Christmastime is Here!

Dear old hubby of mine is in for a serious TREAT tonight!

Since we returned from our honeymoon, that guy has spent every waking moment finishing up his semester of school! And by every moment, i mean EVERY LAST ONE. I've been trying to keep myself preoccupied and not distract him every two seconds.... fail.

I've cleaned, I've read, I've washed, I've shopped, I've slept...

but I will not, I shall not, I cannot do ANYTHING Christmas related until he's by my side.

I just can't do it!

It's our first married Christmas, and for me, this is a LARGE deal.

I want to do it all together, for the experience.

So if I'm hanging a stocking, you better believe he is too.

If I'm putting up all of my tres jolie Paris ornaments, you can bet he is as well.

So, Harold is taking a brief night off of studying to help me put up the tree, Yippee!

and I have planned playlists of carols, and peppermint hot chocolate and Home Alone and ELF and who even knows what else..

but he is getting a CHRISTMAS OVERLOAD tonight.

Can you tell I'm excited to spend time with him? :)

I'll post pics after we are finished. That is, of course, unless he surprises me to see the Louis Vuitton Christmas Light Display in NYC. hmmmmmm, and he can study on the plane?

XOXO,

mrs. K

so sad, so sad... we're back from our honeymoon!

There's nothing like spending a week in PARADISE...

and then having to pack up and go home.

our honeymoon was perfection.

Not that everything went perfectly,

since we did fly into a hurricane, and our resort shut down our first day there and we weren't allowed to leave our ROOMS!

Yes, I am for real, and yes it did look like a paradise ghost town.

Look how empty!

So the first day of our honeymoon wasn't so hot-

but seriously, the rest of it was to die for.

okay, minus our excursion.. but!

We stayed at Excellence Playa Mujeres, outside of Cancun...

It was phenom.

Never Ever have we had so much time to lay around and do

Absolutely

Nothing.

I found out on our trip that I am REALLY good at that.

We had the best time everyday, waking up when we felt like it, eating as much as we wanted, laughing our heads off- The whole thing was a dream!

Honeymoons are such a smart tradition.

Because, the newlywed couple has spent the past several months in a constant state of CRAZY.

If it's not a million to-do's for the wedding, than it's moving into a new place,

still maintaining a good work ethic and service to others...

HARD THING TO DO!

Getting to spend so much time with the Mister was so wonderful. We spent the whole time laughing and exclaiming that we couldn't believe we were actually married.

We had all these grand plans of adventures and Mayan Ruins and zip-lining over the jungle and swimming with dolphins-

the only 2 things we actually did:

1. Couples Massage and Hydrotherapy Unit

2. Parasailing (i've been several times. I will never ever go again. it was the most terrifying experience of my life. the hurricane winds were blowing, and we were not strapped in in any way. we held on for dear life and prayed the entire time. it was the only stress we had that entire week, yet we both almost hyperventilated. I could have peed my pants except every muscle in my body was pre-occupied with holding myself on the seat so I wouldn't drop to my death. )

Otherwise, the King and I had a ball! and i want to go back, like, 2 hours ago.

Oh, and the scenery and rooms weren't bad either.

Hip-Hop-Happily Married!

So, as you already know- the wedding is long gone and I am married to the delightful Mr. King now! Every single second of our wedding week went perfectly, everyone was wonderful to us, and our wedding turned out even better than I had dreamed.

Such a relief, and such a joy!

Seriously, when my good old dad and i turned the corner for our emotional walk down the aisle, I was so elated to see that everything was dreamy and magical and exquisite! I cannot wait to show off all the pics because I am so proud of the whole event.

It truly was the best day of our lives!

There really is nothing like it. It is the most elating, peaceful, fulfilling thing, to be joined to the one you love, in the presence of the ones who love you.

so now we are newlyweds, and living in a constant state of bliss..
I sure hope it never ends, because as of right now,
we think that the other is the most amazing person on earth, with the best style and funniest jokes and the most brilliant ideas ever.
Which means he is giving me way more credit than my jokes deserve,
and I am just being honest about him.

A few pics from our Grand Affair....

the sweet mr. king

While going through pictures for our Rehearsal Dinner Slide Show, I found a few of the King that I absolutely adore! now, I am fairly certain i was a pretty gosh-darn cute kid.

But looking at His baby pics, I am convinced he was the cutest thang ever. and i REALLY hope someday (a long long time from now!) we have a little boy or 2 that looks just like him!

I mean realllllly!

Engagement Pictures at the FAIR!

Prepare your hearts now for the most magical engagement pictures ever taken... and no it is NOT because Mr. King is the most handsome man on Earth!!!

These pictures were taken in October at the State Fair here in town, by the Infamous Matt Swaggart. And you want to know something??
Everything he does is as good as this.
All of it.
So go to www.swaggartphotography.com and look at his genius work!

sincerely, the carnie kings

when Harry met Caity..

So two of my BFF's and their amazing Moms threw Harold and I the Couples Shower to TRUMP all Couples Showers of all times....

Think 20's + Great Gatsby meets Carnival + feathers + pearls + all my favorite treats and sweets....
and that is what it was. I never wanted to leave. I wanted to just take residence at the party and live there, it was SO fun!

All of our friends are so great, and dressed up with style, and brought us terrific gifts. Harold and i drove home that night (yes, I did eventually have to leave, bummer) exclaiming
a. how fun our friends are
b. how amazing the hostesses were
c. how excited we were to move our fun gifts into our place
d. how we are in LOVE!

Enter Party Pics:

super sorry, homies.

My EXTREME apologies go out to all the people who really and truly believed me when I said I wouldn't slack off on this blog during all of the wedding craziness.

I fibbed, ok? Actually that's not true.
I really didn't know what I was promising.

Soon after my most recent post, I was so busy I barely had time to wash my hair. (but not in the, 'my hair is dry so i only wash once a week- Oh my hair is sooooooo not the case'...) But anyway! Ce La Vie!

Anyway, the King and I are INDEED MARRIED! woohoo! and don't worry, I am going to backtrack and fill you in on allllllll the exciting deets you missed while i was too busy being a bridey....

So... Deep Breath.
Here come the Updates!

why halloween candy is tricky

HERE'S WHY:

the adorable cute bite-size packaging, with 2 milk duds per sweet little carton or 3 little swedish fish buddies.. you just pop a few while you're watching a show, or writing thank you cards, when all of the sudden you look down and BAM! You no longer fit in your wedding gown.

These things, dear friends, ought not be so.

Yesterday Harry picked me and a load of my possessions up, in an effort to move me over to the apartment little by little. On the counter was the sweetest card he's ever written (awww) along with CANDY.

Yes, the groom brought the bride candy, the night after they cut their eating plans at Smashburger and the movies. And what's better (or worse), it was the Halloween kind. Now I'm sitting lazily at my desk popping Halloween Hershey kisses filled with caramel.

Yes, my wedding dress, and other things,

must

actually

FIT

in

2 weeks, 3 days.

3 Weeks Out and OMG!

We have exactly three weeks to go until the BIG day, and my to-do list is growing arms and legs and following me around. This is the time in planning where for every 1 thing you cross off, 3 things are added on. On my agenda for today: postmarking and sending out rehearsal dinner invites, buying more red envelopes as I ran out 3/4 the way through addressing rehearsal dinner invites last night, taking pics of my ideal bridesmaid bouquets by our wonderful florist, working on the program layout, writing a bazillion more thank you notes, and it's a FRIDAY! sheesh. don't even ask about Saturday's list.

Last night was Harry's first "Wedding Task Night" to work on his list of things that he is solely responsible for. He realized how long each bullet point takes...

Gee, Who'da Thunk? Welcome to my world. :)

We keep saying, "What will we do when we actually have TIME to relax and do fun things??" Where to even begin? Don't worry, dear, I've kept quite a running list of movies I've not yet seen, restaurants I'd like to dine at, and trips I'd like to go on, and I'll gladly pass it over to you. Because we sure do have tons o' fun together.. (duh)

Anyway- 3 weeks left until we have all the time in the world, to do everything and nothing, on our own schedule. That. Sounds. Fabulous.

brilliant breakfast idea

Harry's in for a REAL treat because I just found a meal i can't wait to make!

Chocolate Heart-Shaped Belgian Waffles!

Now, wouldn't waking up to those put an instant smile on your face?

It's like waking up to

"YOU'RE LOVED! EAT UP!"

which in my opinion is what I'd like to hear a little more in my life.

Onto my brilliant breakfast idea. What if there were all sorts of waffle molds a person could add right onto her waffler? And on all special days, there were special waffles to go with it?

Like, on your kids' first day of school, you could make their ABC's, or on your child's 16th birthday, you make all the waffles shaped like car keys? I think I'm onto something...

Noone steal this idea. I'm gonna make it happen. Now, my last piece of waffle-mania....

How bout waking up to a grand ol game of Tetris?

Video Games in BED?

I'm gonna be an EXCELLENT housewife.

fall-la-la-la-la

Super super excited for 5 PM to get here, because 5 pm means it's time for fall pumpkin carving with our BFF's!! I've been googling a few ideas of what I want to make with mine...

and Come on, how cute are those owls?? I want to make those to put on my desk at work, so they can perch with me all day. Do they attract fruit flies?

So all of our friends are going over for punkins (the only REAL way to say it) and dinner, making the most of this wonderful time of year. I could live in fall year-round, with beach holidays of course.

Back on the homefront, Harry spent last night, ALL NIGHT, painting our sweet little abode, while my friends and I tackled more of our centerpieces. I can't tell you what they look like, because I don't want to spoil the surprise. But you can be SURE they'll blow your socks off. and hopefully they will give off the vibe that they each took hours to make, so that our labor was not in too much vain. Anyway, I woke up this morning excited to go see our newly painted walls.. when I was quickly informed I was not allowed to see them yet. My first thought was.. Oh no. Did he spill a gallon of Tiffany Blue paint on our NON-Tiffany BEIGE carpet? He said no. Which leaves me in major suspense, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. Until tomorrow.

A few Fall Festive Images for you to Dwell on.

'til then.

just another manic monday...

Who am I kidding? Like there is a NON-manic day to be found, 3.5 weeks out from a wedding!

Just going over in my mind, the wildly eventful weekend the Mister and I had, and NO WONDER I need another cup of coffee this morning. I spent the first half of Saturday at my personal shower, thrown by my FAB bridesmaids. What is it like to have about 10 Best Friends who all have ridic style and happen to all be party planners in their own right? Ask me, and Maybe I'll write a whole post on it someday. For now, I'll just post a few pics from the grand affair.

The theme was Becoming a Housewife- and everyone wore adorable aprons, brought recipes (much needed, as the only cuisines currently in my cooking repertoire are spaghetti,... Ok. That's it, but it is GOOD)- and my genius friends had everyone sign an apron, and then they are stitching each person's message onto the apron for me! I mean really!

So I got all sorts of goodies, and had a lot of fun. Then, I went and met Harry and his moving team to make sure nothing was getting seriously damaged on its way into the apartment. Which by the way, our apartment is going to be DREAMY when we are done painting. I'll be sure and post pics when that takes place, hopefully this weekend. After everyone cleared out for the day, and all of our belongings were strewn about in complete disarray, we collapsed on our new couch with a big sigh and a huge satisfaction. We sat there and just kept saying, "We're really getting married! We really have a home! We get to live together. We get to start a life together!"

A surreal, very very happy moment for us. And then we made a to-do list of things we couldn't wait for, like building our first fire in the fireplace and carrying in our first groceries (which probably should be tonight, or else future-hubby will go hungry)...

very happy today.

martha martha martha!

Happy Friday Y'all, and a very happy one it will be for you if you read this whole post. Why? Because Martha Stewart's line at Macy's is an instant mood lifter, and I'd like to present these happy things to you too.

These adorable kitchen appliances and accessories could very well make me become a cook! (But don't quote me on that.) Now, if someone could please drop a (large) bug in Harry's ear, that I need one or two of each, I'd be Rawwwther grateful.

All in the name of being a good housewife.

introducing: our new pad

So, my hubs to be and I are almost exactly a month out from our WEDDING! Excitement does not even begin to cover the way we feel about this... Mixed with Busy Busy Busy! I don't think one single groom in the history of grooms will ever fully understand how many decisions are made in order to pull off "The Big Day"- but alas, he is as excited as I am for it, and that's all that matters! To make it even better, we get to move all of our lovely furniture, gifts and odds & ends into our new apartment this weekend!

Things I am most excited about moving in: My (our) cakestand, My (our) new Tuscan vases and urns from Pottery Barn, and my (our) waffle maker, cake and cupcake pans, My (our) Teapot, the end.

Things I am not excited about moving in: Everything else.

I am NOT, I repeat, NOT a good mover, and I must admit I do not have a good attitude on moving day(s). To be sure, I LOVE everything we've received and purchased to make this place the perfect "first home".. I just hate loading, carrying, unpacking, re-hanging- ew. Thankfully, I am marrying someone who never complains about tasks like this- in fact, he LIKES them??? Anyway, so it's pretty much been decided that he is heading up the moving/painting team and I am the captain of directing the movers and providing delicious treats when they are finished. My tasks at hand: picking up all the paint, and making sure all upholstery and fabrics match the chosen colors.. Thank Heavens we have the same taste when it comes to decor, paint colors, furniture style- Phew!! I can see how those things could cause mucho problemos X 10 should husband and wife not find common ground on these things... But we do. and we have decided on a few rooms as our inspiration:

As you can see, our color scheme is centering around different greys and tiffany blue. I'll be sure to post after the painting takes place this weekend.. Wish me luck, and that I don't get any paint in almost-hubby's hair.

Cait