spring weather will be here to stay.  We've had such a beautiful taste of it this weekend.  

  Thinking  that it's time to head back to the gym this week.  I've been so lazy and it's time to break a good sweat again.

 Rejoicing  over how beautiful Charles baptism was.  What an incredible and memorable day that I will never ever forget.  

 Smelling   and loving the "fig" scented room diffuser from Pottery Barn.

 Wishing    that we could have five day weekends and two day weeks!  Anyone else agree with me?

 Hoping   that I can start washing and putting away winter clothing this week.  

  Listening   to The Bible TV series.

 Sipping  an afternoon/evening cappuccino. 

 Loving   the above picture from a special photo shoot this week with my love. =) and the picture below from a favorite pub of ours.  I'm glad I snapped this photo during lunch today and no it really wasn't this empty, I promise =) 

  Wanting   a day trip to the city for exploring new restaurants and visiting a new museum.  This is what I wrote a few weeks ago and I think I'll leave it here because I still want to do this!  

 Needing   a few naps this week, I can already tell. 

 Feeling   all cleaned up with a fresh manicure and pedicure ~ I love afternoons spent at the salon with Charles' mom and sisters!

 Watching   The Bible.                                         

Linking up to Lauren's Sunday Currently.