I can hear the wedding bells!

    When Jason and I picked our date in August everyone was like "thats too long! you guys are crazy!" but is anyone aware November is over?? People are still telling us it seems so far away but to us its like tomorrow! Considering how busy we both are right now we could not have planned our wedding on any shorter time scale. We have exactly 106 days until D-Day! We have two weddings in the next two weekends after thanksgiving, family christmas party the weekend after that, Christmas just around the corner, New Years, trip with my besties, Bridal shower, bachelorette party, and then families arrive! We have exactly 6 weekends until the wedding date where we do not have other things to do. crazy right?? I'll admit if we werent so busy all the time we would have a looong time to go but when you think about it like that the time flys by! and half of those upcoming weekends we wont even be together!

For the past few months it has kind of seemed like wedding plans were just basics... and it didnt really make the wedding real to me but this week was like POW! your getting married! I finally found and ordered my dream dress that I am 100% in love with and I cannot wait to wear on March 3rd, I swear when I get it I may just wear it around the house for a few days. I have all my little wedding day accessories picked out and on their way and Jasons suit is 99% complete. All of my bridesmaids have their dresses (or their coming) and most of the boys have their stuff ready. Center peices are stacked up in our living room, dads are ordering their Navy blue suits, and my mom is searching for a new dress. Everything is coming together!

Last but not least, the BEST part is complete. We had our photo shoot with the one and only Kamee June yesterday... we are in heaven. She made us laugh, made us feel like we were models for GQ and Vogue, and most of all got amazing shots! Jason and I have been chatting all day about how we cant wait to work with her again on March 3rd!!! I vow right here and now... all family photos, baby photos, and future childrens photos will be taken by Kamee... everyone else is a waste! haha just kidding..kinda. There are many talented photographers out there but we are in Love with this one! Besides my decision to marry the J-man the choice we made to have her do our photos is the best one yet!



                                                         

               I ADORE Jasons face here. I adore it all the time but seriously... how handsome is my guy?!?!


                                                         

                I cant get over these photos... warning: I will go on about these for a LOOONNGG time!



To sum up this random but spirited blog... I cant wait for this day to come! March 3rd is going to be the happiest and craziest day of my life and paraphrasing from my bestie Kendra "I woke up the next day so incredibly happy I was married to (Jason) and nothing else mattered." obviously her statement said Scott but you get the point. I cant wait to be married to Jason and for our life to officially start together in a place with both our names on the mailbox. Until next time... thanks for reading!!!





Too busy to Blog??

Again, I have failed to blog. With the constant piles of homework (I seriously wrote four 10 page minimum papers last week alone), wedding planning (I still haven't made a guest list even), and work 4 days a week (which may not sound like a lot but it is...) I am swamped!!! I barely have time to sit and relax without someone saying "you NEED to call this person, you NEED to make that appointment..." I get that these things should be done but please just one minute to breathe! *sigh of relief for a mini rant* anyways the only thing keeping me sane through all this is my wonderful, compassionate, loving, fiancé. He is the only person who ever just lets me sit and breathe... I guess that's why Im marrying him! haha. But anyways my point of the blog today is not to rant, but to catch everyone (my 6 followers) up on our lives right now!

Jason is still working at his job with the trucking company and they give him regular hours so thats good, he's looking for a second job tho right now too so we can save up for the married life! With me being a full time student money is gonna be tight for a while after March 3rd so we gotta save up while we can. So please let us know of any possible job opportunities! He also is moving out of his apartment in just a few weeks. This is a good thing because he's moving a little but closer to me, and he can save up some money by living with a family friend. He's awesome with all the wedding stuff our photographer always raves about how great it is and how lucky I am to have a guy who actually cares about the details and does whatever I ask (Trust me, I KNOW how lucky I am!!!) Other than that he's been trying to decide what he wants to go back to school for and has been trying to plan out our future! Cant believe I get to marry this hot man in just 4 months! ahhh!

We had a mini photo shoot with one of my best friends and bridesmaid, Debbie Westermeyer, last week. She is a photo major and she does a FANTASTIC job! She is so darn talented!

Wedding plans are going well, we have place booked, caterer booked (italian food! yum!), dress... somewhat picked, suit picked and purchased, decorations being gathered, and party favors getting put together. All the major stuff is done now we just have to worry about the minor stuff. All in all tho everything is going great! From this point on its gonna be a mad dash with finals, thanksgiving, Christmas, new years, bridal shower, bachelorette party, trip with my girls... and then before we know it family is here and were setting up for the big day!!! Its crazy how one year ago today I barely even knew Jason, and had NO idea I would be getting married just one year later but look at how much can change in a year!!! So excited for the future and I hope I can keep you all updated!!! Thanks for reading!

Fall Forward

As most of you know, today is officially the first day of Fall. Ugh. I am a summer girl born and raised in the heart of summer, Huntington Beach. I live for the OC fair, warm nights at disneyland, beach days with my besties, bbq's and mini vacations every weekend. Its the best time of the year! For some reason people are just way happier in the summer. But now its fall... which means winter is just around the corner. Tank tops and flips flops are going away and coats and boats are coming out. The days end around 5 pm and its freezing as soon as the sun goes down. Cold and Flu season is in full swing and I can't for the life of me get warm no matter how much I wear. I basically just try to survive this time of year. However, there are a few small things that I enjoy about the cold season, and that's what I am here to share today. My (small) Favorites of Fall/Winter.

1. San Francisco Trip

For the past two years me and my some of my best girls have made an annual trip to San Fran. We LOVE it!!! There is nothing more fun than touring this amazing center and trying all their amazing restaurants and trying all their cool stuff. We have to much darn fun and this year will be no exception! this year will just be better because were making it my bachalorette get away!!! All my main girls are being invited and I am sooo excited to have all my favorites in one spot! Its going to be AMAZING!!!

2. Starbucks Apple Cider

 If you haven't tried this....your ridiculous. Its fantastic! I love getting this before a movie or something and just sipping and relaxing. Its warm, its sweet, its perfect. To make it extra amazing get the carmel drizzle on top you will NOT regret it!

3. Holiday Parties

Yes this is a table of food. My most favorite part of any given holiday party. My family has one every year with my dads side of the family and thats always amazing and filled with the best food (mainly my nana hughes's beans and yordabachals (a Norwegian donut type thing that I spelled wrong). Also Me and my friends usually have one, and my most favorite one of all is on Christmas Eve. Chinese Dinner. It makes my year, every year. Followed by a holiday party at my aunt and uncles to finish off the evening. I love holiday parties because everyone just seems so cozy and happy.

4. Wendy's Chili

Ok so I know this one is laughable but I can't help it! I love Wendy's chili. Me and my bestie Darian truly love this stuff. Its perfect on a cold rainy day and It may not be the best chili ever but i think its pretty dang delicious. 

 So there you have it, my small list of things I actually enjoy about the winter. Odd how it all revolves around food? I think not food is what makes the world go round. haha. Anyways thanks for reading folks. 

1. 

a little rant to calm the troubled heart

Ok so I know I posted yesterday but I've got sometime to make up for and this is something Ive been dying to write about for a while. Life in the Service Industry. For anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant you know what Im about to say... Its hard work! Have you ever noticed your server seems to be a little slow on a saturday night? ever wonder why? Most likely its because we have about 6 tables with at least 4 people at each one. Thats 24 drinks, salads, drink refills, side of dressings, "no onion add tomatoes", entree's, "mines cold", and again drink refills. So when you walk in slurp down two cokes in about 0.5 seconds, order a complicated order, and want everything from cheese to a side of cherries, give us a minute! My top pet peeves are as follows....
1. Say hello to us when we say hello to you. It is not polite for me to walk up introduce myself and say hello and you respond with "I'll have a diet coke." It makes us feel like you don't see us as a person...seriously.
2. If your unhappy with something, tell us. The second it happens let us know. We WILL take care of it. There is no reason to force yourself through a meal you hate then complain to our managers after. If you complain and we don't do something... 100% ask to see a manager.

3. Remember that 9 times out of 10 we clean and bus our own tables, or we have to pay someone to. Factor that into your tip as you mix your chocolate cake with ketchup when your bored.
4. If a coupon is expired, its expired. there is NOTHING I can do.
5. Lastly, just be nice. Honestly the nicer my tables are the more I try to help them out with free drinks, dessert on the house, an extra bread togo... I will always give better service to the people who are polite to me and will do everything in my power in ensure they have a nice night. If your rude, why would we want you back?

So there you have it. my rant for the day. Don't get me wrong 95% of my tables are great and I truly enjoy serving them, but those 5% make my world a nightmare when Im busy. Thank you for reading!

Back to Blogging

       Ok so you may or may not have noticed (I'm gonna guess not because I only have about 5 readers lol) that I have been M.I.A for the past few weeks. Why? You may ask... I forgot my email to log in. Yes, I am that forgetful that I could not for the life of me remember what my email was for this account! But Jason being as smart as he is, got on my old computer and found it! So now I am back! And in a big way!
       A ton of stuff has happened since my last entry... Wedding plans are finally coming along and it's so nice to actually be able to plan stuff now that we have our place picked, The Green Parrot!!! My parents loved it, we loved it, it was perfect. So venue is booked and thank the heavens above it comes with all the essentials (i.e. tables, chairs, linens, catering, drinks, plate ware) and its already beautiful so we need very little decorations! I just love it! Also, we have picked our FABULOUS and AMAZING photographer Kamee June. She has been my dream for two years (since David and Laura Presscott's wedding) and she booked and ready to go! Florist is decided and Dress has been found, not bought, but found. And grooms suit, bridesmaids dresses, groomsmen, and flower girls "attire" are all picked out! It feels good knowing most of the work is done!
       Besides wedding events school is in full swing, in fact I am sitting in American Studies right now, and I'm loving it! Its so fun going to school that I love and taking classes that I love and that I am actually interested in. For the first time since I started school, college in 2007, I am not scared of my classes. I am so used to being fearful about classes and failing and not understanding. I literally used to aim for C's and D's in my math and science classes just so I could get through them. Now however I honestly feel like I could get straight A's or at least only A's and B's. I love it!
       All my besties are doing great and were having a ton of fun and just loving life our little group is so diverse now with an engineer, the best nanny ever, apartment manager of the year, and queen of the hospitality industry! Sheryl moved away about a month ago, and it sucks. We have lived a block away from each other wince we were 8 and had countless sleepovers, all night talking sessions, nights filled with wild antics, and have been by each others side through all the ups and downs of life. Its weird not being able to call her and tell her to come over whenever I want. I am very proud of her tho and she is much more brave than me and I know she'll rock at anything she trys! Jason is doing great working full time and spending his remaining time with me. He's so helpful with all the little wedding details and it really takes stress off me to know that he will back me up with everything. Life is great and I know that it will only get better! I know this post was very "christmas card" ish but since I hadn't posted anything in a while I thought it would be good to give everyone an update! more posts to follow! thanks for reading!
   

The times are A' changin

   About a year ago I remember sitting with one of my BFF's (Eva Blake) and talking about how I was so ready for a change. I wanted to go to a new ward, move, get a new job, meet new people.... it was a pretty hefty list. Flash Forward to one year later and my world is upside down! New school, New Fiance, moving out for the first time in a few months, wedding planning, most likely getting a new job, leaving singles ward (when were married of course) for a family ward, and the biggest change of all... Im getting married! Its amazing how much your world can completely change in one year. And the craziest thing is this time next year I'll be sitting here writing about how weird it is to be married for 6 months. TIme really does fly. 


   I think the main thing that brought about all these previous thoughts was the fact that yesterday I turned 22. Now I know anyone over 22 is sitting there thinking "your still a baby...22 is no big deal... What's she complaining about Im 30!!!" I know. It sounds ridiculous to me too, however, the fact of the matter is I'm a little depressed Im 22. I feel like I should still be a teenager in high school. I had so many goals I wanted to accomplish by the time I was this age that have kinda fallen by the wayside. For the first time in my life I actually feel older. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my life and things are working out the way I had always hoped for right now, but I am still shocked at my age. haha, again i know that sounds pathetic. Luckily I was able to ring in this new year of life with a pretty awesome day consisting of work (which sounds boring but it really wasn't bad) followed by a delicious and extremely fattening dinner at Maggiano's with my parents and Fiance. Oh! and I also got this shiny new computer that I am absolutely OBSESSED with!!! It is by far the most amazing thing I have ever owned. 


   Anyways, the whole message I am trying to get out there today is to be careful what you wish for because seriously, you just might get it! And that I did. Change is good, without change we would never progress. I am super excited for this coming fall semester to be at "a big kid school" in ALL history courses ALL the time!!! and for the day when in just six short months I become Mrs. Jason Barnett. One day at a time and I will try not to get over whelmed! wish me luck folks!

And so it begins....

Wedding plans are in full swing and already Im going crazy. Its litteraly been one week and Im stressed out lol. I'm trying (and failing) to get as much done before the fall semester starts so I dont have to think of what flavor cake I want while attempting to study the dead sea scrolls. We have found the perfect place for the wedding. My father knows the owner and at first it sounded like a sham (claire lol )because its in the heart of Santa Ana, but we walked in and fell in LOVE. It's exactly what we were looking for! Vintage looking with and elegant feel, indoor and outdoor, and its already decorated! Its a one stop shop complete with catering, tables, chairs, dance floor, linens, plates.... everything!

                                                                 ( A little sneak peak)
Anyways, so were in love with this place but my parents dont seem to like it much, which brings me to my next point. I love my parents more than anything and they are AMAZING however, they seem to have some ideas that dont exactly match with mine. Im sure all brides can attest to this but parents really want the wedding their way.. not yours. Everything I like, they hate, and vice versa. Its very hard to find mutual ground but were working on it. Other than that Im pretty lucky on the planning I have an amazing fiance who is willing to help with anything and actually cares about all the stuff we pick and amazing friends who are backing us up! Plus so far we have a free caterer and DJ!!! Thats a few bucks back in our pockets. Hopefully I can at least book the place before school starts but i'll keep you updated... thanks for reading!

I'm marrying my best friend!!!

I'm new to blogging and and I won't lie, for a while I always thought it was kind of a silly thing to spend your time... then I met Jason. We fell in love and suddenly I found myself wishing I could tell all of our little stories of funny things that have happened and how fast I was falling for him. Then one night he randomly asked me if after he proposed I would start a blog like our friends Kendra and Kaitlin and I thought it was a good idea! So here I am, engaged and writing a blog!

To get this party started I wanted to give my readers (who are now non exsistant) a little backround on me and my Fiance, I love to call him that! Jason and I actually met about 2 years ago now at a little battle of the bands type thing for church through our mutual friend Kendra Douglas. Her Husband is Jasons BFF and Kendra is one of my BFF's. Anyways, I didnt think twice about him until Kendra brought him around again to hang out with us all one night. I thought he was cute and we seemed to have alot in common but nothing ever happened. Finally, about a year later Kendra started trying to get us to like eachother and set us up on our first date. Second, third, and fourth dates were soon to follow and before I knew it he was sitting and chatting with my whole family on Easter. He fit so perfectly with everyone that I realized quickly this wasnt just a fling. I then met his family, and knew they were the family I was supposed to be a part of. Now just 6 short months after our first date and true to LDS fashion were engaged!!! I am extremely blessed to be in love and happier than I ever thought possible!

So now here I am trying to wrap my head around planning a wedding which I have NO idea how to do!!! Luckily for me, I legitimately ( that one's for you Jay) have the BEST friends this world has ever seen and therefore, have the best MOH's, there are two Darian Sharber and Eva Blake.And the most wonderful bridesmaids Anne Rohm, Kendra Douglas, Sheryl Seiler, Johnnie Theofornos, and Debbie Westermeyer. I know that they will all back me up 100% and be there for anything and everything! I'm about to be thrown into a whirlwind of decorations, cakes, dresses, and all other things wedding. Im excited for this new chapter in my life and I couldnt imagine a better person to stand by my side through it all my fiance, Jason Barnett. Let the plans and chaos begin!!!