New Orleans, 2014!

I love New Orleans. So much so that I went three times in one year. I'm not exactly sure what it is about the little city that I like; maybe it's the history, or maybe it's the beauty of the older houses in the Garden District, or maybe it's the magical feel in the air that makes you believe in vampires, voodoo, and...well, I'm coming up with a loss for another word that starts with v, so we'll go with gumbo.

I got to go back last weekend with Philip and Patricia, my favorite P people. And we had a blast! I was definitely not ready to come back, even though I had the day after off to go get my bridals done.

The first day, we left Katy around 10 and headed east. We stopped in Lafayette for lunch at none other than Cracker Barrel, the official travel restaurant, then continued on. By the time we arrived and checked into our hotel it was already dark, so sight-seeing was out of the question. So we went to the mall instead, where I got a bottle of my favorite non-grape wine (blackberry) and where we made the mistake of entering the Lindt Chocolates store. Lo and behold, they were having a "100 truffles for $25" sale, and Patricia and Philip had to really twist my arm to get me to participate.

Pitzer family photo

We next hit up Pat O'Briens for dinner and hurricanes (and more hurricanes).

I can't tell if the man in the background is seriously looking at the menu or seriously trying to be in the picture.

One hurricane is enough. You can trust me on that.

After we left Pat O's, we walked down Bourbon Street, taking it all in. People threw beads (even without us performing the necessary task to receive them), which I found very exciting for some reason. We then ended up at the Cat's Meow where Patricia sang karaoke while Philip and I sat in the quieter (read: old people section) part of the bar and people watched.

After those hurricanes, this was pretty much my posture the rest of the night.

After a while, we decided we had had enough fun for one night and headed back to the hotel, where we got up bright and early slept in nice and long the next morning.

BEADS!

We met up with Philip's friend Kristen, who lives in New Orleans, at the Irish House for lunch the next day. Afterwards we went into the Garden District to check out my favorite coffee house in Nola, Still Perkin', and then walked around the Garden District for a while, checking out the cemetery and the houses.

At the cemetery wall

We next hopped onto the trolley (which was full to bursting) and headed into the French Quarter. Our first order of business, of course, was to stop at Cafe du Monde for Philip to experience the beignets. Yes, it was all for Philip.

The weather in Nola at this time of year actually got pretty chilly--much better than the last time I was there, when I nearly sweated to death from the humidity. Unfortunately I left my jacket in our rental car, which was all the way back in the Garden District, hence the "cold" look.

We walked through Jackson Square afterwards and just in time, too, for they closed the gates right as we were leaving.

"Wheeee!" says Andrew Jackson in the background

As we were walking through the quarter in search of dinner, Patricia spotted a sign for a ghost tour. So we went in and signed up, then, since we had some time before it started, we went off and had dinner at Maspero's.

The ghost tour was really fun. It was full of history with a few fun tidbits about hauntings here and there. The tour covered the Lalaurie house; the Count of St Germain, rumored vampire of New Orleans; the Lafitte Blacksmith Shop Pub; and several other buildings with haunted pasts.

We were exhausted by the end of the tour and headed back to get some sleep. This time we vowed we would actually get up the next morning and go do some things, before we had to leave to head back to Houston.

The next morning we drove back to the Garden District to check out Audubon Park, where Patricia graciously took engagement photos of Philip and I.

I'm so lucky to have a good friend that can put up with us being all couple-y!

We ate lunch at a place that doesn't even deserve a mention, the customer service was so bad, then headed home. It was a great trip that provided a wonderful respite from wedding planning and work for a few days. Here's to many more!

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Word dump and Halloween!

If you read my most recent post about my bridesmaids when it was published and then went back again today and read it again (nobody does that), you might notice that it looks a little different. Sadly one of my bridesmaids had to back out yesterday. She is in veterinary school, which eats up everyone's time and finances, and she didn't feel like she was going to be able to pull it all together. I totally understand, and everything worked out fine since Philip hadn't asked his fifth groomsman to be a groomsman yet. So we'll just have four attendants each instead of five. I'm sad that she won't be up front with me for the ceremony, but as long as she's present, it will be fine.

After I posted a little announcement to my bridesmaid group ("and then there were four"), two of my bridesmaids, Kaitlin and Patricia, almost immediately texted me to see if I was okay. This is why they are my bridesmaids, there to handle any sudden stress thrown on me! :)  It was really sweet and made me appreciate them even more than I already do. I know that as the days edge closer and closer to the BIG day, I'll probably have multiple nervous breakdowns and need lots of reassurance. I'm glad to know that I have such caring people on my team.

PS OH MY GOSH it's getting closer and closer and things are starting to happen. My bridal portraits are in a week, one of my bridesmaids just ordered her dress today, I moved up to the next bracket of dates on theknot.com's checklist...only 144 days to go! I simultaneously can't wait and am overwhelmed by how much there still is to be done. Well, overwhelmed isn't the right word. But there are still 49 things to do on the checklist before this thing can get on.

Philip and I went and met with our officiant Saturday and then afterwards had dinner with my grandparents at the place our rehearsal dinner is probably going to be held. It's a cute Italian place with delicious bread (always a win in my book) and delicious chocolate cake (forever the most important thing).

In non-wedding news, Halloween was this past Friday. I dressed up the dogs (and myself) in costumes for work:

Flashing camera lights were apparently terrifying.

Romeo's costume lasted maybe an hour. He wasn't trying to take it off per say, but he didn't really like wearing it and kept shaking his head, causing his caveman rider to list alarmingly to the left every time. Fiona's elf costume lasted much longer, but I finally took it off because I felt bad for her. It's a tiny bit too small, so whenever she laid on her side, her little corgi leg stuck out in the air. Oops.

Romeo was as thrilled as he looks

Friday evening Philip came into town and we went to Northgate to meet up with his friend Justin. Philip was dressed as a 1920s gangster, and I wore my Cruella costume:

Fiona matched, obviously

We had fun out with all the other people in costume. I got lots of compliments on my costume (along with a lot of "hey aren't you that lady from the dalmatian movie?" comments), just like when I wore it to the Renaissance Festival. Justin hadn't worn a costume, so after finding a bunch of little plastic necklaces on a table at a bar, I gave him two and demanded he wear them and tell everyone he was 2 Chainz. Which he did. Muahaha.

The pinnacle of the night though was when I spotted a girl wearing a headband with dalmatian dog ears and some other dalmatian printed clothing. I walked up to her and told her "You'd make a lovely coat, darling." Rather than laugh or appreciate my wit, however, all she did was look at me like she was frightened.

I regret nothing.

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Hurry up and wait!

Today marks five months until our wedding day!

There are times that I think wedding planning could be a full time job. Okay, okay. I know there are such things as wedding planners. But I mean more so that planning my own wedding could be a full time job.

And then there are blocks of time where it feels like a hurry up and wait game. I was so bent on crossing things off my checklist and making sure something got done every day...and now I've about caught up with myself. I feel like I should be doing more, but then again, what else is there to do right now? We have an appointment to meet up with our officiant this Saturday, and I have my bridal portraits scheduled in the next couple of weeks. Otherwise, I think we've done as much as we can for now.

One of the big things we recently checked off our to-do list was booking the cabin we will be staying in for our honeymoon. I know that I previously said that we would be staying in Saint Maarten, but we have since changed our minds and will be going to Puerto Rico instead. Saint Maarten looked beautiful and luxurious, but Puerto Rico seemed to provide more opportunities for adventure--more our speed. We will be staying on the edge of the rain forest within driving distance of the beach, providing us opportunities to go hiking to waterfalls, kayaking on the bioluminescent bay, horseback riding on the beach--a little of everything. Plus, since I speak decent Spanish, I'll be able to converse with the locals and get some practice in ;)

Five months seems so close and yet also so far away. I am so excited to marry the most wonderful man I know and stand up with some of my favorite women in the world (who it would seem I have neglected to mention so far):

Megan, my maid of honor and sister

Patricia, my best friend and favorite troublemaker

Kaitlin, my soul mate in all things writing and Renaissance

And Courtney, my roommate and loyal scorpion killer

I am so honored that these women are all willing to go through the horrors joy of being my bridesmaids! Thank you, ladies. :)

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Regularly scheduled programming

Due to wedding planning, a lot of other important parts of my life have been put on the back burner. One of these things, unfortunately, is training Rosa. Every day I go out to feed her I feel so guilty that she is just sitting in her paddock, not getting ridden.

But! Yesterday, I made an extreme effort to get baaaaaaack in the saddle again. It was probably the first time in two weeks that she had been ridden. And she. was. so. wonderful! I'm seriously still so impressed with her. Since getting engaged a month and a half ago, I've probably ridden her three or four times total. And yet each time I get on her or longe her, no matter how much time has passed, she's always like oh, okay. I remember this.

An example of this is what happened towards the end of our ride last night. I've been slowly introducing her to the back, and it has been a majorly foreign concept for her. And she hasn't had much work on it since I haven't been riding as much these last few weeks. But last night, I shifted my weight back in preparation to ask her to back, and she immediately started shifting her weight backwards, too. I lifted my hands and pulled slightly back, and she backed. We did it a second time to make sure it wasn't a fluke, and that time she backed even straighter.

This horse. She is so smart and so willing to please. One day, once she has more experience under her belt, I think she might make as good of a horse as Chica (well, as close to Chica as a horse can get). I'm just tickled. For one, this little cowbred horse was not what I wanted in my next horse, but she and I click so well, and I'm having so much fun with her.

For two, when I look at where she was a year ago (I'll have owned her a year on October 20th. How is that possible?), she is such a different horse from when I bought her that it's like someone replaced her in the night. She's gone from being an untrusting, difficult to catch, scared of everything, pain in my butt mistake to being a trusting, affectionate, smart, and willing mount. I know we still have a long road of training ahead of us, but just seeing what she can do in a year's time with inconsistent work is very, very encouraging. I'm excited to see where she will be next October.

Happy anniversary, my little Ponderosa!

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Double the 'C,' and double the 'S,' and you'll always have...

SUCCESS!

We have a venue!

It's an old, gorgeous mansion in Brenham. It has a pretty outdoor setting for the ceremony, and the inside has rooms we can set up tables in for the reception.

I really love it, and so does Philip. It has the look I wanted, and it fits in our budget. I was really doubting we'd find something that met those criteria, but God is good!

So that's a HUGE thing checked off my To Do list. Leaving...let me check...75 things, according to my theknot.com checklist (which has been VERY helpful). The next big things will be booking a caterer and an officiant.

In the meantime, we have our honeymoon booked! Whoop! We will be going to St Maarten. We still have to get a few more details worked out--flights, etc.--but we have the resort reserved, so that's another big relief!

We also have our photographer! Philip is friends with a guy who is a professional photographer, so we got an amazing deal with him. In the next couple of months I'll be booking an appointment with him to go to Austin and get my bridal portraits made...so surreal!

Things are looking brighter as far as wedding planning. There's still so much to do, but between theknot.com and my Mindy Weiss Wedding Planner and Organizer, I'm hoping to stay on top of things so that I don't get too overwhelmed. I am feeling a lot less stressed than I was (although the stress dreams continue--the other night I had a dream that was just people I knew coming up to me and telling me I was fat. Good job, subconscious.)

March 28, 2015, here we come!

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Rethought.

So I had this whole angsty post typed up yesterday about how much I was disliking wedding planning and how not fun it was when you didn't have a bank vault at your disposal. It was long, and it was dark. I felt fully vindicated as I wrote it. And yet, I did not hit "Publish."

Now, I'm glad I didn't. Because since venting, I've started thinking about what the wedding is leading up to: life with a man whom I love, a strong Christian man who has endured my mood swings, tears, and outbursts these last few weeks of planning with patience and understanding.

You see, weddings are expensive. And I mean EXPENSIVE. We have yet to find a venue that doesn't charge everything we've saved for the wedding and then some. And I am so frustrated and stressed out by it.

And yet, I looked beyond the wedding yesterday after pouring my anger into my blog post, and I remembered that it's just a party so that your friends and family get to celebrate with you. It's the start of a new life together. Sure, it's a big event, but it's not so big that it warrants every ounce of my attention every hour of the day. I think I've only ridden my horse once since getting engaged; that's how consumed by this I've let myself become. And the wedding is still 6 months away.

So, I'm not saying that I've relaxed about trying to find a venue. Seeing as the wedding is only six months away, we do need to nail that down pretty soon here to make sure we get our date. But I'm trying to not be my usual control-freak self so I can give it up to God. It seems like a petty request, but he's answered even pettier prayers for me.

It is a rare event when I stop and think before submitting something in anger. Maybe this is a sign that I'm growing and learning how to reign in the beast that is my temper.

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A surprising weekend.

So this weekend brought with it a pretty big surprise. What is it, you might ask? Well, if you know me, you know I like a good story. So let's jump in!

Philip came into town Friday evening, and he took me to dinner at a German restaurant in Bryan--the same restaurant we went to for Valentine's Day. We ate and were merry, as Germans do, then he took me dancing--just like we did on one of our first dates in Dallas.

The next morning, he surprised me with breakfast--delicious coffee cake, the same breakfast he made me for my birthday earlier this year. Is this the surprise, you may ask? Surprise food is always a good choice in my book, but no, the surprise is still coming.

After we finished breakfast, he told me that he was taking me hiking in Huntsville State Park. So I got ready, taking my sweet time, and we drove that way (about 20 minutes later than we were supposed to leave). He seemed to be in a slight hurry, but I didn't think too much of it.

We got into the park, and we were driving along, looking for "the best place to stop and get out of the car." But suddenly, we turned into a stable. Philip had set up a surprise horseback ride for us through the park. He even had snuck my boots into his car when I wasn't looking.

The ride was extra nice because the rest of the participants had cancelled since it was supposed to rain that day, so it was just him, me, and the guide. HSP is beautiful with lots of super tall trees. And it was nice and quiet and relaxing. Also I enjoyed being on a horse that wasn't a green two-year old. My horse was a bay roan gelding named Pinky (poor guy) whom the guide told us was the alpha horse out of the whole ~30 horse herd. Philip: "I'm not at all surprised Kristin got the alpha."

Is this the surprise, you're asking? Yes, it was a surprise, and a good one at that, but no, we're still getting warmed up!

After the ride, we headed out to "walk around the lake"--only when we arrived, he had another surprise: a picnic lunch, just like he did for another of our first dates. There were strawberries, carrots, sandwiches, wine, even my favorite: dark chocolate. We ate a nice meal before the ants found it, while surrounded by trees and the lake.

So was this the big surprise? Not yet, but we're getting close!

After lunch, he pulled out his guitar. He had played it for me during our first picnic lunch date too, so I assumed he was going to do that again. However, he had another surprise for me: he had written a song for me. He began to strum the first notes, and I broke down in tears like SUCH a girl.

The song was beautiful. I always thought it would be super awkward to have someone sing directly to me like that--where do I look? At them? Do I smile? Nod seriously?--but I loved it.

So now you're thinking, ah. That is a nice surprise. Sounds like a good day that was full of surprises. And you'd be correct. But guess what? Even my own song wasn't the grand finale.

After he finished playing, he set his guitar down, as cool and collected as he could be. He started telling me how much he loved me and how he wanted me by his side forever. These are things he tells me all the time, but I'll admit, this thought crossed my mind: If he doesn't propose to me after ALL of this, he's a jerk!

Well, no worries, subconscious. Because right after that he stood, pulled me into a standing position, and kneeled before me. He said, "I have a question for you." And then he asked me to marry him. And I responded in the most stereotypical way every girl in every movie has ever responded that I swore I would NEVER do: hands over my mouth, tears running down my cheeks, etc.

Oh--and I said yes.

I'm pretty smitten with my ring. It's everything I wanted. Apparently he collaborated with my bff (whom I had conveniently shared pictures of rings I liked with along with every detail I wanted mine to have). She amazingly didn't let anything on to me about the weekend in spite of knowing that he was proposing. In fact, quite a few people knew that it was coming--including my very young cousins, whom I've spent a lot of time with lately--and NO one spilled the beans. I'm so impressed with everyone.

I LOVE the detail on the sides!

Even more impressive is that he met up with my parents for dinner in College Station one evening, without me knowing about it, to ask my dad's permission for my hand. Both he and my parents had been at my house that day, but they left at different times, and I had no idea that they had met back up later.

So I'm engaged now, and it feels so weird. Planning my wedding so far has been very surreal. I keep having to remind myself that it's my wedding and not something I'm planning for someone else. It's already overwhelming, but I'm trying to stay calm and cool and not turn into a bridezilla. I've gotten as far as picking my bridesmaids and am looking at venues now. I know what I want, but there are SO many places, and I pretty much still just want to elope in South Africa. But I'm trying to be a good sport about it. So many people are excited about it, and it's helping me to get more and more excited. So prepare for lots of wedding planning posts, as I'm sure that's about to take over my life for the next few months.

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