Rehearsal & Rehearsal Dinner

The wedding weekend was jammed pack with lots of memorable moments for sure. Things kicked off mid-week when we were able to get together with some out of town guests. Dinner on Wednesday at Montgomery Inn with some family, coffee & breakfast with friends on Thursday, and a relaxing massage for a bargain price. (What more could a girl ask for, right?)

The Friday before the wedding was wonderful. I spent the day with Mandy and Wendy, getting manicures & pedicures and sharing a nice lunch. I decided to stay at a hotel that was close to the wedding venue, so I got all checked into my room that afternoon and then we headed off to the Cincinnati Nature Center for the rehearsal.

Things with the rehearsal went smoothly and it was great to see everyone who had arrived in town that day. Everyone was keeping an eye on the sky leading up to the wedding day b/c it was a chilly and raining week in the tri-state. So all fingers were crossed that the rainy weather would pass like the meteorologists kept saying it would.
Our rehearsal dinner was held at Bella Luna, a family owned Italian restaurant. It was a lovely evening shared with family and friends. Beautiful toasts were shared by JJ's mom & dad, my mom, and my best friend Wendy. It was definitely an evening where we celebrated long lasting love and friendship.

(JJ, my Dad Eddie, me and my mom Carole)
(Some group pictures)


After the dinner, we invited those available to gather at BW 3's for a few drinks to toast the night away! I was so excited to see so many people able to attend. Both JJ and I caught up with dear friends from our college years and several family members traveled many miles to be there with us during this special time.

(College roommates: Alina, Me, Wendy, Molly, & Elizabeth)
(Me and my cousin, Dawn)

Jo Jo's Shave Ice

One of my favorite stops while we were in Kauai was Jo Jo's Shave Ice in Waimea. This place came highly recommended from my "Hawaii travel bible", also know as a book called Kauai Revealed. Now, my love for shaved ice runs deep, so I was really excited to check this place out - and it did not disappoint, it was da 'bomb!

I made it one of my missions while on vacation to test several shaved ice stands and none of them even came close to Jo Jo's. What gave it the edge for me was how tightly packed they got that ice. Must have been the old school shaving machine Jo Jo's uses to shave the huge chunk of ice. They also have to sharpen that blade several times a day to keep up with all the people who stand in line for this fun treat. Enjoy the "tour" of this Kauai gem!
There's nothing special about the building, in fact, it looks kinds scary from the outside, but don't let that stop you if you're ever in the area. This place has a crazy amount of syrup flavors, over 60 to be exact and they've also created some specialty combinations. Some of the flavors that caught my eye were: butterscotch, cinnamon, coffee, mai thi, papaya, and root beer.
In the end, JJ and I ended up going with some simple flavors considering all that they offered. I ordered Strawberry and Passion Orange, and JJ decided on Cherry and Grape, a combo Jo Jo's calls, the plain and simple!
The aftermath....That's right, I even drank the syrup once the ice was gone, that's how good this shaved ice was from Jo Jo's! I tried to convince JJ to drive back to Jo Jo's for one more time before we flew out, but it was a little out of the way, so I guess I'll have to wait until we go back to Kauai, and believe me, we're going back, for sure!

Mr. & Mrs.

It's official...we got married...
And then we went to Hawaii...

Updates coming soon!!!

Hair & Make-Up

Last week, I had a day off work and enjoyed a fun day of pampering at the salon & a visit to the make-up artist for a trail run for the wedding day up do and make up color selections.

I was past due on getting the works done on my hair. So, I went for it (all but the cut), full color (dark brown) & partial highlight (red). I've become more of a brunette over the past few years, and this visit's color is da 'bomb - I'm loving it, warm brown base color with shiny copper highlights.

I used to always go with blonde and/or carmel brown highlight, but sometime last year, I opted out of the blonde game and made the commitment to the brunette side of life. (It might have something to do with the fact that blonde highlights grow out quicker, showing your true roots, and I'm cheap and go about 8 weeks in between salon visits - and then usually it's only for a partial highlight!) Anyways, my hair dresser has found a great option for me were the base color holds it's nice warm tones and she mixes two red tones, to make this red she uses for my highlights.

Here's a sneak-peak pic of the up do for the wedding hair! I really like what Amy did with my hair. I wanted the simple front swoop to the side and then something nice in the back. Originally I thought I wanted a simple bun in the back, but I opted for pined up curls and I like the outcome. I'm still on the search for some small jewels to add to the back to punch it up a bit, but this is most likely the look I'll be going for on the big day!

Once the hair was set, it was off to see the make up lady! Most people who know me already know that I'm not much of a "make up wearer", but I did want to have my face done for this special occasion, so I enlisted the help of the make up artist who works at the TV station. Lisa has helped me in the past when I've wanted to brighten up my eyes for a nice dinner out and she's also come to the rescue when I've had some seriously bad breakouts going on and has helped by adding a little extra cover-up here and there.

Knowing that I didn't want to not look like myself on the wedding day, I asked Lisa to build a nice foundation with some color on my cheeks and a neutral toned eye with some depth. She did a fabulous job and below is a preview pic of just how much the right eye make up can really open up your eyes and make them sparkle! (Note - the left side is with no eye make up, the right is the wedding day make up!)

I can't post a full "after" make up photo, because I tried on the look with my veil and I know JJ browses the blog every now and then! But I am very excited about how each trial run turned out and I'm looking forward to getting pampered again as I get ready on the wedding day!

I'm still around blog world....

We are in the home stretch for this life changing event called a wedding, in fact we raised our right hands and took an oath the other day and purchased our marriage license!!!

Wedding planning gets totally nutty when you are down to the nitty gritty, but it is a really fun time! I promise to write more sometime soon, but at this moment, between being hit with a rough round of the flu last week and constantly being tired from getting up for work at 3 AM EVERY DAY, dear readers, I must sign off and TAKE A NAP!!!

In just about 15 days, I'll move from the W's to the J's in the ol' alphabet and I gotta say, I can't wait for this whole new adventure to begin. JJ and I took a quick trip to lovely Charleston, SC for his cousin's wedding, so I leave you with a pic of me and my love!

Bridal Shower Weekend

I enjoyed a big celebration this past weekend for my bridal shower. Many family members and friends were able to make it to my Aunt's house for a lovely afternoon.

Things kicked off with mimosas and mingling, then a fabulous spread of food - everything from chicken salad crossiants, pasta salad, stuffed mushrooms, veggies and homemade mints. The weather was gorgeous, a sunny day but not too hot. The company was wonderful - grandma, mom, aunts and cousins, friends from various times throughout my life, & several soon-to-be in laws.

I couldn't ask for a better group of women in my life. It was quite a special day for me, several times I would glance at different groups of guests and feel so blessed to know each of them & have them in my life. I can't wait to share the big day with everyone.

Enjoy a few pictures from the day:

Me and Mom...

Our beach themed cake - Yumm....

Me and a few of my soon to be in-laws...

Opening gifts...yes, I did break a few ribbons...

A great group of girlfriends..

If you, dear blog readers, happen to have a few pics from the afternoon, please send them my way ~ Thanks!

The Wave is still standing...

We stayed at a rental house in the 800 block of Ocean Blvd called "The Wave" while we were on vacation to Holden Beach this summer. The home has an inverted floor plan: meaning all the bedrooms & baths are on the lower level and the main gathering area is on the top floor offering up some seriously awesome views of the sun rising, which totally rocked.
One thing we didn't know is that this particular house happens to be one of the tallest houses on the West end of the island. This fact didn't turn out to be a good thing when a storm rolled in mid-week. We enjoyed a nice morning with lots of beach time & sunshine, then the clouds darkened and the skies started brewing. Everyone hustled inside as the rain started falling and most of us decided to call it a day, and start getting ready for our dinner plans.

It sure didn't take long for the light rains to turn into a heavy down poor and thunder to start rolling in. The storm was quick and fast and over in less than an hour. But it sure did leave it's mark on "The Wave". After a couple of claps of thunder, I heard the loudest cracking noise I've ever heard in my life and seriously saw a white flash of light go through the whole room I where I was standing.

Lightening.

Seriously, our beach house got stuck by lightening! Talk about crazy. Some of us had just gotten out of the shower, others were still in the shower, and two people where outside on a covered porch watching the storm. I mean, how many things have to line up perfectly for a house to get struck by lightening while on vacation!

Everyone ran out of their rooms making sure no one was hurt, we were all safe, Thank God. No visible fire or smell of smoke, so after the shock of it, we all thought the coast was clear, no need to panic.

A short time later, someone smelled something like burnt electrical wires and noticed the ceiling fan was dislodged from the ceiling with a burnt black ring around where it was hanging. Turns out lightening hit the house, splitting the beam that was supporting the ceiling fan. The strike also knocked out the Cable, and toasted the DVD player & surround sound audio.

The rental company was on top of things, sending out the police & fire departments to check out the house to make sure there was no dangers lurking in the attic, etc. It was quite a sight really, but a nice comfort to know that we were cleared to stay in the house the rest of our time while on vacation. Enjoy these clips from this crazy afternoon at the beach...



At least we will all have a great story to tell every year when we reminisce about the summer of 2009 at Holden Beach. The Wave Beach House. Hit by lightening, Seriously.