Marley Monday-Fat Cat

My cat is fat! Not sure why? He eats good food (Science Diet) and his dry food is low cal diet food. He gets his recommended daily amount...still fat! Like 20+lbs. Maybe he just has slow metabolism? He is not modest at all though, he loves to show his belly!

Bridal Shower

My Bridal Shower: Sunday August 30 2009 Maggiano's Banquet Rooms

Cupcake tower. Best cupcakes ever!

My mom and (future) mother in law

My mom and grandma

My high school girls. Brenda, me, Lauren, and Kelly (plus baby in her belly)

Bridesmaid Lauren

My awesome new vacuum, compliments of mom. Never been so excited to vacuum!!

Something you didn't know till now

I got this survey in an email from my grandfather and decided to post it in my blog.

Three names I go by:
1. Heather
2. Heth
3. Missy (my mom calls me this)

Three jobs I've had:
1. bartender
2. waitress
3. office assistant

Three places I have lived:
1. California (southern)
2. Knoxville, Tennessee
3. Illinois (all over)

Three TV shows I watch:
1. LOST
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives

Three of my favorite foods:
1. sushi
2. fruit
3. cupcakes

Three of my favorite restaurants:
1. Coast Sushi (downtown Chicago)
2. Cheesecake Factory
3. Claim Jumpers

Three things I am looking forward to:
1. My Wedding!
2. My bridal shower on Sunday
3. Seeing everyone at our big reception in Nov

My FUN weekend

This is going to be an awesome weekend for me. I have been looking forward to it for a few months now. Here is why:

*I have tomorrow (Fri) off work because...

*My grandparent's (my moms dad/ step mom) are coming into town from South Carolina for a long weekend because...

*My Bridal Shower is on Sunday!! I can't wait.

Friday the men are golfing and I get to hang out with my mom and grandma. Then a BBQ at D's parents lake house.

Saturday we are all having dinner downtown Chicago, sushi!

Sunday my shower is at Maggiano's in one of their banquet rooms. This is one of my favorite restaurants and a perfect spot for my shower. I am only having one shower so we expect about 60-70 people to come. The men will golf during the shower and then meet us later to help with all the gifts and snag the leftover food and treats!


Have a great weekend everyone! I may be MIA till Monday!

Fall...it's almost here!

Fall is hands down my favorite time of year. It is so amazing here in Chicago. Here is why I love Fall...

The leaves are changing everywhere and it's so pretty.

The smells! Especially Yankee candles Fall line of smells. They are yummy.

Scarves! I love scarves all the time but starting in Fall I live in them practically 24/7. I love when there is a slight chill in the air.

Butternut squash soup. My mom has the best recipe for it and always makes it this time of year.

Halloween. One of my favorite holidays. I love the pumpkins, jack o lanterns, haunted houses.

Thanksgiving. A day where all you do is eat! I'm all about it. This year will be especially nice because last year on Thanksgiving I was on a plane to Asia so I missed it.

Boots. My new Fall purchase...Cole Haan boots with Nike Air in them. So comfortable.

Our wedding. I always wanted a Fall wedding date. What a perfect time of year to celebrate each year.

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There is one downside to Fall....it will be immediately followed by Chicago winter. If you haven't experienced a winter in Chicago (or the Midwest) let me just give you a visual....

FOR RENT

I am so ready to move. It can't come soon enough. We have a great condo we own downtown Chicago but we both work 40 miles north in the suburbs and the commute is killing us. (80 miles a day) I can't do it anymore. I will def miss our condo but it's time to be suburb people and be closer to work.

We put our condo up for rent last weekend and they are hoping to get a renter by Oct 1. My friend from college works for the rent company so it has been fun working through her. Ideally we want to sell the condo and buy a nice townhouse/ house in the burbs but with this economy that will not happen right now.

For now we are going to rent it for 12 months and see how the market does and possibly sell it in a year-ish. We are going to find an apartment around our work and rent for a year and save money (the wedding money will be a big help) and take that year to look at houses and take our time buying instead of making a last minute decision just so we can move. It will be weird renting again but it's only temporary and we can find our dream place that we can settle down in.

The stressful part is that if we find a renter, we move asap! The wedding is in less than 2 months and our weekends are full. Moving will be challenge but we can make it work. And we luckily have great family and friends that I'm sure would pitch in last minute and help.

So cross your fingers that we find a renter quick!! In the mean time I need to Google apartments for rent!

Marley Monday-Cat bed

We got Marley this cat bed on a whim because it was on sale. We thought we'd give it a try and if he hated it, it was only 10 bucks. He didn't like it, he LOVED it! He sleeps in it all the time. We have it in our living room right by the couch so he can lay in it when we watch TV (he likes to be around us all the time, strange). He is actually a little large for his bed but he doesn't care. His leg, arm, head will hang out when he lays in it.

Doggie day care

Bella started her day camp last week and is loving it. We found a place right down the street from us that caters to working city people. Perfect!! They have a few different rooms: big hyper dogs, big calm dogs, and the little guys. She is obviously with the small pups. She loves it. She has a boyfriend I hear, Oscar, a Jack Russel that is 3x her size, LOL. We would love for her to go every day but can only afford 2-3 times a week for now.

Does anyone else do this for your dogs while you are at work?? I just love that we found this place and it's great to get her socialized with dogs at a young age.

Side note: Bella sleeps A LOT!! She loves to cuddle too. Here are some cute pics...

Day at the lake

Yesterday D and I headed to his parents lake house for the day. It was a bit cold (70*) but it turned out to be a fun day. The water was warmer than the air so everyone was still able to enjoy some water sports, minus me, I was content in my jeans.

Stacy and her 22 week bump.

Bella loved the lake. She slept most of the day.

D and the munchkin.

Camp fire by the lake.

Sunset.

The whole group. These are all D's sister and BIL friends that we have come to also be friends with.

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Bella had a great vet visit. She is does not have a cough or a fever...?? She has allergies. The vet said that this is totally normal and it may come back every year. Human Benadryl in a small dose is the only meds that would work...LOL. Never had an animal with allergies but at least she is healthy.

Happy Sunday!!

I am fabulous and so are you

Stevy at The Rest is Still Unwritten tagged me for this fabulous award! Thanks!

There are 2 rules once you receive this:

1. You must list 5 current obsessions.

2. You must pass this on to 5 people.

So...My 5 current obsessions are as follows:

1. Weddings!! I am planning 2 of them and my life has been immersed in them for the last 9 months.

2. Starbucks green ice tea unsweetened add 2 Splenda! I can't get enough of them.

3. My fur babies. I am obsessed with taking pictures of them and getting practice in on my new camera.

4. Blogging. Yup it's true. I am officially hooked after only 2 months of blogging.

5. My fiance. He is amazing and I love love spending time with him.

The lovely ladies that I tag are:

1. Pink Sass

2. Meg at Float On...
3. Kate at The Richardson's
4. Kelsey at The Seattle Smith's
5. Liz at Gangl*icious

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Today we are taking the new pup to the vet, she is coughing a bit. I don't think she feels good, poor girl.

We are headed to D's parents lake house for the day to play. Unfortunately it's only going to be 71* ish. This Chicago weather is so weird. 90 last weekend, 70 this weekend.

Happy Saturday!!

Fun Fact

I was checking my calendar at work a few weeks ago and realized that Oct 17 (our wedding day) is Sweetest Day this year. How fun to be married on that day. I guess Oct 17 really was the perfect day for us.

I was curious about sweetest day so I Googled it, here is what I found if you are interested:

**Observed the 3rd Saturday in the month of October, Sweetest Day observance originated in Cleveland in 1922. Herbert Birch Kingston, a philanthropist and candy company employee wanted to bring happiness into the lives of orphans, shut-ins and others who were forgotten. With the help of friends, he began to distribute candy and small gifts to the underprivileged.On the first Sweetest Day, movie star Ann Pennington presented 2,200 Cleveland newspaper boys with boxes of candy to express gratitude for their service to the public.
Primarily a regional observance celebrated in the Great Lakes region and the Northeast, Sweetest Day is gradually spreading to other areas of the country. People tend to take the Sweetest Day tradition with them when they move. Ohio is the top state for Sweetest Day sales, followed by Michigan and Illinois. Texas, California and Florida are among the top 10 states in sales.
Over the years, Sweetest Day has evolved into a time to express romantic love and also to show appreciation to friends.**


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I decided to delete my invites post because I didn't photo shop them first and got some advice that maybe I didn't want our names on there. So the ones who saw the post this morning...you are the lucky few who saw them first :-) Happy Friday!!

Love Survey

I got this survey idea from a blog I read (here). She had cute ideas so I decided to borrow it. Feel free to borrow it as well :-)

♥ What are your middle names?

Heather Ann
Derek John

♥ How long have you been together?
2 years

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
1 day

♥ Who asked whom out?
He asked me to have dinner and watch a movie at his house

♥ How old are each of you?
Me-26
D-27

♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most?
His, I don't have any siblings

♥ Do you have any children together?
Nope just the fur-babies

♥ What about pets?
Marley-3 year old tabby we adopted from a shelter at 2 years old.
Bella- Our new 4 mo old Dachshund puppy.

♥ Did you go to the same school?
Yes, same college but never met till after

♥ Are you from the same home town?
No, about 40 min away

♥ Who is the smartest?
LOL...me...jk I think we both have our moments of glory and the brain fart moments.

♥ Who is more sensitive?
Me hands down

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
At home: Coast sushi, Five Star, El Barco, Cheesecake Factory
At work: Moe's, Panera, Jimmy Johns, Froots

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

♥ Who has the craziest exes?
Neither, we haven't had any issues with either

♥ Who has the worst temper?
Me, I get frustrated quicker than him

♥ Who does the cooking?
Me...LOL...I love to cook and am pretty good at it

♥ Who is more social?
Me,I can talk to anyone

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Both,we are both really clean but I am more anal

♥ Who is more stubborn?
Him for sure

♥ Who hogs the bed?
Me and Marley take 75% of the bed at night

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Weekdays: same time because we work together
Weekends: me by like an hour or 2

♥ Where was your first date?
Five Star Bar

♥ Who has the bigger family?
Me, my step dad is the youngest of 13

♥ Do you get flowers often?
Every once in a while

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
Xmas eve: his family
Xmas: my family
This year may be spent in the hospital to meet my niece!

♥ Who is more jealous?
Neither is jealous at all

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
Few months, I wanted to take things slow but I knew from first month that I would marry D

♥ Who eats more?
Him but I can defiantly keep up

♥ Who does/did the laundry?
D, I do laundry/ fold 1% of the time. He is going to be a good wifey :-)

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Both

♥ Who drives when you are together?
Him 99% of the time

It's going to be a....

NIECE

We found out last night that my (future) sister in law Stacy and her husband Matt are having a GIRL!!

D and I are so excited to be first time 'unky' and 'anty' this December (12-25-09). That's right, Christmas day!! It's going to be a fun and interesting holiday for our family's this year.

Our new fur-baby

Introducing our new little puppy...Bella.


As you read yesterday she was a random purchase but in fact it worked out perfectly.

I have wanted a dachshund for about a year now. D and I had planned to wait to get a dog until we move to the suburbs (hopefully soon), that WAS the plan at least. I had researched the breed and done my homework months ago.

We were driving to D's parents house when we randomly saw this 'Puppies for Sale' sign on the side of the road so we, without much hesitation, pulled in and agreed '5 minutes'. They had about 20 puppies in this pet shop, all different kinds. In the first little cage I saw this little brown thing sleeping and I immediately knew that it was a dachshund. I asked to see it and found out it was exactly what I had been wanting all this time: miniature, sable color, girl, long haired. How perfect is that? D and I almost immediately decided that, yes, she was ours. We put a deposit down and said we'd be back tomorrow.

We have a cat that is very happy being the ONLY pet and he will need some adjusting but I think it will be just fine. Hopefully they can be best buds. (OK maybe that's a stretch)

She did awesome last night. She is using her potty pads, most of the time. She slept in her crate with no whining. Hopefully she picks up the 'potty spot' quick. One habit I see that we will need to break, the face licking, it's cute now but won't be as an adult!

So we totally switched our 'plan' and I think it worked out for the best. We still plan to get D his dream dog when we have a suburb house and a yard because D's dream dog (unlike mine) is huge!! A Bernese Mountain Dog. Beautiful but BIG! There is a picture here.

Here are some more pics of Bella...

When Marley met Bella. He could careless....LOL. Today he is a bit more cautious.

Sleeping with D and the new toy. She loves them both.

What a Whirlwin!

I have had one crazy busy random weekend!! And today I am super tired and getting sick. I guess next weekend we should not cram as much in.

Friday night: We had dinner and saw Time Travelers Wife. We got home at 1130.

Saturday: Went to gym. Headed to my friend Laurens condo for the Air and Water show during the day. It was 90* and D got FRIED!! We found out they had free tix to see Jimmy Buffet that night in the south burbs so we decided to go (1 hour south). After Buffet we stayed at Laurens boyfriends house (he lives right by the concert venue).

Sunday: The boys golf and Lauren and I go to yoga (SOO sore today, it had been a while since I did yoga). Then we head to breakfast. D and I head home (1 hour) we change really quick and then head to his parents house for his dad's b-day (1.5 hour drive north).

On the way to the lake house we see a sign for 'Puppies for Sale' and D randomly pulls into this pet store. We end up putting a deposit down on a puppy and then head to the lake for the b-day celebration. Yup we bought a dog. I will post the story and pics tomorrow (PS she is SOO adorable).

After dinner we head home (another 1.5 hour drive). Get home at 9pm and pass out. I am exhausted!! But such a fun crazy busy weekend.

Here is some of the events...

Air and Water show

New yummy beer I tried

Laurens roof top deck. Her family and her BF's family were there.

Lauren and I

D and I (before he turned red)

Buffet show

Now the lobster boy comes out.

Random Buffet fan...they are NUTS!!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

**After work D and I are headed to pick up our new fur-baby. So excited.