Walk Through at Meadowlark

Last weekend we had our 30 day walk-through at the venue. I can't believe the wedding is less than a month away. I don't think it's really going to hit me until the day of. There's constantly something to be thinking about or remembering to do - I can't imagine a time where it will all be done!



Originally just my mom and I were going to do the walk through. It just so happened that Eric's Aunt Diane was in town all the way from Alaska for the inauguration. She hadn't spent time in the DC area in many years. The only free time she had was the same day we had our walk through. Luckily, she seemed very interested in coming with us to check the place out!



It ended up being a bigger group with my mom and I, Eric and his parents, and Diane.



There were so many details to go over. It was great to have a lot of input for some of the things we hadn't thought of.



The venue had another event planned that afternoon. During our meeting, the entire place was transformed around us as tables were being set up.



It is SUCH a beautiful place. I remember seeing it for the first time with my mom and trying to contain how much I loved it until we knew if it was a real possibility. It's so surreal to see it all becoming a reality. I can't thank our families enough, especially my mom, for making this day so special for us. We are so excited for the day to finally be here, to be marrying each other(!!), and to be celebrating in such a memorable place with the people we love. <3

Odds and Ends

Despite the wedding planning, January has felt somewhat quieter compared to the craziness of the holidays. Which means we've had time to check a few things off our to-do list, and try out a couple new recipes.



Eric finally picked out the guys' tuxes for the big day. They are going to look sharp!





I made these crunchy roasted chickpeas recently as a snack. They were super easy and turned out better than I thought - a great snack if you're craving chips/something crunchy.


Crunchy roasted chickpeas

We're trying to find some alternatives to always making chocolate chip cookies anytime there is a chocolate craving in the house (*cough* Eric). We tried pudding (throw back to our childhood) but for some reason it just didn't turn out right; we may have to try that one again.
Then I remembered Eric's mom had brought us home some Mexican Chocolate last time she got back from San Antonio. I wanted to try baking with it and found a great chocolate muffin recipe. They were so delicious, and a step up health-wise from cupcakes. If you have any other ideas please let me know!


Mexican chocolate muffins

We finally did get a little bit of snow (less than an inch), but it was nothing compared to what Virginia got a little further south.



And finally, after one failed attempt - we got our marriage license! The first time we tried to go (after specifically taking time out of work), we got to the courthouse and it was randomly closed for the day. We're officially able to get married now!

Birthday

I can't believe we are already well into January, just about 5 weeks away from the wedding..! Now that the holidays are over, wedding planning is back in full swing. At this point it's all the little details that we're trying to work out. And on top of that, my birthday was this past Wednesday!

I had planned on going out to Leesburg to see my mom last weekend, but after some very last minute changes she offered to come out to Alexandria to help me put some favors together. It was sooo nice of her to come all the way out here, and was a HUGE help. I was pretty much burnt out on working on favors and she was a machine. She didn't want to leave until they were as close to done as possible.



Even though it was an extremely last minute, unplanned trip out - she somehow still showed up at the door with a couple birthday gifts and cupcakes :) Moms are the best.



A while back Katie had showed me some ideas for favors, including a super cute idea of hot chocolate in little test tubes. It was definitely the most economical idea and I always love something homemade. Thanks for the idea, Katie!



While we were working on those, Eric was grilling up some chicken for dinner. We took a break from the favors to eat dinner and watch some football.



My mom had brought over red velvet cupcakes - the best! They didn't last long at our house.



Thank you so much for coming, mom! Your visit was a valuable birthday gift in itself!



On Tuesday Eric and I went over to his parents' house for a little celebration. They go all out for birthdays! When we walked in, they had decorated with streamers and balloons everywhere.





We got to spend lots of time visiting and FaceTiming with his sister's family which was a lot of fun.





His mom had made the cutest and most delicious cake. I even got all the candles out in one try ;)



And gifts too - they are way too sweet to me. I lucked out on getting to marry into a pretty awesome family. Thank you for everything!



Wednesday was my actual birthday. I knew I was going to have to work late that day and would be pretty tired when I got home so we didn't make any big plans. When I got home Eric had decorated the house in streamers and balloons as well. It was so sweet. That night we just got comfy and were lazy on the couch the rest of the night. It was perfect :)



Thank you to everyone who made my birthday so special. All the calls and texts and love - I have some pretty amazing people in my life. I'm very excited for everything the next year may bring!

In his element

Happy New Year!! I would give you an update on our crazy New Years but it was very low-key. Eric was still getting over being sick so he actually ended up falling asleep around 9:30. I got some stuff done around the house and woke him up at 11:59 to watch the ball drop :) Welcome 2017! I'm certainly never against a quiet night in. I hope you all had a safe, enjoyable New Year!

Over the holidays, my mom and I told my brother to let us know about his hockey schedule to see if we could make it to a game since he's finally back in the area. Since most of his games don't even start until around 10:30-11 PM, we knew we probably wouldn't be able to make many of them. Luckily that week, one of his games just so happened to be rescheduled to 8:40 PM, which is pretty much unheard of. So we definitely took advantage to meet up at the ice rink to watch him play.



I actually realized I hadn't seen my brother play hockey in probably 10-15 years. It's such a big part of his life, it was so fun to see him in his element!



He's number 11.



I remember going to so many of his games when he played inline, and then spending so much time at the ice house for games and practices when he started playing ice hockey (and I only went to a fraction of his games/practices). He would play on multiple teams at a time, practically living on the ice outside of school. It was very nostalgic to be back watching him play.





It was also really nice to get to spend some time with Holly, Mark's wife. Mark and Eric play on the same team again now, but they've been friends for 20 years. I remember them playing hockey on roller blades back when we first moved into my mom's neighborhood, so to see them on the ice still playing together now is pretty cool.



I hope many, many more of his games get pushed up to a time I can actually make it to! I loved watching him play again.