Weekend Rewind

Happy Monday!

Today I'm at work, pretending to celebrate Piomingo Day (downside of not working for the Chickasaw Nation = no extra day off!). But this weekend? Let me tell you - it was great :)

On Friday, I made my first "Facebook deal." I'm part of a local "buy, sell, trade" group on Facebook and a lady posted that she had 2 quilt racks for $8 each - and they were so pretty! So, I messaged mom, basically seeking justification to buy one...in the end, she bought one and I bought one! I need to finish the wall behind my chair so I can put the quilt on the rack and get it set just where I want it. Right now it's a natural wood finish but I'm thinking I'll stain it dark to match the wood in our house. No pictures, because I forgot to take any, so follow me on Instagram and I'll eventually remember to post some. Probably.

After my gas-station money-quilt rack exchange, I went to my Aunt Kandi's to help her prepare food for "Justin's Birthday Party" (more on that coming later). AK makes everything from scratch, so I was quite certain I could pick up a few pointers. #CookingLessonsWithKandi, we'll call it. She doesn't measure, though, so I'm not sure exactly how much I picked up - other than the Puppy Chow recipe :)

One thing I definitely did learn was how to make salsa Suckerpunch Salsa.

What you can't see in those pictures are the mouth-burning jalapeño peppers that went into the salsa. It wasn't just a little kick, as my aunt said it would be. The salsa had great flavor, but I'm pretty sure my mouth caught fire when I tried it! 

As I said, all of the food was prepared for a "Surprise Birthday Party" that Magan was throwing for Justin. Little did she know that he was actually behind the whole thing and had a surprise planned for her!

(trying not to get sappy here - deletes whole paragraph because crying while writing it and it's not time for tears, duh) Mag & Justin, I'm so excited for you! Congratulations, "Feyoncés"!

#WeddingWednesday: Engagement Pictures

Last week I told you how much I couldn't wait to see our engagement pictures...and not even 24 hours later, they were in my inbox!! Lindsey is like a fairy, for real.

If we're Facebook friends, there's a 99% chance you've already looked at all of them. Before you go any further, go watch this video that she put together of our engagement session - we were having so much fun!

Did you watch it?

Okay good.

Now I'll share a few of my favorite pictures :)

I think this is the one she asked him what his favorite thing is that I make. You guys, I make some really awesome Rice Krispy Treats. His answer? When I pick up pizza. Clearly I've got some work to do in the culinary department.

L. Lenae Photography

L. Lenae Photography

L. Lenae Photography

Don't worry - I got him back right about here when she asked me what my favorite thing is that he makes... Chic-fil-a for the win!

L. Lenae Photography

Isn't Lindsey just the greatest!? I told her I wanted to sing a song about how awesome she is. I am SO excited she's going to be photographing our wedding in May! I just know she's going to capture all the most amazing parts. Hop over to her blog to see more pictures of our engagement session (along with more of her work, of course)!!  

PS that awesome hair I'm rocking? Courtesy of Miss Magan LaNae Link. Talented cousin I have (and she didn't even pay me to write this...yet). 

#MattAndShae

All you need is love... and a Little Mermaid ring.

Hi!

Remember me? Sorry 'bout that leave of absence. I have a few drafts saved from before our ski trip & Christmas - talking about how excited I am for Christmas, the things I MUST have when skiing, counting down the days to go, etc. I really intended to blog but I just didn't have time.

We left on a Friday night after Kaden and Keely played basketball, and headed to Red River, New Mexico. We got to town as the sun came up and enjoyed breakfast at a cafe. We rearranged the girls room in the condo to fit 3 beds. We got our skis. We took a group picture. We skied until the lifts closed. We played Phase 10 and ate warm, yummy food, and went to bed.

Enjoying Red River!

Sunday we woke up and headed for the mountain. We went all the way to the top that day - it was so beautiful. Matt and Dad skied the Face while Kale and I went down an easier trail to meet them, with the expectation that Mom, Nathan and David were going on a different easy trail and we'd all meet at the bottom. When we got there, Mom and Nathan were skiing the face! Such an adventurous group we have. When we were done skiing for the day, I took a shower and put on warm, comfy clothes. We went to town for a little while but mainly stuck around the cabin, so I didn't feel so bad about wearing my hideous fur-lined neon green and pink floral and leopard pants. My hair was a mess, I was wearing a big comfy shirt, no makeup....I was basically ready for bed! We started watching a movie - all 12 of us in the living/dining area - and Matt taught me how to do a "bridge" when shuffling cards and I felt so talented. Then, he went upstairs, and I asked him to bring me a piece of rock candy that we'd bought earlier. He brought me a blue stick of candy. Yum! I ate the candy and turned into a Smurf mouth. Matt was texting away ferociously but I didn't think anything of it. The movie went to commercial and I went to the bathroom, and apparently everyone in the room was just dying - because they knew what was coming next (and was supposed to happen during that commercial break I'd skipped out on). The next break comes around and Kami said she was tired of listening to commercials, so she muted the TV. Matt stood up and started talking to my family. I don't even remember what he was saying but I do remember what I was thinking. At first, I was like "okay, whatever." Then he KEPT talking. At this point I'm thinking "What are you doing??? This is so awkward. Shut up. Sit down. Stop!" - I thought I was playing it cool and not giving him an annoyed look but apparently I have no ability to hide my emotions and I was definitely giving him a LOOK.

Then he turned to me.

And suddenly, I realized what was going on. Basically, my internal voice started yelling in all caps and said "HOLY CRAP I JUST FIGURED OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING!!!!"

He dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him. To spend our lives together. To become his wife.

We're engaged!!

My Little Mermaid engagement ring & my sparkly engagement ring Matt let me pick!
Please excuse the chunky fingers. :)

The last two weeks have been a fast-paced bundle of excitement. We set a date. We picked rings (Matt proposed with the CUTEST Little Mermaid ring - obviously that's what sealed the deal). We started premarital education with my youth pastor. We asked our bridesmaids and groomsmen. We're looking to buy a house. We've picked a honeymoon destination. We've started a guest list. We bought are returning decorations to hob lob (apparently I don't need eleventy million glitter covered mermaid branches for the front of the church, thanks Brent). I'm looking for THE dress. We're excited for the wedding, but mostly, we're excited for our marriage. I'm so very incredibly blessed.

www.MattAndShae.com

Merry Christmas!