Let's take this party across the border! (passports not required.)

Before we ever had a florist, a dress, a DJ or colors, we had our Rehearsal Dinner booked and its menu selected. Mark's parents are really on the ball. It only took about two weeks after we got engaged before they wanted to get our RD figured out and taken care of. We are so excited and grateful that they want to host this for us, so we agreed to meet them in Muenster one weekend this summer to scope out possible places for the party.

Now, in case you didn't already know, Muenster is a small town. Like really, really small. From the get go, the future in-laws were worried that they wouldn't be able to find something they liked or something that would be as nice and fancy as they had envisioned our Rehearsal Dinner being. I knew we could find something that would work, but they definitely had to be convinced. Mark and I did our homework before they came into town and scoped out anything and everything that might be what they were looking for. We had a list of local restaurants, tea rooms, hotels and bed and breakfasts that were in and around Muenster that would host a private party of our size. Many of them were really nice and quite charming. But there was one that stood out with the in-laws, hands down. The funny part? It's not in Muenster, or even Texas.. it's in Oklahoma!

So we are rehearsing in Texas, then taking our bridal party posse across the border to Mark's home state of OK for our RD at the Winstar Golf Course Clubhouse. (Yup, that's Winstar as in the ginormous casino just across the Texas border. Pay no attention to all the crazy grandma gamblers, just drive on past all those slot machines and neon lights to the scenic golf course tucked behind it!). It's a great setting, and can totally compare to any big city country club that we would never be able to find out in the sticks where we're getting married.

It sounds totally silly, but a dual state wedding is perfect for us. My family's from Texas, Mark's is from Oklahoma. I went to school at the University of Texas, Mark graduated from Oklahoma State. My friends are scattered around TX, his friends mostly call OK home. My extended family will be coming in from all over Texas, Mark's will be road-tripping it across Oklahoma for our wedding. And it's not as bad as it sounds... our small town wedding is actually less than ten miles south of the state line, so while it may sound like we have to drive miles and miles to get to our out-of-state rehearsal dinner, it's really no further than we'd likely have to drive anyways. Plus, we think its a great way to include a little bit of both of our backgrounds in our wedding weekend!

Boo!

We're headed up to Stillwater for the UT-OSU game tomorrow! This will be our third time to go to our rival game, and I'm felling pretty good that it will also be the third time Texas wins while we're there! It's turned into a mini tradition for us to go to the game each year, and it always seems to fall right around my birthday, which makes it extra-fun!


us at the game last year, in Austin

Mark's brother/Best Man is home for the week (all the way from China!!) to come to the game with us. So it's me and two Cowboys headed up to OSU. I think I may be cheering alone this year!

e-pic Shopping

As you all know, I don't have much luck when it comes to finding a dress when I actually need one. So when Mark and I started planning our wardrobe for our engagement picture session this weekend, he let out a groan and said he wasn't going dress shopping with me this time. Ok. I'll admit it. I get a little particular when it comes to shopping for dresses for any occasion. What can I say? I know what I want and I won't stop until I find it (on sale, of course).

On Sunday, I called friend and Bridesmaid Stephanie to wish her a Happy Anniversary (she got married last October 18! Time flies!) and mentioned to her that we were taking e-pics at my parents' house this weekend and we had no idea what we were going to wear. We want a casual, country, we're-from-Texas feel to our pics, so we knew we were going to wear our cowboy boots, but not sure what to pair them with. Steph remembered a friend of hers who had great e-pics that fit our description and emailed them over to me.

Prepare to swoon.



How perfect is that? I pretty much want to recreate it to a T. Next up:



And now for the piece d'resistence. The most adorable Save the Date. Ever.



I simply had to do these poses with Mark and me, running through the fields of Muenster, chasing the cows in our boots with the sun gleaming down on us. So I set out for the mall this weekend, sans Mark, to find me a dress. Because surely I can find a white, summer, sundress in the middle of October, right?

Right! For once, the Shopping Gods shined down on me and there it was, sitting on the Clearance Rack at Macy's, in just my size. Marked down to $26.



I grabbed it and went straight to the register, where it rung up at $22. Score! It's not exactly like the dress in my e-pic inspiration, but I think the embroidery on the bottom and ruffle hem gives it the perfect country flair. Now all we need is a sunny day (And preferably a somewhat warm one. Come on Texas, I know you can do it, even at the end of October.)

Texas on My Mind

I spent the first few days of this week at an Alumni Relations conference in Austin. All it took was one drive down Mopac into the heart of downtown on a sunny morning to make my heart ache to be back in that city. Our conference was at the Omni, which meant I could walk two blocks to meet both Morgan and Royale for lunch on a patio, where we sat in the sun and chatted like we were all still roommates, living together on the third floor of the DG house, eating our Mexican lunch on a Friday, still in our PJ’s. Before I left for the airport on Tuesday evening, I took a detour to campus and walked the drag, hitting up the Co-op and Tyler’s to add a few more UT t-shirts to my ever-growing collection and marvel and how everything looks so different from four years ago, yet still feels so very much the same.

The guy selling the silver rings at the little table among all the other artists is still there, with his sign recognizing him as the oldest vendor in the Renaissance Square. The chubby “homeless” guy in the tie dye t-shirts with the goofy cardboard signs still walks Guadalupe asking for money, even though I swear he also works at the Co-op. The yellow Starbucks that I passed every day on my way to class is still crowded with students meeting to study, while still smelling slightly odd and murky. Most of the shops on the drag look the same, although the bagel store is now a Potbelly and the Cadeau, where I’d always go to buy a cute birthday present, is now another trendy clothing boutique. I so wanted to be there, every day, walking across the street to campus and going to class. Being there, with all the current students darting around you and sporting their round up t-shirts really, really made me miss it.

So my new long term goal in life is to get back to Austin. Maybe in two years, maybe in five, maybe in ten. Maybe I’ll just spend every other weekend there this summer and go back for (more than just one) football game in the fall. I know I’ll be there more often this year for Royale’s wedding festivities. Showers and parties and a bachelorette weekend are surely in the works. We even talked about possibly coming down for a weekend to help her pick out her dress! That would be exciting.

So I’ve go Austin on the brain and missing my friends who I had a great quick visit with. Every meal I ate was with either Morgan, Jamie or Royale and we really got to chat and catch up with each other. I’m sure after one weekend back here at home, I’ll be perfectly content with Dallas again. In fact, I’ve got a date with Laura for the Mavs game and plans in the works for the St. Patrick’s Day parade in a few weeks. What’s not to love?

Another Year

I am 26 now. Past the middle of my 20's. On the side closer to 30. Yikes. Where did the year go? I celebrated for two weeks straight, first in Austin, and then in South Bend. This weekend I am looking forward to watching the games from the comfort of the couch!

I've got a date tonight with Laura -- Chick-fil-a and a Nicholas Sparks flick. Sounds like the perfect ending to a birthday celebration.

Whew

During the past 6 weeks at work, my office put on 15 events. I worked every weekend in September and a handful of Tuesday and Thursday nights as well. This week I am celebrating surviving with a 3 day work week. Hello long weekend!

How bout them Longhorns! I love beating OU! Just as soon as the game was over, this guy quickly stripped off his burnt orange to show his true colors. I can't complain. This is only the second time ever that I've gotten him to wear a Texas shirt. We're excited to head to Austin in two weeks when our schools play each other. We should both still be undefeated, which always makes for a fun match-up!