Cozy Casual

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This weekend, CJM and I went to Atlanta for a really terrible football game that I honestly don't even want to talk about. Other than that, we had the absolute best time! Friday night, we got in kind of late, but our hotel was amazing--we stayed at The W Downtown, and it was so nice. We had a blast at the bar until way too late in the evening.

Saturday was a chilly and windy, but beautiful day. We walked to the Georgia Dome for the game, where I realized I forgot our tickets in the room {of course} about half way there. After the game, we had dinner at one of our favorite places: Ted's Montana Grill. There is something about a massive bison burger that makes both of us so happy.

Sunday morning we got up and brunched and shopped at Ikea before heading back south. It was really our first weekend getaway since the honeymoon, and we both left feeling so thankful that we had time together this weekend.

Saturday, I broke out a few of my favorite fall staples. I layered my favorite Old Navy chambray dress with this tan plaid Mud Pie wrap, topping it all off with a wool hat from Nordstrom and my favorite Talbots riding boots. The Georgia Dome has lots of rules about what you can and cannot bring in, but my monogrammed clutch from Walker Boutique passed the test...a little bit of sassiness may or may not have also helped make that happen, but a girl needs a bag!

P.S. Sorry for the poor picture quality...camera bags aren't allowed in the Dome either, so we had to do some quick iPhone photography!

The Sweetest Shower

Eliza J dress from Nordstrom

 On Saturday, I was honored to attend my very first bridal shower! I've been looking forward to this season of life for so long, and when Kim asked to throw me my first event, I was elated. Kim and her family live in North Georgia, and were my second family during my time up there post-college. Her four children are actually all in the wedding as junior bridesmaids, the ring bearer, and an usher!

Kim and my mom initially discovered each other as bloggers. As I got older, and began blogging, we discovered each other on Facebook, too. It's actually kind of funny...Wendy over at The House of Qs also followed my mom and knew of Kim. We started chatting too, and now talk every day. I was so excited she was able to come to my shower so we could finally meet in person!

When the shower planning began, we tossed around a couple of ideas, but when she suggested hosting the shower at a local candy store, I knew that would be perfect! I have such a sweet tooth, and the whole store is decked out in pink and white which of course I loved. It was especially exciting to discover that as the first bridal shower held at the shop, we would be featured in a regional wedding magazine!

Kim, her girls, and Karen, the owner of Liberty Candy Company in Flowery Branch, truly outdid themselves. Pink and gold balloons adorned each festively decorated table. In addition to an assortment of sweets, we enjoyed Chick-fil-A nuggets {of course!}, delicious sandwiches, fruit, and wine to kick off the evening. 

After eating, guests paired off to play a game about who knew the bride best. Apparently, I don't know myself at all! My friends all identified similar "favorites" of mine, that I hadn't listed as the answers. It was hilarious listening to their answers and seeing the confusion on their faces at what I had answered. The winners were two of my bridesmaids, of course! Next time, I'll have one of my best friends fill out the answers for me! 

The cutest freebie bridal shower game,
found here. 

The big surprise activity of the night was making our own chocolate bars! There were a few differently shaped molds, and we chose from dark, milk, and white chocolates before putting in different nuts and candies. It was so cute! While we took turns being creative in the kitchen, Kim's daughters had a candy ring-toss game set up in the hallway where we had three tries to toss a glow necklace over a pink or clear mason jar filled with pink saltwater taffy. It was so simple, but got really competitive and fun.

It's such an honor to spend time with friends and family members who took time out of their weekends to celebrate my upcoming marriage. Most memorable of all was the sweet toast my mother gave in my honor. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. This is such a special time for the two of us, too, and I'm so glad she could join us for the party.

To finish the evening, I opened all of the beautiful gifts my sweet friends blessed me with. Christopher and I are both so very thankful for all the love and thoughtfulness showered upon us as we start our lives together. It's of course a blast opening the gifts at the shower, but I loved showing off everything to Christopher once it was unloaded when I got home. We've made the decision to wait and save all of our gifts until after we're married and living together, so it will be like a second Christmas in the summer when we get to rediscover all of these sweet gifts again in May! 

The yummiest and prettiest white chocolate
covered Oreo's I've ever had! 

Aren't my twinning junior bridesmaids just
the cutest?!

Favors for the guests featuring pink
candies, and our hashtag:
#marryingmcafee 

All the thanks to Kim and her sweet family for showering me with so much love and fun! If you're interested in learning more about Liberty Candy Company, visit their Facebook page, or order some treats on their website.

Goodbyes

Goodbyes are never easy. I think that for the  most part, I avoid saying goodbye to people in hopes that the relationship will continue in a somewhat transparent, peaceful, and continuous state. Maybe that works. Maybe it fades away completely over time. I don't like to hurt people, and goodbyes bring a lot of hurt. So if it's avoided all together, perhaps the last memory is fun and happy, instead of painful and sad.

Its unavoidable; today brings many goodbyes. As I close one chapter, to open another, I'm surrounded with love and support of those who have carried me throughout the last year. Without them, I would not be who I am today. I know they will always be a soft place to fall, and for that I am thankful.

“Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.” 

― L.M. Montgomery, The Story Girl

Smile Because it Happened

Whoa. What a year. As I look back from the time I started this blog on April 24, 2013, till now, it kind of knocks me off my feet. This year has been an absolute whirlwind, full of ups and downs, tears and smiles, opportunities and closed doors.

The new season of my life started in a flash: Christopher and I got engaged on April 28, 2013. Two days later, Christopher was accepted into pharmacy school...in Savannah. Two weeks later, I graduated college. Two weeks after that, I moved to my own place in North Georgia and away from my home in South Carolina as my family was getting ready to relocate to North Carolina, nine hours away from me.

Fast forward a few months, and my family and all I've ever known is crumbling around me. The perfect picture of what I thought I ever wanted for my future was shattered; more like ripped from my hands and shredded into hundreds of tiny pieces. Couple that with living a day away from the people I so desperately wanted to protect, and five hours away from my fiance, and I wonder how I even functioned some days. The amount of tears and feelings of loneliness I've experienced in the past ten months are things I hope I never have to experience ever again.

Needless to say, this year has not turned out to be anything like the one I expected when I started this blog last April. I suppose if you don't have expectations, you avoid disappointments, but I've not managed to make that work for me. I feel like if you don't have expectations, you don't have a focus or a plan, so how do you get things done?

As always, when I let go, God steps in. Prayers for guidance and focus, as well as to be close to loved ones have been answered. I am thrilled to announce that I have accepted a position at the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce as the Communications and Special Events manager! I will be relocating back to Statesboro in just a few short weeks to join an amazing community that I love and have missed. I am incredibly thankful for the experience I've gained during the past year, but am so excited to be back with all of my best friends and only a short drive away from my fiance! Finally, I can say I am once again looking forward to the upcoming changes in my life with positive energy--I can't wait to see what comes next, and hope you'll continue to follow along with me.

My sweet new home in Statesboro

Flashback Friday: NGC Homecoming 2010

Tonight is homecoming at the school I work at {and also graduated high school from!}, so in honor of that, I thought I would feature some pictures of one of my favorite high school memories: Homecoming 2010!

Door Decoration Contest

Pep Rally Homecoming Court Presentation with
the two cutest escorts around! 

My beautiful mother!

Senior girls on Homecoming Court 

Homecoming Court Presentation

Mementos

I was born late in October, so I suppose that prompted people to buy a lot of "Baby's first Christmas" ornaments that first year. I'm not sure that's where the Christmas obsession started {thank you, Mother} but ever since them, my collection of ornaments has grown exponentially year-to-year. At some point, my family established the tradition of exchanging ornaments between the siblings, and children to parents. It's a really great thing for us because we've all always had trees in our bedrooms, and it also provides my parents and grandparents with Christmas lists that they can split between fewer people. Below are a few of my most favorite ones right now {it changes each year as I get new ones!}: 

In love with this acrylic monogram my future sister-in-law gave me last year!
You'll notice that I use hot pink balls and different colored
snowflakes as my filler ornaments. 

I had some mirrored picture ornaments sitting on my dresser before
I figured out what to do with them. They're perfect for pictures
from the day I got engaged!

I've looked high and low for a "Layla" ornament. This will have to do:
I've decided it's Layla's mom!

Look at that wrapping paper--so in love with it!
But I also love the magnolia clip-on ornament I found at the Dollar Tree.
You can also see a vintage pink shiny bright, and my beloved
Barbie ice skating ornament. 

Georgia....Southern! Isn't this one cool?!

Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful

I've been looking forward to Christmas, basically since I moved into my apartment. Even though I've always had a big tree in my room, I was looking forward to decorating the rest of my space, and I'm so pleased with how it turned out! Here are a few pictures of my outside decor, most of which I made:

This is just made out of folded deco mesh that I ran a string through,
and then wrapped white lights around. Super easy!

The wreath is homemade, but my fabulous trees were a $15 Black Friday find!

Grapevine wreath, spray painted white, with a bow and pearl fillers. And a pearl "D" from
The Paris Market in Savannah, Ga. 

Garland at night. 

My outside decor! 

It's fall, ya'll!

I love fall, but have a really hard time getting behind most fall decorations. I think the oranges, reds, yellows, etc., are beautiful...outside. I prefer cool colors in my house, so scattering some leaves and tossing in a few pumpkins becomes a disaster for me.
     This year, I tried to take some of my favorite craft elements {glitter, burlap, chevron} and combine them with the tiniest hint of true fall things {pumpkins}. As I hate Halloween...I know, I know...I can't commit to anything that won't be cute after Oct. 31, so I tried to make some things that are good transition pieces that would take me from "It's September, and 87 degrees in Georgia, but I'm going to pretend it's fall" to "It's the second week of November and I'm dying to put up Christmas but there is this thing called Thanksgiving..."

     The gray chevron burlap was found at Hobby Lobby, along with the appliques, the cutest stuffed owl and my tiny hay bale. The orange pumpkin was a fine foam find from the Dollar Tree, and the glitter explosion pumpkin came from Kirkland's.

Starting Out With a New Blog

I'm not exactly new to the blogging world. My mother first introduced me to blogging after her success at Southern Somedays. I started my first blog towards the end of my senior year and high school. While I enjoyed it greatly, the busy season definitely set in with Rush and my first semester of classes and I got a little side tracked. Then I was forced to blog in my communications classes, and that unfortunately seemed to sap any creativity from me.
      Now that I am about to graduate from Georgia Southern University with a degree in Public Relations (in three years, too!), I've rediscovered my writing side thanks to the multitude of excitements that have been coming my way in recent months. I've accepted the position of Director of Admissions, Marketing, and Public Relations for North Georgia Christian School in Flowery Branch, Ga., and will be relocating back to Hall County at the end of May. I attended NGC for the majority of my school career, so I am thrilled to be returning to such a sweet family.
     I will be moving in to an adorable apartment that I can't wait to decorate, and will be only 45 minutes from both sets of grandparents. This is a particular blessing as my parents will be moving to Edenton, NC., at the end of June. Of course, I am terribly distracted from finishing school at the moment with all of the planning that has taken over! All I want to do is paint furniture and buy lamps, which unfortunately is not exactly a conducive environment for writing four papers...
     I'm excited to be starting a new blog. I've rediscovered my creativity and can't wait to share it with the world. I'm excited to be starting a new career at a new (again) place. And ultimately, I'm excited to be Starting Out Southern.