Ashley & Jeremy - The Wedding

I feel like this day was coming for a really long time and then when Saturday was finally here - it went so fast!  It was such a beautiful day!  For starters it was 80 degrees!  Who would have ever thought it would be 80 in October?  It did rain, but not until we were at the reception and at that point nobody cared.  Ashley was breathtaking, Lyla did an awesome job, Jeremy was so happy, the food was delicious, everything was honestly PERFECT!  I even made it through my Matron of Honor toast! 

Lyla had some good lines including asking me to call her Belle all day... because she is a princess!  And when she was sitting with Gary watching Ashley & Jeremy's first dance Gary said to her "you know that will be you someday" to which she responded "dancing with you daddy?" .... might as well just rip his heart out and stomp on it!  :)  So sweet, I hope she always loves him this much! 

I took a few pictures, not as many as I wish I had.  Some people are supposed to be sending me some, so I will share those if I get them! 

These first ones are from the rehearsal dinner.  The first one is what I got when I wanted to take a picture of Lyla with Gary and she didn't want her picture with him, she wanted to take a picture with me.

So then this is what we got when she got the picture she wanted with me:

hahahaha like good and evil!

Here are the rest:

And here is my toast:

Hello.

For anyone who doesn’t know me, my name is Kate and I’m lucky enough to be one of Ashley’s best friends.

Ashley and I first met my senior year of high school.  She is two years younger than me so it was just by chance that we ended up in a cooking class together.  Too bad for Jeremy I don’t think either of us learned very much!

We were instant friends and started spending a lot of time together.  We did lots of normal teenage girl things.  Like shopping and buying clothes just so Ashley could take them home and alter them to how she likes them.  Or going to Kings and trying to see exactly how much ice cream we could eat before we thought we would explode.   Or dying each other’s hair and mine turning out orange like a pumpkin… you know, normal girl stuff!

A few years later Ashley had gone away to college and I had moved to Morgantown.  We aren’t sure how or why but we lost touch.

Then about 4 years ago we reconnected.  We started to talk on facebook and found out we were actually both living in the same neighborhood.  So we met for dinner one night and things went right back to the way they had always been. 

Its been such a blessing to have Ashley back in my life and the timing couldn’t have been better.  I was pregnant when we started hanging out again so I have got to have her by my side every step of the way with Lyla.  And I got to be there to hear all about her meeting Jeremy and falling in love with him.

I am so happy for these two.   

To know Ash is to love her and everyone I know thinks the world of Jeremy.  These two have so much fun together and so much respect for one another. 

To Ashley and Jeremy – I wish you a marriage full of love and laughter and wonderful memories for many years to come!

Well I'm real behind...

Soooo..... Things have been busy!  haha  I have been trying to enjoy the Fall.  Here are just a few things we have been up to:

Home Improvements

First one afternoon we went and bought some black paint and painted the built ins in our living room.  Just a couple hours and a little paint and it looks so awesome now!  Of course, I don't have any pictures at the moment....

Then one weekend we totally redid Lyla's room to give her a more big girl room.  My parents brought her a twin bed, we painted it purple, got new curtains, all kinds of stuff!  She really loves it!  And the deal was if we did all of this she had to start sleeping in her bed and NOT our bed.  Some nights are harder than others but for the most part she has been doing really well with it!

Enjoying the Weather

So far its actually been pretty warm for Fall.  I'm definitely happy about that!  One Sunday morning Amanda and I took the girls to the zoo.  It was a perfect day!

New Hair

I got bored and changed up my hair!

Ashley's Wedding
I'm giving that its own post!

Coming Up:

Things don't look like they are going to be slowing down much in the near future!  We have our friends Casey & Cindy's wedding coming up, Halloween, our friend Joe is coming to visit from Missouri.... OH and we have to get downtown to see that rubber duck before its gone!!!   Then before you know it its going to be Thanksgiving and Christmas!  Time just goes by so fast anymore!

Mexican Chicken Chili

I LOVE an easy recipe!

I LOVE a recipe more when I can throw frozen chicken in the crock pot and not have to really "touch" the raw chicken.... that grosses me out so bad! 

We made this for dinner yesterday and it was phenomenal!  I brought leftovers for lunch and can't wait to eat them! 

Mexican Chicken Chili

3 or 4 Frozen Chicken Breasts
2 - 15 oz Cans of Cannellini (White Kidney Beans)
1 - 15 oz Can of Corn
1 Onion Chopped
1 tsp Minced Garlic
1 Package Taco Seasoning
1 - 7 oz Can of Chopped Green Chillies
1 Can of Cream of Chicken Soup
1 - 14 oz Can of Chicken Broth

• Put in a Crock Pot Liner (I swear by these bad boys!)
• Put your frozen chicken in the bottom of your crock pot.
• In a bowl mix up your Garlic, Taco Seasoning, Chillies, Soup and Broth with a whisk.
• Once that is all mixed up add your Beans, Corn and Onion.
• Pour that on top of the chicken.
• Cook on Low for 8 - 10 hours.
• Before serving pull out the chicken and shred it with a fork.  Put it back in and mix it all back up.
• I served ours with shredded taco cheese and sour cream. 

So So Good!!!   :)    Lyla ate two bowls!

5 Things Friday - Favorite Books

5 Things Friday - 5 Favorite Books (that I have read in the last year)

For my 29th Birthday Gary got me a Kindle.  This has been the best gift that I ever received!  We have more than got our money's worth! 

I have been reading A LOT!  Mostly in the evenings when Lyla wants to watch cartoons, I just curl up with her on the couch and read while she watches tv.  So here is my list of 5 book recommendations.  I wouldn't say they are my all time favorite, but they are my favorite of the ton I have read recently!

1.  Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth
Download from Amazon - Divergent

I really enjoy reading trilogies.  I make a rule not to read a trilogy until all the books are out.  I really screwed up on this one!  lol  I thought all the books were out, I blazed through the first two books in February to then learn to my horror that the third book doesn't come out until OCTOBER..... ahhhhh.... SOOOO  I pre-ordered it right away and have been stewing about it ever since!  Last night I started reading the first book again so that I can read them all back to back when the third one comes out next month! 

I also learned they are making a movie... which I will probably hate because I hate every movie after I have already read the book.  But I will still watch it nonetheless.

2.  The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Download from Amazon - The Host

This is the same author who wrote Twilight (which I love), but its a lot different, so if you aren't a Twilight fan, don't let that turn you off.  Its one of the most intense, mind-blowing love triangles you will ever encounter.

I did watch the movie after I read the book.  It wasn't horrible, but of course the book is better!

3.  Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Download from Amazon - The Hunger Games Trilogy

I downloaded these with the whole trilogy as one file on my kindle over Christmas.  These books are great and really keep you wanting more.  I read them crazy fast!

Let's not even talk about how much I hated the first movie.... I get that you can't kill kids on tv.... but maybe just don't even make a movie then if you are going to leave out SO much of the book.  Or call it something different... I don't know.  A lot of people love the movie... I hated it.  I'm sure I will watch the second one though... and hate it too!  lol

4.  Modern Arrangements Trilogy - by Sadie Grubor
Download from Amazon - Modern Arrangements Trilogy

I downloaded this because it was the complete trilogy for $5.50.  I figured what the hell, if they are awful it wasn't much money.  I loved these books SO MUCH!  Its a little bit like Fifty Shades of Gray... but not so crazy and actually really sweet.  I just loved them, I have a hard time believing that they didn't get really popular.  Go read them... $5.50.... for real.

5.  Table for Seven by Whitney Gaskell
Download from Amazon - Table for Seven

I love Whitney Gaskell!  I have read all of her books.  They are just wonderful chic lit books that you don't have to really put any thought in to.  You just sit and enjoy a sweet story usually about friends with some kind of love story tossed in.  Table for Seven is no different.  Loved it!

Swoon

I'm seriously so in love.....   :)

The Steelers aren't going to make it this year so I need some reason to watch!

5 Things Friday - Summer is OVER & that SUCKS!

Ok.. time to be honest.... this is how my 5 Things Friday post began:

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Every year I try to convince myself that Fall isn't so horrible.  I try to point out the positives of Fall.  I try to fool myself in to believing that pumpkin spice in my coffee is somehow better than a glass of wine on the porch.  Or that putting on a hoodie and watching a football game is really better than putting on a swimsuit and heading to the pool.

Every year I try... and every year I still end up depressed when the weather changes and in a pissy mood until I just accept that its dark all the time and cold and just miserable... 

SO this year... this year I'm just going to tell it like it is!  No more sugarcoating it!  Here are the 5 things that suck the most about Summer coming to an end:

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Then I sat back and thought.... wow.... that was so negative!!!  So lets regroup a minute....

Ok, 5 Things Friday - It still sucks that Summer is over, but instead of hating on Fall, lets remember my 5 FAVORITE moments from this past summer!!   :)   We had a full schedule this summer, so there is a lot to pick from!

1.  Watching Lyla watch fireworks for the first time.  It was so sweet, she got so excited about them and just in complete awe.  I was too busy watching her to even watch the fireworks myself!

2.  Going to the beach.  I LOVE the beach!  It was so great to get to go this year.  I hadn't been to the beach in five years, so I was way overdue to go!

3.  Bruno Mars.  What an amazing concert!  I am so glad that I got to go.  He is a fantastic performer and so talented, I can't wait to go see him again some day!

4.  Play dates with Amanda and Becca.  I am so thankful to have these two in our lives.  Lyla and Becca are the cutest little BFFs you have ever seen and I just adore Amanda!  We spent so much time with these two over the summer and I loved every second of it!

5.  Spending time with my friends.  If I named all the things we did with our friends this summer, I would have a lot more than 5 things!  I have great friends, the best if you ask me!  And any time that I get to spend with them makes me a happy girl!  Kicking off summer with everyone at our house for Memorial Day to seeing old friends at Erin & Andy's wedding to making new friends by being in Ashley's wedding.  My friends are just so important to me!   
 

Ashley's Bachelorette Party!

This past weekend I celebrated Ashley's Bachelorette Party.  It was such a fun girly weekend!

We went to Geneva on the Lake and did a wine tour.  Ashley is a great girl and such a good friend to me.  And her girlfriends that came with us are just as sweet!  It was just a really great time with a great group of girls!